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Thomas C. Oden
Thomas Clark Oden (1931–2016) was an American Methodist theologian and religious author. He is often regarded as the father of the paleo-orthodox theological movement and is considered to be one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. He was Henry Anson Buttz Professor of Theology and Ethics at Drew University in New Jersey from 1980 until his retirement in 2004.
Movies and television show us faded stereotypes of the dissipated pasto office, often either a deceptive, money-grabbing, cornball funda bigot in a white suit or a hip, chic superliberal frantic to accommodate to pop culture.
— from Pastoral theology
Most acclaimed
A change of heart
How did a celebrated theological liberal of the mid-twentieth century have such a dramatic change of heart? After growing up in the heart of rural Methodism in Oklahoma, Thomas Oden found Marx, Nietzsche and Freud storming into his imagination. He joined the post-World War II pacifist movement and became enamored with every aspect of the liberal 1950s Student Christian Movement. Ten years before America's entry into the Vietnam war, he admired Ho Chi Minh as an agrarian patriot. For Oden, every turn was a left turn. At Yale he earned his PhD under H. Richard Niebuhr. Later during his academic year in Heidelberg he met with some of the most formidable minds of the era -- enjoying conversations with Gadamer, Bultmann and Pannenberg, as well as a lengthy discussion with Karl Barth at a makeshift office in Barth's hospital room. Being in Europe allowed Oden to attend Vatican II as an observer and to get his first taste of ancient Christianity. He traveled with his family in a VW microbus through Turkey, Syria and Israel. But slowly he stopped making left turns. His enthusiasm for pacifism, ecumenism, and the interface between theology and psychotherapy were all ambushed by varied shapes of reality. It was a challenge from a Jewish scholar, his friend and mentor Will Herberg, that precipitated his most dramatic turn -- back to the great minds of ancient Christianity. Later a meeting with then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Benedict XVI) planted the seeds for what became Oden's highly influential Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Thomas Oden's fascinating memoir walks us through not just his personal history but some of the most memorable chapters in twentieth-century theology. - Jacket flap.
Mark
Mark Hansen has hated the wealthy Cody clan his entire life. And he's secretly loved Nicki Sable just as long. But Nicki is totally beyond this cowboy's reach. She's not only tight with the Codys--she's his boss's daughter. Nicki has never been shy about going after what she wants. And she wants Mark something fierce. Except now the bad-boy rodeo rider is kicking up dust about a whopper of a secret that could tear two families apart. And Nicki isn't ready to take sides. Even if Mark is the sexiest, most trustworthy cowboy she knows. Claim his heritage or blaze his own path? Mark has never chosen the easy road. And now the wrong decision could cost him everything, including the woman he loves.