Summary (also available through PDF flier): Justin Heinzekehr explores the significance of the empty tomb and Jesus’ physical  absence for Anabaptist ecclesiology and theology in conversation with postmodern philosophy and power analysis. The majority of Anabaptist theology has wrestled with the life and death of Jesus, but what about the biblical accounts of the liminal space in between? In The Absent Christ, Heinzekehr asks how Christ's physical absence defines and challenges the way we live in our communities.

Drawing on a wide variety of philosophers, including Emmanuel Levinas, Alfred North Whitehead, Gilles Deleuze, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Karl Marx, and Catherine Keller, Heinzekehr constructs a new Anabaptist theology that takes the gospel stories of Jesus’ absence as seriously as his life and teachings.

The result is an Anabaptist theology that retains key insights such as nonviolence and discipleship, interpreted with the benefit of contemporary understandings of class, gender, and racial power.

“Looking for divinity in the faces of those around us, rather than in otherworldly places or merely in our own religious performance, is not the end of theology but rather its beginning. And it puts a healthy spin on a question I have raised for years, ‘What is Jesus doing now?’” —Joerg Rieger, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Cal Turner Chancellor's Chair in Wesleyan Theology, Director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice, Vanderbilt University

“For centuries, the empty tomb has been at the heart of Christian belief and practice. But never have I seen the Christian affirmation of the present and absent Christ spelled out so clearly and insightfully for the postmodern world. In these pages Anabaptist theology finds its prophetic voice again.” —Philip Clayton, Author, Transforming Christian Theology

“Heinzekehr has undertaken and is offering us something important: a work of constructive, contemporary Mennonite theology developing christological reflections on the pressing questions of environmental crisis, what this means to 'people of God’s peace' and how we might follow an 'absent Christ.' I also applaud the gentle invitation to reconsider metaphysics—or 'micro-metaphysics'—found in these pages and through the evocative image of the joyful darkness of a cool, empty tomb.” —Malinda Elizabeth Berry, Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

“With this book, Justin Heinzekehr suggests that we discuss Christology and the presence of God in the world in terms of ethical relationships developed in the absence of Christ materially present, as symbolized by the empty tomb. With this restatement, Heinzekehr joins a long tradition of expressing the meaning of Jesus by use of language and images from new and thus ever changing contexts.” —J. Denny Weaver, in the Series Editor’s Preface

Market:  Scholars, professors, and graduate students; all  interested in Anabaptist-Mennonite theology, God’s presence in the world, Christology, pacifism/violence, and their interplay with the “absent Christ.”

The Author: Justin Heinzekehr, Goshen, Indiana, is Director of Institutional Research and Assessment and Assistant Professor of Bible and Religion at Goshen College. His most recent work has focused on the intersection of political philosophy, religion, and environmental ethics, with titles such as Organic Marxism (2014) and Socialism in Process (2017).

Quote: “As near as I can tell, the beginnings of this project lie in a college course on Christian theology taught by Keith Graber Miller, which introduced me both to process theology and a variety of atonement theories, among which was J. Denny Weaver’s nonviolent atonement. From the latter, I learned that Mennonite theology could have a distinct voice within the panoply of Christian attempts to answer life’s big questions. At the same time, the “process” God was a new and challenging figure for me, but I was soon enchanted by the potential of a relational, empathic theology. My time in graduate school at Claremont School of Theology provided a wonderful environment to experiment with combinations of both of these interest areas. —Justin Heinzekehr, in the Preface

Shelving: Theology—Anabaptist, Mennonite. Peacemaking, pacifism, nonviolence. BISAC: Religion, Social Sciences, Philosophy. RTM: 690 Religion/Ethics

Publisher: Cascadia Publishing House LLC
Potential Copublisher: None
Publication date: 2019
Tentative Pages: 160
Format: 6 x 9" trade paper with notes, bibliography, index
Prices: $22.95 US/Can. ISBN 13:  978-1-68027-014-3; ISBN 10: 1-68027-014-1