We offer hearty congratulations to Jean Porter, author of Ministers of the Law and Nature as Reason, for her recent election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). Founded in 1780, AAAS remains one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies, having elected intellectual Americans such as George Washington, Daniel Webster, and Albert Einstein. Dr. Porter is recognized for her scholarship in Christian ethics and the history and interpretation of the natural law tradition in Catholic ethical reflection, particularly the moral theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. She will be inducted with her fellow newly elected members at a ceremony Oct. 6 at the AAAS headquarters in Cambridge, MA.

Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals
Richard Mouw

Now that Rick Santorum has suspended his presidential bid, the question that has swirled around the all-but-certain Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign for over two years — will evangelical voters support a Mormon candidate? — is sure to be asked more loudly and forcefully.

In his forthcoming book Talking with Mormons: An Invitation to Evangelicals, Richard J. Mouw — president of Fuller Seminary and a pioneering voice in Mormon-evangelical dialogue — shares his wise thoughts on whether (and how, and to what extent) evangelicals and Mormons can transcend doctrinal differences to discover common ground.

Click to read an advance excerpt from this book on our blog.

The Tomb of Jesus and His Family? Exploring Ancient Tombs Near Jerusalem's Walls
James H. Charlesworth and Arthur Boulet, editors

Thanks in large part to the Discovery Channel’s broadcast last week of “The Resurrection Tomb Mystery” — a documentary based on James Tabor and Simcha Jacobovici’s Jesus Discovery — there has been a flurry of recent discussion by scholars and amateurs alike about the tombs Tabor and Jacobovici excavated in the Talpiot neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Several of these discussions debating the merit and meaning of the findings popularly known as the “resurrection tomb,” the “Jesus family tomb,” the “James ossuary,” and the “Jonah ossuary” make reference to the 2008 Princeton Symposium that brought scores of experts together in Jerusalem to examine Second Temple-period Jewish burial practices and views of the afterlife — and to evaluate the so-called “Jesus family tomb” in context.

The scholarly findings from this landmark event will soon be published in The Tomb of Jesus and His Family?, which is currently scheduled for an October release.

Click to read more.

In Print
Mark Noll's Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind got a big mention from E. J. Dionne in The Washington Post April 4.

On the Radio
On April 5 NPR’s On Being rebroadcast Krista Tippett’s 2011 interview (“Restoring the Senses: Gardening and Orthodox Easter”) with Vigen Guroian, author of books on gardening and Orthodox theology that include Inheriting Paradise: Meditations on Gardening, The Fragrance of God, and The Melody of Faith: Theology in an Orthodox Key.

On Television
PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly featured authors Lillian Daniel and Martin Copenhaver on its April 15 show. The two seasoned United Church of Christ pastors shared their perspectives on what it’s really like to be a Protestant minister — to live out what they refer to as their “odd and wondrous calling” (a phrase which also happens to be the title of their 2009 book). You can view a short promo piece or watch the entire segment at the Religion and Ethics Newsweekly website.

April 20, 2012
Just last week, we announced on Twitter the release of Gareth Lee Cockerill’s New International Commentary on the New Testament volume on Hebrews, a work that, for outgoing series editor Gordon Fee “represents a signal end of an era for this commentary series, since it is both replacing a commentary by the second general editor (F. F. Bruce) and is the final editorial task of the third general editor, whose onsetting bout with Alzheimer’s disease has necessitated his relinquishing this task.”

This latest commentary will, indeed, be the final NICNT volume published under Fee’s editorship, as future volumes will be ably guided by the new series editor Joel B. Green.

This Hebrews volume by Cockerill (whom Fee says “is not only well acquainted with the secondary literature on this great biblical book, but has also brought his own deep love for the author of Hebrews and his work to the task so that it shines throughout these pages.”) replaces the volume by the late F. F. Bruce, which was first published in 1964 and updated by the author 25 years later. Bruce’s now-classic work of evangelical biblical scholarship will be re-released as a stand-alone paperback edition later this month.

April 16, 2012
The Academy of Parish Clergy has chosen as their 2011 Book of the Year What Shall We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith by Thomas G. Long. This is the second year in a row that an Eerdmans title has won the award, which is given to the best book published for parish ministry in the previous year.

The award will be presented at the Academy’s Annual Conference, which takes place May 8-10, 2012, in Dayton, Ohio.

What Shall We Say? explores how preachers can and should respond to the age-old question of how a good God can allow so much human suffering in the world. Thomas Long offers biblically based approaches to preaching on the subject, guided by the Book of Job, as well as Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares.

The Academy also included two other Eerdmans titles in their Top Ten Books of 2011: Not Sure: A Pastor’s Journey from Faith to Doubt, by John Suk, and Resonant Witness: Conversations between Music and Theology, edited by Jeremy S. Begbie and Stephen R. Guthrie.

Read more about these honors — and the Eerdmans books that have received them — on our blog.

January 23, 2012
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers has won the prestigious Mildred L. Batchelder Award for its English-language edition of Soldier Bear. The Batchelder is awarded each year by the American Library Association to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.

We offer hearty congratulations to author Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrator Philip Hopman, and translator Laura Watkinson, as well as to the editorial staff of Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for this stunning achievement.

January 1, 2011
Choice magazine has named The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism, edited by John J. Collins and Daniel C. Harlow, to its 2012 list of Outstanding Academic Titles.

According to Choice, "This year's Outstanding Academic Title list includes 629 books and electronic resources chosen by the Choice editorial staff from among the 7,263 titles reviewed by Choice during the past year. Of these, 600 are print products; the remaining 29 are electronic. These outstanding works have been selected for their excellence in scholarship and presentation, the significance of their contribution to the field, and their value as important -- often the first -- treatment of their subject. Comprising just over 9 percent of the titles reviewed by Choice during the past year, and less than 3 percent of the more then 25,000 titles submitted to Choice during this same period, Outstanding Academic Titles are truly the 'best of the best.'"

Eerdmans congratulates John J. Collins, Daniel C. Harlow, and each of the volume’s 270 contributors for their stunning achievement.

December 29, 2011
Christianity Today has announced the winners of its annual Book Awards, which this year include three Eerdmans titles.

Mark Gornik has taken top honors in the Missions/Global Affairs category for his Word Made Global: Stories of African Christianity in New York City. Other 2012 honorees include Mark A. Noll, who has received an Award of Merit in the Christianity and Culture category for Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, who has been posthumously been honored with an Award of Merit -- in the Fiction category -- for Boris Jakim's bold new translation of his literary classic The Insulted and Injured.

Eerdmans congratulates all three authors -- and offers its sincere thanks to the editors of Christianity Today for managing the unenviable task of selecting 12 winners and 11 notables from the nearly 400 titles submitted to the contest by more than 50 publishers.

Click to learn more about these award winners on our blog or to see the full list of Christianity Today's 2012 Book Award winners.

October 25, 2011
Eerdmans is pleased and proud to welcome online visitors to its newly redesigned website, eerdmans.com. The revamped site features many improvements, including a streamlined shopping cart, a more powerful internal search engine, a completely new visual experience, and an extensive assortment of new or enhanced resources for authors, educators, ministers, librarians, bookstores, and general readers.

October 16, 2011
The Eerdmans Bookstore hosted author and president of Fuller Seminary Richard J. Mouw for a book talk, signing, and reception Saturday, October 15, 2011, at 7 p.m. Mouw discussed his recent book Abraham Kuyper: A Short and Personal Introduction as well as his forthcoming The Challenges of Cultural Discipleship: Essays in the Line of Abraham Kuyper. Mouw's talk was the penultimate event in the Eerdmans 100^th Anniversary Author Series, which has so far also included Nicholas Wolterstorff, D. G. Hart, Mark Noll, and Larry ten Harmsel. Visit the Eerdmans Bookstore events page for details about all upcoming bookstore events.

September 30, 2011
Eerdmans has announced its diamond-level sponsorship of the 2011 annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature, planned for November 19-22 in San Francisco. The company will be supplying conference totes, hosting an evening reception, and giving away a variety of promotional items to customers who shop its booth.

August 11, 2011
Three winners have been announced in the Eerdmans 100^th Anniversary Facebook Photo Contest. Laura Elliot won the grand prize (a $500 gift certificate) for her entry entitled "Little Preacher." Doug Iverson took second place (a $200 gift certificate) for his "Emma's Kindergarten Project." Third place (and a $100 gift certificate) went to Daniel McClellan's "Did God Have a Wife." For more information and to see all the winning photographs, visit our blog.

August 11, 2011
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing marked its 100^th anniversary August 11, 2011. The milestone has been marked by widespread media coverage, a book, a blog series, a photo contest, and more. Eerdmans has hosted a company dinner, an open house, and a book reading all specially related to the event, and it will also host a reception at the annual AAR/SBL meeting, of which it is the platinum sponsor. To find out more about the company's long history and its anniversary celebrations, visit our anniversary webpage.

June 1, 2011
Frontlist and backlist catalogs for Eerdmans and Eerdmans Books for Young Readers titles are now available on Edelweiss, the publishing industry leader in online digital catalogs. Also available Edelweiss are a number of specialty catalogs featuring both adult and children's titles, including the "Eerdmans Religion and Politics Catalog," the "Eerdmans Christmas Catalog," and the "Eerdmans Archaeology and Dead Sea Scrolls Catalog."