In Jesus and the Ossuaries, Craig A. Evans helps all readers, expert and layperson alike, understand the importance this recent find might have for the quest for the historical Jesus and any historical reconstruction of early Christianity. Evans does this by providing an overview of the most important archaeological discoveries, before examining nine other inscriptions (six on ossuaries, three …
As is the case with other parts of the world, the emergence of the human species in the Middle East is difficult to establish. There are archeological indications—primarily rough stone tools and skeletal remains—of the presence of an early hominid species (Homo erectus) in the area dating from at least 300,000 B.C.E., the period known as the lower (early) Paleolithic (Old Stone Age, c. 2 mi…
When the first Indo- Europeans entered Greece in the early centuries of the second millennium BC, they arrived not without gods. So much is clear from comparisons with other Indo- European cultures. It is much harder to know whom they brought and how they called their gods.
Gadgets are everywhere. Gadgets wake the workforce every morning, organise their days and perpetually punctuate their attention. Evenings are largely filled by more gadgets – streaming movies on ‘smart’ televisions or surfing YouTube on a tablet, or even face-to-face encounters facilitated by hook-up apps. There is an increasing integration of gadgets with microprocessors, software and ub…
Many Americans may believe that religion in the schools is a controversial subject only in the United States. But around the worls, the subject has gained widespread notoriety, media coverage, and attention from governing bodies, school administrations, and individuals. In Religion in Schools, R. Murray Thomas use case examples from 12 countries, covering all regions of the world and all the ma…
It was as a first-year student in 1970 that I first read this penetrating book. I entered a world which was entirely new to me, confronted by a university chaplain who had a very different view of the Bible, by religious groups that were hostile to the claim of the uniqueness of Christ and by fellow evangelicals who struggled to work together because of controversies over secondary issues. Stot…
"In this masterful, stylish, and authoritative book, Michael Burleigh gives us an epic history of the battles over religion in modern Europe, examining the complex and often lethal ways in which politics and religion have interacted and influenced each other over the last two centuries. From the French Revolution to the totalitarian movements of the twentieth century, Earthly Powers is a unique…
In the following series of systematic essays upon Positivism, the essential principles of the doctrine are first considered; I then point out the agencies by which its propagation will be effected; and I conclude by describing certain additional features indispensable to its completeness........
Socrates was born in Athens in 469 B.C.E. Although he wrote nothing of any significance and had no students in anything like the ordinary sense of that term, he became one of the most influential philosophers in western civilization. During his own lifetime, his philosophical activities, which were carried on in public settings and private homes, together with his idiosyncratic demeanor, gained…
For the first time in one volume, this book presents contributions to the textual criticism of the New Testament made over the past twenty years by Bart Ehrman, one of the premier textual scholars in North America. The collection includes fifteen previously published articles and six lectures (delivered at Duke University and Yale University) on a range of topics of central importance to the fi…
This is a detailed examination of Proverbs 1-9, an early Jewish poetic work and an example of Wisdom literature. The author shows that certain parts of it, profoundly influential on the development of both Judaism and Christianity, belong to a much broader and more intricate set of ideas than older scholarship allowed.
In their pursuit of social welfare, sociologists and everyday citizens alike have adopted a worldview that fails to account for both the nature of God and the depravity of humankind. Ignoring God and sin has resulted in misguided analysis and ineffective solutions to societal issues. The time has come to rethink the study of sociology as those faulty assumptions have clearly affected the discip…
In Living With Nietzsche, Solomon suggests that we read Nietzsche from a very different point of view, as a provocative writer who means to transform the way we view our lives. This means taking Nietzsche personally. Rather than focus on the "true" Nietzsche or trying to determine "what Nietzsche really meant" by his seemingly random and often contradictory pronouncements about "the Big Questio…
Many people—even people who would call themselves Christians—have difficulties with the Bible. Some people are morally offended by parts of the Bible. Some parts of it do not fit modern ideas about good religion. What do we do with these parts? The Bible has exclusive claims about what is right and wrong in religion. It makes exclusive claims about God. It says that Jesus is the only way to…
Sixteen highly regarded men and women tackle practical topics such as how and why to preach on biblical manhood and womanhood, putting the Internet to use, church discipline, small groups, and handling domestic violence. They discuss the personal applications within the pastor's marriage, and they examine the biblical views of ministering to singles, homosexuality, leadership and submission, an…
Man and Woman, One in Christ demonstrates that careful exegesis of Paul's letters affirms the full equality of men and women in the church and in the home. Exploring the entire Pauline corpus, Philip Barton Payne injects crucial insights and cultural backgrounds into the discussion of Paul's statements regarding women.
This may seem an unusual book for a Church historian to have written. It is not quite Church history and not theology: rather, it is an attempt to reflect theologically upon Church history using historical approaches. It forced itself on to my attention some seven years ago and has demanded to be written ever since. Given its peculiarity, it may be useful to explain how its core ideas arose and…
Christian exegesis of the Song of Songs has long interacted creatively with - and, more recently, reacted critically against - the allegorical interpretation developed by Origen of Alexandria (c.185-c.254) in his Commentary and two Homilies on the Song of Songs. Interest in Origen's exegesis of the Song's narrative elements has dominated past scholarship, which has almost entirely ignored how O…
Why include a volume on Pietist theologians in a series on major theologians in Christian history? Was not Pietism precisely a movement that criticized academic theology as a religion of the head in contrast to a religion of the heart? To paraphrase Tertullian, what does Wittenberg “the undisputed citadel of extreme Lutheran orthodoxy”1 (or any other citadel of academic theology) have to do…
Explores the historical reasons for the creation of the book of James and the implications for the creation of the Christian canon. Nienhuis makes a compelling case that James was written in the mid-second century and is, like 2 Peter, an attempt to provide a distinctive shape to the emerging New Testament.
Examines the lives of atheists, agnostics, secularists, and the spiritually undecided in the twenty-first century; and discusses how secular lives can be positive without ties to a religion.
Everyone, whether he be plowman or banker, clerk or captain, citizen or ruler, is, in a real sense, a philosopher. Being human, having a highly developed brain and nervous system, he must think; and thinking is the pathway to philosophy.
In this completely revised and updated edition, François Bovon provides a critical assessment of the last fifty-five years of scholarship on Luke-Acts. The study divides thematically, with individual chapters covering the subjects of history and eschatology, the role of the Old Testament, Christology, the Holy Spirit, conversion, and the church. Each chapter begins with a consideration of the…
over the past thirty-seven years of my career as an academic in biology, I have encountered countless questions on evolution and creation. In this book I have endeavored to answer these questions. As I was raised with the belief that the "·hole human race is from Adam and Eve and that neither human beings nor other species have ever been exposed to any evolution, I remember being shocked to se…
In this well established text, a team of international scholars give their thoughts on mass media and culture. The book also seeks to reflect changing emphasis in the study of mass communication and popular culture.
Confused by metaphysics? In a muddle with aesthetics? Intimidated by Kant? Then look no further! Philosophy For Dummies, UK Edition is a complete crash-course in philosophical thought, covering key philosophers, philosophical history and theory and the big questions that affect us today. Tying in with standard UK curricula and including core topics such as logic, ethics and political philosophy…
The Christian Church possesses in its literature an abundant and incomparable treasure. But it is an inheritance that must be reclaimed by each generation. THE LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN CLASSICS is designed to present in the English language, and in twenty-six volumes of convenient size, a selection of the most indispensable Christian treatises written prior to the end of the sixteenth century.
The establishment of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a pioneering international event. Never before had a country sought to move forward from despotism to democracy by completely exposing the atrocities committed in the past and achieving reconciliation with its former oppressors. At the center of this unprecedented attempt at healing a nation has been Archbishop Desmond …
Describes how most forms of early Christianity, and the sacred writings they adhered to, came to be suppressed, proscribed, destroyed - in one way or another lost. This work also tells the story of how the canon of the New Testament became the official, orthodox and sacred text for Christianity.
Exact phrases to develop your sense of humor, master witty remarks, make people laugh, and be funnier - even if you're not naturally funny. Laugh Tactics is full of strategies that dissect, break down, and analyze all of the types of humor that you'll encounter in daily conversation - stuff you can really use with people you talk to. We're not all trying to become standup comedians, and this is…
Around the corner from where I live, a house is for sale. In bold green letters the lawn sign reads: “I’m Gorgeous Inside!” The message is surprising. From the street, the house is thoroughly ordinary, even run-down........
Applying his integral approach, the author formulates a theory of spirituality that honours the truths of modernity and postmodernity, while incorporating the legacy of the great religions. He shows why full enlightenment isn't possible without combining the enlightenment of the East with that of the West.
The Christian Church possesses in its literature an abundant and incomparable treasure. But it is an inheritance that must be reclaimed by each generation. THE LIBRARY OF CHRISTIAN CLASSICS is designed to present in the English language, and in twenty-six volumes of convenient size, a selection of the most indispensable Christian treatises written prior to the end of the sixteenth century.
This book is a training and improvement program for amateur chess players. It comprises 600 chess exercises and their solutions. It is unlike any other chess training book. While others focus only on tactics. ...
PHP and MySQL Everyday Apps For Dummies is a one-stop reference providing all you need to build dynamic, real-world, ready-to-use apps with the popular PHP (a scripting language) and MySQL (a database system) software. Information on each application includes a discussion of issues, structure of the database, code listings, and an explanation of the code. You can use these applications as is, m…
For as long as psychoanalysis has existed, its central concept, that of unconscious mental activity, has been the object of hostile scrutiny by philosophers......
Join the technological revolution that's taking the financial world by storm. Mastering Bitcoin is your guide through the seemingly complex world of Bitcoin, providing the knowledge you need to participate in the internet of money. Whether you're building the next killer app, investing in a startup, or simply curious about the technology, this revised and expanded third edition provides essenti…
today the struggle for Jerusalem and for all of Israel continues without respite, perpetuating four thousand years of confrontation in the heart of the land once called Canaan......
David Leeming, who has authored more than twelve books on mythology, here offers the first comprehensive narrative study of the mythology of the Middle East, that tumultuous region that was the cradle of civilization. With key maps, illustrations, bibliography, and index, Jealous Gods and Chosen People provides an inclusive, authoritative, and captivating account of a mythology that remains a p…
The late Thomas F. Torrance has been called "the greatest Reformed theologian since Karl Barth" and "the greatest British theologian of the twentieth century" by prominent voices in the academy. His work has profoundly shaped contemporary theology in the English-speaking world.
In Christian Origins and Greco-Roman Culture, Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts assemble an international team of scholars whose work has focused on reconstructing the social matrix for earliest Christianity through the use of Greco-Roman materials and literary forms.
When I was a boy growing up in Greenville, South Carolina, my father was away from home about two-thirds of every year. And while he preached across the country, we prayed--my mother and my older sister and I. What I learned in those days was that my mother was omni-competent.
This book does not seek to present a complete historical genealogy of nihilism, even though there is a loose chronology directing the progression of the chapters. What is rather offered is a genealogy which endeavours, first of all, to isolate certain crucial historical moments in the history of nihilism, moments which at time reveal clearly an intermittent development of prior influences. In t…
When the Greek soldiers burst into the city of Troy, Cassandra—who had prophesied it all, who knew what fate awaited her and all the Trojan women—fled to the temple of Athena.
Hans Urs von Balthasar is widely recognised as one of the major theological figures of our time, and by now there exists an ample body of literature describing his life and works in general, as well as focusing on central and other specific areas of his thought.
Here are some facts: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and God saw that all was good, and so all is good. Among God’s many creations was mankind, whom God gifted with freedom in order that they may love, both one another and God, as God loves them as well as God’s self. The cost of this gift is risk; for a free being is by definition never wholly under another’s con…
Many of the things we now live with do not take a purely physical form. Objects such as smart phones, laptops and wearable fitness trackers are different from our things of the past. These new digital forms are networked, dynamic and contextually configured. They can be changeable and unpredictable, even inscrutable when it comes to understanding what they actually do and whom they really serve…
Plato (c.427 – 347 BC), Athenian philosopher-dramatist, has had a profound and lasting influence upon Western intellectual tradition. Born into a wealthy and prominent family, he grew up during the conflict between Athens and the Peloponnesian states which engulfed the Greek world from 431 to 404 BC. Following its turbulent aftermath, he was deeply affected by the condemnation and execution …
‘When God sent him, in the month of Ramadan in which God willed concerning him what He willed of His grace, the apostle set forth to Hira’ as was his wont, and his family with him. When it was the night on which God honoured him with his mission and showed mercy on His servants thereby, Gabriel brought him the command of God. “He came to me,” said the apostle of God, “while I was asle…