At his inauguration to the chair in The History of Systems of Thought’ at the Collegè de France in Paris in 1970 Michel Foucault commented on the difficulties, the responsibilities and the risks, associated with entering the world of discourse. I suspect most of us can understand Foucault’s preference, namely to be already within discourse, to be ‘borne way beyond all possible beginnings…
This book is an attempt to bring interpretation under close scrutiny, not least as there is a widespread opinion that such an activity is something that comes naturally. What, however, does not come naturally, are the forms interpretation takes; thus their inspection will be the main objective of the argument of this book. An anatomy of interpretation is all the more pertinent as we currently w…
Angels. We all know what they look like. They have wings and halos. They appear in children’s nativity plays. They wear long white robes, apart from cherubs, who are like naked fat little children. They live in heaven on clouds but come to earth to guard or to guide. They are portrayed in stained glass windows and look down protectively from gravestones, but they also appear in films, cartoon…
This introductory-level text offers students and instructors a powerful pedagogical tool for increasing students ability to understand, analyze, evaluate, and construct arguments. THE POWER OF LOGIC provides balanced coverage of informal logic, traditional categorical logic, and modern symbolic logic. the authors direct and accessible writing style, along with a wealth of examples and imaginati…
Most significant problems of contemporary life have their origins in nihilism and its paradoxical logic, which is simultaneously destructive to, and constitutive of, society. Yet, in social theory, nihilism is a surprisingly under-researched topic.
After first publishing this book in 1995, in subsequent reprintings I was able to correct a few errata, add a biblical index, and update the bibliography. For the present task of thoroughly revising the whole text, I need to take account of the numerous biblical, historical, and systematic studies of Jesus that have appeared in recent years. Many valuable, as well as some questionable, books an…
Augustine of Hippo (354–430), whose accounts of the Trinity have heavily influenced much subsequent Western theology, has often been accused of over-emphasizing the unity of God and thus been maligned as a source of persistent problems in contemporary religious thought. In Augustine and the Trinity , Lewis Ayres offers a new treatment of this important figure, demonstrating how Augustine’s…
This book deals with the early history of the process that advanced atheism, agnosticism, and religious unbelief. This chapter discusses the coverage of the book and provides a brief background of the individuals who overtly rejected religious faith from 1520 to 1780. That period saw the fears that unbelief and irreligion were on the rise, as well as sustained and systematic attacks on Christia…
Issues of gender and sexuality have recently come to the fore in all humanities disciplines, and this book reflects this broad interdisciplinary situation, although its own standpoint is a theological one. In contrast to many contemporary feminist theologies, gender and sexuality (eros) are here understood within a distinctively Christian context characterized by the reality of agape - the New …
Divided Kingdom is the second part of a study of the early modern origins of Irish society. As with the first volume, Contested Island, its main concern is with the changing relationships and patterns of interaction among the different sections of an ethnically, and by this time religiously, divided society, continuing the story from Ireland’s part in the British civil wars of the mid-sevente…
The rise of modern science and the proclaimed “death” of God in the nineteenth century led to a radical questioning of divine action and authorship – Bultmann’s celebrated “demythologizing”. Remythologizing Theology moves in another direction that begins by taking seriously the biblical accounts of God’s speaking. It establishes divine communicative action as the formal and materi…
What has Washington to do with Jerusalem? In the raging debates about the relationship between religion and politics, no one has explored the religious benefits and challenges of public engagement for Christian believers – until now. This ground-breaking book defends and details Christian believers’ engagement in contemporary pluralistic public life, not from the perspective of some neutral…
What is Christian wisdom for living in the twenty-first century? Where is it to be found? How can it be learnt? In the midst of diverse religions and worldviews and the urgencies and complexities of contemporary life, David Ford explores a Christian way of uniting love of wisdom with wisdom in love....
How can we live together in the midst of our differences? This is one of the most pressing questions of our time. Tolerance has been the bedrock of political liberalism, while proponents of agonistic political thought and radical democracy have sought an answer that allows a deeper celebration of difference.
How can theology think and talk about history? Building on the work of the major twentieth-century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar as well as entering into sharp critical debate with him, this book sets out to examine the value and the potential of a ‘theodramatic’ conception of history.
If people claim to speak for God, what enables us to know when to credit or discredit the claim? This book analyses the criteria for discernment of prophetic authenticity in the Old Testament, and for discernment of apostolic authenticity in the New Testament; and also considers their validity and viability in a contemporary context.
How, in this Christian age of belief, can we draw sense from the ritual acts of Christians assembled in worship? Convinced that people shape their meanings from the meanings available to them, Graham Hughes inquires into liturgical constructions of meaning within the larger cultural context of late twentieth-century meaning theory. Major theories of meaning are examined in terms of their contri…
This book reconfigures the basic problem of Christian thinking or theological cognition as a twofold demand for integrity: integrity of reason and integrity of transcendence....
This book argues that the modern separation of humanity from nature can be traced to the displacement of the triune God. Locating the source of our current ecological crisis in this separation, Peter Scott argues that it can be healed only within theology, through a revival of a Trinitarian doctrine of creation interacting with political philosophies of ecology. Drawing insights from deep ecolo…
Theology of religions is an area of theological reflection on interreligious relations which raises fundamental questions not just for Christians but for all people of faith in a pluralist, post-modern world. How to practise a religious faith with integrity while respecting other claims to ultimate truth? Must ‘the other’ always be regarded as a problematic complication on the fringes of a…
We have, as a theological community, generally lost a language in which to speak of the createdness of the world. As a consequence, our discourses of reason can not bridge the way we know God and the way we know the world....
How can academic biblical interpretation fruitfully contribute to Christian belief and living in today’s world? This book offers a synthesis of some of the best in pre-modern, modern, and post-modern approaches to biblical interpretation, and locates the discipline within a self-critical trinitarian rule of faith, where historical criticism, systematic theology, ethics, and spirituality are …
This book argues that modern ecclesiology exhibits two unfortunate tendencies: it describes the church in ideal terms, rather than directly addressing the problems of its everyday, sinful activity; and it undermines the distinctiveness of the church and its way of life. The book analyzes the impact of pluralism and inclusivism upon ecclesiology, and draws upon von Balthasar’s theodramatic the…
This book brings together for the first time traditional Christian theological perspectives on truth and reality with a contemporary philosophical view of the place of language in both divine and worldly reality...
Bearing witness, a term often used by psychologists, happens when one person listens as another shares an experience. The act of being heard often gives support to the teller, validating their story and giving meaning to the event. Objects can also bear witness, and historians rely on their testimony to learn about the past. The Gothic masterpiece Notre Dame de Paris bore witness to the turbule…
This book tests the explanatory and descriptive power of the doctrine of sin in relation to two concrete situations: sexual abuse of children and the holocaust. Taking seriously the explanatory power of secular discourses for analysing and regulating therapeutic action in relation to such situations, the book asks whether the theological language of sin can offer further illumination by speakin…
An enterprise like this does not see the light of day without a large network of support, going back many years. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to one of my first teachers, Colin Kingsley of Edinburgh University, whose academic interests combined with high standards of performance provided an inspiration which has never waned, and to James Torrance, who many years ago introduced me to the l…
The first book of Moses, which has the superscription בראשׁיח in the original, Γένεσις Κόσμον in the Cod. Alex. of the lxx, and is called liber creationis by the Rabbins, has received the name of Genesis from its entire contents...
The ultimate aim of history is human self-knowledge. In the words of 20th-century historian R. G. Collingwood: “The value of history is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is.”
Since its publication in 1950, Protestant Biblical interpretation has been a standard introduction to hermeneutics in evangelical colleges and seminaries. Twice revised, this textbook has sold well over 100,000 copies. “Hermeneutics,” writes the author, “is the science and art of Biblical interpretation.. . .As such it forms one of the most important members of the theological sciences. …
Science is an ongoing search for truth—a perpetual struggle to discover how the universe works that goes back to the earliest civilizations...
This user-friendly guide to the Bible will help you make sense of all the book's mysteries to reveal its truly amazing content. Now revised and updated to reflect the most recent cultural changes, this book includes new features and engaging artwork.
Which are the major theologies in vogue in our time? And how are they to be evaluated by evangelicals who want to be on the cutting edge of the Christian faith, but remain faithful to the authority of Scripture? A Handbook of Contemporary Theology answers both of these questions in detail. David L. Smith provides an extensive overview of the current traditional and nontraditional theologies…
If it is fair to consider Geerhardus Vos as the father of Reformed biblical theology, then we are now at a point several generations later where we can begin to assess the lasting impact of that theology, especially within Reformed churches. The reflections that follow, though incomplete, represent an attempt at such an assessment.
For Thirty Years D. Clair Davis taught Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. His influence will not be fully known until the next life, but as a measure of the esteem that he is held in. this remarkable volume has been prepared.
The Literature of the Arminian Controversy highlights the importance of the Arminian Controversy (1609-1619) for the understanding of the literary and intellectual culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Taking into account a wide array of sources, ranging from theological and juridical treatises, to pamphlets, plays and and libel poetry, it offers not only a deeper contextualization of some of the mo…
This resource enables biblical studies instructors to facilitate engaging classroom experiences by drawing on the arts and popular culture. It offers brief overviews of hundreds of easily accessible examples of art, film, literature, music, and other media and outlines strategies for incorporating them effectively and concisely in the classroom. Although designed primarily for college and semin…
This book is the first accessible introduction in English to Tertullian's works, providing translations of Adversus Iudaeos (Against the Jews), Scorpiace (Antidote for the Scorpion's Sting) and De Verginibus Velandis (On the Veiling of Virgins). Tertullian (c. AD 160 - 225) was one of the first theologians of the Western Church and ranks among the most prominent of the early Latin fathers. H…
The Big Book of Christian Apologetics is a comprehensive resource designed to equip motivated believers with information to help defend and explain their faith. Examining nearly every key issue, person, and concept related to Christian apologetics, this book clarifies difficult biblical passages, clearly explains various philosophical systems and concepts, examines contemporary issues and chall…
Of all the demons, monsters, fiends, and ogres to preoccupy the western imagination in literature, art, and film, no figure has been more feared―or misunderstood--than Satan. But how accurate are the popular images of Satan? How--and why--did this rather minor biblical character morph into the very embodiment of evil? T.J. Wray and Gregory Mobley guide readers on a journey to retrace Satan's …
The truth behind the Gospel accounts of the Nativity, updated to include the latest research--a classic by a renowned scholar, hailed as "masterly" and "definitive" in the original edition.
Discover the Truth About the Blood of Jesus and the Glory of God! Salvation is more than just being saved from sin. Salvation is being saved to the glory of God. We were created in the likeness and the image of God, and it is His desire for us to be crowned with His glory and honor. The Blood and The Glory reveals how the power of the Blood of Jesus and the glory of God fit together in God's pl…
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The book of Proverbs is the starting point of the biblical wisdom tradition. But how did individual proverbs, instructions and poems come together to form the various collections we have today? Katharine Dell explores the possible social contexts for this varied material in the royal court, wisdom schools and popular culture. She draws shrewdly on materials from the wisdom traditions of the anc…
Volume II Part 2 deals with the history of the region from about 1380 to 1000 B.C., and includes accounts of Akhenaten and the Amarna 'revolution' in Egypt, the expansion and final decline of the Mycenaean civilization in Greece, the exodus and wanderings of the Israelites, and the Assyrian and Hittite empires.
Among the great philosophers of the Middle Ages Aquinas is unique in pursuing two apparently disparate projects. On the one hand he developed a philosophical understanding of Christian doctrine in a fully integrated system encompassing all natural and supernatural reality. On the other hand, he was convinced that Aristotle's philosophy afforded the best available philosophical component of such…
This series of critical reflections on the evolution and major themes of pre-modern Muslim theology begins with the revelation of the Koran, and extends to the beginnings of modernity in the eighteenth century. The significance of Islamic theology reflects the immense importance of Islam in the history of monotheism, to which it has brought a unique approach and style, and a range of solutions …
Offering a comprehensive introduction to postmodernism, this Companion features examinations of the different aspects of postmodernist thought and culture that have had a significant effect on contemporary critical thought. Topics discussed by experts in the field include postmodernism's relation to modernity, and its significance and relevance to literature, film, law, philosophy, and modern c…
The Cambridge Companion to Socrates is a collection of essays providing a comprehensive guide to Socrates, the most famous Greek philosopher. Because Socrates himself wrote nothing, our evidence comes from the writings of his friends (above all Plato), his enemies, and later writers. Socrates is thus a literary figure as well as a historical person. Both aspects of Socrates’ legacy are covere…