Storytelling may be one of the most universal of human behaviors. Representing events in a series of episodes allows storytellers and their audiences to explain a state of affairs, to trace the historical development of a people, to limn the portrait of a hero, or to account for the status of a ruler, city, or natural order. Storytelling ascribes causation to events, provides access to the pas…
To participate in a revision of Mircea Eliade’s Encyclopedia of Religion, first published in 1987, is an occasion of intense humility, but also a grand opportunity. Though not without its critics, the first edition was suitably heralded as the standard reference work in the field, a truly landmark achievement. The work of revision has, at nearly every turn, amplified rather than diminished a…
ETERNITY is the condition or attribute of divine life by which it relates with equal immediacy and potency to all times. The notion emerges at the point of contact of three distinct religious concerns. The oldest of these is the question of the state of life after death, especially in light of the continuing presence of the dead among the living as acknowledged in the various forms of the cult …
Images and the visual practices that put them to work contribute significantly to the experience of those social and cultural groupings that structure human life. Clan, tribe, ancestors, congregation, family, ethnic group, race, and nation are only some of the many shared orders of social life. These forms of association configure the loyalties, obligations, and affiliations, as well as the ave…
The second edition of this fascinating book is the ideal introduction to the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls from Qumran and their impact on our understanding of the rise of Christianity.:.; Introduces the Qumran Scrolls to the uninitiated general reader.; Explains how revolutionary the discovery of the Scrolls was and their enduring significance.; Sets the Scrolls within the wider context o…
Although certain definitions of religion would like to portray worship and the contemplative life as devoid of anything so profane or secular as commerce, in fact, work, trade, and religion are often inseparable, and can even be indistinguishable. And no religion is without fundamental economic aspects. If commerce is broadly understood as any system of exchange in which goods, services, or cap…
Whatever else they are, images are always deposits of previous forms of image-making, traces of visual thought inheritedfrom the past. This fact makes any given image a particular configuration of preservative or backward-looking impulses and present or even forward-looking ones. In the case of religious imagery, this means that images are something like cultural fossils that are especially use…
As odd or superstitious as it may appear to a scientific, secular view of nature, many religious images and objects are capable of great efficacy and able to protect against evil or misfortune, promote prosperity, heal illness, prompt fecundity, communicate favorably with the dead, or secure divine blessing. In fact, it may even be that such purposes constitute the greatest occasion for images…
Dreaming in the World's Religions provides an authoritative and engaging one-volume resource for the study of dreaming and religion. It tells the story of how dreaming has shaped the religious history of humankind, from the Upanishads of Hinduism to the Qur'an of Islam, from the conception dream of Buddha's mother to the sexually tempting nightmares of St. Augustine, from the Ojibwa vision ques…
This study sheds new light on identity formation and maintenance in the world of the early Christians by drawing on neglected archaeological and epigraphic evidence concerning associations and immigrant groups and by incorporating insights from the social sciences. The study's unique contribution relates, in part, to its interdisciplinary character, standing at the intersection of Christian Ori…
Portraits have the singular advantage of presenting to the votive eye the person whose personality, office, stature, or authority shape a relationship that often goes to the heart of religious belief. Ancestors, teachers, saints, heroes, and deities are made available in their portraits for veneration and petition. The devotional relation that portraiture enables with these venerable figures i…
Sacred images engage viewers in acts of seeing that are themselves forms of religious experience. When human beings “see,” they do so by means of an extensive apparatus of vision that may be designated by the term gaze. The gaze is not simply an optical event, the physiological act of looking at something, but the constellation of numerous events and aspects of vision: the engagement of the…
Many religious traditions cherish images surrounded by narratives that tell of the image’s origins and its long history as an object of devotion in court and ecclesia. Often these images are acheiropoetic, that is, not made by human hands. Their origins are divine. Fashioned by angels or deities, these images descend from heaven and are found by the faithful. They are enshrined and typically …
The mass media and religious groups in America regularly argue about news bias, sex and violence on television, movie censorship, advertiser boycotts, broadcast and film content rating systems, government regulation of the media, the role of mass evangelism in a democracy, and many other issues. In the United States the major disputes between religion and the media usually have involved Christi…
One of the few generalizations about religion that may be safely declared is that the practice of belief is always, in one way or another, a firmly embodied affair, transpiring in the medium of the human body. Even in the hands of the most zealously ascetic or scholastic adherents, religion’s deep register is the body that is denied, cloaked, disciplined, or scorned. In less repressive rel…
In both oral and literate societies, the tendency to intermingle word and image is irresistible. Spoken words, whether song, chant, or prose, contain the life-force or spirit of the speaker and are commonly joined to images by incantation and by rituals designed to charge images with power. Written words are themselves signifiers that can be pictorialized in many different ways in order to com…
The present volume is a cross-section of theological aesthetics in its current state, as well as a tribute to Hans Urs von Balthasar’s contribution to this academic discipline. What constitutes theological aesthetics is difficult to define since “aesthetics” is itself a rather broad area, the exact contents of which are often bitterly contested. The issues and areas in modern aesthetics t…
Theology of religions is an area of theological reflection on inter-religious 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…
Colin Brown surveys the thought of over four hundred philosophers from the Middle Ages to the present day. This clear and concise guide shows how various thinkers and ideas have affected Christian belief and brings together the lessons Christians can learn from philosophy.
One of the most difficult questions facing us today is that of the proper attitude toward possessions. In wealthy nations such as Britain and the USA, individuals accumulate much and yet are daily exposed to the plight of the poor, whether the homeless on their own city streets or starving children on their TV screens. What action should they take on behalf of the poor What should they do with …
Highly respected New Testament scholar Craig Keener is known for his meticulous and comprehensive research. This commentary on Acts, his magnum opus, may be the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentary available. Useful not only for the study of Acts but also early Christianity, this work sets Acts in its first-century context. In this volume, the first of four, Keener introduces…
This popular text has been updated to ensure that it continues to provide a current and comprehensive overview of the main Christian theologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
In recent years, ideas of post- and transhumanism have been popularized by novels, TV series, and Hollywood movies. According to this radical perspective, humankind and all biological life have become obsolete. Traditional forms of life are inefficient at processing information and inept at crossing the high outer space. While humankind can expect to be replaced by their own artificial progeny,…
The author's studies led him to a conception of Mythology as a more catholic science, or a more scientific classification of certain knowledge, than it has yet been shown to be in the hands of its cultivators. He explores these views in three treatises: The Progress of Mythology; Christ and Krishna; and finally a survey of The Gospel Myths.
What are the rights of religious institutions? Should those rights extend to for-profit corporations? Houses of worship have claimed they should be free from anti-discrimination laws in hiring and firing ministers and other employees. Faith-based institutions, including hospitals and universities, have sought exemptions from requirements to provide contraception. Now, in a surprising developmen…
This is a substantially expanded and completely revised edition of a book originally published in 1988 as Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics. The book is a collection of translations of primary texts relevant to women's religion in Western antiquity, from the fourth century B.C.E. to the fifth century C.E. The selections are taken from the plethora of ancient religions, including Judaism and …
Cafés are a natural place to engage in conversations about God. Many of us don’t just swing by for a quick caffeine fix and then dash out. We like to sit down, relax, and read a book or engage in conversation with a friend over a cup of coffee with espresso brownies or cranberry-orange muffins. I’ve enjoyed many hearty discussions at coffee shops—exchanging stories, problems, and questio…
This articulate defense of religion in America makes the case for faith and shows its relationship to history and science. Refuting the cold reason of the atheists and the hatred of the fanatics with a vision of religion informed by faith, love, and understanding, Rabbi Wolpe follows in a literary tradition that stretches from Cardinal Newman to C.S. Lewis to Thomas Merton--all individuals of f…
This book is a series of essays on the topic of faith and reason. But there are many such essays, and many such books. What, if anything, makes this one significantly different? From near the beginning of Christianity there have been reflections on this topic. It could hardly have been otherwise, given that the culture with which Christianity first interacted, once it had emerged from Judaism, …
There are so many books on the subject of worship these days that I had better make clear right away what we are trying to accomplish in this volume. This is not a comprehensive theology of worship. Still less is it a sociological analysis of current trends or a minister’s manual chock full of “how to” instructions. We have not attempted detailed historical analyses of our respective trad…
The Christian doctrine of justification is of immense interest to historians and theologians, and continues to be of major importance in modern ecumenical discussions. The present work appeared in its first edition in 1986, and rapidly became the leading reference work on the subject. Its many acclaimed features include a detailed assessment of the semantic background of the concept in the anci…
The book explores the rationality of belief in God, as conceived in the Hebrew-Christian tradition. In Part, I, Plantinga examines a number of traditional arguments for God's existence and concludes that none successfully demonstrate God's existence. In Part II, he considers and rejects some major arguments against belief in God, including the problem of evil, the paradox of omnipotence, and ve…
The book explores with particular insight Calvin's self-conscious view of himself as prophet and apostle for his age and his struggle to tame a sense of his own superiority, perceived by others as arrogance. Gordon looks at Calvin's character, his maturing vision of God and humanity, his personal tragedies and failures, his extensive relationships with others, and the context within which he wr…
Outline: The similarities and differences between the traditions founded by Shakyamuri, called the Buddha, and Jesus, called the Christ, fascinate both scholars and students of religion. Interest burgeons as encounters between Christians and Buddhists increase, and as the world becomes smaller through technology and travel. By exploring the two religious founders through the lives and views of …
Outline: This reader of 20th-century analyses of Christianity by representative non-Christians gives rare insight into how the Christian faith appears from the outside. Christianity through Non-Christian Eyes provides new perspectives for thinking with theological seriousness and historical sensitivity about the reality and challenges of religious pluralism, by showing the extent to which the p…
Outline: Islam and Christianity often appear at opposite and unabridgeable poles, both committed to world mission. Given the political tension violent acts that have surrounded these two major world religions, it is essential for both sides to understand the other's history, beliefs, traditions, and vision for the future. This invaluable resource from an expert in comparative religious studies …
Outline: New churches of hope - Throughout the course of his theological career, Jurgen Moltmann has been interested in the ecclesial and societal consequences of systematic theology and what each doctrine means for our life in this world. The Transformative Church explores these concerns in Moltmann's major texts and highlights themes relevant for a transformative ecclesiology. Patrick Oden co…
Outline: Challenges to religious liberty are increasingly common today as historical Christianity comes into conflict with a new, secular orthodoxy. In this thoroughly revised second edition of First Freedom, leading evangelical scholars present the biblical and historical foundations for religious freedom in America, and address pressing topics such as: - Religious freedom and the exclusivity…
Outline: This reader offers an overview of anthropological findings about religion that spans 100 years of work. Eighteen new readings are among the fifty-six selections in the Fourth Edition. The selections are organized into nine categories: The Origin and Development of Religion, The Function of Religion in Human Society, The Interpretation of Symbolism, The Analysis of Myth, The Symblic Ana…
Outline: In today's religiously pluralistic world, is it theologically and morally acceptable to maintain that one religion is uniquely true and that the others are at best incomplete or even false? Specifically, is Jesus Christ merely a savior, or is he the one and only Savior of humankind? At the heart of Dissonatnt Voices lies a strong, well-reasoned defense of Christian exclusivism, which h…
Outline: Inside the Community : Understanding Muslims through Their Traditions explores the Hadith, as collected by Abu' Abd Allah Muhammad Al-Bukhari. From the "ashes cure" for bleeding, to regulations on how to keep the fast, to an incredible scene of Moses chasing a boulder which had run away with his clothes, Parshall quotes and comments on the essence of this highly significant body of Mus…
Outline: Building bridges between Christianity and Islam. Muslims and Christians both worship one God. In fact. they have much in common. Although the history between Muslims and Christians has been strained at best, it doesn't have to be that way. There are many areas of common ground between the two faiths, providing ample opportunity to build relationships. Fouad Accad grew up in Lebanon and…
Outline: It is appropriate that the first volume in this new series of interreligious documents is on relations between Christians and Muslims. Together they comprise the world's most populous religious traditions. The many occasions of their good relations have often been eclipsed by memories of rivalry, war and confrontation; and today in Africa, Asia, Europe, and America Christians and Musli…
Outline: Rarely does a book amass the accolades given this one: "excellent," "profound," "masterful," "first-rate," "down-to-earth," "solid," "incisive," "illuminating," "both scholarly and devotional," "remarkable," "warm," "unprecedented," "fascinating," "crisp," "pastoral, lucid and biblical," "well-written," "a vigorous book," "a landmark." That is how reviewers have described John M. Frame…
Outline: John Frame gives us an accessible introduction to "triperspectival" study - where theological issues are fruitfully viewed from multiple perspectives without compromise to their unity and truth.
Outline: This book examines Christian ethnographic writing about the Jews in early modern Europe, offering a systematic historical analysis of this literary genre and arguing its importance for understanding both the period in general and Jewish-Christian relations in particular. The book focuses on nearly 80 texts from Western Europe (mostly German) that describe the customs and ceremonies of …
Outline: In recent decades, a "certainty trap" has sprung up within both Islam and Christianity, resulting in a world struggling with the fallout from extremist and violent interpretations of what "the word of God" might mean. The Certainty Trap asks whether Christians and Muslims - equally - can any longer afford the luxury of fundamentalism. Musk looks at the phenomenon of fundamentalism in C…
Outline: With all of the different religions, sects, denominations, and belief systems out there, it can be difficult to separate fact from mere opinion, especially if we are relying solely on online sources that often have an ideological or political slant. How can we truly understand if we cannot even be sure we are getting the facts straight? In this comprehensive resource, more than seventy…