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,…
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 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: 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: 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: 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: Whether it's terrorists in the Middle East who claim inspiration from Islam and express their hatred for the West, or the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, or the violence done by the religious extremists in the United States, it seems religion too often leads to lethal results. Charles Kimball, the author of When Religion Becomes Evil, builds on his bestselling book …
Outline; Was Adam really a historical person, and can we trust the biblical story of human origins? Or is the story of Eden simply a metaphor, leaving scientists the job to correctly reconstruct the truth of how humanity began? Although the church currently faces these pressing questions - exacerbated as they are by scientific and philosophical developments of our age - we must not think that t…
Outline: Asia is the birthplace of many great religions and spiritualities - spiritualities that draw wealth and meaning from the ancient past yet still address contemporary reality. Asian Christian Spirituality explores popular religious traditions in Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India, emphasizing how these traditions foster a liberative Christian spirituality.…
Outline: Zoroaster, maupun mazhab-mazhab keagamaan lainnya yang muncul di Persia, memiliki pengaruh kuat terhadap tradisi agama Yahudi. Bahkan kelompok ini sering dibandingkan dengan kelompok Yahudi. Hal ini terbukti bahwa salah satu sekte Yahudi, yaitu Jemaah Asiniyyah, sangat terpengaruh kuat oleh ajaran Zoroaster, terutama dalam konsep-konsep dualisme. Sementara itu, kehidupan beragama masya…
Outline: In this clear and provocative account of the epistemology of religious experience, William P. Alston argues that the perception of God - his term for direct experiential awareness of God - makes a major contribution to the grounds of religious belief. Surveying the variety of reported direct experiences of God, Alston demonstrates that a person can be justified in holding certain belie…
Outline: Since its original publication, C.S. Song's classic Third-Eye Theology has been regarded as a landmark work in unearthing and exemplifying the possibilities of a new kind of Asian Christian theology - one that takes its point of departure from the cultures of Asia. This new edition has been revised and updated, and includes a new preface which provides an overview of current status and…
Overview: A long-awaited major statement by perminent analytic philosopher Alvin Plantinga, this book illuminates one of our society's biggest debates-the conflict between science and religion. Plantinga examines where this conflict is said to exist-looking at areas such as evolution, divine action in the world, and the scientific study of religion-and he considers claim by Daniel Dennett, Ric…
Outline: One of the most important thinkers of our time, Jacques Derrida continues to have a profound influence on postmodern thought and society. The author explains Derrida's complex philosophy with clarity and precision, showing not only what Derrida says about metaphysics, ethics, politics, and theology but also what assumptions and commitments underlie his positions. He then brings Derr…
Outline: In this book, based on lectures that the author was invited to deliver in Japan, the author traces the dominant contours of religion as perceived by the sociologist. His themes range from the study of sectarianism, on which he is one of the world's leading authorities, to the subtleties of the relationship between religion and culture in modern societies of the West and the East. Alt…
Outline: Throughout history Christian thinkers have attempted to come to terms with the validity of views of scholars committed to non-Christian views of reality. This book gives twelve case studies of how important Christian thinkers in ancient, medieval and modern times have led the way in relating to non-Christian wisdom. The reader is given a sympathetic insight into the personal struggl…
Outline: In a sweeping reconsideration of the relation between religion and modernity, the author surveys the roles that religions may play in the public sphere of modern societies. During the 1980s, religious traditions around the world, from Islamic fundamentalism to catholic liberation theology, began making their way, often forcefully, out of the private sphere and into public life, causi…
Outline: In this book, the author offers a new perspective on the evidence of God that centers on a morally robust version of theism that is cognitively resilient. The resulting evidence for God is not speculative, abstract, or casual. Rather, it is morally and existentially challenging to humans, as they themselves responsively ad willingly become evidence of God's reality in receiving and …
Outline: The Cultural Exegesis series is designed to complement the Engaging Culture series by providing methodological and foundational studies that address the way to engage culture theologically. Each volume works within a specific cultural discipline, illustrating and embodying the theory behind cultural engagement. By providing the appropriate tools, these books equip the reader to enga…
Outline: The Pentecostal Manifestos series aims to speak for and to a rising, outward-looking generation of Pentecostal scholarship. Written by both established and newly emerging scholars, the various "manifestos" volumes are to be creative statements, marked by rigorous theological scholarship, reflecting a distinctly Pentecostal engagement with wider themes and concerns in Christian thought…
Outline: "Atheism deserves better than the new atheists," states Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, "whose methodology consists of criticizing religion without understanding it; quoting texts without contexts; taking exceptions as the rule; confusing folk belief with reflective theology; abusing, ridiculing, and demonizing religious faith and holding it responsible for the great crimes against humanity. R…
Outline: One of today's most controversial and heated issues is whether or not the conflict between science and religion can be reconciled. In this book renowned philosophers Daniel C. Dennett and Alvin Plantinga expand upon the arguments that they presented in an exciting live debate held at the 2009 American Philosophical Association Central Division conference. An enlightening discussion …
Outline: What might be described as a Pentecostal worldview has become a powerful cultural phenomenon, but it is often at odds with modernity and globalization. This book confronts questions of spirituality in the face of contemporary science. The essays in this volume illustrate how Pentecostalism can usefully engage with technology and scientific discovery and consider what might be distin…
Outline: Perhaps no topic appears as potentially threatening to evangelicals as evolution. The very idea seems to exclude God from creation. Yet many evangelicals have come to accept the conclusions of science while still holding to a vigorous belief in God and the Bible. How did they make this journey? How did they come to embrace both evolution and faith. Here are stories from a communit…
Outline: The relationship between science and religion (SR) has often been portrayed as combative. However, the interface of the two discipline is complex and nuanced, and they have much to learn from each other. This book welcomes readers to the SR dialogue. This helpful introductory work is simultaneously an encyclopedia, an annotated bibliography, and a survey. The book's stalwart adviso…
Outline: In this book, the author provides a Hebrew Bible textbook admirably suited to college and university courses in religious studies. At one accessible and comprehensive, this book approaches the Bible through the categories of comparative religion, carefully distinguishing the religion of ancient Israel from the religion represented in the Bible and discussing such dimensions of religio…
Overview: Unsuprisingly, given Sigmund Freud's understanding of religion, the conversation between Christianity and psychoanalysis has been long marked by mutual suspicion. Psychoanalysis originated within a naturalist, post-Enlightment context and sought to understand human functioning and pathology - focusing on phenomena such as the unconscious and object representation - on a strictly emp…