Is culture a theologically neutral concept? The contemporary experts on culture - anthropologists and sociologists - argue that it is. Theologians and missiologists would seem to agree, given the extent of their reliance on anthropological and sociological definitions of culture. Yet this appears a strange reliance given that presumed neutrality in the sciences is a consistently challenged assumption. It is stranger still given that so much theological energy has been expended on understanding and defining the human person in specifically theological as opposed to anthropological terms when culture is in some sense the expression of this personhood in corporate and material forms. This book argues that culture is not and has never been a theologically neutral concept; rather, it always expresses some theological posture and is therefore a term that naturally invites theological investigation. Going about this task is difficult, however, in the face of a long-term reliance on the social sciences that seems to have starved the contemporary theological community of resources for defining culture. However, rich subterranean veins for such a task do exist within the recent tradition, most notably in the writings of John Milbank, Karl Barth, and Kwame Bediako.

New Testament studies are witnessing many exciting developments, and Douglas Campbell's groundbreaking publications offer an important contribution to future discussions about Paul. Campbell tackles familiar problems relating to justification, 'old' and 'new' perspectives, and much more besides, in fresh and exciting ways. In doing so he sets down one profound challenge after another to all those involved in Pauline studies. As a consequence, his work demands extended and serious deliberation. This book seeks to facilitate academic engagement with Campbell's work in a unique way. It contains chapters summarizing key themes in his thinking, reflections from friendly critics that aim to challenge or extend his ideas, and his own response to these interlocutors. In this way, the book allows readers to be drawn into a vitally important conversation. It is academic theology in the making and constitutes a cutting edge in Pauline studies.

Christ declares, "Abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me" ( John 15:4). A branch derives life from the vine by virtue of its union with the vine. Similarly, Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. There is a vital, organic union between us. We draw on Christ's life through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. We must, therefore, abide in Christ by cultivating close and constant communion with him. We must continually look "unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith" (Hebrews 12:2). The present work seeks to explain what this looking implies. It does so by turning to the writings of two largely forgotten Puritans and Baptists from the seventeenth century - Thomas Wilcox and Vavasor Powell. Together, they teach us that to abide in Christ is to behold him in his manifold roles and relations. As we do so, Christ becomes our all in all.

This book shows that there is help for oppressed, tormented, and compulsive people, and that the solution is as old as the ministry of Jesus Christ. Find answers to such questions as: Why has modern medicine and science failed to cure millions of emotionally disturbed people? Why are increasing numbers of individuals developing mental disorders? Is it possible that there is another explanation for the voices people hear, or for the compulsions that they experience? Could it be that the real solution lies within the spirit of man? From over 30 years of counseling and ministering deliverance, in the United States and abroad, Bill Banks highlights the common root causes of emotional and mental torment, and walks the reader through steps to be set free. Read numerous case studies of people who have been delivered from their torments and fears, including testimonies of over 60 spirits: Suicide, Fear of Starvation, Colic, Smoking, Marijuana & Drugs, Crippling, Ulcers, Anger, Murderous Rage, Abuse of Women, Gluttony, Harlotry, Incest, Occult, Homosexuality, Pornography, Sleeplessness, Sterility, and more. New Edition Includes a section on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

A collection of the most important articles and essays by Bishop Ian Ramsay, a leading philosopher of religion, exploring his approach to philosophy and theology and the relationship between them. Divided into three parts - 'Contemporary Philosophy', 'The Meaning of God Talk', and 'The Logic of Faith' - this volume contains Ian Ramsey's thoughts on philosophy, metaphysics and ontology, the meaning and understanding of the gospels, and the justification of faith. An extensive appendix includes the author's answers to the contemporary subjects of freedom and immortality, Christian education and the intellectual crisis, and they are complemented by a selected bibliography.

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of AD 381 was a key statement in the context of the theological controversies and confessional atmosphere of the fourth century church. Alexander Irving explores Christian belief about God, creation and redemption as it is expressed in the Creed, and thereby contributes to the ongoing task of the church's self-examination of its talk about God. * Sets out the importance of our tradition and the intrinsic relationship between the thought of the church today and the thought of the church across time. * Grounds the Creed in its historical and theological context. * Connects the theology of the Creed to some areas of contemporary theological inquiry. The Creed sets out the basic parameters of Christian belief. While the specifics of what is believed within those parameters are not determined, there is an internal logic to the Creed's presentation of the Christian faith. The contrast between God's internal and external relations is the theological motif that gives particular shape to the Creed, which expresses an expansive vision of the generosity of God, with his relation to creation grounded in his being as love.

The doctrine of the Trinity poses a series of problems for feminist theology. At a basic level, the androcentric nature of trinitarian language serves to promote the male as more fully in the image of God and as the archetype of humanity, pushing women to the margins of personhood. It is no surprise then that feminist scholarship on this doctrine has often focused on what's wrong with the Trinity, setting out the problems raised by the use of traditional androcentric trinitarian language. This book brings together a discussion of feminist theological methodology with a critical exploration of the doctrine of the Trinity. Focussing on what's right with the Trinity as opposed to what's wrong with the Trinity, it considers the usefulness of this doctrine for feminist theology today. It replaces a stress on trinitarian language with an emphasis on trinitarian thought, exploring how we might effectively think rather than speak God in light of feminist concerns. In particular, it asks how a trinitarian understanding of God might support, and be supported by, key values which underpin a feminist way of doing theology, specifically values which underpin the methodological use of women's experience in feminist theology. The central argument is that thinking God as Trinity need not serve to reinforce patriarchal values and ideals but may in fact promote the subjectivity and personhood of women.

A Mighty Weapon of Spiritual Warfare

You know that "there's power in the blood," just like the old hymn says--but are you actually experiencing that power in your daily life? Join H. A. Maxwell Whyte in this revealing exploration of the blessings to be found in Christ's blood. As you delve deep into this newly revised and expanded version of Whyte's classic best-seller, you will find out how to]]

* Experience God's complete forgiveness

* Become spiritually empowered, equipped, and energized

* Break the terrifying grip of fear and torment

* Create an atmosphere for miracles

* Defeat oppression, addictions, and sickness

Astounding results can take place in your life once you learn the value of this vital, yet little wielded, weapon in the believer's arsenal and how God wants us to use it in coping with life's difficult situations. Discover the wonder-working power of the blood for yourself!

The cross is central to understanding Christian theology. But is it possible that our postmodern setting requires a new model of understanding the cross?
Hans Boersma's "Violence, Hospitality, and the Cross" proposes an understanding of the atonement that is sensitive both to the Christian tradition and to the postmodern critiques of that tradition. His fresh approach draws on the rich resources of the Christian tradition in its portrayal of God's hospitality in Jesus Christ.

In this exciting edited collection, Tom Greggs challenges us to think afresh about evangelical theology: where it is today, and where it is headed. Bringing together an outstanding group of young theologians to engage critically and constructively with traditional evangelical theology, the book seeks to open up the field and encourage good practice in its study.

New Perspectives in Evangelical Theology addresses some of the major themes within evangelical theology including election, the Holy Spirit, eschatology, and sanctification. It examines the Bible and the Church, and has chapters on worship and the sacraments. The final section investigates the interaction of evangelicalism and society, considering politics, sex and the body, and other faiths such as Judaism and Islam. Framed by a foreword from David F. Ford and a postscript from Richard B. Hays, the book is an invaluable collection of new thinking.

From 2006 to 2011 researchers at Heythrop College and the Oxford Centre for ecclesiology and Practical Theology (OxCEPT, Ripon College Cuddesdon) worked on a theological and action research project: "Action Research - Church and Society (ARCS). 2010 saw the publication of Talking About God in Practice: Theological Action research and Practical Theology (SCM), which presented in an accessible way the work of ARCS and its developing methodology. This turned out to be a landmark study in the praxis of Anglican and Catholic ecclesiology in the UK, showing how theology in these differing contexts interacted with the way in which clergy and congregations lived out their religious convictions. This book is a direct follow up to that significant work, authored by one of the original researchers, providing a systematic analysis of the impact of the "theological action research" methodology and its implications for a contemporary ecclesiology. The book presents an ecclesiology generated from church practice, drawing on scholarship in the field as well as the results of the theological action research undertaken. It achieves this by including real scenarios alongside the academic discourse. This combination allows the author to tease out the complex relationship between the theory and the reality of church. Addressing the need for a more developed theological and methodological account of the ARCS project, this is a book that will be of interest to scholars interested not only Western lived religion, but ecclesiology and theology more generally too.

Precocious and sometimes marginalized Klaus Bockmuehl's insights regarding the Spirit's agency in Christian Ethics, and therefore in our daily Christian experiences, have renewed import, now. This is an exceptional book, it introduces us for the first time to a much-neglected thinker. It also equips us with an understanding of how the Church can live ethically in power, through its relationship with the Father. In both respects it has much to offer its reader and the wider contemporary church.

With passion, and insight, Pete Briscoe addresses central matters of belief in this intelligent exploration of the Apostles' Creed. Hundreds of thousands of churches across the world recite this Creed Sunday by Sunday. Its origins can be traced to the second century AD. This declaration of belief has stood the scrutiny of time. The Creed remains a tool that brings vibrancy and clarity to belief. It condenses vast amounts of theological power into a single statement. Thoroughly biblical, it gives a framework for core teaching. This book will allow readers to explain every major theological issue of their faith from memory; to find supporting Bible passages; to discuss the details of their faith with sceptics; and to explore more deeply the wonderful mysteries of their faith.

Despite the burgeoning literature on Karl Barth, his doctrine of the Holy Spirit continues to be under-appreciated by his friends and critics alike. Yet, while Barth's commitment to the doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son (Filioque) is well-known, many scholars dismiss his stand as ecumenically untenable and few have bothered to subject his stance on the Filioque to close theological analysis. For those interested in this long-standing ecumenical point of contention between Eastern and Western trinitarian theology, this book will show how Barth's doctrine of the Filioque may still have something to contribute to the debate. The work traces the origin of Barth's commitment to the Filioque in his early career (particularly in Romans and the GAttingen Dogmatics), and then analyzes how the doctrine functions throughout the Church Dogmatics. Guretzki concludes that Barth's doctrine of the Filioque, while clearly standing within the Western trinitarian tradition, is atypical in that he refuses to speak of a "double-procession" in favour of a "common procession" of the Spirit"a position that has more affinity with the Eastern position than many of Barth's critics may have thought

Trusting Others, Trusting God is an investigation of the concepts of moral and religious trust. The question of why or how it is rational to trust anyone has been the typical focus of philosophers, with an underlying assumption that trust must be justified. In most cases, trust (even - or perhaps especially religious trust) is portrayed as irrational. Sheela Pawar argues that a grammatical investigation of the concept of trust can help rectify this mistreatment.

The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics presents a comprehensive and systematic exposition of Christian ethics, seen through the lens of Christian worship. * An innovative exposition of Christian ethics, seen through the lens of Christian worship* Challenges conventional approaches to the subject* Restores a sense of the integral connection between Christian ethics and theology* Stanley Hauerwas is one of the most influential figures in Christian ethics around the world* Embraces contributors from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, Mennonite and Pentecostal traditions* Designed to be accessible to introductory students* Will have a major impact on the discipline of Christian ethics

Rather than viewing the Apostle Paul's many references to peace and non-retaliation as generalized ethical principles drawn from Paul's background, Jeremy Gabrielson argues that peace and non-retaliation should be understood in relation to Paul's history of being a violent persecutor of Jesus' followers. After his 'Damascus road' experience, Paul zealously announced the gospel and abandoned his violent ways. His apostolic vocation included calling and equipping assemblies of people whose common in life was ordered by a politics characterized by peaceableness. This political dimension of Paul's gospel, in continuity with the earliest evidence we possess regarding Jesus and his disciples, stands in stark contrast to the politics of both the contemporary Roman imperial power and those who would seek to replace Rome by violent means.

Jean-Pierre de Caussade, a French Jesuit spiritual director and writer born in the late seventeenth century, is best known for his belief in the sacredness of the present moment, or the "eternal now." His masterpiece, "Abandonment to Divine Providence," has been celebrated by spiritual writers as diverse as Richard Foster and Alan Watts for its ability to invoke the mystery of eternity in the now--a tenet of spirituality that resonates across faith traditions.

Accompanied by the probing, expert commentary of Dennis Billy, C.Ss.R., this exemplary edition of de Caussade's "Abandonment" offers newcomers to mysticism and spiritual direction a clear, compelling path to entering into God's presence.

Torrance's vision of Theosis (deification/divinisation) is explored through his doctrine of creation and anthropology, his characterisation of the incarnation, his accounts of reconciliation and union with Christ, and his theology of church and sacraments. Myk Habets' study distinguishes Torrance's Reformed vision of theosis from other possible accounts of salvation as divinisation as they are found, for instance, within patristic thought and Eastern Orthodoxy. This book presents the first critique of the theology of T.F.Torrance to focus on theosis, and examines a model of theosis within the realm of reformed theology built upon Western theology.

"Please fix my kid." In their work as Christian apologists, father and son Stuart and Cameron McAllister have heard many variations on this theme from concerned parents. It's a sentiment lots of Christian parents can relate to-a deep and fearful sense of their own inadequacy to raise their children in the faith amid a seductive culture that's often hostile to Christianity. In Faith That Lasts, the McAllisters reflect on their own experiences of coming to Christian faith-Stuart from a life of crime on the streets of Glasgow, and Cameron in the context of a loving Christian home. Together they outline three dangerous myths that we all too easily buy into: that fear can protect our children, that information can save them, and that their spiritual education belongs to the experts. They reconsider each myth in the light of the Christian faith and their own experiences. When our confidence is rooted in the good news of Jesus, our homes can be places of honest conversation, open-handed exploration, and lasting faith.

Disciplining the Divine offers the first comprehensive treatment of the Social Model of the Trinity, exploring its central place within much theological discourse of the past half century, including its relation to wider cultural and political concerns. The book highlights the manner in which theologians have attempted to make the doctrine of God relevant to modern issues and outlooks and it charts the conditions that have necessitated such a reconfiguration of theological analysis. While interrogatory in tone and intent, Disciplining the Divine nevertheless provides a critical reconstruction of a Christian theology and practice which might be undertaken within the political and cultural contexts of the new millennium.

According to cherished church tradition and popular belief, early Christians were systematically persecuted by a brutal Roman Empire. In The Myth of Persecution, Candida Moss reveals that the "Age of Martyrs" is a fiction--there was no sustained three-hundred-year-long effort by the Romans to persecute Christians. While there were some martyrs, most of these stories were pious exaggerations and even forgeries designed to marginalize heretics, inspire the faithful, and fund churches. Moss encourages modern Christians to get the history of persecution right and embrace the consolation, moral instruction, and spiritual guidance that these martyrdom stories provide.

Christianity has always been a "creedal" religion in that it has always been theological. It was rooted in the theological tradition of ancient Israel, which was unifi ed by its historical credos and declaratory affi rmations of faith. No pre-theological era has been discovered in the New Testament or in the history of the Christian community. From the beginning Christianity has been theological, involving men in theological refl ection and calling them to declarations of faith. A non-theological Christianity has simply never endured, although such has been attempted, for instance, by individual seers in the sixteenth century and also by collaborators with totalitarian ideologies in the twentieth century.

The creeds presented here range from the ancient faith of the Hebrews and the creed-like formulas of the New Testament to the Barmen declaration of 1934 (framed by the Christians in Germany who faced the threat of Nazism) and the Batak Creed of 1951 (in which Indonesian Christians gave authentic expression to their religious belief in the idiom of their own culture. All the creeds are in some sense "offi cial," and every major division of Christendom is represented, including the Younger Churches. The volume ends with the messages of the most important assemblies dealing with the Ecumenical Movement.

This single volume, containing all the major theological affi rmations of the Christian community, is a source book for the study of Christian theology. It comprises a record of the Church's interpretation of the Bible in the past and an authoritative guide to its interpretation on the present. Indeed, it is a guide to an understanding of the Christian interpretation of life.

"John H. Leith" was Pemberton Professor of Theology at Union Theology Seminary. He was a member of numerous societies including The Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, New Hope Presbytery and the American Society of Church History. He is the author of numerous books including "The Best of Times and the Worst of Times for Religion, Especially Christian Faith, John Calvin's Doctrine of the Christian Life," and "An Introduction to the Reformed Tradition."