The human rights regime is one of modernity's great civilizing triumphs. From the formal promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 to the subsequent embrace of this declaration by the newly independent states of Africa, human rights have emerged as the primary discourse of global politics and as an increasingly prominent category in the international and domestic legal system. But throughout their history, human rights have endured sustained attempts at disenfranchisement. In this provocative study, Linda Hogan defends human rights language while simultaneously reenvisioning its future. Avoiding problematic claims about shared universal values, Hogan draws on the constructivist strand of political philosophy to argue for a three-pronged conception of human rights: as requirements for human flourishing, as necessary standards of human community, and as the basis for emancipatory politics. In the process, she shows that it is theoretically possible and politically necessary for theologians to keep faith with human rights. Indeed, the Christian tradition -- the wellspring of many of the ethical commitments considered central to human rights -- must embrace its vital role in the project.

Much of the preaching and teaching today demands that people actively earn their relationship with God. This prevailing understanding runs counter to the theology of the brothers Thomas F. Torrance (1913-2007) and James B. Torrance (1923-2003), who promoted the radical notion that all of humanity has its true being in Christ. In The Claim of Humanity in Christ, Alexandra Radcliff refutes the Torrances' many critics, asserting the significance of their controversial understanding of salvation for the interface between systematic and pastoral theology. Radcliff then widens the scope of her argument, constructively applying the implications of the Torrances' work to a liberating doctrine of sanctification. The Christian life is conceived as the free and joyful gift of sharing by the Spirit in the Son's intimate communion with the Father, revealing the reality of who we are in Christ.

What does failure mean for theology? In the Bible, we find some unsettling answers to this question. We find lastness usurping firstness, and foolishness undoing wisdom. We discover, too, a weakness more potent than strength, and a loss of life that is essential to finding life. Jesus himself offers an array of paradoxes and puzzles through his life and teachings. He even submits himself to humiliation and death to show the cosmos the true meaning of victory. As David Bentley Hart observes, "most of us would find Christians truly cast in the New Testament mold fairly obnoxious: civically reprobate, ideologically unsound, economically destructive, politically irresponsible, socially discreditable, and really just a bit indecent." By incorporating the work of scholars working with a range of frameworks within the Christian tradition, Theologies of Failure aims to offer a unique and important contribution on understanding and embracing failure as a pivotal theological category. As the various contributors highlight, it is a category with a powerful capacity for illuminating our theological concerns and perspectives. It is a category that frees us to see old ideas in a brand-new light, and helps to foster an awareness of ideas that certain modes of analysis may have obscured from our vision. In short, this book invites readers to consider how both theology and failure can help us ask new questions, discover new possibilities, and refuse the ways of the world.

Philosophers startle ordinary people. Christians astonish the philosophers."" - Pascal, Pens? (R)es In Wagering on an Ironic God Thomas S. Hibbs both startles and astonishes. He does so by offering a new interpretation of Pascal's Pens? (R)es and by showing the importance of Pascal in and for a philosophy of religion. Hibbs resists the temptation to focus exclusively on Pascal's famous ""wager"" or to be beguiled by the fragmentary and presumably incomplete nature of Pens? (R)es. Instead he discovers in Pens? (R)es a coherent and comprehensive project, one in which Pascal contributed to the ancient debate over the best way of life - a life of true happiness and true virtue. Hibbs situates Pascal in relation to early modern French philosophers, particularly Montaigne and Descartes. These three French thinkers offer distinctly modern accounts of the good life. Montaigne advocates the private life of authentic self-expression, while Descartes favors the public goods of progressive enlightenment science and its promise of the mastery of nature. Pascal, by contrast, renders an account of the Christian religion that engages modern subjectivity and science on its own terms and seeks to vindicate the wisdom of the Christian vision by showing that it, better than any of its rivals, truly understands human nature. Though all three philosophers share a preoccupation with Socrates, each finds in that figure a distinct account of philosophy and its aims. Pascal finds in Socrates a philosophy rich in irony: philosophy is marked by a deep yearning for wisdom that is never wholly achieved. Philosophy is a quest without attainment, a love never obtained. Absent Cartesian certainty or the ambivalence of Montaigne, Pascal's practice of Socratic irony acknowledges the disorder of humanity without discouraging its quest. Instead, the quest for wisdom alerts the seeker to the presence of a hidden God. God, according to Pascal, both conceals and reveals, fulfilling the philosophical aspiration for happiness and the good life only by subverting philosophy's very self-understanding. Pascal thus wagers all on the irony of a God who both startles and astonishes wisdom's true lovers.

There has long been a need for a comprehensive but truly introductory single-authored textbook in theology. By introducing the reader to the biblical, doctrinal and contemporary dimensions of Christianity with the help of illustrated examples from selected primary texts, the book provides an excellent grounding in theology for both students of the discipline and the general reader. The work explores key 'tools' for the scientific study of theology, endeavouring both to affirm the rationale behind Christian thinking, and also to familiarize the reader with significant contrary positions. The solid foundations in biblical theology and hermeneutics given in the book will enable students to read Judeo-Christian scripture intelligently. Key testimonies regarding Jesus Christ are scrutinized and the nature of the New Testament discussed. As well as the emergence of doctrinal orthodoxy and the later disagreements which have shaped contemporary Christianity, the reader will become familiar with the dimensions of current Christian thinking in its dialogue with post-modernity.

Postcolonial Public Theology is a tour de force, a study in theological reflection in conversation with the most compelling intellectual discourses of our time that offers prophetic challenge to the hegemony of economic globalisation. While evolutionary science searches for an ethically responsible practice of rationality, and inter-religious engagement forces Christians to grapple with the realities of cultural hybridity, Postcolonial Public Theology makes the case for public theology to turn toward postcolonial imagination, demonstrating a fresh rethinking of the public and global issues that continue to emerge in the aftermath of colonialism. Paul S. Chung provides students and scholars with a fascinating framework for imagining a polycentric Christianity as well as for discussing the continuing importance of Christian theology in the public arena.

Of all the teachings of Christianity, the doctrine of hell is easily the most troubling, so much so that in recent years the church has been quietly tucking it away. Rarely mentioned anymore in the pulpit, it has faded through disuse among evangelicals and been attacked by liberal theologians. Hell is no longer only the target of those outside the church. Today, a disturbing number of professing Christians question it as well. Perhaps more than at any other time in history, hell is under fire. The implications of the historic view of hell make the popular alternatives, annihilationism and universalism, seem extremely appealing. But the bottom line is still God s Word. What does the Old Testament reveal about hell? What does Paul the apostle have to say, or the book of Revelation? Most important, what does Jesus, the ultimate expression of God s love, teach us about God s wrath? Upholding the authority of Scripture, the different authors in Hell Under Fire explore a complex topic from various angles. R. Albert Mohler Jr. provides a historical, theological, and cultural overview of The Disappearance of Hell. Christopher Morgan draws on the New Testament to offer three pictures of hell as punishment, destruction, and banishment. J. I. Packer compares universalism with the traditional understanding of hell, Morgan does the same with annihilationism, and Sinclair Ferguson considers how the reality of hell ought to influence preaching. These examples offer some idea of this volume s scope and thoroughness. Hell may be under fire, but its own flames cannot be quenched by popular opinion. This book helps us gain a biblical perspective on what hell is and why we cannot afford to ignore it. And it offers us a better understanding of the One who longs for all people to escape judgment and obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ."

Luther's theology has inspired many since 1517 when he nailed his ninety-five theses to the door of the Castle Church. It was the trigger for the Reformation, a change in the very fabric of Christianity that is still studied extensively to this day. Much of this work however has been conducted from either a European or North American perspective. With Lutheranism becoming more and more common in the southern hemisphere, new interpretations of Luther's theology are needed for these emergent and different contexts. In Transfiguring Luther, Vitor Westhelle offers a reading of Luther and his legacy that goes beyond the traditional geopolitics of Luther research, exploring realities where the Reformer's reception and the latent promise of his theology receive unsuspected appraisal. Westhelle provides both a revisitation of the past and an invitation to a new orientation. By establishing a texture rather than a rigid actuality, Westhelle allows the reader to reach their own conclusions about these seldom examined aspects of Luther's theology.

Beginning with an account of how Christian theology is called upon to read the signs of the time, "Cities of God" traces the shift in urban culture in North America and Western Europe that took place in the 1970s. The modern sites of eternal aspiration and hope became the post modern cities of eternal desires. The old, modern theological responses to the city become unbelievable and inadequate, necessitating a new theological approach to urban living. Such an approach would have to engage with and respond to the insurgent social atomism and the celebration of virtual realities evident in the late capitalist, post modern civic living. The book seeks to develop that approach, emphasizing the analogical relations which exist between physical, ecclesial, sacramental, social and political bodies. It argues for a profound participation of all these bodies in the Body of Christ. Working through analyses of contemporary film, architecture and literature, and drawing upon traditional theological resources in Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa, the book lays out a systematic theology which has the preparation and building of cities of God as its focus.

"For three decades, he flashed like a meteor across the theological horizon, and then vanished." So writes Alan P.F. Sell of Nels F.S. Ferre (1908-1971), a mid-twentieth-century theologian whose work is little remembered, despite his constructive and often provocative contributions to theological debates that endure today. While Professor Sell speculates upon the reasons for this inattention, his primary concern is to show that Ferre's works raise timeless questions about the relations between content and method in theology. How far do the personal convictions of theologians influence their theological method? May methodological decisions yield attenuated accounts of Christian doctrine? This in-depth analysis of Ferre's thought is a cautionary tale concerning the importance of the choice of starting-points for theological reflection that will prove an invaluable resource for theologians and historians of Christian thought, whilst also remaining an approachable text for those with a general interest in theology.

For believers and skeptics alike, A Doubter's Guide to World Religions introduces the five major world religions so that you can explore their similarities and differences in a fair and engaging way. The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are worshipping, praying, believing, following, even dying for their faith. But what does it mean to be religious? Are all religions the same? Do they all call on the same God simply using different names? Are their beliefs and practices simply cultural expressions of the same spiritual longings? Written by historian and theologian John Dickson in his characteristically engaging style, this book presents each of the world's five major systems of faith, carefully outlining the history, doctrines, beliefs, and spiritual practices of: Hinduism ("The Way of Release") Buddhism ("The Way of Enlightenment") Judaism ("The Way of the Torah") Christianity ("The Way of the Christ") Islam ("The Way of Submission") In his own words, Dickson acts as an art curator in a gallery, presenting each of these "works of art" in their best light and letting each have their say. Along the way, he demonstrates the importance of religion in general-to society and to individual believers-and addresses many of the universal questions that all of these serious and ancient religions ask: Who are we? What is our worth? How should we live? Are we alone? At the end of each section is a bibliography of helpful books and websites for those who are interested in learning even more.

David Murray introduces readers to the StoryChanger, Jesus Christ-the only one who can rewrite human stories with his better Story-directing them to the stories of individuals in Scripture to see how their own messy stories can be transformed into stories worth telling.

Romanticism, Marxism, pre and post war German theology, non-realism and the nineteen sixties death of God movement, and now many contemporary writers around the world- they have all reshaped our ideas about God, giving it the rich diversity of experience and expression it comprises today. Tracing the history of the key idea in Western thought from its origins through to the present day, this is the story of the intellectual journey that remade God in the image of man, so that he might become one of us.

What is the truth about the universe and its inhabitants? Helen Oppenheimer has carried out a balanced and rational inquiry into the existence of God to bring us closer to answering this question. Here she uses her findings to construct and argue her case for a responsible Christian faith, rooted firmly in the facts. 'Christian Faith for Handing On' offers readers a progress report on the live possibility of faith in an era of human suffering that can, at times, seem to render it futile. The author deftly tackles difficult questions and deconstructs objections to Christianity to equip and reassure believers, showing how they can learn from the sceptics in order to eschew comfortable complacency in favour of reason. This engaging and thought-provoking work will grip and challenge thinking Christians and atheist enquirers alike with its current and comprehensive apologia of Humanist Christian faith. Oppenheimer's scholarly approach ensures that the book will also prove an invaluable resource for academics and students of theology and philosophy.

A way of sacrifice. A way of failure. A way on the margins. A way of holiness. In The Jesus Way Eugene Peterson shows how the ways of those who came before Christ - Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, and Isaiah - revealed and prepared the way of the Lord that became incarnate and complete in Jesus. Further, Peterson calls into question common ways followed by the contemporary American church, showing in stark relief how what we have chosen to focus on - consumerism, celebrity, charisma, and so forth - obliterates what is unique in the Jesus way.

This is a lovely introduction for little ones to some of the most popular and well-loved Saints. The colorful illustrations throughout will capture their attention as simple language tells the stories of these special friends of God. With golden padded cover and gilded edges.

Between Heaven and Earth grew out one of Thielicke's visits to the United States in 1963, during which he travelled across the country preaching and lecturing. The conversations recorded here are the fruit of his more informal discussions with small groups of clergy, students and lay people. "You have disturbed our peace and upset our doubts," said one pastor. "You have freed the fettered and bound the wandering spirits," said another. The questions that American Christians asked of Thielicke are direct and wide-ranging, concerned not only with the fundamental problems of faith but with its bearing on issues of social and political morality. Thielicke's answers, though equally direct, are neither simplistic nor dogmatic. His approach is refreshingly open and his conclusions emerge from a reasoned consideration of the evidence and alternative possibilities. Above all, Thielicke's answers reveal the warmth and deep concern for humanity's spiritual welfare that is at the root of his teaching and writing.

A radical vision for a society transformed by the teachings and spirit of Jesus. Do you feel powerless to change the injustice at every level of society? Are you tired of answers that ignore the root causes of human suffering? This selection of writings by Eberhard Arnold, who left a career and the established church in order to live out the gospel, calls us to a completely different way. Be warned: Arnold doesn't approach discipleship as the route to some benign religious fulfillment, but as a revolution-a transformation that begins within and spreads outward to encompass every aspect of life. Arnold writes in the same tradition of radical obedience to the gospel as his contemporaries Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

'Waiting on the Spirit of Promise' is a study of the life and ministry of Abraham Cheare (1626-1668), containing selections from Cheare's works, and rescuing an important seventeenth-century English Baptist from obscurity. Cheare has been overshadowed by other more celebrated Baptist contemporaries, but as the pastor of the Particular Baptist work in Plymouth, Devon, Cheare played a key role in the advance of the Baptist cause in the West Country in the 1650s. His 'Sighs for Sion' is an excellent illustration of early Baptist piety. With the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Cheare, like many other Dissenters, suffered arrest for his refusal to give up preaching. Cheare's prison writings reveal both a sturdy faith in God and a deep-seated piety. Despite the fact that he was incarcerated in a series of "nasty prisons", Cheare used this time of suffering to deepen his walk with God and so provide a model for his congregation of Christian integrity and joy in the midst of trial. To the very end of his life, Cheare eagerly awaited further outpourings of the Spirit of Promise upon the Church and looked forward to that day when his Lord Jesus would make all things right.

The essential argument of this new work by Andrew Robinson is that we live, move and have our being within a sea of signs, but that we are largely unaware of this for most of the time. When the structure of these signs is analysed it turns out to rest on three recurring 'elemental grounds', which the author calls Quality, Otherness and Mediation. The kaleidoscopic, ramifying patterns of Quality, Otherness and Meditation which underpin representations and interpretations at every level and dimension of the processes of signification offer a model of the dynamic mutual indwelling of the Father, Son and Spirit within the eternal life of the Trinity. This 'semiotic model' of the Trinity would be of rather limited interest in itself unless it can also illuminate other areas of Christian theology. Robinson suggests that the model leads to a helpful way of understanding how the entirely human person Jesus of Nazareth may be understood to have been the full and perfect embodiment (representation) of the quality of God's being. This in turn helps us to understand how the processes of representation and interpretation enable us to be drawn into the very life of God. This has practical implications for the church and for the individual lives of Christian believers. It also offers, via a re-articulation of the neglected concept of vestiges of the Trinity in creation, a form of 'spirituality of the everyday'.