The chief aim of this volume is to construct a trinitarian theological description of eschatology that is at once systematic, generated from the theological interpretation of Scripture and yet sensitive to essential elements for Christian practice. While there is no shortage of books on `the end-times,' too few combine systematic theology with a theological interpretation of Scripture and Christian living. Regrettably, many arise out of incoherent or superficial readings of the Bible that detract from, or even ignore, the `once and for all' achievements of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The cost to the church is an eschatology that is insufficiently Christian despite its claim to be `biblical.' Alternatively, many other books fail to consider how God reveals himself through the Lord Jesus and by the power of his Spirit and are therefore not genuinely Christian, despite the claim to be `theological.' Sadly, too many works on this subject fail to distinguish between the actual hope provided by the gospel and the aspirations of Western culture. David Hoehne offers a reading of the Bible that is shaped by the gospel, informed by the history of Christian thought, and dedicated to serving the church in a world that is at once frustrated by sin, death and evil, and yet longing for the return of our Lord and Messiah.

This highly successful and popular book is now available in a thoroughly expanded and updated new edition. Alister E. McGrath, one of the world's leading theologians, provides readers with a concise and balanced introduction to Christianity as it has been interpreted by many of its greatest thinkers and commentators, from its beginning to the modern day. Theology: The Basic Readings, 3rd Edition comprises sixty-eight readings spanning twenty centuries of Christian history. To help readers engage with the material, each reading is accompanied by an introduction, comments, study questions, and a helpful glossary of terms used by its author. Readings are drawn from a broad theological spectrum and include both historical and contemporary, mainstream, and cutting-edge approaches Uses the Apostles' Creed as a framework to introduce readers to writings on key issues, such as faith, God, Jesus, creation, and salvation Represents two thousand years of sustained critical reflection within western Christianity Encourages readers to interact with each text and to engage with primary sources Serves as an ideal companion to the bestselling, Theology: The Basics or as a standalone text Theology: The Basic Readings, 3rd Edition is an essential guide to the topics, themes, controversies, and reflections on Christianity as they have been understood by many of its greatest commentators.

Human disability raises the hardest questions of human existence and leads directly to the problem of causality--the underlying intuition that someone, divine or human, must have been at fault.

Christian theology has responded with almost singular attention to Providence, the expression of divine will in the world as the cause of all things. This preoccupation holds captive the Christian imagination, leaving the Church ill equipped to engage the human reality of disability. Theological reflection, argues Hans Reinders, can arise only as a second-order activity that follows after real attention to the experience of disability.

Disability, Providence, and Ethics offers a more excellent way to address this difficult subject. Reinders guides readers away from an identification of disability with tragedy--via lament--to the possibility of theological hope and its expression of God's presence. In particular, Reinders reconsiders two of the main traditional sources in Christian thought about Providence, the biblical text of Job and the theological work of John Calvin. Throughout the book, first-person accounts of disability open up biblical texts and Christian theology--rather than the other way around. In the end, a theology of Providence begins with the presence of the Spirit, not with the problem of causality.

Endlessly cunning, elusive, and playful--the Bible consistently unsettles even as it assures. Walter Brueggemann reveals exactly how Scripture exposes the inadequacy of the assumptions and habits that shape our lives. He finds inside Israel's ancient poetry, prophecy, narrative, and legal covenants new words that create new peoples. In so doing this book provokes a theology of transformation--one that compels new social, economic, and political practices. Brueggemann's reading reveals that we are not fated to live a life of greed, anxiety, and violence, but instead can embrace a shared life of well-being grounded in an investment in the common good. Brueggemann shows the endless ways by which the Bible provokes new life for transformed peoples.

This wonderful book looks at the person and work of Christ, from his preexistence and eternal Sonship, through his incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension, to his return. It considers and applies the theological significance of all this, looking especially at how all our salvation is found in Christ. That is, it considers soteriology and the Christian life with and through the lens of Christology. Written in an accessible and devotional manner, with frequent references to historical theologians and their insights, Christ Our Life follows on from the huge success of the author's bestselling work, The Good God (Paternoster, 2012). COMMENDATIONS "Michael Reeves' new and riveting book takes us to the heart of the Gospel in presenting the person of Jesus Christ as our life and our all. With deft and engaging style Reeves demonstrates the love of God in Jesus and we realize again how much we owe to grace. A great sequel to The Good God, this fresh and accessible look at Jesus will warm hearts of faith and will turn seekers to the living God, revealed most clearly in his Son, Jesus Christ. Lively and stimulating - I recommend it warmly." - Michael Parsons, Commissioning Editor, Paternoster; Associate Research Fellow, Spurgeon's College, London

In the march of modernity and the opening of global boundaries, the face of the world changed. How we understood the world, and our place in it, changed. And with that great shift, our concept of the Holy Spirit also changed. Now the third person of the Trinity became a diffusive power in a universalizing attempt at resolving the expansively harsh realities of human existence. In A Profound Ignorance , Ephraim Radnertraces the development of pneumatology as a modern discipline and its responses to experiences of social confusion and suffering, often associated with questions linked to the category of theodicy. Along the way, study of the Spirit joined with natural science to become study of spirit, which was at root study of the human person redefined without limitation. Radner proposes that the proper parameters of pneumatology are found in studying Israel and her historical burdens as the Body of Christ, showing how the Spirit is the reality of God that affirms the redemptive character of Christ, the Son. The traumas of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have brought to the fore the problematic distance between earlier and more modern approaches to the Spirit. Drawing on writers from Paracelsus to John Berryman, and including theologians and philosophers like Anne Conway and John Wesley, as well as literary figures from d'AubignA (c) to Duhamel, Radner attempts to locate modern pneumatology's motives and interests within some of the novel social settings of a rapidly globalizing consciousness and conflicted pluralism. It is by following Israel into the Incarnation of Jesus, Radner contends, that humans find their unresolved sufferings and yearnings redeemed. The Holy Spirit operates in deep hope, the kind of hope that is inaccessible to simple articulation. Finally, Radner argues for a more limited and reserved pneumatology, subordinated to the christological realities of divine incarnation: here, creaturely limitations are not denied, but affirmed, and taken up into the life of God.

For most Bible readers, the book of Revelation is a riddle that fascinates and frustrates. Scholars and teachers have proposed different keys to its interpretation. However, neither the `futurist' nor the historical-critical approach adequately demonstrates the ongoing, vital relevance of the Apocalypse for the contemporary church.Brian Tabb stresses the importance of the canonical context of the book of Revelation. He argues that it presents itself as the climax of biblical prophecy that shows how various Old Testament prophecies and patterns find their consummation in the present and future reign of Jesus Christ, who decisively defeats his foes, saves his people and restores all things. Tabb considers key themes in the book: the triune God; Christ's followers and foes; God's plan for salvation, judgment and restoration; and God's word. He also shows how the book's symbolic visions shape believers' worldviews around what is true, good and beautiful according to God's revealed standards, and motivate them to live obediently and counter-culturally in the world as faithful witnesses to Jesus.

This book fuses the Church's traditional doctrine of the Communion of Saints and Baptists' theology of salvation and discipleship--charting how Baptists can speak of a communion of saints here and now. Paul Fiddes and his coauthors emphasize that this communion is only possible within the fellowship of the triune God who covenants with and for believers.

Reframing communion within a theology of covenant enables the affirmation of the practice of prayer and mutual support with all faithful disciples, both alive and dead. Such a covenantal understanding of communion avoids an unhealthy obsession with communication with those who have died. Baptists and the Communion of Saints thus makes a significant and practical difference in the way Baptists understand the nature of the church, prepare their worship, care for the dying and the bereaved, go on spiritual journeys, and celebrate baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Rob Bell's bestseller 'Love Wins' tackled subjects church leaders have been afraid to touch. Now he asks the biggest question faced by any Christian: how do we know God? Although 2000 years of Christendom has seen huge changes in our broader understanding of our place in the world, belief remains rooted in archaism and tradition. Rob Bell believes we need to drop our primitive, tribal views of God and instead embrace the God who wants us to reach the potential within us; people who understand their universe of quarks and quantum string dynamics, but who recognise our fundamental need for stories of heroes and sacrifice and profound longing for a guiding force larger than ourselves. 'What We Talk About When We Talk About God' will reveal that God is not in need of repair to catch him up with today's world, so much as we need to discover the God who goes before us and beckons us forward. A book full of mystery, controversy, and reverence, 'What We Talk About When We Talk About God' promises not to disappoint.

Acts is a book of action. But whose actions does it follow? The most obvious answer is the Apostles’.

The book’s full name is the Acts of the Apostles, for it recounts their efforts to take the gospel to the nations. Yet we can also think of it as the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Poured out like a mighty rushing wind (Acts 2:2), the Spirit empowered the Apostles’ witness and opened hearts to believe. In this volume, Dr. R.C. Sproul offers an in-depth study on the Spirit’s work through these Christians and in the growth and spread of the early church.

Dr. Sproul’s expositional commentaries help you understand key theological themes and apply them to all areas of your life. Drawn from decades of careful study and delivered from a pastor’s heart, these sermons are readable, practical, and thoroughly Bible-centered. Here is your opportunity to learn from a trusted teacher and theologian as he leads you through God’s Word and shares his perspective on living faithfully for God’s glory. This is a series to serve pastors, small groups, and growing Christians who want to know the Bible better.

The natural successor to the King James Version. The ESV is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty and readability. If you are thinking of changing from your existing Bible translation, the ESV with its timeless quality and enduring relevance could be a great choice. This new ESV edition with British text and words of Christ in red is ideal for individuals and churches and makes a perfect gift.Features* The words spoken by Christ highlighted in red text* 32 pages of full colour illustrations and maps, illustrated in precise accurate detail - bringing a fresh insight and in-depth understanding to the sites and events of the Bible* The rich and elegant writing of the King James version - but in its most readable and modern form* A comprehensive concordance* British text Endorsements"The ESV has transformed my personal reading of Scripture. My private Bible study has been so much better since I changed over to the ESV. Readable, theologically accurate-the ESV is surely the Bible for our times."Christopher CatherwoodAuthor and Speaker, Cambridge, England"The ESV is my translation of choice. I use it both for my personal study and when I preach and teach...It is the primary translation we use in the worship services at our church...I love it because of the translators' commitment to accuracy and it's very readable...My walk with the Lord and my ministry have been enriched and blessed through this wonderful translation."Dr. Crawford W. Loritts, Jr.Author, Speaker, Radio Host, Sr. Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church, Roswell, Georgia

How do Christians account for the widespread presence of goodness in a fallen world? Richard Mouw, one of the most influential evangelical voices in America, presents his mature thought on the topic of common grace. Addressing a range of issues relevant to engaging common grace in the 21st century, Mouw shows how God takes delight in all things that glorify him--even those that happen beyond the boundaries of the church--and defends the doctrine of common grace from its detractors.

In this incendiary new work, the controversial author and speaker Peter Rollins proclaims that the Christian faith is not primarily concerned with questions regarding life after death but with the possibility of life "before "death.
In order to unearth this truth, Rollins prescribes a radical and wholesale critique of contemporary Christianity that he calls "pyro-theology. "It is only as we submit our spiritual practices, religious rituals, and dogmatic affirmations to the flames of fearless interrogation that we come into contact with the reality that Christianity is in the business of transforming our world rather than offering a way of interpreting or escaping it. Belief in the Resurrection means but one thing: "Participation in an Insurrection."
""What Pete does in this book is take you to the edge of a cliff where you can see how high you are and how far you would fall if you lost your footing. And just when most writers would kindly pull you back from edge, he pushes you off, and you find yourself without any solid footing, disoriented, and in a bit of a panic...until you realize that your fall is in fact, a form of flying. And it's thrilling."
--"Rob Bell, author of "Love Wins "and "Velvet Elvis
""
"While others labor to save the Church as they know it, Peter Rollins takes an ax to the roots of the tree. Those who have enjoyed its shade will want to stop him, but his strokes are so clean and true that his motive soon becomes clear: this man trusts the way of death and resurrection so much that he has become fearless of religion."
"--Barbara Brown Taylor, author of "Leaving Church" and "An Altar in the World"
""Rollins writes and thinks like a new Bonhoeffer, crucifying the trappings of religion in order to lay bare a radical, religionless and insurrectional Christianity. A brilliant new voice--an activist, a storyteller and a theologian all in one--and not a moment too soon."
"--John D. Caputo, Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus, Syracuse University
""What does it mean when the Son of God cries out, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me'? Brilliantly, candidly, and faithfully, Rollins wrestles here with that question. You may not agree with his answers and conclusions, but you owe it to yourself and to the Church at large to read what he says." "--Phyllis Tickle, author, "The Great Emergence"
""Excellent thinking and excellent writing I hope this fine book receives the broad reading it deserves. It will change lives, and our understanding of what religion is all about "
"-- Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation; Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ramon Llull wrote the Doctrina pueril between 1274 and 1276 to provide minimum knowledge to those people---children, but also adults---who did not have the opportunity to acquire a sufficient doctrinal and intellectual education. In the late thirteenth century this meant stressing the basics of Christian doctrine and also accessing some aspects of general culture. The most important part of the Doctrina is dedicated to the catechism (articles of faith, commandments, sacraments, vices and virtues, and so on.). Especially interesting, however, are the more general sections, encyclopedic in nature, on issues such as the three monotheistic religions of the Mediterranean, the lessons that could be studied in the medieval universities, and other medical and scientific subjects. Published in association with Editorial Barcino. Ramon Llull (1232-1316) was a mystic, missionary, philosopher, and author of narrative and poetry. He is credited with writing the first major work of Catalan literature. John Dagenais is a senior professor of Medieval literature and specialist in Hispano-Latin manuscript culture at the University of California, Los Angeles.