Through his work as a physician, Karl Koenig explored the relationship between the rhythm of the seasons, the Christian festivals, thinking in particular about their effect on human beings and communities. This fascinating collection of Koenig's essays, lectures and notes looks at the cycle of the year and the different aspects of all the Christian festivals, from Easter to the Twelve Holy Days of Christmas. Koenig discusses the idea that human beings can derive inner strength from festival celebrations through an active social life and participation in community, and also that a strong, healthy community life relies on the celebration of festivals.

The links between religion and food have been known for centuries, and yet we rarely examine or understand the nature of the relationship between food and spirituality, or food and sin. Drawing on literature, politics, and philosophy as well as theology, this book unlocks the role food has played within religious tradition. * A fascinating book tracing the centuries-old links between theology and food, showing religion in a new and intriguing light * Draws on examples from different religions: the significance of the apple in the Christian Bible and the eating of bread as the body of Christ; the eating and fasting around Ramadan for Muslims; and how the dietary laws of Judaism are designed to create an awareness of living in the time and space of the Torah * Explores ideas from the fields of literature, politics, and philosophy, as well as theology * Takes seriously the idea that food matters, and that the many aspects of eating table fellowship, culinary traditions, the aesthetic, ethical and political dimensions of food are important and complex, and throw light on both religion and our relationship to food

"Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace." And with that sharp warning to his own church, which was engaged in bitter conflict with the official nazified state church, Dietrich Bonhoeffer began his book Discipleship (formerly entitled The Cost of Discipleship). Originally published in 1937, it soon became a classic exposition of what it means to follow Christ in a modern world beset by a dangerous and criminal government. At its center stands an interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount: what Jesus demanded of his followersand how the life of discipleship is to be continued in all ages of the post- resurrection church. "Every call of Jesus is a call to death," Bonhoeffer wrote. His own life ended in martyrdom on April 9, 1945. Freshly translated from the German critical edition, Discipleship provides a more accurate rendering of the text and extensive aids and commentary to clarify the meaning, context, and reception of this work and its attempt to resist the Nazi ideology then infecting German Christian churches.

Egeria, who was most probably a Spanish nun, visited the Holy Land only fifty years after the death of Constantine, making her work the earliest surviving account of the area. Her description of the Holy Land, particularly that of Jerusalem, are written with a loving attention to detail, making her the prime source of early Christian pilgrimage and worship. The third edition of John Wilkinson's well-known book is completely updated and as well as a translation of Egeria's account, includes a wealth of information about Egeria, her journey and early liturgy.

Nicholas Wolterstorff's distinguished career in philosophical theology continues to bear fruit, and here he shares his insight on the concepts of justice, art and liturgy. Although often discussed in isolation, as Wolterstorff masterfully demonstrates, they are bound together by divine love, and follow a common logical framework. Whether oriented towards the dignity of the other, the desire for creative engagement, or the infinite goodness of the creator, in every case unitive love is at their core. Wolterstorff explores all of this with consummate elegance, ultimately showing how each of the three topics find their fulfilment in the worship of God and in the affirmation of the image of God in each of us.

This new Pillar commentary devotes attention throughout to the vocabulary, historical background, special themes, and narrative purpose that make the book of Luke unique among the four Gospels. Though the Gentile focus of Luke is often held to be primary, James Edwards counterbalances that by citing numerous evidences of Luke's overarching interest in depicting Jesus as the fulfillment of the providential work of God in the history of Israel, and he considers the possibility that Luke himself was a Jew. Edwards also draws out other important thematic issues in excursuses scattered throughout the commentary, including discussion of Luke's infancy narrative, the mission of Jesus as the way of salvation, and Luke's depiction of the universal scope of the gospel. This readable, relevant commentary attends to the linguistic, historical, literary, and theological elements of Luke that are essential to its meaning and considers Luke's significance for the church and the life of faith today.

Series Information:
Radical Orthodoxy

What has theology to do with economics? They are both sciences of human action, but have traditionally been treated as very separate disciplines. Divine Economy is the first book to address the need for an active dialogue between the two.
D. Stephen Long traces three strategies which have been used to bring theology to bear on economic questions: the dominant twentieth-century tradition, of Weber's fact-value distinction; an emergent tradition based on Marxist social analysis; and a residual tradition that draws on an ancient understanding of a functional economy. He concludes that the latter approach shows the greatest promise because it refuses to subordinate theological knowledge to autonomous social-scientific research.
Divine Economy will be welcomed by those with an interest in how theology can inform economic debate.

Offers a study of the Japanese "hidden" Christians and the development of their faith and rituals from the 16th century to the present day. The Kakure Kirishitan are the descendants of the communities who maintained the Christian faith in Japan as an underground church during the time of persecution, and then chose to remain separate from the Catholic Church when religious toleration was granted in 1873. The island of Ikitsuku, where the most active Kakure are to be found, was an important centre of early Christianity, and its Kakure communities came into being when differences were perceived between the beliefs and practices they had preserved and orthodox Catholic teaching. Kakure worship consists of prayer and the eating of a communal meal. The prayers tend to be offered for worldly benefits, while the communal meal has close links to the Catholic Mass, but has also absorbed Shinto ceremonies involving feasting that were originally added as camouflage for Christian gatherings. The Kakure faith shares with Japanese religion a polytheistic and pluralistic nature, yet maintains a unique identity in which recognizable Christian elements are to be found. This study should have wide i

Discusses historical and contemporary aspects of pilgrimage within the Tibetan cultural world. Examines myths and legends, material conditions, textual sources, a modern pilgrim's impressions, political and economic influences, biographies and contemporary developments.

Landmarks help us to find ourselves when we think we are lost. When we don't know where to begin, they give us a starting point. When we think we know where we are, they give us the confidence to keep going. And if we think we have arrived, they remind us that there is always something more, somewhere beyond ... This is a book of Landmarks for the heart's journey. Written out of the author's own prayer and lived experience, and inspired by her practical explorations of the insights of St Ignatius Loyola, it opens up questions which concern us all: - How can we recognise God's ceaseless action in our lives and begin to discern his will? - What does 'fallenness' mean for us today? - How can we live true to ourselves and make decisions in freedom? - How do we penetrate our deepest desires and become free of the lesser attachments that obstruct them? Big questions - but as Margaret Silf shows, there are clues to be discovered in every moment and situation: at home, at work, in the garden, in the market, in the bath! Landmarks will help us discover and deepen our individual journeys. Written for both groups and individuals, it is illustrated with drawings and diagrams, and contains exercises and suggestions for prayer and reflection. Be warned, however. Landmarks are not for armchair pilgrims. They are for People of the Way.

Nine new studies address the phenomenon of the medieval pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, the legendary burying place of St. James.

This study discusses early Christian texts dealing with food, eating and fasting. Modern day eating disorders often equate food with sin and see fasting as an attempt to regain purity, an attitude which can also be observed in early Chritian beliefs in the mortification of the flesh. Describing first the historical and social context of Judaism and the Graeco-Roman world, the author then proceeds to analyze Christian attitudes towards food. Thus, a particular Christian mode of fasting is elaborated which influences us to the present day: ascetic fasting for the suppression of the sexual urges of the body. The book should be of use to those interested in early Christianity, and to those searching for historical roots of modern attitudes.

For over 1,500 years, believers from all Christian traditions have looked to St. Benedict, the patriarch of Western monasticism, for spiritual wisdom. And rightly so: his rule has shown how one may experience a simple, holy, and common sense life, despite the increasingly busy pace of our daily existence.

The latest addition to Liguori's popular series of seasonal meditation books provides not only Scripture readings for the seasons of Advent and Christmas, but pairs them with a daily selection from the cherished writings of St. Benedict. This book encourages the reader to set aside time each day to reflect upon a specific Scripture passage and feel the words speaking to their heart.

In contemporary Western society the church has been pushed to the margins, leading experts to describe the current era as a time 'after Christendom'. Many traditional churches and congregations are struggling, a condition worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic regulations. As the practice of churchgoing wanes, the performance of the sacrament is called into question. How can we bring the traditional, communal experience of sacrament into the modern world? In Sacraments after Christendom, Andrew Francis and Janet Sutton tackle this question head-on, exploring and discussing the enactment of the sacrament in the context of church decline and an increasingly isolated world. In doing so, they deconstruct traditional perceptions and broaden our understanding of ritual and community in order to rediscover the truth of the sacrament.

Scholars across many fields have come to realize that ritual is an integral element of human life and a vital aspect of all human societies. Yet, this realization has been slow to develop among scholars of early Christianity. Early Christian Ritual Life attempts to counteract the undervaluing of ritual by placing it at the forefront of early Christian life. Rather than treating ritual in isolation or in a fragmentary way, this book examines early Christian ritual life as a whole. The authors explore an array of Christian ritual activity, employing theory critically and explicitly to make sense of various ritual behaviors and their interconnections. Written by leading experts in their fields, this collection is divided into three parts: * Interacting with the Divine * Group Interactions * Contesting and Creating Ritual Protocols. This book is ideal for religious studies students seeking an introduction to the dynamic research areas of ritual studies and early Christian practice.

This book presents a unique effort to create a new understanding of the Christian sign of the cross. At its core, it traces the conscious and unconscious influence of this visual symbol through time. What began as the crucifixion of a Jewish troublemaker in Roman-occupied Judea in the first century eventually gave rise to a broad spectrum of readings of the instrument used to accomplish such a punishment, a cross. The author argues that Jesus was a provocative, grandiose masochist whose suffering and death initially signified redemption for believers. This idea gradually morphed into a Christian sense of freedom to persecute and wage war against non-believers, however, as can be seen in the Crusades ("wars of the cross"). Many believers even construed the murder of their savior as a crime perpetrated by "the Jews," and this paranoid notion culminated in the mass murder of European Jews under the sign of the Nazi hooked cross (Hakenkreuz). Rancour-Laferriere's book is expertly written and argued; it will be readable to a large audience because it touches on many areas of controversy, interest, and scholarship. The work is critical, but not unfair; it employs psychoanalysis, art history (the study of the symbol of the cross in works of art), religion and religious texts, and world history generally. The interweaving of these various themes is what gives this work its ability to draw in readers and will ultimately be what keeps the reader interested through the conclusion.

Featuring large clear print, the "Song Book" contains the words to 100 popular songs that are ideal for group sing-along sessions. The book is divided into six sections: traditional folk songs, choruses from old time variety, songs from World War II, post-war evergreens, hymns, and Christmas songs.

In this volume, Gregg Allison offers an overview of specific doctrines and practices that unite and distinguish different churches and denominations as each finds its unique expression through churches' views of identity, leadership, church government, sacraments, ministries, and the future.

The Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians in Northern Greece who observe a unique annual ritual cycle focused on two festivals, dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. The festivals involve processions, music, dancing, animal sacrifices, and culminate in an electrifying fire-walking ritual. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. 'The Burning Saints' presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, 'The Burning Saints' traces the historical development and sociocultural context of the Greek fire-walking rituals. As a cognitive ethnography, the book aims to identify the social, psychological and neurobiological factors which may be involved and to explore the role of emotional and physiological arousal in the performance of such ritual. A study of participation, experience and meaning, 'The Burning Saints' presents a highly original analysis of how mental processes can shape social and religious behaviour.

When Christine Morgan got Richard Coles, Kate Bottley and Giles Fraser together in a studio, all she had to do was plug them in and let them go. The dynamic between the three meant there were moments of real connection and poignancy alongside the laughter: 'I'm exaggerating for comic effect,' Kate announced after one particularly outrageous anecdote, 'It's one of the reasons we're here.' Each realized in the course of conversation that they favoured one of the three rites of passage: Giles: Baptism because you enter into the body of Christ Richard: Funerals because they take you into the mystery of God Kate: Weddings because you get to wear nice shoes Engagingly introduced by Christine Morgan, the book ends with the profoundly moving episode (recorded remotely in the three vicars' homes) that was broadcast on Easter Sunday 2020, to a world in crisis.

The NASB Pew and Worship Bible is perfect for any church pew or classroom and matches page-for-page with the NASB Preacher's Bible. While both Bibles retain their own distinct page layout and font size, they were skillfully designed so that the pages of these two different Bibles begin and end with the same word. This will allow pastors and congregations to literally be on the same page during sermons. Universally recognized as the gold standard among word-for-word translations, the beloved New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition, is now easier to read with Zondervan's exclusive NASB Comfort Print (R) typeface. Features The full text of the New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition Matches page-for-page with the NASB Preacher's Bible Premium, durable hardcover binding High-quality paper Double-column, verse-by-verse format Exclusive Zondervan NASB Comfort Print typeface 9-point print size

The issue of baptism has troubled Protestants for centuries. Should infants be baptized before their faith is conscious, or does God command the baptism of babies whose parents have been baptized? Popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight makes a biblical case for infant baptism, exploring its history, meaning, and practice and showing that infant baptism is the most historic Christian way of forming children into the faith. He explains that the church's practice of infant baptism developed straight from the Bible and argues that it must begin with the family and then extend to the church. Baptism is not just an individual profession of faith: it takes a family and a church community to nurture a child into faith over time. McKnight explains infant baptism for readers coming from a tradition that baptizes adults only, and he counters criticisms that fail to consider the role of families in the formation of faith. The book includes a foreword by Todd Hunter and an afterword by Gerald McDermott.