The Nun in the Synagogue documents the religious and cultural phenomenon of Judeocentric Catholicism that arose in the wake of the Holocaust, fueled by survivors who converted to Catholicism and immigrated to Israel as well as by Catholics determined to address the anti-Judaism inherent in the Church. Through an ethnographic study of selected nuns and monks, Emma O'Donnell Polyakov explores how this Judeocentric Catholic phenomenon began and continues to take shape in Israel. This book is a case study in Catholic perceptions of Jews, Judaism, and the state of Israel during a time of rapidly changing theological and cultural contexts. In it, Polyakov listens to and analyzes the stories of individuals living on the border between Christian and Jewish identity-including Jewish converts to Catholicism who continue to harbor a strong sense of Jewish identity and philosemitic Catholics who attend synagogue services every Shabbat. Polyakov traces the societal, theological, and personal influences that have given rise to this phenomenon and presents a balanced analysis that addresses the hermeneutical problems of interpreting Jews through Christian frameworks. Ultimately, she argues that, despite its problems, this movement signals a pluralistic evolution of Catholic understandings of Judaism and may prove to be a harbinger of future directions in Jewish-Christian relations. Highly original and methodologically sophisticated, The Nun in the Synagogue is a captivating exploration of biographical narratives and reflections on faith, conversion, Holocaust trauma, Zionism, and religious identity that lays the groundwork for future research in the field.

In The Names of God, as in his previous study, Toward a Grammar of Biblical Poetics (OUP, 1992), Herbert Brichto continues to argue against the atomistic readings of the Hebrew Bible by the currently dominant schools of Biblical scholarship. He maintains, that despite the repetitions and self contradictions found in the Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch possesses an aesthetic and ideological wholeness. Its harmonious blend of stories and structures inform one another as they give shape and meaning to the relationship and expectations between a benevolent God and recalcitrant humankind. In particular, Bichto focuses his "poetic" reading on the Book of Genesis. He uses the methods of contemporary literary criticism to examine one of the greatest inconsistencies within Genesis, the alternating use of Yahweh (the Lord) and Elohim (God) as names for the Deity. Often cited as the proof of multiple authorship, Brichto shows, instead, that this "inconsistency" serves as a device for a single author, using the specific name that is appropriate to each specific story. Brichto then proceeds to overturn other multiple-author proofs, including variations in genealogies, eponyms, and chronologies. He shows that their variety, ingenuity, and imaginative whimsy serve a vital poetic function in the structure of the text as a whole. Finding a unity in this diversity of genres, styles, and devices, Brichto overturns many of the assumptions of current scholarship as he solidifies his thesis of single authorship.

Frederick G. Lawrence is the authoritative interpreter of the work of Bernard Lonergan and an incisive reader of twentieth-century continental philosophy and hermeneutics. The Fragility of Consciousness is the first published collection of his essays and contains several of his best known writings as well as unpublished work. The essays in this volume exhibit a long interdisciplinary engagement with the relationship between faith and reason in the context of the crisis of culture that has marked twentieth- and twenty-first century thought and practice. Frederick G. Lawrence, with his profound and generous commitment to the intellectual life of the church, has produced a body of work that engages with Heidegger, Gadamer, Habermas, Ricoeur, Strauss, Voegelin, and Benedict XVI among others. These essays also explore various themes such as the role of religion in a secular age, political theology, economics, neo-Thomism, Christology, and much more. In an age marked by social, cultural, political, and ecclesial fragmentation, Lawrence models a more generous way - one that prioritizes friendship, conversation, and understanding above all else.

This book offers help for dealing with the practical issues of life most people struggle with daily. The approach of the author is to make perceptive insights, and to offer control steps and redeeming responses, most of which are based on sound biblical teaching. No matter what is your status in life, whether from the perspectives of financial strength or weakness or official position or authority rank and power, or otherwise, you cannot escape life's struggles. Therefore, this book is for you. Here are some of the issues analyzed for your benefit: Honor Marriage Create your Future Pursue God's Goals Let God take Charge Take Eight Great Steps Understand Happiness Rise above Peer Pressure Have a Positive Mind-set Perceive God's Objectives Face death with Confidence The author challenges cuttingly and comprehensively -- everyone. He writes so that whatever might be the nature of your 'tough times' there are strategies, he shows, based on sound principles of spirituality and integrity, for succeeding in struggling victoriously.

What does "death" really mean? Is there life after death? Is that idea even intelligible? Despite our constant confrontation with death there has been little serious philosophical reflection on the meaning of death and even less on the classical question of immortality. Popular books on "death and dying" abound, but they are largely manuals for dying with composure, or individual "near death" experiences of light at the end of the tunnel. This lively conversation includes various views on these matters, from John Lachs's gentle but firm insistence that the notion of immortality is philosophically unintelligible, to Jurgen Moltmann's brave and careful examination of various arguments for what happens to us when we die. David Roochnik searches the Platonic dialogues for a metaphorical immortality which might satisfy the human longing for some meaning which does not die with us. Aaron Garrett traces the naturalization of the idea of immortality from Scotus to Locke in the history of Western philosophy, and David Schmidtz offers autobiographical reflections in shaping his philosophy of life's meaning. David Eckel takes us through a synopsis of Buddhist ideas on these issues, and Brian Jorgensen offers a response. Rita Rouner uses the poems she wrote after the death of her son to chronicle a survivor's struggle with life and death. Peter Gomes casts a critical eye on our death rituals, and defends a classical Christian view of death and immortality, while Wendy Doniger examines the literature on those who were offered immortality by the gods and chose instead to remain mortal.

This book offers the first in-depth treatment in English language of Habermas's long-awaited work on religion, Auch eine Geschichte der Philosophie, published in 2019. Charting the contingent origins and turning points of occidental thinking through to the current "postmetaphysical" stage, the two volumes provide striking insights into the intellectual streams and conflicts in which core components of modern self-understanding have been forged. The encounter of Greek metaphysics with biblical monotheism has led to a theology of history as salvation, expanding in bold arcs from Adam's Fall to Christ and the Last Judgement. The reconstruction of key turns in the relationship between faith and knowledge ends, however, with locating the uniqueness of religion in "ritual" and defining reason as inherently secular. The book exposes the sources and trajectories, analysed by Habermas with great erudition, to different assessments in biblical studies, theology, and philosophy of subjectivity. Apart from Paul and Augustine, key lines of continuity are identified in the Gospels, early patristic theology, Duns Scotus and Schleiermacher that retain the internal connection of faith to autonomous freedom.

In this work, Jobling argues that religious sensibility in the Western world is in a process of transformation, but that we see here change, not decline, and that the production and consumption of the fantastic in popular culture offers an illuminating window onto spiritual trends and conditions. She examines four major examples of the fantastic genre: the "Harry Potter" series (Rowling), "His Dark Materials" (Pullman), "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (Whedon) and the "Earthsea cycle" (Le Guin), demonstrating that the spiritual universes of these four iconic examples of the fantastic are actually marked by profoundly modernistic assumptions, raising the question of just how contemporary spiritualities (often deemed postmodern) navigate philosophically the waters of truth, morality, authority, selfhood and the divine. Jobling tackles what she sees as a misplaced disregard for the significance of the fantasy genre as a worthy object for academic investigation by offering a full-length, thematic, comparative and cross-disciplinary study of the four case-studies proposed, chosen because of their significance to the field and because these books have all been posited as exemplars of a 'postmodern' religious sensibility. This work shows how attentiveness to spiritual themes in cultural icons can offer the student of theology and religions insight into the framing of the moral and religious imagination in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries and how this can prompt traditional religions to reflect on whether their own narratives are culturally framed in a way resonating with the 'signs of the times'.

Abraham Abulafia (1240 - c. 1291) founded an enormously influential branch of Jewish mysticism, referred to as the prophetic or ecstatic kabbalah. This book, from several perspectives, explores the impact of Christianity upon Abulafia. His copious writings evince an intense fascination with Christian themes, yet Abulafia's frequent diatribes against Jesus and Christianity reveal him to be deeply conflicted in his relationship to his southern European religious neighbors. This book undertakes a careful study of Abulafia's writings, suggesting that the recognition of an inner dynamic of attraction and revulsion toward the forbidden other provides a crucial key to understanding Abulafia's mystical hermeneutic and his meditative practice. It also demonstrates that Abulafia's uneasy relationship to Christianity shaped the very core of his mystical doctrine.

Norgate assesses the way in which the Christian doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation for all other Christian doctrines, especially the Christian understanding of salvation. He investigates in detail the approach of the German Lutheran theologian, Isaac A. Dorner (1809-1884) to this question. Analysis of his arguments concerning the priority of the doctrine of God for Christian belief and dogmatics is given. It examines the form of his doctrine of God's triunity, and gives an extensive study of how Dorner's particular account of God's triune identity informs the Christian conception of God's relation to the world, first, as Creator and, second, as Saviour. In this process, it seeks to refocus attention on Dorner as a major figure in the development of modern theology. The relationship between Dorner's doctrines of the triune God and salvation is assessed. Dorner's positive reconstruction of the Christian idea of God as Trinity provides helpful resources in delineating a non-competitive account of God's relation to the world. This means that God is not confused with nor distant from the world. The eternal vitality of God's immanent personality is the basis of His vital economic activity, which culminates in the incarnation of the Son. We follow the main tributaries of Dorner's arguments in System of Christian Faith, beginning with an analysis of his doctrine of God, via his development of the doctrines of creation, humanity, and the incarnation of the God-man. An assessment is given of those doctrines which pertain to the way in which God brings salvation through Jesus Christ: sin, Jesus, and atonement. Norgate concludes by comparing Dorner's achievements with those found in more recent theologies of atonement. "T&T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology" is a series of monographs in the field of Christian doctrine, with a particular focus on constructive engagement with major topics through historical analysis or contemporary restatement.

Learn tools and techniques you can use in any Biblical study and then explore the History of Israel. Use what you learn to analyze Old Testament prophecies and apocalyptic writings - all in preparation for comparing accounts of what Jesus told His disciples on the Mount of Olives and for analyzing the Revelation given to John. Round out your experience with in-depth studies of end-times players such as the Antichrist and the 144,000 'redeemed from the earth'. Finally, explore in great detail the major rapture positions and challenges presented by each.Ron Braley's book, Finding the End of the World, is a great resource for any serious student of God's Word. However, it will frustrate those who look to it for easy answers to questions surrounding the books of Daniel and Revelation, events of the End Times, and eschatological controversies. Instead, the author gives the reader and student the tools to delve into the Scriptures and discover the answers. Caution: This may lead the reader to question and even jettison some previously held views of the End of Times. While offering historical and theological background materials to consider, I believe the greatest value of this book is the study tools, guides and exercises it offers each student. The result is creating students of the Bible who know how to read and study for themselves. Ron Almberg, Jr. (B.A., Th.B., M.Div.).Ron Braley lives in Texas with Joanne, his wife of 27 years. They have 4 grown children and 2 grandchildren. Passion for spreading the Gospel and helping others to build their faith has led to the development of this comprehensive guide and the creation of Finding Discipleship, Inc. Please visit www.findingrevelation.com for free instructor materials, discussion boards, and opportunities to contribute to the discipleship cause.

Liberal Christian theology permeates mainlines denominations and progressive circles of the church to this day. But what is liberal theology? What are progressive Christians progressing toward, and what are they leaving behind?

In Against Liberal Theology, professor and theologian Roger E. Olson warns progressive and mainline Christians against passively accepting the ideas of liberal theology without thinking through the consequences. In doing so, he examines the basic beliefs of the Christian faith, the main ideas of liberal theology, the way today's mainline and progressive Christianity relates to classic liberalism, and how classic Christian faith and liberal Christianity connect and contradict. Following in the footsteps of Gresham Machen's now-classic Christianity and Liberalism 100 years ago, Olson worries that liberal Christianity may not be Christianity but a different religion altogether.

After examining the origins of liberal theology in the nineteenth century, Olson examines how liberal theology views:

• Sources of truth
• The Bible
• God
• Jesus Christ
• Salvation
• The Future

Gentle but direct, Olson provides an even-handed assessment and critique of the ideas of liberal theology and worries that liberal Christianity has strayed too far from the classic Christian orthodoxy of the fathers and creeds to be considered "Christian" at all.

This rhetorical study of the various language strategies and competing worldviews involved in the 140-year argument between Biblical creationists and Darwinian evolutionists focuses on the 1860 Huxley/Wilberforce debate, the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, and the 1981 Arkansas Creation-Science Trial. When Darwin published his Origins of Species in 1859, he initiated a debate about the origin of human life and the role of God in human affairs scarcely equalled in world history. Smout traces the response of Biblical creationists to Darwinian evolutionists. Looking carefully at the stories told and the tactics used by both sides, he analyzes all available accounts of the original debate culminating in the 1860 Huxley/Wilberforce debate, the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, and the 1981 Arkansas Creation-Science Trial. Professor Smout argues that both sides in the controversy use various language strategies to persuade the culture as a whole to see the world that they see and to enact their position as public policy. As Smout illustrates, the problem is that both sides rely on an inadequate conception of language as a namer of timeless realities rather than as an instrument used by human communities to achieve their goals. He attempts to articulate a better view of language and to show how it might help solve intractable arguments such as this. He argues that we should see language as a tool that shapes what we see, and definitions of terms as political acts rather than statements of fact made by disciplinary experts. An important analysis for students and scholars in rhetoric, history, religion, and sociology.

In addition to three scrolls containing the Book of Joshua, the Qumran caves brought to light five previously unknown texts rewriting this book. These scrolls (4Q123, 4Q378, 4Q379, 4Q522, 5Q9), as well as a scroll from Masada (Mas 1039-211), are commonly referred to as the Apocryphon of Joshua. While each of these manuscripts has received some scholarly attention, no attempt has yet been made to offer a detailed study of all these texts. The present monograph fills this gap by providing improved editions of the six scrolls, an up-to-date commentary and a detailed discussion of the biblical exegesis embedded in each scroll. The analysis of the texts is followed by a reassessment of the widely accepted view considering 4Q123, 4Q378, 4Q379, 4Q522, 5Q9 and Mas 1039-211 as copies of a single composition. Finally, the monograph attempts to place the Qumran scrolls rewriting the Book of Joshua within the wider context of Second Temple Jewish writings concerned with the figure of Joshua.

Kenneth Cragg was one of the West's most gifted interpreters of Islam and one of the most well-known figures of the Middle Eastern Church. During his 45 years in the Middle East, Cragg was an assistant Bishop of Jerusalem and scholar, he focussed on the Christian understanding of other faiths, particularly Islam. A major figure in Christian-Muslim conversations he was a prolific writer whose books became a forum of intellectual debate about Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. This set re-issues two of his lesser-known but no less important books, which illustrate his deep knowledge of the Qur'an and his lifelong interest in Islamic and Christian theology.

For the first time classic readings on Jesus from outside of Christianity have been brought together in one volume. Jesus Beyond Christianity: The Classic Texts features significant passages on Jesus from Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. The fifty-six selections span two millennia of thought, including translated extracts from the Talmud and the Qur'an, and writings by Mahatma Gandhi and the 14th Dalai Lama.
The volume features fresh translations of important texts, 'Key-Issues' introductions, questions for discussion and guides for further reading. Importantly, each set of readings ends with an entirely fresh reflection from a leading scholar in the field. Every care has been taken to present these often controversial passages in a manner consistent with the aims of their authors; accompanying notes directly address challenging issues.
This unique collection of readings promises to become an essential resource in the study of the world's religions, providing rich guidance for anyone seeking to understand the central convergences and debates between religious traditions.

Learn tools and techniques you can use in any Biblical study and then explore the History of Israel. Use what you learn to analyze Old Testament prophecies and apocalyptic writings - all in preparation for comparing accounts of what Jesus told His disciples on the Mount of Olives and for analyzing the Revelation given to John. Round out your experience with in-depth studies of end-times players such as the Antichrist and the 144,000 'redeemed from the earth'. Finally, explore in great detail the major rapture positions and challenges presented by each.Ron Braley's book, Finding the End of the World, is a great resource for any serious student of God's Word. However, it will frustrate those who look to it for easy answers to questions surrounding the books of Daniel and Revelation, events of the End Times, and eschatological controversies. Instead, the author gives the reader and student the tools to delve into the Scriptures and discover the answers. Caution: This may lead the reader to question and even jettison some previously held views of the End of Times. While offering historical and theological background materials to consider, I believe the greatest value of this book is the study tools, guides and exercises it offers each student. The result is creating students of the Bible who know how to read and study for themselves. Ron Almberg, Jr. (B.A., Th.B., M.Div.).Ron Braley lives in Texas with Joanne, his wife of 27 years. They have 4 grown children and 2 grandchildren. Passion for spreading the Gospel and helping others to build their faith has led to the development of this comprehensive guide and the creation of Finding Discipleship, Inc. Please visit www.findingrevelation.com for free instructor materials, discussion boards, and opportunities to contribute to the discipleship cause.

In The Givenness of Desire, Randall S. Rosenberg examines the human desire for God through the lens of Lonergan's "concrete subjectivity." Rosenberg engages and integrates two major scholarly developments: the tension between Neo-Thomists and scholars of Henri de Lubac over our natural desire to see God and the theological appropriation of the mimetic theory of Rene Girard, with an emphasis on the saints as models of desire. With Lonergan as an integrating thread, the author engages a variety of thinkers, including Hans Urs von Balthasar, Jean-Luc Marion, Rene Girard, James Alison, Lawrence Feingold, and John Milbank, among others. The theme of concrete subjectivity helps to resist the tendency of equating too easily the natural desire for being with the natural desire for God without at the same time acknowledging the widespread distortion of desire found in the consumer culture that infects contemporary life. The Givenness of Desire investigates our paradoxical desire for God that is rooted in both the natural and supernatural.