The Catholic Church has approved only a handful of Marian apparitions including Fatima, Lourdes, Akita and some others. One Message One Truth is based on a comment made by Cardinal Ratzinger who said the '3rd Secret of Fatima', "has been said again and again in many other Marian apparitions." This book investigates what that message could be.

God has assumed a significant role in the sex lives of believers. It is God who decrees which types of sexual expression are permitted, and which forbidden. Through the Church, a patriarchal sexual landscape has been enacted to control sexual bodies which exerts its influence even in our secular culture.

The Good News of the Body is a wide-ranging anthology on feminist sexual theology. Noting that Jesus, while being declared divine, took human form, the volume questions what happens when the flesh, rather than the Word, is placed at the center of theological reflection. What happens when women's bodies form the incarnational starting point for sexual politics and theology? Contributors, including Rosemary Ruether, Mary Hunt, and Melissa Raphael, examine such topics as the possibility of a Roman Catholic approach to sexuality bringing together the three aspects of Christian love of eros, philia, and agape; Jewish sexual and mystical teaching; the de-sexing of the disabled; erotic celibacy; human sexuality and the concept of the goddess; and the sometimes surprisingly similar conclusions about contraception reached by feminists and popes.

In India, God can be female. The goddesses of Hinduism and Buddhism represent the largest extant collection of living goddesses anywhere on the planet. Feminists in the West often draw upon South Asian goddesses as theological resources in the contemporary rediscovery of the Goddess. Yet, these goddesses are products of a male supremacist society.

What is the impact of powerful female deities--their images, projections, textuality, and history--on the social standing and psychological health of women? Do they empower women, or serve the interests of patriarchal culture? Is the Goddess a Feminist? looks at the goddesses of South Asia to address these questions directly.

Not a book about a single goddess or even about a variety of South Asian goddesses, the volume raises questions about images of deities as symbols and the ways in which they function. Contributors discuss contemporary Indian women who have embraced goddesses as spiritually and socially liberating, as well as the seeming contradictions between the power of Indian goddesses and the lives of Indian women. They also explore such topics as the element of male desire in the embodiment of female deities, the question of who speaks for the goddesses, and the politics and theology of Western feminist use of Hindu and Buddhist goddesses as models for their feminist reflections.

Wittgenstein published next to nothing on the philosophy of religion and yet his conception of religious belief has been both enormously influential and hotly contested. In the contemporary literature, Wittgenstein has variously been labelled a fideist, a non-cognitivist and a relativist of sorts. This Element shows that all of these readings are misguided and seriously at odds, not just with what Wittgenstein says about religious belief, but with his entire later philosophy. This Element also argues that Wittgenstein presents us with an important 'third way' of understanding religious belief - one that does not fall into the trap of either assimilating religious beliefs to ordinary empirical or scientific beliefs or seeking to reduce them to the expression of certain attitudes.

The Confessions of Our Faith with ESV Proofs is based on the Burgess manuscript and the Caruthers edition, with minor exceptions added by the First American Presbyterian Assembly of 1789 and the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. Also, this edition will include a new historical background by Dr. David Calhoun, wordsmithing and editing by Rev. Brian Kinney, and a Westminster Abbey Historical Tour (pictorial). Words and phrases such as maketh, giveth, withal, sundry times, divers manners, etc. will be edited to reflect standard English usage; however, all theological terms will be retained. Endorsers include: Iain H. Murray, Jerry Bridges, Dominic Aquila, Charles Dunahoo, Timothy Russell.

The seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), was perhaps the twentieth century's most well-known Orthodox Jewish leader. For over forty years, as spiritual leader of the Habad-Lubavitch Hasidic Movement, he spearheaded the worldwide reconstruction of post-Holocaust Jewish religious life, inspiring a re-awakening of Jewish awareness and observance in as many as fifty countries. His initiatives impacted on many individuals formerly far removed from Jewish living. This work is the culmination of five years of intensive research into Rabbi Schneerson's writings undertaken for the doctoral degree within the Graduate School of Education at Melbourne's La Trobe University. It is the first systematic analysis of Rabbi Schneerson's educational philosophy conducted according to strict academic criteria.

Explores how the classical Islamic tradition has been retrieved, reformed and reshaped in the modern Islamic worldRecent events in the Islamic world have demonstrated the endurance, neglect and careful reshaping of the classical Islamic heritage. A range of modern Islamic movements and intellectuals has sought to reclaim certain concepts, ideas, persons and trends from the Islamic tradition. This book profiles some of the fundamental debates that have defined the conversation between the past and the present in the Islamic world. Qur'anic exegesis, Islamic law, gender, violence and eschatology are just some of the key themes in this study of the Islamic tradition's vitality in the modern Islamic world. This book will allow readers to situate modern developments in the Islamic world within the 'longue duree' of Islamic history and thought.Key FeaturesBrings clarity to modern trends, events and debates in the Islamic world by placing them in their longer historical trajectoriesBrings together experts of the medieval and modern Islamic worldProvides an examination of how the classical Islamic heritage functions in today's Islamic world in regions as diverse as the Middle East, Iran and the Indian subcontinentCase Studies IncludeJihad Treatise Impact in IndiaJihadist PropagandaWomen's Legal Testimony in IslamIslamic Legal Issues in Iran

Death and the Afterlife comprise the latest frontier of human knowledge and awareness. Rabbi Solomon addresses the Jewish perspective on the soul's afterlife journey. As a work of practical spirituality, The Jewish Book of Living and Dying applies traditional Jewish concepts to help us meet the difficult times we all face.

The 38th chapter of the Revival of the Religious Sciences, this treatise follows on from "Al-Ghazali on Intention, Sincerity & Truthfulness." Here, Ghazali focuses on the different stations of steadfastness in religion (murabaha), vigilance and self-examination being its cornerstones. As in all his writings, Ghazali bases his arguments on the Qur an, the example of the Prophet, and the sayings of numerous scholars and Sufis. As relevant today as it was in the 11th century, this discourse will be of interest to anyone concerned with ethics and moral philosophy."

The 17th and 18th centuries have been regarded as one of the most exciting periods in the history of Hungary and Transylvania. The wars of liberation to terminate the Ottoman occupation, the integration of the Transylvanian Principality into the Habsburg Empire after 150-years relative independence, the colonisation of the uncultivated lands during the Ottoman rule, the re-organisation of daily life and Prince Francis (Ferenc) Rákóczis independence war (17031711) indicated serious challenges for the Habsburg Court in Vienna. This period (16861711) felled serious duties to the Hungarian Catholic Church, too. Prior to these duties, the process of Counter-Reformation in Hungarys eastern and northern regions was getting increasingly under way: Orthodox Ruthenians and Romanians in Transylvania united with the Roman Catholic Church. The bishops, who were highly supported by the missionaries delegated from Rome in order to re-organise the Hungarian Catholic Churchs religious life, re-appeared at the seats of the abandoned dioceses after the 150-years Ottoman occupation and nearly 110-years pressure from the strong Protestantism supported by the Princes of Transylvania. The Armenians church-union in Transylvania must be, in fact, analysed in this church-historical context. The history of Armenians in Transylvania, escaping from Moldavia and Podolia between 1668 and 1672, should be regarded practically as an undiscovered area from both the Hungarian and international church-historical point of view. The church-union of the Armenians in Transylvania is primarily associated with Bishop Oxendio Virzirescos (16541715), an Armenian Uniate cleric educated at Collegium Urbanum in Rome, missionary efforts. In this work, I have tried to look for evident responses to these afore-mentioned problems, resting on the partly discovered and undiscovered sources as well as analysing critically a few of secondary literature.

This book explores the constant of natural existence, the principle that governs the perennial emergence of the world. As understood in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, this principle is "creation" in the sense that everything in the universe comes into existence through the creative command of God. Thus the past, present, and future of nature can be explained by the same fundamental metaphysical tenet. The principle of creation is explored here in the context of Islamic metaphysical tradition and the Qur'anic discourse. Drawing parallels to the contemporary Christian theology, this book aims to help readers better understand God's creative command in terms of both its essence and effect.

"Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya on Knowledge: from Key to the Blissful Abode (Miftah Dar al-Sa`ada)" is an abridgement of the first volume of "Key to the Blissful Abode", a popular title by the renowned theologian and jurist Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya. In it, Ibn al-Qayyim focuses on the importance of knowledge and willpower, as means through which a person may attain Paradise. Willpower is the door and knowledge-in particular, knowledge which pertains to God and His Attributes, the Qur'an and the example of the Prophet-is the key. Ibn al-Qayyim discusses the virtues and benefits of knowledge over wealth and worldly matters; the path to knowledge; the importance of pursuing knowledge and applying it to gain guidance from God and protect oneself from doubts; the superiority of the scholar over the worshipper; the necessity of using knowledge and willpower as the bases for all actions if one is to achieve spiritual bliss. Ibn al-Qayyim then concludes "Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya on Knowledge: from Key to the Blissful Abode", by discussing the importance of contemplation and reflection in order to attain further knowledge and guidance.

Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed addressed Jews of his day who felt challenged by apparent contradictions between Torah and science. We Are Not Alone: A Maimonidean Theology of the Other uses Maimonides' writings to address Jews of today who are perplexed by apparent contradictions between the morality of the Torah and their conviction that all human beings are created in the image of God and are the object of divine concern, that other religions have value, that genocide is never justified, and that slavery is evil. Individuals who choose to emphasize the moral and universalist elements of Jewish tradition can often find support in positions explicitly held by Maimonides or implied by his teachings. We Are Not Alone offers an ethical and universalist vision of traditionalist Judaism.

Voted one of Christianity Today's Books of the Year What is the fate of those who die never hearing the gospel? Do Hindus, Jews, agnostics and others who do not profess faith in Christ really suffer damnation after death? These and similar questions have long been contemplated by people from every religious persuasion and every walk of life. But in a culture of increasing diversity and growing doubt in the existence of "objective truth," it seems ever more pressing. In this Spectrum Multiview volume three scholars present the span of evangelical conviction on the destiny of the unevangelized. Ronald Nash argues the restrictivist position, that receptive knowledge of Jesus Christ in this life is necessary to salvation. Gabriel Fackre advocates divine perseverance, with the expectation that those who die unevangelized receive an opportunity for salvation after death. And John Sanders sets forth the inclusivist case-asserting that though God saves people only through the work of Jesus Christ, some may be saved even if they do not know about Christ. As each scholar presents his own case and responds to strengths and weaknesses of differing positions, readers are treated to a lively and informative debate. What About Those Who Have Never Heard? is a truly helpful book on one of today's-and every day's-most crucial questions. Spectrum Multiview Books offer a range of viewpoints on contested topics within Christianity, giving contributors the opportunity to present their position and also respond to others in this dynamic publishing format.

How did the Christian Church originate, what journeys has it taken over two millennia, and how did it come to exist in its present, myriad forms? The answers to these questions form a tapestry of history that reaches from first century Palestine to the ends of the earth. This volume tells this rich story from an ecumenical perspective, drawing on both Eastern and Western historic sources in exploring the rise of Eastern Orthodoxy; the church across Asia, Africa, and the Americas; and the reformations of the Western Church; including the diversity of contemporary voices. The work benefits from many pedagogical features: - boxed text sections identifying central figures and points of debate - study questions for each chapter - chapter summaries - maps --charts --index Supplemented by over 400 illustrations, this book embraces the universality of historic and current Christianity, creating a single and comprehensive volume for students of Church history and systematic theology.

This fourth edition of Arab Theologians on Jews and Israel will allow a worldwide public to read what was discussed at the Fourth Conference of the Academy of Islamic Research at Al Azhar (1968) and preached by ulema in mosques more than 40 years ago on Jews, Judaism and Israel - throughout the Arab-Middle East, and taught in schools. Arab Theologians on Jews and Israel was originally published in 1971 by "D.F. Green" and has enjoyed three previous printings in English, two in French and one in German, and a circulation of over 80,000 to date. With the 2011 reprint of the Fourth Edition of this book, it is revealed officially in the preface that "D.F. Green" was, in fact, the pseudonym of historian David G. Littman and his co-author Professor Yehoshafat Harkabi of the Hebrew University. The book contains excerpts from speeches given at the Fourth Conference of the Academy of Islamic Research in 1968, which was convened in Cairo to discuss the fundamentals of the Middle East conflict, a year after the Six-Day War between Israel and her neighbors, which resulted in a decisive Israeli victory. In addition to excerpts from speeches by high officials, excerpts from eighteen papers presented at the conference are included, as well as the recommendations and names of participants. At the end, there are additional extracts from revealing statements by Anwar El Sadat in 1953, 1972 and 1975 and from Anis Mansour (1972-1975). The organization that held the conference excerpted in Arab Theologians on Jews and Israel, the Academy of Islamic Research, was founded and linked with Cairo's Al-Azhar University fifty years ago in 1961. A PDF of the Fourth Edition, created by Brian of London, can be found here: http: //supportsecurefreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/Arab-Theologians-on-Jews-and-Israel-4th_Ed_082011.pdf

The incarnation of God in Jesus poses numerous challenges for the historical consciousness. How does a particular human at a particular time embody the eternal? And how does that embodiment work itself out in faith across the centuries? A gulf would appear to stand between what Christians say about Christ and the historical event of the man Jesus; indeed, the true reality of the incarnation seems unspeakable. Unspeakable Cults considers the nature and potential resolution of the conflict between the relativistic assumptions of the modern historical worldview and the classical Christian assertion of the absolute status of Jesus of Nazareth as God's saving incarnation in history. Paul DeHart contends that an understanding of Jesus' history is possible, proposing a model of the relation of divine causation to historical causation that allows the affirmation of Jesus' divinity without a miraculous rupture of the world's immanent causal patterns. The book first identifies classic articulations of the conflict in nineteenth-century German thought (Troeltsch, D. F. Strauss), and then draws on the history of religions to suggest possible relevant motifs in first-century culture that mitigate the axiomatic "tension" between Jesus' humanity and his deified status in early Christianity. With a creative appropriation of Thomas Aquinas, the heart of the argument aims to understand the eternal Word's presence in a human being as a thoroughly cultural event, but one dependent on divine power conceived as quasi-formal rather than merely efficient cause. Such an approach undercuts opposition between the absoluteness of Jesus and the relativism of historicism. DeHart ultimately confronts the resulting challenges to traditional belief resulting from this proposed model, including the irremediable ambiguity of Jesus' "miraculous" performances and the constitutively unfinished nature of his human identity. Rather than treating these as scandals of modern consciousness, Unspeakable Cults vindicates them as necessary aspects of the "offense" perennially confronting faith in the incarnation.

Presenting a neo-Calvinist account of human moral experience, this book is an advance upon the tradition of Augustinian moral theology. The first two chapters are theological interpretations of Genesis 2:17 and 3:6 respectively. Chapter 3 approaches the neo-Calvinist notion of God as absolute person through a consideration of theologies of human reason and history. Chapter 4 considers the relationship between absolute person and classical trinitarianism, and the significance of absolute person for accommodation, hermeneutics, and the Creator/creature relation and distinction. The fifth chapter considers the role of the incarnation in Bavinck’s thought, and thus provides a backdrop for reflection upon absolute person from a biblical theological point of view. Shannon concludes with the claim that, according to the Bavincks, Vos, and Van Til, human moral experience is the product of a divine self-expression primarily in the Son.

Expanding the impact of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s philosophy to the disciplines of Christian Origins and Christian theology, this original study makes the case for understanding early Christianity through such Deleuzioguattarian concepts as the ‘rhizome’, the ‘machine’, the ‘body without organs’ and the ‘multiplicity’, using the theoretical tool of schizoanalysis to do so. The reconstruction of the historical emergence of early Christianity, Bradley H. McLean argues, has been constrained by traditional assumptions about its historical and transcendental origins. These assumptions are ill-suited to theorizing the genesis, change and transformation of early Christianity in the first three centuries of the Common Era. To capture the dynamism of early Christianity, McLean applies Guattari’s concept of the ‘machine’, to the analysis of early Christianity. Arguing that machines are both an unnoticed dimension of early Christianity, and a major analytical tool for the discipline, McLean highlights the potential of the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari to challenge and reconfigure not just our knowledge of early Christianity, but all aspects of Hellenistic Judaism, and the Greco-Roman world, as well as our understanding of Jesus of Nazareth and the Jesus movement. By subverting the concept of a single transcendental or historical origin of Christianity, this book facilitates new forms of dialogue and cooperation between Christians and co-religionists.

The relevance of this book is enhanced rather than diminished by the years since its original publication. The human situation has become even more critical. We are moving from a period of industrial plundering of the planet into a more intimate way of relating to the planet. We can no longer violate the integrity of Earth without becoming a destructive force for both the surrounding world and for ourselves.

Intercarnations is an outstanding collection of provocative, elegantly written essays-many available in print for the first time-by renowned theologian Catherine Keller. Affirmations of body, flesh, and matter pervade current theology and inevitably echo with the doctrine of the incarnation. Yet, in practice, materialism remains contested ground-between Marxist and capitalist, reductive and postmodern iterations. Current theological explorations of our material ecologies cannot elude the tug or drag of the doctrine of "the incarnation." But what if we were to redistribute, rather than repress, that singular body? Might we free it-along with the bodies in which it is boundlessly entangled-from a troubling history of Christian exceptionalism? In these immensely significant, highly original essays, theologian Catherine Keller proposes to liberate the notion of the divine made flesh from the exclusivity of orthodox Christian theology's Jesus of Nazareth. Throughout eleven scintillating essays, she attends to bodies diversely religious, irreligious, social, animal, female, queer, cosmopolitan, and cosmic, highlighting the intermittencies and interdependencies of intra-world relations. According to Keller, when God is cast on the waters of a polydoxical indeterminacy, s/he/it returns manifold. For the many for whom theos has become impossible, Intercarnations exercises new theological possibilities through the diffraction of contextually diverse multiplicities. A groundbreaking work that pulls together a wide range of intersecting topics and methodologies, Intercarnations enriches and challenges current theological thinking. The essays reach back into feminist, process, and postcolonial discourses, and further back into messianic and mystical potentialities. They reach out into Asian as well as inter-Abrahamic comparison and forward toward a political theology of the Earth, queerly entangling climate catastrophe in materializations resistant to every economic, social, and anthropic exceptionalism. According to Keller, Intercarnations offers itself as a transient trope for the mattering of our entangled difference, meaning to stir up practices of a better planetarity. In Intercarnations, with Catherine Keller as their erudite guide, readers gain access to new worlds of theological possibility and perception.

This book introduces Reformed theology by surveying the doctrinal concerns that have shaped its historical development. The book sketches the diversity of the Reformed tradition through the past five centuries even as it highlights the continuity with regard to certain theological emphases. In so doing, it accentuates that Reformed theology is marked by both formal ('the always reforming church') and material ('the Reformed church') interests. Furthermore, it attends to both revisionary and conservative trends within the Reformed tradition. The book covers eight major theological themes: Word of God, covenant, God and Christ, sin and grace, faith, worship, confessions and authority, and culture and eschatology. It engages a variety of Reformed confessional writings, as well as a number of individual theologians (including Zwingli, Calvin, Bullinger, Bucer, Beza, Owen, Turretin, Edwards, Schleiermacher, Hodge, Shedd, Heppe, Bavinck, Barth, and Niebuhr). "Doing Theology" introduces the major Christian traditions and their way of theological reflection. The volumes focus on the origins of a particular theological tradition, its foundations, key concepts, eminent thinkers and historical development. The series is aimed readers who want to learn more about their own theological heritage and identity: theology undergraduates, students in ministerial training and church study groups.