Translated by Allan W. MahnkeA pioneering history of Old Testament law from its scarcely discernable origins in the pre-monarchical period to the canonisation of the Pentateuch.Praise for THE TORAH'Crusemann and Houtman has enormously enriched the field; it will attract the serious attention of scholars for many years to come.' B. S. Jackson, University of Manchester, Journal of Semitic Studies>

This work presents and anlayzes issues that have helped forge European and world history. Through its ideology, Christianity has exerted great influence over politics, arts, literature and philosophy - and it has also dictated the daily lives, beliefs and rituals of people. This title helps understand the role of the Church by examining the concepts, theories and debates developed about God and the experience of God. Contributions from the UK, France, Germany, Israel, Belgium, USA, Canada, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden ensure a balanced coverage, one that reflects actual, international scholarship.;The Encyclopedia of Christian Theology , translated from the French Dictionnaire Critique de Theologie 2nd Edition , features over 530 entries, contributed by 250 scholars from 15 different countries. Alphabetically-arranged entries provide the reader a critical overview of the main theological questions and related topics, including concepts, events, councils, theologians, philosophers, movements, and more. Hailed as a 'masterpiece of scholarship', this reference work will be of great interest and use for scholars, students of religion and theology as well as general readers

This book contains selected contributions presented during the workshop "Establishing Filiation: Towards a Social Definition of the Family in Islamic and Middle Eastern Law?", which was convened in Beirut, Lebanon in November 2017. Filiation is a multifaceted concept in Muslim jurisdictions. Beyond its legal aspect, it encompasses the notion of inclusion and belonging, thereby holding significant social implications. Being the child of someone, carrying one's father's name, and inheriting from both parents form important pillars of personal identity. This volume explores filiation (nasab) and alternative forms of a full parent-child relationship in Muslim jurisdictions. Eleven country reports ranging from Morocco to Malaysia examine how maternal and paternal filiation is established - be it by operation of the law, by the parties' exercise of autonomy, such as acknowledgement, or by scientific means, DNA testing in particular - and how lawmakers, courts, and society at large view and treat children who fall outside those legal structures, especially children born out of wedlock or under dubious circumstances. In a second step, alternative care schemes in place for the protection of parentless children are examined and their potential to recreate a legal parent-child relationship is discussed. In addition to the countr y-specific analyses included in this book, three further contributions explore the subject matter from perspectives of premodern Sunni legal doctrine, premodern Shiite legal doctrine and the private international law regimes of contemporary Arab countries. Finally, a comparative analysis of the themes explored is presented in the synopsis at the end of this volume. The book is aimed at scholars in the fields of Muslim family law and comparative family law and is of high practical relevance to legal practitioners working in the area of international child law. Nadjma Yassari is Leader of the Research Group "Changes in God's Law: An Inner-Islamic Comparison of Family and Succession Law" at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law while Lena-Maria Moeller is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute and a member of the same Research Group. Marie-Claude Najm is a Professor in the Faculty of Law and Political Science at Saint Joseph University of Beirut in Lebanon and Director of the Centre of Legal Studies and Research for the Arab World (CEDROMA).

George MacDonald (1824-1905) was writing at a time of Evangelical unease. In a society ravaged by Asiatic cholera, numbed by levels of infant mortality, and fearful of revolution and the toxicity of industry (to name but a few of the many challenges), the 'gospel' proclaiming eternal damnation for unbelievers was hardly good news; rather, Christianity was increasingly viewed as the source of bad news and a tool of state oppression. MacDonald agreed: in his view, the church had become a vampire, sucking the blood of her children instead of offering them Eucharistic life. In contrast, like Christ, MacDonald offered a child. Although at first sight a familiar Romantic incarnation, in MacDonald's theology 'the child' becomes an unlikely icon challenging the vampire's kingdom and confronting the foundations of much of Western theology. John R. de Jong's meticulously researched study of MacDonald's work - especially his 'realist' and fantasy novels - in its Victorian context is of more than historical interest. In light of the growth of fundamentalist expressions of Christianity, we are encouraged to consider embrace MacDonald's radical solution to religious vampirism: becoming children.

Foreword by:
A. J. Stockwell

A multi cultural collection of third-wave feminist voices, this book reveals how current feminist religious scholars from around the world are integrating social justice and activism into their scholarship and pedagogy.

This book provides new data and perspectives on the development of 'world religion' in post-colonial societies through an analysis of the development of 'Hinduism' in various parts of Indonesia from the early 20th century to the present. This development has been largely driven by the religious and cultural policy of the Indonesian central government, although the process began during the colonial period as an indigenous response to the introduction of modernity.

Why is there a world? Does it reflect the presence of God in any way? Did the world spontaneously come into existence or is there a creator? How will it end? Does God Exist? Do religions give a coherent view of His existence and nature? Can we enter into relation with Him? Robert Crawford tries to answer these and other questions by arguing that religion and science complement one another and, while they use different sources and methods, insights can be gleaned from both concerning our nature, the world, and God. Major attention is given to Christianity because modern science arose in that context but the discussion includes the teachings of five other religions in the hope that we can also learn from them.

Among the considerable oeuvre of Muhammad al-Shahrastani (1086-1153), the prominent Persian theologian and heresiographer, the Majlis-i maktub ('The Transcribed Sermon') is his only known work in Persian. First delivered as a sermon in Khwarazm in Central Asia, this treatise invokes the theme of creation and command, providing an esoteric cosmological narrative where faith, revelation, prophecy and the spiritual authority of the Household of the Prophet are interwoven. The Majlis-i maktub further discusses themes such as the evolution of religious law (shari'at) and its culmination in the qiyamat (resurrection), the relation between free will and predestination, the interplay between the exoteric and esoteric aspects of faith, and the role and function of the Shi?i Imams in the cosmological narrative. This treatise is arguably the most dense expression of al-Shahrastani's thought, and it demonstrably indicates the Ismaili inclination of this Muslim scholar who has usually been regarded as a Shafi'i-Ash'ari. Daryoush Mohammad Poor's comparative study of this treatise and the corpus of Nizari Ismaili literature from the Alamut period (1090-1256) reveals the massive impact of al-Shahrastani's thought on every aspect of the doctrines of Nizari Ismailis.

Two hundred years since Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav's demise, his philosophical writings and literary creation remain lively and provocative materials in both Jewish culture and the New-Age movement. Key elements of Rabbi Nachman's magic and magnetic force are illuminated in this research, which presents Bratslavian mysticism as a unique link in the history of Jewish mysticism. The mystical worldview is the axis of this book, but its branches stretch out to key issues in the Bratslavian world such as belief and imagination, dreams and the land of Israel, melodies and song.

This book is a major re-appraisal of the Commedia as originally envisaged by Dante: as a work of ethics. Privileging the ethical, Corbett increases our appreciation of Dante's eschatological innovations and literary genius. Drawing upon a wider range of moral contexts than in previous studies, this book presents an overarching account of the complex ordering and political programme of Dante's afterlife. Balancing close readings with a lucid overview of Dante's Commedia as an ethical and political manifesto, Corbett cogently approaches the poem through its moral structure. The book provides detailed interpretations of three particularly significant vices - pride, sloth, and avarice - and the three terraces of Purgatory devoted to them. While scholars register Dante's explicit confession of pride, the volume uncovers Dante's implicit confession of sloth and prodigality (the opposing subvice of avarice) through Statius, his moral cypher.

The Reign of God constitutes the first detailed and systematic critical engagement with Oliver O’Donovan’s political theology. It argues that O’Donovan’s theological account of political authority is not tenable on the basis of exegetical and methodological problems. The book goes on to demonstrate a way to refine O’Donovan’s theology of political authority by incorporating insights from his earlier work in moral theology. This can provide a cogent basis for thinking that the Christ-event redeems the natural political authority embedded in the created order and inaugurates its new historical bene esse in the form of Christian liberalism.