Within literature, history, politics, philosophy and theology, the interpretation of utopian ideals has evolved constantly. Juxtaposing historical views on utopian diagnoses, prescriptions and on the character and value of utopian thought with more modern interpretations, this volume explores how our ideal utopia has transformed over time. Challenging long-held interpretations, the contributors turn a fresh eye to canonical texts, and open them up to a twenty-first century audience. From Moore's Utopia to Le Guin's The Dispossessed, Utopian Moments puts forward a lively and accessible debate on the nature and significance of utopian thought and tradition. Each essay focuses on a key passage from the selected work using it to encourage both the specialist and the reader new to the field to read afresh. Written by an international team of leading scholars, the essays range from the sixteenth century to the present day and are designed to be both stimulating and accessible.

Norbert M. Samuelson is Harold and Jean Grossman Chair of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Trained as an analytic philosopher, he went on to establish the Academy of Jewish Philosophy in 1980, which contributed greatly to the professionalization of Jewish philosophy in America. An ordained Reform rabbi, a constructive theologian, and a public intellectual, Samuelson has insisted that philosophy is the very heart of Judaism and that in order to survive in the 21st century Judaism must rethink itself in light of contemporary science. Through his scholarship and organizational work he has brought a Jewish voice to the dialogue of religion and science. Viewing Jewish philosophy as central to the understanding of the Jewish past, Samuelson has explicated the philosophical dimension of Judaism, from the Bible to the present.

Despite its centrality in mainstream linguistics, cognitive semantics has only recently begun to establish a foothold in biblical studies, largely due to the challenges inherent in applying such a methodology to ancient languages. The Semantics of Glory addresses these challenges by offering a new, practical model for a cognitive semantic approach to Classical Hebrew, demonstrated through an exploration of the Hebrew semantic domain of glory. The concept of 'glory' is one of the most significant themes in the Hebrew Bible, lying at the heart of God's self-disclosure in biblical revelation. This study provides the most comprehensive examination of the domain to date, mapping out its intricacies and providing a framework for its exegesis.

Christians agree that they are saved through the death and resurrection of Christ. But how is the atonement achieved in these events? This book offers an introduction to the doctrine of the atonement focused on the unity and diversity of the work of Christ. Johnson reorients current patterns of thought concerning Christ's work by giving the reader a unifying vision of the immensely rich and diverse doctrine of the atonement, offering a sampling of its treasures, and cultivating the desire to further understand and apply these riches to everyday life. Where introductions to the atonement typically favor one aspect of the work of Christ, or work with a set number of themes, aspects or theories, this book takes the opposite approach, developing the foundation for the multi-faceted nature of Christ's work within the being of God himself. It offers a grand unifying vision of Christ's manifold work. Specific elaborations of different theories of the atonement, biblical themes, and the work of different theologians find their place within this larger rubric.

This book surveys the 8 basic approaches to religious pluralism, ranging from exclusivism (evangelical right) through classic inclusivism (Rahner), revised inclusivism (DuPuis), particularism (Paul Griffith), radical diversity (S. Mark Heim), pluralism (Knitter), comparative theologies (Frank Clooney), and dual belonging (Raimundo Panikkar). The unique contribution of this book is the ability to situate the issue of pluralism in the cultural site in the US (here relying on "thick" cultural analyses of Robert Wuthnow, Vincent Miller, and others) and in the religious site of Roman Catholicism (as offering mainstream Christian responses to religious diversity).

Challenging Bruce McCormack's paradigm of post-Kantian Barth scholarship, this book builds on the interpretative model that Sigurd Baark developed in 2018. This model interprets Barth's innovative adoption of an Anselmian mode of theological speculation, against the intellectual-historical background of the idealist tradition of speculative metaphysics that culminated in Hegel. This book argues that Barth adopted the Anselmian mode of speculation in which immediate self-identity between subject, object, and act is found in the triune God alone, while the speculative identity that enables human knowledge of God is none other than the identity between God-in-and-for-Godself and God-for-us. Exploring the nationalistic dimension of speculative metaphysics in 19th-century Germany, Tseng identifies this as an important aspect of the context of Barth's development of a Christocentric form of speculative theology.

Including a Foreword by The Rt Revd Dr Graham Tomlin, this volume examines the theology and practice of baptism. It contains a narrative introduction that highlights the different approaches taken to baptism, and the various issues that come with them. The volume also covers how the changing cultural context within Britain has influenced responses to baptism. At the heart of the book is a detailed examination of the theme of covenant running through the Bible and how this shapes its understanding of baptism. Gordon Kuhrt and his son Stephen explore several controversial issues associated with baptism. Believing in Baptism contains an in-depth discussion of the sacramental issues surrounding baptismal 'efficacy', for instance, as well as infant or family baptism. The authors also examine the 'Baptist' view, discrimination in Baptism and the issue of 'Rebaptism'. Finally, they consider the issue of 'Baptism and its Completion?', and make practical recommendations on the ways in which baptism should be taught and lived in the local church.