Sinceits founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.

This book contains a collection of easy to read biblical skits and devotionals with an emphasis on evangelism. These writings are designed to be used for various aspects of church ministry. Though initially written with youth groups in mind, these skits and devotionals are not limited in their appeal to all ages. Each skit is based on scriptures from the Holy Bible and injects dialogue from everyday life. The shortness of each skit makes them adaptable for use in enhancing a regular worship service as an added feature or as the main feature of the program. All writings are designed to positively impact people and to create versatility in the method of spreading the gospel to all generations. The format of each work is simple, yet effective in providing interesting, informative, and spiritual messages. The length of each performance can be varied through the inclusion or elimination of songs. Successful performances can be rendered without hours of rehearsal and preparation. Speaking parts can be read or memorized without depreciating the effectiveness of the underlying message. Program committee leaders for women's auxiliaries, brotherhoods, usher boards, choirs, and youth groups can use these writings in their monthly or annual programs. Since each skit has only a few characters, each work is adaptable for groups of any size. Flexibility in altering the method of presentation without changing the message affords the users an opportunity to customize a skit to meet their specific needs. Each skit has been successfully presented by several church organizations of which I am affiliated. This book, Write, is designed to glorify God, magnify Jesus Christ, and spread the gospel throughoutthe world.

In this constructive study, Miles proposes a new feminist theological ethic, drawing together the contributions of Reinhold Niebuhr, Sharon Welch, and Rosemary Ruether. Seeking to critically reappropriate the Christian realism articulated by Niebuhr, she reinterprets solutions to problems emergent from his theology. Miles presents feminist Christian realism as an alternative that can reclaim a positive interpretation of divine transcendence and human self-transcendence, while maintaining newer emphases on human boundedness and divine immanence. Theologians and ethicists will find her critical reassessment of the three authors distinctive and her challenging proposal for a "positive creative transformation" a significant contribution to the development of feminist ethics.

Jewish Theology Unbound challenges the widespread misinterpretation of Judaism as a religion of law as opposed to theology. James A. Diamond provides close readings of the Bible, classical rabbinic texts, Jewish philosophers, and mystics from the ancient, medieval, and modern period, which communicate a profound Jewish philosophical theology on human nature, God, and the relationship between the two. The study begins with an examination of questioning in the Hebrew Bible, demonstrating that what the Bible encourages is independent philosophical inquiry into how to situate oneself in the world ethically, spiritually, and teleologically. It explores such themes as the nature of God through the various names by which God is known in the Jewish intellectual tradition, love of others and of God, death, martyrdom, freedom, angels, the philosophical quest, the Holocaust, and the state of Israel, all in light of the Hebrew Bible and the way it is filtered through the rabbinic, philosophical, and mystical traditions.

Sinceits founding by Jacques Waardenburg in 1971, Religion and Reason has been a leading forum for contributions on theories, theoretical issues and agendas related to the phenomenon and the study of religion. Topics include (among others) category formation, comparison, ethnophilosophy, hermeneutics, methodology, myth, phenomenology, philosophy of science, scientific atheism, structuralism, and theories of religion. From time to time the series publishes volumes that map the state of the art and the history of the discipline.

This enlightening analysis of the image of a cruel God sustained by conservative Christianity reveals how this image formed, the psychological effects of this concept, and the ways in which it has guided religious individuals-in both positive and negative ways. This book is born, in large measure, as a result of a writing by contemporary theologian J. Harold Ellens. In his essay "Religious Metaphors Can Kill" from Praeger's The Destructive Power of Religion, Ellens espouses that theological doctrines are rooted in a model of God that determines all the aspects of those doctrines, and strongly influences the cultures into which it is inserted. Conservative Christianity in the Western world, says Ellens, has at its center the image of a cruel and wrathful God. The juridical atonement theory of Anselm is a result of such an image of God, and has an important role in justifying the resort to violence in human interaction. Starting from these considerations, Cruel God, Kind God: How Images of God Shape Belief, Attitude, and Outlook analyzes three general topics: how two very different kinds of Christianities have emerged from these disparate images of God; how the doctrines of "original sin," "the plan of salvation," and "penal substitution" can be explained by psychological factors, as can the wide dissemination and acceptance of these doctrines; and how the image of a cruel God affects mental health, atrophies personality, and produces guilt and shame. An introduction that explains the objectives of the book

What happens when a five-century tradition of Christian pacifism no longer needs Jesus to support nonviolence? Why does secularity cause this dilemma for Mennonites in their theology of peace? Layton Boyd Friesen offers an ancient theology and spirituality of incarnation as the church's response to the non-resistance of Christ. He explores three key aspects of von Balthasar's Christology to help Mennonite peace theology regain its momentum in the secular age with a contemplative union with Christ. This volume argues that the way to regain a Christ-formed pacifism within secularity is to contemplate and enter the mystery unveiled in the Chalcedonian Definition of Christ, as interpreted by Hans Urs von Balthasar. In this mystery, the believer is drawn into real-time participation in Christ's encounter with the secular world.

John Hick is one of the most widely read and discussed living writers in modern theology and the philosophy of religion. This reader collects together individual chapters on each major aspect of his thought from a variety of sources. Themes include faith and knowledge, philosophy of religion, evil and the God of love, death and eternal life, the myth of God incarnate and the problems of religious pluralism. The extracts are preceded by an introductory essay on his philosophical theology and on the integrity of his life and thought.;Paul Badham has also had published "Christian Beliefs about Life After Death", "Immortality or Extinction?", "Death and Immortality in the Religions of the World"; "Religion, State and Society in Modern Britain" and "Ethics at the Frontiers of Human Existence".

The Cambridge Companion to Grotius offers a comprehensive overview of Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) for students, teachers, and general readers, while its chapters also draw upon and contribute to recent specialised discussions of Grotius' oeuvre and its later reception. Contributors to this volume cover the width and breadth of Grotius' work and thought, ranging from his literary work, including his historical, theological and political writing, to his seminal legal interventions. While giving these various fields a separate treatment, the book also delves into the underlying conceptions and outlooks that formed Grotius' intellectual map of the world as he understood it, and as he wanted it to become, giving a new political and religious context to his forays into international and domestic law.

"Al-Ghazali on Invocations and Supplications" is a translation of the ninth chapter of the "Revival of the Religious Sciences" (Ihya Ulum al-Din), which is widely regarded as the greatest work of Muslim spirituality. "Al-Ghazali on Invocations and Supplications" is probably the most commonly read compendium of personal prayers in the Muslim world, especially those concerning the remembrance of God (dhikr). "Al-Ghazali on Invocations and Supplications" is popular not only for its comprehensiveness and beauty, but also for Ghazali's analytical approach, which explores the psychological and spiritual effects of prayer and the celebration of God's Name. This work is essential reading for those who seek a spiritual life and who desire to walk the meditative and reflective path of "dhikr" prayer.---This new fourth edition of "Al-Ghazali on Invocations and Supplications" includes the invocations and supplications in Arabic for those readers who would like to use them in their prayers and a translation of Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's own Introduction to the "Revival of the Religious Sciences", which gives the reasons that caused him to write the work, the structure of the whole of the "Revival", and places each of the chapters in the context of the others.

Because God made a promise to Abraham concerning inheriting the land of Israel, a question arises. To which line of Abraham's descendants was the Promise made? That's important because they worship different Gods. This poses the problem, who is the true God?

This is the question of the ages concerning all claims of Deity. All things of life and death depend on that answer.

This book addresses questions from the perspective that the God of the Bible through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the true God and the God of true Christianity. It distinguishes between true and counterfeit Christianity.

The war that started with Satan's attempt to dethrone God and elevate himself to the Almighty is the defining factor of conflict. Association is made between spiritual determinations and earthly happenings. The next earthly event distinguishing where we are in time is the Russian invasion of Israel.

The only remaining possibility for Satan's success is stopping God from keeping His promise to Abraham. The mid-east peace problem is not just about ownership of land, but about "who is God"?

Also addressed - doctrines and theories taught in error. Dispensations, covenants, and promises are defined. How Revelation is structured and plays out is explained.

ne purpose of the book is to cause the reader to "think." Not just about things termed "religious" but in truth, how all things are related, especially "political." Hopefully it gives insight on how to prepare mentally, spiritually, and materially for what Scripture says will happen.

Evidence shows we are the generation that experiences the Biblical end times and the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. America must choose - follow the true God or the Satanic one-world government

The book challenges the true Church to reestablish scripture as our highest authority and be about our task.

This is an introduction to the influence of Kierkegaard's thought on the development of modern theology. Kierkegaard is in many respects an enigmatic figure. About half of his published work appears under an array of pseudonyms and Kierkegaard himself advises that readers should not presume his agreement with any of the views appearing under pseudonymous authorship. Alongside the pseudonymous works are a long series of discourses published under Kierkegaard's own name, and accompanying the whole corpus are six volumes of Journals in which Kierkegaard experiments with ideas and makes note of his own questions and discoveries. Kierkegaard's concern throughout the authorship was to make clear, in opposition to the corrosive forces of Christendom and the posturing of contemporary philosophy, what authentic Christian faith consists in. "The Philosophy and Theology Series" looks at major philosophers and explores their relevance to theological thought as well as the response of theology.

This book creatively engages Martin Luther’s theology and Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction in a systematic theological enterprise. Guided by the general question of how to think about theology in postmodern times within a given tradition, Marisa Strizzi meticulously follows deconstruction at work, focusing on distinctive theological elaborations. She argues that Luther’s theology has a significant deconstructive drive and, through the thorough reading of texts, illustrates the ways in which such theology is interactive with the thought of Derrida. Intersections, echoes, and mirrors allow a happy exchange in which the vital theological topics of Luther meet key deconstructive motifs. Thus, the cross, the Deus absconditus, scriptura, fides, gratia and Christo encounter khōra, écriture, the gift, faith, the messianic and autoimmune sovereignty. Strizzi solidly sustains that the deconstructive reading of theological traditions proves to be a critical constructive way of honoring them.