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).

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.

This volume sets out to examine how Christian scriptures have been read within a Chinese reading tradition, and to assess what questions such readings pose for both theologians and Chinese studies specialists. The absence to date of publications on the topic, and the scattered nature of such research and of scholars in the field makes this an important contribution to debate. The volume gathers essays from Biblical studies experts together with theologians and Chinese text scholars to discuss the interdisciplinary questions raised. Essays from mainland, Taiwanese and diasporic Chinese scholars ensure that a range of opinions (including those reflecting fault lines between 'academic' and 'confessional' positions) are presented.Within the four sections of the volume, several papers discuss and correct the current lineage of historical readings, while others study the historical impact of the Bible in Chinese society. Four essays give contextual or cross-cultural readings, with a focus on individual exegetes, mainly from the early twentieth century. The power of performance is raised in two essays, one comparative paper on Christian and Buddhist scriptures from the Qing dynasty and one on the singing of psalms in modern day Taiwan and Macao. Moral questions preoccupy others, including the challenges that early Chinese converts found in Biblical laws or Christian guidance on concubinage, and extrincisist readings of the "Sermon on the Mount".

This volume offers a sample of the many ways that medieval Franciscans wrote, represented in art, and preached about the 'model of models' of the medieval religious experience, the Virgin Mary. This is an extremely valuable collection of essays that highlight the significant role the Franciscans played in developing Mariology in the Middle Ages. Beginning with Francis, Clare, and Anthony, a number of significant theologians, spiritual writers, preachers, and artists are presented in their attempt to capture the significance and meaning of the Virgin Mary in the context of the late Middle Ages within the Franciscan movement. Contributors are Luciano Bertazzo, Michael W. Blastic, Rachel Fulton Brown, Leah Marie Buturain, Marzia Ceschia, Holly Flora, Alessia Francone, J. Isaac Goff, Darrelyn Gunzburg, Mary Beth Ingham, Christiaan Kappes, Steven J. McMichael, Pacelli Millane, Kimberly Rivers, Filippo Sedda, and Christopher J. Shorrock.

Why YOU Should Read This Book Regardless of Your Religion: After being ordained a minister of the Gospel of Jesus by Mount Zion Church of God in Charlotte, N.C, I saw the priorities of African American and other churches. I realized that we don't worship God, we worship tribal religions. My book defines these and other divisions as reasons why we can not unite into one people, one world, in one accord. And that's why my book is not about Christianity. It is the about the collective wisdom of all religions - as opposed to often historical intentional misinterpretations many religious leaders use to isolate us to themselves. But, the best part is that you need not give up your own faith to accept what is written. I predict that after you read it, you'll want to tell others about it and as you tell them, they will see a new you. Hereafter let the miraculous power of brotherly love ease the burdens of the poor, heavy laden, down trodden and ill Mel Reed, Servant To God, Servant To Mankind.

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.

Franz Dunzl gives an account of the formation of the doctrine of the Trinity in a narrative based on contemporary sources: as he remarks in the preface, he wants to describe the human struggle over the truth of the Christian image of God and as far as possible let the early Christians speak for themselves. His main concern is to describe the dynamic of the disputes over the theology of the Trinity in a vivid way which is easy to follow, pointing out the foundations of the doctrine and the decisive shifts in its development. He tries to see the often bitter discussion not as a barren dispute but as an evolutionary process in which the rivalry is a necessary and positive factor in moving the debate forward. After an introduction to the problem, the book describes the beginning of christology and the first models of the relationship between 'Father' and 'Son': it then describes the controversies leading up to the Council of Nicaea, which are discussed at length, going on to show how Nicaea didn't settle the question and continuing the account up to the Council of Constantinople in 381. It brings out the political influences which governed this second stage of the discussion in an illuminating way. A survey and bibliography round the book off.

This is a serious, scholarly of liturgy analysis combining historical, philosophical, musicological and liturgical. The volume, like the series, will be aimed at moving the debate about liturgy out of the narrow confines of either 'pastoral liturgy', 'reform of the reform' or nostalgia and bemoaning of the ruination of liturgical tradition to an entirely higher plane, of serious, scholarly, measured analysis combining historical, philosophical, musicological and liturgical. This book advances a provocative and controversial set of proposals for the development of future liturgical reform in its attempt to re-engage with a traditional sense of the Roman Rite. The author is uniquely placed to make the case he does. A mediaevalist and musicologist of unparalleled experience and breadth, Dobszay combines - almost uniquely - a profound knowledge of the history of the development of the Roman Rite - especially the Antiphonary - with a personal interest and passionate concern for the lived experience of the rite itself. The result is a lively and vigorous text based around the idea of the actual liturgical sense of the Roman Rite - meaning a respect for its integrity as an historical tradition that found multiform expression across Europe and also across at least 1600 years, combined with a sympathy for the fact that the rite is still a living entity with a long future ahead of it. "T&T Clark Studies in Fundamental Liturgy" offer cutting edge scholarship from all disciplines related to liturgical study. The books in the series seek to reintegrate biblical, patristic, historical, dogmatic and philosophical questions with liturgical study in ways faithful and sympathetic to classical liturgical enquiry. Volumes in the series include monographs, translations of recent texts and edited collections around very specific themes.