George Robert Stow Mead (1863 1933) was for twenty-five years a prominent member of the Theosophical Society and worked closely with its founder, Helena Blavatsky. He was fascinated both by eastern religions and by western esotericism, including gnosticism, and published widely in these areas. Pistis Sophia, an important, probably second-century, text preserved in a Coptic manuscript, presents complex gnostic teachings in 'gospel' format, as having been addressed by Jesus Christ to his disciples after the resurrection. This translation, based on a Latin version published in 1851, appeared in 1896 and was the first English version of a major gnostic work. The book also includes passages from the Books of the Saviour found in the same manuscript. Mead's introduction discusses the origin of the texts and highlights their difficulty. It also describes the upsurge of scholarly interest in Gnosticism in the mid-nineteenth century and the mysterious history of the manuscript itself.

Originally published in 1924, this book presents the content of four lectures delivered by the author at the University of Cambridge during 1923 and 1924, as part of the Hulsean Lectures series. Broadly speaking, the text is based around an examination of the nature of being in its relationship with the process of existence. The following topics are covered: 'Living and Thinking'; 'Knowing and Loving'; 'The Known and the Loved'; 'Revelation and Reality'. A preface and appendices are also provided. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in theology and concepts of being.

The scholar and philosopher Philo Judaeus born around 25 BCE in Alexandria, blended his knowledge of Jewish law and scripture with his command of Greek philosophy in his influential works, ensuring that he became a subject of intellectual enquiry in his own right. However, James Rendel Harris (1852 1941), a biblical scholar, palaeographer and Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, thought Philo too 'slenderly prized' in Britain. Harris intended this collection, published in 1886, to bring together surviving fragments of Philo's work. In a detailed introduction, he explains the complicated tasks involved in identifying and classifying these ancient texts, and also points out that this volume is intended to provide a basis for future research on Philo. The fragments are presented in their original Greek, most of them accompanied by a Latin translation. Harris provides notes throughout, and the book continues to offer a valuable resource for biblical and philosophical scholarship.

Much of the work of James Rendel Harris (1852-1941), palaeographer and biblical scholar, focused on the translation and understanding of early Christian writing, and this collection of two volumes of essays examines two key texts. The first work in this reissue, published in 1896, discusses the book known as 'The Shepherd of Hermas'. This early work, thought to be written in Rome around the first or second century CE, is composed of three parts: visions, commandments and similitudes. Harris examines aspects of the work, such as how to interpret the ninth similitude - as allegory or literally - and discusses in detail questions about translation. Themes of other essays include the legendary library of Prester John in Abyssinia, the third-century writer Gaius the Presbyter and problems surrounding the fourth-century Codex Euthalianus. The second work, published in 1889, is concerned with the apocalyptic language in the book of Baruch.

Edwin A. Abbott (1838 1926) was a schoolmaster and theologian well known as the author of the religious and mathematical allegory Flatland (1884). This book was originally published in 1913, forming the first part of two volumes on the historical significance of various elements of the Bible. The elements analysed within the books are diverse, ranging from differences of phraseology between the Gospels to the significance of ritual. The key aim is to contextualise these elements as a means of gaining a greater understanding of the meaning behind the Scriptures. Both books will be of value to anyone with an interest in biblical exegesis and the history of theology.

One of the central arguments of post-metaphysical theology is that language is inherently 'metaphysical' and consequently that it shoehorns objects into predetermined categories. Because God is beyond such categories, it follows that language cannot apply to God. Drawing on recent work in theology and philosophy of language, Kevin Hector develops an alternative account of language and its relation to God, demonstrating that one need not choose between fitting God into a metaphysical framework, on the one hand, and keeping God at a distance from language, on the other. Hector thus elaborates a 'therapeutic' response to metaphysics: given the extent to which metaphysical presuppositions about language have become embedded in common sense, he argues that metaphysics can be fully overcome only by defending an alternative account of language and its application to God, so as to strip such presuppositions of their apparent self-evidence and release us from their grip.

While the spiritual atmosphere grows more toxic and the world becomes more anti-God, Christians are engaging less and less with their faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. We do not have to fear the future. But we must not be surprised by it or be unprepared to face it. In this insightful book, David Sliker helps readers understand and prepare for a future filled with glory and victory for the church, unfolding in the context of unprecedented rage, rebellion, and resistance by the world around us. Full of practical application, this book connects readers to the current storm that is upon us, contextualizing today's news, current events, and cultural narratives through the lens of biblical prophecy and the return of Jesus. The greatest days of the church lie ahead. We can stand strong, persevere, and overcome in these days!

Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926) was a schoolmaster and theologian well known as the author of the religious and mathematical allegory Flatland (1884). This book was originally published in 1913, forming the second part of two volumes on the historical significance of various elements of the Bible. The elements analysed within the books are diverse, ranging from differences of phraseology between the Gospels to the significance of ritual. The key aim is to contextualise these elements as a means of gaining a greater understanding of the meaning behind the Scriptures. Both books will be of value to anyone with an interest in Biblical exegesis and the history of theology.

Practical theology as a subject area has grown and become more sophisticated in its methods and self-understanding over the last few decades. This book provides a complete and original research primer in the major theories, approaches and methods at the cutting-edge of research in contemporary practical theology. It represents a reflection on the very practice of the discipline itself, its foundational questions and epistemological claims. Each chapter examines different aspects of the research process: starting with experience and practice, aspects of research design and epistemology, communities of learning, the influence of theological norms and tradition on the practice of research, and ethical considerations about what constitutes 'the good' in advanced research. The uniqueness of this book rests in its authoritative overview of current practical theological research across a range of traditions and approaches, combined with a comprehensive introduction to research methodology. It offers worked examples from the authors, their colleagues and research students that serve to illustrate key ideas and approaches in practical theological research. The four authors are all internationally-leading scholars and rank amongst the most influential figures in practical theology of their generation. The book promises to be of interest to students, teachers and researchers in practical theology, especially those looking to conduct original practice-based enquiry in the field.

In early modern England, religious sorrow was seen as a form of spiritual dialogue between the soul and God, expressing how divine grace operates at the level of human emotion. Through close readings of both Protestant and Catholic poetry, Kuchar explains how the discourses of 'devout melancholy' helped generate some of the most engaging religious verse of the period. From Robert Southwell to John Milton, from Aemilia Lanyer to John Donne, the language of 'holy mourning' informed how poets represented the most intimate and enigmatic aspects of faith as lived experience. In turn, 'holy mourning' served as a way of registering some of the most pressing theological issues of the day. By tracing poetic representations of religious sorrow from Crashaw's devotional verse to Shakespeare's weeping kings, Kuchar expands our understanding of the interconnections between poetry, theology and emotion in post-Reformation England.

The discussion landscape between Christians and Muslims is constantly changing and developing. Increasingly subtle and sophisticated Muslim positions on Jesus emerge regularly. The latest Muslim thinker to rise to prominence in the wider public arena is Mustafa Akyol. His ideas about Jesus, while largely derivative, are crafted into novel and appealing arguments. To date, there has been no satisfactory Christian engagement with his ideas. Written by a specialist in Muslim thought, Jesus through Muslim Eyes offers a unique apologetic that combines history, theology and critical thinking in a way that cuts across both traditional and contemporary debates. "With Christians, we (Muslims) agree that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he was the Messiah, and that he is the Word of God. Surely, we do not worship Jesus, like Christians do. Yet still, we can follow him. In fact, given our grim malaise and his shining wisdom, we need to follow him." - Mustafa Akyol (The Islamic Jesus, St Martin's Press) Can Muslims, like Akyol, meaningfully claim Jesus as the Messiah and the Word of God? And how can Christians respond to such claims? Richard Schumach considers what Muslims believe about Jesus; what history can tell us about Jesus; where Muslims (and Christians) get their beliefs from; and why Jesus makes sense in Christianity, but not in Islam.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) remains one of the best-known and influential English churchmen of the nineteenth century. Ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church in 1825, he converted to Roman Catholicism, being ordained as a priest and later appointed cardinal. His works include Grammar of Assent (1870) and Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865-1866) as well as this Essay (1845), written in the midst of his own religious transformation. He discusses his theory of the development of Christian dogma: 'from the nature of the human mind, time is necessary for the full comprehension and perfection of great ideas ... the longer time and deeper thought for their full elucidation'. By showing how fidelity to timeless truths coexisted in Christianity together with deeper and more developed understanding over time, Newman provides a helpful personal and theological apology for the teaching and practice of Catholicism against its detractors.

Creatio ex nihilo is a foundational doctrine in the Abrahamic faiths. It states that God created the world freely out of nothing - from no pre-existent matter, space or time. This teaching is central to classical accounts of divine action, free will, grace, theodicy, religious language, intercessory prayer and questions of divine temporality and, as such, the foundation of a scriptural God but also the transcendent Creator of all that is. This edited collection explores how we might now recover a place for this doctrine, and, with it, a consistent defence of the God of Abraham in philosophical, scientific and theological terms. The contributions span the religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and cover a wide range of sources, including historical, philosophical, scientific and theological. As such, the book develops these perspectives to reveal the relevance of this idea within the modern world.

The experience of moral values is often side-lined in discussions about moral reasoning, and yet our values define a large part of our moral motives, standards and expectations. Theological Ethics and Moral Value Phenomena explores whether the experience of a meeting point of the immanent and the transcendent, i.e. the moral self and God, can be the source of our values. The book starts by arguing for a greater theological engagement with value ethics, personalism and the phenomenological method by drawing on thinkers such as Max Scheler and William James. It then provides an understanding of the social and religious dimension of the valuing person, demonstrating the importance of the emotional, as well as the cognitive, dimension of value experience. Finally, this value perspective is utilised to engage with current moral issues such as professional ethics, environmental ethics, economical ethics and family ethics. Integrating the concepts of religious experience, moral motivation, and subjective and objective value within a broad framework of Christian theology and philosophy, this is vital reading for any scholar of Theology and Philosophy with an interest in ethics and moral reasoning.

First published in 1924, this volume contains the Donnellan lectures given by Francis Crawford Burkitt (1864-1935) at Trinity College Dublin in June 1923. Their subject is Manichaeism, a dualistic form of Christianity that thrived during the fourth and fifth centuries in Central Asia. Burkitt focuses especially on the discovery of fragments of Manichaean literary texts in Chinese Turkestan, near the Siberian border, early in the twentieth century. The first lecture introduces the history of the Manichees and reviews the sources of information available about them. The second discusses the Manichaean view of Jesus, Manichaean church organisation and Manichaean eschatology. The third analyses the influences behind Manichaean thought and teaching, including the important influences of Marcion and Saint Augustine. Burkitt's lectures were influential in publicising the new finds of Manichaean manuscript fragments, and remain an important resource for those studying heterodox movements in early Christianity.

In Methods for Luke, four leading scholars demonstrate how different interpretive methods provide insight into the Gospel of Luke. Introducing contemporary perspectives on historical criticism, feminist criticism, narrative criticism, and Latino interpretation, they illustrate these approaches to New Testament study by examining either the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31 ) or Jesus' warning regarding the scribes and the story of the women with two small coins (Luke 20: 45-21:4). The use of two "set texts" enables readers to understand how method makes a difference in the reading of the same text.

This volume offers a comprehensive discussion of the contemporary debates within political Islam, providing an in-depth analysis of the specific movements, countries and regions in the Arab world and Israel. The contributors contend that the evolution of Islamic movements is contextual rather than ideological. Therefore, Islamic movements are best understood individually within their own historical, socio-political and cultural setting. Political Islam is an essential reference for academics, researchers and the media, as well as general readers with an interest in Islamic political debates. Contributors include Abdullah Baabood, Youcef Bouandel, Abdelwahab El-Affendi, Kamal Helbawy, Roel Meijer, Ibrahim Moussawi, Tariq Ramadan, Tilde Rosmer, Murad Batal al-Shishani, Sara Silvestri and Camille Tawil.

Charles Gore (1853 1932), the future Bishop of Oxford and a passionate campaigner for social justice, compiled and edited these twelve theological essays published in 1891. The eleven contributors, all Oxford scholars at some time, shared the conviction that theology must engage with advances in scientific and historical knowledge, learn from them, and use them in interpreting Christian doctrine. In their case, this meant recognising God at work in the material world, in evolution, and in society, not merely at the spiritual level. 'If the true meaning of the faith is to be made sufficiently conspicuous, ' Gore wrote in his introduction, 'it needs disencumbering, reinterpreting, explaining'. The essays focus on the Incarnation, as the central doctrine for the whole of theology, which may be applied very differently in different contexts. The book, regarded by some as too progressive, was a great success and sold ten editions in its first year.

While many readers of Paul's letters recognize how important his experience was to his life and thought, Biblical scholars have not generally addressed this topic head-on. Colleen Shantz argues that they have been held back both by a bias against religious ecstasy and by the limits of the Biblical texts: how do you responsibly access someone else's experience, particularly experience as unusual and debated as religious ecstasy? And how do you account responsibly for the role of experience in that person's thought? Paul in Ecstasy pursues these questions through a variety of disciplines - most notably neuroscience. This study provides cogent explanations for bewildering passages in Paul's letters, outlines a much greater influence of such experience in Paul's life and letters, and points to its importance in Christian origins.

Kantik Ghosh argues that one of the main reasons for Lollardy's sensational resonance for its times, and for its immediate posterity, was its exposure of fundamental problems in late medieval academic engagement with the Bible, its authority and its polemical uses. Examining Latin and English sources, Ghosh shows how the same debates over biblical hermeneutics and associated methodologies were from the 1380s onwards conducted both within and outside the traditional university framework, and how by eliding boundaries between Latinate biblical speculation and vernacular religiosity Lollardy changed the cultural and political positioning of both. Covering a wide range of texts - scholastic and extramural, in Latin and in English, written over half a century from Wyclif to Thomas Netter - Ghosh concludes that by the first decades of the fifteenth century Lollardy had partly won the day. Whatever its fate as a religious movement, it had successfully changed the intellectual landscape of England.

The Summa Theologiae is Thomas Aquinas' undisputed masterwork, and it includes his thoughts on the elemental forces in human life. Feelings such as love, hatred, pleasure, pain, hope and despair were described by Aquinas as 'passions', representing the different ways in which happiness could be affected. But what causes the passions? What impact do they have on the person who suffers them? Can they be shaped and reshaped in order to better promote human flourishing? The aim of this book is to provide a better understanding of Aquinas' account of the passions. It identifies the Aristotelian influences that lie at the heart of the Summa Theologiae, and it enters into a dialogue with contemporary thinking about the nature of emotion. The study argues that Aquinas' work is still important today, and shows why for Aquinas both the understanding and attainment of happiness requires prolonged reflection on the passions.

Leo Strauss famously asserted that the fundamental, defining debate within Western civilization is that between Jerusalem and Athens, piety and philosophy, the Bible and Plato. And yet, surprisingly, Strauss never published any of his thoughts on Plato’s dialogue on piety, the Euthyphro. This volume presents, for the first time, Strauss’s 1948 notebook on the dialogue, written in preparation for a class at the New School for Social Research. Featuring close analysis and line-by-line commentary, the notebook opens a window onto a philosophic mind in action, as Strauss asks questions of the classic text, jots down observations and formulations, and analyzes very specific terms and arguments but also steps back, reviews the overall movement of the dialogue, and reconsiders previous conclusions. Beyond the notebook, the volume also brings together all the known materials that lay out Strauss’s thoughts on the Euthyphro. This includes newly transcribed and edited public lectures, illuminating appendixes, critical essays by volume editors Hannes Kerber and Svetozar Y. Minkov and scholar Wayne Ambler, an account of Strauss’s public lecture, and a new English translation of Plato’s Euthyphro by Seth Benardete, a classicist and one of Strauss’s students. Engaging and inspiring, Leo Strauss on Plato’s “Euthyphro� is a vital resource for scholars and students of political theory, readers interested in the intersection of philosophy and religion, and a must-have for anyone who studies Strauss.

Muhammad founded a World-State as well as a faith; as Islam spread from its first centres, Muslim political thinkers had to apply the divinely revealed law of the Prophet to new circumstances. They had to relate new realities of power and authority to the ideal constitution which he had laid down and which his immediate successors had elaborated. Against this background Dr Rosenthal discusses the later Muslim philosophers who were influenced by the political thought of Plato and Aristotle. He shows how Greek thought modified the Islamic and yet was always subordinated to Muslim categories of thought and political needs. Dr Rosenthal thus surveys the chief traditions of Islamic political thought from the eighth to the end of the fifteenth centuries. He emphasises the basic unity given by the shared faith of the writers, without diminishing the individuality of each. Orientalists will welcome the book; so will historians of the medieval West, for it shows them the religious, political and intellectual positions underlying the expansion of Islam.

The Cambridge Edition of Early Christian Writings provides the definitive anthology of early Christian texts from ca. 100 CE to ca. 650 CE. Its volumes reflect the cultural, intellectual, and linguistic diversity of early Christianity, and are organized thematically on the topics of God, Practice, Christ, Community, Reading, and Creation. The series expands the pool of source material to include not only Greek and Latin writings, but also Syriac and Coptic texts. Additionally, the series rejects a theologically normative view by juxtaposing texts that were important in antiquity but later deemed 'heretical' with orthodox texts. The translations are accompanied by introductions, notes, suggestions for further reading, and scriptural indices. The third volume focuses on early Christian reflection on Christ as God incarnate from the first century to ca. 450 CE. It will be an invaluable resource for students and academic researchers in early Christian studies, history of Christianity, theology and religious studies, and late antique Roman history.

Judah Halevi s Book of the Kuzari is a defense of Judaism that has enjoyed an almost continuous transmission since its composition in the twelfth century. By surveying the activities of readers, commentators, copyists, and printers for more than 700 years, Adam Shear examines the ways that the Kuzari became a classic of Jewish thought. Today, the Kuzari is usually understood as the major statement of an anti-rationalist and ethnocentric approach to Judaism and is often contrasted with the rationalism and universalism of Maimonides s Guide of the Perplexed. But this conception must be seen as a modern construction, and the reception history of the Kuzari demonstrates that many earlier readers of the work understood it as offering a way toward reconciling reason and faith and of negotiating between particularism and universalism.