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.

Although Maimonides is now known as one of the greatest Jewish theologians and philosophers of the middle ages, his writings were denounced from the outset - first in the East then in the West. In fact, by the mid-1230's the so-called Maimonidean Controversy that had begun within the Jewish community had spread to encompass much of the Christian scholarly world as well. Daniel Silver's Maimonidean Criticism constitutes a landmark in the historiography of Maimonideanism in general and of the controversy of the 1230s in particular. Brill has thus brought this important book back into print for students wishing an introduction to this debate.

This is an introduction to the problems of reading Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130-200), known as 'the first great Catholic theologian'. This book is a fully revised and extended edition of Denis Minns' standard introduction to the theology of Irenaeus. Readers will find it comprehensive, informative, lucid, and elegantly written. The book is chiefly aimed at those approaching him for the first time, but it is based on the most recent scholarship and provides much help for those who wish to work on him as a more advanced level. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130-200) has been called 'the first great Catholic theologian'. As this book explains, the description is accurate, since the Christianity represented by Irenaeus is recognizably that of the Catholic Church, though unfamiliar in its primitiveness. The thought of Irenaeus represents an important stage in the development of Christian orthodoxy. Denis Minns explains why Irenaeus, the 2nd-century theologian, deserves his place in history. He explains why, though unfamiliar in its primitiveness, the Christianity represented by Irenaeus is recognizably that of the Catholic Church. Minns takes account of the recent scholarly work on Irenaeus and his period which has been done in recent years, but this book is principally an introduction to the problems of reading him. It is aimed mainly at those approaching Irenaeus for the first time.

The endeavour to prove God's existence through rational argumentation was an integral part of classical Islamic theology (kalam) and philosophy (falsafa), thus the frequently articulated assumption in the academic literature. The Islamic discourse in question is then often compared to the discourse on arguments for God's existence in the western tradition, not only in terms of its objectives but also in terms of the arguments used: Islamic thinkers, too, put forward arguments that have been labelled as cosmological, teleological, and ontological. This book, however, argues that arguments for God's existence are absent from the theological and philosophical works of the classical Islamic era. This is not to say that the arguments encountered there are flawed arguments for God's existence. Rather, it means that the arguments under consideration serve a different purpose than to prove that God exists. Through a close reading of the works of several mutakallimun and falasifa from the 3rd-7th/9th-13th century, such as al-Baqillani and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi as well as Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd, this book proffers a re-evaluation of the discourse in question, and it suggests what its participants sought to prove if it is not that God exists.

This book contains a wide-ranging discussion of the literature of religious apologetic composed by pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Roman empire up to the time when Constantine declared himself a Christian. The contributors are distinguished specialists from the fields of ancient history, Jewish history, ancient philosophy, New Testament studies, and patristics. Each chapter is devoted to a particular text or group of texts with the aim of identifying the literary milieu and the circumstances that led to this form of writing. When appropriate, contributors have concentrated on whether the notional audience addressed in the text is the real one, and whether apologetics was regarded as a genre in its own right.

This is a major reference work on all aspects of theology in the reformation period. This book will introduce the main theological topics of Reformation theology in language that is clear and concise. Theology in the Reformation era can be complicated and contentious. This volume aims to cut through the theological jargon and explain what people believed and why. The volume will begin with an essay aimed at explaining to students how one can approach the study of sixteenth century theology. It will include a guide to major events, persons, doctrines, and movements. Finally, in-depth essays by noted scholars will complete the volume.

Can human beings be free and responsible if there is a God? Anselm of Canterbury, the first Christian philosopher to propose that human beings have a really robust free will, offers viable answers to questions which have plagued religious people for at least two thousand years: If divine grace cannot be merited and is necessary to save fallen humanity, how can there be any decisive role for individual free choice to play? If God knows today what you are going to choose tomorrow, then when tomorrow comes you have to choose what God foreknew, so how can your choice be free? If human beings must have the option to choose between good and evil in order to be morally responsible, must God be able to choose evil? Anselm answers these questions with a sophisticated theory of free will which defends both human freedom and the sovereignty and goodness of God.

In this exceptional commentary of the Bible, preacher and scholar Philip Mauro explains two of the most famous visions of the prophet Daniel and the Great Tribulation. Renowned for his intellectual depth and skills of plain explanation, Philip Mauro's mission in life was to enlighten his fellow Christian regarding the Biblical lore. Often members of his congregation would grow concerned or worried at not understanding aspects of the Bible; the Book of Daniel, with its dense series of prophecy, was among the commonest source of frustration for believers. Part One of this book explains the various revelations and visions of Daniel, who foresaw apocalyptic events which are collectively referred to as The Seventy Weeks. The second part of the book, discussing the prophecy of the Lord as delivered to Jesus from atop Mount Olivet, tackles the contents and clarifies the meanings of this prophetic event.

This accessible study is the first critical investigation of the cult of saints among Muslims and Jews in medieval Syria and the Near East. Josef Meri's critical reading of a wide range of contemporary sources reveals a vibrant religious culture in which the veneration of saints and pilgrimage to tombs and shrines were fundamental.