In many societies all over the world, an increasing polarization between contrasting groups can be observed. Polarization arises when a fear born of difference turns into 'us-versus-them' thinking and rules out any form of compromise. This volume addresses polarizations within societies as well as within churches, and asks the question: given these dynamics, what may be the calling of the church? The authors offer new approaches to polarizing debates on topics such as racism, social justice, sexuality and gender, euthanasia, and ecology and agriculture in various contexts. They engage in profound theological and ecclesiological reflection, in particular from the Reformed tradition. Contributors to this volume are: Najib George Awad, Henk van den Belt, Nadine Bowers Du Toit, Jaeseung Cha, David Daniels, David Fergusson, Jan Jorrit Hasselaar, Jozef Hehanussa, Allan Janssen, Klaas-Willem de Jong, Viktoria Koczian, Philipp Pattberg, Louise Prideaux, Emanuel Gerrit Singgih, Peter-Ben Smit, Thandi Soko-de Jong, Wim van Vlastuin, Jan Dirk Wassenaar, Elizabeth Welch, Annemarieke van der Woude, and Heleen Zorgdrager.

In this Very Short Introduction, Jon Balserak explores major ideas associated with the Calvinist system of thought. Beginning during the Protestant Reformation in cities like Zurich, Geneva, and Basel, Calvinismaalso known as Reformed Theologyaspread rapidly throughout Europe and the New World, eventually making its way to the African Continent and the East. Balserak examines how Calvinist thought and practice spread and took root, helping shape church and society. Much of contemporary thought, especially western thought, on everything from theology to civil government, economics, the arts, work and leisure, education, and the family has been influenced by Calvinism. Balserak explores this influence. He also examines common misconceptions and objections to Calvinism, and sets forth a Calvinist understanding of God, the world, humankind, and the meaning of life. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The seventeenth century Reformed Orthodox discussions of the work of Christ and its various doctrinal constitutive elements were rich and multifaceted, ranging across biblical and exegetical, historical, philosophical, and theological fields of inquiry. Among the most contested questions in these discussions was the question of the necessity of Christ's satisfaction. This study sets that "great controverted point," as Richard Baxter called it, in its historical and traditionary contexts and provides a philosophical and theological analysis of the arguments offered by two representative Reformed scholastic theologians, William Twisse and John Owen.

In this volume, leading systematic theologians and New Testament scholars working today undertake a fresh and constructive interdisciplinary engagement with key eschatological themes in Christian theology in close conversation with the work of Karl Barth. Ranging from close exegetical studies of Barth's treatment of eschatological themes in his commentary on Romans or lectures on 1 Corinthians, to examination of his mature dogmatic discussions of death and evil, this volume offers a fascinating variety of insights into both Barth's theology and its legacy, as well as the eschatological dimensions of the biblical witness and its salience for both the academy and church. Contributors are: John M. G. Barclay, Douglas Campbell, Christophe Chalamet, Kaitlyn Dugan, Nancy J. Duff, Susan Eastman, Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Grant Macaskill, Kenneth Oakes, Christoph Schwoebel Christiane Tietz, Philip G. Ziegler.

In the second volume of her Essays in Ecumenical Theology, Ivana Noble engages in conversation with Orthodox theologians and spiritual writers on diverse questions, such as how to discover the human heart, what illumination by the divine light means, how spiritual life is connected to attitudes and acts of social solidarity, why sacrificial thinking may not be the best frame for expressing Christ's redemption, why theological anthropology needs to have a strong ecological dimension, why freedom needs to coexist with love for others, and why institutions find the ability to be helpful not only in their own traditions but also in the Spirit that blows where it wills.