This new edition introduces the reader to the philosophy of early Christianity in the second to fourth centuries AD, and contextualizes the philosophical contributions of early Christians in the framework of the ancient philosophical debates. It examines the first attempts of Christian thinkers to engage with issues such as questions of cosmogony and first principles, freedom of choice, concept formation, and the body-soul relation, as well as later questions like the status of the divine persons of the Trinity. It also aims to show that the philosophy of early Christianity is part of ancient philosophy as a distinct school of thought, being in constant dialogue with the ancient philosophical schools, such as Platonism, Aristotelianism, Stoicism, and even Epicureanism and Scepticism. This book examines in detail the philosophical views of Christian thinkers such as Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Basil, and Gregory of Nyssa, and sheds light in the distinct ways they conceptualized traditional philosophical issues and made some intriguing contributions. The book's core chapters survey the central philosophical concerns of the early Christian thinkers and examines their contributions. These range across natural philosophy, metaphysics, logic and epistemology, psychology, and ethics, and include such questions as how the world came into being, how God relates to the world, the status of matter, how we can gain knowledge, in what sense humans have freedom of choice, what the nature of soul is and how it relates to the body, and how we can attain happiness and salvation. This revised edition takes into account the recent developments in the area of later ancient philosophy, especially in the philosophy of Early Christianity, and integrates them in the relevant chapters, some of which are now heavily expanded. The Philosophy of Early Christianity remains a crucial introduction to the subject for undergraduate and postgraduate students of ancient philosophy and early Christianity, across the disciplines of classics, history, and theology.

This book reconstructs the connection between religion and migration, drawing on post-colonial perspectives to shed light on what religion can contribute to migrant encounters. Examining the resources and motives for hospitality as lived in Christian contexts in the Nordic region, it addresses the content of talk about "religion" in public discourse, the concept having become something of an empty signifier in debates surrounding migration. Multidisciplinary in approach, this volume demonstrates that "religion" is not, in fact, an empty signifier, but gains substance through practice and interpretation. Considering the undeveloped potentiality of religion and the manner in which the unseen religious perspective in secularity becomes manifest in practice, this volume will appeal to social scientists and scholars of religion with interests in migration, refugee studies, theology, and Christian practice.

What buried secret lies beneath the stones of one of England's greatest former churches and shrines, the Benedictine Abbey of Bury St Edmunds? The search for the final resting place of King Edmund has led to this site, beneath which Francis Young argues the lost king's remains are waiting to be found. Edmund: In Search of England's Lost King explores the history of the martyred monarch of East Anglia and England's first patron saint, showing how he became a pivotal figure around whom Saxons, Danes and Normans all rallied. Young also examines Edmund's legacy in the centuries since his death at the hands of marauding Vikings in the 9th century. In doing so, this fascinating book points to the imminent rediscovery of the ruler who created England.

This book is about contemporary senses of life after death in the United States, Japan, and China. By collecting and examining hundreds of interviews with people from all walks of life in these three societies, the book presents and compares personally held beliefs, experiences, and interactions with the concept of life after death. Three major aspects covered by the book Include, but are certainly not limited to, the enduring tradition of Japanese ancestor veneration, China's transition from state-sponsored materialism to the increasing belief in some form of afterlife, as well as the diversity in senses of, or disbelief in, life after death in the United States. Through these diverse first-hand testimonies the book reveals that underlying these changes in each society there is a shift from collective to individual belief, with people developing their own visions of what may, or may not, happen after death. This book will be valuable reading for students of Anthropology as well as Religious, Cultural, Asian and American Studies. It will also be an impactful resource for professionals such as doctors, nurses, and hospice workers.

Mobile Saints examines the central medieval (ca. 950-1150 CE) practice of removing saints' relics from rural monasteries in order to take them on out-and-back journeys, particularly within northern France and the Low Countries. Though the permanent displacements of relics-translations- have long been understood as politically and culturally significant activities, these temporary circulations have received relatively little attention. Yet the act of taking a medieval relic from its "home," even for a short time, had the power to transform the object, the people it encountered, and the landscape it traveled through. Using hagiographical and liturgical texts, this study reveals both the opportunities and tensions associated with these movements: circulating relics extended the power of the saint into the wider world, but could also provoke public displays of competition, mockery, and resistance. By contextualizing these effects within the discourses and practices that surrounded traveling relics, Mobile Saints emphasizes the complexities of the central medieval cult of relics and its participants, while speaking to broader questions about the role of movement in negotiating the relationships between sacred objects, space, and people.

Enlivened with 102 photographs and 50 figures and maps, "Shamans, Witches, and Maya Priests" explores the "old ways" that still prevail in the Q'anjob'al, Akatek, and Chuj communities of the remote northwestern Cuchumatan Mountains. Krystyna Deuss provides vivid descriptions and images of the traditional rites and rituals she witnessed during fifteen years of fieldwork. These sacred moments include blood sacrifices for the good of the community and private shamanic rituals--as well as black magic. Deuss also includes a selection of the prayers she recorded.

First edition of supplications concerning England and Wales from the Apostolic Penitentiary - an essential resource for any historian of the pre-Reformation Church. The Apostolic Penitentiary was and remains the highest office in the Catholic Church concerned with sin and matters of conscience. The papacy reserved to itself absolution from certain grave sins, and successive popes empowered the cardinal penitentiary in charge of the office to absolve sinners in these reserved cases, which included violence against or by the clergy and abandonment of the religious life. The cardinal was also authorised to grant other favours that were a papal monopoly, including dispensations, notably for marriages between close relatives normally forbidden by church law, and special licences, for example allowing confession to a personal chaplain rather than one's parish priest. Petitioners from across Western Europe requested such favours in their thousands and their supplications shed important new light on religious, social and even political history, covering themes as varied as marriage, sexual deviance, violence, the religious life, popular piety, illegitimacy, and pilgrimage. This valuable evidence, recorded in the registers of the Apostolic Penitentiary held in the Vatican Archives, has only beenavailable to researchers since 1983. This edition makes accessible for the first time over 4,000 supplications concerning England and Wales in the office's fifty earliest surviving registers; they are presented with notes and introduction and other apparatus. Peter D. Clarke is Reader in Medieval History at the University of Southampton; Patrick N.R. Zutshi is Keeper of Manuscripts and University Archives, Cambridge University Library, and a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

An increasingly popular area of religious studies, theology and biblical studies. Comprehensive coverage for a textbook for courses on Bible and Film. This new edition includes new pedagogy including key words, a bibliography of movies and revision questions.

When it comes to talking about the activity of directing the church, the language of leadership and leaders is increasingly popular. Yet what is leadership - and how might theological narratives better resource the discourse and practice of leadership in ecclesial contexts? In identifying and critiquing managerialism as a dominant narrative of leadership in the Western church, this book calls for an alternative approach founded on the concept of friendship. Engaging with the wider field of leadership studies, the book establishes an understanding of leadership activity and brings it into conversation with an incarnational ecclesiology. The result is a prophetic reimagining of ecclesial leadership in terms of a relational, kenotic praxis. This praxis of mutuality and love is framed here in the rich language of Christian friendship. The book also wrestles deeply with the embodiment of such a praxis, making explicit the power behaviours typical of friendship-leadership and offering constructive guidance for practitioners in the task of implementation within a complex and fractured world. This book offers a new vision of the centrality of friendship to leadership of a healthy church community. As such, it will be of great use to scholars of practical theology, ecclesiology and leadership, as well as practitioners in church ministry.

An insightful exploration into Christianity today written especially for Jews.

For many Jews, discerning the differences among various Christian groups is perplexing. As a result, they are stuck with an outdated understanding of Christian beliefs, practices and attitudes, especially with regard to their relationship with Judaism, Jews and Israel.

But Christian views are evolving, particularly since the landmark 1965 Catholic statement known as Nostra Aetate that forever changed the landscape of Jewish-Christian relations. This intriguing, brief introduction focuses on the changing Christian currents within the Roman Catholic Church, Protestant denominations, nondenominational megachurches and the emergent church. It also explores the essential doctrines that undergird most Christian belief, including sin, salvation, Jesus as the Messiah, the Second Coming and Christian Zionism and compares them to the Jewish understanding of these issues.

Designed to answer Jews common questions about Christianity, this enlightening overview is also an excellent interfaith resource that will help all readers understand the changing Christian climate and what its implications are for the future of Judaism and interfaith relations.

- This book integrates compassionate-based approaches with current theories and practices in loss, grief, and bereavement to provide readers with new insights and understanding on supporting patients, families, and healthcare workers facing the many challenges associated with loss and grief. - This book provides a holistic overview on the theoretical foundations of compassion, with in-depth discussions on the essential components of compassion training, as well as practical examples on how compassionate-based approaches can be applied in situations of loss, grief, and bereavement. - This book consolidates and presents the most innovative and cutting-edge research, interventions, and techniques on compassionate-based approaches from international leaders in the field to offer diverse perspectives on the applications of compassion based approaches to a variety of settings relevant to loss and grief. -This book draws upon current practices in compassion that are readily applicable to both clinicians and their clients alike, helping to develop greater capacity and insight into the loss and grief that we experience in our lives.

Behind the glamour and the crowds. Beyond the movies and the records. Apart from all who knew him, wanted to know him, or just wanted to be near him. Billy Stanley knew Elvis Presley as a brother-and as a man of deep faith. From the day Billy Stanley arrived at Graceland and received a bear hug from the King of Rock and Roll to the last conversation they ever had, one thing stayed the same: Elvis's passion for sharing God's love with as many people he could. In The Faith of Elvis,Billy illuminates Elvis's Christian journey-from the notes Elvis made in his beloved Bible to his struggles with sin as his fame increased to his remarkable generosity toward fans and movie stars alike. Through this first-hand account, you will find touching family stories of the Elvis that pop culture doesn't know; a keen look into how Elvis intricately wove his faith into every part of his life; insights into the ups-and-downs the four brothers experienced while at home and on the road together; and examples of Elvis's profound influence on others-from those closest to him to his cherished fans and, ultimately, the world at large. Here you will find your own faith strengthened and your heart turned more toward heaven-or as Elvis would say, toward the only true King. Includes a photo insert and discussion and reflection questions for group or individual use.

Rich in historical events and colorfully written, this fascinating account of women in the church spans nearly two thousand years of church history. It tells of events and aspirations, determination and disappointment, patience and achievement that mark the history of daughters of the church from the time of Jesus to the present. The authors have endeavored to present an objective story. The very fact that readers may find themselves surprised now and again by the prominent role of women in certain events and movements proves an inequality that historical narrative has often been guilty of. This is a book about women. It is a setting straight off the record -- a restoring of balance to history that has repeatedly played down the significance of the contributions of women to the theology, the witness, the movements, and the growth of the church. An exegetical study of relevant Scripture passages offers stimulating thought for discussion and for serious reevaluation of historical givens. This volume is enriched by pictures, appendixes, bibliography, and indexes. Like many of the women whose stories it tells, this book has a subdued strength that should not be underestimated.

God's Works Revealed presents a compelling, challenging, and joyful vision for living as a lesbian, gay, or bisexual Catholic today by accepting the divine gift of our sexuality and seeking to live the promises of our baptism. It draws from the deep well of traditional theology, Catholic teaching, and Sacred Scripture while also challenging assumptions that exclude LGB Catholics from the possibility of sexual expression, married life, and participation in the life of the Church. "Informed by theology and formed by the worship of the Church, Albano...engages in serious study and draws on some of the best thought on scripture and natural law theology that has formed his Church's teaching on homosexuality and homosexual actions. He presents not so much a dismissal of what the Church teaches as a critical engagement with that teaching that will point out its insufficiencies and calls for further refinement and reflection. He insists that his experience and that of other gay and lesbian Catholics be taken seriously." -from the foreword "After more than fifty years of ministry on behalf of LGBT Catholics, I have seen considerable developments in Christian understandings about sexuality and gender, which are challenging topics for politicians and Catholics alike. Written from the heart of a faith-filled Catholic gay man who is not a politician, these pages push sexual politics aside and speak to our heads and hearts in a sensible and compelling way. We'll see with new eyes the gifts that persons of various sexual orientations bring to the Church. I recommend this book for all the people of God who are walking the path of synodality with Pope Francis." -Jeannine Gramick, SL, author, and cofounder of New Ways Ministry for LGBT Catholics "God's Works Revealed offers a respectful, well-argued critique of official teachings on homosexuality and the impact on the physical and spiritual lives of LGBTQI people. It is a deeply loving, thoughtful, and ultimately, hopeful dialogue between a gay Catholic and the Church that could open pathways to needed change. Here, you will find truths that speak to your soul." -Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA Sam Albano is a writer, educator, and member of the LGBTQI Catholic community. He currently serves as the national secretary of DignityUSA, the oldest and largest organization of LGBTQI Catholics.

This book presents a critical reading of Kristapurana, the first South Asian retelling of the Bible. In 1579, Thomas Stephens (1549-1619), a young Jesuit priest, arrived in Goa with the aim of preaching Christianity to the local subjects of the Portuguese colony. Kristapurana (1616), a sweeping narrative with 10,962 verses, is his epic poetic retelling of the Christian Bible in the Marathi language. This fascinating text, which first appeared in Roman script, is also one of the earliest printed works in the subcontinent. Kristapurana translated the entire biblical narrative into Marathi a century before Bible translation into South Asian languages began in earnest in Protestant missions. This book contributes to an understanding of translation as it was practiced in South Asia through its study of genre, landscapes, and cultural translation in Kristapurana, while also retelling a history of sacred texts and biblical narratives in the region. It examines this understudied masterpiece of Christian writing from Goa in the early era of Catholic missions and examines themes such as the complexities of the colonial machinery, religious encounters, textual traditions, and multilingualism, providing insight into Portuguese Goa of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The first of its kind, the book makes significant interventions into the current discourse on cultural translation and brings to the fore a hitherto understudied text. It will be an indispensable resource for students and researchers of translation studies, comparative literature, religious studies, biblical studies, English literature, cultural studies, literary history, postcolonial studies, and South Asian studies.

When soldiers in the Civil War called on their religious beliefs in order to cope with the horrors of battle, many looked to the regimental chaplain for guidance and understanding. Clergy were always present to address the spiritual needs of the common soldier and administer to the wounded and dying. But as Warren Armstrong shows, military chaplains provided more than comfort.

In a country profoundly shaped by religion, each side adapted its version of Christianity to support its political views. This book documents the role played by Union chaplains in making better soldiers and supporting the North's military efforts. These ministers in uniform focused on preserving the Union and reminding soldiers that slavery was the central issue in the war, preaching the righteousness of abolition in services held in the mud of campgrounds, and often serving as advocates for freedmen.

Armstrong has drawn on a wide range of documents to explain the duties of Union chaplains and differentiate them from their Southern counterparts. He examines the organization of the chaplaincy and reviews its manuals for guidelines on such matters as cultivating desirable character traits and building makeshift churches. He also sheds light on the personalities of the men who served, examines their attitudes toward the war, and assesses their unofficial role as morale officers for the Union army.

Wherever possible, Armstrong uses chaplains' letters, diaries, and written reports to explain their thoughts and actions in their own words. His book is narrative history with a richly human element, including such episodes as a chaplain who took a fallen soldier's place and died in battle and two chaplains of different faiths who slept together for warmth on a cold winter night at Fredericksburg.

Before the Civil War, the need for a military chaplaincy had been challenged on the grounds of separation of church and state, but the valiant service of chaplains during that conflict helped prove their worth and establish a lasting military tradition. In relating their story, Armstrong's work faithfully documents the contributions chaplains made both to the Union victory and to the form that victory took.

This book introduces and examines the work of two significant 21st century Christian - Muslim dialogue initiatives - "Building Bridges" and the "Christian-Muslim Theological Forum" - and gives close attention to five theological themes that have been addressed in common by them. An overview and analysis, including inception, development, outputs and significance, together with discussion of the select themes - community, scripture, prophecy, prayer and ethics - allows for an in-depth examination of significant contemporary Muslim and Christian scholarship on issues important to both faith communities. The result is a challenging encounter to, arguably, a widespread default presumption of irredeemable mutual hostility and inevitable mutual rejection with instances of violent extremism as a consequence. Demonstrating the reality that deep interreligious engagement is possible between the two faiths today, this book should appeal to a wide readership, including upper undergraduate and graduate teaching as well as professionals and practitioners in the field of Christian-Muslim relations.

This volume argues that ancient Greek girls and early Christian virgins and their families made use of rhetorically similar traditions of marriage to an otherworldly bridegroom in order to handle the problem of a girl's denied or disrupted transition into adulthood. In both ancient Greece and early Christian Rome, the standard female transition into adulthood was marked by marriage, sex, and childbirth. When problems arose just before or during this transition, the transitional girl's status within society became insecure. Walker presents a case for how and why the dead Greek virgin girl, depicted in Archaic through Hellenistic sources, in both texts and inscriptions, as a bride of Hades, and the life-long female Christian virgin or celibate ascetic, dubbed the bride of Christ around the third century CE, provide a fruitful point of comparison as particular examples of strategies used to neutralize the tension of disrupted female transition into adulthood. Bride of Hades to Bride of Christ offers a fascinating comparative study that will be of interest to anyone working on virginity and womanhood in the ancient world.

As the third volume of a three-volume set on the indigenization of Christianity in modern China, this book analyzes the endeavors of Christianity in adapting to the changing social environment between the late 1920s and the end of the twentieth century. Over the course of its growth in modern China, Christianity has faced many twists and turns in attempting to embed itself in Chinese society and indigenous culture. This three-volume set delineates the genesis and trajectory of Christianity's indigenization in China over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, highlighting the actions of Chinese Christians and the relationship between the development of Christianity in China and modern Chinese history. Chapters in this volume focuses on the late 1920s; the 1930s and the period before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The author discusses key transitions in indigenizing Christianity, including efforts to bring the religion to rural regions, devotions to anti-Japanese national salvation, discussions on the coexistence of Communism and Christianity and the Church's adaptation to accommodate Chinese society after 1949. The book will appeal to scholars and students interested in the history of Christianity in China and modern Chinese history.

Gives insight into why Christianity must be indigenized in China. A discussion of interactions between Christianity and modern Chinese history and politics. An illumination of inseparability of the Chinese culture and indigenization of Chinese Church.

This book offers a theological, and more specifically ecclesiological, response to the philosophical problem of divine hiddenness. It engages with philosopher J.L. Schellenberg's argument on hiddenness and sets out a theologically rich and fresh response, drawing on the ecclesiological thought of Gregory of Nyssa. With careful attention to Gregory's work, the book shows how certain ecclesiological problems and themes are critical to the hiddenness argument. It looks to the gathered church (the church as the body of Christ) and the scattered church (the church as the image of God) for relevance to the hiddenness problem. The volume will be of interest to scholars of theology and philosophy, particularly analytic theologians and philosophers of religion.

This book focuses on Akan-speaking Ghanaians in London and explores in detail the experience of African migrants living in Britain, investigating how they construct their British citizenship through their membership of the church. Building on extensive ethnographic research in London and Ghana, the author explores the relationship between religion and citizenship, the emergence of transnational subjectivities, and the making of diaspora aesthetics among African migrants. Starting from the understanding that citizenship is dialogical, a status mediated by a subject's multiple and intersecting identities, the author highlights the limitations of existing conceptualisations of migrant citizenship. Anchored in a case study of the British/Ghanaian Methodist Church as a transnational religious organisation and cultural polity, the book explores diasporic religious subjectivities as both cosmopolitan and transnational, while being configured in emotionally and morally significant ways by the Methodist Church, as well as family, ethnicity, and nation. Interdisciplinary by nature, this book will be of interest to a wide range of researchers and scholars across the social sciences and humanities working in the fields of anthropology, religion, sociology, postcolonial studies, and African studies, and additionally policy makers interested in diaspora and migration studies.

A companion workbook to the bestselling book by Borg, "The Heart of Christianity" helps readers digest what they learn in the book and put this new faith into action.