Highly regarded biblical scholar and speaker Christopher Wright shows us that how we read the Bible has a profound impact on how we understand what mission is. According to Wright, "People read (and preach) the Bible in tiny bits and pieces, for its promises or rules or doctrines, and fail to take it . . . as the true story of the universe, past, present, and future, within the plan and purposes of God--as the true story of the universe, past, present, and future, within the plan and purposes of God--a story in which we are called to participate as coworkers with God." Wright encourages us to explore the Bible's grand narrative and to bring the whole counsel of God in Scripture to our understanding of who we are and what we must do as God's people. He helps us understand mission in its broadest sense, including our creational responsibilities. Wright's goal is to get us excited about the dramatic vista of the whole Bible and to help us understand the breadth and depth of missional engagement that we are called to live as actors in that drama.

Zen and Therapy brings together aspects of the Buddhist tradition, contemporary western therapy and western philosophy. By combining insightful anecdotes from the Zen tradition with clinical studies, discussions of current psychotherapy theory and forays into art, film, literature and philosophy, Manu Bazzano integrates Zen Buddhist practice with psychotherapy and psychology. This book successfully expands the existing dialogue on the integration of Buddhism, psychology and philosophy, highlighting areas that have been neglected and bypassed. It explores a third way between the two dominant modalities, the religious and the secular, a positively ambivalent stance rooted in embodied practice, and the cultivation of compassion and active perplexity. It presents a life-affirming view: the wonder, beauty and complexity of being human. Intended for both experienced practitioners and beginners in the fields of psychotherapy and philosophy, Zen and Therapy provides an enlightening and engaging exploration of a previously underexplored area.

Originally published in 1953, The Birth of Christianity analyses the development of Christian doctrine and the establishment of the Church. The book traces the history of the formation of the Church as a new religious society and considers its development both in the realm of thought as well as on a social level, in both emotional life and moral action. It explores how the Christian faith first found expression in society through a variety of forms that were gradually assimilated into one system of doctrine, and examines both how Christian theology and dogma were formed, and how the Church developed its constitution. The Birth of Christianity will appeal to those with an interest in the history of religion, the history of Christianity, theology, and the philosophy of religion.

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.

Eighteenth-Century Dissent and Cambridge Platonism identifies an ethically and politically engaged philosophy of religion in eighteenth century Rational Dissent, particularly in the work of Richard Price (1723-1791), and in the radical thought of Mary Wollstonecraft. It traces their ethico-political account of reason, natural theology and human freedom back to seventeenth century Cambridge Platonism and thereby shows how popular histories of the philosophy of religion in modernity have been over-determined both by analytic philosophy of religion and by its critics. The eighteenth century has typically been portrayed as an age of reason, defined as a project of rationalism, liberalism and increasing secularisation, leading inevitably to nihilism and the collapse of modernity. Within this narrative, the Rational Dissenters have been accused of being the culmination of eighteenth-century rationalism in Britain, epitomising the philosophy of modernity. This book challenges this reading of history by highlighting the importance of teleology, deiformity, the immutability of goodness and the divinity of reason within the tradition of Rational Dissent, and it demonstrates that the philosophy and ethics of both Price and Wollstonecraft are profoundly theological. Price's philosophy of political liberty, and Wollstonecraft's feminism, both grounded in a Platonic conception of freedom, are perfectionist and radical rather than liberal. This has important implications for understanding the political nature of eighteenth-century philosophical theology: these thinkers represent not so much a shaking off of religion by secular rationality but a challenge to religious and political hegemony. By distinguishing Price and Wollstonecraft from other forms of rationalism including deism and Socinianism, this book takes issue with the popular division of eighteenth-century philosophy into rationalistic and empirical strands and, through considering the legacy of Cambridge Platonism, draws attention to an alternative philosophy of religion that lies between both empiricism and discursive inference.

Collected Studies CS1064 This collection of Giles Constable's key articles on medieval monastic and ecclesiastical history provides nothing less than a comprehensive overview of research in the field. The book provides an insight into monastic life in the Middle Ages - from Germany to Normandy and from England to Sicily.

Church History reveals that Christianity has its roots in Palestine during the first century and was spread throughout the Mediterranean countries by the Apostles. However, despite sharing the same ancestry, Muslims and Christians have been living in a challenging symbiotic co-existence for more than fourteen centuries in many parts of South-Eastern Europe and the Middle East. This book analyses contemporary Christian-Muslim relations in the traditional lands of Orthodoxy and Islam. In particular, it examines the development of Eastern Orthodox ecclesiological thinking on Muslim-Christian relations and religious minorities in the context of modern Greece and Turkey. Greece, where the prevailing religion is Eastern Orthodoxy, accommodates an official recognised Muslim minority based in Western Thrace as well as other Muslim populations located at major Greek urban centres and the islands of the Aegean Sea. On the other hand, Turkey, where the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is based, is a Muslim country which accommodates within its borders an official recognised Greek Orthodox Minority. The book then suggests ways in which to overcome the difficulties that Muslim and Christian communities are still facing with the Turkish and Greek States. Finally, it proposes that the positive aspects of the coexistence between Muslims and Christians in Western Thrace and Istanbul might constitute an original model that should be adopted in other EU and Middle East countries, where challenges and obstacles between Muslim and Christian communities still persist. This book offers a distinct and useful contribution to the ever popular subject of Christian-Muslim relations, especially in South-East Europe and the Middle East. It will be a key resource for students and scholars of Religious Studies and Middle Eastern Studies.

- timely as it applies Jungian theory to the current cultural crises of the West - potential to become evergreen seller, addressing fundamental concepts of the structure, pathologies, and peculiarities of the human psyche

1. This book looks at the relationship between Islam and education and studies educational institutions-both school-level and higher education colleges/universities-which have been established and are run by Muslim communities, and examines the numerous innovations happening across the country. 2. The book questions the stereotype of the 'Indian Muslim' and notes the varying and divergent notions about 'reform'. 3. It will be of interest to departments of history of education, religious education, comparative education, contemporary social issues across the UK/US. It will also be useful to people working with policy and non-government personnel, Islam and educational reform, and educational planners

This book examines how Christian love can inform legal thought. The work introduces love as a way to advance the emergent conversation between constructive theology and jurisprudence that will also inform conversations in philosophy and political theory. Love is the central category for Christian ethical understanding. Yet, the growing field of law and religion, and relatedly law and theology, rarely addresses how love can shape our understanding of law. This reflects, in part, a common assumption that law and love stand in necessary tension. Love applies to the private and the personal. Law, by contrast, applies to the public and the political, realms governed by power. It is thus a mistake to envisage love as having anything but a negative relationship to law. This conclusion continues to govern Christian understandings of the meaning and vocation of law. The animating idea of this volume is that the concept of love can and should inform Christian legal thought. The project approaches this task from the perspective of both historical and constructive theology. Various contributions examine how such thinkers as Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin utilised love in their legal thought. These essays highlight often neglected aspects of the Christian tradition. Other contributions examine Christian love in light of contemporary legal topics including civility, forgiveness, and secularism. Love, the book proposes, not only matters for law but can transform the terms on which Christians understand and engage it. The book will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of legal theory; law and religion; law and philosophy; legal history; theology and religious studies; and political theory.

Originally published in 1948, Christianity and Fear explores the nature and history of Christian love in relation to the problem of fear. Based on methods of depth psychology and mental hygiene, the book argues for the necessity of a general concentration of the Christian religion and way of life upon the unity of love through faith and faith through love. It presents the struggle between the teaching of Christian love and the many instances of disputes on dogma that have prompted hatred and fear throughout ecclesiastical history. By using the theory of fear and compulsions, it attempts to explain the directions assumed by these aberrations in Christian history and to highlight love as the essence of the teaching of Jesus. Christianity and Fear will appeal to those with an interest in the history of Christianity, theology, and the psychology of religion.

One of the keys to effectively preaching and teaching God's Word is a deep understanding of the meaning of biblical words in the original Hebrew and Greek. As the building blocks of language, words are the means we use to communicate with one another, and they're also the means God has chosen for communicating with us, his people. To enrich your preaching, teaching, and personal study of God's Word, this clear, accurate, and easy-to-use dictionary offers the most up-to-date evangelical biblical scholarship as well as fascinating, detailed explanations of biblical words. Whether you're a pastor, a seminary student, or a lay student of the Bible, this expository dictionary offers a wealth of information about the original Hebrew and Greek words of Scripture.

This book opens a new interdisciplinary frontier between religion and theatre studies to illuminate what has been seen as the religious, or spiritual, nature of Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski's work. It corrects the lacunae in both theatre studies and religious studies by examining the interaction between the two fields in his artistic output. The central argument of the text is that through an embodied and materialist approach to religion, developed in the work of Michel Foucault and religious studies scholar Manuel Vasquez, as well as a critical reading of the concepts of the New Age, a new understanding of Grotowski and religion can be developed. It is possible to show how Grotowski's work articulated spiritual experience within the body; achieving a removal of spirituality from ecclesial authorities and relocating spiritual experience within the body of the performer. This is a unique analysis of one of the 20th Century's most famous theatrical figures. As such, it is a vital reference for academics in both Religion and Theatre Studies that have an interest in the spiritual aspects of Grotowski's work.

Producing Christian Culture takes as its thread the 'interpretative genres' within which medieval people engaged with the Bible. Contributors to the volume present specific material as a case study illustrative of a specific genre, whether devotional, homiletical, scholarly, or controversial. The chronological range moves from St Augustine to the use of gospel texts in polemical writing of the first two decades of the 1500s, with focal sections on early medieval Anglo-Saxon and Carolingian theology, the scholastic turn of the High Middle Ages, and the influence of vernacular writing in the later Middle Ages. The tremendous range and vitality of medieval responses to biblical texts are highlighted within the studies.

Encounter a Deeper Experience of God’s Goodness and Love Names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another. They often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. This is especially true when it comes to the names and titles of God recorded in the Bible. Based on Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus, two bestselling books by Ann Spangler, this unique Bible study helps you explore the most important of God’s names and titles as they are revealed in the Bible. It also teaches you how to pray with specific focus on each of the names of God. Each week’s study includes: The name in English as well as in its original language, plus a brief explanation of its meaning. A key passage, from The Names of God Bible, in which the name is revealed. This translation places the Hebrew name of God directly into the English text, which will allow you to recognize each name as you compare the passage to your preferred Bible translation. Context to help you understand the name. Questions for personal reflection. Guidance to help you pray the name of God for that week. Space to write your own prayers containing God’s name. This 52-week study on the names and titles of God will help you experience him in fresh and deeper ways, revealing many surprising connections between the Old and New Testaments. As you explore his names, you will come face-to-face with the God of Scripture—a God who is both the greatest of all Kings and the most loving of all Fathers. A God enthroned on high who bends low so that we can come to know him.

Erkennen Sie die Weisheit und die Kraft der heiligen Schrift der Muslime Der Autor Sohaib Sultan ist fasziniert von der Schonheit und Kraft des Korans und seine Uberzeugung schlagt sich in diesem Buch nieder. Was wissen Sie uber den Koran? Vielleicht nicht mehr, als dass er Leitfaden fur das tagliche Leben der Muslime ist, in manchen Landern sogar Grundlage fur die Rechtsprechung. Sohaib Sultan berichtet, wie der Koran Mohammed offenbart wurde und welche unterschiedlichen Auslegungen es gibt. Dieses Buch fuhrt Sie als Leser in die unbekannte, filigrane Gedankenwelt des Korans ein.

Originally published in 1981, Who Cares? Christianity and Modern Problems explores a wide range of social problems and how they relate to Christianity. The book covers a variety of topics, including family, poverty, money, race, work, war, leisure, government, sex and marriage, and religion. In each case, it draws connections to Christian teaching and reflects the facts and attitudes of the time in which it was written. Adopting a flexible approach to study, the chapters and subjects discussed can be read in any order. The book is also equipped with a selection of exam questions set by various examining boards at the time of original publication. Who Cares? Christianity and Modern Problems will appeal to those with an interest in social history, religious history, and education.

Originally published in 1958, The Cathedral is a verse sequence evoking the spirit of an English cathedral and the characters associated with its history. Although Salisbury is at its core, the book does not focus on the portrait of one specific cathedral, but instead includes features from many. It brings to life the figures that it portrays, giving voices to a wide variety of characters from the Peasant's Daughter to The Devil, and the Spire-Builder to the Queen. The Cathedral will appeal to those with an interest in poetry, Christianity, and religious architecture.

Originally published in 1970, Peter Abelard provides an exploration into the social and religious background to the story of Abelard and Heloise. The book presents the twelfth century as an age of renaissance, which saw the revival of Greek philosophy and Roman law, a renaissance just as important as that which was to come three centuries later. Through an examination of the life of Peter Abelard, the book offers an insight into this age of enlightenment in which dialects flourished and religious thought began to break away from the bonds of traditionalism. Peter Abelard will appeal to those with an interest in religious and social history, medieval history, and the story of Abelard and Heloise.

Originally published in 1986. The Force of the Feminine brings together the work of Christians from a number of denominations in examining different aspects of the task of converting the Church to the 'feminine'. Women have by and large occupied a subordinate position within the Church: men have written the theology; in the majority of denominations only men have always been permitted to be priests or ministers. The book explores how to awaken individual Christians to the need to feminise Church structures and, further, the possible need to rethink the very notion of God. The Force of the Feminine will appeal to those with an interest in religious studies, the history of Christianity, and religion and gender.

Originally published in 1926, Christianity in the Making is a consideration of the processes of birth, growth and change observable in the first centuries of Christianity. The book draws attention to the key problems and debates that arise in studying the development of Christianity and encourages analysis of early Christian documents. Beginning with an overview of the life and death of Jesus, it reconstructs the main stages of the movement which resulted in Christianity and explores how it transitioned from a purely Jewish community with a narrow theology and apocalyptic outlook into a world-wide organisation. Christianity in the Making is ideal for readers with an interest in the history of Christianity, the history of religion, religious philosophy, and the development of Christian theology.

Originally published in 1961, Christianity Among the Religions examines whether it is possible to learn from other religions without compromising on personal religious loyalties. The book traces from the thirteenth century the gradual awakening of the West to the spiritual qualities of other religions and the various efforts made to place them in relation to Christianity. It explores the reports sent home by Jesuit missionaries in China, the advance in knowledge in nineteenth-century Europe, and the gradual decline in Western "provincialism". In doing so, the book puts forwards suggestions for the relation between Christianity and other religions and calls for open conversations between representatives of different faiths with the aim of increased unity of spirit. Christianity Among the Religions will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of Christianity and religious studies more generally.

First published in 1980, The Christian Mystery presents a new approach to considering the Mysteries of the Faith. The book examines the doctrines of Christianity, analysing them closely and showing how together they constitute an invisible whole. It argues that churches should turn back to the esoteric teachings known by the first Christians and explores how Christianity has developed the primal Tradition of which Jesus was Representative. The Christian Mystery will appeal to those with an interest in theology, the philosophy of religion, and the history of Christianity.