Wie steht es um die Vereinbarkeit von Islam und Menschenrechten? Wiederholt wird eine vermeintliche Unvereinbarkeit behauptet, die u.a. auf der Annahme fusst, dass die Menschenrechte ihren genuinen Ursprung im christlich-fortschrittlichen Abendland hatten. Mit Mohammad Hashim Kamali und Saffet Koese befassen sich zwei Wissenschaftler aus verschiedenen Gegenden der islamischen Welt mit den Menschenrechten aus einer sachlich-kritischen islamischen Binnenperspektive heraus. Anhand von Koran und Sunna weisen die Autoren eine Vielzahl von Menschenrechtsaspekten nach und zeigen ein weit ausgreifendes Spektrum an Verbindungen und Kompatibilitaten mit den Menschenrechtsideen auf. Beide Autoren rekurrieren in ihren Ausfuhrungen auf die Bestimmungen der Allgemeinen Erklarung der Menschenrechte und leisten somit eine komparative Betrachtungsweise von menschenrechtlichen Paradigmen und ethisch-moralischen Grundwerten des Islams.

Diese Gedenkschrift wurdigt Carl Gerold Furst als Wissenschaftler, der sich durch sein kompetentes und selbstloses Engagement hohe Verdienste um Lehre und Praxis des kanonischen Rechtes erworben hat. Die im Band enthaltenen Beitrage weisen eine breite Vielfalt auf: Sie behandeln vor allem das materielle Recht der Katholischen Ostkirchen, aber auch das der Lateinischen Kirche sowie die kirchliche Rechtsgeschichte. Auf diese Weise ergeben Sie ein Spiegelbild der weit gefacherten Forschungsschwerpunkte von Carl Gerold Furst, der am 7. August 2012 verstorben ist, dessen Lebenswerk gleichwohl eng mit der Erstellung des CCEO verbunden bleiben wird. Aus seinen Mitgliedschaften in zahlreichen bedeutenden wissenschaftlichen und kirchlichen Gremien sei lediglich eine ihn besonders pragende erwahnt: Von 1978 bis 1990 war Furst Konsultor der Papstlichen Kommission fur die Revision des Rechts der Katholischen Ostkirchen und somit massgeblich an der Erstellung des Gesetzbuches fur die orientalischen Katholischen Kirchen beteiligt. Papst Johannes Paul II. erwahnte Furst bei der Vorstellung dieses Codex namentlich. Sein Heimatland OEsterreich verlieh dem geburtigen Wiener das "Ehrenkreuz fur Wissenschaft und Kunst I. Klasse", Johannes Paul II. zeichnete ihn mit dem Orden eines Grossoffiziers (Komtur mit Stern) des Papstlichen Gregoriusordens aus.

Die Kongregationen von Windesheim und Bursfelde waren die groessten Klosterverbande, die im Zuge der spatmittelalterlichen Ordensreformen entstanden. Den Wirkungen dieser Reformbewegungen auf Kloester in Holstein, Lubeck und Hamburg ist die Studie gewidmet. Damit wird eine von den Zentren der Reform aus gesehen periphere Klosterlandschaft in den Blick genommen. Das Erkenntnisinteresse der Studie richtet sich dabei sowohl auf den Prozess der Reformeinfuhrung als auch auf die innerkloesterliche Umsetzung. Einerseits wird untersucht, wie sich der actus reformationis mit den daran beteiligten Handlungstragern gestaltete. Andererseits wird der Frage nach einer Verinnerlichung der Reform anhand zweier Schriftzeugnisse, namlich des Cismarer Nekrologs und der Bordesholmer Professurkunden, nachgegangen.

Deals with all aspects of the role and responsibility of being a Churchwarden. The aim of this book is to encourage Churchwardens to approach their role with confidence, and with the knowledge that much can be achieved in their term of office. The C of E has 30,000 churchwardens, of which several thousand are elected for the first time every year. "Churchwardens are the great unsung heroes of the Church of England" says the Rt Rev Michael Ipgrave, Bishop of Lichfield, in his foreword to this book. "The great strength of Matthew Clements' writing is that he sets the sometimes dry duties and responsibilities of wardenship within the warm context of human lives lived joyously and devotedly in the service of Christ and his beloved Church. All will find in this book practical wisdom, shrewd commonsense and indefatigable commitment to a noble cause." The role of the churchwarden in the Anglican Church has not changed much over the years, although perhaps the respectability and authority of the role has diminished. It is a responsible and important role which, if done conscientiously, will augment the efforts of the clergy and encourage the congregation, thus strengthening the Body of the church. This book is for all current churchwardens as well as all those (sometimes reluctant) volunteers who are considering the possibility of becoming churchwardens in the future. Additionally, it will be useful for anyone else in the church who is able to admit to themselves that they don't really know what the churchwarden actually does. Told with gentle humour based on solid experience and pragmatism, Matthew Clements details the extensive boundaries of a churchwarden's responsibilities and gives many examples from his own experience of just what the job can entail. There are many pitfalls that await the unwary, and there are many joys as well.

This book is the first monograph devoted to the life, work, and thought of Palladius of Helenopolis (ca. 362-420), an important witness of Christianity in late antiquity. Palladius' Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom and his Lausiac History are key sources for our knowledge of John Chrysostom's downfall and of the Origenist controversy, and they both provide rich information concerning many notable ecclesiastical personalities such as John Chrysostom, Theophilus of Alexandria, Jerome, Evagrius of Pontus, Melania the Elder, Isidore of Alexandria, and the Tall Brothers.
Demetrios S. Katos employs late antique theories of judicial rhetoric and argumentation, theories whose significance is only now becoming apparent to late antique scholars, to elicit new insights from the Dialogue regarding the controversy that resulted in the death of John Chrysostom. He also demonstrates that the Lausiac History deliberately promoted to the imperial court of Pulcheria a spiritual theology that was indebted to his guide Evagrius and more broadly to the legacy of Origen, despite Jerome's recent attacks against both. Palladius emerges from this account not merely as a peripatetic monk, his own preferred self-portrait that has prevailed in most modern accounts, but as an ecclesiastical statesman who passionately supported both the causes and ideas of his associates in the most pressing controversies of his day.
The study will also be valuable for scholars of late antiquity working in the areas of asceticism, spirituality, pilgrimage, hagiography, and early Christian constructions of gender, for all of which Palladius' works are important sources.

This book identifies the distinguishing features of fundamental theology, as distinct from philosophical theology, natural theology, apologetics, and other similar disciplines. Addressing the potential for confusion about basic Christian claims and beliefs, Gerald O'Collins sets out to relaunch fundamental theology as a discipline by presenting a coherent vision of basic theological questions and positions that lay the ground for work in specific areas of systematic theology.
Rethinking Fundamental Theology examines central theological questions: about God, human experience and, specifically, religious experience; the divine revelation coming through the history of Israel and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus; human faith that responds to revelation; the nature of tradition that transmits the record and reality of revelation; the structure of biblical inspiration and truth, as well as basic issues concerned with the formation of the canon; the founding of the Church with some leadership structures; the relationship between Christ's revelation and the faith of those who follow other religions. O'Collins concludes with some reflections on theological method.
Written with the scholarship and accessibility for which O'Collins is known and valued, this book will relaunch fundamental theology as a distinct and necessary discipline in faculties and departments of theology and religious studies around the world.

A Texas oilman. A brilliant female archaeologist. An unknown world underneath the Vatican.

In 1939, a team of workers beneath the Vatican unearthed an early Christian grave. This surprising discovery launched a secret quest that would last decades — a quest to discover the long-lost burial place of the Apostle Peter.

From earliest times, Christian tradition held that Peter — a lowly fisherman from Galilee, whom Christ made leader of his Church — was executed in Rome by Emperor Nero and buried on Vatican Hill. But his tomb had been lost to history. Now, funded anonymously by a wealthy American, a small army of workers embarked on the dig of a lifetime.

The incredible, sometimes shocking, story of the 75-year search and its key players has never been fully told — until now. The quest would pit one of the 20th century’s most talented archaeologists — a woman — against top Vatican insiders. The Fisherman’s Tomb is a story of the triumph of faith and genius against all odds.

Transformation lays the groundwork for what church and Christian community can become in this new century. Author and pastor Bob Roberts Jr. is one of the architects of this unique approach to Christianity-based on biblical and missional discipleship-that he calls T-Life (transformed life), which leads to a T-World (transformed world). Ever since Jesus' commission to make disciples in his name, Christianity has transformed lives and the world at large. To those watching, it must have looked like an upstart religion led by a group of men, most of whom were martyred for their beliefs. The voice of secular culture today is no louder and no more indulgent than it was in those days. And yet much of the Western church has settled for becoming just another mass media market that's adding to the noise, instead of a movement that continues to turn the world upside down. Drawing inspiration from early church history and the emerging church in the developing world, Roberts envisions a new way of engaging the local church to achieve common goals. He calls for: Building a church culture rather than a church program. Empowering the local church to invest in the global missions field. Consistently reestablishing our relationship with Jesus Christ in order to experience true transformation. In fact, all this begins with a growing, interactive relationship with God that includes personal and corporate worship. This, in turn, results in community. As community serves others, transformation has both a global and local impact and creates transformation in the world. Transformation redefines the focus and practice of the church, not from external bells and whistles, but from the internal transformation of the very character of its people.

Palliative Care ist eine Antwort auf grundlegende Fragen der modernen Medizin: Wie weit wollen, sollen oder mMedizin: Wie weit wollen, sollen oder mussen wir Leben erhalten, verlangern und verbessern, wenn es von unheilbarer Krankheit, Alter oder Sterben begrenzt wird? Was wird fur ein der menschlichen Wurde und Freiheit gerecht werdendes Leben und Sterben gefordert? Ist alles medizinisch Machbare zu tun, oder widerspricht dies persoenlichen und gesellschaftlichen Vorstellungen von einem guten Leben und Sterben? Und dort, wo die heutige Medizin an ihre Grenzen stoesst, wie gehen wir mit dem Leiden und Sterben um? Welche Bedurfnisse stehen in diesen Situationen im Vordergrund? Wie kann ihnen fur moeglichst alle entsprochen werden? Was ist wesentlich in der Beziehung, in Haltung und Verhalten zueinander zwischen jenen, die unheilbar krank sind, die gehen mussen, vielleicht wollen, und jenen, die sie in dieser Situation betreuen und begleiten? Das Buch "Ethik in der Palliative Care" gibt Antworten auf diese Fragen, indem es umfassend die historischen, medizinischen, ethischen und theologischen Hintergrunde von Palliative Care beschreibt und ihren Stellenwert im Schweizer Gesundheitssystem dokumentiert.

The Order of Christ Sophia (OCS) is a small New Religion which, in the short span of eight years, has evoked intense controversy. An unusual synthesis of traditional Catholicism, esoteric cosmology, and psychotherapy, the OCS already has centers in a dozen major cities in the United States. Thus far, however, it has eluded the attention of scholars of alternative religions. A schismatic offshoot of an earlier group, the Holy Order of Man, the OCS developed a distinctive set of beliefs and practices that set it apart from the mother faith. It has cultivated some curious and provocative features for a Christian-based religion, including the elevation of women to full participation and status within the evolving sacred order. Its treatment of gender is refreshingly egalitarian; women can be priests, and Mary is deified and given equal status with Jesus. Another unusual feature of the group is its emphasis on psychology and prescription of intensive psychotherapy for all members. Beyond surveying the history, doctrines and practices of this unusual group, Lewis brings data from his study of the OCS to bear on many items of conventional wisdom in the New Religions field. He shows, for example, that far from joining the Order in response to a 'youth crisis,' the average age of new OCS members is 37. This and a number of other characteristics of the OCS membership challenge generally accepted conclusions about recruits to New Religions. Lewis also examines how various theoretical models, such as Rodney Stark's influential model of religious 'success,' pan out when applied to the OCS. Lewis shows that although some of Stark's postulates are insightful, other aspects of the model are severely deficient. In addition to the six core chapters of the book authored by Lewis, three other experts contribute chapters on: the results of personality and I.Q. tests administered to member; membership attitudes; comparison of OCS with mainstream denominations; and sex roles in the OCS.

The 1960s were a time of explosive religious change. In the Christian churches it was a time of innovation, from the 'new theology' and 'new morality' of Bishop Robinson to the evangelicalism of the Charismatic Movement, and of charismatic leaders, such as Pope John XXIII and Martin Luther King. But it was also a time of rapid social and cultural change when Christianity faced challenges from Eastern religions, from Marxism and feminism, and above all from new 'affluent' lifestyles. Hugh McLeod tells in detail, using oral history, how these movements and conflicts were experienced in England, but because the Sixties were an international phenomenon he also looks at other countries, especially the USA and France. McLeod explains what happened to religion in the 1960s, why it happened, and how the events of that decade shaped the rest of the 20th century.

An updated and modernized edition of the unparalleled classic with resurgent relevance for the twenty-first century Foxe's Book of Martyrs is one of the most influential and well-known books in history, as well as one of the top-sellers of the past, right up there with the Bible itself. Immensely popular in Foxe's own sixteenth century, its influence has been felt throughout literature. Copies of the original text (Acts and Monuments) were chained beside the Bible in churches of England, and even sailed with English pirates. This was not a book designed to comfort, but instead to present the truth of the persecution faced by Protestant Christians in hostile environments. The inscription from the 1563 edition--now commonly known as Foxe's Book of Martyrs--indicates the gravity of the task: "[In] latter and perilous days . . . the great persecutions and horrible troubles . . . [are here] gathered and collected according to true copies and writings . . . of the parties themselves that suffered." Foxe was committed to commemorating the ultimate sacrifice of those who gave their lives for the sake of their faith. Paul L. Maier brings his exceptional mind for history to bear on Foxe's work in this new edition. While abridgement of the original 2,100 pages was necessary, Maier does include every martyr, and text was changed only where modern readers may not readily understand the original archaic wording. John Foxe (1516-1587) was an academic and zealous student of the Scriptures, leading to his persecution as a Protestant by the Catholic rulers of his day. Beyond his work in pastoral ministry, Foxe continued to work on his martyrology until his death.