David L. Rowe asserts that many Mormons view Christian witnessing as Bible bashing. What Christians need to understand, he suggests, is that Latter-day Saints are an entirely separate ethnic group with their own history, values, and customs. Evangelizing Mormons can be so much more effective if Christians first know, understand, and respect Mormon heritage.
With helpful illustrations and discussions of Mormon values and theology, Rowe calls Christians away from confrontational evangelism and instead suggests active listening and respect as a way to bridge Christian beliefs and Mormon culture. A glossary in the back of the book and discussion questions at the end of each chapter will help readers apply these concepts in their own witnessing experiences. In the end, Christians will be more approachable representatives of Christ.

Visions of the good life are conspicuously absent in contemporary culture. This has sent people searching for a se nse of spirituality within themselves, in their communities and traditions, and in the transcendent that lies beyond space and time. Contemporary education has abandoned a c onnection with spirituality and has failed as a consequence to cultivate goodness in people. Yet there is a deep connection between ethics, spirituality, and education. For s piritual visions respond to our quest for a moral life, and the first task of education is to initiate people into communities that celebrate such as life.

Surprising Bedfellows: Hindus and Muslims in Medieval and Early Modern India argues that religious and cultural identities in medieval and early modern India were marked by fluid and constantly shifting relationships rather than by the binary model of opposition that is assumed in so much scholarship. Building on the pioneering work of scholars such as Cynthia Talbot and Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya, these chapters seek to understand identity perception through romances, historical documents, ballads and historical epics, inscriptions and even architecture. The chapters in this volume urge readers to reconsider the simple and rigid application of categories such as Hindu and Muslim when studying South Asia's medieval and early modern past. It is only by doing this that we can understand the past and, perhaps, help prevent the dangerous rewriting of Indian history.

Can the urban church survive? Are churches relevant to public life? These two questions drive John Atherton's thoughtful, sometimes searing and ultimately optimistic study. In secular Britain and Western Europe, churches seem increasingly marginalized from the processes of public discussion, decision-making and policy formation. That marginalization mirrors their marginalization in people's lives, which is most acute in parts of the city populated by those excluded from the main streams of a society's common or public life. It is John Atherton's genius to bring these two issues together: the marginalization of churches and of particular groups in society. Hence, the future of church and its relevance to public life is to be worked out through active concern and commitment in places where other people and groups are marginalized. John Atherton uses a wide range of disciplines to establish this vision, including political philosophy, economics, feminist ethics and theology. His aim is to reconnect Christianity to people and public life by reformulating theology and church (as examples to other disciplines and institutions facing change). This is a perceptive study of how the urban church could disappear in a few decades, and what the options for change are if it embraces a new strategy. This study draws on John Atherton's forty years of ministry in urban areas and teaching political philosophy in universities, and has an unparalleled overview of urban ministry. 'John Atherton brings together his long experience of ministry in Manchester and his wide reading. He connects the local and the global, the theological and the political, examining with passion the "double whammy" of marginalized churches in marginalized communities. Those engaged in campaigning for the poor, in responding to globalization in its many forms, and in seeking the revitalising of the urban church will all find John Atherton challenging many assumptions and giving them an even stronger and broader set of convictions to lend power to their efforts: Peter Selby, Bishop of Worcester 'John Atherton's new book arises out of disciplined reflection on his own deep grappling with economic and social issues and the role of the churches over several decades. This is a rich, honest and realistic book which examines bravely the challenges of the marginalization of millions in our global village, of the poor and minority groups in affluent societies, and of the church and Christian faith in the West. And Atherton has the courage, in dialogue with the best contemporary social theory, to point a way forward. This book deserves to be widely read and discussed. I commend it very warmly: Duncan B. Forrester, Emeritus Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology, New College, The University of Edinburgh.

Marc A. Krell analyzes the theologies of four twentieth-century Jewish thinkers - Hans Joachim Schoeps, Franz Rosenzweig, Richard Rubenstein, and Irving Greenberg - who have constructed theologies based on their interaction with Christian thought and culture. Their work reflects a common attempt to understand the impact of Christian culture on the historical events prior to and following the Holocaust, and to re-evaluate the relationship between the two religions in light of a history of theological anti-Judaism and modern, racial antisemitism. Krell argues that in their attempts to clarify Jewish identity in relation to Christianity, these thinkers reveal that the boundaries between the two faiths have always been blurred. The writing of these theologians illustrates a historical pattern in which Jewish theologies emerge out of a religious and cultural interchange with Christianity.

Much has been written on the relationship between violence and religious militancy, but there has been less research on constructive methods of confronting religious violence. This book represents an innovative attempt to integrate the study of religion with the study of conflict resolution. Marc Gopin offers an analysis of contemporary religious violence as a reaction to the pressures of modernity and the increasing economic integration of the world. He contends that religion is one of the most salient phenomena that will cause massive violence in the next century. He also argues, however, that religion can play a critical role in constructing a global community of shared moral commitments and vision - a community that can limit conflict to its nonviolent, constructive variety.

In this text, Hyam Maccoby controversially suggests that Jesus was not only friendly to the Pharisees, but was actually a member of their group. He aims to throw new light on the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist, exploring the political aspect of their movements and their adherence to the Torah. He looks at evidence from the rabbinic sources to show a strong affinity between Jesus and the Pharisees and discusses previously misunderstood or ignored stories about Jesus found in the Talmud. The book rehabilitates the Pharisees and uses the New Testament to show that there is continuity between Pharisaism and rabbinism. It should prove influential in the strategy to combat anti-Semitism.

What does Jesus mean to a Buddhist, or the Buddha to a Christian? What is it about the Buddha that is appealing to a Christian, or unappealing? In this volume 12 scholars, six of them Christian and six of them Buddhists, speak simply and from the heart about their personal relationship to the great religious leader from the other tradition. The diversity of views within each tradition could be a shock to the average Buddhist or Christian on the street. Buddhists argue about Buddha's nature, Buddha veneration, and the role the Buddha plays in human liberation. Christians argue about Jesus' human and divine status, his uniqueness, and the role he plays in human salvation. The contributors celebrate the family likeness between Jesus and the Buddha, but they also acknowledge the differences as well, for it is at the points of difference that potentially there is the most opportunity for growth.>

Pope Pius XII has often been criticized for his silence during the extermination of European Jewry during World War II. In his defense, some have alleged that the pope was doing a great deal to help the Jews but that his efforts were necessarily behind the scenes. This meticulously researched and balanced book examines exactly what the pope, his advisers, and his assistants at the Vatican Secretariat of State did to help the Jews of Italy. It finds that they did very little. The book begins by discussing prewar Vatican and Jesuit publications, in which Zuccotti uncovers a hitherto unsuspected prevalence of anti-Jewish sentiment. These publications, along with archival documents, indicate that Vatican protests against Italian anti-Jewish laws were limited to measures affecting converts and Jews in mixed marriages with Catholics, as was help with emigration; the papal nuncio's visits to foreign Jews in Italian internment camps did not differ from those to non-Jews and in no way eased their material discomfort; and interventions by diplomats of the Holy See for Jews threatened with deportation were rare, always polite, and seldom decisive. Above all, Zuccotti finds no evidence of a papal directive to church institutions to shelter Jews and much evidence to suggest that the pope remained uninvolved. The notion that Pius XII was benevolent and helpful to Jews behind the scenes proves to be a myth.

In the summer of 1096, marauding crusaders attacked Jewish communities in three Rhineland cities. These violent episodes disrupted what had been a fairly peaceful history of coexistence between Jews and Christians for more than two centuries. Although the two groups inhabited fundamentally different religious universes, Jews and Christians lived in the same towns, on the same streets, and pursued their lives with minimal interference, often with considerable cooperation. However, the events of 1096 caused relations between the two communities to deteriorate, with Jewish communities suffering as a result. The careful analyses of people, events, and texts provide a balanced perspective on the fate of twelfth-century Jewish communities. The contributors reveal considerable evidence that old routines and interactions between Christians and Jews persisted throughout this volatile period. The essays intentionally highlight areas of common or parallel activity: in vernacular literature, in biblical exegesis, in piety and mysticism, in the social context of conversion, in relations with prelates and monarchs, in coping in a time of change, renewal, and upheaval. Most importantly, the contributors insist on integrating both Jewish and Christian perspectives into the larger history of a very complex and increasingly urban twelfth-century Europe. Contributors: John Van Engen, Jeremy Cohen, Ivan G. Marcus, Robert Chazan, Jonathan M. Elukin, William Chester Jordan, Walter Cahn, Jan M. Ziolkowski, Michael A. Signer, Elliott R. Wolfson, Susan Einbinder, Maureen Boulton, Alfred Haverkamp, Gerard Nahon, and Robert C. Stacey.

Hindu God, Christian God offers an in-depth study of key themes common to the Hindu and Christian religious traditions. It redefines how we think about Hinduism, comparative study, and Christian theology. This book offers a bold new look at how the two traditions encounter one another, and how comparisons can be made between the two. Redefining theology as an interreligious, comparative, dialogical, and confessional practice open to people of all traditions, it invites not only Hindus and Christians, but also theologians from all religious traditions, to enter into conversation with one another.

This collection spans both the medieval and early modern period, describing the developments and day-to-day realities of relations between Jews, Muslims and Christians in Spain from the 9th to the 16th centuries. The essays discuss the historiography and the issues raised by the constantly shifting balance of ethnoreligious power, intellectual contact between cultures and social identity throughout the Iberian peninsula.

Global Citizens is a study of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist movement, which was founded in 1930 in Japan, spread rapidly after WWII, and has since developed a world-wide following. The book provides an historical overview of the importance of the development of the movement as an educational reform society, its development into a sect of Nichiren Buddhism. The book also explains the success of Soka Gakkai Buddhism with reference to continuity between Soka Gakkai teachings and the experience of people living in urban, industrial environments and Soka Gakkai's response to the surrounding social and cultural environment.

Black Zion explores the myriad ways in which African American religions have encountered Jewish traditions, beliefs, and spaces. The collection's unifying argument is that religion is the missing piece of the cultural jigsaw puzzle, and that much of the recent turmoil in black-Jewish relations would be better understood, if not alleviated, if the religious roots of those relations were illuminated. Ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Hebrew Israelites and from Abraham Joshua Heschel to Martin Luther King, Jr., the book sheds light on a little examined but vitally important dimension of black-Jewish relations in America.

Black Zion explores the myriad ways in which African American religions have encountered Jewish traditions, beliefs, and spaces. The collection's unifying argument is that religion is the missing piece of the cultural jigsaw puzzle, and that much of the recent turmoil in black-Jewish relations would be better understood, if not alleviated, if the religious roots of those relations were illuminated. Ranging from the Nation of Islam to the Hebrew Israelites and from Abraham Joshua Heschel to Martin Luther King, Jr., the book sheds light on a little examined but vitally important dimension of black-Jewish relations in America.

Two eminent scholars, each expert in his own tradition, take Jewish-Christian dialogue to a new level. Aiming at neither mere description nor conversion, each presents the classical elements of his traditions understanding of three fundamental, common religious questions: where to meet God, how to live, and what to hope for. The other then responds. Neusner and Chilton's analytic comparisons of two great traditions intertwined at the roots serves as a primer on the defining energies of both traditions. The reader is invited to identify the traditions' unity of questions and the equally strong differences in answers and thereby illumine one's own faith commitments about belief, piety, and the purpose of human life.

Are Islam and the West on a collision course? From the Ayatollah Khomeini to Saddam Hussein, the image of Islam as a militant, expansionist, and rabidly anti-American religion has gripped the minds of Western governments and media. But these perceptions, John L. Esposito writes, stem from a long history of mutual distrust, criticism, and condemnation, and are far too simplistic to help us understand one of the most important political issues of our time. In this new edition of The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?, Esposito places the challenge of Islam in critical perspective. Exploring the vitality of this religion as a global force and the history of its relations with the West, Esposito demonstrates the diversity of the Islamic resurgence--and the mistakes our analysts make in assuming a hostile, monolithic Islam. This third edition has been expanded to include new material on current affairs in Turkey, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Southeast Asia, as well as a discussion of international terrorism.

This volume gathers together studies on various ""engagements"" between Judaism and Christianity. Following an introduction on ""my odyssey in New Testament interpretation,"" Professor Davies examines such topics as the nature of Judaism, canon and Christology, Torah and dogma, law in Christianity, and the promised land in Jewish and Christian tradition. Part II focuses on Paul and Judaism, with special attention to Paul and the exodus, Paul and the law, and the allegory of the two olives in Romans 11:13-24. Part III looks at the background and origins of the Gospels, centering specifically on Matthew and John. Part IV takes up an exclusively American engagement with Judaism, that is, the Mormon's claim to be Christian and their assertion that they are genealogically connected with Jews and therefore physically a recovered, restored, and reinterpreted Israel. The volume concludes with a discussion and critique of ""mystical anti-Semitism,"" that is, ascribing to ""The Jews"" (not to ""Jews"") the central role in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, leading to a view of ""The Jews"" as essentially satanic or demonic. This collection of seminal essays by a preeminent New Testament scholar highlights the encounter of two great religious traditions and stimulates the dialogue between them. W. D. Davies was Emeritus Ivey Professor of Advanced Studies and Research in Christian Origin at Duke University. He was the author of many books, including Paul and Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish and Pauline Studies.

Gilbert Dahan offers a compact overview of Jewish conditions in medieval Western Christendom, then moves to a discussion of the changing patterns of Christian-Jewish polemical confrontation. Dahan lays particular emphasis on the shift during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries from a fairly open exchange of views to a concerted Christian effort to convert the Jews. After establishing this context, Dahan analyzes the most common literary genres (including disputatio) in which these arguments were couched, their underlying structures and the most important recurring themes. This volume is particularly useful for its clear delineation of the historical phases of Christian polemicizing, its cogent analysis of key aspects of Christian polemical literature, and its rich citation of illustrative texts. Whether it be shared examination of the sacred texts or impassioned discussion over the theses belonging to each of the two religions, the Judeo-Christian "dispute" continued throughout the Middle Ages, and seems to be carried on in some way even in the Judeo-Christian dialogue of today.

Conflict Resolution will be of interest to people who deal with disputes - of whatever kind - including through mediation and alternative dispute resolution procedures. Contents What is Conflict? Strategies for Resolving Conflict Approach to the Territory Family Mediation Mediation Between Neighbours Restorative Justice Mediation in Schools Cross-Cultural and Multi-Faith Mediation Environmental Conflict David and Goliath The World of Work Training Academic Study and Research Issues for the Future Author Susan Stewart has taught conflict resolution and mediation and been involved in the development of innovative university courses covering these topics. She has published extensively in the education field, including works on adult learning. In recent years she has been engaged in mediation as a teacher, researcher and community consultant.

From the Crusades to the present day, the interrelationship between Islam and Christianity has been fraught with conflict, both theological and military. Yet events in 20th-century history, particularly the communications revolution, have meant that, after centuries of living in isolation from each other, Christians and Muslims find themselves participating in the same intellectual culture, and are having to review their assumptions about each other. In this work, Zebiri analyzes modern Muslim writings on Christianity and Christian writings on Islam to explore the issues central to Muslim-Christian relations. The literature surveyed is diverse - both popular and scholarly, varying in function, authorship and intended audience. Through its juxtaposition of the mutual perceptions of Muslims and Christians, the book provides an overview of the more important contrasts and similarities between the two religions.

The mid-seventeenth century saw both the expansion of the Baptist sect and the rise and growth of Quakerism. At first, the Quaker movement attracted some Baptist converts, but relations between the two groups soon grew hostile. Public disputes broke out and each group denounced the other in polemical tracts. Nevertheless in this book, Underwood contends that Quakers and Baptists had much in common with each other, as well as with the broader Puritan and Nonconformist tradition. By examining the Quaker/Baptist relationship in particular, Underwood seeks to understand where and why Quaker views diverged from English Protestantism in general and, in the process, to clarify early Quaker beliefs.

This book explores the complex relationship between anti-Catholicism, or anti-popery to use the contemporary term, and the American Revolution in New England. Anti-Catholicism was among the most common themes in colonial New England culture. Nonetheless, New Englanders entered into an alliance with French Catholics against Protestant Britons during the American Revolution. As New Englanders traditionally associated Catholicism with tyranny and oppression, they were able to extend these feelings to the popish British upon the passage of the Quebec Act. As a consequence, anti-popery helped enable New Englanders to make the intellectual transition that war with Britain required. During the Revolution, anti-popery became less popular as the American rebels relied on Catholic France for aid. By the end of the revolutionary era, Catholics were extended legal toleration in all of the New England states. The book's conclusion explores the change in religious tolerance and the decline of anti-popery with a study of New England's first Catholic parish.

This book provides an edited text, introduction, and the first English translation of a central document in the history of religious coercion in late antiquity: Severus of Minorca's Letter on the Conversion of the Jews. The Letter describes the forced conversion of the Jews of Minorca to Christianity in AD 418, allegedly under the influence of St. Stephen's relics. Although ostensibly a hagiographical work, the Letter is fundamentally an anti-Jewish document, and therein lies its interest for historians. It offers a fascinating perspective on Jewish-Christian relations in a Mediterranean town, and on the motives for religious intolerance in the unsettled age of the Germanic invasions. In addition, its wealth of information about a diaspora Jewish community in the Western empire makes it unique among the surviving sources.