This book, which developed from an understanding of the dialectical relationship between theology and the church, provides information about the function and domain of language in the church through an analysis of its creedal statements. The study begins with an historical investigation of the crisis in linguistic interpretation in the church and theological community. Subsequently, a philosophical framework is presented through an investigation of particularly significant aspects of Ludwig Wittgenstein's later writings. Following a discussion of the alternative readings of Wittgenstein by theologians, examples are presented for ways in which we can apply Wittgenstein's linguistic approach to the interpretation of creeds. After distinguishing optional approaches to the creeds, the book presents an understanding of creedal statements in light of Wittgenstein. Reclaiming the functional nature of doxological language within its liturgical context provides a central connection between the language of the church and the actions of its members.

This book explores theologically the practice of hospital chaplains seeking to meet the spiritual needs of parents bereaved by baby death in-utero. The lived experience of bereaved parents, gathered through a series of in-depth interviews, informs such an exploration. Parents describe the trauma of late miscarriage and stillbirth as still being shrouded by silence, myth and misunderstanding in contemporary society. Up-to-date theoretical understandings of grief are also re-examined in light of parents' stories of living with baby death. This book offers suggestions as to how the actual spiritual needs of parents may be met and their grief sensitively facilitated through the sharing of rituals co-constructed by parents and chaplain which seek to have theological integrity yet be relevant in our postomodern age. In our prevalent culture of caring, where increasingly ongoing professional and personal development are regarded as normative, recommendations are made which may aid reflection on current, or shape future, practice for chaplains, pastors, students and various healthcare professionals.

Right across denominational boundaries lay theology is dominated by negatives: the laity simply defined as the non-ordained, the alleged exclusion of the laity from full participation, the sole focus on what they cannot or should not do, and, above all, the total absence of an ecumenical lay theology. In a unique approach, this volume sets out to find ways of overcoming these negatives so predominant in current lay theology. The author explores positions and perspectives put forward in Roman Catholic theology from Vatican II up to the present. These are compared and contrasted with concepts and suggestions of present-day Anglican Theology as well as with those of liberative theologies in Latin America and Asia. Rethinking the content, language, and metaphors of lay theology, in the final part of this volume the author proposes a new image for discussing the Church, a model focusing on the interdependence and collaboration of all the people in the Church. This is then used to sketch out the framework for a new type of lay theology. Imbedded in ecclesiology, in the concept of all believers together being the Church, the author endeavours to suggest a lay theology that is indeed positive, ecumenical and universal.

This book demonstrates that the encounter between Christianity and various African cultures gives rise to a number of problems for Africans who become Christians. It draws attention to certain traditional African beliefs and practices that seem to be incompatible with Christianity and create problems for Africans who embrace Christianity. Against this background it argues for the need to inculturate Christianity. It contends that in this exercise African Christianity can learn from the attempts at inculturation found in the New Testament times and in the early church. It offers examples of how the early church sought to make use of non-Christian categories of thought and elements in its articulation of the Christian message and in worship. It suggests a few areas of Ghanaian and African life where inculturation could and should take place. These include funeral rites, widowhood rites, child-naming rites, the rites of marriage, libation and christology. It concludes by offering some guidelines for use in the process of the inculturation of Christianity in Africa today.

Historically, Kashmir was one of the most dynamic and influential centers of Sanskrit learning and literary production in South Asia. In Poetry as Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir, Hamsa Stainton investigates the close connection between poetry and prayer in South Asia by studying the history of Sanskrit hymns of praise (stotras) in Kashmir. The book provides a broad introduction to the history and general features of the stotra genre, and it charts the course of these literary hymns in Kashmir from the eighth century to the present. In particular, it offers the first major study in any European language of the Stutikusumanjali, an important work of religious literature dedicated to the god Siva and one of the only extant witnesses to the trajectory of Sanskrit literary culture in fourteenth-century Kashmir. The book also contributes to the study of Saivism by examining the ways in which Saiva poets have integrated the traditions of Sanskrit literature and poetics, theology (especially non-dualism), and Saiva worship and devotion. It substantiates the diverse configurations of Saiva bhakti expressed and explored in these literary hymns and the challenges they present for standard interpretations of Hindu bhakti. More broadly, this study of stotras from Kashmir offers new perspectives on the history and vitality of prayer in South Asia and its complex relationships to poetry and poetics.

Four centuries of African American preaching has provided hope, healing, and heaven for people from every walk of life. Many notable men and women of African American lineage have contributed, through the art of preaching, to the biblical emancipation and spiritual liberation of their parishioners. In African American Preaching: The Contribution of Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, Gerald Lamont Thomas offers a historical overview of African American preaching and its effect on the cultural legacy of black people, nothing the various styles and genius of pulpit orators. The book's focus is on the life, ministry, and preaching methodology of one of this era's most prolific voices, Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, and should be read by everyone who takes the task of preaching seriously.

A Prayer book designed to be used by individual women, as well as by those who are leading group prayer services. For nearly two millennia, Christian women have learned to pray in the language of other people's souls. From worshiping God as father to envisioning a holy life as a military campaign, they've been taught to approach the Divine with the hearts and minds of men. She Who Prays: A Woman's Interfaith Prayer Book offers women a new way to pray. It draws on feminine images of God, as well as the language and experience of women, to help women tap into their own rich and unique spirituality. With material from new translations of ancient Christian hymns and prayers, as well as original prayers in the Christian and other faith traditions, She Who Prays will help women speak to God in their own voices. Arranged in roughly the same format as the Book of Common Prayer, She Who Prays contains a seven-day cycle of daily prayer services, prayers for special occasions, and a woman-oriented liturgical calendar that honors the lives of women of all faiths. The book also contains four rituals marking such themes as healing, reconciliation, and new beginnings, and a prayer to be used while walking a labyrinth. An appendix provides information on world religions and instructions for group services.

The two volumes of Prayer Book Parallels are aids to the study of the development of the American book from as many points of view as possible. They include liturgical texts and related historical documents. Volume Two is a comparison of Collects, Family Prayers, and Prayers at Sea, as well as the Articles of Religion, the Psalter, and other texts and documents pertinent to Prayer Book study. The two volumes are of great value to seminarians, clergy, church historians, and anyone interested in the development of the present Prayer Book. (576 pp)

Down through the years, those who have been close to God have met with him daily. The Quiet Time Companion can help you begin and make the most of your own daily meetings with God. Offering a fresh approach to Bible study each week (with eleven different approachs in all), this book will help keep your quiet times stimulating and challenging. You'll learn a variety of Bible study skills that will last a lifetime With The Quiet Time Companion you'll gain a thorough overview of the whole Bible as you move through two years of structured and unstructured meetings with God. Each week you'll find five Bible studies designed to occupy about twenty minutes daily. These include whole book studies overviewing major themes detailed studies of short passages topical studies on important aspects of the Christian life character studies of fascinating people in the Bible word studies of key biblical concepts You'll also find suggestions for activities and projects to give you a change of pace each weekend. Divided into eight sessions of thirteen weeks each, The Quiet Time Companion can also be used easily by small groups and Sunday school classes. Here is a great opportunity to get started meeting with God every day.

Prayer is an important religious practice that is rarely studied from the perspective of politics - and yet it should be. Though some forms of Protestantism teach that prayer should be individual and private, this is an exception rather than a rule. In many other religions and cultures, the regulation of collective and public prayer cannot be separated from the complex world of politics. Where is prayer allowed, and where not? Who can participate, and who can't? How should you pray - and how shouldn't you? Prayer is subject to a host of both written and unwritten political rules. From the Pentecostal religious battle - where prayer is both sword and shield against the Satanic Other - to the relations between Islam and Christianity, prayer as spiritual warfare can be found cross-culturally and across the world. This book brings together case studies of the political salience of prayer in Nigeria, France, India, Russia, and the United States. It deals with Christian, Muslim, and Hindu practices. In a world where religious tensions are ever-present, it reminds us of the intensely political nature of prayer. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Religious and Political Practice.