The concept of transcendence is emerging as a central category of critical thought, both within and outside the field of religious studies. This collection brings together prominent scholars to ask whether we can re-conceive the category of transcendence from a feminist perspective, taking into account ethics, women's subjectivity, (sexed) embodiment, and differing models for spirituality. The collection begins with a thought-provoking essay by Luce Irigaray, with whose work the majority of contributions engage. In a lucid and intuitive enquiry, contributors develop these themes both philosophically and within the contexts of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Contributors come together in groundbreaking ways to illuminate the intersections between women and the divine.

Covering 30,000 years of goddess worship, this fascinating book is the first and most comprehensive biographical dictionary devoted exclusively to mythological deities. Spanning 30,000 years of goddess worship, Goddesses in World Mythology provides access to nearly 11,500 entries from many cultures: Greek, Celtic, Indian, African, Chinese, Slavic, Mesoamerican, Japanese, and more. Organized alphabetically within geographical regions such as Egypt, the Far East, Oceania, North America, and the Himalayan region, entries identify each goddess by her most common anthropological, mythological, or religious name, then identifies the culture recognizing that goddess, summarizing her powers or attributes, often providing a brief story characterizing her personality and motivations. The most comprehensive and comprehensible work of its kind, Goddesses in World Mythology features two indexes that divide the goddesses by name and attribute, over 2,000 cross references that guide the reader to other entries, and an extensive bibliography. This unique and easy to use guide shows that goddesses were not just wives, sisters, mothers, or fertility figures, but supreme deities themselves. Includes two indexes, arranged by name and attribute, and an extensive bibliography for further research Extensive cross references show the surprisingly intricate relationship of certain goddesses across cultures, regions, and time Nearly 11,500 entries with coverage of goddesses from countries and legend across the globe

Few ideas have excited greater interest among theologians in recent decades than the idea of 'participation'. In thinking about creation, it is the notion that everything comes from, and depends upon, God, inviting the language of sharing, or of an exemplar and its images; in thinking about redemption, it points to the restoration of that image, and is expressed in the language of communion with God and with the redeemed community. In this volume, Andrew Davison considers these themes in unprecedented breadth, investigating the fundamental character of participation as it can be applied to a wide range of theological topics. Exploring what it means to know, to love, to do good, and to live together well, he shows how these ideas animate a particular understanding of human life and how we relate to the world around us. His book offers the most comprehensive survey of participation to date, contributing to detailed discussions of these themes among academic theologians.

Union and Distinction in the Thought of St Maximus the Confessor presents the writings of a key figure in Byzantine theology in the light of the themes of unity and diversity. The principle of simultaneous union and distinction forms the core of Maximus' thought, pervading every area of his theology. It can be summarized as: Things united remain distinct and without confusion in an inseparable union. As Melchisedec T r nen shows, this master theme also resonates in contemporary theological and philosophical discussions.

Modernism's theological project was an attempt to explain two things: firstly, how faith might enable persons to experience their lives as hanging together, even in the face of disintegrating forces like injustice, tragedy, and luck; and secondly, how one could see such faith, and so a life held together by it, as self-expressive. Modern theologians such as Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, Ritschl, and Tillich thus offer accounts of how one's life would have to hang together such that one could identify with it; of the oppositions which stand in the way of such hanging-together; of God as the one by whom oppositions are overcome, such that one can have faith that one's life ultimately hangs together; and of what such faith would have to be like in order for one to identify with it, too. So understood, modern theology not only sheds light on faith's potential role in enabling persons to identify with their lives, but stands in unexpected continuity with contemporary 'contextual' theologies. This book offers clear, careful readings of modernism's key figures in order to explain their relevance to practical concerns and to contemporary understandings of faith.

Is God the eternal and immutable presence that Christianity has commonly proclaimed him to be - the Rock of Ages? John Butler offers a different perspective through a personal exploration of the changing images of God within the main streams of the Christian faith over a period of some four thousand years. Butler takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic odyssey that begins with the pantheon of deities in Bronze Age Canaan from which the God of the early Old Testament emerged and ends with the radical images of God that were surfacing in the late twentieth century. The story is told largely through the record of the Bible and the ideas of key writers and thinkers whose authority or persuasiveness have allowed their visions of God to become embedded in the major Christian traditions. The book concludes with a discussion of the central question raised by the analysis: why is it that people across the ages have claimed to have experienced so many different and sometimes contradictory faces of the Christian God? Written in an elegant and engaging style, this informative book will appeal to Christians, atheists, students, and those who are simply interested in the cultural and intellectual history of God. John Butler is Emeritus Professor at the University of Kent and a guide at Canterbury Cathedral. He is the author of the acclaimed 'Quest for Becket's Bones' and the prize-winning 'Red Dean of Canterbury'. 'This beautifully written book tells the fascinating story of the evolving portrait of the Christian God from Abraham to the present day. It is an illuminating read for those who feel the need to cross their fingers whenever they say the Nicene Creed - and for many who don't ' Richard Llewellin, former Bishop at Lambeth

A thorough analysis and discussion of the nature of time and eternity, focusing on the timelessness of God. After considering two theories of time in the light of modern science and philosophy, Padgett argues for a process notion of time. The traditional doctrine of absolute divine timelessness is incompatible with God's action in the world, if the process view of time is true. After an historical and biblical survey of the doctrine of eternity, Padgett rejects both the everlasting and the timeless theory of eternity, seeking to defent the intuition that God transcends time. He argues for a third, mediating view: God is in some sense temporal, yet is the ground of time, the Lord of time, and relatively timeless.

Icon of modern-day fundamentalist movements, firebrand religious purist, tireless polemicist against the intellectual schools of his timeathe Ibn Taymiyya we know is a thinker we often associate with hard attitudes and dogmatic stances. Yet there is another Ibn Taymiyya that stands out from the pages of his work, the thinker who fashions himself as a master of the via media and as a defender of the harmony between human reason and the religious faith. The aim of this book is to shed fresh light on Ibn Taymiyya's intellectual identity by a close investigation of his ethical thought. Earlier Muslim thinkers debating ethical value had been exercised by a number of core questions. What makes actions right or wrong? How do human beings know it? And what is God's relationship to the evaluative standards discerned by the human mind? An investigation of Ibn Taymiyya's engagement with such questions has much to teach us about his intellectual program and particularly about the role of reason and the linchpin concept of human nature (fitra) within this program. It also has much to teach us about Ibn Taymiyya's relationship to the intellectual landscape of his time, bringing us up against a rich tapestry of ethical discussions unfolding within theology, philosophy and legal theory in the classical period. At the same time, a close reading of Ibn Taymiyya's ethics invites us to confront not only the content of his thought but its form, and more particularly those features of his writing that fracture our efforts to unify his thought.

Many Christians are today sitting happily in the middle of their personal comfort zones, and feel God has confirmed their right to be there. But is this the God of the Bible? This is a book of huge significance for the church today, designed to inspire, encourage and challenge us to seek God's greater anointing. Chapters include 'For the Love of Money', 'Chances are you are a Pharisee if...', 'The Seeker-Sensitive God?' and 'Whatever Happened to Hell?'.

Why are humans obsessed with divine minds? What do gods know and what do they care about? What happens to us and our relationships when gods are involved? Drawing from neuroscience, evolutionary, cultural, and applied anthropology, social psychology, religious studies, philosophy, technology, and cognitive and political sciences, The Minds of Gods probes these questions from a multitude of naturalistic perspectives. Each chapter offers brief intellectual histories of their topics, summarizes current cutting-edge questions in the field, and points to areas in need of attention from future researchers. Through an innovative theoretical framework that combines evolutionary and cognitive approaches to religion, this book brings together otherwise disparate literatures to focus on a topic that has comprised a lasting, central obsession of our species.

Provides the requisite knowledge and practical guidelines for some of the most common counseling situations.

Today's rabbis, in addition to being spiritual leaders of their congregations, are also expected to be competent counselors to members of their community. Yet rabbis often feel inadequately prepared for the difficult challenges of their counseling role.

To many, rabbinic counseling appears deceptively simple, requiring no more than good intuition, fair judgment and sincere empathy. Good counseling, in reality, is a complex process requiring a combination of knowledge, skill, self-awareness and an understanding of human dynamics.

This groundbreaking book written specifically for community rabbis and religious counselors reflects the wisdom of seasoned professionals, who provide clear guidelines and sensible strategies for effective rabbinic counseling."

Challenge our common images of God by blowing the lid off conventional God-descriptors.

We do not have to let go of one sense of God to take up another. Neither do we need to go about challenging old metaphors. What is crucial is to find a metaphor or two, or six that creatively point toward what we believe. from Chapter 1

Let Carolyn Jane Bohler inspire you to consider a wide range of images of God in order to refine how you imagine God to have and use power, and how God wills and makes divine will happen or not. By tapping into your God-given ability to re-imagine God, you will have a better understanding of your own beliefs and how you, God, and the world relate to each other.

Wonderfully fresh and down to earth, Bohler uses playful images, moving stories, and solid scholarship to empower you to break free of old habits and assumptions, whatever your faith tradition. She encourages you to explore new names for God that are not only more consistent with what you believe, but will also deepen and expand your experience of God. Think about God the Choreographer of Chaos God the Nursing Mother God the Jazz Band Leader God the Divine Blacksmith God the Divine Physical Therapist God the Team Transformer and more

A fascinating exploration of the many faces of God and what they reveal about our own humanity He was a whole pantheon in Himself . He constantly appeared in many and ever-changing roles lest He be frozen and converted into the dumb idols He Himself despised. God was a polyvalent personality who, by mirroring to man His many faces, provided the models that man so needed to survive and flourish. This is the true humanity of God. from the Introduction In scholarly but accessible terms, with many startling and controversial insights, renowned Bible scholar Dr. Yochanan Muffs examines the anthropomorphic evolution of the Divine Image from creator of the cosmos to God the father, God the husband, God the king, God the "chess-player," God the ultimate master and how these different images of God have shaped our faith and world view. Muffs also examines how expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love throughout the Bible have helped develop the contemporary human condition and our enriching dialectic between faith and doubt."

A window into the Jewish understanding of God throughout
history and today written especially for Christians.

In Jewish Scripture Christianity's foundation God's presence is everywhere: in nature, in history, and in the range of human experience. Yet the Torah, Maimonides, and 4,000 years of Jewish tradition all agree on one thing: that God is beyond any form of human comprehension. How, then can Judaism be so crowded with descriptions and images of God? And what can they mean to the ways Christians understand their own faith?

In this special book, Rabbi Neil Gillman guides you through these questions and the countless different ways the Jewish people have related to God, how each originated and what each may mean for you. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, or even Jewish, this nuts-and-bolts introduction will both answer your questions and stimulate new ones.

A theologian who writes as a great teacher, Gillman addresses the key concepts at the heart of Judaism s approach to God. From Ein Sof (Infinity) to Shekhinah (Presence), Gillman helps you understand what the search for knowing God itself says about Jewish tradition and how you can use the fundamentals of Judaism to strengthen, explore, and deepen your own spiritual foundations. God Is Echad (Unique) God Is Power God Is Person God Is Nice Sometimes God Is Not Nice Sometimes God Can Change God Creates God Reveals God Redeems

Metaphors for God's Time in Science and Religion examines the exploratory work of metaphors for time in astrophysical cosmology, chaos theory, evolutionary biology and neuroscience. Stephen Happel claims that the Christian God is intimately involved at every level of physical and biological science. He compares how scientists and theologians both generate stories, metaphors and symbols about the universe and asks "who is the God who invents me?"

Why do bad things happen in our world? Why does God allow suffering? If he exists, why doesn't he do something? Of all the hurdles to faith, suffering must be the greatest. But how do we answer the question of 'Why?' in a credible, satisfying way? In this revised and updated edition of an award-winning book that has helped thousands in their journey of faith, scientist Sharon Dirckx explores some of the most agonizing and bewildering questions we all ask. With compassionate warmth and insight, she offers advice to help us cope with suffering and difficulties. Alongside, she interweaves her own experiences and the personal stories of individuals who have faced some of life's toughest challenges, showing us that it is possible to believe in a powerful loving God and acknowledge the reality of evil and suffering. Why? is a book for anyone who has questioned how suffering and a compassionate God can coexist. It will help you better understand the nature of God in Christianity, and will equip you to answer the question of 'Why?' with confidence and clarity. It is also an ideal apologetics book to give to friends and family just beginning on their faith journey or who are struggling and looking for answers. If you have ever asked or wondered why God allows suffering, Sharon Dirckx's gentle wisdom in Why? will help you see life from a new perspective - one that makes more, not less, sense of our hurting world.

"It is a grandiose claim to have banished God. With such a lot at stake we surely need to ask Hawking to produce evidence to establish his claim. Do his arguments really stand up to close scrutiny? I think we have a right to know." The Grand Design and Brief Answers to Big Questions by eminent scientist the late Stephen Hawking were blockbusting contributions to the science religion debate. They claimed it was the laws of physics themselves which brought the universe into being, rather than any God. In this forthright response, John Lennox, Oxford University mathematician and internationally-known apologist, takes a closer look at Hawking's logic and questions his conclusions. In lively, layman's terms, Lennox guides us through the key points in Hawking's arguments - with clear explanations of the latest scientific and philosophical methods and theories - and demonstrates that far from disproving a Creator God, they make his existence seem all the more probable.

The concept of truth as absolute, objective and universal has undergone serious deterioration in recent years. No longer is it a goal for all to pursue. Rather postmodernism sees truth as inseparable from culture, psychology, race and gender. Ultimately, truth is what we make it to be. What factors have accelerated this decay of truth? Why are people willing to embrace such a devalued concept? How does this new view of truth compare and contrast with a Christian understanding? While postmodernism contains some truthful insights (despite its attempt to dethrone truth), Douglas Groothuis sees its basic tenets as intellectually flawed and hostile to Christian views of truth. In this spirited presentation of a solid, biblical and logical view of truth, the author unveils how truth has come under attack and how it can be defended in the vital areas of theology, apologetics, ethics and the arts. An important book for all concerned about the nature and value of truth.

The deists have been misunderstood as Enlightenment thinkers who believed in an inactive deity. Instead, the deists were spiritually oriented people who believed God treated all his children fairly. Unlike the biblical God, the deist God did not punish entire nations with plagues, curse innocent people, or order the extermination of whole nations. In deism, for the first time in modern Western history, God "became" good. The Spirituality of the English and American Deists: How God Became Good explores how the English deists were especially important because they formulated the arguments that most of the later deists accepted. Half of the English deists claimed they were advocating the Christianity Jesus taught before his later followers perverted his teachings. Joseph Waligore call these deists Jesus-centered deists. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams studied these Jesus-centered deists and had similar beliefs. While some of the most prominent American Founders were deists, deism had little or no influence on the religious parts of the Constitution and the First Amendment. Deism did not die out at the end of the Enlightenment. Instead, under different names and forms it has continued to be a significant religious force. Informed observers even think a deistic spiritual outlook is the most popular religious or spiritual outlook in contemporary America.

In many situations and throughout the ages, when people have petitioned God for the relief of their suffering, or the suffering of others, God has said no. This text attempts to provide simple and practical pastoral insights for the ordinary person who comes to listen to the Word of God in Church. Using the death of his own brother aged 25 from cancer, Father Lanahan offers thoughts on why God allows suffering, the meaning of prayer, the mystery of the universe, the death and resurrection of Jesus, the death of a loved one, and the promise of salvation.

Contemporary discussions of problems of selfhood and knowledge have offered a wide range of solutions, from calls for a new Enlightenment (in the face of the resurgence of myth and the irrational), to attempts to "re-enchant the world" (in the face of the growth of an impersonal instrumental Reason). In "Between Vision and Obedience - Rethinking Theological Epistemology," George Ille offers a theological response to these competing views, with the specific purpose of evaluating the present state of epistemological rationality in theology. Ille anchors his concerns historically and thematically through the work of the philosophers Paul Ricouer and G.F.W. Hegel. Invoking theological insights from Eastern and Western philosophies, and seeking recourse to a number of philosophers and theologians from both the continental and analytical traditions, he traces the contours of a theological rationality freed from both modern and post-modern hermeneutical anxieties. He proposes a rationality that follows the drama of God's engagement with the world through dying and resurrection, ascesis and abundance, suffering witness and eucharistic communion. This important text challenges and reframes existing theological and philosophical engagements with hermeneutics and epistemology. The new critical perspective it offers will be an invaluable resource for academics and scholars across the humanities. George Ille is Affiliate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Asbury Theological Seminary. "George Ille is a fine scholar and a creative mind. His book breaks new ground by both examining a wide range of attempts (and failures) to connect theology and epistemology and by offering insights into the exploration of an explicitly theological epistemology." Paul Copan, Palm Beach Atlantic University. "This is an exceptionally bold exercise that seeks to break the logjam between the continental and analytic traditions. On the one hand, it is firmly rooted in the work of Ricoeur; on the other, it engages the work of Audi. Most importantly, it argues that epistemology can and should be rooted in a robust Trinitarian vision of divine action. This is a sophisticated, learned, and accessible volume that advances the discussion in ways that are both illuminating and surprising." William J. Abraham, Southern Methodist University.

Carry John Muir's wisdom with you in this inspirational guide that features 60 of his most insightful quotes. As a patriarch of the American environmental movement, John Muir helped to give birth to the national park system, the Sierra Club, and a myriad of smaller groups devoted to saving rivers, redwoods, and wildlife. Yet, he is also a spiritual parent who leads us down unmarked trails of the spirit. By urging us to simply be present in the world around us, loving and honoring it as our garden home, his poetic insight liberates life. In Meditations of John Muir, editor Chris Highland pairs 60 Muir quotes with selections from other celebrated thinkers and spiritual texts. Take this pocket-size guide with you on backpacks, nature hikes, and camping trips. Let Muir's words enrich your experience as you ponder the wilderness from riverbank, mountaintop, or as you relax beside your campfire. Inside you'll find: 60 inspiring John Muir quotes Selections of text from other philosophical minds Short excerpts for convenient reading Muir's exuberance for nature was the touchstone for his commitment to the earth and all of its creatures. Let him lead you along the ultimate adventure that treks every range of light. Then venture off on your own deertrails of the heart, harkening to his granite gospel that calls for you "to get as near to the heart of the world" as you can.