It is widely believed that modern philosophers have dismissed the idea of God and opted instead for a secular humanism. Challenging these stereotypes through a careful study of major philosophical texts written since the Enlightenment, Philip Clayton shows how the main thinkers of the modern period have continued to wrestle with the problem of God and to make proposals for understanding the divine.

Following up on his award-winning book God and Contemporary Science, Clayton here explores the constructive resources that modern thought offers to those struggling with the notion of God as "infinite" and "perfect." He finds in the narrative of modern thought about God strong support for panentheism, the new theological movement that maintains the transcendence of God while denying the separation of God and the world.

Here at last is a book that attends both to the call for more inclusive language in worship and to the traditional claims of Trinitarian theology. The authors insist that the Trinity must remain at the heart of Christian worship. But this need not confine us to a single formula or a narrow range of images; indeed, new forms of language are essential if we are properly to praise the unnamed, all-named, triune God. This book is brimming with liturgical resources, including prayers, hymn texts, and sample sermons.

Aldredge-Clanton exposes the persistent sin of idolatry in limiting God to male and masculine language; she challenges faith to recover female and feminine speech in order to understand the God beyond male and female. In developing this thesis, Aldredge-Clanton has amassed an impressive array of documentation, beginning with Scripture, continuing through church history, and concluding with contemporary experiences of Christian people. An irenic spirit, clear writing, and passionate conviction unite to make this book accessible and instructive for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear?

'This is an astonishingly rich and fascinating book, which engages with French feminist theory as well as with Islam, Hinduism and Judaism, as it revisits traditional Catholic themes: a book destined, I am sure, to renew and deepen reflection on the doctrine of God as Trinity.' -- Fergus Kerr, OP, Blackfriars, Oxford 'Gavin D'Costa is already well known for his questioning and sensitive theology of religions. In this book, he brings the same openness and sensitivity to a profound consideration of the Christian Trinity and its gendered representations in human culture. Through a series of lively and challenging engagements with the work of Luce Irigaray, Salman Rushdie and the Indian artist Jyoti Sahi, D' Costa develops a searching argument for why God is beyond gender and yet necessarily symbolized in both male and female terms. At once both deeply critical of his own Roman Catholic tradition, and yet passionate in defence of its possibilities, D' Costa argues for an understanding of the Church as 'completing' God's incarnation - in which all follow Mary as 'co-redeemers' with Christ - as a Marian and multi-gendered community. Confronting the complacency of both conservative and radical, this book is a brilliant example of the new 'theology of culture' that treats Christian tradition and contemporary concerns with equal seriousness.' -- Gerard Loughlin, University of Durham Gavin D'Costa is Senior Lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Bristol.

Scholars are agreed that the central metaphor in Jesus' proclamation was the kingdom of God. But what did that phrase mean in the first-century Palestinian world of Jesus? Since it is a political metaphor, what did Jesus envision as the political import of his message? Since this is tied to the political economy, how was that structured in Jesus' day? How is the violence of Jesus' Mediterranean world addressed in the kingdom? And how does "self-denial" fit into Jesus' agenda?

Malina tackles these questions in a very accessible way, providing a social-scientific analysis, meaning that he brings to bear explicit models and a comparative approach toward an exciting interpretation of what Jesus was up to, and how his first-century audience would have heard him.

In this volume, Peter Furlong delves into the question of divine determinism - the view that God has determined everything that has ever happened or will ever happen. This view, which has a long history among multiple religious and philosophical traditions, faces a host of counterarguments. It seems to rob humans of their free will, absolving them of all the wrongs they commit. It seems to make God the author of sin and thus blameworthy for all human wrongdoing. Additionally, it seems to undermine the popular 'Free Will Defense' of the problem of evil, to make a mockery of the claim that God loves us, and to make it inappropriate for God to blame and punish us. This work carefully formulates these and other objections to divine determinism and investigates possible responses to each of them, providing systematic and balanced discussion of this major philosophical and theological debate.

Adolf Holl's divine biography examines the life of the Holy Spirit in the context of the history of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.  Interweaving scholarship with religion, myth, and culture, Holl expertly traces the influence of the Holy Spirit on men and women from all walks of life, over the course of centuries.  The result is quite unlike anything written before.

The Holy Spirit inspired a few Galilean fishermen to find the courage to preach a new world religion.  The Jews recognized it as the breath of God.  Mohammed was inspired by it in the dictation of the Koran.  Yet this same spirit has moved individuals to rebel against convention, authority, and even sanity.  Through Holl's freewheeling yet always crystal-clear discourse, we see how the Holy Spirit informs an incredible array of beliefs (including those underlying the rituals of Appalachian snake handlers) and ideas (the works of Freud and James Joyce are among the many discussed).

When the book was published in Germany, Der Spiegel wrote, "Holl has presented a formidable history, linking together the most distant things in a surprising way and leaving the whole as a paradox.  He leaves it to the reader to judge the encounter with the Holy Spirit as a manifestation of the divine in the human being--or as a case for the psychiatrist."

Whatever the reader's conclusion may be, The Left Hand of God is sure to be hailed as a major religious publishing event.


From the Hardcover edition.

The fatherhood of God has a central, if increasingly controversial, pleace in Christian thinking about God. Yet although Christians referred to God as Father from the earliest days of the faith, it was not until Athanasius in the fourth century that the idea of God as Father became a topic of sustained analysis. Dr Widdicombe shows how this development took place, starting with the great third century writer, Origen, and continuing with Arius and the famous 'Arian controversy' about the divinity of Jesus Christ, and Athanasius. In the context of modern debate, this is an illuminating and important new study, which will help us consider whether it is either desirable or possible to call God Father.

Ten of the twelve homilies of St. John Chrysostom presented here were delivered at Antioch over a period of several years beginning in A.D. 386. The final two homilies were delivered in 398 after Chrysostom became patriarch of Constantinople. All but one of the homilies aim at refuting the Anomoeans, heretics who revived the most radical tenets of Arius and blatantly claimed that man knows God in the very same way that God knows himself. Chrysostom's refutations and instructions to the faithful are based on the Scriptures rather than on human reasoning. He departed from this series of refutations only in the sixth homily, which he delivered on December 20, 386, again at Antioch. It consists of a panegyric of St. Philogonius, bishop of Antioch ca. A.D. 319-23, who before his episcopal ordination had led a very exemplary life, practiced law and contracted a marriage that was blessed with a daughter. In addition to their theological content, these homilies contain many other points of interest. On one occasion, people applauded the speaker and were very attentive to the homily but then left the church so that when Christ is about to appear in the holy mysteries the church becomes empty (Hom III.32; Hom VII.2). During another homily, pickpockets plied their trade so that Chrysostom urged "let no one come into the church carrying money" (Hom IV.46). Chrysostom also indicates that people kept talking to one another at the sacred moment when Christ becomes present (Hom IV.36). He also mentions that chariot races often proved more enticing than going to church (Hom VII.1). Finally, valuable information on fourth-century Eastern liturgies is found in Hom III.41, 42, and Hom IV.32.

Is there a value to suffering for women? Is Christianity a religion that condones the victimization of women? Can Christians faith, who are called to hope in the midst of despair, respond to experiences of suffering in all their ambiguity and complexity? How can people proclaim the good news" in the midst of radical suffering? Women and the Value of Suffering explores these questions and offers a critical summary of recent discussions of evil and suffering from a variety of women's theological and spiritual perspectives. It incorporates the insights of feminist theory, cultural studies, biomedical research, psychology, theology, and spirituality. By exploring the complexity of suffering in our times, it reflects on how women of faith can come to terms with the enormity, diversity, and, at times, apparent senselessness of human suffering. Chapter one introduces the search for meaning in suffering. Chapter two defines the experience of pain and suffering from current and historical perspectives. Chapter three surveys how women within a Christian context have spoken about suffering and how these expressions might be similar to or differ from the ways men theologize about suffering. Chapter four considers how an incorporation of a tragic Vision of reality might enhance theological considerations on evil and radical suffering of women. Chapter five focuses on the role of Christian spirituality in responding to the experiences of women's suffering. The conclusion provides a response to the question, is there a value to suffering for women, and incorporates the poem Rowing by Anne Sexton to convey that response. Women and the Value of Suffering contemplates whether women can find value in their suffering - individually and effectively - so that they are empowered to work for change while acknowledging their need for and openness to God's activating presence in transforming their suffering. Woman and the Value of Suffering shows that through suffering and despite all expectations to the contrary, people can come to an encounter with One who knows our suffering with love, grace, and even joy. Chapters are "Attempts to Define the Experience of Pain and Suffering," "Selected Women's Experiences and Theological Reflections on Suffering," "Tragic Vision and Suffering," and "Elements of a Proposed Spiritual Response to Suffering." Kristine M. Rankka holds a bachelor of arts in religion in symbolic expression and a master of Library science from the University of Washington. She has also completed another graduate degree at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

The point in turning to faith is not to escape, but to engage.

A probing look at one of America's pressing social concerns--crime and the spiritual needs of those who suffer because of it. Headlines and nightly news programs remind us constantly of the reality of crime and victims who suffer from it. This important book is the first to make a theological exploration of the spiritual issues that victims face in the aftermath of crime and to offer practical advice for assisting those in need. Written by teachers, theologians, and practitioners well known for their expertise in the field, GOD AND THE VICTIM probes and examines issues of evil, justice, victimization, and forgiveness. Working from the view that crime is primarily a spiritual issue, the authors look at examples of victimization in the Bible for guidance about we can better minister to victims today. Readers of the book will attain a deeper understanding of what crime victims experience, insight into their practical and spiritual needs, and concrete suggestions for giving wise and sensitive help. Including thought-provoking sidebars and study guides for personal or group use, this volume is the best av! ailable resource for readers ranging from pastors and counselors to individuals whose own lives have been impacted by crime.

Seldom does a teacher come along with the ability to take the exuberance of spiritual joy and put it on a page in lessons of graceful simplicity and life-giving power. But in "Colors of the Spirit, " readers are introduced to just such a teacher in Dorothy Ederer. Here she shares her own prescription for a fulfilling life, and illustrates it with the stories of those who have enriched her own journey. You will see in these stories people who looked inside themselves and discovered the potential God gave them to touch others. These individuals were the colors that brightened Dorothy's world, a world which was sometimes darkened by the hopelessness she encountered in her work as a counselor and teacher. Yet she found that just as white light is filtered through raindrops to create a rainbow, so too is God's light filtered through all of creation and manifested in each being in a unique way. In "Colors of the Spirit, " Ederer goes through each color of the rainbow to share the special meanings they have for her, and how the qualities they represent can bring us peace and joy in our own lives.

"From the Hardcover edition."

By challenging some of the most cherished theological beliefs to emerge within black Christian communities, this text encourages us to extend the range of our religious world views and embrace black cultural expressions that have been ignored or despised. Anthony Pinn explores theological texts, preaching, folklore, spirituals, blues and rap to look at beliefs held within the African American community that contribute to the suffering of its members and to unleash a tradition of African American humanism.

In Jesus Is My Uncle, Luis Pedraja examines Christology and the doctrine of God from a Hispanic perspective, emphasizing the role played by language and experience. This volume provides a unique perspective and promotes a deeper understanding of Hispanic theology and, by inference, other theologies as well.

Living in the cultural borderlands, an important aspect of the Hispanic experience is the languages used: Spanish and English. Pedraja examines how the way Hispanics speak about Jesus and God in Spanish creates different theological imagery than speaking in English does. All languages are laden with affections, nuances, and images that enhance the meaning of certain words. Since languages reflect and affect our theology, how one speaks about God provides a window into theology and unconsciously affects the way one thinks about God.

Adams argues that much of the discussion in analytic philosophy or religion over the last forty years has offered too narrow an understanding of the problem. The ground rules accepted for the discussion have usually led philosophers to avert their gaze from the worst "horrendous" evils and their devastating impact on human lives. They have agreed to debate the issue on the basis of religion-neutral values, and have focused on morals, an approach that -- Adams claims -- is inadequate for formulating and solving the problem of horrendous evils. She emphasizes instead the fruitfulness of other evaluative categories such as purity and defilement, honor and shame, and aesthetics.

If redirected, philosophical reflection on evil can, Adams's book demonstrates, provide a valuable approach not only to theories of God and evil but also to pastoral care.

Why is it that many Christians find a theological-scientific debate about creation's ancient origins far more engaging than a speech about how to live responsibly in the creation today? Are we more fascinated by academic debates that focus our gaze on what happened long ago than by the hands-on discussions that focus our gaze on the world of wonders outside our windows right now? In Remember Creation, Scott Hoezee challenges readers to make today's world more central to the Christian faith by enjoying and preserving God's cosmos as a part of daily discipleship. Solidly grounded in a wealth of Scripture passages, this book reveals God's "ecology of praise," which all Christians should want to explore and preserve. Throughout the book Hoezee also offers suggestions to help congregations, families, and all Christians to take more delight in God's world while working to keep alive the wonders that bring God joy. "Scott Hoezee adds a refreshing new twist to the discussion on the environment: Shouldn't we start by simply enjoying creation and honoring it for what it is? With illustrations both biblical and personal, Hoezee makes a compelling case." - Philip Yancey

Langdon Gilkey's account of his experiences as a witness for the ACLU at the 1981 creationist trial in Little Rock, Arkansas. The book brings to life principal characters and anecdotes from the trial and translates the abstract religious concepts of the case into digestable language.

Otherness is a dominant motif in contemporary thought from the realm of science to the arts, and the otherness of God is likewise a major theme of current philosophical and religious thought. This volume offers essays on the nature of God and the fundamental tasks of philosophy and theology written by internationally recognized thinkers in the distinct fields of philosophy, religious studies, and theology.

The Otherness of God traces the lineage of its theme from Plato and Aristotle through Neoplatonic, medieval, and Renaissance expression, and on through Reformation thought and German idealism to dialectical theology and deconstruction. In spite of a variety of approaches, the contributors all recognize that one may still think theologically -- indeed, must do so -- even when one fundamentally challenges the very conceptualization of the nature of the divine that has traditionally dominated metaphysical theism. This provocative collection, drawn primarily from an interdisciplinary conference at the University of Virginia, should attract those interested in the philosophy of religion, the history of philosophy and theology, and the theological interpretation of secular culture.

Where did the Holy Trinity originate as a doctrine? Why did this doctrine develop? How can Christians speak of God as three persons and also worship one God? In "The College Student's Introduction to the Trinity, " Lynne Lorenzen examines how the doctrine of the Trinity has been interpreted in Eastern Christianity, Western Christianity, and by contemporary theologians including feminists and process theologians.

In Western Christianity the doctrine of the Trinity is an enigma. On the one hand, this doctrine is the foundation of liturgical worship. On the other hand, many Western Christians have focused theology and faith on the person of Jesus to the exclusion of any other theological categories. For these believers the doctrine of the Trinity has become divorced from the doctrine of salvation, soteriology; from the doctrine of the church, ecclesiology; and from how Christians understand what it means for Jesus to be the Christ, christology. For most believers this disjunction is so great as to make them wonder why, aside from tradition, theologians insist on speaking of the Trinity at al. That many theologians have not sensed this need to relate theology to the Trinity also indicates the breadth of the divorce.

In "The College Student's Introduction to the Trinity," Lynne Lorenzen examines the development of the separation of the Trinity from the rest of Christian theology, how it began with Augustine and continued in the Western tradition. One solution that she describes is for the Western Christian to rediscover the original function of the doctrine of the Trinity as integrating soteriology, christology, and the doctrine of God, to develop a doctrine that will reauthenticate the Trinity, and, above al, to integrate these doctrines in a doctrine of the Trinity for the West.

Lorenzen discusses four resources needed for a reauthenticated Western doctrine: orthodoxy, the theology of the pre-Augustinian tradition of the Christian Church that is currently still practiced in the Eastern Orthodox Christian Churches; the work of Jurgen Moltmann and his understanding that the Trinity includes christology and soteriology as foundational; feminism, which understands salvation occurs here and now and is the work of al creation; and process theology, which provides a metaphysics that describes how God relates with the world to bring about salvation. The work concludes by constructing a doctrine of the Trinity out of these resources.

Chapters are The Development of the Doctrine of the Trinity," "The Western Doctrine of the Trinity," "Recent Formulations of the Augustinian Tradition," "Non-Augustinian Formulations in the Western Tradition," "The Doctrine of the Trinity by Jurgen Moltmann," "Feminism and the Doctrine of the Trinity," "Process Theologians and the Trinity," and "reauthenticated Doctrine of the Trinity."

"Lynne Faber Lorenzen, PhD, is associate professor of religion at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, and president of the American Academy of Religion upper Midwest region.""

In this book of reflections, Rowell encourages readers to pay attention, because we often find God in unusual places. He reflects on how we often miss God in the usual places such as the Bible, church, or home.

Karen Baker-Fletcher here seeks to recover and renew that strong historic tie of black peoples to the land, sometimes broken by migration and urbanization. Cultivating the ecological side of black womanism, she combines a keen awareness of environmental racism with reflection on her own journey and a constructive theological vision. She works the biblical and literary metaphors of dust and spirit to address the embodiment of God, Spirit, Christ, creation, and humans and to fashion a powerful justice-oriented spirituality of creation.

Baker-Fletcher evinces a strong sense of God in nature, and its earnest, reflective character makes this small volume ideal for individual, adult study, or classroom use.

One of the central arguments of post-metaphysical theology is that language is inherently 'metaphysical' and consequently that it shoehorns objects into predetermined categories. Because God is beyond such categories, it follows that language cannot apply to God. Drawing on recent work in theology and philosophy of language, Kevin Hector develops an alternative account of language and its relation to God, demonstrating that one need not choose between fitting God into a metaphysical framework, on the one hand, and keeping God at a distance from language, on the other. Hector thus elaborates a 'therapeutic' response to metaphysics: given the extent to which metaphysical presuppositions about language have become embedded in common sense, he argues that metaphysics can be fully overcome only by defending an alternative account of language and its application to God, so as to strip such presuppositions of their apparent self-evidence and release us from their grip.

Following an insightful evaluation of the Gospel evidence, Clifford concludes that the kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus is a reality in the light of which we have to come to terms with the modern world-a world where natural catastrophes and humanly created disasters are common occurrences.