Philosopher Arthur F. Holmes surveys the historical ways of grounding moral values objectively in the nature of reality, pausing along the way to consider such major landmarks in Western thought as Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Ockham, the Reformers, Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche. Holmes is not convinced that we live in a value-free universe, that fact and value are ultimately unrelated, or that we have to create all our own values rather than discovering the good. He explores the fact-value connection in the larger context of metaphysical and theological views. What emerges is a pervasive-and convincing-link between religious and moral beliefs.

Badcock begins by surveying what both the Old and New Testaments have to say about the Spirit. Next he traces the history of the theology of the Spirit, examining a number of crucial episodes and questions in the field of pneumatology in the history of Christian thought, and then proceeds to develop a contemporary theology of the Spirit.

Professor Thiselton compares and assesses modern and postmodern interpretations of the self and society on their own terms and in relation to Christian theology. He explores especially claims that appeals to truth constitute no more than disguised bids for power and self-affirmation whether in society or in religion.

The 'new materialism' argues that science and religious belief are incompatible. This book considers such arguments from cosmology (Stephen Hawking, Peter Atkins), from biology (Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins) and from sociobiology (Michael Ruse), and exposes a number of fallacies and weaknesses. With a carefully argued, point-by-point refutation of scientific atheism, God, Chance and Necessity shows that modern scientific knowledge does not undermine belief in God, but actually points to the existence of God as the best explanation of how things are the way they are. Thus it sets out to demolish the claims of books like The Selfish Gene, and to show that the overwhelming appearance of design in nature is not deceptive.

A major work from one of today's leading theologians, Divine Empathy attempts to "think the unthinkable," how God comes forth actively and redemptively to meet the human situation. Apologetic but not polemical, Farley's work sympathetically engages yet moves beyond both the classical tradition as well as contemporary anti-theisms in formulating a concept of God that is strikingly original, intellectually honest, and comprehensive. Farley's treatise employs the "facticity of redemption," the actual experience of freedom and empowerment, as the primordial source for our thinking about God (Part 1), God-symbols (Part 2), and God's activity (Part 3), including the figure of Jesus. Farley's astute analysis leads inexorably to a view of divine creativity and empathy that is one of the more profound religious visions of our time.

William Placher looks at "classical" Christian theology (Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, Martin Luther) and contrasts it with the Christian discourse about God that evolved in the seventeenth century. In particular, he deals with the notion of transcendence that gained prominence in this era and its impact on modern theology and modern thinking today. He persuasively argues that useful lessons can be drawn from premodern thinking about God, especially when viewed within the context of contemporary objections to it. This reexamination, according to Placher, has practical and profound implications for modern theology.

This collection of sermons explores the age-old question of why a loving God allows suffering to visit His children. Tull encourages readers to ask why in good times as well as in difficult ones, to examine God's eternal presence in times of blessed joy as well as during sorrow and care. He emphasizes scriptures and anecdotes that illustrate God's comfort and grace during all situations in our lives.

With acknowledgment that Christian theology contributed to the persecution and genocide of Jews comes a dilemma: how to excise the cancer without killing the patient? Kendall Soulen shows how important Christian assertions-the uniqueness of Jesus, the Christian covenant, the finality of salvation in Christ-have been formulated in destructive, supersessionist ways not only in the classical period (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus) and early modernity (Kant and Schleiermacher) but even contemporary theology (Barth and Rahner). Along with this first full-scale critique of Christian supersessionism, Soulen's own constructive proposal regraps the narrative unity of Christian identity and the canon through an original and important insight into the divine-human covenant, the election of Israel, and the meaning of history.

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.

Partial Contents: God in Himself; First Idea of God; God's Description of Himself; How to Proceed in this Contemplation; Mystery of the Father; The Word, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity; Only Begotten Son; How St. John came by the Expression the Word; Wonders of the Third Person; Blessed Three in One; God in His Works; World of Matter from Stars to Matter; Romance of Our Little Earth; Divine View Point; God in the Heart of the Mystic.

Carl Raschke and Susan Doughty Raschke argue that God's own self-revelation is neither exclusively male nor exclusively female but both at once. With this self-revelation of the "two in one", the authors contend that the scriptures are actually a radical proclamation of gender equality. Basing their findings on historical, anthropological, and biblical scholarship, they make a compelling argument that this awareness of God's dual nature was widely accepted and understood in the early years of Christianity but was intentionally obscured through the ages. This book is an essential starting point for the inquiry into the nature of God and creation. Readers will find resources from within the Christian tradition that aid in the understanding of both the male and the female sides of God.

Addressing important issues of the day, this series examines how each of the eight major religions approaches a particular theme. Constructed to be comparative, the books are both authoritative and accessible. Each chapter is followed by a selected bibliography. Individual books are ideal for students at university and A level. As a set they form a complete reference collection.

How can Christians bring about peace and justice in the world, when Christianity seems either to claim the absolute truth about God or to dissolve into "disempowering relativism"? James Will seeks an answer for this crucial question in the spiritual and intellectual life of the church. He challenges the traditional western idea of God as omnipotent and unchanging, instead offering the theory of the universal relationality of God. Writing from the perspective of process theology, Will says that just as God had an impact on the world, so the world has an impact on God. God is related and responsive to the world. In the modern world, where many cultures and belief systems are in contact and often conflict with one another, Will's broadening of the conception of God offers an integration of many cultures and beliefs, recognizing their relatedness without reducing any of them. In this way, Will believes the universal God may bring love and peace to a pluralistic and often divided world.

In a time of rapid change and global confusion, how are Christians to perceive God at work in history? The theme of God's presence among the nations is here addressed from different perspectives by two major theologians. Douglas John Hall explores foundational theological questions: the providence of God, the relation of global to national concerns, and the role of the church in relation to God's worldly work. Rosemary Radford Ruether raises the question of the presence of God in the context of three major crises of our times-the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, global poverty and the preferential option for the poor, and the ecological crisis.

The most loved and memorized verse in the Bible--John 3:16--is the focus of J. Sidlow Baxter's in-depth study of the love of God. (Biblical Studies)

The debate about God-language has two opposing extremes. One side maintains that biblical language and masculine pronouns must be retained. The other argues that female imagery for God is preferable. Now Gail Ramshaw presents a third position, urging the inclusion of many images for God, the correction of others, and the total avoidance of any pronouns.

Unqualified divine simplicity not only contradicts the central christological and trinitarian distinctions but it also renders implausible any positive relation between God and world, God and time.

In this book, Kaplan enlarges on his notion of functional reinterpretation and then actually applies it to the entire ritual cycle of the Jewish year-a rarity in modern Jewish thought. This work continues to function as a central text for the Reconstructionist movement, whose influence continues to grow in American Jewry.

Draws on themes of the disability-rights movement to identify people with disabilities as members of a socially disadvantaged minority group rather than as individuals who need to adjust. Highlights the hidden history of people with disabilities in church and society. Proclaiming the emancipatory presence of the disabled God, the author maintains the vital importance of the relationship between Christology and social change. Eiesland contends that in the Eucharist, Christians encounter the disabled God and may participate in new imaginations of wholeness and new embodiments of justice.

A fresh examination of the history of early Christian doctrine, by one of the world s leading authorities, which sets its development in the political and cultural context of the Roman Empire.>

"Eerdmans' third edition of Dowey's The Knowledge of God in Calvin's Theology is both a welcomed and noteworthy publishing event, welcomed because its publication makes available for a new generation Dowey's substantive analysis of Calvin's thought and noteworthy because its author's breadth of scholarship, then and now, endows the work, with its expanded appendices, with a lively, penetrat-ing, and judicious perspective from which to assess Calvin's theological genius. With incisive clarity, Dowey both explains and criticizes Calvin's principle of the duplex cognitio domini, illuminating how the Reformer's concept of the knowledge of God the Creator and the knowledge of God the Redeemer controls and contributes to the whole of Calvin's thought. Although first published over forty years ago, Dowey's comprehensive study still remains the best on the subject." - Theology Today

Who was Jesus? A cynic-like figure? A political activist? Professor Marcus Borg, a nationally known Jesus scholar, here offers an accessible guide through the growing maze of literature and research on Jesus. This state-of the art volume will be a welcome resource especially for libraries, research specialists and students. The book is divided into three parts. Part One deals with Jesus scholarship in the 1980s, focusing on the renaissance in Jesus studies during that period and summarizing the portraits of Jesus offered by North American scholars. Part Two examines issues in contemporary Jesus research, particularly questions related to the "eschatological Jesus" and the "politics of Jesus." Part Three looks at the potential of current research for helping rethink Jesus' identity and the implications for the modern reader and the church. Jesus in Contemporary Scholarship represents a "summing up" of current research and an illuminating and important contribution to the ongoing debate. Marcus J. Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at Oregon State University, a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar, and the author of the recently published Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time.