Batman is one of the most recognized and popular pop culture icons. Appearing on the page of Detective Comics #27 in 1939, the character has inspired numerous characters, franchises, and spin-offs over his 80+ year history. The character has displayed versatility, appearing in stories from multiple genres, including science fiction, noir, and fantasy and mediums far beyond his comic book origins. While there are volumes analyzing Batman through literary, philosophical, and psychological lenses, this volume is one of the first academic monographs to examine Batman through a theological and religious lens. Theology and Batman analyzes Batman and his world, specifically exploring the themes of theodicy and evil, ethics and morality, justice and vengeance, and the Divine Nature. Scholars will appreciate the breadth of material covered while Batman fans will appreciate the love for the character expressed through each chapter.

The question of whether the existence of evil in the world is compatible with the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good God has been debated for centuries. Many have addressed classical arguments from evil, and while recent scholarship in analytic philosophy of religion has produced newer formulations of the problem, most of these newer formulations rely on a conception of God that is not held by all theists. In Bringing Good Even Out of Evil: Thomism and the Problem of Evil, B. Kyle Keltz defends classical theism against contemporary problems of evil through the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas and his interpreters. Keltz discusses Aquinas's thought on God, evil, and what kind of world God would make, then turns to contemporary problems of evil and shows how they miss the mark when it comes to classical theism. Some of the newer formulations that the book considers include James Sterba's argument from the Pauline principle, J. L. Schellenberg's divine hiddenness argument, Stephen Law's evil-god challenge, and Nick Trakakis's anti-theodicy.

This textbook explores the Lutheran theological tradition. Kirsi Stjerna looks at Lutheran sources, vocabulary and focal points through the lens of the Augsburg Confession and the Large Catechism, developing a distinctive Lutheran faith language that resonates with contemporary contexts and inquirers. Lutheran Theology gives students the tools they need to understand Lutheran perspectives in the light of historical sources, to see the underlying motivations of past theological discourses and to apply this knowledge to current debates. Introducing the Book of Concord and Martin Luther’s freedom theology, it shows them how to engage critically and constructively with key topics in theology and spirituality, such as freedom and confession. Stjerna pays particular attention to the contribution of women theologians, and empowers students to bring Lutheran theology into conversation with other faith languages and traditions. This textbook includes an extensive range of pedagogical features: - A discussion guide for each chapter - Chapter-specific learning objectives - Key terms in bold, boxed text sections that identify points of debate, discussion of central topics, study questions and a glossary

This volume demonstrates how Friedrich Schleiermacher's thought can be used to address contemporary doctrinal refinement and development. Taking a constructive approach, Shelli M. Poe weaves Schleiermacher's theology together with current scholarship in feminism, womanism, ecotheology, and queer theology. While Schleiermacher is widely acclaimed as the progenitor of modern theology, Poe is one of the first to use his work as a springboard to refine contemporary doctrine. This book demonstrates the promise of Schleiermacher's mature work for contemporary constructive forms of theology.