It is crucial today to understand how religions can exist harmoniously in a shared environment, whether local or global. A reasoned approach to this question was sought by participants at a stimulating conference of the International Association for the History of Religions (IAHR) in a predominantly Muslim country, Indonesia. Themes treated include the relation between theoretical approaches and religious viewpoints, practical problems and conflict resolution at the local level, and religious education with special reference to the role of Muslim schools (pesantren) in Indonesia.

The story of Adam, Eve, God and the Serpent in the Garden of Eden is the true story of the miserable life we live as human beings on this earth. But our understanding of the fateful events in Eden had been solidly formed by the falsified mind-bending Bible stories we were told as children by parents and church ministers. And even as adults, organized religion still tells us the same illogical fables and somehow most of us have continued to reason and understand these crucial events that totally control our lives as children, despite the fact that they do not agree with common sense. So, What is the Truth? Jesus Christ came specifically to bear witness to the truth; Yahweh the god of Eden had him killed through his religious agents, who continue to muffle the truth and to mislead humanity. But The Final Testaments offers the true definition of the events in Eden. The Fall of the Human Souls; the Actual Original Sin; the Actual Genesis of this World; the Diabolic Nature of Yahweh the God of Eden; the Actual Antichrist or the Expected Immanuel; Who really Killed Jesus Christ-all these and more are authoritatively revealed.

An introduction to the covenant theology of the Old Testament, Second Temple Judaism, the New Testament, and the early Fathers, exploring the implications for contemporary theology. The concept of 'covenant' is a crucial component in understanding God and his actions throughout salvation history. New Covenant, New Community looks at covenant in the Old and New Testaments and the history of Christian interpretation, and makes a substantial contribution to biblical theological studies in this area. What are the elements of continuity and discontinuity in terms of the covenant concept between the Old and New Testaments? Can we truly speak of a 'new' covenant that is distinct from the old? What are the implications of a biblical understanding of covenant for the community of faith - then and now? These are just a few of the many questions Grabe addresses in this far-reaching, well-researched and highly accessible study.

This is an introduction to the most important theological work of the Middle Ages. In the intellectual tradition of the Christian faith, few thinkers have had a more profound effect upon both the nature of theology and the materials with which it deals than Thomas Aquinas. A knowledge, therefore, of his major work, the "Summa Theologiae", is necessary for the student of theology, let alone any who are concerned with the Western intellectual tradition, so pervasive is Aquinas' thought to the fabric of Western thought. This, together with the immensity, length, and difficulty of the Summa, make a Reader's Guide valuable, even crucial, to a student's first exposure to this work. To address the needs of undergraduates who attempt a reading of this work, Stephen Loughlin presents the basic principles that underlie the "Summa Theologiae" both as a whole and with respect to its three parts, and the varying treatises found within them. "Continuum Reader's Guides" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to key texts in literature and philosophy. Each book explores the themes, context, criticism and influence of key works, providing a practical introduction to close reading, guiding students towards a thorough understanding of the text. They provide an essential, up-to-date resource, ideal for undergraduate students.

For centuries, science and religion have been on the opposite sides of the debate about the moral nature of human beings. Now science is confirming what people of faith have long known: human morality is embedded in our biology. Drawing on the latest research in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and behavioral science, this book affirms the four-fold prophetic vision of morality as expressed hundreds of years ago by the great philosopher and theologian, the Blessed John Duns Scotus. It proclaims the dignity of the individual and celebrates freedom of will for moral living, stemming from the place of innate natural goodness where love prevails.

Dr. Pablo S. Sanchez Es una garantia para nuestra vida tener una Biblia, y mas si estamos seguros de su origen, de su trayectoria, de su unicidad y de su relevancia actual. Mientras que la ciencia que parece ser lo maximo en lo que al saber se refiere, aclara que la verdad cientifica es relativa, la Biblia habla de la verdad absoluta. Existen muchos libros en el mundo, de los cuales se puede decir que algunos son de suma importancia, casi sin excepcion se traducen de idioma en idioma, tambien la Biblia se ha traducido mas que todos, si esto ocasionara algun problema debido a la dinamica de los idiomas, y a los diferentes usos de los vocablos que en cada idioma necesariamente se producen, esto no justifica relegarla ni considerarla anacronica, o anticuada por el hecho de que data de mucho tiempo. La evidencia historica y su relevancia actual son suficientes para considerarla no solo como importante sino tambien como segura, veras y nitida. No tiene contradicciones ni misterios ocultos, lo que se considere misterio es una revelacion. Deuteronomio 29:29

This volume presents the theory of culture of the Russian-born German Jewish social philosopher David Koigen (1879-1933). Heir to Hermann Cohen's neo-Kantian interpretation of Judaism, he transforms the religion of reason into an ethical Intimitatsreligion. He draws upon a great variety of intellectual currents, among them, Max Scheler's philosophy of values, the historical sociology of Max Weber, the sociology of religion of Emile Durkheim, Ernst Troeltsch and Georg Simmel and American pragmatism. Influenced by his personal experience of marginality in German academia yet the same time unconstrained by the dictates of the German Jewish discourse, Koigen shapes these theoretical strands into an original argument which unfolds along two trajectories: theodicy of culture and ethos. Distinguished from ethics, ethos identifies the non-formal factors that foster a group's sense of collective identity as it adapts to continuous change. From a Jewish perspective, ethos is grounded in the biblical covenant as the paradigm of a social contract and corporate liability. Although the normative content of the covenantal ethos is subject to gradual secularization, its metaphysical and existential assumptions, Koigen argues, continue to inform Jewish self-understanding. The concept of ethos identifies the dialectic of tradition as it shapes Jewish religious consciousness, and, in turn, is shaped by the evolving cultural and axiological sensibilities. In consonance, Jewish identity cannot be reduced to ethnicity or a purely secular culture. Urban develops these fragmentary and inchoate theories into a sociology of religious knowledge and suggests to read Koigen not just as a Jewish sociologist but as the first sociologist of Judaism who proposes to overcome the dogmatic anti-metaphysical stance of European sociology.

This study identifies and explores texts of restoration in a wide selection of Early Jewish Literature in order to assess the variety of ways in which Jews envisioned Israel's future restoration. Particular attention is given to the expression of restoration in what is identified in the present study as the exilic model of restoration. In this model, Israel's restoration is characterized by the features of (a) a future re-gathering, (b) the fate of the nations, and (c) the establishment of a new Temple. The present work focuses primarily on the first two features. Through this framework Jews in the Greco-Roman period could draw on Israel's history and legacy, but re-appropriate 'exile and return' in new and creative ways. Finally, the writing of Luke-Acts is investigated for its ideas of restoration and its indebtedness to Early Jewish traditions.

The history of Sunni theology is little known, but the impact of its demise has profoundly shaped modern Islam. This book explores the correlation between anti-theological thought and the rise of Islamism in the twentieth century by examining Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and the leadership of Umar al-Tilmisani (d. 1986). The sociopolitical implications of anti-theological creedalism and its postcolonial intermarriage with the modern nation-state are also analyzed. Ultimately, this study seeks to know whether a revival of Sunni theology, as a rational discourse on religion, can dilute the absolutism of increasingly pervasive Islamist thought in the contemporary Muslim world.

Seeking to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical theology and ecclesiology, this co-authored volume presents an evolving conversation between four significant theologians.This co-authored volume is the outcome of an ecumenical speaking and listening that has involved a continuing conversation between four theologians over a period of more than two years. The scholars are active members of the mainline churches in the UK, Anglican, Methodist and Roman Catholic. They propose that the Church will live as it grows in self-understanding, in the light of the claim that her purpose is to focus attention on God, Creator, Redeemer, and Living Presence. In so doing they address key debates in the US and European contexts, as well as dealing with matters of pressing concern in the wider global church.What does it mean to say that the Church in herself and on behalf of the world bears witness to and celebrates the presence of God in contemporary ethics, worship, governance and mission? The authors have sought to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical theology, and ecclesiology. Key features are accessibility, the highly pertinent nature of the themes it covers, its academic purpose and its awareness of the parish and ministerial contexts."Ecclesiological Investigations" brings together quality research and inspiring debates in ecclesiology worldwide from a network of international scholars, research centres and projects in the field.

After Jerusalem, Bethel is the most frequently cited sanctuary in the Hebrew Bible. The book offers a detailed analysis of Bethel and its sanctuary from archaeological and biblical evidence. It reconstructs the history of Bethel and by analysing the presence of pro- and anti-Bethel propaganda, it argues that the latter, with its own pro-Jerusalem/Judah bias, has resulted in an unfair denigration of Bethel as an idolatrous place of worship. The study suggests that Bethel was a legitimate Yahwistic shrine and continued to be so even after the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians. Hence, Bethel in a real sense was the principal means of configuring Israelite identity.