This book inquires as to whether theological dialogue between Christians and Jews is possible, not only in itself but also as regards the emergence of communities of Messianic Judaism. In light of David Novak's insights, Matthew Levering proposes that Christian theological responses to supersessionism need to preserve both the Church's development of doctrine and Rabbinic Judaism's ability to define its own boundaries.
The book undertakes constructive philosophical theology in dialogue with Novak. Exploring the interrelated doctrines of divine providence/theonomy, the image of God, and natural law, Levering places Novak's work in conversation especially with Thomas Aquinas, whose approach fosters a rich dialogue with Novak's broadly Maimonidean perspective. It focuses upon the relationship of human beings to the Creator, with attention to the philosophical entailments of Jewish and Christian covenantal commitments, aiming to spell out what true freedom involves.
It concludes by asking whether Christians and Jews would do better to bracket our covenantal commitments in pursuing such wisdom. Drawing upon Novak's work, the author argues that in the face of suffering and death, God's covenantal election makes possible hope, lacking which the quest for wisdom runs aground.

The ongoing debates on the present state and the future of the Roman Catholic worship are not confined to specialists, but are clearly of interest to a wider public, as the responses to the Sacra Liturgia UK conference, held in London in July 2016, have shown. This volume contains the proceedings of the conference and raises the question of how to bring to fruition the insights and instructions of the Second Vatican Council and its key document on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, in the life of the Church today. The initial contribution from Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, calls for a fuller implementation of Sacrosanctum Concilium. Following on from this other leading figures and liturgical scholars, such as Joris Geldhof, David Fagerberg and Alcuin Reid, examine Catholic worship from a variety of perspectives, including historical, pastoral, social, cultural and artistic themes. Taken together, these chapters present another crucial step along the route of authentic liturgical renewal in the contemporary world.

Demonstrates the critical use of religion to challenge oppression in the U.S. In the nascent United States, religion often functioned as a justifier of oppression. Yet while religious discourse buttressed such oppressive activities as slavery and the destruction of native populations, oppressed communities have also made use of religion to critique and challenge this abuse. As Liberation Theologies in the United States demonstrates, this critical use of religion has often taken the form of liberation theologies, which use primarily Christian principles to address questions of social justice, including racism, poverty, and other types of oppression. Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas and Anthony B. Pinn have brought together a stellar group of liberation theology scholars to provide a synthetic introduction to the historical development, context, theory, and goals of a range of U.S.-born liberation theologies. Chapters cover Black Theology, Womanist Theology, Latino/Hispanic Theology, Latina Theology, Asian American Theology, Asian American Feminist Theology, Native American Theology, Native Feminist Theology, Gay and Lesbian Theology, and Feminist Theology. Contributors: Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Mary McClintock Fulkerson, Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Robert Shore-Goss, Andrea Smith, Andrew Sung Park, George (Tink) Tinker, and Benjamin Valentin.

In this exceptional commentary of the Bible, preacher and scholar Philip Mauro explains two of the most famous visions of the prophet Daniel and the Great Tribulation. Renowned for his intellectual depth and skills of plain explanation, Philip Mauro's mission in life was to enlighten his fellow Christian regarding the Biblical lore. Often members of his congregation would grow concerned or worried at not understanding aspects of the Bible; the Book of Daniel, with its dense series of prophecy, was among the commonest source of frustration for believers. Part One of this book explains the various revelations and visions of Daniel, who foresaw apocalyptic events which are collectively referred to as The Seventy Weeks. The second part of the book, discussing the prophecy of the Lord as delivered to Jesus from atop Mount Olivet, tackles the contents and clarifies the meanings of this prophetic event.

This book contains a wide-ranging discussion of the literature of religious apologetic composed by pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Roman empire up to the time when Constantine declared himself a Christian. The contributors are distinguished specialists from the fields of ancient history, Jewish history, ancient philosophy, New Testament studies, and patristics. Each chapter is devoted to a particular text or group of texts with the aim of identifying the literary milieu and the circumstances that led to this form of writing. When appropriate, contributors have concentrated on whether the notional audience addressed in the text is the real one, and whether apologetics was regarded as a genre in its own right.

"Derrida and Theology" is an invaluable guide for those ready to ride the leading wave of contemporary theology. It gives theologians the confidence to explore the major elements of Derrida's work, and its influence on theology, without 'dumbing it down' or ignoring its controversial aspects. Jacques Derrida: a name to strike fear into the hearts of theologians. His thought has been hugely influential in shaping postmodern philosophy, and its impact has been felt across the humanities from literary studies to architecture. However, he has also been associated with the spectres of relativism and nihilism. Some have suggested he undermines any notion of objective truth and stable meaning.Fortunately, such premature judgements are gradually changing. Derrida is now increasingly seen as a major contributor to thinking about the complexity of truth, responsibility and witnessing. Theologians and biblical scholars are engaging as never before with Derrida's own deep-rooted reflections on religious themes. From the nature of faith to the name of God, from Messianism to mysticism, from forgiveness to the impossible, he has broken new ground in thinking about religion in our time. His thought and writing style remain highly complex, however, and can be a forbidding prospect for the uninitiated.This book gives theologians the confidence to explore the major elements of Derrida's work, and its influence on theology, without 'dumbing it down' or ignoring its controversial aspects. It examines his philosophical approach, his specific work on religious themes, and the ways in which theologians have interpreted, adopted and disputed them. "Derrida and Theology" is an invaluable guide for those ready to ride the leading wave of contemporary theology. "The Philosophy and Theology" series looks at major philosophers and explores their relevance to theological thought as well as the response of theology.

This book, based on the 2006 Didsbury Lectures, is the first comprehensive study of the systematic, doctrinal and constructive theology produced within the major Nonconformist traditions (Congregational, Baptist, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Methodist and United Reformed) during the twentieth century. In the first chapter the landscape is surveyed, with reference to such topics as the New Theology, the First World War, the reception of Karl Barth, the theological excitements of the 1960s and pluralism. The second chapter concerns the major Christian doctrines God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Trinity, while in the third ecclesiological and ecumenical themes are discussed. Eschatology is treated in the concluding chapter and there follows the authors assessment of the significance of twentiethcentury Nonconformist theology and his observations regarding its current state, future content and practitioners.

Can human beings be free and responsible if there is a God? Anselm of Canterbury, the first Christian philosopher to propose that human beings have a really robust free will, offers viable answers to questions which have plagued religious people for at least two thousand years: If divine grace cannot be merited and is necessary to save fallen humanity, how can there be any decisive role for individual free choice to play? If God knows today what you are going to choose tomorrow, then when tomorrow comes you have to choose what God foreknew, so how can your choice be free? If human beings must have the option to choose between good and evil in order to be morally responsible, must God be able to choose evil? Anselm answers these questions with a sophisticated theory of free will which defends both human freedom and the sovereignty and goodness of God.

Well-known scholars in the study of religions bring up to date and elucidate the discussion on the three most debated approaches in comparative religion, namely, the hermeneutical approach, the explanatory or cognitivist approach, and the critical approach. The approaches and methods of studying religion are disputed in an outspoken and challenging way, critically and radically arguing pros and cons. This work is unique, unrivalled, and full of essential insights into the dialogue of today and of the challenges of tomorrow.

This accessible study is the first critical investigation of the cult of saints among Muslims and Jews in medieval Syria and the Near East. Josef Meri's critical reading of a wide range of contemporary sources reveals a vibrant religious culture in which the veneration of saints and pilgrimage to tombs and shrines were fundamental.