A radical reassessment of the role of Mary the mother of Jesus and other women in the early Church Despite the commonly held assumption that the Bible says little about the mother of Jesus, there are many indications that Mary preceded and inspired her son in fostering the emergence of a new faith community. In the Gospel of John, Mary instigates Jesus' first miracle, and in all four gospels she is present at the crucifixion, suggesting hers was a place of unparalleled importance in the Christian story. Setting aside presuppositions based on doctrine, Chris Maunder returns to the New Testament to answer the question 'Who was Mary?' He re-examines the virgin conception of Jesus, Mary's contribution to Jesus' ministry, and her central role in the events of the crucifixion and the resurrection. In so doing, Maunder casts a thought-provoking new light on Mary and the women, including Mary Magdalene, who stood alongside her.

This selection of writings from the most important moments in the history of Christianity has become established as a classic reference work, providing insights into 2000 years of Christian theological and political debate.
While retaining the original material selected by Henry Bettenson, Chris Maunder has added a substantial section of more recent writings. These illustrate the Second Vatican Council; the theologies of liberation; Church and State from 'Thatcher's Britain' to Communist Eastern Europe; Black, feminist, and ecological theology; ecumenism; and inter-faith dialogue. The emphasis on moral debate in the contemporary churches is reflected in selections discussing questions about homosexuality, divorce, AIDS, and in-vitro fertilization, amongst other issues.
This further expanded fourth edition brings the anthology up-to-date with a new section looking at issues facing the twenty-first century churches. This includes extracts exploring the churches' responses to questions of social justice, international politics, trade and debt, environmental change, and technological development. New material also covers the global growth of Christianity, the progress of Christian unity, and mission in multi-faith and postmodern societies.

Where do we find the first flowerings of the cult of the Virgin Mary, which grew into such a great tree of many branches in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity throughout the medieval and on into the modern period? Do we see signs of Marian devotion in the Catacombs? When did Christians initially begin to see Mary as the object of prayers, hymns and visionary experiences? How much did they borrow ideas and practices from Pagan Goddess worship? In this book, a group of scholars associated with the Centre for Marian Studies share their most recent research on these questions. They have provided chapters on the New Testament; the Catacombs; the Protevangelium of James; Mary and Goddess worship; the origin of Marian feasts and their Pagan connections; the Council of Ephesus; Mary as Wisdom; Marian Art. Their work sheds light onto fascinating and controversial areas of Marian history, which will stimulate any reader interested in the complex story of early Christianity.

The Oxford Handbook of Mary offers an interdisciplinary guide to Marian Studies, including chapters on textual, literary, and media analysis; theology; Church history; art history; studies on devotion in a variety of forms; cultural history; folk tradition; gender analysis; apparitions and apocalypticism. Featuring contributions from a distinguished group of international scholars, the Handbook looks at both Eastern and Western perspectives and attempts to correct imbalance in previous books on Mary towards the West. The volume also considers Mary in Islam and pilgrimages shared by Christian, Muslim, and Jewish adherents. While Mary can be a source of theological disagreement, this authoritative collection shows Mary's rich potential for inter-faith and inter-denominational dialogue and shared experience. It covers a diverse number of topics that show how Mary and Mariology are articulated within ecclesiastical contexts but also on their margins in popular devotion. Newly-commissioned essays describe some of the central ideas of Christian Marian thought, while also challenging popularly-held notions. This invaluable reference for students and scholars illustrates the current state of play in Marian Studies as it is done across the world.