This is the first to book to explore Blondel's entire body of work and provides an introduction to his life and writings and their relevance to the debates surrounding the radical orthodoxy identity.

Detailing Blondel's impressive research output during the first half of the twentieth century, this volume highlights his relevance to philosophy and religion today and his commitment that philosophy cannot be separated from a theological narrative.

This highly original work will be of great interest to scholars of philosophy and religion, particularly the students of the radical orthodoxy movement.

This is the first to book to explore Blondel's entire body of work and provides an introduction to his life and writings and their relevance to the debates surrounding the radical orthodoxy identity.

Detailing Blondel's impressive research output during the first half of the twentieth century, this volume highlights his relevance to philosophy and religion today and his commitment that philosophy cannot be separated from a theological narrative.

This highly original work will be of great interest to scholars of philosophy and religion, particularly the students of the radical orthodoxy movement.

With his rosy cheeks and matching red suit - and ever-present elf and reindeer companions - Santa Claus may be the most identifiable of fantastical characters. But what do we really know of jolly old Saint Nicholas, ""patron saint"" of Christmastime? Ask about the human behind the suit, and the tale we know so well quickly fades into myth and folklore. In The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus, religious historian Adam English tells the true and compelling tale of Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra. Around the fourth century in what is now Turkey, a boy of humble circumstance became a man revered for his many virtues. Chief among them was dealing generously with his possessions, once lifting an entire family out of poverty with a single--and secret--gift of gold, so legend tells. Yet he was much more than virtuous. As English reveals, Saint Nicholas was of integral influence in events that would significantly impact the history and development of the Christian church, including the Council of Nicaea, the destruction of the temple to Artemis in Myra, and a miraculous rescue of three falsely accused military officers. And Nicholas became the patron saint of children and sailors, merchants and thieves, as well as France, Russia, Greece, and myriad others. Weaving together the best historical and archaeological evidence available with the folklore and legends handed down through generations, English creates a stunning image of this much venerated Christian saint. With prose as enjoyable as it is informative, he shows why the life--and death--of Nicholas of Myra so radically influenced the formation of Western history and Christian thought, and did so in ways many have never realized.

Jesus didn't give his followers a fixed set of statements defining everything they needed to know about the kingdom of God in a neat package. Rather he told stories, made comparisons, drew contrasts. He talked of a mustard seed, of yeast and of a hidden treasure to communicate some of the most important truths of the faith. Jesus didn't fall back on parables because he lacked the right words. Parables were the exact way Jesus intended to communicate. What pictures or analogies today can give us greater understanding of the Christian faith? Adam English finds fresh insight in four: Christianity as story, game, language, culture. Christianity is like a story with scenery, characters and plots. It's like a language with vocabulary, grammar and conversation. It's like a game with rules and players, goals and equipment. It's like a culture with a distinct way of living, working, playing and loving. No one analogy is complete, but all offer new windows of appreciation for the faith. English gives us a fresh representation of Christian theology that is neither modern nor postmodern, but in dialogue with both in order to articulate what we believe. Here is a book for those who want to grasp Christianity more fully and authentically in a way that illuminates our contemporary cultural context and enables us to make a compelling response.

"The story of Christian theology does not begin at the beginning. . . .Theology is the church's reflection on the salvation brought by Christ and on the gospel of that salvation proclaimed and explained by the first-century apostles." Here is a concise and informative guide to the history of Christian theology. This condensation of Roger Olson's widely acclaimed The Story of Christian Theology surveys the events, teachings and challenges to the Christian faith down through the ages. In five acts we are ushered from the second to the twenty-first century following all the twists and turns, wrinkles and rivalries that lay along that wonderful and humble way of Christian faith seeking understanding, articulation and explanation. Crafted for students, pastors and other busy people, this pocket history of theology provides a clear and informed guide to the central tenets of Christian faith and the internal threats and external challenges it has faced and continues to confront even today.