What "don't" Christians believe? Is Jesus really divine? Is Jesus really human? Can God suffer? Can people be saved by their own efforts?
The early church puzzled over these questions, ruling in some beliefs and ruling out others. "Heresies and How to Avoid Them" explains the principal ancient heresies and shows why contemporary Christians still need to know about them. These famous detours in Christian believing seemed plausible and attractive to many people in the past, and most can still be found in modern-day guises. By learning what it is that Christians don't believe--and why--believers today can gain a deeper, truer understanding of their faith.

Was Jesus divine? Was Jesus human? Could God suffer? Can people save themselves by their own efforts? Do Christian ministers have to be perfect? These and other questions were answered by the early Christian Church so as to rule in certain orthodox beliefs and rule out certain heretical beliefs. Anyone could be a Christian, but a Christian could not believe simply anything. Here, twelve top theologians, all practising Christians, tackle ancient heresies and show why the contemporary Church still needs to know about them. The contributors argue that heresies are never finally defeated but always continue in some form or other as live options for belief. Christians therefore need to remember what these great early heresies were and why they were ruled out, or else risk falling prey to their modern-day manifestations. The essays included here are scholarly but accessible, academic but highly relevant. They show how attractive and plausible heresies are and how the Church has always required intellectual effort, moral courage and political skill to resist them.

Taking seriously the practice and not just the theory of music, this ground-breaking collection of essays establishes a new standard for the interdisciplinary conversation between theology, musicology, and liturgical studies. The public making of music in our society happens more often in the context of chapels, churches, and cathedrals than anywhere else. The command to sing and make music to God makes music an essential part of the DNA of Christian worship. The book's three main parts address questions about the history, the performative contexts, and the nature of music. Its opening four chapters traces how accounts of music and its relation to God, the cosmos, and the human person have changed dramatically through Western history, from the patristic period through medieval, Reformation and modern times. A second section examines the role of music in worship, and asks what-if anything-makes a piece of music suitable for religious use. The final part of the book shows how the serious discussion of music opens onto considerations of time, tradition, ontology, anthropology, providence, and the nature of God. A pioneering set of explorations by a distinguished group of international scholars, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in Christianity's long relationship with music, including those working in the fields of theology, musicology, and liturgical studies.

How can theology think and talk about history? Building on the work of the major twentieth-century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar as well as entering into sharp critical debate with him, this book sets out to examine the value and the potential of a 'theodramatic' conception of history. By engaging in dialogue not only with theologians and philosophers like von Balthasar, Hegel and Barth, but with poets and dramatists such as the Greek tragedians, Shakespeare and Gerard Manley Hopkins, the book makes its theological principles open and indebted to literary forms, and seeks to show how such a theology might be applied to a world intrinsically and thoroughly historical. By contrast with theologies that stand back from the contingencies of history and so fight shy of the uncertainties and openness of Christian existence, this book's theology is committed to taking seriously the God who works in time.

How can theology think and talk about history? Building on the work of the major twentieth-century theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar as well as entering into sharp critical debate with him, this book sets out to examine the value and the potential of a 'theodramatic' conception of history. By engaging in dialogue not only with theologians and philosophers like von Balthasar, Hegel and Barth, but with poets and dramatists such as the Greek tragedians, Shakespeare and Gerard Manley Hopkins, the book makes its theological principles open and indebted to literary forms, and seeks to show how such a theology might be applied to a world intrinsically and thoroughly historical. By contrast with theologies that stand back from the contingencies of history and so fight shy of the uncertainties and openness of Christian existence, this book's theology is committed to taking seriously the God who works in time.

This book was first published in 2005. How will the study of theology and the religions in higher education be shaped in the coming century? This book offers several different perspectives on this field of study with suggestions for a future in which theology and religious studies are pursued together. There are examples of the interplay of theology and religious studies with reference to a range of topics: God, love, scripture, worship, argument, reconciliation, friendship and justice. The contributors practise different disciplines within the field, often in combination, covering theology, philosophy, history, phenomenology, literary studies, hermeneutics, politics, ethics and law. Their specialisms embrace Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Indian religions, with particular focus on the field in Europe, the US and South Africa. Recognizing the significance of the religions and of higher education, the book explores what best practice can be adopted to fulfil responsibilities towards academic disciplines, the religions and the societies of which they are part.

Reflections for Daily Prayer has nourished thousands of Christians for a decade with its inspiring and informed weekday Bible reflections. Now, in response to demand, Reflections for Sundays combines material from over the years with new writing to provide high-quality reflections on the Principal Readings for Sundays and major Holy Days. Contributors include some of the very best writers from across the Anglican tradition who have helped to establish it as one of the leading daily devotional volumes today. For each Sunday and major Holy Day in Year B, Reflections for Sundays offers: * full lectionary details for the Principle Service * a reflection on the Old Testament reading * a reflection on the Epistle * a reflection on the Gospel It also contains a substantial introduction to the Gospels of Mark and John, written by renowned Bible teacher Paula Gooder.

Found Theology is a book about how theology deals with newly-encountered (of 'found') material in time, and about the role of imagination in these encounters. The book is unusual and ground-breaking exercise in the interdisciplinary discussion of theology and the arts. Ben Quash brings together elements of doctrine, scripture, the fine arts and the experiences of everyday life. He looks closely at Christian artistic traditions via a number of case studies that represent a rich source of examples of the way that the new times properly stimulate new expressions of known and loved things. Quash engages closely with some serious and prominent American scholars, namely Peter Ochs, Daniel W. Hardy, C.S. Peirce and David H. Kelsey.

William Blake famously imagined 'Jerusalem builded here' in London. But Blake was not the first or the last to visualise a shimmering new metropolis on the banks of the River Thames. For example, the Romans erected a temple to Mithras in their ancient city of Londinium; medieval Londoners created Temple Church in memory of the Holy Sepulchre in which Jesus was buried; and Christopher Wren reshaped the skyline of the entire city with his visionary dome and spires after the Great Fire of London in 1666. In the modern period, the fabric of London has been rewoven in the image of its many immigrants from the Caribbean, South Asia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. While previous books have examined literary depictions of the city, this is the first examination of the religious imaginary of the metropolis through the prism of the visual arts. Adopting a broad multicultural and multi-faith perspective, and making space for practitioners as well as scholars, its topics range from ancient archaeological remains and Victorian murals and cemeteries to contemporary documentaries and political cartoons.

With a Foreword by Fergus Kerr and an Afterword by Rowan WilliamsIn an age when theology appears fragmented as never before, this volume intends to show how von Balthasar is one of the very few contemporary theologians to have demonstrated how the patterns and resources of the Christian tradition have extraordinary pertinence today.The authors represent a new generation of Anglican theologians sympathetic to von Balthasar's thought, exploring it both in order to discover its fundamental dynamics and to see how it may be brought into new dialogues.The authors represent the 'Radical Orthodoxy' movement in Anglican theology, and are sympathetic to von Balthasar's thought, exploring it both in order to discover its fundamental dynamics and to see how it may be brought into new dialogues.