The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible encourages readers to explore how the vital roots of the ancient Christian tradition inform and shape faithfulness today. In this volume, one of today's leading theologians offers a theological reading of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. As with other series volumes, this commentary is designed to serve the church, providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups.

One of today's leading theologians tackles some of the most significant themes in contemporary theology. Douglas Farrow explores key theological loci such as nature and grace and justification and sanctification; introduces theological giants such as Anselm, Aquinas, Luther, and Barth; and examines contemporary questions about sacraments and unity. Throughout his explorations, Farrow invites readers to consider how to negotiate controversy in Christian theology, especially between Catholics and Protestants, arguing that theology does its best work at the intersection of topics in dispute.

"Erudite and impassioned - an act of faith and of resistance to the insidious claims of the post-Christian and post-liberal state."
"F. C. Decoste, Professor of Law, University of Alberta"
"A brilliant expos of the implications of same-sex marriage - and a compelling analysis of what it will take for society to reclaim the birthright of freedom it has lost in a reckless social experiment."
To some, same-sex marriage is evidence that society has finally come of age. To others, it is yesterday's issue, posing no danger to traditional marriage. To still others - McGill University's Douglas Farrow among them - it has turned civil society on its ear, creating a new political situation in which several things are no longer clear:
. Is the state the property of the citizenry? Or are citizens, with their cherished personal associations, including marriage, now the property of the state?
. Who "owns" the children, now that natural parenthood had been replaced by legal parenthood?
. Is the family still "the natural and fundamental group unit of society," as the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" claims? Or is the concept of the "natural" moribund?
. What is marriage for, anyway?
Douglas Farrow is associate professor of Christian Thought at McGill University in Montreal. He is the editor of "Recognizing Religion in a Secular Society " and co-editor, with Daniel Cere, of "Divorcing Marriage."

Recent theology offers few attempts to come to grips with the meaning and implications of the ascension of Jesus. Ascension and Ecclesia promises to refocus attention on this crucial Christian doctrine.Farrow begins with a discussion of the biblical treatment of the ascension and eucharistic celebration, from which emerges a unique ecclesial worldview. Succeeding chapters explore the link between the ascension, cosmology, and ecclesiology and examine the difficulties faced by the doctrine of ascension in our modern scientific world.

Observing that the amount of discussion regarding the issue of inerrancy and the seminal conclusions which should have arisen from such intense debate are widely disparate, Farrow offers an approach to Scripture which seeks to incorporate once again a sense that God speaks to man through Scripture. Though all points on the methodological spectrum may claim some adherents, Farrow observes two primary, opposing approaches. Both are to one degree or another cavalier in their treatments. On the one hand there exists the "libertarian mode, championing the responsibility of the free-thinking and free-acting individual" who may be concerned more with "man's intellectual integrity" than with seeing Scripture as a vehicle through which God has spoken to fallen humans in the past, and continues to do so - always forcefully. On the other hand Farrow notes within some an excessive concern with the "maintenance of a sacred preserve of words." This concern can muffle God's voice, both because Scripture may become the servant of a cause and because reexamination of doctrinal formulations per se may become unacceptable. Farrow boldly explains that "there is a need to allow biblical expressions and compositions their proper freedom and flexibility as message-bearers. To these endeavors I would like to lend a helping hand, or at least a voice of approval, for through them the Church may clearly establish her commitment to the Word of Truth and her discomfort with unnecessary disputes about words" (from the Preface).