One of the major works of the great German theologian Emil Brunner, The Divine Imperative deals with what we ought to do. People are unconvinced that there is an inviolable moral obligation governing human life because they do not believe that the 'good' can be precisely and clearly known. Haven't some generations called bad what others have called good? Aren't moral standards relative? Doesn't religion lack uniform and practical moral guidance? Brunner discusses the moral confusion we face. He analyses the nature of the Good, showing why the Christian faith as understood by the Protestant Reformers provides the only true approach and answer to the ethical problem. Philosophical ethics, whether ancient or modern, cannot correctly define the Good, because the Good is regarded either as too abstract and absolute or as too concrete and relative. Christianity, by contrast, sees the moral problem as one of responsibility between humans who are created so as to respond to God. He created men for responsive fellowship with Him, establishing orderly ways of acting in the world. Correct understanding of the nature of society, family, state, economic life, is needed to discern one's duty. Because Brunner's analysis is at once fundamental and comprehensive, this book remains a fresh and compelling treatment of the moral problem. It offers a provocative discussion and solution of a perennial human problem.

In this little book, which has become a classic, Emil Brunner, one of the twentieth century's leading Reformed theologians, introduces the basics of the Christian faith.

Emil Brunner discusses the importance of revelation as the foundation of Christian theology in relation to reason as the basis of Western civilization.

One of the greatest living theologians, Professor Brunner would command attention for any book he issues. Here he speaks of what happens when God meets man, the personal encounter between the Creator and the human creature.

Describing his objective in writing Eternal Hope, Emil Brunner boldly claimed that 'a church that has nothing to teach concerning the future and the life of the world to come is bankrupt'. Several decades later, such a challenge might still be levied. Against this backdrop, Brunner offers a way forward that remains closely tied scripture, yet is nevertheless pastorally sensitive. Indeed, one of the central tenets of his approach is that the Gospel offers no comfort to the individual that is not at the same time a promise for the future of humanity as a whole. He proceeds systematically through the promises and mysteries that the Christian faith maintains surrounding death, while holding the hope of eternity as a constant goal. A precursor to his more rigorous Dogmatics, and partly in preparation for the second assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1954, Eternal Hope was also written just a year after the tragic death of Brunner's son. It is therefore no surprise that he combines the vulnerability of his personal encounter with death, and a theological outlook that has universal implications.  

In the realm of doctrine the Christian Church has always recognised a twofold task: one concerning the Church itself; the other concerning the outside world, the world of doubt and unbelief. Although, at a time like the present, the conflict with unbelief and false ideologies may seem the more urgent one, yet the first task is always fundamental. For how can the Church do justice to her missionary calling in an un-Christian world if she is not herself clear about the content of her message? All down her history the Christian Church has given much thought to the basis, meaning and content of the message she has received - and is bound to proclaim; this process of reflection is what we mean by 'dogmatics'. From the Introduction Available in three volumes, this is one of the great works of 20th Century theology. Brunner presents a profoundly biblical systematic theology, finding a path between the ideas of Barth and Bultmann. This third volume covers the doctrine of the Church and of Faith, presenting the nature of the Church as a reflection of God's self-revelation through the Holy Spirit, and the Consummation in eternity of the Divine Self-communication.

"In the realm of doctrine the Christian Church has always recognised a twofold task: one concerning the Church itself; the other concerning the outside world, the world of doubt and unbelief. Although, at a time like the present, the conflict with unbelief and false ideologies may seem the more urgent one, yet the first task is always fundamental. For how can the Church do justice to her missionary calling in an un-Christian world if she is not herself clear about the content of her message? All down her history the Christian Church has given much thought to the basis, meaning and content of the message she has received - and is bound to proclaim; this process of reflection is what we mean by 'dogmatics'." From the Introduction: Available in three volumes, this is one of the great works of 20th Century theology. Brunner presents a profoundly biblical systematic theology, finding a path between the ideas of Barth and Bultmann. The first volume covers the doctrine of God. After an introduction setting out the nature of Dogmatics, the main topics covered are the nature of God and the Will of God.

A series of sermons, revealing Brunner as an outstanding preacher. Few theologians of his eminence combine their understanding of the central doctrines of the Christian faith with such persuasive spiritual exposition and eloquence. "Preaching," says Brunner, "is a living occurrence which can only very imperfectly be crystallised in writing." But the most critical judges of sermons will admit that here a master preacher moves beyond the printed page into the soul of the reader. There is a personal poignancy about the FraumAnster sermons, which places them in the forefront of modern preaching. Here a great teacher of the faith proclaims the Word of God to a 'believing congregation' ' an encounter seen by Brunner as decisive for Christian communication.

Brunner sees St Paul's Epistle to the Romans as 'the chapter of destiny of the Christian Church'. Here, in Luther's words, is the 'purest gospel' upon which the very existence of the Christian faith depends and from which it draws its life. Concentrated, decisive and instructive, nothing within the New Testament is more closely argued both theological and personal. Out of his years of scholarly wisdom Brunner meditates on the great Question: What is wrong with the Churches' Brunner finds an answer in the contrast between the virile Spirit-filled fellowship of the New Testament and the institutions which are now called 'churches'. He writes in his preface: "The title of the book, The Misunderstanding of the Church, is equivocal. Is it a question of a misunderstanding of which the Church is guilty, or of a misunderstanding of which it is the victim' Or is it that the Church itself, as such, is perhaps the product of a misunderstanding' The author is not responsible for this ambiguity; it is intrinsic in the theme itself."

"In the realm of doctrine the Christian Church has always recognised a twofold task: one concerning the Church itself; the other concerning the outside world, the world of doubt and unbelief. Although, at a time like the present, the conflict with unbelief and false ideologies may seem the more urgent one, yet the first task is always fundamental. For how can the Church do justice to her missionary calling in an un-Christian world if she is not herself clear about the content of her message? All down her history the Christian Church has given much thought to the basis, meaning and content of the message she has received - and is bound to proclaim; this process of reflection is what we mean by 'dogmatics'." From the Introduction: Available in three volumes, this is one of the great works of 20th Century theology. Brunner presents a profoundly biblical systematic theology, finding a path between the ideas of Barth and Bultmann. The first volume covers the doctrine of God. After an introduction setting out the nature of Dogmatics, the main topics covered are the nature of God and the Will of God.

In the struggle of ideas, the most fundamental and far-reaching is that of the nature of mankind. What are we? Why are we not at peace with ourselves or our neighbours? How does our understanding of our nature lead to personal and social well-being? We have followed the false leads of Darwin, Nietzsche, Marx, and Freud in trying to understand ourselves. Despite other differences, they all interpret man in relation to nature, rejecting transcendent, metaphysical or religious understanding of the human condition. They do not solve the contradiction between what we are and what we ought to be. Brunner sees the human contradiction as comprehensible only in terms of a God to whose word we must respond. This is not communication by language; it refers to the fundamental character of personal relations. People are persons in so far as they can freely say to each other what they think and feel. This communication is possible in so far as we recognise that God speaks to us and respond to Him. Brunner sees responsibility as the key to personality. The Biblical doctrine of man, created in the image of God and capable of responding to God's Word, is the key to recovering an effective sense of responsibility. With profound penetration and power, Brunner applies his thesis to such vexed questions as individuality and community, character, relations between man and woman, relations between soul and body. Man in Revolt explains our frustration and confusion about ourselves, and why the Christian view of man, of his place in nature and history, is the truth which man both needs and seeks in the search for himself.

Brunner sees St Paul's Epistle to the Romans as 'the chapter of destiny of the Christian Church'. Here, in Luther's words, is the 'purest gospel' upon which the very existence of the Christian faith depends and from which it draws its life. Concentrated, decisive and instructive, nothing within the New Testament is more closely argued both theological and personal. Out of his years of scholarly wisdom Brunner meditates on the great Epistle, and in his commentary elucidates the massive Pauline arguments which are the bed rock of Christian belief and Christian proclamation.

Christianity stands or falls by what is believed and thought about Jesus. Brunner's thorough and provocative analysis of the Biblical doctrine of the Person and the work of Christ, establishing Jesus Christ as the Mediator between God and man, not only made the central theme of Christianity live again, but established him as one of the great modern theologians. Why should there be an intermediary between God and mankind' Brunner's answer is that what matters supremely is not whether man is 'aware' of, or has a 'feeling' for 'something divine', but whether there is only one 'place' at which God challenges man to decision. The God who is real and alive is the God who confronts man in such a way that man knows that he must act. And Jesus Christ, the Mediator, confronts man with the true and living God. The deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ, the God-Man, the Incarnation, and the Atonement are re-examined and rescued from misunderstanding. The result is a clear and provocative discussion concluding that only in Jesus Christ can we know ourselves as we really are; and only in Jesus Christ can God be known as he really is.