The current debate in the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) over its relationship with the worldwide Anglican Communion has been building for some time. Some Episcopalians (including priests, bishops, and dioceses) have broken or are considering breaking their historic affiliation with the current authoritative bodies of ECUSA because they believe they have betrayed the historic teachings and morality of the Anglican tradition. The author places this emerging crisis in context: historical, moral, theological, cultural, and ecclesiological. He explores how the rift between Episcopalians in the United States originated, how it is being played out now in the rift between the official representatives of ECUSA and the Anglican Communion, what the arguments are for and against all sides, and what are the prospects for either reconciliation at some level between the opposing parties or deepening schism in the future. Kirkpatrick explores the variety of contentious issues, rather than focusing just on the one that gets the most media attention: homosexuality.

The crisis in the Church goes much deeper than that, however, and involves issues of church, tradition, and biblical authority. The author provides necessary background but focuses primarily on the events that have occurred since 2003 when ECUSA approved the election and consecration of an openly gay bishop. While the situation continues to evolve and change, the book provides readers with an up-to-date account of the history of the crisis, an analysis of the conflicting arguments, and a contextual guide for understanding what might come next in this unfolding story.

Scottish philosopher John Macmurray's intriguing career makes the job of classifying his work difficult by contemporary academic modes of categorization. Despite his extensive writings on political principles and politics and significant influence on numerous British politicians, he never regarded the political sphere as an end in itself. Above all, he was a political philosopher determined to place politics into a wider, more comprehensive, metaphysical and religious framework. In this long-overdue analysis of Macmurray, Frank Kirkpatrick traces the development of Macmurray's thought with its roots in the Bible, Hegel and the democratic liberal tradition of the west. Kirkpatrick contends that Macmurray's most important contribution to the field is his development of a philosophical understanding of what constitutes an authentic community. Through this analysis, Kirkpatrick explores the extraordinary resonances of Macmurray's political thought in other modern philosophers and reveals his enduring significance.

Scottish philosopher John Macmurray's intriguing career makes the job of classifying his work difficult by contemporary academic modes of categorization. Despite his extensive writings on political principles and politics and significant influence on numerous British politicians, he never regarded the political sphere as an end in itself. Above all, he was a political philosopher determined to place politics into a wider, more comprehensive, metaphysical and religious framework. In this long-overdue analysis of Macmurray, Frank Kirkpatrick traces the development of Macmurray's thought with its roots in the Bible, Hegel and the democratic liberal tradition of the west. Kirkpatrick contends that Macmurray's most important contribution to the field is his development of a philosophical understanding of what constitutes an authentic community. Through this analysis, Kirkpatrick explores the extraordinary resonances of Macmurray's political thought in other modern philosophers and reveals his enduring significance.

Challenging the assumption that the concept of divine action is necessarily paradoxical, on the grounds that God is radically transcendent of finitude, or can perform only a master act of creating and sustaining the universe, Frank Kirkpatrick defends as philosophically credible the Christian conviction that God is a personal Agent who also acts in particular historical moments to further the divine intention of fostering universal community. Kirkpatrick claims that God and the world are distinct realities "together bound" in a mutual relationship of reciprocal historical action. In this relationship, God both acts upon and responds to human beings in specific moments in their history. The implications of this claim for understanding the biblical narrative, the problem of evil, cosmological theories, and the realism of Christian community are pursued.

There are two philosophical commitments requisite to Christian belief: that God is the ultimate mystery and that God is present and active in the world and therefore accessible to creatures. Attempting to avoid the trappings of a radical distantiation on the one hand, and the immanent collapse of God and world on the other, Frank Kirkpatrick argues for an underdeveloped theory of agency and action that preserves the mystery of God while providing a philosophically robust account of discernible, personal divine action in created time and space. Drawing on the often neglected philosophical work of thinkers like John Macmurray, Raymond Tallis, and Edward Pols, Kirkpatrick proposes a way around the stalemates that have stymied the attempt to think divine agency coherently. This is then brought into conversation with systematic theology, where it is critically tested by, and critiques, accounts in Barth, Pannenberg, Torrance, Jenson, and the recent work of Kevin Hector.