The essays in this book represent ten years of the work of the Centre for the Study of Literature, Theology and the Arts in the University of Glasgow. Seemingly diverse, they are bound together by a common belief that theology flourishes in an interdisciplinary and transcultural environment. It cannot be an abstract concern, but is rooted in political circumstances, and responds to developments in society and the arts. That is why there are essays on film and contemporary artists like Mona Hatoum, as well as more traditional studies of theology read through and in literature. The Centre has always been an international meeting place, and contributions range well beyond the Western Christian, seeking new roots for theological thinking in the arts and culture of a postmodern world.

The UN's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands as a highpoint of twentieth-century moral deliberation, yet sixty years later human rights are widely denied, evaded, or ignored around the world. Where are religious persons in this situation? Here a philosopher and a theologian address the issues with authority, clarity, and genuine passion in a way that does not spare religion or even religious people, who have been among the most egregious violators of human rights in the world. Faith and Human Rights argues that the idea of human rights is not exclusively religious, but that its realization in practice requires urgent action on the part of people of all faiths ??? and of no faith. The authors contend that while faith has much of value to contribute here, the world's religions will require vigilant reappraisal if they are to function as genuine partners in the global struggle for human dignity. Acknowledging the ambiguous moral legacy of their own tradition, Christianity, the authors draw on Christological themes to draft blueprints for a culturally sensitive "theology of human rights."

John and Donald Baillie were twentieth-century Scots theologians whose influence extended widely around the world. This is an intellectual biography of the brothers, based on a large collection of papers, diaries and letters which has recently become available. It is both a study in the interaction of theology and culture and an argument for the development of a new critical liberal theology.

The Baillie papers show theology being shaped by language and culture in a transatlantic interchange. The brothers and their social circles played a central role in European and American ecumenical, church and social life in the critical decades before and after the 1939-45 war. Their work remains an important resource for an open and inclusive theology.

John Baillie taught in the United States and Canada from 1919 to 1934 before returning to Scotland. He came back to America most years until 1959. He was one of the first Presidents of the World Council of Churches.

Donald Baillie, Professor in St Andrews, was the author of God was in Christ, perhaps the most widely read essay in twentieth-century Christology.