A highly-acclaimed account of the sacramental principle and the seven sacraments of the church

In this masterful historical survey, theologian John Macquarrie demonstrates how Christians, especially the great mystics, have experienced at their own "radiant core" the love and presence of God. The word mysticism evokes ecstatic visions, asceticism, and esoteric teaching. Yet, the author maintains, mystics are better thought of as people who exhibit common human curiosity, long to explore religious mystery, and ultimately find a deep personal relationship with God. Macquarrie discusses in detail the ten common traits of mysticism before tracing two millennia of Christian mysticism. He mainly allows the mystics to speak for themselves, but he is also particularly insightful about the greatest individuals of the tradition - from Paul to the patristic Platonists to the classic medieval mystics to a host of twentieth-century exemplars.

In this long-awaited book, John Macquarrie turns to one of the few areas of Christian theology to which he has not yet devoted systematic attention that of christology. After an introductory chapter, the first part considers the main New Testament sources and also the period up to and including classical theology. A second part examines the Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment critique of classical christology, together with attempts at reconstruction. In the third and final part, then, John Macquarrie makes his own systematic and constructive christological statement. The entire work represents a vital and welcome contribution to an area of Christian teaching which has been particularly under debate in recent years and in which problems and confusions often abound. John Macquarrie, formerly of Union Theological Seminary, New York, is Emeritus Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity in the University of Oxford.

"The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics" is an invaluable reference work. Included are articles on basic ethical concepts; biblical and theological ethics; philosophical traditions; major non-Christian religious traditions; psychological, sociological, political, and other concepts important to Christian ethics; and, finally, substantial problems, such as war, usually including both information and options. With 620 entries cover a spectrum of topics that concern thinking people everywhere, providing clear, concise and accurate information about ethical concerns.

A profile of nine religious geniuses--Zoroaster, Lao-Tzu, Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, Krishna, Jesus, and Muhammad--whose visions of God have been and continue to be a crucial factor in human history.

. . The new emphasis on situations and flexibility does not abolish rules or the task of moral theology, but it does call for a radical rethinking. It is a platitude to say that man is in the midst of rapid change, both in himself and in his world. The traditional moral theology was too strongly tied to the notion of a fixed, essential human nature, set in the midst of a static hierarchically ordered universe. Yet its basic method of approaching the problem of ethics was correct-not through some special Christian concept of love or whatever it might be, but through the study of man. A renewed moral theology would not abandon this well-tried path, which is moreover especially appropriate at a time when the Christian must co-ordinate his moral strivings with those of non-Christians. But everything that was hitherto static would beset in motion, so that the landscape would soon begin to look very different. The new ethic would begin at precisely the same place as did the first chapter in any traditional textbook of moral theology, that is to say, with the question about man and the goal of his existence. But we would have regard to man as he understands himself today, not as an entity with a fix.ed essence, but as a dynamic existent living in a changing world... .

This summer John Macquarrie retires from his professional chair at Oxford after a long and distinguished career. As well as writing many books which have become classics, and pushing the boundaries of theological exploration further, he has always been devotedly a churchman, and this new collection of papers deals with many topics of particular interest at present. Those essays dealing with theology include 'Pilgrimage in Theology', 'Why Theology?', 'Theology and Ideology' and 'Continuing Influences from the Last Century'. Those on the church survey the Anglican theological tradition, the theological implications of the Oxford Movement, pride in the church and ministry in the church, the last a topic which leads into the third group. Essays on ministry include 'Politics as Lay Ministry'.

This classic study of peace, first published in the 1970s, has lost none of its power over the years and is reissued for the first time as a paperback after being long unavailable. The author has written a new preface, reflecting on developments since the book was written. Beginning with a survey of the many areas in which human life is fractured - international relations, race relations, the relationship between human beings and nature, and the family - John Macquarrie shows that peace requires a two-fold knowledge, technical and eschatological, i.e. with a particular goal in mind. He goes on to relate the biblical idea of shalom to the problems of contemporary society, asking whether peace or conflict is the basic human state. This leads on into discussions of conflict and violence, and how they can be dealt with in our dangerous modern world.

John Macquarrie's classic study of existentialism and the work of two of its most important representatives: Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann.

he book has a genuine unity, and I can think of no better introduction for theological students to the variety of problems about language which confront the contemporary theologian. Analytical philosophy, existentialism, the problems of biblical criticism and those of continental neo-Protestant theology are allowed to contribute to a single argument in which Macquarrie is able to pose the problems of man's likeness to God and of anthropomorphism with a welcome degree of precision. Macquanle's strength is that he is straightforwardly writing from within theology. His exposition of Saint Athanasius on the Incarnation propounds squarely the claim that Christianity entails empirical judgments, that in principle at least it is refutable by the facts, if they are of one kind rather than another' (Alasdair MacIntyre in The Guardian). 'He lucidly explains the issues raised for Christian belief both by empiricist analytical philosophy and by existentialist hermeneutics. The hermerteutical question is brilliantly illuminated by an exposition of Athanasius's De Incamatione, and all the problems of mythology, symbolic language, analogy and paradox are carefully sorted out' (Alan Richardson in Theology). 'Following the lead of the later Wittgenstein, Macquarrie holds that we must allow each linguistic form to disclose its own logic. The dominant characteristic of all religious and theological language is its obliqueness. It speaks in terms of myth, symbol and analogy. Macquarrie . makes it plain that existentialist interpretation cannot exhaust the meaning of theological language. He clearly sees that if theology can be totally interpreted in this way, then it is reduced to anthropology. We must progress through existential interpretation to ontology-to talk about the transcendent Being of God.... The book does not finally solve the problems which it raises and does not claim to. But it develops a very promising manner of tackling them. Above all it is a very timely counter-poise to those over-facile analyses of the logic of theology which result in a kind of Christian atheism. John Macquarrie seems to me to grow in both spiritual and intellectual stature with every book he writes' (The Expository Times).

'A helpful book, marked by wide reading and rich thought. I commend it not only for the lonely reader but for groups who would like to explore the calling and mission of the people of God' (Baptist Times). 'This is a splendid book for anyone who wants to "break into" theology and is not quite sure how to go about it. One would hope it is also a spur to those who are tempted to give up the theological effort' (Church of Ireland Gazette). 'A model of how really good and attractive theology can only come from scholars who know their faith and have given themselves over to the study of it with openness and devotion ... An excellent text for study groups which were really prepared to enter deeply into the much-needed reinterpretation and modernization of our traditional faith' (Heythrop Journal). 'A fine example of a systematic theologian writing for a non-specialist readership' (Journal of Theological Studies). 'A very sensible way of approaching those fundamental doctrines of the faith, concerning the nature of God, of the person of Christ, and of salvation, which when they confront us may nowadays seem, and not only to laymen, singularly formidable ... Such a book as this demands attentive reading. Nevertheless it is easily digestible and-in its lucidity and comprehensiveness-most rewarding' (Expository Times).

This collection of previously unpublished essays and lectures provides a fascinating insight into over fifty years of incisive theological reflection by John Macquarrire. Having written and taught extensively in the fields of theology and philosophy, Macquarrie was struck by the fact that certain difficult theological questions have continued to recur in the history of the subject. These are the so-called 'stubborn questions' referred to in the title. The context in which Macquarrie situates his thinking is that of a largely secularized world, in which religious knowledge has been discredited and marginalized. The book falls into three broad parts, which revolve around three 'stubborn questions'. The first part discusses questions relating to God; the second poses questions relating to incarnation and the person of Jesus Christ; and the third raises questions about the sources of religious knowledge. These three questions run through the book, as Macquarrie discusses some of the most profound issues in the history of theology, and those theologians who have been at the forefront of theological enquiry. Several prominent thinkers are given wide coverage here, including John Wycliffe, William Temple, Jurgen Moltmann, Nicolai Berdyaev, Rudolf Bultmann, Meister Eckhart, Martin Heidegger and Immanuel Kant. Stubborn Theological Questions is a fascinating survey of some of the most fundamental theological controversies of recent years by one of the world's leading scholars of theology and philosophy. It will prove essential reading for all students of contemporary theology.

One of Britain's most distinguished theologians explains the basic beliefs held about Mary in the Christian church.Written with an ecumenical purpose, Professor Macquarrie shows that in Mary, Christians may find resources for unity and reconciliation, rather than conflict. Each chapter explores a different event associated with Mary, from her Immaculate Conception to her Assumption and also her relation to contemporary culture.A new edition of a key text for the ecumenical movement, this book includes a new introduction and takes account of the current Roman Catholic debates on the subject of 'Mary Corredemptrix'.

This volume has been produced to celebrate the eightieth birthday in June 1999 of Professor John Macquarrie. It is indeed a Festschrift with a difference, in that most of the material has been supplied by Professor Macquarrie himself. The project was initiated by Dr John Morgan, President of the Theological Graduate Foundation in the United States, whose idea it was to produce a book which would give a picture of what it is like to live and work as a theologian. He and his associates engaged in conversation with Professor Macquarrie in a relaxed atmosphere over a period of five days, and organized the resulting material into this unusual tribute. The reflections recorded here are personal, specific and demonstrative of both Professor Macquarrie's genuine humility and his passion for his life's work. A selection of lectures marking important milestones in his life has also been included, among them his inaugural lectures at Union Theological Seminary, NewYork and Christ Church, Oxford, and lectures given before the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. Georgina Morley has provided a substantial outline for each of his major books, and there is a comprehensive bibliography of all his published writings and translations. Professor Macquarrie's many admirers will welcome this tribute to one of the most popular and well-loved of twentieth-century theologians.

This is an XPRESS reprint, print-on-demand title from SCM Press.