Few issues in Christian theology have sparked as much debate over the centuries as the question of election. In this book Stephen Williams offers a coherent account of the doctrine of election and argues that we should diminish the role of system in Christian theology. After discussing the biblical teaching on election, Williams turns to questions of theological method and substance. He maintains that the subject of predestination has to be considered in a wider biblical context than it often is and that it is a mistake to expect election to be understood within a comprehensive systematic framework. What matters is the relation of particular truths to the particulars of life, not the systematic relation of truths to each other. Williams draws on and applies the insights of nineteenth- century evangelical Anglican leader Charles Simeon throughout and concludes his study with a long appendix on Karl Barth's view of election.

The book of Joshua is often troubling -- what should we make of the fact that the violent occupation of land is not simply presented, but celebrated? How can we reconcile that with the key role the book plays in the biblical drama of salvation? What should we make of the God of Joshua? / In this volume Gordon McConville and Stephen Williams interpret Joshua in relation to Christian theology, addressing such questions and placing the book in its proper place in the canonical whole. McConville deals specifically with the commentary and exegesis of the text. Williams then moves in to focus on issues of interpretation. He addresses key theological themes, such as land, covenant, law, miracle, judgment (with the problem of genocide), and idolatry. / The authors posit that the theological topics engaged in Joshua are not limited to the horizons of the author and first readers of the book, but that Joshua is part of a much larger testimony which concerns readers yet today.

Though evangelical Christians are united in the eschatological hope of a new heaven and new earth, there is disagreement on the form and significance of this belief. In this thoughtful collection of essays, Stephen Williams traces the development of eschatological theology in recent decades, interacting with significant thinkers such as Jurgen Moltmann and in dialogue with fellow-evangelicals such as Miroslav Volf. He then argues that our exact beliefs about the world's future should affect our present activity less than many people think. Love, rather than speculation about the last things, should serve as the foundation of Christian social action and responsibility. Moreover, if social action is properly motivated by love, eschatological differences should not prevent Christians from working co-operatively with each other in matters of social activism. Stephen N. Williams (Ph.D., Yale University) is Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He is the author of Revelation and Reconciliation and The Shadow of the Antichrist: Nietzsche's Critique of Christianity.

Before his death in October of 1996, Huw Parri Owen, the Oxford-trained Emeritus Professor of Christian Doctrine at King's College, London, completed three books in addition to several he had previously published. Two of those three have since been lost; the third, The Basis of Christian Prayer, is now available posthumously for the very first time. In this work, H.P. Owen is concerned not only with the practice of prayer, but likewise with its objective structure and content. Perhaps most significantly, he deals at length with the theological and philosophical questions that prayer raises. Proceeding from both biblical and philosophical standpoints, and encompassing as many elements of prayer as possible, Owen addresses the various forms of vocal prayer (adoration, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and intercession), the Lord's Prayer, meditation, contemplation, and mystical prayer. Additionally, he covers such topics as prayer and belief, prayer and religious experience, the language of prayer, and the place of the emotions in prayer. Combining the analytic precision of a trained philosopher with the insight and sensitivity of a seasoned veteran in the Christian faith, The Basis of Christian Prayer is a unique and invaluable resource for the reflective life.

There have been many recent studies of postmodernism by Christian writers, but few have considered the continuing influence of Friedrich Nietzsche, the nineteenth-century German philosopher who was sharply critical of orthodox religion. Stephen Williams fills that gap with this study of Nietzsche and his continuing importance. In this book, winner of a Christianity Today 2007 Book Award, Williams is particularly concerned with Nietzsche's critique of Christianity. Nietzsche's negative account of religion has cast a long shadow over twentieth-century philosophy, and Williams suggests that thoughtful Christians need to consider his case carefully. Christian students of intellectual history and pastors will find this study a compelling account of an important strand of philosophical theology that has had great influence on contemporary culture.