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The place of the Law and its relationship to religious observance and faith is a contested topic in the study of both the Old and New Testament. In Law and Religion, members of the Erhardt Seminar group provide an insight into the debate, probing key topics and offering new contributions to the subject. Their essays are grouped into three sections, focussing in turn on the Laws place in Israelite religion, in the Jesus tradition, and in Paul and the Apostolic tradition. Thus, the foundation of the connection between law and religion in ancient Israel is explored, along with the decisive influence of the Deuteronomic reform and the radical new understanding now emerging of the later development in Judaism of the New Testament Period. So, also, the contemporary challenge to the conventional picture of Jesus and the Law is addressed, the attitude of Paul is shown in new light, and post-Pauline developments are examined. Readers will find in this symposium a refreshing breadth of opinion on a debate that spans the gamut of disciplines within Biblical studies.

C.S. Lewiss enlightened, foundational respect for the Jews as Gods chosen people is a feature in much of his apologetic and theological writing. Although as a boy and young man Lewis reflected much of the implicit anti-Semitism inherent in the public-school-educated Edwardian establishment, this was replaced by deep respect when he became a Christian. Later on, Lewiss understanding was much enhanced by his wife, Joy Davidman (m. 1956); born to American Jewish parents, she was an adult convert to Yeshua Ha Mashiach - Jesus Christ - and Lewis referred to her as a Jewish Christian. A Hebraic Inkling examines in depth this Jewish-Hebrew influence in Lewis life and works. Analysing some of his key writings in theology, philosophy, literature and apologetics, his rigorous stand against anti-Semitism and affinity for Jewish literature and culture is outlined, as well as his vision of how Christians are enfolded into the chosen people. This respect and affinity extended to Lewis own family; when one of Joys children sought to return to his mothers birth-faith, Lewis moved all to accommodate his wishes and raise him as a Jew, after Joys untimely death.

Fourth Maccabees is a superbly crafted oration that presents a case for the Jewish way of life couched almost entirely in terms of Greek ethical ideals. Using an expansion upon previous scriptural narratives as an opportunity for philosophical exposition, its author delights in the Torah, the Law of Moses, as the divinely given path to becoming our best selves now. Moreover, drawing upon Greek logic tradition, he develops an elaborate rationalisation of that law based upon the promise of eternal life with God. In this collection of essays spanning two decades of study, David deSilva examines the formative training that produced such an author, the rhetorical craft present in his work, and the authors creative use of both Jewish and Greek literary resources. Finally, he demonstrates the books enduring message and legacy in the Christian church, from theological influence on Origen to textual relations within Codex Sinaiticus.

The philosophical and theological study of aesthetics has a long and rich history, stretching back to Platos identification of ultimate goodness and beauty, together representing the eternal form. Recent trends in aesthetic theory, however, characterised by a focus on the beautiful at the expense of the good, have made it an object of suspicion in the Orthodox Church. In its place, Greek theologians have sought to emphasise philokalia as a truer theological discipline. Seeking to reverse this trend, Chrysostomos Stamoulis brings into conversation a plethora of voices, from Church fathers to contemporary poets, and from a Marxist political theorist to a literary critic. Out of this dialogue, Stamoulis builds a model for the re-appropriation of Orthodoxys patristic and Byzantine past that is no longer defined in antithesis to the Western present. The openness he proposes allows us to perceive afresh the world shot through with divinity, if only we can lift our gaze to see it. Dismantling the false dichotomy, philokalia or aesthetics, is the first step.

Baptist Noel (1798-1873) has been described by the American Evangelical Anglican historian Grayson Carter as a towering figure in nineteenth-century Evangelicalism, but he has been written out of its story because he was a saintly rebel who counted a good conscience more valuable than a good standing. This ultimately led him to abandon his glittering Anglican career and aristocratic family to become a Baptist minister. A Rebel Saint is a comprehensive study of Noels life, work and thought, correcting the neglect of his remarkable Anglican and Baptist ministries and his many years of prominence in Evangelical life. Philip Hill ably illustrates his influence on issues including the Irvingite controversy, the opposition to the Tractarian movement, and Evangelical ecumenism, and explains his centrality in the establishment of the Evangelical Alliance and the London City Mission. Scholars of Evangelical history will greatly value this account of a pivotal figure, while all will be inspired by his story of sacrifice of fame and fortune for the sake of obeying religious conscience.

In Divine Audacity, Peter Dillard presents a historically informed and rigorous analysis of the themes of mystical union, volition and virtue that occupied several of the foremost theological minds in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. In particular, the work of Marguerite Porete raises complex questions in these areas, which are further explored by a trio of her near contemporaries. Their respective meditations are thoroughly analysed and then skilfully brought into dialogue. What emerges from Dillards synthesis of these voices is a contemporary mystical theology that is rooted in Hugh of Balmas affective approach, sharpened through critical engagement with Meister Eckharts intellectualism, and strengthened by crucial insights gleaned from the writings of John Ruusbroec. The fresh examination of these thinkers - one of whom paid with her life for her radicalism - will appeal to philosophers and theologians alike, while Dillards own propositions demand attention from all who concern themselves with the nature of the union between the soul and God.

In Blind Evolution?: The Nature of Humanity and the Origin of Life, Professor David Frost challenges the dominant worldview derived from Darwins evolutionary theories and perpetuated in Richard Dawkinss atheistic propaganda for Neo-Darwinism: that our universe has at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference. Frost deploys recent findings from a range of scientific studies that shake Neo-Darwinism to its foundation. Citing entertaining examples, from the inner workings of a single cell to the animal kingdom at large, from elephants and giraffes to the Japanese pufferfish, Frost maintains that Darwinian premises are wholly inadequate to engage with life or to provide a framework for our experiences of joy and sorrow, the problem of suffering, and the stark realities of good and evil. Reflecting on the nature of existence, Frost points to a mode of human understanding parallel to scientific enquiry through the path of vision accessed via the nous (or spiritual intellect). He argues that vision is as much essential to our understanding of creation as is scientific enquiry - reality is best approached through a complementary partnership of both.

Western civilization was built on the concept of God. Today modern science, based on the critical method and so-called objective facts, denies even the existence of our soul. There is only matter: atoms, molecules, and DNA sequences. There is no freedom; there are no well-grounded beliefs. The decline of Western civilization is not the simple consequence of decadence, hedonism, and malevolence. Modern critical science has liberated us from the old dogmas but failed to establish our freedoms, values, and beliefs. However, human knowledge is not objective but personal. We are the children of evolution. Everybody sees the world from his own personal point of view anchored into his/her body. We use our billions-of-years-old evolutionary skills and thousands-of-years-old cultural heritage to recognize and acknowledge the personal facts of our reality, freedom, and most important natural beliefs: respect and speak the truth. In reality, even science itself is based on our personal knowledge. Only our false conceptual dichotomies paralyze our thinking. God or matter? - there is a third choice: the emergence of life and human persons. This is the only way to defend our freedoms and the Christian moral dynamism of free Western societies.

In Thomas Merton and the Noonday Demon, Donald Grayson transforms a long-neglected cache of letters found in an ancient monastery into a book that offers new insight into the author of these letters, Thomas Merton, the renowned spiritual writer. At the time of their writing, the mid-1950s, he was living as a Trappist monk, at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. Having reached an impasse in his monastic vocation he decided to leave Gethsamani for the Monastery of Camaldoli in Italy. Camaldoli at that time, bucolic and peaceful outwardly, was inwardly riven by a pre-Vatican II culture war; whereas Gethsemani, which he tried so hard to leave, became, when he was given his hermitage there in 1965, his place to recover Eden. In walking with Merton on this journey, and reading the letters he wrote and received at the time, we find ourselves asking, as he did, with so much energy and honesty, the deep questions that we may well need to answer in our own lives.

While much has been written analyzing the philosophical basis of Hicks pluralism, very little attention has been devoted to the theological foundations of his argument. Filling this gap, this book examines Hicks theological attempts to systematically deconstruct the churchs traditional incarnational Christology. Special attention is given to evaluating Hicks foundational theses

In response to the confluence of moral uncertainty with the increase of human power to alter nature, and through critical integration of the philosophical naturalism of Hans Jonas and the critical religious naturalism of James M. Gustafson, The Tangled Bank argues for an ecotheological ethics of responsible participation. By making the case that the moral pressures of our time call for a vision that is as deeply naturalistic as it is deeply theological, a critical perspective is advanced that is attuned to human embeddedness within nature as well as to human distinctiveness. In support of this, a moral anthropological method is deployed as a creative new way to integrate the comparative, critical, and constructive tasks of theological ethics. The insights of Hans Jonas and James M. Gustafson, interpreted comparatively for the first time, are critically drawn together to suggest new directions for scholarship and teaching in theology and religion and science studies.

How do our current notions of the workings of the universe fit with our deepest convictions about its meaning and value? From religion, we grasp the world as created, given, gift. From science, we apprehend it as evolving, in process, changing. How do webring these apprehensions together? Or can we? Is our impulse to find the two complementary: creation and evolution? Or is it to find them contradictory: creation or evolution? From the Preface: The way in which we answer these questions carries personal and intellectual consequences. It will constitute the first piece in a worldview within which we order our religious beliefs and scientific judgments.

Descartes attempt to ground the possibility of human knowledge in the existence of God was judged to be a complete failure by his contemporaries. This remains the universal opinion of philosophers to this day, despite the fact that three and a halfcenturies of secular epistemology which attempts to ground the possibility of knowledge either in the unaided human intellect or in natural processes has failed to do any better. Further, the leading twentieth century attempts at theistic epistemology reject both the conception of knowledge and the standards of epistemic evaluation that Descartes takes for granted. In this book - partly an interpretation of Descartes and partly an attempt to complete his project the author endeavours to show that a theistic epistemology incorporating Platonic and Aristotelian/Thomist elements can revitalize the Cartesian approach to the solution of the central problems of epistemology, including that most elusive of prizes the proof of the external world. This book is essential reading for students of epistemology, metaphysics and philosophy.

A comprehensive analysis of Richard Swinburnes intellectual journey and philosophical work, A Rational Faith explores the legacy of one of the most influential and rigorous philosophical defenders of theism. Across Swinburnes written career, he has displayed a deep commitment to demonstrating the intellectual credibility of the Christian faith, facing modern scientific and philosophical challenges and the materialistic worldview of modern intellectualism. Analysing his life and work through in-depth, accessible explanations of key issues and their context, Joshua Sijuwade brings together collected criticism of Swinburnes work and explores possible counter-arguments, alongside a foreword by Richard Swinburne himself. Suitable for any reader interested in Swinburnes philosophy-first approach, or those intrigued by a philosophical defence of the Christian faith, A Rational Faith reveals Swinburnes life and work as a witness to his belief that belief in the central tenets of the Christian faith is rational.

In this reprinted edition of Borderlands of Theology, Donald MacKinnon examines philosophical, theological, and ethical dilemmas, bringing his theological expertise to bear alongside his scientific knowledge. Formulating his estimations through the person of Jesus Christ, he maintains a commitment to the concrete and the actual whilst resolutely believing in the search for truth as meaningful beyond a simple search for facts. Working on the frontiers where Christian belief and theology are tested, Mackinnons work remains relevant today as a consideration of how Christian faith interacts with ethics, philosophy, politics, the philosophy of history, metaphysics, and epistemology. Mackinnon offers wisdom, guidance, and a grounded exploration of theology for all those interested in the intersection between theology, philosophy, and ethics.

In Philip of Spain and the Netherlands, C.J. Cadoux discusses the expression of moral judgements regarding leading figures in major historical events. Indeed, Cadoux, using the case of the Dutch Revolt, questions whether it is possible at all to assess moral quality without adequate knowledge of the relevant facts, at least. First published in 1947, Cadouxs approach is one of presenting history, both national and personal, in a non-judgemental manner. This holistic approach allows for a clear and concise depiction of events and persons that is not skewed by an overbearing opinion. He posits that in the great struggle between Spain and the Netherlands in the sixteenth century, a new ethic of Christian mercy is discernible. Cadoux concludes his book by asking the reader in whose behaviour there can be seen some promise of better and humaner things?, reinforcing the inherent difficulty that remains when passing moral judgement.

The place of the Law and its relationship to religious observance and faith is a contested topic in the study of both the Old and New Testament. In Law and Religion, members of the Erhardt Seminar group provide an insight into the debate, probing key topics and offering new contributions to the subject. Their essays are grouped into three sections, focussing in turn on the Laws place in Israelite religion, in the Jesus tradition, and in Paul and the Apostolic tradition. Thus, the foundation of the connection between law and religion in ancient Israel is explored, along with the decisive influence of the Deuteronomic reform and the radical new understanding now emerging of the later development in Judaism of the New Testament Period. So, also, the contemporary challenge to the conventional picture of Jesus and the Law is addressed, the attitude of Paul is shown in new light, and post-Pauline developments are examined. Readers will find in this symposium a refreshing breadth of opinion on a debate that spans the gamut of disciplines within Biblical studies.

The philosophical and theological study of aesthetics has a long and rich history, stretching back to Platos identification of ultimate goodness and beauty, together representing the eternal form. Recent trends in aesthetic theory, however, characterised by a focus on the beautiful at the expense of the good, have made it an object of suspicion in the Orthodox Church. In its place, Greek theologians have sought to emphasise philokalia as a truer theological discipline. Seeking to reverse this trend, Chrysostomos Stamoulis brings into conversation a plethora of voices, from Church fathers to contemporary poets, and from a Marxist political theorist to a literary critic. Out of this dialogue, Stamoulis builds a model for the re-appropriation of Orthodoxys patristic and Byzantine past that is no longer defined in antithesis to the Western present. The openness he proposes allows us to perceive afresh the world shot through with divinity, if only we can lift our gaze to see it. Dismantling the false dichotomy, philokalia or aesthetics, is the first step.

Baptist Noel (1798-1873) has been described by the American Evangelical Anglican historian Grayson Carter as a towering figure in nineteenth-century Evangelicalism, but he has been written out of its story because he was a saintly rebel who counted a good conscience more valuable than a good standing. This ultimately led him to abandon his glittering Anglican career and aristocratic family to become a Baptist minister. A Rebel Saint is a comprehensive study of Noels life, work and thought, correcting the neglect of his remarkable Anglican and Baptist ministries and his many years of prominence in Evangelical life. Philip Hill ably illustrates his influence on issues including the Irvingite controversy, the opposition to the Tractarian movement, and Evangelical ecumenism, and explains his centrality in the establishment of the Evangelical Alliance and the London City Mission. Scholars of Evangelical history will greatly value this account of a pivotal figure, while all will be inspired by his story of sacrifice of fame and fortune for the sake of obeying religious conscience.

In Divine Audacity, Peter Dillard presents a historically informed and rigorous analysis of the themes of mystical union, volition and virtue that occupied several of the foremost theological minds in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. In particular, the work of Marguerite Porete raises complex questions in these areas, which are further explored by a trio of her near contemporaries. Their respective meditations are thoroughly analysed and then skilfully brought into dialogue. What emerges from Dillards synthesis of these voices is a contemporary mystical theology that is rooted in Hugh of Balmas affective approach, sharpened through critical engagement with Meister Eckharts intellectualism, and strengthened by crucial insights gleaned from the writings of John Ruusbroec. The fresh examination of these thinkers - one of whom paid with her life for her radicalism - will appeal to philosophers and theologians alike, while Dillards own propositions demand attention from all who concern themselves with the nature of the union between the soul and God.