Religion: general Books

Religion is a major subfield of ancient history and classical studies, and Roman religion in particular is usually studied today by experts in two rather distinct halves: the religion of the Roman Republic, covering the fifth through first centuries B.C...

Providing commentary on the controversial revisionist school of Qur'anic studies, this book explores the origins, scholarship and development of the Qur'an. The collection of articles, each written by a distinguished author, treat very familiar passages...

This book identifies the deep limitations and the violent consequences of the longstanding and constantly developing 'free speech debates' typical of so many contexts in the West, and explores the possibilities to combat racism when liberal values are...

This book provides a comprehensive exploration of Asian Christianity and Theology, with emphasis on how it has developed in different parts of the continent and in the different eras, especially since the end of colonialism in Asia. Asian Theology refers...

Bringing contemporary philosophers, theologians, and psychoanalysts into dialogue with works of art and literature, this work provides a fresh perspective on how humans can make sense of suffering and finitude and how our existence as sexual beings...

Despite the decline of institutional religion, a remarkable new phenomenon is emerging. Survey figures show that interest in spirituality, often expressed as the awareness of 'something there', is rising right across the developed world. Research in the...

Racism based on human colour is biologically skin-deep, but deeply embedded in the very fabric of society. Racism, a culturally transmitted learned behaviour, is present in the Church, a part of society. The same Church that emphasises that all human...

Controversy about the morality of euthanasia and assisted suicide has been running for over a generation. The servise this book performs is making a careful examination of the opposing fronts and drawing ecumenically on both theological and philosophical...

Outside all the science we know and as unlikely as that makes it; in a 'time out of time' when there was no space-time -- we are talking 'before' the Big Bang -- could there have been a God? Indeed, this is against all science but science...

In The Famerfield Mission, Fiona Vernal recounts the history of an African Christian community on South Africa's troubled Eastern Cape frontier. Forged in the secular world of war, violence, and colonial dispossession and subjected to grand...

The headlines are filled with the politics of Islam, but there is another side to the world's fastest-growing religion. Sufism is the poetry and mysticism of Islam. This mystical movement from the early ninth century rejects worship motivated by the...

A Monumental Figure of Western Thought Wrestles with the Question of GodImmanuel Kant (1724-1804) is one of the most influential philosophers in the history of Western philosophy. His contributions have had a profound impact on almost every philosophical...

On April 24, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, the twenty-first-century successor of the Apostle Peter and the spiritual leader of more than one billion Roman Catholics. Who is this complex man whose office grants him sole...

Despite President George W. Bush's assurances that Islam is a peaceful religion and that all good Muslims hunger for democracy, confusion persists and far too many Westerners remain convinced that Muslims and terrorists are synonymous. In the aftermath...

How did we go from John F. Kennedy declaring that religion should play no role in the elections to Bush saying, "I believe that God wants me to be president"?Historian Randall Balmer takes us on a tour of presidential religiosity in the last half of the...

The United States is one of the most religious places on earth, but it is also a nation of shocking religious illiteracy.Only 10 percent of American teenagers can name all five major world religions and 15 percent cannot name any.Nearly two-thirds of...

The Meaning of the Nag Hammadi, now in paperback opens the with the thrilling adventure story of the discovery of the ancient Papyrii at Nag Hammadi. Muhammad Ali, the fellahin, discovered the sealed jar, he feared that it might contain a jinni, or...

Where did Christianity come from?Acclaimed author Gregory Riley embarks on a remarkable journey in this readable and persuasive account of the origins of Christianity. Riley demonstrates that early Christians held widely differing beliefs about God,...

Introduction A Peek at Renewal in Contemporary Moral Theology: The Pinckaers SymposiumWilliam C. Mattison, III and Matthew LeveringMoral Theology in Service of the Work of the Spirit: Synthesizing Pinckaers and Pope Francis Against Moralities of...

IntroductionMatthew J. Gaudet and James F. Keenan, S.J.University Ethics and Contingent FacultyJames F. Keenan, S.J.Saying No to an Economy that Kills: Undermining Mission and Exploiting Vocation in Catholic Higher EducationKerry DannerAdjunct...

Theological reflection on friendship, as a particular form of Christian love, emerges in Holy Scripture and continues to be elaborated in the Christian tradition. However, ""love of friendship"" was at times absorbed into the other traditional...

--What is black theology?--What can black theology teach the evangelical church?--What is the future of black theology?These are the questions Bruce Fields addresses in Introducing Black Theology. Defining black theology as a theology of liberation...

The recent rediscovery of the doctrine of the Trinity has left great impact on the thought and life of the Christian Church. With this reinstatement, the Trinity, which was left out for long as an esoteric mystery, has captured the imagination of...

After more than 130 years, the Fourfold Gospel--Jesus Christ, our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King--continues to find a ready following and creative expression around the world. Its success, however, means that it has come to be understood,...

Does the rise of science imply the decline of faith?Should preachers protect their flocks from the inroads of scientific naturalism?Or is an informed scientific view of the universe compatible with Christian belief--even a strong source of support for...

Christianity and the Christian Church of the First Three Centuries is the first volume in Baur's five-volume history of the Christian Church. It and the last volume, Church and Theology in the Nineteenth Century, are being published in new translations...

In a day in which Christians too often reduce faith to mere sentimentality and atheists decry it as superstitious nonsense, Fr. Kerry Walters offers a series of reflections intended to show that, indeed, faith matters. Drawn from his popular weekly...

The perennial questions surrounding human identity and meaning have never before been so acute. How we define ourselves is crucial since it determines our conception of society, ethics, sexuality--in short, our very notion of the "good." The...

The Hebrew prophets of ancient Israel strove to convey God's point of view to the people and the powers at a time when injustice, deceit, malfeasance, and crushing the poor and the oppressed was prominent--much like today! The prophets spoke courageously...

Faith Seeking Conviviality traces the journey of a U.S. missionary into Brazil (and beyond), seeking to be faithfully present while also questioning the default settings of ""good intentions."" Taking Ivan Illich as the primary theological guide on that...

Metaphysics and Mystery: The Why Question East and West is a critical analysis, comparison, and evaluation of philosophical answers, Western and Asian, to the question "Why is there something rather than nothing?" The question, first posed by the...

What made me write my book is the fact that when I would have no one to talk to. I would lie in my room and visualize how things would be if, I were to be in someone else shoes, as well as what I felt other people's approach should be in different...

Americans pursue life and liberty through their religious freedom, economic well-being, and self-governance that includes a basic understanding of the constitutional principles provided by our founding fathers. Hopefully, our pursuit of life and liberty...

In Christian thought, original sin is the theological term for describing the state or condition of universal sinfulness where humans are found as the result of Adam's sin according to the Biblical account. It stands distinct from actual sin, or that...

Author André van Niekerk's inquiring mind and divinely inspired ambition to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ sent him on a seven-year journey to study this subject. He explores many spiritual concepts and symbolism contained in the Bible, such as ...

There are hundreds of ancient flood legends around the world that tells of vast inundations in ancient times caused by catastrophic events. It's often assumed that these legends refer to the flood of Noah and his ark. Although many do mirror this...

In the mid 19th century many Germans migrated to the Midwestern United States. Many of them were influenced by the Reformation as well as the theology of John Calvin. When many of them settled in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska...

This is the story of light, as coached by God to a sinning biker professional engineer.David James Lindeman explores how everything in the universe started as magnetic fields. Most of these magnetic fields accelerated to the speed of light and are known...

If you're interested in Church-related events on the American Samoan islands during the early twenty-first century, then you need this book.Following up on his first book on the history of the Assemblies of God Church in American Samoa, author Fuimaono...

"Jesus Returns for the Elect" resolves many mysteries about End Times. The author of this book wants Christians to be prepared to deal with the storm that is coming. By reading and understanding what will happen before and after the rapture of the...

Meaning Train is a collection of essays, based on books and interviews, that counter the divisive practice of subjugating others. It reveals a benign moral compass in which anyone who wants to improve the world can follow.The inspiration for the book is...