Philosophy
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Philosophy Of Religion
$52.99Add to cartThe SCM Core Texts are a collection of textbooks designed to help undergraduates at level two and three navigate their way through a variety of subjects. Covering philosophy of religion, religious studies, biblical studies and theology, they aim to offer students an intelligent helping hand in their core areas of study. Each book is designed individually and places an emphasis on pedagogical tools to aid the learner. These tools vary according to suitability across the subjects covered, but include features such as questions for reflection at the end of chapters, textboxes to further explain concepts or provide examples, some web-based materials on companion web-sites which are freely accessible. The textbooks are intended to be used as core reading on undergraduate courses, and as companions to assist lecturers in their classrooms and are all available on the SCM inspection copy scheme.
Spiritual encounters and the problems raised by evil and suffering are the experiences that affect our religious beliefs most powerfully. In this far-reaching textbook on the philosophical study of religion Gwen Griffith-Dickson fills a gap in the market by considering these questions in the context of the world’s many religions and philosophical traditions, giving attention to Continental European and Eastern philosophy as well as to Anglo-American thinking. This is the only textbook of its kind to offer the reader such a wide and inclusive overview of contemporary philosophical study of religions.
Spiritual encounters, the problems raised by evil and suffering, consideration of the concept of God and the existence of God, are the experiences that affect our religious beliefs most powerfully. In this far-reaching textbook on the philosophical study of religion Gwen Griffith-Dickson fills a gap by considering these questions in the context of the world’s many religions and philosophical traditions, giving attention to Continental European and Eastern philosophy as well as to Anglo-American thinking. Gwen Griffith-Dickson examines the thinkers and ideas of different traditions and brings them together in the examination of philosophical questions. This is the only textbook of its kind to offer the reader such a wide and inclusive overview of contemporary philosophical study of religions.
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Problem Of Evil And The Problem Of God
$21.00Add to cartCreative and original, D. Z. Phillips’s argues that the problem of evil is inextricably linked to our conception of God and that the concept of God in recent philosophy of religion is problematic, even harmful. An ideal text for students of philosophy, religion, or theology.
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Gospel According To Relativity
$16.49Add to cartMany people have traded the wisdom of the ages for the uncertainty of postmodernism. This book ventures in to uncharted territory with a revolutionary “model of understanding” that bridges the gap between traditional view and modern/postmodern skepticism. The model has three components: A moving frame of reference acknowledges the chaos of the present age, a nondiscriminatory duality that is both neutral and inclusive (male/female, black/white, etc.) provides linguistic order for public discourse, and constant value is superimposed on all creation much the way the constant speed of light in E=mc2 is superimposed on the theory of relativity. Part 1 applies the model to Christianity and Part 2 replicates the same model for secularism and other world religions. The result is an innovative approach that discredits the inflexible absolutism of the past and the uncommitted relativism of the present, and reaffirms the existence of a general theory of value.
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Calvin And Classical Philosophy
$32.00Add to cartThis is a thorough study of Calvin’s conception of Christian philosophy, his exposition of insights of classical philosophy, and his evaluations of classical philosophers. Special attention is given to the doctrines of providence and predestination.
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Enemy Within : Saving America From The Liberal Assault On Our Churches Scho
$15.99Add to cartTalk radio sensation and New York Times best-selling author Michael Savage again goes for the jugular in this latest brash, incendiary attack on the corrosive effects of liberalism on our culture. There The Savage Nation took shots at everything under the political spectrum, this book focuses squarely on the dangers assailing the cornerstones of American life, pointing out how liberal propaganda and agendas are seeping into our churches, our schools, even our families. Bold, sometimes angry, and always controversial, this book is pure, no-hold-barred Michael Savage, one of the strongest, most original voices in America today.
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Brief Guide To Philo
$34.00Add to cartThis is a compact introduction to the work of Philo (c. 20 BCE-50 CE), the important Jewish thinker and scriptural interpreter. Kenneth Schenck provides a guide for understanding Philo’s complex works, a roadmap for topics and contents of Philo’s writings, and a description of contemporary research so students can easily find their ways into Philo study.
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Thinking About God
$28.99Add to cartIn the first part of this book Ganssle lays the groundwork for clear and careful thinking, providing us an introductory guide to doing philosophy. In the second part Ganssle then takes us through the process of thinking well about God in particular. He asks us to consider whether there are good reasons to believe that God exists. He thinks there are! In a third part Ganssle addresses the thorny issue of the existence both of God and of evil. He thinks there’s a valid way through this problem. In the final part Ganssle helps us thread our way through questions like: What can God know? How does God communicate? He thinks that there are some clear answers to these questions, at least if you’re talking about the God of Christianity.
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Promise Of His Appearing
$15.00Add to cartThe book of Second Peter has long troubled biblical scholars and interpreters who have disputed its authorship and its claims about the imminent return of Christ. Leithart offers a preterist reading of the epistle, arguing that it describes first-century events rather than the end of history. He maintains orthodoxy, avoiding hyper-preterism, affirming both the real future return of Christ and the epistle’s authenticity.
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Christian Faith And The Problem Of Evil Print On Demand Title
$38.99Add to cartA Print on Demand Title
The problem of evil has challenged religious minds and hearts throughout the ages. Just how can the presence of suffering, tragedy, and wrongdoing be squared with the all-powerful, all-loving God of faith? This book gathers some of the best, most meaningful recent reflections on the problem of evil, with contributions by shrewd thinkers in the areas of philosophy, theology, literature, linguistics, and sociology.
In addition to bringing new insights to the old problem of evil, Christian Faith and the Problem of Evil is set apart from similar volumes by the often-novel approaches its authors take to the subject. Many of the essays pursue classic lines in speculative philosophy, but others address the problem of evil through biblical criticism, the thought of Simone Weil, and the faith of battered women and African American slaves. As a result, this book will interest a wide range of readers.
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Teaching As Believing
$34.99Add to cartThe public university classroom is a place where socialization still occurs: it’s where students learn to be citizens of the world. Having attended to political correctness and multi-culturalism, universities are now facing the issue of spirituality in their quest to educate the whole person. In this book, Chris Anderson takes up this task by carefully exploring how a professor of faith can help a public university accomplish its pluralistic mission. Anderson illustrates how the study of secular literature throws fresh light on the ways in which the Bible can be read. He also deftly shows how a sympathetic study of the Bible trains secular readers for understanding the abiding significance of the Western literary canon as a kind of scripture. Anderson thus gives readers a book that is as much about the experience of a faithful teacher and the proper ends of education as it is about discovering the right ways to read texts-be they sacred or secular.
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Human Dignity In The Biotech Century
$35.99Add to cartWhat will be the greatest moral challenge facing our society throughout this century? Are we ready to face it? The contributors to this book make the case that the greatest watershed debates of this new century concerning ethics and public policy will surround the issue of biotechnology. These twelve essays alert the reader to the ethical and legal challenges we face in the new genetics, involving embryo research, stem cell research, cloning, genetic engineering, gene therapy, pharmocogenomics, cybernetics, nanotechnology and, of course, abortion. Leaders in their fields, these contributors point out the crucial role Christians can and should play in the public square. The forward-looking thought by these spokespersons will help us get prepared.
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101 Key Terms In Philosophy And Their Importance For Theology
$25.00Add to cartWritten by two philosophers and a theologian, “101 Key Terms provides easy access to key terms in philosophy and how they are understood and used in theology. The focused entries discuss what the terms have meant in classical and contemporary philosophy and then shift to what these philosophical understandings have meant in the history of Christian theology to the present day. The result is a unique volume that clearly shows the interplay of these disciplines and how theology has been influenced by the language and vocabulary of philosophy.
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Centering Prayer And Inner Awakening
$16.95Add to cartPractitioners of Centering Prayer are known for the great enthusiasm they bring to the practice of this ancient discipline. Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening is a complete guidebook for all who wish to know the practice of Centering Prayer. Cynthia Bourgeault goes further than offering an introduction, however. She examines how the practice is related to the classic tradition of Christian contemplation, looks at the distinct nuances of its method, and explores its revolutionary potential to transform Christian life. The book encourages dialogue between Centering Prayer enthusiasts and those classic institutions of Christian nurture-churches, seminaries, and schools of theology-that have yet to accept real ownership of the practice and its potential.
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God Of Dirt
$11.95Add to cartWinner of the Pulitzer Prize for American Primitive, Mary Oliver has published numerous books of poetry and essays. Her poems are quoted in everything from Web sites to hymn books. Earthlight, a “Magazine of Spiritual Ecology,” has declared her an “earth saint.”
In this engaging study, Thomas W. Mann shows Oliver to have keen eyes and ears for reading the book of nature. Readers will discover that the correspondence between Oliver’s poetry and traditional religious language provides a fresh perspective from which to enjoy her work. At the same time, Oliver’s reading from the Other Book of God invites us into nature’s “temple” where we may come into the presence of the holy and from which we may leave rejuvenated and blessed. God of Dirt is an important study of a contemporary poet whose work is as likely to be read by a preacher in a pulpit as by an activist at an environmental rally, and will help us experience a new vision of the beauty of our world. -
Incarnation : New And Selected Poems For Spiritual Reflection
$13.95Add to cartIrene Zimmerman’s scripturally-based poetry has been read from pulpits, savored by individuals, and provided the topics for weekend retreats and discussion groups. “Incarnation” restores to print the poems from Zimmerman’s popular “Woman Un-Bent” and includes more than four dozen new and selected poems on scriptural themes.
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Future Of Hope Print On Demand Title
$27.99Add to cartA Print on Demand Title
Over the last three decades a major cultural shift has taken place in the attitudes of Western societies toward the future. Modernity’s eclipse by postmodernity is characterized in large part by the loss of hope for a future substantially better than the present. Old optimism about human progress has given way to uncertainty and fear. In this book scholars from various disciplines – theology, the social sciences, and the humanities – explore the move from a “culture of optimism” to a culture of ambiguity,” and they seek to infuse today’s jaded language of hope with a new vitality.
The Future of Hope offers a powerful critique of today’s stifling cultural climate and shows why the vision of hope central to Christian faith must be a basic component of any flourishing society. The first section of the book sets the context telling cultural criticism of modernity. The second section focuses on affinities between premodern Christian visions of hope and twentieth-century thought. The final section of the book examines the relationship between postmodern thought, Christian tradition, and biblical hope, addressing how Christians in a postmodern world can best articulate their faith.
Written by truly profound thinkers, these chapters are diverse in their content, methodologies, and temperament, yet they are united by a deep engagement with both the Christian tradition and the larger cultural and intellectual climate in which we live and work. The Future of Hope can thus be read not just as an attempt at retrieval of hope for today but as itself one small act of hope in an age when people too seldom take time to think critically and hopefully.
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Radiance : A Spiritual Memoir Of Evelyn Underhill
$18.99Add to cartWith excerpts from both her published writings and private journals, this compilation presents a candid look at the extraordinary spiritual journey of Evelyn Underhill, who is credited with the modern rediscovery of mysticism. Clarifies how her views changed; discusses little-known struggles.
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Good Ideas From Questionable Christians And Outright Pagans
$30.99Add to cartWilkens provides a convincing rationale for why Christians should study philosophy by examining an important issue from the perspective of the following philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, Descartes, Kierkegaard, Marx, Nietzsche, and Sartre. Although some Christians tend to view the faith of the above philosophers as questionable at best and non-existent at worst, Wilkens finds that many of their ideas can enhance Christian faith and yield valuable theological insight. In providing this accessible introduction to some of the key ideas and thinkers in philosophy, Wilkens finds strong grounds for living “the examined life” (playing off the famous quote by Socrates), urging Christians to engage in philosophical reflection, which can strengthen one’s faith and deepen one’s sense of wonder with the world God created.
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10 Commandments In History A Print On Demand Title
$28.99Add to cartKuntz’s magnum opus, this work sees the Ten Commandments as a set of universal principles to be applied in concrete situations, hence vital to social stability. Interacts with 20 giants of the past: Philo, Palamas, Rolle, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wycliffe, Montaigne, Pascal, Locke, Kant, and others.
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Examined Faith : The Grace Of Self Doubt
$16.00Add to cartHow do Christians understand providence. divine action, and other religious realities in our complex, multivalent world? In this important work, expanded from his Princeton Warfield Lectures, renowned ethicist James Gustafson strongly urges Christians to take a harder look at their religious discourse and its relationship to their whole worldview. Pastors, theologians, and laypeople alike, he argues, regularly and unthinkingly accomodate their religious views to other realms, or allow their religious views to be manipulated for other purposes.
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Act And Being
$30.50Add to cartAfter two thousand years of theological discussion there seems to be little clarity about the kind of being that God is. “Act and Being” _ Colin Gunton’s last book before his untimely death in spring 2003 _ explores this topic with brilliance, offering a fresh, meaningful understanding of the defining characteristics of the deity. In discussing the attributes of God, Gunton brings a unique combination of theology and philosophy to bear on this central topic of Christian thought. He first reviews past attempts to unpack the nature of God, showing how most fail as cogent, relevant teaching. He then outlines the facets of a new, intellectually stimulating, profoundly biblical portrait of the divine being. In the course of his book Gunton also discusses the adequacy of theological language, compares the Greek and Hebrew views of divinity, and shows the difference that the Trinity makes to our understanding of the divine attributes.
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On Thinking The Human
$19.99Add to cartSince Socrates, the effort to understand ourselves precisely as human has been the central occupation of Western thought. In this profound treatise Robert Jenson shows that all philosophical attempts to accurately think the self are doomed to failure and that the category “human” is itself unthinkable without reference to God.
As Jenson says at the outset of his book, the problem of anthropology is that the very concepts we need to use when we talk about ourselves as human resist being thought. “On Thinking the Human” explains why this is so. Under chapter titles that reflect the problem’s different facets “Thinking Death,” “Thinking Consciousness,” “Thinking Freedom,” “Thinking Reality,” “Thinking Wickedness,” and “Thinking Love” Jenson limns the difficulty inherent in each concept and then shows how the unthinkable becomes thinkable in light of the triune God of Scripture.
Carefully constructed and skillfully worded, “On Thinking the Human” will be valued by anyone reflecting deeply on what it means to be human.
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Preaching Mark In Two Voices
$33.00Add to cartIn this volume two authors reinterpret Mark through sermons preached out of the midst of very different socio-cultural contexts. While Blount draws parallels between Mark’s message and his own African American church heritage of slavery and oppression, Charles struggles with how to make this disturbing Gospel “good news” for well educated white suburbanites living on the outskirts of our nation’s capital. In a highly dialogical manner, these authors not only invite us to consider multiple possibilities for preaching Mark contextually; they also model for us-through their lively, eloquent, imaginative, and insightful sermons-how better to preach this Gospel ourselves.
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Allegory And Event
$55.00Add to cartIn this classic work in patristic studies, Hanson elucidates the views of the third-century theologian Origen on the nature and interpretation of Scripture. The new introductory essay by a leading Origen scholar sets Hanson’s work in its context and explores its significance in Origen scholarship.
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Prince
$8.00Add to cartMachiavelli grew up at a time when the excesses of the church were more under scrutiny than at any time since Constantine. As Savonarola was decrying Florentine governmental excesses in the 1490s, Machiavelli’s star was on the rise. The same year that Savonarola was executed for heresy, Machiavelli began his career as a diplomat and, as Savonarola presaged the Reformation, Machiavelli became an early champion of pragmatism. Il Principe (“The Prince”) eschews the idealism of the politics of its age and espouses the realistic political situation that, to a great extent, it inspired.
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Reforming Theological Anthropology
$39.99Add to cart248 pages
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With the profound changes in today’s intellectual and scientific landscape, traditional ways of speaking about human nature, sin, and the image of God have lost their explanatory power. In this volume F.LeRon Shults explores the challenges to and opportunities for rethinking current religious views of humankind in contemporary Western culture.From philosophy to theology, from physics to psychology, we find a turn to the categories of “relationality.” Shults briefly traces this history from Aristotle to Levinas, showing its impact on the Christian doctrine of anthropology, and he argues that the biblical understanding of humanity has much to contribute to today’s dialogue on persons and on human becoming in relation to God and others. Shults’s work stands as a potent effort to reform theological anthropology in a way that restores its relevance to contemporary interpretations of the world and our place in it.
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Memories Of Bliss
$35.99Add to cart“Written by the author of “”Fat is a Spiritual Issue””, this book aims to show how, in the author’s words, we can “”live our sexualities well””. By looking at how we should treat each other in the light of Jesus’ command that we should love our neighbours as ourselves, Ind is able to relate the human experience of sex to our ultimate knowledge of God. Ind acknowledges that, while there are many ways of being sexual, the memories, yearnings and fantasies of human beings, in all their diversity, reflect the multi-dimensionality of the creator and his works. She regards much writing on sex, and the prudish and censorious comment that surrounds it, as being dishonest and, in the end, blasphemous. This book aims to completely overturn the Christian consensus on sex, and challenges that mentality which shies away from addressing sexuality directly, or as something apart from those other God-given and fundamental characteristics of human beings that image the divine. Jo Ind has Multiple Sclerosis and, in describing her illness,
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Textual Reasonings A Print On Demand Title
$33.99Add to cart“Textual reasoning” is the name that a group of contemporary Jewish thinkers has given to its overlapping practices of Jewish philosophy and theology. This volume represents the most public expression to date of the shared work, over a period of twelve years, of this society of “textual reasoners.”
Although the movement of textual reasoning is diverse and multiform, it is characterized at bottom by the pursuit of the claim that there are significant affinities between Jewish forms of reading and reasoning and postmodern thought. These affinities are presently being pursued by scholars throughout Jewish studies, in fields such as the Bible, Talmud, Midrash, medieval philosophy, Kabbalah, and the Jewish phenomenology of Rosenzweig and Levinas, among others. As the essays in this book amply convey, their work has stimulated a lively and creative reengagement with the philosophical dimensions of Jewish texts and, even more, with the textual dimensions of Jewish reasoning. In large part, this new energy has come from conceiving of the postmodern as a place where some of the most distinctive features of Jewish reasoning can be elucidated as well as challenged.
A fine addition to the Radical Traditions series, Textual reasonings provides a superb review of contemporary Jewish thought.
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This Far By Grace
$10.95Add to cartIn this thoughtful and timely book, Bishop Alexander explores his journey through the theological, scriptural, and pastoral aspects of the questions surrounding homosexuality and the Christian faith. Writing in the weeks after the General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved the appointment of the church’s first openly gay bishop, Bishop Alexander offers a personal view of his changing outlook-from exclusion to acceptance-on this important issue. He also offers thought-provoking perspectives on scripture and tradition. This Far by Grace will prove a vital resource for discussion and reflection by individuals, parishes, and dioceses.
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Truth Seeker
$15.49Add to cartCut off from our connection with the divine, humankind is afflicted by a metaphysical anxiety, which is now a global condition. The Truth Seeker is one woman’s journey to try and combat this malaise. Through poetry and prose, Lucy White questions her beliefs and tries to make sense of the secular and the sacred in her search for a connection with that essence of divine love we call God. Meditating on her personal journey led the author to the awareness that we live in a world of polarities between which we ricochet unknowingly. At present the secular outweighs the sacred and the male force outweighs the female force. Balancing these forces could bring peace and harmony to the world. The author espouses a new philosophy, that of Spiritual Feminism, a philosophy that acknowledges and elevates women as wise nurturers connected to the divine, a philosophy that balances the female force equally with the male force. During the writing of the book, Lucy White began to experience a benign energy force that seemed to be tracking her progress. Was God keeping an eye on her work?
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Power Of Process
$21.99Add to cartFor all who pursue to know the Lord in a deeper way, that way is found through process. Process is the vehicle that drives our souls into new realms where inconceivable and long-awaited transformation becomes possible. The course of our lives will be determined by how effectively we respond to process, not by our ability to avoid it. Our reactions to the situations that process presents are what will build into us the eternal hope of God. We must allow His grace, love, and restoration to pour into our lives to provoke us to change and growth. As we learn how to let Jesus hold us while the foundations of our lives are shaken, we not only are molded into His image, but we also experience the splendid rest found in His comforting hands.
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Power Of Process
$13.49Add to cartFor all who pursue to know the Lord in a deeper way, that way is found through process. Process is the vehicle that drives our souls into new realms where inconceivable and long-awaited transformation becomes possible. The course of our lives will be determined by how effectively we respond to process, not by our ability to avoid it. Our reactions to the situations that process presents are what will build into us the eternal hope of God. We must allow His grace, love, and restoration to pour into our lives to provoke us to change and growth. As we learn how to let Jesus hold us while the foundations of our lives are shaken, we not only are molded into His image, but we also experience the splendid rest found in His comforting hands.
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Critical History Of Philosophy 2
$37.99Add to cartWe will not hesitate to say that this is one of the most important books ever given to man. At age 83, it was no accidental production, but a profound masterpiece produced over fifty years of the most intense reflection and thirty years of teaching on the subject as president of colleges and as professor of mental philosophy whil displaying the deepest virtue and usefulness. Before Critical History, all such histories were the gloomy revelation of the contradictory errors of men, and the natural result was pessimistic skepticism. But our author has rather sanctified the science–gleaning the truth from all who discovered it. At the same time, he more than just exposed the mistakes and sins of all contrary systems, but also gave us the reasons for departure and the fully justified–and undeniable–reality that fills in the void. This original analysis not only solves the great world problems but also gives hope to the student where all other histories have left us in contradictory despair.
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Is It Lust Or Legalism
$14.99Add to cartA recent survey indicated that 90% of Christians questioned, struggle with lust. What really is lust? Is all sexual desire, attraction, and arousal sinful? What about about masturbation and sexual fantasy? In Is it Lust or Legalism? Discerning the Differences between Sexuality, Sensuality & Sin, Pastor Brad Watson looks again at these pertinent questions from a fresh perspective. Sexuality and sensuality are not intrinsically evil, and should be integrated together with a highlycommitted, Christ-centered faith. This breakthrough book exposes the poor anti-body, anti-sex, antipleasure theology that has historically steeped the Church in legalism, separated her unnecessarily from culture, and hindered her from impacting the world. God’s people are challenged to embrace an “incarnational Christianity”-filled with grace and freed from legalism-which beckons normal, culturally-relevant, 21st century people into a world-impacting, radical witness for Christ.
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Light Of The Mind
$14.95Add to cartSt. Augustine is not only the bridge that links ancient philosophy and early Christian theology with the thought of the Middle Ages, but one who, in his philosophy and especially in his epistemology, anticipated some of the most important ideas of Descartes and Malbranche, Berkeley and Kant. In this study of the central aspect of St. Augustine’s thought, the author analyzes the various facets of his theory of knowledge and offers a new interpretation of his idea of divine illumination.
St. Augustine’s views on skepticism and truth, on faith and reason, and on sense perception and cogitation are first examined in order to show their relation to this theory of divine illumination as the ultimate source of truth for man. The proper understanding of the theory of illumination, of how man apprehends the divine ideas, is the most difficult problem in St. Augustine’s epistemology, for he did not formulate any systematic theory of knowledge. Any account of the Augustinian epistemology, Mr. Nash believes, must resolve three paradoxes: how the intellect is both passive and active; how the forms are distinct from – and not distinct from – the human mind; and how man’s mind is and is not the light that makes knowledge possible.
In explaining the nature of divine illumination, Nash discusses four interpretations that have been advanced; the Thomist (which he rejects as not faithful to St. Augustine’s general philosophy), the Franciscan, the Formalist, and the Ontologist. He argues here for a modified Ontologist view. In his synthesis of Christian theology and Neoplatonic philosophy, St. Augustine held that all creation partakes of truth in varying degrees, that man as the highest part of creation, created in God’s image and thus sharing to some degree the divine nature, is able to know truth through the divine light and the light of his own mind. In attempting to find an answer to the perennial problem of knowledge, St. Augustine, Nash suggests, was struggling to find a theory that would combine the benefits of conceptualism and realism, and his answer was more modern than many have given him credit for.
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Grieving The Death Of A Pet
$13.99Add to cartBecause our relationships with our animal companions are unlike human relationships, the death of a pet is like no other loss that we will experience. In this book, Betty J. Carmack draws on the wisdom of Ecclesiastes, her own experience, and interviews with dozens of pet lovers to guide the reader through the initial loss of a pet to the dawning of new hope and reassurance.
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Historicity Of The Patriarchal Narratives
$59.95Add to cartArchaeology seems to have become an active partner in the attempt to prove the historical truth of the Bible. Biblical archaeologists have gone to the field in search of Noah’s ark or the walls of Jericho, as if the finding of these artifacts would make the events of scripture somehow more true or real.
Thomas Thompson is one of the most vocal contemporary critics of biblical archaeology. His simple but powerful thesis is that archaeology cannot be used in the service of the Bible. Focusing on the patriarchal narratives_the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob_he demonstrates that archaeological research simply cannot historically substantiate these stories.Going further, Thompson says that archaeological materials should never be dated or evaluated on the basis of written texts. Looking to the patriarchal narratives in Genesis, he concludes that these stories are neither historical nor were they intended to be historical. Instead, these narratives are written as expressions of Israel’s relationship to God.
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Gospels According To Michael Goulder
$42.95Add to cartMichael Goulder has made seminal contributions to contemporary New Testament scholarship with studies ranging from the Gospels and Acts to the Pauline epistles. His work has also provoked controversy, especially his view that the Gospels–particularly Matthew_were written as Midrash on the liturgies of the Jewish festivals and calendar. This is a theory upon which some of the bestselling work of John Shelby Spong is based. Goulder also argues that the hypothetical sayings source Q_accepted as fact by the majority of New Testament scholars_ never existed.
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Minding God : Theology And The Cognitive Sciences
$21.00Add to cartGregory Peterson introduces these sciences: neuroscience, artificial intelligence, animal cognition, linguistics, and psychology–that specifically contribute to the new picture and their philosophical underpinnings. He shows its implications for rethinking longstanding Western assumptions about the unity of the self, the nature of consciousness, free will, inherited sin, and religious experience. Such findings also illumine our understanding of God’s own mind, the God-world relationship, new notions of divine-design, and the implications of a universe of evolving minds. Peterson is gifted at explaining scientific concepts and drawing their implications for religious belief and theology. His work demonstrates how new work in cognitive sciences upends and reconfigures many popular assumptions about human uniqueness, mind-body relationship, and how we speak of divine and human intelligence.
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Women And The Authority Of Scripture
$42.95Add to cartThe theological impact of accepting the absolute authority of biblical scripture is enormous_especially for women who attend and serve churches. But until now, few books have been willing to address this issue head on.
Sarah Lancaster looks at the way women in the church have dealt with the question of scriptural authority and how they can address it in the future. Some women, she says, accept the authority of the Bible without question and stay in church without change of attitude or action. Others deny that the Bible has any authority, completely leaving Christianity in the belief that the Bible and Christian tradition are irredeemably patriarchal. Still others recognize that while scripture is largely patriarchal, it is authoritative for their life of faith.
The Bible possesses a narrative coherence, its story resonating in our own lives. For women, the Bible can continue to “ring true” to their experience, letting them acknowledge scripture’s authority in spite of its problems. The Bible is not about patriarchy; it is about how God is present to us and interacts with us in order to bring us to fullness of life.
Lancaster says that women can criticize those things in scripture that help maintain a patriarchal world without invalidating scripture’s authority. Scripture, she argues, informs, forms, and transforms. With its combination of narrative and feminist theology, Women and the Authority of Scripture brings a powerful new perspective to the doctrine of biblical authority in the contemporary world.
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Graven Ideologies
$35.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
What do the philosophers Friedrich Nietzsche, Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Marion have in common with Christianity? Surprisingly, they are all concerned about idolatry, about the tendency we have to create God in our own image and about what we can do about it. Can we faithfully speak of God at all without interposing ourselves? If so, how? Bruce Ellis Benson explores this common concern by clearly laying out the thought of each of these postmodern thinkers against the background of modern philosophers such as Descartes, Locke and Hume and in light of the rise of phenomenology as developed by Husserl and Heidegger. All these thinkers he brings into conversation with a full range of biblical teaching. The result is an illuminating survey of some key postmodern thinkers and profound insight into the nature of conceptual idolatry. Benson also exposes some of the limitations inherent in postmodern attempts to provide a purely philosophical solution to the problem of ideological idolatry. Ultimately, he argues, there is a need for something greater than human philosophy, religion or theology–namely, the biblical revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
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Men And Their Religion
$37.95Add to cartAre men more or less religious than women, and in what way? In Men and Their Religion, Donald Capps brings to life men’s engagement with religion and provides insights into the rapid rise of men’s religious organizations such as Promise Keepers.
Capps says that men are just as religious as women, but in a different way. The religiousness of men is rooted in a deep sense of melancholy, a sense originating when they are small boys separating emotionally from their mothers. Fathers also play a part in the religious development of men. The Judaeo-Christian tradition, Capps argues, requires the sacrifice of father-son love because the Father God is a jealous God, allowing no rivals. So for boys, the hoped-for attachment to their fathers never happens.As a result of this loss, the religion of men takes three forms: the religion of honor, the religion of hope, and the religion of humor. Capps uses two case studies to show the ways in which men with religious melancholia may develop a compensating religion of honor on one hand and a religion of hope on the other. Finally, religious melancholy can be countered through humor, and Capps concludes that if men had their way there would be more humor in religion and humor would be recognized as religious.
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Gospel According To The Simpsons (Teacher’s Guide)
$19.00Add to cartA companion to the best-selling The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World’s Most Animated Family” this 10-session study, for youth and adults, embarks on an exploration of the religious themes prevalent in the popular animated comedy series. Each session correlates to a chapter in the book and suggests as episode for viewing prior to the discussion. Topics include prayer, morality, God, pluralism, the institutional church, hell and the devil, and the Bible
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Worldview : The History Of A Concept
$39.99Add to cartPerhaps the time is right — for ecclesial, cultural, and global reasons — to explore history of worldview as a concept and to reflect upon it theologically and philosophically. First of all, the last several decades have witnessed an explosion of interest in worldview in certain circles of the evangelical church. Several writers, including Carl Henry, Francis Schaeffer, James Sire, Arthur Holmes, Brian Walsh and Ricahrd Middleton, Albert Wolters, and Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey have introduced many believers to worldview thinking and its importance. This wave of interest has appeared to some extent in Catholic and Orthodox contexts as well. Christians of all kinds are discovering that overt human beliefs and behaviors, as well as sociocultural phenomena, are — consciously or not – most often rooted in and expressions of some deeper, underlying principle and concept of life. Furthermore, worldview has served a hermeneutic purpose in the church by helping believers understand the cosmic dimensions and all-encompassing implications of biblical revelation. This book argues that a worldview is an inescapable function of the human heart and is central to identity of human beings as imago Dei.
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Rescuing Jesus From The Christians
$36.95Add to cartBiblical scholar and Southern Baptist minister Clayton Sullivan brings together the latest work on the historical Jesus and offers four new strategies to help Christians find faith that is consistent with the best scholarship available. Sullivan looks at some major questions – what was Jesus’ main message, what was his attitude toward non-Jews, and more – and uses these to propose ways to rescue Jesus from the creedal prison that orthodox Christianity has put him in.
