This is a major study of the theological thought of John Calvin, which examines his central theological ideas through a philosophical lens, looking at issues in Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Ethics. The study, the first of its kind, is concerned with how Calvin actually uses philosophical ideas in his work as a theologian and biblical commentator.

'Judas' is synonymous with 'traitor'. But a newly-discovered ancient text of the Gospel of Judas offers a picture of Judas Iscariot radically different from the Church's traditional understanding of him, and maintains that far from being the infamous betrayer, Judas was actually Jesus' trusted friend and the recipient of secret revelation. Simon Gathercole's new book includes a translation of the ancient Egyptian text of the Gospel of Judas and a running commentary, and offers new translations of all the ancient evidence about Judas Iscariot and the Gospel attributed to him.

In God Is Not a Story Francesca Aran Murphy offers an original critique of narrative theologies, including the works of George Lindbeck, Robert Jenson, and Herbert McCabe. She contends that to describe Christian doctrines as 'stories' is to undermine the reality of such doctrines, and that those who use the paradigm of story or narrative in theology are more interested in theological method, or what they are 'doing when they do theology', than in the content of theological affirmations.

Christianity struggles to show how living on earth matters for living with God. While people of faith increasingly seek practical ways to respond to the environmental crisis, theology has had difficulty contextualizing the crisis and interpreting the responses. In Ecologies of Grace, Willis Jenkins presents a field-shaping introduction to Christian environmental ethics that offers resources for renewing theology. Observing how religious environmental practices often draw on concepts of grace, Jenkins maps the way Christian environmental strategies draw from traditions of salvation as they engage the problems of environmental ethics. He then uses this new map to explore afresh the ecological dimensions of Christian theology.

This book introduces the work of an important medieval Islamic philosopher who is little known outside the Persian world. Afdal al-Din Kashani was a contemporary of a number of important Muslim thinkers, including Averroes and Ibn al-Arabi. Kashani did not write for advanced students of philosophy but rather for beginners.

Al-Kindi was the first philosopher of the Islamic world. He lived in Iraq and studied in Baghdad, where he became attached to the caliphal court. In due course he would become an important figure at court: a tutor to the caliph's son, and a central figure in the translation movement of the ninth century, which rendered much of Greek philosophy, science, and medicine into Arabic. In this accessible introduction to al-Kindi's works, Peter Adamson surveys what is known of his life and examines his method and his attitude towards the Greek tradition, as well as his subtle relationship with the Muslim intellectual culture of his day.

In this provocative must-read, the preeminent scientist and world's most prominent atheist, Richard Dawkins, asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11. The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong, but potentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight on the advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universes wonders than any faith could ever muster. With rigor and wit, Dawkins eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. This is a book that challenges all of us to test our beliefs, no matter what beliefs we hold.

Drawing on primary sources made available to scholars only after the archives of the Holy Office were unsealed in 1998, Negotiating Darwin chronicles how the Vatican reacted when six Catholics - five clerics and one layman - tried to integrate evolution and Christianity in the decades following the publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species.

From the earliest period of its existence, Christianity has been recognized as the "religion of the cross." Some of the great monuments of Western art are representations of the brutal torture and execution of Christ. Despite the horror of crucifixion, we often find such images beautiful. The beauty of the cross expresses the central paradox of Christian faith: the cross of Christ's execution is the symbol of God's victory over death and sin. In this volume, Richard Viladesau seeks to understand the beauty of the cross as it developed in both theology and art from their beginnings until the eve of the renaissance.

If sexuality is inherently social, the same thing can be said about celibacy. An understanding of celibacy, argues Carl Olson, can be a useful way to view the significance of the human body within a social context. The purpose of this book is to examine how the practice of celibacy differs cross-culturally as well as historically within a particular religious tradition.

This book provides a wealth of practical information on preparing for and responding to the challenges of a dangerous world. Robert Cirtin draws on more than two decades of law enforcement and investigative experience, and with his team of professionals outlines a how-to approach full of specific proactive steps churches can take to protect themselves and reduce the risk of costly lawsuits. Church Safety And Security is a must-have resource for anyone participating in or preparing for church leadership.

As the first historian of Christianity, Luke’s reliability is vigorously disputed among scholars. The author of the Acts is often accused of being a biased, imprecise and anti-Jewish historian who created a distorted portrait of Paul. Daniel Marguerat tries to avoid being caught in this true/false quagmire when examining Luke’s interpretation of history. Instead he combines different tools – reflection upon historiography, the rules of ancient historians and narrative criticism – to analyse the Acts and gauge the historiographical aims of their author.

Matthew’s Jesus is typically described as the humble, compassionate messiah. This book argues that this is, however, only half the story. Matthew’s theologically rich quotation of Isaiah 42.1–4, traditionally considered one of the four servant songs, underscores that manifest in Jesus’ powerful message and deeds, particularly his healings and inclusion of the marginalized, is the justice that was thought to accompany the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The study explores modifications to the text-form of the Isaianic citations, their relationship to the surrounding context, and the rhetorical force of the final form.

Although more than half of the world's Muslims live in Asia, most books on contemporary Islam focus on the Middle East, giving short shift to the dynamic and diverse presence of Asian Islam in regional and global politics. The Muslims of Asia constitute the largest Muslim communities in the world - Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Central Asia. In recent years, terrorist bombings in Bali, separatist conflicts in Thailand and the Philippines, and opposition politics in Central Asia, all point to the strategic importance of Asian Islam.

This book argues that the modern separation of humanity from nature can be traced to the displacement of the triune God. Locating the source of our current ecological crisis in this separation, Peter Scott argues that it can only be healed within theology, through a revival of a Trinitarian doctrine of creation interacting with political philosophies of ecology.