LITMIR.BIZ

Few Christian writings have had the world-changing impact of St Paul's epistles to the churches, and yet from the very beginning these works proved themselves to be tricky texts. The Second Letter of Peter, commenting about them, says: «There are some things in them that are hard to understand» (2 Pet 3:16). Indeed! To this day many issues of their interpretation remain highly contested. In this book, Anthony Thiselton grasps the nettle and examines forty puzzling passages from Paul's epistles. He considers the various scholarly proposals about their meaning and offers his own reflections in the hope of dispersing fog and shedding light, and of expounding a coherent and self-consistent Paul.

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As ancient Israel's size and influence declined, her prophets began to increasingly predict a new act from God that would accomplish three things on a global scale: (1) a purifying judgment that would reset the scales of justice and remove the degrading effects of evil; (2) the carving out of a remnant community deeply devoted to Yahweh, expanding to include international participation; and (3) the ushering in of a messianic age in which goodness, harmony, and righteousness would pervade every dimension of life on earth. Jesus' disciples connected the prophetic Day of the Lord with his coming and redemptive work. Yet many questioned whether the full impact was made manifest in Jesus, since wars did not cease, broad judgment on sin and evil was not unleashed, and the full blessings of the predicted messianic age were not evident. Jesus did something that no one had anticipated, however, by splitting the Day of the Lord into two divine acts instead of one. This is what distinguishes Christianity from its Jewish roots, as well as its Islamic successor–neither of which acknowledge this unique aspect of Jesus' person and work, or the reworking of how and when the Day of the Lord would take place.

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What is reality? Is reality both mind and matter, body and soul, as taught by Western religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? This is dualism, the approach of philosophers from Plato to Descartes. Or is reality only matter, as taught by many modern scientists and philosophers? This is materialism, the approach of philosophers from Hobbes to Marx. Or is reality only mind, as taught by Eastern religions and Western mystics. This is the approach of philosophers from Berkeley to Whitehead. The beginning of Genesis allows for multiple translations and interpretations. We will read the creation story in Genesis from the point of view of each of these three approaches–dualism, materialism, and idealism. In doing so, we will tell three very different creation stories. These stories will take us on a fascinating journey through science, philosophy, and religion. Join us on this journey as we explore issues such as does God perform miracles, why is there evil in the universe, was Darwin correct, can robots have souls, and if light is a wave, what is waving?

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This book wishes to talk about two main topics: the Canadian political philosopher Charles Taylor and faith. Taylor, in his philosophical arguments on religion and secularity, has adopted what I call the great prejudice on religion and secularity: the two belong to utterly different spheres of human mind and sociality. In this prejudice, faith is used as a synonym of religion, or belief, and is understood as something that does not belong to the sphere of secularity. My argument contradicts precisely this common belief. Is faith more of an anthropological attitude towards reality than a religious one? Can we criticize Taylor's philosophy on these grounds?
To develop my argument, I will attempt to develop a dialogue between continental and Anglo-American philosophers and theologians, in the hope of convincing the readers that we should change radically the way we discuss faith, religion, and secularism.

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In the view of many contemporary scholars, both Jesus and Judaism have been misrepresented by the church for the past two thousand years. Their main point is that Judaism was not a superficial, rigid, and outdated religion, and Jesus did not reject it. In fact, along with his disciples, he remained a Law-abiding Jew his entire life. However, as Christianity developed from a Jewish sect in the first century AD to the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, the church was transformed, Jesus was redefined, and both Jews and their religion were repudiated and marginalized. In short, both Christians and Jews were deeply affected by what many scholars now call the de-Judaization of Jesus. This book is an attempt to correct the traditional theological and scholarly misinterpretations of Jesus and Judaism that emerged over the first four centuries of the life of the church.

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Using a biblical theology method, this book reflects the content of the epistle of Hebrews within its Jewish-Christian context. Within Jewish monotheism, a Two Powers Christology is championed to float a simple missional Trinitarianism. Jesus Christ is also presented as a superior prophet, Davidic king, and Melchizedek priest. Christ initiates the new covenant with his very Jewish atonement in the Day of Atonement pattern, ultimately perfecting believers' conscience (as an Edwardsian Religious Affection) and providing everlasting forgiveness. This provision initiates the believer on a new exodus toward the celestial city within a two-way soteriological framework. To make it to that heavenly goal, the believer must continue in faith. Those who are faithful already begin to experience rest in this life as a foretaste of the kingdom rest to come, when Christ brings in eschatological salvation.

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Bernard Lonergan is a world-renowned philosopher, methodologist, and theologian. The complexity of his work has tended to limit his accessibility to average readers. Bringing Bernard Lonergan Down to Earth seeks to remedy this limitation by showing how Lonergan did address problems of community life. He also broadened his interest after writing Insight to include a reaching into our hearts as modeled, for example, by the genius Blaise Pascal. Lonergan also sought to bridge religious divides. Here the Christian theological virtues of faith, hope, and love are indispensable but that does not curtail from Lonergan's uncanny ability to reach out to secularists by focusing on ethics. The importance of Lonergan's interdisciplinary work is signaled in the book's twelve explorations (in the concluding Part IV) that detail for interested readers his extraordinary ability to solve major philosophical issues.

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The chapters collected in this book, prepared by a think tank of the Elijah Interfaith Academy, address the subject of religious leadership. The subject is of broad relevance in the training of religious leaders and in the practice of religious leadership. As such, it is also germane to religious thought, where reflections on religious leadership occupy an important place. What does it mean to be a religious leader in today's world? To what degree are the challenges that confront religious leadership today the same perennial challenges that have arrested the attention of the faithful and their leaders for generations, and to what degree do we encounter challenges today that are unique to our day and age? One dimension is surely unique, and that is the very ability to explore these issues from an interreligious perspective and to consider challenges, opportunities, and strategies across religious traditions. Studying the theme across six faith traditions–Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, and Buddhism–The Future of Religious Leadership: World Religions in Conversation recognizes the common challenges to present-day religious leadership.
Contributors: Awet Andemicael, Timothy J. Gianotti, Alon Goshen-Gottstein, Anantanand Rambachan, Maria Reis Habito, Meir Sendor, Balwant Singh Dhillon, Miroslav Volf

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Friendship is an outcome of, as well as a condition for, advancing interfaith relations. However, for friendship to advance, there must be legitimation from within and a theory of how interreligious relations can be justified from the resources of different faith traditions. Friendship Across Religions explores these very issues, seeking to develop a robust theory of interreligious friendship from the resources of each of the participating traditions. It also features individual cases as models and precedents for such relations–in particular, the friendship of Gandhi and Charlie Andrews, his closest personal friend.
Contributors: Balwant Singh Dhillon, Timothy J. Gianotti, Alon Goshen-Gottstein, Maria Reis Habito, Ruben L. F. Habito, Ryan McAnnally-Linz, Stephen Butler Murray, Eleanor Nesbitt, Anantanand Rambachan, Meir Sendor, Johann M. Vento, and Miroslav Volf

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The world is full of people who are very certain–in politics, in religion, in all manner of things. In addition, political, religious, and social organizations are marketing certainty as a cure all to all life's problems. But is such certainty possible? Or even good?
The Certainty of Uncertainty explores the question of certainty by looking at the reasons human beings crave certainty and the religious responses we frequently fashion to help meet that need. The book takes an in-depth view of religion, language, our senses, our science, and our world to explore the inescapable uncertainties they reveal. We find that the certainty we crave does not exist.
As we reflect on the unavoidable uncertainties in our world, we come to understand that letting go of certainty is not only necessary, it's beneficial. For, in embracing doubt and uncertainty, we find a more meaningful and courageous religious faith, a deeper encounter with mystery, and a way to build strong relationships across religious and philosophical lines. In The Certainty of Uncertainty, we see that embracing our belief systems with humility and uncertainty can be transformative for ourselves and for our world.

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