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Few other books have caused as much stir in the Church of England in recent decades as has For the Parish. Twelve years on from its publication, in the wake of the Covid pandemic and the 'Save the Parish' movement much has changed, but much has stayed the same.In this follow up to this influential and controversial book, new and already familiar themes are newly inflected in the debates of the present time: principally minster hubs, the 'Emerging Church' programme and the Strategic Development Fund. Alison Milbank challenges the ecclesiology, models of theological anthropology and the analysis of secularism that are present (explicitly or implicitly) in these movements, and offer a striking and encouraging vision of what the parish model could offer to our anxious world.

'Love has its speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore the speed the love of God walks.'

Perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer's most radical book, this reading of the Sermon on the Mount has influenced many Christians throughout the world over the last 50 years.

Christianity Rediscovered is more than just a classic missionary story. It is also a profound challenge, a call to a radical redefinition of what we mean when we talk about mission - as relevant to today's church as it was when it was first written.

Practical Theology and Qualitative Research examines methodologies of the social sciences and questions how they can enable the task of theological reflection. Practical theology is a growing discipline in its own right, and the authors offer the latest thinking in this area; of how to use theological learning in practical situations.

In this text, Joachim Jeremias explores the variety of ways of interpreting the parables of Jesus, including their translation; the way different audiences altered the parables Jesus told; and the role of the New Testament writers in shaping their telling of the parables.

In this book, Professor Barr presents a reading of the story of the Garden of Eden, not as a tale of the origins of sin and death, but as a tale of a chance of immortality, briefly accessible to humanity but quickly lost. Old Testament scholars have long been aware that the traditional reading of the story of Adam and Eve as the 'Fall of Man', though hallowed by St Paul's use of it, cannot stand up to close examination of the text. However, they have not succeeded in formulating an alternative interpretation which rivals the force of this traditional reading or is relevant to such a wide range of biblical and theological issues.Professor Barr's new interpretation has such force, and with its challenges to many conventional views it is likely to cause a considerable stir among traditionalists and to excite those dissatisfied with aspects of traditional thought.Central to the book is its stress on the role and prevalence of the idea of immortality, commonly thought to be a later Greek and un-biblical import into Christian thinking. Reflection on immortality also leads to a reconsideration of ideas about death in the Hebrew Bible; about Sheol. the Hebrew underworld; and about the soul. Professor Barr brings out the importance of time for the Hebrew Bible and the concept of length of days, showing that the threat is not so much death as such, but the manner and time of death. His study of chronology leads to a reconsideration of the story of Noah's ark, and the book ends by seeingresurrection and immortality as complementary, rather than conflicting, ideas.

A profound study of infant baptism in the early church by one of the twentieth century's leading New Testament scholars.

Offering compassionate and carefully considered theological and pastoral responses to dementia and forgetfulness, John Swinton redefines dementia in light of the transformative counter story that is the gospel.

Part of Moltmann's contributions to systematic theology, this is an invitation to openness and the affirmation of life. A truly charismatic book, offering new hope and vision.

One of the classics of prison literature, this collection of documents serves as the last will and testament of the Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed by the Nazis after incarceration in Tegel Prison

In Becoming Friends of Time, John Swinton crafts a theology of time that draws us toward a perspective wherein time is a gift and a calling. Time is not a commodity nor is time to be mastered. Time is a gift of God to humans, but is also a gift given back to God by humans. Swinton wrestles with critical questions that emerge from theological reflection on time and disability: rethinking doctrine for those who can never grasp Jesus with their intellects; reimagining discipleship and vocation for those who have forgotten who Jesus is; reconsidering salvation for those who, due to neurological damage, can be one person at one time and then be someone else in an instant. In the end, Swinton invites the reader to spend time with the experiences of people with profound neurological disability, people who can change our perceptions of time, enable us to grasp the fruitful rhythms of God's time, and help us learn to live in ways that are unimaginable within the boundaries of the time of the clock.

Trauma theology remains a rapidly growing field, considering as it does the impact that embodied experiences of trauma have on theological discourse. In this book, leading trauma theologian Karen O'Donnell turns her attention to the impact that trauma has on spiritual practice, and considers the ways that trauma might require a wholesale reimagining of spiritual practice into something more suitable and sustaining for trauma survivors.

Perhaps one of the least appreciated aspects of Rowan Williams is his theology of imagination. Seeking to fill this gap, this book explores the imaginative impulse operative in Rowan Williams' theology and poetry, which centres around the notion of 'divine desire', and the way in which imagination can reveal possibility even in the bleakest of circumstances. Drawing on his poetic work as well as his theological writing, the book explores how Williams' theology leads us to a fresh understanding of the ways in which the renewing and enabling energy of the Holy Spirit is ever active, within and beyond the Church, in enabling human imaginations to cooperate with the divine energy of love in bringing creation to fulfilment.

Feminist Theologies: A Companion explores the contemporary contours of the field. With contributors from a diverse range of settings the volume captures the current diversity and richness of feminist theologies both in and beyond the academy. Focusing both on theory and praxis, chapters move from considering the outlines of the feminist agenda, to exploring the relationship between academic feminist theology and ecclesial or personal spiritual, and finally articulating how feminist theological outlooks manifest themselves in a variety of settings. With contributions from Gina Zurlo, Nancy Bedford, Agnes Brazil, Cathryn McKinney, Rebekah Pryor, Gale Yee, Heather Eaton, Al Barrett, Simon Sutcliffe, Hannah Bacon, Lisa Isherwood, Karen O'Donnell, Jane Chevous, Alana Harris, Antonia Sobocki, Tina Beattie, Janice McRandal, Stephen Burns, Cristina Lledo Gomez, Michael W. Brierley, Claire Renkin, HyeRan Kim-Cragg, Kerrie Handasyde, Gail Ramshaw and Anne Elvey

In recent years, far-right organisations have invaded mosques across the UK with army-issued Bibles, declaring their actions a 'Christian crusade'. Others have paraded large crosses through Muslim-majority areas, and invaded 'migrant hotels, ' harassing residents in their so-called crusade. Far-right appeals to 'clean up society', and 'restore Christian Britain' can be quite attractive to some Christians. However, what they may fail to appreciate is that this rhetoric may be cynically employed by those whose allegiance and values are quite contrary to Christian ones. Despite all this, the response from official church sources in the UK has been notably subdued, and resources to help churches address hate crimes or racial tensions are scarce. This book aims to fill that void. Bringing together insights from theologians, church practitioners, and leading experts, this volume examines the church's response to the rise of far-right thinking in UK society and explores how it can respond more effectively. With a foreword by David Gushee, this book offers critical and constructive perspectives for the church to confront these challenges.

What are the key questions of the First Letter of Peter, how does it offer questions and challenges for us today and ultimately how does it speak to readers 2000 years after it was composed? Justin Welby, Jennifer Strawbridge and Abigail Harries Martin develop the expositions offered by Archbishop Justin at the 2022 Lambeth Conference to explore the key themes from 1 Peter and draw out questions and challenges from 1 Peter for today's church and world. Acknowledging that key words and phrases from 1 Peter are understood differently in different contexts - such as language of suffering, definitions of holiness, and how we describe hope - this volume also innovatively draws in voices from more than 20 countries including Kenya, Mozambique, the USA, Malaysia, DRC, Pakistan, and New Zealand. The volume concludes with five short reflections on the epistle from Isabelle Hamley, Paul Swarup, Esther Mombo and Godfrey Adera, Paulo Ueti and Jennifer Strawbridge.

Providing an accessible one-volume guide to Christian doctrine, this is a thorough re-write of the first edition. Since the original was published, many students and teachers of doctrine, in theological colleges and beyond, have been learning to take more seriously the global context of their work, and to recognise the difference made by facets of their identities and social locations like race, class, gender, and disability. In this edition, Mike Higton seeks to do justice to this learning, and invites readers to understand doctrine as an unfinished conversation between many different voices. Fully updated for clarity and yet retaining its role as a rigorous introduction to its subject, the book includes new 'interruptions', which introduce voices that question the book's arguments and offer new directions for readers to pursue.

This book is the first of its kind to specifically look at Jewish-Christian women in dialogue together on a range of issues other than the feminist one. Each chapter begins with an introduction to the subject, consists of two voices engaging in discussion, and ends with a thorough list of further reading to point the interested reader in the right direction to find out more. It looks at the impact of the dialogue on these women's spiritual journeys, and also looks at key critical issues such as the impact of the Holocaust on the women's faith and theology: the figure of the Messiah in both traditions -touching on the wider christological issues which separate the two faiths. The way the text is read is examined and, finally, the book looks to the future and asks what the key concerns and issues wil be for them and the next generation of Jewish and Christian women.

It has come to be taken for granted that churches should issue reports and make statements on public affairs - anything from unemployment to prisons, urban deprivation to the Internet. In theory their conclusions are based on "theology"; in practice they rely more on simple appeals to justice, compassion and human rights. The author examines a number of such reports issued over the last 15 years and finds their "theology" to have made little contribution to their generally sensible, if not always exciting, recommendations. Instead, he argues that they should openly acknowledge thier debt to an ethical consensus which is still widely accepted, should be alerted to the insidious influence of fashionable dogmas, and should re-fashion their understanding of human beings so as to counter the pervasive individualism of recent centuries. In this way, the churches, along with other faith communities, can still make a valid contribution to "civil society" today.

Caribbean Contextual Theology introduces readers to the robust theological conversations taking place in the Caribbean region since the early 1970s, and the region's key theologians and texts. Attempting to bring a contextual theological gaze to what is a fascinating and often understated context, it offers readers an introduction to the unique and important contribution that a Caribbean theological lens can bring to the broader theological landscape.

Celebrating ten years of the annual Sam Sharpe Lectures, this text is a collection of a decade's contribution from scholars, thinkers, activists, and ministers responding to the legacy of Sam Sharpe, a Jamaican National Hero. This text documents these moving, insightful and mobilising contributions and seeks to capture how Sharpe's legacy inspires action for justice in the 21st century. Rooted in a radical Jamaican narrative, The Sam Sharpe Lectures collectively demonstrate how Sharpe's legacy can inspire all people to be game-changers despite life's challenges. Sam Sharpe was enslaved, yet through a grounding in Christian faith, compassion, justice, and self-determination became an agent for transformation, and these lectures translate his legacy into tools for today's injustices.

Vile Bodies are bodies that have been vilified by Christian thought, often with catastrophic consequences. The bodies of women, Jews, Muslims, slaves, Blacks, LGBT people, children, wives have all been harmed by negative Christian teaching about bodies. This book sidesteps the endless controversies in the churches about sexuality and gender and goes deeper - unmasking instead the abusive theology that ensures these controversies and their harmful outcomes persist.Drawing extensively from scripture, and from two millennia of church history and theology, Vile Bodies slowly exposes how churches have preferred doctrine to compassion, orthodoxy to justice, and legalism to love, culminating in the global abuse crises in the churches that have largely destroyed their moral credibility.

How do Christians go about understanding their cultural context in twenty-first century Britain?What is the relationship between faith and the culture in which it is lived?Considering the most formative influences for people of faith in our culture, and the forces at play in competing for their attention, Cultural Hermeneutics equips those in ministry, and those in formation for roles within the church, to better 'read' the times in which they serve.

In an age of carefully managed public profiles presented via Instagram or BeReal, or even the public presentation of our churches, Paul's stories of hardship in his letters to the Corinthians draw us to a different relationship with ourselves and our communities - one which enables to tell authentic stories about ourselves, warts and all.In his deep and careful study of the epistles to the Corinthians, Philip Plyming demonstrates how Paul calls the Corinthian Christians to a way of living which stands in stark contrast from the prevailing culture of Corinth, and argues that there are profound lessons to be learnt for faithful Christians and churches today.

What does it mean to be a prophet in queer times? Considering first the queerness of the prophet Jonah, this volume then broadens its scope to the queer prophetic in our own time, reflecting on what makes a prophet 'queer', and considering how public theology is itself, an example of the queer prophetic. With a broad range of international contributors, this book offers a bold and essential new addition to queer biblical studies literature.

Academic theology is in need of a new genre. In Transgressive Devotion Natalie Wigg-Stevenson articulates a theological vision of that genre as performance art. She argues that theology done as performance art stops trying to describe who God is, and starts trying to make God appear. Offering a daring vision of theology which will energise anybody feeling 'boxed in' by the discipline, Wigg-Stevenson blurs borders between orthodoxy, heterodoxy and heresy to reveal how the very act of doing theology makes God and humanity vulnerable to each other. This is theology which is a liturgy of Divine incantation. In other words: this is theology which is also prayer.