Nature and existence of God Books

Book SynopsisThe dialogue expands . . . When Neale Donald Walsch was experiencing one of the lowest points of his life, he decided to write a letter to God. What he did not expect was a response, with extraordinary answers covering all aspects of human existence - from happiness to money, to faith. The resulting book, Conversations with God, was an instant bestseller on publication in 1995 and has since sold millions of copies world-wide, changing countless lives everywhere. Conversations with God: Book 3 is the third volume of the original Conversations with God trilogy that takes us even further in our questioning and search for answers, dealing with universal truths of the highest order and the challenges and opportunities of the soul. This incredible series contains answers that will change you, your life and the way you view others.Also by Neale Donald Walsch and available from Hodder & Stoughton: Conversations with God, Books 2 and 3, Communion with God, Friendship with God, Applications for Living and Meditations from Conversations with God, Book 1.Trade ReviewI read this and it completely turned everything I believe about religion on its head. If you are at all religious, you should read this book.' * Francis Rossi of Status Quo, Metro *

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Book SynopsisDespite recent ferocious public debate about the likelihood of the existence of God, the most central concept in such arguments remains strangely obscure. What is God? In this written contribution to reasoned discussion, a revered religious thinker clarifies how the word "God" functions in various religious traditions.Trade Review"Hart marshals powerful historical evidence and philosophical argument to suggest that atheists—if they want to attack the opposition's strongest case—badly need to up their game."—Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian". . . there is something evangelical about this study: it is at once both the most valuable discussion of the doctrine of God to have appeared for decades, and a witty, often mordant, defence of Christian belief. . . . The Experience of God is still an outstanding addition to the literature on God, not least for its survey of so many of the world’s great faiths. It is also a fine piece of work of Christian apologetics, and a major contribution to debate on science and religion."—Andrew Davison, Times Literary Supplement"This hugely suggestive book is a lyrical paean to a vital, more capacious understanding of reality, ourselves and God: a timely and gripping invitation to wake up, see the regnant naturalism, and subvert its suffocating hegemony. The text is by turns elegant, curmudgeonly, witty, infuriating, incisive, nostalgic, rhapsodical, explosive, frequently bang on the money – and always stimulating."—Philip McCosker, The Tablet"David Hart can always be relied on to offer a perspective on Christian faith that is both profound and unexpected. In this masterpiece of quiet intellectual and spiritual passion, he magnificently sets the record straight as to what sort of God Christians believe in and why."—Rowan Williams, University of Cambridge"David Hart’s new book is nothing less than astounding. He is liberal, conservative, radical, theological, philosophical, and historical all at the same time – that is his genius. There is no American writing on religion as intelligently, bravely, and originally as Hart."—Conor Cunningham, University of Nottingham"David Bentley Hart’s new book is a feast- stylish and substantial. Bringing together Sanskritic analyses of God’s being with Latin and Greek and Arabic ones, this is a considerable achievement by one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary theology."—Paul J. Griffiths, Duke Divinity School"Writing at a high philosophical level with a sharp sense of humor, Hart argues for an ecumenical Theism. Devastatingly accurate, imaginative, and immensely readable, this is David Bentley Hart’s best book."—Francesca Murphy, University of Notre Dame"Magnificent . . . a book unlike anything done in recent times and one that only Hart could write."—Robert Louis Wilken

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Book SynopsisCicero's philosophical works are now exciting renewed interest, in part because he provides vital evidence of the views of the (largely lost) Greek philosophers of the Hellenistic age, and partly because of the light he casts on the intellectual life of first century Rome. This edition uses the 1997 Clarendon text by the acclaimed translator P.G. Walsh.Trade ReviewThe translation is both lively and accurate; the introduction is judicious and informative. The notes are especially strong on the identification of the many historical references in the work. * Phronesis *

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Book SynopsisDuring the lowest point of his life, a man begins writing letters to God to vent his frustrations - and unexpectedly receives answers to his questions, written by his own hand. The bestselling spiritual classic that has now sold millions of copies world-wide.Neale Donald Walsch was experiencing the lowest point of his life - from a devastating fire to the collapse of his marriage - when he decided to write a letter to God to vent his frustrations. What he did not expect was a response: as he finished his letter, he was moved to continue writing, and out came extraordinary answers to his questions. These answers - covering all aspects of human existence, from happiness to money, to faith - helped Walsch to change himself and his life for better, and the way he viewed other beings. Walsch compiled all of these answers into a book, Conversations with God, which was an instant bestseller on publication in 1995, going straight into the New York Times bestseller list and remaining there for more than 130 weeks. Over twenty years later, it has sold millions of copies world-wide and has changed the lives of countless people all around the world with its profound answers about life, happiness, money, love and faith. Conversations with God is a modern spiritual classic that remains fresh and relevant in a world that needs its powerful messages about who we are and our place in it more than ever.

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Book Synopsis'An absolute gem of a book' Alastair HumphreysFirst published in 1926, The Gentle Art of Tramping is as relevant now as then. Tramping is an approach: to nature, to humankind, to nations, to beauty, to life itself. This lost classic is a breath of fresh air for world-weary souls. It is a gentle art; know how to tramp and you know how to live. Know how to meet your fellow wanderer, how to be passive to the beauty of nature and how to be active to its wildness and its rigour. The adventure is not the getting there, it's the on-the-way'. It is not the expected, it is the surprise.Trade ReviewAn absolute gem of a book -- Alastair Humphreys * Microadventures, Local Adventures for Great Escapes *A hymn to the wilderness of the the British Isles -- Robert Macfarlane * The Wild Places *A wonderful book, so many of its points as valid now as they were a hundred years ago. A great catalyst for getting people off their backsides and out into wild places, with its can-do attitude ... The pages of my copy are so dog-eared from turning down the corners to mark yet another quotable gem that I can hardly close it. -- Christopher Somerville * The January Man: A Year of Walking Britain *Beware this book, it's a wolf in sheep's clothing - a thrillingly subversive life philosophy dressed in alluring practical advice. Strongly recommended for rebels and the restless -- Tristan Gooley * The Natural Navigator *The Gentle Art of Tramping is Mr. Graham’s masterpiece * New York Herald *Table of ContentsForeword 1. We Set Out 2. Boots 3. The Knapsack 4. Clothes 5. Carrying Money 6. The Companion 7. Whither Away? 8. The Art of Idleness 9. Emblems of Tramping 10. The Fire 11. The Bed 12. The Dip 13. Drying after Rain 14. Marching Songs 15. Scrounging 16. Seeking Shelter 17. The Tramp as Cook 18. Tobacco 19. Books 20. Long Halts 21. Foreigners 22. The Artist’s Notebook 23. Maps 24. Trespassers’ Walk 25. A Zigzag Walk 26. The Open For the Reader to Contribute A Note on the Author

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Book SynopsisMarija Gimbutas wrote and taught with rare clarity in her original - and originally shocking - interpretation of prehistoric European civilization. This text contains the distillation of her studies, combined with new disco veries, insights, and analysis.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Editor's Preface Acknowledgments Editor's Introduction Part 1 Religion in Prepatriarchal Europe 1 Images of Goddesses and Gods 2 Symbols, Signs, and Sacred Script 3 The Tomb and the Womb 4 Temples 5 Sacred Stone and Wood Ceremonial Centers 6 Matrilineal Social Structure as Mirrored in Religion and Myth Part 2 The Living Goddesses 7 The Minoan Religion in Crete 8 The Greek Religion 9 The Etruscan Religion 10 The Basque Religion 11 The Celtic Religion 12 The Germanic Religion 13 The Baltic Religion Editor's Afterword Editor's Notes Glossary Selected Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis'A strange and joyous marvel' Richard Flanagan'Delightful... Enchanting' Guardian'Spectacular' CultureflyA young man named Levi McAllister decides to build a coffin for his sister, Charlotte - who promptly runs for her life. A water rat swims upriver in quest of the cloud god. A fisherman named Karl hunts for tuna in partnership with a seal. And a father takes form from fire.The answers to these riddles are to be found in this tale of grief and love and the bonds of family, tracing a journey across the southern island that takes us full circle.SHORTLISTED FOR THE READINGS PRIZE FOR NEW AUSTRALIAN FICTIONTrade ReviewFlames feels solid, significant and emotionally resonant. * Guardian *A strange and joyous marvel. * Richard Flanagan, Man Booker-winning author of The Narrow Road to the Deep North *Flames is a spectacular novel; exciting and spirited, overflowing with imagination. Arnott invites us in to a thrilling new world where everything may look familiar, but there are magical surprises to be discovered around every corner. Join him on the journey, and you will not be disappointed. * Culturefly *Visionary, vivid, full of audacious transformations: there's a marvellous energy to this writing that returns the world to us aflame. A brilliant and wholly original debut. * Gail Jones *Ambitious storytelling from a stunning new Australian voice. Flames is constantly surprising-I never knew where the story would take me next. This book has a lovely sense of wonder for the world. It's brimming with heart and compassion. * Rohan Wilson *Robbie Arnott is a vivid and bold new voice in Australian fiction * Danielle Wood *[With a] magic realist flair that will appeal to fans of Angela Carter... It is glorious, messy, and a bit weird. * Press Association *Rich. * Strong Words *Probably the best book I've read all year. * Molly Aitken *

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Book SynopsisArguably the most established contemporary spiritual classic by our most profound living religious writer. This timeless classic has helped well over a million people discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace and a deeper understanding of God.The book explores the ''classic disciplines'' of Christian faith: the inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study; the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission and service and the corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance and celebration.Trade ReviewLike a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all his brothers and sisters to share the find, Richard Foster has 'found' the spiritual disciplines that the modern world stored away and forgot ... the instruments of joy, the way into mature Christian spirituality and abundant life. * Eugene Peterson *This is a book I'd love to have written ... exciting, stimulating and joyful. * Joyce Huggett *The best modern book on Christian spirituality. * Ronald Sider *

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Book SynopsisThese promises are for every believer yet each will admit to not fully experiencing what is promised. Spurgeon helps us to appreciate that all God’s promises are the birthright of each Christian. It is not presumptious or unreal to expect to enjoy what God has promised. We are to measure what God can do by his generous promises, not by our level of expectation. Spurgeon had the gift of getting right to the heart of a matter in a style that was memorable and profound.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, Julian Baggini explores the arguments for atheism, and dispels some common myths, explaining how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral. This new edition discusses the recent flowering of 'New Atheism' and considers the position of atheism in society today.Table of Contents1: What is Atheism? 2: The case for atheism 3: Atheist ethics 4: Meaning and purpose 5: Atheism in history 6: Beyond the Atheism 7: Conclusion Further reading Index

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Book Synopsis''The consciousness of knowing little, need not beget a distrust of that which he does not know.''In Natural Theology William Paley set out to prove the existence of God from the evidence of the beauty and order of the natural world. Famously beginning by comparing the world to a watch, whose design is self-evident, he goes on to provide examples from biology, anatomy, and astronomy in order to demonstrate the intricacy and ingenuity of design that could only come from a wise and benevolent deity. Paley''s legalistic approach and skilful use of metaphor and analogy were hugely successful, and equally controversial. Charles Darwin, whose investigations led to very different conclusions in the Origin of Species, was greatly influenced by the book''s cumulative structure and accessible style.This edition reprints the original text of 1802, and sets the book in the context of the theological, philosophical, and scientific debates of the nineteenth century. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 yeTrade ReviewThis is an astonishing book, made all the more accessible by some excellent modern footnotes * John Habgood, Church TImes *

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Book SynopsisGod the Father in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas is an exposition of Aquinas' theology of God the Father as a coherent whole. Surprising as it might be, there has not been an extended treatment of Aquinas' theology of God the Father. Three misconceptions are addressed: (1) the idea that Aquinas' speculative Trinitarian theology is detached from Scripture; (2) the supposition that in Aquinas' understanding, the Father's relation to the Holy Spirit is an afterthought to the Father's relation to the Son; and (3) the view that for Thomas, the Father has no proper mode of action in the created universe since Thomas maintains that in all ad extra activity, the Trinity acts as a single principle. Two less polemical, more perennial issues are discussed as well. First, the concept of relation, as the key to a coherent account of three distinct persons in one same divine essence, emerges as an important theme in Aquinas' exposition of the Father's paternity and innascibility.

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Book SynopsisIn this classic of American literature, Thoreau gives an account of his two years experience of the 'simple life' in the woods, telling how he sought and found material and spiritual sustenance in the solitude of the cabin which he built for himself on the shore of Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts.

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Book SynopsisPeter Vardy's much acclaimed introduction to the study of ideas about God now revised and updated.A clear, well-written guide to philosophical thinking about God. Starting with the question of what it means to say we believe in God, and looking at the nature of truth, Peter Vardy goes on to examine ideas about God and their influence on Christian thinking.Peter Vardy takes the reader through the arguments, using amusing illustrations and analogies. He writes for the lay person or student, not assuming any specialist knowledge, and not imposing any particular view.This is about the best elementary textbook in the philosophy of God I have come across an extremely useful book.'Hugh Meynell, The TabletThis is a masterpiece of coherence. Step by step the reader is led clearly and humorously through the philosophical maze which confuses our thinking about God.'Linda Smith, Head of Religious Education, King's College, London

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Book SynopsisConversations with God took its readers on an inspirational journey, teaching them how to conduct a dialogue with God and reach a better understanding of themselves, others and the world we all inhabit. In Neale Donald Walsch''s latest book, they will travel further on this journey towards a greater relationship, and ultimately friendship, with God.Trade Review'Contains a wisdom I believe we all have inside us but don't stop to listen to . . . there is the wisdom of the ages in this book'Dr Bernie Siegel on Conversations with God Book 1Contains a wisdom I believe we all have inside us but don't stop to listen to . . . there is the wisdom of the ages in this book * Dr Bernie Siegel on Conversations with God Book 1 *

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Book SynopsisIn The Evolution of God, Robert Wright, award-winning author of the bestselling books Nonzero and The Moral Animal, takes us on a sweeping journey through religious history, from the Stone Age to the Information Age, unveiling along the way an astonishing discovery: that there is a hidden pattern in the way that Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all evolved.Through the prisms of archaeology, theology, evolutionary psychology and a careful re-reading of the scriptures, Wright''s findings repeatedly overturn conventional wisdom and basic assumptions about the great monotheistic faiths.Looking at the forces that have moved the Abrahamic faiths away from belligerence and intolerance to a higher moral plane, Wright finds that this previously unrecognized evolutionary logic points not toward continued religious extremism as the media would have us believe, but towards future harmony.Trade Review** 'Robert Wright is a riveting writer, compelling and compulsive. Once he gets a truly big idea going, he grabs you by the coat lapels and doesn't let you go. He is a master of lucid and persuasive prose * IRISH TIMES *** 'An important book * SUNDAY TIMES *

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Book SynopsisJ. I. Packer maintains that anyone who wants to know God will want to know as much as they can of what is in the Bible. For through it God reveals himself and his purpose to us; and in it we discover his fellowship and grace. Packer presents the case for reliability of the Bible and urges us to return with open hearts to reading God''s word, and to discovering its overwhelming power in our lives.This challenging sequel to Knowing God is a great resource for the Christian journey.Trade ReviewOthers may have followed with books about desiring, living, serving or seeking God, but Dr Packer's volume says it simply, says it best. * Joni Eareckson Tada *His love for the Bible and concern that Christians listen to it makes this a passionate book. * Baptist Times *

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Book Synopsis'A rich and subtle exploration of the sacredness of nature, filled with a timeless wisdom and deep humanity' Guardian In this hugely powerful book, Karen Armstrong argues that it isn't enough to change our behaviour to avert environmental catastrophe - we must rekindle our spiritual bond with the natural world. From gratitude and compassion to sacrifice and non-violence, Armstrong draws themes from the world's religious traditions to offer practical steps to reconnect you with nature.Speaking to anyone interested in our relationship with nature, worried about environmental destruction, or searching for new actions to save our planet, Sacred Nature will uncover the most profound connections between humans and the natural world.'A lamentation in the key of Greta Thunberg, with undertones of Carl Jung' Wall Street Journal'Warm and witty... a challenge to think differently in the face of climate change' Tablet'Karen Armstrong is one of the handful of wise and supremely commentators on religion' Alain de BottonTrade ReviewA rich and subtle exploration of the sacredness of nature, filled with a timeless wisdom and deep humanity ... Much has been written on the scientific and technological aspects of climate change ... But Armstrong's book is both more personal and more profound. Its urgent message is that hearts and minds need to change if we are to once more learn to revere our beautiful and fragile planet * Guardian, Book of the Day *Karen Armstrong is one of the handful of wise and supremely intelligent commentators on religionWarm and witty ... [Armstrong's] ability to summon up examples and quotations...is humbling... Sacred Nature [is] a challenge to think differently in the face of climate change, to recover ways of looking at things, including God * Tablet *An accessible account of how a wider religious perspective might contribute to humans' adopting a more solicitous attitude to nature -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis‘Because "God" is infinite, nobody can have the last word’What is this thing, religion, supposedly the cause of bloodshed and warring for centuries? What is ‘God’ and do we need ‘Him’ in our modern world? Karen Armstrong looks again at these questions in a refreshing and startling way. God is not to be ‘believed in’ as a child believes in Santa Claus; religion is not a story to be proven true or false, but a discipline akin to music or art that answers a deeply human need, and can teach us to discover new capacities of mind and heart. Selected from A Case for God, Fields of Blood and The Lost Art of Scripture VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanAlso in the Vintage Minis 'Great Ideas' series:Art by Simon SchamaScience by Ian McEwanTrade ReviewThey look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book * Stylist *Literature for the Twitter generation * Big Issue *

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Book SynopsisPeter Hitchens lost faith as a teenager. But eventually finding atheism barren, he came by a logical process to his current affiliation to an unmodernised belief in Christianity. Hitchens describes his return from the far political left. Familiar with British left-wing politics, it was travelling in the Communist bloc that first undermined and replaced his leftism, a process virtually completed when he became a newspaper''s resident Moscow correspondent in 1990, just before the collapse of the Communist Party.He became convinced of certain propositions. That modern western social democratic politics is a form of false religion in which people try to substitute a social conscience for an individual one. That utopianism is actively dangerous. That liberty and law are attainable human objectives which are also the good by-products of Christian faith.Faith is the best antidote to utopianism, dismissing the dangerous idea of earthly perfection, discouraging people from acting as if tTrade ReviewThe book will be especially satisfying for those who share the author's feelings without being able to express them with such deftness, vigour and occasional epigram. Even those unconvinced or... only almost persuaded will never find it dull. * Contemporary Review *[The Rage Against God] offers insights on the current secular disregard for freedom of belief of expression. * Jersey Evening Post *The Rage Against God is eminently readable book that not only delivers the case against atheism, but delivers it with style * Christianity *The two best-written books were Christopher Hitchens's memoirs Hitch 22 and his brother Peter's The Rage Against God. Even though the authors set the benchmark for sibling rivalry, their books prove there is something special about them. Both are restless romantics, enemies of cosy consensus, original minds - and products of an education system that wanted all children to be cultured and questioning. Peter's book reads as if Cardinal Newman were reflecting on life after battle-scarred years as a foreign correspondent, while Christopher's book, if it were a thoroughbred horse, would be by George Orwell out of Kingsley Amis. I can think of no better pair of books for Christmas reflection. -- Michael Gove * Mail on Sunday *Hitchens [..] blames the rampant liberalism of his generation; he was a teenager in the 1960s. They feared the constraints of their parents' lifestyle - post-war rationing coupled to the limitations of life in the suburbs. -- Mark Vernon * The Guardian *A response to [Hitchens'] brother's and Richard Dawkins' 'rage' against those who can be so stupid to believe in God and so irresponsible as to attempt to encourage others. * The Methodist Recorder *This book is not meant to be a rebuttal of the contemporary atheist polemicists. It has the more modest aim of influencing atheists to hesitate over their choice. * The Irish Catholic *A deeply affecting story of a journey to faith, interwoven with moral and spiritual history of the 20th century. * The Church Times *Top class stuff! * The Good Bookstall website *This book is a rattling good read...As we face the General Election, this is perhaps the most important reason for reading it. * Standpoint *Agreed mortality lives on borrowed time...As Peter Hitchens observes, God offers authoritative moral laws, and judgement upon those who knowingly break them. -- Christopher Howse, * Telegraph *A thorough going exposé of how godless utopianism- above all in the Soviet Union- has given a uniquely powerful licence to tyranny. -- Charles Moore * The Daily Telegraph, *The Rage Against God is a magnificent, sustained cry against the aggressive secularism taking control of our weakened culture. -- Quentin Letts * The Spectator *[A] short, elegant book. ... How can one not enjoy a book that informs the reader that Kim Il Sung was not only the "Great Leader" who created the prison state of North Korea, but also a protestant - and an accomplished church organist? * The Independent *A calmly argued rebuff to several polemic authors...[and] a personal paean of sadness for the Britain of [Hitchens'] youth. * Ones to Watch, The Bookseller *A believer's riposte to the book by his atheist brother, Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great. -- Simon Hoggart * The Guardian *An absolutely must-read book...Peter Hitchens's forthcoming The Rage Against God. * Catholic Herald *Table of ContentsIntroduction PART 1: A PERSONAL JOURNEY THROUGH ATHEISM 1. The Generation Who Were Too Clever to Believe 2. A Loss of Confidence 3. The Seeds of Atheism 4. The Last Battleships 5. Britain's Pseudo-Religion and the Cult of Winston Churchill 6. Homo Sovieticus 7. A Rediscovery of Lost Faith 8. The Decline of Christianity PART 2: ADDRESSING ATHEISM: THREE FAILED ARGUMENTS 9. Are Conflicts fought in the name of religion conflicts about religion? 10. Is It Possible to Determine What Is Right and What Is Wrong without God? 11. Are Atheist states not actually Atheist? PART 3: THE LEAGUE OF THE MILITANT GODLESS 12. Fake Miracles and Grotesque Relics 13. Provoking a Bloody War with the Church 14. The Great Debate Epilogue Index

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Book SynopsisWho invented God? When, why, and where? Thomas Römer seeks to answer these enigmatic questions about the deity of the great monotheisms—Yhwh, God, or Allah—by tracing Israelite beliefs and their context from the Bronze Age to the end of the Old Testament period in the third century BCE, in a masterpiece of detective work and exposition.Trade ReviewRömer, a distinguished scholar rather than an ideologue, seeks to determine exactly what is historical and exactly what is not in the depiction of God. This is a brilliant book. -- Robert A. Segal * Times Higher Education *Römer presents a scholarly and provocative account of how a minor tribal deity likely grew to become—or revealed himself to be—Lord of Creation. -- David O’Reilly * Philadelphia Inquirer *Römer is interested in the emergence of a deity whose nature is now so familiar that its startling originality no longer startles. -- Brian Bethune * Maclean’s *It reads very well, is well translated and has a bit of the excitement of discovery for engaged readers. -- John C. Endres and Jean-François Racine * America *Römer deftly weaves together evidence from the Bible with extra-biblical archeological finds that mention Israel and Yhwh to outline the development of monotheism… Not until Jerusalem’s destruction in 587 BCE did Yhwh become the universal, monotheistic god untied to place or particular monarch, the god who was later adopted by Christians and Muslims. Römer writes with clarity and accuracy and tells a compelling story. This book is a masterful work, tying together an enormous amount of information in a concise format. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *There is nothing quite like this book in English. The Invention of God traces the history of the God of Israel from the late Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period, charting the rise of Yhwh as the sole God. The period covered is vast, the thesis is provocative and stimulating, and the scholarship is cutting-edge. -- Timothy Lim, University of EdinburghRömer is a sure-footed guide to what is often a difficult discussion. A learned and elegant book. -- Nathan MacDonald, University of CambridgeRömer is the first to have brought all the relevant material together in such an accessible form, setting out both literary and archaeological evidence clearly and readably. -- John Barton * Church Times *[An] excellent book…A masterly work of historical detection that looks at the evolution of Jewish faith from the Bronze Age to the Hellenic period. This is a superb work of scholarship. -- Paul Richardson * The Church of England Newspaper *

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Book SynopsisTwenty years on, this first volume in N. T. Wright's magisterial series, 'Christian Origins and the Question of God', still stands as a major point of reference for students of the New Testament and early Christianity. This latest impression has been completely reset to make Wright's elegant and engrossing text more readable.Trade Review'It is difficult to know which feature of it is to be admired the most: the immense erudition - the lively examples - the integration of so many different approaches and disciplines - the easy intelligibility of the writing - the lucid ordering of the argument.' The Expository Times

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Book SynopsisThe last few decades have witnessed a stunning resurgence of philosophical interest in God and theology. Although much of this renaissance is focused on the rationality of theistic belief apart from evidence, there is a gathering movement in philosophical circles to re-establish natural theology's legitimacy in explaining God's existence.Table of ContentsList of figures vi Notes on contributors vii Introduction ixWilliam Lane Craig and J. P. Moreland 1 The project of natural theology 1Charles Taliaferro 2 The Leibnizian cosmological argument 24Alexander R. Pruss 3 The kalam cosmological argument 101William Lane Craig and James D. Sinclair 4 The teleological argument: an exploration of the fine-tuning of the universe 202Robin Collins 5 The argument from consciousness 282J. P. Moreland 6 The argument from reason 344Victor Reppert 7 The moral argument 391Mark D. Linville 8 The argument from evil 449Stewart Goetz 9 The argument from religious experience 498Kai-Man Kwan 10 The ontological argument 553Robert E. Maydole 11 The argument from miracles: a cumulative case for the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth 593Timothy McGrew and Lydia McGrew Index 663

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Book SynopsisA train stops on the tracks in the middle of the night and a lone woman steps out, following a call from deep in the forest. In these six richly imagined short stories, Andrea Lundgren explores a liminal space where the town meets the wilderness and human consciousness meets something more animalistic. From foxes to blue whales to angels, the creatures that roam through these stories spark a desire for something more in their human counterparts: a longing for transformation. Whether dealing with familial tensions, romantic troubles, or a crisis of faith, their human anguish is explored with psychological depth and poetic insight in the earthy, evocative world of Lundgren’s northern borderlands.Trade Review‘A magical realist universe where anything can happen and not much can be explained.’ Vi Laaser; ‘Mesmeric...These are fascinating, haunting stories that stay with the reader.’ Alex Fleming, Swedish Book Review; 'Magical realism and environmental poetry spiced with elements of horror in the spirit of Jon Ajvide Lindqvist.' göteborgs-postenTable of ContentsThe Bird That Cries in the Night, The Cat, How Things Come to Seem, The Father Hole, The Girlfriend, On the Nature of Angels

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Book SynopsisSikhism is the youngest of the major world religions and the most modern and egalitarian in its practise. The scriptural authority for its followers is the Gurbani' in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. Jap Sahib is the quintessential bani' and the key to the philosophy expounded by the Gurus. Jap Sahib: Way to God in Sikhism by Maneshwar S. Chahal is a unique presentation in that, before offering well-reasoned conclusions, it puts forth many points of view and not just any single interpretation of the verses. It will help the lay reader easily understand the Guru's message and offer the scholar ready material for deeper study of this vast subject. Serves as a guide for spiritual teaching. Addresses the fundamental questions of human existence. Seek guidance from its teachings.Promotes the idea of finding the divine within oneself and experiencing the presence of God in all aspects of life. Celebrates diversity and encourages the acceptance of different religious and cultural perspectives.

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Book SynopsisIn this repackaged edition of his classic bestseller, Benny Hinn shares the story of his personal encounter with the Holy Spirit and the dramatic change it made in his life, as well as how it has touched the lives of others around the world.

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Book SynopsisWinner of The PEN Hessell-Tiltman PrizeShortlisted for The Wolfson History PrizeA The Times Books of the YearA fascinating, surprising and often controversial examination of the real God of the Bible, in all his bodily, uncensored, scandalous forms.'One of the most remarkable historians and communicators working today' – Dan SnowThree thousand years ago, in the lands we now call Israel and Palestine, a group of people worshipped a complex pantheon of deities, led by a father god called El. El had seventy children, who were gods in their own right. One of them was a minor storm deity, known as Yahweh. Yahweh had a body, a wife, offspring and colleagues. He fought monsters and mortals. He gorged on food and wine, wrote books, and took walks and naps. But he would become something far larger and far more abstract: the God of the great monotheistic religions.But as Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou reveals, God’s cultural DNA stretches back centuries before the Bible was written, and persists in the tics and twitches of our own society, whether we are believers or not. The Bible has shaped ideas about God and religion, but also cultural preferences about human existence and experience; our concept of life and death; attitude to sex and gender; habits of eating and drinking; the understanding of history.Examining God’s body, from his head to his hands, feet and genitals, she shows how the Western idea of God developed. She explores the places and artefacts that shaped our view of this singular God and the ancient religions and societies of the biblical world. And in doing so she analyses not only the origins of our oldest monotheistic religions, but also the origins of Western culture.Beautifully written, passionately argued and frequently controversial, God: An Anatomy is cultural history on a grand scale.'Rivetingly fresh and stunning' – Sunday TimesTrade ReviewA learned but rollicking journey through every aspect of Yahweh's body. A book that will offend some but delight more. * Economist Best Books of the Year *Rivetingly fresh and stunning . . . I rather like this inexhaustibly powerful, shouting, bearded giant of a God, a fiery, fierce and startlingly “pagan” God, alive to his very fingertips, laughing at human hubris and singing with unbridled joy. -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times *Lively . . . [with] a wealth of scholarly detail and much gusto -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman *Professors of Theology are imagined to be dull, gentle souls. This book, however, is a great rebel shout . . . A book that aims to upend the notion of a cloudy, spiritualised creator . . . instructive, vivid and frequently hilarious. * Economist *A marvelous conspectus of references to the divine body in ancient southwest Asian texts. But more than this, it is about recalibrating our understanding of these difficult texts to better understand ourselves. -- Simon Yarrow * Literary Review *God: An Anatomy is a tour de force. Stavrakopoulou has created not just an extraordinarily rich and nuanced portrait of Yahweh himself, but an intricate and detailed account of the cultural values and practices he embodied, and the wider world of myth and history out of which he emerged . . . Stavrakopoulou has taken to heart the biblical injunction to seek the face of God, and what emerges is a deity more terrifyingly alive, more damaged, more compelling, more complex than we have encountered before. More human, you might say. -- Mathew Lyons * New Humanist *Stavrakopoulou is no literalist — indeed, she’s an atheist — but she maintains that her reading makes far more sense than the traditional ones, and her confident tone never falters. -- Dan Hitchens * The Times *A detailed and scrupulously researched book . . . packed with knowledge and insight -- Karen Armstrong * The New York Times *Boldly simple in concept, God: An Anatomy is stunning in its execution. It is a tour de force, a triumph, and I write this as one who disagrees with Stavrakopoulou both on broad theoretical grounds and one who finds himself engaged with her in one narrow textual spat after another . . . A stunning book. -- Jack Miles * Catholic Herald *The sheer amount of primary evidence examined is staggering . . . Stavrakopoulou’s argumentation is intellectually penetrating, analytically robust, and sophisticated . . . Stavrakopoulou’s book, and her public-facing scholarship, demonstrate what makes an outstanding biblical scholar. * Church Times *Good Lord, Stavrakopoulou touches that sweet spot that is scholarly, funny, visceral and heavenly. A revelation. -- Adam Rutherford, author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived and How to Argue with a RacistOne of the most remarkable historians and communicators working today. -- Dan SnowIn both Judaism and Christianity God is conceived as non-physical. In God: An Anatomy Francesca Stavrakopoulou shows that this was not yet so in the Bible, where God appears in a much more corporeal form. This provocative work will surprise and may shock, but it brings to light aspects of the biblical account of God that modern readers seldom appreciate. -- John Barton, Emeritus Professor at Oriel College, Oxford and author of A History of the BibleIn Stavrakopoulou's stunning dissection of historical religious texts, the real back-story and context of the God of Judaism and Christianity is revealed . . . Where pious theologians have abstracted him into emptiness, Stavrakopolou gives him back his substance, and he’s so much more interesting in this bodily form! Both scholarly and accessible, and full of fascinating stories - I guarantee you’ll never think of this God the same way again. -- Professor Alice RobertsMarvelous and stimulating . . . scholarly and beautifully illustrated . . . an exciting read! * Methodist Recorder *This is an extraordinary book. It’ll rewire your thinking, and it’s so readable you won’t notice till it’s too late. -- Tim Whitmarsh, author of Battling the GodsWell-researched . . . A refreshing look at ancient Scripture and the people behind it, reminding readers that the concept of ‘God’ in the 21st century is a world away from that of the earliest people of Israel. A challenging, engaging work of scholarship that sheds new light on ancient Hebrew conceptions of the divine. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book Synopsis An extraordinary work that revitalizes theology and Christian life by recovering the early roots of Trinitarian doctrine and exploring the enduringly practical dimensions of faith in God as a community of persons.

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Book SynopsisBased on the largest near-death experience study in history, involving 3,000 people from diverse backgrounds and religious traditions, including nonbelievers, God and the Afterlife presents startling evidence that a Supreme Being exists—and there is amazing consistency about what he is like.In his bestselling book Evidence of the Afterlife, Dr. Jefferey Long showed us that there is a strong scientific case for life after death. Now, he goes further, revealing evidence that God is real. At the Near Death Experience Research Foundation, Dr. Long studied the stories of thousands of people who have journeyed to the afterlife. Though there are a wide variety of differences in how people experience NDEs—some see a bright light, others go through a tunnel, still others experience a review of their life—he discovered that many of the accounts shared a remarkably similar description of God; a Supreme Being who radiated love and grace.Expandin

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Book SynopsisTowards the end of his life, Cicero turned away from his oratorical and political career and looked instead to matters of philosophy and religion. The dialogue The Nature of the Gods both explores his own views on these subjects, as a monotheist and member of the Academic School, and considers the opinion of other philosophical schools of the Hellenistic age through the figures of Velleius the Epicurean and Balbus the Stoic. Eloquent, clearly argued and surprisingly modern, it focuses upon a series of fundamental religious questions including: is there a God? If so, does he answer prayers, or intervene in human affairs? Does he know the future? Does morality need the support of religion? Profoundly influential on later thinkers, such as Saint Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, this is a fascinating consideration of fundamental issues of faith and philosophical thought.

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Book SynopsisJesus turned water into wine, Mohammad split the moon into two, and Buddha walked and spoke immediately upon birth. According to recent statistics, even in the present age of advanced science and technology, most people believe in miracles. In fact, newspapers and television regularly report alleged miracles, such as recoveries from incurable diseases, extremely unlikely coincidences, and religious signs and messages on unexpected objects. In this book the award-winning author and philosopher Yujin Nagasawa addresses some of our most fundamental questions concerning miracles. What exactly is a miracle? What types of miracles are believed in the world''s great religions? What do recent scientific findings tell us about miracles? Can we rationally believe that miracles have really taken place? Can there be acts that are more religiously significant than miracles? Drawing on a vast variety of fascinating examples from across the major religions, Nagasawa discusses the lively debate on miracles that ranges from reported miracles in ancient scriptures in the East and West to cutting-edge scientific research on belief formation. Throughout, he drives us to ask ourselves if and how we can still believe in in miracles in the twenty-first century.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade Reviewa thought-provoking book * Raiyan Azmi, Catholic Herald *a very fair-minded treatment of miracles * Paradigm Explorer *Nagasawa has a fairly detached view of the whole subject, which neither denigrates the believer nor exalts the sceptic ... [He] writes engagingly, and with a relatively easy to understand style ... this is a book I would recommend to both believer and sceptic. * Jonathan Cowie, Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation *Miracles inhabit the human psyche. They evoke intense, polarizing reactions - uncritical acceptance from believers, derisive denial from nonbelievers. In this much-needed book, Yujin Nagasawa, an innovative and fearless philosopher, expands our understanding of miracles and provides a sweeping, thoughtful, penetrating, objective account of their origins and meaning. * Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Creator and Host, PBS TV series Closer To Truth *'Miracles' is just the sort of topic that is perfect for Oxford University Press's extensive 'Very Short Introductions' series in that it is specific enough to allow for a focused treatment, and yet expansive enough to be of interest to a wide readership...The book would certainly be a helpful addition to any undergraduate course that touches on miracles, particularly because of the many lively illustrations and examples that Nagasawa includes in the text. * Brett Hendrickson, Reading Religion *Table of ContentsPREFACE; REFERENCES; FURTHER READING; INDEX

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Book SynopsisIs There a God? offers a powerful response to modern doubts about the existence of God. It may seem today that the answers to all fundamental questions lie in the province of science, and that the scientific advances of the twentieth century leave little room for God. Cosmologists have rolled back their theories to the moment of the Big Bang, the discovery of DNA reveals the key to life, the theory of evolution explains the development of life... and with each new discovery or development, it seems that we are closer to a complete understanding of how things are. For many people, this gives strength to the belief that God is not needed to explain the universe; that religious belief is not based on reason; and that the existence of God is, intellectually, a lost cause. Richard Swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion of our day, argues that on the contrary, science provides good grounds for belief in God. Why is there a universe at all ? Why is there any life on Earth? How is it that discoverable scientific laws operate in the universe? Professor Swinburne uses the methods of scientific reasoning to argue that the best answers to these questions are given by the existence of God. The picture of the universe that science gives us is completed by God.This new, updated edition of Richard Swinburne''s popular introductory book Is There a God? features two substantial changes. He presents a new, stronger argument why theism does and materialism does not provide a very simple ultimate explanation of the world. And he examines the idea of the possible existence of many other universes, and its relevance to his arguments from the fine-tuning of our universe to the existence of God.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition The book is ... an immensely rewarding one for those who are prepared to give it the close attention which it both requires and deserves ... Swinburne is accepting the challenge to make his case on the more difficult side. He succeeds brilliantly, and we can indeed be grateful to him for that ... a worthy counterbalance to the views of such as Dawkins and Hawking. It is much to be hoped that it receives as much attention. * The Door *The book is clearly written, compact, and it provides an excellent introduction to the work of a prolific and significant contemporary Christian philosopher of religion. Not all will be convinced by every argument, but all will benefit from reading it with attention. * Science and Christian Belief *He argues his case very well both in this book and in others ... if you are looking for a book which will help you to see that there is more than what you daily observe with your senses, this is a good book to read. * The Tablet *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION ; 1. GOD ; 2. HOW WE EXPLAIN THINGS ; 3. THE SIMPLICITY OF GOD ; 4. HOW THE EXISTENCE OF GOD EXPLAINS THE WORLD AND ITS ORDER ; 5. HOW THE EXISTENCE OF GOD EXPLAINS THE EXISTENCE OF HUMANS ; 6. WHY GOD ALLOWS EVIL ; 7. HOW THE EXISTENCE OF GOD EXPLAINS MIRACLES AND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE ; EPILOGUE: SO WHAT? ; GUIDE TO FURTHER READING ; INDEX

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Book SynopsisA world-renowned scholar explores and explains the two views of God in the Bible the violent God of vengeance and retribution, and the non-violent God who became incarnate in Jesus.Trade ReviewPraise for the author’s The Power of Parable: Crossan’s exceptional clarity and methodical presentation combine to make this one of the best, most enthralling Bible-study courses many readers will ever take. * Booklist *We tend to ignore, explain away or filter out the violence attributed to God in the Bible. The phrase "Skeletons in the cupboard" comes to mind; critics of Christianity notice them and dig them out even if we don’t. "Ah," we say, "but that’s the Old Testament; the New is different." Yet violence is attributed to God in the New Testament as well. The provocative sub-title of John Dominic Corssan’s new book spells out the challenge: Jesus and the Violence of Scripture: How to Read the Bible and Still be a Christian. The author begins by telling us a bit about his own personal journey. An Irish Catholic, Crossan had joined a monastery by the age of 16 and began training for his priesthood soon afterwards. But the study of Thomas Aquinas, he says, taught him not only what to think, but also how to think. In 1968, by then in the States, he went public in his opposition to the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae on birth control. A rebuke from the cardinal archbishop of Chicago followed and, six months later, Cardinal Cody was still archbishop, "but Father Dominic (ie Crossan) was both an ex-monk and an ex-priest (p 5). Still a Christian, as his repeated, "we Christians" in this book shows, he became a leading authority on the historical background of Jesus and of Paul. And should you wonder whether this is too radical for a church house group, this book, the author tells us, has emerged from his talks in churches, not his lectures in the academy. The violence in the Bible is everywhere: not only a violent God, but a violent Jesus and a violent Paul (Crossan includes rhetorical violence – e.g. abusing opponents – on the charge sheet). And all this violence exists in the bible alongside a non-violent God, a non-violent Jesus and a non-violent Paul. How come? Civilisation and human culture, he argues, could not cope with the non-violence; it was simply too radical. The book has four sections: Part 1: Challenge introduces the argument; Parts II and III on Civilisation and Covenant look at the Old Testament evidence. Crossan is especially severe on Deuteronomy and related writings, which, in his view, turn the natural consequences of human wrongdoing into divine punishments. Part IV, entitled "Community," looks at the Gospels, Paul and Revelation – in which the non-violent first coming of Jesus becomes the violent second coming. But the Gospels are a problem too. The Jesus who taught "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5.44) is the Jesus who heaped vitriol on the scribes and Pharisees: "You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?" (p. 178). Years ago in the Epworth Review, former Methodist principal of Handsworth College Leslie Mitton pointed out the problem. Similarly, the Paul who wrote "In Christ there is … neither sale nor free, male nor female" (Galatians 3.28) is the Paul who wrote (or had attributed to him) "Slaves obey your masters," "Wives obey your husbands". Was this teaching a necessary compromise in the circumstances of the first century – or was it a sell-out? So in Crossan’s view the reaction against a radical God, a radical Jesus, a radical Paul, began very early – and it pervades our Bibles. He is scholarly, his arguments are brilliantly lucid and hi is passionately Christian. But is he right? Whether we’re talking about God, Jesus or Paul, there are problematic details – which our lectionary sometimes tip-toes around (A lectionary reading in two or three bits may be a sign that something unsavoury has been missed out). In both Testaments, the radical and the more conventional often co-exist in uneasy tension. But I wonder if Crossan’s solution in the end is both too neat and not deep enough. For example, on Genesis 4 he writes: "The mark of Cain is on human civilisation, not on human nature. Escalatory violence is our nemesis, not our nature; our avoidable decision, not our unavoidable destiny…" (p. 66). Jesus (and Paul) go deeper: "If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts…" (Luke 11.13). "The good which I want to do I fail to do…" (Romans 7.19). The current international scene demonstrates this only too well. Crossan’s central thesis appears simple: Jesus is the Bible’s centre, so evaluate the Bible in the light of Christ and evaluate all that it says about Christ in the light of the historical Jesus (p. 185). Compare our own Deed of Union: "…the revelation contained in Scripture… the supreme rule of faith and practice". Revelation, however, is a broader and deeper concept than the historical Jesus, of whom Christians have always tended to have different pictures and interpretations. For years (broadly speaking), the answers of both "liberal" and "evangelical" – if we must still use these unhelpful labels – to the thorny question of divine violence in the Bible have been inadequate. Liberals excise too much of Scripture; evangelicals tend to do the opposite. Crossan’s splendidly lucid book ought to make us think – and hopefully, enter more deeply into the mystery of "am essentially non-coercive God". -- The Rev Dr Neil Richardson * Methodist Recorder *Those who do not read the Bible carefully – or who do not read it at all sometimes speak of a separation between the Old Testament God who is thunderous and cruel, and the New Testament God who is kind and gentle. It does not take long for such a reading to unravel, whether you are looking at the everlasting mercy of God in Psalm 103, removing our guilt with a separation as wide as East from West, to the frequent occasions when Jesus is quoted in the Gospels as predicting eternal punishment in an afterlife for the wicked. Indeed, the New Testament, which depicts Jesus the Prince of Peace riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, also allows a reprise in Revelation depicting Christ riding a celestial warhorse to take revenge on the Romans. Jesus and the Violence of Scripture is an attempt to explain the shocking contrast between these two positions. John Dominic Crossan’s subtitle – How to read the Bible and still be a Christian – begs a few questions. It implies that to be a Christian, you ought to agree with Crossan that there is no place in the Christian scheme of things for divine vengeance, or for the punishment of wickedness and vice. The compilers of the Book of Common Prayer, not to mention St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, or Dante Alighieri – to seize a few obvious examples – would not, by the Crossan criterion, be Christians. Those of us, however, who are disturbed by the violence of the biblical God, and of much notionally orthodox thought, will open Crossan’s book eagerly in the hope of some solution to our problems. Is it possible to excise from our picture of the biblical God the many instances where he is violent and encourages violence in others? Can we simply discard the God and Romans 1:18, for example, whose wrath "is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness of wickedness"? Or the God represented in Matthew 25:31ff, who will divide the sheep from the goats and send the goats to the "eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels", not to mention the bloodbath of Revelation 16:19, where "God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine-cup of the fury of his wrath"? Could we manage to drop these bits out of the Bible altogether, and just keep the material about loving our neighbours and remembering the plight of the poor? And were we to do this, would we be what Crossan defines as "still… a Christian"? Crossan’s answer is yes. That is because his Bible is a supermarket where you have to read the labels of the wares on the shelves to avoid being hoodwinked into thinking you are getting the authentic stuff. Paul, in this reading, becomes an authentic messenger of the Kingdom-movement started by Jesus. "No betrayal of Jesus or Judaism was involved with Paul, who took Jesus’s vision out of the villages of the Jewish homeland and accurately rephrased it for the great Roman cities of the Jewish Diaspora." Some of Crossan’s most persuasive passages are those that point up what the original Paul thought about slavery, and what his followers or imitators wanted us to think he thought. There are seven authentic Pauline epistles – Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon. In Philemon, Paul addressed the owner of a salve called Onesimus. It is clear that Paul who proclaimed that in Christ there is neither bond nor free wanted Philemon to regard his former slave as a slave no more, but "a beloved brother" (verse 18). What explanation, then, do we have for those later injunctions, such as, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling" (Ephesians 6:5)? For Crossan, the explanation is very simple. Paul did not write Ephesians. Crossan’s St Paul was in fact pro-women and anti-slavery – apart from an unfortunate outburst about women covering their heads while speaking. But, as Crossan points out this passage takes for granted that women did indeed speak in church to pray and prophesy (1 Corinthians 11:5). These points are well made, but for me they are a little too simply made. Crossan has set himself a very big task – namely to carve all the "authentic" bits out of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and to discard the "inauthentic". His argument is premised on a conviction that the true God is always in favour of what Crossan sees as distributive justice. By contrast it is the ineluctable tendency of later editors, imitators and redactors to introduce retributive justice. Hence, in the end, Jesus the peace-and-joy man on the donkey becomes the mass-slayer on a horse in Revelation. The tendency can be seen, going right back to the arrival of the Deuteronomist as one of the redactors or authors of Genesis in the mid-500s BC. God, in Robert Frost’s poem "A Masque of Reason", says to Job, "You realize now the part you played / To stultify the Deuteronomist / And change the tenor of religious thought". For Crossan as for Frost, the Deuteronomist’s desire to reduce religion to a matter of law-observance, and to introduce the notion of sanction and punishment for the infringement of religious laws, is the enemy of all that the liberating Yahweh brought to the early dawning of Hebrew religious understanding. Crossan’s version of Scripture is certainly attractive, but only up to a point do I find it convincing. The Bible, and life, are more complicated than Crossan would like us to think. If you have a concept of justice and righteousness at all, then a part of that concept must include comeuppance for the wrongdoer. This is not because the Bible – or any other ethical code – is dreamed up by punishment freaks. It is because if there is no sanction, then evil is in effect allowed. If you maintain a belief in transcendent ethics, then heaven cries out against the infringement of justice, as it does through all the great prophets of Israel. Crossan’s reading of Romans is in this respect especially problematic. One of the core ideas of the epistle is that of baptism into death. The followers of Jesus had died to the basic values of Rome’s empire and been reborn to those of God’s sanction – retributive, if you will – and not just "distributive". The atoning death of Christ was necessary for grace to flow. This idea runs through everything Paul wrote and was surely one of the critical ingredients in Christianity from its inception. In an opening chapter, Crossan describes his disgust at a film version of C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He contrasts Aslan’s words to Peter, the eldest of the children involved in the Battle against the White Witch of Narnia, with the words of Christ in Gethsemane. "Never forget to wipe your sword," says Aslan, who clearly approves of the children having taken part in what Crossan calls "the divine violence of apocalyptic cleansing". Contrast this with the Jesus of Matthew’s Gospel telling the disciples at the time of his arrest, "all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52). Tolstoy, a Jewish expert on Jesus such as Geza Vermes, and many – perhaps most – Church of England bishops today, would certainly accept Crossan’s belief in a pacifist Jesus who preferred to die a martyr’s death at the hands of Pilate rather than make himself the leader of violent revolution. It would be blindness to deny that there is this strain in the New Testament, and perhaps at its core. Perhaps. And yet there are many moment’s as I read Crossan’s book when it struck me that a more accurate subtitle would be "How to read the Bible and still be good American liberal". I tried to imagine Crossan’s project in the hands of Dante Alighieri. The Dantean perception that hell itself it the creation of divine love allowed of a paradoxical but necessary truth. Crossan’s Jesus, who is simply a martyr for distributive justice, cannot save me from my sins. The theme of soteriology does not enter into Crossan’s book, but it is surely one of the key elements of the seven authentic epistles of Paul. Indeed, it forms the very essence of what Crossan rightly calls "his last will and testament, a magnificent summary of… what he was about, and how his Christian Judaism envisaged the destiny of the world". But the only major theme of Romans that Crossan picks up on is dying in order to live. You might think that he would be knocked off his perch by a reading of Romans 13, in which Paul enjoined the Romans to be subject to the governing authorities. But, says Crossan, this section has been "quotes out of context across two thousand years". Paul’s point was not to make the early Christians into worshippers of the state, but – as Romans 12:14 – to "bless those who persecute you". Paul is not afraid that Christians will be killed, but that they will kill. His concern is not that Rome will use violence against Christians, but that Christians will use counter-violence against Rome. "Non-violent reaction to evil from Jesus through Paul is the most basic denial of Rome’s core value of peace through violent victory." That is a point very well made. It does, however, depend on a certain confidence about what the historical Jesus actually taught. The historical Jesus is a notoriously elusive figure. John Dominic Crossan has been one of the most distinguished New Testament scholars of the past few decades. He and Robert Funk founded the Jesus Seminar in the United States, in which 150 or so scholars were quizzed about their confidence in the authenticity of the sayings attributed to Jesus. They voted with coloured beads. A red bead meant you were certain Jesus has said it. Pink meant it was like an authentic Jesus-saying, even if not actually attributable. Grey beads meant that you thought the saying inauthentic but the sort of thing which might have been said. Black meant a definite negative – not authentic at all, and out of character. All this presupposes the existence of some historical evidence. Does it exist? Crossan, as well as being an extremely learned New Testament scholar, is also a good-humoured one. He therefore fully acknowledges the warnings expressed over a hundred years ago by Albert Schweitzer, that the many authors in the nineteenth century who thought they were recovering the historical Jesus were looking down the well of history and catching their own reflections. Jesus-scholars, as Crossan has said, are often writing autobiography and calling it biography. How much, thought, can the historian actually know about Jesus? Of his followers, from Paul onwards, we can note their readiness to undergo persecution for their belief in a Jesus crucified at the command of Pontius Pilate, who had, as they professed, risen from the dead, and was their redeemer. Their witness, passed on to the next generation, led to the writing of the Gospels. How much biographical material do these documents give us? Almost none, thought we can surely reasonably infer that Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, which was already realizable for those who accepted his revolutionary reversal of hierarchies, his belief that the poor, the outcasts and the marginalized were closer to God than the rich or the rulers of this world. Paul claims, as do the Gospels, that the Eucharist was left behind by Jesus as a token of his presence among believers, though whether this was a Passover meal, and indeed whether Jesus died at Passover, remains historically highly problematic. Crossan’s Jesus, in this as in previous books, is identifiable as being a noble example of the pacifist resistance to the Roman occupation of Israel. As Crossan reminds us, as well as the famous armed revolts against Rome between the reigns of Augustus and Hadrian, there was also a continued stream of unarmed protest and resistance. Crowds of tens of thousands, including women and children (which emphasized their calculatedly non-violent intentions) confronted the Syrian Governor Petronius when he marched two legions south from Syria with the aim of erecting a statue of the insane Caligula in the Temple at Jerusalem. It was very much the ethos of such resistance movements that their leaders or prophets thought it preferable to die as martyrs than to kill as terrorists. Crossan identifies John the Baptist as one of the most remarkable of such figures. When Herod Antipas moved the capital of Galilee from Sepphoris to the new foundation of Tiberius, he was doing so as an act of sycophancy to Tiberius. He was involved in a commercialization of the Galilean lake monopolizing the fish trade and hugely increasing the taxes. That was to impress the Romans, but to appease his Jewish subjects he divorced his Arab wife and married his Hasmonean sister-in-law Herodias, who has herself to divorce her husband who happened to be Antipas’s brother. John the Baptist denounced this, and famously paid for it with his head. Crossan believes that you can discern a departure in his follower Jesus from the Baptist’s line. Jesus, Crossan holds, did not merely disapprove of marrying your divorced sister-in-law. He disapproved of divorce per se. You get this, if you follow Crossan’s methodology, by comparing John’s denunciation – "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife" (Mark 6:18) – with a generalized condemnation of divorce and remarriage voiced by Jesus himself: "Whoever divorces his wife and married another commits adultery against her" (Mark 10:11). Behind this book lies a very simple concept. You would say that it was an obvious concept were it not for the fact that so many critics, and students of literature, biblical and non-biblical, ignore it: namely that it is impossible to understand texts without discovering something about the world from which they came. Crossan calls this the Matrix. "Matrix is the background you cannot skip, the context you cannot avoid." Gandhi would not be comprehensible unless you knew about the British imperialism. American racial discrimination since the time of the slave trade is the matrix in which the career of Martin Luther King makes sense. Likewise the figures in the Bible, including, and especially, God. Crossan’s descriptions of whence and how the biblical writers derived their ideas of God – from the template of the religio-political framework of their times – is masterly. He takes us all the way from the Sumerian myths which helped to shape the narratives of the first chapters of Genesis, to the Virgilian theology of Roman Emperor-worship. There is an especially powerful comparison between the anti-Roman legends in the Jewish Sybilline Oracles, and the final book of the Bible. The Sybilline Oracles believed the legend that Nero, far from dying, was a Once and Future Kind. Nero was a villain in the West but a hero in the East, where he made an honourable peace with the Parthians in AD 63. Hence the anti-Roman legend that Nero was a Oance and Future King who would one day return at the head of Parthian armies to destroy the Roman Empire. In the Jewish Sybilline Oracles, Nero had become an apocalyptic figure: "He will destroy every land and conquer all . . . He will destroy many men and great rulers and he will set fire to all men as no one ever did". Now turn to the Book of Revelation, and we find that the Nero-like figure who is coming to destroy and kill on a cosmic scale is none other than Christ. "In a terrible . . . irony", Crossan writes, "Revelation replaced returning Nero and his Parthian martial forces with returning Christ and his angelic hosts. This is Revelation’s worst libel against God and worst slander against Jesus." Of course, the reasonable, genial, modernside to any reader’s nature will believe this. This book will rejoice the hearts of liberal Christians everywhere, and it will quicken in the minds of more orthodox readers the fear that they, and the authors of the more bloodcurdling passages of Scripture, have been projecting onto the universe their own neuroses – which is a version of the sin of idolatry. Yet much of the Bible, if you read it in this way, has to be discarded. John Dominic Crossan might rightly retort, yes, of course: that is why he wrote his book – to recover a Pauline liberty, and free his readers from enslavement to nomos. But by the end of the journey I felt like one who had arrived at a foreign airport with only his hand luggage, and whose weightier suitcases had unfortunately dropped out of the hold. The God of Paul requires justice, not a mere "pacifist" caving in to the violence of evil. Christ paid the price because, on an orthodox understanding, "there was none other good enough". Likewise, John’s God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to the end that all that believes in him should not perish. To remove the concept of redemption from the New testament might satisfy its more squeamish readers, but I am not convinced that it would make them into Christians. * The Times Literary Supplement *A stimulating, provocative book. -- Cavan Wood * The Reader, summer 2016 *This book provides a clear analysis of biblical violence and non-violence at least as associated with justice. If this is ultimately a theological problem, as Crossan so competently and convincingly demonstrates, then we must struggle with the Bible as a whole seriously. -- Donn F. Morgan, Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Berkeley, CA. * Theology Journal Issue 119.4 *

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Book SynopsisLee Strobel investigates the latest scientific discoveries to see whether they form a solid basis for believing in God.

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Book SynopsisDoes God exist? What are the various arguments that seek to prove the existence of God? Can atheists refute these arguments? The Existence of God: A Philosophical Introduction assesses classical and contemporary arguments concerning the existence of God: the ontological argument, introducing the nature of existence, possible worlds, parody objections, and the evolutionary origin of the concept of God the cosmological argument, discussing metaphysical paradoxes of infinity, scientific models of the universe, and philosophersâ discussions about ultimate reality and the meaning of life the design argument, addressing Aquinasâs Fifth Way, Darwinâs theory of evolution, the concept of irreducible complexity, and the current controversy over intelligent design and school education. Bringing the subject fully up to date, Yujin Nagasawa explains these arguments in relation to recent research in cognitive science, the mathematicsTrade Review‘Exceptionally well written, clear, and informed. The material is engaging and approachable, with technicalities skilfully explained. It will be a valuable text for undergraduates taking courses in philosophy of religion.’ – Keith Parsons, University of Houston - Clear Lake, USA‘Nagasawa gives interesting and historically-nuanced perspectives on some of the great arguments in the Philosophy of Religion, writing in a clear and accessible way about some of the most opaque and inaccessible issues to which the human mind may direct itself.’ – T. J. Mawson, University of Oxford, UK‘Yujin Nagasawa’s clear and accessible writing style and mastery of the subject matter make this an engaging read. Those looking for an introductory survey of the arguments for the existence of God will find reading it to be a rewarding experience.’ – Andrei Buckareff, Marist College, USA‘This is a very lucid discussion of all the main philosophical arguments for the existence of God, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It will appeal not only to professional philosophers but to many other readers as well.’ – John Hick, University of Birmingham, UK'Nagasawa's book is a useful summary of arguments for and against the existence of God. It is varied, representative of all main arguments and offers an encyclopaedia of information on the topic. It should be available to students and those with academic interest in the topic.' – Christina Landman, University of South Africa ‘Exceptionally well written, clear, and informed. The material is engaging and approachable, with technicalities skilfully explained. It will be a valuable text for undergraduates taking courses in philosophy of religion.’ - Keith Parsons, University of Houston - Clear Lake, USA‘Nagasawa gives interesting and historically-nuanced perspectives on some of the great arguments in the Philosophy of Religion, writing in a clear and accessible way about some of the most opaque and inaccessible issues to which the human mind may direct itself.’ - T. J. Mawson, University of Oxford, UK‘Yujin Nagasawa’s clear and accessible writing style and mastery of the subject matter make this an engaging read. Those looking for an introductory survey of the arguments for the existence of God will find reading it to be a rewarding experience.’ - Andrei Buckareff, Marist College, USA‘This is a very lucid discussion of all the main philosophical arguments for the existence of God, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. It will appeal not only to professional philosophers but to many other readers as well.’ - John Hick, University of Birmingham, UKTable of ContentsPreface Part 1: An Armchair Proof of the Existence of God 1. Gödel’s Secret Project 2. Anselm’s Discovery 3. Descartes’s Ontological Argument 4. Objections to the Ontological Argument 5. Hartshorne’s Discovery 6. Objections to the Modal Ontological Argument 7. Gödel’s Ontological Argument Part 2: ‘Follow the Evidence Wherever it Leads’: Evolution vs. Intelligent Design 8. Professor Flew’s Conversion 9. Battles Over Evolution 10. Intelligent Design 11. History of the Design Argument 12. Objections to the Design Argument 13. The Theory of Evolution 14. Judge Jones’s Verdict on Intelligent Design Part 3: The Big Bang, Infinity, and the Meaning of Life 15. The Big Bang 16. Infinity 17. History of the Cosmological Argument 18. The Kalām Cosmological Argument 19. Objections to the Kalām Cosmological Argument 20. Infinity and the Meaning of Life Conclusion: Additional Arguments for and against the Existence of God. Further Reading. Bibliography. Index

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Book SynopsisThe Very Revd Thomas F. Torrance was Professor of Christian Dogmatics, University of Edinburgh, UK.Paul D. Molnar is Professor of Systematic Theology, St John's University, NY, USA.Table of ContentsPreface by Paul D. Molnar Introduction 2. The Christian Perspective 3. The Biblical Frame 4. The TrinitarianMind 5. One Being, Three Persons 6. Three Persons, One Being 7. Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity 8. The Sovereign Creator 9. The Unchangeableness of God Index Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThis groundbreaking book looks at one of the greatest cover-ups in history and dares to think the unthinkable about Christianity that it was in fact a Jewish Mystery School modelled on the ancient Pagan Mysteries.The myth of Dionysus bears startling resemblances to the the story of Jesus Christ. It compares with the biblical story in the following ways: Dionysus is God made flesh and is hailed as the Saviour of Mankind' and the Son of God' His father is God and and his mother is a mortal virgin who afterwards becomes worshipped as the Mother of God' He is born in a cowshed He drives out demons, turns water into wine and and raises people from the dead He rides triumphantly into town while people wave palms to honour himThe date revered by the first Christians as Jesus' birthday was originally that of Dionysus, also the three day Spring Festival of Dionysus celebrating his death and resurrection coincides with the Christian festival of Easter. The last Supper and the Eucharist are alsoTrade Review‘Rarely have the roots of Christianity been disentangled to such disturbing effect. I shall never be able to read the gospels in the same way again.’ROGER BOULTON, presenter of Radio 4’s The Sunday Programme ‘A provocative, exciting and challenging book.’The Rt Revd JOHN SHELBY SPONG, Bishop of Newark

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Book SynopsisA new and revised edition of Professor John C. Lennox's stirring reply to Hawking's claims that God is not needed to explain the Universe.Trade Review"A brilliant response to Stephen Hawking's The Grand Design. Make sure you hear both sides of the argument!" -- Alister McGrath, author, The Dawkins DelusionTable of ContentsContentsPreface to the First Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Preface to the Second Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Chapter 1 The big questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Chapter 2 God or the laws of nature?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Chapter 3 God or the multiverse? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Chapter 4 Whose design is it anyway?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Chapter 5 Science and rationality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

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Book SynopsisAn exciting, natural sequel to Good Morning, Holy Spirit.

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Book SynopsisWe were created to reflect something or Someone. What we behold, we reflect. The more we behold the Lord, the more we look like him--and the more we see his glory released into our lives and the lives of those around us.The glory of God is irresistible. Yet seeking to sense his presence or experience his glory for its own sake misses the point. His glory is the natural outpouring of a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit. In these pages, author and speaker Jennifer Eivaz shows how you can enter into more intimate fellowship with the Spirit of God, experience miraculous encounters, and begin to see more miracles, more deliverances, and more lives dramatically changed. Here is the inspiration you need to step into the supernatural and follow God''s leading--and carry his glory to the darkest places and see his kingdom come.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a clear and constructive account of the nature and attributes of God. It addresses the doctrine of God from exegetical, historical, and constructive-theological perspectives, bringing the biblical portrayal of God in relationship to the world into dialogue with prominent philosophical and theological questions. The book engages questions such as: Does God change? Does God have emotions? Does God know the future? Is God entirely good and loving? How can God be one and three? Chapters correspond to the major metaphysical and moral attributes of God.Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction: The Covenantal God of Scripture1. The God of Scripture and the God of the Philosophers2. The Unchanging God Who Suffers in Love: Aseity, Immutability, and Qualified Passibility3. The God of the Past, Present, and Future: Omnipresence and Eternity4. The God Who Knows Everything: Omniscience and Foreknowledge5. The Almighty Sovereign Who Creates, Sustains, and Covenants: Omnipotence and Providence6. The Goodness of God and the Problem of Evil: Faithfulness and Omnibenevolence7. Trinity of Love: A Canonical Exploration of Divine Triunity8. The God of Covenantal TheismIndexes

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Book SynopsisIf you''re not daring to believe God for the impossible, you may be sleeping through some of the best parts of your Christian Life. “This book is not a Snuggie. The words on these pages will not go down like Ambien. I’m not writing to calm or coddle you. With God’s help, I intend to incite a riot in your mind. Trip your breakers and turn out the lights in your favorite hiding places of insecurity and fear. Then flip the switch back on so that God’s truth can illuminate the divine destiny that may have been lying dormant inside you for years. In short, I’m out to activate your audacious faith. To inspire you to ask God for the impossible. And in the process, to reconnect you with your God-sized purpose and potential.”—Steven Furtick, from Sun Stand Still

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Book SynopsisThe notion that the God of the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature, "the God of the Jews," is perfectly good is challenged by apparently immoral acts—by contemporary standards—of that God, as well as by the classic problem of evil.In this book, Jerome Gellman provides ways to question and overcome these challenges, addresses the faithful who are tested by these two problems, and aims to lighten the challenges for them while preserving God's perfect goodness. He recommends replacing a God of the Jews with a different God, a "Jewish God," one in whom many traditional Jews have come to believe. Gellman also offers the traditional believer a possible theodicy explaining much evil.The book is at once analytic in style and Hasidic in broad orientation.Trade Review"This book is highly recommended mainly for academic libraries with collections that seek to collect books on Jewish theology, philosophy and ethics. - AJL ReviewsTable of Contents Acknowledgements Forward Introduction My Theological Method A Perfectly Good Being The God of the Jews The Ideological Critique The Argument from Evil The Humility Response Response to the Present-Day Ideological Critique Hasidic Panpsychism: "A Portion of God from Above" The Multiverse: A Possible Theodicy Backward Bibliography

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