Religious issues and debates Books

Book SynopsisThis collection of essays was written to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Second General Conference of Latin American Bishops, which convened at Medellín, Colombia, in 1968. Inspired by the Second Vatican Council and seeking to implement its vision, the bishops viewed the occasion as a decisive one for Latin America, which they saw as standing ‘on the threshold of a new epoch in the history of our continent’. It appears to have been a time full of zeal for emancipation, of liberation from every form of servitude, of personal maturity and of collective integration. Forty years later, however, it is appropriate to remember the event and to review the significance of liberation theology in light of all that has happened during the intervening period. The colloquium at the Milltown Institute, Dublin, which led to this book, sought to do precisely that: to establish where liberation theology now stands by questioning whether it really is a significant theological and ecclesial movement or merely a moment whose time has passed, and to investigate its enduring legacy.Table of ContentsContents: Mario I. Aguilar: The Kairos of Medellín: Towards a Movement for Liberation and New Mission after Vatican II – David Tombs: Latin American Liberation Theology: Moment, Movement, Legacy – Peter C. Phan: Living for the Reign of God: Liberation, Cultures, Religions. A Theology of Liberation for the Asian Churches – Elochukwu E. Uzukwu: From Nobody to Somebody: The Pertinence of African Liberation Theology – Maria Duffy: ‘In No Man’s Land’: The Option for the Poor and the Crisis of Globalisation – Mary Grey: The Journey is Always Home: Feminist Theology’s Journey from Liberation to Reconciliation – Tina Beattie: The End of Woman: Gender, Rights and God beyond Modernity – James Corkery: Joseph Ratzinger on Liberation Theology: What Did He Say? Why Did He Say It? What Can Be Said About It? – Joe Egan: From Moment to Moment: Liberation Theology and the Demise of Neolithic Man – Patrick Claffey: Looking Back, Moving Forward.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisThe twentieth century may be said to have been the century of ecumenism, a striving worldwide to realize church unity at different levels. It has frequently been asserted that one condition for reaching visible Church unity is that there should be basic agreement on baptism, eucharist and ministry. These three topics are dealt with in the Lima-document or BEM (1982). In the present study the sections of the latter that concern baptism are analyzed and also contextualized through a closer study of one of the responses to BEM, the official response of the Baptist Union of Sweden. This response gives a more traditional, closed Baptist opinion: baptism cannot be the basis of the church unity sought by BEM. The author shows here, however, that fundamental Baptist principles are being reconsidered, indicating considerable diversity within the Baptist Union concerning these questions. On the local level there are many ecumenical strivings, concretized in ecumenical congregations where different theologies and practices meet. This has opened up possibilities of church unity on the basis of both types of baptism (infant baptism and believers’ baptism), and also membership on the basis of faith alone. By comparing official documents with public expressions of unofficial opinion, this study shows that the reality is more complex and ambiguous than is apparent in official documents. This book could be of interest because of its application of new methods to the study of »reception». To help an international readership, a historical presentation of the Baptist Union of Sweden introduces this study.

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Book SynopsisStarting with a definition of political modernity from the perspective of its greatest trial – totalitarianism – this study asks the question how community is conceptualized in the contemporary Western philosophical discourse and in the Russian Orthodox intellectual tradition. Contemporary philosophical and theological approaches in Russia develop alternative perspectives on community and on the human subject. This study analyzes them historically and philosophically and compares them with liberal, postmodern and communitarian philosophies of community in the West.Table of ContentsContents: Totalitarianism and the question of community in political philosophy – The interpretative space of political modernity – The Russian Orthodox intellectual tradition in the twentieth century – Contingencies and alternatives in political modernity – Three elements for a post-totalitarian philosophy of community.

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Book SynopsisThe book offers to the reader a deep and ample knowledge about the theological tradition of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in general and of the Armenian Apostolic Church in particular. Since this small family of Orthodox Churches is not very known to the public, the book provides exact, reliable and scholarly first-hand theological information which is of immense value and importance. The Family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches acknowledges only the first three Ecumenical Councils, those of Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431), and thus maintains the pure theology of the early Church without addition or changes. The book contains theological studies which without exception were read at international Conferences or symposia and consequently and naturally are written in a spirit of tolerance and reconciliation. This ecumenical aspect is an important contribution to the rapprochement and reunion of the Churches. Tolerance and understanding of other theological positions and phrasings are remarkable throughout the book and in this sense an additional advantage in studying the theology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches.Table of ContentsContents: Foreword By Dr. Christoph Kardinal Schönborn – Preface Archbishop Dr. M. Krikorian – Christology In The Liturgical Tradition Of The Armenian Church – The First Three Ecumenical Councils And Their Significance For The Armenian Church – Christological Discussions Between Eastern Orthodox And Oriental Orthodox Churches – Reception Of The «Ecumenical» Councils After Chalcedon – The Attitude Of The Oriental Orthodox Churches Towards The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh And Eighth «Ecumenical» Councils – Anathema, Schism, Heresy – The Tasks Of The Third Vienna Consultation – The Origins Of The Conciliar Idea – Practical Consequences Of The Three Vienna Consultations – Introductory Remarks At The Fourth Vienna Consultation – Development Of The Primacy Of The Head Of The Armenian Church – The Purpose Of The Fifth Non-Official Ecumenical Consultation – What Are The Reactions To The Previous Four Vienna Consultations And What Future Actions Could Be Envisaged For Their Implementation Within The Armenian Apostolic Church? – The Official Dialogue Between The Eastern Orthodox Churches And The Oriental Orthodox Churches – What Subjects Are Still To Be Studied In The Dialogue Between The Oriental Orthodox And The Roman Catholic Theologians? – The Theological Significance Of The Results Of The Five Vienna Consultations – Primacy Of The Pope And Authority In The Church – The Organization Of The Armenian Apostolic Church – The Christological Consensus – Councils And Conciliarity Second Study Seminar Preamble – The Five Vienna Consultations - A Brief Estimation – Reconciliation At Kerala - The Evaluation Of The Ecumenical Theological Discussions Of The Pro Oriente Regional Symposium At Kottayam In India – What Could Be The Role Of The Oriental Catholic Churches In The Search For Communion Between East And West? – Ecclesiological Discussions Of Five Vienna Consultations – Conclusions And Follow-Up – Review Of The Agreed Statements And Document Of The Joint Commission – Authority And Jurisdiction In The Tradition Of The Armenian Church – The Council Of Chalcedon History; Christological Struggles And Reconciliation – Communion - Sister Churches - Church Families – The Armenian Church And The Ecumenical Movement – Appendix 1: Opening Remarks At The Holy Liturgy Following The Third Vienna Consultation – Appendix 2: Sermon At Mariazell – Appendix 3: Opening Remarks At The Holy Liturgy Following The Fourth Vienna Consultation – Appendix 4: Foreword To Selection Of The Papers And Minutes Of The Four Vienna Consultations – Appendix 5: The Armenian Church And The Wcc: A Personal View.

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Book SynopsisDoes the Christian church replace the nation Israel in the plan of God? The doctrine of supersessionism answers this question in the affirmative. But is supersessionism a biblical doctrine? Michael J. Vlach offers a detailed examination of the view that the church is the new Israel that permanently takes the place of the nation Israel. He surveys the supersessionist view in church history and then examines its hermeneutical and theological arguments. He also presents a case against supersessionism. In a unique way, he lays out the arguments of both supersessionism and non-supersessionism and then offers his analysis of why supersessionism is not consistent with the biblical witness.Table of ContentsContents: A thorough examination of the church-Israel relationship – A compelling case against replacement theology – Why the church is not the new Israel.

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Book SynopsisThe denominational plurality in continental Europe keeps growing. The churches of African origin are of increasing number. Seeking for a new identity in their new home, the concept of Diaspora and the question for legal issues get important for their identity. To what extent is their identity determined rather by seclusion or openness? Are the churches missionizing amongst Germans and are there ecumenical relations? What are the characteristics of such a new identity? How does it develop? By analyzing three different types of churches of African origin in the German context, especially by examining their sermons, the author demonstrates how those churches develop in a missionary direction and how they can become ecumenical partners.Table of ContentsContents: Historical Approach of Christians of African Origin in Germany – Challenges in the New Home: Diaspora, Ecclesiogenesis and Legal Issues – Three African Initiated Churches and their Message – Coexistence as a Basis for Ecumenical Existence.

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Book Synopsis«Sino-Christian theology» usually refers to an intellectual movement emerged in Mainland China since the late 1980s. The present volume aims to provide a self-explaining sketch of the historical development of this theological as well as cultural movement. In addition to the analyses on the theoretical issues involved and the articulations of the prospect, concrete examples are also offered to illustrate the characteristics of the movement.Table of ContentsContents: Pan-chiu Lai/Jason T. S. Lam: Retrospect and Prospect of Sino-Christian Theology: An Introduction – Jason T. S. Lam: The Emergence of Scholars Studying Christianity in Mainland China – Qiuling Li: Historical Reflections on «Sino-Christian Theology» – Peter K. H. Lee: The «Cultural Christians» Phenomenon in China: A Hong Kong Discussion – Shun-hing Chan: Conceptual Differences between Hong Kong and Chinese Theologians: A Study of the «Cultural Christians» Controversy – Pan-chiu Lai: Theological Translation and Transmission between China and the West – Huilin Yang: The Value of Theology in Humanities: Possible Approaches to Sino-Christian Theology – Qingxiong Zhang: Sino-Christian Theology: The Unfolding of «Dao» in the Chinese Language Context – Ken-Pa Chin: The Paradigm Shift: From Chinese Theology to Sino-Christian Theology - A Case Study on Liu Xiaofeng – Pan-chiu Lai: Sino-Christian Theology, Bible, and Christian Tradition – Khiok-khng Yeo: Messianic Predestination in Romans 8 and Classical Confucianism – Hong-Hsin Lin: Reflection on Enlightenment: A Proposal of the Focus of Sino-Christian Theology – Xin Gao: Preliminary Survey on the New Generation of Scholars of Christian Studies in Mainland China.

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Book SynopsisThe study analyses the current state of research on the synoptic problem and proves that the Synoptic Gospels were written in the Mark, Luke, Matthew order of direct literary dependence. Moreover, the work demonstrates that the Synoptic Gospels are results of systematic, sequential, hypertextual reworking of the contents of the Pauline letters. Accordingly, the so-called ‘Q source’ turns out to be an invention of nineteenth-century scholars with their Romantic hermeneutic presuppositions. Demonstration of the fact that the Gospels are not records of the activity of the historical Jesus but that they narratively illustrate the identity of Christ as it has been revealed in the person and life of Paul the Apostle will certainly have major consequences for the whole Christian theology.Table of ContentsContents: Recently adopted solutions to the synoptic problem – The basic pattern of literary interdependence of the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Luke, Matthew) – Mark’s use of his sources (Paul, Josephus, Iliad) – Luke’s use of his sources – Matthew’s use of his sources (Mark, Luke, and Acts).

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Book SynopsisPeople make contact with the risen, glorified Christ and through him with God and God’s saving grace in and through the community of the Church, as it exists now in time and space as the Spirit-filled Body of Christ. This is a central and perpetual truth about the nature and purpose of the Church, emphasized by the Second Vatican Council and propagated by Otto Semmelroth. After nearly two centuries of being at the receiving end of missionary evangelization, the Church in Africa is trying to come to terms with the faith it received from European missionaries. This entails a reappraisal of the message it received. It has to be a historical, cultural, political and theological reappraisal. Theology is faith seeking understanding. A mature Church will evolve after this intellectual quest. With a study of the theology of Otto Semmelroth the author furthers this dialogue between European and African theology drawing the implications for the Church in Africa.Table of ContentsContents: The search for a new humanity – Encounter with God as vocation of humankind – Salvation is encounter with God in Christ – The church as sacrament of encounter – The church’s ministry of word and sacrament – The necessity of the church for salvation – The church in Africa – Divine encounter in traditional African society – Towards a prophetic ecclesial community.

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Book SynopsisIn heaven, we will meet our friends: this was one of the most conspicuous expectations Christians had, and continue to have, of life after death. While the theme as such is almost as old as Christianity, it came to flourish only in early-modern times, peaking in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This book explores how the rediscovery and development of the ‘meeting again’ theme by authors such as John Bunyan and Emanuel Swedenborg and by the artist William Blake created a specifically modern heaven. Giving priority to an eternity of continuing earthly passions and family ties, the modern notion of heaven contrasts with earlier, God-centred notions of an eternal saintly solitude spent contemplating God in ‘beatific vision’.Table of ContentsContents: From stasis to movement, from loneliness to love: Heaven: A History (1988) in retrospect – The modernisation of heaven in early modern Europe, 1644-1791 – The English heaven: an exploration of The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678/84) – The Spanish heaven: opposition to modernity – A Swedish heaven: Swedenborg on Heaven and Hell (1758) – American heavens: an exploration of American cemeteries, 1740-1850.

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Book SynopsisIn Defence of Christianity examines the early Christian apologists in their context in thirteen articles divided in four parts. Part I provides an introduction to apology and apologetics in antiquity, an overview of the early Christian apologists, and an outline of their argumentation. The nine articles of Part II each cover one of the early apologists: Aristides, Justin, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, the author of the Letter to Diognetus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Minucius Felix. Part III contextualises the apologists by providing an English translation of contemporary pagan criticism of Christianity and by discussing this critique. Part IV consists of a single article discussing how Eusebius depicted and used the apologists in his Ecclesiastical History.Trade Review«The book is a most welcome contribution to a more nuanced picture of the understanding of the early Christian apologists and their writings. It should be highly recommended as a lecture for theology students and Church historians.» Mariusz RosikT, The Biblical Annals 5/2015)Table of ContentsContents: Jakob Engberg/Anders-Christian Jacobsen/Jörg Ulrich: Apology in Context – Jörg Ulrich: Apologists and apologetics in the second century – Nils Arne Pedersen: Aristides – Jörg Ulrich: Justin Martyr – René Falkenberg: Tatian – Anders-Christian Jacobsen: Athenagoras – Jakob Engberg: Theophilus – Anders Klostergaard Petersen: Heaven-borne in the World: Α Study of the Letter to Diognetus – Jesper Hyldahl: Clement of Alexandria. Paganism and its positive significance for Christianity – Niels Willert: Tertullian – Svend Erik Mathiassen: Minucius Felix, Octavius – Jakob Engberg: Condemnation, criticism and consternation. Contemporary pagan authors‘ assessment of Christians and Christianity – Jakob Engberg/Patrick M. Fritz/Robert B.N. Hansen/John Møller Larsen: The other Side of the Debate 2: Translation of Second Century pagan Authors on Christians and Christianity – Marie Verdoner: The defenders of Christianity in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius.

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Book SynopsisStandard works on Christology seldom give much consideration to the way Christ is perceived outside the Western tradition. The Other Jesus is an in depth study of understandings of the person of Jesus Christ by major Asian Christian theologians of the 20th century. Taking examples mainly from India and Japan, the author shows how the religious and social contexts of these countries have shaped the way in which Jesus has been understood. The final chapters examine how new approaches to Jesus have emerged from people movements in Asia in Dalit, Minjung, and feminist perceptions. Throughout the author seeks to relate Asian perspectives to Western Christologies, and to suggest ways in which they present challenges to the world wide church.Table of ContentsContents: Jesus Christ – Christology – Asian theology – Indian theology – Japanese theology – East Asian Christology – Third World theology – Liberation theology – Feminist Christology – Contextual theology.

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Book SynopsisThis work treats of the Phenomenology of Mary and the Church as persons of faith in relation to the Wojtilian phenomenology of the human being as an acting person. According to John Paul II, Mary is an ideal person in/for the Church, and the Church, as a personal communion, has Her as a mirror and concrete evidence of the Church’s call, being and mission. As far as the vocation of the Church is concerned, it will always be far from complete if it is studied, proclaimed or believed in without placing Mary as part of the unavoidable persons and personality in its unfolding. Mary and the Church are related in the mystery of the Church as personal subjects of faith. They owe their being and vocation to the Trinity and have a direct connection with Judaism. Christ is the centre of this relationship and this goes on to highlight ecumenism and also the place of the laity and women in the life of the Church.Table of ContentsContents: The Influences on the Theological Thought of Karol Wojtyla before the Second Vatican Council – The Influence on the Theological Thought of Karol Wojtyla from Vatican II to his Election as Pope – The Mariological/Ecclesiological Thinking of JP II – The Mystery of the Church and Mary as Personal Subjects of Faith – The Implications of the Marian Ecclesiology of John Paul II.

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Book SynopsisIn the wake of the Holocaust, a number of influential scholars argue for a «bi-covenantal» or «two-covenant» approach to Paul’s view of Israel and the Gentiles. They maintain that Israel has always been right with God apart from Jesus Christ, and that the death of Jesus is salvifically relevant only for the Gentiles. Through Him the Gentiles can receive the same blessings the Jewish people possess by virtue of the Law of Moses. The Sonderweg proponents argue that the Jewish people need Jesus, but the future conversion of all Israel mentioned in Romans 11:25-27 takes place when the Lord himself preaches the gospel to Israel at the second coming. The church need not evangelize the Jewish people. But neither of these positions does justice to Paul’s letters, where he teaches that the Jewish people need Jesus for their justification, and God will use the evangelistic efforts of the church to bring it about.Table of ContentsContents: Dual-covenant theology – Bi-covenantalism – Two-covenants – Sonderweg controversy – The Church and Israel – The Gospel and Israel – Jesus Christ and Israel – Paul and Israel – Jewish Evangelism.

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Book SynopsisThis book constructs a profile of the Matthean Community by using insights from sociology and studies of oral and chirographic cultures, together with a careful investigation of the material unique to the Gospel of Matthew. A picture emerges of a self-regulating, independent community with the kind of strong self-definition and tension with its surrounding society characteristic of a sect. It had a high regard for law and practiced Sabbath-observance, as well as observing the distinction between clean and unclean foods. The community viewed its members as saved sinners who should conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to those who await the soon return of their Lord. Somewhat provocatively, this book argues that the Matthean Community was likely to be mainstream in early Christianity, not marginal.Table of ContentsContents: Jewish Christianity – Prophets and Wandering Charismatics – Syrian Antioch – Trustworthy and Precarious Foundations – Methodological Challenges Facing Research – Orality and Gospel Traditions – Two-Sources Hypothesis – Community Standards of Behaviour – Basic Research Tool – Synoptic Comparison – Matthean Sondergut – Kingdom of Heaven – Leadership – Sabbath – Controversy with Judaism – End of the Age.

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Book SynopsisBonhoeffer was convinced that God spoke to his people through the Bible. How did a theologian of his caliber, who was well acquainted with the historical-critical interpretation of the scriptures, justify such a claim, and how did he apply this conviction to his daily challenges as theologian, pastor and political dissident during the Nazi regime? This book presents the attempts by a group of international Bonhoeffer scholars to answer some of these questions. By approaching Bonhoeffer’s theology from a number of different hermeneutical angles, the contributions in this volume cast new light both on his more general hermeneutical framework and on specific theological and political issues concerning his reading of the Bible. The essays underline Bonhoeffer’s contemporary relevance for the current resurgence of theological interpretation and for postmodern discussions about the interpretive nature of truth.Table of ContentsContents: Johannes Woyke: Contemporary Biblical Hermeneutics and Bonhoeffer’s «Theological Exposition» of Scripture. A comparative Overview – Stephen Plant: God’s Dangerous Gift: Bonhoeffer, Luther and Bach on the Role of Reason in Reading Scripture – Robert Steiner/Helen Hacksley: Enticing Otherness in Barcelona - Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Retelling of the Gospel like «a fairy tale about a strange land» – Jens Zimmermann: Finitum Capax Infiniti or The Presencing of Christ: A Response to Stephen Plant and Robert Steiner – Edward van ’t Slot: The Freedom of Scripture - Bonhoeffer’s Changing View of Biblical Canonicity – Karina Juhl Kande: Biblical Metaphors in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Understanding of The Church – Marie Theres Igrec: Bonhoeffer´s «theological interpretation» of the Biblical Narrative of the «Creation and Fall» of Man – Florian Schmitz: «Only the believers obey, and only the obedient believe.» Notes on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Biblical Hermeneutics with Reference to Discipleship – Paul R. Hinlicky: Verbum Externum - Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Bethel Confession – Nicola J. Wilkes: Confession of Sin as the Mirror Image of the Fall – Anne Reichold: Bonhoeffer’s Worldly Hermeneutics: Language and Life as Spheres of «in-between».

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Book SynopsisThis commentary demonstrates that the Gospel of Mark is a result of a consistent, strictly sequential, hypertextual reworking of the contents of three of Paul’s letters: Galatians, First Corinthians and Philippians. Consequently, it shows that the Marcan Jesus narratively embodies the features of God’s Son who was revealed in the person, teaching, and course of life of Paul the Apostle. The analysis of the topographic and historical details of the Marcan Gospel reveals that they were mainly borrowed from the Septuagint and from the writings of Flavius Josephus. Other literary motifs were taken from various Jewish and Greek writings, including the works of Homer, Herodotus, and Plato. The Gospel of Mark should therefore be regarded as a strictly theological-ethopoeic work, rather than a biographic one.Table of ContentsContents: Mark 1-7 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Galatians – Mark 8-13 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of 1 Corinthians – Mark 14-16 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Philippians.

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Book SynopsisDie 39 Beiträge dieses Sonderbandes beleuchten das Thema Theologie im Spannungsfeld von Kirche und Politik aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven. Neben historischen Aspekten werden sowohl politisch-zeitgeschichtliche Fragen als auch ethische Problemstellungen bedacht. Weitere Aufsätze widmen sich der praktisch-theologischen Reflexion und Konkretion im Rahmen der christlichen Gemeinde, wie auch der Relevanz des Themas in außereuropäischen politisch-kulturellen Kontexten. Der internationale Autorenkreis setzt sich überwiegend aus Kolleginnen und Kollegen, Schülerinnen und Schülern des Regensburger Systematikers Hans Schwarz zusammen. Im Rahmen der Regensburger Summer School 2014 haben sie damit auch das Lebenswerk von Hans Schwarz anlässlich von dessen 75. Geburtstags gewürdigt, in dem das theologisch geleitete Umgehen mit der säkularen Welt eine wichtige Rolle spielt. The 39 contributions to this special issue develop the theme Theology in Engagement with Church and Politics from a variety of perspectives. Alongside the exploration of historical aspects, both contemporary political questions and ethical dilemmas are examined. Further contributions are devoted to the reflection upon practical theology, Christian congregational praxis, and contextual studies, which demonstrate the political and cultural relevance of this theme beyond Europe. The international circle of authors is constituted largely of colleagues and students of Professor Hans Schwarz, systematic theologian from Regensburg, Germany. In conjunction with the 2014 University of Regensburg Summer School, the authors dedicate this volume to the lifetime achievement of Hans Schwarz on the occasion of his 75th birthday, in whose work the engagement of theology with the secular world plays a major role.Table of ContentsInhalt/Contents: Terry C. Dohm: The Role of Politics in the Message and Ministry of Jesus, and in the Formulation of Christian Theology – Zdenĕk Kučera: Jan Hus - Serving Christ and the Country – Hans-Christoph Dittscheid: Zwischen Kirche und Staat. Die Dreieinigkeitskirche in Regensburg (1627-1631) im Licht von Luthers Zwei-Reiche-Lehre – Ioan-Vasile Leb: Romanian-German Relations during the Reign of Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia (1688-1714) – Charles J.T. Talar: The Age against the Church: The French Revolution in the Mémoires of Abbé Augustin de Barruel – Ho-Koang Jang: Das Verhältnis der Religion zum Staat in der Religionsphilosophie Hegels – Wolfgang Wiegrebe: Protestantismus und Kapitalismus Max Weber, Calvin und der Calvinismus – Andrea König: «Allgemein bekannt oder müssten es sein» Frauen in der Bekennenden Kirche – Matthias Heesch: Protestantismus und säkularer Pluralismus: Überlegungen zur Geschichte eines Neuanfangs – Udo Steiner: Was kann die Kirche dem Staat des Grundgesetzes geben? – Markus Mühling: Post-Democracy, Ecclesial Niche Construction, and Theology’s Public Concern – Limuel Equina: The Role of Religion in the Public Domain: Reflecting on John Rawls’s Political Theory in the Light of the Philippine Experience – Santhosh J. Sahayadoss: Impacting the Secular Political Realm by Becoming the «New Creation»: Thoughts of Paul David Devanandan on «New Creation» – Hubert M. Watson: Political Challenges for a Christian Theology in a Minority Context – Kyung Won Byun: Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutical Theory and Feminist Theology – Deuk-Chil Kwon: Politisch-theologische Reflexion über die Kirche in Korea im Minjung-Kontext in den 1970er Jahren – Hans-Martin Weiss: Zankapfel «Zwei-Reiche-Lehre». Korrektur einer theologischen Überbewertung – Craig L. Nessan: Law, Righteousness, Reason, Will, and Works: Civil and Theological Uses – David Ratke: The Christian in the Public Square – Werner Thiede: Ökonomisierung als ethische Maxime heutiger Gesellschaftspolitik? Warum die vierte Stufe der Industrialisierung Technik-Kritik verdrängt – Rolf Hille: Menschenrechte – ihre philosophische und politische Entwicklung im Kontext theologischer Ethik – Russell C. Kleckley: Religion at the Intersection of Science and Business: An Experiment in Pedagogy, Method, and Engagement – Koang-Sik Chon: Identity and Mission of the Christian University – Kirsi Stjerna: Luther on Marriage - Considerations in Light of Contemporary Concerns – Thomas Kothmann: «… nicht alleine der jungen Leut halben, sondern auch beide unsere Stände, geistlich und weltlich, zu erhalten.» Die lutherische Reformation als Bildungsbewegung – Jens Colditz: Dem Glauben Tiefe geben Bildungsformat Glaubenskurse – Martin Rothgangel/Martin Jäggle/Philipp Klutz: Denominational and Interreligious: Contemporary Reforms of Religious Education in Austria – Kirsten Michael Schmiedel: Politisch predigen - kann und soll man das? – Russell Briese: Unbelief and Ecclesiastical Own Goals – Lucian Bolos: Die Ikonen - Fenster zum Himmel. Die Bedeutung der Ikonen für die orthodoxe Spiritualität – Botond Gaál: Fatelessness. A Christian Theologian’s Perspective of a Nobel-Prize Winner Novel – Kurt Anders Richardson: Ecclesiality: Ecclesial Ontology in its Nascent and Bounded Forms – Pilgrim W.K. Lo: Civil Disobedience - An Impact on the Hong Kong Churches – Hla Aung: The Role of the Church in the Political Transition to Democracy in Myanmar – Wilson Varkey: Conversion and Humanization: A Theological Appraisal of the Issue of Conversion in the Context of Religious Fundamentalism in India – Binsar Nainggolan: The

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Book SynopsisThis book is a study of contemporary Buddhist-Christian encounter in Thailand. Case studies, which include a Buddhist nationalist group, a charismatic church movement, and a village community, describe the variety and nature of Buddhist-Christian relations. Arising issues – nationalism, identity, notions of the religious other – are discussed with regard to Thai history and modern society. The book also highlights cultural notions of avoidance and the Buddhist concept of friendship as Thai offerings to the field of interreligious dialogue. The study is based on qualitative research and draws on different academic disciplines, including religious studies, theology, and political studies. It makes a distinctive contribution to the fields of Thai Studies and global Buddhist-Christian Studies.Table of ContentsContents: Interreligious encounter – Dialogue – Contemporary Buddhist-Christian studies – Thai studies – Southeast Asian Studies – Thai nationalism – Religious identity – Thai Buddhism – Thai Christianity – Concepts of the religious other – Qualitative research – Interdisciplinary village level dialogue.

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Book SynopsisThe work presents Abrahamic monotheistic religions and the belief of the traditional religions in Africa, especially in Igboland. Religion exists notwithstanding many rots and bad religious behaviours through systematic and atheistic upbringing. It is true that in the history of mankind, different religions have come and gone and many are still in existence and they are religiously or socially formed. The monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have their complementary religious conviction with Igbo religion. They have the image of God as one and only. The authentic carriers of Igbo religion include religious functionaries, the family, and the elders. The religion is culturally, socially and ethically oriented and so the Gospel message of Christ should not neglect them.Table of ContentsContents: Religion – Myth – Faith – Belief – Tradition – Monotheism – Judaism – Torah – Covenant – Christ – Christianity – Trinity – Bible – Mohammad – Islam – Qur’an – Salat – Nigeria – Igbo – Chukwu – Ala – Chi – Ancestors – Priesthood – Priest – Worship – Sacrifice – Prayer – Kola Nut – Dibia – Diviner – Community – Solidarity – Family – Elders – Title taking – Proverbs – Hospitality – Life – Death – Christian Identity – Religious Concept – Abrahamic Monotheistic Religions and their Beliefs – African Traditional Religions and Igbo Objects of Worship – Religious Functionaries in African Traditional Religions – Ethical Social and Religious Values in Africa – Critical Appraisal in the Light of Christian Faith.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines and critiques secular modes of self-writing in Ethiopia that put considerable emphasis on the enactment of national/ethnic identity leading to an equivocal situation wherein the ethos that binds people has been greatly eroded. Its analysis demonstrates that such modes of thought are flawed not only on the notion of the human subject, but also inappropriately position the religious or the theological. The book argues that a theological turn generates theological resources for a social horizon of hope – for the apotheosis of the bond of togetherness – which risks thinking politics in an altogether different way beyond the ethno-national logic. This, as the author argues, paves the way for the possibility of a new political subject and the reinvention of politics.Trade Review«This is a welcoming contribution to the study of political theology in Ethiopia.» (Nebeyou Alemu, International Journal of Public Theology 10/2016)Table of ContentsContents: Ideological interpellation – Self techniques – Agency – Politics of integration – Ethno-politics – Integration – Modes of self-writing and polarised subjectivities – Divine-human agency – Christian ontology – The politics of Metanoia.

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Book SynopsisThis commentary demonstrates that the Gospel of Luke is a result of twofold, strictly sequential, hypertextual reworking of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. The ideas of this letter were sequentially illustrated by Luke with the use of numerous literary motifs, taken from other Pauline and post-Pauline letters, the letters of James, Peter, and Jude, the Gospel of Mark, well-known classical Greek and Hellenistic works, the Septuagint, the Damascus Document, and the works of Flavius Josephus. Consequently, the Lucan Jesus narratively embodies the features of God’s Son who was revealed in the person, teaching, and course of life of Paul the Apostle. The Gospel of Luke should therefore be regarded as a strictly theological-ethopoeic work, rather than a biographic one.Table of ContentsContents: Chapter 1. Lk 1:1-9:50 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of Gal 1:1-3:1 – Chapter 2. Lk 9:51-24:53 as a sequential hypertextual reworking of the whole Letter to the Galatians.

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Book SynopsisThis book reveals the ecclesiological values of charisms in the context of the growing values of personalism in the Church. Yves Congar understands charisms in the light of pneumatological christology. The study discovers that Congar’s concept of charisms mirrors the values of the arrangement of the first three chapters in Lumen Gentium. The role of charism is most intensive when Congar combines it with the concept of the people of God. His ecclesial diagrams bring out the complementary roles of hierarchy and laity. Thanks to charisms, the Church is neither a pyramid nor is she ready-made. She is always on the process of being built-up by God. Congar exalts the priesthood of the faithful and advocates prophecy of the whole Church without departing from the apostolicity of the Church.Table of ContentsContents: Life and Theology of Congar – Pneumatological ecclesiology – History and theology of charism – Building up of Body of Christ – Prophecy – Charism and institution as complementary – Harmony between christology and pneumatology – Church is not a pyramid – Charism and ecclesial movements – Ontology of grace.

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Book SynopsisIf God knows human actions in advance, do humans really have freedom of choice? Throughout the centuries various solutions have been offered as to how to retain or reconcile both the concepts of divine omniscience and human freedom. One solution focuses on the idea of middle knowledge. This theory originates with the Spanish Jesuit Luis de Molina, was contested by Reformed theologians such as Herman Bavinck, and makes a remarkable comeback among present-day analytical philosophers such as William Lane Craig. Apart from a wealth of philosophical considerations, the appeal to biblical texts also plays an important role in the work on middle knowledge by each of these thinkers. The book examines their writings and investigates how contemporary biblical scholars interpret the biblical texts used by them. The author elaborates a creative proposal as to how these gained insights apply to the theory of middle knowledge and what this means for our overall evaluation of this theory.Table of ContentsContents: Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom/Free Will – The Theory of Middle Knowledge – Middle Knowledge in the 16th–17th Centuries: Luis de Molina – Middle Knowledge and Reformed Theology: Herman Bavinck – Middle Knowledge in Recent Studies: William Lane Craig – A Possible Theological Appropriation of the Bible.

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Book SynopsisThis book is about the dangers of religious intolerance, conflict and violence oriented strategies in our contemporary society. It exposes the evangelical strategies of Christian Churches and Denominations in the Nigerian society. The process of the enthronement of ‘prosperity theology’ has led to manipulation of individuals and events through demonization, deliverance, organized healings and miracles. This type of Christianity destroys religious values and exposes the society to the danger of materialism. Christian Churches should be advocates of empowerment, freedom and dignity instead of victimization of its members. This study argues that authentic Christian witnessing can only be achieved through holistic and proper integration of its teachings into socio-cultural values of its local setting. It insists that religion should enhance good core values and not destroy it. It critically analyses the elemental causes of conflict and violence in Igboland and concludes by making recommendations towards a peaceful society.Table of ContentsContents: African Traditional Religions in Nigeria – Christian Missionary Strategies in Nigeria – Conflicts and Violence in Christianity – Elemental Causes of Conflict and Violence in Christianity – Leadership, Doctrinal Prejudice, Traditionalism. Fundamentalism, Pentecostalism, Fanaticism and Urbanization in Christianity – Christian Conflict and Violence Management Bodies in Nigeria – Christian Association of Nigeria – Catholic Secretariat and Christian Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria – Ecumenism and Ecumenical Problems in Nigeria.

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Book SynopsisDepuis le vingtième siècle, la réflexion sur la théologie trinitaire s''est renouvelée. Bien que de nombreux théologiens aient contribué à ce renouveau, un crédit peut en être attribué à K. Rahner, qui a ouvert de nouvelles perspectives approfondies en proposant une nouvelle théologie trinitaire basée sur le Grundaxiom . Plus qu''aucun de ses confrères théologiens contemporains, il remarqua l''importance marginale que la doctrine trinitaire avait depuis longtemps et semploya à déclencher un élan qui emporterait son histoire vers des développements nouveaux. Convaincu que K. Rahner lui-même a utilisé le concept de paradigme et défendu une théologie de la révolution non violente, qui devrait commencer par l''expérience concrète de l''Église et avoir un impact sur la théologie dans son ensemble, l''auteur adopte, dans une approche interdisciplinaire, le concept de paradigme comme concept directeur. Il lexplique du point de vue de différentes disciplines et aboutit au paradigme transcendantal de K. Rahner, dont il discute objectivement les critiques. À base dune description diachronique et synchronique, de diverses contributions progressives d''innombrables théologiens, dans leurs dialogues avec K. Rahner, mais surtout influencés par son Grundaxiom , lauteur épouse également le dialogue comme mode opératoire fondamental pour faire avancer et construire la théologie trinitaire. Le livre contient aussi une représentation graphique et est bien organisé en tant qu''outil pédagogique. Il présente un grand intérêt pour le monde tant religieux quacadémique, chercheurs, étudiants et professeurs, mais également pour tous ceux qui cherchent à approfondir leur compréhension de ce plus grand mystère de la foi chrétienne : la Trinité.

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Book SynopsisIn Sri Lanka galt über Jahrhunderte das in buddhistischen Chroniken festgelegte Verhältnis zwischen König und Mönchsorden. Mit dem Wegfall des Königs im 19. Jh. wird die Verbindung von Buddhismus und Politik neu verhandelt. Einführend in die Diskussion zur Konstruktion von Tradition illustriert die Autorin, wie vor dem Hintergrund kolonialer Einflüsse und postkolonialer Umbrüche vorkoloniale Ordnungen, wie etwa die Verbindung von König Mönchsorden Volk, neuen Aushandlungsprozessen unterliegen. Im Fokus stehen religionspolitische Debatten, die seit der Unabhängigkeit 1948 bis zu den Präsidentschaftswahlen 2015 zwischen politisch aktiven Mönchen und den jeweiligen Regierungen oder Präsidenten geführt wurden. Die Autorin zeigt auf, wie Fragen nach den Aufgabenbereichen und Verantwortungen des Staates gegenüber dem Buddha Sasana sowie den Zuständigkeiten und Pflichten der Mönche debattiert werden.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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