Search results for ""Author Christopher Rowland""

Liberation theology is widely referred to in discussions of politics and religion but not always adequately understood. This Companion offers an introduction to the history and characteristics of liberation theology in its various forms in different parts of the world. Authors from four continents examine the emergence and character of liberation theology in Latin America; black theology; Asian theology; and the new situation arising from the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa. The major Christian Church's attitude to liberation theology, and the extent of the movement's indebtedness to Marxism, are examined; and a political theologian writing from another perspective of Christian theology offers an evaluation. Through a sequence of eleven chapters readers are given a comprehensive description and evaluation of the different facets of this important theological and social movement. There is also an Introduction relating liberation theology to the history of theology, and a Sel

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The Bible was crucial for William Blake and for his poetic genius, whether as an object of criticism or as an inspiration. This book—the first substantial study of the topic in sixty years—locates Blake within the broad spectrum of Christian biblical interpretation and explores the ways in which Blake engaged with the Bible. Christopher Rowland argues that Blake's approach to the Bible was broadly consistent, even though he underwent something of a religious change in his later years. The author also shows how Blake saw himself as being in the prophetic tradition and also as somehow continuing the work of John of Patmos, author of the Book of Revelation.

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Christianity began with the conviction that the old order was finished. The mysterious, elusive and charismatic figure of Jesus proclaimed that a new era, the Kingdom of God, was dawning. Yet despite its success, and the conversion of the empire which had executed its founder, the religion he inspired was soon domesticated, its counter-cultural radicalism tamed, as the Church attempted to control both its doctrines and its followers. Christopher Rowland here shows that this was never the whole story. At the margins, around the edges, sometimes off the religious map, the apocalyptic flame of the New Testament continued to burn. In 1649 the Diggers occupied St George's Hill to put the egalitarianism of Christ into practice. 'You must break these men or they will break you', Oliver Cromwell declared of the 'lunaticks'. This book argues that such revolutionaries had divined the true intent of the enigma who threw over the tables of the money-changers: to summon a new epoch - strange, iconoclastic, uncomfortable and otherworldly. It gives full weight to a remarkable strain of radical religion that simply refuses to die.

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This volume brings together some of the most distinguished writers in the field of New Testament studies to provide an overview of discussions about the nature of New Testament theology. Examines the development, purpose and scope of New Testament theology. Looks at the relationship of New Testament theology with other branches of theology. Considers crucial issues within the New Testament, such as the historical Jesus, the theology of the cross, eschatology, ethics, and the role of women. Offers fresh perspectives which take discussion of the subject further in key areas Includes a foreword by Rowan Williams.

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This ground-breaking commentary on The Revelation to John (the Apocalypse) reveals its far-reaching influence on society and culture, and its impact on the church through the ages. Explores the far-reaching influence of the Apocalypse on society and culture. Shows the book's impact on the Christian church through the ages. Looks at interpretations of the Apocalypse by theologians, ranging from Augustine to late twentieth century liberation theologians. Considers the book's effects on writers, artists, musicians, political figures, visionaries, and others, including Dante, Hildegard of Bingen, Milton, Newton, the English Civil war radicals, Turner, Blake, Handel, and Franz Schmidt. Provides access to material not readily available elsewhere. Will appeal to students and scholars across a wide range of disciplines, as well as to general readers. More information about this series is available from the Blackwell Bible Commentaries website at http://www.bbibcomm.net/

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This volume, which fills a gap in the current literature, will be essential reading for third-year undergraduates and above in Biblical studies.

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This volume of essays by Christopher Rowland, written during the last forty years, concerns the nature of apocalypticism and its reception history. His reading of apocalyptic texts is thereby colored not by immersion into the study of "apocalyptic" in biblical scholarship, but by acquaintance with early Jewish mysticism. One of the Oxford English Dictionary's definitions of "mystic" is one which helps to understand not only the mystical but also apocalyptic: a mystic is "one who believes in the possibility of the spiritual apprehension of truths that are inaccessible to the understanding." This definition and the importance of the opening word of Revelation as an apocalypse - in other words, a writing whose form is revelatory -, are explored in these essays. As this understanding of apocalypticism contrasts with the eschatological character predominant in modern biblical scholarship, a theme of this collection therefore is that the eschatological elements in apocalyptic texts are not the determining feature of what constitutes "apocalyptic," which must especially attend to the revelatory form of apocalyptic texts such as Revelation. The pervasiveness of apocalyptic and mystical elements in the New Testament is a consistent thread throughout the volume, which also includes consideration of the apocalyptic and eschatological thought of Joachim of Fiore and his disciples, the early modern appeal to visions and revelation, and culminates in the texts and images of William Blake (1757-1827). The collection's concern with the history of the reception of such ideas contributes to the vindication of Ernst Käsemann's view of apocalyptic being the "mother of Christian theology".

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The authors of this volume investigate the analysis of visual sources and their indispensable role for understanding and interpreting religions, their symbol systems, and the wider traditions of which they are a part. A particular interest in this study is the focus on the methodological challenge of images from a comparative perspective. The common concern that ranges over all the contributions is the search for a methodological perspective where images may be analysed in a comprehensive way, with particular regard for the social, and wider intellectual settings, as well as the religious, in which the images are embedded. Accordingly, we seek to show that visual sources need to be interpreted from different angles. In the last decades, a broad range of publications has contributed to highlight the significance of images, and visual media in general, for understanding religious traditions, communities and discourses in both historical and contemporary perspective. In more recent research streams, focussing on visual media in religious traditions and symbol systems, various avenues have opened up and been explored focussing on the status of images and of the gaze of the viewer as central aspects. Furthermore, there are illuminating contributions dealing with the theoretical premises and settings with which to approach the visual as a central component of religion, on the one hand giving an overview of essential definitions and implications, on the other hand concentrating on specific techniques and/or media.

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This volume, which fills a gap in the current literature, will be essential reading for third-year undergraduates and above in Biblical studies.

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This volume brings together some of the most distinguished writers in the field of New Testament studies to provide an overview of discussions about the nature of New Testament theology. Examines the development, purpose and scope of New Testament theology. Looks at the relationship of New Testament theology with other branches of theology. Considers crucial issues within the New Testament, such as the historical Jesus, the theology of the cross, eschatology, ethics, and the role of women. Offers fresh perspectives which take discussion of the subject further in key areas Includes a foreword by Rowan Williams.

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This ground-breaking commentary on The Revelation to John (the Apocalypse) reveals its far-reaching influence on society and culture, and its impact on the church through the ages. Explores the far-reaching influence of the Apocalypse on society and culture. Shows the book's impact on the Christian church through the ages. Looks at interpretations of the Apocalypse by theologians, ranging from Augustine to late twentieth century liberation theologians. Considers the book's effects on writers, artists, musicians, political figures, visionaries, and others, including Dante, Hildegard of Bingen, Milton, Newton, the English Civil war radicals, Turner, Blake, Handel, and Franz Schmidt. Provides access to material not readily available elsewhere. Will appeal to students and scholars across a wide range of disciplines, as well as to general readers. More information about this series is available from the Blackwell Bible Commentaries website at http://www.bbibcomm.net/

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