The dramatic unfolding of events after Martin Luther’s revolutionary act led to the ultimate, and seemingly irreparable, fissure with Roman Catholicism: excommunication and schism. From the point of that rupture, up to and including most of the 20th century, the history of theological and ecclesial readings of Luther has been controlled largely by a rubric assuming the inevitability of fracture and the portrayal of Luther as a veritable bete noire of Catholic history and theology. Remember...

Over the last decade there has been a resurgence of writing on the Trinity, indicating a renewal of ideas and debate concerning this key element of Christian theology. This introduction challenges the standard account of a decline and revival in Trinitarian theology, taking into account recent, alternative readings of the theological tradition by Lewis Ayres and Michel Barnes amongst other scholars. By clearly analysing the scope of these new approaches, the authors establish the importanc...

Karl Rahner (1904–84) was one of the most significant theological voices of the twentieth century. For many his theology has come to symbolise the Catholic Church's entry into modernity. Part of his enduring appeal lies in his ability to reflect on a whole variety of issues in theology and spirituality and concentrate this plurality into a few basic convictions. This Cambridge Companion provides an accessible introduction to the main themes of Rahner's work. Written by an international arr...

2024 Association of Catholic Publishers First Place Award, TheologySome are calling the synod on synodality “the greatest consultation effort in human history” and for good reason. It is no small task to listen to the world’s 1.36 billion Catholics, especially when many Catholics have felt marginalized or unwelcome. Taking a cue from this ongoing synodal process, the experts gathered for Reforming the Church: Global Perspectives place the broader ...

This comparative study of the history of Christianity in China and in Korea opens up new perspectives for the understanding of the presence of the Christian faith in East Asia. Following the historical sequence throughout the last four centuries the author narrates the biographies of several outstanding Christians from China and Korea and attempts to understand them in their respective cultural settings by applying the principle of mutual illumination: the experience of China may help to i...

The preparation of new priests for ministry currently faces closer scrutiny than at any time since the Reformation, and the importance of effective priestly formation has perhaps never been clearer in the entire history of the Church. In Models of Priestly Formation, some of the world’s leading experts on the topic consider priestly formation since Vatican II, explore current best practices internationally, and imagine what the future of such formation might look like. The book pr...

God, Sexuality and the Self is a new venture in systematic theology. Sarah Coakley invites the reader to re-conceive the relation of sexual desire and the desire for God and - through the lens of prayer practice - to chart the intrinsic connection of this relation to a theology of the Trinity. The goal is to integrate the demanding ascetical undertaking of prayer with the recovery of lost and neglected materials from the tradition and thus to reanimate doctrinal reflection both imaginative...

In fifty brilliant short essays one of the UK's liveliest young writers on religion introduces the key themes, movements and thinkers in theology.

This volume by a respected theologian offers fresh consideration of the work of famous fourth-century church father Athanasius, giving specific attention to his use of Scripture, his deployment of metaphysical categories, and the intersection between the two. Peter Leithart not only introduces Athanasius and his biblical theology but also puts Athanasius into dialogue with contemporary theologians.This volume launches the series Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spi...

The study Karl Barth has generally been excluded from religious studies departments in favour of more liberal theologians such as Tillich. For many years scholar Garrett Green has argued that there is no justification for this neglect. To support his theory that Barth can and should be studied as a religious theorist rather than just a theologian Garrett Green presents a brand new translation of Chapter 17 of Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics prefaced by a detailed introduction to the text.

A Fresh Look at the Doctrine of Christ.Christology was the central doctrine articulated by the early church councils, and it remains the subject of close theological investigation today.Christology, Ancient and Modern—the first volume in a series of published proceedings from the annual Los Angeles Theology Conference—brings together conference proceedings, surveying the field and articulating the sources, norms, and criteria for constructive theol...

Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905–1988) is one of the most prolific, creative and wide-ranging theologians of the twentieth century who is just now coming to prominence. But because of his own daring speculations about the meaning of Christ's descent into hell after the crucifixion, about the uniqueness of Christ as savior of a pluralistic world, and because he draws so many of his resources for his theology from literature, drama, and philosophy, Balthasar has never been an easily-categorized ...