Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the Bible.When we read Scripture we often imagine that the world inhabited by the Bible's characters was much the same as our own. We would be wrong. The biblical world is an ancient world with a flat earth that stands at the center of the cosmos, and with a vast ocean in the sky, chaos dragons, mystical mountains, demonic deserts, an underground zone for the dead, stars that are sentient beings, and, if you travel upwards and through the...

This book aims to uncover and explore the ideas of notable people in the story of Christian universalism from the time of the Reformation until the end of the nineteenth century. It is a story that is largely unknown in both the church and the academy, and the characters that populate it have for the most part passed into obscurity. With carefully located bore holes drilled to release the long-hidden theologies of key people and texts, the volume seeks to display and historically situate t...

"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well."Lady Julian of NorwichUniversalism runs like a slender thread through the history of Christian theology. It has always been a minority report and has often been regarded as heresy, but it has proven to be a surprisingly resilient "idea." Over the centuries Christian universalism, in one form or another, has been reinvented time and time again.In this book an international team of schola...

The major cultural changes in Western societies since the Reformation have created a serious challenge for the church. Modernity in particular has been inhospitable to Christian orthodoxy and many have been tempted to reject classical versions of the faith. This has led to a division within churches that Walker and Parry name "the third schism," a divide between those who believe and practice the central tenets of Christian tradition and those who do not.The authors have adopted an...

A significant examination of exorcism and deliverance from a range of disciplines focuses on an important but often neglected area of the church's mission to the world. The diversity of essays makes sure that every facet is presented to encourage the reader thoroughly to consider this aspect of the church's approach to evil in our society.Since Jesus of Nazareth made exorcism a cornerstone of his own ministry, the Church has seen itself as engaged in a battle against the demonic. E...

Award-winning author Caryl Phillips shares the factbased story of three foreigners-black men attempting to fit into a white world. Francis Barber worked for Dr. Samuel Johnson, and after the good doctor's death he struggles for respect. Randy Turpin beats Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951, but soon falls into debt and despair. David Oluwale is a Nigerian immigrant who is brutally beaten by Leeds police officers in 1969.

This reading guide to some of the philosophical and theological literature on universalism offers practical help in providing informed material on a topic that is often treated in a superficial and unenlightened manner. The reader may be surprised to learn that universalism was the predominant belief in the early centuries, and that it has always been present in the Christian tradition. Spurred on by Von Balthasar's book, Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? Robert Wild's guide pro...

"I plead for the acceptance of this central truth as the great hope of the gospel, that the victory of Jesus Christ must be final and complete, i.e., that nothing can impair the power of his cross and passion to save the entire human race."--Thomas Allin In 1885, the Rev. Thomas Allin waded into the debates on final punishment that had plagued the Church of England during the nineteenth century. His contribution was a radical book that sought to demonstrate that reason, tradition, and Scri...

Is there nothing distinctive that Christians can contribute to the environmental cause beyond “human resources,” responsible citizenship, and consumer power? Robin Parry argues that what Christianity has to offer is a distinctive spirituality, one that provides a rich rationale for creation care, principles to guide it, and the resources to empower, equip, and form people to walk the pathway with resilience. This book seeks to bring into focus the critical importance of G...

Lamentations is a book that has never had a place of honor at the table of Christian spirituality. This is an unfortunate state of affairs because its challenging poetry has much to offer. This volume explores the how the biblical book of Lamentations may be engaged afresh so that it can function as Holy Scripture for the ekklesia.Four main chapters consider issues in hermeneutics, exegesis, the use of Lamentations in worship, and pastoral reflections. These chapters have been suppl...

The New York Times–bestselling author of Rose Daughter reimagines the classic French fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast.I was the youngest of three daughters. Our literal-minded mother named us Grace, Hope, and Honour. … My father still likes to tell the story of how I acquired my odd nickname: I had come to him for further information when I first discovered that our names meant something besides you-come-here. He succeeded in explaining grace and hope, but he had some difficulty ...

The New York Times bestselling author of Sunshine and The Hero and the Crown presents a beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast.When their father’s business fails, a young woman named Beauty and her two sisters leave their fine house in the city and move to a tiny cottage far away from everything they’ve ever known. The neglected cottage is engulfed by the long thorny stems of some unknown plant. Beauty patiently tends to them, and when, the following summer, the mysterious flo...