The Gospel narratives may suggest that Jesus was divine, but they do not insist upon it. Hundreds of years after Jesus’ death, the Church councils made Jesus’ divinity a central tenet of belief among many of his followers. This is a narrative history of Christians’ early efforts to define Christianity by convening councils and writing creeds.
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British theologian F.D. Maurice is considered a forerunner of the contemporary ecumenical movement. His writings and work were an articulation of his theology, which emphasized the inclusiveness of Christianity despite ideological divisions within the Christian community. This volume offers a selection of Maurice’s moral writings based on his theological worldview.
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Like his earlier book, this one is written for lay people whose faith has been frustrated by their misapprehension that fundamentalism’s claim to be the one true faith is valid. Borg, a professor of religion at Oregon State University, describes an alternative to fundamentalists’ so-called “literal” readings of scripture. (He believes that such “literal-factual” readings do not live up to that description, and that the limitations of such readings have alienated many people who would otherwise remain part of the church.) Borg calls his alternative “historical-metaphorical” reading, a way of “taking the Bible seriously without taking it literally.” Study guide available, by FaithFutures.
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“Why did Jesus happen when and where he happened?” Excavating Jesus is a groundbreaking work of popular biblical scholarship, an extraordinarily mature and accessible integration of textual study with archeological research. “Words talk. Stones talk too. Neither talks from the past without interpretive dialogue with the present. But each demands to be heard in its own way,” the authors write.
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Victor Griffin – former Dean of St Parick’s Cathedral, Dublin – describes the experience of being brought up as a member of the minority Protestant community in the Republic of Ireland.
‘Perfect basic material for study in the parochial setting… Properly used throughout the Church of Ireland, the result could be a lot of better informed, far more deeply concerned, and far more determinedly anti-sectarian people.’ – Church of Ireland Gazette
Bishop Richard Holloway, until last year the head of the Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Church, has admitted that he may have ceased to be a Christian although he has given his life to the faith. In his new book, Doubts and Loves, the former bishop of Edinburgh also says he has “ended up in my sixties the kind of bishop that I attacked when I was a priest in my thirties. This book may conclusively demonstrate my departure from the faith … On the other hand … it may offer a lifeline to people who, like me, want to remain members of the Christian community, but only if they can bring their minds, formed by the science and philosophy of the day, along with them,” he writes.
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“…leads [the reader] into the complexities of ordinary people dealing with the big issues of life: love, sex, religion, politics, grief, death, and the call of justice in the life of faith. An exciting addition to religious fiction.” – Marcus Borg
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