Theology Study

Finding Me: A Woman's Theology of Self-Identification was written in partial fulfillment for my Master of Sacred Theology Degree from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. The premise for this book is to take a specific look at women of faith who have had the eyes of their understanding opened as they read, reflected, and reassessed how they understand the Bible along with how they understand themselves in God's eyes.

In many ways, we seem to be living in wintry times at present in the Western world. In this new book, Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and a noted scholar of Eastern Christianity, introduces us to some aspects and personalities of the Orthodox Christian world, from the desert contemplatives of the fourth century to philosophers, novelists and activists of the modern era, that suggest where we might look for fresh light and warmth.

Is God a sadistic torturer? Coldhearted judge? Genocidal maniac? Unfortunately, our popular caricatures often make him out to be. God has some skeletons in the closet. At least, that's what many of us fear. "How can a loving God send people to hell?" "Isn't it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God?" "What is up with holy war in the Old Testament?" These are difficult questions that our family, our friends, our culture - even we ourselves - are asking.

Throughout the Bible, God has related to his people through covenants. It is through these covenant relationships, which collectively serve as the foundation for God’s promise to bring redemption to his people, that we can understand the advancement of his kingdom. This book walks through six covenants from Genesis to Revelation, helping us grasp the overarching narrative of Scripture and see the salvation God has planned for us since the beginning of time―bolstering our faith in God and giving us hope for the future.

If you’ve ever been intimidated by words like redemption, justification, and propitiation, then this book is for you. Seasoned Bible teacher, pastor, and scholar Bob Yandian explains the deep truths of Scripture in ways that anyone can understand. Using straightforward vocabulary and helpful examples, Yandian makes complex theological concepts clear and practical for every believer.

Why has Christianity, a religion premised upon neighborly love, failed in its attempts to heal social divisions? In this ambitious and wide-ranging work, Willie James Jennings delves deep into the late medieval soil in which the modern Christian imagination grew, to reveal how Christianity's highly refined process of socialization has inadvertently created and maintained segregated societies.

Though he is right at the heart of everything in theology and faith, the Holy Spirit can be hard to focus on. In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, Fred Sanders teaches his listeners how to hold a proper biblical understanding of both the person and power of the Holy Spirit. New believers and seasoned saints alike will learn about the Holy Spirit’s work in the cosmos, salvation history, and God’s plans for the future. To accomplish this, Sanders explains the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Trinity, the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

The atonement is central to Christian theology and essential for following Jesus. In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, pastor Jeremy Treat explains what Scripture teaches about the atonement and how it impacts one’s daily life.

Dallas Willard was a personal mentor and inspiration to hundreds of pastors, philosophers, and average churchgoers. His presence and ideas rippled through the lives of many prominent leaders and authors, such as John Ortberg, Richard Foster, James Bryan Smith, Paula Huston, and J. P. Moreland. As a result of these relationships and the books he wrote, he fundamentally altered the way tens of thousands of Christians have understood and experienced the spiritual life.

From classics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics. In this new account, acclaimed author Bart Ehrman contextualizes early Christian narratives of heaven and hell within the broader intellectual and cultural worlds from which they emerged.

What does the Bible say about God's purpose for us, the witness of the church, and our mission to spread the message of the gospel? Chris Wright's pioneering 2006 book, The Mission of God, revealed that the typical Christian understanding of "missions" encompasses only a small part of God's...

Oxford mathematician and author John Lennox takes a closer look at Hawking's logic regarding what brought the universe into being. In lively, layman's terms, Lennox guides us through the key points in Hawking's arguments - with clear explanations of the latest scientific and philosophical methods and theories - and demonstrates that far from disproving a creator God, they make his existence seem all the more probable.

When it comes to the Sabbath, Christians have different ideas on what it means and how to observe it. For many people, it is a day to go to church and have fellowship with other believers. What they often miss, though, is that the Sabbath is intricately tied to rest and worship―both of which ultimately point to the Lord as our creator and redeemer. In this addition to the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series, Guy Prentiss Waters offers an introductory study of the Sabbath from the creation of the world to the consummation of all things when Jesus returns.

In his reflections on God, Jesus, suffering, and liberation, James H. Cone relates the gospel message to the experience of the Black community. But a wider theme of the book is the role that social and historical context plays in framing the questions we address to God as well as the mode of the answers provided.

In this volume of the New Testament Theology series, Robert L. Plummer explores the central themes and theology of James, offering insightful connections between this epistle and the broader narrative of Scripture.

A biblical defense of egalitarianism that relies on Scripture to affirm gender equality in the eyes of God. "Biblical womanhood" is the idea that the Bible teaches God-ordained male leadership and female submission in the home and subordination in the church. Some say this hierarchy of authority...

Why do we buy what we buy, vote the way we vote, eat what we eat, and say what we say? Why do we have the friends we have, and work and play as we do? It's our choice? Yes, but there are forces, often unseen, that shape every decision we make and every action we take. These hidden, life-shaping values and ideas are not promoted through organized religions or rival philosophies but fostered by cultural habits, lifestyles and the institutional structures of society.

To attempt to study Scripture without studying its law is to deny it. To attempt to understand Western civilization apart from the impact of biblical law within it and upon it is to seek a fictitious history and to reject 20 centuries and their progress. The Institutes of Biblical Law has as its purpose a reversal of the present trend. it is called "Institutes" in the older meaning of that word--i.e., fundamental principles, here of law, because it is intended as a beginning, as an instituting consideration of that law that must govern society.

What comes to mind when you think of the word church? In this volume, Gregg R. Allison helps define the church and its mission by presenting an overview of the specific doctrines and practices of different churches and denominations. He lays a basic foundation for better understanding the common practices among local church communities (“mere ecclesiology”) and the ways that they diverge from one another (“more ecclesiology”).

In The Misunderstood Jew, scholar Amy-Jill Levine helps Christians and Jews understand the "Jewishness" of Jesus so that their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue can take place. Levine's humor and informed truth - telling provokes honest conversation and debate about how Christians and Jews should understand Jesus, the New Testament, and each other.