Theology Bundle, XL (50 vols.)

This volume served as an introduction to the 1932 publication of Louis Berkhof’s Reformed Dogmatics, and was revised for the 1938 publication of his Systematic Theology. This volume serves as a prolegomena to Berkhof’s entire systematic, defining dogma, the idea of dogmatic theology, and the relationship of theology to apologetics, ethics, and science. He also outlines the task, method, and history of dogmatics. By explaining the Reformed notion of revelation, inspiration, and human understanding, this volume adds important context and meaning to the Systematic Theology.

Summary of Christian Doctrine is a concise revision of Manual of Reformed Doctrine, with technical terms and unfamiliar terms removed. Berkhof wrote this abridged edition with detailed explanations and controversial material omitted, and he added questions for further study.

Abstract of Systematic Theology contains 42 essays ranging in topic from the doctrines of God, the Trinity, and humanity, to creation, providence, and justification. Boyce also wrote extensively on the issues of election, atonement, and the immortality of the soul. Boyce’s theology was heavily influenced by Charles Hodge, and he used Hodge’s Systematic Theology text at the Southern Baptist Seminary. The essays found in Abstract of Systematic Theology were originally intended to supplement the content of Boyce’s systematic theology classes at the seminary from 1859–1888. Boyce compiled and completed Abstract of Systematic Theology in 1887. William A. Mueller said of the Abstract: “it is no mere logic chopping treatise but is vibrant with an experimental faith centered in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. . . ”

In his Lectures on Systematic Theology, Finney clarifies his theological views for both his sympathizers and his opponents, and outlines both the substance and the biblical justification for his theology. The first section of his lectures is devoted to Christian morality and ethics, which he uses as the groundwork for his doctrine of the atonement, doctrine of justification, and doctrine of sanctification. He speaks at length of the relationship between morality and holiness, with an emphasis on free will and an optimistic understanding of human moral ability. This volume also contains Finney’s lectures on Calvinism, including lengthy lectures on election, reprobation, perseverance of the saints, and divine sovereignty.

Rolland McCune’s A Systematic Theology of Biblical Christianity is a must-read for those desiring to go beyond the basics of biblical doctrine. His dedication to study and the desire to communicate biblical truth are evident in his writing. Because it is important to consult an assortment of systematic theologies to discover how others come to their conclusion of God’s revealed truth, this multi-volume systematic theology is worth adding to one’s library.

In his Systematic Theology, McCune brings a strong emphasis on the scriptural basis for each doctrine and teaching. These books are very engaging and understandable. Even complex doctrines are written in a way that is clear and concise for any reader. Important to both students and current pastors, this informative collection will bring a fresh perspective on systematic theologies that have been debated for years.

This first volume provides an excellent introduction to systematic theology, defining the discipline and giving some history. The remainder of volume one covers the doctrine of Scripture (with a section on the dispensations), the doctrine of God (existence, self-revelation, personality, attributes, unity and tri-unity, and universe), and the doctrine of angels. Volume two includes the doctrines of man, sin, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Volume three includes the doctrines of salvation, the Church, and last things.

A Manual of Theology is the culmination of Joseph Agar Beet’s 30 years as a theologian, containing all his major ideas and teachings. Beet’s progressive questions on the nature “lost souls,” first explored in The Last Things, and further expounded in this volume, sparked new lines of inquiry among Christian thinkers, but also led to heresy charges from university colleagues and theologians across the world. This volume solidified Beet as one of the major voices in the Methodist and Wesleyan tradition.

Theology belongs in the pulpit, the school, the workplace, the family, and everywhere. Society as a whole is weakened when theology is neglected. Systematic theology helps people approach the Bible with a clear and coherent picture of God’s revelation. Theology helps us discover the nature and person of God. Rushdoony’s 2-volume Systematic Theology is designed to assist in the application of the Word of God to every area of life and thought.

In the first volume, Rushdoony writes on creation and providence, the doctrine of God, the doctrine of Christ, and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. This volume also includes a defense of systematic theology, including its definition, its limits, its application, and its necessity. He also explores the covenant, the theological nature of sin, and the atonement. The second volume contains an extensive exposition on the doctrine of the church, the doctrine of man, and eschatology. His Systematic Theology closes with a penetrating exploration of prayer.

In this concise volume, both A. A. Hodge and J. Aspinwall Hodge not only outline a clear understanding of God’s plan of salvation, but emphasize the ability to communicate God’s plan to others. This handbook on the Westminster Shorter Catechism serves as a clear and concise exposition of the doctrine—based on the Bible—contained in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Hodge’s completion of The System of Theology Contained in the Westminster Shorter Catechism Opened and Explained was interrupted by his death in 1887, and his cousin, J. Aspinwall Hodge, finished the work.

In this ground-breaking work, T. F. Torrance aims to clarify understanding of the most profound article of Christian Faith, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

The Trinity is grounded upon God’s historical self-revelation in Jesus Christ. It is presented in this work as teaching which is implicit in the New Testament revelation and in the worship of the Early Church, rather than as a logical derivation from other aspects of Christian doctrine. Adopting a holistic approach, Torrance explains the inter-relatedness of the three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and their dynamic Communion in the Triune Being and Nature of God.

Combining immense academic range with new theological perspectives, Torrance expounds the basic teaching of the ancient Catholic Church and builds a significant bridge between ancient and modern, Catholic and Evangelical theology.

This book constructs a contemporary doctrine of the immanent trinity in dialogue with Karl Barth’s theology and a selected number of prominent contemporary theologians. For Paul Molnar, human freedom can be properly understood only in the light of God’s freedom, and any understanding of the immanent Trinity that is not fashioned from the economic Trinitarian self-revelation will lead toward a dualistic, monistic or agnostic view of divine/human relations. Therefore, any method that starts with experience and not explicitly the word of God revealed will be seen to threaten a proper perception of both divine and human freedom.

Molnar argues that a properly conceived contemporary doctrine of the immanent Trinity will enable theologians to say something positive about God and God’s relations with us in history, without in any way making God dependent on history. In this book he analyzes and compares Karl Barth’s view of the relationship between the immanent and economic Trinity with the views of other contemporary theologians in order to explore what a proper understanding of divine freedom should look like today, and how that view should develop in light of contemporary feminist and historicist approaches to the Trinity.

Hofmann (1810–1877) was one of the most significant theologians of the 19th century and perhaps the century’s most influential Lutheran theologian. Matthew L. Becker introduces us to Hofmann’s Trinitarian view of God. According to Hofmann, God freely chose to give himself out of divine love. Becker’s book centers on Hofmann’s understanding of history. In Hofmann’s Trinitarian kenosis, the eternal God has become historical by self-emptying God’s self into Jesus. For Hofmann, world history can only be understood within the historical self-giving of the triune God who is love. Thus, for Hofmann all of history is salvation-history, a kind of history that embraces and fulfills God’s purposes in the world.

Karl Barth and Evangelical Theology explores the convergences and divergences between the theology of Karl Barth and historic evangelical faith, and on that basis presents ways for evangelicals to dynamically engage with Barth’s theology. It is a balanced appraisal of Barth’s theology from a solidly evangelical perspective and features contributions by many leading theologians, including Alister McGrath, Kevin Vanhoozer, Gabriel Fackre, and Henri Blocher.

Karl Barth is undoubtedly one of the most influential Christian theologians of the twentieth century. However, the reception of many evangelicals to Barth’s theology has been complicated. Some evangelical theologians rejected his theology, arguing that his view of Scripture is inconsistent with historic evangelical views. Others accepted wholeheartedly Barth’s emphasis on the Word of God and Christ-centered interpretation of the Gospel.

In response to increasing world interest in Barth’s theology, Trevor Hart provides a timely collection of essays evaluating the work of Karl Barth. Subjects addressed include: scripture and revelation, natural theology; pluralism; the doctrine of the Trinity; Justification by faith; and the nature and problems of religious language and ethics.

Regarding Karl Barth is a scholarly critique of this influential theologian, addressing issues of relevance to general evangelical readers as well as scholars, and dialoguing with other theologians, notably Lindbeck, Brunner and Küng.

An introduction to the theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg. Pannenberg’s extensive works, especially his recently published Systematic Theology, are increasingly regarded as of major importance. Professor Mostert here provides not only a general introduction to Pannenberg’s theology, and many keys to enable the serious reader of theology to access Pannenberg’s individual works, but also sets Pannenberg’s complex thought in the broadest context of contemporary philosophical and theological thought.

This significant work, precipitated by the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Joint Declaration on the doctrine of justification, represents Eberhard Jüngel’s most sustained theological writing for some time. Jüngel examines the role of justification in Christian Faith—and emphasizes its central importance.

He traces the history of the concept of “justice” in Greek thought, and of the Old Testament parallel concept “righteousness.” He then moves to a consideration of the righteousness of God in its Christian context, and in particular to God’s righteousness in Christ. A major contribution to theological discussion is found in his fresh and fearless treatment of the unfashionable topic of sin.

Throughout the work, Jüngel constantly interacts with the great Catholic and Protestant thinkers, his skill as a theologian matched by his insight as a philosopher.

McIntyre’s work addresses one of the most difficult aspects of the doctrine—the heterogeneity of the biblical and traditional material from which it is derived—and points to the areas where the church must act to recover the sense of the immediacy of the Holy Spirit.

The book explores the nature, origins and development of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, finding its many recurring expressions deriving on the one hand from Scripture, and on the other from tradition in the form of the doctrine of the Trinity. The biblical models are particularly apparent in the vigorous modern Pentecostalist and charismatic churches while the Greek and Latin Fathers provided a dominant series of Trinitarian models which recur in varying forms across the history of the doctrine of the Spirit, notably in Calvin and Barth.

John McIntyre considers whether the modern church has “betrayed” the insights, vision and experience of the New Testament church. He concludes by pointing to the areas in which the church must act if it is to recover the sense of the immediacy of the Spirit both in its corporate life and in the lives of individuals.

The theme of Resurrection has continued to prove fascinating for a variety of writers and thinkers, finding expression not only in sacred texts but in other works of literature and the arts. This volume contains the papers from one of the Roehampton Institute London Conferences. In this volume, scholars from a variety of places and varying academic disciplines have addressed the concept of resurrection from a number of critical perspectives. As one might expect, these include analyses of how the resurrection is understood in the biblical and other religious traditions. Also included in this volume are sustained treatments of the concept of resurrection as it appears in various literary texts and other artistic forms of expression.

Guarino argues in this volume that the doctrinal form of the Christian faith, in its essential characteristics, calls for certain theoretical exigencies. This is to say that the proportion and beauty of the form is not served or illuminated by simply any presuppositions. Rather, a determinate understanding of first philosophy, of the nature of truth, of hermeneutical theory, of the predication of language and mutual correlation is required if Christian faith and doctrine are to maintain a recognizable and suitably meditative form. Failing to adduce specific principles will lead either to a simple assertion of Christian truth, in which case the form of Christianity becomes less intelligible and attractive—or one will substitute a radically changed form, which is itself inappropriate for displaying the fundamental revelatory narrative of faith.

The house of Christian faith possesses a certain proportion of structure; the form will sag badly if one removes an undergirding item, or if one beam is replaced with another of variable shape or size. The form’s beauty will either be obscured, no longer clearly visible, or the form will become something quite different, no longer architectonically related to what was originally the case. The intention of this volume is to discuss those doctrinal characteristics considered fundamental to the Christian faith, as protective of its revelatory form and, concomitantly, to examine the theoretical principles required if such form is to remain both intelligible and beautiful.

The doctrines of the atonement and the Trinity are central not only to the Christian faith but also to Christian systematic theology. Over the last decade or so, one or another theological interpretation of either of these doctrines has assumed pride of place among theologians. Before Robert Sherman, though, no theologian has ever dared to read the atonement in light of the Trinity. Most of the time atonement theories simply focus on the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, without any reference to Christ’s relationship to the Father and the Spirit of the Trinity. But, as Sherman argues, Christ’s atoning work is diverse and cannot be limited to one who ransoms our sins or to one who has victory over our sins (although in Sherman’s view Christ’s atoning work includes these tasks and more). He offers here a constructive theological proposal that connects Trinity with the rubrics of prophet, priest, and king to help explain Christ’s atoning work.

One can understand adequately neither Christ’s multifaceted reconciliation of a complex humanity to God, nor that reconciliation’s fundamental unity as God’s gracious act apart from the Trinity. Without this framework, one will likely stress one person of the Trinity, one aspect of God’s reconciling work, and/or one understanding of the human predicament to the exclusion of others and the detriment of theology, both systematic and pastoral. Sherman’s constructive theological proposal suggests that we should recognize a certain correspondence and mutual support between the three persons of the Trinity, the three offices of Christ (king, prophet, priest), and the three commonly recognized models of his atoning work (Christus victor, vicarious sacrifice, moral exemplar).

This book is the first full study of the whole of Hans Frei’s work, from his doctoral thesis on Karl Barth in the 1950s to his great unfinished project on the history of modern theology in the 1980s. Higton draws on a wide range of unpublished material in the Frei archives to present a comprehensive, fresh and original interpretation of Frei’s theology. He places Frei’s well-known work on biblical hermeneutics firmly in the context of his theological wrestling with Barth and of the dominant traditions of Western Protestant theology.

At the close of one millennium and the beginning of a new one, this conference volume reflects on the past and looks forward to a new era in terms of the development of faith. Although most of the papers in the volume address issues concerning Christian faith, the volume is not confined to such a perspective, since the concept of faith is treated here in an encompassing and broad manner. The historical perspective reaches back several millennia, addresses contemporary issues of economics and justice as they have a bearing on faith, and looks to the future as a new millennium presents its own problems and potential opportunities.

The last 20 years have seen the development of a growing body of psychological literature on the long-neglected subject of forgiveness. Forgiveness has been widely regarded as a purely religious construct. However, recently it has been advocated in many different secular contexts as offering an appropriate and healthy means of release. This volume continually engages the reader on both psychological and theological levels in a sustained dialogue that has not permeated any of the books already available on forgiveness.

The British theologian and New Testament scholar Austin Farrer was a member of “the Oxford Christians,” conversing frequently with C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Dorothy Sayers, and T. S. Eliot. A. N. Wilson has called Farrer “the one true genius of the Church of England in the 20th century.” Farrer’s theory about the Synoptic Problem remains one of the most debated theories of Synoptic relationships in contemporary New Testament scholarship. The editors have put together a book that makes the practical, spiritual meaning of Farrer’s thought available to those who desire to integrate serious thinking with faithful life.

Recent theology offers few attempts to come to grips with the meaning and implications of the ascension of Jesus. Professor Farrow begins with a discussion of the biblical treatment of the ascension and Eucharistic celebration, from which emerges the unique ecclesial worldview. There are chapters on the treatment of these ideas by Irenaeus, Origen and Augustine, and on developments up to the Reformation. He explores the link between ideas of the ascension, cosmology and ecclesiology. Farrow goes on to examine the difficulties faced by the doctrine of ascension in the modern scientific world. In a final chapter he calls for an ecclesiology, which does not marginalize the human Jesus.

Until recently (and partly because of the political circumstances of the Romanian church prior to 1989), English-speaking readers have had access to very little of Staniloae’s writing. But his great masterpiece, Orthodox Dogmatic Theology, is at last beginning to appear. Staniloae’s theological stature has been compared to Barth, Rahner and Schillebeeckx. In him we meet not only a contemporary master of Orthodox thought but a Christian thinker of ecumenical proportions—one who addresses the needs and aspirations of Christians living in a technological age, and who offers an important and timely contribution to “Green” theology.

The present volume is described by the author as a “prolegomenon” to the reading of Staniloae. It takes one vital theme from the centre of his dogmatic system—that of creation as the primordial gift of God—and shows how this applies both to sacramental theology and to ecclesiology. Containing a guide to the works of Staniloae, Charles Miller’s book will be of immense value to all those who are struggling to understand the meaning of the created order: Anglicans, Catholics and Orthodox alike.

John Webster shows how Barth’s work as a whole should be regarded as a moral theology. He opens with a study of Barth’s ethical thinking in key writings from the period of his break with theological liberalism, and then highlights the moral anthropology set out in his lectures on ethics from the end of the 1920s. He studies the themes of original sin, hope and freedom in Barth’s Church Dogmatics, illustrating Barth’s concern to prove that divine grace shapes and restores human agency. He explores the theme of the missionary activity of the church in relation to Barth’s remarkable treatment of the prophetic office of Christ. He also draws a contrast between the moral anthropology of Barth and Luther.

Why does a good and all-powerful God allow us to experience such pain and suffering? This question, so often asked, has been approached in a variety of ways. In this illuminating and powerful book, Hauerwas explores why we seek explanations for suffering and evil so desperately in today’s world. He draws on true cases of ill and dying children to illustrate and clarify his discussion of the theological issues. Modern medicine, he claims, has too often become a noisy way to hide the gaping silences created by the experiences of childhood illness and death. He discovers for us a God who “can give a voice to that pain in a manner that at least gives us a way to go on.”

Offering no easy answers or false comforts, Naming the Silences is a provocative and sensitive exploration of pressing issues that concern us all.

Do we have to understand Genesis Chapter 1 as depicting “creation out of nothing?” The fact is that it has not always been interpreted in this way. Justin Martyr, for example, thought that the “chaos” over which the Spirit hovered was indeterminate matter on which God imposed form and order. Some medieval Jewish texts retain views of creation which do not imply that the universe came into being “out of nothing,” and so do some Islamic traditions.

This important work challenges the generally unquestioned assumption that the doctrine of “creation out of nothing” was inherited by Christianity along with the Jewish scriptures which the Church adopted.

The thesis is advanced that the doctrine arose in the second century CE, and that the Gnostic Basilides was the first to advance the idea as a theory. In the Christian mainstream a shift took place between Justin Martyr, who accepted the notion of pre-existent matter, and Theophilus of Antioch. It was the impact of fresh philosophy which stimulated this specific theoretical response to the question of how and whence things came into being, as distinct from the scriptural affirmation that things which did not exist before had been fashioned or formed by almighty God, the King of the Universe.

There is no other study which concentrates on tracing this particular piece of intellectual history—a development which had crucial repercussions for subsequent Christological debates.

Christology, the doctrine concerning the revelation of God in Christ and the salvation of humanity through Christ, is at the heart of Christian theology and at the heart of the church’s proclamation.

These studies, including hitherto unpublished work, explore the origins of Christology. They explore, for example, the earliest Christological thinking, the messianic claim of Jesus, the reasons for the condemnation of Jesus, the exaltation of Christ, the development of hymn singing, the development of Christological titles, and neglected features of Johannine Christology. In these mysterious beginnings, Martin Hengel discovers a coherent and unique process.

In a substantial foreword, Professor Hengel describes the context of his work in modern scholarship and develops his current thinking.

International theologians consider the importance of Christian eschatology—both to the life, authority and hope of the church in the world, and to contemporary life and thought generally. Issues addressed include the understanding of time, the nature of eschatological imagery, the status of apocalyptic and millenarian language, and the political and ecological context of modern eschatology.

This study, by leading scholars from around the world, engages with central hermeneutical, philosophical and theological dimensions of the doctrine of creation. Particular prominence is given to discussion of creation “out of nothing,” the relation of eternal creator to temporal creation, the Trinitarian construction of the doctrine and its ethical implications. Opens up new dimensions to an important topic.

William Shedd’s theology is arguably one of the richest resources in the American Reformed tradition yet, strangely, it has not received the attention it deserves. Oliver Crisp takes a step towards filling the considerable gap.

Shedd was a theologian unafraid to think for himself, even if his thinking meant he ended up with views that were not held by others with whom he had a natural affinity. His theology of sin and salvation illustrate well this creative innovation within a tradition. This book explores the relationship between sin and salvation in Shedd’s theology, with an eye to both its philosophical and dogmatic significance for contemporary theology.

At first glance eastern Orthodoxy and classical Pentecostalism seem quite distinct. This ground-breaking study shows they share much in common, especially as it concerns the experiential elements of following Christ. Both traditions assert that authentic Christianity transcends the wooden categories of modernism.

The Church and Deaf People examines Jurgen Moltmann’s ecclesiology from the specific perspective of deaf people, who form a minority group within our society and who have been marginalized and effectively oppressed.

Inspired by his contact with deaf people (after his first wife became profoundly deaf) and mindful of the example of his deaf grandmother, Roger Hitching sensitively examines the history and present experience of deaf people in relation to Moltmann’s radical ecclesiology.

Confronting the Will-to-Power is an analysis of the theology of Reinhold Niebuhr, arguing that his work is an attempt to identify, and provide a practical theological answer to, the existence and nature of human evil.

Employing Kirkegaardian categories and analysis, this study investigates both the central crisis in Charles Williams’ authorship between hermeticism and Christianity (Kierkegaard’s Religions A and B), and the quest to resolve this crisis, a quest that ultimately presses the bounds of orthodoxy.

Jesus’ words in John 17 represent one of the church’s highest values: “May they all be one as you and I are one.” Yet divisions occur from the highest levels of the church to street level projects, often neutralizing effectiveness and undercutting the credibility of Jesus’ message. This book helps any believer turn the ideal of John 17 into reality. It provides solid grounding in the principles of partnership, using abundant case histories and empowering how-to suggestions for lay person and ministry leader alike.

McCulloch’s study has important implications not only for theology but also for ethics and spirituality. She explores the contemporary critique of Western dualism—mind/body, God/creation, subject/object, nature/culture—and maintains that the dual apprehension of divine transcendence and immanence must always be held in balance in theological reflection.

In recent years, Eastern Orthodox thought has had an increasing influence on key aspects of contemporary Western Christian thought, particularly as regards the doctrine of the Trinity and mystical spirituality. However, the foundations and fundamental presuppositions of Eastern Christianity’s theological system have remained largely unstudied—and thus unknown—in the West.

In this important study, Emil Bartos examines the doctrine of deification which provides the conceptual basis for the way Staniloae and other Orthodox theologians understand the major doctrines of the Christian faith. The idea that God became man and man became God sounds almost heretical to many Western ears, yet this affirmation is repeated countless times in the writings of the Eastern Fathers.

Beginning with the apophaticism that lies at the heart of Eastern theology, Bartos examines each of the key doctrines of anthropology, Christology, soteriology, and ecclesiology as they relate to deification in Staniloae’s thought. Bartos’ study represents not merely a contribution to contemporary dialogue between Eastern and Western theologians, but also a much needed introduction to an aspect of Christian thought down the centuries which is largely neglected in the Christian West.

This book is a timely restatement of a radical theology of church and state in the Anabaptist and Baptist tradition. Dr. Wright constructs his argument in dialogue and debate with Yoder and Moltmann—major contributors to a free church perspective.

When Old Testament scholar George Adam Smith (1856–1942) delivered the Lyman Beecher lectures at Yale University in 1899, he confidently declared that “modern criticism has won its war against traditional theories. It only remains to fix the amount of the indemnity.”

In this biography, Iain D. Campbell assesses Smith’s critical approach to the Old Testament and evaluates its consequences, showing that Smith’s life and work still raises questions about the relationship between biblical scholarship and evangelical faith.

This book explores the implications of the Gospel for traditional African fears of occult aggression. It analyses traditional approaches to suffering and biblical responses to fears of demonic evil, concluding with an evaluation of African beliefs from the perspective of the gospel.

The argument of this book is that judgment, understood as the whole process of bringing justice, is the primary metaphor of atonement, along with other metaphors—such as victory, redemption, and sacrifice—which are subordinate to it. Judgment also provides the proper context for understanding penal substitution and the calls to repentance, baptism, Eucharist, and holiness.

Living the Word, Resisting the World offers a definitive study of both the life and thought of the French Reformed thinker Jacques Ellul (1912–1994). Last century, the extensive writing of French Reformed lay theologian shed a disturbing light on western society and challenged Christians to be faithful to God’s Word by resisting the world. This major study draws on both published and unpublished materials to provide the only available introduction to Ellul’s life and thought as a whole. Within the context of a detailed biography, it offers an original interpretation of both Ellul’s theological ethics and his personalist-inspired sociological analysis of our contemporary crisis of civilization. Details case studies of his writings on violence, law, the state, and politics then demonstrate that this prophetic Christian thinker remains of great significance for both the church and the world at the start of a new century.

How can Jesus be fully human and fully divine? How can God be three-in-one? James Anderson develops and defends a model of understanding paradoxical Christian doctrines according to which the presence of such doctrines is unsurprising and adherence to paradoxical doctrines can be entirely reasonable. As such, the phenomenon of theological paradox cannot be considered as a serious intellectual obstacle to belief in Christianity. The case presented in this book has significant implications for the practice of systematic theology, biblical exegesis, Christian apologetics and philosophy.

This book explores the theology of the cross in St Paul, Luther and Pascal. It offers new perspectives on the theology of each, and some implications for the nature of power, apologetics, theology and church life in a postmodern context.

The theme of this study is the relationship between the doctrine of revelation and pneumatology. How can we conceive of the relation between the self-revelation of God and our knowledge of that self-revelation? This is an important question given the postmodern abandonment of any normative understanding of truth and the mushrooming of alternative forms of “spirituality.” The task of Christian mission in the context of popular pluralism raises the question of the relationship between truth and experience.

The focus of the work is a critical comparison between two contemporary Lutheran theologians, Wolfhart Pannenberg and Eberhard Jüngel. By contrasting these influential writers clear distinctions are drawn between an approach based on metaphor and metaphysic. Both approaches are deemed to be deficient in their construction and it is argued that some of these problems emerge from a common Lutheran heritage. It is further argued that Trinitarian pneumatology might be better advanced by giving greater weight to the concepts of participation and communion. In doing so, some contribution is made towards long-standing pneumatological questions, including the personhood of the Holy Spirit and the distinction between God as Spirit and the Holy Spirit.

A Theology of Work explores and investigates the theological implications of the nature, meaning, and value of human work. Through dialogue with Moltmann, Pope John Paul II, and others, this book develops a genitive “theology of work,” presenting a theological definition of work and a model for a theological ethics of work that shows work’s nature, value, and meaning both now and eschatologically. Work is shown to be a transformative activity consisting of three dynamically inter-related dimensions: the instrumental, relational and ontological.