The Failure of Natural Theology
The Failure of Natural Theology

Author: Jeffrey D Johnson

Publisher: New Studies in Theology Series

Published: 2021-09-15

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9781952599378

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Aristotle's cosmological argument is the foundation of Aquinas's doctrine of God. For Thomas, the cosmological argument not only speaks of God's existence but also of God's nature. By learning that the unmoved mover is behind all moving objects, we learn something true about the essence of God-principally, that God is immobile. But therein lies the problem for Thomas. The Catholic Church had already condemned Aristotle's unmoved mover because, according to Aristotle, the unmoved mover is unable to be the moving cause (i.e., Creator) and governor of the universe-or else he would cease to be immobile. By seeking to baptize Aristotle into the Catholic Church, however, Thomas gave his life to seeking to explain how God can be both immobile and the moving cause of the universe. Thomas even looked to the pantheistic philosophy of Pseudo-Dionysius for help. But even with Dionysius's aid, Thomas failed to reconcile the god of Aristotle with the Trinitarian God of the Bible. If Thomas would have rejected the natural theology of Aristotle by placing the doctrine of the Trinity, which is known only by divine revelation, at the foundation of his knowledge of God, he would have rid himself of the irresolvable tension that permeates his philosophical theology. Thomas could have realized that the Trinity alone allows for God to be the only self-moving being-because the Trinity is the only being not moved by anything outside himself but freely capable of creating and controlling contingent things in motion.

A Theology of Biblical Counseling
A Theology of Biblical Counseling

Author: Heath Lambert

Publisher: Zondervan Academic

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 0310518172

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Since the beginning of the biblical counseling movement in 1970, biblical counselors have argued that counseling is a ministry of the Word, just like preaching or missions. As a ministry, counseling must be defined according to sound biblical theology rather than secular principles of psychology. For over four decades, biblical theology has been at the core of the biblical counseling movement. Leaders in biblical counseling have emphasized a commitment to teaching doctrine in their counseling courses out of the conviction that good theology leads to good counseling…and bad theology leads to bad counseling. A Theology of Biblical Counseling is a landmark new book that covers the history of the biblical counseling movement, the core convictions that underlie sound counseling, and practical wisdom for counseling today. Dr. Heath Lambert shows how biblical counseling is rooted in the Scriptures while illustrating the real challenges counselors face today through true stories from the counseling room. A substantive textbook written in accessible language, it is an ideal resource for use in training biblical counselors at colleges, seminaries, and training institutes. In each chapter, doctrine comes to life in real ministry to real people, dramatically demonstrating how theology intersects with the lives of actual counselees.

Criticism of Religion
Criticism of Religion

Author: Roland Boer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 9004176462

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Criticism of Religion offers a spirited critical commentary on the engagements with religion and theology by a range of leading Marxist philosophers and critics: Lucien Goldmann, Fredric Jameson, Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Kautsky, Julia Kristeva, Alain Badiou, Giorgio Agamben, Georg Lukács, and Raymond Williams. Apart from offering sustained critique, the aim is to gather key insights from these critics in order to develop a comprehensive theory of religion. The book follows on the heels of the acclaimed Criticism of Heaven, being the second volume of a five volume series called Criticism of Heaven and Earth.

Liberating Black Theology
Liberating Black Theology

Author: Anthony B. Bradley

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2010-02-03

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1433523558

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When the beliefs of Barack Obama's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, assumed the spotlight during the 2008 presidential campaign, the influence of black liberation theology became hotly debated not just within theological circles but across cultural lines. How many of today's African-American congregations-and how many Americans in general-have been shaped by its view of blacks as perpetual victims of white oppression? In this interdisciplinary, biblical critique of the black experience in America, Anthony Bradley introduces audiences to black liberation theology and its spiritual and social impact. He starts with James Cone's proposition that the "victim" mind-set is inherent within black consciousness. Bradley then explores how such biblical misinterpretation has historically hindered black churches in addressing the diverse issues of their communities and prevented adherents from experiencing the freedoms of the gospel. Yet Liberating Black Theology does more than consider the ramifications of this belief system; it suggests an alternate approach to the black experience that can truly liberate all Christ-followers.

The Theology of the Book of Revelation
The Theology of the Book of Revelation

Author: Richard Bauckham

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1993-03-04

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 1107393086

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The Book of Revelation is a work of profound theology. But its literary form makes it impenetrable to many modern readers and open to all kinds of misinterpretations. Richard Bauckham explains how the book's imagery conveyed meaning in its original context and how the book's theology is inseparable from its literary structure and composition. Revelation is seen to offer not an esoteric and encoded forecast of historical events but rather a theocentric vision of the coming of God's universal kingdom, contextualised in the late first-century world dominated by Roman power and ideology. It calls on Christians to confront the political idolatries of the time and to participate in God's purpose of gathering all the nations into his kingdom. Once Revelation is properly grounded in its original context it is seen to transcend that context and speak to the contemporary church. This study concludes by highlighting Revelation's continuing relevance for today.

What Love Is This?
What Love Is This?

Author: Dave Hunt

Publisher:

Published: 2007-04-22

Total Pages: 590

ISBN-13: 9781928660125

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Many sincere, Bible-believing Christians are Calvinists only by default. Thinking that the only choice is between Calvinism (with its presumed doctrine of eternal security) and Arminianism (with its teaching that salvation can be lost), and confident of Christ's promise to keep eternally those who believe in Him, they therefore consider themselves to be Calvinists. It takes only a few simple questions to discover that most Christians are largely unaware of what John Calvin and his early followers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries actually believed and practiced. Nor do they fully understand what most of today's leading Calvinists believe. Although there are disputed variations of the Calvinist doctrine, among its chief proponents (whom we quote extensively in context) there is general agreement on certain core beliefs. Many evangelicals who think they are Calvinists will be surprised to learn of Calvin's belief in salvation through infant baptism and of his grossly un-Christian behavior, at times, as the "Protestant Pope" of Geneva, Switzerland. Most shocking of all, however, is Calvinism's misrepresentation of God, who "is love." It is our prayer that this volume will enable readers to examine more carefully the vital issues involved and to follow God's holy Word­--not man's teachings. "The first edition of this book was greeted by fervent opposition and criticism from Calvinists. In this enlarged and revised edition I have endeavored to respond to the critics." --Dave Hunt

The Culture of Theology
The Culture of Theology

Author: John Webster

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 1493419900

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John Webster, one of the world's leading systematic theologians, published extensively on the nature and practice of Christian theology. This work marked a turning point in Webster's theological development and is his most substantial statement on the task of theology. It shows why theology matters and why its pursuit is a demanding but exhilarating venture. Previously unavailable in book form, this magisterial statement, now edited and critically introduced for the first time, presents Webster's legendary lectures to a wider readership. It contains an extensive introductory essay by Ivor Davidson.

Religion, Theory, Critique
Religion, Theory, Critique

Author: Richard King

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2017-07-18

Total Pages: 558

ISBN-13: 0231518242

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Religion, Theory, Critique is an essential tool for learning about theory and method in the study of religion. Leading experts engage with contemporary and classical theories as well as non-Western cultural contexts. Unlike other collections, this anthology emphasizes the dynamic relationship between "religion" as an object of study and different methodological approaches and openly addresses the question of the manifold ways in which "religion," "secular," and "culture" are imagined within different disciplinary horizons. This volume is the first textbook which seeks to engage discussion of classical approaches with contemporary cultural and critical theories. Contributors write on the influence of the natural sciences in the study of religion; the role of European Christianity in modeling theories of religion; religious experience and the interface with cognitive science; the structure and function of religious language; the social-scientific study of religion; ritual in religion; the phenomenology of religion; critical theory and religion; embodiment and religion; the impact of colonialism and modernity; theorizing religion in terms of race and ethnicity; links among religion, nationalism, and globalization; the interplay of gender, sex, and religion; and religion and the environment. Each chapter introduces the topic, identifies key theorists and issues, and respects the pluralistic nature of the scholarship in the field. Altogether, this collection scrutinizes the explicit and implicit assumptions theorists make about religion as an object of analysis.

Reading the Old Testament
Reading the Old Testament

Author: John Barton

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 1984-01-01

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780664245559

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John Barton's revised classic text is intended for students who have already learned some of the techniques of biblical study and who wish to explore the implications and aims of the various critical methods currently in use. Chapters include: form criticism, redaction criticism, canonical criticism, structuralism, reader-response criticism, and postmodern approaches. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Criticism of Heaven
Criticism of Heaven

Author: Roland Boer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 9004161112

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Why do some of the major Marxists of the twentieth century engage extensively with theology? What is the influence on their other work? This book explores the instersections between Marxism and theology in the work of Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin, Louis Althusser, Henri Lefebvre, Antonio Gramsci, Terry Eagleton, Slavoj Zižek and Theodor Adorno.