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This book makes plain that the man in the pulpit occupies a position of unrivaled significance in the life and destiny of his fellow man. It concerns the kerygma, or, as Professor A. M. Hunter of King''s College, Aberdeen, states in the Foreword, ""the preached Gospel which the first heralds of Christ proclaimed to the great pagan world of their day, that Gospel which, after nineteen centuries, remains the Word from the Beyond for our human predicament. It tells what the Proclamation really was and how it runs, like a golden thread, through the whole New Testament.""Dr. Mounce introduces his study with a survey of related terms as they appear in classical Greek, proceeds to show the role of the herald in the life and culture of the Old Testament world through a careful investigation of the Septuagint, and, more importantly, gives a detailed analysis of the nature of preaching as it occurs in the New Testament itself. The closing chapter forcibly demonstrates that true Christian preaching has ever been and always should be the medium through which God contemporizes His historic self-disclosure in Christ, and offers man the opportunity to respond in faith.As a study of the heart of the joyful message that the first heralds of Christianity proclaimed, this book breaks fresh ground for a new understanding of the vital significance of preaching.""Sound scholarship, fresh treatment, and evangelical warmth."" --F. F. Bruce, the late Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis, University of ManchesterRobert Mounce, President Emeritus of Whitworth College, is widely known as the author of a number of New Testament commentaries. For the past forty years he has been involved in Bible translation, most recently serving as Assistant New Testament Editor for the English Standard Version.

A thought-provoking guide to a spiritual approach to daily work.""--''Booklist''This compelling analysis of the spiritual dimensions of work confronts the alienation and lack of fulfillment that exist in epidemic proportions in the workplace. Haughey delves into the question of the lasting value of work, and focuses on the relationship between work and justice, work and grace, and work and spirit. Haughey''s book is a quiet energizer, perfect for the person who is bored with work, angry at his or her colleagues or disillusioned with the meaning of work.""--''America''John C. Haughey, SJ, a well respected theologian and lecturer, is a senior research fellow at Georgetown University''s Woodstock Theological Center in Washington, D.C. He has served as an appointee of the Vatican''s Council on Christian Unity for seventeen years and has held chairs at Marquette University, John Carroll University, and Seton Hall University. He is the author of ''Housing Heaven''s Fire'' (2002) and editor of ''Revisiting the Idea of Vocation'' (2004).

Arguing that the Christian doctrine of revelation is necessary for understanding the prevenience of God''s grace, Ronald Thiemann defends the doctrine of revelation by focusing on the identity and reality of the promising God depicted in the biblical narrative. According to Thiemann, The crisis of revelation has occurred within a cultural context decisively marked by radical pluralism. The modern defender of God''s reality must seek to show how God is, both in relation and prior to those human concepts by which we seek to grasp his reality. He or she must do so by an argument which resists the reduction of theology to anthropology.In analysis of such diverse thinkers as John Locke, Friedrich Schleiermacher, and Thomas Torrance, Thiemann criticizes the epistemological foundationalism adopted by theologians to provide theoretical justification for the divine origins of Christian beliefs. He argues that the doctrine of revelation must be seen as an account supporting the intelligibility and truth of a set of Christian convictions. His notion of the narrated promise reveals God''s prevenience as promiser and humanity as recipient of the promise. In an examination of the Gospel of Matthew, Thiemann shows how the biblical narrative identifies God as the God of promise and invites the reader to participate in God''s prevenient reality.ROBERT F. THIEMANN is Professor of Theology and of Religion and Society at Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of Constructing a Public Theology and Religion in Public Life. He is also co-editor of Who Will Provide? The Changing Role of Religion in American Social Welfare.

Here, for the first time, the development of pastoral care as a discipline has been documented. Dr. Holifield details the shift in emphasis from saving souls to supporting individuals in self-realization, and in the process raises thought-provoking questions about the preoccupation with psychological methodology evident in modern society and clergy. Every pastor wittingly or unwittingly adopts some ''theory'' of pastoral counseling, whether it be derived from the seventeenth century or from the twentieth, says Dr. Holifield. From colonial America''s intellectual approach to today''s therapeutic self culture, he explores those theories. Theological, social, economic, and psychological threads are interwoven with fascinating conversational examples to show how Protestantism helped to form--and was influenced by--changing social orders. Broad in scope, scholarly in detail, yet immensely readable, this is an important book for clinical pastoral educators, students, professionals--everyone interested in church and social history.E. Brooks Holifield is the C. H. Candler Professor of American Church History at Emory University in Atlanta. He is the author of six books, including ''The Gentlemen Theologians'' (1978), ''A History of Pastoral Care in America'' (1983), ''Era of Persuasion'' (1989), and ''Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War'' (2003). He is also the former president of the American Society of Church History.

We all know women we admire and want to be near. They are the women we call when we need to talk, or when we need a whispered word of encouragement or hope. They are the ones who rejoice in our good news -- and who sympathize with us in our grief.These are the women who draw us out of ourselves when we become emotionally distant and who graciously accept our eager interruptions into their lives when others would see only intrusion. They are life-givers who touch us with their boundless love.They are women of a generous spirit.You, too, can be such a woman -- one whose love nurtures, encourages, and impacts those around her. Within these pages, author Lois Mowday Rabey shows you how, offering encouragement, motivation, and advice to show you the way. Learn how you can express life-giving love as you enter into the beautiful mystery of becoming a woman of a generous spirit.Lois Mowday Rabey is an acclaimed author, speaker, and encourager who has been inspiring audiences nationwide for more than fifteen years. Her areas of expertise include women''s issues, relationships, and spiritual motivation.A widely published author, Lois has written articles for ''Discipleship Journal,'' ''Decision,'' ''Youthworker Journal,'' ''Single-Parent Family,'' and ''Moody.'' Her books include ''Daughters Without Dads'' and ''Coming of Age.'' She has been a guest on TV''s ''The 700 Club'' and ''Straight Talk'' and has been featured on such radio programs as ''Family Life Today'' and Moody Broadcasting''s ''Midday Connection.''Lois is the mother of two grown daughters and the grandmother of three. She lives with her husband, writer Steve Rabey, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

This updated best seller challenges the reader to examine the current church structure. If you have never read this classic, you have missed a treasure chest of information and wisdom from one of the most respected authors of our time.Wine (the gospel of Jesus Christ) and Wineskins (the man-made structures of the church). How do the two relate? What happens when new wine is poured into old wineskins? What about making new wineskins? In short: What kinds of church structures are most compatible with the gospel in our modern, techno-urban society? Snyder addresses these questions -- and provides some challenging answers. In the course of his argument he discusses the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ, the role of spiritual gifts, the pastor as a superstar,"" and renewal that is deeply spiritual and immediately practical.No other book has had more influence in shaping my understanding of ministry at the local church level. It is a must read for every Christian leader."" --Michael Slaughter, Pastor, Ginghamsburg United Methodist ChurchHoward Snyder''s ''Radical Renewal'' is even more relevant today than when it first appeared as ''The Problem of Wineskins'' in 1975. The world has changed, but Snyder''s challenges are still very much alive today."" --Vinson Synan, Dean and Professor of Divinity, Regent University School of DivinityImportant books do not die . . . all they need is a little dusting and polishing to become as vital and challenging as their first appearance. So it is with this . . . revision. Not only is it just as relevant, but given the changes taking place in society and the current state of the church, it is even more timely and necessary."" --Robert Banks, Director and Dean, Macquarie Christian Studies InstituteHoward A. Snyder is Visiting Director of the Manchester Wesley Research Centre in Manchester, England. He has served as a pastor and as a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary (1996-2006), Tyndale Seminary in Toronto (2007-2012), and elsewhere. His books include The Problem of Wineskins, The Radical Wesley, Models of the Kingdom, and Salvation Means Creation Healed (with Joel Scandrett).

This God we worship is a mysterious, incomprehensible God. His love, His patience, His holiness, His power, His purposes, and His wisdom will forever leave us in a state of astonished wonder. Yet . . . the Bible tells us that we truly can ""taste and see that the Lord is good"" (Psalm 34:8).Draw closer to the Lord your God.How can you go about ""tasting"" God? By stepping beyond your regular times of Bible reading and prayer to thoughtfully, worshipfully meditate on Him. If you want to draw closer to His majesty, you must actually come into His presence. And Close to His Majesty was written to help you do exactly that.Taste God''s goodness for yourself through fifteen worshipful meditations on the attributes of God by beloved Bible teacher David Needham--and experience what it really means to draw Close to His Majesty.David C. Needham is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Bible and Theology at Multnomah Bible College in Portland, Oregon. His other books include Birthright: Christian Do You Know Who You Are? and Alive for the First Time.

In this revised, expanded edition of a widely praised theological text, the major North American theologian Schubert Ogden presents a clear introduction to, and critique of, liberation theology. ''Faith and Freedom'' lays out the basic requirements for any authentically Christian liberation theology. This revised edition eliminates gender-specific language for God and offers an important new chapter on Christology.Response to previous editions of ''Faith and Freedom'':A readable proposal, thought-provoking . . . very stimulating."" --Journal of the American Academy of Religion[An] excellent work which provides us with a most valuable tool both for reflecting on the current theologies of liberation and for moving forward in a methodical way toward a more critical and more holistic theology of liberation."" --The New Review of Books and ReligionA significant contribution to the liberation discussion."" --Trinity Seminary ReviewSchubert Ogden is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theology at Southern Methodist University. His other books include ''The Reality of God and Other Essays'' and ''Christ Without Myth: A Study Based on the Theology of Rudolf Bultmann.''

The first gospel was not one of the four canonical gospels. It was probably Q, an early collection of Jesus'' sayings used by Matthew and Luke to create their gospels. Q does not mention Jesus'' death and resurrection, and it contains no birth or childhood stories. In Q, Jesus is pictured as a prophetic sage.The First Gospel provides a comprehensive introduction to the Q hypothesis. The author reviews and augments the arguments for the existence of Q. He concludes that the Q document was not merely a miscellaneous collection of sayings of Jesus that served as a source for Matthew and Luke. He sees it as a gospel in its own right, with its own history and own quite distinctive theology.An excellent, long-overdue, and extremely thorough analysis of Q, not just as a source for Matthew and Luke, but as a much earlier gospel in its own right, a gospel with its own redactional history and its own quite distinctive theology."" --John Dominic Crossan, author of ''The Historical Jesus''Arland D. Jacobson is Professor of New Testament and Director of the Charis Ecumenical Center at Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota).

These early Christian leaders set the pattern of faith and practice still evident in the Church today. The spirit and impact of that heritage are presented to the reader unfamiliar with the actual writings of these Fathers of the early Church.The author carefully avoids technical and controversial elements that are of interest only to scholars. Historical matters are featured especially in regard to the teachings on the sacraments and the ministry. This emphasis upon the writings results in a concise, yet comprehensive pattern of the Fathers'' major contribution to the life and teachings in the early Church.For theological students, ministers, and Christian laymen, this study of the Apostolic Fathers offers a compact introduction to the early foundation and consequent development of Christian beliefs. It illuminates the common faith and heritage that have united Christians throughout the ages.John Lawson taught Church History, Historical Theology, Wesleyan History, and Wesleyan Theology at Emory University''s Candler School of Theology for twenty-one years. His other books include ''Introduction to Christian Doctrine'' and ''Wesley Hymns as a Guide to Scriptural Teaching.''

The arts--merely entertaining or indispensable?The arts belong to the Christian life. And in ''The Liberated Imagination,'' author Leland Ryken explores the God-ordained significance of art--its nature and purpose in relating to truth and everyday life.For both artist and audience, for student, teacher, and critic, this book is a road to discovering how participation in art and the imagination leads to a more intense sharing in life''s riches, a deeper celebration of all that God has created, and a new awareness of the wideness of his grace.''The Liberated Imagination'' is a civilized, not to say baptized, treatment of what happens when a Christian confronts culture. What Leland Ryken has done is simply to validate the artistic experience and to tell Christians the deep artistic truth that they already unconsciously know."" --William Griffin, contributing editor of ''Publisher''s Weekly''Professor Ryken reawakens the wonder and tension in our response to the arts by suggesting ways in which the Christian may find and value intimations of the divine in human creations. --Sr. Maura Eichner, Professor of English, College of Notre Dame of MarylandAll too many Christians are uneasy about the arts. This book provides a brilliantly clear and systematic approach to the arts from a Christian perspective."" --Corbin Scott Carnell, Professor of English, University of Florida, Past President of the Conference on Christianity and LiteratureLeland Ryken is an eminently reasonable and insightful critic. All the essential questions about the arts and Christianity are here. ''The Liberated Imagination'' should liberate its readers to experience the reflection of God''s glory to be found in the arts. I recommend it highly.""--Harold Fickett, author of The Holy FoolLeland Ryken is widely respected in Christian higher education as a scholar and prolific writer. His reputation for being both thorough and insightful is borne out in this examination of the relationship of the Christian faith to the arts. Thoughtful Christians will find ''The Liberated Imagination'' to be provocative and highly readable.""--Karen A. Longman, Greenville CollegeLeland Ryken is Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English at Wheaton College. He has authored fourteen books including ''How to Read the Bible as Literature,'' ''Worldly Saints: The Puritans as They Really Were,'' and ''Work and Leisure in Christian Perspective.''

Whether or not they are aware of the reality, every Christian is involved in spiritual warfare. This important new resource will give any believer, both novice and seasoned warrior alike, new and essential information for understanding the rules of the warfare that goes on between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.Through the observations and principles systematically outlined in this book, you will come to a deeper knowledge of spiritual conflict, ranging from the personal level to the territorial level, and will, therefore, become better equipped to fight the battles you face.Charles H. Kraft is Sun-Hee Kwak Professor of Anthropology and Intercultural Communication at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is also President of Deep Healing Ministries, Inc.David M. DeBord is former Executive Director of the Christian Pastoral Counseling Center of Pasadena and of Deep Healing Ministries, Inc.

With ''Theology from the Womb of Asia'', Song continues to demonstrate that he is one of the most creative and important theologians of our time. He forces us to expand the horizons of our theological vision, not only by drawing on the resources of Asian thought and experience, but also by insisting that we do theology with passion. Here he offers images, fables, poems, parables, and visions, woven together with his own compelling prose. The biblical stories with which we thought we were familiar become new and more compelling stories when we revisit them with this able and wise guide. And our whole approach to life and living is transformed by the freshness he breathes into all that he surveys with us.--Robert McAfee Brown, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics, Pacific School of ReligionIn ''Theology from the Womb of Asia'', C. S. Song shows how the story of God''s compassion in Jesus and the many heartrending stories and poems of the Asian people are reaching out towards each other. Doing theology in this perspective is not a matter of application of doctrine, but of recognition of a relation between the suffering God and suffering humanity, which transcends many artificial and alienating distinctions. The book is an appeal to Asian theologians, but at the same time a necessary challenge to a Western academic theology and missionary thinking.--Bert Hoedemaker, Professor of Missions and Christian Ethics, University of Groningen, the NetherlandsA splendid example of doing theology with Asian resources. A breath of fresh air to liven up traditional theology, using original reflections and observations with the backing of close knowledge of traditional theology. A book no theological college can do without.--Yeow Choo Lak, The South East Asia Graduate School of Theology, SingaporeC. S. Song is Professor of Theology and Asian Cultures at Pacific School of Religion. His recent publications include ''The Believing Heart''.

An academically respectable description and evaluation of secular humanism is available at last.The diversity within humanism receives full recognition in this book, as does the fact that not everything about humanism is bad from a Christian point of view. Indeed, the author continues, there are many emphases within humanism that are compatible with Christian beliefs, a thesis to which he devotes an entire chapter.Part 1 summarizes in turn eight prominent forms of humanism: Huxley''s evolutionism, Skinner''s behaviorism, Sartre''s existentialism, Dewey''s pragmatism, Marxism, Rand''s egocentrism, Lamont''s culturalism, and the coalitional form present in the humanist declaration and manifestoes. Emerging from these chapters are both the differences between humanists and the consensus that binds them together. It is this humanistic consensus, writes the author, that most radically conflicts with Christian beliefs and that is the number one problem in the United States today.After the chapter on the helpful emphases of secular humanism, part 2 details this movement''s comparative inferiority, internal inconsistencies, religious inadequacies, and philosophical insufficiencies. The final chapter demonstrates that, while Christianity is consistent with the central principles of science, philosophy, epistemology, and ethics, humanism is not. There is no rational justification, the author concludes, for being a humanist.Dr. Norman Geisler is author or coauthor of some fifty books and hundreds of articles. He has taught at the university and graduate level for nearly forty years and has spoken or debated in all fifty states and in twenty-five countries. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University and now serves as Chancellor of Veritas Evangelical Seminary, in Murrieta, CA.

A penetrating study of practical truthsIn this commentary on Romans, author Robert Mounce addresses the human penchant for trying to attain righteousness by works. He discusses themes such as:-What happens when humans turn their back on God?-Does God make humans righteous?-Does justification by faith in effect sanction sin?-Is Christianity practical?Mounce''s thorough, readable scholarship makes present-day applications of Paul''s message apparent. And he deals with the issues important to laypeople in a language not obscured by professional jargon.Robert Mounce, President Emeritus of Whitworth College, is widely known as the author of a number of New Testament commentaries. For the past forty years he has been involved in Bible translation, most recently serving as Assistant New Testament Editor for the English Standard Version.

I wish you all the best in your publishing venture, which I''m sure will bring back fond memories for many industry-people and regular air-travelers alike. Mr. Nils J. Flo, Director, Public Relations Scandinavian Airlines SystemI am sending you an interesting brochure of our current fleet....Your book sounds most interesting, and I am looking forward to receiving a copy. Mr. Richard A. Swift, Sales Manager AEROFLOTEnclosed you will find Northwest''s Route Map, along with photos of both the 747-200, and 747-400. Regretfully, a photo of the DC-7 is not available at this time ... I hope these materials assist you in the completion of your book. I am looking forward to viewing the end result. Mr. Jon Austin, Director, Media Relations Northwest AirlinesEnclosed please find photos of our MD-11, and 747 jets.... I would certainly be appreciated if you could supply us with a copy of your book, which will be kept in our library. Wishing you all success. Claudie F. Warshawer, Coordinator, Industry Relations, U.S. and Canada, VARIG, Brazilian AirlinesWe never operated DC-7s. But I have enclosed a photo of a C-54, and also a B-747....We are looking forward to your book. it is history that should be recorded. Mr. J. Baker, Historical Committee Flying Tiger Retirement ClubDean Nichols was born on the Yakima Indian Reservation in Washington in 1919, although his Indian forebears lived in northern Maine.A licensed tugboat captain and purser, he has worked as a port manager, an electrical and civil engineer, an air-traffic controller, a boat officer for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and a marine-traffic officer for the Alaska Marine Highway. He followed in his father''s footsteps to become a tugboat captain in the Pacific Northwest. He has studied the social and natural sciences, humanities, and business administration at Anchorage Community College.

In this volume, Richard Creel sets forth a thesis that offers a third way to approach divine impassibility. Defining impassibility as imperviousness to causal influence from external factors, Creel sketches a path between Aquinas and Hartshorne, by asserting that once this definition is accepted, one must still distinguish the various respects in which God is or is not impassible. Virtually no one would dispute that the divine nature is impassible. God will never cease to be God, no matter what happens in creation. With respect to the divine knowledge and will, however, there are conflicting views. Creel claims that God''s will is impassible because God knows everything that can be accomplished by divine power. Yet, unlike Aquinas, Creel believes that God has this knowledge in virtue of a ''plenum'' of possibilities eternally coexistent with the divine being. The absolute is not simply God, but rather God plus the ''plenum''. Creel suggests that God''s knowledge is passible with respect to the contingent future actions of creatures. God knows these actions, therefore, not in their presentiality from all eternity, as Aquinas would hold, but only as they happen and become actual. God''s will, however, remains immediately impassible because the divine will is ordered to possibilities, not actualities. God never has to wait until after we do something in order to decide his response to it. He has eternally decided his response to all that we might do. Ultimately God''s feelings remain impassible, no matter what concrete decisions human beings make, because the basic intent of the divine plan for us is always achieved: we exercise our freedom to choose for or against God. God is impassible with respect to the divine nature, divine will, and divine feelings; but God is passible with respect to the divine knowledge of future contingent events.Richard Creel taught philosophy and religion at Ithaca College in upstate New York for thirty-three years (1969-2002) and served as President of the New York State Philosophical Association (1972-74). His other publications include ''Thinking Philosophically: An Introduction to Critical Reflection and Rational Dialogue'' and ''Religion and Doubt: Toward a Faith of Your Own''.

The topic of evil and redemption has been at the center of the Western tradition since the beginning of the Christian era. In The End of Evil, Suchocki explores the source and end of evil in the thought of Augustine, Leibniz, Kant, Schleiermacher, Hegel, and Nietzsche. Whitehead''s philosophy is used as a creative response to the problems and possibilities raised in these earlier developments.This is a major piece of scholarship. It is clearly and gracefully written. Far from merely summarizing existing process approaches to eschatology, Suchocki intricately works out, for the first time, a systematic treatment of the source and end of evil. The topics of evil, of theodicy, of eschatology, central concerns of Christian theology, receive a systematic treatment here from both an historical and a philosophical perspective. This makes the book more than a theological exercise. At the same time, it rises above much current philosophical literature by focusing on categories of existence (rather than language) such as freedom and finitude, treated in terms of a unified theory. I believe her explication of the Whiteheadian basis for this particular process eschatology will be an important (not to say popular) interpretation."" --Nancy Frankenberry, Professor of Religion Dartmouth CollegeI particularly admire Suchocki''s historical sense. She lodges the problem of evil in the development of the western tradition, and treats a variety of extremely different contexts--from Augustine to Nietzsche--with care and competence. As her own view, which is of course an extension of Whitehead''s, begins to unfold in the second half of the book, it is enriched and clarified by her account of the background out of which she understands it to have emerged. I was also impressed by Suchocki''s ability to maintain a successful tension between her own religious commitments--frankly stated in the introduction--and a rigorous, disinterested philosophical analysis."" --Brian J. Martine, author of Indeterminacy and IntelligibilityMarjorie Hewitt Suchocki is Professor Emerita at Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, California. She is the author of serveral books including Divinity and Diversity; God, Christ, Church; and The Fall to Violence.

The first comprehensive study of heroic women figures in Anglo-Saxon literature investigates English secular and religious prose and poetry from the seventh to the eleventh centuries. Given the paucity of surviving literature from the Anglo-Saxon period, the works which feature major women characters -- often portrayed as heroes -- seem surprisingly numerous. Even more striking is the strength of the female characterizations, given the medieval social ideal of women as peaceful, passive members of society. The task of this study is to examine the existing sources afresh, asking new questions about the depictions of women in the literature of the period. Particular attention is focused on the failed, possibly adulterous women of ''The Wife''s Lament'' and ''Wulf and Eadwacer'', the monstrous mother of Grendel in ''Beowulf'', and the chaste but heroic figures and saints Judith, Juliana, and Elene. The book relies for its analysis on recent and standard texts in Anglo-Saxon studies and literature, as well as a thorough grounding in Latin and vernacular historical documents and Anglo-Saxon writings other than the focal literary texts.Jane Chance''s short but well-documented study of heroic female figures in the literature of the Anglo-Saxon period is a refreshing interpretation of several important texts by analysis of the social values usually ascribed to aristocratic women and each writer''s reference to these, either by inverting the normally perceived role or in the reinforcement of it. - Jonathan W. Nicholls, University of Warwick ''Modern Language Review''Jane Chance''s ''Woman as Hero in Old English Literature'' appears at a time when scholars are turning increasingly to the early Middle Ages in search of more flexible roles for women than those provided in the putative renaissances of later centuries . . . Throughout her discussion Chance displays consistent strengths in her attentiveness to the implication of words and images and in her concern to integrate patristic and Germanic customary expectations about women''s roles and nature. - Hope Weissman, Wesleyan University ''Speculum''Jane Chance, Professor of English and Women and the Study of Gender at Rice University, has published twenty books and many articles and reviews on medieval women, medieval feminist historiography and mythography, Geoffrey Chaucer, and modern medievalism (Tolkien in particular), among other topics. Her most recent book is a pioneering collection of biographical profiles and memoirs entitled Women Medievalists and the Academy (2005), with seventy contributors. Among her other books are Christine de Pizan''s Letter of Othea to Hector"" (1990), Medieval Mythography: From Roman North Africa to the School of Chartres, AD 433-1177 (1994)--winner of the 1994 South Central Modern Language Association Book Award--and several collections, including Gender and Text in the Later Middle Ages (1996). Her essay on Beowulf, The Structural Unity of Beowulf: The Problem of Grendel''s Mother,"" has been reprinted six times, most recently in the Norton Beowulf critical edition (2001). Her essay Classical Myth and Gender in the Letters of Abelard and Heloise: Glossed, Gloss, Glossator,"" published in Listening to Heloise, won the first Best Essay Prize offered by the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship in 2005. General editor of the Library of Medieval Women and two other series, she has received many fellowships and has directed two NEH summer seminars/institutes.

This is a valuable book.....It is a work of wide learning. It deals with a topic which, as the author states in his preface, has been much neglected in spite of the fact that biblical scholars and theologians have always paid lip service to the importance of law in Jewish life. It is a book which should be on the library shelf of every serious student of the New Testament. - Fr. Pius, O.F.M.C. Franciscan Friary, Crawley.J. Duncan M. Derrett was, until his retirement, Professor of Oriental Laws at the University of London. He has author works on legal history as well as ''Jesus''s Audience'', ''Studies in the New Testament'' (6 vols.), ''The Sermon on the Mount'', ''The Anastasis'', and ''The Bible and the Buddhists''.

Few recent Christian thinkers have been as widely influential as John Howard Yoder (1927-1997). Encompassing a teaching career of more than thirty years and such landmark publications as ''The Politics of Jesus'', Yoder''s life and thought have profoundly impacted students and colleagues from a broad range of disciplines. In the words of Stanley Hauerwas, Yoder is probably the major theologican/ethicists of this half-century in America and certainly the leading Mennonite theologian of the twentieth century.''The Wisdom of the Cross'' is the only book to provide valuable secondary essays engaging Yoder''s central theological concerns, together with a biographical reflection on his life and legacy. Written by scholars both from within and outside of Yoder''s Mennonite community, these essays develop the most significant aspects of Yoder''s thought - from his powerful defense of Christian pacifism to his seminal analysis of the politics of Jesus to his challenging contributions to Christian social ethics, ecclesiology, and theological method. The book also includes a previously unpublished essay on moral absolutes by Yoder himself. A fitting tribute to Yoder''s distinguished career, this volume will be useful to readers new to Yoder''s work and to those wishing to probe more deeply into the implications of his thought.Stanley Hauerwas is the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.Chris K. Huebner is assistant professor of theology and ethics at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Manitoba.Harry J. Huebner is professor of philosophy and theology, Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, ManitobaMark Thiessen Nation is associate professor of Theology at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, VA.

In this book, Victor Preller examines the logical status of religious language in the light of recent developments in American analytic philosophy. The problem inherent in religious language is presented in terms of the referential status of the word God. The author argues that the significance of any referential term is dependent upon the ability of that term to play a significant role ''within'' a unified conceptual system. The problem is shown to transcend the epistemological dogmas of Positivism and Conceptual Empiricism and to be inherent in any intelligible epistemology, including that of Thomas Aquinas, whose theological treatises serve as a model of religious language for the thesis of this book. According to Professor Preller, Divine Science (Aquinas'' term for what we now call Natural Theology) results from a reflection upon the limitations encountered by the intellect in its attempt to render intelligible the objects of human experience. In the Science of God (Aquinas'' term for that mode of knowing engendered by faith), the unknown meta-empirical referent of Divine Science becomes the object of the human intellect. While this study develops out of the discussions inaugurated by Flew and McIntyre in ''New Essays in Philosophical Theology'', it rejects the excessively empirical approach of most other studies in that tradition. It applies post-positivistic analysis to specifically Catholic theological language, but it obviously applies to the theological language involved in any form of theism.

Paul S. Minear is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology at Yale University Divinity School. His other books include ''The Bible and the Historian'' (2002), ''Christians and the New Creation'' (1994), ''New Testament Apocalyptic'' (1981), and ''To Heal and to Reveal'' (1976).

What others are saying...As an AG minister, I was especially interested in Dr. Walston''s discussion of this topic. I found his arguments lucid, biblical, exegetical, and convincing.Rev. Kevin Potts, Ph.D. Candidate, ChaplainDr. Walston has thrown a ''big wrench'' into my tongues-as-evidence doctrinal gears. I am now working through what I thought was a foundational doctrine that I also thought was settled long ago. This book should be required reading for people on both sides of this issue.Dr. Denny Nissley, AG minister, Director of Christ in Action MinistriesMany books and articles have been written in defense of speaking in tongues as the unmistakable, physical evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Through his careful and thorough analysis of the Pentecostal texts in the Book of Acts, Dr. Walston is challenging this view. This book is beyond doubt one of the most thought-provoking analyses on this theme I have ever read.Nils-Olov Nilsson, Th.D., Swedish Missionary and Theologian with the Swedish Pentecostal MovementRick Walston is founder and president of Columbia Evangelical Seminary. He pastored for two decades in both Assemblies of God and independent churches. His educational background includes a D.Min. in pastoral studies and a Ph.D. in New Testament theology.

The first thing that you must learn about spiritual gifts is that you have one. You may not realize it, but you function in your gift daily.God has equipped each member of the Body of Christ with a special ability to do His will. This special ability is called a spiritual gift.Many readers of this book will feel a sense of discovery of who they are in Christ. They will discover their spiritual gifts for the first time, and they will learn how to move forward in the ministry that God has entrusted to them.What others are saying about this unique book:Spiritual gifts are to be recognized and celebrated. Dr. Walston takes you on a profound journey, helping you understand your God-given gifts and the gifts of others. This will bless you in the workplace, homeplace, and all your relationships.Dr. Greg Jantz, Director of and professional counselor at The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, Inc.Nothing has caused more chaos and division in the church in the last thirty years than misunderstandings about spiritual gifts. Some have taken the gifts to illogical extremes, others ignore them altogether. Dr. Walston presents a practical, well-balanced biblical approach that will be a help to all who read this book.Rev. Ross Holtz, Senior Pastor, The Summit (EFCA)A well written, expository guide to spiritual/psychological gifts.Rev. Dr. Larry Allen, Southern Baptist bivocational pastor/teacherFinally, a book that explains the gifts of the Spirit biblically. It will help correct the abuse of the gifts, and encourage the correct use of the gifts. This book could not have come at a better time.Rev. Kevin Potts, Ph.D. candidate, Pentecostal chaplainTwenty years of biblical research has established Dr. Walston as an authority on spiritual gifts. Anyone wanting to do in-depth study on the spiritual gifts should acquaint themselves with his works in the field. This book is an excellent place to begin.Dr. Phil Fernandes, President of the Institute of the Biblical Defense, Pastor of Trinity Bible Fellowship (Independent Baptist)Rick Walston is founder and president of Columbia Evangelical Seminary. He pastored for two decades in both Assemblies of God and independent churches. His educational background includes a D.Min. in pastoral studies and a Ph.D. in New Testament theology.

Do you feel that there should be something more to life than what you''re experiencing? Do you wonder what you can do to make your relationship with God more satisfying?In ''The Hunger of the Heart'', Ron DelBene responds to these questions that are in the hearts of so many people today. In his well-known and well-loved style of sharing personal, real-life stories in his writing, the author issues a call to spiritual growth to all persons - regardless of where they are in their spiritual journeys.DelBene describes fourteen stages of spiritual development, using the image of a tree''s growth, rather than the typical ladder image for Christian growth. Based on the experiences of thousands of people he has met and counseled, these stage descriptions serve as guidelines for making sense of the yearnings, doubts, anger, and wonder that enter every Christian''s life.Ron Delbene has been doing spiritual direction and leading programs in the area of spirituality and pastoral care across the country since 1963. He holds a Master''s agree in Theology and a Doctor of Minstry degree in Spirituality and Organizational Systems. He is a poet, artist, author of books and videos and an Episcopal priest. With his wife, Dr. Eleanor McKenzie Delbene, he directs The Hermitage, a non-profit corporation devoted to providing spiritual growth and direction. Ron and Eleanor have two grown children, Paul and Anne. Paul and his spouse, Gayle, have a daughter, Matsue, and a son, Luca. Mary and Herb Montgomery are professional writers who make their home in a suburb of Minneapolis.

Despite his strong emphasis and personal dependence upon the grace of God as manifested in Jesus Christ, Alexander Campbell''s views stood in marked contrast to those of the Reformed tradition, especially as manifested in the revivals of the second Great Awakening in America. A study of his views on this subject has relevance in the present context.William J. Richardson spent forty-one years teaching in college and seminary. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Theology, Northwest Christian College; the Bachelor of Divinity and Masters of Arts, Butler University, and the Doctor of Philosophy, the University of Oregon. Dr. Richardson is retired and living in Turner, Oregon.

Tony Pappas presents a view on stress as the result of conflict between expectation and experience. He explores the creative possibilities for transformation inherent in the clergy stressors in the intrapersonal, interpersonal, role image, congregational, and environmental areas. Discover the Forces, Sources, Recourses, and Resources within stress, and receive ample help with Framing, Naming, and Taming your stress in this new Perspective. Must reading for seminarians and clergy, will also be helpful for judicatory executives in counseling their pastors.Tony Pappas has written a superb book that should be a handbook for every pastor, but also a marvelous example of the reflective practice of ministry. Drawing from the richness of his own eighteen years of experience in his present ministry as well as both contemporary and classic sources, he has given us a gift of insight, wisdom, and even humor. This is an in-depth study of the cost and joy of ministry, valuable not only for clergy, but for pastoral relations committees and judicatory staff as well.Davida Foy Crabtree, Southern California Conference Minister, United Church of Christ, Pasadena, CaliforniaTony Pappas has given us a virtual catalogue of models for understanding pastoral stress at the personal, interpersonal, role-related, congregational, and environmental levels. The stress-challenged pastor will find here not only analytical tools, but concrete practical suggestions, a diversity of resources, real life illustrations, and the wisdom of a well-informed, wrought-in-the-fire effective and faithful pastor.Tex Sample, The Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor of Church and Society, Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, MissouriTony Pappas'' ''Pastoral Stress'' brings essential insights and suggestions to all who practice ministry. Tony offers a searching and revealing analysis of the sources of stress that pastors face. He draws on the best insights of contemporary pastoral studies to help pastors understand the roots of pastoral stress. He offers sound, practical suggestions to resolve these stresses. The wealth of insights Tony Pappas has gained from years of service as a pastor, church consultant, and counselor is now available to enhance the ministries of all of us.Douglas Alan Walrath, Professor Emeritus of Practical Theology, Bangor Theological Seminary, Strong, MaineAnthony G. Pappas is area minister for the American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts and the editor of The Five Stones, a newsletter on small church ministry.