Reading Augustine presents concise, personal readings of St. Augustine of Hippo from leading philosophers and religious scholars.Todd Breyfogle's On Creativity, Liberty, Love and the Beauty of the Law introduces readers to Augustine's understanding of law as an arena in which the possibilities of creative freedom are reconciled with the needs of natural and civil order. It places Augustine's conception of law in the broader mosaic of his ideas about how human beings are bo...

Ancient Christians invoked sin to account for an astonishing range of things, from the death of God's son to the politics of the Roman Empire that worshipped him. In this book, award-winning historian of religion Paula Fredriksen tells the surprising story of early Christian concepts of sin, exploring the ways that sin came to shape ideas about God no less than about humanity.Long before Christianity, of course, cultures had articulated the idea that human wrongdoing violated relat...

In these articles, Paul Kroll examines whether the seventh-day Sabbath is a valid law for Christians. Since the only commands for the Sabbath are in the laws of Moses, he begins by exploring whether the Law of Moses has authority over Christians. It does not; Christians are to obey God based on the new covenant, not the old. Kroll then explores auxiliary questions about Genesis, Hebrews and Jesus.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon states that "all is vapor" and describes humans as trying to "shepherd the wind." In Solomon among the Postmoderns, author Peter J. Leithart uses these claims, as well as the entire book of Ecclesiastes, to show how Solomon resonated with postmodernism.Exploring the strengths and weaknesses of postmodernism, Leithart shows how the theory reflects an important biblical theme: the elusiveness and instability of the world. But he goes on to show that ...

Love Your Neighbor is a concise introduction to Christian ethics. It begins with a look at the biblical basis for morality, defines and describes various philosophical approaches to the subject of ethics, then connects biblical morality with the idea of absolute truth in philosophy.The book then moves from its philosophical basis to a practical application of Christian ethics, considering a wide range of social, biomedical, and personal issues. It does not take a partisan or denomi...

The Paradoxical Commandments have been quoted around the world for decades. It all started when Kent Keith first articulated the ten timeless principles when he was a college student in the 1960s, and then put them into book form in the classic Anyway. His modern credo for finding personal meaning in the face of adversity became a sensation.Now the author returns to present an important and inspiring new book illustrating the Paradoxical Commandments through Bible stories ...

When Pope Francis wrote in his apostolic letter The Joy of the Gospel that the economy of the West is one that “kills,” he was immediately labeled by some as a Marxist. Criticisms came fast and furious, not only from financial columnists and conservative cable personalities, but also from some Catholic commentators, especially in the United States.In This Economy Kills, two of the most respected journalists covering the Vatican today explore the Pope’s teaching an...

This book is a primary resource in the new and growing field of Christian Ethnography. In response to a variety of critical intellectual currents (post-colonial, post-modern, and post-liberal), scholars in Christian theology and ethics are increasingly taking up the tools of ethnography as a means to ask fundamental moral questions and to make more compelling and credible moral claims. Privileging particularity, rather than the more traditional effort to achieve universal or at least gener...

How does Christianity change the way we view the natural world? In this addition to a critically acclaimed series, renowned theologian Norman Wirzba engages philosophers, environmentalists, and cultural critics to show how the modern concept of nature has been deeply problematic. He explains that understanding the world as creation rather than as nature or the environment makes possible an imagination shaped by practices of responsibility and gratitude, which can help bring healing to our ...

Former Gay Activist Paves the Way to Peaceful ConversationHomosexuality and gay marriage stand among perhaps the greatest defining cultural battles of our age. There's no escaping the inevitable conversations--so how does a Christian respond with love and biblical truth without adding fuel to the fire?Drawing on nearly thirty years of counseling people struggling with homosexuality, former gay activist Joe Dallas takes readers through virtually every argume...

This book compiles in one document the contents of several smaller e-books: What Does the Bible Say About the Old and New Covenants?, Should Christians Keep Old Testament Laws?, Should Christians Keep the Annual Festivals God Gave the Ancient Israelites?, Which Old Testament Laws Apply to Christians Today?, What Does the Bible Say About the Sabbath?, The Christian Sabbath: Divine Rest in Jesus Christ, The Covenants and the Sabbath, Open Letters to an Adventist: Is the Sabbath a Ceremonial ...

Many religious people believe that the Bible forbids any use of alcoholic beverages. But this is a distortion of the Bible and of ancient history. Although the Bible does not forbid alcohol, it does mention the abuse of alcohol. It is a serious social problem, and this series of articles addresses alcoholism, how it is treated, how we can avoid it, and the special needs of women.