The Virgin Mary is more than just a bit player in the Christmas Pageant. However, if you are indisposed towards the Virgin Mary, perhaps no amount of evidence will change your mind. After all, any number of people have used Sacred Scripture devise any number of different theological systems, each internally coherent and with great explanatory power. Despite this, one of the unique things about human consciousness is our ability to step outside ourselves, to see things from another perspective, and to change our minds. I ask you to examine the evidence and to examine the views of people you might normally discard out of hand. If you make the effort, even if you remain unconvinced, you will nonetheless find the process spiritually rewarding.

"Robert Stamps offers us a compelling case for the significance of the theology of Thomas Torrance to current discussions about Trinitarian doctrine and worship. He shows that Torrance's Christology and Eucharistic thought validates the Reformed confession of a profound, real spiritual presence in the Eucharist. This book serves as a helpful introduction to Torrance, especially his framing of revelation. Moreover, it invigorates our understanding of the theological meaning of sacramental devotion. Its readers will be stimulated, provoked, and, dare I say, inspired by its insights into--and critiques of--one of the most important and recent Reformed thinkers. In sum, this is a timely and exciting book. It will well serve pastors, theologians, and thoughtful Christians of many theological perspectives." MARK VALERI, E. T. Thompson Professor of Church History, Union Theological Seminary, Virginia "One of the values of this work is that it has deliberately sought not so much to discuss a particular problem or a collection of issues as to identify Torrance as an example of an archetypal Reformed theology of the Eucharist. To say that Dr. Stamps has been industrious is patently an understatement: the truth is that he has been indefatigable in his search for the least morsel that Torrance offers. Yet it is not so much as a study of Torrance that this book is to be commended: its great value is that it offers a contextualization of Torrance's thinking on the Eucharist--in ecclesiology, the more general dimension of an incarnational theology--as well as his understanding of cosmology and epistemology. . . . I hope that Dr. Stamps' book will not only find grateful readers but will be repaid by profound reflection on this symbol of the heart of faith." JOHN HEYWOOD THOMAS, Emeritus Professor of Theology, University of Nottingham

This major sourcebook provides significant primary readings from the history of Christian theology on the topics of creation and humanity. Beginning with an extended introduction, McFarland fleshes out the topics of creation and humanity in sections such as "God as Creator," "The Human Creature," "Evil and Sin," and "Providence," and provides a brief introduction to each selection that demonstrates its importance and establishes its historical context. This collection will be of special value in classrooms, allowing students to experience firsthand some major works that shaped efforts to forge a sound Christian understanding of creation and humanity.

Who is a member of the church? Christians divide on how one enters the church body. Matters are quickly complicated once other factors are considered, such as faith, instruction, baptism, first communion, and formal membership. Who should be baptized? What role does instruction play? And what is the best order of these things? Jonathan D. Watson's In the Name of Our Lord provides an explanatory typology and incisive analysis for thinking through these interrelated questions. Watson's four--model framework accounts for the major historical varieties of relationship between baptism and catechesis as initiation into the church. With this framework in place, Watson then considers each model in relation to one another. With a guide to navigating the terrain, readers can comprehend, compare, and contrast these different theological formulations. Readers will have a sophisticated but clear system for thinking through foundational matters that are important to every pastor and congregant.

Defining the Nature, Process, and Mission of Dogmatic Discourse. Theologians often discuss method in a remote and preliminary way that suggests they are not yet speaking theologically when speaking methodologically. But it is also possible to reflect on the work of Christian dogmatics in a way that is self-consciously nourished by biblical reasoning, resourced by tradition, joined up with ecclesial practice, and alert to spiritual dynamics. Bringing together theologians who are actively engaged in the writing and editing of extended dogmatics projects, The Task of Dogmatics represents the proceedings of the 2017 Los Angeles Theology Conference and seeks to provide constructive accounts of the nature of the dogmatic task. The eleven diverse essays in this collection include discussions on: Identifying theology's pattern and norm. The validity and relativity of doctrinal statements. The Apostle Paul and the task of dogmatics. The retrieval of patristic and medieval theology. Each of the essays collected in this volume engage with Scripture as well as with others in the field—theologians both past and present, from different confessions—in order to provide constructive resources for contemporary systematic theology and to forge a theology for the future.

Too often skeptics charge Christians with having a blind faith. Unfortunately, believers have added fuel to the charges of skeptics by speaking of their faith illogically. But the Christian faith is not a blind faith. In fact, biblical faith is never a blind, irrational faith. Christianity rests firmly on the stone that was rejected by the builders, which has become the cornerstone--Jesus Christ (Acts 4:11). Living biblically requires thinking biblically, just as "to think biblically entails to live biblically," as Winfried Corduan notes in the Foreword. As followers of Christ, believers cannot separate biblical thinking and biblical living. These two behaviors are eternally connected not only in the person of Jesus Christ, but they stem from the eternal being of God the Father and his eternal truth. Christ mandates that his followers love God with their entire being--heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). How are believers to go about living out this biblical mandate? Christian faith is a warranted belief. This is why it is so essential that Christians recognize the value and importance of philosophy and its proper place in Christendom and in the Christian's walk.

A fresh, inviting text on the content of Christian faith in our contemporary context This one-volume systematic theology presents an accessible, orthodox overview of the Christian faith for students, teachers, pastors, and serious lay readers. Cornelis van der Kooi and Gijsbert van den Brink not only cover all the traditional themes-creation, sin, Jesus Christ, Scripture, and so on-but also relate those classical themes to contemporary developments like Pentecostalism, postfoundationalism, and evolutionary theory. Consisting of sixteen chapters, the book is ideal for classroom use. Each chapter begins with engaging questions and a statement of learning goals and concludes with a list of recommended further reading. Written in a student-friendly tone and style and expertly translated and edited, van der Kooi and van den Brink's Christian Dogmatics splendidly displays the real, practical relevance of theology to the complexities of our world today.

Is it justice when deities allow righteous human beings to suffer? This question has occupied the minds of theologians and philosophers for many centuries and is still hotly disputed. All kinds of argument have been developed to exonerate the 'good God' of any guilt in this respect. Since Leibniz it has become customary to describe such attempts as 'theodicy', the justification of God. In modern philosophical debate this use of 'theodicy' has been questioned. However, this volume shows that it is still a workable term for a concept that originated much earlier than is commonly realised. Experts from many disciplines follow the emergence of the theodicy problem from ancient Near Eastern texts of the second millennium BCE through biblical literature, from both Old and New Testament, intertestamental writings including Qumran, Philo Judaeus and rabbinic Judaism.

The Gospel of John was beloved by the early church for its spiritual insight and clear declaration of Jesus' divinity. In addition to the homilies of John Chrysostom, readers of this ACCS volume will find selections from Origen, Cyril of Alexandria, and Augustine, supplemented with homiletic material, liturgical selections, and doctrinal material from scores of other church fathers.