Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Christian Theology - Soteriology

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,...

Divine Economy expands upon the economic connotations of the theological doctrine of redemption. The term redemption refers to a process of "buying back" slaves from conditions of oppression and thus compares the crux of Christian dogma to an economic exchange involving human emancipation. The phrase "miraculous exchanges" refers to the problem of redemptive divine and human agency in an economic context in which many who desire justice and equity feel powerless and hopeless.

The originality of Divine Economy lies not only in its theological reading of redemption as an economic...

In a reissue of a masterly examination of both the Christian doctrine of Atonement and the nature and working of theological language, Professor Gunton reassesses the doctrine and the language in which it is expressed in the light of modern scholarly developments. He explains how the traditional metaphors of Atonement, drawn from the battlefield, the altar and the law courts, all express something of the meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus--and examines their bearing on human life in today's world.

After discussing the "arts of redemption" and their rivals, and introducing soteriology, the theology of salvation, Patrick Sherry argues that the Christian "Drama of Redemption" has three Acts. The next five chapters discuss the three Acts, namely salvation history, our present human life, and the life to come. In each case, Sherry explains how art and literature can lead to an understanding of what is at stake here. His main concern is with the present life: hence three of those chapters deal with that phase of redemption, one of them specifically with "novels of redemption." The last...

In this heart-felt theology of adoption, Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner argues that while the church has long understood the grounding self-concept of a Christian as a "child of God," it has failed to underscore that we all come into the family of faith by adoption. She explores adoption as a central theme in Scripture, as a doctrine of faith, and as a theological metaphor. Further, in using her own experience of adoption to inform her scholarship, Stevenson-Moessner offers help to all those touched by adoption, including adoptive parents. By beginning with chapters on barrenness, conception,...

The mounting evidence of the interconnectedness of spirituality, health, and medicine suggests giving new attention to the healing ministry of Jesus. Through a fresh reading of the Gospel narratives, Bruce Epperly reveals the centrality of whole-person healing within Jesus' mission as teacher and social reformer and stresses that churches should seek to recover a healing ministry that touches both the spirit and the body. God's Touch traces the links between Jesus' approach to wholeness of mind, body, spirit, and relationships, and the practices of complementary and alternative...

Now, forty years since its original publication, Hans Kung's groundbreaking study--acclaimed as a model for ecumenical discussion--has become a classic work. Looking at the doctrine of justification as understood by the Protestant theologian Karl Barth in comparison to classic Roman Catholic theology, Kung found that the two had similar ideas about the main elements of justification. He argued there is fundamental agreement between Catholicism and Barth's doctrine and that the somewhat divergent viewpoints "would not warrant a division in the Church." This anniversary edition now features...

Donna Bowman utilizes the work of process thinker Alfred North Whitehead to develop a doctrine of election that dialogues with the view of Reformed theologian Karl Barth. Taking seriously Barth's contention that election is the best of all words that can be spoken about God, Bowman reinterprets Whitehead's description of God's provision of the initial aim to each entity as the central cosmological and theological fact of universal election. By combining Barth's concerns with process categories, she concludes that both systems are aimed at common theological and philosophical enemies.

How can an event that has taken place in the past have an effect upon the human experience of salvation in the present? In examining one of the essential questions of the Christian faith, Paul S. Fiddes explores the limits as well as the gains to be made in speaking about crucifixion as a historical event, and considers the relationship of the crucifixion to the continuing process of God's saving activity. He considers the relevance of a past act of atonement to such areas of practical experience as forgiveness, liberation, and suffering.

Does Paul assume that Christians will remain in salvation? If so, on what basis? What, if anything, can disrupt this continuity, and to what extent can it do so? Using detailed exegetical analysis of the relevant texts, Judith Volf addresses what Paul believed about continuity in salvation and the importance of this theme for subsequent Christians.