Bøger udgivet af SCM Press

The Church of England finds itself colliding with society at large on regular occasion. Has the time come, therefore, where the advantages of being the established church are at last outweighed by the disadvantages? Is there a case for disestablishment, and if so, what might a fresh vision of the church's relationship with wider society be?Separating the question of establishment, from the question of presence in the community, Chaplin argues that the time has come for the ending of privileged constitutional ties between the Church of England the British state.Rather than offering a smaller place for the Church of England within society, he suggests, such a separation would in fact enhance its ability to maintain an embedded presence in local parishes, and allow it the room to speak out about the deeper, bigger challenges which face society today.

The Thirty-Nine Articles, together with the Book of Common Prayer, form the foundation of Anglican theology. Yet there are very few extended treatments of them. Oliver O'Donovan relates the Articles to the exhilarating and troubled century in which they took shape. He also shows how the distinctive insights and values of a past age relate to the demands of today's world. 'What I propose in this case - is not to talk solely about the Articles, but to talk about God, mankind (sic!), and redemption, the central matters of the Christian faith, and to take the Tudor authors with me as companions in discussion. Two voices will be speaking - each raising the questions that Christian faith in his time forces upon him.' Here is a new edition of his book on one of the key texts of Anglican identity by one of the UK's leading theologians. The book has been out of print for some time and there have been repeated calls for a new edition with a new introduction which engages with more recent developments and offers the text to a new generation.

As those coming forward for ministerial training change and diversify, is the way we learn theology changing too? Integrity within our training institutions has often been assumed and granted to white, male, or those from the middle or upper classes. This has come at the expense of the faith truths, beliefs and perspectives offered by women, people of colour, indigenous theologies and the working classes, whose testimonies have often been ignored or marginalised by the dominant discourses that have been deemed more trustworthy as a consequence of the way in which imperialism has enabled knowledge and religion to be constructed and controlled. Yet theological education also has a potential to challenge these norms. It holds the potential to challenge oppressive cultures, theologies and pedagogies. Relying on feminist, black, indecent, and postcolonial theologies, Trust in Theological Education will deconstruct dominant models of theological education, by incorporating ethnographic research, alongside educational theory, liberation theology and radical exegesis'. It will demonstrate theological educations potential to change, and be transformed in order to enable those who have been excluded and marginalised to become speaking subjects and agents for systemic change.

This book presents three different, influential and representative theological approaches towards the world religions. Students are not only introduced to the field, but get three passionate and intelligent 'takes' on what is at stake. By means of a response to each of the primary essays, the authors are put into interaction with each other, and are also engaged with the most contemporary scholarship in the field of theology of religions.This sustained and high level critical interaction between the authors provides a feature that is not to be found in any other current work in theology of religions. The three views represent: conservative Roman Catholic Christianity (D'Costa), Reformed evangelical Christianity (Strange) and liberationist liberal Christianity (Knitter). This book will therefore appeal to a very wide theological market from all sections of the theological spectrum.

Stark, moving but with glimmers of humour amongst the wreckage, The Hardest Part asks perhaps the hardest question of all when faced with the horrors of the 1st World War - where was God to be found in the carnage of the western front? Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy's answer, that through the cross God shares in human suffering rather than being a 'passionate potentate' looking down unmoved by death, injury and destruction on an immense scale, was, and still is, revolutionary. Marking the centenary both of the end of the First World War and the original publication of The Hardest Part, this new critical edition contains a contextual introduction, a brief biography of Studdert Kennedy, annotated bibliography and the full text of the first edition of the book, with explanatory notes.

Generous Ecclesiology seeks to present a positive theological response to the issues raised by Mission-Shaped Church and For the Parish. The former reminds us that the church is to engage in creative and imaginative ways with our missionary calling. The latter affirms the place of inherited patterns and structures which cannot simply be discarded. Alert to the danger that discussion about tradition and innovation can become polarized; the editors recognize that living in relation to a generous God shapes our ecclesiology. This vocation is formed by a double constitution of worship and mission. This vocation is for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Generous Ecclesiology takes as its basis the uniqueness of the church's calling in God's world, a world embraced by the generosity of his love. This collection is a contribution to an ongoing conversation; to this end, it engages with a rich range of dialogue partners, historically, ecumenically and culturally as well as theologically. It seeks to offer a rigorous theological resource - inspiring us to drink deeply of the wells of our tradition and inherited patterns. Whether implicitly or explicitly, these essays reflect on or are shaped by the ordinary concerns, challenges and opportunities of ministry.

John For Today, like the author's earlier best-selling book Paul for Today, combines fresh accessible scholarship with an exploration of the gospel's significance for the contemporary Church and wider world. The Gospel's historical origins, distinctive features and literary patterns are all helpfully illuminated, including John's similarities with and differences from the other Gospels and the much-debated question of the Gospel's real author. Recent criticisms of the Gospel, such as its exclusiveness, alleged anti-semitism and predominantly male characters and language are also examined, together with its relevance for a turbulent world in which religion has become a deeply ambivalent phenomenon. The book seeks to be faithful to the gospel of John in the central position it accords to Jesus, whilst also relating this controversial gospel to the Christian orthodoxy of later centuries.It is a book written for the non-specialist reader, and 'for such a time as this'.

A timely and topical resource that looks into the areas of Christian youth work, faith and politics. Nigel Pimlott aims to inform, engage, empower and resource Christian youth workers and those studying youth work, so that they have a better understanding about the relationship between their work, their faith and politics.

Thirty years ago John Hull wrote "What Prevents Christian Adults from Learning?". This new book asks "What Prevents Christian Adults from Acting?" How has it come about that the Church appears to be so preoccupied with itself? What happened to the quest for the social justice of the Kingdom of God?

In Baptism in the Holy Spirit James Dunn argues that water baptismis only one element in the New Testament pattern of conversionand initiation. The gift of the Spirit, he believes, is the centralelement. For the writers of the New Testament only those who hadreceived the Holy Spirit could be called Christians. For them thereception of the Spirit was a very definite and often very dramaticexperience - the decisive and climactic experience in conversion -initiation - to which Christians were usually recalled when remindedof their Christian faith and experience. In this book James Dunnuncovers the place of the gift of the Holy Spirit in the total complexevent of becoming a Christian. His conclusions will help readers todeepen their understanding of the sacrament of baptism.Since its original publication in 1970 Baptism in the Holy Spirit hasbecome a classic of New Testament scholarship. This new edition,published on the fortieth anniversary of its original publication,includes a new extended Preface in which James Dunn engageswith the debates about Baptism in the Holy Spirit since it was firstpublished.James D. G. Dunn was Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in theUniversity of Durham. He is the author of numerous best-sellingbooks and acknowledged as one of the world's leading experts onNew Testament study.

While a number of secular philosophers have written on global poverty, theologians have either steered clear entirely or simply mimicked the political analysis currently on offer. Christian authors have argued either for a free market solution to global poverty or for a radical reform of global capitalism as the best approach, but the theological underpinnings of such conclusions are noticeable by their absence. Justin Thacker offers a new way forward. He suggests deeply theological answers to questions around the effect of capitalism on global poverty and whether aid is really a sustainable long term solution for the world's poor. This book will challenge theologians, church leaders and congregations to consider much more seriously the huge implications of faith and theology on our attitude to those who live in extreme poverty.