SCM Core Text – serie

This book introduces theological hermeneutics by giving a historical account of the development of hermeneutical thinking. It defines hermeneutics as the analysis of the obstacles to understanding. The history of hermeneutical thinking and responses to obstacles is told here, beginning with the allegorical interpretation of myths in Hellenism through to the contemporary view of the hermeneutical problem as universal. Following the opening chapters on the history of hermeneutical thought, the book presents an overview of the various contemporary hermeneutical schools of thought, and shows their rooted-ness in different parts of the hermeneutical tradition. The focus is clearly on biblical interpretation however it does also take account of developments outside the field of theology, as they influence the theological reflection on the hermeneutical problem. The questions raised and the possible answers suggested in this volume will be of interest to students of other disciplines, such as philosophy and literature.

The SCM Core Texts are a collection of textbooks designed to help undergraduates at level two and three navigate their way through a variety of subjects. Covering philosophy of religion, religious studies, biblical studies and theology, they aim to offer students an intelligent helping hand in their core areas of study. Each book is designed individually and places an emphasis on pedagogical tools to aid the learner. These tools vary according to suitability across the subjects covered, but include features such as questions for reflection at the end of chapters, textboxes to further explain concepts or provide examples, some web-based materials on companion web-sites which are freely accessible. The textbooks are intended to be used as core reading on undergraduate courses, and as companions to assist lecturers in their classrooms and are all available on the SCM inspection copy scheme. Spiritual encounters and the problems raised by evil and suffering are the experiences that affect our religious beliefs most powerfully. In this far-reaching textbook on the philosophical study of religion Gwen Griffith-Dickson fills a gap in the market by considering these questions in the context of the world's many religions and philosophical traditions, giving attention to Continental European and Eastern philosophy as well as to Anglo-American thinking. This is the only textbook of its kind to offer the reader such a wide and inclusive overview of contemporary philosophical study of religions.

This is an introductory textbook looking at the twelve major world religious traditions. Each religion is considered in three equal parts: its history, beliefs and practices. In an introductory book such as this, only a broad description is given, and it will undoubtedly apply more to the majority tradition than a small subgroup within it. However the book is written with subgroups and further subdivisions in mind, and aims to be as inclusive as possible in its descriptions of histories, beliefs and practices. The book is designed with the undergraduate in mind, and presents a clear and condensed portrait of the major traditions whilst giving a sense of the importance and scope of religion in the human experience. Each chapter follows a consistent format for ease of use. The pages are laid out with boxed features on the right side of right-facing pages which provide short summaries of the major features of each religion; these are designed as quick study aids and a fast entry into the world of religious traditions. The book also comes with a CD-ROM

This textbook is aimed at undergraduates on level two or three courses relating to Old Testament Wisdom literature. The book begins with a consideration of what the term 'wisdom literature' means in Hebrew usage, and also examines which biblical materials might properly be classified as belonging to the category of wisdom literature. The cultural and political context of ancient Israel is examined, together with an analysis of the key problem of whether or not there were any practical levels of literacy in the period in question. The middle section of the book looks in more depth at those books considered to contain 'wisdom literature': Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus. The genre is characterised by praise of God, often in poetic form and by sayings of wisdom intended to teach about God and about virtue. Questions of authorship, editing, interpretation, the historical context of some of the writings, the book's major themes and sub-themes and the latest criticisms of each are laid out for discussion and analysis. The book is written with the undergraduate in mind, and is full of pedagogical features including tables and summaries of data, which allows for a more intensive agenda and for those with knowledge of classical Hebrew to pursue individual themes at greater depth.

Even a quick scan of today's headlines makes clear that the growth of fundamentalist versions of Islam is having a vast impact on our world. For Americans the rise of Christian fundamentalism, especially the Evangelical movement, is also socially and politically shaping the country, as debates about abortion, stem cell research and other important issues are often driven by fundamentalist notions. In profound ways, orthodox versions of Judaism have altered the fabric of Middle Eastern politics through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially regarding settlements in Gaza and the West Bank, making peace there all the more difficult, and further destabilizing an already unstable region. The rise of fundamentalism in the three monotheistic faiths is fully examined in this textbook. It is not about fundamentalism however, it is about its opposite trend: religious syncretism. Syncretism describes the phenomenon of one religion borrowing elements from another, and it is part of religion that fundamentalists will seldom acknowledge. This textbook explores Judaism, Christianity and Islam, using compelling examples of how syncretism works and looks, to show how these three religions have adopted customs and conceptions of other religions, most often acquiring practices from pagan predecessors and neighbours. The book shows how these three faiths - despite how modern media would have us believe - have been willing, at various times and places, to borrow.

The SCM Core Text: Christian Doctrine offers an up-to-date, accessible introduction to one of the core subjects of theology. Written for second and third-year university students, it shows that Christian Doctrine is not a series of impossible claims to be clung to with blind faith. Mike Higton argues that it is, rather, a set of claims that emerge in the midst of Christian life, as Christian communities try to make enough sense of their lives and of their world to allow them to carry on. Christian communities have made sense of their own life, and the life of the wider world in which they are set, as life created by God to share in God's own life. They have seen themselves and their world as laid hold of God's life in Jesus of Nazareth, and as having the Spirit of God's own life actively at work within them. This book explores these and other central Christian doctrines, and in each case, shows how the doctrine makes sense, and how it is woven into Christian life. It will help readers to see what sense it might make to say the things that Christian doctrine says, and how that doctrine might affect the way that one looks at everything: the natural world, gossip, culture, speaking in tongues, politics, dieting, human freedom, love, High Noon, justice, computers, racism, the novels of Jane Austen, parenthood, death and fashion. A second edition is now available HERE.

The SCM Core Text on Christian Spirituality brings together biblical, historical and pastoral reflections on the nature of Christian spirituality within community. It is written for second and third year university students who are studying Christian spirituality as an academic discipline, and would be useful for practical theologians who are reflecting on theology and practice within the Christian church, as well as for pastors and persons in a local church who want to explore the contours of Christian spirituality within their community of faith.Rather than list a series of specific activities such as praying, fasting, meditating etc, this book seeks to examine spirituality within the context of relationship and community. It also seeks to avoid separating spirituality from doctrine, and works towards presenting Christian spirituality as an ongoing dialogue between doctrine and experience. The book also asserts that Christian spirituality must reflect the idea of search and throughout the textbook we are introduced to a variety of Christian writers in order to examine the multifarious nature of search within the Christian tradition. These three themes, belief, search and relationship are woven together and addressed throughout.

The SCM Core Text to "World Christianity in the 20th Century", and the accompanying "Reader in World Christianity in the 20th Century", are a genuine introduction to the subject. The Core Text is made up of seventeen chapters on key topics in twentieth century Christianity, together with an extended Introduction and a reflective Conclusion. The editors have consulted friends and colleagues worldwide to advise them on local and regional issues and resources. The books serve primarily as a guide to the history of Christianity in the century and as such they examine theological issues that have often been at the heart of key historical events and developments.Part One in both volumes provides a broad introduction to main developments across the regions of the globe affected by Christianity and introduces Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical and Pentecostal streams of thought. Part Two explores themes which have had an impact on all Christian life and thought, such as Christianity and scientific developments, Christianity and war etc. Part Three provides case study from each region - Latin America, Africa, Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East - which are illustrative of the broad range of developments that occurred during the century. A key textbook and companion reader for a core subject at most higher education and further education institutions of religious studies and theology. The reader volume will be compiled to include helpful linking passages so students are guided as to context, meaning and relationship to themes and both volumes will be cross-referenced for ease of use.

The book is split into 6 sections. In the first part the author sketches out the approach, arguing that the New Testament reflects four streams of apostolic tradition, reflected in the 4 gospels. In parts 2-5 the author looks at each tradition in turn, and the final section focuses on Jesus. There are clear bibliographies at the end of each section to guide the reader to the most relevant areas for further research in any given subject area. The text is deliberately broken down into smaller sections with headings and sub-headings to assist students reading around this subject for the first time. It also contains end of chapter lists of questions for personal reflection which can also be used in tutorial groups and for revision, textboxes, introductions and chapter summaries, as well as a Whos Who in the New Testament.Where most introductions will follow the pattern established for the Bible as a whole, by examining the different types of writing, this book tries to do something different and cover both the history of the New Testament era as well as the literature which testifies to it.

"Modern Church History" provides an introduction to global Christianity from 1700 to the mid 20th century. The book aims to help students understand the processes, movements and individuals who have contributed to making the contemporary Christian landscape the shape it is in the 21st century. Theologically it takes a wide and inclusive approach to provide a balanced survey of Christianity in all its forms - Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. Geographically it focuses on the Christian church in the UK, continental Europe and North America, and examines in each location the social movements, campaigns and campaigners, scientific and political challenges that have shaped the Christian Church throughout the period. Beginning with the reaction to Lutherism, it charts the rise of Pietism in Europe throughout the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the influence of John Wesley and the Methodists, in the UK and the 'Great Awakening' in North America. The early chapters summarize the developments within the Christian Church in the UK, with detailed coverage of the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish situations, throughout the 19th Century. This is followed by a summary of the various schools of thought to have developed through the 20th C, including the church's reaction to the 2 world wars in Europe, fundamentalism in the USA. The book also provides specific coverage of the religious situation in North America throughout the modern period covering the development of separate black churches, the 'New Evangelicalism'. It is suitable for level two as well as introductory courses in modern church history or courses concerned with religion, culture and society in the 18th - 20th centuries

For most people, Revelation is a book that is either largely ignored, or it is the object of such fanatical study and fanciful interpretation that it passes from the realm of the interesting and helpful into the realm of fantasy and speculation. Much literature has been published in recent years on its interpretation some of which is scholarly and technical, and some of which is populist and accessible. The problem is that the technical and scholarly material frequently requires careful and detailed study, combined with an advanced level of knowledge, whereas much of the populist material tends toward the fanatical and fanciful. The aim of this book is to bridge this gap. It is written with second and third year university students in mind, and would also be helpful for pastors and those in local churches who want to take seriously their study of this often (needlessly) confusing biblical book.

The textbook begins with a chapter on exclusivism, inclusivism, particularity and pluralism, and one on interfaith. Each chapter explains the history, rationale and workings of the various approaches. Moreover, each is divided into sub-sections dealing with various forms of each approach, so that each may be appreciated in its individuality, i.e. the chapter on 'Inclusivism' will include sections on 'fulfilment theology' 'anonymous Christians', etc.The second part of this textbook deals with attitudes towards different faiths, considering the problems and relations that exist with Christian approaches to each. It will deal with the world's major faiths as well as primal religions and new religious movements. The introduction and conclusion will deal with some central themes that run throughout, in particular, the questions of the Trinity and concepts of salvation. In each section reference will be made to the key texts discussed in the Reader which accompanies this(9780334041155), however, the work may be read as a stand alone text.

The Pentecostal and charismatic movements showed astonishing growth in the twentieth century so as to arrive at a total that is said to include at least 400 million people worldwide. The academic study of the Pentecostal and charismatic movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years, both as an element within contemporary religious studies and as a strand within the subject area of church history, going back to the early church. This student-friendly text is essential reading for students of Theology and Religious Studies, taking second or third year modules in Pentecostal studies. It is also of great relevance to students of sociology of religion, as well as cultural and historical studies of religion and religious movements. In addition to a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the subject, it offers useful resources such as suggestions for further reading, questions for reflection and a glossary of technical terms.

The SCM Core Text Black Theology is an accessible introduction to the teaching and learning of Black theology in Higher Education and theological educational training establishments.This text aims to sensitize readers to the inherited legacy of ‘race’, ethnicity, difference and racism, which has exerted a profound influence upon the lives of all people since the Enlightenment.The book shows the diversity and vibrancy of Black Theology as an international movement that emerged not in the context of the academe but from the lived experiences of Black people and yet has gained recognition as an academic discipline.

The SCM Core Text The Bible and Literature explores the crossover between attempts to read the Bible as literature and to read the Bible in literature. It seeks to assess what form a truly inter-disciplinary approach to the reading of the Bible would have to take, taking into consideration the background knowledge, preconceptions and theories of reading which scholars from each discipline, literary and biblical studies, bring to literary and biblical texts.The book covers all the key methods of literary criticism such as narrative criticism, reader-response, intertextuality and feminist criticism and explores how they might be relevant to the crossover between the Bible and literature.The SCM Core Text The Bible and Literature is presented as an undergraduate-friendly textbook and will make a valuable addition to the reading lists of courses on theology and literature, hermeneutics and Biblical Studies.

Geoffrey Harris seeks to reconcile Paul the thinker and Paul the man of action. This student-friendly textbook provides clear information about research and writing on Paul in recent years, and shows how Paul's early life held important strands of thought which informed his later theology. Paul's conversion and his reflection upon its meaning led him to develop a 'resurrection theology' from which much else followed on. The life setting of Paul's churches and his mission strategy brings out many lessons and principles for church life and mission today.

Sociology of Religion is an increasingly popular component of courses in religious studies at undergraduate level. While most textbooks on the Sociology of Religion are written from a sociological background, this new student-friendly textbook aims to introduce the field and the subjects studied by sociologists of religion to students with a background in theology and religious studies.

This book introduces students with a little background in biblical studies to the scholarly study of the Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy). Existing introductions to the Pentateuch are either mainly concerned with historical criticism or taken up with a survey of the contents of the five books, or both. This book is distinctive in that every chapter is concerned with the whole Pentateuch, and in that it approaches the subject from three completely different points of view, following the way in which biblical scholarship has developed over the past 30 years. The first part attempts to understand the text as it stands, as narrative, law and covenant. The second surveys the work that has been done on the history and development of the text, and its historicity. The third is concerned with its reception and interpretation. There are many detailed examples throughout, and aids to study include tables and boxes in the text, questions to enable students to come to grips with the issues either in private study or in class, and detailed guides to further reading.