Be a Blessing

A comprehensive source that demonstrates how 21st century Christianity can interrelate with current educational trends and aspirations The Wiley Handbook of Christianity and Education provides a resource for students and scholars interested in the most important issues, trends, and developments in the relationship between Christianity and education. It offers a historical understanding of these two intertwined subjects with a view to creating a context for the myriad issues that characterize—and challenge—the relationship between Christianity and education today. Presented in three parts, the book starts with thought-provoking essays covering major issues in Christian education such as the movement away from God in American education; the Christian paradigm based on love and character vs. academic industrial models of American education; why religion is good for society, offenders, and prisons; the resurgence of vocational exploration and its integrative potential for higher education; and more. It then looks at Christianity and education around the globe—faith-based schooling in a pluralistic democracy; religious expectations in the Latino home; church-based and community-centered higher education; etc. The third part examines how humanity is determining the relationship between Christianity and education with chapters covering the use of Christian paradigm of living and learning; enrollment, student demographic, and capacity trends in Christian schools after the introduction of private schools; empirical studies on the perceptions of intellectual diversity at elite universities in the US; and more. Provides the breadth and depth of knowledge necessary to gain a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between Christianity and education and its place in contemporary society A long overdue assessment of the subject, one that takes into account the enormous changes in Christian education Presents a global consideration of the subject Examines Christian education across elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels The Wiley Handbook of Christianity and Education will be of great interest to Christian educators in the academic world, the teaching profession, the ministry, and the college and graduate level student body.

The reception of the Gospel of Matthew over two millennia: commentary and interpretation Matthew Through the Centuries offers an overview of the reception history of one of the most prominent gospels in Christian worship. Examining the reception of Matthew from the perspectives of a wide range of interpreters—from Origen and Hilary of Poitiers to Mary Cornwallis and Bob Marley—this insightful commentary explains the major trends in the reception of Matthew in various ecclesial, historical, and cultural contexts. Focusing on characteristically Matthean features, detailed chapter-by-chapter commentary highlights diverse receptions and interpretations of the gospel. Broad exploration of areas such as liturgy, literature, drama, film, hymnody, political discourse, and visual art illustrates the enormous impact Matthew continues to have on Judeo-Christian civilization. Known as ‘the Church’s Gospel,’ Matthew’s text has been the subject of apologetic and theological controversy for hundreds of years. It has been seen as justification for political and ecclesial status quo and as a path to radical discipleship. Matthew has influenced divergent political, spiritual, and cultural figures such as Francis of Assisi, John Ruskin, Leo Tolstoy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Mahatma Gandhi. Matthew’s interest in ecclesiology provides early structures of ecclesial life, such as resolution of community disputes, communal prayer, and liturgical prescriptions for the Eucharist and baptism. A significant addition to the acclaimed Blackwell Bible Commentaries series, Matthew Through the Centuries is an indispensable resource for both students and experts in areas including religious and biblical studies, literature, history, politics, and those interested in the influence of the Bible on Western culture.

Completely updated and expanded, this third edition from one of the world's leading theologians introduces students to key theological issues, contextualizing them within the bible and the works of seminal theologians. Introduces readers to key theological issues such as God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faith, creation, salvation, atonement, religious history, and heaven Thoroughly updated, with the addition of a new chapter on the Holy Spirit Now includes images and more pedagogical features to engage the reader Each chapter offers an overview of an important theme, presents relevant biblical passages, and summarizes the contribution of a major theologian Expands the range of theological positions discussed within the book, especially those of contemporary and feminist theologians Maintains the user-friendly structure of the previous edition, with the Apostle's Creed as a framework Concludes with suggestions on how readers can take their study further Can be used alongside the new edition of Theology: The Basic Readings for a complete overview of the field

Provocative and immensely well informed, The Order of Things represents a substantial and original contribution to the fields of systematic theology, historical theology, and the science and religion dialogue. Leading theologian, Alister E. McGrath explores how the working methods and assumptions of the natural sciences can be used to inform and stimulate systematic theology. Written by one of today's best-known Christian writers Explores how the working methods and assumptions of the natural sciences can be used to inform and stimulate systematic theology Continues McGrath’s acclaimed exploration of scientific theology, begun with his groundbreaking three-volume work, A Scientific Theology Includes a landmark extended analysis of whether doctrinal development can be explained using Darwinian evolutionary models, and exploration of how the transition from a “scientific theology” to a future “scientific dogmatics” might be made Supported by a published review of McGrath’s scientific theology project, which is currently the best brief introduction to his thought.