Oxford, Berlin and Chicago were extraordinarily dynamic centres of theology during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, significant differences in the political climate and culture of each location bred strikingly divergent theological approaches in the universities of each city. Mark Chapman offers a highly original exploration of the subjection of their theologies to the changes and developments of educational policy and national and international politics, shedding light upon the constraints that such external factors have imposed upon the evolution of the discipline. Chapman highlights the efforts of theologians and churchmen to relate the true core of Christianity, a lived religion free of shibboleths, to their rapidly changing world. The opinions of conservative and liberal theologians are skilfully balanced to reveal the problems of critical history, of political authority, of increasing global awareness and of the need for social amelioration, which profoundly shaped the ways in which theology was conceived during the period. New ground has been broken in this inter-disciplinary study of the social, political and ecclesiastical contexts of Western theology. This book will be invaluable to any reader interested in the use of theology as part of the wider quest for social integration and meaning in an increasingly fragmented society.

This volume is an inter-disciplinary endeavour which brings together recent research on aspects of urban life and structure by architectural and textual historians and archaeologists, engendering exciting new perspectives on urban life in the pre-modern Islamic world. Its objective is to move beyond the long-standing debate on whether an 'Islamic city' existed in the pre-modern era and focus instead upon the ways in which religion may (or may not) have influenced the physical structure of cities and the daily lives of their inhabitants. It approaches this topic from three different but inter-related perspectives: the genesis of 'Islamic cities' in fact and fiction; the impact of Muslim rulers upon urban planning and development; and the degree to which a religious ethos affected the provision of public services. Chronologically and geographically wide-ranging, the volume examines thought-provoking case studies from seventh-century Syria to seventeenth-century Mughal India by established and new scholars in the field, in addition to chapters on urban sites in Spain, Morocco, Egypt and Central Asia. Cities in the Pre-Modern Islamic World will be of considerable interest to academics and students working on the archaeology, history and urbanism of the Middle East as well as those with more general interests in urban archaeology and urbanism.

This volume explores how Catholicism began and continues to open its doors to the wider world and to other confessions in embracing ecumenism, thanks to the vision and legacy of the Second Vatican Council. It explores such themes as the twentieth century context preceding the council; parallels between Vatican II and previous councils; its distinctively pastoral character; the legacy of the council in relation to issues such as church-world dynamics, as well as to ethics, social justice, economic activity. Several chapters discuss the role of women in the church before, during, and since the council. Others discern inculturation in relation to Vatican II. The book also contains a wide and original range of ecumenical considerations of the council, including by and in relation to Free Church, Reformed, Orthodox, and Anglican perspectives. Finally, it considers the Council’s ongoing promise and remaining challenges with regard to ecumenical issues, including a groundbreaking essay on the future of ecumenical dialogue by Cardinal Walter Kasper.

Theology and Society is the most comprehensive study of Islamic intellectual and religious history, focusing on Muslim theology. With its emphasis on the eighth and ninth centuries CE, it remains the most detailed prosopographical study of the early phase of the formation of Islam. Originally published in German between 1991 and 1995, Theology and Society is a monument of scholarship and a unique scholarly enterprise which has stood the test of time as an unparalleled reference work.

A central question for Judeo-Christian faithful is “Are we living in the age of antichristism or kingdom influence?” Can we salt and light entire cities and civilizations, as Martin Luther King Jr. hoped, or with D. L. Moody should we simply save as many as we can from our rapidly sinking planet? Over the years Christians have wrestled with the question and reached different conclusions. Augustine’s and Oliver O’Donovan’s answer to the question birthed The City of God and The Desire of Nations. Miguez Bonino’s and Grace Ji-Sun Kim’s Marxist-influenced liberationist answers produced Toward a Christian Political Ethics and the post-truth Intersectional Theology. Former socialist Michael Novak’s plea was to revive The [True] Spirit of Democratic Capitalism. Jonathan Cahn and Frank Peretti, by contrast, predicted that we have entered the age of This Present Darkness amidst The Return of the Gods. Peretti’s and Cahn’s wildly popular future-visions built upon Hal Lindsey’s dated assurance and false prediction that true believers would be raptured in the last decade of The Terminal Generation—1980s! Douglas Matthews offers a new route through the maze and discerningly answers this perennial question by boldly offering a “Third City” future-vision option for effective kingdom influence amidst accelerating global antichristism.

In this book, eminent scholars expound and critique the thought of the brilliant but neglected Anglican theologian, historian, political thinker and preacher John Neville Figgis, CR (1866-1919) and explore his significance for our times.

This book analyses how religion is entangled in people’s lives in Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. It provides an introduction to the teachings, practices and values promoted by the main religious traditions in these regions and an overview of the evidence on what religion means to people in terms of their beliefs and religious practices and how it influences their values, attitudes and day-to-day relationships with others, especially their families. Over the course of the book Carole Rakodi explores similarities and differences between and within religious traditions and identifies some of the key factors that influence and explain the roles played by religion in people’s personal lives and social relationships. A separate companion volume will go on to focus on the social and political roles and relationships of religious groups and organisations. This book will be of great interest to academics and students working in a range of disciplines, especially sociology, religious studies and development studies but also anthropology, geography and area studies.