Most theology students realize that Augustine is tremendously influential in the Christian tradition as a whole, but they generally lack real knowledge of his writings. This volume introduces Augustine’s theology through seven of his most important works.

For whom did Christ die? Who may be saved? are questions of perennial interest and importance for the Christian faith. In a familiar Counterpoints format, this book explores the question of the extent of Christ’s atonement, going beyond simple Reformed vs non-Reformed understandings. This volume elevates the conversation to a broader plane, including contributors who represent the breadth of Christian tradition.

Evil is an intruder upon a world created by God and declared good. In Evil and Creation, David J. Luy, Matthew Levering, and George Kalantzis collect essays investigating how the doctrine of creation relates to moral and physical evil. Essayists pursue philosophical and theological analyses of evil rather than neatly solving the problem of evil itself.

How do human beings today receive divine revelation? Where and in what ways is it mediated so that all generations can hear the fullness of the gospel? In this volume, distinguished theologian Matthew Levering shows that divine revelation has been truthfully mediated through the church, the gospel, and Scripture so that we can receive it in its fullness today. Levering engages past and present approaches to revelation across a variety of traditions, offering a comprehensive, historical study of all the key figures and perspectives. His thorough analysis results in an alternative approach to prevailing views of the doctrine and points to its significance for the entire church.

The second-century heretic Marcion believed it was impossible to reconcile the Old Testament message of Law and sacrifice with the New Testament message of grace and forgiveness. Even today, many believers struggle to find unifying themes in Scripture that can make sense of its great diversity.

Examine issues in theology, biblical studies, ministry, and church history with distinguished scholars and practitioners from around the world with the Master Journal Bundle 10.1. Featuring journals that zoom in on a specific topic in each installment or volume, as well as eclectic journals that provide commentary and insight on a variety of topics, this bundle adds massive breadth to your library. Draw on a wealth of ecclesiastical experience and theological reflection and inform your passion for the church while you deepen your understanding of theology, history, and Scripture. The Master Journal Bundle 10.1 features 15+ new volumes and includes everything found in the Academic Journal Bundle 10.1 and the Theology Journal 10.1.

St. Thomas Aquinas produced his commentary on Romans near the end of his life while working on the Summa theologiae and commenting on Aristotle. The doctrinal richness of Paul's letter to the Romans was well known to the church fathers, including Origen and Augustine, on whom Aquinas drew for his commentary. With this rich collection of essays by leading scholars, both Catholic and Protestant, Aquinas's commentary will become a major resource for ecumenical biblical and theological discussion. Authored by theologians, historians, and biblical scholars, Reading Romans with St. Thomas Aquinas contributes to a historical reconstruction of Aquinas's exegesis and theology by addressing such topics as: the Holy Spirit, the Church, the faith of Abraham, worship, preaching, justification, sin and grace, predestination, Paul's apostolic vocation, the Jewish people, human sexuality, the relationship of flesh and spirit in the human person, the literal sense of Scripture, Paul's use of...

Illuminating the theological character of these prophetic books, Matthew Levering provides a detailed examination within the context of a holy land and people. Highlighting God’s covenantal gifts of purity, he discusses the leaders’ efforts to renew and reform Israel, and how these labors have become part of the church’s own story.

In this rich book Matthew Levering explores nine key virtues that we need to die (and live) well: love, hope, faith, penitence, gratitude, solidarity, humility, surrender, and courage. Retrieving and engaging a variety of biblical, theological, historical, and medical resources, Levering journeys through the various stages and challenges of the dying process, beginning with the fear of annihilation and continuing through repentance and gratitude, suffering and hope, before arriving finally at the courage needed to say goodbye to one’s familiar world. Grounded in careful readings of Scripture, the theological tradition, and contemporary culture, Dying and the Virtues comprehensively and beautifully shows how these nine virtues effectively unite us with God, the One who alone can conquer death.

Miracles, biblical inerrancy, hell, women in church leadership, creation, and the rapture—these are some key areas of concern for many in the church. With dozens of contributing authors from various theological backgrounds, the Zondervan Counterpoints series is an invaluable set of resources for Christians today, focusing on these topics and more. Each volume lays out multiple views on a particular theological matter, letting you draw your own conclusions on these contested issues. Respected biblical scholars and theologians present their views based on years of extensive research—so you know you’re hearing the strongest possible case for each perspective. Whether you are a student, pastor, teacher, youth worker, or layperson, these volumes are a fantastic tool for understanding contemporary Christian issues in the light of solid scriptural truth.

The Feminine Genius of Catholic Theology introduces Catholic doctrine through the crucible of the women mystics’ reception of the gospel. The work of the great women theologians of the Church’s second millennium has too often been neglected—or relegated to the category of “mysticism”—in textbooks on Catholic doctrine. This is a shame, because their work shows the interior conjunction of liturgical experience, scriptural exegesis, philosophical reflection, and doctrinal and creedal formulation. Women theologians in this book include Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Simone Weil and others. Drawing on their work, Matthew Levering presents the tenets of Catholic faith in a clear and accessible manner, useful for introductory courses as well as for students and scholars interested in the contributions of women to Catholic theology.

This handbook examines the history of Trinitarian theology and reveals the Nicene unity still at work among Christians today despite ecumenical differences and the variety of theological perspectives. The forty-three chapters are organized into the following seven parts: the Trinity in Scripture, Patristic witnesses to the Trinitarian faith, Medieval appropriations of the Trinitarian faith, the Reformation through to the 20th Century, Trinitarian Dogmatics, the Trinity and Christian life, and Dialogues (addressing ecumenical, interreligious, and cultural interactions).

Estudios en teología histórica y sistemática es una serie de monografías contemporáneas que explora figuras clave, temas y problemas en la teología histórica y sistemática desde una perspectiva evangélica. Los volúmenes de esta serie cubren una amplia gama de temas, desde la estética hasta la hermenéutica teológica, y se relacionan directamente con varios teólogos importantes, incluidos Martín Lutero y Karl Barth.

How important is the conscience for the Christian moral life? How should it be understood in relation to the teachings of the Bible and of church tradition? In this book, Matthew Levering surveys twentieth-century Catholic moral theology to construct an argument for keeping conscience firmly alongside prudence, charity, and the gifts of the Spirit—and for understanding it as something that must be formed by the revealed truths of Scripture as interpreted and applied in the church. Levering shows how conscience-centered ethics came to be—both prior to and following the Second Vatican Council—and how important voices from both the Catholic and Protestant communities criticized the primacy of conscience in favor of an approach that considers conscience within “the broader framework of the Christian moral organism.”

One of the most prestigious and successful strands of Oxford’s scholarly publishing, the Handbook series contains in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field. Oxford Handbooks are guided by a world-class editorial board that bring together the world’s leading scholars to discuss research and the latest thinking on a range of major topics. Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research. Handbook articles review the key issues and cutting-edge debate and provide arguments for how those debates might evolve.

Get a varied and diverse survey of the first four centuries of Christianity. Drawing mostly from Church Fathers and patristic texts, this collection provides an introduction to various orthodox and heretical writings and addresses their theologies, their impact on the early church’s development, their contemporary relevance, and common misconceptions on them among Christians today. The collection also illustrates how Montanism and Stoicism shaped early Christianity and analyzes the early church’s baptismal rites, views on social justice and ethics, and interpretation of the Genesis 1–3 narrative.

Matthew Levering examines the doctrine of creation and its contemporary theological implications, critically engaging with classical and modern views in dialogue with Orthodox and Reformed interlocutors, among others. Moving from the Trinity to Christology, Levering takes up a number of themes pertaining to the doctrine of creation and focuses on how creation impacts our understandings of both the immanent and the economic Trinity. He also engages newer trends such as ecological theology.

While happily granting the influence of such figures as Aristotle and Pseudo-Dionysius, this book explores the impact of Augustine's thought on Aquinas's theology, philosophy, and biblical exegesis. The result is an enrichment of our understanding of Aquinas's contributions and a renewed awareness of his extraordinary indebtedness to his fifth-century teacher. The influence of St. Augustine's thought upon that of St. Thomas Aquinas is well known. With the exception of particular philosophical controversies, however, relatively little research has been done in this area. In summaries of medieval theology, Aquinas is often seen as a follower of Aristotle over the traditional "Augustinians" of his day. Against this emphasis on Aristotle, the influence upon Aquinas of such thinkers as Pseudo-Dionysius has been highlighted in recent research.

This book is the dogmatic sequel to Matthew Levering's Engaging the Doctrine of Marriage, in which he argued that God's purpose in creating the cosmos is the eschatological marriage of God and his people. God sets this marriage into motion through his covenantal election of a particular people, the people of Israel. Central to this people's relationship with the Creator God are their Scriptures, exodus, Torah, Temple, land, and Davidic kingship. As a Christian Israelology, this book devotes a chapter to each of these topics, investigating their theological significance both in light of ongoing Judaism and in light of Christian Scripture (Old and New Testaments) and Christian theology. The book makes a significant contribution to charting a path forward for Jewish-Christian dialogue from the perspective of post-Vatican II Catholicism.

Aquinas's commentaries on St. Paul are well known and have received significant attention in the past few years. It is widely known, too, that Aquinas quotes Paul often in the Summa theologiae. This aspect of the Summa, however, has not been studied in detail. This book seeks to fill that lacuna in scholarship. The book's brief introduction treats Aquinas as a biblically erudite theologian, and offers some basic statistical data regarding his use of Paul in the Summa theologiae. The book's nine chapters track in detail Aquinas's use of Pauline quotations in his theological argumentation. The first six chapters examine Paul in particular "treatises:" the triune God, grace, charity, the virtue of religion, the Passion of Christ, and baptism. The last three chapters investigate Pauline texts as they are used throughout the Summa: Romans 1:20, 1 Corinthians 13, and Philippians 2:5–11. Chapters 1–3 are organized by the order of the treatise; chapters 4–6 are organized by order of the...

As a multi-faceted introduction to sacramental theology, the purposes of this Handbook are threefold: historical, ecumenical, and missional. The forty-four chapters are organized into the following five parts: Sacramental Roots in Scripture, Patristic Sacramental Theology, Medieval Sacramental Theology, From the Reformation through Today, and Philosophical and Theological Issues in Sacramental Doctrine.

Edited by Emery de Gaál and Matthew Levering, 'Joseph Ratzinger and the Healing of Reformation-Era Divisions' examines Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI’s manifold contributions to Catholic-Protestant theological reflection. The collection opens with an introduction comparing Ratzinger’s approach to ecumenism to that of Karl Rahner. Rahner argues that the structural uniting of Protestants and Catholics should take place now without worrying about doctrinal differences. In contrast, Ratzinger argues that unity in Christ requires probing the doctrinal differences and seeking a deeper understanding of the reasoning of each side—on the grounds that the truth of the Gospel that each side desires to preserve will ultimately be the basis for the only kind of Christian ecclesial unity worth having, namely, a unity of the basis of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Detailed essays follow, treating a number of loci including papal primacy, ecumenical principles, liturgy,...

Pastors and leaders of the classical church—such as Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and Wesley—interpreted the Bible theologically, believing Scripture as a whole witnessed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Modern interpreters of the Bible questioned this premise. But in recent decades, a critical mass of theologians and biblical scholars has begun to reassert the priority of a theological reading of Scripture. The Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible enlists leading theologians to read and interpret Scripture for the twenty-first century, just as the church fathers, the Reformers, and other Orthodox Christians did for their times and places. The commentaries are designed to serve the church—through aid in preaching, teaching, study groups, and so forth—and demonstrate the continuing intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

This book is the next volume in Matthew Levering’s Engaging Doctrine series. The prior volume of the series examined the doctrine of creation. The present volume examines the purpose of creation: the marriage of God and humans. God created the cosmos for the purpose of the marriage of God and his people—and through his people, the marriage of God and the entire creation. Given that the central meaning or “prime analogate” of marriage is the marriage of God and humankind, the study of human marriage needs to be shaped by this eschatological goal and foregrounded as a dogmatic theme.

Matthew Levering is a noted scholar whose writings on theology have found an audience among Catholics and Protestants alike. This collection of helpful writings assists readers in gaining a perspective of how apologetic arguments for God’s existence have been articulated throughout Church history. From the writings of the Church Fathers to twentieth-century Protestant voices like Karl Barth, this apologetic has answered different questions at different epochs in time. Similarly, the doctrines of creation and revelation are expertly presented and accompanied by a rationale for their continued prominence and value in the life of the Church and in modern theological debate.

Featuring works by Abraham Kuyper, Charles Spurgeon, and Geerhardus Vos—and covering everything from Augustine and Barth to the doctrine of atonement and church unity—this collection of theological works from Lexham Press bridges the gap between ancient truth and contemporary conversation.

The study and research tools in Logos Bible Software are sometimes only as good as the library that comes with them. The larger your library, the more effective you can be in your study of the Bible. Whether you are working with the Factbook, Passage Guide or the Exegetical Guide, the resources in your library, commentaries, grammars, dictionaries, and reference works, are the fuel that drive all the best features in Logos Bible Software. With over fifteen hundred reference works, Master Feature Collection gives you everything you need to make the most of your sermon writing, bible study, exegesis, and research.

Written by leading experts on Aquinas's theology, the essays in Reading John with St Thomas Aquinas bear common witness to a central theological conviction: the tasks of biblical exegesis and speculative theology, though distinct, indwell and inform each other. As the first book-length study of the full breadth of Aquinas's Commentary on the Gospel of John, this work illuminates the way in which thinking systematically or speculatively about revelation flows from questions raised within biblical exegesis itself. Like any medieval biblical commentator, Aquinas attempts to understand a biblical text not only in itself but also by appealing to parallel interpretive texts drawn from throughout the Bible as well as the accumulated insights of the Church Fathers. This method enables him to penetrate deeply into the thought of the Bible, recognizing that the biblical authors—speaking from within the context of Israel and the Church—raise questions that are theological and that...

Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology is a peer-reviewed series of contemporary monographs exploring key figures, themes, and issues in historical and systematic theology from an evangelical perspective. The volumes in this series cover a broad range of topics, from aesthetics to theological hermeneutics, and engage directly with a number of significant theologians, including Martin Luther and Karl Barth.

In 'The Achievement of Hans Urs von Balthasar,' Matthew Levering has written a book for theologically educated readers who mistrust von Balthasar or who mistrust von Balthasar’s critics. The book shows that von Balthasar’s critics can and should benefit both from the rich and wide-ranging conversations that mark his trilogy and from the critical and constructive engagement with German philosophical modernity offered by the trilogy. In addition, Levering hopes to show that those who mistrust von Balthasar’s critics need to be more Balthasarian in their response to criticisms of the Swiss theologian. In this introductory volume, the focus is on the first volume of each part of the trilogy. This approach exhibits the main lines of von Balthasar’s trilogy in a way that allows for an introductory volume of manageable size. This approach also avoids the more controversial volumes of the trilogy. Reading von Balthasar with the goal of engaging his more controversial views is certainly...