Expositions Of The Psalms 33 50 Vol Ii 16

"As the psalms are a microcosm of the Old Testament, so the Expositions of the Psalms can be seen as a microcosm of Augustinian thought. In the Book of Psalms are to be found the history of the people of Israel, the theology and spirituality of the Old Covenant, and a treasury of human experience expressed in prayer and poetry. So too does the work of expounding the psalms recapitulate and focus the experiences of Augustine's personal life, his theological reflections and his pastoral concerns as Bishop of Hippo."--Publisher's website.

Arthur Walker-Jones presents an Earth-focused reading of the second book of Psalms, focusing upon the many nonhuman animals that appear repeatedly within the text. In the first commentary to explore the implications of the natural and cultural history of animals for the interpretation of Psalms, Walker-Jones moves beyond the standard treatment of animals as mere metaphors for human concerns, or background to human stories. Instead, Walker-Jones draws upon the interdisciplinary field of animal studies, incorporating this into ecocritical analysis and arguing for the similarity between the two approaches, including recognizing that the oppression and liberation of humans is interrelated with the oppression and liberation of Earth and all its creatures. Walker-Jones looks at foxes, sheep, goats, cattle, doves, snakes, lions, snails, dogs, and deer, which all appear in Psalms 42–72, taking into account that many of these animals co-evolved with humans and created the particular ecological niche of the highlands east of the Mediterranean. Perceiving Earth in various ways-as refuge, as enemy, as Rock, and as fertile and joyous-this volume brings an entirely new ecological perspective to the Psalms.

In Confucian Questions to Augustine, Park compares the works of Confucius and Mencius with those of Saint Augustine. His purpose in so doing is to show Confucian Augustinianism as a new theological perspective on Confucian-Christian ethics and Augustinianism by discovering analogies and differences in their respective understandings of the formation of moral self, particularly the acquisition of virtue, and how they believe this leads to happiness. Using the method of inter-textual reasoning, and assuming continuity between Augustine's early and later works, he compares Confucius and Mencius's xue, si, li, and yue with Augustine's moral learning, contemplation, sacrament, and music, respectively. Confucian Augustinianism shows how to enjoy God, follow Jesus, and live in the Holy Spirit.

An Examination of Beauty in the Christian Life from Philip Ryken The world is full of beautiful things—the vibrancy of trees in fall, the joy of sitting around a table with family—but in our fallen world, many beautiful things have been turned into ugly distortions. How should Christians think about beauty in a world that is often ugly? In Beauty Is Your Destiny, Philip Ryken provides readers with an introduction to the theology and practice of beauty, striving to awaken a longing for beauty that he explains "can only be satisfied in the face of Jesus Christ." Adapted from chapel messages given at Wheaton College, Ryken considers key topics on Christian thought—including the Trinity, the incarnation, sexuality, and racial diversity—through the lens of beauty, showing how beauty illuminates each of these biblical principles in our world today. Introduction to the Theology of Beauty: Great for college students, pastors, and small groups Biblically Based: Examines how beauty is seen in Christian doctrines such as eternity, the church, and the crucifixion Written by Philip Ryken: President of Wheaton College and author of Grace Transforming; Is Jesus the Only Way?; and Loving the Way Jesus Loves

Much theology overemphasizes marriage to the detriment of ecclesiology. Using Augustine as conversation partner, this book considers the relationship of the Church to marriage and singleness. This examination of salvation history and worship illuminates a different vision of households, governed more by the waters of baptism than familial ties.

'Deification' refers to the transformation of believers into the likeness of God. Of course, Christian monotheism goes against any literal 'god making' of believers. Rather, the NT speaks of a transformation of mind, a metamorphosis of character, a redefinition of selfhood, and an imitation of God. Most of these passages are tantalizingly brief, and none spells out the concept in detail. Deification was an important idea in the early church, though it took a long time for one term to emerge as the standard label for the process. That term was theosis, coined by the great fourth-century theologian, Gregory of Nazianzus. Theologians now use theosis to designate all instances where any idea of taking on God's character or being divinizedÓ (made divine) occurs, even when the term theosis is not used. And of course, different Christian authors understood deification differently. While some articles in this collection discuss pre-Christian antecedents of theosis, Greek and Jewish, most focus on particular Christian understandings. The article by Gregory Glazov examines OT covenant theology, with an emphasis on divine adoption, and on bearing the fruit of knowledge or attaining the stature of a tree of righteousness in Proverbs, Isaiah, and Sirach. The article by Stephen Finlan on 2 Pet 1:4 ('You may become participants of the divine nature') examines the epistle's apparent borrowings from Middle Platonic spirituality, Stoic ethics, and Jewish apocalyptic expectation. The epistle stresses 'knowledge of Christ,' which means cultivation of godly character and growing up into Christ. --from the Introduction

The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion explores the three ends of the Sacrament of Sacraments: God’s true presence, His redemptive sacrifice, and spiritual nourishment through communion with Him. In this follow-up to his groundbreaking work, Faith Comes From What Is Heard, Lawrence Feingold constructs a biblical vision of the Eucharist from its prefigurement in the Old Testament to its fulfillment in the New and presents the Eucharistic theology of the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and magisterial teaching from centuries past through today. The Eucharist is a masterful text, both challenging and spiritually rich, that comprehensively examines the unspeakable mystery that is the Eucharist.