First Century Truth For A Twenty First Century World

Can society function without a common standard of weights and measures, currency, and time-keeping? Is competition in athletics possible without rules? But what about religion? Is it left up to each person what to believe and practice, or is there a universal standard? There is. God sent Jesus, not only to die as our Savior, but also to reveal an authoritative message for our salvation. Jesus then transferred this message to the apostles. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they in turn preached this message, which is now preserved in the New Testament. This is our standard today.

Description: In this volume some of the outstanding Christian scholars of our day reflect on how their minds have changed, how their academic fields have changed over the course of their careers, and the pressing issues that Christian scholars will need to address in the twenty-first century. This volume offers an accessible portrait of key trends in the world of Christian scholarship today. Christian Thought in the Twenty-First Century features scholars from Great Britain, Canada, the United States, and Switzerland. The contributors represent a wide variety of academic backgrounds--from biblical studies to theology, to religious studies, to history, English literature, philosophy, law, and ethics. This book offers a personal glimpse of Christian scholars in a self-reflective mode, capturing their honest reflections on the changing state of the academy and on changes in their own minds and outlooks. The breadth and depth of insight afforded by these contributions provide rich soil for a reader's own reflections, and an agenda that will occupy Christian thinkers well into the twenty-first century. Endorsements: "I heard many of the lecturers whose essays appear in this book when they were guests of the Chair of Christian Thought at the University of Calgary. Now they reappear to reflect personally on how their minds and academic fields have changed over the course of their careers. They tackle key issues in their disciplines needing future attention and present their views as authentic humans, not only as respected academics." --Wayne Holst University of Calgary and St. David's United Church, Calgary About the Contributor(s): Douglas H. Shantz is Professor of Christian Thought at the University of Calgary. His recent books are Between Sardis and Philadelphia (2008), and A New Introduction to German Pietism (2012). Tinu Ruparell is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary. He is coeditor, with Ian S. Markham, of Encountering Religion (2000). His current work centers on idealism in Ramanuja and Leibniz as well as on science and religion.

Dealing with the aftermath of civil conflict or the fall of a repressive government continues to trouble countries throughout the world. Whereas much of the 1990s was occupied with debates concerning the relative merits of criminal prosecutions and truth commissions, by the end of the decade a consensus emerged that this either/or approach was inappropriate and unnecessary. A second generation of transitional justice experiences have stressed both truth and justice and recognize that a single method may inadequately serve societies rebuilding after conflict or dictatorship. Based on studies in ten countries, this book analyzes how some combine multiple institutions, others experiment with community-level initiatives that draw on traditional law and culture, whilst others combine internal actions with transnational or international ones. The authors argue that transitional justice efforts must also consider the challenges to legitimacy and local ownership emerging after external military intervention or occupation.

For anyone who's ever pondered what everyday life was like during the time of Jesus comes a lively and illuminating portrait of the nearly unknown world of daily life in first-century Palestine. What was it like to live during the time of Jesus? Where did people live? Who did they marry? And what was family life like? How did people survive? These are just some of the questions that Scott Korb answers in this engaging new book, which explores what everyday life entailed two thousand years ago in first-century Palestine, that tumultuous era when the Roman Empire was at its zenith and a new religion-Christianity-was born. Culling information from primary sources, scholarly research, and his own travels and observations, Korb explores the nitty-gritty of real life back then-from how people fed, housed, and groomed themselves to how they kept themselves healthy. He guides the contemporary reader through the maze of customs and traditions that dictated life under the numerous groups, tribes, and peoples in the eastern Mediterranean that Rome governed two thousand years ago, and he illuminates the intriguing details of marriage, family life, health, and a host of other aspects of first-century life. The result is a book for everyone, from the armchair traveler to the amateur historian. With surprising revelations about politics and medicine, crime and personal hygiene, this book is smart and accessible popular history at its very best.

The main driver of inequality—returns on capital that exceed the rate of economic growth—is again threatening to generate extreme discontent and undermine democratic values. Thomas Piketty’s findings in this ambitious, original, rigorous work will transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality.

This lively new volume of essays examines what happens now in 21st century fiction. Fresh theoretical approaches to writers such as Salman Rushdie, David Peace, Margaret Atwood, and Hilary Mantel, and identifications of 21st-century themes, tropes and styles combine to produce a timely critical intervention into genuinely contemporary fiction.

After examining the global system's political volatility at the dawn of the new millenium, the book looks at how some of the identifiable system-wide trends (e.g., globalization, democratization, fragmentation, etc.) may find repercussions in the Asia Pacific. The book also addresses the question of 'comprehensive security', in comparison with other regions, in a wide range of areas subsuming economic security (geoeconomics), environmental security (ecopolitics), and human security. In addition, the book recognizes the idiosyncrasies of the region, such as the defensiveness of most Asian governments toward the protection of their financial markets against external forces following the regional financial crisis of the late 1990s.

"Despite the reforms of the past several decades, more change is needed if the public sector is to be capable of producing effective and accountable government." - back cover.