The 21st Century Christian

'Christians in the Twenty-First Century' examines Christianity as it is understood and practised both by active followers and those who regard themselves as Christian. The book opens with an examination of key Christian concepts - the Bible, the Creeds, the Church and the sacraments - and the major traditions of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism as well as more recent movements. The book continues with an analysis of the challenges presented by the rise of science, new approaches to biblical scholarship, the rise of fundamentalist movements, the ordination of women, secularization, the interfaith movement, and the impact of the electronic revolution.

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.

Building on the success of his 1992 collection Foundations of Ministry (over 17,000 sold), Michael Anthony offers Introducing Christian Education to fill the need in the C.E. curriculum for an introductory foundations textbook--one that provides an overview and understanding of the broad range of subjects included in C.E.--for college and seminary use. Thirty-one chapters are offered under the following sections: 1) Foundations of C.E.; 2) Developmental Perspectives of C.E.; 3) Educational Implications of C.E.; 4) Organization, Administration, and Leadership; 5) C.E. Applied to the Family; and 6) Specialized Ministries. Contributors include Robert Pazmiño, Jim Wilhoit, Julie Gorman, Klaus Issler, and Ted Ward. FROM THE FOREWORD BY LESTER C. BLANK JR. Introducing Christian Education will become a major resource text for church leaders and Christian education leaders who are professors of Christian education. It will be a valuable resource in my personal library. The desired outcome will be Psalm 78:72: "He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands."

In this insightful book, two leading scholars in Christian education trace the history of the discipline from the Old Testament to the present. Presented against the backdrop of wider philosophical thought and historical events, Anthony and Benson show how each successive era shaped the practice of Christian education today. The result is a book brimming with insights that reveal the historical roots and philosophical underpinnings of issues relevant to current practice in Christian education ministries."The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with more than just valuable insights regarding the past. . . . The future is the emphasis of this history book." From the Introduction

"This volume is not a set of textbook answers on how to witness to Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and people with other religions based on simple formulas. It is the wrestlings, affirmations, and testimonies of those who have been deeply involved in ministries to people of other religious faiths and have thought deeply about the issues religious pluralism raises." - Paul G. Hiebert, Professor Emeritus, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Dan Dick calls us to reorient ourselves in relationship to God and God's church and in our thinking about Christian stewardship.