Author(s): Nancey Murphy
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $4.99 
Each field of study comes with its own set of questions; each period of time refines and redirects those questions. The Christian religion as we find it in the twenty-first century presents a unique set of problems to be solved and questions to be answered. In this introduction to the philosophy of the Christian religion, eminent philosopher and theologian Nancey Murphy applies the tools of philosophical analysis to a set of core yet contemporary religious questions: what does our historical moment mean for the possibility of knowing God? Is faith still possible? Does God intervene in human history? Is there such a thing as universal knowledge of God?
Written with the needs of students encountering the philosophy of religion for the first time in mind, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental questions inherent in Christian faith. Murphy also provides tools for how to answer those questions.
Author(s): Amos Yong
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $4.99
Theology—the attempt to come to a deeper, more faithful understanding of one’s encounter with God—is something to which all Christians are called. In Learning Theology, Amos Yong invites the reader to lay claim to that calling and to see it as yet another opportunity to love God.
Written for those taking their first course in the subject, this book introduces the foundational sources and tasks of theology. It asks what difference theology makes in our lives, how it can influence the way we write and study, and how we understand other forms of learning as part of the Spirit’s leadership. Yong encourages the reader to see all of life through the lens of faith, and Learning Theology offers tools to more thoughtfully and faithfully perform that task.
Readings in the History of Christian Theology, Volume 1: From Its Beginnings to the Eve of the Reformation
Author(s): William C. Placher & Derek R. Nelson
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $3.99
William C. Placher and Derek Nelson compile significant passages written by the most important Christian thinkers, from the early church through the Middle Ages, and up to the beginning of the sixteenth century. Illustrating the major theologians, controversies, and schools of thought, Readings in the History of Christian Theology is an essential companion to the study of church history and historical theology. Excerpts are preceded by the editors’ introductions, allowing the book to stand alone as a coherent history. This revised edition expands the work’s scope with the addition of many new texts, especially those from the voices of women and others who have been marginalized from the theological tradition. This valuable resource brings together the writings of major theologians from the church’s history for a new generation of students.
Readings in the History of Christian Theology, Volume 2, Revised Edition: From the Reformation to the Present
Author(s): William C. Placher & Derek R. Nelson
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $3.99
William Placher and Derek Nelson compile significant passages written by the most important Christian thinkers, from the Reformers of the sixteenth century through the major participants in the contemporary theological conversation. Illustrating the major theologians, controversies, and schools of thought, Readings in the History of Christian Theology is an essential companion to the study of church history and historical theology. Excerpts are preceded by the editors’ introductions, allowing the book to stand alone as a coherent history. This revised edition expands the work’s scope, drawing throughout on more female voices and expanding to include the most important twenty-first-century theological contributions. This valuable resource brings together the writings of major theologians from the church’s history for a new generation of students.
Author(s): Donald K. McKim
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $4.99
This second edition of the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms provides a comprehensive guide to nearly 7,000 theological terms—1,000 more terms than the first edition. McKim’s succinct definitions cover a broad range of theological studies and related disciplines: contemporary theologies, biblical studies, church history, ethics, feminist theology, global theologies, hermeneutics, liberation theology, liturgy, ministry, philosophy, philosophy of religion, postcolonial theology, social sciences, spiritually, worship, and Protestant, Reformed, and Roman Catholic theologies.
This new edition also includes cross-references that link readers to other related terms, commonly used scholarly abbreviations and abbreviations for canonical and deuterocanonical texts, an annotated bibliography, and a new introductory section that groups together terms and concepts, showing where they fit within particular theological categories. No other single volume provides the busy student, and the theologically experienced reader, with such easy access to so many theological definitions.
Author(s): Kevin J. Vanhoozer
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $2.99
In this volume, highly esteemed scholar Kevin Vanhoozer introduces readers to a way of thinking about Christian theology that takes the work he began in the groundbreaking 2005 book, The Drama of Doctrine, to its next level. Vanhoozer argues that theology is not merely a set of cognitive beliefs, but is also something we do that involves speech and action alike. He uses a theatrical model to explain the ways in which doctrine shapes Christian understanding and forms disciples. The church, Vanhoozer posits, is the preeminent theater where the gospel is “performed,” with doctrine directing this performance. Doctrines are not simply truths to be stored, shelved, and stacked, but indications and directions to be followed, practiced and enacted. In “performing” doctrine, Christians are shaped into active disciples of Jesus Christ. He goes on to examine the state of the church in today’s world and explores how disciples can do or perform doctrine. Written in an accessible and engaging style, Faith Speaking Understanding sets forth a compelling vision of what the church is and what it should be doing, and demonstrates the importance of Christian doctrine for this mission.
Disciples who want to follow Christ in all situations need doctrinal direction as they walk onto the social stage in the great theater of the world. The Christian faith is about acknowledging, and participating in, the great thing God is doing in our world: making all things new in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Doctrine ministers understanding: of God, of the drama of redemption, of the church as a company of faithful players, and of individual actors, all of whom have important roles to play. In an age where things fall apart and centers fail to hold, doctrine centers us in Jesus Christ, in whom all things hold together.
Author(s): Kyle D. Fedler
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $3.99 (Ends Mar 22)
Adopting a unique appraoch among inroductions to Christian ethics, Kyle Fedler’s Exploring Christian Ethics guides students through the moral decision-making process by providing foundational material in both ethical theory and biblical ethics. First, Fedler introduces the reader to the discipline of ethics, then he explores the ways Scripture can be used responsibly in Christian ethics, and finally, he presents and analyzes the sections of Scripture that have been most influential in Christian morality and ethics.
Author(s): John F. Haught
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Price: $1.99 (Ends Mar 22)
In God and the New Atheism, a world expert on science and theology gives clear, concise, and compelling answers to the charges against religion laid out in recent best-selling books by Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion), Sam Harris (The End of Faith), and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great). For some, these “new atheists” appear to say extremely well what they believe to be wrong with religion. But, as John Haught shows, the treatment of religion in these books is riddled with logical inconsistencies, shallow misconceptions, and crude generalizations. Can God really be dismissed as a mere delusion? Is faith really the enemy of reason? And does religion really poison everything? God and the New Atheism offers a much-needed antidote to the extremist claims of scientific fundamentalism. This provocative and accessible little book will enable readers to see through the rhetorical fog of this recent phenomenon and come to a clearer understanding of the issues at stake in this crucial debate.