Theology: The Basics

Completely updated and expanded, this third edition from one of the world's leading theologians introduces students to key theological issues, contextualizing them within the bible and the works of seminal theologians.

• Introduces readers to key theological issues such as God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, faith, creation, salvation, atonement, religious history, and heaven
• Thoroughly updated, with the addition of a new chapter on the Holy Spirit
• Now includes images and more pedagogical features to engage the reader
• Each chapter offers an overview of an important theme, presents relevant biblical passages, and summarizes the contribution of a major theologian
• Expands the range of theological positions discussed within the book, especially those of contemporary and feminist theologians
• Maintains the user-friendly structure of the previous edition, with the Apostle's Creed as a framework
• Concludes with suggestions on how readers can take their study further
• Can be used alongside the new edition of Theology: The Basic Readings for a complete overview of the field

Review

"This is an excellent and extremely helpful introduction to Christian theology. Believers of all familiarity with theology will find McGrath's explanations helpful and clarifying. This would be an excellent text for a sunday school or church bible study. I would even include this as a text for an introductory course in theology." (Jacob Sweeney's Blog, 16 December 2011)

"McGrath’s approach is creedal and biblical. The chapters are lucid, engaging, and thought-provoking in so far as they serve as gateways into a complex (if not at times convoluted) field of study.” (Religious Studies Review)

“The publisher's blurb reports that the first edition was 'an international best seller' …It deserves this success. Students need such a clearly presented, sure-footed account of the theological basics.” (Theological Book Review)

Paperback: 254 pages
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 3 edition (September 13, 2011)

Anthology of World Scriptures

ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD SCRIPTURES is a comprehensive collection of scriptures from the major world religions, including: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as scriptures from more recent religious movements. The text presents scripture readings in context, giving you a framework that shows how each religion is actually practiced today, as well as its history, teachings, organization, ethics and rituals. The readings are supported by introductions, study questions, glossaries, and suggestions for further reading, providing additional tools for review.

About the Author

Dr. Robert E. Van Voorst, Professor of New Testament Studies at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, and former professor of religion at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, has written frequently on religious studies in noted journals and reference works. In addition, he has authored numerous books, including six with Cengage Learning: RELG: WORLD, 2nd Edition; READINGS IN CHRISTIANITY, 3rd Edition; ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD SCRIPTURES, 8th Edition; ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD SCRIPTURES: EASTERN RELIGIONS; ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD SCRIPTURES: WESTERN RELIGIONS; and READING THE NEW TESTAMENT TODAY, now also in a Chinese version. Other books by Van Voorst include BUILDING YOUR NEW TESTAMENT GREEK VOCABULARY, 3rd Edition; THE ASCENTS OF JAMES, a recovery and commentary on a second-century Jewish-Christian document; and JESUS OUTSIDE THE NEW TESTAMENT, an examination of traditions about Jesus from ancient classical and Jewish documents, now also in Italian.

Paperback: 371 pages
Publisher: Cengage Learning; 6 edition (September 13, 2007)

History of the World

From the evolution of Homo sapiens to the exploration of space, the vast landscape of human history appears in J.M. Roberts's History of the World. Deftly written and evocatively illustrated, this book offers an outstanding one-volume survey of the major events, developments, and personalities of the known past.

In a truly remarkable work of compression and synthesis, Roberts sweeps through thousands of years of history, weaving the stories of empires, arts, religion, economics, and science into his lucid narrative. Beginning with the early hominids, he swiftly and authoritatively brings the story up through the emergence of Mesopotamian civilizations and ancient Egypt. Here, too, is comprehensive coverage of the Indian and Chinese civilizations ("For two and a half thousand years," he points out, "there has been a Chinese nation using a Chinese language"), as well as developments in Africa and South America. Aided by photographs of key archaelogical finds (such as monumental Egyptian statues, Peruvian medallions, and Celtic jewelry), Roberts clearly explains the early arts, engineering, and religion. He also carefully ties in changing economics--such as trade routes and developments in agriculture and manufacturing--making clear their importance for the history of politics and changing societies. The story leaps ahead, through the Roman Empire, the explosive arrival of Islam, the rise and fall of samurai rule in Japan, the medieval kingdoms of sub-Saharan Africa, the Mongol conquests, and the early modern expansion of Europe across the globe. American independence, the French Revolution, the colonial empires, Japan's startling modernization, and the World Wars follow in turn, accompanied by discussions of scientific and technical breakthroughs.

With informative maps, photographs, and reproductions of important artwork (some in full color), Roberts clearly explains the impact of the key individuals and the major influences on history the world over, down to the era of an integrated global economy and the fall of the U.S.S.R. Vividly written and beautifull illustrated, History of the World offers the finest, most readable one-volume survey available today.

Hardcover: 952 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Subsequent edition (October 21, 1993)

The Urantia Book

Love

Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. (p. 2018) “Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world.” (p. 2047) “Love is the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful.” (p. 2047) The Father’s love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man’s personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows. (p. 1289) The secret of a better civilization is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust. (p. 2065)

Prayer

Prayer is not a technique of escape from conflict but rather a stimulus to growth in the very face of conflict. (p. 1002) The sincerity of any prayer is the assurance of its being heard. … (p. 1639) God answers man’s prayer by giving him an increased revelation of truth, an enhanced appreciation of beauty, and an augmented concept of goodness. (p. 1002) …Never forget that the sincere prayer of faith is a mighty force for the promotion of personal happiness, individual self-control, social harmony, moral progress, and spiritual attainment. (p. 999)

Suffering

There is a great and glorious purpose in the march of the universes through space. All of your mortal struggling is not in vain. (p. 364) Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation. (p. 556)

Angels

The angels of all orders are distinct personalities and are highly individualized. (p. 285) Angels....are fully cognizant of your moral struggles and spiritual difficulties. They love human beings, and only good can result from your efforts to understand and love them. (p. 419)

Our Divine Destiny

If you are a willing learner, if you want to attain spirit levels and reach divine heights, if you sincerely desire to reach the eternal goal, then the divine Spirit will gently and lovingly lead you along the pathway of sonship and spiritual progress. (p. 381) …They who know that God is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him—immortal. (p. 1449) God is not only the determiner of destiny; he is man’s eternal destination. (p. 67)

Family

Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family. (p. 765) The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement. ... (p. 939)

Faith

…Faith will expand the mind, ennoble the soul, reinforce the personality, augment the happiness, deepen the spirit perception, and enhance the power to love and be loved. (p. 1766) “Now, mistake not, my Father will ever respond to the faintest flicker of faith.” (p. 1733)

History/Science

The story of man’s ascent from seaweed to the lordship of earthly creation is indeed a romance of biologic struggle and mind survival. (p. 731) 2,500,000,000 years ago… Urantia was a well developed sphere about one tenth its present mass. … (p. 658) 1,000,000,000 years ago is the date of the actual beginning of Urantia [Earth] history. (p. 660) 450,000,000 years ago the transition from vegetable to animal life occurred. (p. 669) From the year A.D. 1934 back to the birth of the first two human beings is just 993,419 years. (p. 707) About five hundred thousand years ago…there were almost one-half billion primitive human beings on earth. … (p. 741) Adam and Eve arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. (p. 828)

From the Inside Flap

What’s Inside?

Parts I and II

God, the inhabited universes, life after death, angels and other beings, the war in heaven.

Part III

The history of the world, science and evolution, Adam and Eve, development of civilization, marriage and family, personal spiritual growth.

Part IV

The life and teachings of Jesus including the missing years. AND MUCH MORE…

Excerpts

God, …God is the source and destiny of all that is good and beautiful and true. (p. 1431) If you truly want to find God, that desire is in itself evidence that you have already found him. (p. 1440) When man goes in partnership with God, great things may, and do, happen. (p. 1467)

The Origin of Human Life, The universe is not an accident... (p. 53) The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. (p. 21) The evolutionary planets are the spheres of human origin…Urantia [Earth] is your starting point. … (p. 1225) In God, man lives, moves, and has his being. (p. 22)

The Purpose of Life, There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. (p. 365) This new gospel of the kingdom… presents a new and exalted goal of destiny, a supreme life purpose. (p. 1778)

Jesus, The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race. (p. 1091) What an awakening the world would experience if it could only see Jesus as he really lived on earth and know, firsthand, his life-giving teachings! (p. 2083)

Science, Science, guided by wisdom, may become man’s great social liberator. (p. 909) Mortal man is not an evolutionary accident. There is a precise system, a universal law, which determines the unfolding of the planetary life plan on the spheres of space. (p. 560)

Life after Death, God’s love is universal… He is “not willing that any should perish.” (p. 39) Your short sojourn on Urantia [Earth]…is only a single link, the very first in the long chain that is to stretch across universes and through the eternal ages. (p. 435) …Death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery. (p. 159)

About the Author

The text of The Urantia Book was provided by one or more anonymous contributors working with a small staff which provided editorial and administrative support during the book's creation. The book bears no particular credentials (from a human viewpoint), relying instead on the power and beauty of the writing itself to persuade the reader of its authenticity.

Leather Bound: 2097 pages
Publisher: Urantia Foundation; Box Lea edition (August 25, 2015)

The Annals of the World

Your ancient history questions can be answered with unmatched precision. James Ussher's Annals of the World offers you a comprehensive chronological examination of history from the beginning of time to 70 A.D. His meticulous research of over 12,000 historical documents (many no longer available) and 2000 quotes from the Bible or the Apocrypha has been compiled into the most interesting history of the world you are ever likely to read.

Could an investigation of ancient civilizations and their historical records prove the accuracy of the Holy Bible? Annals of the World, originally published in Latin in 1650, is an unparalleled academic chronology of both sacred and secular history. Ussher's highly regarded historical timeline has been the foundation of many translations of the Bible and was included in the margins of many King James Bibles throughout the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Answers to your age of the earth questions and Bible contradiction theories can be found in your personal exploration of human history within these 960 pages.

One of history's most famous and well-respected historians. James Ussher devoted himself wholly to the defense of the Christian faith. This highly educated and well-traveled historian devoted several years to writing this monumental history of the ancient world.

In 2003, his literary classic was given a complete scholarly review for accuracy, translated into English and published for the modern reader.

A must-have for libraries of all sizes. Universities, public and private schools, professors, independent scholars, and pastors will find this to be an invaluable historical resource.

A beautifully bound hard cover copy is also available and with it a complimentary CD offering maps, timelines, Biblical synopses, historical summaries and more.

About the Author

James Ussher devoted himself wholly to the defense of the Christian Faith. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1581, this highly educated, welltraveled historian devoted years to writing the history of the world from creation to A.D. 70. Originally published in Latin in the 1650s, Ussher's masterpiece is a literary classic.

Paperback: 960 pages
Publisher: Master Books (March 1, 2007)

One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos

A new window opens onto the cosmos...

Almost every day we are challenged by new information from the outermost reaches of space. Using straightforward language, One Universe explores the physical principles that govern the workings of our own world so that we can appreciate how they operate in the cosmos around us. Bands of color in a sunlit crystal and the spectrum of starlight in giant telescopes, the arc of a hard-hit baseball and the orbit of the moon, traffic patterns on a freeway and the spiral arms in a galaxy full of stars--they're all tied together in grand and simple ways.

We can understand the vast cosmos in which we live by exploring three basic concepts: motion, matter, and energy. With these as a starting point, One Universe shows how the physical principles that operate in our kitchens and backyards are actually down-to-Earth versions of cosmic processes. The book then takes us to the limits of our knowledge, asking the ultimate questions about the origins and existence of life as we know it and where the universe came from--and where it is going.

Glorious photographs--many seen for the first time in these pages--and original illustrations expand and enrich our understanding. Evocative and clearly written, One Universe explains complex ideas in ways that every reader can grasp and enjoy. This book captures the grandeur of the heavens while making us feel at home in the cosmos. Above all, it helps us realize that galaxies, stars, planets, and we ourselves all belong to One Universe.

Hardcover: 225 pages
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press; First Edition edition (December 20, 1999)