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The editor hopes that these papers, on themes of interest to Morton Smith, will contribute to the critical discussion of some problems of concern to him. Since Smith is one of the great scholarly masters of this generation, it is through scholarship, and not through encomia, that the editor and his colleagues choose to pay their tribute. The facts about the man, his writings, his critical judgment, intelligence, erudition and wit, his labor as selfless teacher and objective, profound critic speak for themselves and require no embellishment.... I hope that the quality of what follows will impress my teacher, Professor Morton Smith, and those scholars who care to read these volumes, as having been worth the immense efforts of all concerned.From the Foreword by Jacob Neusner

This book is the first full-length treatment of the philosophical problem of fatalism, the thesis that the laws of logic alone suffice to prove that no person ever acts freely. After a critical examination of the history of the problem, from Aristotle through Stoic and medieval thought, Cahn analyzes contemporary discussions of the issue, revealing how a belief in free will is logically connected to specific assumptions about the truth-value of propositions and the nature of time.

We live in a world of widespread awareness of diversity. The variety of ethnicities, cultures, world views, and politics is common to anyone who takes advantage of media, communications, and travel technologies. Some diversities are quite trivial and merely provoke a smile or a shake of the head. But differences in those beliefs that guide our lives, thatmake us what we are - these are another matter. They are indeed the stuff of arguments, manifestos, estrangements, revolutions, and wars. Why is this so? In a way, this book is an answer to that question.

A leading scholar of the formative age and writings of Judaism here formulates a theory of the Mishnah (one of the earliest dated sources of Judaism): what it is, how it should be read, and why it is of considerable interest in the study of religious conceptions of the social order. Each of the book''s chapters are amply illustrated with texts that have been freshly translated by the author.The result is a relatively quick and easy entry into the sometimes difficult and complex world of the Mishnah and its laws concerning agriculture, appointed seasons, women and property, civil and criminal law, conduct of the cult and the Temple, and preservation of cultic purity in the Temple and under certain domestic circumstances, with special reference to the table and the bed.Any valid description of early rabbinic thought - and therefore of early Christianity - must begin with the Mishnah and must focus on the subjects the sages considered important. This book introduces the reader to the world of the Mishnah in a thoughtful, engaging, and spirited manner.

The first book to examine the full range of black life from the vantage point of psychiatry, this widely-acclaimed work has established itself as the classic statement of the desperation, conflicts, and anger of black life in America. ''Black Rage'' tells of the insidious effects of the heritage of slavery; desribes love, marriage, and the family; addresses the sexual myths and fears of both blacks and whites; chronicles how schools fail the black child; examines mental illness among black people and the psychic stresses engendered by discrimination; and, finally, focuses on the miasma of racial hatred that envelops this country, why it exists, and what will surely happen if it is not soon dispelled.

The most unique feature of this book is its claim that the Gospel of Mark is a story told twice: once as the account of John the Baptist and Jesus, and again as the story of Elijah and the Son of Man. As a Twice-Told Tale, Mark resembles a parable and its interpretation. Therefore, the stories Mark told about Jesus are also parables. Anticipating martyrdom in the war between Rome and Judea, Mark called death a spiritual baptism and broken bread the body of the Son of Man. In the post war period Matthew and Luke re-interpreted Mark's story.

Prof. George Wesley Buchanan PhD., Litt.D., D.S.L.Recognized in academic circles for being the first for the following:1. use of insights from the Dead Sea Scrolls to solve biblical problems.2. discover midrash (commentary on Scripture) in the First Testament.3. publish intertextual commentaries both in the First Testament and in the New Testament.4. discover the northern boundaries of the Promised Land.5. discover independently (as one of two scholars) the true location of the temple at Zion.6. discover the method for distinguishing the teachings of Jesus from the additions of the later church. Other scholars have followed Schweitzer in declaring that this could not be done.Other Biographical Data for Prof. Buchanan:Ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, pastor of churches for fourteen years. Horowitz Fellow, Scheuer Fellow, Rosenstiel Fellow, Association of Theological Schools Fellow, Claremont--Society of Biblical Literature Fellow, Recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, Simpson College, Recipient of Numerous Research Grants

What kind of reality can be perceived when the core problems of theology are freed from dependency upon highly technical and arcane ways of thinking and speaking? Writing with the logical clarity and critical acumen for which he is well-known in theological circles, Julian N. Hartt demonstrates the reality of theology''s problems and shows how they can be perceived as part of a divine restiveness in living. Hartt finds the demands of revelation to be most profoundly registered upon the imagination--that power of the spirit by which the shape of things to come is grasped.Sensing a great hunger for fresh approaches to fundamental theological concerns, Hartt presents a boldly original scholarly work. In it the persistent theological puzzles about method are clarified, the elements of that method are described and major historical controversies about method are critiqued. Topics discussed include: beliefs and reasons, knowing and proving God, faith and hope, authority and scripture, revelation and historical evidence.A significant contribution to theology, this book shows that theological method entails describing the ways in which faith makes sense. Doing this, it speaks about incorrigible beliefs, those convictions so fundamental that without them the very sense of life and world would disappear. Sensing that society has begun to think of theological matters as mere inventions of theologians, Hartt seeks to return to those fundamental questions that are the concrete situation of the serious-minded Christian in the contemporary world.

History The Parker Society, 'For the Publication of the Works of the Fathers and Early Writers of the Reformed English Church', was formed in 1840 and disbanded in 1855 when its work was completed. Its name is taken from that of Matthew Parker, the first Elizabethan Archbishop of Canterbury, who was known as a great collector and preserver of books. The stimulus for the foundation of the society was provided by the nineteenth-Century Tractarians. Some members of this movement, e.g., R.H. Froude in his Remains of 1838-9, spoke most disparagingly of the English Reformation: 'Really I hate the Reformation and the Reformers more and more'. Keble could add in 1838, 'Anything which separates the present Church from the Reformers I should hail as a great good'. Protestants within the Church of England therefore felt the urgent need to make available in an attractive and accessible form the works of the leaders of the English Reformation. To many it seemed that the Protestant foundations of the English Church were being challenged like never before. Thus the society represented a co-operation between traditional High Churchmen and evangelical churchmen, both of whom were committed to the Reformation teaching on justification by faith. Subscribers were also involved in the erection of the Martyrs' Memorial in Oxford, although this was as much anti-Roman Catholic as anti-Tractarian. The society had about seven thousand subscribers who paid one pound each year from 1841 to 1855; thus for fifteen pounds the subscribers received fifty- three volumes - the General Index and the Latin originals of the 1847 'Original Letters relative to the English Reformation' being special subscriptions. Twenty-four editors were used and the task of arriving at the best text was far from easy. The choice of publications was controversial and some authors and works were unfortunate not to be included in PS volumes. While some of the volumes have been superseded by more recent critical editions, today this collection remains one of the most valuable sources for the study of the English Reformation.

In an age when ontology is in question and onto-theology has come to an end, the work of Julian Hartt is an important offering to the church. Hartt''s first formal foray into ontology may be found in his (1940) Yale dissertation, ""The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God: A Historic-Critical Exposition of Some of Its Metaphysical and Epistemological Issues. His later thinking about ontology in service to theology may be heard in his Nathaniel Taylor lectures, ""The One God and the Several Worlds: Faith in God after the End of Salvation History. In between these two works, Hartt advanced his own ontology in the series of lectures published as ''Being Known and Being Revealed.'' These lectures display the thinking of an erudite, original scholar who knows the history of philosophy intimately, particularly as it impinges on theology. He also knows the history of theology as it wrestles with Being. But beyond that, he brings his thought in touch with reality, even as his thinking soars--not to escape reality--but to gain a perspective that enables us to be grasped more firmly by the truth.

Vital . . . pertaining to life; essential; of critical importance. Prophetic . . . relating the inspired declaration of God''s will and purpose. Issues . . . a point or matter, the decision of which is of special or public importance. A dictionary can define the terms, but rightly dividing the prophetic passages of the Bible demands skillful study and balanced reflection upon the whole of Scripture. Vital Prophetic Issues: Examining Promises and Problems in Eschatology draws upon the insights and study of numerous evangelical scholars and writers to address a variety of issues in the field of eschatology. Some of the chapters included are Basic Considerations in Interpreting Prophecy by John F. Walvoord The Premillennial Interpretation of History by Ramesh P. Richard The Necessity of Dispensationalism by Charles C. Ryrie A New Look at Dispensationalism by Roy L. AldrichChristian readers, church leaders, and pastors will appreciate the helpful scholarship of Vital Prophetic Issues.

The Protestant Reformation was hardly a unified protest against the doctrines and practices of the Medieval church. Aside from the mainstream Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed divisions, a variety of eddies and side currents also flowed through reform in the sixteenth century. There were Anabaptists, of course, as well as Spiritualists, Mystics, Pantheists, Anti-Trinitarians, and others in the so-called Radical Reformation. One of the most intriguing of these smaller, too-marginalized movements were the Schwenkfelders, named for the Silesian lay theologian, Casper Schwenckfeld von Ossig (1489-1561). An irenic voice in the raucous controversies of the sixteenth century, Schwenckfeld pioneered a Reformation of the Middle Way that sought to avoid the extremes of the day. He started as an admirer of Luther, but developed a more spiritual interpretation of Christ''s presence in the Sacrament. Venturing further along this vector, he emphasized the spiritual dimension in all ecclesiastical externals, including preaching, the ministry, baptism, and church. Themes involving Christology and Soteriology, however, fill all 19 volumes of the Schwenckfeld''s writings - the ''Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum - and form the very center of Schwenckfeldian theology, still espoused by the Schwenkfelders of eastern Pennsylvania. In brilliant fashion, this study illumines that core.

No book in the Bible says more about the Trinity than the Gospel of John. Of the innumerable commentaries published on this much loved Gospel, few have focused on this central theme.I have tried, writes the author, to listen to the discourses of Jesus in John and draw forth the disclosures of God''s social nature in the activity of the incarnate Son. He discovers something quite remarkable about the attitude of the persons of the Triune Community, something he calls disposability. Father, Son, and Spirit are there for the other, ...servants who place themselves at the other person''s disposal in an act of total generosity. They serve not only each other but also the fallen human race, and the creatures they redeem are invited to wash one another''s feet as servants to the world.Devoted Bible students will find in this thematic commentary a dimension to the Gospel of John they may have noticed only vaguely. As they follow the author through this Gospel chapter by chapter, they will acquire a far deeper understanding of the Triune God, whom they serve because he has served them.

Christian theologians are agreed that God is eternal. However, disagreement arises within the Christian tradition over the precise interpretation to be given to the word ''eternal''. Professor Nelson Pike examines one way of understanding the doctrine of divine eternity that has had considerable prominence in the writings of both Catholic and Protestant theologians. On this interpretation, to say that God is eternal is to say that God exists ''outside of time''; in other words, that God is ''timeless''. Professor Pike undertakes to expose both the strengths and shortcomings of this analysis of God''s eternity.In addition to his discussion of divine eternity, Professor Pike treats a wide range of other theological and philosophical topics. These include the medieval doctrine of essential prediction, the syntactical status of the term ''God'', the problem of divine foreknowledge, the notion of God''s omnipotence, the doctrine of divine immutability, and the general methodological issues connected with traditional ways of determining the adequacy of statements ascribing specific attributes to God.