Whether through suspicion or ignorance, serious consideration of what Mary can teach us has been lacking in large swathes of the church for some time. Drawing on careful biblical exegesis, church history and ecumenical thinking, this book suggests how a serious understanding of Mary might influence our ethical thought, and considers some of the key theological tensions at the heart of the church's engagement with Mary.
Our everyday lives are full of small-scale beginnings and endings-births, death, marriages, careers, house moves and so on. How do the grand-scale beginnings and endings of Advent help to guide us as we seek to follow Jesus in the 21st century? This book of daily readings reflects on the stories of six groups of people and individual characters from the Bible. Each provides a focus on the idea of beginnings and endings, and each gives us a glimpse into the human experience in between.
In an increasingly secularised society, the average person is unlikely to have a working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - is built on Christian concepts and biblical references. THE WRITING ON THE WALL provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives the full text of a story from the Bible and explains its original significance, then shows how this story has become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Ian McEwan, and The Beatles to Monty Python. THE WRITING ON THE WALL opens up not just the Bible but also much of popular culture, and is for the everyday reader as well as the churchgoer.
Presents work on priestly identity embracing the contemporary varieties of priestly ministry. Aimed at priests, priests in training and those considering the ministry, this title examines the root, the shape and the fruit of priestly identity, and is applicable to various denominations. It takes into account the new Church of England Ordinal.
“Some guys don’t break any rules. They do their jobs, they go to school, they don’t commit any infractions, they keep their cells clean and tidy, and they follow the rules. And usually those are our LWOPs [life without parole]. They’re usually our easiest keepers.” Too Easy to Keep directs much-needed attention toward a neglected group of American prisoners—the large and growing population of inmates serving life sentences. Drawing on extensive interviews with lifers and with prison staff, Too Easy to Keep charts the challenges that a life sentence poses—both to the prisoners and to the staffers charged with caring for them. Surprisingly, many lifers show remarkable resilience and craft lives of notable purpose. Yet their eventual decline will pose challenges to the institutions that house them. Rich in data, Too Easy to Keep illustrates the harsh consequences of excessive sentences and demonstrates a keen need to reconsider punishment policy.
Bible reading notes based on the Common Worship Lectionary. Each day, Monday to Saturday, some of the very best writers from across the Anglican tradition offer insightful, informed and inspiring reflections on one of the day's readings for Morning Prayer. This volume covers the church year 2016/2017.