The Oxford Handbooks Theology Collection (7 vols.)

by John J. Collins; William J. Abraham; Frederick D. Aquino; Jerry L. Walls

and

7 more

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

, 2007–2017

Overview

One of the most prestigious and successful strands of Oxford’s scholarly publishing, the Handbook series contains in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field. Oxford Handbooks are guided by a world-class Editorial Board that bring together the world’s leading scholars to discuss research and the latest thinking on a range of major topics. Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research. Handbook articles review the key issues and cutting-edge debates and provide arguments for how those debates might evolve.

Key Features

• Provides an invaluable resource and reference for scholars, students, and general readers
• Features in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field
• Offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research

The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic Literature

• Editor: John J. Collins
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2014
• Pages: 564

The Oxford Handbook of Apocalyptic is a thematic examination of ancient apocalyptic literature and its analogues in modern times. Apocalypticism first appears in Judaism in the Hellenistic period in the books of Daniel and Enoch. There is a distinctive genre “apocalypse” that describes the disclosure of a transcendent world, both spatial and temporal, to a human recipient, who is usually identified pseudonymously with a famous ancient figure. Apocalyptic themes, however, are also found more broadly in other genres, such as prophecy and wisdom. This volume explores the relationships between apocalypticism and several other genres, including prophecy, wisdom, dreams and visions, scriptural interpretation, and mysticism. It also explores the social function of apocalyptic literature and its use as resistance literature, both in ancient and in modern postcolonial perspective. Another section of the volume is devoted to apocalyptic rhetoric, in both Jewish and Christian contexts, and to the interpretive tradition that treats it as an allegory for political events. Several essays explore themes in apocalyptic theology, such as dualism and determinism. Essays in this section also explore its relation to the Torah in Jewish tradition, its role in Christian origins and its adaptation by Gnostics and Manichaeans. The final section of the volume considers the role of apocalypticism in contemporary Christianity and Judaism, especially its relevance to religious radicalism and violence, and also its role in popular culture.

The Oxford Handbook of Christology

• Editor: Francesca Aran Murphy
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 20015
• Pages: 704

This book has forty chapters each written by a scholar with expertise on the person and work of Christ. The book is divided into seven sections. The first section is by historical biblical scholars and it is about Jesus Christ in the Old and New Testaments. The second section is written by patristics scholars and it deals with the formation of the doctrines of the person of Christ and the atonement between the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and the eve of the Second Council of Nicaea, which brought the patristic era to an end. The third section is by scholars of mediaeval theology and its chapters tackle the development of the understanding of who Christ was and of his atoning work from the iconophiles who gathered at Nicaea II (787) through Anselm, Bonaventure, and Aquinas to the late Middle Ages and the mystical Christology of Ruusbroec. The fourth section treats the Christologies of the Protestant Reformers.

The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology

• Editor: Jerry L. Walls
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2007
• Pages: 744

Eschatology is the study of the last things: death, judgment, the afterlife, and the end of the world. Through centuries of Christian thoughtfrom the early Church fathers through the Middle Ages and the Reformationthese issues were of the utmost importance. In other religions, too, eschatological concerns were central. After the Enlightenment, though, many religious thinkers began to downplay the importance of eschatology which, in light of rationalism, came to be seen as something of an embarrassment. The twentieth century, however, saw the rise of phenomena that placed eschatology back at the forefront of religious thought. From the rapid expansion of fundamentalist forms of Christianity, with their focus on the end times; to the proliferation of apocalyptic new religious movements; to the recent (and very public) debates about suicide, martyrdom, and paradise in Islam, interest in eschatology is once again on the rise. In addition to its popular resurgence, in recent years some of the worlds most important theologians have returned eschatology to its former position of prominence. The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology will provide an important critical survey of this diverse body of thought and practice from a variety of perspectives: biblical, historical, theological, philosophical, and cultural. This volume will be the primary resource for students, scholars, and others interested in questions of our ultimate existence.

The Oxford Handbook of Sacramental Theology

• Editors: Hans Boersma and Matthew Levering
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 736

As a multi-faceted introduction to sacramental theology, the purposes of this Handbook are threefold: historical, ecumenical, and missional. The forty-four chapters are organized into the following parts five parts: Sacramental Roots in Scripture, Patristic Sacramental Theology, Medieval Sacramental Theology, From the Reformation through Today, and Philosophical and Theological Issues in Sacramental Doctrine.

Contributors to this Handbook explain the diverse ways that believers have construed the sacraments, both in inspired Scripture and in the history of the Church’s practice. In Scripture and the early Church, Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics all find evidence that the first Christian communities celebrated and taught about the sacraments in a manner that Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics today affirm as the foundation of their own faith and practice. Thus, for those who want to understand what has been taught about the sacraments in Scripture and across the generations by the major thinkers of the various Christian traditions, this Handbook provides an introduction. As the divisions in Christian sacramental understanding and practice are certainly evident in this Handbook, it is not thereby without ecumenical and missional value. This book evidences that the story of the Christian sacraments is, despite divisions in interpretation and practice, one of tremendous hope.

The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology

• Editors: John Webster, Kathryn Tanner and Iain Torrance
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 768

The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology brings together a set of original and authoritative accounts of all the major areas of current research in Christian systematic theology, offering a thorough survey of the state of the discipline and of its prospects for those undertaking research and teaching in the field. The Handbook engages in a comprehensive examination of themes and approaches, guiding the reader through current debates and literatures in the context of the historical development of systematic theological reflection. Organized thematically, it treats in detail the full array of topics in systematic theology, as well as questions of its sources and norms, its relation to other theological and non-theological fields of enquiry, and some major trends in current work. Each chapter provides an analysis of research and debate on its topic. The focus is on doctrinal (rather than historical) questions, and on major (rather than ephemeral) debates. The aim is to stimulate readers to reach theological judgements on the basis of consideration of the range of opinion. Drawn from Europe, the UK, and North America, the authors are all leading practitioners of the discipline. Readers will find expert guidance as well as creative suggestions about the future direction of the study of Christian doctrine.

The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology

• Editors: William J. Abraham; Frederick D. Aquino
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 720

The Oxford Handbook of the Epistemology of Theology brings together leading scholars in the fields of theology and epistemology to examine and articulate what can be categorized as appropriate epistemic evaluation in theology. This authoritative collection explores how the various topics, figures, and emerging conversations can be reconceived and addressed in light of recent developments in epistemology. Each chapter provides an analysis of the crucial moves, positions, and debates, while also identifying relevant epistemic considerations. This Handbook fulfils the need for the development of this new conversation that will take its natural place in the intersection of theology and epistemology. It links the fields of theology and epistemology in robust, meaningful, and significant ways.

The Oxford Handbook of the Trinity

• Editors: Gilles Emery and Matthew Levering
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Pages: 704

This handbook examines the history of Trinitarian theology and reveals the Nicene unity still at work among Christians today despite ecumenical differences and the variety of theological perspectives. The forty-three chapters are organized into the following seven parts: the Trinity in Scripture, Patristic witnesses to the Trinitarian faith, Medieval appropriations of the Trinitarian faith, the Reformation through to the 20th Century, Trinitarian Dogmatics, the Trinity and Christian life, and Dialogues (addressing ecumenical, interreligious, and cultural interactions).

The phrase “Trinitarian faith” can hardly be understood outside of reference to the Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople and to their reception: the doctrine of the Trinity is indissociably connected to the reading of Scripture through the ecclesial and theological traditions. The modern period is characterized especially by the arrival of history, under two principal aspects: “historical theology” and “philosophies of history.” In contemporary theology, the principal “theological loci” are Trinity and creation, Trinity and grace, Trinity and monotheism, Trinity and human life (ethics, society, politics and culture), and more broadly Trinity and history. In all these areas, this handbook offers essays that do justice to the diversity of view points, while also providing, insofar as possible, a coherent ensemble.