Annie Dillard once wrote that she did ‘not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return.’

Stirring words, these, with their juxtaposition of Sinaitic God of Scripture and the soporific habits of North American churches.

And that’s just for your average person in the pews. Imagine if you were the preacher?!

Karl Barth does exactly that in this new translation (complete with meticulous notes and introductions by Amy Marga) of essays previously known as The Word of God and the Word of Man. He imagines what it could possibly mean to call the preaching of God’s Word itself a form of the Word of God (as the 2nd Helvetic Confession did). Barth considers the crisis in which the preacher is placed when given the task to proclaim the Word of God. How can one possibly be expected to speak God’s Word? Or, how can one possibly identify one’s own words from the pulpit with the Word of God?

Barth is no triumphalist. He recognizes that God’s demands on our speech are as absolute as our failure to meet them is abject. It’s not for nothing that the standard move of the prophets was to run for the hills. They knew–far better than we–how undesirable the vocation of speaking God’s Word could be. He insists that ‘we…should be shocked. What are you doing, you human, with God’s Word upon your lips? How do you come to play the role of the mediator between heaven and earth?’ Barth is blunt: ‘Who deserves the wrath of God more than us pastors?’ (Bless him for that inclusive pronoun.)

All this, in a long 1922 essay on ‘The Need and Promise of Christian Proclamation’! Need there is, obviously, because we must hear the voice of God. But precisely in that his voice is not our voice, in that only God is fit to speak of God–a conviction that drives Barth’s entire career–the ‘promise’ of Christian proclamation seems to stand on shaky ground.

Barth puts it concisely when considering the task of theology: ‘As theologians, we ought to speak of God. But we are humans and as such cannot speak of God. We ought to do both, to know the “ought” and the “not able to,” and precisely in this way give God the glory. This is our plight. Everything else is child’s play in comparison.’

But with God all things are possible. And even pastors and theologians can receive grace–grace which comes first in the form of judgment, to be sure, unmasking their (our!) pretense and pitiful self-reliance, our little lies and big egos, our lazy inertia. Grace’s judgment leaves the pastor on the side of the congregation–sinners without a leg to stand on before the crucified Christ. ‘We become worthy of being believed only by acknowledging our own unworthiness. Compelling talk of God only occurs when Christian proclamation itself stands in the middle of need, under the cross, in the question that God himself first poses so that God could answer it. We dare not wish to get out of this need.’ We dare not exchange a theology of the cross for a theology of glory.

So when asked about ‘my theology’, Barth points to an ancient invocation: ‘Come Creator, Holy Spirit!’, a prayer ‘more hopeful than triumphant’, never a foregone conclusion, but always a sturdy hope that justifies talk of the ‘promise’ of Christian proclamation. For when one preaches the Word of God in the hope and power of the Spirit, one stands within ‘the living circle of Scripture and Spirit’ as only (but really) ‘a minister, as a servant, of the divine Word.’

Karl Bath, The Word of God and Theology, trans. Amy Marga (New York: T&T Clark, 2011)
You can purchase a copy of the book here.

What Is Christian Ethics? This lecture by Fr Austin lays out some of the principal answers that have been given for that question. It makes a case for saying that Christian ethics is just human ethics rightly understood.

You can listen to the lecture here.

Victor Lee Austin's book, Christian Ethics: A Guide for the Perplexed, is available to purchase here.

Christian ethics is a most perplexing subject. This Guide takes the reader through the most fundamental issues surrounding the question of Ethics from a Christian perspective: Is ethics a meaningful topic of discourse and can there be such a thing as an ethical argument or ethical persuasion? What is the meaning of the adjective in "Christian Ethics"?Could right behavior be different for Christians than it is for others? Can we turn to the Bible for help? Does the Bible tell us what to do, or give us insight into the good we should aim to achieve, or give us a narrative by which to live? Is it best to think of ethics as a matter of duty, or good, or excellence? If we take the virtue line and say that ethics is about human excellence, doing well as a human being or succeeding at being a good human being then what will we say about humans who cannot achieve excellence? The virtue approach leads us to place friendship as the goal of ethics.  

It was a great sadness to me to learn yesterday of the death of Geza Vermes. Vermes’ discipline changing book Jesus the Jew was the first book I ever read in preparation for my degree. It was first on the reading list and it was the book I read to kick of my New Testament studies.

Vermes underlined the ‘Jewishness’ of Jesus in a unique way, which would shift scholarship forever – as James Crossley eloquently shows here. He also provided the definitive translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Of course Vermes had a long association with T&T Clark, largely in his revision of Schurer’s History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, which I am delighted to say that we will be publishing in paperback for the first time, later this year. In recent months this association has been renewed, partly through the plans for the paperback of Schurer and partly through a new book on Herod the Great which came out of contact surrounding Schurer.

Geza proposed the book on Herod as a short, heavily illustrated volume, giving a biographical sketch of the ‘third man’ in the Roman Empire. The book looks at Herod’s skill as a politician, and his legacy as a great builder. It also looks at the human Herod... and the character who would emerge in Christian tradition as the ruthless baby-killer of Matthew 2.

Working on the book with Geza has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my publishing career. I visited him and his wife Margaret at their home in Boar’s Hill in January, on what turned out to be an extremely snowy day. After several hours discussing Herod before a roaring fire and with excellent coffee I departed in what must have been the last car able to leave Boar’s Hill that day. On my way home to London, on an empty OxfordTube bus, on an equally empty M40, I reflected that I had enjoyed the privilege of meeting a true great... a truly humble and charming man.

Since that visit I have enjoyed an email correspondence with Geza over the development to the Herod manuscript ... and indeed we were scheduled to meet on Monday in order to discuss the images in the book, but really more (in my mind at least) to celebrate that the contract had been signed. Sadly this lunch date was not to be, as Geza had been taken into hospital. Margaret, however, made what I now realise was an utterly heroic effort to come into Oxford to have lunch with me to discuss the Herod book and a couple of other things that I hope we may be able to collaborate on. She also brought with her a small bag of macaroons for me as a treat, which was extremely kind.

Yesterday I had the day off work to walk the bit of the Pilgrims’ Way from Guildford to Gomshall with a dear friend. It was at the top of St Martha’s Hill as we tucked into tea and those excellent macaroons that I heard of Geza’s death.

I am very sad that Geza will not see the publication of his book on Herod – that we expect early next year. I’m also sad that I will not get to work on the proofs of the book with him, which I am sure would have been an unusually, and refreshingly, enjoyable experience. He was quite simply, as Mark Goodacre says on his blog, a legend. I feel immensely privileged to have enjoyed a short acquaintance with him, and to be the publisher of his Herod book.

By Darren Cronshawin, in the Australian eJournal of Theology

At university my options for studying Christianity were a couple of biblical studies electives attached to the classics department, or attending the Christian Union or parallel groups running alongside other clubs and societies. Theology as such was left to theological colleges, apparently so the university sector could avoid sectarianism. What I was really interested in, however, was not just studying straight theology but exploring the relevance of Christian faith for the topics we were unpacking in our history, sociology, economics and Asian Studies classes. This volume would have been helpful to disciple me in my approach to studying different disciplines and integrating studies with my Christian faith.

As a pastor and theological educator, I read Christianity and the Disciplines for ideas on how to help people in my church and classroom integrate their faith with their everyday world. As a pastor, a lot of my work focuses on matters of Bible and prayer, leadership and mission, pastoral care and church governance. But it is an important aspect of public theology to consider how thoughtful Christians might study and practice across the disciplines of different endeavours, rather than assuming Christianity only relates to the private/religious sphere. This is why the book is a useful reference for pastors, but will be of interest to Christian professionals and especially academics and teachers interested in the relevance of Christianity to their work.

The editors and writers are either academics in theology and religion, or Christian intellectuals spread across literature, history, psychology, philosophy, music, science, politics and law, all with an interest in their field’s relationship to theology. They reflect on their practices and how their work would be shaped according to their Christian convictions? And how would their discipline be ideally taught in a Christian university context?

There is a range of views of how theology relates to the different disciplines, but the universal theme is that conversation with theology is beneficial. It is fascinating how disciplines across the university grapple with making sense of the world and how they deal with (or ignore) faith. Sometimes theology informs the content of what is taught, and sometimes it simply helps put other disciplines in context and add meaning and metaphysical depth. Some writers are eager for teaching their discipline in a Christian school or faith-based university context; others see their perspectives as supplementing the best of ‘secular’ education. There is helpful discussion of teaching and education implications, especially the challenge to grapple with deeper matters, ethics and character formation as well as knowledge and skills. The best value of the book is the writers’ contagious love of their subjects and how we can learn from the breadth and recent developments in different fields. Theology and these different truth-seeking endeavours can potentially not merely tolerate but enhance one another.

The book finishes without a conclusion. I would have loved to read the editors summarising common themes and pointing in future directions for research and scholarship. But the eighteen chapters they have collected helpfully model diverse conversation between theology and other disciplines and invite ongoing dialogue.

Reviewer: Darren Cronshaw serves as Mission Catalyst – Researcher with the Baptist Union of Victoria and pastor of AuburnLife, and is an Honorary Research Associate of Whitley College (MCD University of Divinity) and Associate Professor in Missiology with Australian College of Ministries (SCD).

Christianity and the Disciplines is edited by Mervyn Davies, Oliver D. Crisp, Gavin D'Costa and
Peter Hampson, and is available to buy here.

The authors of Managing Clergy Lives, Nigel Peyton (Bishop of Brechin) and Caroline Gatrell (Senior Lecturer in the School of Management, Lancaster University) will be guests on Laurie Taylor's BBC Radio 4 show Thinking Allowed today at 4pm. Don't forget to tune in!

Managing Clergy Lives is a 'theology of the priesthood' revealing the enduring vocational commitment of Church of England parish priests in the context of 21st century challenges. Find out more here.

We are delighted to announce the following titles from our backlist are now newly available in paperback, as part of our print on demand programme.

Rashi - Linguist despite Himself, by Jonathan Kearney

The commentary on the Torah of the eleventh-century French rabbi, Solomon Yishaqi of Troyes (better known as Rashi), is one of the major texts of mediaeval Judaism. This book presents a close reading of Rashi’s commentary on the book of Deuteronomy.

Breaking Boundaries: Female Biblical Interpreters Who Challenged the Status Quo, edited by Nancy Calvert-Koyzis and Heather Weir

The essays in this volume address female interpreters of the Bible such as Eudocia and Anna Jameson, whose publications have been largely ignored in the fields of the history of biblical interpretation and reception history. Through their publications these women used their interpretive and theological skills to break the boundaries that previous interpretations of the Bible and their societies imposed upon them.

Abuse, Power and Fearful Obedience: Reconsidering 1 Peter's Commands to Wives by Jennifer G. Bird

Jennifer Bird examines the subjectivity of wives in 1 Peter with particular reference to the Haustafel (household code) section of the letter, engaging feminist critical questions, postcolonial theory, and materialist theory in her analysis.

Judah Between East and West, edited by Lester L. Grabbe and Oded Lipschits

This is a collection of essays examining the period of transition between Persian and Greek rule of Judah, ca. 400-200 BCE. Subjects covered include the archaeology of Maresha/Marisa, Jewish identity, Hellenization/Hellenism, Ptolemaic administration in Judah, biblical and Jewish literature of the early Greek period, the size and status of Jerusalem, the Samaritans in the transition period, and Greek foundations in Palestine. 

Paul and the Second Century

This volume looks at the imprint and influence that the writings of the Apostle Paul had in the second century, examining the Pauline corpus in conjunction with key second century figures and texts such as Ignatius, Polycarp, and the Epistle of Diognetus . It investigates the impact of Paul's legacy and examines how this legacy shaped the Christianity that emerged in the second century as represented by the Apostolic Fathers, the early Christian Apologists, and among Gnostic and Judeo Christian groups.

The Messiah, His Brothers, and the Nations: Matthew 1.1-17 by Jason B. Hood

Why does Matthew append ‘and his brothers' to Judah and Jechoniah (1:2, 11)? Secondly, why does Matthew include the following four annotations: ‘and Zerah by Tamar', ‘by Rahab', ‘by Ruth', and ‘by the [wife] of Uriah' (1:3-6)? Jason B. Hood uses a composition critical approach in which he examines biblical genealogies and ‘summaries of Israel's story' in order to shed light on these features of Matthew's gospel.

Visions and Eschatology: A Socio-Historical Analysis of Zechariah 1-6 by Antonios Finitsis

Antonios Finitsis provides a distinctive analysis of the social worldview and message of Zechariah.

Paul and the Gospels: Christologies, Conflicts and Convergences, edited by Michael F. Bird and Joel Willitts

This volume attempts to situate the Apostle Paul, the Pauline writings, and the earliest Christian Gospels together in the context of early Christianity. It addresses the issue of how the Christianity depicted in and represented  by the individual Gospels relates to the vision of  Christianity represented by Paul and the Pauline writings.

 Letters of the Divine Word: The Perfections of God in Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics by Robert B. Price

‘Literate, articulate, a model of  expositional clarity and care, this fine essay sets before us Barth's doctrine  of the divine perfections in all its complexity, resonance, and power.’
Donald Wood, University of Aberdeen, UK.

The God of Covenant and Creation: Scientific Naturalism and its Challenge to the Christian Faith by Larry S. Chapp

‘Chapp restores theology to its proper cosmological scope.  Not only does ‘creation' become intellectually compelling in Chapp's deft hands, it elicits wonder and praise for its Creator and restores what is human in us. This is a hopeful development indeed and a sign of an indispensable book.' -  Michael Hanby, John Paul II Institute, USA

Can you think of any T&T Clark backlist titles that you would like revived? Suggestions are most welcome!

For the first time since Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics (winner of the 2008 Grawemeyer Award) by Margaret Farley was criticized by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, she gave an exclusive interview to 60 Minutes.

We have a new Pope: Francis – a name honouring St. Francis of Assisi, who venerated poverty and recommended it to his followers.

In the build up to his election a good deal of attention was naturally directed to the challenges facing the Catholic Church. Not least of these is the question of social justice and the plight of the global poor. As Cardinal Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis had faced these with dignity, eschewing the trappings of office and choosing to live the example of a simple and humble lifestyle. The way he presented himself to the world on Wednesday night was no different. There was the same hint of an extempore independence of spirit. 

But if these details seem to suggest a Catholic Church bringing itself up to speed with the world, they also offer a pause for reflection about continuity between the Pope Emeritus and this new Pope. And if poverty and a regard for the marginalized is the theme, then St. Augustine of Hippo might become the source of that reflection; as well as the link between the two men. Benedict the Augustinian scholar and long time ‘doctrinal watchdog’ and Francis, the third world candidate of a modernizing Vatican.

For Augustine was a sublime and prodigious scholar and a Difensor fidei. He wrote tirelessly against the major heresies and schisms of the early Church and promoted orthodoxy through that work. Yet he was also the Bishop of Hippo Regius in a declining province of Roman North Africa. The son of modest parents, he established a strict monastic discipline for himself and enforced it on his priests in the name of leadership and good example. It is often remarked upon by scholars how extraordinary it is that so much that remains foundational today in the Western Church – as indeed in the whole Western tradition of philosophy and ideas – flowed from so simple a pen in such a far-flung corner of the Empire. It does indeed make you think of Pope Francis’ words from the balcony on Wednesday night: ‘It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world to choose a pope!’

But to Augustine at least, these two aspects of his life were always united in a single conception that he was anxious should not be separated. For of course one of the age-long challenges for Christianity and the Church has been to meet and overcome the world’s confidence when it claims that it understands realism best. This is not surprising. Christ proclaimed an otherworldly message on behalf of the spirituality of the human soul: and since then a critical purpose of the Church’s mission has been to preserve that otherworldly beauty in the integrity of its sacraments. At a time like now, when the world feels confident again to remind the Church that she should remain in touch with real problems, Augustine’s life and preaching offer a more nuanced perspective.

Poverty, injustice, and the general-case ‘problem of pain’, are not, he taught, proofs that the world should bring against the Church. The Church must of course move with the times and periodically reform herself, but the love and sympathy which alleviates suffering, one human reaching to another, is nobody’s possession but the God Who made all heaven and earth – and all men and women in His image. It is a subtle point of deep theology, threatened on either side by the ideologies that can just as quickly be made out of the cause of poverty as they can out of the cause of wealth. In Augustine’s teaching, both the rich man and the poor man prove a sacramental truth to each other before they join forces to make a better society.

Although a marbled house does contain you, although fretted ceilings cover you, you and the poor man together have for covering that roof of the universe, the sky... In the bowels of your mothers you were both naked. [En. in Ps., LXXII, 13]

* * *

Yesterday, in a Sistine Chapel Mass, Pope Francis urged:

If we do not confess to Christ, what would we be? We would end up a compassionate NGO. What would happen would be like when children make sand castles and then it all falls down.

And similarly, on 27 February, in his last General Audience, Pope Benedict called the faithful back to this reality of the barque of Saint Peter:

But I always knew that the Lord is in this barque; and I always knew that the barque of the Church is something that belongs neither to me, nor to us, but to Him alone. And the Lord will not let her sink: for it is He Himself Who leads her. This happens through the men he has chosen, certainly – but only because this is how He wants it.

This is a distinctly Augustinian call. When Augustine became a bishop and chose a monastic poverty he saw it in these terms. Human ingenuity has added to the sophistications of life and created through them the concept of progress through time – as well as the yardsticks of that progress in the rich and the poor, the developed and the undeveloped world. But if the Church is not merely to become a ‘compassionate NGO’ it must remember that she has been appointed to remain, in the first instance, above these distinctions. It is only by continuing as the Lord’s possession (and no human’s) that she can credibly draw true seekers to her incorporeal vision of Beauty.

Beyond count are the things made by various crafts in garments, shoes, utensils, and so on – not to mention the visionary creations of artists! Men have taken this course and added all these to the allurements of the eyes, outwardly pursuing the things they make, but inwardly forsaking Him by Whom they were made; and therefore actually destroying what they were made to be... For the beautiful visions transmitted through the artists’ souls into their hands all come from that very Beauty which is above their souls, and for which my soul sighs by day and by night. [Confess., X, 34, 53]

* * *

Saint Augustine of Hippo: An Intellectual Biography by Miles Hollingworth is published by Bloomsbury Continuum on 6^th June 2013.

Augustine was one of the West's first public philosophers. Intellectually brilliant and a gifted writer, he is known primarily as one of the great figures of Christian late antiquity. In this new biography we encounter him through the complexities of his remarkable personality. Miles Hollingworth demonstrates that it was as a personality that he turned against his Age to explore the shocking relevance of one life to God and history. His autobiography, the Confessions, is held up by many today as the first truly modern book.