Books published by James Clarke & Co Ltd

The first of two volumes showing how the principles of emergence and evolution underlie our personal knowledge and understanding of reality.

A selection of the writings of the theologian Andrew Walker, displaying the full breadth of his learning and interests over a long and distinguished career.

A philosophical examination of religion and society, offering a closely reasoned challenge to the dominant Western discourse of secular liberalism.

In Christ Died for Our Sins, Jarvis J. Williams argues a twofold thesis: First, that Paul in Romans presents Jesus' death as both a representation of, and a substitute for, Jews and Gentiles. Second, that the Jewish martyrological narratives in certain Second Temple Jewish texts are a background behind Paul's presentation of Jesus' death. By means of careful textual analysis, Williams argues that the Jewish martyrological narratives appropriated and applied Levitical cultic language and Isaianic language to the deaths of the Torah-observant Jewish martyrs in order to present their deaths as a representation, a substitution, and as Israel's Yom Kippur for non-Torah-observant Jews. Williams seeks to show that Paul appropriated and applied this same language and conceptuality in order to present Jesus' death as the death of a Torah-observant Jew serving as a representation, a substitution, and as the Yom Kippur for both Jews and Gentiles. Scholars working in the areas of Romans, Pauline theology, Second Temple Judaism, atonement in Paul, or early Christian origins will find much to stimulate and provoke in these pages.

A collection of passages from the ecclesiastical writers of the 17th-century, which illustrates the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England at that age. This volume provides an account of the theological literature of the period.

A monumental work bringing together in an accessible and digestible form the current status of scholarship on the writings of the Eastern Fathers in the period between Chalcedon and the death of John of Damascus.

An extensively illustrated and detailed biographical dictionary, providing an invaluable source of information for all those interested in the history of British art and the emergence of female artists.

A collection of essays analysing and celebrating the development of children's literature from the 18th to 20th centuries, with emphasis on the role played by the Religious Tract Society and the Lutterworth Press.

The impact of Philip Melanchthon upon Lutheranism cannot be underestimated. Yet Melanchthon is often overlooked and he remains one of the most enigmatic figures of the Reformation. This book addresses the historical background which shaped Melanchthon's early life, and traces his life to its end.

The last and most important work of the 17th Century mystic, this is a wide-ranging interpretation of the Book of Genesis that touches also on the message of the New Testament and the nature of mystical experience.

An account of different views of Church History propagated by English writers during the Reformation, including such figures as William Tyndale, John Bale and John Foxe.

A collection of colour plates with annotations illustrating the 'Catalogue of the Ethiopic Manuscript Imaging Project', revealing a wealth of fascinating detail about Ethiopic manuscripts and scribal practice.

What does it mean to be a woman? Do women have a unique nature and a unique vocation? Should feminists work to help women specifically or to support all people? Thinking Woman examines the lives and ideas of women in the history of philosophy who wished to understand and advocate for themselves as women. Some, like Hildegard of Bingen and Edith Stein, found women to be a unique creature designed by God, necessary for good stewardship of creation. Others, such as Mary Wollstonecraft and Sojourner Truth, found women to be identical to men in all but biology and thus identical before the law. Still others, from Simone de Beauvoir to Judith Butler, found the very question troubling as they tried to sort out cultural ideas from biological rules. These women and their views form a canon on the question of women, a canon that can help guide the conversation for thinkers and activists today who want both to understand women and to advocate for justice for all people.

A rigorous and imaginative work that seeks to develop a theology of mission from a Pentecostal perspective for today's pluralistic, post-colonial world.

A helpfully concise commentary on Paul's letter to the early Christians in Rome, which the Apostle wrote just a few years before the outbreak of Nero's persecution. Keener examines each paragraph for its function in the letter as a whole, helping the reader follow Paul's argument. Where relevant, he draws on his vast work in ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman sources in order to help modern readers understand the message of Romans according to the way the first audience would have heard it. Throughout, Keener focuses on major points that are especially critical for the contemporary study of Paul's most influential and complex New Testament letter.

A monumental work bringing together in an accessible and digestible form the current status of scholarship on the writings of the Eastern Fathers in the period between Chalcedon and the death of John of Damascus.

Here is a book that takes people on a personal journey, a journey that is both spiritual and psychological: a three-fold journey that leads you, the reader, to face issues about yourself, raises challenges about relationships, and points towards what is above and beyond. Fraser Watts draws on his own Christian tradition in a way that is relevant to spiritual people everywhere, whatever tradition they belong to, or if they are of no religious tradition at all. It is a book to be read reflectively, giving some time to make connections between what is gently written in the pages and your own experience of life; if you let it, Living Deeply will help you join up a spiritual perspective with your own psychological issues.Such a journey could change a life. Perhaps it will change yours, helping you to see what deeper issues are at stake as you journey through life, and give you a spiritual compass to respond to life’s challenges. This book will help you,indeed, to be living more deeply.

The second volume of the authoritative biography of the war poet and novelist Richard Aldington, exploring his later public and private lives and writings.

Bonaventure was a great pastor and preacher, and also a very effective teacher. His writing shows clarity and conviction, and his authority arose from his profound grasp of Scripture and patristic monastic tradition. The force behind how he wrote sprang from his keen sense of the significance of Francis and Clare and all that flowed from them, not least into his own spiritual life and experience as a person of deep contemplative and mystical prayer. Way Back to God is a comprehensive conspectus and study of how Bonaventure taught Christian theology and applied it to spiritual life. It is intended to be a guide through most of his writings (though not as a substitute for reading them). It provides a bridge into his thought, and also a remarkable hand-book of Christian theology in its bearing upon spiritual life. Douglas Dales' new work enables Bonaventure's distinctive spiritual theology to be seen as a whole, as well as making his writings, in Latin or English, accessible and attractive.

Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop successively of Bangor, Hereford, Salisburyand Winchester, was the most controversial English churchman of the eighteenthcentury, and he has unjustly gained the reputation of a negligent and politicalbishop. His sermon on the nature of Christ's kingdom sparked the Bangoriancontroversy, which raged from 1717 to 1720 and generated hundreds of books,tracts and sermons, while his commitment to the Whigs and the cause oftoleration for Dissenters earned him the antagonism of many contemporary andlater churchmen.In this powerfully revisionist study, Hoadly emerges as a dedicatedand conscientious bishop with strong and progressive principles. His commitmentto the ideology of the Revolution of 1688 and to the comprehension ofDissenters into the Church of England are revealed as the principal motives forhis work as a preacher, author and bishop. Gibson also shows how Hoadly's stoutdefence of rationalism made him a contributor to the English Enlightenment,while his commitment to civil liberties made him a progenitor of the AmericanRevolution. Above all, however, the goal of reuniting of English Protestantsremained the heart of Hoadly's legacy.   

Heaven in Ordinary is like a love affair with poetry that engages with religious questions, for good or ill, concerned with five poets who are haunted by God. Poets, in times of great faith and times of doubt, have expressed for us their sense of both the presence and the absence of God in language that is sometimes almost sacramental in its weight of beauty, love, fear, anger or despair. The poets considered here all relate, in some way, to the traditions of Anglicanism through the centuries, reflecting both a common humanity and a wide breadth of human experience as it struggles with God. Heaven in Ordinary is deliberately autobiographical in approach, as it is grounded in David Jasper’s own lifetime experience of reading poetry since his school years, and over four decades as a priest. The poets he so beautifully discusses have related both positively and negatively to the Christian faith and the Anglican tradition. Some are deeply religious, others are haunted by God and the divine mystery.

Dorothy Buxton led a remarkable life. In an era when women struggled to make their voices heard in the public arena, she spoke out effectively for the refugee, the destitute and particularly for children. An advocate of honest reporting during the First World War, in the aftermath she refused to accept the widespread famine that followed. In the face of scepticism and hostility, she campaigned to provide food for starving children in post-1918 Europe and pioneered the charity Save the Children. Her efforts saved thousands of lives. In later years, she was one of the first to raise awareness of anti-Semitism in Nazi Germany, courageously confronting Herman Göring himself in Berlin in early 1935. She was tireless in her fight for those suffering from prejudice and discrimination. Her story is unusual, from her unconventional upbringing in rural Shropshire, to studying at Cambridge to emerging as an indefatigable campaigner. Dorothy was a complex and compelling character, somewhat of an enigma even to her family. Campaigning for Life is the first biography of this remarkable woman, which examines both her public and private life in detail, and crucially acknowledges her considerable achievements in one of the most turbulent periods of European history.

Fishing for Souls explores the origins and development of fishermen’s missions in Britain, focussing particularly on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This book is the first to view the entire picture of a significant, although not broadly known, part of British history, and to add new relevant perspectives. Dr Stephen Friend FRSA establishes ‘an historical outline of the development of the churches’ work among British fishing communities and explores why a mission specifically concerned with fishermen was not initiated until the industry entered a period of economic decline during the early 1880s. The factors relating to the development of British fisherman’s missions are complex, involving not only social and technological changes inside and outside the fishing industry, but also changing theological perceptions that had a significant impact on attitudes to social conditions’. With its honesty and objectivity about developments, especially those that were difficult and painful for the fishermen’s mission societies at the time, Fishing for Souls reveals the magnificent work that the various societies did, and in some cases continue to do, making it evident to all the readers.

A collection of the paintings and drawings of the Cambridge artist Jon Harris, showcasing his unique view of the city landscape that has inspired him.

The practice of mask-wearing has a long history, even becoming mandatory in times of global crisis. In this useful contribution to the performing arts curriculum, Maskword: The Background, Making and Use of Masks takes a new look at the creative and timeless art of masks and mask-making, while also exploring their cultural anthropology from prehistory to the present day. Drawing on her extensive experience in professional theatre and running workshops, Foreman promotes the life-affirming qualities of masks, providing us with an invaluable resource for artists and teachers, as well as parents seeking activities for children at home. Eight themed projects use photographs to document masks and mask-making techniques, with each one offering practical advice and design ideas; materials are inexpensive and easy to acquire. With photographs by Richard Penton.