Here is a selection of books recently added to the collection and ready for use.

 50 ethical questions: Biblical wisdom for confusing times /J. Alan Branch. Branch addresses questions about ethics, sexuality, marriage and divorce, bioethics, and Christian living. Readers will find biblical and reasonable guidance on their questions.

 An introduction to child theology /edited by James M. Houston. The essays in this book are pastoral and scholarly, to encourage parents to nurture and foster Christian family life by learning from scripture and history. The book  explores the way that Christian maturity is one of childlikeness.–

 Beyond shame: creating a healthy sex life on your own terms /Matthias Roberts. Roberts helps readers overcome their shame and determine their own definition of healthy sex.

 Canadian Baptist fundamentalism, 1878-1978 /edited by Taylor Murray and Paul R. Wilson Canadian Baptist Fundamentalism fills an important gap in the historiography. It explores the contributions of well-known fundamentalists, such as T.T. Shields, William Bible Bill Aberhart, and J.J. Sidey, while also introducing the reader to several lesser-known figures, including Joshua Denovan, E.J. Stobo, and T.A. Meister. Together, these studies demonstrate the diversity of the fundamentalist movement as it emerged and developed across Canada. By drawing on material from across the country, Canadian Baptist Fundamentalism addresses old themes in new ways–and, in the process, raises a variety of questions and possibilities for new avenues of study.–

 Centering prayer: a contemplative path to virtuous living /P. Gregg Blanton. Examines how the practice of Centering Prayer can shape our character and effect our daily interactions with others.

 Chasing Methuselah: theology, the body, and slowing human aging /Todd T.W. Daly ; foreword by Brent Waters. Daly examines the modern biomedical anti-aging project from a Christian perspective, drawing on the ancient wisdom of the Desert Fathers, who believed that the incarnation opened a way for human life to regain the longevity of Adam and the biblical patriarchs through prayer and fasting. Daly balances these insights with the Christological anthropology of Karl Barth, discussing the implications for human finitude, fear of death, and the use of anti-aging technology, weaving a path between outright condemnation and uncritical enthusiasm.

 Chasing paper: critical reflections on Christian books and publishing /edited by Stephanie L. Derrick ; forewords by Mark Noll and Philip Yancey. Chasing Paper is a collection of essays written by senior publishers from around the world who have spent their careers in Christian publishing. Here they discuss the dramatic changes witnessed by the Christian publishing industry over the last fifty years, how they and their companies responded to those changes, and what the future may hold for the Christian publishing industry, authors, and readers everywhere.

 Christian popular culture from the Chronicles of Narnia to Duck Dynasty /Eleanor Hersey Nickel. This book examines popular Christian narratives with rigorous scholarly methods and assumes that they are just as complex, fascinating, and worthy of investigation as the latest secular Netflix series or dystopian novel. While most scholars focus on the religious aspects of Christian texts, this study takes a new approach by analyzing their social responsibility in portraying the complex dynamics of race, class, and gender in a profoundly unequal America. Close readings of six case studies–The Chronicles of Narnia, Francine Rivers’s Redeeming Love, Jan Karon’s Mitford novels, Left Behind, the films of the Sherwood Baptist Church, and Duck Dynasty–uncover both harmful stereotypes and Christians serving as leaders in social justice..

 Desmond Tutu: a spiritual biography of South Africa’s confessor /Michael Battle. The first biography of its kind about Desmond Tutu, this book introduces readers to Tutu’s spiritual life and examines how it shaped his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation. This book explores Tutu’s contemplative practices-particularly Tutu’s understanding of Ubuntu theology.

 Digital liturgies: rediscovering Christian wisdom in an online age /Samuel D. James. Challenges the dominant habits and worldview that are present in our Internet consumption and shows how God’s wisdom for our lives makes us more fully human in the face of dehumanizing technology.

 Do you believe it?: a guide to a reasonable Christian faith /Peter Harris. Harris presents the compelling case that Christianity is the truth. Writing in an accessible way about some challenging topics, Harris begins by deploying historical arguments for Jesus’s resurrection. He then turns to science to contend that there is a creator. Using biblical data and the famous Trilemma, he demonstrates that the creator is also Jesus. He ends by providing Christian responses to some thorny contemporary issues such as gender equality. The book is also designed to be used as the basis for discussion groups in the church where doubts can be safely discussed.

 End of all things is at hand: a Christian eschatology in conversation with science and Islam /Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. This book proposes a bold vision of the end of human life and the cosmos based on the hopeful vision of Christian faith. In a dialogue with the best of Christian tradition, the natural sciences’ conjectures of the end, as well as Islam’s rich teaching on the doctrine of the Last Things, a fresh constructive eschatology is recommended.

 Exegetical epistles. Volume 1 /St. Jerome ; translated by Thomas P. Scheck. This is an English translation, with introduction and notes, of the Latin texts of selected letters written by or to St. Jerome. These are letters that deal with biblical interpretation, which will be of interest to scholars of patristic exegesis.

 Good tools are half the job: the importance of theology in chaplaincy and pastoral care /Margriet & Cornelis van der Kooi ; with a foreword by Nicholas P. & Claire Wolterstorff. This book argues that sound theological foundations are essential for sound pastoral care–and that pastoral care provides a rich resource for fresh, even profound theological reflection. The chapters present a series of case studies. The book concludes with a theoretical consideration of the benefits of an interdisciplinary conversation between practical and systematic theology, fields that too often remain separate. Accessible and inspiring, this book itself embodies the combination of sensitivity, wisdom, and mature theology that goes into effective pastoral care.–

 Hell and divine goodness: a philosophical -theological inquiry /James S. Spiegel. Within the Christian theological tradition there has always been a variety of perspectives on hell. Traditionalists maintain that the suffering of the damned is everlasting. Universalists claim that eventually every person is redeemed and arrives in heaven. And conditionalists or annihilationists, reject both the concept of eternal torment as well as universal salvation, instead claiming that after a finite period of suffering the damned are annihilated. Spiegel assesses the three major alternative theories of hell, arriving at the conclusion that the conditionalist view is, all things considered, the most defensible position on the issue..

   How to think: your essential guide to clear, critical thought /Tom Chatfield. This is a book about thinking. Engaging and down-to-earth, it captures the habits and practices that are fundamental to clear thinking and effective study. Chatfield views critical thinking as a skill to be continually practiced and developed. Celebrating both self-reflection and collaboration, this book empowers you to pause, think twice and, above all, think well. —

 Modern Chinese theologies. Volume 1, Heritage and prospect /Chloë Starr, editor. This volume covers ‘Mainland and Mainstream’–church theologians of mainland China who were predominantly associated with mainline or missionary-established denominations. The volume is broadly chronological. The sixteen essays of the volume represent a new generation of critical voices from the mainland, Hong Kong, and North America. The volume opens up the critical questions that have galvanized the modern Chinese church and offers new perspectives for a contemporary audience.

 Modern Chinese theologies. Volume 2, Independent and indigenous /Chloë Starr, editor. From the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in the mission-church landscape of the early twentieth century, to the Calvinist Reformed movement in the contemporary Protestant church, this volume presents a selection of new studies on the theology of the church in China, concentrating on independent and indigenous Chinese churches.

 Nobody’s mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in antiquity and the New Testament /Sandra L. Glahn. Glahn thinks that we have misunderstood Paul by misunderstanding the context to which he wrote. A key to reading and applying 1 Timothy, Glahn argues, lies in getting to know a mysterious figure who haunts the letter: the goddess Artemis. Based on groundbreaking research and new data about Artemis of the Ephesians, Nobody’s Mother demonstrates how better background information supports faithful interpretation. Combining spiritual autobiography with scholarly exploration, Glahn takes readers on a journey to ancient Ephesus and across early church history. Unveiling the cult of Artemis and how early Christians related to it can give us a clearer sense of the type of radical, countercultural fellowship the New Testament writers intended Christ’s church to be. Through the unexpected channel of Paul’s advice to Timothy–and the surprising help of an ancient Greek myth–Nobody’s Mother lays a biblical foundation for men and women serving side by side in the church. .

 On getting out of bed: the burden & gift of living /Alan Noble. Noble considers how carrying on amid great suffering is a powerful witness to the goodness of life, and of God.

 Our Bible too: a new soteriology of Messianic Judaism /Jeffrey W. Dandoy. Untying the knot of contradictions in Messianic Judaism sheds light on the eminence of Judaism and the chauvinism of Christianity. It turns familiar assumptions upside down with a monotheistic hermeneutic for reading the New Testament and an inclusive soteriology unfolding the revelation of God’s new idea. Explore the alternative truths of radical monotheism through the eyes of a gentile convert from the church who learned to read the Bible with new eyes and met Yeshua (Jesus) again for the first time.

 Postmortem opportunity: a biblical and theological assessment of salvation after death /James Beilby. What happens to those who did not hear the gospel before death, or who heard an incorrect version? Examining the biblical evidence and assessing the theological implications, Beilby offers a careful consideration of the possibility for salvation after death–

 Reimagining apocalypticism: apocalyptic literature in the Dead Sea Scrolls and related writings /edited by Lorenzo DiTommaso and Matthew Goff. The Dead Sea Scrolls have expanded the corpus of early Jewish apocalyptic literature and tested scholars’ ideas of what apocalyptic means. Contributors to this volume engage those texts and many more to reexplore not only definitions of the genre but also the influence of the Dead Sea Scrolls on the study of apocalyptic literature in the Second Temple period and beyond. Part 1 focuses on debates about categories and genre. Part 2 explores ancient Jewish texts from the Second Temple period to the early rabbinic era. Part 3 brings the results of scroll research into dialogue with the New Testament and early Christian writings. —

 Resurrection in retrospect: a critical examination of the theology of N.T. Wright /Peter Carnley N.T. Wright published The Resurrection of the Son of God, arguing vigorously that the Resurrection of Christ should be handled purely as a historical event–subjected to historical reason and critical-historical research. This book critically examines Wright’s arguments. Carnley argues that the Resurrection of Christ is a mystery of God, which must necessarily be appropriated, not by reason alone, but by faith. Evidence relating to a past occurrence can be known only retrospectively

 Social media: a critical introduction /Christian Fuchs. This book equips you with a critical understanding of the complexities and contradictions at the heart of social media’s relationship with society. This book is an essential guide for anyone who wants to critically understand how we got to digital capitalism, and what we can do about it.

 Someone has to care: the roots and hip-hop’s prophetic calling /Christian Scharen. “Welcome to this exploration of the Roots of hip-hop. I tell the story about what God has to do with the Roots of hip-hop–a theological story, if you will. I describe how, in the process of becoming one of the most creative faith-rooted voices in music today, the Roots’ developed a calling as artists. And I do this, in part, to say that you, too, can discover and live your prophetic calling. You can’t help but be inspired by the Roots. Yet the best result of that is that you become inspired to be your most playful, passionate, purposeful, prophetic self in the world around you.”

 Surviving God: a new vision of God through the eyes of sexual abuse survivors /Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan M. Shaw. The first book to center the voices of sexual abuse survivors while rethinking key Christian beliefs. Readers will discover new ways of thinking about God that are surprising, challenging, inspiring, and empowering, leading to deep healing for individuals and a transformed church that no longer contributes to the devastation of sexual abuse.

 The common rule: habits of purpose for an age of distraction /Justin Whitmel Earley. Earley provides doable, life-giving practices to find freedom and rest for your soul.

 The doctrine of good works: reclaiming a neglected Protestant teaching /Thomas H. McCall, Caleb T. Friedeman, and Matt T. Friedeman. Protestants often view the doctrine of good works with suspicion. This book shows how biblical exegesis, systematic and historical theology, and practical theology can together contribute to the recovery of a robust account of good works.

 The emperor and the elephant: Christians and Muslims in the age of Charlemagne /Sam Ottewill-Soulsby. A new history of Christian-Muslim relations in the Carolingian period that provides a fresh account of events by drawing on Arabic as well as western sources. In the year 802, an elephant arrived at the court of the Emperor Charlemagne in Aachen, sent as a gift by the ʻAbbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid. This extraordinary moment was part of a much wider set of diplomatic relations between the Carolingian dynasty and the Islamic world, including the Caliphate in the east and also Umayyad al-Andalus, North Africa, the Muslim lords of Italy and a varied cast of warlords, pirates and renegades. The Emperor and the Elephant offers a new account of these relations. Ottewill-Soulsby provides a fresh perspective on a subject that has until now been dominated by and seen through western sources. The Emperor and the Elephant demonstrates the fundamental importance of these diplomatic relations to everyone involved. This book examines the ways in which Christians and Muslims could make common cause in an age of faith.

 The end times, again?: 2000 years of the use & misuse of biblical prophecy /Martyn Whittock. Whittock argues that while the New Testament does teach the second coming of Christ, complications occur when Christians seek to confidently identify contemporary events as fulfilments of prophecy. Such believers are usually unaware that they stand in a long line of such well-intended but failed predictions. Whittock explores the history of end-times speculations over two thousand years, revealing how these often reflect the ideologies and outlooks of contemporary society in their application of Scripture.

 The popes against the Protestants: the Vatican and evangelical Christianity in fascist Italy /Kevin Madigan. An account of the alliance between the Catholic Church and the Italian Fascist regime in their campaign against Protestants. Based on previously undisclosed archival materials, this book tells the fascinating, untold, and troubling story of an anti-Protestant campaign in Italy that lasted longer, consumed more clerical energy and cultural space, and generated far more literature than the war against Italy’s Jewish population. This important book is the first full account of this dangerous alliance.

 The Syriac world: in search of a forgotten Christianity /Françoise Briquel Chatonnet and Muriel Debié ; translated by Jeffrey Haines A comprehensive survey of Syriac Christianity from its origins in Hellenistic and ancient Near Eastern cultures to the present. This comprehensive work tells the underexplored story of the Syriac world over three thousand years, from its pre-Christian roots in the Aramaic tribes and the ancient Near East to its vibrant expressions in modern diaspora churches. Enhanced with beautiful images, songs, poems, and important primary source texts, this book shows the importance of Syriac history, theology, and literature in the twenty-first century.–

 Thomas à Kempis: his life and spiritual theology /Greg Peters. This book offers an explication of Thomas’ spiritual theology in the Imitation, while situating him in his late medieval monastic context and as someone familiar with and influenced by the Modern Devotion and the Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life.

 Worship by faith alone: Thomas Cranmer, the Book of common prayer, and the reformation of liturgy /Zac Hicks ; foreword by Ashley Null. Hicks contends that gospel-centered worship can be found in Thomas Cranmer’s theology of worship, which was shaped by the Protestant principle of justification by faith alone and reflected in his 1552 edition of the Book of Common Prayer.