Theology

Christian Steiner develops a systematic theological reconstruction of Thomas Aquinas' doctrine of reconciliation under the guiding concept of amicitia Dei. He shows that Thomas understands reconciliation not as a legal settlement or purely ethical model, but as a Trinitarian-based friendship between God and man.

Cyril of Alexandria's theology rewards close reading from unexpected angles. Jonathan Morgan takes one such angle - Cyril's interpretation of circumcision - and uses it to illuminate a rich, multifaceted doctrine of salvation and a distinctive way of reading Scripture in the light of Christ.

Psalm 39 reveals a struggle with personal and anthropological questions through lament and self-reflection. It deals with guilt, silence, and mortality. In this study Margarethe Kelm shows how prayer can become a process of working on oneself and on the relationship with God - honest, painful, yet hopeful.

This volume tests the »within Judaism« paradigm as a heuristic rather than a presupposition. Contributors explore how New Testament texts formed within the pluralism of Second Temple Judaism and assess their value as expressions of groups embedded in Jewish history, with attention to boundaries, external perceptions, and literary genres.