Maurice Wiles was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 1970-1991. To celebrate his seventieth birthday, a group of distinguished friends and colleagues have written this important series of original and perceptive essays on the twin themes of making and remaking Christian doctrine. The topics covered in this thought-provoking collection range from the notion of divine action in Hebrew Wisdom literature to reflections on the nature of the ministry, from the concept of God and the doctrines of Christology and of the Trinity to the character of theological reflection, and from revelation and tradition to the "lex orandi," the nature of interpretation in religion and the historical basis of theological understanding.
Industry Reviews
`An attractive and very diverse series of essays for an attractive theologian
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Expository Times
`There is a great deal in this sympathetic portrait with which one would want to agree, and we must all be grateful to scholars such as professor Vermes who help us to understand the background and significance of Jesus's message.
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Morna D Hooker, Epworth Review
`There is a feast of good things here ... Each essay is worthy of considerable discussion.
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Ruth Page, New College, Edinburgh, Theology, Sept/Oct, 1994
`An attractive and very diverse series of essays for an attractive theologian.
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T.J. Gorringe, The Expository Times
`When Maurice Wiles was my supervisor in Oxford I benefited greatly from his insistence on rigour of thought and clarity of expression. It is therefore very pleasing to find these qualities throughout his Festschrift . There is a feast of good things here ... Each essay is worthy of considerable discussion not possible here. The overall impression is that everything to do with doctrine in its long history and present expression appears more complex as well
as contingent when it is closely examined - complex, but not impossible.
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Ruth Page, New College, Edinburgh, Theology
`This is a very good Festschrift in honour of a generous, kind-hearted and serious British thinker. The book has been well edited and is a worthy offering to Professor Wiles. I hope that most theological libraries will purchase a copy ... simply because of the value of the essays included.
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Reviews in Religion and Theology
`... the all-star cast guarantees a high level throughout - so much so that selection for mention becomes a matter os some difficulty.
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Journal of Theological Studies Vol 45, No. PE2 Oct '94
`There is a feast of good things here, reflecting the astonishing diversity of Wiles' contribution to theology. The overall impression is that everything to do with doctrine in its long history and present expression appears more complex as well as contingent when it is closely examined - complex, but not impossible.
'
Ruth Page. New College, Edinburgh, Theology
`a fitting tribute to one of the leading figures of English-speaking theology ... This collection proves that doctrine is not dead, but also hat some directions are more alive than others.'
Mark D. Chapman, Ripon Collee, Cuddesdon, Modern Believing
`This book highlights the enormous contribution Maurice Wiles has made to contemporary theology.'
Mark Hargreaves, Anvil, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1995
`the collection of essays written to honour him at his seventieth birthday is unusually faithful to the chosen subject'
Peter Byrne, Leslie Houlden, King's College, London, Religious Studies, Volume 30, Number 2, June 1994
