This title was first published in 2002. The theology of Irenaeus, and the Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching in particular, is pivotal in showing the way in which the fathers of the church interpreted scripture and distilled doctrine. The Demonstration is an important hinge showing how the doctrine of the fourth century with its definitive councils and definitions of faith, opens out from the new testament apostolic and evangelical witness. Presenting the full translation of the Demonstration of Irenaeus by Dean Armitage Robinson, this book offers a detailed theological commentary by Canon Iain MacKenzie on this foundational doctrinal text. MacKenzie sets out the main theological themes throughout Irenaeus' work, and explores his method of systematic theology, Athanasius's dependence on Irenaeus, and Irenaeus' influence on doctrine in the fourth century - particularly the works of Athanasius, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and Gregory of Nyssa. Highlighting the importance of this second century theologian for theology today, this commentary and theological interpretation offers an incentive to study Irenaeus in the wider development of Christian doctrine as a cardinal figure in the appreciation of systematic theology.

This title was first published in 2002. This book fills an important gap in the theological interpretation of the Laudian divines. Iain MacKenzie presents the theology of the Anglican theologians of the early 17th century, exploring the concept of order first in God but then in creation in its relation to the Creator, and then examining the working out of this concept based in theology in civil and ecclesiastical structures and practice. Mapping the Laudian divines' perceptions of how order primarily and necessarily resides in God existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, this book sets out the essential and necessarily practical application of theology as seen by 17th century theologians, and traces the legacy which they have left. This theological, as opposed to a merely historical or literary, study of this important period for the development of society, will be of particular value to theologians, historians and those concerned with the intellectual history of the 17th century.

This book is a companion volume to the author's The Anachronism of Time, about which Peter Forster in a Church Times review wrote 'These matters are handled with considerable subtlety and insight'. Here in Dynamism of Space, lain MacKenzie, a Residentiary Canon of Worcester, explores the language used about space and infinity - especially among philosophers of earlier centuries. He also attempts to show how theology and physics walk hand in hand, mentioning particularly data which is coming in via the Hubble telescope and what this says about the beginning of space and time. The central core of the work is the Incarnation, where the existence of God takes the existence of created reality to itself and where proper questions about space become clear in their proper context. `Drawing on an unusual assembly of patristic, medieval and Reformation writers MacKenzie evaluates their arguments with comments which often challenge widely accepted theological and philosophical ways of thinking. lain MacKenzie has produced a persistent attempt to pursue fundamental questions, offering reflections that are often sharp, shrewd, and interestingly provocative. This is a book worth wrestling with.' - Rt Revd Dr D. E. Jenkins.

Light is that unifying factor, not only of the fields of being and their relativities within creation, but of the totality of all creation in its essential relation to the Creator who brought it into being and sustains it. That God is creataed Life and Light, utterly beyond and surpassing our comprehension, yet the Source of all light both enlightening and enlivening, is declared and fulfilled in the incarnation, the foundation and controlling tenet of that which claims to be the discipline of theology. This work examines light as a significant concept in the themes of creation, incarnation, and the relation of God to his handiwork.

Taking inspiration from David McLellan's impressive body of work, the contributors engage directly with the relationship between Marx, ideology and religion in order to further scholarly debate and discussion on these three major themes of contemporary domestic and international politics.