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All the writings which come to us from antiquity, including the writings of the Old and New Testaments, have suffered from misadventures. The interpreter of these materials cannot proceed from assumptions which would be accepted without question in the study ofa modern book. The text to be interpreted must first be established-it is not already defined. The available witnesses to the text must first be examined in order to reconstruct a single form of the text which we can assert with confidence to be as close to the form of the autographs as scientific principles can Lead us, if not (ideally) identical with them. The work of textual criticism is both a preliminary and an integral part of the task of interpretation; its role may once have been overrated, just as now it tends to be overlooked, yet its service remains indispensable. The purpose and goal of our critical editions of the Bible is to assist in achieving an objective understanding of the text. They bring together in a convenient form a vast array of material, well beyond the capacity of individual scholars to assemble for themselves, to provide the first requirements for a systematic study of the text. But to deal with all this material and use it effectively we must understand its peculiarities and the value of its various elements. When faced with a difficult passage we cannot simply gather together the various readings and select the one which seems to offer the simplest solution, at times preferring the Hebrew text, at other times the Septuagint, and yet other times the Aramaic Targum. Textual witnesses are not all equally reliable. Each has its own character and its own peculiar history. We must be familiar with these if we hope to avoid inadequate or false solutions.

It was in 1937 that Fr Congar's first book was published: Disunited Christians: Principles for a Catholic Ecumenism. This book called for dialogue among Christians with a view to a renewal of the church. Fifty years later, and twenty-five years after the Second Vatican Council, the church is very different. It has a new awareness of itself and its different charisms and ministries.There are those who have spoken of the changes that have taken place as a break with the earlier period marked by the Council of Trent; others stress that they are innovations within a degree of continuity. Fr Congar, who was a peritus at Vatican II and has much theological study and writing behind him, can bring both historical knowledge and a deep spiritual understanding to the developments which have taken place in his lifetime. In these conversations he comments on a wide range of theological issues, including authority in the church, the role of the Pope, liberation theology, Christianity and other religions, the numerical decline of the priesthood, the role of the laity, and the right to differ within the church.

Scholder outlines and discusses the history and the conflicts of the Christian churches in Germany in the early years of the Nazi regime.

A useful tool for all who want to learn to read the Hebrew Scriptures in the original.

Joachim Jeremias' The Parables of Jesus is a classic of twentieth-century New Testament scholarship. Before he died the author worked on this shorter and simplified version which was subsequently also translated into English. Long unavailable, it is now reissued for a new generation of readers.

Concilium has long been a household-name for cutting-edge critical and constructive theological thinking. Past contributors include leading Catholic scholars such as Hans Küng, Gregory Baum and Edward Schillebeeckx, and the editors of the review belong to the international "who's who" in the world of contemporary theology.

Concilium is an international theological journal published five times a year in five languages. With its origins in the renewal of Catholic theological thinking following the Second Vatican Council, "Concilium" draws together a wide range of the best of leading theological writers from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa.

The Christian Church uses the language of uniqueness and finality to talk about Jesus Christ. But confronted with the witness of holy men from other traditions and the wide sweep of non-Christian history, Christians are being forced more than ever before to ask what this kind of language means. How can it be said that Jesus is a final revelation?

This word for word record of a seminar in the University of California has been recognized by many reviewers as the easiest approach to Paul Tillich's often complex thought.

'Among historians of the Early Church in Europe today, none surpasses Professor Cullmann, wrote Professor F. F. Bruce in a review of this book, adding: 'this volume of studies is assured of wide and eager acceptance.' A reviewer from a quite different religious background, Father Gervase Mathew, O.P., noted that these essays are 'marked by three rare qualities: strong sanity, exact scholarship and Christian charity'. 'All are written with the author's customary distinction, clarity and orderliness, ' said an Anglican, Canon Montefiore, about this 'fine collection of brilliant essays'. The Early Church was first published in English in 1956. For this edition five of the chapters (2-6) have been selected as being of special importance, but the original pagination has been retained for the convenience of scholars. This arrangement, suggested by the volume's editor Dr A.J.B. Higgins, has been approved by Dr Cullmann

'Maurice Wiles shows that it doesn't require a vast tome to present a penetrating challenge to traditional doctrinal positions... This book is important. It deserves to be read carefully and its challenge profoundly considered' (David Pailin in The Expository Times).

A brief and accessible commentary on the Fourth Gospel.

John Heywood Thomas' outlines and evaluates the work of Paul Tillich who is one of the most important Protestant theologians of the twentieth century.

Comprehensive history of capital punishment in England which shows how and why the Church of England repeatedly fought against its abolition.

Intended for the clergy as well as academics and students to provide guidance in reading the Bible under the rule of faith, this title aims to recover classical theological commentary for the 21st century. It demonstrates the intellectual and practical viability of theological interpretation of the Bible.

Re-examines the primary source for this history, the Ecclesiastical History of the fourth-century Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, in the light of Hellenistic political thought. This title describes the consequences of the emperor Constantine's tremendous achievement in transforming orthodox, Catholic Christianity into imperial Christianity.

Seeks to address the contemporary crisis of theology, exploring the possible future for an academic discipline that is rooted in the life and teaching of the Christian church, in a situation of intellectual pluralism. Argues for a commitment to dialogue.

For all those who have been trained of influenced by the Community of the Resurrection or who have any association with it, this book will be essential reading. For others it will provide a fascinating picture of developments and changes within an important part of Anglicanism and a thought-provoking account of God's remarkable ways with men.

Concilium has long been a household-name for cutting-edge critical and constructive theological thinking. Past contributors include leading Catholic scholars such as Hans Küng, Gregory Baum and Edward Schillebeeckx, and the editors of the review belong to the international "who's who" in the world of contemporary theology.