Search results for ""Christian Faith""

Reveals the history of Black Fundamentalists during the early part of the twentieth century As the modernist-fundamentalist controversy came to a head in the early twentieth century, an image of the “fighting fundamentalist” was imprinted on the American cultural consciousness. To this day, the word “fundamentalist” often conjures the image of a fire-breathing preacher—strident, unyielding in conviction . . . and almost always white. But did this major religious perspective really stop cold in its tracks at the color line? Black Fundamentalists challenges the idea that fundamentalism was an exclusively white phenomenon. The volume uncovers voices from the Black community that embraced the doctrinal tenets of the movement and, in many cases, explicitly self-identified as fundamentalists. Fundamentalists of the early twentieth century felt the pressing need to defend the “fundamental” doctrines of their conservative Christian faith—doctrines like biblical inerrancy, the divinity of Christ, and the virgin birth—against what they saw as the predations of modernists who represented a threat to true Christianity. Such concerns, attitudes, and arguments emerged among Black Christians as well as white, even as the oppressive hand of Jim Crow excluded African Americans from the most prominent white-controlled fundamentalist institutions and social crusades, rendering them largely invisible to scholars examining such movements. Black fundamentalists aligned closely with their white counterparts on the theological particulars of “the fundamentals.” Yet they often applied their conservative theology in more progressive, racially contextualized ways. While white fundamentalists were focused on battling the teaching of evolution, Black fundamentalists were tying their conservative faith to advocacy for reforms in public education, voting rights, and the overturning of legal bans on intermarriage. Beyond the narrow confines of the fundamentalist movement, Daniel R. Bare shows how these historical dynamics illuminate larger themes, still applicable today, about how racial context influences religious expression.

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Through Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s words and Bible verses, kids will discover that Dr. King's Christian faith was the foundation for his activism and that God calls us to stand up for justice and love. This illustrated children's devotional will inspire the next generation with the passion of Dr. King, America's greatest Black leader, and equip them to make a difference for God, both today and tomorrow.Through Dr. King's timeless words, children ages 8 to 12 will be challenged and inspired to "drive out darkness" with light and love; go to the Bible for the truth about evil, love, identity, and responsibility; respect the Creator-given human dignity in everyone; build relationships across boundaries and spread kindness in all communities; and stand for God's truth about themselves and others. This 60-day devotional for older children includes a short biography of Dr. King that focuses on his belief in God's Word as the basis of his activism; 60 devotions written just for kids, each featuring Scripture, a quote from Dr. King, and a challenge to live out the truth; inspiring stories of young participants of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s; and a presentation page for commemorating gifting occasions and a source list for further exploration. Today's children are passionate about social justice and want to be change makers. This devotional shows kids that following Christ is an essential element of the fight for justice and empowers them to actively live out their faith."If we are to go forward, if we are to make this a better world in which to live, we've got to go back. . . . We've got to go back and rediscover the principle that there is a God behind the process." --Martin Luther King Jr.

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In 1341 in Aragon, a Jewish convert to Christianity was sentenced to death, only to be pulled from the burning stake and into a formal religious interrogation. His confession was as astonishing to his inquisitors as his brush with mortality is to us: the condemned man described a Jewish conspiracy to persuade recent converts to denounce their newfound Christian faith. His claims were corroborated by witnesses and became the catalyst for a series of trials that unfolded over the course of the next twenty months. Between Christian and Jew closely analyzes these events, which Paola Tartakoff considers paradigmatic of inquisitorial proceedings against Jews in the period. The trials also serve as the backbone of her nuanced consideration of Jewish conversion to Christianity—and the unwelcoming Christian response to Jewish conversions—during a period that is usually celebrated as a time of relative interfaith harmony. The book lays bare the intensity of the mutual hostility between Christians and Jews in medieval Spain. Tartakoff's research reveals that the majority of Jewish converts of the period turned to baptism in order to escape personal difficulties, such as poverty, conflict with other Jews, or unhappy marriages. They often met with a chilly reception from their new Christian brethren, making it difficult to integrate into Christian society. Tartakoff explores Jewish antagonism toward Christians and Christianity by examining the aims and techniques of Jews who sought to re-Judaize apostates as well as the Jewish responses to inquisitorial prosecution during an actual investigation. Prosecutions such as the 1341 trial were understood by papal inquisitors to be in defense of Christianity against perceived Jewish attacks, although Tartakoff shows that Christian fears about Jewish hostility were often exaggerated. Drawing together the accounts of Jews, Jewish converts, and inquisitors, this cultural history offers a broad study of interfaith relations in medieval Iberia.

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In this broken world, each of us has the same moment-by-moment choice. We can either unfurl the white flag of surrender and allow the bad things to roll over us or we can dig in our heels, stand our ground, and put up a fight. How? It's all about the attitude we decide to embrace. We can't change the inevitable. But we can change how we respond.After all, life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react. Since pastor and bestselling author Charles Swindoll wrote those inspiring words, they've been shared over sixty-five million times across the globe. Now, join Swindoll as he explores the life-changing impact of looking at life through the lens of our reactions.This isn't your average self-help book. Each chapter of Life Is 10% What Happens to You and 90% How You React is filled with timeless teachings, applicable Scripture, and thoughtful reflection questions. Reimagined from content found in Swindoll's bestsellers Active Spirituality and Laugh Again, Life Is 10% What Happens to You and 90% How You React gives you the tools and encouragement you need to: Find joy no matter what season you're living through Overcome life's dilemmas and build inner resilience Defuse disharmony and free yourself from drama Maintain balance, extend grace to yourself, and be prosperous Lean on your Christian faith and its foundational views Within these pages, Swindoll isn't promising joy or endless bliss. Instead, he offers practical wisdom that will equip you with the basic fundamentals to make better decisions, move past your past, and find peace in every day. Because life isn't simply about what happens to you...it's about how you react.

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The contribution of Christian intelligence to western culture is widely recognized by those committed to the scholarly pursuit of truth, concerned for the welfare of the nation, and dedicated to the preservation and advancement of the permanent achievements of the West. The dignity of the human person and the place of the human person in society, the western polis, have in large part been developed in the context of a Christian culture that continues to offer insights for the development of the human person. This book addresses the place of faith and values in the secular state. Renowned specialists in a wide range of disciplines - philosophy, jurisprudence, psychology, and theology - discuss how the person and the polis are guided by ethics and religion, and how liberty and transcendence interact in human aspirations. The contributors are Hadley Arkes, Romanus Cessario, Robert P. George, Michael Novak, Daniel N. Robinson, Kenneth Schmitz, and Paul C. Vitz. The authors enter into a constructive conversation in an attempt to attain a deeper understanding of the human person through the integration of insights from practical wisdom and Christian faith. The book advances the cause of the human person and society by synthesizing the genuine contributions of the human sciences with an openness to spiritual sources of understanding and practice. Such intelligent dialogues between the sciences, philosophy, and religion - about human dignity and beatitude, moral responsibility and values, law and custom, community and institutions - contribute potent means for nourishing the person and constructing the polis with the insights of reason strengthened by the surety of faith and Christian intelligence.

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By 388 C.E., Augustine had broken with the Manichaeism of his early adulthood and wholeheartedly embraced Nicene Christianity as the tradition with which he would identify and within which he would find meaning. Yet conversion rarely, if ever, represents a clean and total break from the past. As Augustine defined and became a "Catholic" self, he also intently engaged with Manichaeism as a rival religious system. This second volume of Jason David BeDuhn's detailed reconsideration of Augustine's life and letters explores the significance of the fact that these two processes unfolded together. BeDuhn identifies the Manichaean subtext to be found in nearly every work written by Augustine between 388 and 401 and demonstrates Augustine's concern with refuting his former beliefs without alienating the Manichaeans he wished to win over. To achieve these ends, Augustine modified and developed his received Nicene Christian faith, strengthening it where it was vulnerable to Manichaean critique and taking it in new directions where he found room within an orthodox frame of reference to accommodate Manichaean perspectives and concerns. Against this background, BeDuhn is able to shed new light on the complex circumstances and purposes of Augustine's most famous work, The Confessions, as well as his distinctive reading of Paul and his revolutionary concept of grace. Augustine's Manichaean Dilemma, Volume 2 demonstrates the close interplay between Augustine's efforts to work out his own "Catholic" persona and the theological positions associated with his name, between the sometimes dramatic twists and turns of his own personal life and his theoretical thinking.

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This penetrating study makes a case for the centrality of the concept of representation (Stellvertretung) in Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theological project. How is it possible for Christ to act in the place of humanity? In Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Theology of Representation, Jacob Lett broaches this perplexing soteriological question and offers the first book-length analysis of Balthasar’s theology of representation (Stellvertretung). Lett’s study shows how Balthasar rehabilitates the category of representation by developing it in relationship to the central mysteries of the Christian faith: concerned by the lack of metaphysical and theological foundations for understanding the question above, Balthasar ultimately grounds representation in the trinitarian life of God, making “action in the place of the other” central to divine and creaturely being. Lett not only articulates the centrality of representation to Balthasar’s theological project but also demonstrates that Balthasar’s theology of representation has the potential to reshape discussions in the fields of soteriology, Christology, trinitarian theology, anthropology, and ecclesiology. This work covers a wide range of themes in Balthasar’s theology, including placial and spatial metaphors, a post-Chalcedonian Christology of Christ’s two wills, and theories of drama. This book is also a text of significant comparative range: Lett considers Balthasar’s key interlocutors (Gregory of Nyssa, Maximus, Aquinas, Przywara, Ulrich, Barth) and expands this base to include voices beyond those typically found in Balthasarian scholarship, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dorothee Sölle. The overall result is a deeply probing presentation of one of Balthasar’s most significant contributions to contemporary theology.

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This timeless, compelling, and thought-provoking book on the Christian faith, now updated, includes two all-new chapters, a current list of recommended resources for further study, and a new discussion guide. In The Case for Faith, bestselling author, journalist, and former atheist Lee Strobel turns his investigative skills to the most persistent emotional objections to belief in God--the eight "heart barriers" to faith: "Since evil and suffering exist, a loving God cannot" "Since miracles contradict science, they cannot be true" "Evolution explains life, so God isn't needed" "God isn't worthy of worship if he kills innocent children" "It's offensive to claim Jesus is the only way to God" "A loving God would never torture people in hell" "Church history is littered with oppression and violence" "I still have doubts, so I can't be a Christian" This bestselling book is for those who may be feeling attracted to Jesus but who are faced with difficult questions standing squarely in their path. For Christians, it will deepen their convictions and give them fresh confidence in defending their faith to skeptical friends, or during the hardest of times, when they have to defend their faith to themselves in moments of doubt.Also available: The Case for Faith Spanish edition, kids' edition, and student edition. Plus, be sure to check out Lee Strobel's entire collection of Case for... books: The Case for Christ investigates the historical evidence for Jesus The Case for a Creator explores the scientific evidence for God The Case for Grace uncovers the "how" and "why" behind God's amazing grace . . . and more!

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Pope Benedict XVI memorably remarked that the Christian faith is a lot like a Gothic cathedral with its stained-glass windows. From the outside, the Church can appear dark, dreary, and worn with age—the crumbling relic of an institution that no longer speaks to men and women living in our modern world. Indeed, for many people today, Christian morality with all of its commandments appears to be a source not of life and joy but instead of suffering and oppression. Even within the Church, many wonder: why should I submit to ancient doctrines and outdated practices that restrict my freedom and impede my happiness?In this timely and original book, his third exploring the riches of Benedict XVI’s vast corpus, theologian Matthew Ramage sets out to meet this challenge with an in-depth study of the emeritus pontiff’s wisdom on how to live Christian discipleship in today’s increasingly secularized world. Taking as his starting point Benedict’s conviction that the truth of Christianity—like the beauty of a cathedral’s glorious windows—can be grasped only from the inside, Ramage draws on Benedict’s insights to show how all Christians can make the “experiment of faith” by living the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity in daily life. Along the way, he shares his personal reflections on how Benedict’s wisdom has helped him to navigate difficulties in embracing the faith and provides a way forward to those struggling to live as disciples in a way that is intellectually serious without remaining merely intellectual. In so doing, he also presents a highly nuanced yet accessible approach to defending the truth of the gospel in a world where life in Jesus Christ tends to be seen as unfulfilling, irrelevant, or just one lifestyle choice among others.

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Author and pastor Andy Stanley explains what made the earliest Christian movement so compelling and resilient...and what we need to change today to make it so again.Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today?In this six-session video Bible study, Pastor Andy answers questions like: What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love? What did they do that we're not doing? What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture? What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning? Andy is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future, and he believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen.This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.Sessions include: Simply Resistible (24:00) Brand-New Agreement (19:00) The Bible According to Jesus (25:00) The Irresistible Ethic (29:00) What Love Requires (22:00) A New Approach (23:00) This pack contains one DVD and one study guide.

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Bread of Life is a major new multi-media resource that aims to meet the needs of communities in the Catholic tradition of the Church of England. It consists of six modules which broadly follow the structure of the Eucharist. The modules have been designed with flexibility in mind: they can be delivered in any order; each can stand alone; and a module may be followed over one or several sessions, depending on what would best suit the community involved. Written by leading thinkers in the Catholic tradition of the Church of England, Bread of Life is ideal as preparation for confirmation and first communion, as a refresher course in the Christian faith, or as a course for Lent or Advent. It is expected that further modules will be commissioned over time, but the initial six are: 1 I am the bread of life 2 He has reconciled us to God 3 The word of the Lord 4 Hear our prayer 5 The body of Christ 6 Go in peace to love and serve the Lord Each teaching session follows the structure of Gathering (welcome and optional opening liturgy), Word (teaching supported by video, audio, slides and writing), Communion (discussion among the group) and Sending out (practical applications and optional closing liturgy). Videos, podcasts, PowerPoint slides and theological background material for each module can be downloaded from breadoflifecourse.co.uk. The course has received considerable investment from CBS (The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament) and across the Church. This is reflected in the quality of the videos – which have been specially commissioned and filmed in biblical locations such as Jerusalem and across the UK – and in the attractive course book, designed to accompany participants through their involvement with Bread of Life and on their ongoing faith journey.

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One HUMP, two HUMPS, lumpety-lump, The star-watchers went with BUMP and a THUMP. One HUMP, two HUMPS, lumpety-lump, The star-watchers followed the star. Discover the angel Gabriel, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the three kings and the baby Jesus as you’ve never seen them before in Bob Hartman’s Rhyming Christmas. A delightfully funny and vibrant retelling in rhyme of the story of Christmas, this is a poem that children and grown-ups will love to read and perform – whether at home, in church or in school. The Nativity story is wonderfully retold by master storyteller Bob Hartman in this entertaining picture book for 3-5 year olds. With memorable rhymes that young children will eagerly be joining in with, Bob Hartman’s Rhyming Christmas is the perfect way to introduce this most beloved Bible story to kids in a way that’s accessible and easily understood. Mark Beech’s bright, colourful illustrations bring this Bible story book to life, and there are pages for children to colour in themselves. The clear, simple text is ideal for young children just starting to read and for adults to read aloud, and is perfect for performing all together. Bob Hartman’s Rhyming Christmas is a picture book that will enchant children and parents alike, and is ideal for reading alongside Bob Hartman’s Rhyming Bible and the Rhyming Parable series. It is also a brilliant story time resource for KS1 teachers, Sunday School teachers and those involved in children’s ministry looking for fresh ways of staging the Nativity. Kids will learn about the Biblical story of Christmas in an entertaining and engaging way, and gain a new understanding of the heart of the Christian faith.

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This study presents Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology of the Eucharist and shows its significance for contemporary sacramental theology. Anyone who seeks to offer a systematic account of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s theology of the Eucharist and the liturgy is confronted with at least two obstacles. First, his reflections on the Eucharist are scattered throughout an immense and complex corpus of writings. Second, the most distinctive feature of his theology of the Eucharist is the inseparability of his sacramental theology from his speculative account of the central mysteries of the Christian faith. In The Eucharistic Form of God, the first book-length study to explore Balthasar’s eucharistic theology in English, Jonathan Martin Ciraulo brings together the fields of liturgical studies, sacramental theology, and systematic theology to examine both how the Eucharist functions in Balthasar’s theology in general and how it is in fact generative of his most unique and consequential theological positions. He demonstrates that Balthasar is a eucharistic theologian of the highest caliber, and that his contributions to sacramental theology, although little acknowledged today, have enormous potential to reshape many discussions in the field. The chapters cover a range of themes not often included in sacramental theology, including the doctrine of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and soteriology. In addition to treating Balthasar’s own sources—Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Pascal, Catherine of Siena, and Bernanos—Ciraulo brings Balthasar into conversation with contemporary Catholic sacramental theology, including the work of Louis-Marie Chauvet and Jean-Yves Lacoste. The overall result is a demanding but satisfying presentation of Balthasar’s contribution to sacramental theology. The audience for this volume is students and scholars who are interested in Balthasar’s thought as well as theologians who are working in the area of sacramental and liturgical theology.

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Working from within the contours of Christian faith, this book examines the relation between two ways of forming families—through nature (by procreation) and through history (by adoption). Christians honor the biological tie between parents and children, for it is the work of God in creation. Yet Christians cannot forget that it is adoption, and not simply natural descent, that is at the center of the New Testament’s depiction of God’s grace. Gilbert Meilaender takes up a range of issues raised by the practice of adoption, always seeking to do justice to both nature and history in the formation of families, while keeping at the center of our vision the truth that it is not by nature but by grace that we can become adopted children of the one whom Jesus called his Father. Meilaender begins with reflection on the puzzling relation of nature and history in forming families and proceeds to unpack the meaning of huiothesia, the word used in the New Testament to name the grace by which a follower of Jesus becomes an adopted child of God. That perspective is applied to a range of questions that regularly arise in Christian theological discussions of adoption: Is adoption only for the infertile? Should single persons adopt? Is it wise for adoption to take place across racial or national boundaries? Special attention is paid to the relation between adoption and new reproductive technologies and to what is called “embryo adoption.” Interspersed between the chapters are letters written by the author to his own son by adoption. But if the argument of the book is taken seriously, these letters are written not to one who falls within a special category of “adopted son or daughter,” but to one who is, simply and entirely, a son or daughter.

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With clear facts and answers to the questions kids six to ten ask most, this adaptation of Lee Strobel's bestselling The Case for a Creator uses kid-friendly language, examples, and easy-to-understand information to introduce children to the research, eyewitness accounts, and evidence behind the questions of whether God created the universe, what science tells us about our world, and what those answers mean for us and our faith.Whether they’ve grown up in the church or are encountering faith for the first time, The Case for a Creator for Kids is the perfect resource to answer the questions about God kids 6-10 ask most. Inside, readers will discover: An introduction to the historical evidence, expert testimonies, extensive research, and scientific proof that back up what the Bible says Scientific research that covers cosmology (how the universe began), DNA, physics, astronomy, and more to look at how the way our world works connect with Scripture Answers for why Christians believe what they do Kid-friendly stories and examples that make the facts easy to understand Ways to talk to other people about God and share what they know The Case for a Creator for Kids: Is a solid source of information that looks at all sides of the issue to present solid evidence behind each conclusion and fact about the Christian faith Has illustrations and callout graphics to make the topics engaging for kids six and up Is an excellent resource for Sunday schools, church libraries, and homeschooling This book can be used on its own or alongside The Case for Christ for Kids, The Case for Faith for Kids, The Case for Grace for Kids, and The Case for Miracles for Kids to help children with faith development and answer questions they wonder about most.

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Bertram Portal was born into a wealthy family, famous for their mill at Laverstoke in North Hampshire which made banknote paper for the Bank of England. The youngest of three sons, he was destined for an army career. Graduating from Sandhurst in 1885, he joined the 17th Lancers Cavalry Regiment at Lucknow in India. He was awarded a D.S.O. in the Boer War, which paved the way to promotion, and he commanded his regiment in Edinburgh and India until 1907. Portal then left the army and lived as a country gentleman, devoting himself to his home village of Overton until 1914 when he was called up as a Reserve Officer to command a training brigade in Ireland. He commanded the mobile column in the readiness at the Curragh near Dublin when the Easter Rising broke out in 1916 and he played a major role in its suppression. Portal’s diary of events reveals important new information about the British response. His exploits did not go unnoticed: he was promoted and served on the Western Front in command of the 7th Cavalry Brigade until March 1918. Retiring for a second time, Bertram devoted himself once more to Overton and Hampshire causes. In 1899 he married Mittie, the eldest daughter of Lord Hatherton, who bore him a son and five daughters. Their story as a family is woven into the narrative of the book. Bertram was a true gentleman – honourable, courteous, considerate and modest about his achievements. The welfare of his soldiers and their horses was always to the fore, both in peacetime and when in action. He was steady, capable and decisive with a strong sense of duty, guided by his Christian faith. This well-researched biography sets his life and career in the context of the times and will be of interest to a wide readership.

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Two billion people today identify as Christians, with the implication that Jesus is the focus of their relationship with God, and their way of living in the world. Such followers of Jesus are now more numerous and make up a greater proportion of the world's population than ever before. Despite its decline in the West, Christianity is rapidly increasing in areas such as Africa and China. Richard Bauckham explores the historical figure of Jesus, evaluating the sources and concluding that they provide us with good historical evidence for his life and teaching. In order to place Jesus in his proper historical context, as a Jew from Galilee in the early first century of our era, Bauckham looks at Jewish religion and society in the land of Israel under Roman rule. He explores Jesus' symbolic practices as well as his teachings, looks at his public career and emphasises how his actions, such as healing and his association with notorious sinners, were just as important as his words. Bauckham shows that Jesus was devoted to the God of Israel, with a special focus on God's fatherly love and compassion, and like every Jewish teacher he expounded the Torah, but did so in his own distinctive way. With a discussion about the way Jesus understood himself and what finally led to his death as a criminal on a Roman cross, he concludes by considering the significance Jesus has come to have for Christian faith worldwide. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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A highly readable narrative of the causes, course, and consequences of the Spanish Conquest, incorporating the perspectives of many Native groups, Black slaves, and the conquistadors, timed with the 500th anniversary of the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Five hundred years ago, a flotilla landed on the coast of Yucatán under the command of the Spanish conquistador Hérnan Cortés. While the official goal of the expedition was to explore and to expand the Christian faith, everyone involved knew that it was primarily about gold and the hunt for slaves. That a few hundred Spaniards destroyed the Aztec empire--a highly developed culture--is an old chestnut, because the conquistadors, who had every means to make a profit, did not succeed alone. They encountered groups such as the Tlaxcaltecs, who suffered from the Aztec rule and were ready to enter into alliances with the foreigners to overthrow their old enemy. In addition, the conquerors benefited from the diseases brought from Europe, which killed hundreds of thousands of locals. Drawing on both Spanish and indigenous sources, this account of the conquest of Mexico from 1519 to 1521 not only offers a dramatic narrative of these events--including the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and the flight of the conquerors--but also represents the individual protagonists on both sides, their backgrounds, their diplomacy, and their struggles. It vividly portrays the tens of thousands of local warriors who faced off against each other during the fighting as they attempted to free themselves from tribute payments to the Aztecs. Written by a leading historian of Latin America, Conquistadors and Aztecs offers a timely portrayal of the fall of Tenochtitlan and the founding of an empire that would last for centuries.

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"the publishers should be congratulated for their newest...event. By making sixty of the greatest spiritual classics easily available in their new series, they have done much to further the spiritual renewal of the Church." The Christian World GEORGE HERBERT-THE COUNTRY PARSON, THE TEMPLE edited, with an introduction and foreword by John N. Wall, Jr. preface by A.M. Allchin The Sun arising in the East, Though he give light, and th' East perfume; If they should offer to contest With thy arising, they presume. George Herbert (1593-1633) George Herbert (1593-1633) lived in England during the tempestuous reigns of James I and Charles I that saw the nation racked by conflict among Catholics, Hugh Churchmen, and Puritans. A member of a politically-active family, Herbert rejected a promising career as a member of Parliament for the simple life of a country parson. While busily involved in his pastoral duties he produced works of poetry and prose that have earned him a long-established place in English literary history. Collected here are two works originally published after Herbert's death at Bemerton in 1633: The Country Parson, a prose treatise on the duties, joys, and hardships of a pastor's life; and The Temple, a collection of poems. In them the literary genius of this humble priest whose spirituality was a synthesis of Evangelical and Catholic piety is revealed. Herbert's appeal for today is summed up by A.M. Allchin in his preface to this volume: "Without glossing over the fragility and brokenness of man's experience of life in time, he managed to reaffirm the great unities of Christian faith and prayer. These are the unities which draw together the separated strands in the Christian heritage, which draw together past and present in a living an creative appropriation of tradition." †

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Knowing God, Knowing Emptiness examines the viability of the epistemology proposed by Bernard Lonergan in his seminal work Insight, particularly with regard to its possible application in the field of interreligious dialogue. This enquiry is prompted by an awareness of the epistemological questions raised by the various dialogues taking place between different religions, and it is in light of this that Lonergan's claim to comprehensiveness in his epistemology is examined. The method adopted is that of a dialectical experiment in which Lonergan's epistemology could be tested. Lonergan claims in Insight that as his epistemology is both based on, and corresponds directly to, the structure of human cognition, it is therefore intrinsic to all instances of thought. Accordingly, he claims, it is ideally placed to mutually relate any combination of differing positions. This work seeks to test this claim by applying Lonergan's epistemological categories to Karl Rahner's Foundations of Christian Faith, and Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika. Having critically reconstructed Lonergan's position as articulated in Insight, the book does the same for both of the texts selected and then parses them on the basis of the terms laid out by Lonergan in his epistemological system. It examines whether the thought contained in these two works could be fruitfully related on the basis of Lonergan's epistemology, and what, if any, are the implications for the field of interreligious dialogue. These implications are considered both in terms of the theology of religions, and of the more recently developed comparative theology, typified by the approach taken by thinkers such as Francis X. Clooney and others. The book concludes by considering what, if any, are the possible developments that could result from the result of the attempted dialectic.

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Knowing God, Knowing Emptiness examines the viability of the epistemology proposed by Bernard Lonergan in his seminal work Insight, particularly with regard to its possible application in the field of interreligious dialogue. This enquiry is prompted by an awareness of the epistemological questions raised by the various dialogues taking place between different religions, and it is in light of this that Lonergan's claim to comprehensiveness in his epistemology is examined. The method adopted is that of a dialectical experiment in which Lonergan's epistemology could be tested. Lonergan claims in Insight that as his epistemology is both based on, and corresponds directly to, the structure of human cognition, it is therefore intrinsic to all instances of thought. Accordingly, he claims, it is ideally placed to mutually relate any combination of differing positions. This work seeks to test this claim by applying Lonergan's epistemological categories to Karl Rahner's Foundations of Christian Faith, and Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika. Having critically reconstructed Lonergan's position as articulated in Insight, the book does the same for both of the texts selected and then parses them on the basis of the terms laid out by Lonergan in his epistemological system. It examines whether the thought contained in these two works could be fruitfully related on the basis of Lonergan's epistemology, and what, if any, are the implications for the field of interreligious dialogue. These implications are considered both in terms of the theology of religions, and of the more recently developed comparative theology, typified by the approach taken by thinkers such as Francis X. Clooney and others. The book concludes by considering what, if any, are the possible developments that could result from the result of the attempted dialectic.

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At the end of the nineteenth century Augustus Hopkins Strong worked to bring modernists and traditional Christians together but found the task more difficult than many imagined. In the wake of the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859, Christianity, or at least many people's understanding of Christianity, was evolving. The rising popularity of Darwinism combined with the pervasive influence of German idealism began forcing many professing Christians to rethink the faith they had long taken for granted. Among those who would be compelled to face the apparent conflicts between modern thought and traditional orthodoxy was Baptist theologian Augustus Hopkins Strong (1836-1921). As president and professor of systematic theology at Rochester Theological Seminary for forty years (1872-1912) Strong stood as the premier theologian of the Northern Baptists at the end of the nineteenth century. Yet, as author John Aloisi shows in this important study, he remains a puzzling figure. Strong considered himself a defender of orthodoxy even as the school he led transitioned to a more modern and arguably less orthodox understanding of the Christian faith. His Systematic Theology went through eight editions, and the later editions increasingly reflected a shift in his thinking. Strong wrestled with how to reconcile Christian theology with modern thought while also trying to solve tensions within his own theology. He hoped to be able to bring modernists and more traditional Christians together around a concept he labeled ethical monism. In the end, while his effort suggested the task was more difficult than many understood it to be, Strong's journey had a significant impact on the direction of Rochester Theological Seminary. This book is openly available in digital formats thanks to a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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In 1341 in Aragon, a Jewish convert to Christianity was sentenced to death, only to be pulled from the burning stake and into a formal religious interrogation. His confession was as astonishing to his inquisitors as his brush with mortality is to us: the condemned man described a Jewish conspiracy to persuade recent converts to denounce their newfound Christian faith. His claims were corroborated by witnesses and became the catalyst for a series of trials that unfolded over the course of the next twenty months. Between Christian and Jew closely analyzes these events, which Paola Tartakoff considers paradigmatic of inquisitorial proceedings against Jews in the period. The trials also serve as the backbone of her nuanced consideration of Jewish conversion to Christianity—and the unwelcoming Christian response to Jewish conversions—during a period that is usually celebrated as a time of relative interfaith harmony. The book lays bare the intensity of the mutual hostility between Christians and Jews in medieval Spain. Tartakoff's research reveals that the majority of Jewish converts of the period turned to baptism in order to escape personal difficulties, such as poverty, conflict with other Jews, or unhappy marriages. They often met with a chilly reception from their new Christian brethren, making it difficult to integrate into Christian society. Tartakoff explores Jewish antagonism toward Christians and Christianity by examining the aims and techniques of Jews who sought to re-Judaize apostates as well as the Jewish responses to inquisitorial prosecution during an actual investigation. Prosecutions such as the 1341 trial were understood by papal inquisitors to be in defense of Christianity against perceived Jewish attacks, although Tartakoff shows that Christian fears about Jewish hostility were often exaggerated. Drawing together the accounts of Jews, Jewish converts, and inquisitors, this cultural history offers a broad study of interfaith relations in medieval Iberia.

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Reveals the history of Black Fundamentalists during the early part of the twentieth century As the modernist-fundamentalist controversy came to a head in the early twentieth century, an image of the “fighting fundamentalist” was imprinted on the American cultural consciousness. To this day, the word “fundamentalist” often conjures the image of a fire-breathing preacher—strident, unyielding in conviction . . . and almost always white. But did this major religious perspective really stop cold in its tracks at the color line? Black Fundamentalists challenges the idea that fundamentalism was an exclusively white phenomenon. The volume uncovers voices from the Black community that embraced the doctrinal tenets of the movement and, in many cases, explicitly self-identified as fundamentalists. Fundamentalists of the early twentieth century felt the pressing need to defend the “fundamental” doctrines of their conservative Christian faith—doctrines like biblical inerrancy, the divinity of Christ, and the virgin birth—against what they saw as the predations of modernists who represented a threat to true Christianity. Such concerns, attitudes, and arguments emerged among Black Christians as well as white, even as the oppressive hand of Jim Crow excluded African Americans from the most prominent white-controlled fundamentalist institutions and social crusades, rendering them largely invisible to scholars examining such movements. Black fundamentalists aligned closely with their white counterparts on the theological particulars of “the fundamentals.” Yet they often applied their conservative theology in more progressive, racially contextualized ways. While white fundamentalists were focused on battling the teaching of evolution, Black fundamentalists were tying their conservative faith to advocacy for reforms in public education, voting rights, and the overturning of legal bans on intermarriage. Beyond the narrow confines of the fundamentalist movement, Daniel R. Bare shows how these historical dynamics illuminate larger themes, still applicable today, about how racial context influences religious expression.

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A bold new interpretation of Nat Turner and the slave rebellion that stunned the American SouthIn 1831 Virginia, Nat Turner led a band of Southampton County slaves in a rebellion that killed fifty-five whites, mostly women and children. After more than two months in hiding, Turner was captured, and quickly convicted and executed. In the Matter of Nat Turner penetrates the historical caricature of Turner as befuddled mystic and self-styled Baptist preacher to recover the haunting persona of this legendary American slave rebel, telling of his self-discovery and the dawning of his Christian faith, of an impossible task given to him by God, and of redemptive violence and profane retribution.Much about Turner remains unknown. His extraordinary account of his life and rebellion, given in chains as he awaited trial in jail, was written down by an opportunistic white attorney and sold as a pamphlet to cash in on Turner’s notoriety. But the enigmatic rebel leader had an immediate and broad impact on the American South, and his rebellion remains one of the most momentous episodes in American history. Christopher Tomlins provides a luminous account of Turner's intellectual development, religious cosmology, and motivations, and offers an original and incisive analysis of the Turner Rebellion itself and its impact on Virginia politics. Tomlins also undertakes a deeply critical examination of William Styron’s 1967 novel, The Confessions of Nat Turner, which restored Turner to the American consciousness in the era of civil rights, black power, and urban riots.A speculative history that recovers Turner from the few shards of evidence we have about his life, In the Matter of Nat Turner is also a unique speculation about the meaning and uses of history itself.

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Although countless books have been devoted to the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., few, if any, have focused on King's appropriation of, and contribution to, the intellectual tradition of personalism. Emerging as a philosophical movement in the early 1900s, personalism is a type of philosophical idealism that has a number of affinities with Christianity, such as a focus on a personal God and the sanctity of persons. Burrow points to similarities and dissimilarities between personalism and the social gospel movement with its call to churchgoers to involve themselves in the welfare of both individuals and society. He argues that King's adoption of personalism represented the fusion of his black Christian faith and his commitment not only to the social gospel of Rauschenbusch, but most especially to the social gospelism practiced by his grandfather, father, and black preacher-scholars at Morehouse College. Burrow devotes much-needed attention both to King's conviction that the universe is value-infused and to the implications of this ideology for King's views on human dignity and his concept of the "Beloved Community." Burrow also sheds light on King’s doctrine of God. He contends that King's view of God has been uncritically and erroneously relegated by black liberation theologians to the general category of "theistic absolutism" and he offers corrections to what he believes are misinterpretations of this and other aspects of King’s thought. He concludes with an application of King’s personalism to present-day social problems, particularly as they pertain to violence in the black community. This book is a useful and fresh contribution to our understanding of the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. It will be read with interest by ethicists, theologians, philosophers, and social historians.

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American evangelicalism is at a crisis point.The naked grasping at political power at the expense of moral credibility has revealed a movement in disarray. Evangelicals are now faced with a quandary: will they double-down and continue along this perilous path, or will they stop, reflect, and change course? And while support of Donald Trump has produced the tipping point of the evangelical crisis, it is not by any means its only problem.Evangelicals claim the Bible as the supreme authority in matters of faith. But in reality, it is particular readings of the Bible that govern evangelical faith. Some evangelical readings of the Bible can be highly selective. They distort the Bible's teaching in crucial ways and often lead evangelicals to misguided attempts to relate to the world around them. Many Christians who once self-professed as "evangelicals" can no longer use the term of themselves because of what it has come to represent--power-mongering, divisiveness, judgementalism, hypocrisy, pride, greed. Some leave not just evangelicalism but Christianity for good.Jesus v. Evangelicals is an insider's critique of the evangelical movement according to its own rules. Since evangelicals regard themselves governed by the Bible, biblical scholar Constantine Campbell engages the Bible to critique evangelicals and to call out the problems within the contemporary evangelical movement. By revealing evangelical distortions of the Bible, this book seeks to restore the dignity of the Christian faith and to renew public interest in Jesus, while calling evangelicals back to his teaching. Constantine Campbell appeals to evangelicals to break free from the grid that has distorted their understanding of the Bible and to restore public respect for Christianity in spite of its misrepresentations by the evangelical church.

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For almost 400 years families have been using The Westminster Shorter Catechism as a guide to understanding the basics of the Christian faith. This new, illustrated edition breathes fresh life into these timeless questions and answers, helping a new generation to learn the primary truths drawn from the Bible and laid out by our fathers in the faith. Ira Miniof’s striking images will help families engage with and meditate on the meaning of each entry. A valuable addition to any family’s library. Also includes a short glossary of practices and concepts used, and an index of Scripture proofs. The entries are separated into sections for ease of reference: Our Faith (Questions 1–38) Life’s Purpose Holy Scripture What We Should Believe About God God’s Plan Creation God’s Providence Sin Covenant of Grace Our Savior Three Offices of the Savior Savior’s Humiliation Savior’s Exaltation Effective Calling Benefits in this Life Benefits at Death Benefits at the Resurrection God’s Law (Questions 39–87) The Moral Law Introduction to the Ten Commandments The First Commandment The Second Commandment The Third Commandment The Fourth Commandment The Fifth Commandment The Sixth Commandment The Seventh Commandment The Eighth Commandment The Ninth Commandment The Tenth Commandment Transgressions and Punishment How Can We Be Saved? The Means of Grace (Questions 88–99) The Means of Grace The Word of God The Sacraments Baptism The Lord’s Supper Prayer The Lord’s Prayer Our Father In Heaven Hallowed Be Your Name Your Kingdom Come Your Will be Done, On Earth As It Is In Heaven Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil For Yours Is The Kingdom, And The Power, And The Glory, Forever. Amen

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The Second Vatican Council was the most important event in the Roman Catholic Church in the twentieth century. In line with Pope John XXIII’s desire for aggiornamento it searched for ways to enable the Church to meet the challenges of the times and thus prepare a future for Christian faith and life. This search for renewal met with opposition during the Council and its reception process up to the current day. In this volume authors known for their research on and familiarity with the Council’s history and its reception reflect on the (non-)reception of Vatican II in the Roman Catholic Church. Paying attention to both the wishes of the majority of the Council fathers and the often blocked implementation of their decisions during the post-Vatican II period, they make clear that the freedom of speech that existed during the Council soon was put aside, partly because those who where opposed to the conciliar developments remained in charge after the Council. At the same time, the contributors to this volume are of the opinion that Vatican II and its texts continue to offer much inspiration for the life of the faithful today. According to Leo Declerck, Etienne Fouilloux, Peter Hünermann, Joseph Komonchak, Mathijs Lamberigts, Nicholas Lash, Gilles Routhier, and Christoph Theobald, “Gaudium et spes” thus continue to prevail over grief and anxiety, too often used as instruments for a `revision’ of Vatican II. This book offers both keen insights into the history of the Council and its intuitions, and the contested but still needed implementation of it.

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Articles on masterpieces of European religious music, from the middle ages to Stravinsky and Tavener. The late Wilfrid Mellers, who occupies a special place among music critics, described himself as a non-believer; but his preference for music that "displays a sense of the numinous" (in his words) will strike a chord with many wholisten to religious music nowadays, and who share his view that music that confronts first and last things is likely to offer more than music that evades them. The essays form five groups, which together offer a survey of religious music from around the first millennium to the beginning of the second, in the context of the difficult issues of what religious music is, and, for good measure, what is religion? The parts are: The Ages of Christian Faith; The Re-birth of a Re-birth: From Renaissance to High Baroque; From Enlightenment to Doubt; From "the Death of God" to "the Unanswered Question"; and The Ancient Law and the Modern Mind. Musical discussion, with copious examples, is conducted throughout the book in a context that is also religious - and indeed philosophical, social, and political, with the open-endedness that such an approach demands in the presentation of ideas aboutmusic's most fundamental nature and purposes. COMPOSERS: Hildegard of Bingen; Perotin; Machaut; Dunstable, Dufay; William Corniyshes father and son; Tallis; Byrd; Monteverdi; Schutz; J.S. Bach; Couperin; Handel; Haydn;Mozart; Beethoven; Schubert; Bruckner; Berlioz, Faure; Verdi, Brahms; Elgar, Delius; Holst, Vaughan Williams, Howells; Britten; Janacek; Messiaen, Poulenc; Rachmaninov; Stravinsky; Part, Tavener, Gorecki, Macmillan, Finnissy; Copland.

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For the Time Being is a pivotal book in the career of one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. W. H. Auden had recently moved to America, fallen in love with a young man to whom he considered himself married, rethought his entire poetic and intellectual equipment, and reclaimed the Christian faith of his childhood. Then, in short order, his relationship fell apart and his mother, to whom he was very close, died. In the midst of this period of personal crisis and intellectual remaking, he decided to write a poem about Christmas and to have it set to music by his friend Benjamin Britten. Applying for a Guggenheim grant, Auden explained that he understood the difficulty of writing something vivid and distinctive about that most cliched of subjects, but welcomed the challenge. In the end, the poem proved too long and complex to be set by Britten, but in it we have a remarkably ambitious and poetically rich attempt to see Christmas in double focus: as a moment in the history of the Roman Empire and of Judaism, and as an ever-new and always contemporary event for the believer. For the Time Being is Auden's only explicitly religious long poem, a technical tour de force, and a revelatory window into the poet's personal and intellectual development. This edition provides the most accurate text of the poem, a detailed introduction by Alan Jacobs that explains its themes and sets the poem in its proper contexts, and thorough annotations of its references and allusions.

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Flavius Claudius Julianus, better known to history by the name imposed by his Christian opponents, Julian "the Apostate," was a nephew of the first Christian emperor, Constantine I. Julian is one of the most fascinating figures of late antiquity. More information is available about him from both pagan and Christian sources than about any other emperor. His reign inspired both admiration and contempt. Julian's ambitious program was to reinstate the religion of his ancestors and, in the process, to subdue the growth of the Christian church, which had achieved legitimacy under the reign of his uncle. Once in power, he immediately sought to revive the religion of classical Rome, to reform the pagan priesthood, revitalize training in classics and pagan philosophy and — as an affront to Christian prophecy — to rebuild the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. This is the first translation into modern English of the complete corpus of Julian's Against the Galileans and related writings. It not only puts the work of the philosopher-emperor into historical perspective but offers important insights into the waning days of pagan philosophy and the growth of the Christian church against the background of intellectual and religious opposition. The translations are supported by a full historical introduction to the life of Julian and a detailed treatment of his religious philosophy, including the origins of his understanding of the Christian faith. The work is essential reading for anyone interested in the religions of late antiquity, the growth of the Christian church, and the final phase of the conflict between paganism and Christian teaching.

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Winner of Christianity Today's 2016 Book Award for History/Biography: an engaging, balanced, and penetrating narrative biography of the charismatic eighteenth-century American evangelist George Whitefield"The most authoritative yet readable book on the eighteenth century’s greatest preacher."—Marvin Olasky, World Magazine"Kidd’s theologically sympathetic approach gives the book a depth that a more detached treatment might not: He misses none of the biblical allusions that peppered Whitefield’s utterances, and he is an excellent guide through the tangled doctrinal controversies that dogged Whitefield’s career."—Barton Swaim, Wall Street Journal In the years prior to the American Revolution, George Whitefield was the most famous man in the colonies. Thomas Kidd’s fascinating biography explores the extraordinary career of the most influential figure in the first generation of Anglo-American evangelical Christianity, examining his sometimes troubling stands on the pressing issues of the day, both secular and spiritual, and his relationships with such famous contemporaries as Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley. Based on the author’s comprehensive studies of Whitefield’s original sermons, journals, and letters, this excellent history chronicles the phenomenal rise of the trailblazer of the Great Awakening. Whitefield’s leadership role among the new evangelicals of the eighteenth century and his many religious disputes are meticulously covered, as are his major legacies and the permanent marks he left on evangelical Christian faith. It is arguably the most balanced biography to date of a controversial religious leader who, though relatively unknown three hundred years after his birth, was a true giant in his day and remains an important figure in America’s history.

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Today we are facing a global crisis when it comes to families. Marriages are under more pressure than ever. Many children are growing up without experiencing the security of their parents' love and commitment to each other—and consequently are finding it harder to receive God's unconditional love. There is an urgent need to invest in marriage and family life, for strong societies are built on strong families, and strong families are built on strong marriages.The Marriage Course, developed by Nicky and Sila Lee of Alpha, has been revised and updated to provide practical tools to help couples at every stage of their relationship. This update includes talks from experts including Dr. Gray Chapman, Dr. Henry Cloud, and Dr. Sue Johnson on topics such as money, sex, love languages, healthy boundaries, and building connections. The course will also cover how couples can: Better understand each other's needs Communicate more effectively Grow closer by learning methods to resolve conflicts Recover from the way they may have hurt each other Recognize how their upbringing has affected their relationship Improve relationships with parents and in-laws The Marriage Course is based on a Christian understanding of love and serves to strengthen marriages within the church while being accessible for all couples from any cultural background, with or without a background in the Christian faith. This leader’s guide is included with The Alpha Marriage Course and is also sold separately.SESSIONS Building Strong Foundations The Art of Communication Resolving Conflict The Power of Forgiveness The Impact of Family—Past and Present Good Sex Love in Action Extra Session: Coping with Times of Separation

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This volume considers two authors who represent different but complementary responses to social injustice and human degradation. The writings of Walter Rauschenbusch and Dorothy Day respond to an American situation that arose out of the Industrial Revolution and reflect especially—but not exclusively—urban life on the East Coast of the United States during the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. Although these two authors differ greatly, they both reacted to the extreme social inequality and strife that occurred between 1890 and the beginning of World War II. They shared a total commitment to the cause of social justice, their Christian faith, and an active engagement in the quest for a just social order. But the different ways they reacted to the situation generated different spiritualities. Rauschenbusch was a pastor, writer, historian, and seminary professor. Day was a journalist who became an organizer. The strategic differences between them, however, grew out of a common sustained reaction against the massive deprivation that surrounded them. There is no spiritual rivalry here. They complement each other and reinforce the Christian humanitarian motivation that drives them. Their work brings the social dimension of Christian spirituality to the surface in a way that had not been emphasized in the same focused way before them. They are part of an awakening to the degree to which the social order lies in the hands of the people who support it. Both Rauschenbusch and Day are examples of an explicit recognition of the social dimension of Christian spirituality and a radical acting-out of that response in two distinctly different ways.

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In the tradition of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, an immensely powerful historical novel about the first encounters between Danish colonists and Greenlanders in the early eighteenth century, of brutal clashes between priests and pagans and the forces that drive each individual towards darkness or light.1728: The Danish King Fredrik IV sends a governor to Greenland to establish a colony, in the hopes of exploiting the country’s allegedly vast natural resources. A few merchants, a barber-surgeon, two trainee priests, a blacksmith, some carpenters and soldiers and a dozen hastily married couples go with him.The missionary priest Hans Egede has already been in Greenland for several years when the new colonists arrive. He has established a mission there, but the converts are few. Among those most hostile to Egede is the shaman Aappaluttoq, whose own son was taken by the priest and raised in the Christian faith as his own. Thus the great rift between two men, and two ways of life, is born.The newly arrived couples – men and women plucked from prison – quickly sink into a life of almost complete dissolution, and soon unsanitary conditions, illness and death bring the colony to its knees. Through the starvation and the epidemics that beset the colony, Egede remains steadfast in his determination – willing to sacrifice even those he loves for the sake of his mission.Translated from Danish by Martin Aitken, Kim Leine's The Colony of Good Hope explores what happens when two cultures confront one another. In a distant colony, under the harshest conditions, the overwhelming forces of nature meet the vices of man.

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Gold Medal, 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards, IPPYPersonal friendships with Somali Muslims overcome the prejudices and expand the faith of a typical American Evangelical Christian living in the Horn of Africa.When Rachel Pieh Jones moved from Minnesota to rural Somalia with her husband and twin toddlers eighteen years ago, she was secure in a faith that defined who was right and who was wrong, who was saved and who needed saving. She had been taught that Islam was evil, full of lies and darkness, and that the world would be better without it.Luckily, locals show compassion for this blundering outsider who can’t keep her headscarf on or her toddlers from tripping over AK-47s. After the murder of several foreigners forces them to evacuate, the Joneses resettle in nearby Djibouti.Jones recounts, often entertainingly, the personal encounters and growing friendships that gradually dismantle her unspoken fears and prejudices and deepen her appreciation for Islam. Unexpectedly, along the way she also gains a far richer understanding of her own Christian faith. Grouping her stories around the five pillars of Islam – creed, prayer, fasting, giving, and pilgrimage – Jones shows how her Muslim friends’ devotion to these pillars leads her to rediscover ancient Christian practices her own religious tradition has lost or neglected.Jones brings the reader along as she reexamines her assumptions about faith and God through the lens of Islam and Somali culture. Are God and Allah the same? What happens when one’s ideas about God and the Bible crumble and the only people around are Muslims? What happens is that she discovers that Jesus is more generous, daring, and loving than she ever imagined.

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As Christians, we know that we should become more like Jesus – so we try to act differently. But changing our outward behaviour doesn’t change our hearts. Only God’s grace can do that. Renovation of the Heart lays a biblical foundation for spiritual transformation, exploring the disciplines and practices that are crucial if we are to be changed from the inside out. Immensely profound but also practical and encouraging, Dallas Willard’s insightful wisdom challenges us to rethink what it really means to become more Christlike and how we do so. This special 20th anniversary edition – featuring a new introduction by John Mark Comer, revised discussion questions and a never before published interview with Dallas Willard – shows that this dynamic and practical approach to spiritual growth is just as needed today as it was 20 years ago. It will both challenge and inspire you on the path of becoming more like Jesus and equip you to engage actively and intentionally in your spiritual formation. Renovation of the Heart has helped countless Christians begin the process of spiritual transformation. It is ideal both for anyone new to the Christian faith looking for guidance in discipleship, and those who are already Christians and want a new approach to help their spiritual growth and reaffirm their faith. Don’t settle for complacency. Accept the challenge Renovation of the Heart offers and discover what Dallas Willard describes as a divine process that "brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God." Become an intentional apprentice of Jesus Christ, changing daily as you walk with Him.

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Explore and discuss the top 10 most difficult questions raised against Christianity. You may be skeptical of Christianity yourself. You may have grown up in the church and never questioned your beliefs. You may be somewhere in the middle or unsure where you stand.But wherever you are, this ten-session study guide (DVD/streaming video sold separately) is designed to take you and your group through the biggest questions people raise against God and the Christian faith.Based on the explorations of his book, The Problem of God, Mark Clark uses an engaging mix of theology, philosophy, science, and story to investigate the essential questions that weigh on the human mind: God's existence, the veracity of the Bible, evil and suffering, hell, sex, hypocrisy, exclusivity, and the claims of Jesus.This video-based study is designed to be experienced in a group setting or any small gathering. Throughout the ten sessions, you'll take part in a number of activities, including: Watching the video teachings from Mark (The Problem of God Video Study, sold separately). Group discussion questions. Written responses and personal reflections. Scripture readings and prayers. The Problem of God Study Guide provides a safe space to wrestle intentionally with the questions, the ideas, and the evidence—and, ultimately, to wrestle with faith and doubt.Sessions include: The Problem of Science The Problem of God's Existence The Problem of the Bible The Problem of the Christian Myth The Problem of Evil and Suffering The Problem of Hell The Problem of Sex The Problem of Hypocrisy The Problem of Exclusivity The Problem of Jesus The Problem of God Video Study (9780310108399) sold separately.

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These days we're taught that death is the period at the end of the sentence of life. A hard stop. The end. So, many of us have never had faith in the idea that death might just be a simple transition to another form of life. But suppose that's what it is? And suppose there's proof? The Afterlife Book takes a close look at the hidden workings of the spirit world and the endless life of the soul, how it all seems to function, and the earthly forces at play that influence the relationship between the afterlife and life as we know it. In the Book you'll find ancient mystics, oracles, and thinkers, Michio Kaku and his quantum physics world, Deepak Chopra and his spiritual philosophy, Caroline Myss and her work on Native American spirituality, Edgar Cayce and his psychic genius. Here you'll find Dr. Carl Jung, Dr. Raymond Moody, Jr., Dr. Brian Weiss, Dr. Ian Stevenson, and Dr. Jim Tucker and their research into death and memory. Here you'll find Albert Einstein and Pythagoras alongside a New Jersey cab driver, a Long Island executive, a California electrician, a Massachusetts singer, a Virginia woman of strong Christian faith. Here you'll find mediums from the 1700s on, including today's Jeffrey Wands, George Anderson, Lisa Williams, Theresa Caputo. Here you'll find Andy Griffith and Jerry Orbach and Elvis Presley, right alongside Socrates, Madame Blavatsky, Abraham Lincoln, and Amedeo Modigliani. Overall, The Afterlife Book is an informative and entertaining read, a book that talks about a whole new/old way of looking at life and after-life. Jeannie Reed notes, "Maybe after reading this, we won't be afraid of dying anymore."

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This book tells the story of two people, born in poverty, who found each other and married in a world at war. They brought up and educated a family, but while their two sons were still very young, the father, a strong man who had served for twenty-five years in the army in India, developed the symptoms of Huntington’s disease. This cast a deep shadow over the family as his condition deteriorated over the next twenty-five years, but their faithful experience of God's love and their deep love for each other gave them the strength and sense of purpose that brought them safe to the end, a meaning expressed in the words of Mother Julian of Norwich: “Do you want to know what our Lord meant in all this? Love is his meaning. In this love our life is everlasting. All this we shall see in God without end.” Love is His Meaning recreates in a new way and as one book, as the author always wished, the story first presented in Stranger on the Shore and This Life of Grace, both of which captivated readers. This new book has allowed the author to draw together the separate stories of his parents and of their families, before they were married, the story of their marriage and of his mother's long life after his father's death. This treatment, of parallel lives, gives a picture of life in our country over the whole of the twentieth century, allowing the reader to grasp what life was like for many ordinary families in those days when the power of the Christian Faith was more influential and widely experienced.

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Most of us are on the lookout for something fresh and different as we approach Advent and Christmas. How can we fully appreciate the familiar truths, treasuring yet again the good news and joy of the season? What will really make our hearts sing? Look no further. In this sure-footed, yet conversational and down-to-earth, little volume, William Philip looks at the 'songs' of key characters in the Christmas story: * Elizabeth (joy for the hearers) * Mary (joy for the humble) * Zechariah (joy for the helpless) * The Shepherds (joy for the heavens) * Simeon and Anna (joy for the hopeful) This is a book to engage heart and head, as it moves between key passages from Luke’s Gospel, from the song of the heavily pregnant to the song of a humble peasant, from the song of the helpless priest to the song of the heavenly proclaimers, and finally to the song of the hopeful 'pensioners'. The author concludes, 'Countless people throughout the centuries have… joined the chorus of praise and proclamation, singing the song of the Saviour with Simeon and Anna, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and all the host of heaven. My hope is that your voice is already part of that wonderful refrain. But if not, then my prayer is that this Christmas is the time to do what these others have done and embrace the Saviour for yourself.' 'Takes the reader, with accuracy and deep devotion, from these wonderful songs of Scripture, to know, with new adoration, the Christ who was born' - Peter Dickson 'Inspiring and informative... Written not just for those who have found their Christian faith, but also for those who are still seeking and exploring. A great read for Advent.' - Clare Hendry 'A wonderful exploration of the Bible's own "Christmas carols". Saints, sceptics, seekers and Scrooges will find fuel here to warm the heart.' - Jonty Rhodes 'The cardiologist (or physician) who became a pastor has written a book to make our hearts sing... It has something striking in it for preachers, congregations and visitors alike.' - Rico Tice

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In May of 1868, Elizabeth Bingham Young and her husband of only fivemonths, Egerton Ryerson Young, began a long journey from Hamilton,Ontario, to the Methodist mission of Rossville, at Norway House. Overthe next eight years, Elizabeth supported her husband’s work atRossville and then at the newly founded mission of Berens River, on theeast shore of Lake Winnipeg. In these remote outposts, she gave birthto four children, one of whom died in infancy, acted as a nurse anddoctor, and applied both perseverance and determination to learningCree, while also coping with poverty and a chronic shortage ofsupplies, both in the mission and in the community it served. WhenElizabeth died, in 1935, she left behind various reminiscences, notablyan extended account of her experiences at Norway House and BerensRiver, evidently written in 1927. Her memoirs offer an exceedingly rareportrait of mission life as seen through the eyes of a woman. Elizabeth’s first child and only surviving son, also namedEgerton Ryerson Young but known in his youth as “Eddie,”was born at Norway House in 1869. Cared for by a Cree woman almost frominfancy, Eddie spent his early childhood immersed in local Cree andOjibwe life, culture, and language, in many ways exemplifying theprocess of reverse acculturation often in evidence among the childrenof missionaries. He, too, left behind hitherto unpublishedreminiscences, one composed around 1935 and a second dictated shortlybefore his death. Like those of his mother, Eddie’s memoriescapture the sensory and emotional texture of mission life, a life inwhich the Christian faith is implicit rather than prominently ondisplay, while also providing an intriguing counterpoint to hismother’s recollections. Like all memoirs, these are refractedthrough the prism of time, and yet they remain startling in theirimmediacy. Together, the writings of mother and son—conjoinedhere with a selection of archival documents that supplement the mainnarratives, with the whole meticulously edited by Jennifer S. H.Brown—afford an all too uncommon opportunity to contemplatemission life from the ground up.

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USA TODAY BESTSELLER | WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLERDiscover the official story of In-N-Out Burger––how three generations have created a thriving, family-owned company, why its fans are so wildly loyal, and what led to its explosive growth and evolution into an iconic part of American culture––as told by In-N-Out Burger’s president, Lynsi Snyder.When Lynsi Snyder's grandparents founded In-N-Out Burger in 1948, they built it with a passion for quality and service that Lynsi embraced at a young age. After starting as a store associate at age seventeen, she then worked in other departments, gaining first-hand experience with almost every aspect of the family business until she became president in 2010. She has led the company through explosive growth––today, there are three-hundred and eighty stores and counting––and is deeply committed to the well-being of the In-N-Out Burger family.In The Ins and Outs of In-N-Out, you'll: Gain key insights into why In-N-Out has maintained its very popular and limited menu for more than seventy-five-years and why it has refused to franchise or go public Hear behind-the-scenes stories from In-N-Out Associates, including from one gentleman who worked in the very first store Learn about the Snyder family's Christian faith, including her grandmother Esther's belief in the gospel and her uncle's "born-again" experience that shaped his life and leadership at the company Discover why Lynsi has been ranked as one of the top presidents in the restaurant industry and how her personal challenges have fortified her faith and shaped her dedication to servant leadership In-N-Out Burger has drawn fiercely loyal fans––from professional chefs and burger aficionados to celebrities and scores of everyday customers––who not only crave the burgers, fries, and milkshakes but also come back again and again for the community.

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Catholic political identity and engagement defy categorization. The complexities of political realities and the human nature of such institutions as church and government often produce a more fractured reality than the pure unity depicted in doctrine. Yet, in 2003 under the leadership of then-prefect Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a "Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life". The note explicitly asserts, "The Christian faith is an integral unity, and thus it is incoherent to isolate some particular element to the detriment of the whole of Catholic doctrine. A political commitment to a single isolated aspect of the Church's social doctrine does not exhaust one's responsibility toward the common good". "Catholics and Politics" takes up the political and theological significance of this "integral unity", the universal scope of Catholic concern that can make for strange political bedfellows, confound predictable voting patterns, and leave the church poised to critique narrowly partisan agendas across the spectrum. "Catholics and Politics" depicts the ambivalent character of Catholics' mainstream "arrival" in the U.S. over the past forty years, integrating social scientific, historical and moral accounts of persistent tensions between faith and power. Divided into four parts - Catholic Leaders in U.S. Politics; The Catholic Public; Catholics and the Federal Government; and, International Policy and the Vatican - it describes the implications of Catholic universalism for voting patterns, international policymaking, and partisan alliances. The book reveals complex intersections of Catholicism and politics and the new opportunities for influence and risks of cooptation of political power produced by these shifts. Contributors include political scientists, ethicists, and theologians. The book will be of interest to scholars in political science, religious studies, and Christian ethics and all lay Catholics interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the tensions that can exist between church doctrine and partisan politics.

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For Christians, a thorough study of the practice of Bible study in the prison context can help deepen understandings of what constitutes effective ministry. For people outside of the Christian faith, a study of this practice could increase understandings about the complex relationships between faith, prison and personal growth in America. Many American Christians believe that Bible study is an emancipative practice that can help those forces seeking to resolve America's enormous incarceration problem. Participants in penitentiary bible study (teachers and students) seek ways of showing that the light of God continues to shine even in the darkest places on earth like prisons. Belief in this theological perspective has led many Christians (as volunteers or as chaplains) to fight against the problem of mass incarceration by establishing religious practices in prisons. The American prison system sees religion not only as a right to be preserved but also as one of the programs that help rehabilitate the prisoner before his or her return to society. Garden State Youth Correctional Facility (GSYCF) houses about 1200 young men between the ages of 17 and 27. Like most American prisons, GSYCF is required to offer opportunities for religious practice to prisoners. Through the approach of Pastoral Praxeology, this research observes the practice and the effects of Bible study on the lives of several incarcerated practitioners. The particular Bible study practice that this research project engages in is the Logos Bible Study (LBS) which is distinguished from other programs by its focus on the prayerful study of the Holy Scriptures and the promotion of critical self-reflection over time. After analyzing the interviews and surveys of a group of incarcerated participants in LBS, this study has found methods for creating a terrain of positive transformation within a territory of incarceration. These methods lead to Anakainosis-Desmios-a state of spiritual renewal only possible within prison that promotes the creation and expression of emancipatory and hospitable attitudes within an oppressive and hostile prison culture.

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If anyone had good reason to join the league of the “Nones,” the “Dones,” and the deconstructionists, it would be Zach Hoag. After growing up and out of the compound walls of a Texas cult, and becoming a failed church planter in one of the most post-Christian cities in America, Zach was faced with both a crisis and a choice. He loved Jesus, yet questioned: If the church is such a broken system, is it really worth belonging to anymore?The viral upswing of the “spiritual but not religious” trend has cast religion as going rapidly out of style. Yet even in his own desert of deconstruction, Zach couldn’t shake his desire for a spiritual home. His search ultimately led him to look behind the statistics, where Zach found an astonishing undercurrent subversively at work.The truth, as Zach discovered, is that we are in a cultural moment of apocalypse. Not an end-of-the-world apocalypse, but in the very literal sense of the word which translates simply, “a revealing.” Perhaps the downtrend of Christian faith in America is just the kind of Great Revealing we need to show us who we really are as American Christians, who Jesus really is in our midst, and how we can step into the flourishing faith he has always intended for us.For anyone who is anxious about the future of the church and their place in it, The Light Is Winning rallies to an unexpected, unshakeable hope: Could it be that we’ve made religion out to be the culprit when in fact, religion is just what we need to revive us? Could it be that our struggle for relevance must come to a necessary end, so that we can get to the real? After all, isn’t this the essence of the story of God: death paves the way for a resurrected, deeply rooted, flourishing faith. Such faith can be yours. The Light Is Winning will show you how.

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Dolly Parton has entertained, educated, and inspired millions of fans for over five decades. Whether she's writing songs, performing live, recording new albums, or helping children around the world learn to read with her Imagination Library nonprofit, the Queen of Country Music has never been shy about crediting her Christian faith for her success.Tennessee native, lifelong Dolly fan, and award-winning writer Dudley Delffs spotlights ten faith lessons as evidenced in Dolly's life, music, interviews, and attitude, giving you the tools you need to: Know when to stretch your wings Let your roots keep you grounded Dream your way forward Sometimes poignant, sometimes funny, frequently surprising, and always true to Dolly's down-home spirit of joyful generosity, The Faith of Dolly Parton will delight her millions of fans as well as anyone seeking a fresh, faith-filled role model.Praise for The Faith of Dolly Parton:"Dudley's book gives great insight into why so many people around the world love Dolly Parton. While Dolly is one of the biggest superstars, she has never forgotten who she is and where she came from and the faith that anchors her life."--Bill Haslam, former governor of Tennessee"You may know Dolly Parton as a legendary singer, songwriter, music producer, actor, author, philanthropist, or entrepreneur. But those external successes are born out of a deep personal faith in Jesus Christ. In The Faith of Dolly Parton, award-winning author Dudley Delffs guides you through ten powerful lessons based on the music, character, and heart of this entertainment legend. Delffs's insight into the sincere faith of Dolly Parton will warm your heart and inspire you to become more vulnerable as you grow stronger in your faith."--Craig Groeschel, pastor of Life.Church and New York Times bestselling author

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