LITMIR.BIZ

This book demonstrates that Latin American liberation theology continues to produce substantial biblical exegesis, absorbing theological reflection, and a sharp social critique that enhances the worldwide church. In Jesus Goes to McDonald's, Rossi asserts that the book of Job protests against the devastating effects of imperial Persian rule in postexilic Judah–effects seen as the stimulus for the theology of reward so severely criticized by Job. Not since Gustavo Gutierrez's On Job has there been such a compelling reading of the book of Job as a literary mirror of oppressive socioeconomic and political conditions. Rossi uses Job to offer a critique of the prosperity theology that is so dominant in parts of the church today. The second half of the book offers a radical critique of «the McDonaldization» of society and church. Free market capitalism has become an all-embracing worldview to the detriment of society and church. As counter-speech, Rossi proposes a theology that favors life, a life in which solidarity with the poor is central.

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Fear works its way into our lives on a daily basis, but it does not define us. God's loving power undergirds us, even when we are blinded by our worries. The experiences of the men and women whose stories are included in this book offer encouragement for our anxious times, reminding readers that God works in the darkest moments to bring about healing and wholeness.

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As a freshman in college, Rachel Murr found herself trying to decide which campus social group to join: the gay and lesbian advocacy group or the campus Christian fellowship. She knew it couldn't be both. For the next fifteen years she held onto the belief that she couldn't be both gay and Christian. When the pain involved in trying not to be lesbian called for a change in theology, she came out to her evangelical church. Conflict ensued. Unnatural is a collection of stories–not only of the harm religiously-inspired negative messages about homosexuality inflict, but also of redemption. Rachel uses her own story as well as personal interviews with ten other queer women and one female-to-male transgender man to tell how they were judged, lectured, kicked out of homes and families, subjected to reparative therapies, and even assaulted. Some faced homelessness, depression, suicide attempts, and pervasive shame. Still, they fought to keep their faith alive. Each demonstrated an Unnatural ability to forgive, love, believe, advocate, and heal.

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This book offers reflections on a number of theological themes, going beyond abstraction to ask what is involved in coming to know God–through all the praying, struggling, and rejoicing that entails. For speaking accurately about God cannot be done apart from beholding him. We are all too prone to forget the innocence of life's immediacy as we become weathered by the passage of time. Wonder is a fragile thing that struggles for breath amidst our everyday habits, environment, and slothfulness of vision. We require guidance to see the world's wonder, but we are given to a time that is less than hospitable to transcendental ends. This book's purpose is to inspire perpetual reconsideration of the wonder of things. Behold Our God does not relate personal experience or dogmatic confession for the sake of a certain end, but rather seeks to excite the rhapsody of God and reveal the profundity of life, anticipating the day when it shall be said, «Behold, this is our God» (Isa 25:9).

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Laypersons receiving a divine call to preach in the Roman Catholic Church may feel caught between a rock and a hard place–both figuratively and ecclesiastically. They may feel constrained between the Rock of Peter and the hard place of resistance to the preaching gift they believe they have and their desire to share it. At first glance, the Roman Catholic Church, with its two millennia of Sacred Tradition, seemingly offers little that favors the inclusion of lay preachers. In addition, many lay preachers may experience the bias of clergy and assembly members who unconsciously presume there is no role for laity to preach within the Roman Catholic Church. Preaching does not occur solely within liturgical settings, or only via pulpit preachers. All Dominicans, as members of the Order of Preachers, are called to embody the Sacra Praedicatio–the Sacred Preaching. In fact, canon law does permit laity to preach in certain liturgical settings. Setting the World on Fire details one Roman Catholic woman's experience of her own call to preach, the grace and gifts brought to both the preacher and the assembly, as well as her desire to help all Dominicans–and indeed, all Christians–embrace their rightful role as «preachers.»

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The church is in major decline in the Western world. We cannot continue to use past evangelistic models to reach out to our modern world. Art and Soul explores ways of generating missional conversations in the community through the medium of art, offering theological reflections as well as practical strategies on how to connect with people outside of the church. This book surveys several approaches, including «Art and Soul,» a course that teaches people who suffer from depression and anxiety to paint, and introduces youths, refugees, prisoners, and other at-risk people to art in order to better connect with their own personal narrative. Readers will learn about «Art for Justice,» or how to use art in the marketplace to begin conversations in their local community. Art and Soul's initiatives for connecting with people through art will inspire and encourage Christ followers to step out and create places to engage with their community.

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The purpose of this book is to provide a theologically sound yet easy-to-use resource, based on the image of God, that can help congregations engage relationally in their neighborhoods. Rather than using the neighborhood as a resource to help make congregations successful, The Neighborhood Church contends that God places congregations in neighborhoods to help make neighborhoods successful in accordance with God's vision. This book is intended as a resource for pastors and other church leaders who pour significant amounts of energy into their congregations but feel frustrated with the results. The problem isn't with church leaders' energy or commitment. On the contrary, it's a lack of awareness as to how that energy and commitment can be channeled within God's call, mission, and movement. This book is a crucial resource for congregations having difficulty navigating the treacherous waters of what it means to be successful according to God's vision.

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Bring the otherworldly mystery of spiritual reality down to earth. Understand how Satan can gain entry into the personal lives of Christians. Learn how to find peace in church conflict without having to flee, fake it, or fight back. Put an end to toxic memories from a painful past. Experience meaningful life in the Spirit.

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In A Biblical Understanding of Pain: Its Reasons and Realities, John Timmerman examines six different sources of pain, each with its own chapter of description and biblical response. These include physical pain, the pain of mental illness, spiritual pain, emotional pain, the pain of the Prodigal, and the pain of memories. Additional chapters explore the sources of pain, the denial of pain, and the question of God's omnipotence and why he doesn't just remove pain. Rather than setting forth sets of rules governing our response to pain, Professor Timmerman narrates actual life events and examples, and then examines biblical responses to these. The result is a study that feels lived in.

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Is church discipline really necessary? One sixteenth-century Anabaptist reformer certainly thought so. A contemporary of Luther and Zwingli, Balthasar Hubmaier believed that church discipline was so important that he included the doctrine in every major area of his theology. Not only did church discipline appear in his doctrine of humanity, salvation, and the church, as a theoretical construct, but he also included practical instructions regarding its implementation in the life of the church. In this book Goncharenko examines Hubmaier's teaching on discipline and considers its relevance to the church today.

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