Аннотация

In Giving Voice to the Silent Pulpit, author Barry Blood explores the many differences that exist between Popular Christianity, (the doctrine as taught from the pulpit) and Academic Christianity, (the doctrine as taught in our colleges and seminaries). He contends these are startling differences that may shock the average Christian layperson.
The author reveals how these differences have created an intellectual gap between the church and our present day worldview of reality, a gap which has contributed to the decline in Christian membership rolls worldwide. He contends that exposing these known doctrinal differences will create a more intellectually honest Christianity, and-he believes-will build a church that can be a more engaging choice for the educated populace of the twenty-first century.

Аннотация

In this study Kim explores a new way of reading Paul's letters and understanding his theology with a focus on three aspects of Paul's gospel: «the righteousness of God,» «faith of Christ,» and «the body of Christ.» Kim argues that Paul's thought can be best understood by reading these genitives as the subjective or attributive genitives, rather than as the objective genitives. The subjective or attributive reading places an emphasis on the subject's participation: God's participatory righteousness, Christ's faithful obedience to God, and the believer's living of Christ's body. Using this approach, Kim investigates the root of Paul's theology in a wide array of texts and contexts: in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and Paul's canonical letters. In doing so, Kim synthesizes Paul's theology and ethics seamlessly, balancing the roles of God, Christ, and believers in Paul's gospel.
For the website: Study/Discussion Questions and Sample Syllabus available at http://youaregood.com/threefoldtheology.htm

Аннотация

"I should not be writing this. I had a malignant brain tumor. I had an extremely malignant brain tumor. By all medical statistics, I should be dead. Last time I checked, dead people don't write." So begins Julie Anderson Love's memoir. It is the funny, horrifying, compelling story of her battle with an extremely malignant brain tumor. The good news is, she survived; the scary news is, according to medical statistics and prognoses, she wasn't supposed to.
Her book is not just a How-To-Be-The-Patient-From-Hell, although one could read it for that; it is the story of a woman of faith who believes in a loving God, who faces the possibility of her imminent death. As one reader described it: «This is a fully realized story of faith, the dissolution of faith, and the redefinition of faith.»
As she battles the tumor, and as the reader travels the journey with her, she takes God to task. Using biblical reflections, theological and philosophical deliberations, journal writings, and sermons she'd written (she's been a Presbyterian pastor for over twenty years), she ponders the nature of God's power, miracles, and forgiveness.
Disrupted will make you laugh and cry. It will compel you to think deeply about the nature of God, the experience of being alive, and what it means to forgive.

Аннотация

"Those who serve as truth-tellers in the church, like those who listen to the truth-telling in the church, are a mix of yearning and fearfulness, of receptiveness and collusion. In the end, the work of truth-telling is not to offer a new package of certitudes that displaces old certitudes. This truth to be uttered and acted, rather, is the enactment and conveyance of this Person who is truth, so that truth comes as bodily fidelity that stays reliably present to the pain of the world." –from the Preface

Аннотация

One passage, two verses, four words.
As a writer and an adjunct professor of psychology, Amy Hollingsworth is on her way to becoming an «expert» on creativity. But just days before delivering her first professional seminar on the topic, she has an unsettling dream. The dream awakens her to the fact that she has missed a crucial element in understanding what true creativity is. Trying to unravel the dream, she soon discovers its contents reflected in a single passage of ancient literature. In this passage she sees for the first time creativity's core, its spiritual roots, and as its meaning unfolds through months of spiritual reflection and study, it confirms the very scientific theories she's been teaching all along. In fact, she discovers the underpinnings of the whole body of creativity research tucked into four small words penned centuries ago, kernels of truth that explode with a new depth of meaning. As she digs deeper, she uncovers for the reader God's blueprint for cultivating the creative spirit in everyday life, through a practical outworking of her spiritual findings. In the end, both writer and reader come away with a new understanding of their own creative abilities–and a profound sense of what's truly holy about holy curiosity.

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Left Behind and Loving It is a cheeky critique of popular writings about the end times. Rather than presenting a steroid-buffed Jesus wrapped in an American flag and «coming again in clouds of gunfire,» Left Behind and Loving It invites readers to approach some of the most controversial and scary portions of the Scriptures with the utter confidence that «God's steadfast love endures forever.» Rather than asserting a hope premised on a few chosen ones escaping the world, Left Behind and Loving It argues that if it is Jesus who is to return (and not his evil twin), then the second coming has redemption written all over it. Many today cannot accept the escapist, violent, end-of-the-world scenario envisioned by «Left Behind» theology. Left Behind and Loving It invites readers not to fear but to trust in God's steadfast love and look at the finitude of the world with hope in an infinitely loving God.

Аннотация

"Should Christians be concerned with faith and evangelism and not politcal affairs?"
In answering this question, American Crossroads provides a thought-provoking look at what it means to submit to the governing authorities of the United States of America. Just as God called for Christians to submit to the Roman government that forced its will upon the people (Rom 13:1), so too is God calling for us to submit to the existing form of government in the United States, a government that lives and thrives upon the will and involvement of people. Today, by submitting to the government, Christian citizens are led to influence the American political process that depends upon the involvement of all citizens for its well-being and survival.

Аннотация

Jesus used parables to teach his disciples certain truths about the gospel. The parables employed word pictures, such as of planting seeds and other agricultural images, that were familiar to his listeners. What kind of imagery could be used today to talk about the gospel? Baseball, «America's pastime,» might be one source of such familiar images. In this book Currie has attempted to find theological themes and to describe the gospel in the sport of baseball.

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What does it mean to take the Bible seriously? This introductory book explores how Scripture itself gives us the resources to read it wisely. First, it looks at the basic questions of reading in context–historical, literary, and theological–and understanding the significance of the two-testament structure of the Christian Bible. Then it looks at how the Bible can itself contribute to shaping a wise doctrine of Scripture. Finally, it considers some of the many hermeneutical perspectives that contribute to reading the Bible wisely. New to this revised edition are chapters addressing the significance of the Old Testament, the performative function of Scripture, and how reading Scripture actually helps form the reader. The aim throughout is to explore key questions critical to the task of reading the Bible generously, constructively, and in a comprehensible way, without oversimplifying core theological issues.

Аннотация

Whatever religion may have meant to the boy when he was younger, in the teenage years it takes the form of a personal journey or quest. This journey is related to other aspects of his life and is integral to how he experiences himself and others.
The title of this volume–Striking Out–has the connotation of the beginning of a journey that will take the boy in new directions, but it also suggests the baseball metaphor of a batter being called out on strikes. The first sense is positive; the second is negative. Together, they express the anticipatory and hopeful nature of the venture, but also the possibility that the undertaking may evoke feelings of fear, frustration, and failure.
By focusing on real-life examples of teenage boys (both historical and contemporary), the book presents five typical manifestations of a boy's vulnerabilities as he sets forth on the journey: the stumbler, the struggler, the straggler, the straddler, and the stranger. It explores the ways in which these vulnerabilities may contribute in positive ways to his personal growth and his religious maturity.
Throughout this book Gordon W. Allport's classic text The Individual and His Religion draws attention to the claim that a boy's religious sentiment may play a decisive role in the integration of his personality despite its inevitable disparities and uncertainties, and the real-life examples are presented as evidence that this religious sentiment provides direction and clarity of vision as the boy looks toward the future.