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Music can answer questions that often confound more discursive modes of thought. Music takes concepts that are all too familiar, reframes these concepts, and returns them to us with incisive clarity and renewed vision. Unity is one of these «all too familiar concepts,» thrown around by politicians, journalists, and pastors as if we all know what it means. By turning to music, especially musical space, the relational structure of unity becomes less abstract and more tangible within our philosophy. Arnold Schoenberg, as an inherently musical thinker, is our guide in this study of unity. His reworking of musical structure, dissonance, and metaphysics transformed the tonal language and aesthetic landscape of twentieth-century music. His philosophy of compositional unity helps us to deconstruct and reconceive how unity can be understood and worked with both aesthetically and theologically. This project also critiques Schoenberg's often monadic musical metaphysic by turning to Colin Gunton's conviction that the particularity and unity at the heart of God's triune being should guide all of our theological endeavors. Throughout, music accompanies our thinking, demonstrating not only how theology can benefit the philosophy of music but also how the philosophy of music can enrich and augment theological discourse.

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The goal of every pastor, missionary, and lay leader in the evangelical church is to proclaim the word of God accurately. And, one of the key components of accurate biblical interpretation is the understanding of the Bible's original languages. While some Bible teachers forego learning Hebrew and Greek altogether, many men and women seek their language training by buying books to study on their own, others look for free online courses and videos to provide this instruction, while still others commit to formal theological training through higher education. Each of those language-learning formats (print, digital, and guided) are effective educational tools, but the problem is that each of those formats are primarily based on the same, antiquated teaching method. This book analyzes and assesses the current biblical language pedagogy from the vantage point of over thirty prominent professionals in the field of New Testament Greek. Their insight provides some of the first formal data on the usefulness and effectiveness of the Grammar-Translation Method for teaching biblical languages today. Additionally, this book will introduce a unique and cutting-edge approach to the process of teaching and learning the original languages of the word of God.

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–Do you seem to lack an adequate framework for interpreting life in today's world? –Have you grown tired of attempts at finding meaning in free, experimental living? –Though you can't quite identify what the smell is, do you sense that something about our culture's way of thinking stinks? –Do you search for mental values on which you can build a solid life? –Are you ready to challenge cultural norms and rethink everything for yourself?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, then Whoopin' Up on Stinkin' Thinkin' is a must-read! Without God's healing power over the mind, you may become enslaved to fear, arrogance, bitterness, confusion, and distrust, just to name a few stinking thoughts. Whoopin' Up on Stinkin' Thinkin' is designed to bring God's healing power to your mind. Based on 1 Corinthians 10:3-5, this book will help you get your mind unstuck now! Field-tested questions with each chapter make Whoopin' Up on Stinkin' Thinkin' perfect for your small group or class. Young people searching for answers, senior adults seeking to understand and influence the next generation, mentors, professors, teachers, pastors, counselors, and group leaders will all find this book to be a great resource.

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In 1906, a new religious phenomenon emerged from California. Then, just over sixty years later, a million-fold expansion occurred. What was the catalyst for this explosion of growth? The Pentecostal Paradox explores the history and rise of a new religious movement called the Pentecostals. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles of the day, and other long-forgotten sources, author G. J. Hocking weaves together an accurate history of the movement to the present day. Filled with fascinating stories–the mailing lists of over 50,000 subscribers go missing; a preacher hijacked the pulpit causing untold havoc; a report of flames shooting fifty feet in the air–The Pentecostal Paradox asks: Were these events fact, fiction, or real phenomena? In this timely work, California the Charismatic Cradle features prominently as the author juxtaposes the rise of Pentecostalism with both the California gold rush and the San Francisco earthquake. Eventually, a «God Rush» occurred in 1906 as many rushed to Azusa Street, Los Angeles. How will this book shed light on this vast group? What next for Pentecostalism? These questions are answered in a candid and yet concise way in this much-needed analysis of the Pentecostal movement.

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Evangelical Christianity has traditionally been defined by its belief in the authority of Scripture and its mission to make from all nations disciples of Christ, but it is increasingly being defined by its role in culture wars–we're those who fight evolutionists, fight feminists, fight homosexuals, fight liberals. As the political world polarizes further into right and left, the church is tempted to polarize with it. But as we focus on repelling those influences that threaten to change the church, have we forgotten what it is that gave the church the power to change the world?
Turn Neither Right Nor Left is an urgent call for evangelicals to be defined once again by what we fight for, not what we fight against. It looks at what it means to be evangelical as opposed to liberal or fundamentalist, what it means to have a Bible that is inspired by God and yet written by humans, and what it means to be people of the gospel of faith, hope, and love. It discusses the role of doubt, social justice, and unity, and encourages us to fight with the weapons of war that God has given us: peace, love, and reconciliation with God.

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The Simple Power of a Broken Life serves to bring meaning to and ultimately healing from the suffering and pain that accompanies the broken seasons of our lives. Drawing upon the brokenness of seven individuals from the Scriptures and their respective pain, a picture of hope and usefulness emerges that serves to begin to make sense of the mysteries, betrayals, rejections, heartaches, and disappointments that we all eventually come into contact with in one form or another.
Not only do we each matter to God, but our brokenness actually sets us apart as being more likely to be used to impact other lives. Being fully convinced that God uses broken things, we find that our brokenness is the starting point in a deeper, more intimate experience with God. Broken lives may experience a beautiful and simple power in the midst of their pain and suffering that the Father can use as a rich blessing for other wounded souls.
My strong desire is that the purpose of your pain and the healing of your heart will lead you into deeper waters of God's grace than you have ever known before and that multitudes of people will be helped on their journey because of your brokenness. Here's to believing that the simple power of your broken life will gloriously transform both you and all the lives God wants to touch through you!

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Relevant Revelation explores themes such as covenant, brothers in conflict, the younger brother being favored by God, changed hearts, barren women who are healed (and the one who is not), and the humble raised high. Relevant Revelation shows how the Bible follows the history of Israel by mirroring the developmental stages of a human, beginning with conception, then birth, infancy, childhood, adulthood, death, and finally, the afterlife. Understanding the development of these themes will change the way you read and study the Bible. Any one of these themes point to purposeful, cohesive authorship throughout the Bible. Relevant Revelation seeks to show that God is the one Author of the Bible with seven themes as support. The fact that all these themes culminate in Christ demonstrates that the New Testament finishes what the Old Testament starts. Christ is the Messiah sent by God and expected by his people.
When we see connections between books written by over forty people over three thousand years, the reader is challenged to see the Bible and its stories as one continuous story. When we understand God's word as a cohesive unit, the people and events of Israel's history can be placed and logically understood in the context of God's great purpose and plan of redeeming the world through a Savior.
Videos and discussion questions are available for each chapter of Relevant Revelation on the website: www.relevantrevelation.com.

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At a moment in which interest in political theology is rising, acceptance of a public role for religion is declining, and cynicism regarding both political and religious institutions is overflowing, this book investigates the possibilities and constraints of a Christian political theology that can meaningfully mediate Scripture, doctrine, and political reality. In critical dialogue with political theologians and political philosophers past and present, we explore the origins, meaning, and purpose of Christian political theology in an age of growing discontent with the once-impregnable liberal democratic order of yesteryear. Approaching politics as both art and science, this book lays a challenge at the feet of political theologians to offer a theological account of politics that is genuinely illuminating of political reality and efficacious for the faithful who seek to operate within it.

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This book offers a close reading of John 1:1–2:11, but it moves beyond explaining the content of the text. Bringing the whole Bible to bear on the words of John and of Jesus, this book seeks to introduce or to reintroduce people who have known disappointment, failure, and loss to the One who came to provide true life and light. Help is also offered here for those wanting to minister the gospel of Christ to a hurting world. In Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us on the cross, we are drawn close to the God of loving mercy, filled with his strength, and equipped to support and serve one another in a world desperate for peace and purpose. The question Jesus asked his first two disciples, he asks each of us too: «What are you looking for?» Everything worth seeking is to be found in him.

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A belief is a judgment that we assume to be true when making life decisions. Our beliefs cannot conclusively be proven true or false. Beliefs can be as simple as our preference for food or as profound as our religious beliefs. How are beliefs different from knowledge or opinion? How do beliefs develop and change over time, and how do they become the foundation of our purpose in life? This book is divided into three sections. The first explains how beliefs are formed in childhood and modified and adapted when we become adults. The second section explores different types of belief and introduces the notion of moral beliefs about right and wrong and religious beliefs about the existence and nature of God. The final section of the book explains how beliefs are prioritized into a faith that becomes our framework for making life decisions. The beliefs we hold most dear form the building blocks of our purpose in life. We have the freedom to choose our beliefs, so we have the freedom to choose our purpose. The goal of this book is to help the reader think deeply about this process and explore the meaning of this freedom.

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