LITMIR.BIZ

John Wesley promoted the ministry of women in early Methodism. Amazing women like Phoebe Palmer, Catherine Booth, and Frances Willard–founding figures in the holiness movement, the Salvation Army, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union–claimed biblical precedent for their groundbreaking ministries. They withstood the onslaught of criticism and hostility from those who thought they had stepped out of their proper sphere. Methodists have championed the cause of women and developed biblical, spiritual, and practical arguments for their ministry for two and a half centuries. More than fifty documents from the history of Methodism chronicle the tortuous journey leading to biblical equality in this family of churches. At a time when the ministry of women is under serious attack in a number of quarters, yet again, we all have much to learn from the witness of Wesleyan Christians who argued for women's ministry. This story illustrates how faithful women, when they knew they had the Lord's approval, stood «like the beaten anvil to the stroke.» Courage. Defiance. Perseverance. Faithfulness. These qualities define the Methodist defense of women in ministry.

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Throughout the ages, Satan has been seen as God's implacable enemy, fiercely determined to keep as many human beings as he can from entering the heavenly kingdom. But according to Henry Ansgar Kelly, this understanding dates only from post-biblical times, when Satan was reconceived as Lucifer, a rebel angel, and as the serpent in the garden of Eden. In the Bible itself, beginning in the book of Job and continuing through the New Testament, Satan is considered to be a member of the heavenly government, charged with monitoring the human race. In effect, he is God's Minister of Justice, bent on exposing sin and vice, especially in virtuous-seeming persons like Job and Jesus. He fills the roles of investigator, tempter (that is, tester), accuser, prosecutor, and punisher, but also obstructer, preventer of vice, and rehabilitator. He is much feared and despised, accused of underhanded and immoral tactics. His removal from office is promised and his eventual punishment hoped for. The later misreading of Satan as radically depraved transformed Christianity into a highly dualistic religion, with an ongoing contest between good and evil. Seeing Satan in his true nature, as a cynical and sinister celestial bureaucrat, will help to remedy this distorted view.

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The Bible is full of questions asked by God of his people. Each of these questions challenge us to struggle with some nagging issue or problem inside us that simply refuses to go away. God's great questions probe the deepest issues of our lives–questions of identity, of adequacy, of balance, of assurance, of mercy, of renewal, of perspective, of ultimate hope, of perception. As the characters in the Bible of whom these questions were first asked wrestle with their answers, we as readers of this book find ourselves wrestling with the same questions in our lives–bringing us face-to-face with ourselves and with God himself.

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To our knowledge nothing with The Suicide Funeral (or Memorial Service): Honoring Their Memory, Comforting Their Survivors' scope and depth has ever been published. This is an aid to anyone who will be called upon to do a funeral for the nearly 43,000 suicides in America each year. This book is designed to assist clergy, chaplains, and other faith leaders as they develop sermons and homilies for a funeral service. Its mandate is to help those searching for inspiration even though they may feel confused or uncertain undertaking such a daunting assignment. Those who plan and lead a funeral service may enable family and friends to understand and participate intentionally in their grief process. Clergy can have a significant impact on how people react to the suicide as well as provide comfort and assistance to those left behind on their journey through grief. Your leadership will influence how the suicide's bereaved are treated by others in the days, weeks, and months following the death. Because suicide does not discriminate by race, socio-economic status, or religion, a broad range of faiths and denominations are represented in this book's sermons, services, and perspectives.

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What the hell happened on the way to making the world a better place? We boomers were told our success would be unlimited. We had democracy and capitalism, and God was on our side. We took our religious teachings seriously, and set out to end bigotry, violence, and destitution. Inevitably, we collided with American Caesars, whose power and wealth was sufficient to dominate national and international affairs. Political and religious Caesars appropriated Jesus and used him to justify war, sexism, racism, dictatorships, and poverty. What were the faithful to do?
Lots of boomers I know tossed the spiritual baby out with the religious institution's bathwater, and became cynical about civic engagement. It is not time to abandon hope in our goodness, however, and it is not time to surrender our conscience to Caesar. Our experiences as boomers teach us that it is possible to bring the love of God to bear in our lives, despite Caesar's constant pressure to cherish power, wealth, celebrity, and things more than we cherish people. This book is for folks who are ready to get off Caesar's treadmill and dig deeply into their hearts and minds to see what remains of the Kingdom of God within.

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Religion has played a major role in history, affecting the course of events and influencing individuals. Today one frequently hears the expression «the return of religion» but opinions differ as to how this «return» is to be understood. It is clear that modernity and postmodernity have not meant that religion is dead or relegated to society's backyards. Religion is still of vital importance for many people. It has, to some extent, changed shape but has not lost its legitimacy and attractiveness to broad groups. Religion is public, visible, and has a sought-for voice; but it is also wrestling with extremism, ignorance, and preconceptions. Just like ideologies, religions are capable of activating diametrically opposite traits in humans. It is this dual tension that is implicit in the question mark in this book's title: Mending the World?
This book's aim is to help explore whether, how, and in what ways religion, church, and theology can contribute constructively to the future of a global society. In thirty-one chapters, researchers from around the world address the relation between religion and society.

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The mystery of the missing men can be answered in one sentence: The church has forgotten how to speak to men. While the church's language has excluded women in its use of nouns and pronouns, it has excluded men in everything else. Its content, character, and construction say, «You don't belong here.» Church Talk Makes Men Walk: – Corrects the myth that men are innately non-religious or non-spiritual; – Demonstrates how the culture increasingly reflected in church talk has filtered action-oriented people out of the church in favor of relationally orientated ones; – Demonstrates that the same factors that have driven most men from the church have also driven like-minded women away; – Provides research-based and theologically informed solutions to the problem of the missing action-oriented men and women. Chapters presenting well-documented social science research alternate with chapters presenting practical steps that answer the question, «So what should the church do?» Written in a conversational, humorous, and sometimes confessional style, Church Talk bridges the gap between the academy and the local church. It shows how language that is inclusive of both women and men, relational and action-oriented, can create a church that is once again gender-balanced and missional.

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"God's got a plan for your life" is an aphorism frequently heard by Christians. But how do you discover that plan? The Spirit Said Go is designed to help believers find God's will. Using Paul's journeys in Acts as examples, Wilson discusses twenty lessons on guidance drawn from these journeys. Using his firsthand experience traveling along these routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, he reads between the lines offering additional insights into Luke's account. He also provides important geographical and archaeological information to illustrate Paul's world among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Wilson then illustrates each lesson with autobiographical vignettes drawn from his own spiritual pilgrimage of over forty years as a follower of Jesus. Friends and colleagues also share stories of similar experiences of guidance. Each chapter ends with reflection questions that help the reader integrate the lesson into Christian living. The volume offers an inductive Bible study combined with practical, spiritual insights regarding how God guides his people then and now.

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In the passage to modernity we in the West have lost the ability to see things whole. We've closed our minds to all things transcendent and default to unbelief, and can't make sense of the persistent echoes of the voice of God that reverberate in our souls.
In Rediscovering God's Grand Story, James Roseman picks up the strands of science, philosophy, history, the arts, and theology, and reweaves the tapestry to see a coherent story that makes the best sense of the world and provides real meaning and significance to our lives–God's Grand Myth. We see that the signals of transcendence that confound our culture of doubt are a universal language and vocabulary of the heart echoing the voice of God; and in the very Judeo-Christian story we so readily jettison is found the Author enabling us to see the world whole again.
This essay tells why the story and promise of Christianity is so hard to hear today but won't go away.
Could it be that, as T. S. Eliot wrote in the mid-twentieth century, «at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time»?

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In 1924, an Australian minister observed that while the world may be getting better off, the world is not getting better. Almost one hundred years have passed and little has changed. No doubt people today are healthier and wealthier than ever before. But people do not seem to be any more virtuous. New technologies have changed the way people live, but violence, torture, terrorism, cruelty, deception, dishonesty, and disrespect continue to threaten how well people live. Wayne Allen argues that while humanity may be ailing, it is not beyond treatment and cure. By embracing ten essential principles rooted in the Bible and putting them into practice it is possible to make people better. Allen takes the reader through a tour of the sad state of moral health of humanity and suggests a remedy. With remarkable humor and sharp insight, Allen will bring readers to an appreciation of how the world can be transformed.

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