LITMIR.BIZ

The time is ripe for a new Christian reformation–a profound transformation of theological substance, not just liturgical style. Jesus never intended to create a new religion of rites, creeds, and dogma that offered an eternal reward in heaven. Instead he announced the subversive arrival of the kingdom of God–a social and economic revolution of the heart based on a lifestyle of radical love, lavish generosity, extravagant forgiveness, inclusive hospitality, compassionate action, selfless service, a passion for justice, creative nonviolence, and simple living. He invited his followers to transform their lives and change the world.
A postmodern Christianity will call people to engage in the Jesus revolution–a conspiracy of love that rises up against the unjust systems of the world through everyday acts of kindness, compassion, and resistance. An Unorthodox Faith provides a framework for a faithful life based on the Way of Jesus–a way of living authentically and humanely for the sake of others. It offers countless people–those who remain in the church, those who have left, and those who have never ventured near–with a life of faith that is meaningful, intelligent, and passionate.

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Globally we seem torn between local, exclusive forms of religion, which can cause immense spiritual and physical damage to people, and a bland secularism that confines the religions to safe havens, each offering its own private options for «spirituality» within a secularized global politic. In this context the religions tolerate one another but cannot engage in mutually challenging and transforming dialogue.
Thompson argues that it is only through dialogue that the distinctive truths of the faiths emerge. Moving beyond the threefold paradigm that has limited dialogue, and challenging modern secularism and postmodern relativism alike, he argues for a dialogue-based realism that is rooted in the Christian doctrines of creation and Trinity.
Turning to recent theological approaches, Thompson both affirms and criticizes narrative and postliberal theologies, liberation theology, and the revival of negative theology. The transfiguration of Jesus provides a model for the way theology proceeds in dialogue, from an initial naivety, through metaphysical construction and deconstruction, to a new metaphorical «interillumination.» Thompson sets forth a utopian hope for «the interreligious city of God, shining with the divine, interilluminative rainbow light reflected from the many faiths, including the secular faith.»

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This book is a collection of revised-and-updated essays about the Hebrew Bible written by a North American scholar over a period of several decades. Subdivided into three parts–Torah, Prophecy/Apocalyptic, and Wisdom–these seventeen essays attempt to model for younger scholars and students what the discipline of biblical interpretation can look like, attending carefully to literary, historical, canonical, and comparative intertextual methods of investigation.

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Fills a Need: For biblically based, thoroughly researched plays for a general audience.
Is Fun: Laugh as members of the body of Christ sing and dance their way into your church. See others–and maybe yourself!–in the kindness of Heart, the gossip of Ear, the pride of Head, and the independence of Eye.
Honors Women: Lets Mary tell Joseph of the angel Gabriel's visit. Recognizes Elizabeth's importance; she tells Luke 1 from her perspective.
Is Funny: Human beings get in fixes and messes. Watch how God–with gentleness, humor, and tough love–delivers his people time and again.
Encourages Participation: Suitable for actors ages nine to ninety-nine!
Fosters Dialogue: Each play ends with Questions for Discussion.
Shows Theology in the Making: Do theology the Godly way–with boots on the ground! Consider this evangelism model: The disciples have just seen the risen Lord Jesus ascend into heaven and can't wait to tell all Jerusalem!
Invites Imagination: The characters in Proverbs gather in the marketplace and tell Simple Youth, a first-year university student, about their lifestyles. Which will he follow?
Promotes This Concept: We all play our lives on stage to an audience of One: God.

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Did Jesus rise physically from the dead, or did he rise as a real, non-bodily apparition, like those reported in the parapsychological literature? In this book, which is the first book-length examination of the question in over fifty years, Jake O'Connell argues in favor of the physical resurrection hypothesis. In order to do so, he employs Bayes' Theorem, a mathematical theorem which encapsulates the way humans think when they analyze the probability of a hypothesis. In addition, he provides a thorough overview of the evidence for the reality of apparitions of the dead.

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In these times of increasingly contentious politics and uncivil discourse in the United States, the ongoing encounter of adherents of the Abrahamic faiths in the American heartland offers a model of positive interfaith relations. Edited by a Muslim, a Jew, and a Christian, this volume describes the three goals of the Central Ohio Abrahamic encounter: Enhancing mutual understanding and relationships, disseminating accurate information about the three major Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), and contributing to the general betterment of society. Here is a local story that can inform–even inspire–other communities across the country and around the globe. Topics include beliefs, scripture and interpretation, historical illustrations and legacies, contemporary challenges and possibilities, and group dynamics, especially majority-minority relationships among American Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
This volume will appeal to the growing audience for interfaith resources. The inclusion of several essays by noted religious scholars and leaders, chosen for their significance to the Central Ohio Abrahamic encounter, sets this volume apart from other publications on local initiatives. It is well suited for individual or group study in churches, synagogues, mosques, and interfaith organizations, and can be assigned for undergraduate and graduate/seminary courses on Abrahamic relations or interfaith relations generally.

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Rock and roll is more than just music. Rock is a culture and an ideology, which carries its own ethos. It is forcefully countercultural and exists as a bane in the sight of dominant Western culture. As rock engages and critiques culture, it invariably encounters issues of meaning that are existential and theological. A transformational theology of rock begins with those existential and theological issues raised by and within rock music. With God On Our Side attempts to respond to these queries in a way that is faithful to the work of the kingdom of God on earth by mining our long theological tradition and seeing what cohesive responses can be made to the issues raised by rock music. At its best, rock acknowledges there is something wrong with the world, raises awareness of marginalized voices, and offers an alternative mode of existence within our present reality. By teasing out the theological issues found in rock music, this book synthesizes the findings to create a distinctive cultural theology that is sensitive to the plight of the marginalized in the West. In this way, the book offers a way forward towards a transformational theology of rock and roll.

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An Artistic Approach to New Testament Literature is a first introductory textbook for late high school or college students and would serve well in a freshman experience course. Historical criticism informs the background commentary. Biblical texts are described according to the formal art elements of form, line, color, and texture. Other artistic terms such as perspective and focal point are used to characterize biblical passages. Thought-provoking questions and art projects are provided for exploration in the foreground or in the world in front of the text. This book is a bridge between church and academy. If church leaders or teachers have questions for the author, they are invited to contact her through e-mail at [email protected].

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In The Legend of the Anti-Christ, Stephen Vicchio offers a concise and historical approach to the history of the idea of the Anti-Christ, including precursors to the idea, the development of the idea in the New Testament, as well as the understandings of the legend of the Anti-Christ in the history of Christianity. Vicchio also raises the question of why there is so much emphasis in the modern world about the idea.

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To have known Adrian van Kaam in person is to have loved him for reasons human and spiritual. His kindness to everyone is as legendary as his fidelity to the mystery in all the peaks and valleys of daily life. His humility is the fire that enkindles his original vision of formative spirituality. His gentle, joyful spirit radiates on every page of this retelling of his life story. In it he takes us to the heart of his thinking in the fields of psychology and spiritual formation. He welcomes us wholeheartedly into the intimate corners of his family, his friendships, and his pastoral and professional life. He brings us into a little known arena of world history, the infamous Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944–1945. We travel with him from that bleak period through the renewal of his life's work in the United States to its crowning phase in the Epiphany Association, co-founded with his colleague and editor of this unforgettable work of love, Dr. Susan Muto.

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