LITMIR.BIZ

Theologians are constantly accused of only speaking in theories, positing arguments to be considered by the mind with little bearing on the practicalities of life. This view is both blinkered and generally unjust, but it is also the case that some fit that description without perhaps realizing it. Chris Woodall argues that doctrine is not only a compelling tool but also a critical one, without which we would struggle to understand God's purpose or our place in it.
The atonement is not a subject that lends itself easily to being considered from a merely philosophical perspective. After all, how could you possibly present the atonement as being necessary, real, and beneficial without that presentation impinging on its practical application? In this book, Woodall seeks to treat the subject matter as a valid hermeneutic by which our understanding of the whole of Scripture may be greatly enhanced. Thus, the concept of the atonement must be seen as both a continuous thread in the Bible and a key to unlocking some of its secrets.

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This book is about exploring and presenting a model of digital-based curriculum for Christian education suitable for the digital ways of learning, communicating, and thinking. Park discusses the limitations of analog-based curricula, most of current curricula, and necessities for digital-oriented ones. Then, he provides a new model of curriculum–curriculum as software. Curriculum as software is a curricular framework for embracing digital culture like open-flat network, service-centered management, interactive communication, and offline-online hybrid learning space. It consists of four spiral stages: analysis, design, simulation, and service. In the process of designing units, 4R Movement–a new learning theory–is utilized to encourage today's young people to construct their own knowledge after critically analyzing various resources of information. 4R-embeded courses are implemented in the four movements: reflection, reinterpretation, re-formation, and re-creation.

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As a pastor and Secretary General of the Protestant Church of the Netherlands, Arjan Plaisier has a good observation point to observe the growing secularism of the Western world, including the widespread disenchantment with the church. Whatever the reason for this malaise, the individual without true religion is really standing on the edge of a spiritual abyss; such a life is one without purpose beyond the day-by-day episodes that constitute an amoral jaunt through the world. Thus, the church is the one institution everyone needs to take seriously. It is the institution that most effectively challenges the idols of our day, provides meaningful community, and urgently addresses the ultimate issues of life. God is the generous and ultimate source of truth, goodness, and beauty. God, in turn, pleads for a response from his creatures. Deep Calls Unto Deep is a book which, laced with creative metaphors, provides much practical wisdom for aligning our present lives with the larger purposes of God's great narrative. The decision to join this high drama, as Plaisier says, can lie as close as our front door.

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It is not possible to look at the ministry of Jesus without noticing his concern for the poor and the sick. He not only had a huge sense of compassion for people who were suffering, but sent people out to heal the sick and tell them the Kingdom of God is near them. This concern for health and wholeness has inspired Christians through the ages as they have cared for the sick, founded hospitals, and been at the forefront of public health movements.
In the nineteenth century, the church was one of the major influencers in initiating ministries of health, both through the work of its own deaconesses and the involvement of its members as they felt a sense of vocation to nursing and public health work. Florence Nightingale was a theologian and statistician as well as being a nurse leader. However, with the advent of state health provision and private health insurance schemes, the role of the local church in health has diminished.
This book describes a simple way for churches to re-engage with health ministry and presents evidence that underlines not only a Biblical authenticity for its place in the mission of a local church, but also a compelling rationale for its implementation. It will be of interest to church leaders and all those involved in health care.

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What if Jesus is smarter than we think? What if we valued his words like we do other great literature? What if we shrugged off shallow interpretations and looked for cohesive and purposeful insight from the mind of a master communicator? Might we come to a deeper understanding of his vision for humanity? This book attempts to do just that and shows us that the Sermon on the Mount is not just beautiful and profound, it also remains controversial and revolutionary in ways we have forgotten.

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This volume of correspondence contains exchanges written between Lloyd Cline Sears (1895-1986) and Pattie Hathaway Armstrong (1899-1977), two influential leaders in early educational efforts of the Churches of Christ. Spanning the years 1915 to 1921, the letters document their writers' romance, but they are more than simply love letters. They also express an educational philosophy and an understanding of Christian purpose as inspired by the Stone-Campbell Movement and held in tension with the intellectual and social ferment of the times. Posts from family members J. N. and Ida Woodson (Harding) Armstrong as well as from Pattie Cobb Harding, wife of James A. Harding, augment those of the principle authors. Their correspondence allows rare access to privately expressed thoughts of men and women attempting to live as Christian educators at the outset of an uncertain and rapidly changing twentieth century. The letters also offer lessons for contemporary American Christians in these even more volatile times.

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If the New Testament represents the crown jewels of Christianity, the Gospel of John is its «pearl of great price,» the most beloved, most read, most quoted, most distinctive, most memorable, most debated book in its canon.
Truth Revealed is ideal for individual and group study. It divides the Gospel of John into twelve units, providing helpful introductory features, summaries, learning objectives, and questions for each unit, and concludes by offering perspective on a specific topic that arises as one follows the narrative, always with an eye on the big picture, namely, guidance for daily living.
Few sayings attributed to Jesus are better known or more widely quoted than the words «You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free» (John 8:32). At his trial before Pilate, Jesus declared that his purpose in life was to witness to the truth. Pilate responds with the Gospel's most memorable question: «What is truth?» The answer is explored in Truth Revealed, a commentary that provides literary, theological, historical, and textual guidelines for understanding the message of this ancient work in a way that is accessible and applicable to twenty-first century readers.

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A Convergent Model of Renewal addresses a perceived crisis for faith traditions. How do we continue to value tradition while allowing for innovative and contextual expressions of faith to emerge? How do we foster deeper participation and decentralization of power rather than entrenched institutionalism? Drawing on insights from contemporary philosophy, contextual theology, and participatory culture, C. Wess Daniels calls for a revitalization of faith traditions. In A Convergent Model of Renewal he proposes a model that holds together both tradition and innovation in ways that foster participatory change. This convergent model of renewal is then applied to two case studies based in the Quaker tradition: one from the early part of the tradition and the second from an innovative community today. The model, however, is capable of being implemented and adapted by communities with various faith backgrounds.

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The Lord's Prayer holds an honored place in the worship and devotional practices of countless Christians around the world. People of every ethnic background, denominational affiliation, and theological leaning pray to «Our Father who art in heaven.» But what if there's more to it than we think? Our Father Who Aren't in Heaven takes a decidedly this-worldly approach to the prayer, and seeks to understand what Jesus meant to teach his original disciples–and us–through this radical manifesto of the kingdom of God. In these pages, Robert S. Turner presents a political reading of the prayer and explores how we can encounter through it a God who has left the divine hammock empty and cast God's lot with humanity and the rest of creation. A renewed understanding of the prayer may have the capacity to transform the world. These subversive reflections on the Lord's Prayer may have the capacity to transform the reader as well.

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We live in a world with many religious traditions. People in these traditions believe that their religious view of life embodies what is important, true, and real. Their religious views of life, however, differ significantly. They can't all capture equally what is important, true, and real. This book seeks to unravel this dilemma. It rejects two approaches to address the problem: First, the view that one religious view of life is the absolute, unique product of revelation, and second, the view that the foundation of all religious views of life is the same–that they are all the product of religious experiences of the same religious ultimate. This ultimate is sometimes called Being-Itself, sometimes the One. Under the second view, the differences between them are considered cultural. Making Sense of Religion shows us that religious views of life are often radically different, and these differences are not just cultural, but substantive. This book explores the hidden logic beneath the surface of religious views of life that holds them together and helps explain their differences. What follows is a way presenting, comparing, defending, and criticizing religious views of life. This is a type of theology.

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