Is it time to get rid of religion? Not so fast, says Ryan Ahlgrim. It's time for us to define and demand healthy faith. Despite the dysfunction and divisiveness seen too often in religion, we continue to need a community of love, and we yearn for a transcendent encounter that can heal us. So instead of abandoning religion, Ahlgrim outlines twelve characteristics of a healthy religious community, and describes what a healthy Christian commun ...
"Whether it is described as recovering treasures of gold, removing the clouds to reveal the clearest and bluest of skies, replacing fast food with delectable and healthy cuisine, or coming out of the valley to behold the most amazing Alpine splendor, rediscovering the glorious biblical truths which were recovered during the Reformation is extraordinarily liberating and invigorating." The biblical teachings of the Protestant Reformat ...
This book is an exposition of the basic themes of the work of Miroslav Volf, the Yale ecumenical theologian who has written much about the ethics of embrace, life worth living and human flourishing, and my personal reflections on these themes. The volume is the first of its kind. So far there has been no attempt to systematize Volf's theology and ethics. However, the book is not just a simple description of Volf's work. It tries to mer ...
The author's focus and intention for this book was provoked by several stimuli. One is that more than 50 percent of the world's population is under twenty-five years of age, and for the most part not formed by the church. Secondly, in the coffee shop where he hangs out, when his conversation partners learn of his long career as a pastor, they inevitably ask about the church: «What in the world is the church? What is its purpose?» And t ...
"I'm rich and I don't need a thing," bragged the early Christians in the big city of Laodicea. The Apostle John, however, saw their affluence and arrogance through a theological lens. He declared them to be bankrupt, «lukewarm Christians» whom God would gladly gargle and spit out. Today, the mainline church in the West finds itself in a dominant culture of Laodicean affluence, where even faith is a commodity to be consumed. While ...
Utilizing the techniques of narratology and literary analysis, this study examines the foundational biblical text of Genesis to develop the theology of ordinary human work that emerges from it. The study offers a history of Christian theologies of human work as well as a unique approach to both the topic of work and the literary structure of Genesis. The emerging concept of blessing rather than achievement provides a refreshing and yet practical ...
What The Vatican Doesn't Want You To Know:The lies. The conspiracies. The cover-ups. The truth. Deep behind the walls of the world's holiest site is a dense network of lies, corruption, and conspiracies fueling the Vatican's vast and unchecked influence on world events. From the Holy Orders that defied the commandment «Thou Shalt Not Kill» to the scandals splashed across international headlines, the Vatican is no longer shrouded ...
