According to Hebrews, the Son of God appeared to «break the power of him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil–and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.» What does it mean to be enslaved, all our lives, to the fear of death? And why is this fear described as «the power of the devil»? And most importantly, how are we–as individuals and as faith communities–to be set free from this slavery to death? ...
Human beings have to ask how faith is possible, in this mixed world of trouble and joy. A safe universe with no scope for adversity would be a mechanical toy, not a creation. A glorious universe will be a place where troubles have eventually been overcome. Christians believe in one God, who is three Persons. God the heavenly Father took the risk of making a real world, full of living people capable of happiness. Jesus Christ, God the Son ...
Beauchamp and Childress's Principles of Biomedical Ethics is a well-accepted approach to contemporary bioethics. Those principles are based on what Beauchamp and Childress call the common morality. This book employs New Testament theological themes to enhance the meaning of those principles of bioethics. The primary New Testament text for this study is the twin commands from Jesus to love God and love one's neighbor. The three theologi ...
Luke's narrative of Jesus was presented to Christians who had already heard and read stories of Jesus and the birth of this new movement, Christianity. Luke seemed to rewrite the story of Jesus similar to ancient epics of the history of a nation, a movement, and the tale of a hero. Jesus and the church emerged in occupied Judea, a nation that was not only oppressed but was in exile. Occupied Judea, however, struggled for power and honor and ...
Does social justice promote Christian unity? With reference to paragraph 12 of Unitatis Redintegratio–Vatican II's declaration on ecumenism–this book argues that an emphasis on justice and unity without proper consideration of social context actually risks obscuring a clear public declaration of Christ, by having Christians uncritically accept the presumptions that underpin the sociopolitical status quo. This constitutes a failure in Christ ...
Rosario Picardo was a recently divorced and slightly jaded ex-Marine when he heeded God's call to plant «a church for broken people.» This book chronicles the struggles and triumphs of Embrace Church, from its beginnings in his basement as a rare urban church plant to a multi-campus congregation that reaches hundreds of folks broken by poverty, burned by Christians, and in need of healing grace. By telling his story, Picardo hopes to inform ...
Joe Jones, a retired and well-known systematic theologian, confesses he has a lover's quarrel with the church. In wide-ranging writings mostly dating since 2006, he forthrightly argues for a theologically sound understanding of the church. And he pursues a multi-faceted critique of the feckless ways in which actual churches–ministers and laity–balk and betray their rightful calling to witness in word and deed to God. He is especially critic ...
Readers of the Bible rarely, if ever, turn to the book of Revelation for comfort or assurance in hard times. In fact, many popular interpretations of Revelation today focus on predicting a terrifying future that leaves many unsettled and disconnected from John's original message to the seven churches, many of whom were suffering persecution under the Roman Empire. Revelation encouraged its original readers to persevere as they wait ...
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But it's no secret that the Christian church is «broke,» and does need fixing. Despite great effort, things are going badly for us. We've tried trendy and tech-savvy, entrepreneurial and coffee-house gritty. They're not helping. Our problem is deeper than that. Our problem is our instincts–instincts informed by our story. There was a time when the Christian church was a p ...