Christian high school and college students have inadvertently been led to believe that working in non-Christian settings is the preferred way of making the world a better place. This book takes the opposite view. Anthony Bradley argues that it is perfectly honorable and praiseworthy for Christians to work within Christian contexts to add value to the world. Faith In Society profiles thirteen different explicitly Christian contexts that are alrea ...
This work examines the development of a «dissenting» perspective on the emerging doctrine of the Holy Spirit in Post-Reformation Protestant thought. By «dissenting,» the author means «beyond the mainstream of thought, sometimes affirming but expanding orthodox positions, but at other times pursuing new directions and images of the Spirit.» A new look is offered at the Puritan-Separatist era in English dissenting traditions, as well as organized ...
In Greek, the language of the New Testament, there are four words for love–agape, philia, storge, and eros–but no matter what the Greek word is, the English equivalent is always love. The most used Greek word for love in the NT is agape, the noblest word for self-sacrificial love. The second-most used word for love in the NT is philia, brotherly or sisterly affectionate love between equals. The third word for love in Greek is storge, which refer ...
Gospel in an age devoid of miracles, King: A Mystery is set in the year of Obama's first election, a year of catastrophic floods. Tom King, twin brother of religious leader Joshua King, tells the story of night watchman Arnie Mikesh's investigation of the death and life of Joshua, whose car wreck he discovers on a country road. Joshua King, whose ministry is dedicated to the Spirit he addresses as «Mother,» provokes scorn and occasiona ...
Hymns and the music the church sings are tangible means of expressing worship. And while worship is one of, if not the, central functions of the church along with mission, service, education, justice, and compassion, and occupies a prime focus of our churches, a renewed sense of awareness to our theological presuppositions and cultural cues must be maintained to ensure a proper focus in worship. Hymns and Hymnody: Historical and Theolog ...
This book presents two new proposals regarding Paul's letter to the Galatians. First, it demonstrates an entirely new chiastic structure embracing the entire letter, based on strict linguistic and textual criteria rather than on conceptual or theological themes. This chiastic structure accords with the view that Galatians was originally performed orally in a setting of communal worship. Secondly, it offers a new proposal for a key theme tha ...
Most of the challenges today's church is experiencing were experienced by the early church in New Testament times. Knowing this makes it possible to handle the challenges of today more effectively and in a way in which perplexity gives way to sober and informed attitudes. This book brings to the fore the role human sentiments within relational and ministerial dynamics play in creating problems of strife, rivalry, and unhealthy competition a ...
Your God is too small–way too small! What if God is not a human-like personal being but the God Beyond God of the Christian mystical traditions? What if God is the ultimate reality beyond all beings, including beyond all divine beings, indeed beyond all Being? It's a mind-bending idea. Speaking of God as a human-like personal being is much easier but people who care about the deepest mystical understandings of God within our traditions need ...
Pastors and ministers have one of the most challenging jobs on earth. Of all their tasks, one responsibility they cannot neglect is teaching the word of God. Unfortunately, church leaders seldom have enough time to prepare Bible studies for their congregations. This book is a quick resource to help fill the gap. These thematically arranged Bible studies each contain an introduction to a topic and a list of relevant Scripture readings for that to ...
