Saving Christianity

Author : Michael Youssef
Publisher : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Page : 231 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2020
Category : Christianity
ISBN : 9781496441690

Get Book

Saving Christianity? by Michael Youssef Pdf

A clear and frank exploration of the future of Christianity and whether it needs to be saved. We live in confusing times. Our society has shifted on its moral axis, and many are asking whether Christianity needs to be reinvented--or even reimagined--in order to save it. With Newsweek declaring "The Decline and Fall of Christian America" on its cover and The Daily Beast questioning "Does Christianity Have a Future?" bloggers and Christian commentators are discussing whether we need a "new of kind of Christianity." In Saving Christianity? Dr. Michael Youssef explores this train of thought and its pitfalls. He describes how similar discussions in Christianity's recent past explored the very same question. Saving Christianity? will help you discern what is going on within the church while it reviews the essentials of the Christian faith as described in the Bible. We dare not abandon this "mere faith," as Dr. Youssef describes it, because it is the light for all humanity--and especially for those of us living in today's chaotic times. After reading Saving Christianity? you'll have a renewed confidence in the future of the church and the central place it will occupy for generations to come.

Author : Rita Nakashima Brock,Rebecca Ann Parker
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 588 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Art
ISBN : 0807067504

Get Book

Saving Paradise by Rita Nakashima Brock,Rebecca Ann Parker Pdf

"Saving Paradise" offers a fascinating new lens on the history of Christianity, asking how its early vision of beauty evolved into a vision of torture, and what changes in society and theology marked that evolution.

Author : Hilary Wakeman
Publisher : The Liffey Press
Page : 138 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2012-10-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781908308351

Get Book

Saving Christianity by Hilary Wakeman Pdf

‘I believe, because it is impossible’ (Tertullian, 2nd century) Some of the statements of belief that Christians are required to assent to, such as the Virgin Birth and the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, are driving many of them out of the Catholic and Protestant churches--and preventing new people from coming in. Yet those statements were formulated nearly two thousand years ago, in a time when people understood the world very differently. For over 150 years theologians of all denominations have been warning the Church that, if it is not to become extinct, it needs to look for the truths that lie behind those ancient formulations, and find new ways of presenting them. But their words have been ignored by the church authorities and by priests and ministers, preferring not to disturb the present faith of their congregations. And so the gap between the theologians and the people in the pews continues to widen. Now many Christians are taking their beliefs into their own hands. Increasingly, they are meeting in small groups and communities, without formal leadership and without formal doctrine, ignoring denominational differences yet bringing the best of their various traditions with them. Is this the Christianity of the future? In this book Hilary Wakeman, a recently retired priest in the Church of Ireland, talks about the difference between right-brain and left-brain approaches to faith and religion, and considers some of the ways that the core doctrines of Christianity can be re-stated so that they can be expressed with honesty and integrity.

Author : Anthony Le Donne
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2016-09-20
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310522973

Get Book

Near Christianity by Anthony Le Donne Pdf

This unique book is an exploration of Christianity alongside Jewish guides who are well-studied in and sympathetic to Christianity, but who remain “near Christianity.”Reflecting on his journeys within biblical studies and contemporary Jewish-Christian dialogue, Anthony Le Donne illustrates not only the value but also the necessity of continued Jewish friendship for the Christian life. With the help of Jewish friends and mentors, he presents a deeper and more complex Christian faith, offering readers a better vision of the beauty and genius of Christianity, but also an honest look at its warts and failings. Weaving his own story and personal conversations with Jewish friends, Le Donne, a respected scholar and published author, models how his fellow Christians can avoid blurring the differences between Christianity and Judaism on the one hand and exaggerating them on the other.

Author : Robin R. Meyers
Publisher : Convergent Books
Page : 242 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2020-01-28
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781984822512

Get Book

Saving God from Religion by Robin R. Meyers Pdf

A revelatory manifesto on how we can reclaim faith from abstract doctrines and rigid morals to find God in the joys and ambiguities of everyday life, from the acclaimed author of Saving Jesus from the Church “In this book of stories from four decades of ministry, Meyers powerfully captures what it means to believe in a God who’s revealed not in creeds or morals but in the struggles and beauty of our ordinary lives.”—Richard Rohr, bestselling author of The Universal Christ People across the theological and political spectrum are struggling with what it means to say that they believe in God. For centuries, Christians have seen him as a deity who shows favor to some and dispenses punishment to others according to right belief and correct behavior. But this transactional approach to a God “up there”—famously depicted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—no longer works, if it ever did, leaving an increasing number of Christians upset, disappointed, and heading for the exits. In this groundbreaking, inspiring book, Robin R. Meyers, the senior minister of Oklahoma City’s Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ, shows how readers can move from a theology of obedience to one of consequence. He argues that we need to stop seeing our actions as a means for pleasing a distant God and rediscover how God has empowered us to care for ourselves and the world. Drawing on stories from his decades of active ministry, Meyers captures how the struggles of ordinary people hint at how we can approach faith as a radical act of trust in a God who is all around us, even in our doubts and the moments of life we fear the most.

Author : Rob Bell,Don Golden
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310275633

Get Book

Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell,Don Golden Pdf

Author : Bryan Loritts
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2016-10-11
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310344940

Get Book

Saving the Saved by Bryan Loritts Pdf

White-knuckling can never get you where you want to go. But grace can. You already know because you’ve tried: repeated attempts to earn God’s love and approval get you nowhere and leave you exhausted. When performance taints our relationship with him, the Christian life can turn into an unholy hustle. It was never meant to be like this. In Saving the Saved, Pastor Bryan Loritts reveals the astonishing truth that God doesn’t want your spiritual scorekeeping. He simply wants your surrender. The punchline of the gospel of Matthew is just that—a message of grace and performance-free love to do-good, try-harder Jews who thought they had to earn their way into God’s favor. It’s an ancient message, yet it can be a lifeline to us today as we live in a world of performance metrics. Just as Matthew wrote to the Jews in his gospel, we were never meant to flounder under the pressures and anxieties of show Christianity. Make no mistake: we are called to live in obedience, but Jesus wants us to save us from the illusion that our actions can ever earn God’s acceptance of us. In Pastor Bryan’s relevant, uncompromising style, Saving the Saved proclaims the good news that once the pressure is off to perform, we are free to abide. Beyond the man-made rules and the red tape, there is a God who knows you by name. Come and meet him as you’ve never known him before.

Author : Nadia Marzouki,Duncan McDonnell,Olivier Roy
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2016
Category : Christianity and politics
ISBN : 184904516X

Get Book

Saving the People by Nadia Marzouki,Duncan McDonnell,Olivier Roy Pdf

Critical look at the new wave of right-wing populist movements that are using religion to mobilise people. Western democracies are experiencing a new wave of right-wing populism that seeks to mobilise religion for its own ends. With chapters on the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and Israel, Saving the People asks how populist movements have used religion for their own ends and how church leaders react to them. The authors contend that religion is more about belonging than belief for populists, with religious identities and traditions being deployed to define who can and cannot be part of `the people¿. This in turn helps many populists to claim that native Christian communities are being threatened by a creeping and highly aggressive process of Islamisation, with Muslims becoming a key `enemy of the people¿. While Church elites generally condemn this instrumental use of religions, populists take little heed, presenting themselves as the true saviours of the people. The policy implications of this phenomenon are significant, which makes this book all the more timely and relevant to current debate.

Author : Alvin J. Schmidt
Publisher : Zondervan
Page : 452 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2009-12-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780310862505

Get Book

How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt Pdf

Western civilization is becoming increasingly pluralistic,secularized, and biblically illiterate. Many people todayhave little sense of how their lives have benefited fromChristianity’s influence, often viewing the church withhostility or resentment.How Christianity Changed the World is a topicallyarranged Christian history for Christians and non-Christians. Grounded in solid research and written in apopular style, this book is both a helpful apologetic toolin talking with unbelievers and a source of evidence forwhy Christianity deserves credit for many of thehumane, social, scientific, and cultural advances in theWestern world in the last two thousand years.Photographs, timelines, and charts enhance eachchapter.This edition features questions for reflection anddiscussion for each chapter.

Author : Lawrence Henry Ed.D
Publisher : Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
Page : 106 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2020-09-14
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781098041113

Get Book

Ethiopia by Lawrence Henry Ed.D Pdf

This book is a systemic examination of prophecies and instructions to Ethiopia by God. They show how God used Ethiopia to ensure the continuation of the chosen people, supporting the kingdom of heaven. There are many prophecies and signs specifically referenced to Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people. In many verses, Ethiopia is specifically addressed to come to the aid and/or support prophets spreading Christianity. It would be hard to overstate the impact of Ethiopia on the advancement of Christianity. For example, King Tirhakah, the Ethiopian king of Egypt/Ethiopia, intervened to save Judah in the year 620 BC. This event is well documented in the Bible and other ancient writings. If we fast-forward two thousand years, we find the Ethiopian Church of today that has a membership of between 40 and 46 million; Christians which make up about 60 percent of the total population of the country. Ethiopia was also the first country to declare Christianity a state religion and had never been occupied by a foreign country. This book will explain how God commissioned the Ethiopians to work for the kingdom of God and to spread Christianity geographically and ethically to the ends of the earth. The relationship between God and the Ethiopia people represent the greatest story never told until now. Writing this book was a very difficult task; I relied on the Lord and his wisdom. I was guided by Philippians 1:6: "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." This book represents a story that needed to be told and God-inspired.

Author : Rebecca Ann Parker,Rita Nakashima Brock
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 576 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2008-07-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780807097632

Get Book

Saving Paradise by Rebecca Ann Parker,Rita Nakashima Brock Pdf

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2008 During their first millennium, Christians filled their sanctuaries with images of Christ as a living presence-as a shepherd, teacher, healer, or an enthroned god. He is serene and surrounded by lush scenes, depictions of this world as paradise. Yet once he appeared as crucified, dying was virtually all Jesus seemed able to do, and paradise disappeared from the earth. Saving Paradise turns a fascinating new lens on Christianity, from its first centuries to the present day, asking how its early vision of beauty evolved into a vision of torture, and what changes in society and theology marked that evolution. It also retrieves, for today, a life-affirming Christianity that the world sorely needs.

Author : Morgan Guyton
Publisher : Westminster John Knox Press
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2016-04-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781611646603

Get Book

How Jesus Saves the World from Us by Morgan Guyton Pdf

Christianity has always been about being saved. But today what Christians need saving from most is the toxic understanding of salvation we've received through bad theology. The loudest voices in Christianity today sound exactly like the religious authorities who crucified Jesus. This is a book for Christians who are troubled by what we've become and who want Jesus to save us from the toxic behaviors and attitudes we've embraced. Each of the 12 chapters proposes an antidote for the toxicity that has infiltrated Christian culture, such as "Worship not Performance, "Temple not Program," and "Solidarity not Sanctimony." Each chapter includes thought-provoking discussion questions, perfect for individual or group study. There are many reasons to lose hope about the state of our world and our church, but Guyton offers one piece of good news: Jesus is saving the world from us, one Christian at a time.

Author : Mark I Wallace
Publisher : Fortress Press
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2010-09-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781451413854

Get Book

Green Christianity by Mark I Wallace Pdf

The central message of this book is that religion has a special role to play in saving the planet. Religion has the unique power to fire the imagination and empower the will to break the cycle of addiction to nonrenewable energy. The environmental crisis is a crisis not of the head but of the heart. The problem is not that we do not know how to stop climate change but rather that we lack the inner strength to redirect our culture and economy toward a sustainable future. Only a bold and courageous faith can undergird a long-term commitment to change. This book is a call to hope, not despair--a survey of promising directions and a call for readers to discover meaning and purpose in their lives through a spiritually charged commitment to saving the Earth.

Author : Mike Aquilina,James L. Papandrea
Publisher : Sophia Institute Press
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2019-01-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781622827206

Get Book

How Christianity Saved Civilization by Mike Aquilina,James L. Papandrea Pdf

Ancient Rome’s brutal culture exploited the weak and considered human life expendable. Women were used as property; unwanted children were left on the streets to die. Four centuries later, even ordinary men and women prospered in what had become a vigorous new Christian society – a society that served the vulnerable, exalted women, treasured virtue, and loved peace. Faith had triumphed. Truth was proclaimed. And on this rock-solid foundation, Christian society flourished in the West for the next 1500 years. These eye-opening pages document the many ways in which Christians penetrated and civilized that debased Roman empire, introducing then-radical notions such as the equal dignity of women, respect for life, protection of the weak and vulnerable, and the obligation of rulers to serve those they rule and maximize their freedom. Here you’ll learn about the seven specific areas where any paganism, ancient or modern, is particularly vulnerable. They provide a roadmap for modern Christians to reclaim for the Faith our own neo-pagan modern culture. Facing an overwhelmingly dark and hostile culture, Rome’s early Christians took the steps necessary to transform it. Their struggles and the hard lessons they learned – documented here – afford us hope that, by imitating their example, we may do the same for our culture today.

Author : Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
Publisher : Bloomsbury Academic
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2007-06-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0826428304

Get Book

Saving Christianity From Empire by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer Pdf

U.S. foreign policy today, as presented in official documents and carried out in Iraq, Afghanistan, and an ill-defined "war on terrorism," commits the United States to seek global domination through the unilateral exercise of military power. Critics and supporters of this policy rightly describe it in reference to empire. Saving Christianity from Empire examines four central themes. First, the book describes the nuts and bolts of present U.S. foreign policy, including the philosophical foundations and practical policy options used to justify and pursue empire. Second, the author asserts that empire distorts Christianity, especially in the U.S. context —one in which many Christians passively or actively support U.S. global domination through the exercise of unilateral military power, in opposition to the radical nonviolence of Jesus. In the U.S. imperial context, some combination of fear, patriotism, propaganda, and distorted theology results in broad-based support among Christians for policies that are dramatically opposed to authentic Christianity rooted in the life and faith of Jesus. In short, this theme addresses how the U.S. Empire subverts and distorts Christianity. Third, Saving Christianity from Empire describes empire as a key biblical theme. It explores three conflicting biblical streams, one that embraces or aspires to empire, one that portrays opposition to empire as essential for authentic faith, and another that explains imperial domination of Israel-Palestine as deserved punishment for sin. Finally, Saving Christianity from Empire explores the radical nonviolence of Jesus, the nuts and bolts of nonviolent power and nonviolent social change theory and practice, and the practical challenges to Christians living in an imperial nation now understood by many people throughout the world to be the gravest threat to world peace.