Saving Christianity From Empire

Author : Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
Publisher : Bloomsbury Academic
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2007-06-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0826428304

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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.

Author : Rita Nakashima Brock,Rebecca Ann Parker
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 588 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Art
ISBN : 0807067504

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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 : Rebecca Ann Parker,Rita Nakashima Brock
Publisher : Beacon Press
Page : 709 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2008-07-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780807097632

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Saving Paradise by Rebecca Ann Parker,Rita Nakashima Brock Pdf

A fascinating theological study of how early Christianity’s message of love and community has evolved into one of punishment and empire 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 : Mike Aquilina,James Leonard Papandrea
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2019-01-17
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1622827198

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How Christianity Saved Civilization and Must Do So Again by Mike Aquilina,James Leonard 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 : Rob Bell,Don Golden
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780310275633

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

Author : Mike Aquilina,James L. Papandrea
Publisher : Sophia Institute Press
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2019-01-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781622827206

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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 : Thomas Cahill
Publisher : Anchor
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2010-04-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9780307755131

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How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill Pdf

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A book in the best tradition of popular history—the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe. • The perfect St. Patrick's Day gift! Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars"—and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians. In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era. Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization -- copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost—they brought their uniquely Irish world-view to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated. In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, How The Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Joe Thomas
Page : 19 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2024-06-07
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Reviews in Theology and Mission by Anonim Pdf

Author : Helen Rhee
Publisher : Baker Books
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2012-11-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781441238641

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Loving the Poor, Saving the Rich by Helen Rhee Pdf

The issue of wealth and poverty and its relationship to Christian faith is as ancient as the New Testament and reaches even further back to the Hebrew Scriptures. From the beginnings of the Christian movement, the issue of how to deal with riches and care for the poor formed an important aspect of Christian discipleship. This careful study shows how early Christians adopted, appropriated, and transformed the Jewish and Greco-Roman moral teachings and practices of giving and patronage. As Helen Rhee illuminates the early Christian understanding of wealth and poverty, she shows how it impacted the formation of Christian identity. She also demonstrates the ongoing relevance of early Christian thought and practice for the contemporary church.

Author : Michael Frost
Publisher : NavPress
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2018-09-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781631468537

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Keep Christianity Weird by Michael Frost Pdf

Jesus is different. Go and do likewise. Many Christians have become comfortable letting the world mold them instead of being set apart by God. And many churches have traded in their biblical roots for complacent conventionality. But Jesus and the church are anything but conventional. The hallmark of our faith is that it sees the world differently than the world sees itself. We are called to be eccentric—off center, unique, different; not conformed to the patterns of the world but transformed by the renewing of our minds. By the grace of God we are not only dissatisfied by sin but increasingly uncompelled by conventionality. So resist the allure of acceptability. Get back to the unsafe roots of our faith. Be equipped to surprise the world with the Good News it didn’t even know it was waiting for. Challenge the way things are by living a life that has been truly set free by Christ.

Author : Dave Bland
Publisher : Chalice Press
Page : 194 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2007-05
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780827230958

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Preaching the Sermon on the Mount by Dave Bland Pdf

This collection of essays and sermons challenges us to consider the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus' serious proposal for an alternative society, a speech of resistance to the forces and institutions that dominate the world. This two-part volume brings together the thoughts of biblical scholars and storytellers, theologians and historians, and evangelical and mainline scholars. Eighteen writers tackle Jesus' landmark sermon, as timely in today's discussions of empire, occupation, poverty, and wars as ever. They demonstrate that the Sermon on the Mount puts before us not an impossible ideal, but a vision of what God's people can be when they choose by God's grace to live in God's Kingdom. Contributors include: editors David Fleer and Dave Bland, Ronald J. Allen, Chris Altrock , Lee C. Camp, Charles Campbell, Warren Carter, Jeff Christian, Dennis Dewey, Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Hughes, Kenneth R. Greene, Lucy Lind Hogan, Charme Robarts, Rubel Shelly, John Siburt, Dean Smith, and Jerry Taylor.

Author : Howard-Brook, Wes
Publisher : Orbis Books
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2016-09-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781608336586

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Empire Baptized by Howard-Brook, Wes Pdf

Through a study of the early church, this book shows how Christianity in effect opted for the religion of empire, shifting the emphasis of Jesus's prophetic message from transforming the world to the aim of saving one's soul.

Author : Viggo Mortensen,Andreas Osterund Nielsen
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 323 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2010-12-17
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780802866301

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Walk Humbly with the Lord by Viggo Mortensen,Andreas Osterund Nielsen Pdf

In June of 1910, delegates gathered in Edinburgh for the first World Missionary Conference. One hundred years later, the 2010 Church and Mission in a Multireligious Third Millennium conference sought to reconcile a century of seismic shifts in the worldwide landscape of the church with its ongoing mandate to make disciples of all nations. Arising out of that recent conference, Walk Humbly with the Lord presents a broad, multinational spectrum of contemporary approaches to both theology and missiology. Recognizing that the old Western notion of Christendom which formed the cultural backdrop of Edinburgh 1910 is now long obsolete, the book s twenty-seven forward-thinking contributors respond to globalization and the enormous growth of religious pluralism worldwide, offering reflections on the future of missiology and the relationship of church and mission. Together they speculate about the possible shape of Christianity in a multireligious age, as God works out new and unforeseen schemes in the reconciliation of the world. I wish I could have been at the conference from which this book comes! Viggo Mortensen and Andreas Nielsen have assembled a marvelous collection of reflections on mission that will be especially helpful to Christians committed to living faithfully and missionally in today s pluralistic world. If a new postsecular reality is emerging, as some are saying, these essays will help the church be a sign of hope and stability in such a new age. Stephen Bevans, SVD Catholic Theological Union, Chicago

Author : Alan Ingram
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2016-04-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781317051695

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Spaces of Security and Insecurity by Alan Ingram Pdf

Drawing on critical geopolitics and related strands of social theory, this book combines new case studies with theoretical and methodological reflections on the geographical analysis of security and insecurity. It brings together a mixture of early career and more established scholars and interprets security and the war on terror across a number of domains, including: international law, religion, migration, development, diaspora, art, nature and social movements. At a time when powerful projects of globalization and security continue to extend their reach over an increasingly wide circle of people and places, the book demonstrates the relevance of critical geographical imaginations to an interrogation of the present.

Author : Paul Allard
Publisher : St. Vladimir's Seminary Press
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Christianity and culture
ISBN : 0881415626

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Christianity and the Roman Empire from Nero to Theodosius by Paul Allard Pdf

Several emperors persecuted the Christians: Nero, Domitian, Marcus Aurelius, Sulpicius, Decius, Valerian, and especially Diocletian, who unleashed "the great prosecution" from 303 to 312. Diocletian's Persecution Edict stated that all churches throughout the empire were to be destroyed and all sacred books burned. Many Christians lost their social rank and privileges, while Christian slaves could not be freed. In some places, the Christians were tortured, beheaded, exiled, or sent to the beasts. But the Church found defenders in the second-century apologists, such as Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch, and Tertullian, who argued that the persecutions were illegal and unjust. Tertulllian's statement became axiomatic: "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians." When Constantine converted from "sun worship" to Christianity in 310, he prepared the ground for the Byzantine state. Christianity was recognized as a lawful religion in 313. But much more lay in store for the early Church, including the tumultuous years of Emperor Julian, who sought to return the empire to the worship of the old gods, and initiated repressive measures against Christians. Only in 380 did Theodosius I make Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire. The history of the persecutions reminds us that the spread of Christianity took place against considerable opposition. In our own day, Christians face another kind of test in a world that is increasingly seclarized. Allard's book offers timely reminders of how early Christians maintained their identity as a minority in the midst of official suspicion. -- from back cover.