What does it mean to be a small missional community in a deeply secularized society? Drawing on a wide range of practical insight with mission in one of the most secular contexts of the West, Pilgrims and Priests blends this experience with a thorough analysis of relevant biblical, historical, sociological, theological and spiritual sources that bear relevance to missional identity in the challenging circumstances presented by the secular West. It presents a hopeful perspective, rooted in a realistic appraisal of reality and rich theological reflections. The result is an important resource for thinkers, practitioners and all who are fascinated by the future of Christianity in the West.

In this absorbing history, Henry Warner Bowden chronicles the encounters between native Americans and the evangelizing whites from the period of exploration and colonization to the present. He writes with a balanced perspective that pleads no special case for native separatism or Christian uniqueness. Ultimately, he broadens our understanding of both intercultural exchanges and the continuing strength of American Indian spirituality, expressed today in Christian forms as well as in revitalized folkways.
Bowden makes a radical departure from the traditional approach. Drawing on the theories and findings of anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, he presents Indian-missionary relations as a series of cultural encounters, the outcomes of which were determined by the content of native beliefs, the structure of native religious institutions, and external factors such as epidemic diseases and military conflicts, as well as by the missionaries' own resources and abilities. The result is a provocative, insightful historical essay that liberates a complex subject from the narrow perimeters of past discussions and accords it an appropriate richness and complexity. . . . For anyone with an interest in Indian-missionary relations, from the most casual to the most specialized, this book is the place to begin.--Neal Salisbury, Theology Today
If one wishes to read a concise, thought-provoking ethnohistory of Indian missions, 1540-1980, this is it. Henry Warner Bowden's history, perhaps for the first time, places the sweep of Christian evangelism fully in the context of vigorous, believable, native religions.--Robert H. Keller, Jr., American Historical Review

La question ecologique inquiete les ecologistes et les climato-septiques. Sans se confondre, avec eux, le theologien Augustin Kalamba propose a travers ce livre une " ecologie theo-logique ". Fondee sur la cosmologie du salut d'Adolphe Gesche et l'ecologie integrale du pape Francois, elle est un projet spirituel d'ordre superieur qui, partant d'une approche phenomenologique de la crise ecologique, reaffirme la responsabilite de " l'homme-parlant-de-Dieu-dans-la-foi " dans le projet du salut du cosmos. L'homme est invite a redecouvrir l'identite eco-theologique du monde comme " creation " et " maison commune " afin de le cultiver, labourer, proteger, et sauve-garder avec gratitude et dans la serenite qui vient de la foi en un Dieu Createur du ciel et de la terre, de l'univers visible et invisible.

Mit der neuzeitlichen Sakularisierung verliert auch der Protestantismus seinen Volkskirchencharakter. Das hat eine Neuorientierung zur Folge. An die Stelledes theistischen Gottesbildes tritt das Paradox vom 'abwesenden' Gott. Der Autor interpretiert das Glaubensparadox als Widerfahrnis von Befreiung und Verpflichtung durch den Anderen in der 'Spur' Gottes. Er diskutiert diese fur die Zivilgesellschaft relevanten Potentiale mit Feministischer Theologie, mit der Umgestaltung des Erloesungschristentums in einen Protestantismus der Versoehnung mit unserer Endlichkeit und der Schoepfungswelt. Vom methodischen Gesichtspunkt wahlt der Autor einen phanomenologisch-dekonstruktiven Ansatz im Gesprach mit Bonhoeffer, Nancy, Levinas und mit der protestantischen Tradition.

Das Buch befasst sich mit der Frage, welche Bedeutung einem ehelosen Leben zukommt und vertritt die These, dass die Ehelosigkeit in den synoptischen Evange-lien immer eng mit der Nachfolge Jesu verbunden sei. Die Autorin untersucht diese Frage anhand neutestamentlicher Zeugnisse. Als Ausgangspunkt dient die lukanische Fassung des Gesprachs Jesu mit den Sadduzaern (Lk 20,27-40). Die Autorin analysiert, unter welchem Einfluss und aus welchem Grund das Lukasevangelium eine veranderte Fassung des ersten Teils der Antwort Jesu im Gesprach mit den Sadduzaern schildert, was diese AEnderung bedeutet und wie diese interpretiert werden soll.

In 1925, Elsie Cuthbertson sailed to China to become a missionary. She met and married Clifford Cook, also a missionary. Enduring hostility when the Chinese shouted ""Yang kuei tsi"" ("foreign devils") at them in the street, they knew the dangers of the changing political spectrum. Under the Kuomintang, anti-Western demonstrations were common. They had to escape by barge, return and flee again from the Japanese invasion by hitching a ride in an American pilot's plane. They suffered poverty, lack of medical care and the death of their own infants from lack of hygiene with remarkable equanimity. A record of values and times forever gone.

Raymond Cook, born in China, is the son of Elsie and Clifford Cook.

Die vorliegende Arbeit moechte zeigen, wie Karl Barth in seiner Auseinandersetzung mit dem Religionsbegriff zu den Thesen 'Religion als Unglaube' und 'die christliche Religion als die einzig wirkliche und wahre Religion' in der Kirchlichen Dogmatik (KD) 17 - Gottes Offenbarung als Aufhebung der Religion -gelangt. Sie beschaftigt sich mit Barths AEusserungen zum Verhaltnis von Religion und Wahrheit im Zeitraum von 1909 bis 1938 und richtet sich auf die konstruktive Rolle von 'Religion' und damit auf die Frage, welche argumentative Rolle und Funktion Barth dem Religionsbegriff zuweist. Daruber hinaus koennte die konstruktive Rolle von 'Religion' in Barths Theologie der zeitgenoessischen Religionswissenschaft eine neue Perspektive eroeffnen.

The average length of Jesus' conversations as recorded in the Gospels was 42 seconds long. This is good news for all of us. It frees us up to talk about the most important part of our lives in a way that's natural, meaningful, and helpful instead of clumsy, awkward, and irrelevant.

Anyone who has spent countless uncomfortable hours walking from house to house with a clipboard or flash cards that talk about four spiritual laws understands.

Jesus' conversations were remarkably simple. Contemporary Christian lingo has set up a dichotomy between what we call "discipleship" and "evangelism," but the Bible doesn't do that. Jesus had conversations all the time with those who thought they were close to God, as well as with those who deemed themselves lost and without hope. He invited all of them to come and learn from Him.

42 Seconds is a simple book that uses the ordinary moments of our lives the way Jesus used the same moments in his own. The premise is straightforward: If we can learn from Jesus how to have great conversations, it will change our lives and the lives of those around us. Its four-part structure, including five short chapters per section, is for churches and small groups to engage with the practical ideas together. 42 Seconds includes discussion questions to help groups and individuals implement Jesus' natural rhythm of interaction in their own lives.

So you're on fire, you want to make a difference, you want to change the world...but how? Signing up for a service project or mission trip is a great first step. But you probably have a lot of questions. Are you ready for the different cultures you may encounter? How are you going to really connect with the people you serve? And what about when you come home-how do you make sense of all the things you've experienced? Will any of it make a lasting difference for anyone? It turns out that if you really want to change the world, you have to change too. The only way that's going to happen is if you spend time before, during, and after your trip preparing for and processing your work. This Journal will help you think about: * Why you're going * The people you're serving * Your relationship with your teammates * How God factors into your service project * The impact your experience has had on you * How you can keep making a difference back at home If you think you're fired up to serve now, just wait! This hands-on Journal will equip you to serve in a way that sticks-both for you and those you serve. * How you can keep making a difference back at home If you think you're fired up to serve now, just wait! This hands-on Journal will equip you to serve in a way that sticks-both for you and those you serve.

In Revivals, Awakenings, and Reform, McLoughlin draws on psychohistory, sociology, and anthropology to examine the relationship between America's five great religious awakenings and their influence on five great movements for social reform in the United States. He finds that awakenings (and the revivals that are part of them) are periods of revitalization born in times of cultural stress and eventuating in drastic social reform. Awakenings are thus the means by which a people or nation creates and sustains its identity in a changing world.
This book is sensitive, thought-provoking and stimulating. It is 'must' reading for those interested in awakenings, and even though some may not revise their views as a result of McLoughlin's suggestive outline, none can remain unmoved by the insights he has provided on the subject.--Christian Century
This is one of the best books I have read all year. Professor McLoughlin has again given us a profound analysis of our culture in the midst of revivalistic trends.--Review and Expositor

Essays exploring different facets of the life and influence of Edmund Campion, the sixteenth-century Jesuit and martyr. This volume forms the first modern study of Edmund Campion, the Jesuit priest executed at Tyburn in 1581, and through him focuses on a theme that has been attracting growing interest among sixteenth-century historians: the passagefrom a Catholic to an Anglican England, and the resistance to this move. The essays collected here investigate the historical context of Campion's mission; different aspects of his writing and work; the network of colleagues withwhom he was in contact; his relationship with contemporaries such as Sir Philip Sidney; the effect of his English mission; and the legacy he left. THOMAS M. MCCOOG, S.J. is the Archivist of the British province of theSociety of Jesus and a member of the Jesuit Historical Institute at Rome. Contributors: FRANCISCO DE BORJA MEDINA, JOHN BOSSY, NANCY POLLARD BROWN, KATHERINE DUNCAN-JONES, DENNIS FLYNN, VICTOR HOULISTON, JOHN J. LAROCCA, COLM LENNON, DAVID LOADES, JAMES MCCONICA, THOMAS M. MCCOOG, THOMAS MAYER, MICHAEL QUESTIER, ALISON SHELL, MICHAEL E. WILLIAMS

Was ist der Mensch? Diese Frage stellt sich angesichts von Verfuhrbarkeit, Totalitarismus und Barbarei im 20. Jahrhundert mit grosser Dringlichkeit. Die Analyse menschlicher Existenz spielt deshalb fur den Religionsphilosophen Eugen Biser (1918 bis 2014) eine fundamentale Rolle. Wo liegen religioese Potentiale des Einzelnen? Was vermag therapeutische Theologie? Welche Moeglichkeiten des Menschseins eroeffnen sich im 21. Jahrhundert? Um solche Fragen zu beantworten, fuhrte ein Berliner Symposium Forscherinnen und Forscher, Wissenschaftler, Kunstlerinnen und Politiker zusammen, um mit Blick auf Eugen Biser die Zeichen der Zeit geistesgegenwartig zu deuten.

This volume provides an authoritative account of evangelicalism from the 1790s to the 1840s, skilfully balancing British and American developments and also encompassing Canada, Australia, the West Indies and elsewhere. An account of the formative impact of revivalism is followed by discussion of spirituality and worship, and the place of evangelicalism in the lives of women, men and the family. The book then explores the broader social and political impact of the movement, giving particular attention to the slavery question. Major figures, such as Lyman Beecher, Thomas Chalmers, Charles Finney, Hannah More and William Wilberforce, are surveyed alongside other fascinating, lesser-known personalities. The concluding coverage of the 1846 London meeting of the Evangelical Alliance - one of the few grand gatherings of evangelicals from the Atlantic world and beyond - contributes key insights into the movement as a whole.

Was schreibt man einer trauernden, kaiserlichen Witwe? Wie macht man ihr ein asketisches Leben schmackhaft und bringt sie dazu, obwohl man sie persoenlich nicht kennt, mit einem Freundschaft zu schliessen? Derartige Fragen durfte sich Hieronymus gestellt haben, als er sich ca. im Jahre 399 brieflich an die Dame Salvina wandte. Diese kunstvoll gestaltete Epistel nimmt Philip Polcar in ihren Details und grossen argumentativen Linien in den Blick. Sie ist ein Kleinod der spatantiken Konsolationsliteratur und gleichzeitig ein Werbetraktat fur eine lebenslange Keuschheit. Die individuellen Trostgedanken und Ratschlage entpuppen sich als Zugang zur asketischen Froemmigkeit und zur Kommunikation unter Gebildeten in der christlich werdenden Spatantike.

Der Band setzt sich mit der Frage auseinander, wie sich der christliche Glaube zu den nichtchristlichen Religionen und deren Wahrheitsanspruchen verhalt. Der Autor versammelt seine religionstheologischen Aufsatze der letzten 25 Jahre und ordnet sie nach systematischen Gesichtspunkten. In unterschiedlichen Argumentationszusammenhangen und unter verschiedenen Aspekten entwickelt er eine Methode der Religionstheologie, die sich vom Mainstream unterscheidet und von der Problematik des Offenbarungsbegriffs ausgeht und wie sie von der christlichen Botschaft beantwortet wird. Hierzu entwickelt der Autor einen "interioristischen" Zugang zu den Religionen, der auf der Basis des christlichen Glaubens anderen Religionen - anders als im Inklusivismus - unuberbietbare Wahrheit zuerkennen kann, ohne dabei - wie im Pluralismus - die christliche Wahrheit zu relativieren. Damit setzt dieser Band auch neue Akzente im christlich-judischen wie im christlich-islamischen Verhaltnis.

???The New Testament is full of historical inaccuracies.??? ???The Gospels portray a mythical Jesus.??? ???Jesus was a false prophet.??? Jewish people commonly raise objections to Christianity based on the New Testament. In the fourth volume of his highly regarded series, Michael Brown explains the Christian response to thirty-four such objections. He addresses questions about issues such as how the New Testament quotes and interprets the Old Testament, the historical accuracy of the New Testament, apparent contradictions in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, pagan influences on Christian teachings, and whether Jesus abolished the Torah With detailed responses based on careful research of the Hebrew Bible, Rabbinic texts, and the New Testament, Brown thoroughly and respectfully answers these objections and invites Jewish seekers to consider the possibility that the new covenant they have been waiting for is already here. ???This is a wonderful resource for study of the relationship between Christianity and Judaism.??????Darrell Bock, research professor of New Testament studies and professor of spiritual development and culture, Dallas Theological Seminary ???There is no other contemporary resource like this, and it will no doubt be useful in countering not just Jewish objections but the objections of so many other skeptics and naysayers of the New Testament.??????David Brickner, executive director, Jews for Jesus ???Brown??'s answers to objections are carefully thought out, honest, and well researched. His work provides a useful model on how to do apologetics for all who are interested in articulating and defending the Christian faith??????Craig Keener, professor of NewTestament studies, Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University

Evangelicalism, a vibrant and growing expression of historic Christian orthodoxy, is already one of the largest and most geographically diverse global religious movements. This Companion, first published in 2007, offers an articulation of evangelical theology that is both faithful to historic evangelical convictions and in dialogue with contemporary intellectual contexts and concerns. In addition to original and creative essays on central Christian doctrines such as Christ, the Trinity, and Justification, it breaks new ground by offering evangelical reflections on issues such as gender, race, culture, and world religions. This volume also moves beyond the confines of Anglo-American perspectives to offer separate essays exploring evangelical theology in African, Asian, and Latin American contexts. The contributors to this volume form an unrivalled list of many of today's most eminent evangelical theologians and important emerging voices.

Praise for "Church Unique"

"There is a screaming need today for leaders who will rise above quick fixes and generic approaches. Now, Will Mancini has brought an indispensable book to the church leader's toolbox, providing a thoughtful and creative process that will galvanize your team to unleash God's vision for your church."
--Howard Hendricks, chairman, Center for Christian Leadership;distinguished professor, Dallas Theological Seminary

"Will Mancini's vision for vision is contagious. "Church Unique" doesn't hold back--challenging existing paradigms, yes, but also providing new maps for churches to engage in God's mission."
--Ed Stetzer, director, LifeWay Research; coauthor, "Comeback Churches" and "Compelled by Love"

"If leaders are to steer the church through the challenges of the twenty-first century successfully, they will need help to negotiate the complexities of the spirituality, culture, history, and institutional structures that make up organizations. Will Mancini is a savvy navigator and "Church Unique" is an impressive blueprint for organizational renewal."
--Alan Hirsch, author, "The Forgotten Ways" and "The Shaping of Things to Come"; founding director, Forge Mission Training Network

"Will Mancini has done us all a great favor in releasing the practical ways he helps church leaders envision their own unique future.?His insights provide you the coaching you need to prepare for your next ministry chapter."
--Reggie McNeal, author, "The Present Future"

"If you don't know the unique purpose of your church, read this book now!"
--Jim Tomberlin, founder, Third Quarter Consulting; former regional pastor, Willow Creek Community Church

"Will Mancini's love for the local church and skill for facilitating vision makes this a must-read. He is a Sherpa, not a travel agent. He has the experience; he knows the trail."
--Lance Witt, founder, Replenish Ministries; former executive pastor, Saddleback Community Church