'You don't honestly believe all that stuff in the Bible!' Challenged by her friends, and later as a student by theological teachers, Amy Orr-Ewing was determined to leave no stone unturned in her eagerness to prove that the Bible was unique and wholly reliable. Her passion drove her to complete an in-depth study of the answers to ten of the most frequently raised objections she encountered, including: * Isn't it all a matter of interpretation? * Can we know anything about history? * Are the original manuscripts reliable? * What about the canon? * What about other holy books? * Isn't the Bible sexist? * What about all the wars? * Isn't the Bible out of date on sex? * How can I know? Sensitively yet convincingly, the author addresses the issues and the arguments, showing that we have every reason to trust the Bible today.

In her first year as a missionary to a small group of native women in the Ecuadorian Jungle, Elisabeth Elliot faced physical and spiritual trials. In These Strange Ashes, Elliot captures the mysteries and stark realities surrounding the colorful and primitive world in which she ministered. More than just a recounting of her early days, this is a beautifully crafted and deeply personal reflection on the important questions of life and a remarkable testimony to an authentic Christian commitment.

This unique collaboration by academic historians, Oneida elders, and Episcopal clergy tells the fascinating story of how the oldest Protestant mission and house of worship in the upper Midwest took root in the Oneida community. Personal bonds that developed between the Episcopal clergy and the Wisconsin Oneidas proved more important than theology in allowing the community to accept the Christian message brought by outsiders. Episcopal bishops and missionaries in Wisconsin were at times defenders of the Oneidas against outside whites attempting to get at their lands and resources. At other times, these clergy initiated projects that the Oneidas saw as beneficial-a school, a hospital, or a lace-making program for Oneida women that provided a source of income and national recognition for their artistry. The clergy incorporated the Episcopal faith into an Iroquoian cultural and religious framework-the Condolence Council ritual-that had a longstanding history among the Six Nations. In turn, the Oneidas modified the very form of the Episcopal faith by using their own language in the Gloria in Excelsis and the Te Deum as well as by employing Oneida in their singing of Christian hymns. Christianity continues to have real meaning for many American Indians. The Wisconsin Oneidas and the Episcopal Church testifies to the power and legacy of that relationship.

In 1989 a woman fishing in Texas on a quiet stretch of the Colorado River snagged a body. Her ""catch"" was the corpse of Johnny Jenkins, shot in the head. His death was as dramatic as the rare book dealer's life, which read, as the Austin American-Statesman declared, ""like a bestseller."" In 1975 Jenkins had staged the largest rare book coup of the twentieth century - the purchase, for more than two million dollars, of the legendary Eberstadt inventory of rare Americana, a feat noted in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. His undercover work for the FBI, recovering rare books stolen by mafia figures, had also earned him headlines coast to coast, as had his exploits as ""Austin Squatty,"" playing high stakes poker in Las Vegas. But beneath such public triumphs lay darker secrets. At the time of his death, Jenkins was about to be indicted by the ATF for the arson of his rare books, warehouse, and offices. Another investigation implicated Jenkins in forgeries of historical documents, including the Texas Declaration of Independence. Rumors of million-dollar gambling debts at mob-connected casinos circulated, along with the rumblings of irate mafia figures he'd fingered and eccentric Texas collectors he'd cheated. Had he been murdered? Or was his death a suicide, staged to look like a murder? How Jenkins, a onetime president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, came to such an unseemly end is one of the mysteries Michael Vinson pursues in this spirited account of a tragic American life. Entrepreneur, con man, connoisseur, forger, and self-made hero, Jenkins was a Texan who knew how to bluff but not when to fold.

In this book, Lewis Sperry Chafer instructs the aspiring preacher on the authentic principles of evangelism: that salvation, and proper communication of Christ's message, are of utmost importance. Chafer begins by noting the emergence of preachers who behave and speak contrary to the wishes of Jesus Christ. It is these 'False Forces' that moved the author to spell out precisely what is and is not true evangelic preaching. The identification of falsehoods in the messages delivered, and improper emphases which distract from the ever-present, ever-beneficent God, led Lewis Sperry Chafer to pen this book. Lewis Sperry Chafer spent a lifetime in evangelical preaching and writing in service of the Lord. Although remembered mainly for his scholarly work upon Biblical theology, he was also praised for his easygoing and relaxed demeanor. His leadership at the Dallas Theological Seminary was characterized by this competent, just and thoroughly Christian personality.

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were times of tumultuous change in medieval Europe; they witnessed the Black Death, the Great Papal Schism, heightened fears of the apocalypse, and the elimination of Spain's non-Christian population. Few figures were as widely and as intimately involved in late medieval Europe's struggles as Saint Vincent Ferrer. Perhaps the foremost preacher of his day, Ferrer spent the final two decades of his life traversing Europe, preparing the world for its imminent destruction. Saint Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419), His World and Life reassesses the controversial preacher's motives, methods, and impact, tracing Ferrer's journey from obscure logician to angel of the apocalypse, as he came to be known. At the same time, the book offers new insights into the depth and breadth of late medieval apocalyptic anticipation, and into the processes that ultimately led to the expulsions of Spain's Jews and Muslims.

This unique collaboration by academic historians, Oneida elders, and Episcopal clergy tells the fascinating story of how the oldest Protestant mission and house of worship in the upper Midwest took root in the Oneida community. Personal bonds that developed between the Episcopal clergy and the Wisconsin Oneidas proved more important than theology in allowing the community to accept the Christian message brought by outsiders. Episcopal bishops and missionaries in Wisconsin were at times defenders of the Oneidas against outside whites attempting to get at their lands and resources. At other times, these clergy initiated projects that the Oneidas saw as beneficial-a school, a hospital, or a lace-making program for Oneida women that provided a source of income and national recognition for their artistry. The clergy incorporated the Episcopal faith into an Iroquoian cultural and religious framework-the Condolence Council ritual-that had a longstanding history among the Six Nations. In turn, the Oneidas modified the very form of the Episcopal faith by using their own language in the Gloria in Excelsis and the Te Deum as well as by employing Oneida in their singing of Christian hymns. Christianity continues to have real meaning for many American Indians. The Wisconsin Oneidas and the Episcopal Church testifies to the power and legacy of that relationship.

The Emerging Church movement developed in the mid-1990s among primarily white, urban, middle-class pastors and laity who were disenchanted with America's conservative Evangelical sub-culture. It is a response to the increasing divide between conservative Evangelicals and concerned critics who strongly oppose what they consider overly slick, corporate, and consumerist versions of faith. A core feature of their response is a challenge to traditional congregational models, often focusing on new church plants and creating networks of related house churches. Drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork, James S. Bielo explores the impact of the Emerging Church movement on American Evangelicals. He combines ethnographic analysis with discussions of the movement's history, discursive contours, defining practices, cultural logics, and contentious interactions with conservative Evangelical critics to rethink the boundaries of "Evangelical" as a category. Ultimately, Bielo makes a novel contribution to our understanding of the important changes at work among American Protestants, and illuminates how Emerging Evangelicals interact with the cultural conditions of modernity, late modernity, and visions of "postmodern" Christianity.

This book demonstrates that the encounter between Christianity and various African cultures gives rise to a number of problems for Africans who become Christians. It draws attention to certain traditional African beliefs and practices that seem to be incompatible with Christianity and create problems for Africans who embrace Christianity. Against this background it argues for the need to inculturate Christianity. It contends that in this exercise African Christianity can learn from the attempts at inculturation found in the New Testament times and in the early church. It offers examples of how the early church sought to make use of non-Christian categories of thought and elements in its articulation of the Christian message and in worship. It suggests a few areas of Ghanaian and African life where inculturation could and should take place. These include funeral rites, widowhood rites, child-naming rites, the rites of marriage, libation and christology. It concludes by offering some guidelines for use in the process of the inculturation of Christianity in Africa today.

This book explores the vital role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in compensating for the market's and government's inability to provide vital services. Its key theoretical contribution is the notion that poverty is the result of a triadic failure-when markets, government, and civil society become dysfunctional at the same time. Using data on Catholic missionaries' development work, this study presents the various ways by which FBOs mitigate market and government failures in healthcare, education, and social services, and in the process build and strengthen civil society. This study has two main objectives. First, it aims to present an overview of missionaries' development work, evaluating the socioeconomic significance of their faith-based development work. In addition, various comparative advantages and disadvantages have been imputed to FBOs in the religion-development literature, and we assess to what extent missionaries actually exhibit these posited qualities in practice. Second, the groundwork is laid for future religion-development scholars by presenting a theoretical framework and a method for evaluating the role and contributions of FBOs in the larger community. This is an important investigation of contemporary worldwide Christianity and its relationship with development. As such, it will interest scholars of religious studies and missiology, as well as development economics, public service and the political economy.

In the past decades historians have interpreted early modern Christian missions not simply as an adjunct to Western imperialism, but a privileged field for cross-cultural encounters. Placing the Jesuit missions into a global phenomenon that emphasizes economic and cultural relations between Europe and the East, this book analyzes the possibilities and limitations of the religious conversion in the Micronesian islands of Guahan (or Guam) and the Northern Marianas. Frontiers are not rigid spatial lines separating culturally different groups of people, but rather active agents in the transformation of cultures. By bringing this local dimension to the fore, the book adheres to a process of missionary "glocalization" which allowed Chamorros to enter the international community as members of Spain's regional empire and the global communion of the Roman Catholic Church.

The growth of the megachurch (generally defined as a regular attendance of over 2,000 people) is undoubtedly one of the most exceptional religious trends of recent times, certainly within the Christian sphere. Spreading from the USA, megachurches have now become common globally - reaching different national and cultural contexts. The edited volume Handbook of Megachurches offers a comprehensive account of the subject from various academic perspectives: sociology, religious studies, religious history and religious studies among them. Topics covered include: the historical developments and growth, typologies, theology, popular culture, revivalism, social engagement, and the manifestation of megachurches in such countries as Canada, Russia, India and Africa.

Amy Carmichael was a remarkable leader. She lived her life out of a strong belief in a God who is real, all powerful and who provides for all our needs. She had a deep love for people and a determination to help them. She provided a home, an education and health care for hundreds of girls and boys whom she rescued from the jaws of an evil Indian practice of selling children to temple prostitution. When Amy Carmichael first arrived in Dohnavur, India, it was a barren plain; she transformed it into a valley of springs. The Dohnavur Fellowship she established survived the turbulent times of two World Wars, regular outbreaks of disease and persistent spiritual attack. Amy authored nearly forty books that continue to inspire and challenge many all around the world. "Joanna Williamson is a gifted storyteller who is able to weave together the narrative of Amy Carmichael's life with excerpts from her writings which draw the reader intimately into one of the most well-known missionaries to ever enter India. This story is filled with life, conviction, pathos and poignancy and is engagingly presented." Dr Timothy C. Tennent - President, Asbury Theological Seminary and Professor of World Christianity

So you have a problem with evangelical Christians? Which ones? These are the provocative questions Tom Krattenmaker poses to his fellow progressives in The Evangelicals You Don't Know. He challenges stereotypes about evangelical Christians and introduces readers to a movement of "new evangelicals" who are bringing forth a non-partisan expression of evangelicalism and creating opportunities for alliances and partnerships to advance the common good. Krattenmaker argues that cultural fault lines no longer divide the religious from the secular, or the evangelicals from "everyone else." Rather, the lines that matter now run between the fundamentalist culture warriors of both the left and right on one side, and, on the other, the good-doers of any faith, or none, who want to work together to solve our society's problems and introduce a new civility and decency to our shared national life. Krattenmaker is one of the best-informed non-evangelicals writing about evangelicalism in American public life. He offers interesting stories, intriguing character sketches, and incisive writing in his readable and engaging book. Recounting the findings and insights gleaned from his many years of engagement with evangelical America, he draws conclusions sure to surprise, challenge, and even inspire non-evangelicals who had written off this controversial and influential faith movement. The Evangelicals You Don't Know offers a refreshing alternative to narratives that pay attention only to aspects of evangelicalism that are most distasteful and threatening to secular-progressives and liberal religionists - providing instead a hopeful introduction to promising new currents rising among theologically conservative Christians.

An analysis of African American televangelists as cultural icons Through their constant television broadcasts, mass video distributions, and printed publications, African American religious broadcasters have a seemingly ubiquitous presence in popular culture. They are on par with popular entertainers and athletes in the African American community as cultural icons even as they are criticized by others for taking advantage of the devout in order to subsidize their lavish lifestyles. For these reasons questions abound. Do televangelists proclaim the message of the gospel or a message of greed? Do they represent the "authentic" voice of the black church or the Christian Right in blackface? Does the phenomenon reflect orthodox "Christianity" or ethnocentric "Americaninity" wrapped in religious language? Watch This! seeks to move beyond such polarizing debates by critically delving into the dominant messages and aesthetic styles of African American televangelists and evaluating their ethical implications.

aA great service for all of us who teach undergraduate and graduate courses in U.S. religious history. This fine historian has provided us with a representative collection of primary texts, in the process allowing our students the opportunity to encounter the diversity of evangelicals and evangelical ideas in twentieth-century America.a
--William Vance Trollinger, author of "Godas Empire: William Bell Riley and Midwestern Fundamentalism"

Evangelicalism retains the doctrine of biblical authority that developed during the Protestant Reformation as well as the sense that each individual stands in need of a life transforming experience of forgiveness of sins that can only come through faith in Christ.

With the rise of the Christian Right in American politics over the past quarter-century, there has been renewed interest in Protestant evangelicalism and fundamentalism and their roles in American culture. Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism is a collection of key primary readings tracing the history and development of this religious movement and its intersections with American life and politics, spanning the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first centuries.

The documents deal with issues such as biblical criticism, theology, revivalist preaching, religion and science, religion and politics, and social concerns such as gender and race. Countering notions among some that evangelicalism is monolithic, the diversity of the movement is made evident in texts from the evangelical left as well as the Christian Right.

Each section and many individual texts are prefaced by a brief editoras introduction explaining their background and context. During the period the book covers, evangelicalism went from being the dominant form of religion in America, then to the fringes, then back into the mainstream. These texts provide the reader with a sense of the central core as well as the range of evangelical thinking in the past century.

Displaying God's love in today's world. When it comes to talking about Jesus with our family members, friends, classmates, and coworkers, many of us aren't sure how to go about doing it. We don't want to come off as awkward, pushy, or weird. We wonder if we have the right answers or if we'll say the wrong thing. As a result, we sometimes give up on sharing about Jesus altogether. In this five-session study, bestselling author and spoken-word artist Hosanna Wong crushes the lies that hold us back from sharing the most important story in the world. Join Hosanna in discovering what God's Word actually says about revealing His love to the people right next us, and how we are already equipped to reach those who don't know how much God loves them (yet). With honesty and humor, Hosanna will help you: Embrace your unique story to naturally talk about Jesus without being weird or pushy. Discover the three most effective steps to take when fighting for a loved one who is in a tough place. Overcome the lies that hold you back so you can step into your calling and empower people to encounter God. Heal from past hurts in the church and learn how to create the community you've longed for. This study guide has everything you need for a full Bible study experience, including: The study guide itself - video teaching notes, group discussion questions, and in-between gatherings personal Bible study sections. An individual access code to stream all five video sessions online (you don't need to buy a DVD!). Watch on any device! Streaming video access code included. Access code subject to expiration after 12/31/2027. Code may be redeemed only by the recipient of this package. Code may not be transferred or sold separately from this package. Internet connection required. Void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted by law. Additional offer details inside.

Religion has always played an important, if often contested, role in the public domain. This book focuses on how faith-based organisations (FBOs) interact with the public sphere, showing how faith-based actors are themselves shaped by wider processes and global forces such as globalisation, migration, foreign policy and neoliberal markets. Focusing on a case study of an FBO in Morocco which gives aid to sub-Saharan African irregular migrants, the book reveals some of the challenges the organisation faces as it tries to negotiate at once local, national and international contexts through their particular Christian values. This book contends that the contradictions, tensions and ambiguities that arise are primarily a result of the organisation having to negotiate a normative global secular liberalism which requires a strict demarcation between religion and politics, and religion and the secular. Faith-based actors, particularly within humanitarianism, have to constantly navigate this divide and in examining the question of how religious values translate into humanitarian and development practices, categories such as religion, the secular and politics and the boundaries between them will need to be interrogated. This book explores the diversity and complexity of the work of FBOs and will be of great interest to students and researchers working at the intersections of humanitarianism and development studies, politics and religion.

Do you shy away from sharing the true gospel message with others, unsure of what to say, afraid of rejection and ridicule?

That's not what Jesus did.

Jesus was not afraid to shake people up. He spoke openly of their sinful nature and the righteousness of God. He forced people to confront their sin head-on, and he brought them face-to-face with their need for salvation.

"The Way of the Master will teach you how to share the message of the gospel simply, biblically, and without fear--the way Jesus did! You will become equipped to confidently lead anyone--friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, or stranger on the street--to a clear understanding of repentance and what it means to be a true and active follower of Jesus Christ.

You ve heard the overwhelming statistics. You ve probably felt compassion, guilt, powerlessness, hopelessness. You might have given money, food, clothes, or even some of your time to help a few of the billions of people living in destitution in our world. But have you actually engaged with someone, another human being created in the image of God, who is dying in the arms of poverty?Andy Matheson, Oasis International Director, argues that we can only begin to understand poverty, its effects, and possible solutions when we focus on the truth that all people are made in God?'s image. God calls us to meet with the poor not primarily to offer services or to develop programs, but to developrelationships and to show God?'s love.

'Meet Me at the Palaver' makes the case for a particular approach to pastoral counseling as a response to the destructive impact of colonial Christianity on indigenous African communities. The book opens with stories of destructive change brought to indigenous contexts (such as Zimbabwe), wherein the culture, values, religion, and humanity of African peoples were often marginalised. Mucherera demonstrates that therapy or counseling as taught in the West will not always su ce in such contexts, since these approaches tend to promote and focus on individuality, autonomy, and independence. Counselors in indigenous contexts need to "get o their couch or chair" and into the neighborhoods - into those places made vulnerable to disease and poverty by the collapse of "the palaver" and other traditional institutions of social stability. Since storytelling was at the heart of the practices of the palaver and continues to be a way of life in African cultures, Mucherera argues for a holistic narrative pastoral counseling approach to assess and service the three basic areas of human needs in indigenous African communities: body, mind, and spirit. Tapiwa N. Mucherera is Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Asbury Theological Seminary and Assistant Provost, Florida campus. He is the author of Pastoral Care from a Third World Perspective. An ordained United Methodist pastor, he has served churches in Zimbabwe, Iowa, and Denver. "The impact of Western colonialism's attempt to extinguish indigenous peoples' stories, communities, value systems, and culture has crippled, for example, African people's ability to face many contemporary problems such as poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This book presents a hopeful strategy of recovering stories, cultural traditions, and values that have been subjugated in the past as e ective means for dealing with contemporary life in indigenous contexts such as Zimbabwe. This narrative pastoral counseling approach is based on traditional African wisdom as well as the knowledge growing out of the author's pastoral counseling experience in Africa and the United States. The author challenges dangerous traditional practices in the age of HIV/AIDS, and the need for justice for the poor. A must read for those interested in working with indigenous peoples." - Dr Edward P. Wimberly, Academic Dean and the Jarena Lee Professor of Pastoral Care at I.T.C. in Atlanta "Mucherera tactfully captures the lost art of storytelling as a mode of communication for therapy and moral values. Though commonly used by indigenous Africans to transmit oral traditions, the narrative approach is a unique tool that creates safe distance for the care receiver and offers ample opportunity to the caregiver to non-judgmentally form an uplifting and therapeutic relationship. This book is a must read for all pastoral caregivers, pastors, counselors, and ministry students, since the narrative approach is an effective communication tool in today's cross-cultural world." - Dr Anne Kiome Gatobu Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care, Asbury Theological Seminary