Religionswissenschaft. Einfuhrung und Grundlagen untersucht, welche analytischen Fahigkeiten fur das Studium der als Religion bezeichneten Verhaltensweisen und Institutionen notwendig sind. Der wissenschaftlich grundlegende Akt des Klassifizierens und seine zentrale Bedeutung fur die Forschung werden dabei in den Blick genommen. Damit nimmt diese Einfuhrung im Vergleich zu vielen anderen Lehrwerken einen Perspektivwechsel vor. Ihr geht es darum, dem Religionswissenschaftler bei der Arbeit uber die Schulter zu schauen und nicht um einen klassischen UEberblick uber die Fachgeschichte oder das Beschreiben religioeser Details.

So you believe in God. Now what?

Just before he left, Jesus sent his followers into the world with a revolutionary mission: to change the world by proclaiming God's truth and demonstrating his incredible love. But the single task he gave us to accomplish remains "unfinished."

In this six-session small group Bible study, bestselling author Rich Stearns takes you and your small group on a breathtaking journey to rediscover the critical mission of Christ in our world today and the richness of God's calling on our lives.

Why are you here, what is your purpose, and where do you fit in the bigger story that God is writing? How should your faith affect your career, your money, your families, and your life? And why does it matter? You will find your deepest purpose only when you discover the unique role God created for you to play in his unfolding story.

The six sessions include: The Meaning of Life and Other Important Things, Magic Kingdom, Tragic Kingdom and the Kingdom of God, The Invitation of God, We Were Made For More, Spiritual Dominos, God's Great Adventure for Your Life

and other questions about who He is and what He does.

Explore a new way of pastoral care that enables caregivers to develop relationships and provide meaningful pastoral care to the children and youth they encounter! The Pastoral Care of Children focuses on the need for pastoral caregivers, clergy and chaplains to develop relationships with youths and gives you suggestions to overcome the anxiety associated with caring for an acutely ill child through unique, playful, and child-centered approaches. Many pastoral caregivers have high anxiety when children are ill or hurt, are unsure how to have a substantive conversation with a nine-year old, or their fears of what could be said keep them from hearing what children have to say. The effective approaches in The Pastoral Care of Children are illustrated to assist you with serving the spiritual needs of children. You will explore actual pastoral care experiences that will help you gain confidence in handling situations such as a teenager's desire to be baptized out of fear of death when neither he nor his parents believe in Christ. Intelligent and heartfelt, this valuable book gives you a complete theological exploration of ministering to children who may ask you "Why me?", "Why do people have to die?" and "What happens to children if they die before they are baptized?" The Pastoral Care of Children helps you answer these questions with meaningful responses that are genuine and grounded with yourself, and reflect the parents'beliefs. Some of the help you will discover in The Pastoral Care of Children includes: understanding the similarities and differences of caring for children in comparison to adults, such as different vocabularies but similar emotions, and realizing that children are very perceptive using play as a tool, for example referring to a puppet's experience in reference to the child to eliminate the child's self-consciousness and help him or her open up confronting pastoral issues in acute care settings, such as fear, guilty feelings, and anger, from parents, family and the child helping children recover from mental health issues such as depression, eating disorders, and identity and self-esteem issues by using cognitive therapy conducting prayer and rituals with children such as baptism, naming ceremonies, anointings, and funerals to assist the child and family through this spiritual rite of passage Complete with child and family focused approaches for dealing with the questions surrounding death, The Pastoral Care of Children also provides you with several cited scriptures, and a list of questions you may be asked by a child who is facing death. You will learn from actual circumstances pastoral caregivers have encountered and discover how to approach topics, and answer questions on God and death. The Pastoral Care of Children, an extremely resourceful book that will assist you in overcoming anxiety and help you deliver thoughtful and uplifting pastoral care to children and youth.

I Am God's Storyteller invites children to use their gifts to shine God's light and share the Gospel. Offering children examples of noted storytellers in Bible history (Sarah, Moses, Deborah, Esther, David, Isaiah, Mary, John the Baptist, and the Evangelists and early Church), this colorful and engaging picture book also looks at how Jesus used storytelling to teach and share his message of faith, hope and love. I Am God's Storyteller concludes by asking children to be "God's storytellers," and helps them to understand that our world needs them now more than ever to shine God's light. Includes information for parents, teachers and caregivers, with suggestions and guidelines for building a love for storytelling in the hearts of children. With encouragement and empowerment, young storytellers are sent on a mission to engage the world around them with joy and creativity.

Diese Arbeit leistet durch die wissenschaftliche Erforschung der Theorie der maqasid und durch die Herausstellung ihrer Bedeutung als Wandlungskonzept geistig und padagogisch einen Beitrag in der islamischen Theologie. Aus der wissenschaftlich-kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit der maqasid wurden Loesungsansatze fur eine moderne islamische Theologie in einer neuen maqasid-Konzeption formuliert. Epistemologisch wurde der Ansatz der Kontextualisierung und methodologisch eine systembezogene Annaherungsweise verfolgt, die die islamische Normativitat in eine dynamisch-pragmatische Beziehung zur menschlichen Realitat setzen und die maqasid als System begreifen. Dadurch wird eine Lesart des Quellentextes begunstigt, die seine Intentionalitat und seine Kommunikationsfunktion herausstellt sowie seinem transzendentalen und regenerativen Charakter Rechnung tragt.

Many children today are growing up in the midst of adversity, whether brought on by family difficulties or larger societal crises. All children need to be able to deal with stress, cope with challenges, and persevere through disappointments. While we cannot protect children from all hardships, we can promote healthy development that fosters resilience. In this interdisciplinary work, Holly Catterton Allen builds a bridge between resilience studies and children's spiritual formation. Because children are spiritual beings, those who work with them can cultivate spiritual practices that are essential to their thriving in challenging times. This book equips educators, counselors, children's ministers, and parents with ways of developing children's spirituality to foster the resilience needed to face the ordinary hardships of childhood and to persevere when facing trauma. It offers particular insight into the spiritual experiences of children who have been hurt by life through chronic illness, disability, abuse, or disasters, with resources for healing and hope.

The 40 Days of Community five-session devotional-part of the Living with Purpose small group Bible study by Rick Warren-is a dynamic individual or small group study that will help you learn how to fulfill God's five purposes for your life. By unpacking the biblical support for each of the five purposes (fellowship, spiritual growth, service, worship, and sharing the good News) you'll learn the ways it applies to you and your circle of influence, and how you can use this knowledge to benefit God's kingdom. Through it, Warren also explains how God planned for Christians to fulfill his purposes in community with each other in our church families, small groups, and in the world as a whole. Why did God plan it this way? Because we're better together! 40 Days of Community will deepen your understanding of how God uses community for your own good and growth, as well as help you cultivate deeper relationships with those around you. Learn to fulfill God's purposes ... discover how we are better together. This 40-day Devotional Journal is designed for use with the 40 Days of Community Participant's Guide and 40 Days of Community DVD. Sessions include: 1. We're Compelled to Love God's Family 2. We're Commissioned to Reach Out Together 3. We're Chosen to Fellowship Together 4. We're Connected to Grow Together 5. We're Called to Serve Together 6. We're Created to Worship Together

Whether you re a new or seasoned group leader, or whether your group is well-established or just getting started, the Making Your Small Group Work DVD and participant s guide (sold seperately) will lead you and your group together to a remarkable new closeness and effectiveness. Designed to foster healthy group interaction and facilitate maximum growth, this innovative approach equips both group leaders and members with essential skills and values for creating and sustaining truly life-changing small groups. Created by three group life experts, the two DVDs in this kit include: * Four sixty-minute sessions on the foundations of small groups that include teaching by the authors, creative segments, and activities and discussion time. * Thirteen five-minute coaching segments on topics such as active listening, personal sharing, giving and receiving feedback, prayer, calling out the best in others, and more. Formerly titled ReGroup."

In this six-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Doing the Right Thing, from Chuck Colson, Robert George, and an all-star panel examines how ethical and character issues relate to life at home, school, and the workplace. Doing the Right Thing explores the ethical and moral breakdown hitting culture from all sides. Through panel discussions, interviews, and live student questions it raises ethical issues in a non-condemning but challenging way, stimulating thought, discussion, and action. This Participant Guide encourages viewers to examine themselves and how ethical and character issues relate to their lives at home, school, and the workplace. As a result of this discussion and self-examination, participants will exhort each other and promote an ethic of virtue in their spheres of influence and in the culture at large. This examination of ethics consists of six sessions, each designed to last approximately one hour. Each session consists of thirty minutes of video and thirty minutes of discussion. Session topics include: How did we get into this mess? Is there truth, a moral law we all can know? If we know what is right, can we do it? What does it mean to be human? Ethics in the market place Ethics in public life Designed for use with the Doing the Right Thing Video Study (sold separately).

In this four-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Andy Stanley unpacks four questions that will help you make sound decisions with God's help. Throughout our lives, we're confronted with decisions we never anticipated having to make - relational, career, financial, parenting - the list goes on and on. The complicate matters further the timeframe for making a decision is often short and our options limited. But regardless, a decision needs to be made. So what do you do when it's your move and you aren't sure what to do? Follow Andy as he teaches how every decision and its outcome become a permanent part of your story, what to do when you feel the need to pause before taking action, and how to make more of this life by making sound decisions. This Participant Guide includes discussion questions, video overview, space for taking notes, and a helpful Leader's Guide. When used with the companion Your Move DVD (sold separately) it works as a powerful catalyst for spiritual growth. Sessions include: Really The Story of Your Life Pay Attention to the Tension Passing It On Designed for use with the Your Move Video Study (sold separately).

A college education becomes truly meaningful when faith affects what happens in the classroom every day. Toward that end, David Dockery and Timothy George have written this compelling case for the role of the Christian intellectual tradition in a serious liberal arts education.

Surveying the long-standing history of Christian thinkers--ranging from the Apostles to the Reformers to the 21st century's greatest theologians--this book introduces readers to the distinctive way that Christians through the years have read the Bible, formulated doctrine, provided education, and engaged the culture.

Pastor and bestselling author Jim Cymbala explores the person and work of the Holy Spirit in this six-session small group Bible study that will bring a fresh sense of God s power to your church and your life. What happens when the Holy Spirit moves powerfully within a church? Through this six-session study you will learn how: - To make room for the Spirit s action in your life and in your church - God wants to work through your gifts and talents to enable you to do what only he can do- To listen for the voice of the Spirit in prayer and how to apply God s Word to your life- The Spirit can bring healing to your body, your emotions, and your relationships; how a life lived in the presence of the Spirit can transform the church and the world- Your church can become a place where people regularly experience God s presence and his power. This Participant Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, a helpful Leader s Guide and much more. It s designed to be used with the companion When God s Spirit Moves DVD (sold separately). Sessions include: 1. Agent in the Shadows2. Power Source3. The Best Bible Teacher4. Water, Wind, and Fire5. Who s in Control? 6. Help When We Need it MostAppendix: A Long Night in Indianapolis"