This book is a series of essays in the area of current culture and its defects, Christian religious belief, and other political and philosophical issues. A number of topics are considered in the book including he continued re-emergence of the church in African and Asia, the meaning of poverty and its implication for Christians in the life of Christ and the church, the status of women in the Church, the issue of abortion, the contrast between the visible and invisible church, and the interaction between Christ and culture. Other essays consider the role and nature of Satan, Jesus as revolutionary, and the existence of angels and demons. In addition, some essays include an analysis of the decline of the American Middle Class, the nature of American Culture, the "money culture", and many other topics which no doubt will be of value and interest to the reader.

The Bible, the Bullet, and the Ballot provides a balanced account of the role of Christians, Christian organisations, and churches in sociopolitical transformation over the bedrock of colonial and nationalist politics in the past century in Zimbabwe. Fabulous Moyo explores the broader social and political impact of prominent African Christian clergy who were sociopolitical activists such as Ndabaningi Sithole, Abel Muzorewa, and Canaan Banana. It also highlights the role of missionaries who contributed to the African struggle for independence such as Ralph Edward Dodge, Donal Lamont, and Garfield Todd. He examines the contributions of African nationalist parties and prominent politicians with Christian roots, such as Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe, in the struggle for independence, and their contribution in the postcolonial era in light of their Christian heritage and the collective pre-independence nationalist ideals on nation-building and national unity.

"Let every student be plainly instructed . . . to consider well the main end of . . . life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life . . . and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning." -Harvard College Laws, 1642 There was a time when Harvard was considered a holy place and Princeton trained prophets, when students and professors could not help but pray because there were certain questions that could only be answered by an Intellect greater than our own. There was a time when student leaders galvanized campus movements, when young revolutionaries defied the status quo of their generation and engaged in sacrificial service that reshaped society and transformed culture. There was a time . . . God on Campus traces a remarkable legacy of spiritual awakening that stretches from the founding of the earliest colleges in the United States to a global movement of nonstop student prayer spreading across campuses today. "This is a book to help you remember your roots," Trent Sheppard writes, "ordinary people like you and me--bold and timid, brilliant and insecure, disillusioned and dangerous, ambitious and naive, holy and fallen, fearless and afraid--people who prayed, people who conspired together with their friends in faith and action, people who believed their lives could actually help shape the unfolding narrative of history." From the establishment of early American campuses during the Great Awakening to the rapidly spreading collegiate movements of the twenty-first century, Sheppard shows how students can integrate their passion in prayer with practical Christ-like living in culture. "The goal," he explains, "is not for us to abandon our studies in economics or education and all become preachers instead. The goal is to live like Jesus in the very soul of society." Culminating in a movement to mobilize prayer on every college and university campus in the United States throughout 2010, God on Campus is an invitation for students to find their place in the story of God today.

In this book, Tony Campolo sounds a call for Christians to address controversial issues honestly and courageously, without bowing to political correctness or party lines. Clear thinking, straight shooting, and thoroughly committed to the relevance of the gospel in today's world, Tony penetrates our complacency with arguments that are sometimes unpredictable, sometimes infuriating, but always loving and never bland.

Through the lens of social-scientific criticism, Christian Fasting: Biblical and Evangelical Perspectives explores the social, cultural, and religious significance of fasting in the first-century Mediterranean world. Old Testament precedents, as well as Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman influences are examined to form the backdrop for a detailed interpretation of each fasting text in the New Testament. Contemporary evangelical fasting literature is also discussed and analyzed. Finally, H.S. Mathews proposes a solution for reconciling a biblical interpretation of fasting with contemporary evangelical practice.

In The Crisis of Religious Liberty: Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought, contributors consider a series of significant challenges to the freedom of religious conscience and expression in the United States today. Such challenges include the mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concerning contraceptive, sterilization, and abortifacient coverage in health insurance plans; the question of health-care institutions requiring medical personnel to participate in morally objectionable procedures contrary to their religious beliefs; legal liability for individuals and businesses refusing on religious grounds to provide services for same-sex marriages; the prohibition on students from engaging in religious expression in public schools; the use of zoning laws to block Bible studies in private homes; and a variety of other issues that have surfaced in recent years with respect to religious freedom. While some argues that religious liberty extends no further than the freedom to worship, contributors suggest otherwise, noting that the exercise of religious liberty is greater than a highly restrictive definition of the notion of worship. The Crisis of Religious Liberty comprises eight chapters and an afterword that explore the nature and basis of religious freedom in terms of Catholic social thought. They cover such topics as the Catholic Church's teachings from the Vatican II's Dignatis Humanae (Declaration on Religious Liberty), the decline of a historic rapprochement among different religious perspectives in the United States in the face of an increasingly aggressive secularism, perspectives on religious liberty from the founding of America, and how the religious liberty situation in the U.S. compares with the rest of the world. The Crisis of Religious Liberty: Reflections from Law, History, and Catholic Social Thought should appeal to a variety of professionals as well as a scholars: lawyers and clergy, health care professionals and Catholic business owners, and researchers in the fields of religion, law, American politics, and sociology.

The world is not as God intends it to be. God's heart is to make things right, and for the world to be just. But complex problems warrant more sustained attention than quick posts on social media. How can we actually make a difference? Activist Mae Elise Cannon takes us beyond the hashtags to serious engagement with real issues. God calls the church to respond substantively to the needs of the poor, the realities of racial inequity, and the mistreatment of women and the marginalized. We can accomplish change through a range of strategic avenues-spiritually, socially, legally, politically, and economically. And addressing the domestic and international injustices of our day takes us on a journey of spiritual transformation that brings us closer to God and those around us. Channel your passion to care effectively for your neighbor and the world. This book will help you understand and put into action what it means for the church to be a place of peace, justice, and hope.

Between Heaven and Earth grew out one of Thielicke's visits to the United States in 1963, during which he travelled across the country preaching and lecturing. The conversations recorded here are the fruit of his more informal discussions with small groups of clergy, students and lay people. "You have disturbed our peace and upset our doubts," said one pastor. "You have freed the fettered and bound the wandering spirits," said another. The questions that American Christians asked of Thielicke are direct and wide-ranging, concerned not only with the fundamental problems of faith but with its bearing on issues of social and political morality. Thielicke's answers, though equally direct, are neither simplistic nor dogmatic. His approach is refreshingly open and his conclusions emerge from a reasoned consideration of the evidence and alternative possibilities. Above all, Thielicke's answers reveal the warmth and deep concern for humanity's spiritual welfare that is at the root of his teaching and writing.

This book tests the explanatory and descriptive power of the doctrine of sin in relation to two concrete situations: sexual abuse of children and the holocaust. Taking seriously the explanatory power of secular discourses for analysing and regulating therapeutic action in relation to such situations, the book asks whether the theological language of sin can offer further illumination by speaking of God and the world together. Through its discussion of abuse and the holocaust, an engagement with Augustine, original sin and feminism, a fresh and sometimes surprising perspective is offered, both on the theology of sin and on the pathologies under consideration. The understanding of sin that emerges is centred on joyful worship of the trinitarian God. This essay is more systematic and more theological than most practical, pastoral or applied theology and more practical and concrete than most systematic or constructive theology. It is a genuinely concrete, systematic theology.

"The Prayer-Saturated Church" provides step-by-step, practical help for mobilizing, organizing, and motivating believers to make their church a house of prayer. Written by a veteran prayer leader with hands-on experience in local church prayer, "The Prayer-Saturated Church" will enable any church to take prayer to the next level.The print version comes with a CD that contains printable forms--publicity templates, sign-up applications, prayer guides, and more--to promote, encourage, and energize your congregation toward more prayer.

From the Preface: "Get real" was a slang term that became popular in the 1960's when Michael Hickey was growing up in East Boston. It implied that someone wasn't in touch with reality and had to change their way of thinking or living. If you put on the television today, all you might find is one of the hundreds of so-called reality TV shows. More often than not, these reality shows are illusions of reality because the "real persons" utilized as actors/performers are seemingly coached to act in certain ways by the directors, judges, or producers who really control the reality. Nonetheless, reality TV is a modern phenomenon; people watch it constantly, and that does indicate a high degree of the public's interest in some concept of reality. As for "mystery," it seems we are approaching an age where there will be the death of mystery, and we will have only reality. Hickey believes this is because the vast majority of the populace doesn't view reality in the context of mystery. They imagine mystery to be something which is just obscure or ambiguous, which given enough time, will be solved by reason and logic and become reality. Hickey's goal is that Get Real will give the reader a fresh understanding of both reality and mystery as seen from a theological and philosophical viewpoint. Ultimately, he intends the reader to move beyond the perceived duality in order to establish that mystery is truly the home of all reality.

Taking a fresh and imaginative approach to the topic, Enlightenment Reformation investigates how and why Hutchinsonianism came into being, evolved and eventually ended. In surveying the history of this intellectual movement, it explores the controversies in and around religion that sat at the very centre of the Enlightenment period in Britain. During the eighteenth century, many opponents of Isaac Newton's cosmology and natural religion gravitated to the writings of John Hutchinson (1674-1737). United by a strong belief in the Christian Trinity and a particular approach to the reading of Hebrew Biblical texts, the essential tenets of Hutchinsonianism remained for over a century the main source of opposition to Enlightenment scientific theories. Integrating the various aspects of Hutchinsonianism that together help to define the movement, this book first critiques the existing historiography on the subject and second provides an overview of the movement's thought, growth and downfall. This volume offers a fascinating perspective on the role of religion, science and ecclesiastical history in eighteenth-century thought and will be valuable reading for scholars working in intellectual and cultural history, in particular the history of philosophy, legal history, education and the relationship between church and state in the early modern period.

Christians are increasingly interested in justice issues. Relief and development work are important, but beyond that is a need for advocacy. This book shows how transforming systems and structures results in lasting change, providing theological rationale and strategies of action for evangelicals passionate about justice. Each of the authors contributes both academic expertise and extensive practical experience to help readers debate, discuss, and discern more fully the call to evangelical advocacy. They also guide readers into prayerful, faithful, and wise processes of advocacy, especially in relation to addressing poverty.

Many democratic citizens, including many Christians, think that separation of religion from the state means the exclusion of religious beliefs from the political process. That view is mistaken. Both democracy and Christian faith, this 2004 book shows, call all Christians to make their beliefs effective in politics. But the discussion here differs from others. Most have trouble relating religion to democratic discussion and debate because they assume that religious differences cannot be publicly debated. Against this majority view, this book argues that Christian faith belongs in politics because it shares with democracy a full commitment to rational pursuit of the truth. The book then develops ideals of justice and the common good Christians should advocate within the democratic process and shows the difference they make for contemporary politics in the United States, focusing specifically on issues of abortion, affirmative action, and economic distribution.

This book examines the key 2008 publication of the Russian Orthodox Church on human dignity, freedom, and rights. It considers how the document was formed, charting the development over time of the Russian Orthodox Church's views on human rights. It analyzes the detail of the document, and assesses the practical and political impact inside the Church, at the national level and in the international arena. Overall, it shows how the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church has shifted from outright hostility towards individual human rights to the advocacy of "traditional values."

The title comes from one of the closing responses of the morning service in Iona Abbey: Go in peace to love and to serve; We will seek peace and pursue it. Contributors include: Lesley Orr, Iain Whyte, Paul Nicolson, Helen Steven, Alastair McIntosh, Kathy Galloway, Molly Harvey, Rosemary Power, Ruth Harvey, Jan Sutch Pickard, John Philip Newell, Mel Duncan, Jonathan Inkpin, Alison Swinfen, Peter Millar, Chris Polhill, Sally Foster-Fulton, Bonnie Thurston, Murphy Davis and others. While several of the contributors are from various grassroots organisations and communities, many are members, associates or friends of the Iona Community, which, from its beginning, has been engaged in work for peace and reconciliation.

Exciting: documents a recent journey through difficult and at times hostile territory

Popular calls to transform our current welfare system and supplant it with effective and inexpensive faith-based providers are gaining political support and engendering heated debate about the separation of church and state. Yet we lack concrete information from which to anticipate how such initiatives might actually work if adopted.

Despite the assumption that congregations can help many needy people in our society, it remains to be seen how extensive they wish their involvement to be, or if they have the necessary tools to become significant providers in the social service arena. Moreover, how will such practices, which will move faith-based organizations towards professionalization, ultimately affect the spirit of volunteerism now prevalent in America's religious institutions?

We lack sufficient knowledge about congregational life and its ability to play a key role in social service provision. The Invisible Caring Hand attempts to fill that void. Based on in-depth interviews with clergy and lay leaders in 251 congregations nationwide, it reveals the many ways in which congregations are already working, beneath the radar, to care for people in need. This ground-breaking volume will provide much-sought empirical data to social scientists, religious studies scholars, and those involved in the debates over the role of faith-based organizations in faith-based services, as well as to clergy and congregation members themselves.