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Books > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > Christian social thought & activity
First Published in 1998. In this highly fragmented culture of ours
books are needed to integrate fields of interest ordinarily
considered separately, to state their common problems and to deal
with their differences in the light of other criteria than the
separate functions and local loyalties of the special interests in
themselves. This book was originated with that purpose in mind.
Specifically this book deals with the practical dualism of our
modern morals. With the traditional Christian ethic at one pole and
the variegated, often contradictory assemblage of practices and
precepts of our secular life at the other, it has never been
co-ordinated or made intelligible from within.
Declining church attendance. A growing feeling of betrayal. For
Christians who have begun to feel set adrift and disillusioned by
their churches, Where Goodness Still Grows grounds us in a new view
of virtue deeply rooted in a return to Jesus Christ's life and
ministry. The evangelical church in America has reached a
crossroads. Social media and recent political events have exposed
the fault lines that exist within our country and our spiritual
communities. Millennials are leaving the church, citing hypocrisy,
partisanship, and unkindness as reasons they can't stay. In this
book Amy Peterson explores the corruption and blind spots of the
evangelical church and the departure of so many from the faith -
but she refuses to give up hope, believing that rescue is on the
way. Where Goodness Still Grows: Dissects the moral code of
American evangelicalism Reimagines virtue as a tool, not a weapon
Explores the Biblical meaning of specific virtues like kindness,
purity, and modesty Provides comfort, hope, and a path towards
spiritual restoration Amy writes as someone intimately familiar
with, fond of, and deeply critical of the world of conservative
evangelicalism. She writes as a woman and a mother, as someone
invested in the future of humanity, and as someone who just needs
to know how to teach her kids what it means to be good. Amy finds
that if we listen harder and farther, we will find the places where
goodness still grows. Praise for Where Goodness Still Grows: "In
this poignant, honest book, Amy Peterson confronts her
disappointment with the evangelical leaders who handed her The Book
of Virtues then happily ignored them for the sake of political
power. But instead of just walking away, Peterson rewrites the
script, giving us an alternative book of virtues needed in this
moment. And it's no mistake that it ends with hope." - James K. A.
Smith, author of You Are What You Love
Today, many thoughtful and compassionate Christians are addressing
the challenge of alleviating poverty. But while much progress has
been made, many well-intentioned efforts have led Christians to
actions that are not only ineffective, but leave the most
vulnerable in a worse situation than before. Is there a better
answer? Combining biblical exegesis with proven economic
principles, For the Least of These: A Biblical Answer to Poverty
equips Christians with both a solid biblical and economic
understanding of how best to care for the poor and foster
sustainable economic development. With contributions from fifteen
leading Christian economists, theologians, historians, and
practitioners, it presents the case for why a multi-faceted
approach is needed, and why a renewed focus on markets and trade
are the world's best hope for alleviating poverty and serving those
in financial need.
In the wake of the success of God's Politics, comes an anniversary
edition of Walter Rauschenbusch's Christianity and the Social
Crisis, a book which outsold every other religious volume for three
years and which has become a classic and mainstay for any Christian
seriously interested in social justice. PBS has named Rauschenbusch
one of the most influential American religious leaders in the last
100 years, and Christianity Today named this book one of the top
books of the century that have shaped contemporary religious
thought. So it seems fitting on the 100th anniversary of the
publication of Christianity and the Social Crisis that
Rauschenbush's great-grandson should bring this classic back into
print, adding a response to each chapter by a well-known
contemporary author such as Jim Wallis, Tony Camplo, Cornel West,
Richard Rorty, Stanley Hauerwas, and others. Between 1886 and 1897,
he was pastor of the Second German Baptist Church in the ?Hell's
Kitchen? area of New York City, an area of extreme poverty. As he
witnessed massive economic insecurity, he began to believe that
Christianity must address the physical as well as the spiritual
needs of humankind. Rauschenbusch saw it as his duty as a minister
and student of Christ to act with love by trying to improve social
conditions.
In this addition to the award-winning Church and Postmodern Culture
series, respected theologian Daniel Bell compares and contrasts
capitalism and Christianity, showing how Christianity provides
resources for faithfully navigating the postmodern global economy.
Bell approaches capitalism and Christianity as alternative visions
of humanity, God, and the good life. Considering faith and
economics in terms of how desire is shaped, he casts the conflict
as one between different disciplines of desire. He engages the work
of two important postmodern philosophers, Deleuze and Foucault, to
illuminate the nature of the postmodern world that the church
currently inhabits. Bell then considers how the global economy
deforms desire in a manner that distorts human relations with God
and one another. In contrast, he presents Christianity and the
tradition of the works of mercy as a way beyond capitalism and
socialism, beyond philanthropy and welfare. Christianity heals
desire, renewing human relations and enabling communion with God.
New York Times bestselling author and Duck Dynasty star Phil
Robertson exposes the destructive nature of American politics and
calls on Christians to actively participate in advancing the
Kingdom of heaven on earth. We live in an ever-dividing country, a
country in which identity politics, creeping socialist policies,
and the vast partisan divide threaten the very fabric of America.
After decades of political decay and of losing sight of our first
principals, the American people are suffering from runaway debt,
increased rates of depression, broken families, moral decay, and
more. In Jesus Politics, Phil Robertson provides an alternate path:
a radical call for Christians to use their freedoms to advance the
agenda of the King and win back the soul of America. Exploring the
problems facing our country and how Jesus would respond to each,
Robertson offers a manifesto, showing us how to do good by King
Jesus, bringing the kingdom of heaven to our homes, neighborhoods,
churches, communities, and country. Jesus Politics charges readers
to use their time, talents, resources, influence, and votes to
protect and advance the policies of King Jesus. Together, Robertson
declares that we can win back the soul of America, becoming a
nation that proclaims, "In the King we trust."
The president of Southern Seminary reveals how secularism has
infiltrated every aspect of society and how Christians, equipped
with the gospel of Jesus Christ, can meet it head on with hope,
confidence, and steadfast conviction. A Storm Is Coming Western
civilization and the Christian church stand at a moment of great
danger. Facing them both is a hurricane-force battle of ideas that
will determine the future of Western civilization and the soul of
the Christian church. The forces arrayed against the West and the
church are destructive ideologies, policies, and worldviews deeply
established among intellectual elites, the political class, and our
schools. More menacingly, these forces have also invaded the
Christian church. The perils faced by the West and the church are
unprecedented: threats to religious liberty redefinitions of
marriage and family attacks on the sacredness and dignity of human
life How should Christians respond to this multifaceted challenge?
Addressing each dimension of this challenge, The Gathering Storm
provides answers and equips Christians both to give an answer for
the hope that is within them and to contend for the faith that was
once and for all delivered to the saints.
Tom Wright was recently acclaimed by Newsweek as 'the world's
leading New Testament scholar'
What Catholic social thought can teach thinkers of all faiths and
backgrounds about equitable economics Inequality is skyrocketing.
In a world of vast riches, millions of people live in extreme
poverty, barely surviving from day to day. All over the world, the
wealthy's increasing political power is biasing policy away from
the public interest toward the financial interests of the rich. At
the same time, many countries are facing financial fragility and
diminished well-being. On top of it all, a global economy driven by
fossil fuels has proven to be a collective act of self-sabotage
with the poor on the front lines. A growing chorus of economists
and politicians is demanding a new paradigm to create a global
economy for the common good. In Cathonomics, Anthony M. Annett
unites insights in economics with those from theology, philosophy,
climate science, and psychology, exposing the failures of
neoliberalism while offering us a new model rooted in the wisdom of
Catholic social teaching and classical ethical traditions. Drawing
from the work of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Francis, Thomas Aquinas, and
Aristotle, Annett applies these teachings to discuss current
economic challenges such as inequality, unemployment and
underemployment, climate change, and the roles of business and
finance. Cathonomics is an ethical and practical guide to readers
of all faiths and backgrounds seeking to create a world economy
that is more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable for all.
The church finds itself in a period of great diversification and
multiple expressions. In the midst of great change, we have become
confused about what really makes for healthy and authentic pastoral
leadership. What are the basic and common characteristics necessary
for pastors to be effective? How can lay people understand the
pastoral call more fully and partner better with pastors for the
health of their church? Here Mannoia and Walkemeyer examine the
foundations of pastoral effectiveness and bring together nine
experienced pastoral leaders to discuss the basic characteristics
that exist in effective pastors. Regardless of context or
personality, ineffectiveness in pastors and subsequent ill health
in churches is often not the result of a lack of calling, but
instead is the result of misappropriated efforts to find success.
Let's help those who are called to be good stewards of their call.
And let's help churches have a chance to be healthy under the
leadership of effective pastors!
In these stormy times, voices from all fronts call for change. But
what kind of revolution brings true freedom to both society and the
human soul? Cultural observer Os Guinness explores the nature of
revolutionary faith, contrasting between secular revolutions such
as the French Revolution and the faith-led revolution of ancient
Israel. He argues that the story of Exodus is the highest, richest,
and deepest vision for freedom in human history. It serves as the
master story of human freedom and provides the greatest sustained
critique of the abuse of power. His contrast between "Paris" and
"Sinai" offers a framework for discerning between two kinds of
revolution and their different views of human nature, equality, and
liberty. Drawing on the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, Guinness
develops Exodus as the Magna Carta of humanity, with a constructive
vision of a morally responsible society of independent free people
who are covenanted to each other and to justice, peace, stability,
and the common good of the community. This is the model from the
past that charts our path to the future. "There are two
revolutionary faiths bidding to take the world forward," Guinness
writes. "There is no choice facing America and the West that is
more urgent and consequential than the choice between Sinai and
Paris. Will the coming generation return to faith in God and to
humility, or continue to trust in the all sufficiency of
Enlightenment reason, punditry, and technocracy? Will its politics
be led by principles or by power?" While Guinness cannot predict
our ultimate fate, he warns that we must recognize the crisis of
our time and debate the issues openly. As individuals and as a
people, we must choose between the revolutions, between faith in
God and faith in Reason alone, between freedom and despotism, and
between life and death.
A daily dose of truth, morality, and biblical wisdom from A&E
Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson in this 100-day devotional.
There is a war being waged on the soul of America, but Phil
Robertson believes there is hope. In this compilation of 100 days
of readings taken from his bestselling books The Theft of America's
Soul and Jesus Politics, now with newly added prayers and Bible
verses, he shows how Americans can turn away from the lies of the
devil and embrace the life-giving, healing, and wholly transforming
love of God, helping to bring the kingdom of heaven to our homes,
neighborhoods, churches, communities, and country. These 100
devotionals cover God-honoring principles, including committing to
the life of Christ and his words; understanding the importance of
kindness, respect, hard work, and financial stewardship; enjoying
God's creation-Earth, animals, and each other. Written with
captivating storytelling and unflinching honesty, this book is a
call for Christians to wake up and use their time, talents,
resources, influence, and votes to protect and advance the policies
of King Jesus-the only policies that will truly heal the soul of
America.
A shocking snapshot of the most current impulses in American
religion. Rodney Stark reports the surprising findings of the 2007
Baylor Surveys of Religion, a follow up to the 2005 survey
revealing most Americans believe in God or a higher power. This new
volume highlights even more hot-button issues of religious life in
our country. A must-read for anyone interested in Americans'
religious beliefs and practices.
Christianity Today Book Award The Gospel Coalition Book Awards
Honorable Mention Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist
ECPA Top Shelf Book Cover Award "Reading the morning newspaper is
the realist's morning prayer."-G. W. F. Hegel Whenever we reach for
our phones or scan a newspaper to get "caught up," we are being not
merely informed but also formed. News consumption can shape our
sense of belonging, how we judge the value of our lives, and even
how our brains function. Christians mustn't let the news replace
prayer as Hegel envisioned, but neither should we simply discard
the daily feed. We need a better understanding of what the news is
for and how to read it well. Jeffrey Bilbro invites readers to take
a step back and gain some theological and historical perspective on
the nature and very purpose of news. In Reading the Times he
reflects on how we pay attention, how we discern the nature of time
and history, and how we form communities through what we read and
discuss. Drawing on writers from Thoreau and Dante to Merton and
Berry, along with activist-journalists such as Frederick Douglass
and Dorothy Day, Bilbro offers an alternative vision of the rhythms
of life, one in which we understand our times in light of what is
timeless. Throughout, he suggests practices to counteract common
maladies tied to media consumption in order to cultivate healthier
ways of reading and being. When the news sets itself up as the
light of the world, it usurps the role of the living Word. But when
it helps us attend together to the work of Christ-down through
history and within our daily contexts-it can play a vital part in
enabling us to love our neighbors. Reading the Times is a
refreshing and humane call to put the news in its place.
What started as a joke account on Instagram has turned into a movement.
Through this provocative project, the founder of PreachersNSneakers is
helping thousands of Jesus followers wrestle with the inevitable
dilemmas created by a culture obsessed with image and entertainment.
In PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and
(Wannabe) Celebrities, the author boldly confronts many of the
difficult questions plaguing countless Christians’ minds, such as:
- Should pastors grow wealthy off of religion, and why do we
get so angry when they do?
- Is it okay to stoke envy among others with curated
“lifestyle” images on social media?
- Do we really believe that divine blessings are monetary, or
is that just religious wallpaper to hide our own greed?
- Is there space in Christendom for celebrities like Kanye
and Bieber to exist without distorting the good news?
- What about this: Is it wrong for someone like this author
to call out faith leaders online and leverage “cancel culture” to
affect change?
PreachersNSneakers will navigate these challenging questions and many
more with humor, wit, candor, and a few never-before-published hijinks.
Each chapter will explore the various sides of the debate, holding
space for readers to make up their own minds. The book will doubtlessly
become a staple for church small groups, college ministries, and book
clubs, emboldening struggling believers who want to live a more genuine
faith.
After all, the Lord works in mysterious colorways.
Preaching the Story explores why communication is more effective
when sermons are no longer lectures but stories. It explains how to
deliver your entire sermon in story form. A practical book for
pastors and ministerial students.
The global crisis of forced displacement is growing every year. At
the same time, Western Christians' sympathy toward refugees is
increasingly overshadowed by concerns about personal and national
security, economics, and culture. We urgently need a perspective
that understands both Scripture and current political realities and
that can be applied at the levels of the church, the nation, and
the globe. In Refuge Reimagined, Mark R. Glanville and Luke
Glanville offer a new approach to compassion for displaced people:
a biblical ethic of kinship. God's people, they argue, are
consistently called to extend kinship-a mutual responsibility and
solidarity-to those who are marginalized and without a home.
Drawing on their respective expertise in Old Testament studies and
international relations, the two brothers engage a range of
disciplines to demonstrate how this ethic is consistently conveyed
throughout the Bible and can be practically embodied today.
Glanville and Glanville apply the kinship ethic to issues such as
the current mission of the church, national identity and
sovereignty, and possibilities for a cooperative global response to
the refugee crisis. Challenging the fear-based ethic that often
motivates Christian approaches, they envision a more generous,
creative, and hopeful way forward. Refuge Reimagined will equip
students, activists, and anyone interested in refugee issues to
understand the biblical model for communities and how it can
transform our world.
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