Religion today comes in many forms. The arrival of the twenty-first century brought with it a wave of religious tolerance and indifference unlike any before. As Christians struggle to unfold the truth tangled by modernity and postmodernity, many choose to radically and disrespectfully oppose other religions or passively accept their possible validity for the sake of tolerance. The effects of religious pluralism in our world today make it increasingly difficult for the life-giving message of Christ to reach the hearts of those who need to hear it. How should Christians attempt to tell the Gospel story in a world that believes no one religion is right? How should Christians live and speak in the crowded marketplace of world religions? With Cords of Love presents Christians with an introduction to religious pluralism and offers a sound, loving response drawn from the essential doctrinal features of the Wesleyan theological tradition. This thorough examination discusses the historical, philosophical, and cultural factors that have contributed to religious pluralism and explores the major responses currently embraced in some Christian circles. In addition to this historical overview, it also outlines ways the Church can bear a hopeful, effective, and intelligible witness for the message of Christ. Using Paul's response to the Athenians in the Book of Acts, With Cords of Love compels us to approach people from other religions with both respect and compassion, urging us to allow God to direct and guide our words and actions as we help to complete the work He's already begun in their hearts.

We've all heard the rationale: "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere." Or "All religions are pretty much the same." But are they the same? Does it matter which one you follow? In this insightful and compelling book, Michael Green invites readers into a relationship with Jesus Christ, the divine revelation and only pathway to the one true God.
In a conversational style geared toward nonbelievers, Green compares Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and other religions to help spiritual seekers navigate the multi-faith maze. "But Don't All Religions Lead to God?" is an ideal reference and evangelism tool for churches and individual Christians as well. It offers scriptural references, looks at how divergent religious traditions view salvation and eternity, and answers difficult questions such as "What about people who have never heard of Jesus?" and "How should Christians regard other religions?"
In the midst of our pluralistic and tolerant culture, here is an important and convincing argument for faith in Jesus-the only great teacher whose death and resurrection provided grace, forgiveness, and an eternity in the presence of God.

Within the Old Testament books of 1 and 2 Samuel we find some of the most well-known stories of the Bible - those of Hannah, David, Absalom and many more which have been fruitful sources of inspiration for classic artworks and musical compositions, as well as innumerable Sunday school lessons. Yet often we only consider these stories in a way that's disconnected from our everyday faith. In this accessible and stimulating commentary, Mary Evans guides us through The Message of 1 & 2 Samuel in the conviction that they are a vital part of God's Word, full of teaching that is dynamically relevant for all Christian believers. Exploring the narratives and creatively bringing out their application, she shows us how we can interpret and respond to them today in a way that is both challenging and exciting. With questions for further reflection that can be used by individuals and small groups, this is an invigorating study that will help you better understand the meaning of 1 & 2 Samuel and their continued relevance for today. Part of the much loved Bible Speaks Today series of commentaries, The Message of 1 & 2 Samuel offers a thoughtful and readable exposition of the Biblical text as well as considering the lessons Christians can still learn from it today. Used by Bible students and teachers around the world, the Bible Speaks Today commentaries are ideal for students and preachers who are looking to delve more deeply into the riches of Scripture. This beautifully redesigned edition has also been sensitively updated to include modern references and use the NIV Bible text. The Message of 1 & 2 Samuel will be helpful for anyone looking for commentaries on Samuel that will give them a better knowledge and understanding of its meaning both for its original audience and for modern Christians.

What are the theological foundations of Christian ministry? What should a vital Christian ministry look like in the world today? Teacher and veteran of urban ministry Bryan Stone addresses these important questions in an engaging and challenging book. Compassionate Ministry explores systematically the relationship between Christian doctrines of God, church, and human existence, and the focus and meaning of ministry today. It offers a solid introduction to the theology of ministry through an approach rooted in the compassion of God, which Stone shows is evident throughout the scriptures and made real in the incarnation and ministry of Jesus. Compassionate Ministry locates a primary focus in the experience of suffering and poverty which marks daily life for the majority of people today. Stone builds continually on this insight, drawing out the dimensions of a humanizing ministry that participates in restoring the "image of God" in which all have been created: an image of freedom, humanity, community. Understanding God as all-compassionate, and Jesus as the Compassion of God, this book provides a model of a compassionate church as a "liberating community: " people who, knowing what they believe, work and worship together in the service of humanizing praxis in their own community, and in the world at large. Finally, this ministry call for "compassionate evangelism" which proceeds itself from the community, as a more holistic and historical approach than current consensus might suggest.

The essays in Sobrino's latest collection bear on one of the most pressing signs of the times: the existence of a "crucified people, " the poor and oppressed of our world, whose suffering presents Christian faith with an urgent demand - that we "take them down from the cross." Writing from the Salvadoran context, he presents a "theology of mercy, " reflecting on the principles of mercy and solidarity as the mode of Christian witness and discipleship in a world of conflict and suffering. In a personal introduction that sets the tone, Sobrino describes the evolution of his own thinking under the impact of the Salvadoran reality. Part One focuses on the essential character of mercy, and on the importance of shaping the mission of the church and the task of theology. Part Two analyzes the crucified reality of the Third World with specific reflections on salvation, forgiveness, and the grace of being forgiven. Part Three presents two manifestations of mercy: the reality of priesthood and solidarity. Finally, in a moving Afterword, Sobrino focuses on his martyred fellow Jesuits of the Central American University, a group who paid the ultimate price of mercy.

Original and far-reaching, this book shows the resources for Black theology within the living tradition of African-American religion and culture. Beginning with the slave narratives, Hopkins tells how slaves received their masters' faith and transformed it into a gospel of liberation. Resources include the works of W.E.B. Du Bois, Toni Morrison, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X.

This book continues the conversations begun in Emilie Townes's path-breaking A Troubling in My Soul: Womanist Perspectives on Evil and Suffering. Once again, Townes brings together essays by leading womanist theologians, interweaving a concern for matters of race, gender, and class, as these bear on the survival and well-being of the African-American community. In Embracing the Spirit the emphasis is not on evil and suffering, but on "hope, salvation, and transformation" for individuals and their communities.

Young adults today want authentic answers to their soul-deep questions about God. They want meaningful ways to communicate those answers to others. Most of all, they want to know that they are living a life that matters. In A Good and True Story, philosopher, apologist, and international speaker Paul Gould leads readers on an engaging journey through eleven clues that suggest Christianity is not only true but satisfies our deepest longings. This creative foray into the foundations of Christian truth explores the universe, morality, happiness, pain, beauty, and more for readers looking for culturally informed apologetics. Ideal for college-age and twentysomething readers, small group leaders, and anyone interested in the intersection of faith, philosophy, and culture, A Good and True Story reminds readers that their search for identity and purpose is a gift from a loving and purposeful God.

Unveiling Empire aims to be a fresh look, with new insights and interpretations, at the apocalyptic visions described in The Book of Revelation.'

The groundbreaking work in Hispanic theology, relates the story of the Galilean Jesus to the story of a new mestizo people.

In this work, which marked the arrival of a new era of Hispanic/Latino theology in the United States, Virgilio Elizondo described the "Galilee principle": "What human beings reject, God chooses as his very own". This principle is well understood by Mexican-Americans, for whom mestizaje -- the mingling of ethnicity, race, and culture -- is a distinctive feature of their identity. In the person of Jesus, whose marginalized Galilean identity also marked him as a mestizo, the Mexican-American struggle for identity and new life becomes luminous.

Suffering is a philosophical problem, but it is much more. It is deeply personal. Why is this happening to me? How can I respond to friends and family in pain and loss, and to people in my care? Richard Rice guides readers through the seven most significant theodicies--approaches that have been used to make sense of suffering in light of God's justice or control. He considers the strengths and weaknesses of each option, while always guiding us toward greater understanding and compassion. Rice goes further by offering guidelines for constructing a personal framework for dealing practically with suffering, one that draws from philosophy, ethics, theology and real-world experience. Intending for each of us to find a response to our suffering that is both intellectually satisfying and personally authentic, Rice provides the resources for meeting this challenge. He weaves together the theoretical side of the theodicies with personal stories of people who have experienced great suffering. While no framework can perfectly account for the problem of pain, we are left with the overarching insight that suffering never has the final word.

Liberal Christian theology permeates mainlines denominations and progressive circles of the church to this day. But what is liberal theology? What are progressive Christians progressing toward, and what are they leaving behind?

In Against Liberal Theology, professor and theologian Roger E. Olson warns progressive and mainline Christians against passively accepting the ideas of liberal theology without thinking through the consequences. In doing so, he examines the basic beliefs of the Christian faith, the main ideas of liberal theology, the way today's mainline and progressive Christianity relates to classic liberalism, and how classic Christian faith and liberal Christianity connect and contradict. Following in the footsteps of Gresham Machen's now-classic Christianity and Liberalism 100 years ago, Olson worries that liberal Christianity may not be Christianity but a different religion altogether.

After examining the origins of liberal theology in the nineteenth century, Olson examines how liberal theology views:

• Sources of truth
• The Bible
• God
• Jesus Christ
• Salvation
• The Future

Gentle but direct, Olson provides an even-handed assessment and critique of the ideas of liberal theology and worries that liberal Christianity has strayed too far from the classic Christian orthodoxy of the fathers and creeds to be considered "Christian" at all.

The Holy Web offers entree to the world revealed by contemporary science and the difference the new models of our life on earth make to understanding Christianity. The author shows how the church's mission is to become and to nurture a dynamic "web of relationships" in which all humanity can find itself part of a wondrous whole. Wessels offers a profound reading of biblical categories. He shows convincingly that the new universe story made popular by Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme is not only open to religious interpretation but that the biblical symbols of creation, redemption, sin, grace, life and death, God-Christ-Spirit, faith, hope and love reveal the meaning of the universe to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.