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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > General
This elegant Bible edition honors the beauty and richness of the
New King James Version in a convenient portable size with essential
study tools and traditional red-letter text for the Words of
Christ. The New King James Version in the Sovereign Collection
reflects the legacy and majesty of the King James Version Bible
produced more than 400 years ago, but in language updated for
today. This beautiful Bible, which contains design flourishes that
pay tribute to the Bible produced in 1611, comes in a convenient
portable size with essential study tools and traditional red-letter
text for the Words of Christ. The Sovereign Collection continues
Thomas Nelson's long history and stewardship publishing Bibles,
featuring elegant letter illustrations leading into each chapter
combined with clear and readable Comfort Print (R), connects you to
the legacy of faith, and inspires your time in the Word to be
enjoyable and fruitful. Features include: Line-matched classic
2-column format for a comfortable reading experience Book
introductions provide a concise overview of the background and
historical context of the book about to be read Words of Christ in
red help you quickly identify Jesus' teachings and statements
Extensive end-of-page cross references allow you to find related
passages quickly and easily Translation notes provide a look into
the thinking of the translators with alternative translations that
could have been used and textual notes about manuscript variations
Presentation page to personalize this special gift by recording a
memory or a note Concordance for looking up a word's occurrences
throughout the Bible Full-color maps show a visual representation
of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Two satin
ribbon markers for you to easily navigate and keep track of where
you were reading Gilded page edges help protect the edge of the
page and provide a polished look Durable and flexible Smyth-sewn
binding so the Bible will lay flat in your hand or on a desk
Easy-to-read 9.5-point NKJV Comfort Print (R)
This is a substantially expanded and completely revised verision of Bradshaw's classic account, first published in 1993. Traditional liturgical scholarship has generally been marked by an attempt to fit together the various pieces of evidence for the practice of early Christian worship in such a way as to suggest that a single, coherent line of evolution can be traced from the apostolic age to the fourth century. Bradshaw examines this methodology in the light of recent developments in Jewish liturgical scholarship, of current trends in New Testament studies, and of the nature of the source-documents themselves, and especially the ancient church orders. In its place he offers a guide to Christian liturgical origins which adopts a much more cautious approach, recognizing the limitations of what can truly be known, and takes seriously the clues pointing to the esssentially variegated character of ancient Christian worship.
The Bible is meant to be read in the church, by the church, as the
church. Although the practice of reading Scripture has often become
separated from its ecclesial context, theologian Derek Taylor
argues that it rightly belongs to the disciplines of the community
of faith. He finds a leading example of this approach in the
theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who regarded the reading of
Scripture as an inherently communal exercise of discipleship. In
conversation with other theologians, including John Webster, Robert
Jenson, and Stanley Hauerwas, Taylor contends that Bonhoeffer's
approach to Scripture can engender the practices and habits of a
faithful hermeneutical community. Today, as in Bonhoeffer's time,
the church is called to take up and read. Featuring new monographs
with cutting-edge research, New Explorations in Theology provides a
platform for constructive, creative work in the areas of
systematic, historical, philosophical, biblical, and practical
theology.
Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses caught
Europe by storm and initiated the Reformation, which fundamentally
transformed both the church and society. Yet by Luther's own
estimation, his translation of the Bible into German was his
crowning achievement. The Bible played an absolutely vital role in
the lives, theology, and practice of the Protestant Reformers. In
addition, the proliferation and diffusion of vernacular
Bibles-grounded in the original languages, enabled by advancements
in printing, and lauded by the theological principles of sola
Scriptura and the priesthood of all believers-contributed to an
ever-widening circle of Bible readers and listeners among the
people they served. This collection of essays from the 2016 Wheaton
Theology Conference-the 25th anniversary of the conference-brings
together the reflections of church historians and theologians on
the nature of the Bible as "the people's book." With care and
insight, they explore the complex role of the Bible in the
Reformation by considering matters of access, readership, and
authority, as well as the Bible's place in the worship context,
issues of theological interpretation, and the role of Scripture in
creating both division and unity within Christianity. On the 500th
anniversary of this significant event in the life of the church,
these essays point not only to the crucial role of the Bible during
the Reformation era but also its ongoing importance as "the
people's book" today.
According to Scripture, the Word of God is "living and active" (Heb
4:12). That affirmation was embraced by the Protestant Reformers,
whose understanding of the Christian faith and the church was
transformed by their encounter with Scripture. It is also true of
the essays found in this volume, which brings together the
reflections of church historians and theologians originally
delivered at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School on the occasion of
the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. As they consider
historical, hermeneutical, theological, and practical issues
regarding the Bible, these essays reveal that the irrepressible
Word of God continues to transform hearts and minds.
The priesthood of all believers is a core Protestant belief. But
what does it actually mean? Uche Anizor and Hank Voss set the
record straight in this concise treatment of a doctrine that lies
at the center of church life and Christian spirituality. The
authors look at the priesthood of all believers in terms of the
biblical witness, the contribution of Martin Luther and the
doctrine of the Trinity. They place this concept in the context of
the canonical description of Israel and the church as a royal
priesthood that responds to God in witness and service to the
world. Representing Christ is much more than a piece of Reformation
history. It shows that the priesthood of all believers is
interwoven with the practical, spiritual and missional life of the
church.
This selection of writings from the most important moments in the
history of Christianity has become established as a classic
reference work, providing insights into 2000 years of Christian
theological and political debate.
While retaining the original material selected by Henry Bettenson,
Chris Maunder has added a substantial section of more recent
writings. These illustrate the Second Vatican Council; the
theologies of liberation; Church and State from 'Thatcher's
Britain' to Communist Eastern Europe; Black, feminist, and
ecological theology; ecumenism; and inter-faith dialogue. The
emphasis on moral debate in the contemporary churches is reflected
in selections discussing questions about homosexuality, divorce,
AIDS, and in-vitro fertilization, amongst other issues.
This further expanded fourth edition brings the anthology
up-to-date with a new section looking at issues facing the
twenty-first century churches. This includes extracts exploring the
churches' responses to questions of social justice, international
politics, trade and debt, environmental change, and technological
development. New material also covers the global growth of
Christianity, the progress of Christian unity, and mission in
multi-faith and postmodern societies.
"This book is extremely valuable. Shupe et al. have done an
excellent job...highly recommended; it is a must-read."--"Criminal
Justice Review"
""Bad Pastors" raises all the good questions and provides many
hypothetical answers, and for these reasons alone it should be read
by all sociologists of religion with an interest in
wrongdoings."
--"Sociology of Religion"
Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures,
philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid
schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars:
for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be
in the news.
Is there something about religious organizations that fosters
such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives
and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual
misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal
abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who
misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for
clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations
themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted
leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and
even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that
such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the
contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather
treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective.
Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a
broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence
against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new
religious movements. Highlighting similarities between otherforms
of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to
conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.
Child sexual abuse by clergy within the Roman Catholic Church has
emerged as a social and political discourse over the last three
decades. The analysis here specifically focuses on the
establishment, conduct, and outcomes of the extensive public
inquiries of Australia, although inquiries in other jurisdictions
are also discussed. Unlike criminal or civil processes, although
they may be inquisitory in nature, public inquiries emerge from a
specifically political context and are a tool of governance
embedded in a larger context of governmentality. Understanding the
broader political and cultural contexts of public inquiries is
important, then, in understanding their value and effectiveness as
justice processes - especially for victims of CSA by clergy. What
is interesting about public inquiry is that it situates victims of
CSA by clergy outside of criminal and civil justice processes and
recognises a different politicised relationship between victims as
citizens, the state, and Catholic institutions where abuse has
occurred. At the cutting edge of disciplinary and methodological
understandings of the interconnections between the church, state
and families, his book explores the dynamics of the emergence and
politicisation of victims of CSA by clergy, their expressions of
resistance and the legitimisation of their voice in public and
political spheres.
The second century was a religious and cultural crucible for early
Christian Christology. Was Christ a man, temporarily inhabited by
the divine? Was he a spirit, only apparently cloaked in flesh? Or
was he the Logos, truly incarnate? Between varieties of adoptionism
on the one hand and brands of gnosticism on the other, the church's
understanding took shape. In this clear and concise introduction,
James Papandrea sets out five of the principal images of Christ
that dominated belief and debate in the postapostolic age. While
beliefs on the ground were likely more tangled and less defined
than we can know, Papandrea helps us see how Logos Christology was
forged as the beginning of the church's orthodox confession. This
informative and clarifying study of early Christology provides a
solid ground for students to begin to explore the early church and
its Christologies.
We know that the earliest Christians sang hymns. Paul encourages
believers to sing "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." And at the
dawn of the second century the Roman official Pliny names a feature
of Christian worship as "singing alternately a hymn to Christ as to
God." But are some of these early Christian hymns preserved for us
in the New Testament? Are they right before our eyes? New Testament
scholars have long debated whether early Christian hymns appear in
the New Testament. And where some see preformed hymns and
liturgical elements embossed on the page, others see patches of
rhetorically elevated prose from the author's hand. Matthew Gordley
now reopens this fascinating question. He begins with a new look at
hymns in the Greco-Roman and Jewish world of the early church.
Might the didactic hymns of those cultural currents set a new
starting point for talking about hymnic texts in the New Testament?
If so, how should we detect these hymns? How might they function in
the New Testament? And what might they tell us about early
Christian worship? An outstanding feature of texts such as
Philippians 2:6-11, Colossians 1:15-20, and John 1:1-17 is their
christological character. And if these are indeed hymns, we
encounter the reality that within the crucible of worship the
deepest and most searching texts of the New Testament arose. New
Testament Christological Hymns reopens an important line of
investigation that will serve a new generation of students of the
New Testament.
Baptists through the Centuries provides a clear introduction to the
history and theology of this influential and international people.
David Bebbington, a leading Baptist historian, surveys the main
developments in Baptist life and thought from the seventeenth
century to the present. The Baptist movement took root and grew
well beyond its British and American origins. Bebbington
persuasively demonstrates how Baptists continually adapted to the
cultures and societies in which they lived, generating ever more
diversity within an already multifaceted group. Bebbington's survey
also examines the challenging social, political, and intellectual
issues in Baptist historyaattitudes on race, women's roles in the
church, religious liberty, missions, and theological commitments.
The second edition of this proven textbook extends the scope with
chapters on three parts of the world where Baptists have become
particularly numerous: Latin America (where Brazilian Baptists
number over 2 million), Nigeria (where Baptists are at their
strongest outside North America, numbering roughly 5 million), and
the Naga Hills in India (where Baptists form over 80 percent of the
population). Each chapter also highlights regional issues that have
presented new challenges and opportunities to Baptists: holistic
mission in Latin America, the experience of charismatic renewal and
the encounter with Islam in Nigeria, and the demands of peacemaking
in the Naga Hills. Through this new edition, Bebbington orients
readers and expands their knowledge of the Baptist community as it
continues to flourish around the world.
Persecution and the Christian are as inseparable as the cross and
Christ. Yet, many Christians find it difficult to grapple with the
history of persecution and martyrdom that has characterized the
Church since her infancy. A selective reading of history might give
the mistaken impression that each day brought the imminent threat
of death or torture for members of the Early Church. On the other
hand, some contemporary scholars treat persecution as a myth
created by later generations. Thankfully, the scholarship of
Herbert Workman dispels both these misconceptions. Workman draws on
a wealth of primary and secondary sources, presenting a balanced
picture of persecution from the days of the Apostles to the dawn of
Christendom. But Workman is more than a scholar-he's a Christian,
which means he leaves no room for the reader to approach
persecution as a casual observer. He not only demonstrates what
true faithfulness looked like in the past, but equips the reader to
face the future with faith and courage.
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