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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > General
Do Not Be Deceived is a redemptive-historical,
presuppositional-apologetical Christian Worldview response to the
three perspectives of the Gay Theological Worldview (Liberal,
Evangelical, and Queer). It addresses the flawed epistemological
foundation, as well as the hermeneutical errors, of this growing
movement and provides a thorough exegesis of the relevant Biblical
texts on human sexuality.
John Foxe's ground-breaking chronicle of Christian saints and
martyrs put to death over centuries remains a landmark text of
religious history. The persecution of Christians was for centuries
a fact of living in Europe. Adherence to the faith was a great
personal risk, with the Roman Empire leading the first of such
persecutions against early Christian believers. Many were
crucified, put to the sword, or burned alive - gruesome forms of
death designed to terrify and discourage others from following the
same beliefs. Appearing in 1563, Foxe's chronicle of Christian
suffering proved a great success among Protestants. It gave
literate Christians the ability to discover and read about brave
believers who died for expressing their religion, much as did Jesus
Christ. Perhaps in foretelling, the final chapter of the book
focuses upon the earliest Christian missions abroad: these, to the
Americas, Asia and other locales, would indeed see many more
martyrs put to death by the local populations.
J. C. Ryle's classic guide for Christians, wherein he outlines the
principles of sin, sanctification, spiritual growth and the
importance of Christ is published here complete. The spiritual
excellence displayed in J. C. Ryle's writings cannot be
underestimated: a lengthy introduction tells us the seven
aspirations which Ryle holds when teaching his fellow Christian.
Delving into great detail to explain each aim, and supporting his
statements by citing scripture, the author displays an impressive
devotion both to the Lord and to all believers who choose to read
his words. Moses is identified as being foremost among God's
saints, standing among the best examples of men ever lived. His
surrender of a high ranked position, his abstentious attitude to
worldly pleasures and wealth, and his opting for an ascetic life
full of hardships and pain in service of the Lord are mentioned.
Moses' followers were despised by others, yet he took up and
ultimately proved their cause.
To date, constructive theology hasn't been viewed or conceptualized
as a movement or trend in theology on its own as a whole. Questions
arise as to what constructive theology is, where it came from, why
it considers itself "constructive," and why constructive is
something different from the ways in which theology has been done
in the past. This book traces the overall historical arc of
constructive theology, from proto-movement through the present.
Inklings of constructive theology emerged well before it began to
take any formalized shape. At the same time, an important shift
occurred when a group of theologians decided to create the
Workgroup on Constructive Theology. Further, even as the workgroup
continues to work collectively, producing textbooks, statements,
and methodologies concerning theology, many theologians who are not
part of the workgroup or may not even know it exists have adopted
the moniker of "constructive theologian." The book also considers
the term "constructive" itself, offering possible reasons and
historical contexts that led to this distinction being made in
contrast to "systematic" theology and its subcategories.
Constructive theology speaks to a very specific, historically
situated emergence in the academy generally and in theology's
attempts to engage those shifts specifically.
In this new book on the rise of commercial black 'mega churches,'
Mary Hinton examines the rich legacy of the historic black church
from the dual perspectives of theology and religious education. She
explores the new religious models emerging from the tradition of
the historic black church and questions whether they are continuing
to operate and practice according to the wisdom of this unique form
of American religion. Two mega church ministries, those of T. D.
Jakes and Creflo Dollar, are examined in detail with regards to how
they align with black church religious history. Hinton concludes by
proposing that the fastest growing religious phenomenon within and
outside of the black community in the United States-the mega
church-should no longer be analyzed based on size alone. Instead,
Hinton urges readers to consider the ecclesiastical structures of
churches in making appropriate assessments in determining should
and should not be classified as a commercial church.
The author explores the literature of the first three centuries of
the church in terms of group identity and formation as surrogate
kinship. Why did this become the organizing model in the earliest
churches? How did historical developments intervene to shift the
paradigm? How do ancient Mediterranean kinship structures correlate
with church formation? Hellerman traces the fascinating story of
these developments over three centuries and what brought them
about. His focus is the New Testament documents (especially Paul's
letters), second-century authors, and concluding with Cyprian in
the third century. Kinship terminology in these writings, behaviors
of group solidarity, and the symbolic power of kinship language in
these groups are examined.
"Beyond the Pulpit, Beyond the Church" teaches aspiring church
leaders and well-seasoned ministers the importance of applying
sound biblical concepts of Godly character and wisdom. (Christian)
C.S. Lewis, himself a layperson in the Church of England, has
exercised an unprecedentedly wide influence on the faithful of
Anglican, Roman Catholic, Evangelical and other churches, all of
whom tend naturally to claim him as one of their own. One of the
reasons for this diverse appropriation is the elusiveness of the
church in the sense both of his own denomination and of the wider
subject of ecclesiology in Lewis writings. The essays contained in
this volume critically examine the place, character and role of the
Church in Lewis life. The result is a detailed and scintillating
picture of the interactions of one of the most distinctive voices
in twentieth-century theology with the contemporaneous development
of the Church of England, with key concepts in ecclesiology, and
with interdenominational matters.
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