Deception by Design provides a comprehensive study of Mormonism; exposes the surprising source of Joseph Smith's "conversion" story; reveals the immense influence of others on Smith's beliefs; equips evangelical Christians with principals for witnessing to Mormons.

"Allen Harrod has written a wonderfully helpful and insightful book on Mormonism. It is both original in its research, as well as in its offering helpful conclusions and applications regarding the nature and history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." --Dr. R. Philip Roberts, president, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

"Deception by Design represents the best book I have seen in terms of explicating the beliefs and theology of Mormonism and at the same time providing superb approaches to presenting the claims of Christ to Mormons." --Dr. Paige Patterson, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

In this groundbreaking study, Stephen H. Webb offers a new theological understanding of the material and spiritual: that, far from being contradictory, they unite in the very stuff of the eternal Jesus Christ.
Accepting matter as a perfection (or predicate) of the divine requires a rethinking of the immateriality of God, the doctrine of creation out of nothing, the Chalcedonian formula of the person of Christ, and the analogical nature of religious language. It also requires a careful reconsideration of Augustine's appropriation of the Neo-Platonic understanding of divine incorporeality as well as Origen's rejection of anthropomorphism. Webb locates his position in contrast to evolutionary theories of emergent materialism and the popular idea that the world is God's body. He draws on a little known theological position known as the ''heavenly flesh'' Christology, investigates the many misunderstandings of its origins and relation to the Monophysite movement, and supplements it with retrievals of Duns Scotus, Caspar Scwenckfeld and Eastern Orthodox reflections on the transfiguration. Also included in Webb's study are discussions of classical figures like Barth and Aquinas as well as more recent theological proposals from Bruce McCormack, David Hart, and Colin Gunton. Perhaps most provocatively, the book argues that Mormonism provides the most challenging, urgent, and potentially rewarding source for metaphysical renewal today.
Webb's concept of Christian materialism challenges traditional Christian common sense, and aims to show the way to a more metaphysically sound orthodoxy.

Explores the role of race and consumer culture in attracting urban congregants to an evangelical church The Urban Church Imagined illuminates the dynamics surrounding white urban evangelical congregations' approaches to organizational vitality and diversifying membership. Many evangelical churches are moving to urban, downtown areas to build their congregations and attract younger, millennial members. The urban environment fosters two expectations. First, a deep familiarity and reverence for popular consumer culture, and second, the presence of racial diversity. Church leaders use these ideas when they imagine what a "city church" should look like, but they must balance that with what it actually takes to make this happen. In part, racial diversity is seen as key to urban churches presenting themselves as "in touch" and "authentic." Yet, in an effort to seduce religious consumers, church leaders often and inadvertently end up reproducing racial and economic inequality, an unexpected contradiction to their goal of inclusivity. Drawing on several years of research, Jessica M. Barron and Rhys H. Williams explore the cultural contours of one such church in downtown Chicago. They show that church leaders and congregants' understandings of the connections between race, consumer culture, and the city is a motivating factor for many members who value interracial interactions as a part of their worship experience. But these explorations often unintentionally exclude members along racial and classed lines. Indeed, religious organizations' efforts to engage urban environments and foster integrated congregations produce complex and dynamic relationships between their racially diverse memberships and the cultivation of a safe haven in which white, middle-class leaders can feel as though they are being a positive force in the fight for religious vitality and racial diversity. The book adds to the growing constellation of studies on urban religious organizations, as well as emerging scholarship on intersectionality and congregational characteristics in American religious life. In so doing, it offers important insights into racially diverse congregations in urban areas, a growing trend among evangelical churches. This work is an important case study on the challenges faced by modern churches and urban institutions in general.

Brigham Young and Thomas L. Kane first met on the plains of western Iowa in 1846 The Mormon prophet and the Philadelphia reformer would go on to exchange more than one hundred letters over the next three decades. This annotated collection of their correspondence reveals a great deal about these two remarkable men, while also providing crucial insight into nineteenth-century Mormonism and the historical moment in which the movement developed. Until his death in 1877, Young guided the religious, economic, and political life of the Mormon community, whose settlements spread throughout the West and provoked a profound political, legal, and even military confrontation with the American nation. Young relied on Kane, 21 years his junior, as his most trusted outside adviser, making Kane the most important non-Mormon in the history of the Church. In return, no one influenced the direction of Kane's life more than Young. The surviving letters offer crucial insights into Young's personal life and views as well as his actions as a political and religious leader. The correspondence reveals the strategies of the Latter-day Saints in relating to American culture and government during these crucial years when the "Mormon Question" was a major political, cultural, and legal issue. The letters also shed important light on the largely forgotten "Utah War" of 1857-58, triggered when President James Buchanan dispatched a military expedition to ensure federal supremacy in Utah and replace Young with a non-Mormon governor. The Prophet and the Reformer offers a complete reproduction of the exchange between Young and Kane, and provides an introduction to each letter that contextualizes and analyzes it.

This book reveals whether there is a temple in heaven and what its purpose is. Christ is revealed as our High Priest who intercedes for us. This is the heart of the Seventh-day Adventist message. Issues addressed include: Can we be sure there is a real temple in heaven? What is the purpose of this temple? When does the judgement start? Do we need to keep the Ten Commandments? Should we observe a literal Sabbath? And much more. The heavenly sanctuary reveals Jesus who ever intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25). ""An extremely thorough, engaging presentation of the framework of Seventh-day Adventist beliefs."" - Kirkus Review

The 1920s saw one of the most striking revolutions in manners and morals to have marked North American society, affecting almost every aspect of life, from dress and drink to sex and salvation. Protestant Christianity was being torn apart by a heated controversy between traditionalists and the modernists, as they sought to determine how much their beliefs and practices should be altered by scientific study and more secular attitudes. Out of the controversy arose the Fundamentalist movement, which has become a powerful force in twentieth-century America.
During this decade, hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of young girl preachers, some not even school age, joined the conservative Christian cause, proclaiming traditional values and condemning modern experiments with the new morality. Some of the girls drew crowds into the thousands. But the stage these girls gained went far beyond the revivalist platform. The girl evangelist phenomenon was recognized in the wider society as well, and the contrast to the flapper worked well for the press and the public. Girl evangelists stood out as the counter-type of the flapper, who had come to define the modern girl. The striking contrast these girls offered to the racy flapper and to modern culture generally made girl evangelists a convenient and effective tool for conservative and revivalist Christianity, a tool which was used by their adherents in the clash of cultures that marked the 1920s.

Mormonism and the Emotions: An Analysis of LDS Scriptural Texts is an introductory Latterday Saint (LDS) theology of emotion that is both canonically based and scientifically informed. It highlights three widely accepted characteristics of emotion that emerge from scientific perspectives-namely, the necessity of cognition for its emergence, the personal responsibility attached to its manifestations, and its instrumentality in facilitating various processes of human development and experience. In analyzing the basic theological structure of Mormonism and its unique canonical texts the objective is to determine the extent to which LDS theology is compatible with this three-fold definition of emotion. At this basic level of explanation, the conclusion is that science and Mormon theology undoubtedly share a common perspective. The textual investigation focuses on unique Mormon scriptures and on their descriptions of six common emotions: hope, fear, joy, sorrow, love, and hate. For each of these emotional phenomena the extensive report of textual references consistently confirms an implied presence of the outlined three-fold model of emotion. Thus, the evidence points to the presence of an underlying folk model of emotion in the text that broadly matches scientific definitions. Additionally, the theological examination is enlarged with a particular focus on the Mormon theology of atonement, which is shown to play a significant role in LDS understandings of emotions. A broad exploration of such areas as epistemology, cosmology, soteriology, and the theological anthropology of Mormonism further contextualizes the analysis and roots it in the LDS theological worldview.

Including a Foreword by The Rt Revd Dr Graham Tomlin, this volume examines the theology and practice of baptism. It contains a narrative introduction that highlights the different approaches taken to baptism, and the various issues that come with them. The volume also covers how the changing cultural context within Britain has influenced responses to baptism. At the heart of the book is a detailed examination of the theme of covenant running through the Bible and how this shapes its understanding of baptism. Gordon Kuhrt and his son Stephen explore several controversial issues associated with baptism. Believing in Baptism contains an in-depth discussion of the sacramental issues surrounding baptismal 'efficacy', for instance, as well as infant or family baptism. The authors also examine the 'Baptist' view, discrimination in Baptism and the issue of 'Rebaptism'. Finally, they consider the issue of 'Baptism and its Completion?', and make practical recommendations on the ways in which baptism should be taught and lived in the local church.