A sweet and heartwarming Amish romance where no disaster can conquer true love. Dairy farmer Abe Stoltzfus wants to propose to Lavinia Fisher, the beautiful young woman he's been dating, but being a traditional Amish man, he worries about how he can provide for her. Farming can be uncertain enough with weather conditions, crops not doing well, all manner of uncertainties. And after a bad summer storm and a serious injury from a rooftop tumble, Abe wants to wait until both he and his farm are back on their feet. Lavinia is relieved when Abe survives the fall, yet it seems like it's only the start of events that threaten their future together. But Lavinia is not only a talented Amish crafter, she's also the daughter of a farmer. She knows what the life of a farm wife is like and remains optimistic things will turn around. And when Abe continues to drag his feet, Lavinia makes him an interesting proposal. Will Abe be able to resist it-and her?

At the core of African American religion's response to social inequalities has been a symbiotic relationship between socio-political activism and spiritual restoration. Drawing on archival material and ethnographic fieldwork with African American Spiritual Churches in the USA, this book examines how their spiritual and social work can shed light on the interplay between corporate activism and individual spirituality. This book traces the development of this "politico-spiritual" approach to injustice from the beginning of the twentieth century through the opening decade of the twenty-first century, using the work of African American Spiritual Churches as a lens through which to observe its progression. Addressing subjects such as spiritual healing, support of the homeless, gender equality and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, it demonstrates that these communities are clearly motivated by the dual concerns of the soul and the community. This study diversifies our understanding of the African American religious landscape, highlighting an approach to social injustice that conjoins both political and spiritual transformations. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars of religious studies, African American studies and politics.

'The limits of radicalism are those which end not in chaos but in the breaking of fresh ground.' Howard E. Root Previously unpublished--and only recently rediscovered by Dr Christopher R. Brewer in an uncatalogued box in the archives of Lambeth Palace Library--Canon Howard E. Root's 1972 Bampton Lectures, 'The Limits of Radicalism', have to do with nothing less than 'what theology is', a topic no less relevant today than it was in 1972. Against the radical reductionism of his time, Root defended the integrity of theology and 'theological truth'. Advocating a 'backward-looking' radicalism, he thought that tradition should display 'recognisable continuity', and yet at the same time--against reductionistic tendencies--that it might be enriched and enlarged via a wide variety of 'additive imagery' including, though not limited to, poetry and pop art, music and even television. We must 'begin where we are', said Root, for we cannot, in the manner of Leonard Hodgson, 'think ourselves into the minds and feelings of men 2000 years ago.' In this volume, which begins with a substantial, mostly biographical introduction, Dr Brewer argues that Root--a backward-looking radical who defended metaphysics and natural theology, and insisted that theologians look to the arts as theological resources--anticipates the work of David Brown and others concerned with tradition and imagination, relevance and truth. A fascinating glimpse into the recent history of British Christianity, Root's lectures, as well as the related appendices, are essential reading for theologians interested in the dynamics of a developing tradition and the theme of openness, as well as those with a particular interest in 1960s Cambridge radicalism and the British reception of the Second Vatican Council.

Popular Evangelicalism in American Culture explores the controversies, complexities, and historical development of the evangelical movement in America and its impact on American culture. Evangelicalism is one of the most dynamic and growing religious movements in America and has been both a major force in shaping American society and likewise a group which has resisted aspects of the modern world. Organised thematically this book demonstrates the impact of American culture on popular evangelicalism by exploring the following topics: politics; economics; salvation; millennialism; the megachurch and electronic churches; and popular culture. This accessible and thought-provoking volume will interest anyone concerned with the modern-day success of the Evangelical movement in America.

'Secularization' has been hotly debated since it was first subjected to critical attention in the mid-sixties by David Martin, before he sketched a 'General Theory' in 1969. 'On Secularization' presents David Martin's reassessment of the key issues: with particular regard to the special situation of religion in Western Europe, and questions in the global context including Pentecostalism in Latin America and Africa. Concluding with examinations of Pluralism, Christian Language, and Christianity and Politics, this book offers students and other readers of social theory and sociology of religion an invaluable reappraisal of Christianity and Secularization. It represents the most comprehensive sociology of contemporary Christianity, set in historical depth.

What do you say to someone who is hurting? How many times in everyday conversation do we struggle to comfort others in a troubled world? Christians should be "first responders," say Andy Reese and Jennifer Barnett, yet we lack the tools and confidence to reach out. We end up frustrated by our own inability to connect meaningfully and make a difference. But what would happen if we had the ability and courage to speak out in love? In these pages Andy and Jennifer give you the practical understanding and simple tools to do just that. You can fill even your casual conversations with the gentle yet transforming power of Jesus Christ. Here is what you need to confidently step out to bring peace, give grace and help others experience renewal. Visit www.freedomprayer.org for more information. "Extremely instructive and practical."--Max Lucado, pastor and bestselling author "This book will change lives--maybe even yours."--Rich Stearns, president, World Vision U.S. "Solidly based on the Gospel and immensely practical. It has helped our leaders walk in increased freedom while we help many know the truth that sets them free."--David McQueen, senior pastor, Beltway Park Baptist Church, Abilene, Texas "Our leadership team is fully on board and delighted with the simple effectiveness of this ministry."--Michael Swecker, pastor of Prayer and Freedom Ministries, Hosanna! Church, Lakeville, Minnesota "For many people a ministry like Freedom Prayer is the best place to start . . and I am most impressed with the team at the Freedom Resource."--Stephen Mory, M.D., assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, Vanderbilt University; psychiatrist, Mental Health Cooperative "Freedom Tools offers piercing insights with keen discernment to empower the reader to be set free at last. . . .A great tool for your spiritual warfare arsenal."--James W. Goll, founder, Encounters Network, Prayer Storm and GET eSchool; author, The Lifestyle of a Prophet and many more "Freedom Prayer has been invaluable to me as a counselor.."--Wendy Barnes, LPC, San Antonio "Freedom Tools is both practical and profound. It does a masterful job of taking a potentially complex subject and bringing it into everyone's reach."--Bill Johnson, senior leader, Bethel Church, Redding, California; author, When Heaven Invades Earth and more "Through the partnership of truths from the world of psychology and those from the world of inner healing, we can see powerful healing and transformation. By integrating the two, we will see more people live abundant lives as they heal their connection with God and are restored body, soul and spirit."--Margaret Nagib, Timberline Knolls Clinical Development Institute "Freedom Tools gave me a biblical manual for helping people experience freedom.."--Kirk Freeman, lead pastor, CrossBridge Community Church, San Antonio, Texas "Professional counseling and prayer ministries work hand in hand as essential partners to facilitate inner healing in wounded lives. Working together we can maximize the freedom, recovery and renewing of all those in need."--Dr. Mark Jones, LMFT director, Liberty Alliance "This powerful book gives you the Freedom Tools you need to demolish the adversary's obstacles to freedom and prosperity. Use them and you, too, can experience the super-abundant life that God desires for you!"--C. Peter Wagner, chancellor, Wagner Leadership Institute "A great need has long existed for someone to reduce inner healing to simpler, everyday language and tools. Our friend Andy Reese has done that admirably in Freedom Tools."--John Loren Sandford, co-founder, Elijah House Ministries "This is ministry from the heart and by the Spirit--so simple and natural that you'll ask yourself, 'Why didn't I know this before?'"--David Kyle Foster, founder and exec utive director, Mastering Life Ministries

Hans Mol was born in the Netherlands during the 1920s. His imprisonment by the Gestapo during World War II began a long intellectual journey, exploring the role of religion in society. His work on the sociology of religion throughout the 20th and 21st Century is distinctive in its quest for both methodological and existential balance Part One of this book includes a brief outline of Mol's most influential theory as originally explicated in Identity and the Sacred (1976). This is followed by a look at the initial reception of that theory in relation to the competing concepts of Mol's contemporaries. Part Two is comprised of four previously-unpublished essays written by Mol during the 70s and 80s. Covering topics from evolution to evangelicalism, the papers display the sweeping ambition of this sociologist as well as the tone and contours of his intellectual articulation. In the Postscript this volume concludes with select transcripts of interviews conducted between Adam Powell and Hans Mol during the Spring of 2012. This volume of Mol's work will be of keen interest to academics and students with an interest in the sociology of religion post-World War II and the development of contemporary Christian theology.

Many twenty-first-century evangelical charismatics in Britain are looking for a faith that works. They want to experience the miraculous in terms of healings and Godsent financial provision. Many have left the mainstream churches to join independent charismatic churches led by those who are perceived to have special insights and to teach principles that will help believers experience the miraculous. But all is not rosy in this promised paradise, and when people are not healed or they remain poor they are often told that it is because they did not have enough faith. This study discovers the origin of the principles that are taught by some charismatic leaders. Glyn Ackerley identifies them as the same ideas that are taught by the positive confession, health, wealth, and prosperity movement, originating in the United States. The origins of the ideas are traced back to New Thought metaphysics and its background philosophies of subjective idealism and pragmatism. These principles were imported into the UK through contact between British leaders and those influenced by American "word of faith" teachers. Glyn Ackerley explains the persuasiveness of such teachers by examining case studies, suggesting their "miracles" may well have social and psychological explanations rather than divine origins.

This book focuses on the gender roles within the Unification Church, and on particularly the gender roles as expressed through the vows of marriage. It examines the more widely shared patriarchal assumptions about women in a circumscribed socio-religious environment, with the Church's gender role system being investigated largely on the level of its theological explanations for gender roles. The Church's ethos, its lived reality, is also examined, and for this many interviews have been conducted with the 'blessed', the married couples. First published in 1992.

Although often regarded as marginal or obscure, Mormonism is a significant American religious minority, numerically and politically. The successes and struggles of this U.S. born religion reveal much about how religion operates in U.S. society. Mormonism: The Basics introduces the teachings, practices, evolution, and internal diversity of this movement, whose cultural icons range from Mitt Romney to the Twilight saga, from young male missionaries in white shirts and ties to polygamous women in pastel prairie dresses. This is the first introductory text on Mormonism that tracks not only the mainstream LDS but also two other streams within the movement-the liberalized RLDS and the polygamous Fundamentalists-thus showing how Mormons have pursued different approaches to defining their identity and their place in society. The book addresses these questions. Are Mormons Christian, and why does it matter? How have Mormons worked out their relationship to the state? How have Mormons diverged in their thinking about gender and sexuality? How do rituals and regulations shape Mormon lives? What types of sacred spaces have Mormons created? What strategies have Mormons pursued to establish a global presence? Mormonism: The Basics is an ideal introduction for anyone wanting to understand this religion within its primarily American but increasingly globalized contexts.

In this first volume of his magisterial study of the foundations of Mormon thought and practice, Terryl L. Givens offers a sweeping account of Mormon belief from its founding to the present day. Situating the relatively new movement in the context of the Christian tradition, he reveals that Mormonism continues to change and grow.
Givens shows that despite Mormonism's origins in a biblical culture strongly influenced by nineteenth-century Restorationist thought, which advocated a return to the Christianity of the early Church, the new movement diverges radically from the Christianity of the creeds. Mormonism proposes its own cosmology and metaphysics, in which human identity is rooted in a premortal world as eternal as God. Mormons view mortal life as an enlightening ascent rather than a catastrophic fall, and reject traditional Christian concepts of human depravity and destiny. Popular fascination with Mormonism's social innovations, such as polygamy and communalism, and its supernatural and esoteric elements-angels, gold plates, seer stones, a New World Garden of Eden, and sacred undergarments-have long overshadowed the fact that it is the most enduring and even thriving product of the nineteenth century's religious upheavals and innovations.
Wrestling the Angel traces the essential contours of Mormon thought from the time of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to the contemporary LDS church, illuminating both the seminal influence of the founding generation of Mormon thinkers and the significant developments in the church over almost 200 years. The most comprehensive account of the development of Mormon thought ever written, Wrestling the Angel will be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the Mormon faith.

In 1972, Reinhard Bonnke heard a message from God:

"Africa shall be saved." Obediently, Bonnke moved to

Africa, where his ministry grew from humble roots to

crusades drawing more than one million people per night.

His ministry spawned incredible healing miracles of God,

saw the conversion of Muslims at a rate that warranted a

letter of warning from Osama bin Laden, and registered

more than 74 million decisions for Christ. In 2001,

Bonnke debated whether or not to move his ministry to

America.

Before he could think of leaving decades of missionary

work in Africa, Bonnke did something he had never done

before: he prayed for a sign that would confirm such a

move. God was about to answer that prayer.

A few days later, a woman brought the body of her

deceased husband to the Nigerian church where Bonnke

was preaching, in hopes that he would be raised from

the dead. Bonnke was unaware of this, and he never even

prayed for this man; but as he concluded his message,

he heard a chorus of shouts: "He's breathing He's

breathing " In front of thousands of witnesses, a man

dead three days had been raised back to life.

Now detailed for the first time, this incredible miracle is

part of a movement of God that was birthed in a small

African church and is now stretching around the world to

America. It is the beginning of a work of God, confirming

a new word: "America shall be saved."

This book focuses on the gender roles within the Unification Church, and on particularly the gender roles as expressed through the vows of marriage. It examines the more widely shared patriarchal assumptions about women in a circumscribed socio-religious environment, with the Church s gender role system being investigated largely on the level of its theological explanations for gender roles. The Church s ethos, its lived reality, is also examined, and for this many interviews have been conducted with the blessed, the married couples.

First published in 1992."

False beliefs about money so often rob us of our best opportunity to serve God, to love people, and to steward the wealth He gives us. Our cultural programming has embedded deep within us wrong ideas about wealth, money, and morality. These wrong ideas, and not greed or avarice, are the biggest source of poverty in the world. In Permission to Prosper, Ray Edwards offers three startling premises. First, God has promised you prosperity. Second, God has a purpose behind this prosperity (and it is not necessarily that you give all your money away). And third, the practice of prosperity is a spiritual activity. Not only do you have permission to prosper, but you also have a mandate to multiply. Permission to Prosper gives you the confidence and the keys to do just that.

In the late eighteenth century a small Shaker community travelled to America under the leadership of 'Mother Ann' Lee. The American communities they founded were based on ideals of pacifism, celibacy and gender equality. The texts included in this edition come from first-hand accounts of life in the Shaker communities during the nineteenth century.

What does it mean to grow up as an evangelical Christian today? What meanings does 'childhood' have for evangelical adults? How does this shape their engagements with children and with schools? And what does this mean for the everyday realities of children's lives? Based on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork carried out in three contrasting evangelical churches in the UK, Anna Strhan reveals how attending to the significance of children within evangelicalism deepens understanding of evangelicals' hopes, fears and concerns, not only for children, but for wider British society. Developing a new, relational approach to the study of children and religion, Strhan invites the reader to consider both the complexities of children's agency and how the figure of the child shapes the hopes, fears, and imaginations of adults, within and beyond evangelicalism. The Figure of the Child in Contemporary Evangelicalism explores the lived realities of how evangelical Christians engage with children across the spaces of church, school, home, and other informal educational spaces in a de-christianizing cultural context, how children experience these forms of engagement, and the meanings and significance of childhood. Providing insight into different churches' contemporary cultural and moral orientations, the book reveals how conservative evangelicals experience their understanding of childhood as increasingly countercultural, while charismatic and open evangelicals locate their work with children as a significant means of engaging with wider secular society. Setting out an approach that explores the relations between the figure of the child, children's experiences, and how adult religious subjectivities are formed in both imagined and practical relationships with children, this study situates childhood as an important area of study within the sociology of religion and examines how we should approach childhood within this field, both theoretically and methodologically.

This revelation was part of a prophecy given in 1936

by legendary evangelist and healing minister Smith

Wigglesworth to a young man named David du Plessis.

The revival Wigglesworth foresaw was a continuation of

the Pentecostal movement into the charismatic renewal

that continues to this day.

Later, in 1961, God gave Rev. Tommy Hicks a vision of

the continuation of that revival: a worldwide movement

in which the "Awakening Giant"--the body of Christ--receives spiritual power and authority on such a scale as

has not been seen since the book of Acts.

This book retells these two amazing prophecies in their

entirety and also discusses their implications for the

world today. The revival of God's church continues, but

it won't be complete until every Spirit-filled believer

understands his or her unique role in its fulfillment.

Study these prophecies and ask God to reveal how He

would use you to bring the greatest revival in history to

completion.

This book examines the historic tensions between Jehovah's Witnesses and government authorities, civic organisations, established churches and the broader public. Witnesses originated in the 1870s as small, loose-knit groups calling themselves Bible Students. Today, there are some eight million Witnesses worldwide, all actively engaged in evangelism under the direction of the Watch Tower Society. The author analyses issues that have brought them global visibility and even notoriety, including political neutrality, public ministry, blood transfusion, and anti-ecumenism. It also explores anti-Witness discourse, from media portrayals of the community as marginal and exotic to the anti-cult movement. Focusing on varied historical, ideological and national contexts, the book argues that Witnesses have had a defining influence on conceptions of religious tolerance in the modern world.

The Shakers are perhaps the best known of American religious communities. Their ethos and organization had a practical influence on many other communities and on society as a whole. This three volume collection presents writings from a broad cross-section of those who opposed the Shakers and their way of life.

To Hutterites and members of other pacifist sects, serving the military in any way goes against the biblical commandment "thou shalt not kill" and Jesus' admonition to turn the other cheek when confronted with violence. Pacifists in Chains tells the story of four young men - Joseph Hofer, Michael Hofer, David Hofer, and Jacob Wipf - who followed these beliefs and refused to perform military service in World War I. The men paid a steep price for their resistance, imprisoned in Alcatraz and Fort Leavenworth, where the two youngest died. The Hutterites buried the men as martyrs, citing mistreatment. Using archival material, letters from the four men and others imprisoned during the war, and interviews with their descendants, Duane C. S. Stoltzfus explores the tension between a country preparing to enter into a world war and a people whose history of martyrdom for their pacifist beliefs goes back to their sixteenth-century Reformation beginnings.

By the election year of 1844, Joseph Smith, the controversial founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had amassed a national following of some 25,000 believers. Nearly half of them lived in the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, where Smith was not only their religious leader but also the mayor and the commander-in-chief of a militia of some 2,500 men. In less than twenty years, Smith had helped transform the American religious landscape and grown his own political power substantially. Yet the standing of the Mormon people in American society remained unstable. Unable to garner federal protection, and having failed to win the support of former president Martin Van Buren or any of the other candidates in the race, Smith decided to take matters into his own hands, launching his own bid for the presidency. While many scoffed at the notion that Smith could come anywhere close to the White House, others regarded his run-and his religion-as a threat to the stability of the young nation. Hounded by mobs throughout the campaign, Smith was ultimately killed by one-the first presidential candidate to be assassinated. Though Joseph Smith's run for president is now best remembered-when it is remembered at all-for its gruesome end, the renegade campaign was revolutionary. Smith called for the total abolition of slavery, the closure of the country's penitentiaries, and the reestablishment of a national bank to stabilize the economy. But Smith's most important proposal was for an expansion of protections for religious minorities. At a time when the Bill of Rights did not apply to individual states, Smith sought to empower the federal government to protect minorities when states failed to do so. Spencer W. McBride tells the story of Joseph Smith's quixotic but consequential run for the White House and shows how his calls for religious freedom helped to shape the American political system we know today.

"Nine Days in Heaven" relates the vision of twenty-five-year-old Marietta Davis more than 150 years ago, where she was shown the beauties of heaven and the horrors of hell. Told in modern language, the book contains poignant quotes from the original vision, as well as biblical teaching points and testimonials from individuals whose lives have been impacted with this vision during the past 150 years. Pull-out quotes from the original vision are included, as are short testimonials from readers whose lives have been impacted by this vision. Teaching points and biblical comments appear throughout the chapters.

The work of John Howard Yoder has become increasingly influential in recent years. Moreover, it is gaining influence in some surprising places. No longer restricted to the world of theological ethicists and Mennonites, Yoder has been discovered as a refreshing voice by scholars working in many other fields. For thirty-five years, Yoder was known primarily as an articulate defender of Christian pacifism against a theological ethics guild dominated by the Troeltschian assumptions reflected in the work of Walter Rauschenbusch and Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr. But in the last decade, there has been a clearly identifiable shift in direction. A new generation of scholars has begun reading Yoder alongside figures most often associated with post-structuralism, neo-Nietzscheanism, and post-colonialism, resulting in original and productive new readings of his work. At the same time, scholars from outside of theology and ethics departments, indeed outside of Christianity itself, like Romand Coles and Daniel Boyarin, have discovered in Yoder a significant conversation partner for their own work. This volume collects some of the best of those essays in hope of encouraging more such work from readers of Yoder and in hopes of attracting others to his important work.