Scholars have labeled the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormonism as it is better known, both the American Religion, and the next world faith. The Mormon saga includes early persecution, conflict, and pioneer resilience, against a backdrop of revolutionary religious, social, and economic practices. The greatest colonizing force in American history, Mormonism has outgrown its 19th-century isolation and theocratic roots to become one of the most prosperous and respected Christian communities in the country. This book examines the history of the movement, and considers carefully the reasons behind a perennial discord with American culture--and the American government--that only waned in the early decades of the 20th century. Givens also considers the range of Mormon doctrines--both familiar and peculiar--and overviews the background and content of the unique canon of Mormon scripture. The Latter-day Saint Experience in America examines all aspects the how Mormons live, work, and worship. The book discusses: Mormon worship and Church organization; The intellectual and artistic heritage of the Latter-day Saints; Official Church teachings across a span of contemporary issues, from feminism to race to the environment; The tensions and future directions of the modern Church. Abundant appendices include a glossary of Mormonism, a timeline, a comparison with other Christian creeds, biographical sketches of Mormon luminaries, and an annotated bibliography useful for further study.

Short Description: Many Christians reject the consensus of contemporary science about the age of the universe, the implications of genetics, and so on. This book presents interviews with 15 eminent scientists who discuss the compatibility of their Christian faith and their mainstream scientific commitments. Features John Polkinghorne, Alister McGrath, John Lennox, Francis Collins, and John Houghton. A collection of exclusive interviews in which 15 eminent scientists talk about their science and their Christian faith. In this collection of interviews, scientists show how Bible-believing Christianity is compatible with contemporary scientific thinking. Christians do not have to choose, they say, between big bang and the Bible. Genesis and genetics can go together. In this book, big questions of the past, the present and the future are asked and answered; the physical impacts and moral implications of climate change are investigated and the intricacies of human DNA and the morality of genetic engineering are unravelled. Physicists, immunologists, astrophysicists, biochemists and mathematicians discuss what it means for humankind to be made in the image of God and how Christians can translate the gospel for our science-savvy society.

In his provocative book offers a revisionist history of the trans-denominational initiatives of English evangelicals from 1965 to 2000. 'Based on inside knowledge as well as telling statistics and sound sociological method Rob Warner's study of English evangelicals in the late 20th century tells a masterly though sobering tale of an era of evangelical entrepreneurs who had great success in gather- ing together the evangelical clans but suffered from a seeming in- ability to separate reality from hype, or what Dr Warner calls 'vision inflation'. The book is a must for every serious Evangelical leader as well as seasoned sociological scholars.' Professor Andrew Walker, King's College, London.

Apostolic networks link congregations together through personal relationships. They center around apostolic figures who have the ability to mobilize resources, make rapid decisions, and utilize charismatic gifts. Networks of churches organized in this way can respond to postmodernity and cultural innovation. This book takes the story of the emergence of apostolic networks in Britain from the visionary work of Arthur Wallis through the charismatic renewal into the full-fledged Restoration Movement of the 1980s. It covers the events of the 1990s, including the Toronto Blessing, and contains fresh information based upon interviews with leading players and new survey data as well as reanalysis of historical documents.

The thesis of this study is that Christian Science was a manifestation of the unrest gripping the United States after the Civil War. The age in which the movement flowered was, at once, sordid and gilded, commercial and optimistic. The stormy way through which the new religion passed was, in a sense, the road upon which all new ideas and schemes are tried. Mrs. Eddy's vision was subjected to reasoned and irrational scrutiny for 40 years. In truth, Christian Science belonged only tenuously to a modern era. It reflected the prevailing optimism, progressivism, utopianism, and feminism of the Gilded Age but did not illuminate the stage with a unique light of its own.

When the Christian Right burst onto the scene in the late 1970s, many political observers were shocked. But, God's Own Party demonstrates, they shouldn't have been. The Christian Right goes back much farther than most journalists, political scientists, and historians realize. Relying on extensive archival and primary source research, Daniel K. Williams presents the first comprehensive history of the Christian Right, uncovering how evangelicals came to see the Republican Party as the vehicle through which they could reclaim America as a Christian nation. The conventional wisdom has been that the Christian Right arose in response to Roe v. Wade and the liberal government policies of the 1970s. Williams shows that the movement's roots run much deeper, dating to the 1920s, when fundamentalists launched a campaign to restore the influence of conservative Protestantism on American society. He describes how evangelicals linked this program to a political agenda-resulting in initiatives against evolution and Catholic political power, as well as the national crusade against communism. Williams chronicles Billy Graham's alliance with the Eisenhower White House, Richard Nixon's manipulation of the evangelical vote, and the political activities of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and others, culminating in the presidency of George W. Bush. Though the Christian Right has frequently been declared dead, Williams shows, it has come back stronger every time. Today, no Republican presidential candidate can hope to win the party's nomination without its support. A fascinating and much-needed account of a key force in American politics, God's Own Party is the only full-scale analysis of the electoral shifts, cultural changes, and political activists at the movement's core-showing how the Christian Right redefined politics as we know it.

You Were Created to Know the Shepherd's Voice--and Speak His Words to the World This is a pivotal time in the Body of Christ: As the world tumbles into darkness, credibility issues have arisen within the prophetic movement, causing believers to be disillusioned, frustrated and unsure whom to trust. Yet God is speaking more clearly than ever before. Are we willing--and able--to listen? Full of hope and practical insights, this book brings you back to the basics of how to hear and speak the words of God. By digging into 10 biblical, prophetic values, Pastor James Levesque shows how cultivating qualities like perseverance, hope and generosity will help you hear God clearly and accurately--and represent Him with integrity. In these unprecedented times, His voice must be our guide, and His Word must be our lamp. And as you follow where He leads, you will speak peace to the enemy's storms and be the light the world so desperately needs.

In an era where church attendance has reached an all-time low, recent polling has shown that Americans are becoming less formally religious and more promiscuous in their religious commitments. Within both mainline and evangelical Christianity in America, it is common to hear of secularizing pressures and increasing competition from nonreligious sources. Yet there is a kind of religious institution that has enjoyed great popularity over the past thirty years: the evangelical megachurch. Evangelical megachurches not only continue to grow in number, but also in cultural, political, and economic influence. To appreciate their appeal is to understand not only how they are innovating, but more crucially, where their innovation is taking place. In this groundbreaking and interdisciplinary study, Justin G. Wilford argues that the success of the megachurch is hinged upon its use of space: its location on the postsuburban fringe of large cities, its fragmented, dispersed structure, and its focus on individualized spaces of intimacy such as small group meetings in homes, which help to interpret suburban life as religiously meaningful and create a sense of belonging. Based on original fieldwork at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church, one of the largest and most influential megachurches in America, Sacred Subdivisions explains how evangelical megachurches thrive by transforming mundane secular spaces into arenas of religious significance.

This book will teach you how to take hope in God because of how God restored, vindicated, and made His name great in the lives of people like Job, Joseph, and Abraham. It will give you the encouragement you need to believe that God can work the same power in your life.

You have faced challenges—financial, emotional, physical, relational, ministerial, and business. It is often in the midst of these tests, trials, and difficulties that God prepares you to move into a new season of expansion. Even though the circumstances feel uncomfortable and victory may be hard to see, you will recuperate from devastation and not a moment of it will be wasted. Take comfort in knowing God will remember and vindicate every tear you’ve cried and will restore to you more than what the enemy stole and the locust ate.

Breaking open fresh revelations from the Psalms and Proverbs and examining snapshots of the lives of Gideon, Joseph, Abraham, and Job, You Shall Recover All will encourage you to know that through the tests and trials you thought had come to diminish you, God is actually turning them around for your good and preparing you for greatness. It may be tempting to give up hope or throw in the towel, but do not give in to discouragement, hopelessness, depression, doubt, or defeat. Despite what you see, God is still on the throne.

There is hope for you and your world. What the enemy means for bad, God turns around for your good. For all that you’ve pressed through and endured, let God put a new level of honor on your life. He will take you from least to greatest, and you shall recover all!

Winner of the 2013 Book Award of Excellence, The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship What is the meaning of the Holy Spirit's activity in Luke-Acts, and what are its implications for today? Roger Stronstad offers a cogent and thought-provoking study of Luke as a charismatic theologian whose understanding of the Spirit was shaped wholly by his understanding of Jesus and the nature of the early church. Stronstad locates Luke's pneumatology in the historical background of Judaism and views Luke as an independent theologian who makes a unique contribution to the pneumatology of the New Testament. This work challenges traditional Protestants to reexamine the impact of Pentecost and explores the Spirit's role in equipping God's people for the unfinished task of mission. The second edition has been revised and updated throughout and includes a new foreword by Mark Allan Powell.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1855 Excerpt: ...how little a really good thing is sometimes appreciated. The first objects I saw in approaching the city were the remains of what was once the Temple, tion of the Church, and on principles so broad that every honest man might dwell secure under its protective influence, without distinction of sect or party." Having laid this foundation for the gathering of the Saints, a proclamation was issued on the 15th of January, 1841, by the First Presidency of the Church--Joseph Smith, Sidney fiidgon and Hyrum Smith, inviting the wealthy to remove to Nauvoo and neighbourhood, and establish and build up manufactories in the city, and purchase and cultivate farms in the country, that a permanent inheritance might be secured, and the way prepared for the gathering of the poor. At this time the population of the city was upwards of 3000. John C. Bennett, M.D., was elected first mayor. An early ordinance, passed by the Corporation, was one in relation to religious liberty. It provided that all religious sects and denominations should have free toleration and equal privileges within the city, and that any person ridiculing or abusing another on account of his religious belief, should, on conviction thereof before the Mayor or Municipal Court, be fined in any sum not exceeding 500 dollars, or imprisoned not exceeding 6 months. On the 3rd of February, ordinances were passed organizing the Nauvoo Legion and the University, and on the 15th, one was passed regulating the sale of intoxicating liquors, with a view to prevent the introduction of drunkenness into the city. On the 10th of March the State Legislature passed "An Act to incorporate the Nauvoo Agricultural and Manufacturing Association, in the county of Hancock." The object of this association was the prom...

!El manto de Dios de uncion y poder te esta esperando! Inspirado por la fidelidad y la audacia de los grandes profetas biblicos Elias y Eliseo, el exitoso autor Samuel Rodriguez explora el poder de perseverar con esperanza en medio de los tiempos oscuros en los que vivimos. Si las circunstancias dolorosas o las perdidas te han dejado cansado y desanimado, !entonces aferrate a las promesas de Dios y preparate para completar tu asignacion! Fundamentado en la verdad de la Palabra de Dios, el pastor Sam te ayuda a: * permanecer fiel a Dios y experimentar Su poder y provision * descubrir la direccion de Dios para el tiempo y la temporada en que estas * aprender como el arado de la perseverancia siempre conduce al manto de promocion * recuperar tu familia, recuperar tu hambre espiritual, recuperar tu sueno No importa que estes experimentando, no dudes ni por un segundo que Dios esta obrando en tu vida. El infierno no puede parar la uncion profetica que Dios ha puesto sobre ti. Determina que perseveras--!y espera una cosecha de derramamiento del Dios ilimitado y vivo!