How to Stand Firm in Your Faith When the World Is Falling Apart

Philippians is one of the most practical books of the Bible, which Robert Morgan says is as fresh as ever. Its theme can be summed up in these verses: "Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then . . . I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you" (1:27-28).

Life is unpredictable, and the world is unstable. People have never been so confounded, sensing our culture, economy, and geopolitical systems are spiraling downward. Even in our personal lives, none of us knows what will happen next--which is why God gave us the book of Philippians. This short letter, with just over 100 verses, can help us learn to live overflowing lives in an overwhelming world.

Among the many lessons in Whatever Happens, readers will learn how to:

• Use prayer to energize their life and embrace uncertainty
• Make today about serving others and lifting them up
• Glorify the Lord and stay as cheerful as possible in all circumstances
• Let others lean on their strength
• Start everything with praise and end everything with prayer

As the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from a prison cell, he was facing dire circumstances and an unsettled future. Would he be released or executed? But he knew one thing--that whatever happened, he was going to stand firm in his faith and live a life worthy of the gospel. And no matter what we are going through today, we can do the same.

A fun, concise and attractive introduction to a fascinating and challenging subject. This is the ideal book for secondary school students and undergraduate students coming to theology for the first time, or indeed for anyone who just doesn't know where to start. The book examines key thinkers from the New Testament to Feminist Theology. It starts by considering some of the authors of New Testament writings and then focuses on representatives of the western tradition of theological speculation. Nearly half the work concentrates on 20th century thinkers and problems. It puts them in their historical, social and cultural settings, emphasizing that theology is as much a reflection on the world we live in as it is on God. Technical terms are explained in simple language throughout the text. This makes the book an ideal reference tool for a clear first overview of theology.

The writers of the Bible speak to us with their words, and the Bible's characters speak to us with their lives. Their powerful examples reveal the spiritual inspiration and brilliant insight the human writers and the divine Writer intended. Times, cultures, traditions, and societal values may change from century to century, but human nature does not.

We value people whose words and actions reflect their true thoughts and intentions. People of integrity purposely integrate their own thoughts, words, and behaviors. They work at making their own hearts and minds, thoughts and ideas consistent with the godly character portrayed in Scripture.

These twenty-five Bible personalities in Choose Your Character cultivate a desire to deepen the commitment to live a life of unfailing integrity. Their examples teach us how to increase our personal satisfaction and effectiveness while strengthening our ability to influence others.

Paid in Full, a riveting account of Jesus' final hours, takes you on a journey that does just that. It powerfully explains the significance--for every person ever born--of each step Jesus willingly took along the way of His suffering, His death, and His resurrection. Noted Bible teacher Rick Renner draws a brilliant backdrop to the passion of Jesus Christ, interjecting fresh insights into the human and divine drama that took place in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago.

This work compares the Minor Prophets commentaries of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Cyril of Alexandria, isolating the role each interpreter assigns the Twelve Prophets in their ministry to Old Testament Israel and the texts of the Twelve as Christian scripture. Hauna T. Ondrey argues that Theodore does acknowledge christological prophecies, as distinct from both retrospective accommodation and typology. A careful reading of Cyril's Commentary on the Twelve limits the prospective christological revelation he ascribes to the prophets and reveals the positive role he grants the Mosaic law prior to Christ's advent. Exploring secondly the Christian significance Theodore and Cyril assign to Israel's exile and restoration reveals that Theodore's reading of the Twelve Prophets, while not attempting to be christocentric, is nevertheless self-consciously Christian. Cyril, unsurprisingly, offers a robust Christian reading of the Twelve, yet this too must be expanded by his focus on the church and concern to equip the church through the ethical paideusis provided by the plain sense of the prophetic text. Revised descriptions of each interpreter lead to the claim that a recent tendency to distinguish the Old Testament interpretation of Theodore (negatively) and Cyril (positively) on the basis of their "christocentrism" obscures more than it clarifies and polarizes no less than earlier accounts of Antiochene/Alexandrian exegesis. The conclusion argues against replacing old dichotomies with new and advocates rather for an approach that takes seriously Theodore's positive account of the unity and telos of the divine economy and the full range of Cyril's interpretation.

Today, the statement that Anglicans are fond of the Fathers and keen on patristic studies looks like a platitude. Like many platitudes, it is much less obvious than one might think. Indeed, it has a long and complex history. Jean-Louis Quantin shows how, between the Reformation and the last years of the Restoration, the rationale behind the Church of England's reliance on the Fathers as authorities on doctrinal controversies, changed significantly. Elizabethan divines, exactly like their Reformed counterparts on the Continent, used the Church Fathers to vindicate the Reformation from Roman Catholic charges of novelty, but firmly rejected the authority of tradition. They stressed that, on all questions controverted, there was simply no consensus of the Fathers. Beginning with the "avant-garde conformists" of early Stuart England, the reference to antiquity became more and more prominent in the construction of a new confessional identity, in contradistinction both to Rome and to Continental Protestants, which, by 1680, may fairly be called "Anglican." English divines now gave to patristics the very highest of missions. In that late age of Christianity--so the idea ran--now that charisms had been withdrawn and miracles had ceased, the exploration of ancient texts was the only reliable route to truth. As the identity of the Church of England was thus redefined, its past was reinvented. This appeal to the Fathers boosted the self-confidence of the English clergy and helped them to surmount the crises of the 1650s and 1680s. But it also undermined the orthodoxy that it was supposed to support.

This book examines how religion and related beliefs have varied impacts on the needs and perceptions of practitioners, service users, and the support networks available to them. The authors argue that social workers need to understand these phenomena, so that they can become more confident in challenging discriminatory and oppressive practices. The centrality of religion and associated beliefs in the lives of many is emphasised, as are their potentially liberating (and potentially negative) impacts. In line with the "Social Work in Practice" series style, the book allows readers to explore issues in depth. It focuses on knowledge transmission, and the encouragement of critical reflection on practice. Each chapter is built around 'real-life' case scenarios using a problem-based learning approach. This book is the first to deal with social work and religion so comprehensively and will therefore be essential reading for social work students, as well as practitioners in a range of areas, social work academics and researchers in the UK and beyond.

This is Laurence Gardner's final book, written shortly before his death in 2010 and is the accompanying book to his Origin of God (published 2011 by dash house publishing). Together with Origin of God, this book outlines an irrefutable and searing indictment of conventional belief and exposes the evils and absurdities perpetuated over the millenia in the name of Christianity. In Revelation of the Devil, Laurence Gardner traces the history of the Devil, from its roots in Mesopotamia and the Old Testament all the way up to the modern world of today. Travelling through the New Testament, as well as the Koran, and then passing in turn through the Inquisitions, the Reformation and the Enlightenment, he unmasks what he has called "the myth of evil and the conspiracy of Satan." For nearly 2,000 years a supernatural entity known as the Devil has been held responsible by Church authorities for bringing sin and wickedness into the world. Throughout this period, the Devil has been portrayed as a constant protagonist of evil, although his origin remains a mystery and his personality has undergone many interpretive changes, prompting questions such as: If God is all good and all powerful, then why does evil exist? How can it exist? If God created everything, then where did the Devil come from? If the Devil exists, then why does he not feature in any pre-Christian document? Revelation of the Devil follows the Devil's sinister history, in the manner of a biography, from his scriptural introduction to the dark satanic cults of the present day. In a strict chronological progression, we experience the mood of each successive era as the Devil's image was constantly manipulated to suit the changing motives of his creators in their bid for threat-driven clerical control.

Dobh Bear of Lubavitch (1773-1827), the author of Tract on Ecstasy, assumed the leadership of the Hasidic sect of Habad on the death of its founder, Schneor Zalman of Liady. The tract is in the form of a letter, sent by Dobh Baer to his followers, advising them on the role of ecstasy in the religious life. Although the teachers of Hasidism were seasoned Talmudists who could not have been accused of neglecting the claims of the intellect in the life of religion, it remains true, nonetheless, that for most of them Hasidism appealed chiefly to the emotions. Religious ecstasy, particularly in prayer, was the good to be cultivated by the Hasid. Contemplation was of value, but mainly because of the ecstasy it could induce. When Dobh Baer assumed leadership of the Habad, however, he found much confusion in the understanding of ecstasy and its relationship to self-awareness. His thesis in the Tract on Ecstasy is that those who decry ecstasy are wrong, and that there is no such thing as a de-personalised state of contemplation in which the self does not feel anything. On the contrary, the power and validity of contemplation was to be observed in the degree of ecstasy it induced. Drawing a distinction between authentic and unauthentic ecstasy, Dobh Baer refutes the charge that because ecstasy involves self-awareness it is therefore a betrayal of Habad teaching, and in the Tract on Ecstasy provides a penetrating analysis of the degrees of true ecstasy. The Tract was originally written c.1814, and this book is based on a manuscript copy, probably written by Samuel, Dobh Baer's chief scribe and copyist. The reader cannot fail to hear through these pages the voice of one who was an adept, to use his own terminology, in listening to 'the words of the living God'.

Creating a Scottish Church considers Catholicism's transition from an underground and isolated church to a multi-faceted institution that existed on a national scale. By challenging the dominant notion of Scotland as a Presbyterian nation, this study represents a radical departure from traditional perceptions. Included in this journey through nineteenth-century industrial urbanisation are the roles of women as well as the effect of Irish migration that initiated a reappraisal of the Church's position in Scottish culture and society. In taking a more critical look at gender and ethnicity, Kehoe investigates the myriad ways in which Scotland's Catholic population enhanced their experiences of community life and acquired a sense of belonging in a rapidly evolving and modernising nation. Introducing previously unseen material from private collections and archives, Kehoe also considers how the development of church-run social welfare services for the Catholic population helped to support the construction of a civil society and national identity that was distinctively Scottish. The book's primary focus on gender, ethnicity and religiosity introduces a deeper understanding of religion and culture in modern Britain, thus providing a significant contribution to existing historiography.

Six leading experts have contributed their insights into the 16th century in this volume. The economy, politics, society, and secular and religious thought all receive careful thematic treatment and analysis. Many history textbook cliches emerge transformed from their accounts."