Social Issues
Showing 901–1000 of 1132 results
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Homoeroticism In The Biblical World
$29.00Add to cartNissinen’s award-winning book surveys attitudes in the ancient world toward homoeroticism, that is, erotic same-sex relations. Focusing on the Bible and its cultural environment-Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, Israel-Nissinen concisely and readably introduces the relevant sources and their historical contexts in a readable way.
Homoeroticism is examined as a part of gender identity, i.e., the interplay of sexual orientation, gender identification, gender roles, and sexual practice. In the patriarchal cultures of the biblical world, Nissinen shows, homoerotic practices were regarded as a role construction between the active and passive partners rather than as expressions of an orientation moderns call “homosexuality.” Nissinen shows how this applies to the limited acceptance of homoerotic relationships in Greek and Roman culture, as well as to Israel’s and the early church’s condemnation of any same-sex erotic activity.For readers interested in the ancient world or contemporary debates, Nissinen’s fascinating study shows why the ancient texts-both biblical and nonbiblical-are not appropriate for use as sources of direct analogy or argument in today’s discussion.
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What Does Abuse Look Like
$13.49Add to cartThe reason I chose to write about child/adult abuse is because I look at children and know some of their secrets. I know that some have been exploited to the point of degradation and humiliation, causing them to question who they are and why they are here. Their innocence has been preyed upon, and no one really knows their fears, anxieties, or complexities except those who have been there. They still need us to care and to expose the weaponry of the enemy. This is what my book attempts to do: expose the enemy, prepare children for their ministries, and equip them to yell at the tops of their lungs when immorality walks into their bedrooms. This is a plea to offenders to question themselves and ask, “What makes me feel so powerful when I’ve inflicted pain upon another?” Let them ask themselves why they cannot control this desire. I ask that we as a church embrace the contents of this book with compassion, understanding, and strong convictions to push back the forces of evil that violently assault the kingdom, for who knows what abuse looks like? There is explicit language, but only to convey my deepest experiences with child/adult abuse. Marilyn D. Mack
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Sacred Longings : The Ecological Spirit And Global Culture
$20.00Add to cartWhat do we really want? Internationally noted theologian Mary Grey believes we have gotten out of touch with our deepest desires. Trapped by the seductions of the marketplace, addicted to more and more, our culture has acquiesced in global capitalism’s most problematic characteristics, including widespread poverty and global maldistribution of resources. Grey’s hopeful book argues that there is a deeper language of desire that plumbs to what humanity really wants. Emergent in story and myth and symbol, these sacred longings can be seen in the simple yet profound elements–within and beyond Christianity–or water, light, and sacred space. Getting back in touch with our sacred longings entails a spiritual quest–a kind of ecomystical renewal–that can transform our desire, enliven our communities, simplify our lifestyles, and ultimately rekindle our global prospects.
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Breaking The Conspiracy Of Silence
$18.00Add to cartIt’s been estimated that perhaps 7,000 people die each day due to AIDS. It is an epidemic that has no easy answer, but Messer prophetically calls upon Christian churches worldwide to respond in ways to increase awareness, help with both prevention and treatment, and offer concrete love and compassion.
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What Does The Lord Require
$16.95Add to cartContemporary life is filled with a host of contentious moral and social issues. There are many thorny topics, both personal and political, which bring out a cacophony of opinions that can overwhelm us. While we are inundated with questions, there often seem to be no clear answers. So how should we respond? As Christians, we must constantly ask ourselves, “What does the Lord require of me?”
In this outstanding collection of meditations, James Killen examines many of today’s hot-button issues with an eye toward helping readers think through their beliefs and responsibilities. Mindful of our call to live in faithfulness to God’s purpose, each essay draws on the Bible and the Christian faith to discern how God would have us respond to the emerging situations of our world’s history.
What Does The Lord Require? is topical, inspiring reading — and with thoughtful discussion questions at the end of each meditation, it’s an excellent resource for adult classes or study groups, as well as for a sermon series that is sure to connect with congregations.
Among the issues addressed are:
* religious pluralism
* economic justice
* materialism
* environmental stewardship
* gender roles
* suicide
* abortion
* personal integrity
* homosexuality
* AIDS
* race relations
* war -
Facing Terrorism : Responding As Christians
$25.00Add to cart1. What Is Terrorism
2. Causes Of Terrorism
3. Models For Countering Terrorism
4. Terrorism And The Erosion Of Civil And Political Liberties
5. Religion Morality And Terrorism
6. Being Faithful Amid Risk Differences And UncertaintyAdditional Info
In this timely, brief, and judicious reflection, Edward Long, a senior scholar in Christian ethics, surveys the political, religious, and moral dimensions of terrorism. Written accessibly and going far beyond the dominant just war versus pacifism discussion, Facing Terrorism guides Christians through the many questions and controversies surrounding this horrific phenomenon. From defining terrorism and analyzing its causes to exploring the risks of eroding civil liberties in protecting against it and living hopefully amidst fear, Long provides a thoughtful and informative analysis that will aid countless Christians in discerning how to respond. -
Trials Of Today Treasures For Tomorrow
$27.99Add to cart“I simply have never met a more brave and wonderful person than Janet Eckles. She has every reason to live her life with fear and misery, yet lives it with faith and joy. Her book shows you a deep, heart-wrenching glimpse of the overwhelming tragedies she has faced and how she has gained victory over them through the power and healing of Jesus Christ.” -DR. BEN LERNER New York Times Best Selling Author Body by God: The Owner’s Manual for Maximized Living “Life is not about what you cannot do because of circumstances out of your control. Success comes when you recognize what you can do because of what God has given you.” -Jan Eckles Whether you have been faced with blindness, cancer, depression, fear, loneliness, or the pain of losing a child, Jan invites you to walk with her down the path to complete healing, peace, serenity, and incredible success.
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Trials Of Today Treasures For Tomorrow
$17.99Add to cart“I simply have never met a more brave and wonderful person than Janet Eckles. She has every reason to live her life with fear and misery, yet lives it with faith and joy. Her book shows you a deep, heart-wrenching glimpse of the overwhelming tragedies she has faced and how she has gained victory over them through the power and healing of Jesus Christ.” -DR. BEN LERNER New York Times Best Selling Author Body by God: The Owner’s Manual for Maximized Living “Life is not about what you cannot do because of circumstances out of your control. Success comes when you recognize what you can do because of what God has given you.” -Jan Eckles Whether you have been faced with blindness, cancer, depression, fear, loneliness, or the pain of losing a child, Jan invites you to walk with her down the path to complete healing, peace, serenity, and incredible success.
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Godawful : Connections Between Biblical Journeys And Life Transitions
$16.95Add to cartWhether it’s leaving home, having children, losing a parent, or retiring, we spend much of our lives passing through transitions — and it is often very stressful to cope with changing circumstances, as we feel lost, confused, and depressed, sometimes even wondering “Where is God in all of this?”
The scriptures offer valuable guidance for navigating these difficult passages. Andre Papineau suggests that if we think of biblical journey stories (such as the Prodigal Son or Jonah’s journey to Nineveh) as accounts of life transitions, we can begin to understand the profound spirituality of our own transitions — no matter how “godawful” the experiences may seem.
By viewing transitional experiences and journey stories through a common lens, this enlightening book provides abundant insight into both the scriptures and the human condition, helping us to see how the hand of God, yes even “Godawful,” is at work in our everyday lives. Each chapter includes helpful exercises and discussion questions, making it an ideal individual or group study resource.
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Building Character
$12.95Add to cartAre we facing a moral crisis in today’s world? Perhaps so, judging by the daily headlines that parade the ethical failings of numerous public figures before us. It seems that more traditional role models, whether in the worlds of business, government, sports, or sadly, even the ministry, than ever are disappointing us and falling short of expectations and fostering cynicism rather than idealism. But these lapses are hardly limited to well-known people. Many surveys have made us aware of a cavalier approach to values in general, such as rampant cheating from term papers to tax returns.
So how can we arrest this decline and instill a greater sense of “character” in our lives? “Character” is an elusive term, but we usually use it to describe the quality of a person’s inner being — their “moral fiber.” In this insightful set of meditations, E. Dale Click suggests that the way to develop character is to put God at the center of our lives. And, he points out, the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes provide us with the blueprints to enjoying life. These essays illustrate that the timeless yet timely guides to living in God’s laws (the commandments) and his declarations (the beatitudes) exemplify all the admirable characteristics of the godly, character-filled life.
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Passion For The Possible (Reprinted)
$22.00Add to cart1. Vision Of The Future
2. Beyond War
3. Environment
4. Beyond Charity
5. Race And Class
6. Sexism
7. Homophobia
8. Abortion
9. Career Versus CallingAdditional Info
First published in 1993, William Sloane Coffin’s A Passion For The Possible presents a vision for the future that challenges assumptions and deepens our understanding of the importance of social justice and change. Coffin deals with social issues that continue to face U.S. churches – abortion, sexism, homophobia, racism, poverty, the environment, and nuclear disarmament. This second edition adds Coffin’s powerful sermon preached after September 11, 2001, and a foreword by Martin Marty. -
America Sold Out
$29.99Add to cartLearn how sinister factions desire to plunge America into a police state. Have you borrowed money on your home, used a credit card, or lost money in the stock market? Are you having trouble finding a job or making ends meet? Discover the blatant betrayal and what YOU can do about it! Several former high-ranking intelligence people concur that America is in deep trouble. America Sold Out: The Coming Persecution and Complacency of the Church will equip you to recognize signs and prepare accordingly. Concentration camps, prisons, and directives by former U.S. presidents are preparing you for martial law. American Christians face serious persecution and difficult days ahead. Learn how to prepare spiritually, mentally, physically, and financially. Protect yourself and your family from the coming calamities planned for this nation. As America goes, so go the nations.
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America Sold Out
$19.99Add to cartLearn how sinister factions desire to plunge America into a police state. Have you borrowed money on your home, used a credit card, or lost money in the stock market? Are you having trouble finding a job or making ends meet? Discover the blatant betrayal and what YOU can do about it! Several former high-ranking intelligence people concur that America is in deep trouble. America Sold Out: The Coming Persecution and Complacency of the Church will equip you to recognize signs and prepare accordingly. Concentration camps, prisons, and directives by former U.S. presidents are preparing you for martial law. American Christians face serious persecution and difficult days ahead. Learn how to prepare spiritually, mentally, physically, and financially. Protect yourself and your family from the coming calamities planned for this nation. As America goes, so go the nations.
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Reading The Bible In The Strange World Of Medicine
$41.99Add to cartAuthor of such major books as “Remembering Jesus: Christian Community, Scripture, and the Moral Life,” Allen Verhey has become one of today’s most trusted Christian voices in contemporary ethics, including the moral challenges that new medical technologies pose to Christian faith and decision-making.
With this new book Verhey brings the biblical tradition to bear on contemporary bioethical concerns. Drawing on an unmatched depth of insight in these two realms, Verhey explores how the Bible can illuminate and guide medical ethics. He argues that churches are called to think and speak clearly about bioethical concerns, and he lays out here the scriptural tools for them to do so. After firmly grounding Christian ethical discourse in Scripture, Verhey shows how the Bible can be applied to such pressing questions as suffering, genetic intervention, abortion, reproductive technologies, end-of-life care, physician-assisted suicide, and more.
Filled with faith-based wisdom and apt illustrations of the moral dilemmas discussed, this book is a must-read for Christians grappling with the ethical dimensions of medicine today.
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America A Call To Greatness
$16.99Add to cart“John W. Chalfant’s important book America – A Call To Greatness is going to produce bountiful blessings upon the Christian ministries of this troubled land. He has captured the essence of militant Christianity as it relates to love of country and devotion to democratic principles which it is every citizen’s opportunity and obligation to uphold. I believe that serious readers everywhere will find the imprint of the hand of God on this marvelous contribution to Christian and patriotic literature.” D. James Kennedy, D.D., Ph.D. Senior Minister, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church “John Chalfant has faithfully strived to demonstrate the incontrovertible fact that God is sovereign over all nations and all peoples. Without a renewed acknowledgment of accountability to our Creator, America will perish.” Howard Phillips, Chairman The Conservative Caucus, Inc. “America – A Call To Greatness! What a title and what a book! I have believed, and taught, that only two nations ever were ordained of God for Greatness! Israel and America! This is a must read for everyone, but especially for clergy and others in key leadership. We must be moved to action and the saving of the freedoms of our great Nation. This book will so motivate every honest reader, but especially the clergy.” Col. E.H. “Jim” Ammerman, Chaplain, U.S. Army (Ret.) President, Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches “In a mere 228 pages John Chalfant encapsulates the cause-and-effect relationship between epochal spiritual and political struggles of our times. He offers foolproof, attainable, action-based solutions for the restoration of America’s vanishing freedoms. America – A Call To Greatness is powerful, hard-hitting, and holds no punches. Fully documented, it is filled with Bible-based political realities, hope and inspiration. As Chalfant contends, ‘The most exhaustive book ever written on politics is the Bible.’ America – A Call To Greatness should be MUST reading for every American, including politicians, clergymen, businessmen, high school and college students, homeschoolers and citizens from every rank and religious persuasion. This book contains the keys to the restoration of our country.” Donald S. McAlvany, Editor The McAlvany Intelligence Advisor
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3rd Alternative : Christian Self Government
$16.49Add to cartUnderstanding Government from the Biblical Worldview Back when the Soviet Communist tyranny unraveled in Eastern Europe, the result was economic collapse, civil war and bloodshed. Many of us thought it would mean freedom, peace and prosperity! Why did we suppose that? From where does liberty come? Is liberty simply the absence of tyranny? Is liberty the license to do what I want? Is democracy itself the answer? Can liberty be sustained? How is liberty sustained? Is God in control? How? Is there hope? Is civil government God’s idea or man’s idea? Are our American political institutions in any way scriptural? In The Third Alternative: Christian Self-Government, author and lecturer Bill Burtness has laid out in simple and practical terms a penetrating layman’s primer on the moral (internal) and structural (external) foundations of freedom. It will teach you the “hows” and the “whys” of governing yourself under God, your family, your church, your nation, and every area of life.
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Scripture On The Silver Screen
$35.00Add to cartThis book follows in the path blazed by Jewett’s St. Paul at the Movies. It questions the “Hollywood Hermeneutic” that too often views the Bible as prop, but also recognizes the contributions of movies that successfully integrate the Bible as a plot-making device. Includes short chapters on the Bible’s role in such movies as The Truman Show, Pleasantville, The Sixth Sense, Magnolia, Pulp Fiction, The Miracle-Maker, Prince of Egypt, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Breaking the Waves, Pretty Woman, The Apostle, Blue, The Matrix, and Deep Impact.
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Uneasy Conscience Of Modern Fundamentalism
$17.99Add to cartOriginally published in 1947, “The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism” has since served as the manifesto of evangelical Christians serious about bringing the fundamentals of the Christian faith to bear in contemporary culture. In this classic book Carl F. H. Henry, the father of modern fundamentalism, pioneered a path for active Christian engagement with the world a path as relevant today as when it was first staked out.
Now available again and featuring a new foreword by Richard J. Mouw, “The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism” offers a bracing world-and-life view that calls for boldness on the part of the evangelical community. Henry argues that a reformation is imperative within the ranks of conservative Christianity, one that will result in an ecumenical passion for souls and in the power to meaningfully address the social and intellectual needs of the world.
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Called To Pray
$13.49Add to cartThis book is about sharing how a community school prayer outreach ministry is established by organizing prayer teams all over a city. Since many schools all over the United States have been attacked by the enemy through violence and other forms of crime, the author felt it necessary and imperative to send out a Call to Pray for our schools. On the other hand, it is a walkthrough of the actual steps that one can take to set up prayer teams within a city. The book points out what these teams can accomplish if they will pray. It gives the results of the past and present conditions of the schools and the community by submitting testimonies from various leaders and prayer team members in the city.
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Creation Unveiled
$23.99Add to cartA concerned young activist proposes a way out of our current ecological predicament.But, the environmental movement is not going to like either of his two policy recommendations: repent of all your sins, and then accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. But Daniel Salomon, a champion of defending unpopular opinions, pleads with the environmental and animal movements to help them come to the realization that these two policy recommendations may be the only way out of planetary annihilation. Following in the tradition of Christian environmentalism, Creation Unveiled opens up the unique perspectives of Christian anthropologist Rene Girard. It applies his ideas and perspectives to the environmental and animal movements, with the goal of building the case that the God of the Bible is a very good and a very green God. To alienate Him would be to alienate the environmentalist or animal activist’s best defense for saving the planet.
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Against Christianity
$15.00Add to cartPreface
1. Against Christianity
2. Against Theology
3. Against Sacraments
4. Against Ethics
5. For Constantine
NotesAdditional Info
How could a conservative Christian, an ordained minister with a beard, no less be against not only Christianity, but theology, sacraments, and ethics as well? Yet that is the stance Peter Leithart takes in this provocative “theological bricolage.”Seeking to rethink evangelical notions of culture, church, and state, Leithart offers a series of short essays, aphorisms, and parables that challenge the current dichotomies that govern both Christian and non-Christian thinking about church and state, the secular and the religious.
But his argument isn’t limited to being merely “against.” Leithart reveals a much larger vision of Christian society, defined by the stories, symbols, rituals, and rules of a renewed community, the city of God.
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Restoring Sexual Identity
$16.99Add to cart1. Three Stories
2. Where Does Same-Sex Attraction Come From?
3. Classic Development Of Lesbian Attraction
4. Healthy Female Gender Development
5. Establishing A Support System
6. Healing From Abuse
7. Overcoming Temptation
8. Healthy Female Friendships
9. Men: Friendships, Singleness, And Marriage
10. Parenthood And The Ex-Gay Woman
267 PagesAdditional Info
Harvest House Print On Demand TitleCan a lesbian change? Yes says author Anne Paulk, who left her lesbian lifestyle twenty years ago as she responded to Christ’s invitation to an abundant life.
“Very early, I felt the tug of sexual attraction toward some members of my gender. I remember being both confused and excited by these feelings. After many years of having been attracted to other women, I embraced a lesbian identity and lifestyle. Later, after an encounter with God, I began my journey out of homosexuality. . .”
Restoring Sexual Identity offers answers to the difficult and often wrenching questions asked by both women desiring change and by friends and relatives of women struggling with same sex attraction.
* Is lesbianism a genetic predisposition or is it developed during childhood?
* Does becoming a Christian immediately eliminate all desire for members of the same sex?
* Can a woman be a lesbian and a Christian at the same time?
* How does childhood sexual abuse relate to the development of lesbianism?
* What support is available for women who struggle with lesbianism?For every woman sexually attracted to other women, here’s another choice.
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Touchdown Jesus : The Mixing Of Sacred And Secular In American History
$38.00Add to cartThis book is an intriguing narrative of the interplay between American religion and patterns of American culture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. R. Laurence Moore considers the ways nationalism, the separation of church and state, democratic pluralism, and shifts in boundaries between secular and sacred practice have shaped American religion for the past two hundred years.
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Homosexuality : Biblical Interpretation And Moral Discernment
$14.99Add to cart1. My Journey On Homosexuality
2. Old Testament And Early Judaism
3. Jesus And The Gospels
4. Understanding Paul On Homosexual Practice
5. Analysis Of Contemporary Western Culture
6. Hermeneutical Analysis And Reflection
7. The Church’s Belief And Response
8. A Model For Congregational Discernment
9. Concluding Remarks: The Path ForwardAdditional Info
Grounded in a lifetime of biblical study, New Testament scholar Willard M. Swartley takes a fresh look at the Scriptures and what they would teach the church on the current and controversial subject of homosexuality. In a spirit of love and generosity, Swartley presents all sides of the issue, drawing from contemporary scholarship and cultural analysis. He concludes with a model for congregational discernment and suggestions for the path forward. -
No More Bullies
$18.99Add to cartIf you’ve ever been there, you’ve never forgotten how it feels. It’s being undersized or oversized or less than beautiful. It’s knowing you are vulnerable and that someone is ready to take advantage of your weakness. It’s the fraternity you never wanted to join-the fellowship of the wounded spirit. And Frank Peretti is a member, too.
In this powerful book, Frank Peretti shares his deeply personal story of growing up different, and the persecution he suffered because of it. And from this reservoir of memories he urges:
*those being abused to speak up and seek help
*those in authority to take notice- and action
*the “strong” kids to stand up and protect the weak- not prey upon them
*all of us to stop thinking of abuse as “normal” or as “kids being kids”This groundbreaking work shows how we all – bullies and victims alike – can find both healing and forgiveness from the anguish and torment associated with the growing epidemic of bullying.
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Too Close To The Flame
$17.95Add to cart(When placing your order, please mention that this is a Lightining Source book.)
“Our world is aflame with sex,” warns counselor and author Dr. Gregg Jantz. We live in a society where sex is practiced openly, talked about freely, engaged in creatively, and flaunted shamelessly. Cultural stigmas that once kept sex within definable boundaries have all but disappeared.
Anyone can fall prey to sexual temptation or become the target of a sexual aggressor. Any man or woman who has contact with the opposite sex – whether at church, in the workplace, or at play – needs the vital information contained in these pages.
Would you recognize a sexually charged relationship soon enough to avoid falling into an affair? Would you be able to help a friend, loved one, or someone you’re counseling avoid such a relationship? Basing each section on gripping case studies, this must-read book for the new millennium will help you recognize the danger signs of a sexualized relationship and show you how to keep your future with your family, your friends, your coworkers, and your God secure
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Witnessing For Peace
$24.00Add to cartThe rapidly deteriorating situation in Israel/Palestine has dashed hopes of any imminent peace or even accommodation between the Israeli people and the Palestinian people. A leader in Palestinian Christianity, and an outspoken advocate of nonviolence and of Palestinian rights, Bishop Munib Younan directly addresses this situation and its imperatives. Born of Palestinian refugee parents and raised in Jerusalem, Younan has spent his life pastoring Palestinian Christians and searching for nonviolent solutions in this complex and volatile religious and political scene. In this volume, Younan presents first the historical and social context of the Palestinian situation, beginning with the not-well-known story of Arab Christianity and his own background. He elaborates his own theology of nonviolence, centered in the idea of martyria–heeding a call to justice, inclusion, and forgiveness. He illustrates the notion with dramatic and often tragic episodes and shows how it can address key issues in the current struggle with Israel over statehood, land, and refugees. Younan’s model of Christian nonviolence also has demonstrable benefits in addressing terrorism, interreligious strife, and global peacemaking. Younan’s is a voice all Christians of conscience should hear.
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Daughters Of Hope
$18.99Add to cartIn this deeply moving book, Kay Strom and Michele Rickett tell the stories if persecuted Christian women from around the globe. From Africa to the Middle East to Asia, they give voice to our sisters persevering under the yoke of oppression and injustice. Each section provides specific prayer points and practical action steps to equip us to respond.
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Faithful Conversation : Christian Perspectives On Homosexuality
$10.00Add to cartBitter battles over the churches’ stance toward its gay and lesbian members have tested the churches’ fundamental orientation and even threatened to split whole denominations apart. The blessing of homosexual unions and ordination of gays and lesbians have proven to be special flashpoints at both local and national levels.
Part of the widespread perplexity over the issues stems from their complexity. They involve questions not only of personal ethics and church polity but also of Christian history, conflicting readings of the biblical data, and uncertainty over basic anthropological frameworks, especially as driven by findings of the social sciences. This volume, initiated by the ELCA seminary presidents in response to a churchwide mandate for study of the issues, is aimed at engendering real reflection and conversation by providing Christians with the basic tools to engage the many dimensions of this question for themselves and with each other. Based on sound scholarship but written in a readable fashion for a broad audience of laypeople and pastors, the volume includes five essays, an authors’ forum about how specific issues in the church are affected by these perspectives, a select bibliography of further readings, and directions on how this resource might be used. -
Recovering Biblical Ministry By Women
$28.49Add to cartAccording to a Christianity Today reader survey about gender roles: Seventy-eight percent of respondents think: “Christian leaders need to speak out on proper roles for men and women.” Eighty-eight percent agreed: “There is a lot of confusion about male and female roles in the Christian world today…. The key actors in the evangelical debate have clearly reached an impasse.” (March 2002) This book proposes careful but clear biblical answers to all questions: It is based on the inerrancy of Scripture and rejects the deculturizing hermeneutic. It is not egalitarian. It provides irrefutable exegetical evidence for the husband’s authority in marriage. It affirms family values. It is not radically complementarian. It provides in depth refutation of eighty-five different objections and restrictions to ministry by women in the church. It frees women to serve Christ fully. Dr. John H. Armstrong, President: “Reformation and Revival Ministries, Inc.” “I have found it the most satisfying exposition of the Holy Scriptures on this subject that I have read in thirty years of thought and exegetical work.”
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God And Ceasar
$17.49Add to cartGod and Caesar: The Biblical Keys to Good Government is an examination of the role of good government. In today’s postmordern society, where the emphasis on absolute truth has waned considerably, such an examination is necessary, particularly if the truth of God’s Word is to be preserved and acted upon. Too often evangelical Christians, including pastors, lay church leaders, and para-church ministers, are uninformed about the proper godly role that civil government plays in our lives, and the influence it can and must have in cultural, social, and civic matters. As a result, evangelials tend to view civil government as the enemy. This is simply not true. Dr. King outlines four basic keys to good government. They are: Establish a solid philosophical foundation based upon a Christian worldview of God and man; Form and understanding of the basic principles of the civil government; Identify the primary public policy areas that are at the center of evangelicals’ belief system. Activate community parctices associated with the various policy issues. Each key is intergrated with the others through the concept of self-government. Rewnal of this concept is critical to the continuation of good government at any level.
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Living In Darkness And Fear
$24.99Add to cartWILL THERE EVER BE PEACE? As the year 2000 approached, many people were filled with fear, believing the world would end or Jesus would return. Fear and anticipation reached a fevered pitch as the close of 1999 drew nearer. When 2000 came and went uneventfully, life returned to normal. Some people turned away from their faiths and others just fell back into society. On September 11, 2001, we were once again reminded of how vulnerable we are. The loss of life was horrible, but if we look beyond our safe America, we will see darkness and fear covering the entire earth. In the daily news you can see what this world is like. Is there an answer that would make sense of this life and all that’s happening? Will there be better days ahead? Or are things going to get worse? We are being warned to expect more attacks here in the U.S. How can we think of going on with our lives or hoping for a better future for our children? How can we have peace in an ever-changing world?
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Living In Darkness And Fear
$15.99Add to cartBlack Coffee Press
WILL THERE EVER BE PEACE? As the year 2000 approached, many people were filled with fear, believing the world would end or Jesus would return. Fear and anticipation reached a fevered pitch as the close of 1999 drew nearer. When 2000 came and went uneventfully, life returned to normal. Some people turned away from their faiths and others just fell back into society. On September 11, 2001, we were once again reminded of how vulnerable we are. The loss of life was horrible, but if we look beyond our safe America, we will see darkness and fear covering the entire earth. In the daily news you can see what this world is like. Is there an answer that would make sense of this life and all that’s happening? Will there be better days ahead? Or are things going to get worse? We are being warned to expect more attacks here in the U.S. How can we think of going on with our lives or hoping for a better future for our children? How can we have peace in an ever-changing world? -
Race And Prayer
$30.95Add to cartThe damage done by hatred and prejudice-based on race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender-runs very deep. The damage done is often invisible, but it simmers beneath the surface anyway. In Race and Prayer, Malcolm Boyd and Chester Talton have collected poems, prayers, and prose that bring the anger and frustration to light, and ultimately, they hope, to a place of reconciliation and healing.
Race and Prayer is divided into five sections: Suffering and Anger; Prejudice and Hatred; Diversity; Reconciliation and Healing; and Growth in Understanding and Sharing. Contributors to this collection range in age from teenagers to the elderly, and include men and women from a wide variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, all of whom speak honestly of their own experiences, heartbreaks, and hopes. Twelve cartoons from three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Conrad, editorial cartoonist at the Los Angeles Times, add to the power of this collection.
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Progressive Christians Speak
$55.00Add to cartRemaining passive under the guise of the separation of church and state and being subsumed in the media by the vocal conservative church, mainline Christians have allowed an inaccurate view of where the majority of Christians stand to dominate popular understanding. Here, members of the grassroots organization Progressive Christians Uniting implore Christian churches to take a more active role in addressing contemporary social problems, maintaining that religion is an important factor in their solutions. Issues examined include food security and the ever expanding world population, the welfare system, civil and human rights, the war on drugs, abortion, immigration, and the destruction of ecosystems.
Progressive Christians Uniting is an ecumenical Christian organization headquartered in Southern California that promotes activism that is faith motivated and well informed on the complex, compelling issues of our time. -
Treasures Of War
$33.49Add to cartHow many millions of Americans must lose their lives while fighting religious ideology wars and “evil gods”? The worldwide media are filled with stories on the evil committed by religious-based terrorism against innocent people. Bureaucrats often compromise their positions on fundamental values because they fear the underground terrorist cells. I vowed to tell the stories of the ruthless “living evil gods” and their divine worshipers during World War II and the unimaginable horrors of war and sacrifices made by the American and Allied soldiers and their families. “Living evil gods” invaded and looted nations of their treasures to finance battles and to conquer and destroy enemies. Many war crimes were brushed aside by corrupt American and Allied military and political leaders. Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Christian, and Shinto all profess peace. However, when a radical group of any religion seeks power over nonbelievers, it reverts to terror to conquer and maintain its disciples. America should use its God-given powers to remove fanatical groups that use terrorist methods to destroy our freedoms.
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Justice Mercy And Humility
$29.99Add to cartJustice, Mercy and Humility explores the challenge of integral mission among the poor today. It locates the Christian response within a world of alternatives – alternatives at the macro-level of policies and advocacy and the micro-level of lifestyle and affirms the need to integrate ourselves within a total missional response to the poor. Combing case studies from around the world with Jesus’ own teaching and ministry, the book considers what it means for the church to be a countercultural ministry and in doing so raises new questions about what it means to be church.
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Serrated Edge : A Brief Defense Of Biblical Satire And Trinitarian Skylarki
$12.00Add to cartSatire is a kind of preaching. Satire pervades Scripture. Satire treats the foibles of sinners with a less than perfect tenderness.
But, if a Christian employs satire today, he is almost immediately called to account for his “unbiblical” behavior. Yet Scripture shows that the central point of some religious controversies is to give offense. When Christ was confronted with ecclesiastical obstinacy and other forms of arrogance, he showed us a godly pattern for giving offense.
In every controversy, godliness and wisdom (or the lack of them) are to be determined by careful appeal to the Scriptures and not to the fact of someone having taken offense. Perhaps they ought to have taken offense, and perhaps someone ought to have endeavored to give it.
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Rising Above The Violence
$16.49Add to cartWe can choose to be proactive or reactive in solving our conflicts with the people we interact with each day. My purpose in writing this book is to help the people in this country realize that we need to prevent violence, not just react to it. Violence is permeating the lives of all people living in America today. I grew up in a home that was sometimes violent, sometimes angry, and sometimes hostile, but in our own way we were striving to find a better way to live our lives and love one another.Most families in our society today are in the same situation. I believe that God brought me through the many different trials that I share in this book so that I could identify with many of the hurts that we all experience in life. If I had not experienced these trials, how could I effectively counsel with those who are going through them?
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When Violence Is No Stranger
$21.00Add to cartThe paucity of resources for pastoral care of acquaintance-rape survivors highlights the invisibility of this growing crime and its largely uncharted pastoral challenges. In fact, more rape is by an acquaintance. Only 16 percent of such cases are reported; and because they are difficult to prosecute, only 5 percent of those reported result in guilt verdicts. Focusing on the psychospiritual effects of this sexualized violence, Kristen Leslie offers the psychological and theological tools to religious professionals for understanding the deep spiritual trauma of the survivor and how best to work with her to reconstruct a personal world of meaning, trust, and faith. Based on extensive interviews with survivors. Leslie explains the personal and theological issues they raise, what they found helpful from religious professionals, the images and metaphors most germane to their trauma and recovery, and how they coped with or healed from the experience of rape. An exemplary and important study in practical theology, Leslie’s volume will not only equip pastoral caregivers and counselors with specific guidelines. It will also enlighten them on the crucial role that theology can play in the re-construction of shattered lives
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Addiction
$21.99Add to cartChances are, no church is immune to the drug demographics in America. Pointing out that addiction is a pervasive problem in North American society, Lynn Dann provides pastors and other pastoral caregivers with crucial help in understanding the needs of the addicted, their families, and the congregations of which they are a part. He draws on years of experience as a pastor and a certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor to offer practical guidance on how to recognize the addicted and minister effectively to them.
Dann begins by outlining, in clear and accessible terms, the best contemporary thinking on the nature of addiction. From there he moves to a discussion of the particular resources that Christian churches can add to the treatment of addiction and the support of the addicted and their families. Finally, he includes tools for preaching and teaching on the nature of our drug-obsessed culture and biblical themes related to the care of the addicted. Those who are just beginning in pastoral ministry, as well as those who have engaged in it for many years, will find this an invaluable resource for knowing how to deal with this tragic and increasingly prevalent problem.
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Do No Harm
$24.00Add to cartAmong the evils addressed by Christian theology, says Stephen Ray, must be the evil perpetuated by its own well-meant theologies. His important project examines the downside of the category of social sin, especially in theologians’ used of destructive stereotypes that have kept Christians from realizing and engaging the most pervasive social evils of our time–racism and anti-Semitism. To make his case, Ray examines problematic ways in which several theologians describe the reality of social evil. “Theologians,” he contends, “often unwittingly describe (social) sin in terms that may themselves be profoundly racist, sexist, heterosexist, anti-Semitic, and classist.” He contends that they must attend more carefully to the social evils deeply embedded in their own patterns of language and thought. Ray looks specifically to the work of Reinhold Neibuhr and Dietrich Bonhoeffer to document unintended consequences of theology’s oversights and then to Augustine, Luther, and Calvin to analyze the strains and strengths of traditional notions. Not only theologians and ethicists but also ministers and laity will benefit from Ray’s thoughtful reconsideration of the social stance of Christian theology.
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Wellbeing
$30.00Add to cart“This is the first book in the new SCM “”Society and Church”” series, which attempts to make sense of the Church and Christianity in a secular society and context, and explore what the former can legitimately contribute to the latter. “”Wellbeing”” is an absolutely central concept in our secular lives, is used with increasing frequency in all sorts of contexts – eg. the Boots website is “”www.wellbeing.com”” – and it is therefore crucial that we understand how it relates to life, meaning and personal identity in the 21st century. Through a combination of story, personal reflection and philosophical analysis, Alison Webster attempts to get “”under the skin”” of wellbeing, and show how the concept is evolving in contemporary culture. She shows how the agenda generated by wellbeing is like that which traditionally has been generated by religion and spirituality: which is why “”meeting spiritual needs”” is such big business in health and social care. Webster argues that the Christian tradition still has much to offer in transf
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Mom I Hate My Life
$17.99Add to cartNavigating an adolescent daughter’s emotional life is one of a mom’s toughest challenges. A teenage girl’s volatile emotions can seemingly toss her and you like a hurricane. When a scary external world and a turbulent internal world collide, the result is sometimes overwhelming and confusing. What can you do to protect your relationship with your daughter, guide her through this chaotic time, and assure her you are truly on her side?
Your Adolescent Daughter’s Struggles Can Help Her and You to Grow and Thrive.
The good news is you are equipped with the most powerful resource available for maintaining and developing connection with your daughter: a mother’s heart. Learn how you can use hand-in-hand mothering skills to become the ally your daughter needs parenting out of love, not fear and find out how you both can experience dramatic, life-changing growth in the process.
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Charmed Life : The Spirituality Of Potterworld
$15.00Add to cartPotter fever has swept the world and shows no signs of abating. the books and the recent movie have attracted millions of followers and fans, all of them eagerly awaiting the next installments. Along with the widespread enjoyment and appreciation of Harry Potter and his friendships, however, criticism of the series has also emerged. The opposition has focused on two issues; the darkness of the novels and their apparent endorsement of witchcraft and the occult. In A Charmed Life, Francis Bridger, a theologian and pastor, argues that far from promoting the dark arts, the Potter books are firmly based in Christian values, and offer valuable insights into our characters, our relationships, our priorities, and our spirituality.
Taking readers on an entertaining tour of Potterworld, Bridger shows that each adventure presents new ways of expressing and exploring key spiritual issues, from the meaning of justice, to the need to confront fears, to the debilitating effects of evil. As Harry and his friends deal with one another, face their enemies, cope with their variously dysfunctional families, and experience the common problems o fgrowing up, Bridger domonstrates, it is their intrinsic human goodness, love, and friendship–not wizardry or magic–that allows them to triumph over evil.
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In Justice : Women And Global Economics
$18.00Add to cartThe surprisingly vehement demonstrations at recent meetings of international monetary organizations have alerted people to the dangers of new global economic arrangements. Are there any fundamental standards within economic theory? How can economics and economic proposals best be measured? What does economic justice mean today? Spurred especially by the situation of women in the global household, Ann-Cathrin Jarl in this considerable contribution focuses on promising work in feminist economics and feminist ethics. Jarl articulates feminist critiques of neoclassical economic theory, objectivity in economics, and current understandings of rights, equality, and power. She derives an alternative social theory from feminist ethics, and she lands on provision for basic human needs as the benchmark of economic justice. In her final chapters Jarl offers a theory of economic justice aimed at strengthening the global household and bring the claims of justice to the world of markets.
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Bible And Homosexual Practice
$50.99Add to cartThis is the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the biblical texts that are generally associated with homosexual practice and of the arguments used to interpret them. Gagnon contends that the Bible unequivocally defines same-sex intercourse as sin
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Mindful Recovery : A Spiritual Path To Healing From Addiction
$17.95Add to cartIn Mindful Recovery, you’ll discover a fresh and effective method for healing from addiction that can help you handle important challenges, from managing anxiety and resisting cravings to dealing with emotional and physical imbalance.
Drawing on both ancient spiritual wisdom and the authors’ extensive clinical psychological work with their patients over many years, Mindful Recovery shows you how to use the simple Buddhist practice of mindfulness to be aware of– and enjoy– life in the present moment without the need to enhance or avoid experience with addictive behaviors. Mindful Recovery guides you step by step through ten powerful “”doorways”” to mindful recovery, giving you specific strategies that can help you cultivate a sense of calm awareness and balance in your life.
Filled with personal stories of recovery, practical exercises, instructions for meditation, and more, Mindful Recovery accompanies you on a journey of exploration and healing that will help you find the strength and the tools to change, leading you to a fresh new experience of everyday living.
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Violence In Families
$14.99Add to cartDomestic violence is an often glossed-over danger in families today, and Christian families are not immune. The warning signs can be hidden or disregarded. Reverend Al Miles confronts the issues surrounding family violence, it causes, and possible solutions. He also discusses how all people are affected and can help address the issue. With an honest and down-to-earth tone, this book provides guidance and information for lay people as well as for individuals with the complex nature of domestic violence.
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When God Says War Is Right
$11.99Add to cart176 pages
Additional Info
Across the centuries, how have Christians who follow the Prince of Peace responded to the recurring reality of war? And what guidance do they offer for believers today in the midst of global conflict?In When God Says War Is Right, Dr. Darrell Cole offers thorough and highly readable answers. His expert examination focuses on these topics:
*Relating the character of God with the use of force
*Determining when and how Christians ought to fight
*Understanding why Christian virtues are vital when using force
*Using nuclear weapons for deterrence
*Learning lessons from World War II, Vietnam, and the 1991 Gulf War
*Responding to today’s war against terrorismDr. Cole focuses on Romans 13, where Paul commands us to do what is righ” (or good or noble) in regard to our governing authorities, who have legitimate war-making authority. In the case of war, what is right for the Christian? This book answers that essential question. In today’s war-stricken world, Dr. Cole provides timely, trustworthy, and vitally needed guidance for Christians.
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Liberty And Justice For All
$55.00Add to cartIn the century between the Emancipation Proclamation of Abraham Lincoln and the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., America sought both to rebuff and to redeem the promise of “liberty and justice for all.” The story of slavery and the bloody civil war that abolished it has been told, but the story of the struggle for liberty and justice by and for African Americans in the half-century following the end of Reconstruction has been largely overlooked. In this highly readable narrative, distinguished historian Ronald C. White, Jr. portrays the people, their ideas, and their ongoing struggle for racial reform in the United States from 1877-1925–a vital prelude to the modern civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Trinity And Subordinationism
$35.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Subordination has been and still is a controversial subject within the church. The concept has been vigorously debated in relation to the doctrine of the Trinity since the fourth century. Certain New Testament texts have made it part of discussions of right relations between men and women. In recent years these two matters have been dramatically brought together. Indeed, today the doctrine of the Trinity is being used to support opposing views of the right relationship between men and women in the church. At the center of the debate is the question of whether or not the orthodox view of the trinitarian relations teach the eternal subordination of the Son of God. In this book Kevin Giles masterfully traces the historic understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity from the patristic age to our own times to help resolve this important question. But he does not stop there. Giles goes on to provide an illuminating investigation of a closely related question–whether or not women, even in terms of function or role, were created to be permanently subordinated to men. By surveying the church’s traditional interpretation of texts relating to the status of women and inquiring into the proper use of the doctrine of the Trinity, Giles lays out his position in this current debate.
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Same Sex Controversy
$19.00Add to cart1. The Unthinkable Has Become Thinkable
2. Revisiting Sodom: The Lesson Of Sodom And Gomorrah
3. Recycling The Older Testament: Introducing The Leviticus Passages
4. Recycling The Older Testament: The Leviticus Passages Part 1
5. Recycling The Older Testament: The Leviticus Passages Part 2
6. Unnatural Affections Unnatural Interpretations: Romans 1
7. Desperately Defining Terms: 1 Corinthians And 1 Timothy
8. All You Need Is Love And Other Justifications
9. Conclusion: A Pastoral Appeal
254 PagesAdditional Info
A Clear Biblical Response to The Same Sex ControversyIn the guise of tolerance, modern culture grants “alternative lifestyle” status to homosexuality. Even more disturbing, some within the church attempt to revise and distort Christian teaching on this behavior.
The authors write for all who want to better understand the Bible’s teaching on the subject, explaining and defending the foundational Bible passages that deal with homosexuality-including Genesis, Leviticus, and Romans. Expanding in these Scriptures, they refute the revisionists’ arguments-including the claim that Christians today need not adhere to the Law. In a straightforward and loving manner, they appeal to those caught up in a homosexual lifestyle to repent and return to God’s plan for His people.
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Cutting Edge Bioethics A Print On Demand Title
$27.99Add to cartThis new book from the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity provides a faith-based evaluation of recent technologies and trends in bioethics, including the current debate surrounding stem cell research.
Fifteen noted scholars and medical practitioners discuss some of today’s new and controversial work in biomedicine-xenotransplantation, artificial intelligence, cybernetics, and more-and evaluate from a Christian perspective both the science and the ethical questions it raises. Designed to orient general readers to the current state of biomedical research, Cutting-Edge Bioethics is must reading for anyone wishing to confront and wrestle with the challenging moral issues posed by this ever-advancing field.
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Struggling With Scripture
$18.00Add to cartChallenging the traditional meaning of Scripture is not easy, even in the face of issues that call into question those traditional interpretations. In these reflections, Brueggemann says that the Bible, as the live word of the living God, will not submit to the accounts we prefer to give of it. The Bible’s inherent, central evangelical proclamation has greater and more permanent authority than our inescapably provisional interpretations. Placher notes that taking the Bible most seriously means struggling to understand its meaning as well as affirming its truth. And Blount distinguishes what some may claim as a “last word,” which is necessarily a dead word, from the living word that is God’s word to us today.
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Wrath Of Jonah
$34.00Add to cartInternationally renowned scholar Erhard Gerstenberger here offers a radical departure from traditional treatments. Rather than a systematic approach to theological topics in the Old Testament, Gerstenberger discusses its various theological voices rooted in different social settings within ancient Israel: the family and clan, the village, the tribal group, and the kingdom. Further, he discusses the variety of Israel’s views concerning the divine – polytheism, syncretism, and monotheism. Gerstenberger concludes with his reflections on how contemporary theology is informed by the biblical witness and how it must be contextual and ecumenical in order to be authentic.
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Who Is My Enemy
$19.99Add to cartWho Is My Enemy? is designed as a popular level introduction to eight current flash-point issues in our culture. The book provides a summary overview designed to enable the reader to respond to the issues as Christ would–not by resorting to privitization of our faith, or abdication, but to engagement that leads to transformation. The book is designed to help Christians understand how the world is thinking in order to begin to develop an appropriate Christian response to each issue. Rather than presenting simplistic either/or answers, the book recognizes that each issue contains elements that biblical Christians can strongly support and also strongly oppose. The hot topics are: pluralism, postmodernism, New Age explosion, evolution, abortion/euthanasia, feminism, homosexuality, therapy idolatry, and materialism. Picture it as an extended newscast reporting on each issue and weaving biblial perspective throughout.
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Tales Of Vandelite
$16.49Add to cartWelcome to the fantasy kingdom of Vandelite, a realm of adventure, allegory and symbolism. These are the stories of forbidden caverns and perilous pathways. They are the tales of adventurers who pursue the highest treasures of hope, healing, and a higher purpose.
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Postmodern World : Discerning The Times And The Spirit Of Our Age
$20.00Add to cartThrough movies, TV, our schools—even in contemporary worship music and theology—postmodernism is everywhere. Using current events and illustrations, Erickson exposes the rising “spirit of the age.” Explaining how postmodernism is toxic to society and Christianity, this essential resource provides the tools to consistently discern and wisely respond to its influence.
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Social Justice And The Christian Church
$15.95Add to cartAn illuminating book that throws down the gauntlet to those who would capture evangelical Christianity for leftist causes. A free market champion, Nash insists that socialism caricatures capitalism and disadvantages more than it helps the needy.
An excellent presentation of the case for free enterprise … a deadly indictment of socialism in all its forms … should be read by all who are interested in the mission of the church as it relates to ‘social’ justice and especially by those who think the Bible calls for the redistribution of wealth as the epitome of true justice.
Nash’s book is a crest in the new wave of evangelical social thought which is sweeping in. This wave follows the earlier one, which was statist and anti-capitalist in direction, and promises to overtake it. It concentrates more on how wealth is produced than on how it is redistributed and thus should do the poor more good in the long run…. Many offer liberation today and give people tyranny; Nash offers liberation and gives it.
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Terrorism Jihad And The Bible
$17.99Add to cartSeptember 11, 2001 saw the deadliest attack ever launched on American soil, leaving us asking questions such as: Why did God permit such a thing to happen? Was the attack a divine judgment or was it merely an atrocity perpetrated by the forces of evil? How can human beings be capable of such diabolical savagery in the name of religion? And what is the right course of action for our government to take? John MacArthur points us to the Bible for answers to these and many other questions arising out the recent atrocities. He educates readers to the roots of the conflict, linking the religious and political issues that underlie the current turmoil to the Old Testament.
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Watching What We Watch
$30.00Add to cartTelevision has eclipsed the church and school as the most dominant storyteller in our culture. Watching What We Watch discusses the various aspects of “reading” television, helps us to understand how television creates meanings, and teaches us to assess the truth and value of those meanings. Watching What We Watch provides an accessible framework for analyzing television theologically and from the perspective of our values and beliefs. A team of experts uses examples from popular television shows to to explore the forces that drive television production and to challenge viewers to consider what things they should appreciate about television and what things they should call into question.
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Relativism : Feet Firmly Planted In Mid Air (Reprinted)
$19.00Add to cart16 Chapters
Additional Info
Many Christians are concerned about the tide of moral relativism that is rising steadily in our country. And rightly so: Relativism affects our education system, the legal system, and how people think about everyday issues. Yet little has been written on the topic outside academic circles.This void is filled by Frank Beckwith and Greg Koukl, who analyze relativism and present strategies to defend the belief in moral absolutes. Using a commonsense approach, Koukl defines relativism, traces its growth over the past few decades, and critiques the logical inconsistencies to which its supporters are led. He then presents a case for moral objectivism. Beckwith, building on Koukl’s foundation, evaluates the influence of relativism on issues including abortion, homosexuality, political correctness, multiculturalism, and tolerance. In each of these areas, he provides compelling arguments for thinking people.
Following in the tradition of C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer, Relativism is an important guide for those who are concerned about intellectual issues that challenge the Christian faith.
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Beleaguered Rulers : The Public Obligation Of The Professional
$55.00Add to cartProfessionals today wield an enormous public power. Collectively, their decisions affect the patient’s plight, the client’s fate, the student’s future, the city’s scape, the earth’s sustainability, the worker’s fair treatment, and the durability of institutions great and small. Yet professionals did not perceive themselves as power wielders. They feel beleagured, marginal, insufficiently appreciated, often under seige. Thus they tend to obscure for themselves their obligations to the common good. This book explores eight professions as they struggle with their double identity – as a means to a livelihood and as a “common calling in the spirit of public service.” An interpretation of American culture emerges from its pages, as social critic William May opens up the ways in which each profession answers to something deep in the American spirit.
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Earth Habitat : Eco Injustice And The Churchs Response
$21.00Add to cartThis single volume gathers theologians from around the world to address three pressing questions: How can Christianity and Christian churches rethink themselves and their roles in light of the endangered earth? What “earth-honoring” elements does justice- oriented Christianity have to contribute to the common good? And how can communities and churches respond creatively and constructively on a local level to these vast global forces? This volume captures the chief themes and presentations from the October 1998 conference on social justice, ecology, and church entitled “Ecumenical Earth” and held at Union Theological Seminary. Among the 18 contributors to this trailblazing conference are Rasmussen and Hessel, James Cone, Kusumita Pedersen, Brigitte Kahl, Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, Steven Rockefeller, Havid Hallman, Ernst Conradie, Peggy Shepard, and Troy Messenger.
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Justice Men Owe Women
$16.00Add to cartThis new Sacred Energies volume shows how the world’s major religious traditions, though largely patriarchal, can also serve as a profound resource for redressing gender injustices. This reassessment must be taken up by men themselves. The heritage of our sacred texts speaks in a male voice and almost always to male advantage. Men therefore owe it to themselves to extricate themselves from this complicity and to ask, as does this book, how our scriptures, founding prophets, and ancestors can be used today to further justice in relations between the genders.
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Gifted By Otherness
$21.95Add to cartGay and lesbian Christians are in the awkward position of trying to explain themselves to two mutually hostile audiences. On the one side, the gay-lesbian community is often deeply suspicious of anyone connected with Christianity. On the other side sits the church, which often wishes that gays and lesbians would go away, or at least disappear into the woodwork quietly. But the gay and lesbian community has a unique vocation in today’s church, one of challenging the church to be inclusive of all God’s children–the central message of the Gospel. Based on retreats they have presented to churches and seminaries, authors L. William Countryman and M.R. Ritley explore what it means to affirm, not merely accept, being gay or lesbian, as well as Christian. This pro-active and self-affirming book provides new hope for the lesbigay community, their families and their communities, confidently appropriating and re-telling the biblical story of this unique and gifted minority’s spiritual journey.
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Set Free : A Journey Toward Solidarity Against Racism
$14.99Add to cart13 Chapters
Additional Info
Racism is a name-caller. It warps self-concept, saps vibrant communities, atrophies spiritual connection. Although it takes different forms, racism works hard shaping the identities of both white people and people of color.Using story, analysis, and scriptural reflection, Set Free offers language and insight to describe the names racism calls us. This collaborative project brings together decades of mutual experience dismantling racism and the combined perspectives of an African-American woman, a Mexican Amerindian woman and a white male.
At times hopeful, consistently perceptive, and always grounded in real-life struggles, the authors have contributed a significant resource for those who are ready to tale the next step beyond surface solutions to racism’s insidious evil.
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Sacred Choices : Right To Contraception And Abortion In Ten World Religions
$15.00Add to cartAs the world teeters on the edge of overpopulation, this new addition to the Sacred Energies series aims to show how ten major religious traditions in fact contain strong affirmations of the right to family planning, including contraception and even, when necessary, abortion
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Letters Across The Divide (Reprinted)
$15.00Add to cartIn this stirring book, two friends–a black minister and a white businessman–discuss candidly the hang-ups, stereotypes, and sins that inhibit interracial friendships. Some people may think that racism is no longer a problem in our society, but David Anderson and Brent Zuercher make an effective case for just the opposite: both black and white people still harbor wrong assumptions and resentments toward each other.
Believing that the church is called to a deeply felt reconciliation between the races, Anderson and Zuercher strive to understand each other. They hash out their differences, giving voice to feelings most of us have had but would never express out loud. The result is a book that provokes thought, arouses emotion, and ultimately spurs actions, stressing that the most effective way of dealing with the many facets of racial reconciliation is through real and connected friendships.
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Caring For Sexually Abused Children
$22.99Add to cartDealing with sexual abuse is painful, especially when it involves a child you care about. When it happens in church families, we all bear the pain and need help in knowing how to respond. Dr. Tim Kearney has seen and felt such pain. In this warm and hopeful book he shows how the healing touch of God can come, frequently through God’s people in the Christian community.
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Who Killed Homer
$19.99Add to cartFor over two millennia, familiarity with the literature, art, philosophy, and values of the classical world has been synonymous with education itself. But today classical education is rapidly disappearing from American high school and university curricula, and as a result we are in danger of becoming illiterate about the ideas that created Western civilization.
In Who Killed Homer? acclaimed classicists Victor Davis Hanson and John Heath explain what has been sacrificed, who did it and why. Hanson and Heath argue that if we lose our knowledge of the Greeks, then we lose our understanding of who we are. With straightforward advice and informative readings of the great Greek texts, the authors show how we might still save classics and the Greeks for future generations. Who Killed Homer? is must reading for anyone who agrees that knowledge of classics acquaints us with the beauty and perils of our own culture.
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Genetic Turning Points A Print On Demand Title
$38.99Add to cart360 Pages
Additional Info
Human genetic intervention could be considered a microcosm of the larger field of bioethics. According to James Peterson, “it raises almost all the basic issues addressed in a standard bioethics course, from informed consent to the goals of medicine.” Peterson argues that it is imperative to view human genetic intervention from an ethical framework, particularly as the technology in that intervention advances at an exponential rate.Peterson’s goal in Genetic Turning Points was to tie together some of the various questions related to human genetic intervention (better known, perhaps, as genetic manipulation or genetic engineering). He begins with a look at medical technology and moves on to major issues including genetic research, genetic testing, genetic drugs, and genetic surgery (physical manipulation of human genes in the body). The issues are raised in a progressive approach. Genetic research is the foundation for genetic testing and genetic drugs, thus issues related to genetic research are looked at first, and then issues related to genetic testing and drugs. Since genetic surgery techniques are still being perfected, and are not as available as the other technologies, Peterson looks at this vital issue last.
Christians, according to LeRoy Waters, have tended to view human genetics from one of two positions (not usually both): cosmic theology and casuistic analysis. Cosmic theology simply means looking at the grand scheme of God’s plan for humanity; casuistic analysis is that which addresses the questions of practice. Peterson hopes to bring the two positions together in a cogent and effective manner. He feels that one’s understanding of God’s plan for humanity (our purpose) shapes the concrete decisions of life (the practice). Ideally, Christians should be aware of both how purpose shapes practice and how practice questions purpose. Thus, Peterson sees the medical and ethical issues as eminently practical, but defined and shaped by one’s metaphysical beliefs.
Genetic Turning Points is laid out in a progressive manner, but topics can stand on their own. Chapters are generally short and the indexes and cross-references allow one to find a particular topic quickly and easily. Since there are fifteen chapters, the book easily lends itself to undergraduate or postgraduate study (one chapter a week), but is not solely for students. It is also for professionals (doctors, clergy, etc.) and for educated lay people. Its information is timely and it
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Season To Heal
$12.95Add to cartThis is a book for women who struggle to come to grips with the lingering emotional pain of an abortion. It assures readers that their pain is a valid, natural response to abortion, that they can find relief from it, and that healing is a realistic hope.
Publisher Marketing: This is a book for women who struggle to come to grips with the lingering emotional pain of an abortion. It assures readers that their pain is a valid, natural response to abortion, that they can find relief from it, and that healing is a realistic hope. -
Whosoever Church
$36.00Add to cartInterviews with 20 black scholars and religious leaders who speak out (from various theological perspectives) against institutional prejudice toward lesbian / gay people. The interviews are conducted in a conversational format in language that will be accessible and interesting to lay readers.
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Peace Skills (Teacher’s Guide)
$24.95Add to cartPart of the Peace Skills Set, this Leaders’ Guide is designed to prepare people to lead Peace Skills workshops in their communities. It contains several suggested workshop designs to accommodate different workshop goals, lengths, and formats; clear guidelines for teaching with role plays, case studies and sacred texts; and a broad variety of cases, role plays and specific faith texts for group discussion.
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Peace Skills : Manual For Community Mediators (Student/Study Guide)
$28.00Add to cartPart of the Peace Skills Set, this Manual is designed as a take-home resource to support workshop participants as they return to their communities and both apply their mediation skills and share their insights with others. It covers conflict analysis, the role of mediation, the stages of mediation, communication skills, and working with group conflicts and in cross cultural settings.
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Act Of God Active God
$10.00Add to cartThis book raises in a straighforward fashion the faith-related questions that victims/survivors of natural disasters have as a result of their experiences. Is the disaster an “act of God”? Did God cause the disaster? If God is all powerful, why did God allow it to hapen? Dr. Gary Harbaught provides insights and understandings to help persons of faith to struggle with that seeming contradiction. Instead of seeing disasters as “acts of God”, he shows that when disasters occur, God in fact is active: active in and through our questions, confusion, and doubts; active in and through our responses and actions; active in and through the community; and active in and through people of faith.
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Simply Living : Modern Wisdom From The Ancient Book Of Proverbs (Student/Study G
$24.00Add to cartThe book of Proverbs deals with the human search for meaning. Through reason, experience, common sense, and observation, the sages sought to discover God in the details of daily life. In Simply Living, Cecil Murphey reacquaints us with dozens of proverbs–some familiar and some forgotten–and helps us apply these ancient insights to the problems with which we contend in our modern lives.
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Beyond Cloning : Religion And The Remaking Of Humanity
$42.95Add to cartThese essays explore the ethical question surrounding cloning and genetic engineering. The contributors to this volume-ethicists, theologians and scientists-technology, include cloning, germ line modifications, stem cell technology, and fetal gene therapy. Arguing from varied and sometimes conflicting viewpoints, each scholar urges careful reflection on the theological and moral convictions concerning the application of these advances.
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Homosexuality : The Use Of Scientific Research In The Churchs Moral Debate
$20.99Add to cartStanton Jones and Mark Yarhouse help us face these issues squarely and honestly. In four central chapters they examine how scientific research has been used within church debates–in particular within Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal contexts. They then survey the most recent and best scientific research and sort out what it actucally shows. Next they help us to interpret the research’s relevance to the moral debate with the church. In a concluding chapter they make a strong case for a traditional Christian sexual ethic.
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Refiners Fire : A Religious Engagement With Violence
$23.00Add to cart1. Eyes On The Prize: Womanist Reflections
2. Take No Prisoners: Women Engaged In Biblical Violence
3. Lay My Burden Down: Spirituality Transcends Antebellum Violence
4. Sojourner’s Sisters: 1960s Women Freedom Fighters Right Civil Wrongs
5. Ballads, Not Bullets: The Nonviolent Protest Ministry Of Martin Luther King Jr.
6. Soul Sisters: Girls In Gangs And Sororities
7. Build Up, Break Down: Language As Empowerment And Annihilation
8. Daughters Of Zelophehad: A Constructive Analysis Of Violence
9. Death As Worship: Celebrating Dying As Part Of LifeAdditional Info
What does religion have to do with fomenting or transcending violence? In this fascinating work, Kirk-Duggan documents and analyzes religion’s involvement in violence, in the Bible, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and the youth scene of today. -
Life Abundant : Rethinking Theology And Economy For A Planet In Peril
$29.00Add to cart1. A Brief Credo
2. Theology Matters
3. The Matter Of Theology
4. The Contemporary Economic Model And Worldview
5. The Ecological Economic Model And Worldview
6. God And The World
7. Christ And Salvation
8. Life In The SpiritAdditional Info
In this splendidly crafted work, McFague argues for theology as an ethical imperative for all thinking Christians: Responsible discipleship today entails disciplined religious reflection. Moreover, theology matters: Without serious reflection on their worldview, ultimate commitments, and lifestyle, North American Christians cannot hope to contribute to ensuring the “good life” for people or the planet. To live differently we must think differently.McFague has therefore written this primer in theology. It helps Christians assess their own religious story in light of the larger Christian tradition and the felt needs of the planet. At once an apology for an ecologically driven theology and a model for how theology itself might be expressed, her work is expressly crafted to bring people into the practice of religious reflection as a form of responsible Christian practice in the world. McFague shows the reader how articulating one’s personal religious story and credo can lead directly into contextual analysis, unfolding of theological concepts, and forms of Christian practice.
In lucid prose she offers creative discussions of revelation, the reigning economic worldview (and its ecological alternative), and how a planetary theology might approach classical areas of God and the world, Christ and salvation, and life in the Spirit. Enticing readers into serious self-assessment and creative commitment, McFague’s new work encourages and models a theological practice that “gives glory to God by loving the world.”
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Tony Evans Speaks Out On Gambling And The Lottery
$7.99Add to cartJust a lottery ticket…a few hours at the racetrack…a quarter in a slotmachine. It’s fun. It’s legal. And you just might strike it rich! As the number of lotteries and casinos skyrockets, you may wonder whether gambling might be an innocent pastime after all. Even if you never play, you can’t escape the issues. Will you vote to allow riverboat casinos? Can you help the relative who spends rent money ON Lotto tickets? Should your church sponsor a raffle to raise funds? Tony Evans cuts through pro-gambling hype-and anti-gambling cliches- with clear, biblical counsel. Discover God’s perspective on today’s get-rich-quick schemes-and His sure path to treasures that last.
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Science And Christianity
$32.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Can you be a faithful Christian and a believer in contemporary scientific theory? Six scholars address this controversial question, offering four different views on the uneasy relationship between science and faith. Their discussion of creationism, science and Christian theology, the “God hypothesis,” and the partnership between science and Christianity will help you shape an informed opinion.
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Sacred Energies : When The Worlds Religions Sit Down To Talk About The Futu
$16.00Add to cart1. The Wake-Up Call
2. The Religion Of The Marketplace
3. Pledging Allegiance To The Corporations
4. This Thing Called Religion
5. The Poetry Of Africa
6. Buddhism: Lessons On Downsizing Wants
7. Hinduism’s Rivers Of Wisdom
8. Ancient Chinese Secrets
9. The Unveiling Of Islam
10. Judaism: Workshop For A New Humanity
11. Protestantism And The Recovery Of Lost Fragrance
12. Catholic Liberation TheologyAdditional Info
Although our age witnesses vast problems, it has also occasioned unprecedented encounters among world religions. This short volume seeks to capture the energy and dynamism of world religious traditions_a central force in human history and society_for illuminating and addressing major global issues: population growth, environmental destruction, freedom, the rights of women and minorities, the place of economics and work, issues of sexuality and the body. Based on consultations of leading scholars and religious leaders from a variety of traditions, it highlights the special insights and lessons each has to offer today.Eminent ethicist Daniel Maguire here conveys the deep humanism and commitment that animate these potentially world-changing traditions.
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Paideia Of God
$10.00Add to cartYou can teach your students the Trivium, but if that is all you teach them, then you’re both in trouble. As these essays point out, education must remember the lessons of old without ignoring the demands of now.
In the ancient world, paideia was an all-encompassing education and involved nothing less than the enculturation of the future citizen. Scripture requires Christian fathers to raise their children in “the nurture and admonition (paideia) of the Lord.” However, the boundaries of paideia are much wider than the boundaries of what we understand as education. Wilson elaborates on this, as well as canvassing educational hot topics such as vouchers, uniforms, and college choices.
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20 Hot Potatoes Christians Are Afraid To Touch
$18.99Add to cartAIDS, women preachers, public schools, psychological counseling, homosexuality, and working mothersthese are some of the hot issues that many Christians avoid discussing. With insight and clarity, Tony Campolo confronts today’s toughest social and moral questions while raising a few of his own.
