Bible Theology

What’s going on in our world? Why are suicide bombers attacking our cities? Why are shooters invading our workplaces and malls? Why are students attacking speakers at their colleges? Why are there two versions of the truth on the Internet and in the media? Michael Youssef, popular teacher and Middle Eastern expert, explains in detail what’s troubling today’s world. Aggressive secularism is stripping our nation of the vestiges of truth, as many Christians are browbeaten into silence.

For years, Christians have argued, debated, and fought one another while "speaking the truth in love," yet we are no closer to the grace-filled life Jesus modeled. Biblical scholar and popular podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, Jared Byas casts a new vision for the Christian life that's built not on certainty, but on the risk of love.

This is Leo Tolstoy's integration of the four biblical gospels into a single account of the life of Jesus. The Gospel in Brief is an intriguing fusion of biblical texts and Tolstoy's own religious views. Tolstoy explains that his goal is a “solution to the problem of life," not a theological or historical statement. He therefore ignores issues like Jesus' genealogy and divinity, focusing instead on the words and teachings of Jesus, stripped of what he regarded as the Church's distortions and focus on dogma and ritual.

"Our Father, who art in heaven...." The opening words of the Lord's Prayer have become so familiar that we often speak them without a thought, sometimes without any awareness that we are speaking at all. But to the disciples who first heard these words from Jesus, the prayer was a thunderbolt, a radical new way to pray that changed them and the course of history. Far from a safe series of comforting words, the Lord's Prayer makes extraordinary claims, topples every earthly power, and announces God's reign over all things in heaven and on earth.

The heart of the biblical understanding of idolatry, argues Gregory Beale, is that we take on the characteristics of what we worship. Employing Isaiah 6 as his interpretive lens, Beale demonstrates that this understanding of idolatry permeates the whole canon, from Genesis to Revelation. Beale concludes with an application of the biblical notion of idolatry to the challenges of contemporary life.

There isn’t really a “go to” book on Scripture. Sure, there are plenty of theological books on Scripture, and lots of popular-level works on how to read Scripture, and more and more books on the whole story line of Scripture. But there is not one book that people turn to for the basics on the Bible.

Spurred by personal tragedy, Elaine Pagels turns to a consideration of the Gnostic Gospels, in particular, the Gospel of Thomas. As opposed to the Gospel of John, which asserted that Jesus was an eternally existing aspect of God who came to earth to save humankind, the "secret" Gospel of Thomas agrees that Jesus was in some sense divine, but says that a streak of divinity can be found in all of us.

The modern conception of sacrifice is at once cast as a victory of self-discipline over desire and condescended to as destructive and archaic abnegation. But even in the Old Testament, the dual natures of sacrifice, embodying both ritual slaughter and moral rectitude, were at odds. In this analysis, Terry Eagleton makes a compelling argument that the idea of sacrifice has long been misunderstood. Pursuing the complex lineage of sacrifice in a lyrical discourse, Eagleton focuses on the Old and New Testaments, offering a virtuosic analysis of the crucifixion.

Early Christianity was subversive and dangerous - dangerous for Christians, and a threat to the keepers of the old order. Most of all Christianity was countercultural. But what about contemporary American Christianity? Is it the countercultural way of Jesus or merely a religious endorsement of Americanism? In his provocative audiobook, Postcards From Babylon, Brian Zahnd challenges the listener to see and embrace a daring Jesus-centered Christianity that can again turn the world upside down.

Paul's life was never dull. First appearing in the New Testament as a violent enemy of Christ, Paul later went on to not only put his faith in the risen Lord but to pen thirteen letters of the New Testament—in the midst of being beaten, shipwrecked, snakebitten, imprisoned, and chased out of town.

Did the New Testament canon arise naturally from within the early Christian faith? Were the books written as Scripture, or did they become Scripture? Why did early Christians have a canon at all? These are the types of questions that led Michael J. Kruger to pick apart modern scholarship's dominant view that the New Testament is a late creation of the church imposed on books originally written for another purpose.

Was the nation of Israel replaced by the Church, or is that just one of many lies we're told? Replacement Theology is taught in many churches around the world, so it's important that we understand exactly what it's about and if it has any biblical basis.

In this ninth and final biographical study in the best-selling Great Lives from God’s Word series, beloved pastor and Bible teacher Charles Swindoll introduces you to the carpenter from Nazareth as you have never seen Him before. This fascinating biography, filled with biblical and historical insights, takes you on an unforgettable journey through the complex and provocative life of Jesus of Nazareth. His unique birth. His astonishing power. His controversial teaching. His shocking death. And His world-changing resurrection.

From Dallas Willard, one of the most important Christian intellectuals of the 20th century, comes a collection of readings, interviews, talks, and articles - many previously unpublished. In his groundbreaking books, teacher, philosopher, and spiritual guide Dallas Willard forever changed the way many Christians experience their faith. Three years after his death, the influence of this provocative Christian thinker - "a man devoted to reestablishing the exalted place moral reasoning once held in the academy" ( Christianity Today) - remains strong.

Transforming Presence talks you through 10 vital practices that will help you have a new experience of the Holy Spirit. You’ll learn how our relationship with the Holy Spirit changed from the Old Testament to the New Testament, what common misconceptions of the Holy Spirit are, and how to think and speak (and sing) rightly about him. It can be hard to discern what’s right and wrong in a world of gray scales, differing preferences, and emotional highs, but when we start with the Bible, all the secondary things fall into place.

From beginning to end, the Bible reveals the glory of Jesus. But for many Bible listeners, it doesn't seem that simple. We're often unsure how the Bible's many stories, characters, events relate together and connect to Jesus. Some are tempted to force the pieces of the Bible together, making superficial jumps to him. Others give up trying to understand the Bible altogether.

The morning newspapers are jammed with alarming headlines and stories asking questions no one can answer. In Storm Warning (2011), Billy Graham examines the problems facing America today compared with what is to come as revealed in the Bible. He answers the tough questions as only he can with astute biblical insight, and points to the hope and renewal found in Christ - for our families, our nation, and our world.

Top Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion. Using the gospel of Mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life. They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem.

Elizabeth George's Loving God with All Your Mind (more than 200,000 copies sold) has been revised and expanded. Elizabeth lets women know that loving the Lord involves action! Focusing on six main scripture passages, she helps listeners understand what it means to truly let your mind think on what is true about God and about life; grasp and move toward God's purpose for life; and trust the Lord in all things.

The Bible stands at the heart of the Christian faith. But this leads to an inescapable question: Why should we trust the Bible? Written to help non-Christians, longtime Christians, and everyone in between better understand why God's Word is reliable, this short book explores the historical and theological arguments that have helped lead millions of believers through the centuries to trust the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.