Problem Religion

Is that the cry of your heart? You may be in the midst of an emotional hurricane right now and wondering - can anything good come out of this situation? Or you may be stumbling through the aftermath of a physical or financial crisis, fearful that you'll never get back on your feet. Whether your hardship is the result of sin, unwise choices, or simply the consequence of living in a fallen world, God still has a plan for your life. He is aware of your circumstances, He has not forgotten His promises, and He will guide you through your difficulty to victory!

Are your thoughts holding you captive? Are you worn out from getting stuck in patterns of anxiety, distraction, or cynicism? If so, do you know that God built a way for us to escape that downward spiral? Stop the Spiral Devotional, inspired by the New York Times bestseller Get Out of Your Head, is your invitation to begin noticing negative spirals—every day. In this book, you’ll find one hundred days of devotions to inspire you to stop toxic thinking patterns and remind you of God’s power to set you free.

Sometimes the big and small decisions in life seem overwhelming. How do you know what choices to make about your career, kids, and relationships? Even when you make good decisions, how do you avoid temptation along the way?

Author and pastor Mark Clark provides principles for understanding the human condition, delving into the fundamental questions that define our existence—from the pursuit of purpose to the experience of pain and the desire for meaning. Drawing on biblical teaching, theology, philosophy, psychology, pop culture, and personal experiences, he weaves a rich tapestry of argument that points us to God as the remedy to our brokenness and the answer to our questions.

Pastor and leadership development expert Steve Cuss explains how personal anxiety and leadership frustration is the result of not being “self-aware” and provides simple tools listeners can use to do something about it. Listeners will be empowered to take back control of their lives and lead in mature and vibrant ways.

With 70 percent of our time spent at work, difficulties on the job can impact every facet of our lives. Contained in this book is not only technology to bring stability to the workplace, but the groundbreaking processes to return joy itself to all of life. Here is a book that does what you don't expect a book to do. It tells you how. It tells you the basis of things, and the most basic of things is life itself. This, then, is a book about life.

Violence in the Old Testament has long been a stumbling block for Christians and skeptics alike. God Is a Man of War offers a fresh interpretation of Old Testament accounts of violence, by exploring them through the twofold lens of Orthodox tradition and historical context. Father Stephen De Young examines what these difficult passages reveal about the nature of Christ and His creation, bearing witness to a world filled not only with pain and suffering - often of human making - but also with the love of God.

This first new translation of Kierkegaard's masterwork in a generation brings an essential work of modern philosophy to vivid life. While the majority of Kierkegaard's work leading up to The Concept of Anxiety dealt with the intersection of faith and knowledge, here the renowned Danish philosopher turns to the perennial question of sin and guilt. First published in 1844, this concise treatise identified - long before Freud - anxiety as a deep-seated human state, one that embodies the endless struggle with our own spiritual identities.

Dr. Murray Stein’s prolific career has produced a substantial body of writings, lectures, and interviews. His writings, captured in these volumes, span a wide domain of topics, including Christianity, individuation, midlife, the practice of analytical psychology, and topics in contemporary society. His deep understanding of analytical psychology is much more than an academic discourse, but rather a deeply personal study of Jung that spans nearly half a century.

Satan's transformation from opaque functionary to chief antagonist is one of the most striking features of the development of Jewish theology in the Second Temple Period and beyond. Once no more than an "accuser" testing members of the human community, Satan, along with his demons, is presented by Jewish apocalyptic texts and the New Testament as a main source of evil in the world. In Satan and the Problem of Evil, noted scholar Archie Wright explores this dynamic in both its historical and theological trajectories.

Christian leaders face challenges. But God works with us and through us to accomplish his purposes. Available here for the first time in English is John Stott's practical wisdom for younger leaders. Speaking personally from his own experience, Stott addresses issues of discouragement, self-discipline, relationships and youth.

Mental illness loves to tell lies. One of those lies is that you really should be able to manage what you're struggling with. Pastor and psychotherapist Ryan Casey Waller says no. Mental health issues are not a symptom of a spiritual failing or insufficient faith; rather, suffering is the very thing our Savior seeks to heal as he leads us toward restoration. And yet, as Waller has experienced personally, the battle can be lonely and discouraging. But it doesn't have to be.

One day in the life of Christ. Call it a tapestry of turmoil: A noisy pictorial in which the golden threads of triumph knot against the black, frazzled strings of tragedy. Call it a symphony of emotions: A sunrise-to-sunset orchestration of extremes. One score is brassy with exuberance -- the next moans with sorrow. Whatever you call it -- call it real.

How can an evangelical view of Scripture be reconciled with modern biblical scholarship? In this book Peter Enns, an expert in biblical interpretation, addresses Old Testament phenomena that challenge traditional evangelical perspectives on Scripture. He then suggests a way forward, proposing an incarnational model of biblical inspiration that takes seriously both the divine and the human aspects of Scripture.

Wrong thinking produces wrong emotions, wrong reactions, wrong behavior—and unhappiness! Learning to deal with your thoughts is the first step on the road to healthy thinking. How to handle one's thoughts properly is what this book is all about! It explains the life-changing method the authors call Misbelief Therapy, and how it can work for you—in your home, in your own circumstances, in your own problems, in your own adverse environment, and in your own thinking.

You've made a commitment to see your marriage healed, so now what? Whether your relationship is recovering from an affair, pornography addiction, or just years of coasting, Cindy Beall shares from her redeemed-marriage journey to help you heal deeply by restoring faith in a future, build wisely from the foundation up, invest generously in your marriage and in other people, and much more.

In The Rage Against God, Hitchens details his personal story of how he left the faith and dramatically returned. Like many of the Old Testament saints whose personal lives were intertwined with the life of their nation, so Peter's story is also the story of modern England and its spiritual decline. The path to a secular utopia, pursued by numerous modern tyrants, is truly paved with more violence than has been witnessed in any era in history.

In his best-selling book No Self, No Problem: How Neuropsychology Is Catching Up to Buddhism, Professor Chris Niebauer explored the incredible link between Eastern philosophy and recent findings in neuropsychology, which is now confirming a fundamental tenet of Buddhism: anatta, or the doctrine of “no self.”

Most pastors and leaders are godly, wonderful people that don't abuse their sheep. They shepherd their flocks gently and patiently. But we can't ignore the growing number who do not. We need gentle shepherds now more than ever, and in Bully Pulpit, seminary president and biblical scholar Michael J. Kruger offers a unique perspective for both church leaders and church members on the problem of spiritual abuse, how to spot it, and how to handle it in the church.

It's not just about the money. Arguments about money are by far the top predictor of divorce, says Sonya Britt, a professor at Kansas State University. "It's not children, sex, in-laws, or anything else. It's money - for both men and women." Satan seeks every means possible to destroy marriages, and creating conflict around finances is one of his favorite tactics. But there is more to money problems than not sticking to the budget.