Religion Theory

Grace is the defining feature of the Christian faith. Once we understand how undeserving we are and how much favor we’ve been given, grace becomes shocking, thrilling, inspiring, and contagious. Best-selling author and Pastor John MacArthur illuminates this profound concept with verse upon verse of Scripture. He also shows that misunderstandings about grace have led to some of the church’s greatest problems, perhaps because grace is her most precious gift.

WOKE: AN EVANGELICAL GUIDE introduces and explains a range of key ideas, from postmodernity to political correctness, which define aspects of woke culture; offers Christian reflection and practical advice to parents, students, pastors, educators, policymakers, and any other concerned citizens; and helps faithful Christians respond to those issues with clarity, charity, vigor, and effectiveness.

The drama that shaped today’s Iran, from the Revolution to the present day. In 1979, seemingly overnight - moving at a clip some 30 years faster than the rest of the world - Iran became the first revolutionary theocracy in modern times. Since then, the country has been largely a black box to the West, a sinister presence looming over the horizon. But inside Iran, a breathtaking drama has unfolded since then, as religious thinkers, political operatives, poets, journalists, and activists have imagined and reimagined what Iran should be.

"Candy Jones" was the stage name of Jessica Wilcox who became famous as a model and "pinup girl" in the early 1940s. Her story seems too bizarre to be true. One of America's most famous models, brainwashed by the CIA? Yes, it is another example of truth being stranger than fiction. The story begins with Candy's wedding to Long John Nebel, New York's most successful radio talk-show host. During the wedding, and regularly thereafter, Candy's personality would seem to shift. She would suddenly change from her affable, self-effacing self to a brusque, aggressive "stranger".

Privilege is a social consequence of our unwillingness to reckon with and turn from sin. But stewarded, it can help us see and participate in God's inbreaking kingdom. Scripture repeatedly affirms that privilege is real and declares that, rather than exploiting it for selfish gain or feeling immobilized by it, Christians have a responsibility to leverage it. Subversive Witness asks us to grapple with privilege, indifference, and systemic sin in new ways by using biblical examples to reveal the complex nature of privilege and Christians' responsibility in stewarding it well.

Public schools are indoctrinating a generation of children to see themselves as either victims of systemic racial oppression or members of a wicked oppressor class. Leonydus Johnson, a black writer and podcaster, exposes the poisonous ideology embedded in "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" programs. We must teach our children the truth that their identity comes not from their race but from Christ.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a lightning rod in American politics and evangelical Christianity. This book offers a critical but constructive and sympathetic introduction to CRT written from a perspective rooted in Scripture and Christian theology. The authors take us beyond caricatures and misinformation to consider how CRT can be an analytical tool to help us understand persistent inequality and injustice—and to see how Christians and churches working for racial justice can engage CRT in faithful and constructive ways.

Know What You Believe has helped countless new and longtime believers understand the basic truths of their Christian faith. The audiobook clearly explains what the Bible teaches with regard to: the Holy Trinity, Christ's death and resurrection, the angelic and demonic realms, sin and salvation, and coming events.

Human beings are wired for connection. We long for deep relationships and real intimacy — both of which reflect our fundamental desire to be close to God. But all too often, whether because of our sin or our failures, we imagine that God prefers to keep his distance. In this book, Edward T. Welch shows us the purpose for which we were created: to be brought near to God as a kingdom of priests.

What happens in the heart when it experiences real saving faith? John Piper argues that faith in Christ is not saving unless it includes an "affectional dimension of treasuring Christ." Nor is God glorified as he ought to be unless he is treasured in being trusted. Saving faith in Jesus Christ welcomes him forever as our supreme and inexhaustible pleasure. What Is Saving Faith? explains that a Savior who is treasured for his all-satisfying worth is more glorified than a Savior who is only trusted for his all-forgiving competence

In this updated classic Bible study, bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado pulls back the curtain on his favorite Bible passage to move you to a profound awareness of God's limitless love, His incalculable sacrifice, and the certainty of His offer of eternal life. With deeply personal accounts of the way this verse shaped Max's own faith journey, this audio Bible study will reveal the gospel story surrounding the promise and unpack God's plan of restoration from the human problems of sin and death. If you know nothing about the Bible, the promise of John 3:16 is where to start.

In Saved from What?, Dr. R.C. Sproul reveals that the greatest danger we face is the holy wrath of God against our sin. But the glory of the gospel is that the One from whom we need to be saved is the very One who saves us. As we better understand the severity of our sin and the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, the truth of God’s grace will deepen our worship and drive us to make his salvation known.

In this pop Christian culture, many believers have never been exposed to the great truths upon which the Church of Jesus Christ has been built. One of those forgotten truths is the purpose and power of the blood of Jesus. We sing about it in our hymns, that there is power in the blood, but few of us have experienced the reality of those words. Chavda carefully lays the foundation as he presents a refreshing look at the importance of the blood of Jesus in the life of the believer. The Hidden Power of the Blood of Jesus is theologically sound, but passionately written.

The doctrine of reprobation—that is, the eternal, unconditional decree of God for the non-elect—is frequently misconstrued in both pastoral and theological literature. In Reprobation and God's Sovereignty, Peter Sammons reintroduces this oft-misunderstood doctrine, revealing its relationship to divine sovereignty. With Romans 9 as a guiding text, Sammons presents a thoroughly researched defense of reprobation as an essential part in a Reformed theology that magnifies God and encourages believers to trust in him.

Where did the coronavirus outbreak originate, and was the pandemic predicted? Did aliens help to build the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza, and what were they trying to tell us? Is the food industry colluding to make us addicted to sugar? Prepare yourself for some startling revelations on these topics and many more in this updated and expanded compendium of the world’s scariest and strangest conspiracy theories.

Big Bang Theory vs. the Bible has a truly unique comparison between two seemingly opposite perspectives. It brings religion and science together by using the truths of the Big Bang Theory, evolution, astronomy, mathematics, statistical probabilities, and the solar system. It reconciles the calendar of the creation recorded in the Book of Genesis with the calendar of the Big Bang Theory—as the two calendars perfectly and mathematically correlate.

Brennan W. Breed claims that biblical interpretation should focus on the shifting capacities of the text, viewing it as a dynamic process rather than a static product. Rather than seeking to determine the original text and its meaning, Breed proposes that scholars approach the production, transmission, and interpretation of the biblical text as interwoven elements of its overarching reception history.

Is meditation an escape from - or a solution to - our psychological problems? Is the use of antidepressants counter to spiritual practice? Does a psychological approach to meditation reduce spirituality to "self-help"? What can Zen and psychoanalysis teach us about the problems of the mind and suffering?

This audiobook combines a serious examination of the state of today's church and a powerful solution: reclaiming the gospel of grace found in the confessional truths of the Reformation. Though the Christian church has achieved a worldly sort of success - big numbers, big budgets, big outreaches - these are not good days for evangelicalism. Attendance is down, and it is increasingly difficult to distinguish so-called "believers" from their non-Christian neighbors - all because the gospel of grace has been neglected.

What does human suffering have to do with God's power and love? Everyone has a "Gethsemane," a place and time in our lives when we face sorrow on the deepest level. To help us understand the relationship and interaction between human suffering and God's power and love, author Leslie Montgomery looks at the details of Jesus' example to show how valuable lessons can be learned through suffering.