Theology Culture

Join Andy Stanley for Twisting the Truth, a six-session small-group bible study developed to help you and your group understand how truth can get twisted and distorted, and how that impacts your life. Throughout the study, Stanley exposes four destructive and all-too-prevalent lies about authority, pain, sex, and sin. They’re deceptions powerful enough to ruin our relationships, our lives, even our eternities - but only if we let them.

One of the most highly regarded works of intellectual history of the past decade, Jesus Through the Centuries is an original and compelling study of the impact of Jesus on cultural, political, social, and economic history. Noted historian and theologian Jaroslav Pelikan reveals how the image of Jesus created by each successive epoch - from rabbi in the first century to liberator in the 19th and 20th centuries - is a key to understanding the temper and values of that age.

La Bible est attaquée de toutes parts. Dans L’Écriture seule, John MacArthur défend la fiabilité de l’Écriture dans le but d’équiper l’Église afin qu’elle puisse être en mesure de défendre fermement la vérité, même lorsque d’autres l’abandonnent. Ce n’est que lorsque le peuple de Dieu reconnaîtra la Bible pour ce qu’elle est—la Parole infaillible de Dieu et la source ultime d’autorité—qu’il sera en mesure d’accomplir son appel et de transmettre au monde entier la bonne nouvelle du salut de Dieu.

After her brother died unexpectedly and her mother moved into a dementia-care facility, spiritual travel writer and Episcopal deacon Lori Erickson felt called to a new quest: to face death head-on, with the eye of a tourist and the heart of a pastor. Blending memoir, spirituality, and travel, Near the Exit examines how cultures confront and have confronted death by investigating Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Mayan temples, Colorado cremation pyres, Day of the Dead celebrations, Maori settlements, and tourist-destination graveyards.

One of the most controversial statements in the New Testament concerns the virgin conception and subsequent birth of Jesus, a conception in which man had no part. It's recorded that a virgin conceived a son without the aid of man, then secretly and without effort gave birth to her conception. This is the foundation upon which all Christendom rests. The Christian world is asked to believe this story, for man must believe the unbelievable to fully express the greatness that he is.

Each Christmas, adults and children alike delight at the story of the kings from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem to offer gifts to the newborn Christ. While this familiar tale is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, another little-known version later emerged that claimed to be the eyewitness account of the wise men. This ancient manuscript has lain hidden for centuries in the vaults of the Vatican Library, but through the determined persistence of a young scholar, Brent Landau, this astonishing discovery has been translated into English for the very first time as the Revelation of the Magi.

Rabbi Curt Landry helps Christians discover their roots in Judaism, empowering them to walk in the revelation of who they really are and who they are born to be. Reclaiming Our Forgotten Heritage reveals the mysteries of the church, letting Christians grasp the power that comes from connecting with their true identity.

The Christian religion is the historical unfolding of God's covenantal involvement in this world, the culmination of which is God's coming into this world in the person of Jesus Christ. Far as the Curse Is Found is a retelling of the biblical story of God's unfolding covenant from creation to new creation

There is a quest going on to reduce Jesus to a mythic legend or to nothing more than a mere man. Scholars such as Elaine Pagels and James Tabor are using recent discoveries like the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel of Thomas to argue that the Christ of Christianity is a contrived figure and that a different Christ—one human and not divine—is the "true" Christ. Both research professors, Bock and Wallace set out a vigorous defense of Christianity against a popular trend that they dub "Jesusanity", where Christ was simply a human teacher.

Sir Oliver Mowat served as a Christian lawyer, politician, premier of Ontario, and was one of the Fathers of Canadian Confederation. He was known by all his contemporaries as being a godly man who sought to do what was right in the sight of God, and who believed passionately in the proclamation and defense of the gospel, and the administration of its graces. Near the end of his life, he published two works on Christianity and its evidences and Christianity and its influence as his contributions to the development of a holistic Christian apologetic.

A central figure in Christian tradition, Mary of Nazareth is both pivotal in theologies of the incarnation and a source of theological controversy. In this volume, bible scholar and priest Christopher Bryan examines the role of Mary in the theology of the first generations of Christians. Considering every reference to Mary in the New Testament in the order that the biblical texts were written, Mary of Nazareth situates biblical texts' treatment of Mary within first-century culture and examines changing theologies of Mary and the incarnation among the earliest generations of Christians

Religious traditions in the United States are characterized by ongoing tension between assimilation to the broader culture and defiant rejection of cultural incursions. However, legal theorist and Catholic theologian Cathleen Kaveny contends there is a third possibility - a culture of engagement - that accommodates and respects tradition. It also recognizes the need to interact with culture to remain relevant and to offer critiques of social, political, legal, and economic practices.

John Montgomery examines Martin Luther and the German Reformation; Ulrich Zwingli and the Swiss Reformation; the principles for interpreting the Bible by comparison of the approaches of Zwingli and Luther; the life, times, and thought of John Calvin; and the influence of the Bible Reformers, especially Martin Luther, on artists such as Bach and Mendelsohn compared to 20th century artists such as Picasso.

Using the Bible as the foundational source and guide, while also bringing contemporary sociological data to the conversation, seven biblical scholars and theologians construct a powerful dialogue about gun violence in America, concluding that guns are incompatible with the God of Christian Scripture.

We no longer need to be confused. We know what 666 is! We know what the Beast is! We know what the second Beast is! We know which countries will rise and which countries will fall! With knowledge of this information in hand, we can sit back and watch as everything unfolds. We can know that there is really no reason for us to fear anything. God's plan is beautiful! And the end is good!

You’ll learn about all these and more hidden facts about ancient China and its connection to the Bible in this audiobook that provides the research to the biblical background of the novel Qin: Dragon Emperor of China. But don’t worry, you don’t have to have read or listened to Qin novel to get the tremendous spiritual value out of this book.

In Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us, Layton E. Williams proposes that our primary calling as humans is not to create unity but rather to seek authentic relationship with God, ourselves, one another, and the world around us. And that means actively engaging those with whom we disagree. Our religious, political, social, and cultural differences can create doubt and tension, but disunity also provides surprising gifts of perspective and grace.

The use of intercessory beings in prayer hasn't always been the normal accepted practice. As Christianity and paganism began to merge under the rule of the Byzantine Empire, many elements that existed within paganism were "Christianized" and adapted for use by the Church. This article will trace a possible origin for the use of intercessory beings in Christian prayer and will use evidence from the scriptures and noncanonical Christian books to weigh the use of intercessory beings against prayer.

Unlike many celebrities, Winfrey's is an overwhelmingly positive public persona. Here, religion reporter Marcia Nelson explores the spiritual dimensions that are prevalent in all aspects of the Oprah Winfrey media empire. Though Oprah is rarely explicitly religious on her television show or magazine, Nelson points out that there are several major Christian themes that weave through these aspects of her life and work: confession, redemption, healing, mission, forgiveness, and salvation.

Do you hear it coming? The SoulTsunami, a mind-bending conglomeration of techno-culture and religious pluralism, is here to sweep away the old church. Leonard Sweet says there are only 3 ways for Christians to respond: deny it and drown; fight it and lose; or recognize it and adapt to its opportunities. Sweet explains how you can chart a new course through the uncertain religious waters of the next millennium.