Theology Study

Many of us wonder how to think about and act on issues of life and death beyond abortion and the death penalty—yet the heated debates in our churches and the confusion of our own hearts sometimes feel overwhelming. What does a balanced, Christian view of what it means to be "pro-life" really look like?

Maybe Christianity is actually true. Maybe it is what believers say it is. But at least two problems make the thoughtful person hesitate. First, there are so many other options. How could one possibly make one's way through them to anything like a rational and confident conclusion? Second, why do so many people choose to be Christian in the face of so many reasons not to be Christian? Yes, many people grow up in Christian homes and in societies, but many more do not. Yet Christianity has become the most popular religion in the world. Why?

The Insistence of God presents the provocative idea that God does not exist, God insists, while God's existence is a human responsibility, which may or may not happen. For John D. Caputo, God's existence is haunted by "perhaps," which does not signify indecisiveness but an openness to risk, to the unforeseeable. Perhaps constitutes a theology of what is to come and what we cannot see coming. Responding to current critics of continental philosophy, Caputo explores the materiality of perhaps and the promise of the world.

Professor, pastor, and well-known counselor Jay E. Adams bases his whole approach on Scripture. This book provides an unparalleled opportunity to see how he discovers and applies biblical principles as well as the way in which Scripture functions as the basis for his counseling approach.

The call to make the world a better place is inherent in the Christian belief and practice. But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the twenty-first century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive answers to these questions.

Just like we do today, the writers and chief actors of the Old Testament felt a deep longing for the presence of God. It is symbolized in the temple ruins, and before it the temple itself, and before that the ark of the covenant and the tabernacle that housed it, and before that the Garden of Eden. In response to this longing, God shares his ultimate mission, in which his people play a part: the expansion of Eden, the temple of God's presence, to all peoples throughout the earth.

Why is God restoring apostles to his church? Because restoration of the apostolic ministry is necessary for the church to complete its mission on earth. We are now experiencing the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit the world has ever known, and we should expect to see multitudes swept into the kingdom as a result. In this book, John Eckhardt reveals how the apostolic dimension affects the preaching, teaching, worship, prayer, and giving of the local church.

Award-winning journalist Rob Moll chronicles the fascinating ways in which our brains and bodies interact with God and spiritual realities. He reports on neuroscience findings that show how our brains actually change and adapt when engaged in spiritual practices. We live longer, healthier, happier, and more fulfilling lives when we cultivate the biological spiritual capacity that puts us in touch with God. God has created our bodies to fulfill the Great Commandment.

Many of us have been told that we will be "raptured out of here before the Antichrist arrives". But what if this is wrong? Is this really what the Bible teaches? In this thought-provoking and freshly examined account on the second coming of Christ, Alan Kurschner traces the key topics and passages, providing compelling biblical evidence that the church will first encounter the Antichrist's great tribulation before Christ returns to rapture his people and judge the world.

The question of where ultimacy lies should be central to the Christian. It is easy to see the social implications of allowing priority to fall to either the one or the many. This volume examines in-depth the Christian solution to the problem of the one and the many—the Trinitarian God. Only in the godhead is this dilemma resolved. Only in the Trinity does there reside an equal ultimacy of unity and plurality.

Profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr has become one of America's leading commentators on current events in the Middle East, admired and welcomed by both media and government for his "concise and coherent" analysis (Wall Street Journal). In this "smart, clear and timely" book (Washington Post), Nasr brilliantly dissects the political and theological antagonisms within Islam. He provides a unique and objective understanding of the 1,400-year bitter struggle between Shias and Sunnis, and sheds crucial light on its modern-day consequences—from the nuclear posturing of Iran's President Ahmadinejad to the recent U.S.-enabled shift toward Shia power in Iraq and Hezbollah's continued dominance in Lebanon.

G. K. Chesterton was a journalist, playwright, poet, biographer, novelist, essayist, literary commentator, editor, orator, artist, and theologian. Orthodoxy is his great apologia for the Christian faith, which was prompted by a serious attack in 1903 against Christianity by well-known newspaper editor Robert Blatchford.

Both science and religion explore aspects of reality, providing "a basis for their mutual interaction as they present their different perspectives onto the one world of existent reality," Polkinghorne argues. In One World he develops his thesis through an examination of the nature of science, the nature of the physical world, the character of theology, and the modes of thought in science and theology. He identifies "points of interaction" and points of potential conflict between science and religion.

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.

For centuries, the Bible was called "the Good Book," a moral and religious text that guides us into a relationship with God and shows us the right way to live. Today, however, some people argue the Bible is outdated and harmful, with many Christians unaware of some of the odd and disturbing things the Bible says.

You know the story of the Three Wise Men of the East, and how they traveled from far away to offer their gifts at the manger-cradle in Bethlehem. But have you ever heard the story of the Other Wise Man? This one-hour audiobook contains the complete text of Henry van Dyke's original story, artfully brought to life by a colorful cast of characters under the direction of David Nevland.

The theme of divine sonship stretches across the pages of the Bible: from Adam in the garden of Eden, through the nation of Israel and King David, and ultimately to Jesus Christ in the New Jerusalem―the Son of God par excellence. In this volume, renowned biblical scholar Graeme Goldsworthy shows what Christ's fulfillment of the divine sonship motif means for all who are sons and daughters of God.

Elaine Pagels, one of the world’s most important writers and thinkers on religion and history, and winner of the National Book Award for her groundbreaking work The Gnostic Gospels, now reflects on what matters most about spiritual and religious exploration in the twenty-first century. This bold new book explores how Christianity began by tracing its earliest texts, including the secret Gospel of Thomas, rediscovered in Egypt in 1945.

What does the Bible really say about the end times? There are so many Christians teaching outrageous speculation about end times Bible prophecy these days. It's enough to frustrate the serious Bible student. What if you found out most of it is simply mistaken? What if you found out that the ancient Jewish writers were using Old Testament imagery of the past, not a crystal ball gaze into our modern future?

Refugia (reh-FU-jee-ah) is a term describing places of shelter where life endures in times of crisis, such as a volcanic eruption, fire, or stressed climate. Ideally, these refugia endure, expand, and connect so that new life emerges. Debra Rienstra applies this concept to human culture and faith, asking: In this era of ecological devastation, how can Christians become people of refugia? How can we find and nurture these refugia in our human cultural systems and in our spiritual lives? Refugia Faith speaks to people securely within the faith as well as to those on the edge.