World Theology

In a world filled with ambiguity, many of us long for a belief system that provides straightforward answers to complex questions and clarity in the face of confusion. We want faith to act like an orderly set of truth-claims designed to solve the problems and pain that life throws at us. With signature candor and depth, Jen Pollock Michel helps listeners imagine a Christian faith open to mystery. While there are certainties in Christian faith, at the heart of the Christian story is also paradox.

This resource uncovers the subtle presence of worldliness in our hearts and helps believers learn to relate to the world while resisting its influence.

Best-selling author John Ortberg shares how Jesus' influence has swept over history and how his vision of life continues to impact humanity today. Jesus' impact on our world is highly unlikely, widely inescapable, largely unknown, and decidedly double-edged. It is unlikely in light of the severe limitations of his earthly life; it is inescapable because of the range of impact; it is unknown because history doesn't connect dots; and it is doubled-edged because his followers have wreaked so much havoc, often in his name.

Building on years of research, writing, and cross-cultural ministry, renowned author and theologian David Wells calls our attention to that which defines God's greatness and gives shape to the Christian life: the holy-love of God. In God in the Whirlwind, Wells explores the depths of the paradox that God is both holy and loving, showing how his holy-love provides the foundation for our understanding of the cross, sanctification, the nature of worship, and our life of service in the world.

Christianity didn't have to become the dominant religion in the West. It easily could have remained a sect of Judaism fated to have the historical importance of the Sadducees or the Essenes. In The Triumph of Christianity, Bart Ehrman, a master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, shows how a religion whose first believers were 20 or so illiterate day laborers in a remote part of the empire became the official religion of Rome, converting some 30 million people in just four centuries.

Church historians have long known and appreciated Christianity's global history. Until recently, however, introductory textbooks on the history of Christianity focused almost exclusively on Europe and North America. Robert Bruce Mullins's A Short World History of Christianity, by contrast, offers a panoramic picture of the history of Christianity in its Western and non-Western expressions.

In our modern age the biblical Genesis flood account has been probed and analyzed for answers to scientific, apologetic, and historical questions. It is a text that has called forth flood geology, fueled searches for remnants of the ark on Mount Ararat, and inspired a full-size replica of Noah's ark in a biblical theme park. Some claim that the very veracity of Scripture hinges on a particular reading of the flood narrative. But do we understand what we are reading? Longman and Walton urge us to ask, what might the biblical author have been saying to his ancient audience?

In this comprehensive yet easy-to-understand book, beloved and respected pastor Robert J. Morgan takes listeners on a journey through end-times prophecy, walking step-by-step through the end of the world to the dawn of the new kingdom of heaven.

In this collection of original writing, 16 of the most revered teachers in religion and psychology celebrate their personal experiences with the divine. Their words will inspire and challenge you to improve the quality of your life, and in turn, of the world around you. You'll hear the highly-regarded actors Candace Barrett and Raye Birk read from the works of the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Sue Bender, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Wayne Dyer, Barbara De Angelis, Riane Eisler, Shakti Gawain, Brooke Medicine Eagle, Thich Nhat Hanh, Andrew Harvey, Harold Kushner, David Steindl-Rast, Marsha Sinetar, Huston Smith, and Marianne Williamson.

Whether you’re a Christian parent, youth leader, or educator who works with Generation Z, this book was written for you. As powerful ideas in our increasingly secular culture shape more of this generation, trusted leaders must share what they know about Jesus in ways that will reach them. But how? Backed by the latest research and first hand experience, this powerful book shows how to share biblical truth with a generation that desperately needs to hear it in a way that draws them in instead of pushing them away.

With his trademark brilliance, generosity of spirit, and clear pastoral calling, Brian McLaren synthesizes an accessible and inviting understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.

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.

If you're tired of hearing the watered-down Christian teaching and hungry for a deeper spiritual life - one that gives real answers to your hardest questions - Stop Calling Me Beautiful teaches you how. Jesus doesn't offer a powerless salvation. He makes your brokenness part of his whole redemption story - if you allow him to. Don't settle for a feel-good faith. If you want victory over insecurity, fear, shame, and the circumstances you are facing, it's time to embrace Jesus. All of him.

N. T. Wright argues that every world view must explain seven “signposts”, indicators inherent to humanity. Using the Gospel of John as his source, Wright shows how Christianity defines each signpost and illuminates why we so often see them as being "broken" and unattainable. Drawing on the wisdom of the Gospels, Wright explains why these signposts are fractured and damaged and how Christianity provides the vision, guidance, and hope for making them whole once again, ultimately healing ourselves and our world.

Philip Yancey investigates the natural world and discovers the supernatural hiding in plain view. He grapples with why God made the world and what our role truly is, and seeks to answer the question, "How do I live in the natural world while expressing the values of the supernatural?"

The headlines are clear: Religion is on the decline in America as many people leave behind traditional religious practices. In this follow-up to her critically acclaimed book Christianity After Religion, Diana Butler Bass argues that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people understand God. The distant God of conventional religion has given way to a more intimate sense of the sacred with us in the world.

Pornography may seem inescapable, but God can free us from its destructive power. The gospel replaces the dehumanizing lies of pornography with this surprising truth: God created us as royalty. How then can we reclaim our God-given identity to take a stand against - and ultimately starve - the predatory porn industry? In The Death of Porn, Ray Ortlund writes six personal letters, as from a father to his son.

Is it possible our world is just one big high school lunchroom? In a world fraught with polarization and division—where we form separate tables based on political beliefs, skin color, economic status, theological ideas, and personal preferences—can we find a way to live differently, more aligned with the ways of Jesus? In Lunchroom Theology, Heather Gorman and Mark Nelson confront our societal and theological rifts, and by weaving together scriptural and sociological insights, they expose the many ways our contemporary divisions are mirrored by the church today.

In this follow-up to What If It's True?, Charles Martin, a New York Times best-selling novelist, blends storytelling and teaching to explore the lives of the disciples in the aftermath of the Resurrection and as they spread the message of the Gospel and “turn the world upside down”, leading up to Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica. In his beloved lyrical style, Martin illuminates key moments from Scripture and shares stories from his own life as a disciple.

A survey of the various ways--often unrecognized and overlooked--whereby Christianity has impacted the world, making the world a better place and enriching our everyday living.