Религия: прочее
Различные книги в жанре Религия: прочееMaking Space for the Spirit
How do we create places and spaces for deepening our spiritual lives? For slowing down so we can notice what really matters to us? For taking time to attend to our own healing and growth? For meeting Jesus in life-transforming ways? And how do we keep these places affordable so that they are accessible to everyone who is seeking–not just those who can afford the high cost? How do we create these spaces and how do we sustain them? These are the questions this book seeks to address as it considers closely and personally the creation and development of one such space. So join me as we listen in on some special stories, hearing how one community held, realized, and sustained their vision to make space for the Spirit, inspiring us to do the same.
Genesis 1 and the Creationism Debate
Modern readers often assume that Genesis 1 depicts the creation of the earth and sky as we know it. Yet in an appeal for textual honesty, Steven DiMattei shows that such beliefs are more representative of modern views about this ancient text than the actual claims and beliefs of its author. Through a culturally contextualized and objective reading of the texts of Genesis 1 and 2, this study not only introduces readers to the textual data that convincingly demonstrate that Genesis' two creation accounts were penned by different authors who held contradictory views and beliefs about the origin of the world and of man and woman, but also establishes on textual grounds that what the author of Genesis 1 portrayed God creating was the world as its author and culture perceived and experienced it–not the objective world, but a subjective world, subject to the culturally conditioned views and beliefs of its author. In the end, this book clearly illustrates that the Bible's ancient texts do in fact represent the beliefs and worldviews of ancient peoples and cultures–not those of God, not those of later readers, and especially not those of modern-day Creationists.
Revival: The New Testament Expectation
Is it right to pray for revival? Why are so many of the Scriptures used to support the idea of praying for revival taken from the Old Testament? Has the New Testament nothing to say on the subject? Isn't revival an Old Testament concept, completely fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ? These are genuine questions that some people raise, and this book seeks to address them. The author demonstrates that, even though «revival» is not a New Testament word, the reality to which the word points is definitely a New Testament theme. He also shows that it is impossible to divide the testaments, as the questions above imply, because the New Testament constantly draws Old Testament material into its own theology. Consequently, he concludes, prayer for revival today is clearly mandated by the New Testament.
Through the Eyes of the Heart
This book is written as a memoir of 40-plus years of working with human experiences of death, grief, and bereavement. The stories are all similar but uniquely different; similar in the sense that they all relate to varying issues embedded in loss. They are different in how each of these losses occur. The author invites the reader into a world of overwhelming grief brimming with raw emotions. The stories are true and tackle the capricious and unpredictable nature of death in a society that seeks to avoid and overcome the reality of death.
Most of the stories are told from the perspective of a hospital chaplain working with real people. While these stories are profoundly sad, the author invites the reader to search for and find snippets of hope through a recommitment to life and living–constantly holding before the reader the dialectic tension that exists between life and death.
Secrets from Heaven
Secrets from Heaven is a practical devotional guide that consists of Scriptures from the Bible on how to get our prayers answered. The only way to receive an answer from God is to learn the Scriptures. In gaining knowledge of who God is through his Word, we will understand the mind of God. When we understand the mind of God, we will begin to pray the Lord's will over our lives. However, in order for us to receive what we desire, our request must be in harmony with the principles of God's kingdom. When we communicate with God, it allows him to give us divine counsel. When we do this, he will listen, and we can be certain that if God listens, he will give us a definite answer. God is ready to answer our prayers but we must ask him for his assistance. Therefore, we must pray with confidence and an expectation that God will answer us.
Reading John
The Gospel of John is often found at the center of discussions about the Bible and its relation to Christian theology. It is difficult to quantify the impact John's Gospel has had on both the historical development of Christian doctrine and the various expressions of Christian devotion. All too often, however, readers have failed to understand the Gospel as an autonomous text with its own unique story to tell. More often than not, the Gospel of John is swept into a reading approach that either conflates or attempts to harmonize with other accounts of Jesus' life. This book emphasizes the uniqueness of John's story of Jesus and attempts to provide readers with a road map for appreciating the historical context and literary features of the text. The aim of this book is to help others become better, more perceptive readers of the Gospel of John, with an ability to trace the rhetoric of the narrative from beginning to end.
Essays in Faith and Learning
This book represents the collected thinking of a few people who have had strong personal connections to Dr. Song Nai Rhee. Because the integration of faith and learning is a core value held by Dr. Rhee, the various authors have written essays on this topic in honor of his life and work. Such a book is typically referred to as a Festschrift, a celebratory writing given for a special person. Dr. Rhee's robust career at Northwest Christian College/University is celebrated by the essays brought together in this book. All the authors have known Dr. Rhee as students or as academic colleagues or both. What they write about ranges from topics found in biblical literature to expressly theological ideas to matters that are eminently practical. Yet each essay is held in place by its relevancy to the ongoing conversations about how faith and learning are integrated in the context of the Christian liberal arts university. More important, each author has a deep and abiding respect for Dr. Song Nai Rhee. His teaching and mentoring at Northwest Christian College/University have left an indelible mark on each of their lives.
The God Beyond Organized Religion
Following the death of her best friend since high school, a religion professor re-examines her own personal beliefs about god. She realizes she doesn't want to be consoled by a 'transactional' god who exchanges 'right' belief and 'good' behavior for services upon request. She explores the concept of a 'transformative' god, one not aligned with any particular religion, who equips people to adapt to challenges and to spiritually grow from crises and traumas. Out of our experiences, something positive can emerge which helps us to be more empathic toward the suffering of others. Her story demonstrates how grief can be an opportunity to ponder the great mysteries of life and make meaning of our existence. She describes this process as a journey up the side of a mountain to explore how a concept of god both reflects and impacts the way a society approaches its contemporary social problems, such as global warming, poverty, and inequality. In doing so, she encounters a god beyond organized religion.
Interstitial Soundings
In Interstitial Soundings, Cynthia R. Nielsen brings music and philosophy into a fruitful and mutually illuminating dialogue. Topics discussed include the following: music's dynamic ontology, performers and improvisers as co-composers, the communal character of music, jazz as hybrid and socially constructed, the sociopolitical import of bebop, Afro-modernism and its strategic deployments, jazz and racialized practices, continuities between Michel Foucault's discussion of self-making and creating one's musical voice, Alasdair MacIntyre on practice, and how one might harmonize MacIntyre's notion of virtue development with Foucauldian resistance strategies.
A Most Dangerous Profession
Every Christian is assailed by the gales of temptation, but those in professional ministry face fiercer storms than the rest. As C. H. Spurgeon warned, contrary to what is often assumed, «our dangers are more numerous and more insidious than those of ordinary Christians.» This perspective was shared by the unified voice of the historic church, leading some patristic church fathers to initially flee the call to ministry. The same dangers were repeatedly identified in the writings of the early English pastoral theologians as they sought to mentor their proteges in successful ministry. A Most Dangerous Profession surfaces these gems so often overlooked in historic Christian literature, and ends with their practical advice on how to overcome. As both a pastoral and spiritual theology, A Most Dangerous Profession is bound to add an important voice to the ongoing dialog about pastoral self-care.