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Различные книги в жанре Словари

What to Expect in Reformed Worship, Second Edition

Daniel R. Hyde

"Worship the Lord." Too many churches assume that those in their pews and those who pass through their doors know what worship is and why the Lord commands it. The purpose of this booklet, then, is to educate and acquaint members of Reformed churches but most of all those who inquire within their walls, with a basic knowledge of what Reformed churches mean when they say, «Worship the Lord.» In knowing what to expect, the worshippers' response of praise and thanksgiving will be more active, joyful, and meaningful.

Bound

Charles S. Stone

Can Christians be spiritual and religious? Do they even know the difference between the two? Through a guide for guardian angels entering into basic training for service to «womankind,» Bound, an Earth Walker's handbook overhauls Western Christianity with integrity and clarity.
Tackling subjects such as hypocrisy, racial prejudice, and misogyny, Bound cuts traditional religion back to its healthy roots: love, rigorous honesty, and fellowship. It then draws from contemporary sources, modern science, and an intriguing third-party perspective to graft openness, inclusiveness, and diversity, yielding an authentic way to be Christian today.
Written for the layperson by a layperson, readers will appreciate Charles S. Stone's use of fantasy, humor, and novelty to capture insights that evoke that gratifying sense of «aha!» about good and evil, humanity, and salvation–ultimately seeking to answer life's most basic questions: What is God? Who are we? How should we live?

Religious Leadership in National Political Conflict

Lloyd Tichaenda Nyarota

It is one thing for a religious leader to confront and challenge political leaders; it is altogether another thing when such a leader becomes a partisan political leader. This is what happened in the case of Bishop Abel Tendekai, a bishop of the United Methodist Church. For such a religious leader to attempt to traverse both worlds political and religious are in some ways uncharted waters; in other ways, they are treacherous waters. The pages which follow in this lucid and detailed volume is an effort to «look back» on the challenge and complexity of moving from colonialism to independence, to the making of a new independent nation on the Continent of Africa. What happens when the prophetic voice expected of and from the Church becomes the identified political entity? How does it challenge itself, or how is it distinguished from the political power it seeks to hold accountable on behalf of all the people? These are several of the questions Nyarota tackles through the examination of the impact of the struggle for liberation upon the United Methodist Church, its leader, Bishop Muzorewa, as both find themselves in the midst of nation building, political struggle, and the vying for political power.

Called into Communion

Susan B. Carole

This book illuminates the experiential and theocentric dimensions of holiness theology. It acknowledges two strands of thought in current holiness theology–Wesley's Christian perfection and entire sanctification as propagated in the early days of the American Holiness Movement. It honors the contribution of both these strands by identifying the deep harmony in the holiness message of John Wesley and Phineas Bresee. Using insights from Wesley and Bresee, the author develops a paradigm for holiness theology from the standpoint of its transcendent goal. Called into Communion explicates entire sanctification as revelatory and salvific, a necessary threshold experience for complete openness to God. This approach illuminates the rootedness of holiness theology in the triune fellowship of holy love. The communion perspective affirms holiness theology as the underlying theological principle for a missional ecclesiology since participation in God characterizes the church as a doxological fellowship of holy love and determines the church's redemptive action. Seminarians and pastors will find in this book a new perspective on the holiness message. It extends the horizon of reflection to the grace that seeks out and enables human partners for a transformative fellowship of genuine reciprocity with God.

Looking unto Jesus

J. Stephen Yuille

Christ declares, «Abide in me, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me» (John 15:4).
A branch derives life from the vine by virtue of its union with the vine. Similarly, Christ is the vine, and we are the branches. There is a vital, organic union between us. We draw on Christ's life through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us. We must, therefore, abide in Christ by cultivating close and constant communion with him. That is to say, we must continually look «unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith» (Hebrews 12:2).
The present work seeks to explain what this looking implies. It does so by turning to the writings of two largely forgotten Puritans and Baptists from the seventeenth century–Thomas Wilcox and Vavasor Powell. Together, they teach us that to abide in Christ is to behold him in his manifold roles and relations. As we do, Christ becomes our all in all.

Science and Religion

John M. Duffey

Follow the Right Reverend Bishop John M. Duffey as he explains the duality of human understanding, the complementary natures of science and religion, and the various perspectives regarding the compatibility of science and religion. In this book, Duffey demonstrates the error in believing that science and religion conflict or are incompatible. Science and Religion is a journey through the definitive and complementary natures of religion (all religions) and science on to an explanation and demonstration of their individual and combined contributions to the whole of human universal understanding. By the end of this marvelous tour of contemplation the reader will be left with greater enlightenment regarding science, religion, and human perception and responsibility.

The Righteousness of One

Jordan Cooper

Since the publication of E.P. Sanders' Paul and Palestinian Judaism in 1977, Paul's soteriology has received extensive evaluation in light of second temple Judaism. These works have focused on exegesis of the Pauline text and evaluating Sanders' proposal of covenantal nomism within the second temple Jewish literature. There has been an unfortunate gap in this discussion: historical theology. This work addresses the historical claims made by proponents of the New Perspective on Paul regarding Luther's theology and the early church. In The Righteousness of One, Jordan Cooper demonstrates that the portrait of Luther given by many of the New Perspective writers is a caricature, read through the lens of both Protestant scholasticism and twentieth-century existentialist theology. Luther's views are more nuanced and balanced than many Pauline interpreters are willing to admit. In light of this reevaluation of Luther's own theology, early Patristic writings are evaluated in terms of similarity and disparity between Patristic Pauline interpretation and Lutheran Pauline interpretation, and thus it becomes apparent that there is continuity between the patristic tradition and Luther's reading of the Pauline text. Rather than being driven purely by medieval debates about merit, Luther's reading of Paul is both exegetically sensitive and consistent with the broader catholic tradition.

The Artist and the Trinity

Christine M. Fletcher

The Artist and the Trinity aims to create a Christian theology of work based on Dorothy L. Sayers' analogy of the Trinity to the process of artistic creation. Sayers' analogy gives us an account of the person that does not collapse into the atomism of the individual of modern liberal capitalism, but is fully relational. By putting Sayers into dialogue with Alasdair MacIntyre, the book develops a fully Trinitarian theology of work that accounts for the interdependence of human beings, and for the ethical requirements of caring for the weak, the young, and the old in a way that is gender neutral.

Deficiencies in the Justification of the Ungodly

Manuel (Manny) Alaniz

In recent years, the traditional reformed view of imputed righteousness has come under heavy scrutiny and disagreement, resulting in an injection of theological fervor centering on the writings of the Apostle Paul. The primary source of much of the disagreement comes from a theological movement called the New Perspective on Paul (NPP). The NPP movement has come to the forefront of New Testament theological scholarship, resulting in a continuing debate on the Pauline writings. The debate centers on the exegetical interpretation of these writings. To state this more clearly, the debate involves the reinterpretation of Paul's corpus of work found in Holy Scripture based on a new or different perspective. The NPP encompasses a multifaceted theological rubric, which questions the traditional interpretation of the Pauline writings, including the doctrine of imputed righteousness. Currently, one of the foremost advocates for the NPP is N. T. Wright. Wright, an evangelical New Testament scholar, strongly criticizes the traditional interpretation of the doctrine of imputed righteousness. This book takes a critical look at Wright's view of the doctrine of imputed righteousness and identifies some deficiencies from a traditional reformed perspective.

Elements of African Traditional Religion

Elia Shabani Mligo

African Traditional religion (ATR) is one of the world religions with a great people and a great past. It is embraced by Africans within and outside the continent despite the various ethnic religious practices and beliefs. This book highlights and discusses the common elements which introduce African Traditional Religion as one unified religion and not a collection of religions. The major focus of the book is discussing the need for studying ATR in twenty-first-century Africa whereby globalization and multi-culture are prominent phenomena. Why should we study the religion of indigenous Africans in this age? In response to this question, the book argues that since ATR is part of the African people's culture, there is a need to understand this cultural background in order to contextualize Christian theology. Using some illustrations from Nyumbanitu worship shrine located at Njombe in Tanzania, the book purports that there is a need to understand African people's worldview, their understanding of God, their religious values, symbols and rituals in order to enhance meaningful dialogue between Christianity and African people's current worldview. In this case, the book is important for students of comparative religion in universities and colleges who strive to understand the various religions and their practices.