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Encountering Islam on the First Crusade
By Nicholas Morton. 2016
The First Crusade (1095–9) has often been characterised as a head-to-head confrontation between the forces of Christianity and Islam. For…
many, it is the campaign that created a lasting rupture between these two faiths. Nevertheless, is such a characterisation borne out by the sources? Engagingly written and supported by a wealth of evidence, Encountering Islam on the First Crusade offers a major reinterpretation of the crusaders' attitudes towards the Arabic and Turkic peoples they encountered on their journey to Jerusalem. Nicholas Morton considers how they interpreted the new peoples, civilizations and landscapes they encountered; sights for which their former lives in Western Christendom had provided little preparation. Morton offers a varied picture of cross cultural relations, depicting the Near East as an arena in which multiple protagonists were pitted against each other. Some were fighting for supremacy, others for their religion, many simply for survival.Pagan Christmas: The Plants, Spirits, and Rituals at the Origins of Yuletide
By Claudia M ller-Ebeling, Christian R tsch. 2003
An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas • Analyzes the symbolism of the…
many plants associated with Christmas • Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual. Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people’s consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.Executing God
By Sharon L. Baker. 2013
Why did God have to murder his only son to pay our debts? What kind of vengeful, violent God can…
only be satisfied by vicarious blood atonement? In Executing God, theologian Sharon Baker presents a biblically based and theologically sound critique of popular theories of the atonement. Concerned about the number of acts of violence performed in the name of God, Baker challenges cultural assumptions about the death of Jesus and its meaning to Christians. She ultimately offers a constructive alternate view of atonement based on God's forgiveness that opens up salvation to a wider group of people.Recreating The Church: Leadership for the Postmodern Age
By Richard L. Hamm. 2007
Mainline denominations in the United States are in crisis. These institutions-created in and for modernity-are now facing a changed, postmodern…
culture. Hamm faces the crisis, examining its origins, and offers sound advice on how to lead to church to make the adaptive changes needed to thrive in postmodern times.Tracks of a Fellow Struggler: Living and Growing through Grief
By John R. Claypool. 1974
With over a million copies sold one s pastor s personal experience with devastating grief…
and learning to heal through faith has touched countless hearts John Claypool had been a pastor for almost two decades ministering to others who suffered through the loss of loved ones when loss hit home with the death of his eight-year-old daughter In Tracks of a Fellow Struggler Rev Claypool shares his own journey through the darkness of heartbreaking grief through four extraordinary sermons The first was delivered just eleven days after his daughter s diagnosis of leukemia the second after her first major relapse nine months later and the third weeks after her death The final sermon an inspiring reflection on the process of grieving was preached three years later Loss is something we must all cope with and one of the greatest spiritual challenges is sustaining faith when life seems most unfair sometimes tragic With a depth of compassion born of his own personal experience the author of Mending the Heart brings emotional comfort and spiritual strength to anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one31 Days to Living as a New Believer: A Devotional For New Believers
By R. Larry Moyer. 2002
Attila the Hun: Leader of the Barbarian Hordes
By Sean Stewart Price. 2009
Early Christian Monastic Literature and the Babylonian Talmud
By Michal Bar-Asher Siegal. 2013
This book examines literary analogies in Christian and Jewish sources, culminating in an in-depth analysis of striking parallels and connections…
between Christian monastic texts (the Apophthegmata Patrum or 'The Sayings of the Desert Fathers') and Babylonian Talmudic traditions. The importance of the monastic movement in the Persian Empire, during the time of the composition and redaction of the Babylonian Talmud, fostered a literary connection between the two religious populations. The shared literary elements in the literatures of these two elite religious communities sheds new light on the surprisingly inclusive nature of the Talmudic corpora and on the non-polemical nature of elite Jewish-Christian literary relations in late antique Persia.Amplify Your Message: Spreading the Gospel and Growing Your Church Through Radio
By Marcus Brown. 2018
And (Jesus) said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation.' Mark 16:15…
(ESV) The need for proclaiming the Good News to the world has never been greater. Recent statistics reveal that 63% of Americans go to church less than once a month, and almost half of that group never set foot inside a church. That puts us in a dilemma. If those in need of the message of salvation through Jesus Christ aren’t coming to our churches, how do we reach them? How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? Romans 10:14-15 (ESV) Salem Media Group has an answer: Radio. Nielsen Media Research—the world’s leader in media data—has found “traditional AM/FM terrestrial radio still retains its undiminished appeal for listeners; 91% of Americans, aged 12 and older, listen to this form of radio.” When radio is amplified with new technology, its reach is powerful. When matched with biblical preaching and teaching, God’s Kingdom expands. Not only are the lost led to salvation, they are drawn to your church, putting them where they need to be to become disciples. This book details how a local Salem Media radio platform can partner with your church to fulfill the Great Commission and grow your ministry. From the “why” to the “how,” we give you everything you need to prayerfully consider this opportunity to pierce the darkness in your community with the Light of the World.Secret Power to Winning, Happiness, and a Cool Wardrobe
By Susie Shellenberger. 2005
A Personal Bible Study on the Book of 1 Peter Everyone wants to win, be happy, and, whenever possible, wear…
cool clothes in the process. And why not? That’s what life and success are all about, right? Think again. The kind of success and wardrobe that author Susie Shellenberger writes about has nothing to do with money or buying power at the mall. It comes from God and from knowing who you are in God’s eyes. With this interactive study of 1 Peter, you and your friends get a chance to examine God’s ideas about what it means to be happy and successful. With true-to-life stories and practical tips, discover a secret power that’s yours for the taking—because Christ has already won it for us. We just need to follow his lead.Too Blessed to Be Stressed
By Suzan Johnson Cook. 1998
In Too Blessed to Be Stressed Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook shares her testament of faith and is living proof that…
stress doesn't have to stress you out. Dr. Cook uses her platform as the first female American Baptist pastor, a wife, a mother, as well as an appointee to President Clinton's Initiative on Race and Reconciliation to point out that many changes in life will happen - both good and bad. There is one constant that we can count on in this change-the unchanging and constant nature of God. Dr. Cook provides stories and hymns to show that God has blessings prepared for each and every women in their season of life.Gospel Formed: Living a Grace-Addicted, Truth-Filled, Jesus-Exalting Life
By J A Medders. 2014
Christianity is based on the foundation of the good news of the gospel. Yet how many Christians truly find their…
identity there? How many are thriving in a community clinging to the gospel? How many forget about the wondrous glory of Jesus? J. A. Medders is on a mission to help Christians remember that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is also the power for our everyday life in Christ. Yet living a gospel-centered life does not always come easily. The biblical meditations in Gospel Formed help to kindle, or rekindle, the passion to live a grace-addicted, truth-filled, Jesus-exalting life by constantly driving the reader back to the power of the cross and the empty tomb. Funny, punchy, and theologically accessible, readers will be encouraged, challenged, and ultimately reoriented to the true North of Christianity--Christ Himself.Misfit Faith: Confessions of a Drunk Ex-Pastor
By Jason J. Stellman. 2017
Provides a vision for a broader more hospitable Christianity Publishers Weekly The co-host of…
the popular podcast Drunk Ex-Pastors offers an earnest and irreverent look at what it means to be a Christian in an upside down world Perhaps failing at faith is an ironic success since disaster is where grace happens Jason StellmanJason Stellman has always felt like a misfit A Protestant pastor with a sharp wit a restlessly inquisitive mind and a love of pop culture and rock and roll he has long sensed that something was missing when it came to his relationship with God In time he felt drawn to the Catholic Church so he stepped down from his ministry and embraced Catholicism only to still feel misplaced and homeless His feelings thoughts and troubles echo the disillusionment and confusion of many people who struggle relating to ancient faiths in a postmodern world In a book that mixes memoir with theological insights and taut storytelling Stellman gives an edgy honest heart-on-his-sleeve account of what it means to be a mixed-up Christian outsider in the twenty-first century and why this is a can be good thing Misfit Faith is an invitation to all the religious vagabonds and exiles with nowhere to really call home those wanderers who increasingly feel like mere fans of spirituality rather than committed members of the team If you ve ever questioned your faith felt like a spiritual malcontent or sought solace for your existential angst at the bottom of a bottle of bourbon then Stellman just may be the best drinking buddy you ve never metThis Precarious Moment: Six Urgent Steps that Will Save You, Your Family, and Our Country
By James L. Garlow, David Barton. 2018
America is at a crisis point. We have a limited amount of time to get it right. The nation must…
get “back on track” or be forever derailed. That is not melodrama. That is fact. Only Biblical truth can save our country. Some don’t seem to care that it is saved. But many of us do care. For our children, grandchildren, and future generations. There are six serious problems – racial strife, a massive immigration disaster, failure to understand Israel’s role in the world, millennial thinking, misunderstanding of the nature of government, and a church that has capitulated to culture – that are screaming for solutions. And the good news is: there are steps we can take. In this book, Pastor James Garlow and evangelical political activist David Barton present fellow Christians with six steps America needs to take to prevent chaos at this precarious moment in history.Interpreting Scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
By Rita Copeland, Jon Whitman, Cohen, Mordechai Z. and Bar-Asher, Meir M. and Copeland, Rita and Berlin, Adele Whitman, Jon, Mordechai Z. Cohen, Adele Berlin, Bar-Asher, Meir M.. 2016
This comparative study traces Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scriptural interpretation from antiquity to modernity, with special emphasis on the pivotal…
medieval period. It focuses on three areas: responses in the different faith traditions to tensions created by the need to transplant scriptures into new cultural and linguistic contexts; changing conceptions of the literal sense and its importance vis-à-vis non-literal senses, such as the figurative, spiritual, and midrashic; and ways in which classical rhetoric and poetics informed - or were resisted in - interpretation. Concentrating on points of intersection, the authors bring to light previously hidden aspects of methods and approaches in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This volume opens new avenues for interdisciplinary analysis and will benefit scholars and students of biblical studies, religious studies, medieval studies, Islamic studies, Jewish studies, comparative religions, and theory of interpretation.Jesus Among Other Gods
By Ravi Zacharias. 2000
In a world with so many religions, why Jesus?We are living in a time when you can believe anything, as…
long as you do not claim it to be true. In the name of "tolerance," our postmodern culture embraces everything from Eastern mysticism to New Age spirituality. But as Ravi Zacharias points out, such unquestioning acceptance of all things spiritual is absurd. All religions, plainly and simply, cannot be true.Jesus Among Other Gods provides the answers to the most fundamental claims about Christianity, such as:Aren't all religions fundamentally the same?Was Jesus who He claimed to be?Can one study the life of Christ and demonstrate conclusively that He was and is the way, the truth, and the life?In each chapter, Zacharias considers a unique claim that Jesus made and then contrasts the truth of Jesus with the founders of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism with compelling insight and passionate conviction. In addition to an impressive breadth of reading and study, he shares his personal journey from despair and meaninglessness to his discovery that Jesus is who He said He is."In Jesus Among Other Gods, Ravi Zacharias demonstrates that he is one of the most intellectually gifted as well as spiritually sensitive writers of today's leading apologists for the Christian faith. Zacharias brings alive the unique power of the claims of Jesus about himself and the utter relevance of his message today for the human condition." -- David Aikman, author of Great SoulsCatholics in Washington D.C. (Images of America)
By Christina Cox. 2015
The Catholic community of Washington, DC, has grown and changed dramatically since 1939, when Pope Pius XII separated the city…
from the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Catholics in Washington, DC preserves the passion and devotion of Catholics who had Godly visions of making new religious institutions, shrines, schools, hospitals, and churches while continuing to build on their faith. This collection of photographs does more than just highlight the achievements of famous Catholics, such as Archbishop Michael Curley of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, Pres. John Kennedy, and Pope Francis; it illustrates the superb efforts of priests, nuns, missionaries, laypersons, and political figures who have come together with great pride to grow the Catholic Church in the nation's capital.Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case for a More Joyful Christmas
By Bill Mckibben. 1998
Too many people have come to dread the approach of the holidays, a season that should -- and can --…
be the most relaxed, intimate, joyful, and spiritual time of the year. In this book, Bill McKibben offers some suggestions on how to rethink Christmas time, so that our current obsession with present-buying becomes less important than the dozens of other possible traditions and celebrations. Working through their local churches, McKibben and his colleagues found that people were hungry for a more joyful Christmas season. For many, trying to limit the amount of money they spent at Christmas to about a hundred dollars per family, was a real spur to their creativity -- and a real anchor against the relentless onslaught of commercials and catalogs that try to say Christmas is only Christmas if it comes from a store. McKibben shows how the store-bought Christmas developed and how out of tune it is with our current lives; when we're really eager for family fellowship for community involvement, for contact with the natural world, and also for the blessed silence and peace that the season should offer. McKibben shows us how to return to a simpler and more enjoyable holiday.Christmas is too wonderful a celebration to give up on, too precious a time simply to repeat the same empty gestures from year to year. This book will serve as a road map to a Christmas far more joyful than the ones you've known in the past.Essential Eschatology: Our Present and Future Hope
By John E. Phelan Jr.. 2013
Embracing the Wideness: The Shared Convictions of The United Methodist Church
By William H. Willimon, Stanley Hauerwas, Kenneth H. Carter. 2018
Embracing the Wideness contrasts a generous orthodoxy with the culture wars that seek to drive a wedge between Christians with…
deep faith convictions. A generous orthodoxy is possible for The United Methodist Church because scripture supports both a confessing movement and a reconciling movement. In addition to our divergent understandings of holiness in The United Methodist Church, we apparently have two distinct conceptions of church. These two conceptions of church present in American Methodism grew from seeds planted in the earliest practice of British Methodism: A separatist church, which views holiness as a calling that separates us from the world—“come out from among them and be separated” (2 Corinthians 6:17). Here holiness is a quality that distinguishes Christians from the world. An activist church, which understands holiness as a movement for change in an unjust world. The boundaries between church and society are blurred, with the “wheat and tares” growing together (Matthew 13) until God’s final judgment. At times, a denomination is able to hold these two conceptions of church in tension. And at times, as in recent experiences of American Christianity, there is fragmentation and division. The division may finally be the result of clearly articulated values that are not compatible. And the division may also be the result of how leaders do harm to each other. What great things could be accomplished if we rediscovered orthodoxy in service of the healing, instead of dividing, of our bodies—our churches! Such a generous orthodoxy would help us not to become immersed in the emotional processes that pit people against each other. Such a generous orthodoxy would keep us from becoming stuck in cycles of harmful collusion and escalating conflict. Such a generous orthodoxy would know that the source of our capacity to be healed of our schisms is a miracle beyond our human power or goodness or intelligence.