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Author: John W. Loftus
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616147385
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 205
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Book Description
Fostering mutual understanding by viewing religion from an outsider perspective Depending on how one defines religion, there are at least thousands of religions in the world. Given such religious diversity, how can any one religion claim to know the truth? Nothing proposed so far has helped us settle which of these religions, if any, are true--until now. Author John W. Loftus, a former minister turned atheist, argues we would all be better off if we viewed any religion--including our own--from the informed skepticism of an outsider, a nonbeliever. For this reason he has devised "the outsider test for faith." He describes it as a variation on the Golden Rule: "Do unto your own faith what you do to other faiths." Essentially, this means applying the same skepticism to our own beliefs as we do to the beliefs of other faiths. Loftus notes that research from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience goes a long way toward explaining why the human race has produced so many belief systems, why religion is culturally dependent, and how religion evolved in the first place. It's important that people understand these findings to escape the dangerous delusion that any one religion represents the only truth. At a time when the vast diversity of human belief systems is accessible to all, the outsider test for faith offers a rational means for fostering mutual understanding.
Author: John W. Loftus
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616147385
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Get Book
Book Description
Fostering mutual understanding by viewing religion from an outsider perspective Depending on how one defines religion, there are at least thousands of religions in the world. Given such religious diversity, how can any one religion claim to know the truth? Nothing proposed so far has helped us settle which of these religions, if any, are true--until now. Author John W. Loftus, a former minister turned atheist, argues we would all be better off if we viewed any religion--including our own--from the informed skepticism of an outsider, a nonbeliever. For this reason he has devised "the outsider test for faith." He describes it as a variation on the Golden Rule: "Do unto your own faith what you do to other faiths." Essentially, this means applying the same skepticism to our own beliefs as we do to the beliefs of other faiths. Loftus notes that research from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience goes a long way toward explaining why the human race has produced so many belief systems, why religion is culturally dependent, and how religion evolved in the first place. It's important that people understand these findings to escape the dangerous delusion that any one religion represents the only truth. At a time when the vast diversity of human belief systems is accessible to all, the outsider test for faith offers a rational means for fostering mutual understanding.
Author: R. Laurence Moore
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019536399X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
In light of the curious compulsion to stress Protestant dominance in America's past, this book takes an unorthodox look at religious history in America. Rather than focusing on the usual mainstream Protestant churches--Episcopal, Congregationalist, Methodist, Baptist, and Lutheran--Moore instead turns his attention to the equally important "outsiders" in the American religious experience and tests the realities of American religious pluralism against their history in America. Through separate but interrelated chapters on seven influential groups of "outsiders"--the Mormons, Catholics, Jews, Christian Scientists, Millennialists, 20th-century Protestant Fundamentalists, and the African-American churches--Moore shows that what was going on in mainstream churches may not have been the "normal" religious experience at all, and that many of these "outside" groups embodied values that were, in fact, quintessentially American.
Author: Frank A. Spina
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 9780802828644
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220
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Book Description
This book offers a probing, insightful look at the "outsider" motif running through the Bible. The biblical story about God's covenant with "insiders" -- with Israel as the chosen people -- is scandalous in today's cultural climate of inclusivity. But, as Frank Anthony Spina shows, God's exclusive election actually has an inclusive purpose. Looking carefully at the biblical narrative, Spina highlights in bold relief seven remarkable stories that treat nonelect people positively and, even more, as strategically important participants in God's plan of salvation. The stories of Esau, Tamar, Rahab, Naaman, Jonah, Ruth, and the woman at the well come alive in new ways as Spina discusses and examines them from an outsider-insider point of view.
Author: Paul Chappell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781598944013
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
To the world, they were fanatics, heretics, narrow-minded fools...outsiders, worthy only of rejection and ridicule. But they didn't live to please the world; they lived to please Christ. With courage, conviction, and great commitment to the Lord, they were willing to stand up and stand out for Christ. Too often, however, their stories have been unknown or forgotten. Unfamiliar with the sacrifices they made for Christ and the ways God blessed their faith, we miss a great source of encouragement to our own faith. In these pages, meet fifteen leaders from history who followed Christ and changed the world. Their testimonies will stir your faith, strengthen your commitment, and renew your dedication to Christ.
Author: Christopher Lamb
Publisher: Orbis Books
ISBN: 1608338258
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 139
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Book Description
"A review of the papacy of Pope Francis, and of the opposition he has faced"--
Author: Matthew Paul Turner
Publisher: Relevant Media Group
ISBN: 9780974694207
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 178
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Book Description
The Christian Culture Survival Guide is about the author's humorous experiences growing up in the Christian subculture and what he's learned along the way. From overcoming the temptation to wear W.W.J.D. bracelets to the disparaging experience of witnessing to a gay man at a bar, Matthew Paul Turner offers a fun read that's packed with profound insight and truth.
Author: James W. Geiger
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1621894568
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 214
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Book Description
What does Christianity have to say about the salvation of the African tribesman who died before the missionaries arrived, and the "great sorrow" of the Messianic Jew who grieves for family and friends who did not or will not acknowledge his Jesus as their Messiah? C. S. Lewis said these outsiders represent the "scandal of exclusivity." Jim Geiger is a Christian insider and fully committed to the exclusivity of Christ's atonement. However, he is suggesting an expanded Christology where: - The constant speed of light in E = mc2 corroborates the constant Christ of Heb 13:8. - Special and general relativity model special and general revelation. - The Christ of general revelation represents the hope of salvation for some of Christianity's outsiders.
Author: James W. Geiger
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1620320673
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 214
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Book Description
What does Christianity have to say about the salvation of the African tribesman who died before the missionaries arrived, and the great sorrow of the Messianic Jew who grieves for family and friends who did not or will not acknowledge his Jesus as their Messiah? C. S. Lewis said these outsiders represent the scandal of exclusivity. Jim Geiger is a Christian insider and fully committed to the exclusivity of Christ's atonement. However, he is suggesting an expanded Christology where: ¥ The constant speed of light in E = mc2 corroborates the constant Christ of Heb 13:8. ¥ Special and general relativity model special and general revelation. ¥ The Christ of general revelation represents the hope of salvation for some of Christianity's outsiders.
Author: Bryan Loritts
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 0310345006
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 193
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Book Description
Pastor Bryan Loritts dives deep into what it's like to be a person of color in predominantly white evangelical spaces today and where we can go from here. God boldly proclaims throughout the book of Acts that there is no "ethnic home team" when it comes to Christianity. But the minority experience in America today--and throughout history--too often tells a different story. As Loritts writes, "It is impossible to do theology devoid of cultural lenses and expressions. Like an American unaware of their own accent, most whites are unaware of the ethnic theological accent they carry." Insider Outsider bears witness to the true stories that often go untold--stories that will startle, enlighten, and herald a brighter way forward for all seeking belonging in the family of God. This seminal book on race and the church will help Christians discover: How they can learn the art of listening to stories unlike their own Identify the problems and pitfalls that keep Sunday morning the most segregated hour of the week And participate in an active movement with God toward a holy vision of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls "life together" Drawing on insightful snapshots through history, eye-opening personal experiences, and biblical exposition, Loritts awakens both our minds and hearts to the painful reality of racial divides as well as the hope of forgiveness.
Author: Russell T. McCutcheon
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441115781
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 416
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Book Description
Thirty classic and contemporary readings - from such writers as Kant, Hume, Schleiermacher, and Otto, to Ninian Smart, Mircea Eliade, Karen McCarthy-Brown, and Wendy Doniger.
