Cities of God

Cities of God PDF Author: Rodney Stark
Publisher: HarperOne
ISBN: 9780061349881
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
How did the preaching of a peasant carpenter from Galilee spark a movement that would grow to include over two billion followers? Who listened to this "good news," and who ignored it? Where did Christianity spread, and how? Based on quantitative data and the latest scholarship, preeminent scholar and journalist Rodney Stark presents new and startling information about the rise of the early church, overturning many prevailing views of how Christianity grew through time to become the largest religion in the world. Drawing on both archaeological and historical evidence, Stark is able to provide hard statistical evidence on the religious life of the Roman Empire to discover the following facts that set conventional history on its head: Contrary to fictions such as The Da Vinci Code and the claims of some prominent scholars, Gnosticism was not a more sophisticated, more authentic form of Christianity, but really an unsuccessful effort to paganize Christianity. Paul was called the apostle to the Gentiles, but mostly he converted Jews. Paganism was not rapidly stamped out by state repression following the vision and conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine in 312 AD, but gradually disappeared as people abandoned the temples in response to the superior appeal of Christianity. The "oriental" faiths—such as those devoted to Isis, the Egyptian goddess of love and magic, and to Cybele, the fertility goddess of Asia Minor—actually prepared the way for the rapid spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire. Contrary to generations of historians, the Roman mystery cult of Mithraism posed no challenge to Christianity to become the new faith of the empire— it allowed no female members and attracted only soldiers. By analyzing concrete data, Stark is able to challenge the conventional wisdom about early Christianity offering the clearest picture ever of how this religion grew from its humble beginnings into the faith of more than one-third of the earth's population.

Cities of God

Cities of God PDF Author: Rodney Stark
Publisher: HarperOne
ISBN: 9780061349881
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
How did the preaching of a peasant carpenter from Galilee spark a movement that would grow to include over two billion followers? Who listened to this "good news," and who ignored it? Where did Christianity spread, and how? Based on quantitative data and the latest scholarship, preeminent scholar and journalist Rodney Stark presents new and startling information about the rise of the early church, overturning many prevailing views of how Christianity grew through time to become the largest religion in the world. Drawing on both archaeological and historical evidence, Stark is able to provide hard statistical evidence on the religious life of the Roman Empire to discover the following facts that set conventional history on its head: Contrary to fictions such as The Da Vinci Code and the claims of some prominent scholars, Gnosticism was not a more sophisticated, more authentic form of Christianity, but really an unsuccessful effort to paganize Christianity. Paul was called the apostle to the Gentiles, but mostly he converted Jews. Paganism was not rapidly stamped out by state repression following the vision and conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine in 312 AD, but gradually disappeared as people abandoned the temples in response to the superior appeal of Christianity. The "oriental" faiths—such as those devoted to Isis, the Egyptian goddess of love and magic, and to Cybele, the fertility goddess of Asia Minor—actually prepared the way for the rapid spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire. Contrary to generations of historians, the Roman mystery cult of Mithraism posed no challenge to Christianity to become the new faith of the empire— it allowed no female members and attracted only soldiers. By analyzing concrete data, Stark is able to challenge the conventional wisdom about early Christianity offering the clearest picture ever of how this religion grew from its humble beginnings into the faith of more than one-third of the earth's population.

City of God, City of Satan

City of God, City of Satan PDF Author: Robert C. Linthicum
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310877350
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Why is the city a battleground of hostile principalities and powers? What is the mission of the church in the city? How can the church be supported in accomplishing that mission? These are the questions that Robert Linthicum treats in his comprehensive and probing biblical theology of the city. In the Bible the city is depicted both as a dwelling place of God and his people and as a center of power for Satan and his minions. The city is one primary stage on which the drama of salvation is played out. And that is no less the case at the end of this pivotal century as megacities become the focal point of most human activity and aspirations around the world. This is a timely theology of the city that weaves the theological images of the Bible and the social realities of the contemporary world into a revealing tapestry of truths about the urban experience. Its purpose is to define clearly the mission of the church in the midst of the urban realities and to support well the work of the church in the urban world.

Cities of God

Cities of God PDF Author: Graham Ward
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113463241X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
Cities of God traces urban culture of north America and Western Europe during the 1970s, to ask how theology can respond to the postmodern city. Since Harvey Cox published his famous theological response to urban living during the mid-1960s very little has been written to address this fundamental subject. Through analyses of contemporary film, architecture, literature, and traditional theological resources in Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa, Graham Ward lays out a systematic theology which has the preparation and building of cities as its focus. This is vital reading for all those interested in theology and urban living.

Cities of God

Cities of God PDF Author: Augustine Thompson
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 9780271046273
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
When religion is considered, the subjects are usually saints, heretics, theologians, and religious leaders, thereby ignoring the vast majority of those who lived in the communes. Drawing on many ecclesiastical and secular sources, this book aims to give a voice to the majority - orthodox lay people and those who ministered to them.

The City of God

The City of God PDF Author: Saint Augustine (Bishop of Hippo.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Apologetics
Languages : en
Pages : 470

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Book Description


Why Cities Matter

Why Cities Matter PDF Author: Stephen T. Um
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433532921
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
We live in a unique moment in history. Right now, more people live in urban centers than ever before. This means that we have an unprecedented opportunity to influence the majority of the world through the church in the city. Helping us to make the most of this moment, urban pastors Justin Buzzard and Stephen Um lay out a compelling vision for cultural engagement and church planting in our world’s cities. If you’re looking for motivation to maintain a commitment to the city or for guidance as you consider going all in, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of urban life that informs, instructs, inspires, and answers questions including: Why cities are so important What the Bible says about cities How to overcome common issues and develop a plan for living missionally in the city Instead of retreating from or taking from our cities, here is a call to make the cities our home, to take good care of them, and to participate in God’s kingdom-building work in the urban centers of our world.

City of God

City of God PDF Author: Kevin Lewis O'Neill
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520260627
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
'City of God' explores the role of neo-Pentecostal Christian sects in the religious, social & political life of Guatemala. O'Neill examines one such church, looking at how its practices have become acts of citizenship in a new, politically relevant era for Protestantism.

Taking Our Cities for God

Taking Our Cities for God PDF Author: John Dawson
Publisher: Charisma Media
ISBN: 0884197646
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
"In Taking Our Cities for God, you will explore dynamic and life-changing strategies to help you tear down the strongholds that have held your community back from its full spiritual potential"--Page 4 of cover.

Cities of God and Nationalism

Cities of God and Nationalism PDF Author: Khaldoun Samman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317262441
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
"A tour-de-force in different fields of knowledge. It takes world-city and world-history literatures to a higher level of depth and understanding. It is difficult to imagine a more pioneering, in-depth study of world cities." Ramon Grosfoguel, Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley "A remarkable and original discussion of three great sacred cities across time, and their transformation by nationalism in the modern world." Immanuel Wallerstein, Yale University Far from spawning an age of tolerance, modernity has created the social basis of division and exclusion. This book elaborates this provocative claim as it explores the rich but divided histories of three cities located at the crossroads of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Many observers presume that violence is built into these sacred cities because their citizens cling to religious or cultural ideals of some archaic age; only when this history is overcome can citizens enter a new age of brotherhood. Samman persuades us to refocus our attention on modernity, which has instilled troubling dilemmas from the outside. He shows how these sacred places long ago entered the modern world where global political and economic forces exacerbate nationalism and regional divisions. If we are to resolve deep conflicts we must re-imagine the institutional basis on which modernity, rather than religion, is built.

Augustine's City of God

Augustine's City of God PDF Author: James Wetzel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521199948
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
This volume addresses the complex and conflicted vision in Augustine's City of God, as a heavenly city on earthly pilgrimage.