Not by Nature But by Grace

Not by Nature But by Grace PDF Author: Gilbert Meilaender
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780268100681
Category : Adoption
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Meilander examines the relation between forming families through adoption and natural descent, explained through New Testament ideas of becoming a follower of Jesus through adoption.

Not by Nature But by Grace

Not by Nature But by Grace PDF Author: Gilbert Meilaender
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780268100681
Category : Adoption
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Meilander examines the relation between forming families through adoption and natural descent, explained through New Testament ideas of becoming a follower of Jesus through adoption.

Not by Nature but by Grace

Not by Nature but by Grace PDF Author: Gilbert C. Meilaender
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Pess
ISBN: 0268100713
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
Working from within the contours of Christian faith, this book examines the relation between two ways of forming families—through nature (by procreation) and through history (by adoption). Christians honor the biological tie between parents and children, for it is the work of God in creation. Yet Christians cannot forget that it is adoption, and not simply natural descent, that is at the center of the New Testament’s depiction of God’s grace. Gilbert Meilaender takes up a range of issues raised by the practice of adoption, always seeking to do justice to both nature and history in the formation of families, while keeping at the center of our vision the truth that it is not by nature but by grace that we can become adopted children of the one whom Jesus called his Father. Meilaender begins with reflection on the puzzling relation of nature and history in forming families and proceeds to unpack the meaning of huiothesia, the word used in the New Testament to name the grace by which a follower of Jesus becomes an adopted child of God. That perspective is applied to a range of questions that regularly arise in Christian theological discussions of adoption: Is adoption only for the infertile? Should single persons adopt? Is it wise for adoption to take place across racial or national boundaries? Special attention is paid to the relation between adoption and new reproductive technologies and to what is called “embryo adoption.” Interspersed between the chapters are letters written by the author to his own son by adoption. But if the argument of the book is taken seriously, these letters are written not to one who falls within a special category of “adopted son or daughter,” but to one who is, simply and entirely, a son or daughter.

On Nature and Grace

On Nature and Grace PDF Author: St Augustine of Hippo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781078330923
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Book Description
Extract from Augustine's Retractions (Book II, Chapter 42): At that time also there came into my hands a certain book of Pelagius', in which he defends, with all the argumentative skill he could muster, the nature of man, in opposition to the grace of God whereby the unrighteous is justified and we become Christians. The treatise which contains my reply to him, and in which I defend grace, not indeed as in opposition to nature, but as that which liberates and controls nature, I have entitled On Nature and Grace. In this work sundry short passages, which were quoted by Pelagius as the words of the Roman bishop and martyr, Xystus, were vindicated by myself as if they really were the words of this Sixtus. For this I thought them at the time; but I afterwards discovered, that Sextus the heathen philosopher, and not Xystus the Christian bishop, was their author. This treatise of mine begins with the words: 'The book which you sent me.'"

A Treatise on Nature And Grace

A Treatise on Nature And Grace PDF Author: Saint Augustine of Hippo
Publisher: Aeterna Press
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
“At that time also there came into my hands a certain book of Pelagius,’ in which he defends, with all the argumentative skill he could muster, the nature of man, in opposition to the grace of God whereby the unrighteous is justified and we become Christians. The treatise which contains my reply to him, and in which I defend grace, not indeed as in opposition to nature, but as that which liberates and controls nature, I have entitled On Nature and Grace. Aeterna Press

Mom Set Free

Mom Set Free PDF Author: Jeannie Cunnion
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501156454
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Moms are under so. much. pressure. Pressure that weighs us down and threatens to wipe us out. Are you ready for relief? Mom Set Free will empower you to parent in the confidence of God's grace and to experience the freedom you were created for. We moms are told that we have to get it all right so our kids turn out right. We’re told that their entire futures are riding on our ability to perfectly orchestrate their lives. And we’re told that the strength of their faith hinges on ours. And we begin to believe that if we just try hard enough, we can actually “be enough.” These impossible standards leave us stuck in worry, anger, guilt, comparison, and shame. Jeannie Cunnion gets it. And in Mom Set Free she reveals how the Good News of the Gospel empowers us to live—and parent—in the freedom for which Christ has set us free. Jeannie invites us to journey alongside her as we learn to: * Lay down what God has not asked us to carry so we can thrive in what He has. * Embrace our significance in our children’s lives in light of God’s sovereignty. * Trust God with the children He has entrusted to us. * Receive God’s grace so we can reflect God’s heart to our kids. It’s time to breathe deeper, walk lighter, and reclaim the wonder and adventure of parenting.

Nature and Grace

Nature and Grace PDF Author: Andrew Dean Swafford
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1630873195
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Conventional wisdom has it that thinking on nature and grace among Catholic intellectuals was severely clouded by the work of Cajetan and his fellow Thomistic commentators from about the sixteenth century to the eve of Vatican II. Henri de Lubac has rightly been given credit for pointing this out; and to all appearances, de Lubac's influence won the day, as can be seen by the imprint of his thought upon not just the Second Vatican Council, but also the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. However, in recent years, a new crop of Thomistic scholars has arisen who question whether de Lubac's word on nature and grace should be the last; hence, the debate over the nature-grace relation, so heated at mid-twentieth century, has been stirred once again. Dr. Swafford here offers a "third way" by way of the nineteenth-century German theologian Matthias J. Scheeben--who, for some reason, has never really been considered especially relevant to this debate. Swafford shows that Scheeben can capture the very best of both sides, while at the same time avoiding the characteristic pitfalls so often alleged against each.

Natural Grace

Natural Grace PDF Author: William Dietrich
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295806095
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
From the interactive clockwork world of geology, tides, Northwest weather, and snow, to the hidden roles of dirt, stream life, and mosses and lichens, Pulitzer Prize winning writer William Dietrich explores the natural splendors of the Pacific Northwest. His topics include alder and cedar; jellyfish, geoducks, crabs, and killer whales; mosquitoes and spiders; gulls, crows, and bald eagles; and sea otters, coyotes, raccoons, possums, deer, and cougars. This informative and engaging selection of natural history essays is adapted from articles published in the Seattle Times magazine, Pacific Northwest. A native Washingtonian, Dietrich has watched the Northwest double in population during his lifetime. Our rapidly changing view of nature is an underlying theme throughout his wide-ranging essays, as is the timely and essential question of how best to share and conserve the natural world that drew us to the region in the first place. Not a field guide nor an environmental policy book, Natural Grace is intended as a primer for people who are curious about the environment they live in and the pressures upon it. "We only care about what we know," says the author. "I’ve concluded that enthusiasm and commitment begin from learning just how marvelous this region is: Passion has to precede purpose." And there is much to marvel over. Dietrich has unearthed fascinating and unexpected facts about his subjects, and he has a gift for expressing complex information in clear and vivid language. He asks intriguing questions and makes good use of interviews with Northwest scientists and experts to convey current and historic attitudes and economic realities, and to consider where we go from here. For more information about the author go to: http://www.williamdietrich.com/

Faith Alone---The Doctrine of Justification

Faith Alone---The Doctrine of Justification PDF Author: Thomas R. Schreiner
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 0310515793
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Renowned biblical scholar Thomas Schreiner looks at the historical and biblical roots of the doctrine of justification and offers an updated defense of this pillar of Reformed theology. Reinvigorating one of the five great declarations of the Reformation—sola fide—Schreiner: Summarizes the history of the doctrine, looking at the early church and the writings of several of the Reformers. Walks readers through an examination of the key biblical texts in the Old and New Testament that support the Reformed understanding of justification. Discusses whether justification is transformative or forensic and introduces readers to some of the contemporary challenges to the Reformation teaching of sola fide, with particular attention to the new perspective on Paul. Five hundred years after the Reformation, the doctrine of justification by faith alone still needs to be understood and proclaimed. In Faith Alone you will learn how the rallying cry of “sola fide” is rooted in the Scriptures and how to understand this doctrine in a fresh way. —THE FIVE SOLAS— Historians and theologians have long recognized that at the heart of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation were five declarations, often referred to as the "solas." These five statements summarize much of what the Reformation was about, and they distinguish Protestantism from other expressions of the Christian faith: that they place ultimate and final authority in the Scriptures, acknowledge the work of Christ alone as sufficient for redemption, recognize that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and seek to do all things for God’s glory. The Five Solas Series is more than a simple rehashing of these statements, but instead expounds upon the biblical reasoning behind them, leading to a more profound theological vision of our lives and callings as Christians and churches.

Neither Nature nor Grace

Neither Nature nor Grace PDF Author: T. Adam Van Wart
Publisher: Catholic University of America Press
ISBN: 0813233496
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Neither Nature nor Grace operates at the intersection of systematic and philosophical theology, exploring in particular how St. Thomas Aquinas variously uses the latter in service to the clarification and faithful advancement of the former. More specifically, Neither Nature nor Grace explores the overlooked logical difficulties that have followed the late modern debates in ecumenical Christian theology as to whether knowledge of God is available solely through God’s gracious self-revelation (e.g., Jesus Christ and Holy Scripture), or through revelation and the deliverances of natural reason. Van Wart takes the prominent French Dominican Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange as paradigmatic for the case that knowledge of God can be had by both revelation and natural reason. Representing the opposing position, that God can only be known through divine revelation, Van Wart highlights the work of influential Protestant theologian Karl Barth. By placing these two imposing 20th century theologians in conversation, and by providing a careful theo-philosophical analysis of the logical mechanics of each thinker’s respective arguments, Van Wart shows how both inadvertently overreach their self-professed epistemological bounds and just so run into significant problems maintaining the coherence of their relative theological positions. That is, against their expressed intentions to the contrary, both thinkers unwittingly evacuate the divine essence of the mystery Christian tradition has always previously claimed it to have, effectively reducing the being of God to mere creaturely being writ large. As a contrasting corrective to this problem, Van Wart proffers a constructive grammatical reading of Aquinas’s measured account of the crucial but often overlooked logical differences between what can be said of the divine, on the one hand, versus what can be known of God, on the other. While many recent works have attempted to solve the ongoing arguments which Garrigou-Lagrange and Barth epitomize regarding the epistemic use of God’s effects, Van Wart’s contribution constructively pushes the conversation to a different level in showing how Aquinas’s grammar of God provides a salutary means of dissolving and moving beyond these contentious debates altogether.

What God Wishes Christians Knew about Christianity

What God Wishes Christians Knew about Christianity PDF Author: Bill Gillham
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 1565075579
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Bill Gillham believes that the Christian life is a blessing rather than a burden and is convinced that misapprehensions of what the Bible really says sometime leave us feeling shackled instead of free. He shows the way to seeing things differently.