The Incredible Shrinking Gospel

The Incredible Shrinking Gospel PDF Author: Lee A Wyatt
Publisher: Energion Publications
ISBN: 1631993585
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
The church is working with a shrunken Gospel, robbed of its power, limited in its scope, and unable to catch the interest of those it needs to reach. Who is responsible? More importantly, how can we reclaim the full content and the powerful nature of the Gospel itself? In this book, retired pastor Lee Wyatt looks at the crisis in the church, one he believes is caused by our loss of this full Gospel message. To rebuild our understanding he then revisits Jesus, helping us to become acquainted with Him and the meaning of his mission. Then, and only then, with this rebuilt picture of Jesus, does he revisit evangelism, and tell us how we can turn our efforts to reach around the world. Only when we have “unshrunk” our gospel can we successfully evangelize.

The Incredible Shrinking Gospel

The Incredible Shrinking Gospel PDF Author: Lee A Wyatt
Publisher: Energion Publications
ISBN: 1631993585
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book

Book Description
The church is working with a shrunken Gospel, robbed of its power, limited in its scope, and unable to catch the interest of those it needs to reach. Who is responsible? More importantly, how can we reclaim the full content and the powerful nature of the Gospel itself? In this book, retired pastor Lee Wyatt looks at the crisis in the church, one he believes is caused by our loss of this full Gospel message. To rebuild our understanding he then revisits Jesus, helping us to become acquainted with Him and the meaning of his mission. Then, and only then, with this rebuilt picture of Jesus, does he revisit evangelism, and tell us how we can turn our efforts to reach around the world. Only when we have “unshrunk” our gospel can we successfully evangelize.

The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man

The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man PDF Author: Robert M. Price
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
"This book should be mandatory reading for all scholars concerned with Christian origins ... nothing of comparable importance has been written for at least a decade." - Freethinker For more than a century scholars have been examining the Gospels and other traditions about the life of Jesus to determine their historical accuracy. Although the results of these scholarly efforts are sometimes controversial, the consensus among researchers today is that the four Evangelists’ accounts cannot be taken at face value. In fact, a team of more than 100 scholars called the Jesus Seminar has come to the conclusion that on average only about 18 percent of the four Gospels is historically accurate. An active member of the Jesus Seminar, Dr. Robert M. Price presents the fruits of this important historical research in this fascinating discussion of early Christianity. As the title suggests, Price is none too optimistic about the reliability of the Gospel tradition as a source of accurate historical information about the life of Jesus. Indeed, he feels that his colleagues in the Jesus Seminar are much too optimistic in their estimate of authentic material in the Gospels. After an introduction to the historical-critical method for nonspecialists and a critique of the methods used by the Jesus Seminar, Price systematically discusses the narrative and teaching materials in the Gospel, clearly presenting what is known and not known about all of the major episodes of Jesus’ life. He also examines the parables for authenticity as well as Jesus’ teachings about the Kingdom of God, repentance, prayer, possessions and poverty, the Atonement, and many other features of the Gospels. Written for the general reading public in a lively and accessible style, Dr. Price’s highly informative discussion will be of interest to anyone who has wondered about the origins of Christianity.

The Supper

The Supper PDF Author: Ronald P. Hesselgrave
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532675763
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The Lord’s Supper (or Eucharist) has often been a subject of intense debate in the church. What is often lost in this debate is the significance of the relationship of the Eucharist to Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples, which was a Passover—or Passover-like—meal. Moreover, the Last Supper connects back to various meals in Jesus’ earthly ministry. And it looks forward to the great messianic banquet as fulfillment of Jewish expectations. In exploring these connections, this book focuses on the three motifs of “new creation,” “hospitality,” and “hope” in Christ. Most significantly, when we break the bread and drink the wine (or juice) together we are asserting the reality of the new creation in Christ, affirming God’s grace, forgiveness, and cruciform love which is to be embodied in the Christian community, and anticipating the day when God’s present and ongoing work of restoration, justice, and reconciliation will ultimately prevail. The Supper, then, is basically a condensed summary of the story of God’s plan of redemption. Hesselgrave brings together biblical, theological, ethical, and social insights in a way that deepens our understanding of the meaning and practical significance of biblical texts related to this central ordinance of the church.

Bread Enough for All

Bread Enough for All PDF Author: Peter M. Wallace
Publisher: Church Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 1640653201
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
For the 75th anniversary of The Protestant Hour and Day1 ministry, host Peter Wallace has gathered dozens of inspiring excerpts from the most powerful sermons. Some of the most effective preachers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are featured, representing the historic mainline Protestant churches and a diverse variety of voices. Diana Butler Bass, Michael Curry, Walter Brueggemann, Barbara Brown Taylor, Juan Carlos Huertas, and many more offer their perspectives on topics such as peace, justice, prayer, love, and community. Clergy and parishioners from across the theological spectrum will appreciate the scope and accessibility of this curated collection. This book is a superb companion for personal meditation and devotion, or thoughtful gift-giving for weddings, birthdays, sympathy, and other life occasions. Questions for discussion and meditation are included with each topic, making this inspirational collection ideal for use by small groups or for personal study.

The Branch

The Branch PDF Author: Preston T. Massey
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532642776
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 357

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Book Description
The thesis of the book may be stated simply: it is an argument based upon the four prophetic texts of Jer 23:5; Zech 3:8; 6:12; and Isa 4:2 as a foundational pattern for the four Gospels. These four prophetic texts, it will be argued, mention a King Branch, a Servant Branch, a Man/Priest Branch, and a Lord God Branch. This study seeks to show how Matthew presents Jesus as the King Branch, Mark as the Servant Branch, Luke as the Priest/Man Branch, and John as the Lord God Branch. Consideration will also be given to explore the ramification of the four living Beings as described in Rev 4:6–7. Given the sum total of this sequence of literary facts, the conclusion of this book will raise a number of possible implications. One of these implications will offer the conclusion that the four evangelists could not have written their four Gospels solely on their own human unaided efforts.

Everything Must Change

Everything Must Change PDF Author: Brian D. McLaren
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 1418573124
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
How can the life and teachings of Jesus impact the most critical global problems in our world today? For the last twenty years, Brian McLaren has been unable to escape this life-shaping question. In Everything Must Change, he unveils a fresh and provocative vision of Jesus and his teachings, and how his message of hope can ignite purpose and passion to change the economic, environmental, military, political, and social crises that have overtaken our world. The Good News is more than a ticket to heaven. It is an invitation to personal change and a radical challenge for global transformation. Imagine what would happen: if we believed that God's will really could be done on earth and not just in heaven if the world's leading nations spent less on weapons and more on making peace, alleviating poverty, and caring for creation if a renewed understanding of Jesus and his message sparked a profound spiritual awakening in a global movement of faith, hope, and love If you are hungry for a fresh vision of what it means to be a person of faith, Everything Must Change shows what would happen when Jesus' Good News collides with a world in need.

Unholy Writ:

Unholy Writ: PDF Author: T. Joyner Drolsum
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1456795716
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 824

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Book Description
During our brief and perilous journey ex irritum ad irritum, how are we to find, what the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (Sein und Zeit) would call, the true approach to being? How do we answer the question posed by the Apostle Thomas when he asked how can we know the way (Jn. 14:5)? In other words, how should we fill that parenthesis of infinitesimal brevity, which James Joyce (Ulysses) maintained, demarcates each of our lives? The Bible has often been put forth as a supposedly infallible guidebook charting the correct path to an authentic existence (e.g. 2 Tim. 3:16-17). According to its proponents, Scripture is an absolutely dependable life-manual because it is the word of God (Summa Theologica, First Part, Q. 1, Art. 10). However, close inspection of the Bible calls into question its divine authorship; and, thus, its reliability as an accurate roadmap for the soul. In fact, under close examination it proves to be nothing more than a mundane and cobbled together collection of archaic superstitions beginning with the outlandish speculations of Moses concerning the creation of the world and ending with the maniacal ravings of John regarding its destruction. Exposing the true nature of Holy Writ was the main purpose for writing Unholy Writ. The modus operandi for this expos involved a thoroughgoing critical analysis of Scripture. The results from such a careful consideration of its contents clearly demonstrated that any claim that the Bible is some sort of sacrosanct ethical vade mecum is completely invalid. Specifically, the multiple contradictions and absurdities contained in the Bible confer an unreliability upon it that undermines its function as a guide for anything, let alone as some sort of moral map for the journey through life. Furthermore, many of the ideas that are promoted in Holy Writ are actually spiritually harmful. In addition, unless the condoned misogyny, violence, intolerance, injustice, and cruelty can be removed, then it is difficult to view the Scriptures as anything like an unwavering celestial beacon that clearly lights the way through the moral fog that at times engulfs our lives. Moreover, the many errors that it contains, including those about the natural world, undermine the pivotal claim that the Bible is divinely inspired.

Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity

Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity PDF Author: John H. McClendon III
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498585361
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Black Christology and the Quest for Authenticity constitutes a philosophical inquiry on Black Theology and its attendant Black Christology. This text critically expounds on the methodologies and arguments, which guide how Black Theology specifically affirms Black Christology as the definitive paradigm for authentic Christianity.

The Christian Delusion

The Christian Delusion PDF Author: John W. Loftus
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1616143185
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
In this anthology of recent criticisms aimed at the reasonableness of Christian belief, a former evangelical minister and apologist, author of the critically acclaimed Why I Became an Atheist, has assembled fifteen outstanding articles by leading skeptics, expanding on themes introduced in his first book. Central is a defense of his "outsider test of faith," arguing that believers should test their faith with the same skeptical standards they use to evaluate the other faiths they reject, as if they were outsiders. Experts in medicine, psychology, and anthropology join Loftus to show why, when this test is applied to Christianity, it becomes very difficult to rationally defend. Collectively, these articles reveal that popular Christian beliefs tend to rely on ignorance of the facts. Drawing together experts in diverse fields, including Hector Avalos, Richard Carrier, David Eller, and Robert Price, this book deals a powerful blow against Christian faith.

The Jesus Legend

The Jesus Legend PDF Author: Paul Rhodes Eddy
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441200339
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
Even mature Christians have trouble defending the person and divinity of Christ. The Jesus Legend builds a convincing interdisciplinary case for the unique and plausible position of Jesus in human history. He was real and his presence on the planet has been well-documented. The authors of the New Testament didn't plant evidence, though each writer did tell the truth from a unique perspective. This book carefully investigates the Gospel portraits of Jesus--particularly the Synoptic Gospels--assessing what is reliable history and fictional legend. The authors contend that a cumulative case for the general reliability of the Synoptic Gospels can be made and boldly challenge those who question the veracity of the Jesus found there.