And everybody's doing it, right? In Real Sex, heralded young author Lauren F. Winner speaks candidly to Christians about the difficulty—and the importance—of sexual chastity. With honesty and wit, she talks about her struggle to live a celibate life. Never dodging tough terms like "confession" and "sin," Winner grounds her discussion of chastity first and foremost in Scripture. She confronts cultural lies about sex and challenges how we talk about sex in church. Her biblically grounded observations and suggestions will be especially valuable to unmarried Christians struggling with the sexual mania of today's culture. Real Sex is essential reading for Christians grappling with chastity and a valuable tool for pastors.

    This intensive guide to the Gospels surveys the largest source of eyewitness information about Jesus' life and ministry--the books of the four apostles who watched Him, spoke with Him, and served Him during his years on earth.

    have largely been built on assumptions that are secular origin--such as reliance on self-interest and having a common enemy as a motivator for change. But what if Christians were to shape their organizing around the implications of the truth that God is real and Jesus is risen? Alexia Salvatierra has developed a model of social action that is rooted in the values and convictions born of faith. Together with theologian Peter Heltzel, this model of faith-rooted organizing offers a path to meaningful social change that takes seriously the command to love God and to love our neighbor as ourself.

    From choices about careers to roles in local churches to relationship dynamics, this belief shapes the everyday lives of evangelical women. Yet biblical womanhood isn't biblical, says Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr. It arose from a series of clearly definable historical moments.This book moves the conversation about biblical womanhood beyond Greek grammar and into the realm of church history--ancient, medieval, and modern--to show that this belief is not divinely ordained but a product of human civilization that continues to creep into the church. Barr's historical insights provide context for contemporary teachings about women's roles in the church and help move the conversation forward.Interweaving her story as a Baptist pastor's wife, Barr sheds light on the #ChurchToo movement and abuse scandals in Southern Baptist circles and the broader evangelical world, helping readers understand why biblical womanhood is more about human power structures than the message of Christ.

    The Emotionally Healthy Church offers a strategy for discipleship that accomplishes healthy living and actually changes lives.

    This volume will be an immensely useful resource for all kinds of study of the New Testament."—Richard Bauckham, University of St. Andrews"Every scholar would profit by having a copy of this thorough and judicious work on his or her desk. The authors have collected for us an immense amount of material and insight in a relatively short space, and many of us will be grateful for their efforts. This commentary is a profound witness to the unity of the Testaments in the mystery of Christ."—Francis Martin, Sacred Heart Seminary"Finally a volume that surveys the use of the Old Testament in each book of the New Testament. Written by top-tier scholars with unsurpassed expertise in New Testament exegesis, these essays model sound engagement with Scripture that quotes Scripture. This excellent collection is a must-read for all who wish to understand how the New Testament writers understood and used their Bible. This long-awaited volume deserves to become a standard text that will hopefully launch a new stage of fresh work in biblical research."--Karen H. Jobes, Wheaton College"More than a generation ago, C. H. Dodd and a few other scholars began sowing the seeds of a new and fruitful approach to reading Scripture, by studying the New Testament writers' use of Old Testament texts. The present commentary thus represents the harvest of decades of research into the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. By carefully observing various factors, ranging from the textual to the theological, each contributor shows how the New Testament writers were not only careful readers of the Old Testament but also profound theologians themselves. The scholars on this superb team assembled by Beale and Carson distill many new and remarkable insights for exegesis and theology, all of which serve to demonstrate the explanatory power of this approach for the present and the future. This landmark volume should prove to be an invaluable resource for both the church and the academy--for pastors, teachers, and students alike, whether Protestant or Catholic--and for anyone wanting to go deeper into the heart of sacred Scripture. Indeed, Beale and Carson are to be thanked and congratulated for a momentous accomplishment."--Scott Hahn, Franciscan University of Steubenville"Finally we have a work that examines the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament and covers the entirety of the New Testament in a single volume. Pastors, students, and scholars will profit from the careful attention to both the Old and New Testament contexts in which the citations occur, and they will be enriched by the theological depth represented in this important book."--Thomas R. Schreiner, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary"Few areas of New Testament study are as often discussed as the New Testament's use of the Old. There has long been a need for a careful case-by-case treatment, since the use we see in the New Testament is so varied and diverse. This commentary meets that need admirably. It is thorough yet concise, clear yet detailed. All will be led into helpful reflection on this important area of study. Well done to the editors and authors of this useful and unique commentary."--Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary

    It is a collection of religious and philosophic texts gathered and translated into Coptic by fourth-century Gnostic Christians and translated into English by dozens of highly reputable experts. First published in 1978, this is the revised 1988 edition supported by illuminating introductions to each document. The library itself is a diverse collection of texts that the Gnostics considered to be related to their heretical philosophy in some way. There are 45 separate titles, including a Coptic translation from the Greek of two well-known works: the Gospel of Thomas, attributed to Jesus' brother Judas, and Plato's Republic. The word gnosis is defined as "the immediate knowledge of spiritual truth." This doomed radical sect believed in being here now--withdrawing from the contamination of society and materiality--and that heaven is an internal state, not some place above the clouds. That this collection has resurfaced at this historical juncture is more than likely no coincidence.--P. Randall Cohan

    . . Why do you believe God exists at all? . . . Why would God allow evil and suffering? . . . Why trust the Bible when it's full of mistakes? . . . How could a loving God send people to hell? . . . What makes you think Jesus was more than just a good teacher? . . . Why are Christians so judgmental?"Some questions can stop a conversation. Today, more than ever, people are raising difficult, penetrating questions about faith, God, and the Bible. Based on an exclusive new Barna survey of 1,000 Christians, The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask presents compelling, easy-to-grasp answers to ten of the most troubling questions facing Christians today. These include everything from the existence of heaven to the issues of abortion and homosexuality, as well as the question of whether evolution eliminates our need for a God.

    Once in a generation a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read--a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Ambitious, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible & covers the world, following the three main strands of the Christian faith. Christianity will teach modern readers things that have been lost in time about how Jesus' message spread & how the New Testament was formed. It follows the Christian story to all corners of the globe, filling in often neglected accounts of conversions & confrontations in Africa & Asia. It discovers the roots of the faith that galvanized America, charting the rise of the evangelical movement from its origins in Germany & England. This book encompasses all of intellectual history--we meet monks & crusaders, heretics & saints, slave traders & abolitionists, & discover Christianity's essential role in driving the Enlightenment & the age of exploration, & shaping the course of WWI & WWII.We live in a time of tremendous religious awareness, when both believers & non-believers are engaged by questions of religion & tradition, seeking to understand the violence sometimes perpetrated in the name of God. The son of an Anglican clergyman, MacCulloch writes with feeling about faith. His last book, The Reformation, was chosen by dozens of publications as Best Book of the Year & won the Nat'l Book Critics Circle Award. This inspiring follow-up is a landmark new history of the faith that continues to shape the world.

    Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is a resource to help church leaders improve the culture of their church and disciple men and women in their flock to read, understand, and apply Scripture to our lives in the church. Until both men and women grow in their understanding of their relationship to Scripture, there will continue to be tension between the sexes in the church. Church leaders need to be engaged in thoughtful critique of the biblical manhood and womanhood movement and the effects it has on their congregation.Do men and women benefit equally from God's word? Are they equally responsible in sharpening one another in the faith and passing it down to the next generation? While radical feminists claim that the Bible is a hopelessly patriarchal construction by powerful men that oppresses women, evangelical churches simply reinforce this teaching when we constantly separate men and women, customizing women's resources and studies according to a culturally based understanding of roles. Do we need men's Bibles and women's Bibles, or can the one, holy Bible guide us all? Is the Bible, God's word, so male-centered and authored that women need to create their own resources to relate to it? No! And in it, we also learn from women. Women play an active role as witnesses to the faith, passing it on to the new generations.This book explores the feminine voice in Scripture as synergistic with the dominant male voice. Through the women, we often get the story behind the story--take Ruth for example, or the birth of Christ through the perspective of Mary and Elizabeth in Luke. Aimee fortifies churches in a biblical understanding of brotherhood and sisterhood in God's household and the necessity of learning from one another in studying God's word.The troubling teaching under the rubric of "biblical manhood and womanhood" has thrived with the help of popular Biblicist interpretive methods. And Biblicist interpretive methods ironically flourish in our individualistic culture that works against the "traditional values" of family and community that the biblical manhood and womanhood movement is trying to uphold. This book helps to correct Biblicist trends in the church today, affirming that we do not read God's word alone, we read it within our interpretive covenant communities--our churches. Our relationship with God's word affects our relationship with God's people, and vice versa. The church is the school of Christ, commissioned to discipleship. The responsibility of every believer, men and women together, is being active and equal participants in and witnesses to the faith--the tradents of faith.

    Tracing the significance of the concept of "covenant" through both the Old and New Testaments, this book charts a middle way between covenant theology and dispensationalism--exploring the covenantal framework undergirding the history of redemption.

    As a result, it's easy for Christians to grow disillusioned with civic engagement or fall back into tribal extremes. This state of affairs has damaged Christian public witness and divided the church.The authors of this book represent the AND Campaign, which exists to educate and organize Christians for faithful civic and cultural engagement. They insist that not only are we called to love our neighbors through the political process but also that doing so requires us to transcend the binary way the debates are usually framed. In simple, understandable language, they lay out the biblical case for political engagement and help Christians navigate the complex world of politics with integrity, from political messaging and the politics of race to protests, advocacy, and more. The book includes a study guide for classroom use and group discussion.When we understand our civic engagement as a way to obey Christ's call to love our neighbor, we see that it is possible to engage the political process with both love and truth--compassion and conviction.

    This radical Jesus and His message... • Invites us to reorient our lives not on Christian religion, but on the person of Jesus • Calls us to live out faith in the context of authentic community with others, instead of isolation • Includes the excluded and invites the outcast to have a seat at the table • Responds to enemies with a radical, unexplainable love Undiluted will invite you to step out of your comfort zone and into a process of rediscovering the radical, counter cultural, and life-changing message of Jesus. As you do, you’ll discover a more vibrant faith as you embrace an undiluted Jesus and His radical message!***“ Benjamin L. Corey is the fresh voice that will guide the next generation of Jesus followers into a more beautiful expression of Christianity. This book may just save Christianity from us Christians.”– Frank Schaeffer, author of Why I Am an Atheist Who Believes in God.“Benjamin L. Corey has a way of capturing the heart of Jesus and his message… You’ll find in this book a jolt of full-strength gospel and high-test challenge – along with undiluted encouragement.”- Brian D. McLaren, author/speaker/activist (brianmclaren.net)

    Emerson and Christian Smith probed the grassroots of white evangelical America. They found that despite recent efforts by the movement's leaders to address the problem of racial discrimination, evangelicals themselves seem to be preserving America's racial chasm. In fact, most white evangelicals see no systematic discrimination against blacks. But the authors contend that it is not active racism that prevents evangelicals from recognizing ongoing problems in American society. Instead, it is the evangelical movement's emphasis on individualism, free will, and personal relationships that makes invisible the pervasive injustice that perpetuates racial inequality. Most racial problems, the subjects told the authors, can be solved by the repentance and conversion of the sinful individuals at fault. Combining a substantial body of evidence with sophisticated analysis and interpretation, the authors throw sharp light on the oldest American dilemma. In the end, they conclude that despite the best intentions of evangelical leaders and some positive trends, real racial reconciliation remains far over the horizon.

    It is called to look like a corporate Jesus, dying on the cross for those who crucified him, not a religious version of Caesar. It is called to manifest the kingdom of the cross in contrast to the kingdom of the sword. Whenever the church has succeeded in gaining what most American evangelicals are now trying to get – political power – it has been disastrous both for the church and the culture. Whenever the church picks up the sword, it lays down the cross. The present activity of the religious right is destroying the heart and soul of the evangelical church and destroying its unique witness to the world. The church is to have a political voice, but we are to have it the way Jesus had it: by manifesting an alternative to the political, “power over,” way of doing life. We are to transform the world by being willing to suffer for others – exercising “power under,” not by getting our way in society – exercising “power over.”