Consider the Women: A Provocative Guide to Three Matriarchs of the Bible


Debbie Blue - 2019
    In this book Debbie Blue looks closely at Hagar (mother of Islam), Esther (Jewish heroine), and Mary (Christian matriarch)—and finds in them unexpected and inviting new ways of navigating faith and life. As she sets out to explore these biblical characters who live and move in places and ways outside of the strict boundaries of tradition, Blue encounters many real life characters who challenge her expectations and renew her hope—a Muslim tattoo artist, a Saudi Arabian sculptor, a rabbi in a Darth Vader costume, Aztec dancers at a feast of Guadalupe, an Islamic feminist scholar, and more.Readers who embark with Blue on the sometimes unorthodox, subversive paths of these curious and lively figures will be led to envision more expansive and hopeful possibilities for faith, human connection, and love in our divided, violent world.

God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion


Guy Consolmagno - 2007
    A full fledged techie himself, he relates some classic philosophical reflections, his interviews with dozens of fellow techies, and his own personal take on his Catholic beliefs to provide, like a set of "worked out sample problems," the hard data on the challenges and joys of embracing a life of faith as a techie. And he also gives a roadmap of the traps that can befall an unwary techie believer. With lively prose and wry humor, Brother Guy shows how he not only believes in God but gives religion an honored place alongside science in his life. This book offers an engaging look at how--and why--scientists and those with technological leanings can hold profound, "unprovable" religious beliefs while working in highly empirical fields. Through his own experience and interviews with other scientists and engineers who profess faith, Brother Guy explores how religious beliefs and practices make sense to those who are deeply rooted in the world of technology.

The Master Plan of Evangelism


Robert E. Coleman - 1962
    We are called to do the same. But evangelism can be difficult--even intimidating. With all the evangelism resources available, where should you turn to find advice on how to share the Good News with others? Robert E. Coleman says the answers aren't found in TV evangelism, easy-evangelism guidebooks, or the latest marketing techniques. Rather, he looks to the Bible, to the ultimate example found in Jesus Christ. For more than forty years this classic, biblical look at evangelism has challenged and instructed over three million readers. Now repackaged for a new generation, The Master Plan of Evangelism is as fresh and relevant as ever. Join the movement and discover how you can minister to the people God brings into your life.

Re-reading Job Understanding the Ancient World s Greatest Poem


Michael Austin - 2014
    While a cursory reading of the text seems to relay a simple story of a righteous man whose love for God was tested through life's most difficult of challenges and rewarded for his faith through those trials, a closer reading of Job presents something far more complex and challenging. The majority of the text is a work of poetry that authors and artists through the centuries have recognized as being one of--if not the--greatest poem of the ancient world.In Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World’s Greatest Poem, author Michael Austin shows how most readers have largely misunderstood this important work of scripture and provides insights that enable us to re-read Job in a drastically new way. In doing so, he shows that the story of Job is far more than that simple story of faith, trials, and blessings that we have all come to know, but is instead a subversive and complex work of scripture meant to inspire readers to rethink all that they thought they knew about God.

A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation


Thomas More
    To express some of his inner thoughts while awaiting his execution in 1535 for refusing to betray his faith, More created this fictional dialogue between a 16th century Hungarian, Vincent, and Anthony, his dying uncle.

The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible


Scot McKnight - 2008
    We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it. McKnight’s The Blue Parakeet has emerged at the perfect time to cool the flames of a world on fire with contention and controversy. It calls Christians to a way to read the Bible that leads beyond old debates and denominational battles. It calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew for a new generation.In his books The Jesus Creed and Embracing Grace, Scot McKnight established himself as one of America’s finest Christian thinkers, an author to be reckoned with. In The Blue Parakeet, McKnight again touches the hearts and minds of today’s Christians, this time challenging them to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic theology but to see it as a Story that we’re summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day. In his own inimitable style, McKnight sets traditional and liberal Christianity on its ear, leaving readers equipped, encouraged, and emboldened to be the people of faith they long to be.

A Short History of the Roman Mass


Michael Treharne Davies - 1997
    Covers Low Mass, Sacramentaries, other Western Rites, etc. Highlights the reforms of Popes St. Gregory the Great (590-604) and St. Pius V (1566-1572). Says neither \"reform\" produced a \"new\" liturgy.

A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume I - The Roots of the Problem and the Person


John P. Meier - 1991
    In this definitive book on the real, historical Jesus, one of our foremost biblical scholars meticulously sifts the evidence of 2,000 years to portray neither a rural magician nor a figure of obvious power, but a marginal Jew.

The Complete Thinker: The Marvelous Mind of G.K. Chesterton


Dale Ahlquist - 2012
    

On Being Catholic


Thomas Howard - 1997
    The book's chapters take the form of lay meditations on Catholic teaching and practice, opening up in practical and simple terms the richness at work in virtually every detail of Catholic prayer, piety, liturgy and experience.

Lumen Gentium: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church


Second Vatican Council - 1964
    This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5. As is customary with significant Roman Catholic Church documents, it is known by its first words, "Lumen gentium", Latin for "Light of the Nations".

He Chose the Nails: What God Did to Win Your Heart


Max Lucado - 2000
    Linger on the hill of Calvary.Rub a finger on the timber and press the nail into your hand.Taste the tinge of cheap wine and feel the scrape of a thorn on your brow.Touch the velvet dirt, moist with the blood of God.Allow the tools of torture to tell their story.Listen as they tell you what God did to win your heart.

In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis


Karen Armstrong - 1996
    N. WilsonAs the foundation stone of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, The Book of Genesis unfolds some of the most arresting stories of world literature--the Creation; Adam and Eve; Cain and Abel; the sacrifice of Isaac. Yet the meaning of Genesis remains enigmatic. In this fascinating volume, Karen Armstrong, author of the highly acclaimed bestseller A History of God, brilliantly illuminates the mysteries and profundities of this mystifying work."A lyrical chronicle of one woman's wrestling with Genesis that can serve as a guide to others . . . As notable for its scholarship as it is for its honesty and vulnerability."--Publishers Weekly "Armstrong can simplify complex ideas, but she is never simplistic."--The New York Times Book Review

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography


John Dominic Crossan - 1994
    It's the controversial, bestselling account of what we know about the life of Jesus. This book is considered a revolutionary biography.

Through His Eyes: God's Perspective on Women in the Bible


Jerram Barrs - 2009
    women have played pivotal roles in redemptive history. Their case studies reveal God's perspective on women, then and now.Few biblical teachings have been as misunderstood and muddled by those inside and outside the church as its instruction concerning women. Through His Eyes answers the question -What does God think about women, and how does he treat them?- by walking readers through several biblical case studies.Through His Eyes begins with Eve and a series of Old Testament examples that demonstrate the respect God gives to women and their significant place in salvation history. In the New Testament we see how God blessed Mary by calling her to be the mother of our Savior and how beautifully Jesus treated women.Here is a happy exposition of the dignity and glory the Lord showers on women. The author encourages women to delight in their creation and calling, and he challenges men to honor women as does the Lord himself.