A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions
Muhammad Yunus - 2017
Now he declares it's time to admit that the capitalist engine is broken--that in its current form it inevitably leads to rampant inequality, massive unemployment, and environmental destruction. We need a new economic system that unleashes altruism as a creative force just as powerful as self-interest. Is this a pipe dream? Not at all. In the last decade, thousands of people and organizations have already embraced Yunus's vision of a new form of capitalism, launching innovative social businesses designed to serve human needs rather than accumulate wealth. They are bringing solar energy to millions of homes in Bangladesh; turning thousands of unemployed young people into entrepreneurs through equity investments; financing female-owned businesses in cities across the United States; bringing mobility, shelter, and other services to the rural poor in France; and creating a global support network to help young entrepreneurs launch their start-ups. In A World of Three Zeros, Yunus describes the new civilization emerging from the economic experiments his work has helped to inspire. He explains how global companies like McCain, Renault, Essilor, and Danone got involved with this new economic model through their own social action groups, describes the ingenious new financial tools now funding social businesses, and sketches the legal and regulatory changes needed to jumpstart the next wave of socially driven innovations. And he invites young people, business and political leaders, and ordinary citizens to join the movement and help create the better world we all dream of.
The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision
Kevin J. Vanhoozer - 2015
Yet this often comes at the expense of the fundamental reality of the pastorate as a theological office. The most important role is to be a theologian mediating God to the people. The church needs pastors who can contextualize biblical wisdom in Christian living to help their congregations think theologically about all aspects of their lives, such as work, end-of-life decisions, political involvement, and entertainment choices.Drawing on the Bible, key figures from church history, and Christian theology, this book offers a clarion call for pastors to serve as public theologians in their congregations and communities. It is designed to be engaging reading for busy pastors and includes pastoral reflections on the theological task from twelve working pastors, including Kevin DeYoung and Cornelius Plantinga.
Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn't the American Dream
Brian Fikkert - 2019
Families and communities are increasingly fragmented, loneliness is skyrocketing, and physical and mental health are on the decline. Our unprecedented wealth doesn’t seem to be doing us much good. Yet, when we try to help poor people at home or abroad, our implicit assumption is that the goal is to help them to become like us. "If they would just do things our way, they’d be fine!"But even when they seem to pursue our path, they too find that the American Dream doesn’t work for them. What if we have the wrong idea altogether? What if the molds we are using to help poor people don’t actually fit any of us? What if the goal isn’t to turn other countries into the United States or to turn America’s impoverished communities into its affluent suburbs?In Becoming Whole (building on the best-selling When Helping Hurts), Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic look at the true sources of brokenness and poverty and uncover the surprising pathways to human flourishing, for poor and non-poor alike. Exposing the misconceptions of both Western Civilization and the Western church about the nature of God, human beings, and the world, they redefine success and offer new ways of achieving that success. Through biblical insights, scientific research, and practical experience, they show you how the good news of the kingdom of God reshapes our lives and our poverty alleviation ministries, moving everybody involved towards wholeness.
Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says about the Environment and Why It Matters
Sandra L. Richter - 2020
Richter cares about the Bible. She also cares about the environment. Using her expertise in ancient Israelite society and economy as well as in biblical theology, she walks readers through passages familiar and not-so-familiar, showing how significant environmental theology is in the Bible's witness. She then calls Christians to apply that message to today's environmental concerns. Richter is a master Bible scholar. Each chapter in this timely book draws out a biblical mandate about care for the land, for domestic and wild animals, for people at the margins, and more. She is also a master storyteller. Well informed on the most significant challenges to present-day environmental stewardship, Richter includes case studies connecting modern day examples and Scripture. Though current political values may tempt readers to separate or even polarize Christian faith and ecological concerns, Richter urges us to be driven by God's values instead.
Theology of the Body for Beginners
Christopher West - 2003
With clarity and precision, Christopher West unpacks John Paul II's Theology of the Body, translating it into a language everyone can understand.
Call the Sabbath a Delight
Walter J. Chantry - 1991
An important book for all Christians to read.
A Theology of Liberation
Gustavo Gutiérrez - 1971
The book burst upon the scene in the early seventies, and was swiftly acknowledged as a pioneering and prophetic approach to theology which famously made an option for the poor, placing the exploited, the alienated, and the economically wretched at the centre of a programme where "the oppressed and maimed and blind and lame" were prioritized at the expense of those who either maintained the status quo or who abused the structures of power for their own ends. This powerful, compassionate and radical book attracted criticism for daring to mix politics and religion in so explicit a manner, but was also welcomed by those who had the capacity to see that its agenda was nothing more nor less than to give "good news to the poor", and redeem God's people from bondage.
My Week at the Blue Angel: Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas
Matthew O'Brien - 2010
Thompson’s Las Vegas, with the Good Doctor as tour guide. A Lord of the Rings-like adventure in the city’s underground flood channels. A seven-day stay at a seedy motel on East Fremont Street.The stories in My Week at the Blue Angel aren’t about Steve Wynn, Cirque du Soleil, or how to play poker and they aren’t set in Caesars Palace, XS Nightclub, or a 2,000-seat showroom. They’re about prostitutes, ex-cons, and the homeless and they’re set under Caesars Palace and in trailer parks and weekly motels.In this creative-nonfiction collection, Matthew O’Brien—author of Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas—and veteran photographer Bill Hughes show a side of the city rarely seen. A side beyond the neon lights, themed facades, and motel-room doors. A side beyond the barbwire fences, “No Trespassing” signs, and midnight shadows.A side of Las Vegas many locals and visitors are curious about, but few ever explore.
The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrates: A Proper Resistance to Tyranny and a Repudiation of Unlimited Obedience to Civil Government
Matthew J. Trewhella - 2013
The rule of law is crumbling. The massive expansion of Federal government power with its destructive laws and policies is of grave concern to many. But what can be done to quell the abuse of power by civil authority? Are unjust or immoral actions by the government simply to be accepted and their lawless commands obeyed? How do we know when the government has acted tyrannically? Which actions constitute proper and legitimate resistance? This book places in your hands a hopeful blueprint for freedom. Appealing to history and the Word of God, Pastor Matthew Trewhella answers these questions and shows how Americans can successfully resist the Federal government's attempts to trample our Constitution, assault our liberty, and impugn the law of God. The doctrine of the lesser magistrates declares that when the superior or higher civil authority makes an unjust/immoral law or decree, the lesser or lower ranking civil authority has both the right and duty to refuse obedience to that superior authority. If necessary, the lower authority may even actively resist the superior authority. Historically, this doctrine was practiced before the time of Christ and Christianity. It was Christian men, however, who formalized and embedded it into their political institutions throughout Western Civilization. The doctrine of the lesser magistrates is a historic tool that provides proven guidelines for proper and legitimate resistance to tyranny, often without causing any major upheaval in society. The doctrine teaches us how to rein in lawless acts by government and restore justice in our nation. "Use this sword against my enemies, if I give righteous commands; but if I give unrighteous commands, use it against me." -Roman Emperor Trajan, speaking to one of his subordinates This is the first book published solely addressing the doctrine of the lesser magistrates in over 400 years. Matthew Trewhella is the pastor of Mercy Seat Christian Church. He is a graduate of Valley Forge Christian College. He and his wife, Clara, have eleven children and nine grandchildren, and reside in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area. His research and teaching on the lesser magistrate doctrine is reshaping the thinking of Americans. He was instrumental in publishing the Magdeburg Confession in 2012 - the first English translation of the document since it was written in 1550.
Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins
Miguel A. de la Torre - 2004
Book annotation not available for this title.
Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight
Norman Wirzba - 2006
Wirzba shows how Sabbath is ultimately about delight in the goodness that God has made--in everything we do, every day of the week. With practical examples, Wirzba unpacks what that means for our daily lives at work, in our homes, in our economies, in school, in our treatment of creation, and in church. This book will appeal to clergy and laypeople alike and to all who are seeking ways to discover the transformative power of Sabbath in their lives today.
So Help Me God
Larry D. Thompson - 2004
Lord “The courtroom drama and testimony are brilliantly conceived and carried out…a thoughtful, complex and timely novel, a compelling story one is loath to put aside to do one’s daily work.”—Galveston Daily News "So Help Me God is not only a page-turner but a warning as well. Through a deft, fascinating storyline Larry D. Thompson shows us what can happen here if we're not careful."—Ed Gorman“So Help Me God is an exciting legal thriller that takes the reader on a sizzling ride as a courtroom becomes the battlefield over one of the most controversial social issues of our time. Not since the Scopes Monkey Trial has a man of religion and a man of ideas clashed so dramatically and brilliantly in a courtroom.” –Junius Podrug, award winning author of Presumed Guilty“I don’t think I have ever read anything quite so compelling. Everything was woven together beautifully and could only have been done so by someone who had actually lived through similar experiences in the courtroom.”—pennyterk.com“Move over John Grisham!”—Denton A. Cooley, MD, world-renowned pioneer heart surgeon“Seldom does a first effort at courtroom fiction find itself in the class of such notables as Inherit the Wind, The Verdict, and The Rainmaker. But Larry Thompson’s So Help Me God belongs there. I predict it will become a modern day classic courtroom tale.”—Jim Perdue, Sr., nationally renowned trial lawyer and author of I Remember Atticus“I hated to finish that last page of So Help Me God…the courtroom scenes are both realistic and spell-binding.”—Hartley Hampton, past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers AssociationAbout the AuthorA veteran Texas trial lawyer, LARRY D. THOMPSON has drawn upon decades of experience in the courtroom to produce his first novel, So Help Me God. Thompson, a one-time journalism major who used his talent for writing to excel at the University of Texas School of Law, is now managing partner of the Houston trial firm he founded. Recently honored by Texas Monthly Magazine as a "Texas Super Lawyer," he is the proud father of three grown children, an active golfer, SCUBA diver, runner, and outdoor enthusiast. His biggest inspiration both in life and literature is his late brother, best-selling author Thomas Thompson.
Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview
Albert M. Wolters - 1985
Wolters spells out the structure of a reformational worldview and its significance for those who seek to follow the Scriptures. Wolters begins by defining the nature and scope of a worldview, distinguishing it from philosophy or theology, and noting that the Christian community has advanced a variety of worldviews. He then outlines a Reformed analysis of the three fundamental turning points in human history – Creation, the Fall, and Redemption – concluding that while the Fall might reach into every corner of the world, Christians are called to participate in Christ's redemption of all creation.
40 Questions about Christians and Biblical Law
Thomas R. Schreiner - 2010
Andrew Das, distinguished chair, Professor of Religious Studies, Elmhurst College. This volume by Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner on the interplay between Christianity and biblical law is an excellent addition to the 40 Questions & Answers series. Schreiner not only coherently answers the tough questions that flow from a discussion about the Old Testament Levitical Law, but also writes clearly and engagingly for the student. The pastor, student, and layperson can easily understand Schreiner's biblical theology of the Law. The reader will enjoy the clarity and encouragement of 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law. The simple Q&A format allows readers to skip to questions of interest. Questions include:What does the word law mean in the Scriptures] Was the Mosaic covenant legalistic] Does the OT teach that salvation is by works] What does the expression "works of law" mean in Paul] Is perfect obedience to the law mandatory for salvation] Does Paul teach that the OT law is now abolished] >What does Paul mean by "righteousness of God"] Does the Pauline teaching on justification contradict Jesus' message] Do James and Paul contradict one another on justification by works] How should we understand the role of the law in Luke-Acts] What is theonomy, or Christian reconstructionism, and how should it be evaluated] What role does the law have in preaching]