Your God is Too Boring
Jon Leonetti - 2014
It’s behind the times. It’s boring.” I say we’ve forgotten our story. It’s time to rediscover that there is genius in Catholicism. Christianity has captivated the world for more than two thousand years. Look a little closer, and you’ll see that it is the most dangerous and exciting thing on earth. Catholicism is a game changer. This book looks at the big picture of who God is, what he has revealed to us, and how that will radically impact our lives if we let it.
One-Minute Aquinas: The Doctor's Quick Answers to Fundamental Questions
Kevin Vost - 2014
Thomas wrote, then turn to The One-Minute Aquinas, the fast-paced book that provides busy readers with simple, readable explanations of the truths that, for 750 years now, have caused the works of St. Thomas to be sought out by kings and popes, scholars and saints, as well as by ordinary souls like you — hungry to know God and to love him more and more.In this book’s lucid pages, author Kevin Vost gives you small, digestible portions of St. Thomas’s life-giving wisdom that you can enjoy one minute at a time. Tables and graphics will help you grasp and remember St. Thomas’s key ideas with a minimum of time and effort.Best of all, in The One-Minute Aquinas you’ll find quick, sure refutations of the countless relativistic, secular, and pseudoscientific ideas that are so influential in our culture today — and so shallow, contradictory, and wrong!Pope John Paul II declared that “the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas as a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology.” Now The One-Minute Aquinas enables even those with limited time and only a modest education to benefit from the wisdom of this great saint.Here, with minimal effort and among scores of other things, you’ll finally come to know and understand:--Why God permits evil--Heaven: what it is (and is not)--Five simple proofs that God exists--Why God became man--Why Jesus let himself be tempted--How you can grow quickly in virtue--Why all souls need the sacraments--Why Jesus let himself be crucified--The causes of lust--The natural law and the Commandments--The soul, free will, sin, and damnation--The angels, their ranks, and their powers--How God governs (and refrains from governing)--God’s power and its limits--The Bible: why didn’t Jesus just write it himself?--The surprising qualities of our resurrected bodies
Integral Christianity: The Spirit's Call to Evolve
Paul R. Smith - 2011
The perspectives of integral theory and practice, articulated by Ken Wilber, help uncover the integral approach that Jesus advocated and demonstrated in the metaphors of his time and that traditional Christianity has largely been unable to see. Smith incorporates elements of traditional, modern, and postmodern theological viewpoints, including progressive, New Thought, and emerging/emergent ones. However, he goes beyond all of them and moves to a Christianity that is devoted to following both the historical Jesus and the Risen Christ whose Spirit beckons to us from the future. Smith says, "The oldest thing you can say about God is that God is always doing something new. Jesus pushed his own religion to newness by including the best of its past, and transcending the worst of its present. He calls us to do the same, whatever our religion is today."
Stained Glass Hearts: Seeing Life from a Broken Perspective
Patsy Clairmont - 2011
And back. Themes of art and creativity are woven together with stories from Patsy’s own life. And special features include quotes, suggested scripture readings, sample prayers, and recommended music.With candor tempered by wind-whipped wisdom, Patsy provides a new lens through which to view our lives. Stained Glass Hearts is a perspective that gives us the chance to see our potential for color, sparkle, and great purpose through the grace of God.
Search and Rescue: How to Bring Your Family and Friends Into or Back Into the Catholic Church
Patrick Madrid - 2001
Patrick Madrid explains why prayer, friendship, and common sense are among the most effective, time-tested methods for bringing family and friends into or back into the Church, and shows you how best to use them!
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity
Nabeel Qureshi - 2014
Providing an intimate window into a loving Muslim home, Qureshi shares how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against his will, evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God. Unable to deny the arguments but not wanting to deny his family, Qureshi's inner turmoil will challenge Christians and Muslims alike. Engaging and thought-provoking, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus tells a powerful story of the clash between Islam and Christianity in one man's heart---and of the peace he eventually found in Jesus.
The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between
Gregory Koukl - 2017
It’s more than just a personal relationship with God or a source of moral teaching.Christianity is a picture of reality.It explains why the world is the way it is. When the pieces of this puzzle are properly assembled, we see the big picture clearly. Christianity is a true story of how the world began, why the world is the way it is, what role humans play in the drama, and how all the plotlines of the story are resolved in the end.In The Story of Reality, best-selling author and host of Stand to Reason, Gregory Koukl, explains the five words that form the narrative backbone of the Christian story. He identifies the most important things that happen in the story in the order they take place:GodManJesusCrossResurrectionOur story begins with God. He created everything, but something went terribly wrong. So God initiated a rescue plan and entered the world that he had made by becoming like us in Jesus Christ. Jesus saved us from the wrongness in ourselves and in the world through his death on a cross. And how people respond to what he did will determine what their future will be at the final event of history: the resurrection.If you are already a Christian, this is your story. Do you know it? If you are not a Christian, this is still your story, because it explains the world in a way that nothing else will. It is a true story—the real story behind every other story we hear.
The Rosary Handbook: A Guide for Newcomers, Old-Timers, and Those in Between
Mitch Finley - 2006
The rosary is perfect for those times when words can't express our feelings, when we want to contemplate the basic truths of our faith, or when we simply want to enter into God's presence. Finley includes a brief and accurate history of the rosary, explains why it is a Christ-centered prayer, and provides background on the individual prayers of the rosary and a short commentary on each of the twenty mysteries.This book will help Catholics who have prayed the rosary all their lives but want to know more about it as well as those who want to begin anew or try it for the first time.
Share Jesus Without Fear
Linda Evans Shepherd - 2010
It began with the jaw-dropping story of William Fay, once a money-driven businessman with Mafia ties who ran a house of prostitution until it was raided by police. Facing the threat of jail time, Fay turned to Jesus Christ for redemption and ever since has been turning others to Him as well. Now featuring a fresh new cover design, Share Jesus without Fear relays Fay's passionate, effective instructions on how to share the love of Christ with anyone--without feeling intimidated on either side of the conversation. Bold and joyful, the outreach movement continues without fear.
Leaving Buddha: A Tibetan Monk’s Encounter with the Living God
Tenzin Lahkpa - 2019
Unable to change his fate, he wholeheartedly embraces his life as a monk and begins a quest for full enlightenment through the teachings of Buddhism. From his local monastery to the famed Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, he learns deep mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism. Yearning to study with the current Dalai Lama, he eventually escapes from China by means of an excruciating, two-thousand-mile, secret trek over the Himalayas—barefoot, with no extra gear, changes of clothing, or money. His dream is realized when he finally sits under the Dalai Lama himself. But his desire to go deeper only grows, leading him to unexpected conclusions…. Follow the fascinating, never-before-told, true story of what causes a highly dedicated Tibetan Buddhist monk to make the radical decision to walk away from the teachings of Buddha and leave his monastery to follow Jesus Christ. Discover the reasons other monks want him dead before he can share his story with others.Leaving Buddha dares to expose the mysterious world of Tibetan Buddhism, with its layered teachings, intricate practices—and troubling secrets. Ultimately, it tells a moving story about the search for truth, the path of enlightenment, and how no one is beyond the reach of a loving God. This gripping narrative will resonate with people from all backgrounds and nations.
What's So Amazing About Grace? Study Guide
Philip Yancey - 1998
But do we understand it? More important, do we truly believe in it . . . and do our lives proclaim it as powerfully as our words? In What's So Amazing About Grace?, award-winning author Philip Yancey explores grace at street level.If grace is God's love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a cruel and pain-filled world?In fourteen sessions, this study guide will help you to interact deeply with Yancey's most personal and provocative book yet. If you're willing to leave your comfort zone to embrace a more vigorous, passionate Christianity--read on. And prepare to grapple with grace and "un-grace" on a personal level.You'll consider how you can contend graciously with today's tough moral issues. And you'll discover how you can become Christ's answer to a world that desperately wants to know, What's So Amazing About Grace?
God's Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe
J. Warner Wallace - 2015
Suicides, accidental, and natural deaths can occur without any evidence from outside the room. But murders typically involve suspects external to the crime scene. If there’s evidence of an outside intruder, homicide detectives have to prepare for a chase. Intruders turn death scenes into crime scenes. Join J. Warner Wallace, former atheist, seasoned cold-case detective, and popular national speaker as he tackles his most important case ... with you on the jury! With the expertise of a cold-case detective, J. Warner examines eight critical pieces of evidence in the “crime scene” of the universe to determine if they point to a Divine Intruder. If you have ever wondered if something (or someone) outside the natural realm created the universe and everything in it, this is the case for you.
Searching for God Knows What
Donald Miller - 2000
Every person is constantly seeking redemption (or at least the feeling of it) in his or her life, believing countless gospels that promise to fix the brokenness. Typically their pursuits include the desire for fulfilling relationships, successful careers, satisfying religious systems, status, and escape. Miller reveals how the inability to find redemption leads to chaotic relationships, self-hatred, the accumulation of meaningless material possessions, and a lack of inner peace. Readers will learn to identify in themselves and within others the universal desire for redemption. They will discover that the gospel of Jesus is the only way to find meaning in life and true redemption. Mature believers as well as seekers and new Christians will find themselves identifying with the narrative journey unfolded in the book, which is simply the pursuit of redemption.In Searching for God Knows What, best-selling author Donald Miller invites you to reconnect with a faith worth believing. With humor, intelligence, and his trademark writing style, he shows that relationship is God’s way of leading us to redemption. And our need for redemption drives us to relationship with God. “Being a Christian,” Miller writes, “is more like falling in love than understanding a series of ideas.”Maybe you are a Christian wondering what faith you signed up for. Or maybe you don’t believe anything and are daring someone—anyone—to show you a genuine example of authentic faith. Somewhere beyond the self-help formulas, fancy marketing, and easy promises there is a life-changing experience with God waiting. Searching for God Knows What weaves together beautiful stories and fresh perspectives on the Bible to show one man’s journey to find it.
Inspired Imperfection: How the Bible's Problems Enhance Its Divine Authority
Gregory A. Boyd - 2020
Boyd adds another counterintuitive and provocative thesis to his corpus. While conservative scholars and pastors have struggled for years to show that the Bible is without errors, Boyd considers this a fool's errand. Instead, he says, we should embrace the mistakes and contradictions in Scripture, for they show that God chose to use fallible humans to communicate timeless truths. Just as God ultimately came to save humanity in the form of a human, God chose to impart truth through the imperfect medium of human writing. Instead of the Bible's imperfections being a reason to attack its veracity, these "problems" actually support the trustworthiness of Christian Scripture. Inspired Imperfection is required reading for anyone who's questioned the Bible because of its contradictions.