The first book to give the full account of the lost gospel of Jesus' original followers, revealing him to be a Jewish Socrates who was mythologized into the New Testament Christ.

    Providing this companion volume to his earlier work The Story of Christian Theology, Roger E. Olson thematically traces the contours of Christian belief down through the ages, revealing a pattern of both unity and diversity. He finds a consensus of teaching that is both unitive and able to incorporate a faithful diversity when not forced into the molds of false either-or alternatives. The mosaic that emerges from Olson's work displays a mediating evangelical theology that is nonspeculative and irenic in spirit and tone. Specifically written with the nonspecialist in mind, Olson has masterfully sketched out the contours of Christian faith with simplicity while avoiding oversimplification.

    Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Donald Trump for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Donald Trump in fact represents the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values.Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping account of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, showing how American evangelicals have worked for decades to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism, or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.” As Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the role of culture in modern American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals may not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex—and they have a silver ring to prove it. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical popular culture is teeming with muscular heroes—mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.” Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.Trump, in other words, is hardly the first flashy celebrity to capture evangelicals’ hearts and minds, nor is he the first strongman to promise evangelicals protection and power. Indeed, the values and viewpoints at the heart of white evangelicalism today—patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community—are likely to persist long after Trump leaves office.A much-needed reexamination, Jesus and John Wayne explains why evangelicals have rallied behind the least-Christian president in American history and how they have transformed their faith in the process, with enduring consequences for all of us.

    The simple truths of the gospel became so obscured by worldliness and pagan idolatry—kicking off the Dark Ages of Catholicism—that Christianity required a complete reboot. This theory is popular… but it’s also fiction. This idea of a “Great Apostasy” is one of the cornerstones of American Protestantism, along with Mormonism, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and even Islam. Countless millions today profess a faith built on the assumption that the early Church quickly became broken beyond repair, requiring some new prophet or reformer to restore the “pure” teaching of Jesus and the apostles. In The Apostasy that Wasn’t, Rod Bennett follows up his bestseller Four Witnesses with an account of the historical events that led him out of his own belief in apostasy theory and into the Catholic Church. With the touch of a master storyteller, he narrates the drama of the early Church’s fight to preserve Christian orthodoxy intact even as powerful forces try to smash it to pieces. Amid imperial intrigue, military menace, and bitter theological debate, a hero arises in the form of a homely little monk named Athanasius, who stands against the world to prove that there could never be a Great Apostasy—because Jesus promised his Church would never be broken.

    Not only do the sayings of the Desert Fathers possess the imprint of eternity,but the fresh and vital commentary by Father John Chryssavgis provides a key which unlocks their relevance for the reader of today. The actual Egyptian desert to which these monks fled in the fourth and fifth centuries was, of course, an actual place. But, the desert may also be understood as an inner geography of desolation and abandonment. Father John tells us that anyone who has experienced loneliness, brokenness, breakdown, or break-up--whether emotionally, physically, or socially--will connect with the profound humanity of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. Various traditions from world religions teach that God enters into the empty soul. The universal and perennial message of these first Christian monks concerns the necessity of emptiness; they show us, by their examples, how to confront the chaotic impulses of the soul which drive us away from that still point where God is waiting.In the Heart of the Desert portrays several of the key figures in early Christian monasticism including one of the Desert Mothers, Amma Syncletica. It also includes the first translation into English of the fifth-century text, The Reflections of Abba Zosimas. In a sense, this is not a book of the past, of the fourth or fifth centuries. It may be described as a book of the age to come, or of a new age. It speaks to our present age of an experience of a new life, of a fullness and renewal of life.

    Endorsements: "The New Perspective on Paul has, sadly, been more controversial than illuminative of a neglected dimension of Paul's teaching on justification by faith. Professor Yinger most helpfully explains both aspects. . . . [T]his is as good an Introduction to the New Perspective and the related Pauline teaching as you will find." --James D. G. Dunn author of The New Perspective on Paul: Collected Essays "Kent Yinger has made a complex and often emotive debate about Paul and Justification accessible to a wider audience. This book isn't beating any drum, it's not an apology for the 'New Perspective' thing, nor is it a declaration of war on any party. Rather, this is a map of the key terrain, a list of who is who in the zoo of debate, and a flashlight on several dark alleys of contested interpretations. At the same time, Yinger gives us some good and sensible commentary along the way. If you're lost in the maelstrom of theological polemics and Pauline interpretation, this book is one of the ways to help you get your bearings." --Michael F. Bird Lecturer in Theology and Bible Crossway College, Brisbane, Australia "For those who want to know what all the fuss is about and whether and how it matters, this is just the book. Kent Yinger, while thoroughly conversant with the huge amount of discussion generated by the New Perspective on Paul, has the gift of making the key issues accessible to others. Here is a readable, succinct, clear, accurate, and fair-minded introduction to the ongoing debate. For both the academy and the church Yinger provides a much needed perspective on the New Perspective. --Andrew Lincoln Portland Professor of New Testament University of Gloucestershire "Kent Yinger set out to write a book that offers a fair-minded, easy-to-read explanation of the so-called New Perspective on Paul (NPP), which neither critiques nor defends it. His aim was to navigate between the faddish innovations of some biblical scholars and the deeper insights that come from a better understanding of Scripture. He sought to answer four basic questions regarding NPP: (1) What is it? (2) Where did it come from? (3) What are the potential dangers? and (4) What good is it? After reading this book, I have only one thing to say to Dr. Yinger: Bull's eye!" --Charles J. Conniry Jr. Vice President and Dean George Fox Seminary/George Fox University Author Biography: Kent L. Yinger is Professor of New Testament at George Fox Evangelical Seminary (George Fox University) in Portland Oregon. He is the author of Paul, Judaism, and Judgment According to Deeds (1999).

    In the Gospels Jesus asks many more questions than he answers. To be precise, Jesus asks 307 questions. He is asked 183 of which he only answers 3. Asking questions was central to Jesus' life and teachings. In fact, for every question he answers directly he asks--literally--a hundred. Jesus is the Question considers the questions Jesus asks--what they tell us about Jesus and, more important, what our responses might say about what it means to follow Him. Through Jesus' questions, he modeled the struggle, the wondering, the thinking it through that helps us draw closer to God and better understand, not just the answer, but ourselves, our process and ultimately why questions are among Jesus' most profound gifts for a life of faith. A game-changer of a book.

    But today that synthesis is under attack—from the East by radical Islam (faith without reason) and from within the West itself by aggressive secularism (reason without faith). The stakes are incalculably high. The naïve and increasingly common assumption that reason and faith are incompatible is simply at odds with the facts of history. The revelation in the Hebrew Scriptures of a reasonable Creator imbued Judaism and Christianity with a conviction that the world is intelligible, leading to the flowering of reason and the invention of science in the West. It was no accident that the Enlightenment took place in the culture formed by the Jewish and Christian faiths. We can all see that faith without reason is benighted at best, fanatical and violent at worst. But too many forget that reason, stripped of faith, is subject to its own pathologies. A supposedly autonomous reason easily sinks into fanaticism, stifling dissent as bigoted and irrational and devouring the humane civilization fostered by the integration of reason and faith. The blood-soaked history of the twentieth century attests to the totalitarian forces unleashed by corrupted reason. But Samuel Gregg does more than lament the intellectual and spiritual ruin caused by the divorce of reason and faith. He shows that each of these foundational principles corrects the other’s excesses and enhances our comprehension of the truth in a continuous renewal of civilization. By recovering this balance, we can avoid a suicidal winner-take-all conflict between reason and faith and a future that will respect neither.

    It’s enough to frustrate the serious Bible student. What if you found out most of it is simply mistaken? What if you found out that the ancient Jewish writers were using Old Testament imagery of the past, not a crystal ball gaze into our modern future? What if you found out that everything that modern prophecy pundits are looking for--the Antichrist, The Beast, the Tribulation, the Rapture--was not what they told you it was, but something different? The Truth About Bible Prophecy Respected biblical author Brian Godawa draws from Evangelical theological scholarship and deconstructs the popular “Left Behind” interpretation to uncover a far more fascinating and far more Biblical view of End Times Bible prophecy. One that rescues the original ancient Jewish context of prophecies from being hostage to modern prophecy speculators. Don’t worry, what Godawa unveils is controversial, but it’s not new. It’s not his own personal theory. He’s not a cult leader with a bizarre vision from God. What he reveals has a long tradition of godly Bible scholarship behind it. It’s just not what you’ve been taught. And it’s rooted in interpreting the Bible through the Bible, NOT through newspaper exegesis. What Jesus Himself Said About the End of the Age Here are a few of the things you’ll be astounded to read about in this book: You’ll hear Godawa’s own personal journey in changing his understanding of the End Times. You’ll find out how hyperliteralism corrupts Bible Prophecy interpretation. Godawa focuses on Jesus’ own predictions about the End of the Age in Matthew 24. You’ll discover the dirty little secret behind the so-called Rapture. The truth about the Last Days. It’s not what they told you. Just what is the Great Tribulation and when did it happen? What the heck are those cosmic catastrophes in the heavens? The shocking truth about Antichrist and the Abomination of Desolation You’ll be amazed when you see how the coming of Christ on the clouds has been completely misunderstood by well-meaning but misinformed prophecy pundits. This is not newspaper exegesis, but intense Bible study. Guaranteed to inspire your love for God’s Word and His promises to His people.

    Drawing on the teachings of the Fathers and saints of the Church, Dr. Rossi gently points the way toward deepening our love for God and for each other so that others may experience Christ through us.

    Now incorporating a wealth of new material, this new edition will be an essential reference source for anyone interested in the history of the Christian Church. While retaining the original material selected by Henry Bettenson, Chris Maunder has added a substantial section of more recent writings. These new entries illustrate the Second Vatican Council; the theologies of liberation; Church and State from 'Thatcher's Britain' to Communist Eastern Europe; Black, feminist, and ecological theology; ecumenism; and inter-faith dialogue. The emphasis on moral debate in the contemporary Churches is reflected in selections dealing with modern issues such as homosexuality, divorce, AIDS, and in-vitro fertilization. With the publication of this new edition, Documents of the Christian Church provides insights into the whole 2000 years of Christian theological and political debate.

    Before becoming a monk he was a physician who worked with the French Resistance during World War Two. His writings have attracted an ever-growing audience in this country and in England, where he is also noted for his radio and television appearances. During the years since its initial appearance, LIVING PRAYER has become a spiritual classic. Among the many topics covered here are the problem of praying honestly, meditation and worship, and how to discard false images of ourselves and of God. In LIVING PRAYER Metropolitan Anthony tells us, as few writers can, how to begin and sustain the life of prayer.

    Death had won. But after three days in a rich man's tomb, Jesus appeared…alive! The news was so shocking that His followers refused to believe it until they saw Him with their own eyes and touched His wounds with their own hands. Then Jesus made an amazing claim: In the future, they too would have resurrected bodies like His, bodies that would never deteriorate, age or perish. They would have new life without death or pain in the presence of a loving God forever.  But can we really believe His promise? For that matter, can we really believe that the promise was made by a Man who rose from the dead? In this fascinating look at the claims of the Gospel writers and 2,000 years of believing Christians, bestselling author Josh McDowell and his son Sean examine the compelling evidence and conclude that Jesus Christ conquered death and the gravel in clear, concise and accessible chapters, Josh and Sean present the fact s about the resurrection and what it means for readers today.

    With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan's story into an audacious exploration of Christianity's shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

    Gemma Galgani (1878-1903) was a mystic, stigmatist, visionary, ecstatic, victim soul, discerner of spirits, seer of hidden things, prophetess, spouse of Christ, zealot for souls and devotee of the Poor Souls in Purgatory. She died at only 25. Her mother was also saintly, and it is beautiful to see how she helped cultivate this lily of purity. See how Gemma made great sacrifices painful to human nature from her tenderest years. Inspiring and edifying! Impr. 382 pgs, PB