Don't they? We overlook that Jesus wasJudgmental?preaching hellfire far more than the apostle PaulUncompromising?telling people to hate their familiesChauvinistic?excluding women from leadershipRacist?insulting people from other ethnic groupsAnti-environmental?cursing a fig tree and affirming animal sacrificeAngry?overturning tables and chasing moneychangers in the templeHe demanded moral perfection, told people to cut off body parts, made prophecies that haven't come true, and defied religious and political authorities. While we tend to ignore this troubling behavior, the people around Jesus didn't. Some believed him so dangerous that they found a way to have him killed. The Jesus everybody likes, says Mark Strauss, is not the Jesus found in the Gospels. He's a figure we've created in our own minds. Strauss believes that when we unpack the puzzling paradoxes of the man from Galilee, we find greater insight into his countercultural message and mission than we could ever have imagined.

    Tim is a man of integrity and a man committed to making an impact for Christ in his world." — Stu Weber, pastor and author------------------In a world that's growing more hostile to the gospel, what can Christians do? How can we communicate with our unbelieving friends and coworkers in a way that won't seem pushy, intolerant, or judgmental? In a world that's heard it all before and no longer seems to care, where do we begin?By sowing.In Finding Common Ground, Tim Downs reminds us of the forgotten biblical art of sowing and shows us practical and effective ways to:Bring up spiritual subjects with busy and distracted peopleUse secular movies and books to talk about biblical ideasOvercome prejudice and stereotypes in our listenersKeep open doors of communication with even hostile opponentsMove everyone we meet a step closer to the gospel

    Much has been written to assess his lasting legacy and why he has had such a profound impact on 20th-century readers.As well as delving into the plots of Lewis's enduring works, you will consider questions such as:From the magisterial "Oxford History of English Literature" to children's fantasy books, how did Lewis write with such brilliance and coherence across so many distinct and demanding fields?What were the people, events, and influences that shaped his thought, his character, and the spiritual drama at his life's core?What do Lewis's fictional and factual autobiographies reveal about his conversion and his efforts to "explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times"?How did he argue for his ethical notion of "the Tao"—a non-relative set of standards, held widely across all cultures, which modern ideologies often distort?How did he use his apologetical writings to come to grips with perennial spiritual questions involving miracles; the meaning of suffering; the reality of heaven and hell; and the nature of choice, sin, and salvation?How do his scholarly works analyze modern prejudices about the past and offer a vivid, accessible defense of medieval and Renaissance thought?In Lectures 7 through 11, we turn to Lewis the fictional novelist:The unfallen world of Perelandra in the Space Trilogy (1938–45)The beloved Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956) children's series for which he is perhaps best knownTill We Have Faces (1961), a mature and beautiful reworking of the Cupid and Psyche myth whose heroine is patterned after Lewis's wife, Joy.Professor Louis Markos is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and has won teaching awards at both the University of Michigan and Houston Baptist University. He presents this course as a sympathetic, deeply felt exposition of Lewis's multifaceted thought and works, making no secret of the fact that he is a longtime and enthusiastic fan of Lewis's writings.

    We can call, text, email, or post our status to friends and family on the go. We can carry countless games, music, and apps in our pocket. Yet it's easy to feel overwhelmed by access to so much information and exhausted from managing our online relationships and selves. Craig Detweiler, a nationally known writer and speaker on media issues, provides needed Christian perspective on navigating today's social media culture. He interacts with major symbols, or "iGods," of our distracted age--Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Pixar, YouTube, and Twitter--to investigate the impact of the technologies and cultural phenomena that drive us. Detweiler offers a historic look at where we've been and a prophetic look at where we're headed, helping us sort out the immediate from the eternal, the digital from the divine.

    Introduction Early Christology Initial Problems Justin Martyr, Melito of Sardis, Irenaeus of Lyon, Tertullian of Carthage, Origen of Alexandria Further Problems The Arians and Athanasius; Apollinaris of Laodicea; Theodore of Mopsuestia; Cyril, Nestorius, and Eutyches; Leo and Chalcedon II. Melito of Sardis A Homily on the Passover III. Irenaeus of Lyon Against Heresies IV. Tertullian Against Praxeas On the Flesh of Christ V. Origen On First Principles VI. Athanasius Orations against the Arians VII. Apollinaris of Laodicea On the Union in Christ of the Body with the Godhead Fragments VIII. Theodore of Mopsuestia Fragments of the Doctrinal Works IX. The Controversies Leading Up to the Council of Chalcedon Nestorius's First Sermon against the Theotokos Cyril of Alexandria's Second Letter to Nestorius Nestorius's Second Letter to Cyril Cyril's Letter to John of Antioch Pope Leo I's Letter to Flavian of Constantinople The Council of Chalcedon's "Definition of the Faith" Bibliography

    In this practical guide, John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle explore questions including:What unseen undercurrents are shaping twenty-first-century youth culture?Why do so many kids struggle with identity?How do we talk to kids about same-sex marriage and transgenderism?How can leaders steer kids away from substance abuse and other addictions?How can we ground students in the biblical story and empower them to change the world? With biblical clarity, this is the practical go-to manual to equip kids to rise above the culture.

    From the early days of Babylon and the legends surrounding Nimrod, Semiramis, and Tammuz, certain rites and rituals are traced in their various developments, thus providing clues whereby the "mystery" is so9lved! The apostles had predicted there would come a "falling away" and the proof of their prediction is now evident in history. With such evidence in hand, all true believers should seek, as never before, the simplicity found in Christ himself and to earnestly contend for that original faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

    History knows not one example of a successful society which repudiated moral absolutes. Yet most attacks on relativism have been either pragmatic (looking at its social consequences) or exhorting (preaching rather than proving), and philosophers' arguments against it have been specialized, technical, and scholarly.In his typical unique writing style, Peter Kreeft lets an attractive, honest, and funny relativist interview a "Muslim fundamentalist" absolutist so as not to stack the dice personally for absolutism. In an engaging series of personal interviews, every conceivable argument the "sassy Black feminist" reporter Libby gives against absolutism is simply and clearly refuted, and none of the many arguments for moral absolutism is refuted.

    Some faithful readers struggle through its pages and conclude that they must obey its moral laws but may disregard its ceremonial and civil laws. Others abandon its teaching altogether in favor of a strictly New Testament ethic. Neither option, argues Chris Wright, gives the Old Testament its due.In this innovative approach to Old Testament ethics--fully revised, updated and expanded since its first appearance in 1983 as Living as the People of God (An Eye for an Eye in North America) and including material from Walking in the Ways of the Lord--Wright examines a theological, social and economic framework for Old Testament ethics. Then he explores a variety of themes in relation to contemporary issues: economics, the land and the poor; politics and a world of nations; law and justice; society and culture; and the way of the individual.This fresh, illuminating study provides a clear basis for a biblical ethic that is faithful to the God of both Testaments.

    Maybe we don't want to ask it. But viral videos, digital images, and other spectacles surround us in every direction--competing for our time, our attention, our lust, and our money. So we let our lazy eyes feed on whatever comes our way. As a result, we never stop to consider the consequences of our visual diet on our habits, desires, and longings.Journalist Tony Reinke asked these hard questions himself--critiquing his own habits--and now invites us along to see what he discovered as he investigated the possibilities and the pitfalls of our image-centered world. In the end, he shares the beauty of a Greater Spectacle--capable of centering our souls, filling our hearts, and stabilizing our gaze in this age of the digital spectacle.

    Newsweek called it “a stunning new study of ethics by one of the foremost moral philosophers in the English-speaking world.” Since that time, the book has been translated into more than fifteen foreign languages and has sold over one hundred thousand copies. Now, twenty-five years later, the University of Notre Dame Press is pleased to release the third edition of After Virtue, which includes a new prologue “After Virtue after a Quarter of a Century.” In this classic work, Alasdair MacIntyre examines the historical and conceptual roots of the idea of virtue, diagnoses the reasons for its absence in personal and public life, and offers a tentative proposal for its recovery. While the individual chapters are wide-ranging, once pieced together they comprise a penetrating and focused argument about the price of modernity. In the Third Edition prologue, MacIntyre revisits the central theses of the book and concludes that although he has learned a great deal and has supplemented and refined his theses and arguments in other works, he has “as yet found no reason for abandoning the major contentions” of this book. While he recognizes that his conception of human beings as virtuous or vicious needed not only a metaphysical but also a biological grounding, ultimately he remains “committed to the thesis that it is only from the standpoint of a very different tradition, one whose beliefs and presuppositions were articulated in their classical form by Aristotle, that we can understand both the genesis and the predicament of moral modernity.”

    If pro-choicers are right, precious freedoms are in jeopardy. If pro-lifers are right, innocent children are being robbed of their most basic freedom—life. Though bumpersticker slogans prevail, the facts are rarely presented. We need clear and credible answers to the central questions of the abortion debate. For those who have had abortions or are currently considering one, for pro-choicers and fence-straddlers alike, Why Pro-Life? provides answers to these questions in a concise, straightforward, and nonabrasive manner.Head: Human Life Begins…When? No issue is more divisive or troubling than abortion. Many believe that we have to choose between helping women and helping children. This book shows how critical it is that we help both. In a concise, non-abrasive fashion, Randy Alcorn offers compassionate, factual answers to the central issues of the abortion debate. [Insert Sarah Marie Switzer image] An award-winning photo of an operation on Sarah Marie Switzer, a twenty-four-week unborn child with spina bifida. Sarah, here grasping a surgeon’s finger, was reinserted into her mother’s womb and born two months later, nine weeks premature. [Insert 3-D Real-Time ultrasound image] A 3-D ultrasound photo of a baby 21 weeks after conception—just over halfway through the pregnancy. Modern technology offers a window to the womb that is changing the face of the abortion debate. Story Behind the BookThere have always been likable people who hold to wrong positions on ethical issues—including slavery and anti-Semitism. Sincere people can be wrong and often are. We need a clear presentation of what is true. Randy Alcorn has intervened for the unborn and their mothers—and at great personal cost. In writing this book on one of today’s critical issues, he has endeavored to lay out well-supported facts on why the pro-life position is right and true when it comes to valuing human life.

    Preoccupied with the relationship between faith and reason, he was influenced both by Aristotle's rational world view and by the powerful belief that wisdom and truth can ultimately only be reached through divine revelation. Thomas's writings, which contain highly influential statements of fundamental Christian doctrine, as well as observations on topics as diverse as political science, anti-Semitism and heresy, demonstrate the great range of his intellect and place him firmly among the greatest medieval philosophers.

    Modern evangelicalism is not known for drawing from church history to inform views on the Christian life, which can lead to a me and my Bible approach to theology. But this book aims to show how Protestantism offers the theological depth so many desire without the need for abandoning a distinctly evangelical identity.By focusing on particular doctrines and neglected theologians, this book shows how evangelicals can draw from the past to meet the challenges of the present.

    If, as the apostle Paul says, salvation is by grace and the law cannot save, what relevance does the law have for Christians today?By revisiting the Marrow Controversy—a famous but largely forgotten eighteenth-century debate related to the proper relationship between God's grace and our works—Sinclair B. Ferguson sheds light on this central issue and why it still matters today. In doing so, he explains how our understanding of the relationship between law and gospel determines our approach to evangelism, our pursuit of sanctification, and even our understanding of God himself.Ferguson shows us that the antidote to the poison of legalism on the one hand and antinomianism on the other is one and the same: the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ, in whom we are simultaneously justified by faith, freed for good works, and assured of salvation.