Book picks similar to
Marsilius of Padua: The Defender of Peace (Torchbooks) by Alan Gewirth
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Return To Rome: Confessions of an Evangelical Catholic
Francis J. Beckwith - 2008
He was baptized a Catholic, but his faith journey led him to Protestant evangelicalism. He became a philosophy professor at Baylor University and president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS). And then, in 2007, after much prayer, counsel, and consideration, Beckwith decided to return to the Catholic church and step down as ETS president.This provocative book details Beckwith's journey, focusing on his internal dialogue between the Protestant theology he embraced for most of his adult life and Catholicism. He seeks to explain what prompted his decision and offers theological reflection on whether one can be evangelical and Catholic, affirming his belief that one can be both. EXCERPTIt's difficult to explain why one moves from one Christian tradition to another. It is like trying to give an account to your friends why you chose to pursue for marriage this woman rather than that one, though both may have a variety of qualities that you found attractive. It seems to me then that any account of my return to the Catholic church, however authentic and compelling it is to me, will appear inadequate to anyone who is absolutely convinced that I was wrong. Conversely, my story will confirm in the minds of many devout Catholics that the supernatural power of the grace I received at baptism and confirmation as a youngster were instrumental in drawing me back to the Mother Church. Given these considerations, I confess that there is an awkwardness in sharing my journey as a published book, knowing that many fellow Christians will scrutinize and examine my reasons in ways that appear to some uncharitable and to others too charitable.
Anarchy and Christianity
Jacques Ellul - 1988
On the one hand, suggests Ellul, anarchists need to understand that much of their criticism of Christianity applies only to the form of religion that developed, not to biblical faith. Christians, on the other hand, need to look at the biblical texts and not reject anarchy as a political option, for it seems closest to biblical thinking. Ellul here defines anarchy as the nonviolent repudiation of authority. He looks at the Bible as the source of anarchy (in the sense of nondomination, not disorder), working through the Old Testament history, Jesus' ministry, and finally the early church's view of power as reflected in the New Testament writings."With the verve and the gift of trenchant simplification to which we have been accustomed, Ellul lays bare the fallacy that Christianity should normally be the ally of civil authority." - John Howard Yoder
Being Consumed: Economics and Christian Desire
William T. Cavanaugh - 2008
Examining pathologies of desire in contemporary "free market" economies, Being Consumed puts forth a positive and inspiring vision of how the body of Christ can engage in economic alternatives. At every turn, Cavanaugh illustrates his theological analysis with concrete examples of Christian economic practices.
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!
Up from Liberalism
William F. Buckley Jr. - 1959
Introduction by Barry Goldwater. [adapted from jacket blurb]
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.
The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin
Idries Shah - 1983
At the same time they are intended to reach other levels.
A Christian Manifesto
Francis A. Schaeffer - 1981
He calls for a massive movement-in government, law, and all of life-to reestablish our Judeo-Christian foundation and turn the tide of moral decadence and loss of freedom.A Christian Manifesto is literally a call for Christians to change the course of history-by returning to biblical Truth and by allowing Christ to be Lord in all of life.
Ideas Have Consequences
Richard M. Weaver - 1948
Weaver unsparingly diagnoses the ills of our age and offers a realistic remedy. He asserts that the world is intelligible and that man is free. The catastrophes of our age are the product of unintelligent choice and the cure lies in man's recognition that ideas--like actions--have consequences. A cure, he submits, is possible. It lies in the right use of man's reason, in the renewed acceptance of an absolute reality, and in the recognition that ideas like actions have consequences.
Aquinas's Shorter Summa: Saint Thomas's Own Concise Version of His Summa Theologica
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas probably the greatest teacher the Church has ever known was asked by his assistant, Brother Reginald, to write a simple summary of the Faith of the Catholic Church for those who lacked the time or the stamina to tackle his massive Summa Theologica.In response, the great saint quickly set down in language that non-scholars can understand his peerless insights into the major topics of theology: the Trinity, Divine Providence, the Incarnation of Christ, the Last Judgment, and much more.Here, then, is not only St. Thomas's concise statement of the key elements of his thought, but a handy reference source for the essential truths of the Catholic Faith.St. Thomas will show you:Why faith is reasonable, not blind Why evil can never be as powerful as goodSolid arguments for Christ's ResurrectionPowerful arguments for God's existenceWhy angels are necessary in creationHow Adam's sin differed from Eve'sWhy Jesus descended into HellWhy we must suffer for Adam's sinWhy the truths that you can know only through Revelation are nevertheless rationalStartling details about God's forgivenessHow a soul's damnation can be compatible with God's goodnessWhat Christians should think about fate and chanceWhat life after resurrection will be likeThree ways in which God is in all thingsEternal life: what it is; how to understand itHow you can know God through reasonWhy God became manWhy God allows evilHow Jesus grew in wisdomHow Christ can have existed for all eternity and yet be God s SonThe Beatific Vision: what it really isWhy God's knowledge of the future doesn't deny man's free willHow the Holy Trinity is three distinct Persons, yet one GodMuch more that will help you know and love God with greater understanding!
If God Then What: Wondering Aloud About Truth, Origins & Redemption
Andrew Wilson - 2012
Andrew Wilson asks nine big questions about truth, origins and redemption, and wonders aloud about the possible answers, representing a new fresh way of communicating the gospel.
A World Without Islam
Graham E. Fuller - 2010
Fuller guides us along an illuminating journey through history, geopolitics, and religion to investigate whether or not Islam is indeed the cause of some of today's most emotional and important international crises. Fuller takes us from the birth of Islam to the fall of Rome to the rise and collapse of the Ottoman Empire. He examines and analyzes the roots of terrorism, the conflict in Israel, and the role of Islam in supporting and energizing the anti-imperial struggle. Provocatively, he finds that contrary to the claims of many politicians, thinkers, theologians, and soldiers, a world without Islam might not look vastly different from what we know today.Filled with fascinating details and counterintuitive conclusions, A WORLD WITHOUT ISLAM is certain to inspire debate and reshape the way we think about Islam's relationship with the West.
An American Gospel: On Family, History, and the Kingdom of God
Erik Reece - 2009
Erik Reece’s grandfather was a Bible-thumping, fire-and-brimstone Baptist preacher. He loved to hunt and fish and explore the Kentucky woods, but for him, existence on this earth was about denying the pleasures of this life in preparation for the next. Erik’s father was a Baptist minister, too. But at the age of thirty-three—not coincidentally, Jesus’ age when he was crucified— Erik’s father violently took his own life, and Erik ended up spending much of his childhood in the care of his grandparents. So, while Erik grew up with a conflicted relationship with Christianity, he also grew up with an acute awareness of a part of the country suffering ongoing economic, environmental, and even spiritual collapse. When he himself neared age thirty-three, he found unexpected comfort and guidance in his intellectual hero Thomas Jefferson’s famous Jefferson Bible, especially when he began to track similarities between it and the Zen-like message of the Gospel of Thomas. Inspired, he undertook what would become a spiritual and literary quest—to identify an “American gospel” coursing through the work of both great and forgotten American geniuses, from William Byrd to Walt Whitman to William James to Lynn Margulis. In synthesizing that gospel—one that prizes the pleasures and glories of this earth—Reece began to find a way to a spiritual and intellectual peace with his own American soul. The result of Reece’s journey is a deeply personal but also deeply thought out, inspiring, and stirring book, delivered almost like a secular sermon, about personal, political, and historical demons—and the geniuses we can and must call on to combat them.
Permission To Believe: Four Rational Approaches to God's Existence
Lawrence Kelemen - 1990
Four Approaches to God's Existence