Through these works and those of other early Christian thinkers, this book surveys the development of early church theology. Long recognized for the quality of its translations, introductions, explanatory notes, and indexes, the Library of Christian Classics provides scholars and students with modern English translations of some of the most significant Christian theological texts in history. Through these works--each written prior to the end of the sixteenth century--contemporary readers are able to engage the ideas that have shaped Christian theology and the church through the centuries.

    Written by award-winning teacher and writer, Kate Hopper, this book will help women find the heart of their writing, learn to use motherhood as a lens through which to write the world, and turn their motherhood stories into art. Each chapter of Use Your Words focuses on an element of craft and contains a lecture, a published essay, and writing exercises that will serve as jumping-off points for the readers' own writing. Chapter topics include: the importance of using concrete details, an overview of creative nonfiction as a genre, character development, voice, humor, tense and writing the "hard stuff," reflection and back-story, structure, revision, and publishing. The content of each lecture is aligned with the essay/poem in that chapter to help readers more easily grasp the elements of craft being discussed. Together the chapters provide a unique opportunity for mother writers to learn and grow as writers. Use Your Words takes the approach that creative writing can be taught, and this underscores each chapter. When students learn to read like writers, to notice how a piece is put together, and to question the choices a writer makes, they begin to think like writers. When they learn to ground their writing in concrete, sensory details and begin to understand how to create believable characters and realistic dialogue, their own writing improves. Use Your Words reflects Kate's style as a teacher, guiding the reader in a straightforward, nurturing, and passionate voice. As one student noted in a class evaluation: "Kate is a born writer and teacher, and her enthusiasm for essays about motherhood and for teaching the nuts and bolts of writing so that ordinary mothers have the tools to write their stories is a gift to the world. She is raising the value of motherhood in our society as she helps mothers build their confidence and strengthen their game as writers."

    According to Ehrman, though, this is not what the earliest disciples believed, nor what Jesus claimed about himself.The first response book to this latest challenge to Christianity from Ehrman, How God Became Jesus features the work of five internationally recognized biblical scholars. While subjecting his claims to critical scrutiny, they offer a better, historically informed account of why the Galilean preacher from Nazareth came to be hailed as 'the Lord Jesus Christ.' Namely, they contend, the exalted place of Jesus in belief and worship is clearly evident in the earliest Christian sources, shortly following his death, and was not simply the invention of the church centuries later.

    The historical breadth of Boswell's research (from the Greeks to Aquinas) and the variety of sources consulted (legal, literary, theological, artistic, and scientific) make this one of the most extensive treatments of any single aspect of Western social history. The product of ten years of research and analysis of records in a dozen languages, this book opens up a new area of historical inquiry and helps elucidate the origins and operations of intolerance as a social force.

    Believer's can reach out in faith, take back what belongs to them and begin to live in success, happiness, and liberty.

    In the silence of the church, they are left to sort through harrowing experiences like sexual abuse, exposure to porn, raging temptation, homosexual thoughts, and betrayal in marriage-all on their own.Having nowhere to go to ask the hard questions about sexuality can be spiritually dangerous. Women need the truth.In 25 Questions You're Afraid to Ask About Love, Sex, and Intimacy, Dr. Juli Slattery addresses some of the most common questions women have on sexuality from a biblical perspective, such as:What if I don't like sex?If I'm single, how far is too far?Is ______ok in the bedroom?How do I get past my shame?What if I want sex more than my husband does?These are the type of questions that thousands of women have been asking Dr. Slattery. She answers them with rare candor, grace, and wisdom.We desperately need God's perspective on sexuality. And fortunately, the Bible has a lot to say on the topic. Some of it might surprise you.

    Acts 17:6 That was the startled cry, circa 50 AD, from a hastily assembled mob in Thessalonica. Paul and Silas had been arrested for preaching the gospel. They were viewed as revolutionaries, dangerous men who were upsetting the status quo and inciting riots. But they were just two ordinary men, walking in the power of God, sharing a simple message of his love and grace. It s been a while since we ve seen the likes of this. If you ever find church boring or you believe something is missing from our churches today, you aren t alone. Mark Buchanan believes there is a visible gap between the life Jesus offered to us and the life we re living, between the church Jesus envisioned and the church we see today. When Jesus announced that the Kingdom was at hand, this can t be what he meant. Instead of counting everything loss to be found in Christ, we ve made it our priority to be safe instead of dangerous, nice instead of holy. Author and pastor Mark Buchanan believes that we need to recover a simple idea: that God meant his church to be both good news and bad news, an aroma and a stench a disruptive force to whoever or whatever opposes the Kingdom of God and a healing, liberating power to those who seek it."

    Worship consciously regulated by God's Word is a distinct characteristic of the Reformed church. Yet today many churches do not understand that both the Old and New Testaments have much to say about appropriate worship before God. Ligon Duncan lays the foundations of the regulative principle in worship, providing full biblical support as well as historical context. He also answers objections: Is this "right worship" essentially European? Is it flexible to different churches and contexts? Is it really still applicable today?

    From a life of luxury in the opulent city of Dubai to promised ruination, Jaubert tells a tale of espionage and escape that rivals any best selling novel on the market. Immersed in a luxury submarine business, Jaubert was hired as CEO by Dubai World to develop and design miniature subs for the wealthy. Once problems developed within the business, Herve Jaubert became the scapegoat of government officials and found himself ensnared in a web of police threats, extortion, human rights abuses and coercion. With no chance to make it through their biased legal system, Jaubert planned the escape of his life.

    Stories from the colonial era will both entertain and enthral readers. The author is very well-known in the Himachal as a prolific and an entertaining writer. About the Book: More Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills A collection of sixteen stories about the supernatural, originating from Shimla folklore and the days of the Raj. The haunted foothills of Himalayas present the perfect setting for the dark and sinister world of phantoms and apparitions. Many spirits wander about these hills-the English nurse, the theatre manager, the English lord and his sister, even a family of local ghosts Many of these are real encounters narrated by the inhabitants. With thrilling twists and turns, each story recreates the horror of the victims and the fear of the unknown. Get ready to be spooked! About the Author: Minakshi Chaudhry Minakshi Chaudhry, an author and former journalist, lives in Shimla with her husband. She is a keen observer of people, cultures, lifestyles, and loves trekking and travelling. Minakshi has authored several books-Sunshine: My Encounter with Cancer, Love Stories of Shimla Hills, Whispering Deodars: Writings from Shimla Hills, Destination Himachal: 132 Offbeat and 12 Popular Getaways, Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills, 65 Treks and Over 100 Destinations: A Guide to Trekking in Himachal, and Exploring Pangi Himalaya: A World Beyond Civilization. She is currently working on her next book and can be contacted at minakshi_kanwar@yahoo.com

    Designed for study in the weeks of Lent leading up to Easter, Dethroning Mammon reflects on the impact of our own attitudes, and of the pressures that surround us, on how we handle the power of money, called Mammon in this book. Who will be on the throne of our lives? Who will direct our actions and attitudes? Is it Jesus Christ, who brings truth, hope and freedom? Or is it Mammon, so attractive, so clear, but leading us into paths that tangle, trip and deceive?Archbishop Justin explores the tensions that arise in a society dominated by Mammon's modern aliases, economics and finance, and by the pressures of our culture to conform to Mammon's expectations. Following the Gospels towards Easter, this book asks the reader what it means to dethrone Mammon in the values and priorities of our civilisation and in our own existence. In Dethroning Mammon, Archbishop Justin encourages us to use Lent as a time of learning to trust in the abundance and grace of God.

    Philip Jenkins has chronicled how the next Christendom has shifted away from the Western church toward the global South and East. Likewise, changing demographics mean that North American society will accelerate its diversity in terms of race, ethnicity and culture. But evangelicalism has long been held captive by its predominantly white cultural identity and history. In this book professor and pastor Soong-Chan Rah calls the North American church to escape its captivity to Western cultural trappings and to embrace a new evangelicalism that is diverse and multiethnic. Rah brings keen analysis to the limitations of American Christianity and shows how captivity to Western individualism and materialism has played itself out in megachurches and emergent churches alike. Many white churches are in crisis and ill-equipped to minister to new cultural realities, but immigrant, ethnic and multiethnic churches are succeeding and flourishing. This prophetic report casts a vision for a dynamic evangelicalism that fully embodies the cultural realities of the twenty-first century. Spiritual renewal is happening within the North American church, from corners and margins not always noticed by those in the center. Come, discover the vitality of the next evangelicalism.

    This book makes the full range of his thought available for the first time to scholars and students of world mission, theology, and church history.

     The impact of Christianity on world civilization is almost incalculable, and in exploring this rich heritage, nineteen leading scholars range from the earliest origins to the present day to examine virtually every aspect of the faith. They discuss the apostle Peter and Roman Emperor Constantine, describe the role of Charlemagne in the expansion of the religion, and assess medieval scholasticism and the influence of Thomas Aquinas. The profound changes that occurred during both the Reformation and the Enlightenment are fully treated in chapters that offer revealing portraits of such key figures as Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and Rousseau. Fully one third of the book covers Christianity since 1800--with special studies of the faith as practiced in Britain and Europe, North and South America, Africa, India, and the Far East--offering a compelling continuous narrative filled with insight into the enormously diverse Christian world. In the final chapters, the authors consider questions of contemporary Christian theology, conscience and belief, and explore new concepts of Christian community. Over 350 beautiful illustrations--including 32 full color plates--grace the text, ranging from mosaics, paintings and sculptures, to architecture and modern art. There are also ten maps, a chronology of important events, and an annotated guide to further reading. Throughout, the book reflects the changing world in which Christians have found themselves, and the many ways in which, individually and through the institutions of the church, they in turn have influenced history. Comprehensive, vividly narrated, and exquisitely produced, this magnificent book captures the richness and vitality of Christian thought and culture throughout the ages.