Christians need to remember what these great early heresies were and why they were ruled out, or else risk falling prey to their modern day manifestations. The book contains key scriptural passages relevant to each heresy, a glossary of terms, and summaries of historical Church documents in which these heresies were defined and outlawed.

    The Holy Spirit is not just about speaking in tongues, spiritual gifts or “fruits”—but also about our deepest breath and our highest human aspirations. Popular teacher Jack Levison brings a scholar’s knowledge of this complicated biblical topic to a wide audience that crosses all denominational boundaries. His new book aims to do nothing less than clarify 2,000 years of confusion on the topic of who the Holy Spirit is, and why it matters. Provocative and life-changing, Fresh Air combines moving personal anecdotes, rich biblical studies, and practical strategies for experiencing the daily presence of the Holy Spirit. In brief chapters, the book finds the presence of the Holy Spirit where we least expect it—in human breathing, in social transformation, in community, in hostile situations, and in serious learning. Fresh Air will unsettle and invigorate readers poised for a fresh experience of an ancient, confusing topic.

    Here is the Creator who nearly destroys his chief creation; the bloodthirsty warrior and the protector of the downtrodden; the lawless law-giver; the scourge and the penitent. Profoundly learned, stylishly written, the resulting work illuminates God and man alike and returns us to the Bible with a sense of discovery and wonder.

    A spiritual history ranging from the first English settlements to the present day, the book is also a lively, deeply learned meditation on hope.Andrew Delbanco tells of the stringent God of Protestant Christianity, who exerted immense force over the language, institutions, and customs of the culture for nearly 200 years. He describes the falling away of this God and the rise of the idea of a sacred nation-state. And, finally, he speaks of our own moment, when symbols of nationalism are in decline, leaving us with nothing to satisfy the longing for transcendence once sustained by God and nation.From the Christian story that expressed the earliest Puritan yearnings to New Age spirituality, apocalyptic environmentalism, and the multicultural search for ancestral roots that divert our own, The Real American Dream evokes the tidal rhythm of American history. It shows how Americans have organized their days and ordered their lives--and ultimately created a culture--to make sense of the pain, desire, pleasure, and fear that are the stuff of human experience. In a time of cultural crisis, when the old stories seem to be faltering, this book offers a lesson in the painstaking remaking of the American dream.

    Why is Christ called the “Son of God”? Discover an answer so simple you’ll wonder why you never saw it before, and so beautiful it’ll take your breath away.

     Clergy and other professional religious caregivers routinely find that parishioners and clients expect from them a superhuman level of empathy and love?a level that embodies God's love. Many of these caregivers expect no less of themselves. This myth of perfection often leads to burnout in caregivers, who then run the risk of damaging themselves and others. Minister and counselor Edward P. Wimberly crafts a powerful and innovative path to renewal based on his popular workshops and retreats. He guides religious professionals?trained to attend to the stories of others?to reexamine the personal and professional stories that shape their own lives as individuals, family members, and ministers. Recalling Our Own Stories, a spiritual renewal retreat in book form, guides religious professionals in reconnecting with their original calling. Most important, it offers readers ways to reauthor their personal mythologies, giving them renewed vigor in ministry and caregiving. Wimberly shares the varied life stories of caregivers of diverse cultural backgrounds while walking readers through the process of revisiting their lives, recognizing unrealistic expectations, and transforming wounded beliefs into sources of compassion, strength, and renewal.

    But Robert Morris reveals why it is so important not to stop—to never give up. This book provides hope and evidence for readers that God does hear their prayers, cares about them personally, and intervenes in their lives in ways beyond their imaginations. Bestselling author Robert Morris brings encouragement and compelling biblical teaching on the topic of prayer. Reverend Morris is the senior pastor at Gateway Church, which has a congregation of more than 36,000 people.

    Drawing together history and readings from scripture, Wills explains the beads on the rosary and the moments in Christ's life they represent, illustrating each mystery with a stunning Tintoretto painting. The result is an illuminating and poignant exploration of the power of prayer that will edify and inspire readers.

    Starting with this frank assessment of the current church, Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch present an alternative model for

    Smith has pointed the academic study of religion in a new theoretical direction, one neither theological nor willfully ideological. Making use of examples as apparently diverse and exotic as the Maori cults in nineteenth-century New Zealand and the events of Jonestown, Smith shows that religion must be construed as conventional, anthropological, historical, and as an exercise of imagination. In his analyses, religion emerges as the product of historically and geographically situated human ingenuity, cognition, and curiosity—simply put, as the result of human labor, one of the decisive but wholly ordinary ways human beings create the worlds in which they live and make sense of them. "These seven essays . . . display the critical intelligence, creativity, and sheer common sense that make Smith one of the most methodologically sophisticated and suggestive historians of religion writing today. . . . Smith scrutinizes the fundamental problems of taxonomy and comparison in religious studies, suggestively redescribes such basic categories as canon and ritual, and shows how frequently studied myths may more likely reflect situational incongruities than vaunted mimetic congruities. His final essay, on Jonestown, demonstrates the interpretive power of the historian of religion to render intelligible that in our own day which seems most bizarre."—Richard S. Sarason, Religious Studies Review

    This work carefully displays John Wesley's eighteenth century theology in its own distinct historical and social location, but then transitions to the twenty-first century through the introduction of contemporary issues. So conceived, the book is both historical and constructive demonstrating that the theology of Wesley represents a vibrant tradition. Cognizant of Wesley's own preferred vocabulary, Collins introduces Wesley's theological method beginning with a discussion of the doctrine of God. In this insightful exposition the leitmotif of holy love arises out of Wesley's reflection on the nature of the divine being as well as other major doctrines. (Douglas Meeks)

    It is Lonergan's answer to those who would argue that in this time of cultural change and dissolution the believer is afloat on a sea of multiplying theologies, without rudder or compass. Lonergan was resolute in his refusal to be defeatist on this point. While agreeing that theology must continually change to mediate between religion and culture, he worked out an integral method to guide and control this ongoing process.This is a reprint of the 1973 edition. A new annotated edition of Method in Theology will be published eventually as a part of the Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan.Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984), a professor of theology, taught at Regis College, Harvard University, and Boston College. An established author known for his Insight and Method in Theology, Lonergan received numerous honorary doctorates, was a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1971 and was named as an original members of the International Theological Commission by Pope Paul VI.

    . . intellectual and religious history of late medieval and Reformation Europe.”—Christianity Today"A learned, humane, and expressive book."—Gerald Strauss, Renaissance Quarterly The seeds of the swift and sweeping religious movement that reshaped European thought in the 1500s were sown in the late Middle Ages. In this book, Steven Ozment traces the growth and dissemination of dissenting intellectual trends through three centuries to their explosive burgeoning in the Reformations—both Protestant and Catholic—of the sixteenth century. He elucidates with great clarity the complex philosophical and theological issues that inspired antagonistic schools, traditions, and movements from Aquinas to Calvin. This masterly synthesis of the intellectual and religious history of the period illuminates the impact of late medieval ideas on early modern society.

    The Bible identifies this personality as the Antichrist. But now things were making sense to Thomas world affairs, changes to U.S. domestic and foreign policy, a renewed focus on the Middle East, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Babylon and he found it astonishing. The words, deeds, gestures and coded language of the worlds most powerful men were clearly pointing to an ancient, prophetic, cryptic and even terrifying reality. What even the best researchers of the Illuminati and veiled fraternities such as the Freemasons were never able to fully decipher is spelled out herein for the first time. The power at work behind global affairs and why current planetary powers are hurriedly aligning for a New Order from Chaos is exposed. Perhaps most incredibly, one learns how ancient prophets actually foresaw and forewarned of this time. Thomas believes this New World Order is very near.

    His insights into the human condition are possibly the most profound to come from the Holocaust In Messengers of G-d, Wiesel takes classic characters using classic midrash and make them utterly modern. This book might be a surprise to those familiar with Wiesel only through his Holocaust texts, but it should also be a pleasant surprise. From Adam to Yitchak to Job, Biblical characters are infused with a universality largely forgotten by modern commentators. While this is essentially a Jewish book, it should be enjoyable to anyone who's wanted to study either Classic or Biblical texts. (Amazon customer)