Book picks similar to
A New Science: The Discovery of Religion in the Age of Reason by Guy G. Stroumsa
religion
history
european-history
non-fiction
D.L. Moody - A Life: Innovator, Evangelist, World Changer
Kevin Belmonte - 2014
L. Moody was also a renowned evangelist in the nineteenth century. Long before radio and television, he brought the transformative message of the gospel before 100 million people on both sides of the Atlantic. Thousands of underprivileged young people were educated in the schools he established, and before the Civil War, he went to a place no one else would: the slums of Chicago called, "Little Hell." The mission he started in an abandoned saloon drew children by the hundreds and prompted a visit from President-elect, Abraham Lincoln, in 1860.Drawing on the best, most recent scholarship, D. L. Moody—A Life chronicles the incredible journey of one of the great souls of history.
The Proper Study of Mankind
Isaiah Berlin - 1997
The Proper Study of Mankind brings together his most celebrated writing: here the reader will find Berlin's famous essay on Tolstoy, The Hedgehog and the Fox; his penetrating portraits of contemporaries from Pasternak and Akhmatova to Churchill and Roosevelt; his essays on liberty and his exposition of pluralism; his defense of philosophy and history against assimilation to scientific method; and his brilliant studies of such intellectual originals as Machiavelli, Vico, and Herder.
The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
A.J. Jacobs - 2007
Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes.Jacobs's quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire "Encyclopedia Britannica" for "The Know-It-All." His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife's chagrin.Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain.Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, "The Year of Living Biblically" is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.
Faith and Rationality: Reason and Belief in God
Alvin Plantinga - 1983
Faith and Rationality investigates the rich implications of what the contributors call "Calvinistic" or "Reformed epistemology." This is the view of knowledge--enunciated by Calvin, further developed by Barth--that sees belief in God as its own foundation; in the contributors' terms, it is properly "basic" in itself.
The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace
John Paul Lederach - 2004
As founding Director of the Conflict Transformation Program and Institute of Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, he has provided consultation and direct mediation in a range of situations from the Miskito/Sandinista conflict in Nicaragua to Somalia, Northern Ireland, the Basque Country, and the Philippines. His influential 1997 book Building Peace has become a classic in the discipline. This new book represents his thinking and learning over the past several years. He explores the evolution of his understanding of peacebuilding by reflecting on his own experiences in the field. Peacebuilding, in his view, is both a learned skill and an art. Finding this art, he says, requires a worldview shift. Conflict professionals must envision their work as a creative act - an exercise of what Lederach terms the moral imagination.
Life in a Tank
Richard Haigh - 1918
But the wonderful development, however, in a few months, of a large, heterogeneous collection of men into a solid, keen, self-sacrificing unit, was but another instance of the way in which war improves the character and temperament of man. It was entirely new for men who were formerly in a regiment, full of traditions, to find themselves in the[...].
A Place Called Heaven: 10 Surprising Truths about Your Eternal Home
Robert Jeffress - 2017
As Christians, we know some day we will leave our familiar country and be united with God in heaven. And yet many of us know very little about this place called heaven. In this enlightening book, bestselling author Dr. Robert Jeffress opens the Scriptures to unpack ten surprising truths about heaven and explain who we will see there and how we can prepare to go there someday. Perfect for believers or skeptics who are curious about heaven.
China and the Chinese
Herbert Allen Giles - 1902
You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
The Enlightenment: A Brief History with Documents
Margaret C. Jacob - 2000
Selections by some of the period’s most important thinkers include pieces by Locke, Rousseau, Mary Wortley Montagu, Denis Diderot, and Moses Mendelssohn. She covers the movement’s lengthy evolution in a comprehensive introduction, which establishes the issues central to understanding the documents and provides important background on the political and social debates of the period. All documents are preceded by headnotes, and the volume includes a chronology, 14 illustrations, a bibliography, and an index.
The Protestant Reformation
Hans J. Hillerbrand - 1968
It remains a major resource for teachers, students and history buffs alike. Over the decades, however, modern scholarship has shed new light on this tumultuous period, raising probing questions and providing new connections that have radically changed our understanding and outlook. With this newly revised and updated edition of this essential work--now including texts written by women as well as entries dealing with popular religion--modern viewpoints are cogently addressed, while the scholarly integrity that has made this book a revered classic has been scrupulously maintained. Throughout, Hans J. Hillerbrand's basic assumption remains consistent: religion, no matter how dependent on societal forces, must be seen as the pivotal element in the story of the sixteenth century.
The Twilight of the American Enlightenment: The 1950s and the Crisis of Liberal Belief
George M. Marsden - 2014
The forces of modernity unleashed by the war had led to astonishing advances in daily life, but technology and mass culture also threatened to erode the country’s traditional moral character. As award-winning historian George M. Marsden explains in The Twilight of the American Enlightenment, postwar Americans looked to the country’s secular, liberal elites for guidance in this precarious time, but these intellectuals proved unable to articulate a coherent common cause by which America could chart its course. Their failure lost them the faith of their constituents, paving the way for a Christian revival that offered America a firm new moral vision—one rooted in the Protestant values of the founders.
Preparing Expository Sermons: A Seven-Step Method for Biblical Preaching
Ramesh Richard - 2001
Sermons are what we make with what God has made." This is the foundation for developing expository messages, according to Ramesh Richard. His method, explained in Preparing Expository Sermons, has been field-tested in training seminars for thousands of preachers around the world.Richard's book is a simple do-it-yourself resource for developing and preaching expository sermons. It guides the reader through a seven-step process, with many practical suggestions and illustrative charts along the way. In addition, there are eleven appendixes that include information on: o how to choose a texto preaching narrativeso understanding your audienceo forms of sermon introductionA comprehensive sermon evaluation questionnaire is included as well.Preparing Expository Sermons, an updated and expanded version of Scripture Sculpture, is ideal for beginning preachers, lay preachers without formal training, or any pastor who is looking for a refresher course in expository sermon preparation.
Philosophy of Religion: Thinking about Faith
C. Stephen Evans - 1985
C. Stephen Evans wrestles with these issues, looking at the classical arguments for God's existence and examining the contemporary challenges to theism from sociology, psychology and philosophy. He investigates the meaning and significance of personal religious experience, revelation and miracles, and looks at how religious pluralism relates to individual commitment.
Speaking to Teenagers: How to Think About, Create, and Deliver Effective Messages
Doug Fields - 2007
More than just a book on how to ³do talks,² Speaking to Teenagers combines the experience and wisdom of two veteran youth ministry speakers, along with insightful research and practical tools, to help you develop messages that engage students with the love of Christ and the power of his Word. Whether you¹re crafting a five-minute devotional or a 30-minute sermon, Speaking to Teenagers is essential to understanding and preparing great messages. Together, Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins show you how they craft their own messages and give you the tools to do it yourself. They¹ll guide you, step-by-step, through the process of preparing and delivering meaningful messages that effectively communicate to your students. Fields and Robbins walk you through three dimensions of a message‹the speaker, the listener, and the message itself‹and introduce you to the concept and principles of inductive communication. You¹ll also get helpful tips on finding illustrations for your talk and using them for maximum impact, as well as insights on reading your audience and effective body language. As Speaking to Teenagers guides you toward becoming a more effective communicator, you¹ll find that this book¹s practical principles will positively impact the way you view, treat, and communicate to teenagers.
Millennium: From Religion to Revolution: How Civilization Has Changed Over a Thousand Years
Ian Mortimer - 2016
It is a journey into a past vividly brought to life and bursting with ideas, that pits one century against another in his quest to measure which century saw the greatest change.We journey from a time when there was a fair chance of your village being burned to the ground by invaders — and dried human dung was a recommended cure for cancer — to a world in which explorers sailed into the unknown and civilizations came into conflict with each other on an epic scale. Here is a story of godly scientists, fearless adventurers, cold-hearted entrepreneurs, and strong-minded women — a story of discovery, invention, revolution, and cataclysmic shifts in perspective.Millennium is a journey into the past like no other. Our understanding of human development will never be the same again, and the lessons we learn along the way are profound ones for us all.