Concise Theology


J.I. Packer - 1993
    Authored by J. I. Packer, one of the premier theologians of Christianity, this summary of Christian teaching covers nearly 100 major Christian beliefs from a Reformed perspective. Brief, easy-to-understand chapters offer precise descriptions without sacrificing depth. Thoughtfully arranged and refreshingly readable, this is a book that belongs on the shelf of every Christian.

Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World


Brian D. McLaren - 2012
    It's the start of one of the most important conversations in today's world. Can you be a committed Christian without having to condemn or convert people of other faiths? Is it possible to affirm other religious traditions without watering down your own? In his most important book yet, widely acclaimed author and speaker Brian McLaren proposes a new faith alternative, one built on "benevolence and solidarity rather than rivalry and hostility." This way of being Christian is strong but doesn't strong-arm anyone, going beyond mere tolerance to vigorous hospitality toward, interest in, and collaboration with the other. Blending history, narrative, and brilliant insight, McLaren shows readers step-by-step how to reclaim this strong-benevolent faith, challenging us to stop creating barriers in the name of God and learn how affirming other religions can strengthen our commitment to our own. And in doing so, he invites Christians to become more Christ-like than ever before.

Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept


James W. Sire - 2004
    Sire has grappled with this issue. In this book he offers readers his most mature thought on the concept of a worldview, addressing such questions asWhat is the history of the concept itself?What is the first question you should ask in formulating a worldview?How are worldviews formed existentially as well as intellectually?Is a worldview primarily an intellectual system, a way of life or a story?What are the public and private dimensions of a worldview?What role can worldview thinking play in assessing your own worldview and those of others, especially in light of the pluralism in today's world?In his widely used textbook The Universe Next Door, first published in 1976, Sire offered a succinct definition of a worldview and catalogued in summary fashion seven basic worldview alternatives. Students, critics, new literature and continued reflection have led him to reexamine and refine his definition of a worldview. This companion volume to The Universe Next Door is the fruit of that effort. Here is an excellent resource for exploring more deeply how and why worldview thinking can aid you in navigating your pluralistic universe.

Is Christianity Good for the World?


Christopher Hitchens - 2008
    The result is entertaining and provocative a glimpse into the ongoing debate."

Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport: Making Connections in Today's World


Richard J. Mouw - 2004
    This incongruous conversation demonstrates how Calvinism is often perceived today: irrelevant, harsh, even disrespectful.Beginning with this movie scene, Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport addresses the weaknesses of Calvinism and points to its strengths. How does Calvinism shed light on today? Instead of reciting the Canons of Dordt, what’s a more compassionate way to relate to nonbelievers? What might it look like to live out the doctrines of TULIP with gentleness and respect? This conversational book provides answers and shatters some stereotypes. Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport encourages you to live every aspect of life—business, family, education, politics, activities, and more—before the face of a generous, sovereign God. Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike will find this an enjoyable read. You will discover that Reformed theology can speak relevantly and compellingly today, both to you and to people in the Las Vegas airport. Does Calvinism Have Anything to Do with the 21st Century?What do you think about Calvinism? Do you view it positively or negatively? Or has its day passed?Let’s face it, many non-Calvinists hold a less-than-positive view, sometimes due to caricatures. This friendly, conversational book helps clear up some misconceptions and distorted views. If you’re not a Calvinist, here is an engaging inside look. And if you are a Calvinist, Richard Mouw shows how to live gently and respectfully with others—Christians and non-Christians—who hold different perspectives.Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport focuses not on what Calvinists believe but on how they live. From a movie scene to the author’s personal experiences in Las Vegas, you are invited to travel with Mouw and see the Reformed faith in a new light. Yes, it still does travel well!

The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian World View


Brian J. Walsh - 1984
    Each is carried on with little regard for Christian concerns. Brian Walsh and Richard Middleton yearn for change. They long to see Christianity penetrate the structures of society, reforming and remolding our culture. From scholarship in the universities to politics, business and family life, the Christian vision can transform our world. To stimulate such change the authors analyze our troubled age, show us how it got that way and suggest a solution. Their clear presentation of a Christian world view forms the basis of their hope.

Against Christianity


Peter J. Leithart - 2003
    But his argument isn't limited to being merely "against." Leithart reveals a much larger vision of Christian society, defined by the stories, symbols, rituals, and rules of a renewed community-the city of God.

God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-Love of God Reorients Our World


David F. Wells - 2014
    What's more, a renewed vision of God's character is the cure for evangelicalism's shallow theology, with its weightless God and sentimental gospel.Written by one of evangelicalism's most insightful minds, this book will help you stand firm in your faith despite the changing winds and raging storms of the modern world.

Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment


Christopher W. Morgan - 2004
    Rarely mentioned anymore in the pulpit, it has faded through disuse among evangelicals and been attacked by liberal theologians. Hell is no longer only the target of those outside the church. Today, a disturbing number of professing Christians question it as well. Perhaps more than at any other time in history, hell is under fire. The implications of the historic view of hell make the popular alternatives, annihilationism and universalism, seem extremely appealing. But the bottom line is still God’s Word. What does the Old Testament reveal about hell? What does Paul the apostle have to say, or the book of Revelation? Most important, what does Jesus, the ultimate expression of God’s love, teach us about God’s wrath?Upholding the authority of Scripture, the different authors in Hell Under Fire explore a complex topic from various angles. R. Albert Mohler Jr. provides a historical, theological, and cultural overview of “The Disappearance of Hell.” Christopher Morgan draws on the New Testament to offer three pictures of hell as punishment, destruction, and banishment. J. I. Packer compares universalism with the traditional understanding of hell, Morgan does the same with annihilationism, and Sinclair Ferguson considers how the reality of hell ought to influence preaching. These examples offer some idea of this volume’s scope and thoroughness.Hell may be under fire, but its own flames cannot be quenched by popular opinion. This book helps us gain a biblical perspective on what hell is and why we cannot afford to ignore it. And it offers us a better understanding of the One who longs for all people to escape judgment and obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ.

3 Theories of Everything


Ellis Potter - 2012
    Situating the reader within his own striking narrative, Potter presents himself simply enough as a young boy with questions. Throughout the book, Potter’s thoughts on these theories are punctuated by personal experiences — an honest approach that moves from one page to the next not un-like a conversation with a friend.And in this conversation, Potter articulates several characteristics of these world-views and the consequences they engender for our perspectives of everyday reality and for the ultimate purpose of our lives. Through the lens of these major views from the East and the West, 3 Theories of Everything effectively wrestles with questions of desire and suffering, examining their implications within each perspective.Potter asks readers to consider which view they would naturally identify themselves with and to think responsibly about why that is. In so doing, Potter both engages the reader with helpful big-picture information and also trusts them to relate it to their own contexts and experience. Based on lectures by the author, 3 Theories of Everything concludes with a large section of questions and answers drawn from live audience discussions that will no doubt leave the reader with a sense of recognition and plenty to think about.

Hoping for Happiness: Turning Life's Most Elusive Feeling into Lasting Reality


Barnabas Piper - 2020
    Some people are thrill-seekers; others are homebodies. Some people are loners; others love big families or communities. Some people express things creatively; others consume what is created. Some sing; others listen to music. Whatever we find happiness in, we are united by our desire for work that matters and relationships that fulfil.As Christians, we often fall into the trap of basing our hopes on earthly things, even when we know they only make us happy for a short time. But how are we to experience happiness in this life? How do we avoid expecting too much of earthly things and being disappointed, or expecting too little and becoming cynics?In this book, recovering cynic Barnabas Piper helps us to throw off both the unrealistic expectations that end in disappointment and the guilty sense that Christians are not meant to have fun. He shows how having a clear view of the reality of the fall and the promise of redemption frees us to live a life that's grounded, hopeful and genuinely happy.

Mere Fundamentalism: The Apostles' Creed and the Romance of Orthodoxy


Douglas Wilson - 2018
    This is the romance of orthodoxy." In this book, Douglas Wilson combines G.K. Chesterton-like prose with the Apostles' Creed, and explains such doctrines as the Trinity, creation, fall, salvation, Scripture, and the church with clarity and imagination. Rather than seeing fundamentalist doctrines as a narrow and confining straightjacket, Wilson sees them as the only way for people to find true freedom and joy.

Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today


John G. Stackhouse Jr. - 2006
    Stackhouse brings his wide experience as a historian, philosopher, journalist, and theologian to these important questions and offers surprising--and reassuring--answers. Stackhouse begins by acknowledging the real impediments to Christian testimony in North America today and to other faiths in modern societies around the world. He shows how pluralism, postmodernism, skepticism, and a host of other factors create a cultural milieu resistant to the Christian message. And he shows how the arrogance or dogmatism of apologists themselves can alienate rather than attract potential converts. Indeed, Stackhouse argues that the crucial experience of conversion cannot be compelled; all the apologist can do is lead another to the point where an actual encounter with Jesus can take place. Finally, he shows how displaying an attitude of humility, instead of merely trying to win religious arguments, will help believers offer their neighbors the gift of Christ's love. Drawing on the author's personal experience and written with an engaging directness and an unassuming nature, Humble Apologetics provides sound guidance on how to share Christian faith in a postmodern world.

When Your World Falls Apart: See Past the Pain of the Present


David Jeremiah - 2004
    He includes inspiring real-life stories of people who have struggled with terminal illness, the loss of a child, or the imprisonment of a spouse. Jeremiah interweaves his own journal entries, revealing his battle with cancer and how the Psalms helped to sustain him during the fight of his life. When Your World Falls Apart is an invaluable source of help and encouragement for people facing major obstacles in life.

The Misunderstood God: The Lies Religion Tells About God


Darin Hufford - 2009
    This book analyzes what religion says about God's heart and personality and measures it up to what God calls Himself: Love. It simplifies a generation's tangled perceptions of God by taking a journey through the sixteen aspects of love described in one of the most well-known Bible passages in the world: 1 Corinthians 13, also known as "the love chapter." So many Christians have been bombarded with confusing teachings and doctrines that their understanding of God resembles a tightly tangled ball of Christmas tree lights. This book takes that twisted mess and replaces it with one soft, warm light of truth that anyone can embrace: God is love.