In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg shows how instead we can freshly appreciate all the essential elements of the Old and New Testaments—from Genesis to Revelation—in a way that can open up a new world of intelligent faith.In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Borg reveals how it is possible to reconcile a scientific and critical way of thinking with our deepest spiritual needs, leading to an insightful experience of ancient text. This unique book invites every reader—whatever his or her religious background—to engage the Bible, to wrestle with its meaning, to explore its mysteries, and to understand its relevance. Reading the Bible Again for the First Time shows us how to encounter the Bible in a fresh, new way that rejects the limits of simple literalism and opens up the rich possibility of living a life of authentic faith.

    We cage them or clip their wings to keep them where we want them. Scot McKnight contends that many, conservatives and liberals alike, attempt the same thing with the Bible. We all try to tame it. McKnight’s The Blue Parakeet has emerged at the perfect time to cool the flames of a world on fire with contention and controversy. It calls Christians to a way to read the Bible that leads beyond old debates and denominational battles. It calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew for a new generation.In his books The Jesus Creed and Embracing Grace, Scot McKnight established himself as one of America’s finest Christian thinkers, an author to be reckoned with. In The Blue Parakeet, McKnight again touches the hearts and minds of today’s Christians, this time challenging them to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic theology but to see it as a Story that we’re summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day. In his own inimitable style, McKnight sets traditional and liberal Christianity on its ear, leaving readers equipped, encouraged, and emboldened to be the people of faith they long to be.

    Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church through prose as accessible and concise as it is personal and engaging. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. Whether the person is Galileo, William F. Buckley, John Bunyan, or Isaac Newton, we are now living in the world that they created and understand both it and ourselves better in the light of their lives. Their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires uniquely illuminate our shared experience.HERO OR HERETIC? GENIUS OR BLASPHEMER?It's no mystery how profound a role Galileo played in the Scientific Revolution. Less explored is the Italian innovator's sincere, guiding faith in God. In this exhaustively researched biography that reads like a page-turning novel, Mitch Stokes draws on his expertise in philosophy, logic, math, and science to attune modern ears with Galileo's controversial genius.Emerging from the same Florentine milieu that produced Dante, da Vinci, Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Amerigo Vespuci, Galileo questioned with a persistence that spurred his world toward an unabating era of discovery. Stokes confronts the myth that Galileo's stance on heliocentricity stood astride a church vs. science divide and explores his calculations for the dimensions of Dante's hell, his understanding of motion, and his invention of the pendulum clock.To read this volume is to journey through Galileo's remarkable life: from his inquisitive childhood to his dying days, when, although blind and decrepit, he soldiered on, dictating mathematical thoughts and mentoring young proteges.

    It is not, however, out of reach. The ability to identify the main themes of any passage is a skill you can learn, even as you seek to apply its truth to your own life. Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible guides you on a Scriptural quest for knowledge and understanding. Stories and verse from the Old and New Testaments are woven together and cross-referenced, until the connections are clear and indisputable, like DNA from the Bible. Although the great Biblical themes of Covenant and Kingdom find their fullest expression in Jesus, Covenant goes all the way back to the beginning, when the only thing required was to maintain the "oneness" that God had created. After the Fall, the way was blocked; yet, God built a bridge, in Covenant, back to us. In Jesus, that Covenant was fulfilled, as on the cross, he offered himself as the ultimate blood sacrifice. The Bible is about God, our Father, inviting us to know him in a very real and personal way.Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible provides guidance to the path of understanding that it will take to develop, to the fullest, your own individual relationship with God.

    Those who perserved the ancient tradition rejected the second temple, and longed for the restoration of the original, true temple and the faith of Abraham and Melchizedek, the first priest-king. In this fascinating discussion, the author refutes the scholarly assumption that crucial Christian concepts, such as the Trinty, the earth as a reflection of heaven, and the cosmic nature of the atonement, are informed by Greek culture. Rather, she argues, they are drawn from the eclipsed faith of the first temple. '[Margaret Barker's] interpretation of temple theology should not be ignored by anyone in Judaism and the origins of Christian faith.' John McDade, Principal of Heythrop College, University of London.

    Book Specs Paper BackPublisher: Review & Herald Publishing AssociationPages: 107 Table of Contents

    Join Dr. Bryan Litfin as he guides you through Scripture and other ancient literature to sift fact from fiction, real-life from legend. Skillfully researched and clearly written, After Acts is as accurate as it is engaging. Gain a window into the religious milieu of the ancient and medieval church. Unearth artifacts and burial sites. Learn what really happened to your favorite characters and what you should truly remember them for.Did Paul ever make it to Spain' Was he beheaded in Rome'Is it true that Peter was crucified upside down'Was the Virgin Mary really bodily assumed into heaven'The book of Acts ends at chapter 28. But its characters lived on.

    Throughout the Gospels, Christ employed humor for the sake of truth and many of his teachings, when seen in this light, become brilliantly clear for the first time. Irony, satire, paradox, even laughter itself help clarify Christ's famous parables, His brief sayings, and important events in His life. In a valuable appendix 30 humorous Gospel passages are listed for further study.

    Pitre takes readers step-by-step from the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation to reveal how deeply biblical Catholic beliefs about Mary really are. Dr. Pitre uses the Old Testament and Ancient Judaism to unlock how the Bible itself teaches that Mary is in fact the new Eve, the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, and the new Ark of the Covenant.

    Living in light of our death reorients us to our limitations as creatures and helps us see God’s good gifts right in front of us—enabling us to live wisely, freely, and generously. Drawing on wisdom from the book of Ecclesiastes, David Gibson teaches us to embrace this countercultural mind-set and live life backward: to take the one thing in the future that is certain—our death—and work backward when it comes to our priorities, goals, desires, and decisions. If we do this, we'll learn that only with a proper perspective on death can we find meaning and satisfaction in life—and see just how great God is.

    Can we trust the Bible completely? Is it sufficient for our complicated lives? Can we really know what it teaches? And isn't it more important to focus on Jesus instead of the Bible?With his characteristic wit and clarity, Kevin DeYoung has written an accessible introduction to the Bible that answers important questions raised by Christians and non-Christians alike. This book will help readers understand what the Bible says about itself and the key characteristics that contribute to its lasting significance. Avoiding technical jargon, this winsome volume will encourage men and women to read and believe the Bible--confident that it truly is God's word.Free Study Guide by Pat Quinn.

    For Philip the holy trinity includes the feminine presence. God is the Father, the Holy Ghost is the Mother, and Jesus is the Son. Neither man nor woman alone is created in the image of God. It is only in their relationship with one another--the sacred embrace in which they share the divine breath--that they resemble God. The Gospel of Philip is best known for its portrayal of the physical relationship shared by Jesus and his most beloved disciple, Mary of Magdala. Because it ran counter to the direction of the Church, which condemned the “works of the flesh,” Philip’s gospel was suppressed and lost until rediscovered at Nag Hammadi in 1947. Orthodox theologian Jean-Yves Leloup’s translation from the Coptic and his analysis of this gospel are presented here for the first time in English. What emerges from this important source text is a restoration of the sacred initiatic union between the male and female principles that was once at the heart of Christianity’s sacred mystery.

    In Romans, Paul wants us to understand and then experience this righteousness to know its glorious release." Join Dr Timothy Keller as he opens up the first half of the book of Romans, helping you to get to grips with its meaning and showing how it transforms our hearts and lives today.Written for people of every age and stage, from enquirers to new believers to pastors and teachers, this flexible resource is for you to:READ: As a guide to this letter which has changed history repeatedly, showing you how being right with God changes everything.FEED: As a daily devotional to help you grow in Christ as you read and meditate on this portion of God's word.LEAD: As notes to aid you in explaining, illustrating and applying Romans 1 7 as you preach or lead a Bible study.Whoever you are, and however you use it, this is ROMANS

    Unbelievers denounce it as backward, narrow-minded, and intolerant, and even some professing Christians deny its truth to gain approval from the culture. With each assault, we hear echoes of the serpent’s question in the garden of Eden: “Did God really say?” Unfortunately, many believers don’t know how to answer these challenges and find their confidence in God’s Word shaken.In Final Word: Why We Need the Bible, Dr. John MacArthur defends the trustworthiness of Scripture, with the goal of equipping the church to stand firm for the truth even when others abandon it. Only when God’s people recognize the Bible for what it is—God’s inerrant, authoritative Word—will they be able to fulfill their calling and carry the message of God’s salvation to the world.

    . ." So begins the first book in the Book of Mormon, as the prophet Nephi brings us through the wilderness to a promised land where his family fractures rather than flourishes. But in spite of that tragedy, Nephi points us to the hope he found in his father's inspired dream for the future. Driven by his father's fears and faith, he sought and received his own revelations about how his people might someday find redemption and might ultimately help bring about the redemption of Israel and the entire human family.In this brief theological introduction, philosopher and theologian Joseph M. Spencer investigates the central themes and purposes of a book he calls a "theological masterpiece." What was Nephi trying to accomplish with his writings? How can readers today make better sense of Nephi's words? What can an ancient seer offer readers in the twenty-first century?