Outline: This book examines Christian ethnographic writing about the Jews in early modern Europe, offering a systematic historical analysis of this literary genre and arguing its importance for understanding both the period in general and Jewish-Christian relations in particular. The book focuses on nearly 80 texts from Western Europe (mostly German) that describe the customs and ceremonies of …
Outline: Home Grown Leaders aims at providing an approach for the development of Christian leaders whether they be small group leaders, supervisors of multiple small groups or pastors. It relies on both a biblical foundation and contemporary leadership theory. It seeks to introduce both well-informed lay leaders as well as pastors to the process of developing Christian leaders in context. The b…
Outline: Make your teaching matter! For every parent, teacher, pastor, leader, coach, and mentor. Whether you are an "official" instructor or one who shares wisdom and knowledge off-the-cuff, make the most of your opportunities to inspire, to instruct, and to positively and permanently impact others with Teaching to Change Lives. This now-classic volume, written by one of the most effective and…
Outline: Division. Polarization. Strife. That's life-as-usual in today's world. But it shouldn't describe the church. It's time for Christians to listen, reach out, and work together for the common good. But how can God's people achieve true unity in a fallen world? What sort of cooperation is actually possible? Luder Whitlock has an answer - a good one - and an appeal. He shows how we can lear…
Outline: Theodicy attempts to resolve how a good God and an evil world can coexist. The neo-atheist side of this debate has dominated twenty-first-century bestseller lists with books like The God Delusion, God Is Not Great, and The End of Faith. Their popularity illuminates a changing mental environment in which people are asking harder questions about divine goodness. Suprisingly, these books …
Outline: The Explorations in Biblical Theology series addresses the need fro quality literature that attracts believing readers to good theology and builds them up in their faith. Each title in the series combines solid content with accessibility and readability - a valuable addition to the library of any college student, thoughtful lay reader, seminarian, or pastor. The doctrine of justication…
Outline: Appropriate Christianity consists of 28 chapters by 18 authors approaching contextualization in three dimensions: truth, allegiance and spiritual power. Over the years, there have been quite a number of helpful discussions of the contextualization of theological truth. Though we have been helped greatly by them, it is high time we began to deal also with allegiance and spiritual power,…
Outline: Technology shapes us, But how do we shape a digital world? As an electrical engineer, Derek Schuurman wondered, what do bits and bytes have to do with Christian beliefs? Sitting in a cubicle farm in the high technology industry, he had difficulty understanding what his work had to do with the kingdom of God. In a concise and accessible style, Schuurman explores a wide range of topics f…
Outline: Peacemaker Ministries President Ken Sande gives practical Biblical guidance for conflict resolution that takes you beyond resolving conflicts to true, life-changing reconciliation with family, cowokers, and fellow believers.
Outline: Few Christians can agree on how believers should interact with the culture at large. Should they embrace it wholeheartedly? Reject it altogether? Form a subculture? Or pursue a more excellent way? These are but a few positions or approaches that believers have taken toward the world. In fact, T. M. Moore catalogs a total of six responses to culture and advocates for Christian unity in …
Outline: Richard W. Bulliet looks beyond rhetoric to challenge prevailing - and misleading - views of Islamic history and the idea of a "clash of civilizations." Offering a fresh perspective on the shared histories of Islamic and Christian societies. Bulliet provides the intellectual groundwork upon which to build a better understanding between the West and the Muslim world. Throughout their e…
Outline: In recent decades, a "certainty trap" has sprung up within both Islam and Christianity, resulting in a world struggling with the fallout from extremist and violent interpretations of what "the word of God" might mean. The Certainty Trap asks whether Christians and Muslims - equally - can any longer afford the luxury of fundamentalism. Musk looks at the phenomenon of fundamentalism in C…
Outline: The authors of these essays examine the ways in which Muslims and Christians worldwide have encountered one another over 1,400 years and the ways in which they are engaged today, enlightening current interpolitical, intersocial, and intereconomic relationships. Covering geographical, historical, and methodological topics that range from medieval scripture to contemporary theological r…
Outline: Written by two philosophers and a theologian, 101 Key Terms provides easy access to key terms in philosophy and how they are understood and used in theology. The focused entries discuss what the terms have meant in classical and contemporary philosophy and then shift to what these philosophical understandings have meant in the history of Christian theology to the present day. The resul…
Outline: With all of the different religions, sects, denominations, and belief systems out there, it can be difficult to separate fact from mere opinion, especially if we are relying solely on online sources that often have an ideological or political slant. How can we truly understand if we cannot even be sure we are getting the facts straight? In this comprehensive resource, more than seventy…
Outline: Given the unique religious climate of the twenty-first century and the challenges to Christian mission it poses, Christianity Encountering World Religions proposes a new model for interacting with people of other faiths. The authors term this model "giftive mission," since it is based on the metaphor of free gift. They suggest that seeing mission activity as giving the greatest gift po…
Outline: The Stranger had a message ... for the person who knows nothing about the world's bestseller - the Bible, ... and for those who want to know more. It's been called "the most misunderstood book in history." Wars have been fought in its name, scandals have been precipitated by it, politics shaped and reshaped at its word. Theologians have both defended and reviled it. Skeptics have done …
Outline: What every Christian should know about Islam's sacred text? Who does the Qur'an teach Jesus is? What does the Qur'an say about salvation? How does the Qur'an describe Christians? A Christian Guide to the Qur'an will prepare Christians to understand the central messages of the Qur'an in simple terms, and illustrates how knowledge of Islam's sacred text can provide bridges to religious u…
Outline: Whether it's terrorists in the Middle East who claim inspiration from Islam and express their hatred for the West, or the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, or the violence done by the religious extremists in the United States, it seems religion too often leads to lethal results. Charles Kimball, the author of When Religion Becomes Evil, builds on his bestselling book …
Overview: Beginning in the late 1960s, a biblical counseling movement sought to reclaim counseling for the church and provide a Christian alternative to mainstream psychiatry and psychotheraphy. This book is an informative and thought-provoking account of that moment. The author's historical account combines careful scholarship with a unique, eyewitness insight. This book is an invaluable r…
Outline: One of the greatest crimes of this generation of Christians is our neglect of the gospel, and it is from this neglect that all our other maladies spring forth. Absent from too many pulpits are the essential themes that make up the very core of the gospel - the justice of God, the radical depravity of man, and the blood atonemet. In The Gospel's Power and Message, Paul Washer addresses…
Outline: Explaining The Trinity to Muslims. This book is a culturally relevant presentation of the truth of the Trinity to the Muslim mindset. Originally it was issued through a Turkish secular publishing house and had a countrywide repercussion, even in Islamic circles. It is a useful presentation for both Muslim and Christian readers, providing fundamental keys for understanding and explainin…
Outline: Even if they want to, many Christians find it hard to talk to others about Jesus. Is it possible this difficulty is because we're trying to speak a language we haven't actually sent time practicising? Is it possible we have neglected to understand for ourselves how the good news of Jesus impacts every facet of our lives? To become fluent in a new language, you must immerse yourself in …
Outline: For Christians, the issues raised by the different views on creation and evolution are challenging. Can a "young earth" be reconciled with a universe that appears to be billions of years old? Does scientific evidence point to a God who designed the universe and life in all its complexity? Three Views on Creation and Evolution deals with these and similar concerns as it looks at three d…
Outline: Stan Telchin, a Messianic Jew and former pastor, explores in depth the heart and soul of Messianic Judaism. He exposes the motive behind its creation, its controversial doctrines and its ineffectiveness in Jewish evangelism. Messianic Judaism has grown significantly in fewer than four decades. While intended originally to appeal to Jewish people, unexpectedly it appeals also to Gentile…
Outline: How are we as Christians called to respond when cancer invades our lives, whether our own bodies or those of our friends and family? On the eve of his own cancer surgery, John Piper writes about cancer as an opportunity to glorify God. With pastoral sensitivity, compassion, and strength. Piper gently but firmly acknowledges that we can indeed waste our cancer when we don't see how it i…
Outline: Disagreement on ethical issues overlays a lack of consensus today on even deeper issues of method and authority in ethics. Yet, argues theologian William Lazareth, a major ecumenical resource and model for Christian social ethics lies in Martin Luther's use of Scripture as ethical source and norm. Lazareth rescues Luther's Christocentric reading of Scripture and his ethics from largely…
Outline: Third World theology has grown and developed over the past decade - largely due to the efforts and activities of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT). The present volume, arising from their Second General Assembly, is an ideal introduction to this emerging movement, exploring both the common bonds that unite Third World theologies and the distinctive elements …
Outline: How can we Christians make sure we are presenting the good news of Christ truly, and in a way that the Lord's claims are understood? How do we steer clear of ideas that Convery something other than God's truth? Culture clings to the message and the messenger; tradition and the "old way" don't go away; and our own innate short-comings work against us. The result: "a distorted message, …
Outline: In the spirit of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, this book by eminent Calvinist thinker J.H. Bavinck offers a compact and compelling treatise on Christian belief. Addressing big questions that haunt every thinking human being - Why are we here? Where do we come from? What is our destiniy? How should we live? - Bavinck's Riddle of Life also explores such essential topics as sin and salv…
Outline: What does it take to get along for a lifetime? Men and women share a deadly problem that kills good relating. The problem is this: we are committed, first of all, to ourselves. Each of us, without blushing, holds fast to an overriding concern for our own well-being. Giving numerous examples from his counseling and speaking ministry, Crabb explores how we can turn away from ourselves an…
Outline: Imagine enjoying a feast with bowls full of food at your end of the table while your brothers and sisters sit hungry at the other end with empty or nearly empty bowls before them. This scenario is an apt metaphor to describe a world where 2.7 billion people survive on less than $2 day while others are well fed and prosperous. In the face of just such a global reality, Westerners have b…
Outline: Everyone has a spiritual journey. Where did yours begin? You may recall a particular moment of change. You may feel as though you've been a Christian forever. You may not yet believe. How does conversion work? What does it mean to be "born again"? Stephen Smallman unpacks these questions by looking at John's gospel as well as biblical, historical, and contemporary case studies, showing…
Outline: Asia is the birthplace of many great religions and spiritualities - spiritualities that draw wealth and meaning from the ancient past yet still address contemporary reality. Asian Christian Spirituality explores popular religious traditions in Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India, emphasizing how these traditions foster a liberative Christian spirituality.…
Outline: Millions of Muslims and Christians are neighbors and worship the same God. Yet they seldom witness to each other. In this book a Muslim and a Christian attempt to witness and listen. The issues they deal with are profound. The authors open up the basic questions of the human situation and confront similarities and differences in the Muslim and Christian responses. In recent years Musli…
Overview: The Engaging Culture series is designed to help Christians respond with theological discernment to our contemporary culture. Each volume explores particular cultural expressions, seeking to discover God's presence in the world and to involve readers in sympathetic dialogue and active discipleship. These books encourage neither an uninformed rejection nor an uncritical embrace of cul…
Outline: In this collection of forty-six letters and writings of John Calvin, newly translated into English, the reformer gives advice to individuals and groups about theology, ethics, worship, politics, economics, and church practices. Topics discussed include dogmatics and polemics, changes (and the need for changes) in religion, the worship of images, ecclesiastical discipline, marriage, and…
Outline: Much attention has been paid to the words of the earlies Christian canonical and extracanonical texts, yet Larry Hurtado points out that an even more telling story is being overlooked - the story of the physical texts themselves. Widely recognized for his outstanding scholarship, Hurtado combines his comprehensive knowledge of Christian origins with an archivist's eye to make sense of …
Outline: Encountering the World of Islam guides you on a journey into the lives of Muslims around the world and in your neighborhood. Through this comprehensive collection, you will learn about Muhammad and the history of Islam, gain insight into today's conflicts, and dispel fears and myths. You will also discover the frustrations and desires of Muslims and learn how to pray for and befriend t…
Outline: Many Christians live a faith that is "nowhen." They are disconnected from the past or imagine they are somehow "above" the flux of history, immune to it, as if self-starters from clean states in every generation. They lack an awareness of time and the effects of history - both personal and collective - and thus are naive about current issues, prone to nostalgia, and fixated on the end …
Outline: Millions of Muslims have migrated to Europe and North America in the last fifty years. Their arrival has ignited fierce public debates on both series of the Atlantic about religious freedom and tolerance, terrorism and security, gender and race, and much more. How can Christians best respond to this situation? In this book theologians and ethicist Matthew Kaemingk offers a thought-prov…
Outline: Nearing the end of his life and ministry, William Greenhill left his congregation a parting gift and lasting testimony of his pastoral care for their souls - he published The Sound-Hearted Christian. This book developed from a series of sermons Greenhill preached on Psalm 119: 18, "Let my heart be sounded in thy statues; that I be not ashamed." Greenhill shows that a sound heart is wat…