Download or read book A Skeptic s Guide to Arts in the Church written by Mark Coppenger and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2018-09-19 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evangelical discourse on the role of arts in the church can be radioactive, and the twenty-one contributors to this book walk right into the “hot zone” to pick up on twenty contentious questions. The volume is a series of written dialogues, each one keyed to a cranky question, one that a skeptic might raise (hence the title). Herein, the gainsayers are taken seriously and given their voice. They even find support in some of the contributors’ comments. But apologists for greater use of arts and artists in the church have their say, and things can get edgy. Topics range from the biblically august (the Second Commandment; the regulative principle; Great Commission priorities) to the prudential (expense; “bohemian” influence; weaker brothers) to the programmatic (Christmas festivities; committee makeup). Some of the parties to the discussion are church staffers (pastors and ministers of music); some are professors; several are doctoral students; one is a college student; another, a gallery owner; yet another, a denominational ethicist; and there’s a Canadian and a Korean in the mix. The collection of speakers and opinions is illuminating and bracing, and the fruit of their thinking makes for great reading and discussion.
Download or read book Apologetical Aesthetics written by Mark Coppenger and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2022-04-29 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Apart from the work of God in creation, it's notoriously difficult to explain the presence of beauty in the world and man's appreciation for it. Indeed, the aesthetic realm (with its array of phenomena which engage the senses, the mind, and the heart) not only suits the biblical account of the universe, but also points toward it. In making this case, sixteen writers address the shortcomings of naturalistic narratives, the virtues of theistic accounts (particularly those grounded in Christ), and the manner in which the various arts resonate with Scripture. Along the way, readers will encounter the peacock's tail and Farnsworth House; a Schubert piano sonata and "chopsticks"; Kintsugi and Kitsch; Hugh of St. Victor and Hans Urs von Balthasar; Kandinsky and Eisenstein; the Lydian and Phrygian modes; eucatastrophe and liminal space; McDonald's and Don Quixote; Smeagol and the Blobfish; Stockhausen and Begbie; Adorno and Kinkade; Mount Auburn Cemetery and Narnia; Fujimura and Schopenhauer.
Download or read book A Doubter s Guide to Jesus written by John Dickson and published by Zondervan Academic. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who was Jesus? Historical sources portray a person who was complex, multi-layered, and often contradictory to the tidy portrait that much of modern Christianity paints him as. Even the gospel accounts render him as both judge and healer, teacher and temple, servant and savior. A Doubter's Guide to Jesus is a persuasive and often challenging investigation into the historical figure found in the earliest sources. These sources, which include references both direct and indirect—from Roman, Jewish, and Christian accounts—offer us more than simple evidence that Jesus existed; they begin to form a picture that is both deeply credible and profoundly counterintuitive. Each chapter explores the evidence for a different aspect of the most influential figure in human history, exploring: His words and their impact. The scandal of his social life. His preference for the poor and lowly. The meaning of his death and influence of his promises. The goal is not to turn Jesus into something neater, more systematic and digestible; but to see him more clearly as someone who stretches our imaginations, confronts our beliefs, and challenges our lifestyles. After two millennia of spiritual devotion and more than two centuries of modern critical research, we still cannot fit Jesus into a box—and this is as challenging as it is deeply compelling.
Download or read book The Dude s Guide to Manhood written by Darrin Patrick and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2014-01-14 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the path to true masculinity—to an adventurous life of strength, purpose, and clarity. Didn’t we used to understand manhood? Wasn’t there a time once when it was clear and straightforward? Are we lost? Dudes, look around you: The trail we once traveled from boyhood to maturity is now so overgrown, it’s almost impossible to trace. Our vision is blurred, rendering the map that previous generations followed unreadable. Our compass needles are spinning in circles, making navigation impossible. We are stuck in dense, dangerous woods, and our communities—the wives, children, friends, and colleagues we could be influencing—are suffering as a result. It can be tempting to give up and, like so many men today, simply exist, but take heart: Now is not the time for men to abandon our quest. We can discover the path to true masculinity—to an adventurous life of strength, purpose, and clarity. In The Dude’s Guide to Manhood, pastor, author and dude Darrin Patrick charts a course back toward real manliness, mapping out a vision to help men find significance and influence in today’s broken, mixed-message culture. Revealing his own frailties and missteps, Patrick doesn’t preach at you but walks with you on a journey toward healing and wholeness. Filled with timeless wisdom, accessible insights and practical guidance, The Dude’s Guide to Manhood issues an encouraging and doable call to all men, whatever your age or stage. We need not settle for wandering aimlessly through our days, wounded, weak, and passive. Instead, we can get back on the trail, embrace our gifts while facing our imperfections, and trust the God of new beginnings to lead us into all that we are destined to become: forgiven, connected, determined, teachable, content, heroic, and so much more.
Download or read book How to Talk to a Skeptic written by Donald J. Johnson and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2013-10-15 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Share Your Faith Effectively in a Cynical and Skeptical Age Talking about faith with friends and family members can be a daunting prospect. What do you say if they have questions you can't answer or if they're outright hostile toward God? Actually, you don't have to have all the right answers, just the right questions--and a willingness to listen. As trust and understanding grow, the door to fruitful dialogue will open. How to Talk to a Skeptic shows you how to: · Ask probing questions and avoid being on the defensive in spiritual conversations. · Tell God's story of the world in a winsome and easily understood way. · Gently respond to the most common misunderstandings skeptics have about God. Here's a natural, relational approach to evangelism and a proven way to reach out to an unbelieving world.
Download or read book How God Became Jesus written by Michael F. Bird and published by Zondervan Academic. This book was released on 2014-03-25 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his recent book How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher From Galilee historian Bart Ehrman explores a claim that resides at the heart of the Christian faith— that Jesus of Nazareth was, and is, God. According to Ehrman, though, this is not what the earliest disciples believed, nor what Jesus claimed about himself. The first response book to this latest challenge to Christianity from Ehrman, How God Became Jesus features the work of five internationally recognized biblical scholars. While subjecting his claims to critical scrutiny, they offer a better, historically informed account of why the Galilean preacher from Nazareth came to be hailed as “the Lord Jesus Christ.” Namely, they contend, the exalted place of Jesus in belief and worship is clearly evident in the earliest Christian sources, shortly following his death, and was not simply the invention of the church centuries later.
Download or read book International Journal of Religious Education written by and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Born Again Skeptic s Guide to the Bible written by Ruth Hurmence Green and published by Freedom from Religion Foundation. This book was released on 1999 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A mockery of the Bible and Christianity.
Download or read book Mere Apologetics written by Alister E. McGrath and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout history there have been great and articulate defenders of the faith, from Augustine and Aquinas to Jonathan Edwards, G. K. Chesterton, Francis Schaeffer, and C. S. Lewis. But with new challenges comes the need for a fresh apologetic that specifically addresses the arguments levied against faith in our time of scientific atheism and skepticism. In the spirit of C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, Alister McGrath's Mere Apologetics seeks to equip readers to engage gracefully and intelligently with the challenges facing the faith today while drawing appropriately on the wisdom of the past. Rather than supplying the fine detail of every apologetic issue in order to win arguments, Mere Apologetics teaches a method that appeals not only to the mind but also to the heart and the imagination. This highly accessible, easy-to-read book is perfect for pastors, teachers, students, and lay people who want to speak clearly and lovingly to the issues that confront people of faith today.
Download or read book Fearless Creating written by Eric Maisel and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1995-10-17 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For writers, painters, or performers in any field, new hope for overcoming creative blocks and finishing the art of their dreams. The blank page, empty canvas, or uncarved stone will often fill artists with dread. But so may the thought of finishing, showing, or even selling their work. It is in this "artistic anxiety" that creative blocks begin. With an understanding that could only be gained through years of experience in counseling artists, writers, and performers, Eric Maisel, Ph.D. discusses each stage of creation-wishing, choosing, starting, working, completing, selling--and the anxieties particular to each. He then shows how these inhibiting tensions can be turned to artistic advantages, how truth and beauty arrive in the work of art precisely because, and only when, anxiety has been understood, embraced, and resolved. Fearless Creating guides the reader, whether an experienced artist or someone just starting out, past the pitfalls that appear in each stage of the process. By following Dr. Maisel's exercises related both to the world at hand and the ongoing struggles of artistic life, readers will emerge from this book with a completed work of art and a new perspective on their potential to be a fearless creator.
Download or read book The Christian Advocate written by and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 932 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Christian Advocate and Journal and Zion s Herald written by and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 932 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Wisdom Pyramid written by Brett McCracken and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2021-01-15 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We're facing an information overload. With the quick tap of a finger we can access an endless stream of addictive information—sports scores, breaking news, political opinions, streaming TV, the latest Instagram posts, and much more. Accessing information has never been easier—but acquiring wisdom is increasingly difficult. In an effort to help us consume a more balanced, healthy diet of information, Brett McCracken has created the "Wisdom Pyramid." Inspired by the food pyramid model, the Wisdom Pyramid challenges us to increase our intake of enduring, trustworthy sources (like the Bible) while moderating our consumption of less reliable sources (like the Internet and social media). At a time when so much of our daily media diet is toxic and making us spiritually sick, The Wisdom Pyramid suggests that we become healthy and wise when we reorient our lives around God—the foundation of truth and the eternal source of wisdom.
Download or read book Arts Humanities Citation Index written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 1354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Making Sense of God written by Timothy Keller and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-09-20 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in an age of skepticism. Our society places such faith in empirical reason, historical progress, and heartfelt emotion that it’s easy to wonder: Why should anyone believe in Christianity? What role can faith and religion play in our modern lives? In this thoughtful and inspiring new book, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller invites skeptics to consider that Christianity is more relevant now than ever. As human beings, we cannot live without meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, justice, and hope. Christianity provides us with unsurpassed resources to meet these needs. Written for both the ardent believer and the skeptic, Making Sense of God shines a light on the profound value and importance of Christianity in our lives.
Download or read book The Skeletons in God s Closet written by Joshua Ryan Butler and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2014-10-21 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can a loving God send people to hell? Isn’t it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God? What is up with holy war in the Old Testament? Many of us fear God has some skeletons in the closet. Hell, judgment, and holy war are hot topics for the Christian faith that have a way of igniting fierce debate far and wide. These hard questions leave many wondering whether God is really good and can truly be trusted. The Skeletons in God's Closet confronts our popular caricatures of these difficult topics with the beauty and power of the real thing. Josh Butler reveals that these subjects are consistent with, rather than contradictory to, the goodness of God. He explores Scripture to reveal the plotlines that make sense of these tough topics in light of God’s goodness. From fresh angles, Josh deals powerfully with such difficult passages as: The Lake of Fire Lazarus and the Rich Man The Slaughter of Canaanites in the Old Testament Ultimately, The Skeletons in God's Close uses our toughest questions to provoke paradigm shifts in how we understand our faith as a whole. It pulls the “skeletons out of God’s closet” to reveal they were never really skeletons at all.
Download or read book Preaching written by Timothy Keller and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-06-09 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastor, preacher, and New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet Timothy Keller shares his wisdom on communicating the Christian faith from the pulpit as well as from the coffee shop. Most Christians—including pastors—struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian gospel to change people’s lives. Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.
