Download or read book Backgrounds to Dispensationalism written by Clarence B. Bass and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2005-02-03 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this book is to describe the historical setting out of which dispensationalism has grown, to establish what dispensationalism is, and to point out its implications for contemporary church life. Beginning with a survey of the major features of dispensationalism in relation to the historic beliefs of the church, the book then examines the origins of dispensationalism in the thinking of John Nelson Darby.What kind of man was Darby? What were the circumstances in which his theology was fashioned? What were the practical consequences of his theology of the church for his own day? Dr. Bass offers well-founded answers to these questions, helping readers make their own evaluations about dispensationalism.Dr. Bass traces the development of Darby's thought and practice through the Plymouth Brethren movement. He clearly demonstrates how Darby not only introduced new theological concepts, but new principles of interpretation. This emerging system of interpretation, with its particular chronology of future events, has largely informed the popular Left BehindÓ eschatology. In this light, it is clear that Bass's discussion of Darbyite dispensationalism is just as relevant as when his book first came out in 1960.This study is the result of an intensive and exhaustive search for accuracy of detail with a fair, non-argumentative style. Those wishing to do further research will appreciate his classified bibliography regarding dispensational literature.

Download or read book Will Catholics Be Left Behind written by Carl Olson and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This powerful and timely book, written by a former Fundamentalist, is a thorough critique of the popular Fundamentalist notion of the "Rapture", the belief that Christians will be removed from earth prior to a time of Tribulation and the Second Coming. It examines the theological, historical, and Biblical basis for "premillennial dispensationalism", the belief system based around the Rapture, and popularized in the best-selling Left Behind books and taught by "Bible prophecy" writers Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe, and many others. Written for both the lay person and the serious student, this book combines an engaging, popular approach with detailed footnotes and exhaustive research. Beginning with the big picture, it focuses first on key concepts such as eschatology, the Parousia, and the relationship between the Kingdom and the Church. It then examines the Book of Revelation, providing insights into the nature and purpose of that difficult, final book of the Bible. Another chapter looks at the concept of the "millennium" and how it has been understood by various Christians over the centuries. Olson then shows how Left Behind creator LaHayeಙs many works on "Bible prophecy" are filled with attacks on Catholicism, and often rely on sensationalism, shaky scholarship, and subjective interpretations of Scripture Olson, a former dispensationalist who now edits Envoy magazine, also presents a history of apocalyptic belief and theology, beginning with the Early Church Fathers and including the Montanists, St. Augustine, Joachim of Fiore, the Protestant Reformers, and the American Puritans. He shows how John Nelson Darby, an ex-Anglican priest, developed the premillennial dispensationalist system, which hinges on the Rapture, in the 1830s and how Darby relied upon faulty assumptions about Jesus Christ, the Church, and the Bible. The second part of the book, "A Catholic Critique of Dispensationalism", focuses on three important topics: the relationship between Israel, the Church, and the Kingdom; the interpretation of Scripture; and the nature of the Rapture event. Filled with a wealth of information drawn from both Protestant and Catholic sources, this section provides a complete rebuttal to the premillennial dispensationalist system and the "left behind" theology. The book concludes with a reflection on the Catholic understanding of the end times, salvation history, and the final judgement. Glossaries of key persons and terms are also included. A strong, but fair, critique of a dangerous and popular belief, Will Catholics Be "Left Behind"? provides Catholics and Protestants, lay people and clergy, and students and scholars with important answers and information about the roots and meaning of the "Rapture". "Millions of Americans believe the Lord will snatch them up any day now, leaving the rest of us to the horrors of a seven-year tribulation. The hitch is that the 'Rapture' has no pedigree. As Carl Olson shows, no Catholic or Protestant believed in it prior to the nineteenth century. It is an authentic Fundamentalist 'invention'." Karl Keating, Author, Catholicism and Fundamentalism "In this extraordinary book, Carl Olson uses a surgeonಙs scalpel to cut through the mass of confusion that dominates contemporary reflection on the Last Things. Achieving far more than a refutation of millennialist errors and other disordered apocalyptic theories, he illumines the Church's majestic vision of time and eternity and demonstrates that Jesus Christ is the Lord of History and its end." Michael O'Brien, Author, Father Elijah

Download or read book Apocalyptic Fever written by Richard G. Kyle and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How will the world end? Doomsday ideas in Western history have been both persistent and adaptable, peaking at various times, including in modern America. Public opinion polls indicate that a substantial number of Americans look for the return of Christ or some catastrophic event. The views expressed in these polls have been reinforced by the market process. Whether through purchasing paperbacks or watching television programs, millions of Americans have expressed an interest in end-time events. Americans have a tremendous appetite for prophecy, more than nearly any other people in the modern world. Why do Americans love doomsday?In Apocalyptic Fever, Richard Kyle attempts to answer this question, showing how dispensational premillennialism has been the driving force behind doomsday ideas. Yet while several chapters are devoted to this topic, this book covers much more. It surveys end-time views in modern America from a wide range of perspectives--dispensationalism, Catholicism, science, fringe religions, the occult, fiction, the year 2000, Islam, politics, the Mayan calendar, and more.

Download or read book The Pentecostal Mission in Palestine written by Eric Nelson Newberg and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-06-13 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pentecostal mission in Palestine is a virtually unknown episode in the history of Pentecostalism. Its story begins in 1906 at the Azusa Street Revival, from which missionaries were sent to Palestine. In its first thirty years, the Pentecostal mission in Palestine gained a foothold in Jerusalem and expanded its reach into Jordan, Syria, and Iran. It was severely tested and lost traction during the tumultuous period of the Arab Revolts, World War II, and the Partition Crisis. With the catastrophic war of 1948, the Pentecostal missionaries fled as their Arab clients were swept away in the Palestinian Diaspora. After 1948, a valiant attempt was made to revive the mission, but only with relative success. Although the Pentecostal missionaries failed in their objective of converting Jews and Muslims, they were eyewitnesses of the formative events of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Newberg argues that the Pentecostal missionaries functioned as brokers of Pentecostal Zionism. He offers a postcolonial assessment of the Pentecostal missionaries, crediting them for advocating philosemitism, yet bringing them up short for disregarding the civil rights of Palestinian Arabs, espousing Islamophobia, and contributing to the forces working against peace in the Holy Land.

Download or read book Five Views on Law and Gospel written by Greg L. Bahnsen and published by Zondervan Academic. This book was released on 2010-09-21 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to a complex theological issue that impacts our daily lives as believers in Christ: What is the relevance of the Old Testament Law to our understanding of the Gospel and how it should be lived? This book explores five major approaches to this important biblical topic as they've developed in Protestant circles: Non-Theonomic Reformed View – the law is the perfection of righteousness in Jesus Christ. Theonomic Reformed View – the goodness of the law is dependent on how it's used and does not offer a way to salvation. Heavily focused on Paul's discussion of the Law. Law as "Gracious Guidance" View – emphasizes the contrasts between the Mosaic law and the Gospel of grace, while still asserting the Law's value. Dispensational View – approaches the Law from a historical perspective to help us understand its presentation, treatment, and recipients. Modified Lutheran View – the Law of Christ as the fulfillment of the Law of Moses. This book allows each contributor to not only present the case for his view, but also to critique and respond to the critiques of the other contributors, allowing you to compare their beliefs in an open forum setting to see where they overlap and where they differ. The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology written by Jerry L. Walls Professor of Philosophy of Religion Asbury Theological Seminary and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2007-10-31 with total page 744 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eschatology is the study of the last things: death, judgment, the afterlife, and the end of the world. Through centuries of Christian thoughtfrom the early Church fathers through the Middle Ages and the Reformationthese issues were of the utmost importance. In other religions, too, eschatological concerns were central. After the Enlightenment, though, many religious thinkers began to downplay the importance of eschatology which, in light of rationalism, came to be seen as something of an embarrassment. The twentieth century, however, saw the rise of phenomena that placed eschatology back at the forefront of religious thought. From the rapid expansion of fundamentalist forms of Christianity, with their focus on the end times; to the proliferation of apocalyptic new religious movements; to the recent (and very public) debates about suicide, martyrdom, and paradise in Islam, interest in eschatology is once again on the rise. In addition to its popular resurgence, in recent years some of the worlds most important theologians have returned eschatology to its former position of prominence. The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology will provide an important critical survey of this diverse body of thought and practice from a variety of perspectives: biblical, historical, theological, philosophical, and cultural. This volume will be the primary resource for students, scholars, and others interested in questions of our ultimate existence.

Download or read book Baptist Theology written by James Leo Garrett and published by Mercer University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 776 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title offers a comprehensive analysis of Baptist theology. Embracing in one common trajectory the major Baptist confessions of faith, the major Baptist theologians, and the principal Baptist theological movements and controversies, this book spans four centuries of Baptist doctrinal history. Acknowledging first the pre-1609 roots (patristic, medieval, and Reformational) of Baptist theology, it examines the Arminian versus Calvinist issues that were first expressed by the General Baptists and the Particular Baptists; that dominated English and American Baptist theology during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from Helwys and Smyth and from Bunyan and Kiffin to Gill, Fuller, Backus, and Boyce; and, that were quickened by the 'awakenings' and the missionary movement. Concurrently there were the Baptist defense of the Baptist distinctives vis-a-vis the pedobaptist world and the unfolding of a strong Baptist confessional tradition. Then during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the liberal versus evangelical issues became dominant with Hovey, Strong, Rauschenbusch, and Henry in the North and Mullins, Conner, Hobbs, and Criswell in the South even as a distinctive Baptist Landmarkism developed, the discipline of biblical theology was practiced and a structured ecumenism was pursued. Missiology both impacted Baptist theology and took it to all the continents, where it became increasingly indigenous. Conscious that Baptists belong to the free churches and to the believers' churches, a new generation of Baptist theologians at the advent of the twenty-first century appears somewhat more Calvinist than Arminian and decidedly more evangelical than liberal.

Download or read book A Basic Guide to Eschatology written by Millard J. Erickson and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 1998-12-01 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading evangelical theologian provides a comprehensive examination of the various evangelical views of the millennium (and other eschatological subjects).

Download or read book The Americanization of the Apocalypse written by Donald Harman Akenson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-07 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early twentieth century, a new, American scripture appeared on the scene. It was the product of a school of theological thinking known as Dispensationalism, which offered a striking new way of reading the Bible, one that focused attention squarely on the end-times. That scripture, The Scofield Reference Bible, would become the ur-text of American apocalyptic evangelicalism. But while the Scofield took hold in the United States, the belief system from which it emerged, Dispensationalism, was not primarily a homegrown American phenomenon. In The Americanization of the Apocalypse: Creating America's Own Bible Donald Harman Akenson examines the creation and spread of Dispensationalism. The story is a transnational one: created in southern Ireland by evangelical Anglicans, who were terrified by the rise of Catholicism, then transferred to England, where it was expanded upon and next carried to British North America by "Brethren" missionaries and then subsequently embraced by American evangelicals. Akenson combines a respect for individual human agency with an equal recognition of the complex and persuasive ideational system that apocalyptic Dispensationalism presented. For believers, the system explained the world and its future. For the wider culture, the product of this rich evolution was a series of concepts that became part of the everyday vocabulary of American life: end-times, apocalypse, Second Coming, Rapture, and millennium. The Americanization of the Apocalypse is the first book to document, using direct archival evidence, the invention of the epochal Scofield Reference Bible, and thus the provenance of modern American evangelicalism.

Download or read book Women and the Landscape of American Higher Education written by Abraham Ruelas and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The post-millennial vision of nineteenth century America led to greater educational opportunities for women, but these were focused on women's domestic efficacy in developing "messianic mothers" to help create the kingdom of God on earth. Yet, by embracing the doctrine of sanctification, Wesleyan Holiness women were able to move from "women's sphere" (domesticity) to the public sphere (public ministry), which they had come to see as their intended place. Not only did they make this shift for themselves, but they created Christian institutions of higher education that provided opportunities for both women and men to prepare for public ministry. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a new force would enable women to further demonstrate their equality in the work of the Lord. In 1901, the Pentecostal movement was ushered in when Agnes Nevada Ozman became the first person in the modern era to speak in tongues. This movement saw the promise and fulfillment of equal empowerment of men and women for service by the Holy Spirit, which sent individuals throughout the world to further the kingdom of God. As the theological shift from a postmillennial to a premillennial view occurred, opportunity became necessity as priority was given to the creation of schools to prepare ministers to reach lost souls before the return of Jesus. The founding of such schools was pioneered by Wesleyan Holiness and Pentecostal women who carried the torch as their movement grew into the twentieth century. This book compiles the inspiring stories of some of the most notable women who, from society's perspective stepped outside established roles to claim a significant place in the history of American higher education.

Download or read book Jesus the Gospels and the Galilean Crisis written by Tucker S. Ferda and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-12-27 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tucker S. Ferda examines the theory of the Galilean crisis: the notion that the historical Jesus himself had grappled with the failure of his mission to Israel. While this theory has been neglected since the 19th century, due to research moving to consider the response of the early church to the rejection of the gospel, Ferda now provides fresh insight on Jesus' own potential crisis of faith. Ferda begins by reconstructing the origin of the crisis theory, expanding upon histories of New Testament research and considering the contributions made before Hermann Samuel Reimarus. He shows how the crisis theory was shaped by earlier and so-called “pre-critical” gospel interpretation and examines how, despite the claims of modern scholarship, the logic of the crisis theory is still a part of current debate. Finally, Ferda argues that while the crisis theory is a failed hypothesis, its suggestions on early success and growing opposition in the ministry, as well as its claim that Jesus met and responded to disappointing cases of rejection, should be revisited. This book resurrects key historical aspects of the crisis theory for contemporary scholarship.

Download or read book Christian Theology written by Millard J. Erickson and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 1998-08 with total page 1312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new edition of leading theologian Millard Erickson's classic text.

Download or read book Towards a Pentecostal Eschatology written by Larry R. McQueen and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing out of the need to articulate an eschatology that is consistent with the theological beliefs, spiritual experience, and hermeneutical insights of the Pentecostal movement, this volume applies an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, integrating historical, biblical, and theological studies. After providing a comprehensive review of the current state of Pentecostal eschatology, the study explores the periodical literature of the earliest years of the movement, understanding this period to be the heart or originating source of the tradition. Drawing upon insights gained from this exploration, the boundaries for discerning a contemporary Pentecostal eschatology are established and a constructive, biblical-theological contribution to this subject is offered, focused upon a fresh reading of Revelation 21–22 and framed around the narrative testimony of the fivefold gospel that emerges from the heart of the tradition.

Download or read book Exporting the Rapture written by Donald H. Akenson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-14 with total page 690 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Apocalyptic millennialism is one of the most powerful strands in evangelical Christianity. It is not a single belief, but across many powerful evangelical groups there is general adhesion to faith in the physical return of Jesus in the Second Coming, the affirmation of a Rapture heavenward of "saved" believers, a millennium of peace under the rule of Jesus and his saints and, eventually, a final judgement and entry into deep eternity. In Discovering the End of Time (2016) Donald Harman Akenson traced the emergence of the primary packaging of modern apocalyptic millennialism back to southern Ireland in the 1820s and '30s. In Exporting the Rapture, he documents for the first time how the complex theological construction that has come to dominate modern evangelical thought was enhulled in an organizational system that made it exportable from the British Isles to North America-- and subsequently around the world. A key figure in this process was John Nelson Darby who was at first a formative influence on evangelical apocalypticism in Ireland; then the volatile central figure in Brethren apocalypticism throughout the British Isles; and also a crusty but ultimately very successful missionary to the United States and Canada. Akenson emphasizes that, as strong a personality as John Nelson Darby was, the real story is that he became a vector for the transmission of a terrifically complex and highly seductive ideological system from the old world to the new. So beguiling, adaptable, and compelling was the new Dispensational system that Darby injected into North-American evangelicalism that it continued to spread logarithmically after his death. By the 1920s, the system had become the doctrinal template of the fundamentalist branch of North-American evangelicalism and the distinguishing characteristic of the bestselling Scofield Bible.

Download or read book Claiming the Center written by Jack Bartlett Rogers and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mainline Protestant churches have been seriously impacted by the conflict in belief systems embodied in the opposing worldviews of conservatives and liberals. In this book, Jack Rogers contends that for mainline churches to remain relevant in today's world, they must make an active effort to claim the center--an authentic and balanced Christian worldview.

Download or read book American Mennonites and Protestant Movements written by Beulah S. Hostetler and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2002-03-06 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American Mennonites and Protestant Movements describes the key religious values in a major Mennonite settlement over a period of three centuries in its encounter with other religious movements: Pietism, revivalism, Fundamentalism, and institutionalization. The author analyzes how Mennonites both resisted these influences and were changed by them. The book also documents the codification of practice in the twentieth century and how restrictions waned as a growing emphasis on peace and service emerged. The author demonstrates that the key values shaping the Mennonite community are religious, not simply ethnic, and are consistent with their sixteenth-century character. These conclusions are based on a careful study of their value patterns, nonverbal behavior, issues and personalities in confrontation, and in the conduct of their community behavior. This book will help a new generation of Mennonites who wish to discover their heritage and spiritual identity. For Christian believers outside the Anabaptist tradition it will clarify long-standing ambiguities about the Mennonites.

Download or read book Evidence for the Rapture written by John Hart and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2015-07-24 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is the rapture still going to happen? And if so, when? With contributing scholars from schools like Moody Bible Institute, Dallas Theological Seminary, and The Master’s Theological Seminary, Evidence for the Rapture is a convincing and thoroughly biblical case for the rapture. This collection of exegetical essays looks at the rapture from a number of biblical angles: the words of Jesus in the Gospels, Paul’s teachings in the epistles, and even prophetic and apocalyptic literature. In sound exegetical technique, the authors corroborate Scripture’s main teachings on the end times to provide a trustworthy and concise treatment of a multi-faceted issue. For the last several hundred years, the doctrine of a pretribulation rapture has been a fixture in many churches and institutions. Evidence for the Rapture is a fresh polish upon this long-standing doctrine.