Download or read book Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower written by Tom Krattenmaker and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2016 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers an argument for secular non-believers maintaining that following Jesus Christ as a teacher, example, and primary guide for living can serve to give meaning and direction to those who don't believe in the supernatural elements of Christianity.
Download or read book Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower written by Tom Krattenmaker and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning USA Today columnist makes the case for how a Jesus freed from religion and politics meets the need for meaning and purpose in secular America. Tom Krattenmaker is part of a growing conversation centered at Yale University that acknowledges—and seeks to address—the abiding need for meaning and inspiration in post-religious America. What, they ask, gives a life meaning? What constitutes a life well led? In Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower, Krattenmaker shares his surprising conclusion about where input and inspiration might best be found: in the figure of Jesus. And Jesus, not only as a good example and teacher, but Jesus as the primary guide for one's life. Drawing on sociological research, personal experience, and insights from fifteen years studying and writing on religion in American public life, Krattenmaker shows that in Jesus, nonreligious people like himself can find unique and compelling wisdom on how to honor the humanity in ourselves and others, how to build more peaceful lives, how generosity can help people and communities create more abundance, how to break free from self-defeating behaviors, and how to tip the scales toward justice. In a time when more people than ever are identifying as atheist or agnostic, Confessions of a Secular Jesus Follower is a groundbreaking and compelling work that rediscovers Jesus--and our own best selves--for the world of today.
Download or read book Onward Christian Athletes written by Tom Krattenmaker and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2010 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Onward Christian Athletes, religion expert and commentator Tom Krattenmaker provides a first-of-its-kind exploration of what is really happening where sports and faith converge, and the larger story it tells about popular Christianity in American life in the new century.
Download or read book Confession of a Buddhist Atheist written by Stephen Batchelor and published by Random House. This book was released on 2010-03-02 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does Buddhism require faith? Can an atheist or agnostic follow the Buddha’s teachings without believing in reincarnation or organized religion? This is one man’s confession. In his classic Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor offered a profound, secular approach to the teachings of the Buddha that struck an emotional chord with Western readers. Now, with the same brilliance and boldness of thought, he paints a groundbreaking portrait of the historical Buddha—told from the author’s unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker. Drawing from the original Pali Canon, the seminal collection of Buddhist discourses compiled after the Buddha’s death by his followers, Batchelor shows us the Buddha as a flesh-and-blood man who looked at life in a radically new way. Batchelor also reveals the everyday challenges and doubts of his own devotional journey—from meeting the Dalai Lama in India, to training as a Zen monk in Korea, to finding his path as a lay teacher of Buddhism living in France. Both controversial and deeply personal, Stephen Batchelor’s refreshingly doctrine-free, life-informed account is essential reading for anyone interested in Buddhism.
Download or read book Jesus Religion written by Jefferson Bethke and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2013-10-14 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abandon dead, dry, religious rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation with a passionate, provocative poem titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." The 4-minute video became an overnight sensation, with 7 million YouTube views in its first 48 hours (and 23+ million in a year). Bethke's message clearly struck a chord with believers and nonbelievers alike, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged. In his New York Times bestseller Jesus > Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poem--highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair, and hope. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior. Along the way, Bethke gives you the tools you need to: Humbly and prayerfully open your mind Understand Jesus for all that he is View the church from a brand-new perspective Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he's not a pastor or theologian, but simply an ordinary, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. On this journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him with love beyond the props of false religion. Praise for Jesus > Religion: "Jeff's book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. Listen to that voice, then follow it--right to the feet of Jesus." --Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody, Always "The book you hold in your hands is Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz meets C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity meets Augustine's Confessions. This book is going to awaken an entire generation to Jesus and His grace." --Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church, author of Limitless Life: Breaking Free from the Labels That Hold You Back
Download or read book Confessions of a Happy Christian written by Ziglar, Zig and published by Pelican Publishing. This book was released on 1993-09-30 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this moving autobiography, Zig Ziglar puts to test the notion that born-again Christians should wander through lifebearing long faces and short pocketbooks. Dynamic, charismatic, and a spectacular success by any standard, Zig and his life story are proof positive that you don't "pay" the price for serving the Lord but, instead, you can enjoy the NOW benefits of serving Him.
Download or read book Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement written by Dan Lucarini and published by EP BOOKS. This book was released on 2002 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For many churches today, music has become one of the most important factors in attempting to reach unbelievers with the gospel. Writing from his own personal experience as a former worship leader, Dan Lucarini questions the use of contemporary music in the worship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Download or read book Confessions of a French Atheist written by Guillaume Bignon and published by Tyndale House Publishers. This book was released on 2022-06 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A compelling spiritual memoir that traces Bignon's fascinating quest for answers to life's most profound questions." --Lee StrobelGod Wasn't In His Plans Until . . . Guillaume Bignon was a French atheist . . . and he was perfectly happy. He was very successful as a software engineer in finance, a musician, and a volleyball player. Yet a chance encounter with a beautiful woman would change the way he thought about his life and beliefs forever. Confessions of a French Atheistis the unusual story of Guillaume Bignon--a man who didn't need God but who grew to believe in God after he thought through the nature of morality, the relationship between science and faith, the supernatural, and the reliability of the Bible. With rigorous reasoning, remarkable authenticity, and a sense of humor, Guillaume takes the reader on a journey of his innermost questions and surprising discoveries.
Download or read book Trust in God written by David W. Johnson and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2013-01-01 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Johnson examines the Christian spiritual life using the Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as a guide.
Download or read book Augustine written by Robin Lane Fox and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This narrative of the first half of Augustine's life conjures the intellectual and social milieu of the late Roman Empire with a Proustian relish for detail." --New York Times In Augustine, celebrated historian Robin Lane Fox follows Augustine of Hippo on his journey to the writing of his Confessions. Unbaptized, Augustine indulged in a life of lust before finally confessing and converting. Lane Fox recounts Augustine's sexual sins, his time in an outlawed heretical sect, and his gradual return to spirituality. Magisterial and beautifully written, Augustine is the authoritative portrait of this colossal figure at his most thoughtful, vulnerable, and profound.
Download or read book The Good Confession written by Daniel R. Hyde and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, too many Christians are followers of novelty, religious fads, and strange new doctrines unheard of in the history of the church. On the contrary, to be a Christian is to join the great "cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12:1) through the ages, confessing with the Body of Christ the "faith that was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). This is what Paul called the "good confession" (1 Tim 6:12). This workbook will lead you in a study of what it means to be a Christian from the vantage point of the Bible, the ancient Christian creeds, and the Protestant confessions of the sixteenth century.
Download or read book The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions written by Samuel Miller and published by . This book was released on 1839 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions : Addressed Particularly to Candidates for the Ministry by Samuel Miller, first published in 1839, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.
Download or read book Misfit Faith written by Jason J. Stellman and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2017 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ex-Presbyterian pastor turned Catholic convert coveys his feeling of being an outsider in today's Christian faith.
Download or read book The Universe Is on Our Side written by Bruce Ledewitz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "There has been a breakdown in American public life that no election can fix. Americans cannot even converse about politics. All the usual explanations for our condition have failed to make things better. Bruce Ledewitz shows that America is living with the consequences of the Death of God, which Friedrich Nietzsche knew would be momentous and irreversible. God was this culture's story of the meaning of our lives. Even atheists had substitutes for God, like inevitable progress. Now we have no story and do not even think about the nature of reality. That is why we are angry and despairing. America's future requires that we begin a new story by each of us asking a question posed by theologian Bernard Lonergan: Is the universe on our side? When we commit to live honestly and fully by our answer to that question, even if our immediate answer is no, America will begin to heal. Beyond that, pondering the question of the universe will allow us to see that there is more to the universe than blind forces and dead matter. Guided by the naturalism of Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy, and the historical faith of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we can learn to trust that the universe bends toward justice and our welfare. That conclusion will complete our healing and restore faith in American public life. We can live without God, but not without thinking about holiness in the universe"--
Download or read book Sacred Strangers written by Nancy Haught and published by Liturgical Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible is laced with stories in which strangers behave better than believers. What do these encounters with "others"--people from different cultures, religions, genders, economic and social classes--teach us about our own spiritual values, about the faith and God behind them? In Sacred Strangers, Nancy Haught leads readers through these stories, line by line, offering insight to open hearts to sacred strangers at a time when personal encounters can make us or break us--as people, Americans, and citizens of the world.
Download or read book The Good Confession written by Watchman Nee and published by Christian Fellowship Publishers. This book was released on 1973-02-01 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The apostle Paul charged his son in faith to "fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses." He laid before Timothy the example of Christ Jesus, "Who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good confession"(1 Tim 6: 12,13). It behooves us, therefore, to exercise ourselves in this godly practice. This second volume of the Basic Lesson Series contains six lessons: namely, Public Confessions, Separated from the World, Elimination of Distinctions, Witnessing, How to Lead People to Christ and Household Salvation.
