Download or read book Decoding the Digital Church written by Stephanie A. Martin and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A nuanced look at the rhetorical narratives used by conservative Republicans and evangelicals to make both personal and political choices As a political constituency, white conservative evangelicals are generally portrayed as easy to dupe, disposed to vote against their own interests, and prone to intolerance and knee-jerk reactions. In Decoding the Digital Church: Evangelical Storytelling and the Election of Donald J. Trump, Stephanie A. Martin challenges this assumption and moves beyond these overused stereotypes to develop a refined explanation for this constituency’s voting behavior. This volume offers a fresh perspective on the study of religion and politics and stems from the author’s personal interest in the ways her experiences with believers differ from how scholars often frame this group’s rationale and behaviors. To address this disparity, Martin examines sermons, drawing on her expertise in rhetoric and communication studies with the benefits of ethnographic research in an innovative hybrid approach she terms a “digital rhetorical ethnography.” Martin’s thorough research surveys more than 150 online sermons from America’s largest evangelical megachurches in 37 different states. Through listening closely to the words of the pastors who lead these conservative congregations, Martin describes a gentler discourse less obsessed with issues like abortion or marriage equality than stereotypes of evangelicals might suggest. Instead, the politicaleconomic sermons and stories from pastors encourage true believers to remember the exceptional nature of the nation’s founding while also deemphasizing how much American citizenship really means. Martin grapples with and pays serious, scholarly attention to a seeming contradiction: while the large majority of white conservative evangelicals voted in 2016 for Donald J. Trump, Martin shows that many of their pastors were deeply concerned about the candidate, the divisive nature of the campaign, and the potential effect of the race on their congregants’ devotion to democratic process itself. In-depth chapters provide a fuller analysis of our current political climate, recapping previous scholarship on the history of this growing divide and establishing the groundwork to set up the dissonance between the political commitments of evangelicals and their faith that the rhetorical ethnography addresses.
Download or read book Secular Surge written by David E. Campbell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-03 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American society is rapidly secularizing–a radical departure from its historically high level of religiosity–and politics is a big part of the reason. Just as, forty years ago, the Religious Right arose as a new political movement, today secularism is gaining traction as a distinct and politically energized identity. This book examines the political causes and political consequences of this secular surge, drawing on a wealth of original data. The authors show that secular identity is in part a reaction to the Religious Right. However, while the political impact of secularism is profound, there may not yet be a Secular Left to counterbalance the Religious Right. Secularism has introduced new tensions within the Democratic Party while adding oxygen to political polarization between Democrats and Republicans. Still there may be opportunities to reach common ground if politicians seek to forge coalitions that encompass both secular and religious Americans.
Download or read book Decoding Digital Culture with Science Fiction written by Alan N. Shapiro and published by transcript Verlag. This book was released on 2024-06-30 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do digital media technologies affect society and our lives? Through the cultural theory hypotheses of hyper-modernism, hyperreality, and posthumanism, Alan N. Shapiro investigates the social impact of Virtual/Augmented Reality, AI, social media platforms, robots, and the Brain-Computer Interface. His examination of concepts of Jean Baudrillard and Katherine Hayles, as well as films such as Blade Runner 2049, Ghost in the Shell, Ex Machina, and the TV series Black Mirror, suggests that the boundary between science fiction narratives and the »real world« has become indistinct. Science-fictional thinking should be advanced as a principal mode of knowledge for grasping the world and digitalization.
Download or read book Something s Not Right written by Wade Mullen and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2020 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Am I the only one who sees this-am I just imagining things? Is something wrong with me ... or could this be abuse?" Maybe you don't know for sure: all you know is something feels off when you think about a certain relationship or interaction with an institution or organization. You feel alone and confused--but calling it "abuse" feels extreme and unsettling, a label for what happens to other people but not you. Yet you can't shake the feeling: something's not right. In his debut book, researcher and advocate Wade Mullen introduces us to the groundbreaking world of impression management--the strategies that individuals and organizations utilize to gain power and cover up their wrongdoings. Mullen reveals a pattern that accompanies many types of abuse, almost as if abusers are somehow reading from the same playbook. If we can learn to decode these evil methods--if we can learn the language of abuse--we can help stop the cycle and make abusers less effective at accomplishing destruction in our lives. Something's Not Right will help you to identify and describe tactics that were previously unidentifiable and indescribable, and give you the language you need to move toward freedom and create a safer future for yourself and others"--
Download or read book The Ballot and the Bible written by Kaitlyn Schiess and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2023-08-22 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ★ Publishers Weekly starred review "A nuanced look at America's legacy of scriptural language."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) Christianity Today 2024 Book Award Finalist (Politics and Public Life) How do Bible passages written thousands of years ago apply to politics today? What can we learn from America's history of using the Bible in politics? How can we converse with people whose views differ from our own? In The Ballot and the Bible, Kaitlyn Schiess explores these questions and more. She unpacks examples of how Americans have connected the Bible to politics in the past, highlighting times it was applied well and times it was egregiously misused. Schiess combines American political history and biblical interpretation to help readers faithfully read Scripture, talk with others about it, and apply it to contemporary political issues--and to their lives. Rather than prescribing what readers should think about specific hot-button issues, Schiess outlines core biblical themes around power, allegiance, national identity, and more. Readers will be encouraged to pursue a biblical basis for their political engagement with compassion and confidence.
Download or read book Visual Ethics written by Paul Martin Lester and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-03-31 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An indispensable guide to visual ethics, this book addresses the need for critical thinking and ethical behavior among students and professionals responsible for a variety of mass media visual messages. Written for an ever-growing discipline, authors Paul Martin Lester, Stephanie A. Martin, and Martin Rodden-Smith give serious ethical consideration to the complex field of visual communication. The book covers the definitions and uses of six philosophies, analytical methods, cultural awareness, visual reporting, documentary, citizen journalists, advertising, public relations, typography, graphic design, data visualizations, cartoons, motion pictures, television, computers and the web, augmented and virtual reality, social media, the editing process, and the need for empathy. At the end of each chapter are case studies for further analysis and interviews with thoughtful practitioners in each field of study, including Steven Heller and Nigel Holmes. This second edition has also been fully revised and updated throughout to reflect on the impact of new and emerging technologies. This book is an important resource for students of photojournalism, photography, filmmaking, media and communication, and visual communication, as well as professionals working in these fields.
Download or read book Shaping a Digital World written by Derek C. Schuurman and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building on the work of Jacques Ellul, Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman, as well as a wide range of Reformed thinkers, Derek Schuurman provides a brief theology of technology—rooted in the Reformed tradition and oriented around the grand themes of creation, fall, redemption and new creation.
Download or read book Faithful Deliberation written by T J Geiger and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2022-06-14 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigates the rhetorical practices used by contemporary evangelical Christian women to confront theological and cultural issues that stymie deliberation within their communities While often perceived as an insular enclave with a high level of in-group agreement about political and social issues, predominantly white evangelicalism includes prominent voices urging deliberation about appropriate responses to sexual abuse, domestic violence, and the discourses surrounding these traumas. In Faithful Deliberation: Rhetorical Invention, Evangelicalism, and #MeToo Reckonings, T J Geiger II examines theologically reflective rhetorical invention that reconfigures trauma-minimizing commonplaces in order to facilitate community-internal deliberation. Resting at the intersection of feminist rhetorical studies and religious rhetorics, this book contains four related theological-rhetorical case studies that consider how figures such as Beth Moore, Jen Hatmaker, Rachael Denhollander, Karen Swallow Prior, and others engaged in rhetorical invention. Each juxtaposes differing approaches to contending with rape, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and other traumas. Each case contrasts an approach based on appeals to highly circumscribed understandings of grace, purity, and other denomination-specific traditions and values with approaches rooted in those same traditions and values, but with an eye toward community transformation, healing through justice, and reinvigorated forms of forgiveness. Geiger skillfully argues that this faithful deliberation involves practices of thinking, reflecting, storytelling, and acting within a tightly bounded community that can foster change through a recommitment to core values. These rhetorical practices exemplify the kind of inventive listening deliberative discourse requires, point to the sort of healing they may promote in response to trauma and trauma discourses, and occur within a range of genres including social media posts, blog entries, published interviews, victim impact statements, and petitions. This study of invention for evangelical-to-other-evangelical deliberative discourse contributes to rhetorical studies by demonstrating the civic and social possibilities of rhetoric within religious enclaves. By locating the case studies as recent moments in longer US public and evangelical histories of activism, deliberative practice, and politics, Faithful Deliberation brings into focus how enclaves and the dominant public sphere interact.
Download or read book Redeeming Power written by Diane Langberg and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Power has a God-given role in human relationships and institutions, but it can lead to abuse when used in unhealthy ways. Speaking into current #MeToo and #ChurchToo conversations, this book shows that the body of Christ desperately needs to understand the forms power takes, how it is abused, and how to respond to abuses of power. Although many Christians want to prevent abuse in their churches and organizations, they lack a deep and clear-eyed understanding of how power actually works. Internationally recognized psychologist Diane Langberg offers a clinical and theological framework for understanding how power operates, the effects of the abuse of power, and how power can be redeemed and restored to its proper God-given place in relationships and institutions. This book not only helps Christian leaders identify and resist abusive systems but also shows how they can use power to protect the vulnerable in their midst.
Download or read book Youth Ministry 3 0 written by Mark Oestreicher and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2008-11-04 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past several decades there have been three significant shifts in youth culture; each new shift brought with it different values and priorities in the lives of teens. Youth ministries adapted and responded to the first two shifts, but we’re missing the boat on the third. The result? Youth ministry isn’t addressing the realities and needs of today’s youth culture.After nearly three decades in youth ministry, Mark Oestreicher has lived through a lot of those shifts himself. In recent years, he’s found himself wondering what needs to change, especially since so much of what we’re doing in youth ministry today is not working.In Youth Ministry 3.0, youth workers will explore, along with Marko and the voices of other youth workers, why we need change in youth ministry, from a ministry moving away from a dependence on programs, to one that is focused on communion and mission. They’ll get a quick history of youth ministry over the last fifty years. And they’ll help dream about what changes need to take place in order to create the next phase of youth ministry—the future that needs to be created for effective ministry to students.
Download or read book Pagans in the Promised Land written by Steven T. Newcomb and published by Fulcrum Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An analysis of how religious bias shaped U.S. federal Indian law."--
Download or read book Decoding the Prophet Jeremiah written by Mark Biltz and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Could an ancient prophet hold a present key that will reveal the future? Jeremiah was an Old Testament voice, but he still speaks to our day. Alone and living in a time of chaos, he was a prophet and Levitical priest whose fellow priests and prophets wanted him dead. In fact, everyone wanted him dead--the political leaders, his neighbors, and even his family. At twenty-three years old Jeremiah was told to speak truth to power and not to worry what the consequences may be. God told him that people love to praise the Lord but refuse to do what He says. In spite of the judgments cascading upon the heads of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Lord promised a new covenant with Israel and Judah that would revolutionize their walk with Him. This book is a clarion call to all believers. We need to see the bigger picture: it is not about us but about God's heart and God's kingdom. God is looking for warriors who are about advancing His kingdom by storming the gates of hell and setting His sons and daughters free from the clutches of the greatest narcissist of all time.
Download or read book Decoding Chomsky written by Chris Knight and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh and fascinating look at the philosophies, politics, and intellectual legacy of one of the twentieth century's most influential and controversial minds Occupying a pivotal position in postwar thought, Noam Chomsky is both the founder of modern linguistics and the world's most prominent political dissident. Chris Knight adopts an anthropologist's perspective on the twin output of this intellectual giant, acclaimed as much for his denunciations of US foreign policy as for his theories about language and mind. Knight explores the social and institutional context of Chomsky's thinking, showing how the tension between military funding and his role as linchpin of the political left pressured him to establish a disconnect between science on the one hand and politics on the other, deepening a split between mind and body characteristic of Western philosophy since the Enlightenment. Provocative, fearless, and engaging, this remarkable study explains the enigma of one of the greatest intellectuals of our time.
Download or read book A Church Called Tov written by Scot McKnight and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Scot and Laura do an amazing job of teaching us what a good church looks like.” —Beth Moore What is the way forward for the church? Tragically, in recent years, Christians have gotten used to revelations of abuses of many kinds in our most respected churches—from Willow Creek to Harvest, from Southern Baptist pastors to Sovereign Grace churches. Respected author and theologian Scot McKnight and former Willow Creek member Laura Barringer wrote this book to paint a pathway forward for the church. We need a better way. The sad truth is that churches of all shapes and sizes are susceptible to abuses of power, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse. Abuses occur most frequently when Christians neglect to create a culture that resists abuse and promotes healing, safety, and spiritual growth. How do we keep these devastating events from repeating themselves? We need a map to get us from where we are today to where we ought to be as the body of Christ. That map is in a mysterious and beautiful little Hebrew word in Scripture that we translate “good,” the word tov. In this book, McKnight and Barringer explore the concept of tov—unpacking its richness and how it can help Christians and churches rise up to fulfill their true calling as imitators of Jesus.
Download or read book Redeem All written by Corrina Laughlin and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2021-12-21 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The church -- The start up -- Media missions -- The influencers -- Racial reckoning and repair.
Download or read book News on the Right written by Anthony M. Nadler and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the National Review to Breitbart, from Fox News to Rush Limbaugh, conservative news is an inescapable feature of modern politics. Since the early days of mass communication, right-wing media producers have blended reporting with commentary, narrating the news of the day from a perspective informed by conservative worldviews and partisanship. News on the Right seeks to initiate a new interdisciplinary field of scholarly research focused on the study of right-wing media and conservative news. Editors Anthony Nadler and A.J. Bauer gather a range of voices, presenting an interdisciplinary investigation into the practices and patterns of meaning-making in the production, circulation, and consumption of conservative news. Traversing journalism, media and communication studies, cultural studies, history, political science, and sociology, this volume utilizes a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods to elucidate case studies of conservative news cultures in the US and UK. Together, these perspectives show that a fuller understanding of right-wing media and its effects can be reached by treating these phenomena as deeply interwoven into many conservatives' lives and political sensibilities.
Download or read book Media and Society written by Nicholas Carah and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2021-05-05 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do media platforms organise social life? How do media empower or disempower our identities? How do we understand the impact of algorithms? How are media audiences produced and managed? Media & Society introduces the role of the media in social, cultural, political and economic life, unpacking the increasing entanglement of digital media technology with our everyday lives. It explores the relationship between meaning and power in an age of participatory culture, social media and digital platforms. An age where we both create and consume content, and where we both give and gain attention – translating our social lives into huge flows of data. Associate Professor Nicholas Carah shows how a critical approach to power helps us not only to understand the role media play in shaping the social, but also how we can become critically informed media citizens ourselves, able to participate and be heard in meaningful ways. Media & Society expertly introduces all the key concepts and ideas you need to know, and then puts theory into practice by tying them to contemporary case studies. From using Ghostery to track how your personal data is being collected, to exploring misinformation on social media via Youtube, to the reality of internships and freelancing in today’s digital media industry. It is essential reading for students of media, communication and cultural studies.
