Download or read book Defending the Faith in a Messy World written by John Warwick Montgomery and published by New Reformation Publications. This book was released on 2023-01-01 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much to the dismay of its critics, defending the Christian faith does not rest on a complicated, philosophical quest nor illogical assumptions. The task of defending the Christian faith – or Christian apologetics – is for every Believer. In this easy-to-read, beginners guide to Christian apologetics, scholar and apologist Dr. John Warwick Montgomery lays the groundwork for why the case for Christianity is factually and historically compelling as well as how we should defend the faith. The book's three sections will lead you through the importance of Christian apologetics, issues the nonbeliever may raise, and how to bring the centrality of the faith – Christ on the cross – before atheists, skeptics and people from other worldviews. For those who want a lighthearted yet thorough introduction to the how, why and what of Christian apologetics, this primer is a go-to guide for those who hope to "be ready always to give an answer for the faith that is within" (1 Peter 3:15).
Download or read book Faith Founded on Fact written by John Warwick Montgomery and published by New Reformation Publications. This book was released on 2018-01-26 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative and controversial book intended to encourage Christian to make the case for the truthfulness of Christianity based on factual evidence. Included are chapters on: The Place of Reason in Christian Witness; Science, Theology, and the Miraculous; How Muslims Do Apologetics;, Dr. Johnson as Apologist. Contains the most sophisticated refutation available anywhere of the arguments of David Hume and Anthony Flew against miracles in general and the resurrection of Christ in particular.
Download or read book Apologetics in 3D written by Peter S. Williams and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2021-09-03 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of papers and other materials from English philosopher Peter S. Williams develops a holistic vision for Christian apologetics centered around a biblical understanding of spirituality. Grounded in two decades of practical experience, here is a vision of apologetics that's interested in communicating through beauty and goodness as well as logic and arguments.
Download or read book Fool s Talk written by Os Guinness and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2015-06-04 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2016 Christianity Today Book of the Year in Apologetics/Evangelism One of Desiring God's Top 15 Books of 2015 Hearts Minds Bookstore's Best Books of 2015, Social Criticism and Cultural Engagement In our post-Christian context, public life has become markedly more secular and private life infinitely more diverse. Yet many Christians still rely on cookie-cutter approaches to evangelism and apologetics. Most of these methods assume that people are open, interested and needy for spiritual insight when increasingly most people are not. Our urgent need, then, is the capacity to persuade—to make a convincing case for the gospel to people who are not interested in it. In his magnum opus, Os Guinness offers a comprehensive presentation of the art and power of creative persuasion. Christians have often relied on proclaiming and preaching, protesting and picketing. But we are strikingly weak in persuasion—the ability to talk to people who are closed to what we are saying. Actual persuasion requires more than a one-size-fits-all approach. Guinness notes, "Jesus never spoke to two people the same way, and neither should we." Following the tradition of Erasmus, Pascal, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, Malcolm Muggeridge and Peter Berger, Guinness demonstrates how apologetic persuasion requires both the rational and the imaginative. Persuasion is subversive, turning the tables on listeners' assumptions to surprise them with signals of transcendence and the credibility of the gospel. This book is the fruit of forty years of thinking, honed in countless talks and discussions at many of the leading universities and intellectual centers of the world. Discover afresh the persuasive power of Christian witness from one of the leading apologists and thinkers of our era.
Download or read book Messy Faith written by A. J. Gregory and published by Revell. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While most of us trudge toward the cross with the best intentions, at times our lives just don't pan out the way we've planned. Messy Faith addresses the muddled adventure that we call "working out our salvation." It is being sure and unsure, whole and broken, warring, losing, and winning. It is being right and being wrong and having no clue, but believing anyway. And it is trusting in God to perfect the final product of our flawed, human lives. Author A. J. Gregory explores her own personal experiences, and those of a handful of flawed biblical heroes and others who have endured painful or simply ordinary realities in the journey to belief. This honest book will comfort anyone who has had a less-than-straight path to belief and those who continue to struggle.
Download or read book A Bigger Table written by John Pavlovitz and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2017-09-22 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No one likes to eat alone; to approach a table filled with people, only to be told that despite the open chairs there isn't room for you. The rejection stings. It leaves a mark. Yet this is exactly what the church has been saying to far too many people for far too long: “You're not welcome here. Find someplace else to sit.†How can we extend unconditional welcome and acceptance in a world increasingly marked by bigotry, fear, and exclusion? Pastor John Pavlovitz invites readers to join him on the journey to findâ€"or buildâ€"a church that is big enough for everyone. He speaks clearly into the heart of the issues the Christian community has been earnestly wrestling with: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, and global concerns. A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, Hopeful Spiritual Community asks if organized Christianity can find a new way of faithfully continuing the work Jesus began two thousand years ago, where everyone gets a seat. Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories and his careful observations as a pastor to set the table for a new, more loving conversation on these and other important matters of faith. He invites us to build the bigger table Jesus imagined, practicing radical hospitality, total authenticity, messy diversity, and agenda-free community.
Download or read book Agnostic Ish written by Josh Buoy and published by . This book was released on 2016-04-09 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book about science, religion, and the world in between. I was born into a Christian family, but fell out of religion and in love with the scientific method. I had little need of faith, I thought, when science could tell me so much more about the world, and ask so little of me in return. But as I aged into young adulthood, a new chapter of my story began. Did I really know why I believed what I believed? How could I be so certain of my convictions when I hadn't even honestly considered the evidence? This book traces my journey through the furthest reaches of thought, a journey that took me through the realms of psychology, biology, physics, and belief. Could I find a place for faith in the modern world? Or was I right to cast it off as I did?
Download or read book Where Christ Is Present written by John Warwick Montgomery and published by New Reformation Publications. This book was released on 2015-06-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Five hundred years ago, the church of Jesus Christ underwent a Reformation. A lot happened after Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg. But the fallout was not simply the start of Protestantism. The Roman Catholic Church also recast itself in response to Luther's call for reforms. And contrary to common belief, Martin Luther did not set out to start a new church. Rather, he was trying to reform the church that already existed by reemphasizing its essence-namely, the "good news" (the gospel) that Jesus forgives and saves sinners. The unity of the church was broken when the pope rejected this call for reform and excommunicated Luther, starting a chain of events that did lead to the institutional fracturing of Christendom and to a plethora of alternative Christian theologies. But, as many - including conservative Catholics - now admit, the church did in fact need reforming. Today, the church - including its Protestant branches - also needs reforming. Some of the issues in contemporary Christianity are very similar to those in the late Middle Ages, though others are new. But if Luther's theology can be blamed - however unfairly - for fragmenting Christianity, perhaps today it can help us recover the wholeness of Christianity. The religious climate in the early 21st-century is simultaneously highly religious and highly secularized. It is a time of extraordinary spiritual and theological diversity. In the spirit of the anniversary we are observing, this book will propose the kind of Christianity that is best suited for our day. The remedies offered here are available by way of the same theology that was the catalyst for reforming the church five hundred years ago.
Download or read book Big Questions Student and Leader Guide written by Andy McLean and published by Lifeway Church Resources. This book was released on 2016-05-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Big Questions: Developing a Christ-Centered Apologetic is a six-session study designed to equip students to think biblically and apologetically about some of today's toughest topics relating to the Christian faith. Bringing in some of today's leading Christian apologists to contribute--William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, Sean McDowell, and Craig Hazen--Big Questions takes students to another level of being able to explain why they believe what they believe. Questions relating to doubts, evidence for God's existence, the relationship between science and Christianity, the existence of world religions, the problem of evil and suffering, and how to live apologetically in the world today are covered throughout the study, all for the purpose of not only strengthening a student's faith, but to help that student defend and commend the faith to others.
Download or read book A Force of Will written by Mike Stavlund and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2013-03-01 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Mike Stavlund's four-month-old son suddenly died, a flood of cards, flowers, meals, phone calls, and gifts let his family know that they were loved and cared for. What was less welcome were the books, and particularly the religious ones. Often impossibly upbeat, saccharine sweet, and with all kinds of confident promises, they increased the pain rather than soothing it. Though Mike could plainly see that these writers meant well, their preoccupation with defending pristine ideas about God from the suddenly obvious truth of God's unkindness created a cognitive dissonance of such scale that he simply put them away. They were too painful to read and too offensive to bear. Instead he wrote his own book, one week at a time during that first terrible year. A book that embraced the stark reality of loss, the sense of alienation from all of life, the feelings of suffocation at the hands of the well-meaning people gathered around, and the new awareness of feeling abandoned by God. A Force of Will helps anyone who is going through difficulty to honestly confront their feelings without being made to feel guilty. With heartfelt honesty, Mike shows that there is hope--even when there is no happy ending.
Download or read book Resilient Faith written by Gerald L. Sittser and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In our Western, post-Christendom society, much of Christianity's cultural power, privilege, and influence has eroded. But all is not lost, says bestselling author Gerald Sittser. Although the church is concerned and sobered by this cultural shift, it is also curious and teachable. Sittser shows how the early church offers wisdom for responding creatively to the West's increasing secularization. The early Christian movement was surprisingly influential and successful in the Roman world, and so different from its two main rivals--traditional religion and Judaism--that Rome identified it as a "third way." Early Christians immersed themselves in the empire without significant accommodation to or isolation from the culture. They confessed Jesus as Lord and formed disciples accordingly, which helped the church grow in numbers and influence. Sittser explores how Christians today can learn from this third way and respond faithfully, creatively, and winsomely to a world that sees Christianity as largely obsolete. Each chapter introduces historical figures, ancient texts, practices, and institutions to explain and explore the third way of the Jesus movement, which, surprising everyone, changed the world.
Download or read book Mama Bear Apologetics written by Hillary Morgan Ferrer and published by Harvest House Publishers. This book was released on 2019-06-04 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Foreword written by Nancy Pearcey* "Parents are the most important apologists our kids will ever know. Mama Bear Apologetics will help you navigate your kids’ questions and prepare them to become committed Christ followers.” —J. Warner Wallace "If every Christian mom would apply this book in her parenting, it would profoundly transform the next generation." —Natasha Crain #RoarLikeAMother The problem with lies is they don’t often sound like lies. They seem harmless, and even sound right. So what’s a Mama Bear to do when her kids seem to be absorbing the culture’s lies uncritically? Mama Bear Apologetics® is the book you’ve been looking for. This mom-to-mom guide will equip you to teach your kids how to form their own biblical beliefs about what is true and what is false. Through transparent life stories and clear, practical applications—including prayer strategies—this band of Mama Bears offers you tools to train yourself, so you can turn around and train your kids. Are you ready to answer the rallying cry, “Mess with our kids and we will demolish your arguments”? Join the Mama Bears and raise your voice to protect your kids—by teaching them how to think through and address the issues head-on, yet with gentleness and respect.
Download or read book Love Wins written by Rob Bell and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Troubling questions—so troubling that many have lost their faith because of them. Others only whisper the questions to themselves, fearing or being taught that they might lose their faith and their church if they ask them out loud. But what if these questions trouble us for good reason? What if the story of heaven and hell we have been taught is not, in fact, what the Bible teaches? What if what Jesus meant by heaven, hell, and salvation are very different from how we have come to understand them? What if it is God who wants us to face these questions? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. The result is the discovery that the "good news" is much, much better than we ever imagined. Love wins.
Download or read book Contend written by Aaron Armstrong and published by Cruciform Press. This book was released on 2012-10 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every generation must contend for the faith in its own way. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). With the entire Christian faith standing or falling on the validity of such an utterly exclusive and uncompromising claim, doctrine that truly aligns with Jesus will cause division. When we represent our faith honestly, it is simply inevitable: at times we will be at odds with others--friends, relatives, perhaps even other Christians. Yet we are called to contend, in obedience to and for the sake of the most divisive person in history. And the challenge is to do it in the way Jude describes: as an act of mercy toward those who doubt and those who have been deceived, regardless of whether they claim faith in Christ.
Download or read book Suffering and the Sovereignty of God written by John Piper and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2006-09-13 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last few years, 9/11, a tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and many other tragedies have shown us that the vision of God in today's churches in relation to evil and suffering is often frivolous. Against the overwhelming weight and seriousness of the Bible, many Christians are choosing to become more shallow, more entertainment-oriented, and therefore irrelevant in the face of massive suffering. In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, contributors John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Saint, Carl Ellis, David Powlison, Dustin Shramek, and Mark Talbot explore the many categories of God's sovereignty as evidenced in his Word. They urge readers to look to Christ, even in suffering, to find the greatest confidence, deepest comfort, and sweetest fellowship they have ever known.
Download or read book Confronting Christianity written by Rebecca McLaughlin and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2019-04-17 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although many people suggest that Christianity is declining, research indicates that it continues to be the world's most popular worldview. But even so, the Christian faith includes many controversial beliefs that non-Christians find hard to accept. This book explores 12 issues that might cause someone to dismiss orthodox Christianity—issues such as the existence of suffering, the Bible's teaching on gender and sexuality, the reality of heaven and hell, the authority of the Bible, and more. Showing how the best research from sociology, science, and psychology doesn't disagree with but actually aligns with claims found in the Bible, these chapters help skeptics understand why these issues are signposts, rather than roadblocks, to faith in Christ.
Download or read book The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert written by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Rosaria, by the standards of many, was living a very good life. She had a tenured position at a large university in a field for which she cared deeply. She owned two homes with her partner, in which they provided hospitality to students and activists that were looking to make a difference in the world. In the community, Rosaria was involved in volunteer work. At the university, she was a respected advisor of students and her department's curriculum. And then, in her late 30s, Rosaria encountered something that turned her world upside down -- the idea that Christianity, a religion that she had regarded as problematic and sometimes downright damaging, might be right about who God was. That idea seemed to fly in the face of the people and causes that she most loved. What follows is a story of what she describes as a train wreck at the hand of the supernatural. These are her secret thoughts about those events, written as only a reflective English professor could."--Back cover.
