Download or read book Jesus Skeptic written by John S. Dickerson and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can we know if Jesus actually lived? Have Jesus's followers been a force for good or evil in history? A respected journalist set out to find the answers--not from opinion but from artifacts. The evidence led him to an unexpected conclusion: Jesus really existed and launched the greatest movement for social good in human history. A first-of-its-kind book for a new generation, Jesus Skeptic takes nothing for granted as it explores whether Jesus actually lived and how his story has changed our world. You'll - learn what heroes like Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman believed about Jesus - discover how Jesus inspired women's rights, education rights, and modern hospitals - see visual proofs of Jesus's impact, never before compiled in one place - be inspired to continue Jesus's fight for human rights, justice, and progress Jesus Skeptic unveils convincing physical evidence that will enlighten seekers, skeptics, and longtime Christians alike. In a generation that wants to make the world a better place, we can discover what humanity's greatest champions had in common: a Christian faith.
Download or read book A Skeptic s Investigation into Jesus written by J. P. Hannah and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-04-27 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does human life have any significance? The statements below have become widely accepted in the Western world: -Life is the accidental product of random events. -The laws of physics are totally deterministic. -Science does not accept a connection between physical matter and human consciousness. -Atheism is a conclusion from evidence while faith is speculation. -Science and faith are incompatible. -Suffering contradicts the existence of a loving, omnipotent God. -Jesus was a compilation of pagan mythologies or a human teacher who was deified. But do these statements represent eternal truths? Are they logical conclusions based on established facts or merely opinions? What is the evidence? To investigate these and other questions of existence and faith, a skeptical academic objectively explored relevant aspects of philosophy, mythology, history, archaeology, cosmology, quantum physics, biochemistry, and various faiths that finally led to investigation of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures (including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the gnostic gospels). The findings of this research not only challenge many modern assumptions but also have significant implications for our understanding of reality. Written with minimum technicality for general readership, this book presents a wide range of interesting and carefully confirmed facts relevant to the above questions. Whether you are an atheist or an agnostic, a Christian, or a follower of another faith, or have simply not been interested, this investigation provides valuable and surprising insights into the nature of the universe and our place in it.
Download or read book Liquid Church written by Tim Lucas and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2019-09-10 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In today's fluid culture, many churches are adrift--longing to reach spiritually thirsty people, but failing to make an impact. Have you noticed? Congregations are stuck or declining. Millennials and Gen Z are walking away. Volunteers and their generosity are drying up. Is your city, town, or neighborhood spiritually dry? Do you long to see more of the living water of Jesus flowing freely through your community, generating a fresh wave of ministry momentum? Buckle up: you're in for a whitewater ride! Liquid Church tells the fascinating story of a New Jersey church that began "on accident" and grew into one of America's 100 Fastest-Growing Churches, with over 5,000 in weekly attendance and more than 2,400 baptisms to date. Their secret? They harnessed the power of six powerful ministry currents sweeping across North America including: special needs, creative communication, ministry mergers, compassionate cause, radical generosity, and leadership development. With powerful stories and scriptural insights, backed by national research, Tim Lucas and Warren Bird describe dozens of fresh ideas, new ministry wineskins, and hard-won leadership learnings that resonate with rising generations in today's "show-then-tell" culture. Each chapter includes practical tools, real-life examples, and links to "Other Churches Making Waves" with cutting-edge ministry ideas designed to help saturate your city for Christ. Ready to dive deeper? Whether you serve a brand-new church plant, fast-growing congregation, or an aging ministry ready for reinvention, Liquid Church is an inspiring and practical guide for leaders ready to reach their spiritually thirsty neighbors--those who have given up on church, but haven't given up on God.
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 Reinventing Jesus written by J. Ed Komoszewski and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reinventing Jesus cuts through the rhetoric of extreme doubt to reveal the profound credibility of historic Christianity. Meticulously researched yet eminently readable, this book invites a wide audience to take a firsthand look at the primary evidence for Christianity's origins.
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 Case for Christ written by Lee Strobel and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book consists primarily of interviews between Strobel (a former legal editor at the Chicago Tribune) and biblical scholars such as Bruce Metzger. Each interview is based on a simple question, concerning historical evidence (for example, "Can the Biographies of Jesus Be Trusted?"), scientific evidence, ("Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus' Biographies?"), and "psychiatric evidence" ("Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?"). Together, these interviews compose a case brief defending Jesus' divinity, and urging readers to reach a verdict of their own.
Download or read book The Skeptical Student written by Timothy Keller and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-12-04 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introducing the first essay in the "Encounters with Jesus" e-book series from renowned pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller, author of The Songs of Jesus. The Skeptical Student applies biblical wisdom to life’s biggest questions through the inspiring story of Nathanael’s life-changing encounter in the Gospel of John. The Gospels are full of encounters that made a profound impact on those who spoke with Jesus Christ. In the first essay of his new series, Timothy Keller, pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church and New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God, shows how those encounters can still have a deep effect on us today. Through a lively examination of the biblical passage where Nathanael, the skeptical student, meets with Jesus, Keller reveals how this interaction is about life’s deep questions: Who are we? Why are we here? Why be a good person? Why love instead of hate? This first essay in the ten-part series of Encounters with Jesus also includes an exclusive look at Timothy Keller’s new book on faith and work: Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work.
Download or read book Scripture and the Skeptic written by Eric Huffman and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Bible is the best-selling, most widely read, and most quoted book in history. It is also misunderstood, misquoted, and fiercely debated. If, as Christians believe, the Bible is the Word of God, why is it so complex and difficult to interpret in parts, yet simple enough for even children to understand in others? In Scripture and the Skeptic Eric Huffman, author of 40 Days of Doubt, helps readers understand and cope with confusion about the Bible and provides answers to questions by reframing it as a perfect and seamless story. Huffman illustrates how the Bible, even the parts some consider ungodly, presents the beautiful story that God intended to tell. Through storytelling from his own experiences and his take on Bible stories, Huffman helps readers understand the Bible by interpreting the entire book through the lens of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. He shows how every part of the Bible is either crying out for Jesus, witnessing his incarnation, or responding in the aftermath of his resurrection. Readers discover how to trust the Bible as God’s beautiful and perfect salvation story. Includes questions with each chapter for personal reflection or group study. From the author of 40 Days of Doubt: Devotions for the Skeptic.
Download or read book Raising Jesus written by E.J. Sweeney and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2018-10-31 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life is hard . . . then you die. It’s as simple as that. Dead bodies stay dead. So in this modern, scientific age, how can any reasonable person possibly believe that Jesus actually rose from the dead? Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy turned out to be myths. How is Jesus’s Resurrection any different? How can there possibly be any credible evidence for an event that happened two thousand years ago? The resurrection of Jesus is the most important event in the history of the world—if it’s true. If Jesus did rise, then he is God, the ultimate reality itself. In him, you can find the meaning of life, the secret of happiness, and the way to eternal life. Raising Jesus provides the evidence to show that it really is true. In this era of “alternative facts,” Raising Jesus relies on the most balanced and up-to-date scholarship to shed trustworthy new insights into the evidence. It does this in an easy-to-follow, systematic way using engaging illustrations to reveal the logic of complex arguments. Most importantly, it deals head on with the biggest problem most people in our modern, scientific age have with the resurrection: the philosophical objection that dead people simply don’t come back from the dead. Raising Jesus ultimately shows how believing Jesus rose from the dead is, in fact, the most reasonable conclusion you can make.
Download or read book Letters from a Skeptic written by Dr. Gregory A. Boyd and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greg Boyd and his father, Ed, were on opposite sides of a great divide. Greg was a newfound Christian, while his father was a longtime agnostic. So Greg offered his father an invitation: Ed could write with any questions on Christianity, and his son would offer a response. Letters from a Skeptic contains this special correspondence. The letters tackle some of today's toughest challenges facing Christianity, including Do all non-Christians go to hell? How can we believe a man rose from the dead? Why is the world so full of suffering? How do we know the Bible was divinely inspired? Does God know the future? Each response offers insights into the big questions, while delivering intelligent answers that connect with both the heart and mind. Whether you're a skeptic, a believer, or just unsure, these letters can provide a practical, common-sense guide to the Christian faith.
Download or read book Jesus Loves Me written by John S. Dickerson and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you asked a millennial or younger person in your church, "What do I need to believe to be a Christian?" what would they say? At a time when "truth" is up for grabs, a journalist-turned-pastor wants to help believers understand what they believe. How? By using the simple lyrics "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." In this winsome book, bestselling author John S. Dickerson clearly and faithfully explains essential Christian beliefs, using simple stories that have resonated with his congregation of thousands. He guides readers into these basic beliefs, and most importantly, he illustrates why these beliefs matter. The result is an easy-to-read primer, designed for a time when Christianity is questioned and challenged. It is a great study for young adults, new believers, and long-time believers who want to reclaim the essentials. For anyone who wants their small group, church, or loved ones to embrace the authority of Scripture and the nonnegotiable doctrines of Christianity. "What does it mean to be a genuine Jesus follower in an age when most people, including many self-described Christians, believe that God is well-pleased with a life lived in alignment with a 'designer faith' of their own making? In Jesus Loves Me, John Dickerson answers that question with a deep dive into the simple but profound gospel that Jesus taught as the only kind of faith the Heavenly Father would be well-pleased with. As Dickerson points out, we can't be true Jesus followers if we don't know who He is or what He said and never bother to actually live like He told us to live. Whether you are a brand-new Jesus follower or a longtime veteran, this book will help you nail down the basics of what it means to genuinely know and follow Jesus."--Larry Osborne, author and pastor, North Coast Church "Most Christians would tell you they believe the Bible to be God's Word. And yet many of those same Christians could not even articulate what the core beliefs are to the Christian faith. In Jesus Loves Me, John Dickerson does a great job of helping believers understand the basic teachings of Scripture. This is a great resource for any Christian who needs to build a stronger foundation to their faith."--Steve Poe, lead pastor of Northview Church, Carmel, Indiana
Download or read book Skeptic in the House of God written by James L. Kelley and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James L. Kelley, a skeptic about religion, writes with insight and humor of his life as a member of St. Mark's, an Episcopal church that welcomes doubters without pressuring them to compromise their intellectual integrity. When Kelley first visited the church, he was well into his forties and searching for a respite from urban malaise. At the same time, he found himself filled with disquieting questions: How could he reconcile his convictions with the central purpose of the church - to worship a God he didn't believe in? Could he say the prayers and sing the hymns while remaining an honest skeptic? After fifteen years of full participation in a church that is open not only to skeptics but also to gay men and lesbians, blacks and Jews, where members are invited to critique Sunday sermons, and where hymns are rewritten to reflect feminist concerns, Kelley found that his agnosticism remained but his skepticism about church participation had disappeared. Modern urban life can be a sterile, isolating experience, yet in St. Mark's Kelley discovered a place of vibrant community, honest inquiry, and support over the hard places in life.
Download or read book Hope of Nations written by John S. Dickerson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every week a terrorist attack, riot, or political scandal makes the headlines—and we feel the world around us shaking again. We struggle to separate truth from biased statements and hope from naïveté. We wonder how we got here and where these uncertain days will take us. One of the world’s top investigative reporters, John S. Dickerson, addresses this post-truth, post-Christian society in Hope of Nations. Hope of Nations shows us how and why the world is changing, where those changes will lead, and what it looks like to live like Christ in today’s society. With fascinating historical and political background, Dickerson helps us understand: The five major forces driving global change in the world today Why violent displays of Islam continue resurfacing The incoming moral, social, and political impact of American millennials Ten ways to respond biblically to trends shaping the world right now How to live with Christian courage and compassion in tumultuous times “Times of great social upheaval are times of great spiritual opportunity,” writes Dickerson. “You can live the adventure of this era with great purpose. You can know with confidence that the Creator of the universe appointed you to bring light and life to this moment in human history.” Among the youngest award-winning journalists and a seminary-trained pastor, Dickerson brings his reporting skills, generational perspective, and biblical insights to this groundbreaking book. Get a larger view of what is happening with your community, your government, and your international neighbors in this thoughtful look at global events in light of your unique Christian calling.
Download or read book Dialectics as Sport written by Tom Donovan and published by Algora Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09-11 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Great Evangelical Recession written by John S. Dickerson and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2006, few Americans were expecting the economy to collapse. Today the American church is in a similar position, on the precipice of a great spiritual recession. While we focus on a few large churches and dynamic leaders that are successful, the church's overall membership is shrinking. Young Christians are fleeing. Our donations are drying up. Political fervor is dividing us. Even as these crises eat at the church internally, our once friendly host culture is quickly turning hostile and antagonistic. How can we avoid a devastating collapse? In The Great Evangelical Recession, award-winning journalist and pastor John Dickerson identifies six factors that are radically eroding the American church and offers biblical solutions to prepare evangelicals for spiritual success, even in the face of alarming trends. This book is a heartfelt plea and call to the American church combining quality research, genuine hope, and practical application with the purpose of igniting the church toward a better future.
Download or read book The Jesus Answer Book written by John F. MacArthur and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2013-08-24 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Answers to the most-asked questions about Jesus. PeopleÆs opinions about and understanding of Jesus shape the very course of their lives. Perhaps that is why Jesus is the most loved and hated, cherished and scorned, figure in human history. This book is ideal for people with questions regarding specific topics, teachings, or actions of Jesus. Whether a longtime believer, someone seeking the truth, or even a skeptic, The Jesus Answer Book provides succinct answers to key questions about the Son of God. In The Jesus Answer Book, bestselling author John MacArthur offers biblically based answers to the most commonly asked questions about the life and person of Jesus. Divided topically to answer questions about JesusÆ birth, life, death, resurrection, return, and deity, this book also answers questions about what Jesus means to humanity and how people can come to know Him personally. Includes answers to frequently asked questions such as: How can we believe in the virgin birth of Jesus?, Why did Jesus have to be baptized by John the Baptist?, What miracle is recorded in all four gospels?, What about JesusÆ teaching attracted peopleÆs attention?, Why didnÆt the religious leaders of His day accept Jesus?, Why didnÆt Jesus say anything in His defense?, How was the crucifixion part of GodÆs plan?, and How can we be sure that Jesus actually rose from the dead? Features & Benefits: The Answer Book series has combined sales of over 470,000 and growing Trusted content from bestelling author John MacArthur Excellent resource for students and new Christians who are searching for answers about Jesus Easy-to-navigate Q&A format with nearly 150 questions allows for quick access to specific questions and answers
