Download or read book Public Faith in Action written by Miroslav Volf and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2016-06-21 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrated Theologian Offers Wisdom for Civic Engagement Christian citizens have a responsibility to make political and ethical judgments in light of their faith and to participate in the public lives of their communities--from their local neighborhoods to the national scene. But it can be difficult to discern who to vote for, which policies to support, and how to respond to the social and cultural trends of our time. This nonpartisan handbook offers Christians practical guidance for thinking through complicated public issues and faithfully following Jesus as citizens of their countries. The book focuses on enduring Christian commitments that should guide readers in their judgments and encourages legitimate debate among Christians over how to live out core values. The book also includes lists of resources for further reflection in each chapter and "room for debate" questions to consider.
Download or read book A Public Faith written by Miroslav Volf and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering such timely issues as witness in a multifaith society and political engagement in a pluralistic world, this compelling book highlights things Christians can do to serve the common good. Now in paperback. Praise for the cloth edition Named one of the "Top 100 Books" and one of the "Top 10 Religion Books" of 2011 by Publishers Weekly "Accessible, wise guidance for people of all faiths."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Highly original. . . . The book deserves a wide audience and is one that will affect its readers well after they have turned the final page."--Christianity Today (5-star review)
Download or read book Faith in Action written by Richard L. Wood and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2002-09-15 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past fifteen years, associations throughout the U.S. have organized citizens around issues of equality and social justice, often through local churches. But in contrast to President Bush's vision of faith-based activism, in which groups deliver social services to the needy, these associations do something greater. Drawing on institutions of faith, they reshape public policies that neglect the disadvantaged. To find out how this faith-based form of community organizing succeeds, Richard L. Wood spent several years working with two local groups in Oakland, California—the faith-based Pacific Institute for Community Organization and the race-based Center for Third World Organizing. Comparing their activist techniques and achievements, Wood argues that the alternative cultures and strategies of these two groups give them radically different access to community ties and social capital. Creative and insightful, Faith in Action shows how community activism and religious organizations can help build a more just and democratic future for all Americans.
Download or read book Public Faith in Action written by Miroslav Volf and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrated Theologian Offers Wisdom for Civic Engagement Christian citizens have a responsibility to make political and ethical judgments in light of their faith and to participate in the public lives of their communities--from their local neighborhoods to the national scene. But it can be difficult to discern who to vote for, which policies to support, and how to respond to the social and cultural trends of our time. This nonpartisan handbook offers Christians practical guidance for thinking through complicated public issues and faithfully following Jesus as citizens of their countries. The book focuses on enduring Christian commitments that should guide readers in their judgments and encourages legitimate debate among Christians over how to live out core values. The book also includes lists of resources for further reflection in each chapter and "room for debate" questions to consider.
Download or read book Christians and the Common Good written by Charles Gutenson and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2011-03-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christians across the spectrum have soured on religious involvement in politics, tempted either to withdraw or to secularize their public engagement. Yet the kingdom of God is clearly concerned with justice and communal well-being. How can Christians be active in public life without getting mired down in political polarization and controversy? For too long, the question of faith in public life has centered on what the Bible says about government. Charles Gutenson, a theologian respected by both evangelical and mainline Christians, argues that we should first ask how God intends for us to live together before considering the public policies and institutions that would best empower living together in that way. By concentrating on the nature of God, we can move past presuppositions regarding the role of government and engage in healthy discussions about how best to serve the common good. This lucidly written book includes a foreword by bestselling author Jim Wallis.
Download or read book Filipino American Faith in Action written by Joaquin Jay Gonzalez and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2009-02 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction: Calling in San Francisco -- Resurrecting Christian faith -- Praying, then delivering miracles -- Gathering souls with food -- Converting bowling to civic involvement -- Blessing passion and revolution -- Reconciling old and young spirits -- Conclusion: Embracing new bonds and bridges.
Download or read book Liberal Politics and Public Faith written by Kevin Vallier and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-13 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the eyes of many, liberalism requires the aggressive secularization of social institutions, especially public media and public schools. The unfortunate result is that many Americans have become alienated from the liberal tradition because they believe it threatens their most sacred forms of life. This was not always the case: in American history, the relation between liberalism and religion has often been one of mutual respect and support. In Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation, Kevin Vallier attempts to reestablish mutual respect by developing a liberal political theory that avoids the standard liberal hostility to religious voices in public life. He claims that the dominant form of academic liberalism, public reason liberalism, is far friendlier to religious influences in public life than either its proponents or detractors suppose. The best interpretation of public reason, convergence liberalism, rejects the much-derided "privatization" of religious belief, instead viewing religious contributions to politics as a resource for liberal political institutions. Many books reject privatization, Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation is unique in doing so on liberal grounds.
Download or read book God in Action written by Cardinal Francis George and published by Image. This book was released on 2011-05-03 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "What if God has his own ways that are not always our ways? What if God acts in public affairs in ways that can, of course, be ignored from day to day but at a price for individuals and whole societies? If God is an actor, how is it possible to trace his action? . . . Can we discover God’s actions in the part of human experience that is public in our day?" —Francis Cardinal George In this bracing manifesto, His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, one of the leading Catholic intellectuals in America today, provides refreshing insight into the intersection of faith and the public sphere. Finding both challenges and reasons for hope, he lays out a vision for national life that respects natural law, human dignity, and the essential ways religion uniquely contributes to the common good. In our country today, the significance of religious faith is often reduced to personal spiritual convictions or peculiar ideas found within self-contained churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques. Yet, as Cardinal George argues, it is God acting through humanity that is the very root of the core ideals that shape society. In the process, a moral framework is built that allows life to flourish. Consequently, he calls for resistance to creeping ideas that seek to deny religious organizations the freedom to act on their convictions and, thus, shutting voices of faith out of the public square on culture-defining issues. Moreover, Cardinal George calls for a fundamental reevaluation of questions surrounding human rights, religious liberty, respect for life, just war, commerce, immigration, and globalization. In turn, he points out a clear path that respects individual conscience while integrating faith and natural law into the public conversation on our shared future. An important book for challenging times, God in Action presents a universal message rooted in the Catholic philosophical tradition that is impossible to ignore.
Download or read book Unstoppable written by Nick Vujicic and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2012-10-02 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestseller Being unstoppable is about believing and achieving. It’s about having faith in yourself, your talents and your purpose and, most of all, in God’s great love and His divine plan for your life. Millions around the world recognize the smiling face and inspirational message of Nick Vujicic. Despite being born without arms or legs, Nick’s challenges have not kept him from enjoying great adventures, a fulfilling and meaningful career, and loving relationships. Nick has overcome trials and hardships by focusing on the promises that he was created for a unique and specific purpose, that his life has value and is a gift to others, and that no matter the despair and hard times in life, God is always present. Nick credits his success in life to the power that is unleashed when faith takes action. But how does that happen? In Unstoppable Nick addresses adversity and difficult circumstances that many people face today, including: • Personal crises • Relationship issues • Career and job challenges • Health and disability concerns • Self-destructive thoughts, emotions, and addictions • Bullying, persecution, cruelty, and intolerance • Balance in body, mind, heart, and spirit • Service to others Through stories from his own life and the experiences of many others, Nick explains how anyone wanting a “ridiculously good life” can respond to these issues and more to become unstoppable. What’s standing in your way? Are you ready to become unstoppable?
Download or read book Faith Makes Us Live written by Margarita Mooney and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2009-08-10 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Margarita Mooney's path-breaking book, Faith Makes us Live, is the first-ever comparative study of how religious faith and practice affect immigrant adaptation and assimilation. Her imaginative analysis of Haitian immigrants in Miami, Montreal, and Paris shows how religious faith serves to mediate culturally between immigrants and their host societies, but also reveals that by itself faith is not enough to achieve successful integration. Host societies must also be receptive to the religious institutions that serve immigrants if integration is to be achieved. Her book is essential reading for students of both religion and immigration."—Douglas S. Massey, Princeton University "Margarita Mooney's research on Haitian Catholic immigrants in three settings is elegant in design, assiduous in execution, and compelling in presentation. Mooney's immigrants bring a deep piety with them across the ocean, but the different contexts of reception they encounter in Miami, Montreal, and Paris significantly influence their differential adaptation to their new homes in the U.S., Canada, and France. Faith Makes Us Live is an essential contribution to the growing body of literature on religion and immigration."—R. Stephen Warner, University of Illinois at Chicago "Faith Makes Us Live is one of those rare books that succeeds in making a valuable contribution on at least three fronts: it extends the literature on religion and immigration by showing how religious organizations serve as mediating structures between immigrants and their host communities, it demonstrates to scholars interested in faith-based service organizations that the larger relationships between church and state must be considered carefully through a comparative framework, and it provides students of religion with a compelling, up-close-and-personal account of how faith matters in the daily lives of Haitian immigrants."—Robert Wuthnow, Princeton University "What excites me most about Faith Makes Us Live is that it analyzes the role played by the Catholic Church in immigrant incorporation while taking into consideration the distinctive challenges met by Haitians in three societies that treat the poor, immigrants and people of color quite differently. The comparison between Miami, Paris, and Montreal is particularly felicitous given differences in the position and influence of the Church, the characteristics of the Haitian populations, and the public resources available to immigrants across these three contexts. By showing how religion sustains resilience and empowerment for a particularly vulnerable group of individuals, Mooney demonstrates the crucial role of meaning-making matters for immigrant incorporation."—Michele Lamont, Harvard University. "This book teaches us an important lesson: When immigrants are religious—and so many are—pragmatic cooperation between church and state can hasten their acculturation and improve their well-being. Faith Makes Us Live is essential reading for those who want to better understand the role of religion and religious institutions in immigrants' lives."—Mark Chaves, Duke University "An examplar of theory-driven ethnographic research. Professor Mooney provides an ambitious, comparative study at once rich in detail and grand in scope. By systematically comparing three countries on two continents, this book uncovers crucial patterns of relationships among church, state, and civil society and how they affect immigrants on the ground. This is what ethnography should be: rooted in the lived experience of everyday life and yet motivated by the need to understand human social processes in general."—Andy Perrin, University of North Carolina "Thoroughly sociological in design and analysis, this study opens new vistas for the field of religion and immigration. Leaving behind celebratory or critical accounts of the role of religious beliefs in the adaptation of immigrant minorities, Mooney makes clear that processes and outcomes depend on the interaction between religious institutions and the broader socio-political context. An original contribution, made even more valuable by its focus on one of the most downtrodden groups in the migrant world."—Alejandro Portes, Princeton University
Download or read book Beyond Homelessness written by Steven Bouma-Prediger and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2008-06-03 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a brilliant use of metaphor that makes clear why the world leaves us feeling so uneasy!
Download or read book Faith Seeking Action written by Gregory P. Leffel and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2007-06-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Faith Seeking Action, author Gregory Leffel links a description of the church as a global movement with a description of contemporary social movements that are actively challenging today's societies, such as the environmental, global justice, and identity movements. Not surprisingly, Christian communities and communities of social activists share much in common as they each work to enrich their societies. It is natural then to ask what missionally-concerned Christians may learn from social movements about the public role of their churches, the connection of their beliefs to social change, and the mobilization of their people. It can also be asked how these often divided communities may find ways to collaborate around common actions rooted in such shared values as peace, justice, life, and the integrity of the environment. Building on growing interest in the field of missiology and its "missional church" concept, Leffel has created a dialog between the church as a social actor and social movements. Along with introducing movement theory to mission studies, Leffel introduces a new way of addressing the issues involved in the church's engagement with society, a concept he calls missio-ecclesiology. Of interest to those seeking vital ways to live out their faith in the world—missiologists, missional church leaders, and street-level workers alike—this work fuels fresh thinking about the church's role in cultural and social change.
Download or read book Faith Leadership and Public Life written by Preston Manning and published by Castle Quay Books. This book was released on 2017-10-15 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The connection between faith, leadership and public life is a complex one as Preston Manning knows all too well from his years as a scout and trailblazer on Canada’s political frontiers. Now, in his new book Faith, Leadership and Public Life: Leadership Lessons from Moses to Jesus he fearlessly tackles this subject by drawing upon his own years in Canada’s parliament and political arena and upon relevant lessons to be learned from the public lives of the founding giants of Judaism and the Christian faith. Starting with the public life of Jesus himself, he also draws upon the experience of those leaders whom Jesus most frequently referenced such as Moses and David, as well as examining the lives of leaders such as Joseph and Daniel who were called upon to exercise their faith in societies and political systems hostile to their beliefs. He challenges people of faith today to learn from their examples about how to conduct ourselves responsibly at the faith-political interface, while bringing what Jesus called “salt and light” to bear on the political issues and structures of our times. If you are a person of faith, currently active in politics or leadership, or contemplating involvement in either, the following pages will help you in meeting those challenges.
Download or read book The Home of God written by Miroslav Volf and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2022-09-27 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in the midst of a crisis of home. It is evident in the massive uprooting and migration of millions across the globe, in the anxious nationalism awaiting immigrants in their destinations, in the unhoused populations in wealthy cities, in the fractured households of families, and in the worldwide destruction of habitats and international struggles for dominance. It is evident, perhaps more quietly but just as truly, in the aching sense that there is nowhere we truly belong. In this moment, the Christian faith has been disappointingly inept in its response. We need a better witness to the God who created, loves, and reconciles this world, who comes to dwell among us. This book tells the "story of everything" in which God creates the world as the home for humans and for God in communion with God's creatures. The authors render the story of creation, redemption, and consummation through the lens of God's homemaking work and show the theological fruit of telling the story this way. The result is a vision that can inspire creative Christian living in our various homes today in faithfulness to God's ongoing work.
Download or read book Risky Gospel written by Owen Strachan and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2013-12-03 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do you access a real, thriving, vibrant faith? You trust a big God, and you start living like he’s real. It’s time to put our comfort and ease and false security on the line. If we know God is real, let’s pray as if he’s actually listening. If we know he’s good, let’s reflect that goodness in the world. When our problems feel big, let’s lean on the One who is bigger. Is that risky? “Sure,” says Owen Strachan. “Embrace it anyway. It’s literally the only way to live.”
Download or read book Faithful Presence written by Bill Haslam and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two-term governor of Tennessee Bill Haslam reveals how faith--too often divisive and contentious--can be a redemptive and unifying presence in the public square. As a former mayor and governor, Bill Haslam has long been at the center of politics and policy on local, state, and federal levels. And he has consistently been guided by his faith, which influenced his actions on issues ranging from capital punishment to pardons, health care to abortion, welfare to free college tuition. Yet the place of faith in public life has been hotly debated since our nation's founding, and the relationship of church and state remains contentious to this day--and for good reason. Too often, Bill Haslam argues, Christians end up shaping their faith to fit their politics rather than forming their politics to their faith. They seem to forget their calling is to be used by God in service of others rather than to use God to reach their own desires and ends. Faithful Presence calls for a different way. Drawing upon his years of public service, Haslam casts a remarkable vision for the redemptive role of faith in politics while examining some of the most complex issues of our time, including: partisanship in our divided era; the most essential character trait for a public servant; how we cannot escape "legislating morality"; the answer to perpetual outrage; and how to think about the separation of church and state. For Christians ready to be salt and light, as well as for those of a different faith or no faith at all, Faithful Presence argues that faith can be a redemptive, healing presence in the public square--as it must be, if our nation is to flourish.
Download or read book Making Faith sense written by Robert L. Kinast and published by Liturgical Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Making faith-sense is a new term for an ancient practice. It is what the early Christians called mystical or wisdom theology: understanding life in the light of God's participation recorded in the Gospels, recognizing the signs of God's presence in everyday events and shaping one's life accordingly. In Making Faith-Sense, Robert Kinast shows all who seek to unify their life experience around their belief in God how to follow that ancient practice. Drawing upon the award-winning process he has used with students for the ministry, Father Kinast explains how to make sense of family, work, and cultural experience from the perspective of Christian faith. Each chapter contains numerous real-life examples and practical guidelines that can be used privately or with a group.
