Download or read book Western Culture in Gospel Context written by David J. Kettle and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-04-18 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Approaching us in sovereign freedom, God comes alive to us, we come alive to God, and all creation comes alive as a sign pointing to God. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, God gives and discloses himself in this immediate way as our ultimate context and host, within the provisional medium of creation. This life-giving gospel is met by blindness, however, among those who live today in a collapsing Western culture. This is because their imaginative world is shaped by habitual assumptions and practices that lie--largely unacknowledged--deep within that culture, and that preclude openness to the gospel. Moreover, Western Christians themselves widely share these assumptions, betraying the gospel into cultural captivity. God calls for the conversion of Western culture to the living gospel. Crucially this must include, as Lesslie Newbigin recognized, a repentance from modern Western assumptions about knowledge. Part One explores seeking, knowing, and serving God, as providing a true paradigm for understanding all human enquiry, knowledge, and action. Part Two examines ten resulting "hot spots" where conversion from prevailing cultural assumptions is vital for authentic mission to Western culture.

Download or read book Western Culture in Gospel Context written by David J. Kettle and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-04-18 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Approaching us in sovereign freedom, God comes alive to us, we come alive to God, and all creation comes alive as a sign pointing to God. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, God gives and discloses himself in this immediate way as our ultimate context and host, within the provisional medium of creation. This life-giving gospel is met by blindness, however, among those who live today in a collapsing Western culture. This is because their imaginative world is shaped by habitual assumptions and practices that lie--largely unacknowledged--deep within that culture, and that preclude openness to the gospel. Moreover, Western Christians themselves widely share these assumptions, betraying the gospel into cultural captivity. God calls for the conversion of Western culture to the living gospel. Crucially this must include, as Lesslie Newbigin recognized, a repentance from modern Western assumptions about knowledge. Part One explores seeking, knowing, and serving God, as providing a true paradigm for understanding all human enquiry, knowledge, and action. Part Two examines ten resulting "hot spots" where conversion from prevailing cultural assumptions is vital for authentic mission to Western culture.

Download or read book The Gap Between God and Christianity written by Thomas M. Stallter and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2022-02-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What we fear most has ironically come upon us as Western individualists. We are being controlled by the invisible forces of culture and they have come between God and us. Silent but in the background of all we do and think, its influence cannot be overlooked. We condone and even encourage and champion the very things that create distance between our needs and God's goodness, between our plans and his destiny for us, between our weakness and his strength. We have been deceived. Not only have we created distance between us, but we seldom free God from these cultural and personal expectations and let him speak for himself. We have locked God into our system and, in the end, distracted by our needs for social and personal survival. We must turn our eyes toward him, open our ears to his voice, and let him speak.

Download or read book The Bible in Western Culture written by Dee Dyas and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-03 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The influence of the Bible in Western culture is immeasurable, but these days few of us know much about it. Presenting concise and accessible introductions to the Bible's most important characters, stories and themes, this text encourages better understanding, study and analysis of the Christian element in Western culture. With no prior biblical knowledge required, this clearly presented volume delivers a framework of understanding for those studying Western literature, art, historical events, or for those simply wanting to improve their general knowledge. Filling a gap in the market for an introductory text of this kind, this genuinely multi-disciplinary book provides: * edited extracts from the Bible * explanations of the context and beliefs of each passage * links to related biblical texts * examples of related key works of art and literature * brief biographies of key figures * a comprehensive glossary defining specialist terms * chronology * suggested further reading. Enabling readers to encounter key Bible stories directly, the book also provides useful background information on issues of content, context and influence. Easy to use and follow, it is the essential guide for those wishing to find out more about the Bible and its impact on the world around us.

Download or read book The Gift of Purpose written by J. Alexander Rutherford and published by Teleioteti. This book was released on 2020-12-18 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many writers and commentators are convinced that Western culture and society are unravelling. Who can blame them! As I write this, violent protests rage across the USA in response to senseless murders. The political sphere has never seemed to virulent, and a deadly epidemic has affected all our lives. Many are agreed that there are serious problems working themselves out in Western society, yet among Christians, there is little agreement over the approach we should take to the West and its problems. This issue, how Christians should approach engagement with culture, is not a new one, nor is it a uniquely Western issue. Christians in every age and in every culture are confronted with this question. In response to many today who see it as the Christian responsibility to save the West, to preserve its unique cultural heritage and achievements, this author argues that our lives in this world need to be governed by three theological themes, ecclesiology, soteriology, and eschatology. That is, we must prioritize the local church, engage with society with the understanding that earthly kingdoms are manifestations of Satan’s kingdom, and live in light of Christ’s imminent return.

Download or read book In Our Own Tongues written by Peter C. Phan and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2015-02-19 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is to be the primary evangelizer of Asia? What Asian forms of worship and prayer are both authentically Christian and culturally appropriate? In Our Own Tongues is reading for anyone interested in the emergence of "world Christianity" and its future in the 21st century.--From publisher's description

Download or read book Believing in the Future written by David Jacobus Bosch and published by Gracewing Publishing. This book was released on 1995 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following an analysis of the postmodern world, the legacy of the Enlightenment, and Christian faith into a postmodern age, Professor Bosch sketches the contours of a missiology of Western culture. The latter includes considerations of mission as social ethics, mission and the Third World, and God-talk in an age of reason. A concluding section summarizes the five ingredients of a missiology of Western culture, that is, that it include an ecological dimension, that it be countercultural and ecumenical and contextual, andthat it be primarily a ministry of the laity.

Download or read book Foolishness to the Greeks written by Lesslie Newbigin and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1988-06-01 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can biblical authority be a reality for those shaped by the modern world? This book treats the First World as a mission field, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between the gospel and current society by presenting an outsider's view of contemporary Western culture.

Download or read book The Gospel in the Western Context written by Gert-Jan Roest and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Gospel in the Western Context, Gert-Jan Roest focuses on discerning a Western contextual gospel, an endeavour that is very relevant to the current state of Christianity in the postmodern and post-Christendom West. After giving an in-depth analysis and synthesis of how Hendrikus Berkhof and Colin Gunton read the Western context and contextualize their Christology, he develops a gospel-centred model for reading the context. Meanwhile, he makes a creative and much-needed attempt to connect the two disciplines of systematic theology and missiology and convincingly shows that both disciplines cannot only enrich one another but also can give church practitioners insight and wisdom for their tasks.

Download or read book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society written by Lesslie Newbigin and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1989-10-30 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: INSPIRATIONAL

Download or read book The Book that Made Your World written by Vishal Mangalwadi and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2012-10-24 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understand where we came from. Whether you're an avid student of the Bible or a skeptic of its relevance, The Book That Made Your World will transform your perception of its influence on virtually every facet of Western civilization. Indian philosopher Vishal Mangalwadi reveals the personal motivation that fueled his own study of the Bible and systematically illustrates how its precepts became the framework for societal structure throughout the last millennium. From politics and science, to academia and technology, the Bible's sacred copy became the key that unlocked the Western mind. Through Mangalwadi's wide-ranging and fascinating investigation, you'll discover: What triggered the West's passion for scientific, medical, and technological advancement How the biblical notion of human dignity informs the West's social structure and how it intersects with other worldviews How the Bible created a fertile ground for women to find social and economic empowerment How the Bible has uniquely equipped the West to cultivate compassion, human rights, prosperity, and strong families The role of the Bible in the transformation of education How the modern literary notion of a hero has been shaped by the Bible's archetypal protagonist Journey with Mangalwadi as he examines the origins of a civilization's greatness and the misguided beliefs that threaten to unravel its progress. Learn how the Bible transformed the social, political, and religious institutions that have sustained Western culture for the past millennium, and discover how secular corruption endangers the stability and longevity of Western civilization. Endorsements: “This is an extremely significant piece of work with huge global implications. Vishal brings a timely message.” (Ravi Zacharias, author, Walking from East to West and Beyond Opinion) “In polite society, the mere mention of the Bible often introduces a certain measure of anxiety. A serious discussion on the Bible can bring outright contempt. Therefore, it is most refreshing to encounter this engaging and informed assessment of the Bible’s profound impact on the modern world. Where Bloom laments the closing of the American mind, Mangalwadi brings a refreshing optimism.” (Stanley Mattson, founder and president, C. S. Lewis Foundation) “Vishal Mangalwadi recounts history in very broad strokes, always using his cross-cultural perspectives for highlighting the many benefits of biblical principles in shaping civilization.” (George Marsden, professor, University of Notre Dame; author, Fundamentalism and American Culture)

Download or read book Living at the Crossroads written by Michael W. Goheen and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2008-11-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can Christians live faithfully at the crossroads of the story of Scripture and postmodern culture? In Living at the Crossroads, authors Michael Goheen and Craig Bartholomew explore this question as they provide a general introduction to Christian worldview. Ideal for both students and lay readers, Living at the Crossroads lays out a brief summary of the biblical story and the most fundamental beliefs of Scripture. The book tells the story of Western culture from the classical period to postmodernity. The authors then provide an analysis of how Christians live in the tension that exists at the intersection of the biblical and cultural stories, exploring the important implications in key areas of life, such as education, scholarship, economics, politics, and church.

Download or read book The Gospel in Human Contexts written by Paul G. Hiebert and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2009-06 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading evangelical anthropologist/missiologist provides students of intercultural ministry with an understanding of worldview and a strategy for effective, long-term ministry.

Download or read book Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes written by E. Randolph Richards and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-07-31 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brandon O'Brien and Randy Richards shed light on the ways that Western readers often misunderstand the cultural dynamics of the Bible. Identifying nine areas where commonplaces of modern Western thought diverge with the text, the authors ask us to reconsider long-held opinions about our most beloved book.

Download or read book Can the West Be Converted written by Jean-Georges Gantenbein and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-11-04 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rather than reconsidering contemporary culture in light of secularization, much of the western church operates with a degree of nostalgia. She has yet to fully embrace prospective, innovative models for what form her task might take in some of Christianity’s historic heartlands. Amidst rapidly declining church membership, contextualizing the Gospel for the contemporary West is an urgent task for churches and Christians living in this context. This book seeks an interdisciplinary, international, and ecumenical response to this challenge, uniting historical, sociological, theological, and missiological perspectives. Benefiting from recent studies in sociology of religion, Dr. Gantenbein offers several detailed contextual case studies before establishing correlations between western cultural-religious characteristics and corresponding theological affirmations. This study includes several unexpected dimensions, including the development of a theological aesthetic in tension with the typically Word-alone tradition of Protestantism; a constructive reading of the book of Revelation as a source for contemporary aesthetic missiology; reflections on a soteriology for the postmodern era; and a proposal for an anonymous ecclesiology within a European context where churches are viewed with growing suspicion. With rare perspicacity, Gantenbein’s study creatively calls churches to apply renewed intellectual rigor in faithfulness to their common purpose.

Download or read book Christ and Context written by Hilary Regan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-10-06 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a growing awareness of cultural diversity and plurality on the one hand and shared responsibility for our planet on the other. The sense of cultural identity exposes the wealth and richness of our heritage but also introduces its risks, like the proliferation of often violent independence and separatist movements. A sense of shared responsibility represents the hope to avoid ecological catastrophe and highlights the problems of inequality, poverty and suffering. Is our understanding of cultures and contexts affected, or even dramatically transformed, by our perception of Christ and Trinitarian theology? This series of essays addresses the issues of cultural plurality and diversity, poverty, sexist and racist oppression and ecological crisis, and aims to discuss the place of Christ in our understanding of human contextuality. Authors include Gustavo Gutiérrez, Jürgen Moltmann, Johann Metz, Janet Martin Soskice and John de Gruchy.

Download or read book Exegetical Fallacies written by D. A. Carson and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 1996-03-01 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers updated explanations of the sins of interpretation to teach sound grammatical, lexical, cultural, theological, and historical Bible study practices. "A must for teachers, pastors, and serious Bible students."--Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society