Download or read book Believing and Its Tensions written by Neil Gillman and published by Jewish Lights Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An intimate and candid examination of the changing nature of belief and where it can lead us--from the life experience of one of Judaism's leading thinkers. For over five decades, Rabbi Neil Gillman has helped people think through the most challenging questions at the heart of being a believing religious person. In this intimate rethinking of his own theological journey he explores the changing nature of belief and the complexities of reconciling the intellectual, emotional and moral questions of his own searching mind and soul. If what we have in recognizing, speaking of and experiencing God is a wide-ranging treasury of humanly crafted metaphors, what, then, is the ultimate reality, the ultimate nature of God? What lies beyond the metaphors? If humanity was an active partner in revelation--if the human community participated in what was revealed and gave it meaning--what then should be the authority of Jewish law? How do we cope--intellectually, emotionally and morally--with suffering, the greatest challenge to our faith commitment, relationship with God and sense of a fundamentally ordered world? Death is inevitable but why is it built in as part of the total life experience?

Download or read book Believing and Its Tensions written by Rabbi Neil Gillman, PhD and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2013-07-13 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An intimate and candid examination of the changing nature of belief and where it can lead us—from the life experience of one of Judaism's leading thinkers. For over five decades, Rabbi Neil Gillman has helped people think through the most challenging questions at the heart of being a believing religious person. In this intimate rethinking of his own theological journey he explores the changing nature of belief and the complexities of reconciling the intellectual, emotional and moral questions of his own searching mind and soul. If what we have in recognizing, speaking of and experiencing God is a wide-ranging treasury of humanly crafted metaphors, what, then, is the ultimate reality, the ultimate nature of God? What lies beyond the metaphors? If humanity was an active partner in revelation—if the human community participated in what was revealed and gave it meaning—what then should be the authority of Jewish law? How do we cope—intellectually, emotionally and morally—with suffering, the greatest challenge to our faith commitment, relationship with God and sense of a fundamentally ordered world? Death is inevitable but why is it built in as part of the total life experience?

Download or read book From Jesus to Christ written by Paula Fredriksen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2008-10-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Magisterial. . . . A learned, brilliant and enjoyable study."—Géza Vermès, Times Literary Supplement In this exciting book, Paula Fredriksen explains the variety of New Testament images of Jesus by exploring the ways that the new Christian communities interpreted his mission and message in light of the delay of the Kingdom he had preached. This edition includes an introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on Jesus and its implications for both history and theology. "Brilliant and lucidly written, full of original and fascinating insights."—Reginald H. Fuller, Journal of the American Academy of Religion "This is a first-rate work of a first-rate historian."—James D. Tabor, Journal of Religion "Fredriksen confronts her documents—principally the writings of the New Testament—as an archaeologist would an especially rich complex site. With great care she distinguishes the literary images from historical fact. As she does so, she explains the images of Jesus in terms of the strategies and purposes of the writers Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John."—Thomas D’Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor

Download or read book Divided by Faith written by Benjamin J. Kaplan and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-30 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As religious violence flares around the world, we are confronted with an acute dilemma: Can people coexist in peace when their basic beliefs are irreconcilable? Benjamin Kaplan responds by taking us back to early modern Europe, when the issue of religious toleration was no less pressing than it is today. Divided by Faith begins in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, when the unity of western Christendom was shattered, and takes us on a panoramic tour of Europe's religious landscape--and its deep fault lines--over the next three centuries. Kaplan's grand canvas reveals the patterns of conflict and toleration among Christians, Jews, and Muslims across the continent, from the British Isles to Poland. It lays bare the complex realities of day-to-day interactions and calls into question the received wisdom that toleration underwent an evolutionary rise as Europe grew more "enlightened." We are given vivid examples of the improvised arrangements that made peaceful coexistence possible, and shown how common folk contributed to toleration as significantly as did intellectuals and rulers. Bloodshed was prevented not by the high ideals of tolerance and individual rights upheld today, but by the pragmatism, charity, and social ties that continued to bind people divided by faith. Divided by Faith is both history from the bottom up and a much-needed challenge to our belief in the triumph of reason over faith. This compelling story reveals that toleration has taken many guises in the past and suggests that it may well do the same in the future.

Download or read book Between Two Truths written by Klyne Snodgrass and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2004-09-30 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you find yourself always struggling with two sides of an issue? Do some of the key truths of Christianity seem mutually exclusive? Don't be surprised! All of life - including Christian life - is lived between truths, none of which may be relinquished. Both the Bible and theology acknowledge that life is filled with tensions that do not permit easy answers. In 'Between Two Truths', theologian Klyne Snodgrass presents a readable biblical approach to understanding such tensions. He argues, in fact, that they are a wellspring of peace and creativity for anyone dedicated to walking in the footsteps of Jesus. This book addresses the tensions all Christians face, dealing with all the peaceful and creative tensions that are part of the fabric of Christian faith. This book does not give simplistic answers to difficult questions; rather, it invites the reader to celebrate the rich and vibrant tensions of God's eternal truth.

Download or read book The Battle of Belief written by Nevison Loraine and published by . This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Battle of Belief: A Review of the Present Aspects of the Conflict "Religion claims as its own the new light which metaphysics and science are in our day throwing upon the truth of the immanence of God: it protests only against those imperfect, because premature, syntheses, which in the interests of abstract speculation, would destroy religion. It dares to maintain that 'the Fountain of wisdom and religion is God: and if these two streams shall turn aside from Him, both must assuredly run dry.' For human nature craves to be both religious and rational. And the life which is not both is neither." - Aubrey Moore. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Download or read book Tension Theology written by B.D.Tate and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2016-12-09 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about the tension revealed in scripture. Our efforts to systematically understand spiritual truth have often meant removing the tensions found in the Bible. We sometimes ignore passages we dont like or understand in order to make things fit together. We practice, to our harm, the either/or response to most of these conflicting biblical issues. When we remove the tensions present in scripture, well find ourselves to the right or the left, instead of being on the straight and narrow road that leads us to life in His grace. When we remove the tension found in scripture (and there is a lot of it), we end up creating more tension between each other. As we embrace both sides of the spiritual revelations regarding any subject, the answers will come. The tension provides safety, balance, protection, and keeps us in a place to receive. With this in mind, I address the problem, present the theology of tension, and begin to apply it to many familiar, but often controversial, doctrines. Amazing answers are revealed not by choosing sides, but by affirming both, even when our natural minds cannot discern them. In essence, we short circuit the purpose provided by these tensions when we dismiss them. The tension is in the scriptures: we need to live in it and remain in grace.

Download or read book The Enduring Tension written by Donald J. Devine and published by Encounter Books. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western civilization fashioned a capitalism that created a worldwide economic cornucopia and higher standards of living than any other system, yet its legitimacy is often questioned by its beneficiaries. Boston University Emeritus Professor Angelo M. Codevilla, proclaims Donald Devine’s The Enduring Tension between Capitalism and the Moral Order, “the best answer to this question since Adam Smith’s. Like Smith, Devine shows the mutually sustaining nature of morality and economic freedom, and provides a much-needed clearing away of the confusion with which recent authors have befogged this essential relationship.” Devine begins with Karl Marx setting capitalism’s roots in feudalism and the implications of that traditionalist inheritance, finally transformed by Rousseau’s “Christian heresy,” which turned the vision of heavenly perfection into an impossibly perfect ideal for earthly society. To unravel this capitalist enigma, Devine identifies the roots of the confusion, critiques the rationalized responses, and identifies the remedy—the revival of an historical Lockean pluralism able to fuse a moral scaffolding sufficient to hold the walls and preserve the best of capitalist civilization.

Download or read book A Glorious Dark written by A. J. Swoboda and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Thursday as they ate the Passover meal with Jesus, the disciples believed that the kingdom was coming and they were on the front end of a revolution. Then came the tragedy of Friday and, somehow even worse, the silence of Saturday. They ran. They doubted. They despaired. Yet, within the grave, God's power was still flowing like a mighty river beneath the ice of winter. And then there was Sunday morning. Real, raw, and achingly honest, A Glorious Dark meets readers in the ambiguity, doubt, and uncertainty we feel when our beliefs about the world don't match up to reality. Tackling tough questions like Why is faith so hard? Why do I doubt? Why does God allow me to suffer? and Is God really with me in the midst of my pain? A. J. Swoboda puts into sharp focus a faith that is greater than our personal comfort or fulfilment. He invites readers to develop a faith that embraces the tension between what we believe and what we experience, showing that the very tension we seek to eliminate is where God meets us.

Download or read book For God s Sake written by Antony Loewenstein and published by Macmillan Publishers Aus.. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four Australian thinkers come together to ask and answer the big questions, such as: What is the nature of the universe? Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world? and Where do we find hope? We are introduced to the detail of different belief systems - Judaism, Christianity, Islam - and to the argument that atheism, like organised religion, has its own compelling logic. And we gain insight into the life events that led each author to their current position. Jane Caro flirted briefly with spiritual belief, inspired by 19th century literary heroines such as Elizabeth Gaskell and the Brontë sisters. Antony Lowenstein is proudly culturally, yet unconventionally, Jewish. Simon Smart is firmly and resolutely a Christian, but one who has had some of his most profound spiritual moments while surfing. Rachel Woodlock grew up in the alternative embrace of Baha'i belief but became entranced by its older parent religion, Islam. Provocative, informative and passionately argued, For God's Sake encourages us to accept religious differences but to also challenge more vigorously the beliefs that create discord.

Download or read book Conflict and Christianity written by B. Daniel Peterson and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2010-04 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God" (John 20:17). Most people are totally unaware of this little verse in the Gospel of John. These are the very words of Jesus. He is speaking with two female disciples after the resurrection. Is it possible that Christianity, as we know it today, is a false teaching? Conflict and Christianity explores Jesus's nature and mission, early followers, the four gospels, and the following Christian Doctrines: Christ/Deity of Christ, Trinity, Atonement, Salvation, the Second Coming, Grace, Faith, Original Sin, New Covenant, Heaven, and Hell. Check out the amazing things that this man Jesus preaches like "forgive and be forgiven," "I said you are gods," "enter the Kingdom of Heaven," "seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness," or "following the Spirit is like following the wind." Take a peak inside this exciting but controversial book. And don't take B. Daniel Peterson's word for it, break out your own Bibles and learn the truth for yourselves. Go to the source of it all where it all started Jesus of Nazareth.

Download or read book Spiritual Tensions written by Bob Dukes and published by Worldwide Discipleship Association. This book was released on 2021-11-10 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiritual Tensions is a 2-part workbook for emerging leaders. Living In The Tensions will help disciples learn how to navigate the tensions in the spiritual life while Tensions Within Christianity focuses on issues that sometimes cause conflict among Christians. Here’s what you will find inside: Living In The Tensions - The Eternal Versus The Temporal - Developing Realistic Expectations - The Problem Of Sin - Sorting Out Good And Bad - The Spiritual Battle Tensions within Christianity - Defining Success In The Church - Avoiding Extremes In Theology - Avoiding Extremes In Practice - Different Denominations - Racism - Ministering To The Wounded And/Or Rejected

Download or read book Faith Unraveled written by Rachel Held Evans and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans: a must-read for anyone on the journey of doubt, deconstruction, and ultimately faith reborn. Eighty years after the Scopes Monkey Trial made a spectacle of Christian fundamentalism and brought national attention to her hometown, Rachel Held Evans faced a trial of her own when she began to have doubts about her faith. In Faith Unraveled, Rachel recounts growing up in a culture obsessed with apologetics, struggling as her own faith unraveled one unexpected question at a time. In order for her faith to survive, Rachel realizes, it must adapt to change and evolve. Using as an illustration her own spiritual journey from certainty to doubt to faith, Evans challenges you to disentangle your faith from false fundamentals and to trust in a God who is big enough to handle your tough questions. In a changing cultural environment where new ideas seem to threaten the safety and security of the faith, Faith Unraveled is a profoundly moving, fearlessly honest, and relentlessly hopeful story of survival. This book was previously titled Evolving in Monkey Town.

Download or read book Little Book of Conflict Transformation written by John Lederach and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-01-27 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This clearly articulated statement offers a hopeful and workable approach to conflict—that eternally beleaguering human situation. John Paul Lederach is internationally recognized for his breakthrough thinking and action related to conflict on all levels—person-to-person, factions within communities, warring nations. He explores why "conflict transformation" is more appropriate than "conflict resolution" or "management." But he refuses to be drawn into impractical idealism. Conflict Transformation is an idea with a deep reach. Its practice, says Lederach, requires "both solutions and social change." It asks not simply "How do we end something not desired?", but "How do we end something destructive and build something desired?" How do we deal with the immediate crisis, as well as the long-term situation? What disciplines make such thinking and practices possible? A title in The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding Series.

Download or read book Faith Nationalism and the Future of Liberal Democracy written by David M. Elcott and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2021-05-01 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy highlights the use of religious identity to fuel the rise of illiberal, nationalist, and populist democracy. In Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy, David Elcott, C. Colt Anderson, Tobias Cremer, and Volker Haarmann present a pragmatic and modernist exploration of how religion engages in the public square. Elcott and his co-authors are concerned about the ways religious identity is being used to foster the exclusion of individuals and communities from citizenship, political representation, and a role in determining public policy. They examine the ways religious identity is weaponized to fuel populist revolts against a political, social, and economic order that values democracy in a global and strikingly diverse world. Included is a history and political analysis of religion, politics, and policies in Europe and the United States that foster this illiberal rebellion. The authors explore what constitutes a constructive religious voice in the political arena, even in nurturing patriotism and democracy, and what undermines and threatens liberal democracies. To lay the groundwork for a religious response, the book offers chapters showing how Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism can nourish liberal democracy. The authors encourage people of faith to promote foundational support for the institutions and values of the democratic enterprise from within their own religious traditions and to stand against the hostility and cruelty that historically have resulted when religious zealotry and state power combine. Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy is intended for readers who value democracy and are concerned about growing threats to it, and especially for people of faith and religious leaders, as well as for scholars of political science, religion, and democracy.

Download or read book The Language of God written by Francis Collins and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-09-04 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr Francis S. Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world's leading scientists, working at the cutting edge of the study of DNA, the code of life. Yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God. How does he reconcile the seemingly unreconcilable? In THE LANGUAGE OF GOD he explains his own journey from atheism to faith, and then takes the reader on a stunning tour of modern science to show that physics, chemistry and biology -- indeed, reason itself -- are not incompatible with belief. His book is essential reading for anyone who wonders about the deepest questions of all: why are we here? How did we get here? And what does life mean?

Download or read book Freud and Faith written by Kirk A. Bingaman and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether Sigmund Freud's theory precludes serious engagement with psychoanalytic theory for those professing faith in the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition has been controversial for years. Coming to terms with Freud's theory has proved difficult for religious believers because of his stance that religious faith is little more than psychological projection. Building on the work of philosopher and theologian Paul Ricoeur, psychoanalyst Ana-Maria Rizzuto, and feminist theorist Judith Van Herik, author Kirk A. Bingaman demonstrates that it is possible and even advantageous for believers to hold their religious faith in dialectical tension with psychoanalysis. Bingaman shows how Freud's critique of religion can enrich and strengthen, rather than destroy, the faith of the believer. What emerges from the author's argument is a creative method for living within the emotional and spiritual tension that develops whenever our belief system is challenged or disrupted.