Download or read book Church Identity and Change written by David A. Roozen and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2005-05-02 with total page 678 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since colonial days, religious work in American has happened through denominations. At least since the start of the twentieth century, these religious bodies consisted of a fairly tight, intra-denominationally connected system of congregations, regional judicatories, and national offices. This system was the product of more than two centuries of consolidation among Americanbs historic immigrant and indigenous churches. The vast majority of these structures are still in place, retain some semblance of internal coherence, have considerable social and religious significance, and will be with us for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, the stresses upon them today clearly indicate that they are entering an unsettled period of transition. The purpose of this book is to examine the national structures of eight diverse Protestant denominations as a part of that shift. The frame of this study is the relationship between the theological and organizational nature of national denominational structures as they adapt to the changing situation of the twenty-first century.

Download or read book The Distinctive Identity of the Church written by Jeppe Bach Nikolajsen and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2015-03-20 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An increasing number of theologians believe that the Western world has moved from an era of Christendom to an era of post-Christendom. This book goes to the heart of the debate related to this shift, asking, How are we to understand the distinctive identity of the church with special reference to its role in a post-Christendom society? It then presents an analysis of the work of the English Reformed theologian Lesslie Newbigin and the American Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder, both of whom reflect on how we should understand this important question. At the end of The Distinctive Identity of the Church, the charge of sectarianism is discussed. It is argued that a missionary God sends the church to the world and, consequently, this sending should fundamentally determine its existence in the world. The book argues that the task that lies before the church in the Western world is not to bypass its distinctiveness with accusations of sectarianism, but to recapitulate an understanding of its own distinctiveness that should be seen as a precondition for its engagement in society. Such an ecclesiological position holds important potential for an understanding of the role of the church in pluralistic Western cultures.

Download or read book The Distinctive Identity of the Church written by Jeppe Bach Nikolajsen and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2015-03-20 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An increasing number of theologians believe that the Western world has moved from an era of Christendom to an era of post-Christendom. This book goes to the heart of the debate related to this shift, asking, How are we to understand the distinctive identity of the church with special reference to its role in a post-Christendom society? It then presents an analysis of the work of the English Reformed theologian Lesslie Newbigin and the American Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder, both of whom reflect on how we should understand this important question. At the end of The Distinctive Identity of the Church, the charge of sectarianism is discussed. It is argued that a missionary God sends the church to the world and, consequently, this sending should fundamentally determine its existence in the world. The book argues that the task that lies before the church in the Western world is not to bypass its distinctiveness with accusations of sectarianism, but to recapitulate an understanding of its own distinctiveness that should be seen as a precondition for its engagement in society. Such an ecclesiological position holds important potential for an understanding of the role of the church in pluralistic Western cultures.

Download or read book Models of the Church written by Avery Dulles and published by Image. This book was released on 2002-05-14 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is today a dramatic reexamination of structure, authority, dogma -- indeed, every aspect of the life of the Church is held up to scrutiny. Welcoming this as a sign of vitality, Avery Dulles has carefully studied the writings of contemporary Protestant and Catholic ecclesiologists and sifted out six major approaches, or "models," through which the Church's character can be understood: as Institution, Mystical Communion, Sacrament, Herald, Servant, and, in a recent addition to the book, as Community of Disciples. A balanced theology, he concludes, must incorporate the major affirmations of each. "The method of models or types," observes Cardinal Dulles, "can have great value in helping people to get beyond the limitations of their own particular outlook and to enter into fruitful conversation with others... Such conversation is obviously essential if ecumenism is to get beyond its present impasses." This new edition includes a new Appendix and Preface by the author.

Download or read book Paul and the Creation of Christian Identity written by William S. Campbell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2008-04-03 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the dominant interpretation of the Antioch incident Paul is viewed as separating from Peter and Jewish Christianity to lead his own independent mission which was eventually to triumph in the creation of a church with a gentile identity. Paul's gentile mission, however, represented only one strand of the Christ movement but has been universalized to signify the whole. The consequence of this view of Paul is that the earliest diversity in which he operated and which he affirmed has been anachronistically diminished almost to the point of obliteration. There is little recognition of the Jewish form of Christianity and that Paul by and large related positively to it as evidenced in Romans 14-15. Here Paul acknowledges Jewish identity as an abiding reality rather than as a temporary and weak form of faith in Christ. This book argues that diversity in Christ was fundamental to Paul and that particularly in his ethical guidance this received recognition. Paul's relation to Judaism is best understood not as a reaction to his former faith but as a transformation resulting from his vision of Christ. In this the past is not obliterated but transformed and thus continuity is maintained so that the identity of Christianity is neither that of a new religion nor of a Jesus cult. In Christ the past is reconfigured and thus the diversity of humanity continues within the church, which can celebrate the richness of differing identities under the Lordship of Christ.

Download or read book Identity and Idolatry written by Richard Lints and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2015-08-10 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of Desiring God's Top 15 Books "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) Genesis 1:26-27 has served as the locus of most theological anthropologies in the central Christian tradition. However, Richard Lints observes that too rarely have these verses been understood as conceptually interwoven with the whole of the prologue materials of Genesis 1. The construction of the cosmic temple strongly hints that the "image of God" language serves liturgical functions. Lints argues that "idol" language in the Bible is a conceptual inversion of the "image" language of Genesis 1. These constructs illuminate each other, and clarify the canon's central anthropological concerns. The question of human identity is distinct, though not separate, from the question of human nature; the latter has far too frequently been read into the biblical use of image. Lints shows how the "narrative" of human identity runs from creation (imago Dei) to fall (the golden calf/idol, Exodus 32) to redemption (Christ as perfect image, Colossians 1:15-20). The biblical-theological use of image/idol is a thread through the canon that highlights the movements of redemptive history. In the concluding chapters of this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, Lints interprets the use of idolatry as it emerges in the secular prophets of the nineteenth century, and examines the recent renaissance of interest in idolatry with its conceptual power to explain the "culture of desire." Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

Download or read book Who Am I Lord Finding Your Identity in Christ written by Joe Heschmeyer and published by Our Sunday Visitor. This book was released on 2020-03-06 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The question "Who am I?" is on the minds and hearts of people of all ages. And for good reason: The answer is important! Who we are - or who we think we are - drives our actions and shapes our relationships. While we are asking the right questions about identity, the world is busy feeding us the wrong answers: We are our political party, job title, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity - and the list goes on. But until we know why we were created, by whom, and for what purpose, we can never be truly satisfied. In Who Am I, Lord?, author and speaker Joe Heschmeyer tackles the question of identity by asking two even more important questions: Who is Jesus? Who does he say you are? Only when we understand who Christ really is can he show us who we are. Our identity in Christ opens us to the promises he has made us and leads us to the freedom to be who we were created to be. Who Am I, Lord? will answer the question of your identity in a way that will transform your life. Click here to register for the related webcast ABOUT THE AUTHOR Previously a litigator in Washington, D.C., and a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Joe Heschmeyer now works as an instructor for the Holy Family School of Faith Institute, helping people to grow in friendship with Jesus Christ and with one another through ongoing one-on-one discipleship, small gatherings, and large group formation. His writing has appeared in Catholic Answers Magazine, the Washington Times, Word on Fire, First Things, and Strange Notions. In 2014, he was named one of FOCUS' "30 Under 30." He cohosts The Catholic Podcast weekly and has run the blog Shameless Popery since 2009.

Download or read book Distinctively Catholic written by Daniel Donovan and published by Paulist Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Catholicism...is a living community of faith, a community with its own distinctive rituals and structure, its own patterns of individual and collective religious life, " writes distinguished theologian Daniel Donovan. What is unique about the Catholic experience of Christianity? What features set it apart from other Christian religions? Donovan explores these questions and more here, offering readers the fruit of his experience from a lifetime of theology and teaching.In eight chapters, Donovan draws attention to certain emphases and characteristics of Catholicism which have influenced and continue to influence the way in which Catholics experience and think about their faith. These include: sense of community; the historical dimension of Catholicism; the objective nature of faith; liturgy and sacraments; ordained ministry; and tension between universal and particular. A final chapter reflects on all the themes and relates them to the concrete experience of individual Catholic believers.

Download or read book Religion and the Racist Right written by Michael Barkun and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2014-02-01 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Michael Barkun, many white supremacist groups of the radical right are deeply committed to the distinctive but little-recognized religious position known as Christian Identity. In Religion and the Racist Right (1994), Barkun provided the first sustained exploration of the ideological and organizational development of the Christian Identity movement. In a new chapter written for the revised edition, he traces the role of Christian Identity figures in the dramatic events of the first half of the 1990s, from the Oklahoma City bombing and the rise of the militia movement to the Freemen standoff in Montana. He also explores the government's evolving response to these challenges to the legitimacy of the state. Michael Barkun is professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is author of several books, including Crucible of the Millennium: The Burned-over District of New York in the 1840s.

Download or read book Freedom in Covenant written by Robert D. Cornwall and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-21 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age of decreasing denominational loyalty, questions of identity have become important. Both church members and inquirers wonder what to make of a denomination's core values, mission, and common practices. Because the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was born as a movement of reform on the American frontier during the early nineteenth century, it is marked by the time and place of its birth. The message it offered at the time was one of Christian unity rooted in theological simplicity and freedom of belief and practice. This message influenced the way the tradition came to understand biblical interpretation, theology, the sacraments, ministry, and its eschatology. As the movement matured, many recognized that this message of freedom could lead to unfettered individualism and tended to undermine congregational life and cooperation beyond the congregation. In response, Disciples leaders turned to the biblical idea of covenant to balance the message of freedom and link congregations with other forms of church without creating hierarchical systems. If, as some have suggested, this is a movement whose time has come, then it is important to understand the movement's identity and core values, which have been formed within the fulcrum of the tension existing between freedom and covenant.

Download or read book The Church according to Paul written by James W. Thompson and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2014-09-09 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amid conflicting ideas about what the church should be and do in a post-Christian climate, the missing voice is that of Paul. The New Testament's most prolific church planter, Paul faced diverse challenges as he worked to form congregations. Leading biblical scholar James Thompson examines Paul's ministry of planting and nurturing churches in the pre-Christian world to offer guidance for the contemporary church. The church today, as then, must define itself and its mission among people who have been shaped by other experiences of community. Thompson shows that Paul offers an unprecedented vision of the community that is being conformed to the image of Christ. He also addresses contemporary (mis)understandings of words like missional, megachurch, and formation.

Download or read book The Christian Identity Volume 3 written by Matt McMillen and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WHO ARE YOU, CHRISTIAN? This question is as old as the New Covenant itself. From the moment Christ died, all of humanity was given the opportunity to know God in a way unlike ever before. Jesus' death sealed the deal, but when He came back to life, every person on the planet now had the chance of God making His home inside of them-permanently. By grace through faith in what Jesus did for our sins, we Christians get a brand new identity from the moment we first believe. No longer living by rules, wasteful efforts, or people-pleasing, we now live and breathe by way of a supernatural relationship with the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, religious hierarchies who extort Christians, our main enemy, Satan, and the power of sin, all want nothing more than for us to not know what the Cross has truly done. The spiritual identity of every believer has become heaven-ready! On the inside, we are currently brand new creations! Not when our physical bodies die, but right now, we are new! My name is Matt McMillen, and over the next thirty days I'll take you on a daily devotional adventure of discovering who you really are as a child of God. Christian, you will be amazed at what the Cross has done to your identity! Thanks for joining me! Let's go!

Download or read book Why Did Jesus Moses the Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road written by Brian D. McLaren and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2012-09-27 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christians and Muslims together make up about 57% of the world's population today, and by the end of the century they will constitute about 66% of the world's population. More than any other single factor, the wellbeing of our children and grandchildren may depend on how well Christians learn to relate to Muslims - and Hindus, the next largest faith, not to mention Buddhists, Jews, people of indigenous faiths, and the nonreligious. We know how to have a strong Christian identity that is intolerant of or belligerent towards other faiths, and we know how to have a weak Christian identity that is tolerant and benevolent. But is there a third alternative? How do we discover, live, teach, and practise a Christian identity that is both strong and benevolent towards other faiths?In this provocative and inspiring book, author Brian McLaren tackles some of the hardest questions around the issue of interfaith relations, and shares a hopeful vision of the reconciliation that Jesus offers to our multi-faith world.

Download or read book The End of Sexual Identity written by Jenell Williams Paris and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2011-03-21 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sexual identity has become an idol in both the culture at large and in the Christian subculture. And yet concepts like gay or straight are relatively recent developments in human history. We let ourselves be defined by socially constructed notions of sexual identity and sexual orientation--even though these may not be the only or...

Download or read book The Church written by John Stott and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2019-08-27 with total page 107 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can Christians effectively engage today's world while staying true to Scripture? Calling us to listen well to both the Word and the world, John Stott shows how Christianity can preserve its authentic identity and remain relevant to current realities. With the God's Word for Today series, pastor Tim Chester has updated Stott's classic book The Contemporary Christian and made it accessible to new generations of readers. In The Church, Stott presents a biblical portrait of the church as a covenant community at the center of God's purposes. Keeping in view both the ideal of what God intends and how we fall short, Stott considers how the church can be sensitive to current needs and societal issues, mobilize people for mission, seek holistic renewal, and promote healthy leadership. Each chapter includes stories, practical suggestions, and questions for reflection or discussion. People are hungry for transcendence, significance, and community. This is the great challenge and opportunity facing the church—will we cooperate with the Spirit so that others can find what they seek in Christ and his people?

Download or read book The Soul of the American University Revisited written by George M. Marsden and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This volume ... is a revision and updating of The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief (1994)"--Acknowledgments

Download or read book Brown Church written by Robert Chao Romero and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist Interest in and awareness of the demand for social justice as an outworking of the Christian faith is growing. But it is not new. For five hundred years, Latina/o culture and identity have been shaped by their challenges to the religious, socio-economic, and political status quo, whether in opposition to Spanish colonialism, Latin American dictatorships, US imperialism in Central America, the oppression of farmworkers, or the current exploitation of undocumented immigrants. Christianity has played a significant role in that movement at every stage. Robert Chao Romero, the son of a Mexican father and a Chinese immigrant mother, explores the history and theology of what he terms the "Brown Church." Romero considers how this movement has responded to these and other injustices throughout its history by appealing to the belief that God's vision for redemption includes not only heavenly promises but also the transformation of every aspect of our lives and the world. Walking through this history of activism and faith, readers will discover that Latina/o Christians have a heart after God's own.