Download or read book The Predicament of the Prosperous written by Bruce C. Birch and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1978-01-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can a church in the richest and most powerful nation on earth respond to the needs of the poor, the hungry, and the oppressed? The authors of this book describe this issue with clarity and power, and explore the biblical perspectives that offer guidance toward a viable and more equitable future for both church and society.The authors call for a radical change in life-style based on a revolution in perspective and basic values.

Download or read book The Proper Pursuit of Prosperity written by William E. Cripe and published by Tate Publishing. This book was released on 2011-10 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our God is a generous God. However, His kindness, generosity, and blessing do not exclude us from hard times, struggles, or injustices in this life. For many, faith is the coin you put into a 'vending machine God,' obligating Him to dispense your selection. The hard truth is that the tendency toward suffering in this life is more normal for the Christian than the promise of perfect health and extraordinary wealth. There is aProper Pursuit of Prosperity,but it bears little resemblance to the so-called 'good news' being hawked by many of today's 'purveyors of prosperity.' In William Cripe Sr.'s inspirational and informative book, you will discover what the prosperity gospel is, what is wrong with it, and what is right with it. You will also find the answer to the question: Is there a legitimate expectation of prosperity this side of heaven? There is a day of perfect prosperity promised to all who believe, but that day is not in this lifetime. We exist not for the pursuit of our own gratification but to do God's bidding—not the other way around. Dive intoThe Proper Pursuit of Prosperityand discover Cripe's message of how God does not exist for us—we exist for Him. 'Cripe's work is a needed corrective to much of the prosperity preaching and teaching of our day. He combines an emphasis on biblical theology with global realities and personal experience that makes for an extremely effective argument. The goal of seeking and applying balanced truth is instructive for us all.' Dr. Martin Crain, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Director, Professional Doctoral Programs, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology

Download or read book The Early Christian Community written by Douglas A. Hume and published by Mohr Siebeck. This book was released on 2011 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Douglas A. Hume offers a narrative ethical reading of the passages depicting the early Christian community in Acts (2:41-47 and 4:32-35). He begins with a methodological exploration of how contemporary scholars may examine the impact of biblical narratives upon reader's moral imaginations. Given the presence of friendship language in Acts, the work subsequently launches into an examination of this idiom in Greco-Roman philosophical and literary works by Aristotle, Plutarch, Diogenes Laertius, and Iamblichus. The author then proceeds to an exegetical examination of how friendship language is employed by Luke in the narrative summaries of Acts. This ethical reading of the Acts 2:41-47 and 4:32-35 incorporates multiple features of narrative criticism and asks such wide ranging questions as the use of emotion, point of view, and characterization to shape the reading audience's perception of God, the early Christian community, and other characters within the story of Luke-Acts. This study has implications for biblical studies, practical theology, and contemporary understandings of ecclesiology.

Download or read book Resources Power and Economic Interest Distribution in China written by Zhang Yishan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on an investigation of economic and resource allocation factors and their close relation to economic power, this book puts forward the power paradigm, a new economic research paradigm revealing the relationship among power, institutions, and resource allocation mechanisms, helping to establish a valid connection between macroeconomics and microeconomics and shedding light on real-world economic issues. Drawing on classical, neoclassical, and institutional economics and how these schools of thought have impacted on economic development in China over the past century, the book sheds light on distribution processes and argues that enterprise contracts, market pricing, policies, laws and regulations can all be classified as interest distribution mechanisms informed by a variety of power games. The power paradigm suggests that to achieve full utility and an optimal allocation of resources to foster social welfare, power reciprocity needs to be shared among different economic agents at the same hierarchy level while making sure that power and responsibility are equivalent for each economic agent. The book will appeal to research students and academics interested in heterodox economics, pluralist approaches, institutional economics, and game theory.

Download or read book How Much Do We Deserve written by Richard S. Gilbert and published by Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. This book was released on 2001 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sheds new light on the injustice arising from the widening gap between rich and poor in the United States.

Download or read book Prosperity Road written by Dr. Darryl B. Baker, Sr. and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2016-10-27 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Somewhere along the way, the great nation of America has gone off track. In Prosperity Road: America, Save the Middle Class! Dr. Darryl Baker describes how we are being led down the economic pathway in a direction that’s contrary to the voice of the people. This book will take you on an exciting journey through history to examine the effects of globalization and explore its modern-day trajectory. An informative, carefully researched guide to understanding why America’s economy is suffering, it is also a plea to not abandon hope while there are still solutions and changes to be made. By learning the ins and outs of five important American values— Jobs, taxation, trade agreements, putting America first, and the voice of the people—you will be in a better position to do your part to bring this country back to prosperity. Dr. Baker offers a sustainable economic plan for our current and future civilizations, providing suggestions that would allow globalization to coexist with our nation’s need to ensure that jobs and scarce resources are available to the populace.

Download or read book Let Justice Roll Down written by Bruce C. Birch and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 1991-01-01 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Connecting the Old Testament with the modern church, this book relates the testimonies and stories of Israel's faith in the Hebrew canon to the character and conduct of Christians and the Christian community today. By opening up the moral resources available in the Old Testament, this book will spur discussion of both the character of those moral resources and their pertinence to ethical issues in a complex and challenging time.

Download or read book Stepping Stones of the Steward written by Ronald E. Vallet and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1994 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. Taking the images of "journey" and "steward" as metaphors for the Christian's life, and using parables of Jesus found in Matthew and Luke, Ronald Vallet helps focus a truly biblical understanding of the term steward and the role of believers as earthly caretakers, neighbors, and responsible servants of God. Written to inform and encourage pastors and laypersons who seek to explore new dimensions in their Christian journey, Vallet's inspirational study teaches Christians how to gain a sense of purpose, how to properly use their resources, talents, and money, and how to reach out with compassion for the welfare of others and for the planet. This revised and enlarged edition includes important new discussions in the areas of faith and money and environmental issues. M. Douglas Meeks has written the foreword, and a new epilogue by Vallet explores the mission funding crisis of the church in North America, the changing views on both the church and its mission, and the important role played by theological education. Thought-provoking questions and suggestions for further reflection follow each chapter, and a study guide outlines ways to adapt this volume to adult and youth church and school classes, planning groups, conferences, and small-group settings.

Download or read book The Transient and Permanent in Liberal Religion written by Dan O'Neal and published by Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. This book was released on 1995 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger written by Ronald J. Sider and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2015-07-28 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you want to make a true difference in the world? Dr. Ron Sider does. He has, since before he first published Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger in 1978. Despite a dramatic reduction in world hunger since then, 34,000 children still die daily of starvation and preventable disease, and 1.3 billion people, worldwide, remain in abject poverty. So, the professor of theology went back to re-examine the issues by twenty-first century standards. Finding that Conservatives blame morally reprehensible individual choices, and Liberals blame constrictive social and economic policy, Dr. Sider finds himself agreeing with both sides. In this new look at an age-old problem, he offers not only a detailed explanation of the causes, but also a comprehensive series of practical solutions, in the hopes that Christians like him will choose to make a difference.

Download or read book The Human Relationship to Nature written by Matthew R. Foster and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-11-02 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing alarm over the harm done by humans to the natural world, and even to the viability of our own industrial civilization, compels us to ask the deeper moral question: What should be the human relationship to nature? Matthew R. Foster starts by assessing three contrasting patterns of moral reasoning: the Progress Ethic that created the world we live in; the biblically-inspired Stewardship Ethic; and the Connection Ethic based on scientific understanding of the interdependence of all natural entities. Critical analysis reveals that none of these ethics is able to sustain the values it advocates due to two unsupportable presumptions—that the norms of human morality are commensurate with the natural world, and that the value of an entity is an intrinsic property. Foster argues that in order for a future environmental ethic to be both logically coherent and environmentally constructive, it must start from unconventional notions. First, because nature will never be commensurate with human moral reasoning, non-rational resources must be employed despite the risks involved. Second, value resides in the relationship of one entity to another, and does not belong intrinsically to either—in short, value is foremost a verb, rather than a noun. Foster proposes a new paradigm attentive to the realm of value relations among all natural entities, one which offers mediating opportunities between nature and morality. In this new ethic there are no “shoulds.” Rather, moral responsibilities to the natural entities around us are elective, placing us in an unfamiliar yet potentially liberating network of relationships. This book will be of interest to scholars—both instructors and students—of environmental ethics, philosophy, religion, and intellectual history, and all who are concerned about the environmental challenges of our time.

Download or read book Am I Still My Brother s Keeper written by Robert Wafawanaka and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 2012-04-05 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does the Bible say about poverty and our responsibility toward the poor? This book examines the concept of “brother’s keeper” in both the ancient Near East and the biblical world. Wafawanaka contends that biblical Israel failed to play the rightful role of brother’s keeper and claims that we, too, have strayed from this responsibility. Am I Still My Brother’s Keeper? reveals what we can learn about poverty from a biblical context and how we might appropriate those insights to fight poverty in our own communities. Beginning with the biblical mandate in Deuteronomy 15, Wafawanaka surveys the Hebrew Scriptures and challenges those with power and resources to reevaluate their response to the poor. Failure to revisit the notion of “brother’s keeper” threatens to create a society that is increasingly disenfranchised and unjust. A glance at our world in light of biblical history suggests that poverty is an endemic global problem that requires a radical global solution.

Download or read book Stewards of the Gospel written by Ronald E. Vallet and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2011-07-22 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The word stewardship comes across as stale and mildly distasteful to many in the church today as a term limited in its scope to euphemistic conversations about financial giving. Yet, as Ronald Vallet points out, when the apostle Paul refers to "stewards of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor. 4:1), he's talking about something much deeper and richer than fund-raising. In Stewards of the Gospel Vallet recovers a more adequate understanding of Christian stewardship in light of both the New Testament and the realities facing today's church as it deals with challenges to justice, to the environment, and even to faith itself. He then applies his reinvigorated concept of stewardship in practical ways to congregations, to their pastors and leaders, and to the seminaries and denominational structures that mold and support those leaders. Enhancing Vallet's broad, gospel-oriented vision of stewardship are thoughtful responses from six seasoned theological educators: Daniel Aleshire, David L. Bartlett, Bruce C. Birch, Terry Parsons, Eugene F. Roop, and L. E. "Ted" Siverns.

Download or read book The Lion ed by R Carlile written by and published by . This book was released on 1829 with total page 842 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Lion written by Richard Carlile and published by . This book was released on 1829 with total page 842 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Faithfulness in Action written by Katharine D. Sakenfeld and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2001-12-05 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The broad outlines of God's faithfulness have, of course, been well known. But this rereading by Professor Sankenfeld lets us see much that we have missed. This book thus raises important questions, not only about exegetical substance, but also about the interpretive process. The two belong together. The combination here is a welcome articulation." Walter Brueggemann, from the Foreword

Download or read book The Power of Religious Publics written by William H. Swatos Jr. and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1999-08-30 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Currently, public religion is in a time of flux and the notion of the common good—once associated with the Protestant voice in America—is openly contested by new religious coalitions seeking to communicate their version of the truth and plant their stake in the public domain. This edited volume reflects on the changing tone and form of the public voice of religion, on its function in American society, and on its relationship to the private world of religion. It proposes that public religion, when exercised in a civil and accountable way, can be a responsible and prophetic voice in public life and enrich the American experiment in liberal democracy. The contributors—first-rate scholars including Martin Marty and Robert Belah—focus on public religion's influence on controversial issues such as multiculturalism, economic inequality, abortion, and homosexuality.