Near Christianity
Title | Near Christianity PDF eBook |
Author | Anthony Le Donne |
Publisher | Zondervan |
Total Pages | 240 |
Release | 2016-09-20 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 0310522978 |
This unique book is an exploration of Christianity alongside Jewish guides who are well-studied in and sympathetic to Christianity, but who remain “near Christianity.”Reflecting on his journeys within biblical studies and contemporary Jewish-Christian dialogue, Anthony Le Donne illustrates not only the value but also the necessity of continued Jewish friendship for the Christian life. With the help of Jewish friends and mentors, he presents a deeper and more complex Christian faith, offering readers a better vision of the beauty and genius of Christianity, but also an honest look at its warts and failings. Weaving his own story and personal conversations with Jewish friends, Le Donne, a respected scholar and published author, models how his fellow Christians can avoid blurring the differences between Christianity and Judaism on the one hand and exaggerating them on the other.
From the Ancient Near East to Christian Byzantium
Title | From the Ancient Near East to Christian Byzantium PDF eBook |
Author | Mario Baghos |
Publisher | Cambridge Scholars Publishing |
Total Pages | 302 |
Release | 2021-03-11 |
Genre | History |
ISBN | 1527567370 |
This book combines concepts from the history of religions with Byzantine studies in its assessments of kings, symbols, and cities in a diachronic and cross-cultural analysis. The work attests, firstly, that the symbolic art and architecture of ancient cities—commissioned by their monarchs expressing their relationship with their gods—show us that religiosity was inherent to such enterprises. It also demonstrates that what transpired from the first cities in history to Byzantine Christendom is the gradual replacement of the pagan ruler cult—which was inherent to city-building in antiquity—with the ruler becoming subordinate to Christ; exemplified by representations of the latter as the ‘Master of All’ (Pantokrator). Beginning in Mesopotamia, the book continues with an analysis of city-building by rulers in Egypt, Greece, and Rome, before addressing Judaism (specifically, the city of Jerusalem) and Christianity as shifting the emphasis away from pagan-gods and rulers to monotheistic perceptions of God as elevated above worldly kings. It concludes with an assessment of Christian Rome and Constantinople as typifying the evolution from the ancient and classical world to Christendom.
A New Kind of Christianity
Title | A New Kind of Christianity PDF eBook |
Author | Brian D. McLaren |
Publisher | Harper Collins |
Total Pages | 326 |
Release | 2010-02-09 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 0061969494 |
“Some books provide us with information about the world, but every once in a while a book appears that enables us to imagine new, more wonderful worlds. [A New Kind of Christianity] is one of these.” —Peter Rollins, Ikon A New Kind of Christianity is Brian D. McLaren’s much anticipated follow-up to his breakthrough work of the emergent-church movement, A New Kind of Christian. Named by Time magazine as one of America’s top 25 evangelicals, McLaren, along with such contemporaries as N.T. Wright, Jim Wallis, and Rob Bell, is one of the acknowledged leaders of a new generation of Christians who want to update their faith for current times while remaining true to the core message of Jesus. In this controversial and thought-provoking book, McLaren explores the questions that will determine the shape of Christianity for the next 500 years.
Hipster Christianity
Title | Hipster Christianity PDF eBook |
Author | Brett McCracken |
Publisher | Baker Books |
Total Pages | 256 |
Release | 2010-08-01 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 9781441211934 |
Insider twentysomething Christian journalist Brett McCracken has grown up in the evangelical Christian subculture and observed the recent shift away from the "stained glass and steeples" old guard of traditional Christianity to a more unorthodox, stylized 21st-century church. This change raises a big issue for the church in our postmodern world: the question of cool. The question is whether or not Christianity can be, should be, or is, in fact, cool. This probing book is about an emerging category of Christians McCracken calls "Christian hipsters"--the unlikely fusion of the American obsessions with worldly "cool" and otherworldly religion--an analysis of what they're about, why they exist, and what it all means for Christianity and the church's relevancy and hipness in today's youth-oriented culture.
What Is it Like to Be Dead?
Title | What Is it Like to Be Dead? PDF eBook |
Author | Jens Schlieter |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Total Pages | 368 |
Release | 2018-08-06 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 0190888865 |
Studies of "near-death experiences" show that such experiences not only provide a new certainty of post-mortem survival, but often function as a call for fundamental change in the present. Reported aftereffects encompass changes in attitudes, beliefs, and life orientation. It is said that "experiencers" have lost their fear of death, found their purpose in life, or become "more spiritual." The experience - often declared to be indescribable, inexplicable, or ineffable - is held by many to be the most important of their lives and, moreover, the best proof available for matters "transcendent." In What Is It Like To Be Dead?, Jens Schlieter argues that to understand recent testimonies of near-death experiences, we need to be aware of the history of innumerable reports of earlier near-death experiences that were communicated and handed down in scores of newspapers, journals, and books. Collections of such testimonies have been published for more than 150 years, accompanied by attempts to classify and interpret them. Schlieter analyzes the religious relevance of near-death experiences -for the experiencers themselves, but also for the growing audience attracted by these testimonies. Near-death experiences bear ontological, epistemic, intersubjective, and moral significance, ranging from reassurance that religious experience is still possible to claims that they initiate a new spiritual orientation in life, or offer evidence for the transcultural validity of afterlife beliefs. This study is the first to document and analyze four centuries of near-death testimonies before the codification of the genre in the 1970s, offering the first full account of the modern genealogy of "near-death experiences."
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
Title | The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross PDF eBook |
Author | John M. John M. Allegro |
Publisher | CreateSpace |
Total Pages | 144 |
Release | 2014-12-10 |
Genre | |
ISBN | 9781505452808 |
This book is the first published statement of the fruits of some years' work of a largely philological nature. It presents a new appreciation of the relationship of the languages of the ancient world and the implication of this advance for our understanding of the Bible and of the origins of Christianity.
Mere Christianity
Title | Mere Christianity PDF eBook |
Author | C. S. Lewis |
Publisher | Zondervan |
Total Pages | 260 |
Release | 2001-03-06 |
Genre | Religion |
ISBN | 0060652888 |
A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis's books. Uncovers common ground upon which all Christians can stand together.