Christ And Chaos Biblical Keys To Ethical Questions

This work alerts readers to about a hundred crucial questions that relate to 15 (14+ 1) areas of concern with which college/theological students and Christians in general often wrestle. Briefly, these areas focus on ethical and theological issues under the designations of "On" Chaos, Equality/Discrimination, Integrity, Battles Christians Fight, Government and Politics, the Meaning of Salvation, Defining a Christian, the Spirit World, Freedom and the Will of God, Divorce and Remarriage, Homosexuality, Encountering the Dark Side, Death, Heaven and Eternity, and Christian Worship. I have also included at the end a major Postscript on significant questions related to issues that are reaching into the future including: Refugees, Wealth, War, Euthanasia, Abortion, Birth Control and Sexual Activity, Genetic Engineering, Robotics and Transplants.

Zambia Home tells the true story of one missionary nurse’s amazing journey in Zambia, Africa, as she grapples with local politics, spiritual warfare, and personal grief. One of the great unsung Christian heroes of our time, Arlene Schuiteman’s story will touch your heart and embolden your spirit to declare the glory of God to the next generation. At age nineteen, Arlene Schuiteman began keeping a journal. That daily discipline continued throughout her life, including thirty-four years of nursing and teaching in three African countries: South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Zambia. She then placed her Africa journals and letters into the hands of her friend, playwright Jeff Barker. He adapted Arlene’s writings into plays, and now they have become a book series: Sioux Center Sudan, Iowa Ethiopia, and Zambia Home. This third book in the trilogy covers the final decade of Arlene’s career, starting with the birth of a nation and passing through the death of Arlene’s mother. Arlene grapples with radically changing infrastructures and the Zambianization of medicine. Then, as she nears the end of her career, the HTLV-3 virus stuns the world. Arlene’s spiritual and emotional journal has never been richer or more complex than this fitting final chapter of her amazing journey. Arlene’s story has the power to transfix, pierce, and heal. This is more than historical record. Here is a winsome saga that declares the power of God to the next generation.

We cannot escape ethical questions. What Christians need is guidance to think well. In 50 Ethical Questions, J. Alan Branch addresses pointed questions regarding ethics, sexuality, marriage and divorce, bioethics, and Christian living. Readers will find biblical and reasonable guidance on their questions, including: What are the differences between individual and systemic racism? I've been invited to a same--sex wedding. Should I attend? Should Christians use vaccines from cell lines derived from aborted babies? I'm a Christian in an abusive marriage. What should I do? Is it morally permissible for a Christian to conceal--carry a firearm? With Branch's help, you can navigate ethical challenges with care and conviction.

Talking about ethics tends to involve talking about what we should or, more often, shouldn't do. We talk about setting limits on actions that, for whatever reason, we think are either wrong or somehow harmful to ourselves or others. The aim of this book, however, is to explore Christian ethics within a wider, more positive framework – one that that views Christianity's moral resources as part of the good news that it proclaims to all creation. Ethics, says Hovey, need not be characterized primarily by negative prohibitions, limits, and tiresome hand-wringing. Rather, it's about a joyful and worshipful way of living, which flows naturally out of the abundant goodness God’s life and character, as revealed in Jesus. Contents Introduction Part 1 What Makes Christian Ethics Christian? 1. The Bible 2. Following Jesus 3. Some Key Theological Themes Part 2 What Makes Christian Ethics Ethics? 4. Classical Roots 5. Modern Options 6. Contemporary Challenges Part 3 The Stuff of Christian Ethics 7. Baptism and Identity 8. Mercy and Peace 9. Justice from Above (Order) 10. Justice from Below (Liberation) 11. Sexuality 12. Vulnerable Life 13. Challenges Posed by Science and Technology

Biblicism, an approach to the Bible common among some American evangelicals, emphasizes together the Bible's exclusive authority, infallibility, clarity, self-sufficiency, internal consistency, self-evident meaning, and universal applicability. Acclaimed sociologist Christian Smith argues that this approach is misguided and unable to live up to its own claims. If evangelical biblicism worked as its proponents say it should, there would not be the vast variety of interpretive differences that biblicists themselves reach when they actually read and interpret the Bible. Far from challenging the inspiration and authority of Scripture, Smith critiques a particular rendering of it, encouraging evangelicals to seek a more responsible, coherent, and defensible approach to biblical authority. This important book has generated lively discussion and debate. The paperback edition adds a new chapter responding to the conversation that the cloth edition has sparked.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Troubling questions—so troubling that many have lost their faith because of them. Others only whisper the questions to themselves, fearing or being taught that they might lose their faith and their church if they ask them out loud. But what if these questions trouble us for good reason? What if the story of heaven and hell we have been taught is not, in fact, what the Bible teaches? What if what Jesus meant by heaven, hell, and salvation are very different from how we have come to understand them? What if it is God who wants us to face these questions? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. The result is the discovery that the "good news" is much, much better than we ever imagined. Love wins.