Christians Are Hate Filled Hypocrites And Other Lies You Ve Been Told

According to the media, the church is rapidly shrinking, both in numbers and in effectiveness. But the good news is, much of the bad news is wrong. Sociologist Bradley R. E. Wright uncovers what's really happening in the church: evangelicals are more respected by secular culture now than they were ten years ago; divorce rates of Christians are lower than those who aren't affiliated with a religion; young evangelicals are active in the faith. Wright reveals to readers why and how statistics are distorted, and shows that God is still effectively working through his people today.

Wright reveals to readers why and how statistics are distorted, and shows that God is still effectively working through his people today.

Are you tired of reading another news story about Christians supposedly acting at their worst? Today there are too many examples of those claiming to follow Christ being caustic, divisive, and irrational, contributing to dismissals of the Christian faith as hypocritical, self-interested, and politically co-opted. What has happened in our society? One short outrageous video, whether it is true or not, can trigger an avalanche of comments on social media. Welcome to the new age of outrage. In this groundbreaking book featuring new survey research of evangelicals and their relationship to the age of outrage, Ed Stetzer offers a constructive way forward. You won’t want to miss Ed’s insightful analysis of our chaotic age, his commonsensical understanding of the cultural currents, and his compelling challenge to Christians to live in a refreshingly different way.

Nearly all churches and ministries consider themselves dedicated to evangelism, and many explicitly include outreach in their mission statements. But few are actually bearing fruit. Kevin Harney diagnoses this problem and offers guidance for multiplying the outreach impact of churches. Organic Outreach for Churches provides direction for local congregations to weave evangelism into the fabric of the church. Commitment to the Great Commission is not simply about sending money and prayers to missions or holding occasional events to reach out (although these things are good). Organic outreach happens when evangelistic vision and action become the domain of every ministry and the commitment of every person in the congregation. This will not happen accidentally. There is huge spiritual and practical resistance to such changes. But the only way evangelism will become an organic part of a church is when every leader and each member is gripped by a commitment to proclaiming the gospel. This book is a roadmap for pastors and leaders who wish to infuse evangelistic passion into every aspect of their church's life.

Have Christians grown accustomed to those who defame the Church? Whether it’s a best-selling author who claims “religion poisons everything” or an atheist comedian whose punch lines aren’t hassled by the burden of proof, foes of the faith continue to declare Christianity morally deficient without much resistance. In Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians, Mark Coppenger mixes compelling references—from classic philosophers to modern entertainers—to reasonably push back against both harsh critics and less intense cultural relativists, contending that Christianity is morally superior to its competitors as well as true. Coppenger doesn’t avoid uncomfortable realities like the misbehavior of many Christians and false teachers, but he sets the book’s course in defense of his faith with evidence that a Christian approach to life makes people and societies flourish, while those who turn their backs on genuine Christianity are more liable to behave wickedly. “I hope to help replenish our cultural confidence,” he writes. “We have a great moral story to tell, and it surely points to the Author of Light and Life.” Acclaim for Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians: "I wish every Christian could have the opportunity of sitting in Mark Coppenger's classroom—a place of constant intellectual exchange, all aimed at developing a consistently biblical worldview. Well, reading this book is as close as many Christians may ever get to sitting in that classroom, but it is an experience not to be missed. This book is a tour de force of apologetic thought, revealing ethical issues to be apologetic opportunities. Fascinating on every page . . . get ready for a guided tour through contemporary culture and Christian apologetics." R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "Mark Coppenger is not only the author of a strategy for doing moral apologetics, he is a skilled practioner. As a seminary professor, church planter, soldier, and world traveler who has never met a stranger, Mark's method has been tested in the laboratory of personal experience from New York City to Jakarta and from Toronto to Rio de Janero." C. Ben Mitchell, Graves professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University "Pascal noted that 'the heart has reasons that reason cannot know.' Mark Coppenger in his extraordinary book realizes the mind has positions the brain cannot fathom. Here in poignant argumentation is the case for faith and the natural state of morality. His explanations are breathtakingly persuasive regardless of your religious conviction." Herbert I. London, president emeritus, Hudson Institute "Mark Coppenger has rendered a great service to the Christian church in the 21st Century. Moral Apologetics is a special gift to all of those faithful Christians who believe that Christianity brings new life to the mind as well as to the soul. Moral Apologetics should be added to every thinking Christian's bookshelf." Richard Land, president, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

Although religion is almost never a root cause, it often gets pulled into conflict as a powerful element, especially where conflicting parties have different religious identities. Every faith tradition offers resources for peace, and secular policy makers are more and more acknowledging the influence of faith-based actors, even though there remains a tendency to associate religion more with conflict than peace. In this text, practitioners from different faiths relate and explore the many challenges they face in their peacebuilding work, which their secular partners may be unaware of. The contributors are all practitioners whose faith or religious experience motivates their work for peace and justice in such a way that it influences their actions. Their roles are diverse, as some work for faith-based institutions, while others engage in secular contexts. The multiple perspectives featured represent multiple faiths (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish), diverse scopes of practice, different geographic regions. Each chapter follows a similar template to address specific challenges, such as dealing with extremist views, addressing negative stereotypes about one’s faith, endorsing violence, developing relations with other faith-based or secular groups, confronting gender-based violence, and working with people who hold different beliefs. In this text, practitioners from different faiths relate and explore the many challenges they face in their peacebuilding work, which their secular partners may be unaware of. They provide a comprehensive view of the practice of peacebuilding in its many challenging aspects, for both professionals and those studying religion and peacebuilding alike.

One Man One Woman takes an in-depth look at the marriage relationship of one man and one woman and how it reflects the beauty of Christs relationship with his church. One Man One Woman is a book about what was in Gods mind as he made the first man and the first woman and subsequently, how we can discover the closest relationship possible with both God and spouse. In this book, we explore how pornography, adultery, homosexuality, and judging one another breaks the oneness relationship and distracts us from focusing on what we should be focusing onthat is, spreading the Gospel and calling others to repentance and a turning away from sin. One Man One Woman is also about learning how to handle some of the many relationship challenges we face as imperfect beings living in an ever-corrupting world. While Christianity seemingly slumbers on, sexual identity is becoming a matter of subjective preference and choice rather than birthright and blessing. Traditional marriage is ever weakening under fire and conventional sex is taking a back seat to alternative sexual exploration. Consequently, divorce rates are accelerating, and Christian marriage values are succumbing into a minority view. But God had a plan in the beginning, and marriage was and still is an integral part of that plan. In the Gospel of John, Jesus uses an Eastern wedding custom when announcing he was leaving to prepare a place for you, thus signaling the beginning of the end, the impending wedding ceremony, and the imminent start of eternity with him. People, get readyJesus is returning soon!

With close attention to the spheres of sport and religion as important sites of moral currency, this book draws on media coverage of major cases of hypocrisy, attending to differing meanings and consequences of hypocrisy within the US, France and Iceland. Instances come from scandals within the established churches, as well as cases from the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Tour de France, and the inquest into the Hillsborough Disaster in the UK. It considers the importance of the context within which moral conduct takes place and the relevance of this for the occurrence of hypocritical action, while exploring also the implications of advances in computer and information technology for controlling messages and monitoring deceit. Identifying the negative effects of the detection of hypocrisy at individual and institutional levels, the author engages with the work of Goffman to argue for the importance of trust in institutions, underlining the necessity of minimizing and correcting hypocritical acts by which this is undermined. A detailed study of hypocrisy and the need for trust, this volume will appeal to scholars and students of sociology with interests in social and moral conduct, sport, religion, Goffman and the notion of social life as artifice.