Clear Faith Clearing Away Stumbling Blocks For A Faith That Makes Sense

Are you disillusioned by some aspects of Christianity, like having to believe the right things to “get saved”? Like the idea that an all-loving God would sentence anyone to hell? Like understanding an often contradictory Bible? Then meet CLEAR FAITH. Clear away those stumbling blocks to uncover a faith of your own that makes sense. Meet the Jesus we can truly call “brother.” By seeing with new eyes, through a clear lens, we can experience and live with a simple, straightforward faith that is globally inclusive, open, and compatible with a progressive, scientific worldview. Susan Stover writes as a seminary-educated, mainline-Christian lay person who has been tripping over stumbling blocks long enough to compel her to seek new perspectives in faith. The CLEAR FAITH perspective is like a brand new pair of glasses bringing the foggy into sharp focus.

There is a positive Stumbling Block, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And then there are negative Stumbling Blocks, which keep people from embracing Christ. Five major ones are dealt in this book: 1. Jesus is 100% God AND 100% Man 2. Justification By Faith ALONE 3. Once Saved Always Saved 4. Idol of Mary 5. Inerrancy of Scripture

Is there any basis in reality for a religious experience? Is there any basis in reason for belief in God? Is it even possible to speak meaningfully of a transcendent being? And how does one account for evil? The authors answer these questions, representing the four most important issues in the philosophy of religion, in a comprehensive way and "form the perspective of classical theism." They support this position with in-depth argumentation, taking into account both classical and contemporary writers. With its well-outlined text, 'Philosophy of Religion' is "user friendly." An introduction, chapter summaries, a glossary, indexes, and bibliography contribute to this end. In this second edition, the authors have not only updated the text and bibliography, but also refined some of the arguments, "scaled down and evened out" the vocabulary, and added several pedagogical aids. The first edition, written by Norman L. Geisler alone, appeared in 1974.

Mark Husbands and Jeffrey P. Greenman bring together select essays from the 2007 Wheaton Theology Conference, Ancient Faith for the Church's Future demonstrates the vitality and significance of the early church for contemporary Christian witness and practice. These fourteen essays provide for a significant evangelical ressourcement by considering the importance of the thought and practice of the patristic church especially for our (1) interpreting Scripture, (2) engaging in missional witness through hospitality, social justice and evangelism, (3) renewing our worship and prayer, (4) grasping afresh our salvation through Jesus Christ, and (5) authentically engaging our surrounding culture. Fresh and forward-looking, this book leads the way toward a deeply rooted church that points beyond contemporary evangelical accommodation to civil religion, privatism and enlightenment methodologies toward its true vocation to bear vital witness to God's present and coming kingdom. Contributors include Christopher A. Hall Brian E. Daley, S.J. D. H. Williams Michael Graves Peter J. Leithart Nicholas Perrin Christine Pohl George Kalantzis Alan Kreider John Witvliet Paul I. Kim D. Stephen Long Jason Byassee

How does what happened 2000 years ago in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ radically alter the human nature and life situation of men and women in every generation up to the present day? Pursuit of this question provided the initial impetus for this book, a study of two vital themes pertaining to the doctrine of atonement - representation and substitution. The author explores their meaning and role within the theologies of three significantly diverse contemporary theologians - Dorothee Sölle, John Macquarrie, and Karl Barth - concluding with a comparative analysis of all three perspectives in relation to each other.