Full Gospel Fractured Minds

Do you sometimes feel you have to check your intellect at the church door, leaving reason behind to embrace the Christian faith? Do you hunger for a “full gospel” that includes the mind as well as heart and Spirit? Full Gospel, Fractured Minds? challenges charismatic and Pentecostal believers to discover the power of a well-maintained mind—a mind on fire—to match a heart on fire and to create a life that operates within the full counsel of God . Nañez shows how human reason helps us understand and interpret God’s Word as well as defend the gospel. He shows what the Bible teaches about the mind, and explores the backgrounds of nineteenth-century and modern culture, anti-intellectualism, Pentecostal history and beliefs, and popular misconceptions about human intellect in relation to the Christian faith. Full Gospel, Fractured Minds? helps men and women practice a Christian faith that reflects the whole person and the full gospel. “Rick Nañez calls Pentecostals and charismatics to seek a balance between mind and Spirit. This book will stir you to seek all that God has for you.” —From the Foreword by Stanley M. Horton, PhD

Wow, where did that thought come from? If you've ever had that thought, this book is for you. Everything starts with a thought, great ideas, and inventions, for example, but also horrible ideas, and sin starts with a thought as well. So, what is a person to do? Are we doomed to simply be the bearers of whatever thoughts race through our minds at any given time? By no means; as children of God we have everything we need to live well, starting with the thoughts in our minds. We are not captives to our thoughts, but in fact we can take our thoughts captive. This book looks at four different aspects that lead to developing a theology of a sound mind and a good thought life. To build a sound mind, one must be actively involved in the process. The information gained on what a sound mind is, how to improve and activate it, and healthy habits to incorporate to strengthen the mind should be continually applied--both for our benefit and, most importantly, so each person can honor and glorify God to the best of their ability.

Pentecostal and Postmodern Hermeneutics seeks to explore the relationship between Pentecostal hermeneutics and Pentecostalism's ability to connect with and evangelize North American youth. As a Postmodern ethos makes its presence increasingly felt in the Western world, no Christian movement should be better positioned to bring the message of Christ to youth and young adults eager to experience the God of miracles and wonders. Recent trends in Pentecostal hermeneutics, however, may actually make the task more difficult. No historical movement has thrived in the long term that has not carefully considered the place of youth and young adults in the vision for the future. While Pentecostalism has been at the forefront of youth ministry in the last several decades, we must also connect Pentecostal academia with evangelism efforts among youth and young adults. This work calls Pentecostal scholars to thoughtfully consider the implications of their work for future generations.

What can Mary Wollstonecraft teach Christians about sexual ethics? Can John Stuart Mill help the church understand toleration? Are there lessons for the Christian world from writers like Marx, Nehru, Shelley, Popper, and Hume? Atheism for Christians looks at the work of some of the most influential secular thinkers and asks what Christians can learn without giving up their faith or core values. Looking at important modern issues such as gender equality, same-sex marriage, creationism and evolution, abortion, universal health, biblical literalism, and religious tribalism, this work offers a fresh perspective on old questions. The Bible says the value of wisdom is far above rubies. It should not matter where that wisdom comes from. The Christian world should be able to celebrate and learn from the intellectual giants in the secular tradition just as atheists can still appreciate the great academic and artistic contribution of Christianity. The nexus between faith and reason is sometimes stretched but should never be abandoned. Atheism for Christians offers a unique insight into the work of some of the greatest secular thinkers and argues there is much to learn.

As the first systematic theology of its kind, the ecumenical construction synthesizes the strengths of what are typically considered two disparate branches of Christianity, namely, Roman Catholicism and Anabaptism. Focusing on the celebrated Jesuit neo-Scholastic theologian Luis de Molina (1535-1600) and the evangelical peace communities from the early modern period onward, this system integrates the best in Catholic philosophical theology with the best historical implementations of the Free Church ecclesiological tradition. In doing so, this progressive doctrinal edifice furnishes provocative new answers to perennial quandaries. Included in this discussion are the polarity between sovereign predestination and libertarian freedom, the interaction between omniscience and God's "changing his mind," and the existence of gratuitous evil. This system breaks ground in the realm of practical theology by proposing an antithetical relationship between church discipline and the sacraments. While avoiding the either-or debate between egalitarianism and complementarianism, this theology demonstrates exegetically that women should not be restricted from holding any leadership position within the church. Drawing together these dialectical and Scriptural threads, this book advocates a social ethic that exhorts Christians to display extreme reluctance on matters of war, and to exercise discernment toward political agendas by measuring them against the Sermon on the Mount.

Western society is in crisis, the result of our culture's embrace of naturalism and postmodernism. At the same time, the biblical worldview has been pushed to the margins. Christians have been strongly influenced by these trends, with the result that the personal lives of Christians often reflect the surrounding culture more than the way of Christ, and the church's transforming influence on society has waned. In Kingdom Triangle, J.P. Moreland issues a call to recapture the drama and power of kingdom living. He examines and provides a penetrating critique of these worldviews and shows how they have ushered in the current societal crisis. He then lays out a strategy for the Christian community to regain the potency of kingdom life and influence in the world. Drawing insights from the early church, he outlines three essential ingredients of this revolution: ? Recovery of the Christian mind ? Renovation of Christian spirituality ? Restoration of the power of the Holy Spirit He believes that evangelical Christianity can mature and lead the surrounding society out of the meaningless morass it finds itself in with humility and vision.

What might be described as a Pentecostal worldview has become a powerful cultural phenomenon, but it is often at odds with modernity and globalization. Science and the Spirit confronts questions of spirituality in the face of contemporary science. The essays in this volume illustrate how Pentecostalism can usefully engage with technology and scientific discovery and consider what might be distinctive about a Pentecostal dialogue with the sciences. The authors conclude that Pentecostals, with their unique perspectives on spirituality, can contribute new insights for a productive interaction between theology and science.