I Don T Know What To Believe

Americans—especially young people—are more un-churched and less affiliated with organized religion than at any other time in our history. I Don’t Know What to Believe addresses that decline and presents an insightful examination of authentic spirituality for those who desire answers, guidance, and perspective regarding an important aspect of their lives: their beliefs, and relationship to, a higher power. Rabbi Ben Kamin addresses questions he has received from real people over the thirty years of his ministry, such as: Why does my parents’ religion have to define me? Am I God’s child even if I don’t go to religious services? Does scripture include me in its ideology regardless of how much scripture I know? How do I follow my own spirituality while still respecting my parents’ traditions? Ben Kamin is the award-winning author of ten books and is a scholar on the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He has led congregations in Toronto, New York, Cleveland, and San Diego since his ordination in 1978.

This candid and thoughtful book explores the discomfort of doubt among the faithful. Writing from his own struggle with faith and uncertainty, John Ortberg proposes that the very nature of faith requires the presence of uncertainty, and considers how the right kind of doubt may actually deepen our faith and strengthen our relationship with God.

Your youth group is like no other-so a cookie-cutter curriculum just won't do. With a single book you have the basics for 15 complete sessions-and you can put it all together in a way that works for you. Each topic has been developed by ministry experts to be teen-relevant and spiritually enriching. Each five-session book also includes a 14-point plan for customizing your program, a selection of ice breakers, thought provokers, reproducible handouts, and an encouraging how-to article from well-known youth ministry experts! Can I Know What to Believe? Beliefs to Beware Of--Strategic Answers about Cults ( Understand doctrines of Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, Scientology, and Unification Church and how they differ from biblical Christianity. Contrast the Bible with the New Age Movement, witchcraft and more. Prepare teens to stand firm in their faith.) They're Not Like Us--What Different Churches Believe (Answer questions concerning what other churches believe. Explores differences between Protestants and Catholics and an overview of various mainline denominations. Discover the common heritage of the universal church.) Your Bible's Alive--How to Get Friendly with God's Book (Brings teens face-to-face with God's Word. Clear up misconceptions about Scripture and show how various Bible characters and incidents are related, gives practical tips for understanding the Bible.) Features: 400+ options for full customization 15 sessions with reproducible resources

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This book is intended to help you live your life, and to shed some light on your own values and ethics, if you don’t believe in God. More than just a primer on Humanism, but not quite a full-blown treatise on philosophy, it offers some answers to those crucial questions Socrates asked: What is true? And how shall we live our lives? Those of us who don’t believe in the supernatural sometimes struggle to understand how we can ground ourselves ethically, and how to find truth, meaning, purpose and joy. This book offers ideas about how to know, without depending on Holy Scriptures or guidance from a deity, what it means to lead a good and ethical life. “Humanism is a value system whose time has come: a positive philosophy for the surging proportion of the world’s population who indicate ‘None’ as their religion but seek meaning, morality, and purpose in their lives. Michael Werner’s statement of Humanism is clear, effective, and graceful, just right for our times.” Steven Pinker, professor of psychology, Harvard University author, “The Better Angels of Our Nature” and “How the Mind Works.” “Mike Werner captures the depth and breadth of Humanism in his latest work. He shows us what love, reason, imagination and science can have in common. In doing so, he demonstrates what we all have to live for, strive for, and believe in.” Roy Speckhardt, executive director, American Humanist Association “Outstanding and a must read for everyone who takes life seriously.” Rev. William R. Murry, former president, Meadville Lombard Theological School, University of Chicago

From the New York Times bestselling author of American Fascists and the NBCC finalist for War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning comes this timely and compelling work about new atheists: those who attack religion to advance the worst of global capitalism, intolerance and imperial projects. Chris Hedges, who graduated from seminary at Harvard Divinity School, has long been a courageous voice in a world where there are too few. He observes that there are two radical, polarized and dangerous sides to the debate on faith and religion in America: the fundamentalists who see religious faith as their prerogative, and the new atheists who brand all religious belief as irrational and dangerous. Both sides use faith to promote a radical agenda, while the religious majority, those with a commitment to tolerance and compassion as well as to their faith, are caught in the middle. The new atheists, led by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, do not make moral arguments about religion. Rather, they have created a new form of fundamentalism that attempts to permeate society with ideas about our own moral superiority and the omnipotence of human reason. I Don't Believe in Atheists critiques the radical mindset that rages against religion and faith. Hedges identifies the pillars of the new atheist belief system, revealing that the stringent rules and rigid traditions in place are as strict as those of any religious practice. Hedges claims that those who have placed blind faith in the morally neutral disciplines of reason and science create idols in their own image -- a sin for either side of the spectrum. He makes an impassioned, intelligent case against religious and secular fundamentalism, which seeks to divide the world into those worthy of moral and intellectual consideration and those who should be condemned, silenced and eradicated. Hedges shatters the new atheists' assault against religion in America, and in doing so, makes way for new, moderate voices to join the debate. This is a book that must be read to understand the state of the battle about faith.

From the author of the bestselling novel The Shack and the New York Times bestsellers Cross Roads and Eve comes a compelling, conversational exploration of twenty-eight assumptions about God—assumptions that just might be keeping us from experiencing His unconditional, all-encompassing love. In his wildly popular novels, Wm. Paul Young portrayed the Triune God in ways that challenged our thinking—sometimes upending long-held beliefs, but always centered in the eternal, all-encompassing nature of God’s love. Now, in Wm. Paul Young’s first nonfiction book, he invites us to revisit our assumptions about God—this time using the Bible, theological discussion, and personal anecdotes. Paul encourages us to think through beliefs we’ve presumed to be true and consider whether some might actually be false. Expounding on the compassion fans felt from the “Papa” portrayed in The Shack—now a major film starring Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer—Paul encourages you to think anew about important issues including sin, religion, hell, politics, identity, creation, human rights, and helping us discover God’s deep and abiding love.