Profiles In Belief Protestant Denominations

Do you ever wonder what the difference is between one denomination and another? Why are there so many kinds of Baptist or Presbyterian or Lutheran churches? Where do those names come from, anyway? You can find answers in this concise but comprehensive guide. Learn about the leaders, teachings, and history of most of the church families in America. In addition to membership statistics, you'll find... a brief explanation of how the denomination began a short summary of its teaching on God, the Bible, the church, and other important topics a quick overview of some of its distinctive characteristics Whether you're looking for a new church or enriching your fellowship with believers from other traditions, you'll be much better prepared with this revised and expanded edition of The Complete Guide to Christian Denominations.

The volume of literature in pentecostal theology has quickly become daunting. This brief monograph brings readers up to speed on the characteristics of pentecostal theology in the past and present, as well as its potential in the future.

Winner of the Christianity Today 2010 Book Award for History/Biography, and praised in Christian Century as "witty...erudite...masterful," this groundbreaking history, the first of its kind, shows that far from being only about the age-old riddle of divine sovereignty versus human free will, the debate over predestination is inseparable from other central Christian beliefs and practices--the efficacy of the sacraments, the existence of purgatory and hell, the extent of God's providential involvement in human affairs--and has fueled theological conflicts across denominations for centuries. Peter Thuesen reexamines not only familiar predestinarians such as the New England Puritans and many later Baptists and Presbyterians, but also non-Calvinists such as Catholics and Lutherans, and shows how even contemporary megachurches preach a "purpose-driven" outlook that owes much to the doctrine of predestination. For anyone wanting a fuller understanding of religion in America, Predestination offers both historical context on a doctrine that reaches back 1,600 years and a fresh perspective on today's denominational landscape.

This book examines what people mean when they say they are “spiritual”. It looks at the semantics of “spirituality”, the visibility of reasons for “spiritual” preference in biographies, in psychological dispositions, in cultural differences between Germany and the US, and in gender differences. It also examines the kind of biographical consequences that are associated with “spirituality”. The book reports the results of an online-questionnaire filled out by 773 respondents in Germany and 1113 in the US, personal interviews with a selected group of more than 100 persons, and an experiment. Based on the data collected, it reports results that are relevant for a number of scientific and practical disciplines. It makes a contribution to the semantics of everyday religious language and to the cross-cultural study of religion and to many related fields as well, because “spirituality” is evaluated in relation to personality, mysticism, well-being, religious styles, generativity, attachment, biography and atheism. The book draws attention to the – new and ever changing – ways in which people give names to their ultimate concern and symbolize their experiences of transcendence.

Religion has long been a source of identity for many Southerners, and the Appalachian areas in particular have proven to be a virtual fortress protecting faith and culture. Yet, in a region popularly thought to be religiously homogeneous, congregations reflect a wide range of doctrinal differences over such issues as conversion, ministerial leadership, and the authority on which a church bases its core beliefs. Profiling the prominent Christian traditions in southern Appalachia, this book brings together contributions by twenty scholars who have long studied the religious practices found in the region's cities, small towns, and rural communities. These authors provide insights into not only the independent mountain churches that are strongly linked to local customs but also the mainline and other religious bodies that have a significant presence in Appalachia but are not strictly associated with it. The essays explore the nature of ministry within these various churches, show the impact of broader culture on religion in the region, and consider the question of whether previously isolated, tradition-based churches can retain their distinctiveness in a changing world. One group of chapters focuses on elements of mountain religion as seen in the beliefs and practices of mountain Holiness folk, serpent handlers, and various Baptist traditions. Later chapters review the history and activities of other denominations, including Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, Wesleyan/Holiness, Church of God, and Roman Catholic. Also considered are the economic history of the region, popular religiosity, and the role of church-affiliated colleges. Taken together, these essays offer a richly nuanced understanding of Christianity in Appalachia. The Editor: Bill J. Leonard is dean of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University. His other books include Out of One, Many: American Religion and American Pluralism and God's Last and Only Hope: The Fragmentation of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Contributors: Monica Kelly Appleby, Donald N. Bowdle, Mary Lee Daugherty, Melvin E. Dieter, Howard Dorgan, Anthony Dunnavant, Gary Farley, Samuel S. Hill, Loyal Jones, Helen Lewis, Charles H. Lippy, Bill J. Leonard, Deborah Vansau McCauley, Lou F. McNeil, Marcia Clark Myers, Bennett Poage, Ira Read, James Sessions, Barbara Ellen Smith, H. Davis Yeuell.

Biblical, evangelical, and orthodox, The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality supplies readers with a comprehensive, A-to-Z information source. Supported by the trustworthy research of Watchman Fellowship and its president, James Walker, its thousands of entries give the basics needed to evaluate spiritual belief systems, movements, and phenomena—Christian, quasi-Christian, and non-Christian—and the people connected with them. Definitions, descriptions, and cross references pack the maximum useful information into concise form, as in these examples: Adler, Margo: A witch affiliated with the Covenant of the Goddess, the second-largest coven in the United States. Adler wrote the highly influential book Drawing Down the Moon. See GODDESS, WICCA. Bioenergy: NEW AGE practice of healing, in which life-energy is balanced by opening blocked meridians. See HOLISTIC HEALING. A great resource for individuals—parents, church leaders, counselors, friends who want to give sound advice—as well as for study groups and church libraries.