The Basics Of Christian Belief

This reader-friendly yet robust introduction to the Christian faith explores the essentials of Christianity and the impact they have on life, worldview, and witness. Written in an accessible and engaging voice for college-age readers, the book connects the biblical plotline, the Apostles' Creed, the comparative distinctiveness of Christianity, and life's big questions. The author shows how the Christian metanarrative speaks to questions about purpose, worth, ethics, personhood, and more, and helps readers understand what it means to be a Christian in a post-Christian world.

In The Mosaic of Christian Belief Roger E. Olson thematically traces the contours of Christian belief down through the ages, revealing a pattern of both unity and diversity. He finds a consensus of teaching that is both unitive and able to incorporate a faithful diversity when not forced into the molds of false either-or alternatives. The mosaic that emerges from Olson's work, now updated throughout and with a new chapter on the Holy Spirit, displays a mediating evangelical theology that is irenic in spirit and tone. Olson, writing with nonspecialists in mind, has masterfully sketched out the contours of the Great Tradition of the Christian faith with simplicity while avoiding oversimplification.

The Christian faith involves many different elements: a breathtaking sacrifice, an unshakable hope, a daily fight--‚"and more. Each is critical to our salvation and essential to the shape and purpose of our daily lives. Yet some have become so familiar to us that we miss their importance . . . and others may not feel familiar at all. Pastor David Cassidy's engaging look at these essentials of the Christian faith helps us to understand their disruptive power in a dark world. We're living in an in-between time, positioned between Jesus's death on the cross and his final return. What if we caught hold of the indispensable things and held them close?

"You will know the truth," said Jesus, "and the truth will set you free." Christians have already begun to know God and his truth. This handbook assists in that liberating knowledge, as it opens up the great themes of God's Word and shows how they fit together. Each chapter deals with one aspect of biblical truth and encourages further study with Scripture references to look up, questions for discussion, and books for additional reading. The main sections conclude with practical reflection on how the Bible's teaching challenges us and moves us to adore the living God. This new edition of Bruce Milne's widely appreciated Know the Truth has been extensively revised and updated to ensure its ongoing relevance and value as an excellent introduction to Christian doctrine.

A lucid summary and interpretation of the Christian faith from “one of the leading Christian poets of our time” (Jeremy Begbie, Duke University). “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”—Jesus Christ Christianity began as a minor sect within Judaism and has become one of the major world religions. What started as a small group of people who shared the same language, lifestyle and background is now a movement which embraces many different languages and cultures, giving rise to an astonishing variety of practices and interpretations—yet all with a common basis of shared faith inspired by the teaching, life, death and new life of a carpenter from Nazareth. How did this happen? What Do Christians Believe? was written for the reader looking for quick practical insights into the beliefs and practices of Christianity. Jesus himself identified love as the essential element in both worship and daily life. Using this teaching, and the core Christian belief that Jesus was God’s way of opening himself to humanity, theologian, poet, and songwriter Malcolm Guite explains the inner meaning of such key Christian teachings as atonement, redemption and the concept of God as Trinity.