The Church Of God

The Church of God in Christ (COGIC), an African American Pentecostal denomination founded in 1896, has become the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States today. In this first major study of the church, Anthea Butler examines the religious and social lives of the women in the COGIC Women's Department from its founding in 1911 through the mid-1960s. She finds that the sanctification, or spiritual purity, that these women sought earned them social power both in the church and in the black community. Offering rich, lively accounts of the activities of the Women's Department founders and other members, Butler shows that the COGIC women of the early decades were able to challenge gender roles and to transcend the limited responsibilities that otherwise would have been assigned to them both by churchmen and by white-dominated society. The Great Depression, World War II, and the civil rights movement brought increased social and political involvement, and the Women's Department worked to make the "sanctified world" of the church interact with the broader American society. More than just a community of church mothers, says Butler, COGIC women utilized their spiritual authority, power, and agency to further their contestation and negotiation of gender roles in the church and beyond.

Some scholars classify the Last Church of God and His Christ under the ecclesiastical-cultural bloc known as African Indigenous Churches (AICs). David Barret has divided the worlds Christians into seven major ecclesiastical blocs. However, there are many large churches and denominations which do not define themselves under any of these three terms, and often reject all three. As far back as 1549 (Japan) and 1741 (USA), new types of Christianity have emerged that do not fit readily into any of these preceding six major blocs. These consist of denominations, churches and movements that have been initiated, founded and spread by black, Non-White or non-European peoples without European assistance, mainly in the Global South, but also among Black and Non-White minorities in the Western World. The African Indigenous Churches fall under this category. The aim of the book, is to examine the history of the Last Church of God and His Christ International in Malawi from its beginning (1916) through the years and to portray a picture of its current existence in its various branches: What developments and changes have taken place over the years? What has been the relationship of the church to African culture? How has the church grown or expanded? Has the church been able to maintain its unity? And what has been the relationship of the church with other churches?

Investigating Vatican II is a collection of Fr. Jared Wicks’ recent articles on Vatican II, and presents the Second Vatican Council as an event to which theologians contributed in major ways and from which Catholic theology can gain enormous insights. Taken as a whole, the articles take the reader into the theological dynamics of Vatican II at key moments in the Council’s historical unfolding. Wicks promotes a contemporary re-reception of Vatican II’s theologically profound documents, especially as they featured God’s incarnate and saving Word, laid down principles of Catholic ecumenical engagement, and articulated the church’s turn to the modern world with a new “face” of respect and dedication to service. From the original motivations of Pope John XXIII in convoking the Council, Investigating Vatican II goes on to highlight the profound insights offered by theologians who served behind the scenes as Council experts. In its chapters, the book moves through the Council’s working periods, drawing on the published and non-published records, with attention to the Council’s dramas, crises, and breakthroughs. It brings to light the bases of Pope Francis’s call for synodality in a listening church, while highlighting Vatican II’s mandate to all of prayerful biblical reading, for fostering a vibrant “joy in the Gospel.”

The life and labors of D. S. Warner are so closely associated with a religious movement that any attempt at his biography becomes in part necessarily a history of that movement. I have therefore chosen the term, Birth of a Reformation, as a part of the title of this book. Brother Warner (to use an appellation in keeping with the idea of universal Christian brotherhood) was doubtless chosen of God as an instrument for accomplishing a particular work. What that work was, why it may be called a reformation, and why, in particular, it may be considered the last reformation, a few words of explanation by way of introduction are offered the inquiring reader. It will be necessary to take a brief glance over the Christian era and review some of the important events and conditions. We note the characteristics of the church in the days of the apostles, which, by reason of its recent founding and organization by the Holy Spirit, is naturally regarded as exemplary and ideal. It had no creed but the Scriptures and no government but that administered by the Holy Spirit, who 'set the members in the body as it pleased him'—apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, pastors, etc. Thus subject to the Spirit, the early church was flexible, capable of expansion and of walking in all the truth and of adjusting itself to all conditions. It was in very essence the church, the whole, and not a section or part. The apostles and early believers did not restrict themselves and become a Jewish Christian sect or any other kind of sect. Peter's way of thinking would have thus limited him, for as a Jew he declined any particular interest in Gentile converts; but the Lord through a vision changed his mind and advanced his understanding to include the universality of the Christian kingdom. The Holy Spirit in the heart was necessary, of course, to the successful government of the church by the Spirit, otherwise he could not have been understood. There were no dividing lines, for it was the will of the Lord particularly that there be "one fold and one shepherd." Jesus had prayed in behalf of the disciples "that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me". These conditions of being subject to the word and Spirit, of leaving an open door through which greater light and truth might enter as was necessary, and of possessing the love and unity of spirit that cemented the believers together and carried them through all their persecution, constituted the ideal and normal status of God's church on earth as he gave it beginning, of which it was ordained that there should be but one, only one, as long as the world should endure. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling".

In THE CHURCH AWAKENING, Charles Swindoll discusses the challenges, struggles, and priorities of the church in the twenty-first century. He reveals the problems inherent in the entertainment-based postmodern church and shows how a return to biblical teaching will restore its strength and impact. Now being replaced by a feel-good message instead of what Christians need to know to stand strong in a world that's lost its way--Swindoll exposes the problems of--and solutions for--the postmodern evangelical church. Just as he opened readers' eyes with his bold statements in The Grace Awakening, now he offers a straightforward volume revealing how to reestablish a life-altering church with Christ as Lord and Master. Illuminating and empowering, THE CHURCH AWAKENING will ignite a revolution in the way Christians "do church" for years to come.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.

You can understand the mysterious book of Revelation. The book of Revelation—the last book in the Bible—is, to many people, its most confusing. They find its strange symbols and images puzzling and mysterious. But you can understand it. The book's very name mean a revealing, a way to gain understanding. Its first verse tells us it was written to reveal "things which must shortly take place." If you are confused by the book of Revelation and would like to know what it all means—and how it's cast of mysterious characters all fit within Bible prophecy—then read the Bible Study Aid ebook The Book of Revelation Unveiled. This study aid will take you through the major themes of the book of Revelation helping you to understand what Jesus Christ revealed to the apostle John and how it all fits together. Discover the major trends and future prophetic events that will shape this world—and your life—in the days ahead. Chapters in this ebook: -- The Book of Revelation: Is It Relevant Today? -- Keys to Understanding Revelation -- The Story Flow of the Book of Revelation -- Chapter Outline of the Book of Revelation -- God's Church in Prophecy -- What Is the Church? -- Duality in Bible Prophecy -- The Book of Revelation's Divine Authority -- The Seals of the Prophetic Scroll -- The Day of the Lord Finally Arrives -- Satan's War Against the People of God -- The Mark and Number of the Beast -- The Two Women of Revelation -- The 'Time of Jacob's Trouble' -- The Destruction of Satan's Kingdom -- Satan: The Great Seducer -- The Everlasting Kingdom of God Inside this Bible Study Aid ebook: "The name of the book, Revelation, is a translation of the title in the original New Testament Greek, Apocalypsis—the origin of the other name by which the book is now known, the Apocalypse. The Greek term denotes an unveiling or uncovering—thus, a revelation." "Here is the key to understanding the book. Jesus alone can unlock the meaning of its symbols, visions and descriptions...Christ reveals its meaning. He unlocks its seals. But how does He do it?" "Most of Revelation—about two thirds of its content—is devoted to the seventh seal. The contents of the first six seals are found in chapter 6 alone." "How will the two witnesses and their message be received?" "The book of Revelation reveals, from more than one perspective, the emergence of this vast end-time empire governed from a great city God labels “Babylon the great”, the reference here being to Rome." "Jesus Christ will return to establish that Kingdom on earth (the Kingdom of God) at His second coming, at last bringing the peace mankind has always longed for but never achieved."