Religion Theory

The delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention blocked the establishment of Christianity as a national religion. But they could not keep religion out of American politics. From the election of 1800, when clergyman charged that deist Thomas Jefferson was unfit to lead a "Christian nation," to today, when some Democrats want to embrace the so-called Religious Left in order to compete with the Republicans and the Religious Right, religion has always been a part of American politics.

Gay marriage, transgender rights, birth control - sex is at the heart of many of the most divisive political issues of our age. The origins of these conflicts, historian R. Marie Griffith argues, lie in sharp disagreements that emerged among American Christians a century ago. From the 1920s onward, a once-solid Christian consensus regarding gender roles and sexual morality began to crumble, as liberal Protestants sparred with fundamentalists and Catholics over questions of obscenity, sex education, and abortion.

Dr. Ashley Denton's book on Christian outdoor leadership is the first of its kind. It is a foundation resource for students of outdoor leadership, wilderness ministry, and outdoor education. According to many listeners, it is an audiobook that is ideal for youth workers, pastors, outdoor enthusiasts, and those who desire to grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ through solitude or adventure in the outdoors.

The doctrine of reprobation—that is, the eternal, unconditional decree of God for the non-elect—is frequently misconstrued in both pastoral and theological literature. In Reprobation and God's Sovereignty, Peter Sammons reintroduces this oft-misunderstood doctrine, revealing its relationship to divine sovereignty. With Romans 9 as a guiding text, Sammons presents a thoroughly researched defense of reprobation as an essential part in a Reformed theology that magnifies God and encourages believers to trust in him.

Afghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the 16th century to the Taliban resurgence today. Thomas Barfield introduces listeners to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, explaining what unites them as Afghans despite the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them.

In Heavenly Rewards, you will uncover fascinating truths about how the life you live today determines your life in eternity. You will learn tangible ways you can please the Lord in your everyday living; discover that your labor and sacrifices are never in vain (God is a faithful rewarder); and see the benefits of living faithfully and enduring through even the most difficult times.

Never feel helpless again! A loved one is sick, your friend was just in an accident, a family member is facing an emotional crisis... Have you ever desperately longed to reach out your hand and bring healing to these needs? At times, our hearts ache with the desire to help, but either we don’t know how or we are afraid and stop short. The truth is, the Holy Spirit within you is ready to heal the sick! Charles and Frances Hunter present solid, biblically based methods of healing that can bring not only physical health but also spiritual health and abundant life.

Scott Hahn crafts a powerful message that extols the virtue of confession. According to Hahn, the sacrament of reconciliation is the key to spiritual growth. Through each act of forgiveness, we are able to more closely resemble the divine life.

When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan met at an academic conference in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. That conversation grew into an astonishing correspondence exploring a series of fascinating questions. Did the universe have a beginning? Might our perception of time in fact be an illusion, a phenomenon created in our brains that has no ultimate reality? What is consciousness and how did it evolve?

Many books on Purgatory reflect upon what you can do to help the Holy Souls suffering there. But this informative and reassuring book offers practical tips on what you can do to avoid the pains of Purgatory yourself. And the good news is, you don’t have to endure martyrdom; you just have to grow in virtue. Father Martin Jugie clarifies the truth about the Church’s teaching on Purgatory and explains why it isn’t enough simply to strive to avoid Hell. You must expiate for your sins now—and Fr. Jugie spells out how.

In this award-winning book, Leanne Payne reveals how to overcome the three great barriers that keep us from becoming whole persons: The inability to receive God's forgiveness, the inability to forgive others, and the inability to accept ourselves.

There has been renewed interest in the five points of Calvinism among many Christians today. But these doctrines are not a product of the twenty-first century. So where did they come from, and why are they so important? Dr. W. Robert Godfrey takes us back to 1618-19 when the Canons of Dort were written in response to a mounting theological assault on Reformed Christianity. Now, for its four-hundredth anniversary, he offers a new translation and pastoral commentary on the canons, equipping the next generation with these God-glorifying truths.

From mourning to discernment, from invitation to intimacy, and from community to the charge to go forth and witness, this work seeks a fuller understanding of the Eucharist through the story of the disciples on their way to Emmaus and calls us to experience the entire journey, to know that what we celebrate and what we are called to live are one and the same.

This 1754 work by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is subtitled An Inquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of the Freedom of the Will Which Is Supposed to Be Essential to Moral Agency, Virtue and Vice, Reward and Punishment, Praise and Blame. Edwards was a Christian reformer, theologian, and author in the Calvinist tradition, and in this work he explores the necessity of divine grace for the redeeming of the damaged will of humanity. He contends that free will is an extension of, and connected to, the grace of God.

Why is the church so ineffectual and characterized by the mosaic generation as unchristian? The term born again has been devalued both in society and in the church. Recent social studies surveys have shown that those who regard themselves as born again Christians have the same tendency to divorce as people who aren't Christians at all! In these surveys, being born again is defined by what people say they believe.

Mass incarceration has become a lucrative industry, and the criminal justice system is plagued with bias and unjust practices. And the church has unwittingly contributed to these problems. Dominique Gilliard explores the history and foundation of mass incarceration, examining Christianity's role in its evolution and expansion. He assesses our nation's ethic of meritocratic justice in light of Scripture and exposes the theologies that embolden mass incarceration.

In the throes of a long illness and confronting the possibility of death, 17th-century theologian Richard Baxter found comfort in the reality of heaven that awaits believers of Christ. During his recovery, Baxter wrote about the afterlife in what would become his best-selling book. The Saints' Everlasting Rest meditates on what Scripture reveals about heaven, helping believers live an abundant, God-honoring life in anticipation of eternal rest. Baxter encourages listeners not to become distracted or discouraged by the temporal as he refocuses their minds on the eternal.

Cold Tangerines is a collection of stories that celebrate the extraordinary moments hidden in our everyday lives. It is about God, and about life, and about the thousands of daily ways in which an awareness of God changes and infuses everything. It is about spiritual life, and about all the things that we have called nonspiritual life that might be spiritual after all.

In his first book since 2002's acclaimed The Hidden Face of God, popular scientist Gerald Schroeder combines decades of scientific research and biblical study to present a groundbreaking new paradigm of how to understand God. Fans of Jack Miles' God: A Biography, Francis Collins' The Language of God, and Richard Friedman's Who Wrote the Bible will find much to contemplate in God According to God.

Many Christians are unaware that Universal Reconciliation was the dominant view of the church for the first 500 years, with Annihilation and Eternal Torment as minority positions. Jesus Undefeated is an eye-opening examination of all three views of the afterlife and a God who is even more loving than we dare imagine. Discover the Gospel that is not merely "Good News", but fantastically "Great News."