Religion Theory

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?

If the church is going to use the Bible to decide whether divorce is legitimate in certain cases and whether divorced couples have the right to remarry with the approval and blessing of God’s people, then the Bible must be studied without prejudice toward a particular answer. The author examines the relevant passages in both the Old and New Testaments so that his listeners can consider the many issues and interpretations that arise in trying to establish a consistently biblical position.

Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will (1525) is a response to Desiderius Erasmus's "Diatribe on Free Will.’ The work is considered as one of the great masterpieces of the Reformation. Luther writes powerfully about man's depravity and God's sovereignty in his direct style, which combines spirituality and humor. For Luther, the crucial issue was the ability of free will, and the extent to which it is subject to God's sovereignty.

God loves all his creatures: the author, the lake, the tree, the sun, etc. On that day, as she prayed, his other "creatures" seemed almost to dance before him. Sparkling and seeming to rejoice in their own creation, they poured themselves in through her window in their fullest array of light and warmth and color to bless her too. It was then that the author had the vision, one not easily explainable. The vision was of a painting, yet not a painting, for Christ's living face glowed through it.

Christians have long differed with one another on both the meaning and the practice of water baptism. Using the classic Counterpoints forum of presentation-critique-response, this insightful book explores four prominent views of baptism held by different branches of Protestantism: Baptist, Christian Church/Church of Christ, Lutheran, and Reformed.

You can be so filled with the Holy Spirit that you will know you are in the presence of God. His love, power, and joy will flow through you to others, bringing salvation, healing, and miracles - just as they did through Smith Wigglesworth. If your heart’s desire is to see great things happen in your life, God will work mightily in you by the power of his Spirit. You can personally experience God’s miracle-working power in your life.

We call ourselves "sinners"; in much of our church life. Yet the sinner identity - when done right - brings peace of mind, a clear conscience, and love for others. Addressing topics like guilt, shame, and self-care, this compassionate guide will help you reflect on your life in surrender to God's mercy. Written by an internationally recognized professor of Orthodox theology, this audiobook will speak to you wherever you find yourself.

In Sacrifice, Rene Girard interrogates the Brahmanas of Vedic India, exploring coincidences with mimetic theory that are too numerous and striking to be accidental. The Bible reveals collective violence, similar to that which generates sacrifice everywhere, but instead of making victims guilty, the Bible and the Gospels reveal the persecutors of a single victim. Instead of elaborating myths, they tell the truth absolutely contrary to the archaic sense.

In Saved from What?, Dr. R.C. Sproul reveals that the greatest danger we face is the holy wrath of God against our sin. But the glory of the gospel is that the One from whom we need to be saved is the very One who saves us. As we better understand the severity of our sin and the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, the truth of God’s grace will deepen our worship and drive us to make his salvation known.

What happens in the heart when it experiences real saving faith? John Piper argues that faith in Christ is not saving unless it includes an "affectional dimension of treasuring Christ." Nor is God glorified as he ought to be unless he is treasured in being trusted. Saving faith in Jesus Christ welcomes him forever as our supreme and inexhaustible pleasure. What Is Saving Faith? explains that a Savior who is treasured for his all-satisfying worth is more glorified than a Savior who is only trusted for his all-forgiving competence

The Dark Path is considered Isaac Weishaupt's magnum opus; a result of many years delving into the recesses of occult dogma from the approach of open-minded rationalism. Isaac's journey started with an attempt to separate religion from conspiracy theories, but the agenda clearly showed a connection. The question to be considered is if the agenda of the Illuminati overlaps with the tenets of the occult and whether or not there is an evil influence at play.

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.

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.

A Groundbreaking Exploration of Faith and Physics — Discover the Eternal Truths Hidden in the Quantum World What if the mysteries of quantum physics could help reveal the deepest truths of Christianity? In The Stub and the Branch: A Quantum Parable of Life and Death, author C. W. Steinle presents a bold and illuminating comparison between modern quantum theory and timeless biblical revelation. With clarity and depth, Steinle invites readers into a mind-expanding journey where wavefunctions and multiverses serve as metaphors for mortality, rebirth, and the promise of eternal life. At the ...

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.

Are you ready to move from insecure to God secure? From regret riddled to better-because-of-it? From afraid to die to ready to fly? Today, find freedom in God's grace. We often talk about grace, but do we really understand it? Grace politely occupies a phrase in a hymn and fits nicely on a church sign. It never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked, "Do you believe in grace?" who could say no? Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado helps us dive deeper into what it means to be changed by grace.

Ed Uszynski—whose PhD in American culture studies navigated readings in Marxism, Critical Theory, and Critical Race Theory—carefully unpacks what critical race theorists seek to accomplish and what Christians can learn from them. Uszynski generously explores CRT's roots, context, and central tenets, revealing how its insights are used and distorted but also how they might benefit the church.

We don’t talk a lot about sin these days. But maybe we should. The Puritans sure did - because they understood sin’s deceptive power and wanted to root it out of their lives. Shouldn’t we want the same? Though many books have been written on the “doctrine of sin”, few are as practical and applicable as this one. In Knowing Sin, Mark Jones puts his expertise in the Puritans to work by distilling the vast wisdom of our Christian forebears into a single volume that summarizes their thought on this vital subject.

If you could sit down and talk privately with two world-renowned leaders in healing ministry - away from the spotlights, stages, and eager crowds - this is the conversation you would have! Best-selling authors Randy Clark and Bill Johnson witness the miraculous regularly and see thousands touched by God each year.

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.