The Christian Agnostic


Book Description

Is it more important to follow Jesus, or to believe all the right doctrines about him? Is it better to forgive people than to judge them? Why do we find Jesus so much more appealing than those who call themselves his disciples? If you've asked these questions, you're not alone; people have been struggling with them for years. Leslie Weatherhead was one of those people. A famous preacher and teacher, he nonetheless worried that Jesus' radical message about loving and accepting others had become buried under a mountain of doctrines and rituals. And so Weatherhead wrote The Christian Agnostic for people who wanted to cut to the heart of the message of Jesus. This classic book looks at the gospel's most essential truths about who God is and how God loves us. It then helps the reader distinguish these truths from all the theological baggage the church has attached to them over the years. If you're searching for an authentic way to understand who Jesus is and how to follow him in today's world, The Chirstian Agnostic is an indispensable guide for your journey.




The Gospel of Inclusion, Revised Edition


Book Description

One of the most fiercely debated topics in modern Christianity centers on the inclusion of sexual and gender minorities into the full life of the church. Dozens of scholars have stepped forward, seeking to make a compelling case for LGBT+ inclusion based on their contextualized reading of the six traditional passages that refer to homosexuality in Scripture. But these arguments alone fall short of providing a comprehensive framework for radical inclusion of LGBT+ people. In The Gospel of Inclusion, pastor and public theologian Brandan Robertson offers a compelling assessment of the biblical texts, cultural context, and modern social movements to suggest that the entire thrust of the Christian gospel calls the church towards the deconstruction of all oppressive systems and structures and towards the creation of a world that celebrates the full spectrum of human diversity as a reflection of God's creative intention.




Christian Agnostic


Book Description

"Could it be true that Jesus requires his followers to admit room for doubt in him? According to this book, yes. The Bible realizes that faith and doubt are great enemies. But the Bible also understands that faith loves doubt because faith thrives on its war with doubt and because doubt sustains faith's need to exist. For this reason, the Bible, where maybe no other religious book does, sees doubt as an ally because the Bible knows that if doubt could be eliminated and certainty attained, then faith, the resource that fuels the Bible's followers, could not exist for there can be no faith where there is not doubt.




Christian Agnostic


Book Description

Could it be true that Jesus requires his followers to admit room for doubt in him? According to this book, yes. Lawson writes in Christian Agnostic, Greatness, in order to be great, must have a great adversary. Who would Luke Skywalker be without Darth Vadar? Who would Rocky be without Apollo Creed? Who would Winston Churchill be without Hitler? Would we ever have known who David was without Goliath? What would faith be without doubt? Where maybe no other religious book does, the Bible understands that even though faith and doubt are great adversaries, faith loves doubt because faith loves the fight and knows that it could not be great without uncertainty. More than that, the Bible sees doubt as an ally because it knows that if doubt could be eliminated and true certainty attained, then faith, the resource that fuels the Bible's followers, could not exist for there can be no faith where there is no doubt. The majority of the church, and the world at large, views faith as a resource that erases doubt and decides truth. This misconception has caused much of the Christian world, for most of its history, to embrace a method of searching for truth that is weak and lazy. This book shows that despite the church's mistaken belief about the nature of faith, the Bible understands how to search for truth with the legitimacy that only comes from having the courage to be honest about the room for doubt present wherever faith is used to believe and then being open to challenging one's own beliefs wherever that room for doubt exists. In recent decades, millions have walked away from the church because they think the Bible lacks credibility. What they do not realize is that the Bible has credibility, but that the Christian world holds back its legitimacy, instead choosing to unintentionally make the Bible appear weak because it refuses to embrace the more honorable method of searching for truth that the book promotes. Christian Agnostic will show the world many of the Bible's strengths that the church has been unknowingly concealing.




Why I Am an Agnostic


Book Description

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.




Agnostic-Ish


Book Description

This is a book about science, religion, and the world in between. I was born into a Christian family, but fell out of religion and in love with the scientific method. I had little need of faith, I thought, when science could tell me so much more about the world, and ask so little of me in return. But as I aged into young adulthood, a new chapter of my story began. Did I really know why I believed what I believed? How could I be so certain of my convictions when I hadn't even honestly considered the evidence? This book traces my journey through the furthest reaches of thought, a journey that took me through the realms of psychology, biology, physics, and belief. Could I find a place for faith in the modern world? Or was I right to cast it off as I did?




The Year of Living Biblically


Book Description

The bestselling author of The Know-It-All takes on history's most influential book.




Why Christianity Must Change or Die


Book Description

An important and respected voice for liberal American Christianity for the past twenty years, Bishop John Shelby Spong integrates his often controversial stands on the Bible, Jesus, theism, and morality into an intelligible creed that speaks to today's thinking Christian. In this compelling and heartfelt book, he sounds a rousing call for a Christianity based on critical thought rather than blind faith, on love rather than judgment, and that focuses on life more than religion.




The Slain God


Book Description

Throughout its entire history, the discipline of anthropology has been perceived as undermining, or even discrediting, Christian faith. Many of its most prominent theorists have been agnostics who assumed that ethnographic findings and theories had exposed religious beliefs to be untenable. E. B. Tylor, the founder of the discipline in Britain, lost his faith through studying anthropology. James Frazer saw the material that he presented in his highly influential work, The Golden Bough, as demonstrating that Christian thought was based on the erroneous thought patterns of 'savages.' On the other hand, some of the most eminent anthropologists have been Christians, including E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Mary Douglas, Victor Turner, and Edith Turner. Moreover, they openly presented articulate reasons for how their religious convictions cohered with their professional work. Despite being a major site of friction between faith and modern thought, the relationship between anthropology and Christianity has never before been the subject of a book-length study. In this groundbreaking work, Timothy Larsen examines the point where doubt and faith collide with anthropological theory and evidence.




How To Be An Agnostic


Book Description

The authentic spiritual quest is marked not by certainties but by questions and doubt. Mark Vernon who was a priest, and left an atheist explores the wonder of science, the ups and downs of being 'spiritual but not religious', the insights of ancient philosophy, and God the biggest question.