Supernaturalism in Christianity


Book Description

Until modern times, defenders of Christianity generally assumed without question that supernaturalism was the best means for convincing religious unbelievers of the gospel truth. This book discusses what continue to be hot-button issues, displaying that supernaturalism has not lost its grip on believers.




Christianity with Power


Book Description

Power. Politicians crave it. Money buys it. And some people will do anything to get it. In a world where New Agers rely on crystals and channeling to tap into spiritual power, the Christian is reminded that Jesus used supernatural power to heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. Two thousand years later, the world still desperately needs a Savior who works in power. However, many modern Christians are embarrassed and reluctant to preach a gospel accompanied by supernatural power. Our Western worldview conditions us to fit God into a neat, predictable mold. But Kraft is convinced that the power of the gospel will not be confined to our categories. Step by step, he offers a biblical understanding of signs and wonders and shows how Christians can become God's instruments to heal the sick, to work miracles, and to oppose the counterfeit powers of this age. There is something that makes ['Christianity with Power'] quite possibly great, maybe even a major publishing event to be noted some day when the history of the modern church is written. . . . Kraft helps us as no one else has in understanding our Western worldview in relation to the way the Holy Spirit is working today.Ó --from the Foreword




Supernatural


Book Description

Dr. Michael S. Heiser presents fifteen years of research on what the Bible really says about the unseen world of the supernatural, unfiltered by tradition or by theological presuppositions. Who were the sons of God? Who were the Nephilim? Where do angels fit into the supernatural hierarchy? What relation does Jesus bear to the rest of the supernatural world? Heiser tackles these questions and many more as he shines a light on the ancient context of Scripture. After reading this book, you may never read your Bible the same way again. In Supernatural, Heiser takes the core message from his recent best-seller, The Unseen Realm, and presents it for the person in the pew. He offers the same approach to reading and understanding Scripture, but without all the extra footnotes and supporting information needed for the scholarly treatment. “We can’t believe what we don’t understand. In Supernatural, Michael Heiser helps us to do both. It may open your eyes to the scripture in a new way.” —John Ortberg, author of If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat







The Plan of Salvation


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The Unseen Realm


Book Description

In The Unseen Realm, Dr. Michael Heiser examines the ancient context of Scripture, explaining how its supernatural worldview can help us grow in our understanding of God. He illuminates intriguing and amazing passages of the Bible that have been hiding in plain sight. You'll find yourself engaged in an enthusiastic pursuit of the truth, resulting in a new appreciation for God's Word. Why wasn't Eve surprised when the serpent spoke to her? How did descendants of the Nephilim survive the flood? Why did Jacob fuse Yahweh and his Angel together in his prayer? Who are the assembly of divine beings that God presides over? In what way do those beings participate in God's decisions? Why do Peter and Jude promote belief in imprisoned spirits? Why does Paul describe evil spirits in terms of geographical rulership? Who are the "glorious ones" that even angels dare not rebuke? After reading this book, you may never read your Bible the same way again. Endorsements "There is a world referred to in the Scripture that is quite unseen, but also quite present and active. Michael Heiser's The Unseen Realm seeks to unmask this world. Heiser shows how important it is to understand this world and appreciate how its contribution helps to make sense of Scripture. The book is clear and well done, treating many ideas and themes that often go unseen themselves. With this book, such themes will no longer be neglected, so read it and discover a new realm for reflection about what Scripture teaches." --Darrell L. Bock, Executive Director for Cultural Engagement, Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement "'How was it possible that I had never seen that before?' Dr. Heiser's survey of the complex reality of the supernatural world as the Scriptures portray it covers a subject that is strangely sidestepped. No one is going to agree with everything in his book, but the subject deserves careful study, and so does this book." --John Goldingay, David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament, School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary "This is a 'big' book in the best sense of the term. It is big in its scope and in its depth of analysis. Michael Heiser is a scholar who knows Scripture intimately in its ancient cultural context. All--scholars, clergy, and laypeople--who read this profound and accessible book will grow in their understanding of both the Old and New Testaments, particularly as their eyes are opened to the Bible's 'unseen world.'" --Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College




Redemption from this World


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Defining Noah Webster


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Experience with the Supernatural in Early Christian Times


Book Description

The Bible is rich in miracles. Supernaturalism runs like a scarlet thread through the whole book from Genesis to Revelation. Many people tend to pass hastily over the miracle stories, however, and find greater satisfaction in the Bible's less spectacular portrayals of moral ideas and spiritual struggles. So how can we account for the prominence of the miraculous in Hebrew religion and more particularly in early Christianity? Why did the advocates of the new religion concern themselves so extensively with the imagery of supernaturalism? These are the questions Shirley Jackson Case seeks to answer in this provocative work. SHIRLEY JACKSON CASE (1872-1947) was a liberal theologian at the University of Chicago. Case was regarded as perhaps the finest scholar of the socio-historical method, which viewed the Bible as telling and reflecting the history of a movement that had its own needs and goals. She is also the author of The Historicity of Jesus, which is one of the earliest book-length scholarly refutations of the Jesus Myth.




Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal and Pseudoscience


Book Description

"Religion, Supernaturalism, the Paranormal, and Pseudoscience" provides a comprehensive rejoinder to the challenges posed to science, scientific anthropology, evolutionary theory and rationality by the advocates of supernatural, paranormal, and pseudoscientific perspectives and modes of thought associated with the current rise of irrationalism, antiintellectualism, and emboldened religious fundamentalism and violence. Drawing upon H. Sidky’s scientific anthropological background and ethnographic field research of supernatural and paranormal beliefs and practices in several cultures over three decades, the book answers several important questions: Why do humans have a proclivity for the supernatural and paranormal thinking? Why has humanity remained shackled to sets of ideas inherited from a violent past that have no basis in reality and which bestow an illusionary solace, promote bloodshed, endless cruelties and fervent hatreds, and have come at a high cost? Why have ancient superstitions been held as sacred, inviolate truths while other aspects of the archaic belief systems of which they were a part have long been discarded? Why have not humans outgrown religion and paranormal beliefs?