The Liberty of Obedience


Book Description

When, on the first night of our arrival in the "savage" Aucas village, they gave us houses to live in, food and water and wood and fire, things were not so simple for me. My categories began to crumble. I had thought I knew what a savage was like. I had thought I knew exactly how the Gospel would change him. As weeks passed, I began to realize that not only had I been mistaken about these things, but very likely I was just as mistaken about some other categories which had seemed clear before. How readily I had seen Christian virtues in those I called Christians in my own country, and the "works of the flesh" in those who did not bear the Christian label. What was I now to do with the apparent manifestation of virtue -- peace, longsuffering, kindness -- in those who had never heard of Christ? Things were not as I had thought.




Free in Obedience


Book Description

An astute, outspoken lay theologian talks to Christians about how they can today find freedom in obedience to Christ's gospel and about the urgent necessity of trying to live this kind of freedom now. He insists that his readers look realistically and relentlessly at their own condition, at the condition of the church -- and that they see how these relate and compare to Christ's gospel. His book, based on certain passages from Hebrews, thus becomes a call to freedom and a call to revolutionary Christianity. William Stringfellow begins by spelling out, in impressive and telling detail, how the church has become mired in secular idolatries and ideologies, both economic and political. Then, in constrast to this situation, he examines Christ's resistance to the temptations of worldly power. Stringfellow ends his book by emphasizing the meaning of the resurrection as the exercise of the freedom of God and sets forth the victory over death and bondage given in Christ. Only in that gift is the Christian free to offer his own life to the world. Only thus is he free in obedience.




The Insanity of Obedience


Book Description

Wise Sheep Among the Wolves All Christian disciples have one thing in common: as they carry the gospel across the ocean and across the street, persecution will become the norm for those who choose to follow Jesus. How believers respond in the face of persecution reveals everything about their level of faith and obedience. The Insanity of Obedience is a bold challenge to global discipleship. Nik Ripken exposes the danger of safe Christianity and calls readers to something greater. The Insanity of Obedience challenges Christians in the same, provocative way that Jesus did. This book dares you—and prepares you—to cross the street and the oceans with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Some of Jesus’ instructions sound uncomfortable and are potentially dangerous. We may be initially encouraged by His declaration, “I am sending you out.” But how are we to respond when He then tells us that He is sending us out “like sheep among wolves"? In light of the words of Jesus, how can modern day believers rest comfortably in the status quo? How can we embrace casual faith in light of the radical commands of Jesus which are anything but casual? Ripken brings decades of ministry experience in some of the most persecuted areas of the world to bear on our understanding of faith in Jesus. The Insanity of Obedience is a call to roll up your sleeves . . . and to follow and partner with Jesus in the toughest places on this planet. "We have the high privilege of answering Jesus’ call to go," Ripken says. "But let us be clear about this: we go on His terms, not ours. If we go at all, we go as sheep among wolves." Jesus gives us Himself. And He gives us the tools necessary for those who dare to journey with Him.




Loving King Jesus


Book Description

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." For the Christian, obedience to Christ is axiomatic, it goes without saying. But what many do not understand is that godly obedience is the way to a life characterized by a peace, joy , and freedom that the world cannot know. We don't obey God to gain our salvation. Salvation is God's free gift through faith in the work of Jesus Christ in His life, death, and resurrection. But once saved, a Christian is given a deep desire to love God and want to obey. This book is a study of the way to do that very thing.




The Force of Obedience


Book Description

The events that took place in Tunisia in January 2011 were the spark igniting the uprisings that swept across North Africa and the Middle East, toppling dictators and leading to violent conflict and tense stand-offs. What was it about this small country in North Africa that enabled it to play this exceptional role? This book is a deeply informed account of the exercise of power in Tunisia in the run-up to the revolt that forced its authoritarian ruler, Ben Ali, into exile. It analyses the practices of domination and repression that were pervasive features of everyday life in Tunisia, showing how the debt economy and the systems of social solidarity and welfare created forms of subjection and mutual dependence between rulers and ruled, enabling the reader to understand how a powerful protest movement could develop despite tight control by police and party. For those wishing to understand the extraordinary events unfolding across the Arab world, this rich, subtle and insightful book is the indispensable starting point.




The Freedom of a Christian


Book Description

Theologian and ethicist Gilbert Meilaender explores the nature of Christian freedom, tackling issues such as how it applies to vocation and biotechnology, the importance of memory, and the role of suffering in our lives.




The Freedom of Obedience


Book Description




The Freedom of Obedience


Book Description

'The spiritual centre of the human person, the self', writes the author, 'maintains its fundamental identity for the whole of life on earth and is destined for participation in the eternal life of God... The person is not a succession of separate points at the mercy of the conditions of the moment. God has given us a share in his power as creator, and to create ourselves through our liberty, to go beyond ourselves towards absolute values'. These reflections by a Carthusian novice master for those training for the life of silent love show that in the obedience born of love, one responds to the all encompassing, deeply intimate and sustaining love of God.







Obedience from First to Last


Book Description

Obedience from First to Last explores the theological significance of the obedience of Jesus Christ in Karl Barth’s theology. It does this via a threefold consideration of, first, the nature of Jesus’ incarnate obedience; second, the relation of that obedience to the obedience of the second triune person of the eternal Son; and third, the effects Jesus’ obedience has on our own obedience. Barth not only affirms the pivotal role Jesus’ obedience has within the economy of salvation, but by equating that obedience with that of the eternal Son’s, Barth gives Jesus’ obedience a pre-eminent place within the immanent being of Godself. The obedience of Jesus Christ is seen to have a co-participatory role in God’s determination of his own divine being that arises from the primordial act of divine election. This notion bears on our understanding of freedom and obedience: as divine freedom is expressed in divine obedience, so it is with human freedom and human obedience.