The Threefold Struggle


Book Description

We members of settler colonial culture—the latest form of what novelist and cultural critic Daniel Quinn calls Taker culture—are constrained by myriad institutions that leave us with little choice but to engage in practices that are profoundly damaging to the planet, to others, and to ourselves. Our path to living otherwise, Andrew Frederick Smith argues, lies in the threefold struggle, which is inspired by Quinn's focus on the interweaving roots of ecological, social, and personal wellbeing. These three forms of wellbeing are co-implicated. We cannot enjoy one without equally enjoying the others; they are a package deal. As such, what works for people individually and collectively works for the planet, and vice versa. Reclaiming our lives and revitalizing our human and more-than-human communities are salient acts of resistance against Taker culture. They offer means of escape from our cultural captivity and an opportunity for full-spectrum wellbeing.




Crossroads of the Eternal


Book Description

Not so long ago it was taken for granted that God exists. Today, there is a blindness to him even though he makes his presence known to all. The book begins by showing how better to recognize his presence and understand how he reveals himself to us. The next three chapters discuss how we move from an awareness of his presence to beginning to know him, and through a knowledge of him, begin to know what his purpose is for us and how our lives are shaped by that knowledge. Having seen how he reveals himself to us and how we know the world and see the world through different eyes, we then look at how to apply our new view in the face of a society that remains blind to this knowledge. Chapters 5–7 explore truth first from the standpoint of its existence, then in how to recognize its counterfeits, and finally to understand the consequences of its loss. Chapters 8–10 look at how and why being able to see God’s hand in all aspects of life, and to center life on him by faith in his son Jesus Christ, completely changes life for the better. Non-Christians often hear this claim made by evangelists. If they ask why, too often the answer is in “Christian-speak” that is foreign to them. The intent is to bridge from the place where they are and explain how Christians have found peace in times of suffering, even joy in the most horrific circumstances, enabling them to give thanks in all things. In a sense, the book finishes where it started, by looking at who we truly are, what kind of world this is, and how God has made all into his glorious plan.




Paul and the Self


Book Description

""An outstanding contribution to the subjects of intra- and interpersonal relations is the work done by J. Knox Chamblin, Paul and the Self. The author has studied every Pauline passage relating to the self and arranged his findings so as to enrich our understanding of a holistic personal maturity as well as a holistic corporate maturity. The serious Bible student should have this book."" --J. Grant Howard, author of The Trauma of Transparency (1997)







Arise Ye Starvelings


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The Jews of Islam


Book Description

This landmark book probes Muslims' attitudes toward Jews and Judaism as a special case of their view of other religious minorities in predominantly Muslim societies. With authority, sympathy and wit, Bernard Lewis demolishes two competing stereotypes: the Islamophobic picture of the fanatical Muslim warrior, sword in one hand and Qur'ān in the other, and the overly romanticized depiction of Muslim societies as interfaith utopias. Featuring a new introduction by Mark R. Cohen, this Princeton Classics edition sets the Judaeo-Islamic tradition against a vivid background of Jewish and Islamic history. For those wishing a concise overview of the long period of Jewish-Muslim relations, The Jews of Islam remains an essential starting point.




Progressive Creation and the Struggles of Humanity in the Bible


Book Description

Why does the Christian walk often feel like an ongoing struggle and why does God's creation include imperfection, let alone forces that are intent on thwarting God's creative work? In seeking a response to these questions, this book argues that the biblical accounts describe creation in terms of a progressive transformation process whereby the initially incomplete created order will reach perfection only in the fulfillment of new creation. The following discussion then outlines a comprehensive framework for the biblical theology of humanity's struggles, centered on three key themes: corporeal temptation, deficient social structures, and the much-debated notion of spiritual warfare. The book presents an overarching canonical narrative that threads together a series of diverse biblical topics, from Job's temptation to the Atonement. The final part surveys biblical teaching on how human conduct can be aligned with God's creative purpose, and discusses three "assignments" from Jesus to believers: to celebrate the Eucharist, to pray the Lord's Prayer, and to fulfill the Great Commission.




Commonwealth News


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The Threefold Cord


Book Description