Theos Starter Pack


Book Description

Recovering…Timeless Truths Like an online starter pack meme, Theos Starter Pack: Toward a Recovery of Essential Christianity is designed to provoke a response. The book includes twenty essays by a motley crew of Bible geeks who are all active in church ministry and teach at TheosU, an online, nondenominational Bible college. The focus is on recovering the roots of Christianity—recovering the way we teach, recovering the Bible’s grand narrative, recovering Christian liberty, recovering apocalyptic, and much more. Each writer “takes into consideration the ageless tradition of Christianity that has been handed down through the centuries, resisting the cultural soup and integrating timeless thinking into an approach that works for the present day,” explains Chris Palmer, TheosU dean. This book is a lifeline “to pull yourself out of the soup.” You may laugh. You may run to your Bible. You may reach out to one of the writers to share a few choice words. But no matter what, these essayists hope you will be inspired and come away with rich theological insights. Theos Starter Pack recovers beautiful elements of ancient Christianity that have been lost or shoved aside in modern society. It’s food for the souls of those who long for a return to the roots of our faith.




Hebrew versus Greek


Book Description

What do you get when you cross classical Hebrew with Koine Greek? It may sound like the metaphor for a strange new animal, but what it imparts is a fascinating dive into the Bible that’s rarely—if ever—been attempted before. In Hebrew versus Greek: A Devotional Study of Scripture Through Two Lenses, Hebrew scholar Chaim Bentorah and Greek scholar Chris Palmer explore fifty concepts from the Septuagint or LXX and explain the subtle differences found in Hebrew and Greek. You will discover how: God’s repentance over creating man benefits us Trusting in God binds us to His divine power God’s command to “fear not” gives us the authority to be courageous Saying there is no God is like walking through fog God embraces us with His strength in the dance of life The authors note that the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has convinced many Bible scholars of the accuracy of the Septuagint. “This offers a whole new dimension to our understanding of the Old Testament and the importance of using the Greek Septuagint to explain some difficult passages,” Chaim notes. Hebrew versus Greek will draw you closer to the Lord through simple devotional lessons that explore the rich meanings found in these ancient languages.




Theos Bernard, the White Lama


Book Description

"Theos Bernard, the White Lama" recounts the real story behind the purported adventures of Theos Casimir Bernard (1908--1947), the self-proclaimed "White Lama" who in 1937 became the third American in history to reach Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet. Bernard met, associated, and corresponded with the major social, political, and cultural leaders of his day, from the Regent and high politicians of Tibet to saints, scholars, and diplomats of British India, and from Charles Lindbergh and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Gandhi and Nehru. But he also had his flaws. He was an entrepreneur propelled by grandiose schemes, a handsome man who shamelessly used his looks to bounce from rich wife to rich wife to support his activities, and a master manipulator who concocted his own interpretations of Eastern wisdom to suit his own ends. Despite the bright future ahead of him, Bernard disappeared in India during the communal violence of the 1947 Partition, never to be seen again. Through diaries, interviews, and previously unstudied documents, Paul G. Hackett shares Bernard's compelling life story, along with his efforts to awaken America's religious counterculture to the unfolding events in India, Tibet, and the Himalayas.




Writing and Research


Book Description

Written in a simple yet engaging style, Dr Kevin Smith applies his years of experience and expertise in scholarly writing and research in this one-volume guide. Perfect as an introduction for new and continuing undergraduate or postgraduate students, this publication provides helpful guidelines and illustrations on all the elements that go into producing an academic work.




No Diving


Book Description

Much like a "No Diving" sign found at a pool, David Campbell seeks to warn Christians about the dangers of diving into shallow interpretations of the Bible and points readers to the deep end. In this book, Campbell wades through mistakes believers make when reading the Bible, and gives them tools for how to fix them. No Diving will give Christians the lessons they need to go deeper in their relationship with God.




Love & Olives


Book Description

A New York Times Bestseller From the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato comes a Mamma Mia!–inspired tale about a teen girl finding romance while trying to connect with her absent father in beautiful Santorini, Greece. Liv Varanakis doesn’t have a lot of fond memories of her father, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight. What Liv does remember, though, is their shared love for Greek myths and the lost city of Atlantis. So when Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father explaining that National Geographic is funding a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and will she fly out to Greece and help?—Liv jumps at the opportunity. But when she arrives to gorgeous Santorini, things are a little…awkward. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. And yet Liv doesn’t want their past to get in the way of a possible reconciliation. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo—her father’s charismatic so-called “protégé”—to witness her struggle. And that means diving into all that Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the hidden caves, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.




Organix


Book Description

Does your leadership style fit new ways of doing church--leadership that is organic and elastic and that finds ways to seize God-given opportunities? Looking back and drawing on the ancient Christian tradition, Bob Whitesel describes seven traitsfor successful leadership, which he characterizes by seven symbols: O (the Greek symbol theta) - the first letter of the Greek word theos stresses that God is the source of the burden for others and provides the power to help them. Rx (the medical prescription symbol) - an emphasis on addressing the spiritual and physical health of leaders. G (a stylized "G" for "graffiti")- the edgy, colorful, and artful collages that help define contemporary organizations. A (inspired by the recycle symbol) - the idea of recycling places, experiences and people rather than discarding them. N - emerging networks that connect people more quickly, efficiently, precisely and continuously. I - an emphasis on "incarnation", a going "in the flesh" to serve others rather than sending surrogates. X (the Jerusalem cross with a number in each quadrant) - four types of measurement observed in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42-47), which at their core point to Christ's work on the cross. Taken together, thesesymbols spell out the word "organix" and represent a fundamentally new way tothink about your church and how you can best lead.




Unanswered


Book Description

We live in a radically skeptical age. Tough questions are being asked about Christianity. And most believers are ill-equipped to provide the answers our culture and communities desperately need. Many in today’s church do not know the Bible as well as they should and they struggle with their own “big questions” about the faith. After receiving more than four thousand questions at his Christian Thinkers Society events over the span of six years, Dr. Jeremiah Johnston began to recognize six categories of recurring, trending questions that dominated the rest. In Unanswered, he tackles these tough issues that plague the minds of believers but are rarely addressed in church, such as… Why is it that God often seems to remain silent? How can we trust in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and what does it mean for us today? What do Christians need to understand about suicide and mental illness? How should Christians respond to spiritual darkness and the obsession with paranormal activity? Why is biblical illiteracy so dangerous for Christians and the church? Why do we experience suffering and pain? Unanswered will leave you enriched, characterized by a thinking faith, capable to communicate confidently, and committed to escape the tendency to offer trite answers to a skeptical world.




Strange Scriptures


Book Description

What’s that Scripture mean? Ever asked yourself this question when you’re reading through the Bible? We all have. Whether we’ve been saved a long time or are just beginning to follow Christ, there are portions of Scripture that go over our heads. They’re puzzling. Odd. Complicated. Strange. What’s baptism on behalf of the dead? (1 Corinthians 15:29) Wasn’t it rude for Jesus to call a woman a dog? (Mark 7:27) If Jesus is eternal, why is he called the firstborn? (Colossians 1:15) How can we do greater works than Christ? (John 14:12) Scriptures like these are not preached from the pulpit as commonly as our favorite texts. You rarely hear about them in your small group Bible study. And it’s definitely not easy to explain what they mean. Think of it like this: if the Bible were an apple orchard, the Scriptures we’re most familiar with are like the luscious Honeycrisp. They’re our favorites. Like, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and “Love never fails.” But strange Scriptures are more like an unripe Granny Smith. There’s juice in it, all right, but if you want meaning and life application, you have to do a whole lot more squeezing. That’s where Strange Scriptures comes in. Within each short study, author Chris Palmer has aimed to represent scholarship, Greek exegesis, and life application to bring forth a full-bodied study to nourish your soul.




Bewilderment: A Novel


Book Description

AN OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB SELECTION An Instant New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize Longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction Longlisted for the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction A heartrending new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning and #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory. The astrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos while single-handedly raising his unusual nine-year-old, Robin, following the death of his wife. Robin is a warm, kind boy who spends hours painting elaborate pictures of endangered animals. He’s also about to be expelled from third grade for smashing his friend in the face. As his son grows more troubled, Theo hopes to keep him off psychoactive drugs. He learns of an experimental neurofeedback treatment to bolster Robin’s emotional control, one that involves training the boy on the recorded patterns of his mother’s brain… With its soaring descriptions of the natural world, its tantalizing vision of life beyond, and its account of a father and son’s ferocious love, Bewilderment marks Richard Powers’s most intimate and moving novel. At its heart lies the question: How can we tell our children the truth about this beautiful, imperiled planet?