Twisted Scripture


Book Description

Let's face it—the Bible contains passages that are challenging to interpret and can even incite fear. Sure, we want to believe God's grace applies to our unique troubles: addiction, divorce, habitual sins, or a feeling of distance from God because we don't measure up. Still, perplexing Bible passages eat at us. Bestselling author and radio host Dr. Andrew Farley is known to blitzkrieg legalistic and lifeless interpretations with his discerning take on controversial Scriptures. In Twisted Scripture, Andrew skewers sacred cows and shatters destructive lies, bringing the undiluted truth about God's love and grace in a colorful and conversational look at the most controversial passages in the New Testament. This book offers more than just encouragement and freedom. It may change everything about the way you see yourself and God.







The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim


Book Description

The ancient House of Israel consisted of 12 families, or tribes, named for the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel). Ten of those tribes were conquered, driven from their homelands, and scattered throughout the world. Although their bloodlines continue, they have lost their identity with the House of Israel. The remaining two tribes have retained their identity, and are now known as the Jewish people, named for the tribe of Judah. Over 2500 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel foretold a day when the spirit of YHWH would stir the scattered remnants of Israel and restore them to life (Ezekiel 37:11-14). He also prophesied of a second scriptural record to come forth from the tribe of Joseph to Judah, in the hand of Joseph’s son, Ephraim. This is that prophesied record. The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraimis a sacred, first-temple-period, Israelite text, written by a prophetic family from the tribe of Joseph, who fled Jerusalem in 601 BCE. YHWH led them for years in the wilderness and finally brought them “over the wall” to ancient America, in fulfillment of Jacob’s final blessing to Joseph. (Genesis 49:22) For 1,000 years, these ancient Israelites kept sacred records. When their civilization ended in destruction (420 CE), their final prophet, M’roni, hid this record in the ground, to come forth in the future for the prophesied restoration of scattered Israel to its former glory. This record is all of the following unique and extraordinary things: • The shofar sounding to scattered Israel as YHWH’s final attempt to gather His people; • A dire warning to the USA and a cry of repentance to the state of Israel. Any nation that does not honor the God of Israel will not survive; • An independent witness of the prophets, Mashiach, and the covenants given by YHWH to Israel; • A record of the means whereby all mankind can, as Moses, ascend to stand in the presence of YHWH; • An invitation to believe and receive the promises YHWH extends to those who will be His people. This is the only Hebrew Messianic/ascension document in existence that has not been influenced by entanglements with Babylon, Greece, or Rome, because those who kept the record left Jerusalem and the Eastern Hemisphere prior to the Babylonian captivity. It is the most sublime and direct Jewish ascension text available. This annotated Hebrew-roots English edition restores the ancient Hebraic nature of the record, to provide a clear understanding of Israel’s God, His work now underway, and the coming age of Mashiach. Whether you study religion in the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, NIV Bible, Zohar, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Catholic writings, LDS scriptures, biblical commentary, or other holy books, this volume will inspire you to greater prophetic literacy, gifts in spirituality, understanding of history and theology, and most importantly, immerse your soul in a conversation and relationship with that God who loves, forgives, guides, and reconnects honest searchers with the tree of life. The Stick of Joseph is a greater discovery than the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Nag Hammadi library, though it has received far less attention. It is the preeminent Messianic document in the world, untwisting the false Greek caricature known as Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It restores the basics of the complete ancient Israelite faith and culture largely absent from modern, rabbinic Judaism. The ten commandments, temples, altars, Passover, the law of Moses, patterns, evidence, and much lost understanding all come together in this invaluable journal-record of wandering Israeli Hebrews who founded a great civilization.




Bonsheá


Book Description

Just when you thought you knew what was going on in your community, here comes a story that just may shatter the security of your American Dream. This is a story about abuse, survival, false religion and dubious court systems in a state that may be advanced on some levels, but sometimes proves to be a miserable failure in terms of equity and fairness and conventional thinking. – Tim King, Editor/Salem-News.com, War Correspondent, Author, “BETRAYAL: Toxic Exposure of U.S. Marines, Murder and Cover-Up” BONSHEÁ pierces through the darkness that hides the legal system’s routine abuse of mothers and children. It is a work of immense courage, a true tale of heartbreak and salvation. Not a single particle of the wisdom Coral shares misses the mark. - Maureen T. Hannah, Ph.D., Chair, Battered Mother’s Custody Conference, Albany, New York BONSHEÁ illustrates the degree to which the legal system can also be used as a vehicle to further perpetuate abuse even after the victim has chosen to take a stand against the abuse. – John Haroldson, District Attorney, Benton County District Attorney’s Office, Corvallis, Oregon Coral Theill’s BONSHEÁ is intense in its effort to “open the doors” behind which many domestic violence perpetrators have stood for so long in the name of “privacy.” At every level, family and friends, key people in her community, the health care system, the legal and judicial system, and the culture which socializes us all, she met with adversity and re-victimization. In the telling of her recovery, which is truly remarkable given her circumstances, the reader gets a vivid sense of the indominability of her spirit and light. I recommend this book for health care providers, those in the criminal justice system, and volunteers or helpers of any kind to get insights and clarity about the complex dynamics of domestic violence and its toxic effects to individuals and society---and what needs to be done to eradicate this pandemic problem.” – Barbara A. May, PhD, RN, Professor Emerita of Nursing, Linfield College, Portland, Oregon




The Art of Prophesying


Book Description

In The Art of Prophesying, Puritan William Perkins (1558-1602) teaches how to preach the Word with "studied plainness," not relying on technique or soaring flourishes of oratory, but rather by unleashing the majestic power of the unencumbered Word of God. Unlike so much of the milquetoast preaching heard today, Perkins teaches how to utilize the Scripture in all its capacities: for teaching correct doctrine, for reproof and correction, and for training the godly in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). This type of preaching changed lives during Perkins' lifetime, and it has the same effect today. Includes a biographical preface by Benjamin Brook. Scripture references (from the ESV) are embedded in the text as hyperlinks--no internet connection required.




Rock Bottom and Faithless


Book Description

Being separated from my abusive husband didn’t make me a domestic violence survivor. It surely didn’t release me from the grip of his brainwashing control and the innate power he had over me. As I started putting my shattered life back together after being separated from my abuser, I still felt his compelling control shaping my every thought and action. I didn’t feel like a domestic violence survivor just because I was no longer with my abuser. In fact, I felt like a remotely-controlled, confused puppet still shaken by residual influences in my mind. In order to become a true survivor, knowing that the thoughts in my head were mine, I had to: · Identify the deeply rooted lies of my abuser that I believed were true · Extract the lies · Lean on God’s strength to defeat the lies and replace them with His word · Acknowledge that the trauma experienced from the abuse left physical and emotional scars that needed to be furthered explored Eleven years later, being a domestic violence survivor means being free and open to living again. It means I am open to making decisions, building trusting relationships again, and eventually feeling love again. It means that the thoughts in my head are mine and mine only. With the emotional abuse removed from my mind, God’s grace and love have taken over. It's a calmness and peace I never thought possible.




Untwisting Scriptures


Book Description




The Sense of Quoting


Book Description

In The Sense of Quoting, Odell-Scott argues that the neutral continuous script of ancient manuscripts of the Greek New Testament composed with no punctuation and no spacing provided readers discretionary authority to determine and assess the status of phrases as they articulate a cohesive and coherent reading of the script. The variety of reading renditions each differently scored with punctuation supported the production of quotations. These cultivated and harvested quotes while useful for authorizing sectarian discourse, rarely convey the sense of the phrase in the continuous script. Augustine’s work on punctuating the scriptures in service to the production of plainer quotable passages in support of the rule of faith is addressed. Odell-Scott’s textual analysis of a plainer quotable passage at verse 7:1b concerning male celibacy supports his thesis that plainer passages are the product of interpretative scoring of the script in service to discursive endeavours. To quote is often to misquote.




Unholy Charade


Book Description

Could it be that the one who is smiling at you as he hands you the offering plate is abusing his wife at home? What if your Sunday school teacher, who knows so much about the Bible, is abusing his family behind closed doors? Is it possible that one of the elders or even the pastor of your church is practicing an unholy charade? If the spouse of one of these abusers comes to you for help, would you even be able to recognize the signs? How will you understand the dynamics of this deceiving evil? Pastor and author Jeff Crippen presents Christ's body with a work steeped in Scripture that lays before us a map of the abusive mind, the tactics of abuse, the effects abuse has on its victims, and the tragic way our churches have failed the victims of this sin. He issues a clarion call for those who love Christ to answer the call to love the oppressed and speak for the victims, as Proverbs 31:9 says: "Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Together we can root out the wolves in the midst of the flock and unmask the domestic abuser in the church hiding in our pews.