What Kind of God?


Book Description

Terence E. Fretheim has long been a leading voice in Old Testament theology. In this volume, thirty of his classic studies have been gathered together for the first time under the rubrics “God and the World”, “God and Suffering”, “God, Wrath, and Divine Violence”, “God and the Pentateuch”, “God and the Prophets”, and “God and the Church’s Book”. Here readers can find a compelling answer to the question that has motivated Fretheim’s work for more than forty years—namely, what kind of God is the God of Scripture? The studies are introduced by a critical overview of Fretheim’s career and theology by the editors and a retrospective by Fretheim himself.




What Kind of God?


Book Description

How does a missional mindset or perspective impact the way we read Scripture? How does the Bible speak to and through a missional disciple? And seriously, what kind of God is God? A missional reading of Scripture is pivotal to helping the church find its way back to its true vocation and to helping newly forming missional communities follow the triune God revealed in Jesus. To the extent that the church is absorbed with itself and its own comfort and agendas, it has forsaken the God revealed in Jesus, whom we claim to follow. The mission of God will lead us to confront the injustices in our society, shed light on the lies we tell ourselves, and name the sickness in our midst. Reading the Bible with (and as) a missional church means we approach the Bible with the assumption that God is actually up to something in this world, that we are all called to play an active role in that something, and that the Bible is the story of that something. What kind of God is God? We invite you to read with us, and see for yourself.




The Character of God in the Book of Genesis


Book Description

By using recent developments in literary theory, W. Lee Humphreys uses Genesis to show how God functions as a character in the Genesis narrative. Very creatively, Humphreys explores the coherence and consistency of God as a character, the way in which God's character changes and develops throughout the narrative, and how giving attention to the character of God enriches our experience of reading Genesis.




The Suffering of God


Book Description

In this comprehensive and thought-provoking study, Terence Fretheim focuses on the theme of divine suffering, an aspect of our understanding of God which both the church and scholarship have neglected. Maintaining that "metaphors matter," Fretheim carefully examines the ruling and anthropomorphic metaphors of the Old Testament and discusses them in the context of current biblical-theological scholarship. His aim is to broaden our understanding of the God of the Old Testament by showing that "suffering belongs to the person and purpose of God".




America's Four Gods


Book Description

Despite all the hype surrounding the "New Atheism," the United States remains one of the most religious nations on Earth. In fact, 95% of Americans believe in God--a level of agreement rarely seen in American life. The greatest divisions in America are not between atheists and believers, or even between people of different faiths. What divides us, this groundbreaking book shows, is how we conceive of God and the role He plays in our daily lives. America's Four Gods draws on the most wide-ranging, comprehensive, and illuminating survey of American's religious beliefs ever conducted to offer a systematic exploration of how Americans view God. Paul Froese and Christopher Bader argue that many of America's most intractable social and political divisions emerge from religious convictions that are deeply held but rarely openly discussed. Drawing upon original survey data from thousands of Americans and a wealth of in-depth interviews from all parts of the country, Froese and Bader trace America's cultural and political diversity to its ultimate source--differing opinions about God. They show that regardless of our religious tradition (or lack thereof), Americans worship four distinct types of God: The Authoritative God--who is both engaged in the world and judgmental; The Benevolent God--who loves and helps us in spite of our failings; The Critical God--who catalogs our sins but does not punish them (at least not in this life); and The Distant God--who stands apart from the world He created. The authors show that these four conceptions of God form the basis of our worldviews and are among the most powerful predictors of how we feel about the most contentious issues in American life. Accessible, insightful, and filled with the voices of ordinary Americans discussing their most personal religious beliefs, America's Four Gods provides an invaluable portrait of how we view God and therefore how we view virtually everything else.




Rumors of God


Book Description

Where is the life God promised us? Life is busy. We live like slaves to our fast-paced, suffocating schedules. We spend our energy and time in triviality, relegating God to the background. He seems distant to us, and we resist the idea that God wants to give, say, and show us more; we dismiss it as rumor. But Jesus calls us to a better way. Another dream- an unimagined future. Close the gap between what you hear about and what you see. Rumors is filled with the same forward-thinking spirit that defines its authors, Jon Tyson and Darren Whitehead. ?Louie Giglio, pastor, Passion City Church Both challenging and encouraging, Rumors of God will reintroduce you to a God worth talking about. ?Gabe Lyons, author, The Next Christians, founder, Q, coauthor, UnChristian This book invites us to find the rumors of God all around us. Read it, but be ready to be changed. ?Scot McKnight, author, One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow and Jesus Creed for Students For those who are jaded by the church, or have become cynical about the power of the Gospel in our time, Rumors of God is a great antidote. ?Alan Hirsch, author, dreamer, activist (www.theforgottenways.org) Foreword by Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association. The irony: two upstart Aussies from tiny towns half a world away wind up leading high impact churches in two of the most significant cities in North America. Only God. Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson are deep thinking Christ followers with a bias for action in the world. A rare combination these days. They are both leaders and communicators, visionaries and "get stuff done for God" guys. Extremely rare. I have had the privilege of working closely with Darren at Willow Creek Community Church for over 7 years. He is thoughtful, relationally intelligent and one of the hardest working young leaders I know. In Rumors of God, Darren and Jon have some how succeeded in slipping 3D glasses over our eyes. The results are that passages from scripture come alive in ways that will impact readers for a long time. I salute the efforts of these young mates and pray that readers will be as stretched in their minds and hearts as I have been.




What Kind of Hope?


Book Description

Builds a robust case for Christianity and genuine biblical hope




Gods Behaving Badly


Book Description

A highly entertaining novel set in North London, where the Greek gods have been living in obscurity since the seventeenth century. Being immortal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Life’s hard for a Greek god in the twenty-first century: nobody believes in you any more, even your own family doesn’t respect you, and you’re stuck in a dilapidated hovel in North London with too many siblings and not enough hot water. But for Artemis (goddess of hunting, professional dog walker), Aphrodite (goddess of beauty, telephone sex operator) and Apollo (god of the sun, TV psychic) there’s no way out... until a meek cleaner and her would-be boyfriend come into their lives and turn the world upside down. Gods Behaving Badly is that rare thing, a charming, funny, utterly original novel that satisfies the head and the heart.




God King


Book Description

A never-before published tale by the author of the best-selling Hittite Warrior, carries the reader back to Ancient Egypt and biblical Jerusalem. It is 701 B.C-rule of the Kushite dynasty in ancient Egypt. Young Prince Taharka, a very minor royal son, succeeds unexpectedly to the throne of Kush and Egypt-a divine rulership. It's not long, however, before a treacherous plot pushes him into sudden exile and into the hands of Amos, an emissary of King Hezekiah seeking help against the Assyrians. Posing as a medical assistant, Taharka journeys with Amos to Judea where he encounters two kings in conflict. His true identity suddenly uncovered, he must choose with whom he will fight-the mighty Assyrian, Sennacherib, promising alliance or Hezekiah, the Jew who trusts in Yahweh. A novel inspired by research on the historical King Taharka and his period.




What kind of God?


Book Description