Body of Christ Incarnate for You


Book Description

Incarnation has always been an important concept within Christian theology. For centuries theologians have wrestled with how best to conceptualize the vexing problem of what it means that Jesus the Christ is fully God and fully human. In this book, Adam Pryor explores how the incarnation has intersected corresponding issues well beyond the familiar question of how any one person might have two natures. Beginning by identifying four critical themes that have historically shaped the development of this doctrine, Pryor goes on to offer a constructive account of the incarnation. His account seeks out the continued meaning of this doctrine given the increasing complexity that characterizes our understanding of human bodies—bodies that can no longer be understood as the locus of distinct subjects separated from the world of objects with the skin as an impenetrable boundary between the two. Making use of contemporary phenomenologies of the flesh and the erotic, Pryor develops an understanding of the incarnation that seeks to go beyond classical issues presented by two natures christologies. Incarnation, in guises as various as Jesus the Christ, cyborg bodies, and sacramental practices, becomes a way that God is diffused into the world, transforming how we are to be-with one another.




A Call to Christian Formation


Book Description

This book shows that theology is both integrally related to formation in Jesus Christ and shapes our understanding of the world. Christian formation is incomplete and impossible without theological formation, because Christ transforms our hearts and minds, attuning them to the reality of God. As the authors explore the deep connections between theology and the life of the Christian, they emphasize Christian formation as a defining feature of the church, arguing that theology must be integrally connected to the church's traditions and practices.




A Daily Defense: Apologetics Lessons for Every Day


Book Description

Do you want to learn how to defend and explain the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and scores of other truths that we Catholics believe - but you don't have a lot of time? Don't worry. Jimmy Akin has done the hard work for you. All you need is five minutes a day. In A Daily Defense, Jimmy compiles 365 challenges that Catholics often hear from skeptics and non-Catholics - about God, Jesus, Scripture, morality, Mary, and a host of doctrinesand teaches you how to answer them. Combining deep learning with decades of experience explaining Catholic belief and practice on a popular level, he cuts to the heart of each subject, offering pithy but powerful replies that are both effective and easy to master. Pperfect reading before bed or during breakfast, for down time or prayer time, part of a regular routine or picked up on the go-whatever your day is like, spend just a few minutes in these pages to equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to defend the Catholic Faith.




For the Body


Book Description

An in-depth look at what it means to be created in the image of God and how our bodies serve as icons that illuminate God's purposes instead of ours. The human body is an amazing gift, yet today, many people downplay its importance and fail to understand what Christianity teaches about our bodies and their God-given purposes. Many people misunderstand how the body was designed, its role in relating to others; and we lack awareness of the dangers of objectifying the body, divorcing it from its intended purpose. Timothy Tennent covers topics like marriage, family, singleness, and friendship, and he looks at how the human body has been objectified in art and media today. For the Body offers a biblical framework for discipling people today in a Christian theology of the body. Tennent—theologian and president of Asbury Theological Seminary—explores the contours of a robust Christian vision of the body, human sexuality, and the variety of different ways we are called into relationships with others. This book will reveal a theological vision that: Informs our self-understanding of our own bodies. Examines how we treat others. Reevaluates how we engage today's controversial and difficult discussions on human sexuality with grace, wisdom, and confidence. For the Body is a call to a deeper understanding of our bodies and an invitation to recapture the wonder of this amazing gift.




Incarnate


Book Description

The church is to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world, showing and telling the kingdom of God. But this incarnational mission is challenged by numerous "excarnational" forces, pulling us ever inward and selfward. In this prophetic cultural study missiologist Michael Frost helps us find our way back to the mission of God.




The Universal Christ


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.




One with Christ


Book Description

Foundational to believers' salvation is their union with Christ. In this accessible introduction, Johnson argues that this neglected doctrine is the lens through which all other facets of salvation should be understood.




The Mystical Body of Christ


Book Description

The Mystical Body of Christ captures the theological precision and communicative genius of Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979), whose radio and television broadcasts, including Life Is Worth Living, have reached millions of homes since the 1950s. With more than thirty of his works still in print, Sheen is one of the most beloved Catholic evangelists of all time. This full-length and fully developed work on the Church as an extension of the Incarnation reveals Sheen’s accessible and theologically astute teaching style in the early years of his ministry. First published in 1935, the book’s themes of the Eucharist as a source of unity for the Mystical Body of Christ—the Church—and the link between the liturgy and works of social justice were echoed in the Second Vatican Council several decades later.




God Moments


Book Description

Where do you seek God? Are you waiting for him to appear in a monumental, life-altering event? In God Moments, Catholic blogger Andy Otto shows you how to discover the unexpected beauty of God’s presence in the story of ordinary things and in everyday routines like preparing breakfast or walking in the woods. Drawing on the Ignatian principles of awareness, prayer, and discernment, Otto will help you discover the transforming power of God’s presence in your life and better understand your place in the world. Andy Otto found God’s presence in surprising moments during his life—when, as a Jesuit scholastic, he taught children in Jamaica and also as he discerned the call to marriage with his wife. By combining elements of Ignatian spirituality with the lessons that came from his experiences, Otto identified three practices that helped him find God in all things: Awareness—Gain an understanding that God is present in the ordinary messiness of our lives such as battle with depression or sharing in the struggle of a friend. Prayer—Develop a prayer life using Ignatian practices such as asking for a morning grace and examining how your prayer was answered at the end of the day. That way you can focus on a personal relationship with God that finds everyday physical activities such as making a meal as an opportunity to talk to him. Discernment—The more you are aware of God’s presence and draw closer to him in prayer, the better you can learn how to plug into God’s narrative of the world in a way that enables you to participate in the divine story through the use of your gifts and talents. With God Moments as a guide, you’ll have a better understanding of how to seek personal wholeness in the reality of God’s presence in the ordinary and learn to accept his invitation to participate in his transformation of the world.




The Deity of Christ


Book Description

How is Jesus also God? Long ago, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” It's a question everyone must answer, and we need Scripture to tell us how. The Deity of Christ is a biblical defense of Jesus’ divinity—the cornerstone of Christian doctrine. From over a dozen New Testament texts, pastor and theologian John MacArthur explores how Jesus is God, and why it matters. This study will deepen your knowledge of Christ, and thus your love for Him, fortifying your will and increasing your worship. No man in history is more perplexing or compelling than Jesus Christ—because no other man is also God. Let this book from bestselling author John MacArthur guide you deep into the profound truths of Christ.