Author : Hugh Thomson Kerr
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 41,37 MB
Release : 1994
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780802840653
A collection of fifty first-person conversion accounts spanning Christian history from the Apostle Paul to St. Augustine to Malcolm Muggeridge and Charles Colson. The selections, intended to be representative rather than exhaustive, are each prefaced with brief comment by the editors.
Author : Karen Edmisten
Publisher : Our Sunday Visitor
Page : 131 pages
File Size : 50,77 MB
Release : 2013-11-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1612783287
W.C. Fields reportedly quipped as he flipped through a Bible on his deathbed: "I'm looking for loopholes." Is a last minute conversion really a loophole? Is it fair to the faithful who have "toed the line" their whole lives? Far from being the easy way out, a deathbed conversion is almost always the culmination of years spent resisting God's patient, persistent call. Each of these journeys to redemption will deepen your faith and encourage you to help others find their way to him. In this book you'll read the compelling stories of thirteen people who finally found peace with the Lord in the last months, weeks, or even hours of their lives, including: Poet/playwright Oscar Wilde Nobel laureate Alexis Carrel Actors John Wayne, Patricia Neal, and Gary Cooper Gangster Dutch Shultz Entertainer Buffalo Bill And more
Author : John M. Mulder
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 419 pages
File Size : 13,75 MB
Release : 2012-08-13
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0802865755
The search for God is a staple of human history. Finding God records sixty first-person accounts of Christians who found God in different ways and the impact this discovery made on their lives and on the world in which they lived. Ranging from the first century to the present, Finding God is a fascinating digest of conversion stories from a wide variety of people -- from the apostle Paul to the rock musician Bono. These narratives together demonstrate the remarkable diversity of spiritual journeys and the dramatic changes that can result from encounters with God. Both instructive and inspirational, Finding God will expand horizons and deepen the faith of those who seek insight into the age-old spiritual quest to find God.
Author : Rebecca L. Davis
Publisher : UNC Press Books
Page : 257 pages
File Size : 10,9 MB
Release : 2021-09-15
Category : History
ISBN : 1469664887
Personal reinvention is a core part of the human condition. Yet in the mid-twentieth century, certain private religious choices became lightning rods for public outrage and debate. Public Confessions reveals the controversial religious conversions that shaped modern America. Rebecca L. Davis explains why the new faiths of notable figures including Clare Boothe Luce, Whittaker Chambers, Sammy Davis Jr., Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Chuck Colson, and others riveted the American public. Unconventional religious choices charted new ways of declaring an "authentic" identity amid escalating Cold War fears of brainwashing and coercion. Facing pressure to celebrate a specific vision of Americanism, these converts variously attracted and repelled members of the American public. Whether the act of changing religions was viewed as selfish, reckless, or even unpatriotic, it provoked controversies that ultimately transformed American politics. Public Confessions takes intimate history to its widest relevance, and in so doing, makes you see yourself in both the private and public stories it tells.
Author : Charles P. Connor
Publisher : Ignatius Press
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 14,81 MB
Release : 2009-09-03
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1681491036
Classic Catholic Converts presents the compelling stories of over 25 well-known converts to Catholicism from the 19th and 20th centuries. It tells of powerful testimonials to God's grace, men and women from all walks of life in Europe and America whose search for the fullness of truth led them to the Catholic Church. It is the witness of brilliant intellectuals, social workers, scientists, authors, film producers, clergy, businessmen, artists and others who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, studied and prayed their way into the Church. Fr. Charles Connor writes insightful and wonderfully readable stories of a rich variety of converts who struggled greatly with many challenges as they embraced Catholicism, including rejection by loved ones, persecution from strangers, and misunderstanding by peers. But, once they responded to God's call, they experienced great inner peace, contentment and joy. Among the famous converts whose stories are told here include John Henry Newman, Edith Stein, Jacques Maritain, Dorothy Day, G.K. Chesterton, Elizabeth Seton, Karl Stern, Ronald Knox and many more. "A great gift at a moment of history when conversions to the Catholic Church are receiving renewed attention. Marvelously readable stories highlight the vivid diversity of the personalities and the unity of the truth that still brings restless souls into full communion with the Church of Jesus Christ." Rev. Richard John Neuhaus Editor, First Things "This fine parade of men and women, described with insight by Father Connor, shows how long is the reach of the Holy Spirit and how varied are the personalities He has gathered to Himself." Rev. George W. Rutler Author, A Crisis of Saints "The touching conversion stories that Fr. Connor so concisely presents convey the joys as well as the struggles that converts continue to experience on their journey into the Catholic Church." Marcus C. Grodi President, The Coming Home Network "This book reminds 'cradle Catholics' of the pearl of great price that is ours and should motivate many of us to a sharper sense of evangelization as the new Millennium begins. Rich information and valuable insights abound-highly recommended!" Most Reverend Edwin F. O'Brien Archbishop for the Military Services Fr. Charles Connor, a pastor of a parish in the diocese of Scranton, PA, is an expert in Church history. He is the host of several television series on EWTN including Historic Catholic Converts.
Author : Marc David Baer
Publisher : Oxford Handbooks
Page : 829 pages
File Size : 49,83 MB
Release : 2014
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0195338529
This handbook offers a comprehensive exploration of the dynamics of religious conversion, which for centuries has profoundly shaped societies, cultures, and individuals throughout the world.
Author : Hugh Thomson Kerr
Publisher :
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 22,5 MB
Release : 1987
Category : Conversion
ISBN :
Author : David W. Kling
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 32,46 MB
Release : 2020-05-05
Category :
ISBN : 0199717591
Conversion has played a central role in the history of Christianity. In this first in-depth and wide-ranging narrative history, David Kling examines the dynamic of turning to the Christian faith by individuals, families, and people groups. Global in reach, the narrative progresses from early Christian beginnings in the Roman world to Christianity's expansion into Europe, the Americas, China, India, and Africa. Conversion is often associated with a particular strand of modern Christianity (evangelical) and a particular type of experience (sudden, overwhelming). However, when examined over two millennia, it emerges as a phenomenon far more complex than any one-dimensional profile would suggest. No single, unitary paradigm defines conversion and no easily explicable process accounts for why people convert to Christianity. Rather, a multiplicity of factors-historical, personal, social, geographical, theological, psychological, and cultural-shape the converting process. A History of Christian Conversion not only narrates the conversions of select individuals and peoples, it also engages current theories and models to explain conversion, and examines recurring themes in the conversion process: divine presence, gender and the body, agency and motivation, testimony and memory, group- and self-identity, "authentic" and "nominal" conversion, and modes of communication. Accessible to scholars, students, and those with a general interest in conversion, Kling's book is the most satisfying and comprehensive account of conversion in Christian history to date; this major work will become a standard must-read in conversion studies.
Author : Ajith Fernando
Publisher : Zondervan Academic
Page : 658 pages
File Size : 30,94 MB
Release : 2010-12-21
Category : Religion
ISBN : 031055876X
The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context. Faith and action: that inseparable link is a golden thread running through Acts. In 2,000 years, one thing hasn't changed: God's heart for lost people. As long as he acts on their behalf, he will call us to play an integral part in his deeds. Acts lifts us up out of the armchair and spurs us to kingdom action, trusting that God will be with us. Ajith Fernando shares perspectives on the book of Acts that reveal its enduring relevance for our twenty first-century lives. To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's context, each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context. Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible. Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved. This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.
Author : C. John Mccloskey
Publisher : Ignatius Press
Page : 140 pages
File Size : 14,16 MB
Release : 2011-04-26
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1681492164
Fr. John McCloskey has become a famous "convert maker" in the powerful corridors close to the White House. Having run the Catholic Information Center in the heart of Washington, DC from 1998 to 2004, McCloskey had direct contact with numerous well-known and lesser-known Washington figures. Among well-known Catholic converts instructed by Fr. McCloskey are Senator Sam Brownback, publisher Alfred Regnery, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, journalist Robert Novak and many others. This work is a joint effort of McCloskey and Russell Shaw, the widely read Catholic author, speaker, and former communications director for the U.S. bishops. Drawing on moving, firsthand accounts of conversions, this book combines personal testimony, solid theology, and effective methods of communicating the Catholic Faith. From personal experience, I can testify that Father C. John McCloskey is one of America's great Catholic evangelizers. This book is a unique, fascinating guide of how and why to convert, and it should be must reading for all Catholics. -Robert D. Novak, Syndicated Columnist Mr. Shaw and Fr. McCloskey have written a book about repentance, recovery, conversion, and joy. I recommend it because I have experienced it through Jesus, my Savior. -Lawrence Kudlow, Host CNBC's "Kudlow & Company" Through their friendship and their family life, Catholics converted the Roman Empire, on person at a time. This book shows you how it was done-and how it's still done today. It's a book that can change the world all over again. -Scott Hahn, author Rome Sweet Home This book ranks with Karl Stern's Pillar of Fire and Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain as an indispensable spiritual road map for the perplexed, the sorely bent and the broken.I know: Father John McCloskey was my Virgil, guiding me gently and lovingly through the terrifying jungle of secular success to a place of infinite surcease - God's grace. -Dr. Bernard Nathanson, Pro-Life activist and author Fr. C.J. McCloskey and Russell Shaw are themselves incomparavle evangelists and apologists of the Curch. They are compelling writers. All should study them. -Lewis E.Lehrman, 2005 winner of the National Humanities Medal No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, pick this book up and be transformed both inside and out. -Raymond Arroyo, EWTN News Director and New York times bestselling author When it comes to leading people into full communion with the Catholic Church, Fulton J. Sheen was the John McCloskey of his day. -Robert P. George, Princeton University This book is calling all Catholics to share the gift of faith and shows them how to do so with winsome joy. -Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, Editor-In-chief of First Things Articulate and provocative. This is an important book we all need to read. -Bowie Kuhn, Former Commissioner of Professional Baseball. "There is no more articulate believer in the power and majesty of the Catholic Church than Fr. C. J. McCloskey. Any sincere searcher for Truth who is attracted to Christian--particularly Catholic--faith, will want to read this book. Agree or disagree with Fr. McClosky's unequivocal perspectives, his assertive witness provides much food for thought." -Wesley J. Smith Senior fellow, Discovery Institute and author of Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America. I've often wished that the call to Christian witness could come wi
