The JOY of Giving: Prosperity Politics in America and Why Evangelicals Have Not a Clue


Book Description

Have you tried purpose driven life-styles after Y2K, prayed the prayer of Jabez, and still find yourself empty and dissatisfied come credit crisis in 9/’08 or oil spilling off the Casino Coast? We have.Our journey takes us back to Christ—from Protestant “workaholic righteousness†—even from Mother Teresa’s revelations: how she lost the presence of Jesus in her life over sixty-six years of serving the poor in Calcutta, India. Could we find ourselves alienated from Christ too? Oh yes.Where’s the JOY and satisfaction we once knew? Is tithing by Law what God wants?Join us in finding out what Jesus Christ really has to say about trusting in ourselves, America, and easy step "What works for me" theology.




The JOY of Giving Volume 2: America's Theology of "What Works for Me" Faith


Book Description

We believe in ourselves, innovation, markets, technology... and end up with government growing, because our lawlessness increases. Have we a backup plan, if the "Rapture" turns out to be as Y2K? Others also, look for a messiah. Addressing the UN in September '05, Iranian President Ahmadinejad tells the world: "When that day comes, the ultimate promise of all divine religions will be fulfilled with the emergence of a perfect human being who is heir to all prophets and pious men. He will lead the world to justice and absolute peace." What should we do today-given all the alarm and exhortation? Bill Bradley tells us, a "can do" story is all we need tell America and ourselves. Here is really what is going on: "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he [a Holy Spirit of Truth] is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed." (2 Thess 2:7-8) Will we continue to love, as Christ loved us?




Republican Jesus


Book Description

The complete guide to debunking right-wing misinterpretations of the Bible—from economics and immigration to gender and sexuality. Jesus loves borders, guns, unborn babies, and economic prosperity and hates homosexuality, taxes, welfare, and universal healthcare—or so say many Republican politicians, pundits, and preachers. Through outrageous misreadings of the New Testament gospels that started almost a century ago, conservative influencers have conjured a version of Jesus who speaks to their fears, desires, and resentments. In Republican Jesus, Tony Keddie explains not only where this right-wing Christ came from and what he stands for but also why this version of Jesus is a fraud. By restoring Republicans’ cherry-picked gospel texts to their original literary and historical contexts, Keddie dismantles the biblical basis for Republican positions on hot-button issues like Big Government, taxation, abortion, immigration, and climate change. At the same time, he introduces readers to an ancient Jesus whose life experiences and ethics were totally unlike those of modern Americans, conservatives and liberals alike.




Jesus Is Involved in Politics! Why Aren't You? Why Isn't Your Church? Unabridged


Book Description

This is the Unabridged Version of Jesus Is Involved In Politics. Revision 13.9This book is the original 400 page version of the book with all indexes included.Updated Edition 13.6: Get this latest edition released JULY 1, 2012 Start a small group with this book. Get the Study Guide and find out more at www.JesusIsInvolvedInPolitics.com Hear a daily one minute broadcast on this topic at www.J3IP.WordPress.com How often have you been told: "Jesus was not involved in Politics," "Jesus was a Socialist", "Politics is dirty" "Talking politics in Church will turn people away" Wish you had a Biblical and logical way to show your pastor and friends that these are all false! Discouraged by how the Church shies away from politics? Fearful for your children's religious freedoms? Wish you could convince Christians that we need to be involved politically in order to obey Christ? Learn why avoiding politics is unloving, and in direct contradiction to what Christ commanded. Learn why not being involved in politics violates the second greatest commandment. Find out why anyone who says we should not be involved in politics is saying slavery, child labor, racism and a host of other evils should still be legal. Demolish the ridiculous concept that Christian involvement in politics has never worked. This book is your manual to prove that if churches were involved, if pastors were training their congregations in the core principles of the law and social justice; within just a few years, poverty would diminish, welfare would be handled by churches, crime would be reduced and families would start to mend. Else the nation will continue its downward spiral and the innocent and poor will suffer and Christians will begin to be persecuted. Seem alarmist? The facts show otherwise. Time is short. Used correctly these arguments can change pastor's minds and can awaken the sleeping giant of the American Church. Find out more at www.JesusIsInvolvedInPolitics.com







I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die


Book Description

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.




Just Generosity


Book Description

Just Generosity calls Christians to examine their priorities and their pocketbooks in the face of a scandalous tendency to overlook those among us who suffer while we live in practical opulence. This holistic approach to helping the poor goes far beyond donating clothes or money, envisioning a world in which faith-based groups work with businesses, the media, and the government to help end poverty in the world's richest nation. This updated edition includes current statistics, policy recommendations, and discussions covering everything from welfare reform, changes to Medicade, and the Social Security debate. "Sider's most important book since Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger."--Jim Wallis, author, God's Politics "Sider knows how to lift up people in need.... [An] important and challenging book."--John Ashcroft, former Attorney General of the United States




Blessed


Book Description

How have millions of American Christians come to measure spiritual progress in terms of their financial status and physical well-being? How has the movement variously called Word of Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, or simply prosperity gospel come to dominate much of our contemporary religious landscape? Kate Bowler's Blessed is the first book to fully explore the origins, unifying themes, and major figures of a burgeoning movement that now claims millions of followers in America. Bowler traces the roots of the prosperity gospel: from the touring mesmerists, metaphysical sages, pentecostal healers, business oracles, and princely prophets of the early 20th century; through mid-century positive thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale and revivalists like Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin; to today's hugely successful prosperity preachers. Bowler focuses on such contemporary figures as Creflo Dollar, pastor of Atlanta's 30,000-member World Changers Church International; Joel Osteen, known as "the smiling preacher," with a weekly audience of seven million; T. D. Jakes, named by Time magazine one of America's most influential new religious leaders; Joyce Meyer, evangelist and women's empowerment guru; and many others. At almost any moment, day or night, the American public can tune in to these preachers-on TV, radio, podcasts, and in their megachurches-to hear the message that God desires to bless them with wealth and health. Bowler offers an interpretive framework for scholars and general readers alike to understand the diverse expressions of Christian abundance as a cohesive movement bound by shared understandings and common goals.




A Stranger in the House of God


Book Description

Growing up the son of agnostics, John Koessler saw a Catholic church on one end of the street and a Baptist on the other. In the no-man’s land between the two, this curious outside wondered about the God they worshipped—and began a lifelong search to comprehend the grace and mystery of God. A Stranger in the House of God addresses fundamental questions and struggles faced by spiritual seekers and mature believers. Like a contemporary Pilgrim’s Progress, it traces the author’s journey and explores his experiences with both charismatic and evangelical Christianity. It also describes his transformation from religious outsider to ordained pastor. John Koessler provides a poignant and often humorous window into the interior of the soul as he describes his journey from doubt and struggle with the church to personal faith




Possibilities


Book Description