The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World

The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World
Author: Deanna A. Thompson
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2016-11-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1501815199

We live in a wired world where 24/7 digital connectivity is increasingly the norm. Christian megachurch communities often embrace this reality wholeheartedly while more traditional churches often seem hesitant and overwhelmed by the need for an interactive website, a Facebook page and a twitter feed. This book accepts digital connectivity as our reality, but presents a vision of how faith communities can utilize technology to better be the body of Christ to those who are hurting while also helping followers of Christ think critically about the limits of our digital attachments. This book begins with a conversion story of a non-cell phone owning, non-Facebook using religion professor judgmental of the ability of digital tools to enhance relationships. A stage IV cancer diagnosis later, in the midst of being held up by virtual communities of support, a conversion occurs: this religion professor benefits in embodied ways from virtual sources and wants to convert others to the reality that the body of Christ can and does exist virtually and makes embodied difference in the lives of those who are hurting. The book neither uncritically embraces nor rejects the constant digital connectivity present in our lives. Rather it calls on the church to a) recognize ways in which digital social networks already enact the virtual body of Christ; b) tap into and expand how Christ is being experienced virtually; c) embrace thoughtfully the material effects of our new augmented reality, and c) influence utilization of technology that minimizes distraction and maximizes attentiveness toward God and the world God loves.

Cold-Case Christianity

Cold-Case Christianity
Author: J. Warner Wallace
Publisher: David C Cook
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1434705463

Written by an L. A. County homicide detective and former atheist, Cold-Case Christianity examines the claims of the New Testament using the skills and strategies of a hard-to-convince criminal investigator. Christianity could be defined as a “cold case”: it makes a claim about an event from the distant past for which there is little forensic evidence. In Cold-Case Christianity, J. Warner Wallace uses his nationally recognized skills as a homicide detective to look at the evidence and eyewitnesses behind Christian beliefs. Including gripping stories from his career and the visual techniques he developed in the courtroom, Wallace uses illustration to examine the powerful evidence that validates the claims of Christianity. A unique apologetic that speaks to readers’ intense interest in detective stories, Cold-Case Christianity inspires readers to have confidence in Christ as it prepares them to articulate the case for Christianity.

God, Technology, and the Christian Life

God, Technology, and the Christian Life
Author: Tony Reinke
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2021-12-09
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1433578301

What Does God Think about Technology? From smartphones to self-driving cars to space travel, new technologies can inspire us. But the breakneck pace of change can also frighten us. So how do Christians walk by faith through the innovations of Silicon Valley? And how does God relate to our most powerful innovators? To build a biblical theology of technology, journalist and tech optimist Tony Reinke examines nine key texts from Scripture to show how the world's discoveries are divinely orchestrated. Ultimately, what we believe about God determines how we respond to human invention. With the help of several theologians and inventors throughout history, Reinke dispels twelve common myths in the church and offers fourteen ethical convictions to help Christians live by faith in the age of big tech. Biblical, Informed Look at Technology: Written by the author of 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You and Competing Spectacles: Treasuring Christ in the Media Age Gathers Ideas from Industry Experts and Theologians: Interacts with Christian and non-Christian sources on technology and theology including John Calvin, Herman Bavinck, Wendell Berry, and Elon Musk Educational: Discusses the history and philosophy behind major technological innovations

Perspectives on Pentecost

Perspectives on Pentecost
Author: Richard B. Gaffin
Publisher: P & R Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1979
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780875522692

With exegetical depth, objectivity, and clarity Richard B. Gaffin examines prophecy and tongues and makes a case for the cessation of both gifts at the close of the apostolic era. Pentecost is presented as integral to the once-for-all work of Christ and decisive for the life of the whole church. Dr. Gaffin's biblical theological perspective is thorough. He defines all the spiritual gifts generally; he clarifies the nature of prophecy and tongues and the question of their continuance in the church today; and he indicates how these exegetical studies bear on contemporary interest in charismatic gifts. - Back cover.

A Worldly Christian

A Worldly Christian
Author: Dyron B. Daughrity
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
Total Pages: 536
Release: 2021-07-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0718848462

Bishop Stephen Neill was one of the most prolific, accomplished, and fascinating Christian leaders of the global church in the twentieth century. Privileged to live in radically different cultural contexts over the course of his life, Neill was also a supremely gifted individual. He excelled by turns as a missionary, a bishop, an ecumenist, a professor, and a prolific author, all the while travelling around the world to share his tremendous knowledge of the world Christian movement with scholars, clergy and laypersons alike. This is the first complete biography of this influential figure, and builds on Daughrity's previous work Bishop Stephen Neill: From Edinburgh to South India (Peter Lang Publications, 2008). It stands to become the authoritative word on a man who understood Christianity's changing contours better than most during the dramatic diversification that it underwent during his lifetime.

Becoming Worldly Saints

Becoming Worldly Saints
Author: Michael E. Wittmer
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 181
Release: 2015-02-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310516390

If following Jesus involves a life of sacrifice and suffering, is it wrong for a Christian to seek purpose and joy in this world? Many Christians sense a tension between their desire to enjoy life in this world—the beauty of God’s creation, the rich love of deep relationships with others—and the reality that this world is fallen and broken, in need of redemption. How can we embrace and thrive in the tension between enjoying creation and promoting redemption? By living out our God-given purpose. As “worldly saints,” created in the image of God, we are natural creatures with a supernatural purpose—to know and love God. Because we live in a world that is stained by the curse of sin, we must learn to embrace our nature as creatures created in the image of God while recognizing our desperate need for the grace that God offers to us in the gospel. Writing in a devotional style that is theologically rich, biblically accurate, and aimed at ordinary readers, Mike Wittmer helps readers understand who they are, why they are here, and the importance of the story they tell themselves. In Becoming Worldly Saints, he gives an integrated vision that shows how we can be heavenly minded in a way that leads to earthly good, empowering believers to seize the abundant life God has for them.

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement
Author: Ralph D. Winter
Publisher:
Total Pages: 948
Release: 1992
Genre: Evangelistic work
ISBN: 9780853645399

This book is a multi-faceted collection of readings focused on the biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic dimensions of the task of world evangelization. The editors have pooled the contributions of over 70 authors to provide laymen and college students with an introduction to the history and potential of the World Christian Movement, a movement of men and women who have responded with courage and conviction to the challenges of this task. - Back cover.

How to Be a World-Class Christian

How to Be a World-Class Christian
Author: Paul Borthwick
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2009-12-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830856803

How To Be A World-Class Christian shows the reader how to expand in understanding Scripture, increase in global praying and intensify crosscultural outreach—beginning at home.

An Introduction to Christian Worldview

An Introduction to Christian Worldview
Author: Tawa J. Anderson
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2017-10-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830899650

Why do worldviews matter? What characterizes a Christian worldview? Part of being a thoughtful Christian means being able to understand and express the Christian worldview as well as developing an awareness of the variety of worldviews. Well organized, clearly written, and featuring aids for learning, this is the essential text for either the classroom or for self-study.