Theology for Ordinary People

Theology for Ordinary People
Author: Bruce L. Shelley
Publisher: IVP Books
Total Pages: 218
Release: 1993-01-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780830813421

Theology is not just for theologians. In our everyday lives, says Bruce Shelley, theology is nothing more than the beliefs Christians use to describe truth. It's necessary, important and accessible to all of us. To prove his point, the popular author of Christian History in Plain Language lays out the basic beliefs of our faith in an appealing, conversational style. "Throughout these chapters," Shelley says, "I have tried to imagine a long walk with a friend, new Christian or non-Christian, who jas just asked me, 'What do you mean by the Christian faith?' " Here is the answer, including the Garden and the Fall, the cross, God the Trinity and the mystery of suffering in our world. At the end of this "walk," you will know for certain: This is an extraordinary book for ordinary people.

Plain Theology for Plain People

Plain Theology for Plain People
Author: Charles Octavius Boothe
Publisher: Lexham Press
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2017-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 168359066X

Everyday Christians need practical and accessible theology. In this handbook first published in 1890, Charles Octavius Boothe simply and beautifully lays out the basics of theology for common people. "Before the charge 'know thyself,'" Boothe wrote, "ought to come the far greater charge, 'know thy God.'" He brought the heights of academic theology down to everyday language, and he helps us do the same today. Plain Theology for Plain People shows that evangelicalism needs the wisdom and experience of African American Christians. Walter R. Strickland II reintroduces this forgotten masterpiece for today. Lexham Classics are beautifully typeset new editions of classic works. Each book has been carefully transcribed from the original texts, ensuring an accurate representation of the writing as the author intended it to be read.

Ordinary People

Ordinary People
Author: Judith Guest
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 276
Release: 1982-10-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780140065176

One of the great bestseller of our time: the novel that inspired Robert Redford’s Oscar-winning film starring Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore In Ordinary People, Judith Guest’s remarkable first novel, the Jarrets are a typical American family. Calvin is a determined, successful provider and Beth an organized, efficient wife. They had two sons, Conrad and Buck, but now they have one. In this memorable, moving novel, Judith Guest takes the reader into their lives to share their misunderstandings, pain, and ultimate healing. Ordinary People is an extraordinary novel about an "ordinary" family divided by pain, yet bound by their struggle to heal. "Admirable...touching...full of the anxiety, despair, and joy that is common to every human experience of suffering and growth." -The New York Times "Rejoice! A novel for all ages and all seasons." -The Washington Post Book World

Ordinary

Ordinary
Author: Michael Horton
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310517389

Radical. Crazy. Transformative and restless. Every word we read these days seems to suggest there’s a “next-best-thing,” if only we would change our comfortable, compromising lives. In fact, the greatest fear most Christians have is boredom—the sense that they are missing out on the radical life Jesus promised. One thing is certain. No one wants to be “ordinary.” Yet pastor and author Michael Horton believes that our attempts to measure our spiritual growth by our experiences, constantly seeking after the next big breakthrough, have left many Christians disillusioned and disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with an energetic faith; the danger is that we can burn ourselves out on restless anxieties and unrealistic expectations. What’s needed is not another program or a fresh approach to spiritual growth; it’s a renewed appreciation for the commonplace. Far from a call to low expectations and passivity, Horton invites readers to recover their sense of joy in the ordinary. He provides a guide to a sustainable discipleship that happens over the long haul—not a quick fix that leaves readers empty with unfulfilled promises. Convicting and ultimately empowering, Ordinary is not a call to do less; it’s an invitation to experience the elusive joy of the ordinary Christian life.

Ordinary Theology

Ordinary Theology
Author: Jeff Astley
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1351913514

'Ordinary theology' is Jeff Astley's phrase for the theology and theologising of Christians who have received little or no theological education of a scholarly, academic or systematic kind. Astley argues that an in-depth study of ordinary theology, which should involve both empirical research and theological reflection, can help recover theology as a fundamental dimension of every Christian's vocation. Ordinary Theology analyses the problems and possibilities of research and reflection in this area. This book explores the philosophical, theological and educational dimensions of the concept of ordinary theology, its significance for the work of the theologian as well as for those engaged in the ministry of the church, and the criticisms that it faces. 'Ordinary theology' Astley writes, 'is the church's front line. Statistically speaking, it is the theology of God's church.'

Original Sin and Everyday Protestants

Original Sin and Everyday Protestants
Author: Andrew S. Finstuen
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2009
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0807833363

In the Years Following World War II, American Protestantism experienced tremendous growth, but conventional wisdom holds that midcentury Protestants practiced an optimistic, progressive, complacent, and materialist faith. In Original Sin and Everyday Prot

Al-Ghazali's Philosophical Theology

Al-Ghazali's Philosophical Theology
Author: Frank Griffel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 423
Release: 2009-05-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199887144

The Muslim thinker al-Ghazali (d. 1111) was one of the most influential theologians and philosophers of Islam and has been considered an authority in both Western and Islamic philosophical traditions. Born in northeastern Iran, he held the most prestigious academic post in Islamic theology in Baghdad, only to renounce the position and teach at small schools in the provinces for no money. His contributions to Islamic scholarship range from responding to the challenges of Aristotelian philosophy to creating a new type of Islamic mysticism and integrating both these traditions-falsafa and Sufism-into the Sunni mainstream. This book offers a comprehensive study of al-Ghazali's life and his understanding of cosmology-how God creates things and events in the world, how human acts relate to God's power, and how the universe is structured. Frank Griffel presents a serious revision of traditional views on al-Ghazali, showing that his most important achievement was the creation of a new rationalist theology in which he transformed the Aristotelian views of thinkers such as Avicenna to accord with intellectual currents that were well-established within Muslim theological discourse. Using the most authoritative sources, including reports from al-Ghazali's students, his contemporaries, and his own letters, Griffel reconstructs every stage in a turbulent career. The al-Ghazali that emerges offers many surprises, particularly on his motives for leaving Baghdad and the nature of his "seclusion" afterwards. Griffel demonstrates that al-Ghazali intended to create a new cosmology that moved away from concerns held earlier by Muslim theologians and Arab philosophers. This new theology aimed to provide a framework for the pursuit of the natural sciences and a basis for Islamic science and philosophy to flourish beyond the 12th century. Al-Ghazali's Philosophical Theology is the most thorough examination to date of this important thinker.

Beyond the Academy

Beyond the Academy
Author: David Thang Moe
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 179
Release: 2024-10-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

The term “public theology” was introduced by Martin E. Marty in a 1974 article. Since then, scholarly discussions on public theology have become more popular in academic circles. This book, however, is about the invitation for moving beyond the academy. It provides two reasons for doing so. First, an overtly academic public theology is in crisis today. Although public theology may be flourishing in the academy, its relevance for real life is limited. Second, there is the “ecclesial flourishing” among grassroots Christian communities across Asia who witness to their lived faith in public and hidden life. Their voices are largely unheard due to the gaps between the academy and the church. This volume argues that we should consider their voices as key sources for developing a relevant lived Asian public theology. The author makes the case for reimagining the paradigm shifts in lived Asian public theology of religions and for bridging the unhappy gaps between the academic and grassroots voices.