Showing titles in Sociology

Many books have been written on the Jesus People movement in the United States, but what about its impact in the United Kingdom? When Jesus Met Hippies explores how this counter-cultural movement of Christians found its own expression in the United Kingdom, reshaping the lives of individuals along with the life and mission of the new and existing churches across the nation.

There is a war going on for the future of our country. Most people know that. What they may not know is that if Christians lose, the result won't merely be enduring public policy we disagree with, it will be a prison sentence for those who oppose it. We've all seen the attack coming. First the Supreme Court said kids can't pray in school. Then the Ten Commandments were ripped from the classrooms.

Dive into the theological depths of John Wesley's perspective on Free Will with this meticulously researched paper by Steve Wright. Explore Wesley's profound beliefs on the crucial doctrine of free will and its interconnectedness with soteriology. The author delves into Wesley's historical context, highlighting key aspects such as preventive grace, the love of God, humanity's creation in the image of God, and the delicate balance Wesley maintained between free will and God's sovereignty. Uncover Wesley's unique insights, emphasizing the role of prevenient grace and the enduring significance...

Fast food. Fast cars. Fast and furious. Fast forward. Fast . . . church? The church is often idealized (or demonized) as the last bastion of a bygone era, dragging our feet as we're pulled into new moralities and new spiritualities. We guard our doctrine and our piety with great vigilance. But we often fail to notice how quickly we're capitulating, in the structures and practices of our churches, to a culture of unreflective speed, dehumanizing efficiency and dis-integrating isolationism. In the beginning, the church ate together, traveled together and shared in all facets of life.

Drawing inspiration from philosophy, history, and literature, Martha C. Nussbaum takes us to task for our religious intolerance, identifies the fear behind it, and offers a way past fear toward a more equitable, imaginative, and free society, through the consistent application of universal principles of respect for conscience.

Do you want the greatest political and societal challenges of the day to be addressed with thoughtful, reality-based solutions rather than with cherry-picked quotations from scripture? Do you want to shrink religion - especially fundamentalist religion - to the point that it plays no noticeable role in public life? Do you want right-wing religious leaders to be so unpopular that politicians avoid them rather than pander to them for endorsements? This book illustrates specific, actionable steps for facilitating fundamentalist religion's decline.

Evangelicalism in America has cracked, split on the shoals of the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath, leaving many wondering if they want to be in or out of the evangelical tribe. The contentiousness brought to the fore surrounds what it means to affirm and demonstrate evangelical Christian faith amid the messy and polarized realities gripping our country and world. Who or what is defining the evangelical social and political vision? Is it the Gospel or is it culture? 

“This book is part of a critical examination of University Bible Fellowship. It gives insight into the structures and methods of this controversial group that’s work is focused on students.” --Dr. Reinhard Hempelmann, Director of the Protestant Centre of Religious and Ideological Issues, Berlin Germany “I think the book is so important to show that processing UBF is not about criticizing them mainly but about becoming happy, healthy, and whole again.” --Former member

Soaking is a metaphor for practices like resting in the Spirit, prayer for spiritual gifts, healing, prophecy, impartation, and supports overall charismatic spirituality. Attending "Catch the Fire" conferences, churches, and house meetings in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, Wilkinson and Althouse observed firsthand how people soak, what it means to soak, and why soaking is considered an important practice among charismatics.

I want to put before you, if I can in these three lectures, a certain view of the world, and of the way in which that world is guided and directed. As this meeting is a public meeting, there is one statement I think that I ought to make, which it would not be necessary to make, if it were composed of members of the Theosophical Society. It is important to remember that in the Theosophical Society we have no authority on matters of opinion.

Science and faith are often seen as being in opposition. In this book, award-winning sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund questions this assumption based on research she has conducted over the past 15 years. She highlights the ways these two spheres point to universal human experiences, showing listeners they don't have to choose between science and Christianity.

Every female minister knows, deep within her heart, she has a special calling to serve God's people. Your passion and your servant’s heart have led you to this point, and you have only just begun to step into your power in service to the church you love so much. But the church's patriarchal roots run deep. With one hand, the institutional church raises you up, lauding your leadership and praising your calling, and with the other hand, it tears you down, silencing your voice and breaking your heart.

Across the centuries, the memory of Mary Magdalene has been bent by a lasting misreading: the disciple clearly named in the Gospels was repeatedly filtered through a later fusion with other figures, until she was reduced to a convenient emblem of “penitence.” This book retraces the evidence with sobriety and precision, separating what Scripture actually says from what later tradition added. Beginning with the canonical dossier — cross, burial, first morning — the reader follows Magdalene’s steady presence as witness and messenger of the Resurrection. The historical arc then shows ...

The Danish-Mormon migration to Utah in the 19th century was, relative to population size, one of the largest European religious out-migrations in history. Hundreds of thousands of Americans can trace their ancestry to Danish Mormons, but few know about the social and cultural ramifications of their ancestors’ conversion to Mormonism. This book tells that exciting and complex story for the first time.

This is not a Memoir. It's Memory. When author, scholar, and educator Cassiopeia Fletcher accepted an invitation to visit Israel, she expected history. She didn’t expect heartbreak. In The Price of Peace: A Memory, Fletcher traces her ten-day journey across the land of covenant and conflict—from the still waters of Galilee to the scarred fields near Gaza, from ancient olive groves to modern memorials of unthinkable loss. What began as a trip of learning became a pilgrimage of witness.

The Good Book collects new pieces by writers from many different faiths and ethnicities, including literary fiction writers (Colm Tóibín, Edwidge Danticat, Tobias Wolff, and Rick Moody); best-selling nonfiction writers (A. J. Jacobs, Ian Frazier, Adam Gopnik, and Thomas Lynch); notable figures in the media (Charles McGrath, Cokie Roberts, and Steven V. Roberts); and social activists (Al Sharpton and Kerry Kennedy).

In this graphic, thought-provoking book, Ed Griffin-Nolan depicts the experiences of Witness for Peace (WFP), a group of Americans who bore witness to the war in Nicaragua - an event that resulted in the killing and wounding of many innocent Central American civilians. Griffin-Nolan explains how WFP participants spent weeks in the war zones in order to understand the impact of U.S. policy on simple people living, as one member of the group phrased it, "at the end of a gun barrel."

As Christian: The Politics of a Word in America shows, for many American Christians, concepts like liberty and equality are rooted in the transcendent claims about human nature that Christianity offers. Democracy, equality under the law, and other basic principles of American government are seen as depending on the Christian faith's sustenance and support. Yet despite this presumed consensus, differing Christian beliefs have led to dispute and disagreement about what American society and government should look like.

Our millennial children, as well as non-churchgoing millennials, are both the church's greatest challenge and its most exciting new opportunity. There is a fundamental frame of reference shift in American society happening right now among young adults. You may think of this group as millennials...

Yes Dear Is Not the Answer is a direct, no-nonsense guide for men who refuse to settle for passivity and compromise. Written by Pedro, a man who has battled his own demons and broken free from destructive generational cycles, this book confronts the weak, compliant mentality that has left many men powerless in their relationships, families, and faith.