Is God a sadistic torturer? Coldhearted judge? Genocidal maniac? Unfortunately, our popular caricatures often make him out to be.There are some questions no Christian wants to be asked. Many today believe hell, judgment and holy war are "skeletons in God's closet," tough topics that, if looked at closely, would reveal a cruel, vindictive tyrant rather than a good and loving God. And we aren't comfortable with the answers we've been given.<ul>
<li>"How can a loving God send people to Hell?"</li>
<li>"Isn't it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God?"</li>
<li>"Why is there so much violence in the Old Testament?"</li>
</ul>In this book, we'll pull these bones out into the open to exchange popular caricatures for the beauty and power of the real thing. We'll discover these topics were never really skeletons at all . . . but proclamations of a God who is good "in his very bones," not just in what he does, but in who he is. We'll fling the wide the closet door and sing loudly, boldly and clearly:God is good and coming to redeem his world.

The Skeletons in God's Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War

Butler, Joshua Ryan

Religion & Spirituality

Thomas Nelson

Butler Untitled No. 2

Harpercollins Christian Pub

A powerful call for Christians to understand sex as a window into God's story of redemption, and a validating guide to living with authentic love in a changing culture-from the influential pastor and author of The Skeletons in God's Closet. Beautiful isn't likely the first word that comes to mind when we think about sex. Our reactions are as varied as our experiences and backgrounds. Perhaps the word brings up past baggage. Perhaps it holds yearning for a dream that has never come true. Maybe we would rather not talk about it. Maybe it's all we want to talk about. Around us, our culture is divided by this topic. On one side, "progressive" voices seek to dismantle historic Christian teachings to fit current norms. On the other side, "conservative" voices can reinforce messages of shame, judgement, and repression. Beautiful Union offers a third way, one that is both true and beautiful. It gives us a provocative, positive look into the deepest Christian understanding of sex . . . and what sex reveals about God, our world, and even ourselves. Through biblical teaching and livable, joyful answers to our tough questions about sexuality, author and pastor Joshua Ryan Butler shows how sex illuminates the structure of creation, the nature of salvation, the abundance of God's kingdom, and God's heartbeat for the world. Discover afresh the beautiful invitation of our sexuality . . . as God intended it to be.

Beautiful Union: How God's Vision for Sex Points Us to the Good, Unlocks the True, and (Sort of) Explains Everything

Multnomah

A practical, illuminating companion guide to Beautiful Union, Joshua Ryan Butler's positive exploration of how God's design for sex reveals the good, true, and beautiful in Scripture . . . and all of life. Designed as a companion to that life-changing book, this dynamic study guide is your road map for diving more deeply into the key concepts of Beautiful Union-whether by yourself or with a group. Through seven fast-paced sessions, you'll encounter thought-provoking questions, be prompted to reflect on powerful concepts, discover what God's design for sex was always meant to reveal, and consider what it all means for living a joyful, faithful life. These sessions include features such as- Unpack It- questions to illuminate Beautiful Union with space to record your reflections Use Your Imagination- exercises to creatively help you see God's larger invitation for human flourishing Reflect on It- ways to understand our lives in the expansive story of God that sex points to With this guide, you'll experience a bigger, more beautiful vision of God, the gospel, and the Christian vision for sex.

Beautiful Union Study Guide: A Practical Companion for Deep Reflection, Good Conversation, and Tough Questions You Really Want to Ask (But Haven't Yet)

Discover America's four political religions and why Jesus is crashing them all! The political divide is growing. Each side demands ultimate allegiance that's incompatible with the Christian faith. The fervency with which so many advocate their political ideals is best described in religious terms.&nbsp; Four political "religions" are rising in America:&nbsp; * Religion of Progress: "We can change the world." * Religion of Responsibility: "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps." * Religion of Identity: "Live your truth." *&nbsp;Religion of Security: "Good fences make good neighbors." In this insightful, nonpartisan work,&nbsp;a respected pastor&nbsp;first&nbsp;exposes&nbsp;the religious nature of these political movements and how they compete for our loyalty to Jesus, and then&nbsp;prescribes&nbsp;ten political commandments for Christlike engagement. Fortunately, Jesus is the ultimate Party Crasher. And he is disrupting politics-as-usual to invite us into a bold vision capable of redeeming our partisan divide.

The Party Crasher: How Jesus Disrupts Politics as Usual and Redeems Our Partisan Divide

History

World

Is God lost? Many of us feel that way. It's as if God's gone missing, out in theuniverse somewhere--and we must pick up the hunt, following anytrail of breadcrumbs to go find him. We speak of "searching for God,""exploring spirituality," and "finding faith." But what if we have it backward and God is the one pursuing us?What if our job is not to go find God, but to stop running and hiding?Not to discover the light, but step out of the shadows? Not to earnGod's love, but simply receive it? Jesus reveals a God who comes after us, who is on the prowl, huntingdown his world for reconciliation. And the question we're left withis not whether we've been good enough, jumped high enough, orsought hard enough... The question is: "Do we want to be found?" -- Along the way, the book tackles tough topics like:
<ul><li>
Exclusivity: "Is Jesus the only way to God?" Jesus is not the one and only way we go out into the universe to find God; Jesus is the unique and decisive way God has come to us.</li></ul>
<ul><li>
The Fall: "Does God run away when we mess up?" It's not that God can't stand the presence of sin, so much as sin that can't stand the presence of God--God comes for us in our distance.</li></ul><ul><li>
Atonement: "Is the cross divine child abuse?" A mature account of Jesus' bearing our punishment within the broader framework of God's reconciling love.</li></ul>
<ul><li>
Sacrifice: "Is God a bloodthirsty carnivore?" Israel's sacrificial system was not how we clean ourselves up so God can stand to be in our presence, but how God cleanses us so that we can stand to be in God's presence--and it points to Jesus.</li></ul>
<ul><li>
Wrath: "Why does God get angry?" God's wrath arises from his love for the world, not in contradiction to it.</li></ul>
<ul><li>
The Church: "What is the Church?" The Church is not a group of individuals pursuing God together, so much as the body of people through whom God pursues the world.</li></ul>
<ul><li>
Tough Passages: Abraham's call to sacrifice Isaac, Noah's flood, Jesus' cry of forsakenness on the cross.</li></ul> Reclaim a greater confidence in the unrelenting goodness of God.

The Pursuing God: A Reckless, Irrational, Obsessed Love That's Dying to Bring Us Home

Is God a sadistic torturer? Coldhearted judge? Genocidal maniac? Unfortunately, our popular caricatures often make him out to be. God has some skeletons in the closet. At least, that's what many of us fear. "How can a loving God send people to hell?" "Isn't it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God?" "What is up with holy war in the Old Testament?" These are difficult questions that our family, our friends, our culture--even we ourselves--are asking. The Skeletons in God's Closet pulls these skeletons out of the closet to show that they were never really skeletons at all--but part of the good news that God is good and coming to redeem his world. Hell is not an "underground torture chamber" God creates to torture sinners, but a destructive power we unleash that God has promised to redeem his world from--it represents an extravagant act of mercy. Judgment is not "churchgoers go to heaven, everyone else goes to hell," but God coming to raise humanity from death and set his world right by calling things out as they really are--and the results are a shocking surprise. Holy war is not "the strong using God to justify their conquest of the weak," but God arising on behalf of the weak when the tyranny of the strong has raged for far too long--he is the hope of the world. Mercy. Surprise. Hope. Not what we usually think. Ultimately, The Skeletons in God's Closet uses our toughest questions to provoke paradigm shifts in how we understand our faith as a whole: we'll pull the "skeletons out of God's closet" to reveal they were never really skeletons at all. We'll grapple with the "skeletons in the ground" of tragedy, injustice and death in our world--to explore resurrection as God's good answer. Most importantly, we'll affirm that God is good "in his very bones"--not just in what he does but in who he is. This is a book that sings loudly, boldly and clearly: God is good and coming to redeem his world.

Christian Books & Bibles

Christian Living

Christian Audio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Butler, Joshua Ryan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Butler, Joshua Ryan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Butler, Joshua Ryan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Skeletons in God's Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War

Butler Untitled No. 2

Beautiful Union: How God's Vision for Sex Points Us to the Good, Unlocks the True, and (Sort of) Explains Everything

Beautiful Union Study Guide: A Practical Companion for Deep Reflection, Good Conversation, and Tough Questions You Really Want to Ask (But Haven't Yet)

The Party Crasher: How Jesus Disrupts Politics as Usual and Redeems Our Partisan Divide

The Pursuing God: A Reckless, Irrational, Obsessed Love That's Dying to Bring Us Home

The Skeletons in God's Closet: The Mercy of Hell, the Surprise of Judgment, the Hope of Holy War