Exploring Christian Scripture: Issues, Themes, Books, Topics John Wesley believed the Scriptures are a complete rule of faith and practice" and "they are clear in all necessary points." To this affirmation, Wesley immediately adds, "and yet their clearness does not prove that they need not be explained" The book you are holding emerged as a companion to a Scripture conference at Northwest Nazarene University. Many scholars at the conference contributed essays to this important book. About half of the essays address vital issues, such as biblical inspiration, inerrancy, interpretation, and authority. John Wesley's approach to the Bible is examined, and some essays explore how the Bible ought to be approached in a postmodern world. Other essays address crucial themes in various books of the Bible. These essays will help preachers and teachers greatly as they work to present the truths of Scripture to contemporary people. If understanding the Bible well is a high priority to you, this may become one of the most important books you'll ever read!

The Bible Tells Me So: Reading the Bible as Scripture

Religion & Spirituality

Oord, Thomas Jay

Thompson, Richard P.

Christian Books & Bibles

SacraSage Press

The insights in these 90+ essays are nothing short of inspiring! Their tips on best practices for social engagement, time management, social media as a resource for scholarship or creativity, technology and pedagogy, etc. will help readers tremendously.
The contributors are diverse. They include....
- Public theologians like Ben Corey, Brian McLaren, and Richard Rohr
- Younger scholars like Tripp Fuller, Jory Micah, and Alexis Waggoner
- Biblical scholars like Michael Gorman, Joel Green, and Daniel Kirk
- Philosophers like Helen De Cruz, Aaron Simmons, and Kevin Timpe
- Establish scholars like James Crossley, Kwok Pui-lan, and Amos Yong
- Scholars outside North America like Deane Galbraith, RT Mullins, Hanna Reichel, and Atle Sovik
- Pastoral theologians like Patricia Farmer, Len Sweet, and Kurt Willems
- Historical theologians like Kim Alexander and Christine Helmer
- Science and religion scholars like Ron Cole-Turner, Karl Giberson, Lea Schweitz, and Jim Stump
- Constructive theologians like Oliver Crisp, Grace Ji-Sun Kim, and Jason Lepojärvi
- Ethicists like Miguel De La Torre, David Gushee, and Michael Hardin
...and the list goes on!
Whether the reader is an armchair theologian, a professional scholar, a graduate student, or simply interested in how social media is changing religious and philosophical studies, that reader will find Theologians and Philosophers Using Social Media of great help.
 pedagogy, religious education, philosophy, religion, theology, Christian education, activism, online education, Facebook, moocs, technology, social media

Theologians and Philosophers Using Social Media: Advice, Tips, and Testimonials

Religious Studies

What if God is not in control? And what if this lack of control isn’t because God is weak or uninvolved? What if, instead, God’s powerful and universal love is inherently uncontrolling?
In this book, more than eighty writers explore uncontrolling love, an idea first suggested by Thomas Jay Oord in his award-winning work, The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence (IVP Academic). Contributors explore uncontrolling love in practical, political, scientific, personal, economic, biblical, ethical, and philosophical dimensions. Many tell stories and pose questions. Others offer novel ideas to make sense of life or promote well-being. Oord offers introductions to key ideas and concepts.
“This book is amazing! Each essay contains precisely worded insights and thoughtful, practical responses to Oord’s book, The Uncontrolling Love of God. Essayists cite their own reasons for recognizing, claiming, and articulating what Oord calls “essential kenosis theology.” In an array of accessible vignettes, essayists illustrate Oord’s relational thesis: God’s love is necessarily self-giving and others-empowering.
-- Karen Winslow, Professor and Chair of the Department of Biblical Studies, Azusa Pacific University
“Jesus proclaimed God as a loving parent, and this basic approach dominates in the New Testament. But many people revere controlling power more than love. Thomas Jay Oord has reclaimed the good news of the uncontrolling love of God. Many rejoice and respond with uncontrolling love for one another and all God’s creatures. This book embodies the response of the church, lay people and pastors, students and teachers, liberals and conservatives. Readers can join in this work of theology by witnessing to what a loving God is doing in the world.”
-- John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor Emeritus, Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University

Uncontrolling Love: Essays Exploring the Love of God, with Introductions by Thomas Jay Oord

Baker, Chris

Michaels, Lisa

Drurey, Craig

Coffin, Gloria

Kirksey, Graden

Ward, Donna Fiser

Does God Create Through Evolution? This question seems as timely as ever. And the answers Christians give it may surprise you. In this collection of essays, scores of leaders and scholars in the Church of the Nazarene explore the possibility that evolution and Christian faith may not be in opposition. And they offer insights into how we might best understand and worship our Creator!

Nazarenes Exploring Evolution

Walker, Sherri B.

PSALMS - The Bible of Jesus and the Early Church in Contemporary English is a translation of the ancient Greek Scriptures known as the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX), which itself is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. The LXX is the oldest translation of the Bible commonly known as the Old Testament. It was widely used in the first century, C.E., by both Jewish and Christian Communities, in the time of Jesus and the early Christian Church.This fresh, new English translation is meant for a wide reading audience, from the lay person to the biblical scholar. It is both faithful to the original Greek language in which it was written, as well as modern English, in order to be easily readable and understandable.Whether your aim is scholarly study, devotional reading, spiritual formation, or use of the Psalms in liturgy, this translation will be helpful to you. May God bless you as you read and meditate on the Scriptures.

Psalms: The Bible of Jesus and the Early Church in Contemporary English

Bynum, Wm Randolph

Rethinking the Bible explains Scripture in ways that make sense and deepen Christian faith. Essays in the book ask and answer questions such as... What is the primary function of the Bible? Can the Bible be trusted if it has errors? What does “divine inspiration” mean if humans wrote the Bible? How should preachers use the Bible today? Does the Bible mean now what it meant when written? How has archaeology changed the way we interpret the Bible? Should the Dead Sea Scrolls affect our view of the Bible? What authority does the Bible have matters of science? Is the Bible a container of truth statements or tool for formation? How should we handle contradictions we find in the Bible? Should postmodernism influence how we read the Bible? The standard answers to questions like these no longer make sense. Many people today seek a more adequate way to understand what the Bible is and does. Those who ask deep questions about Scripture want plausible answers. This book offers answers to questions about the Bible that make sense in our time.

Rethinking the Bible: Inerrancy, Preaching, Inspiration, Authority, Formation, Archaeology, Postmodernism, and More

Women Experiencing Faith is filled with intimate reflections and personal stories. Many aren’t happy, but real life isn’t always happy. Families, friends, spouses, and the church often fail—especially for women. The fifty contributors to this book ask hard questions and elicit critical thinking. These women who write aren’t floating about on the surface; they go deep. And the insights they unearth are profound. Above all, the essays, poems, and narratives in this volume inspire. Despite raw pain and genuine obstacles described, readers come away with a sense that, on the whole, ways forward exist. Those ways attend to the voices of women; they ask those voices to lead!

Women Experiencing Faith

Ramsey, Janel Apps

God Can't: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils

Hurting people ask heart-felt questions about God and suffering. Some "answers" they receive appeal to mystery: "God's ways are not our ways". Some answers say God allows evil for a greater purpose. Some say evil is God's punishment.
The usual answers fail. They don't support the truth God loves everyone all the time. God Can't gives a believable answer to why a good and powerful God doesn't prevent evil.
Author Thomas Jay Oord says God's love is inherently uncontrolling. God loves everyone and everything, so God can't control anyone or anything. This means God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly. God can't stop evildoers, whether human, animal, organism, or inanimate objects and forces.
In God Can't, Oord gives a plausible reason why some are healed but many others are not. God always works to heal everyone, but sometimes our bodies, organisms, or other creatures do not cooperate with God's healing work. Or the conditions of creation are not right for the healing God wants to do.
Some people think God causes or allows suffering to teach us lessons or build our character. God Can't disagrees. Oord says God squeezes good from the evil God didn't want in the first place. God uses pain and suffering without willing or even allowing it.
Most people think God can overcome evil singlehandedly. In God Can't, Oord says God needs cooperation for love to reign now and later. This leads to a better view of the afterlife he calls, "relentless love." It rejects traditional ideas of heaven, hell, and annihilation. Relentless love holds to the possibility all creatures and all creation will respond to God's love.
God Can't is written in understandable language. Thomas Jay Oord's status as a world-renown theologian brings credibility to the book's radical ideas. He explains these ideas through true stories, illustrations, and scripture. 
God Can't is for those who want answers to tragedy, abuse, and other evils that make sense!
What They're Saying...
"If conventional notions of God make less and less sense to you, you'll find Thomas Jay Oord's new book a breath of fresh air. Simply put, "God Can't" presents an understanding of God that thoughtful, ethical people can believe in." -- Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration
"Victims of trauma sometimes hear theological responses that imply their suffering is somehow "God's will." A more careful theological reflection on the nature of the power of a God who is love can help. Oord gives us a clear and compelling alternative in this profoundly insightful and admirably concrete and accessible book."-- Dr. Anna Case-Winters, Professor of Theology at McCormick Theological Seminary
"I know of no book that speaks to suffering with the depth of theological sophistication and psychological sensitivity as God Can't. This book is a rare combination of depth and accessibility, truly written for the wounded. I recommend it to my students, parishioners, and therapy clients." -- Dr. Brad D. Strawn, Professor of the Integration of Psychology and Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary
To see more endorsements and reviews, go to GodCant.com

Self-Help

Relationships

Hurting people ask heart-felt questions about God and suffering. Some "answers" they receive appeal to mystery: “God’s ways are not our ways”. Some answers say God allows evil for a greater purpose. Some say evil is God's punishment. The usual answers fail. They don't support the truth God loves everyone all the time. God Can't gives a believable answer to why a good and powerful God doesn't prevent evil. Author Thomas Jay Oord says God’s love is inherently uncontrolling. God loves everyone and everything, so God can't control anyone or anything. This means God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly. God can’t stop evildoers, whether human, animal, organisms, or inanimate objects and forces. In God Can't, Oord gives a plausible reason why some are healed but many others are not. God always works to heal everyone, but sometimes our bodies, organisms, or other creatures do not cooperate with God's healing work. Or the conditions of creation are not right for the healing God wants to do. Some people think God causes or allows suffering to teach us lessons or build our character. God Can't disagrees. Oord says God squeezes good from the evil God didn’t want in the first place. God uses pain and suffering without willing or even allowing it. Most people think God can overcome evil singlehandedly. In God Can't, Oord says God needs cooperation for love to reign now and later. This leads to a better view of the afterlife he calls, “relentless love.” It rejects traditional ideas of heaven, hell, and annihilation. Relentless love holds to the possibility all creatures and all creation will respond to God’s love. God Can't is written in understandable language. Thomas Jay Oord's status as a world-renown theologian brings credibility to the book’s radical ideas. He explains these ideas through true stories, illustrations, and scripture. God Can't is for those who want answers to tragedy, abuse, and other evils that make sense! What They're Saying... “If conventional notions of God make less and less sense to you, you’ll find Thomas Jay Oord’s new book a breath of fresh air. Simply put, “God Can’t” presents an understanding of God that thoughtful, ethical people can believe in.” -- Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration "I did not want this book to end. I wish Dr. Oord had written it 100 years ago, or 1000 years ago... To find your understanding of life and your love for God renewed, read this book." -- Dr. Karen Strand Winslow, Ph.D., Biblical and Jewish Studies Professor of Bible, Azusa Pacific University “As a clinical psychologist working with people in trauma, I owe Thomas Jay Oord an enormous debt of gratitude for recasting the so-called problem of evil in terms that are conceptually satisfying, theologically consistent, and pastorally liberating.” -- Dr Roger Bretherton- Principal Lecturer at the University of Lincoln (UK), Chair of the British Association of Christians in Psychology “Victims of trauma sometimes hear theological responses that imply their suffering is somehow “God’s will." A more careful theological reflection on the nature of the power of a God who is love can help. Oord gives us a clear and compelling alternative in this profoundly insightful and admirably concrete and accessible book.” -- Dr. Anna Case-Winters, Professor of Theology at McCormick Theological Seminary “I know of no book that speaks to suffering with the depth of theological sophistication and psychological sensitivity as God Can’t. This book is a rare combination of depth and accessibility, truly written for the wounded. I recommend it to my students, parishioners, and therapy clients.” -- Dr. Brad D. Strawn, Professor of the Integration of Psychology and Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Las personas heridas hacen preguntas sinceras acerca de Dios y el sufrimiento. Algunas "respuestas" que reciben apelan al misterio: "los caminos de Dios no son nuestros caminos." Algunas respuestas dicen que Dios permite el mal por alg n prop sito mayor. Algunas dicen que el mal es castigo de Dios. Las respuestas usuales fracasan. No apoyan la verdad de que Dios ama a todos todo el tiempo. Dios No Puede da una respuesta cre ble a por qu un Dios bueno y poderoso no impide el mal. El autor Thomas Jay Oord dice que el amor de Dios es inherentemente no controlador. Dios ama a todas las personas y a todas las cosas, as que Dios no puede controlar a nadie ni a nada. Esto significa que Dios no puede impedir el mal sin ayuda. Dios no puede detener a los malhechores, ya sean humanos, animales, organismos u objetos inanimados y fuerzas. En Dios No Puede, Oord da una raz n plausible por qu algunos son sanados pero muchos otros no lo son. Dios siempre obra para sanar a todos, pero a veces nuestros cuerpos, organismos u otras criaturas no cooperan con la obra de sanidad de Dios. O las condiciones de la creaci n no son adecuadas para la sanidad que Dios quiere realizar. Algunas personas piensan que Dios causa o permite el sufrimiento para ense arnos una lecci n o para edificar nuestro car cter. Dios No Puede no est de acuerdo. Oord dice que Dios exprime bien del mal que Dios no quer a en primer lugar. Dios usa el dolor y el sufrimiento sin quererlo o siquiera permitirlo. La mayor a de las personas creen que Dios puede vencer el mal sin ayuda. En Dios No Puede, Oord dice que Dios necesita cooperaci n para que el amor reine ahora y despu s. Esto conduce a una mejor perspectiva de la vida despu s de la muerte que l llama, "amor incesante." sta rechaza las ideas tradicionales del cielo, el infierno y la aniquilaci n. El amor incesante se aferra a la posibilidad de que todas las criaturas y toda la creaci n responder n al amor de Dios. Dios No Puede est escrito en lenguaje comprensible. El estatus de Thomas Jay Oord como te logo de renombre mundial trae credibilidad a las ideas radicales del libro. l explica estas ideas por medio de historias verdaderas, ilustraciones y la escritura. Dios No Puede es para quienes quieren respuestas a la tragedia, el abuso y otros males que tengan sentido Lo Que Est n Diciendo... "Si las nociones convencionales de Dios tienen cada vez menos sentido para ti, encontrar s en el nuevo libro de Thomas Jay Oord una bocanada de aire fresco. En pocas palabras, "Dios No Puede" presenta una comprensi n de Dios que las personas pensantes y ticas pueden creer." -- Brian D. McLaren, autor de The Great Spiritual Migration "Las v ctimas del trauma a veces escuchan respuestas teol gicas que implican que su sufrimiento de alguna manera es "voluntad de Dios." Una reflexi n teol gica m s cuidadosa sobre la naturaleza del poder de un Dios que es amor puede ayudar. Oord nos da una clara y convincente alternativa en su profundamente perspicaz y admirablemente concreto y accesible libro." -- Dr. Anna Case-Winters, Profesora de Teolog a en McCormick Theological Seminary "No conozco ning n libro que trate el sufrimiento con la profundidad de la sofisticaci n teol gica y la sensibilidad psicol gica como Dios No Puede. Este libro es una rara combinaci n de profundidad y accesibilidad, verdaderamente escrito para los heridos. Yo lo recomiendo a mis estudiantes, feligreses y clientes de terapia." -- Dr. Brad D. Strawn, Profesor de la Integraci n de Psicolog a y Teolog a, Fuller Theological Seminary Para ver m s recomendaciones y rese as, ve a GodCant.com

Dios No Puede: Cómo Creer en Dios y el Amor Después de la Tragedia, el Abuso y Otros Males (Spanish Edition)

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

Books by SacraSage Press

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

The Bible Tells Me So: Reading the Bible as Scripture

Theologians and Philosophers Using Social Media: Advice, Tips, and Testimonials

Uncontrolling Love: Essays Exploring the Love of God, with Introductions by Thomas Jay Oord

Nazarenes Exploring Evolution

Psalms: The Bible of Jesus and the Early Church in Contemporary English

Rethinking the Bible: Inerrancy, Preaching, Inspiration, Authority, Formation, Archaeology, Postmodernism, and More

Women Experiencing Faith

God Can't: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils

God Can't: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils

Dios No Puede: Cómo Creer en Dios y el Amor Después de la Tragedia, el Abuso y Otros Males (Spanish Edition)