This book focuses on the relevance of Christianity for the twenty-first-century world. It addresses questions such as:•Is Jesus real?•Can we know that Jesus rose from the dead?•Does Christianity have a sure foundation?It examines Jesus’s historicity, the significance of the empty tomb, and the unexpected, transformative impacts of the early disciples’ encounters with the risen Lord. It then looks behind these testimonies to explore the role of the Holy Spiri...

This timeline comprises one thousand significant dates for global Christianity. It includes events across all inhabited continents (and also in Antarctica and outer space), emphasizing those occurring in the non-Western world. The detailed annotations on each date are intended as provocative "ignition points" to spark historical curiosity, functioning as "launchpads" into further exploration in global Christianity. For example: -739: What did the finding of the Rotas-Sator palindrome on th...

This book examines encounters between the Christian church and Maori. Christian faith among Maori changed from Maori receiving the missionary endeavours of Pakeha settlers, to the development of indigenous expressions of Christian faith, partnerships between Maori and Pakeha in the mainline churches, and the emergence of Destiny Church. The book looks at the growth, development and adaptation of Christian faith among Maori people and considers how that development has helped shape New Zeal...

What is the future of Christianity in the twenty-first century West? Are Western societies growing more secular, leaving cherished religious traditions behind? Or have modernity's secularizing currents generated equally powerful desecularizing and resacralizing currents? Should secularization theory, the dominant paradigm in the social scientific study of religion for much of the twentieth century, be thrown in the dustbin, as some scholars have suggested? Or does it remain useful, even in...

Alongside essays on aspects of Calvin's Theology, Calvin: The Man and the Legacy includes studies of Calvin as pastor, preacher and liturgist and traces the influence of Calvin as it was conveyed through Scottish migration to Australia and New Zealand. Fascinating stories are told of the ways in which the Calvinist tradition has contributed much to the building of colonial societies, but also of the ways it has attracted ridicule and derision and has been subject to caricature that is some...

This book brings together a series of papers by Ani Mikaere that reflect on the effect of Pakeha law, legal processes and teaching on Maori legal thought and practice. She discusses issues such as the ability of Maori to achieve justice when Maori law is marginalised; the need to confront racism in thinking, processes and structures; the impact of interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi; the difficulty of redressing harm to Maori within the Pakeha legal system; and the importance of rein...

In 1969, I was teaching at two seminaries inthe Chicago area. One of my courses wason the parables by Jesus and the other wason the resurrection stories about Jesus. I hadobserved that the parabolic stories by Jesusseemed remarkably similar to the resurrectionstories about Jesus. Were the latter intended asparables just as much as the former? Had webeen reading parable, presuming history, andmisunderstanding both?—from The Power of ParableSo begins the quest of renowned Jesu...

Understand the Roman Catholic Church with ease and informality. Gain valuable insights into key elements of the culture and way of life of its adherants. Presented in an accesible format with clearly recognized topics.This book will help you to appreciate the significance of one of the largest organized religions in the world to understand the history of the Church, and what it means to be Roman Catholic to recognize the Catholic Church's key practices and beliefs ...

The theological system known as Calvinism is often caricatured as harsh, dour, and illogical. But as Dr. Joel R. Beeke argues in this important new book, this image could not be further from the truth. Beeke, a pastor, educator, editor, and prolific author, shows instead that Calvinism is a theology that is firmly rooted in Scripture and works its way out into every area of the believer’s life. He aims to “cover the intellectual and spiritual emphases of Calvinism, the way it influences th...

'It has been slowly dawning on me over many years that there is a fundamental problem deep at the heart of Christian faith and practice as I have known them . . . we have all forgotten what the four Gospels are about.'With that surprising assertion, Tom Wright launches this ground-breaking work in which he helps us to see the gospel story in radically a new light, and to acknowledge that, for many generations, the Church has been avoiding its full impact and holdin...

In this Very Short Introduction, Jon Balserak explores major ideas associated with the Calvinist system of thought. Beginning during the Protestant Reformation in cities like Zurich, Geneva, and Basel, Calvinismâalso known as Reformed Theologyâspread rapidly throughout Europe and the New World, eventually making its way to the African Continent and the East. Balserak examines how Calvinist thought and practice spread and took root, helping shape church and society. Much of contemp...

Uniquely among the world’s religions, the central claims of Christianity concern not just timeless spiritual truths, but tangible historical events. At the heart of the of the Christian faith are things that are meant to have happened in Palestine between 5 BC and AD 30. It’s as if Christianity happily places its head on the chopping block of public scrutiny and invites anyone who wants to come and take a swing. Some of Christianity’s claims are so spectacular that they provoke a firestorm...