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Why Pro-life?: Caring For The Unborn And Their Mothers
by Randy Alcorn"Why Pro-Life?" offers factual answers to the central issues of the abortion debate in a concise, non-abrasive way. Infused with grace and compassion, and grounded in medical science and psychological studies, Randy Alcorn presents a solid case for defending both unborn children and their mothers. Chapters such as, "What Makes a Human Life 'Meaningful, '" "Is Abortion Really a Women's Rights Issue," and "How Can I Help Unborn Babies and Their Mothers" help readers to look at the many sides of this polarizing issue. For those on the fence in the midst of the abortion debate, this book will be a great resource as it clearly and thoroughly examines the pro-life position. For those who are pro-life already, this book is an encouragement to be intelligently and graciously informed.
Why Religion?: A Personal Story
by Elaine PagelsOne of PW’s Best Books of the YearOne of Amazon’s Best Books of the MonthWhy is religion still around in the twenty-first century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions.These questions took on a new urgency for Pagels when dealing with unimaginable loss—the death of her young son, followed a year later by the shocking loss of her husband. Here she interweaves a personal story with the work that she loves, illuminating how, for better and worse, religious traditions have shaped how we understand ourselves; how we relate to one another; and, most importantly, how to get through the most difficult challenges we face. Drawing upon the perspectives of neurologists, anthropologists, and historians, as well as her own research, Pagels opens unexpected ways of understanding persistent religious aspects of our culture. A provocative and deeply moving account from one of the most compelling religious thinkers at work today, Why Religion? explores the spiritual dimension of human experience.
Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy
by Robert WuthnowHow the actions and advocacy of diverse religious communities in the United States have supported democracy’s development during the past centuryDoes religion benefit democracy? Robert Wuthnow says yes. In Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy, Wuthnow makes his case by moving beyond the focus on unifying values or narratives about culture wars and elections. Rather, he demonstrates that the beneficial contributions of religion are best understood through the lens of religious diversity. The religious composition of the United States comprises many groups, organizations, and individuals that vigorously, and sometimes aggressively, contend for what they believe to be good and true. Unwelcome as this contention can be, it is rarely extremist, violent, or autocratic. Instead, it brings alternative and innovative perspectives to the table, forcing debates about what it means to be a democracy.Wuthnow shows how American religious diversity works by closely investigating religious advocacy spanning the past century: during the Great Depression, World War II, the civil rights movement, the debates about welfare reform, the recent struggles for immigrant rights and economic equality, and responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The engagement of religious groups in advocacy and counteradvocacy has sharpened arguments about authoritarianism, liberty of conscience, freedom of assembly, human dignity, citizens’ rights, equality, and public health. Wuthnow hones in on key principles of democratic governance and provides a hopeful yet realistic appraisal of what religion can and cannot achieve.At a time when many observers believe American democracy to be in dire need of revitalization, Why Religion Is Good for American Democracy illustrates how religious groups have contributed to this end and how they might continue to do so despite the many challenges faced by the nation.
Why Religion Matters
by Huston SmithHuston Smith, the author of the classic bestseller The World's Religions, delivers a passionate, timely message: The human spirit is being suffocated by the dominant materialistic worldview of our times. Smith champions a society in which religion is once again treasured and authentically practiced as the vital source of human wisdom.
Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief
by Huston SmithHuston Smith, the author of the classic bestseller The World's Religions, delivers a passionate, timely message: The human spirit is being suffocated by the dominant materialistic worldview of our times. Smith champions a society in which religion is once again treasured and authentically practiced as the vital source of human wisdom.
Why Religion Matters
by Huston SmithHuston Smith, the author of the classic bestseller The World's Religions, delivers a passionate, timely message: The human spirit is being suffocated by the dominant materialistic worldview of our times. Smith champions a society in which religion is once again treasured and authentically practiced as the vital source of human wisdom.
Why Religion? Towards a Critical Philosophy of Law, Peace and God (Law and Religion in a Global Context #2)
by Dawid Bunikowski Alberto PuppoThis book examines the relation between religion and jurisprudence, God, and peace respectively. It argues that in order to elucidate the possible role religion can play in the contemporary world, it is useful to analyse religion by associating it with other concepts. Why peace? Because peace is probably the greatest promise made by religions and the greatest concern in the contemporary world. Why jurisprudence? Because, quoting Kelsen’s famous book "Peace through Law", peace is usually understood as something achievable by international legal instruments. But what if we replace "Peace through Law" with "Peace through Religion"? Does law, as an instrument for achieving peace, incorporate a religious dimension? Is law, ultimately, a religious and normative construction oriented to peace, to the protection of humanity, in order to keep humans from the violence of nature? Is the hope for peace rational, or just a question of faith? Is religion itself a question of faith or a rational choice? Is the relatively recent legal concept of “responsibility to protect” a secular expression of the oldest duty of humankind?The book follows the structure of interdisciplinary research in which the international legal scholar, the moral philosopher, the philosopher of religion, the theologian, and the political scientist contribute to the construction of the necessary bridges. Moreover, it gives voice to different monotheistic traditions and, more importantly, it analyses religion in the various dimensions in which it determines the authors' cultures: as a set of rituals, as a source of moral norms, as a universal project for peace, and as a political discourse.
Why Religions Matter
by John BowkerWhat are religions? Why is it important to understand them? One answer is that religions and religious believers are extremely bad news: they are deeply involved in conflicts around the globe; they harm people of whom they disapprove; and they often seem irrational. Another answer claims that they are in fact extremely good news: religious beliefs and practices are universal and so fundamental in human nature that they have led us to great discoveries in our explorations of the cosmos and of who we are. The sciences began as part of that religious exploration. John Bowker demonstrates that there is truth in both answers and that we need both to understand what religion is and why it matters. He draws on many disciplines - from physics, genetics and the neurosciences to art, anthropology and the history of religions - to show how they shed entirely new light on religion in the modern world.
Why Salvation? (Reframing New Testament Theology)
by Joel B. GreenWhat does it mean to live with others who have also signed up ongoing, personal and social transformation? Salvation is the bedrock of our faith and the touchstone for faithful living. It is the good news of God drawing near to us as individuals but also as communities of faith. This book helps us understand that when we say "Jesus saves," we stand on scripture that proclaims a God who, through Jesus, heals, liberates, and recues. As each generation that has gone before, we too must find own awareness and then respond and participate in God's work as transformed people, serving together as the Body of Christ. This book as an invitation to a journey of salvation oriented toward increased understanding but also to transformed commitments, renewed allegiances, and fresh practices. To address the grand narrative of Scripture in a way that takes seriously its essential focus on the journey of salvation is to open ourselves to fresh (and perhaps refreshed) perspectives on the world and, thus, on life in the world. In this book Joel Green show how salvation can illumine new categories for conceiving the world, for making sense of our experiences, and for directing our lives. Reframing the New Testament Theology is a series that fulfills the need for brief, substantive, yet highly accessible introductions to central questions and themes raised by study of the New Testament.
Why Save Alexander
by Phillip TelferCan a hardcore gamer survive a real-world crisis? Seventeen-year-old Alex Brooks is obsessed with becoming an e-athlete. What teen wouldn&’t want to make a million dollars playing video games professionally? Especially if you&’ve got a real shot at it like Alex. His mom, a television producer in Hollywood, casts her son in a reality show about young gaming hopefuls seeking fame and fortune. This gives him great exposure in the industry. On top of that, His dad owns an up-and-coming tech business that is about to launch a revolutionary product. Life couldn&’t be better--or could it?Truth be told, Alex doesn&’t need to go pro as bad as he needs to grow up, and what teen really wants to do that? He&’s popular with other gamers but his over-inflated ego makes him obnoxious to almost everyone else. He hides a deep secret--the cavernous void in his life that nothing seems to fill. He thrives on a false sense of accomplishment but is haunted by an inescapable sense of loneliness. He has lived in the shadow of his dad&’s relentless pursuit of building a tech empire while watching him fail to keep his family from falling apart. What will it take for Alex to gain a new perspective on what it means to become a man and what it takes to be a hero?Everything changes when Alex goes missing. He must face a life or death struggle in a foreign culture that doesn&’t have a power grid. Man or computer mouse? His digital world didn&’t prepare him for the challenges that are about to confront him. Alex is not ready to rescue anyone, he needs to be rescued. For those who really know Alexander, why would anyone want to save him? This coming-of-age story follows Alex as he is forced to grow up the hard way through extraordinary circumstances, which cause him to re-evaluate what&’s important in life, his need for God, and the positive influence of older mentors. Adventure, danger, romance, survival, despair and Providence are the ingredients that help remake his life.
Why Science Does Not Disprove God
by Amir D. AczelThe renowned science writer, mathematician, and bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem masterfully refutes the overreaching claims the "New Atheists," providing millions of educated believers with a clear, engaging explanation of what science really says, how there's still much space for the Divine in the universe, and why faith in both God and empirical science are not mutually exclusive.A highly publicized coterie of scientists and thinkers, including Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens, and Lawrence Krauss, have vehemently contended that breakthroughs in modern science have disproven the existence of God, asserting that we must accept that the creation of the universe came out of nothing, that religion is evil, that evolution fully explains the dazzling complexity of life, and more. In this much-needed book, science journalist Amir Aczel profoundly disagrees and conclusively demonstrates that science has not, as yet, provided any definitive proof refuting the existence of God.Why Science Does Not Disprove God is his brilliant and incisive analyses of the theories and findings of such titans as Albert Einstein, Roger Penrose, Alan Guth, and Charles Darwin, all of whose major breakthroughs leave open the possibility— and even the strong likelihood—of a Creator. Bolstering his argument, Aczel lucidly discourses on arcane aspects of physics to reveal how quantum theory, the anthropic principle, the fine-tuned dance of protons and quarks, the existence of anti-matter and the theory of parallel universes, also fail to disprove God.
Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?: Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock
by Gregory ThornburyThe riveting, untold story of the “Father of Christian Rock” and the conflicts that launched a billion-dollar industry at the dawn of America’s culture wars. In 1969, in Capitol Records' Hollywood studio, a blonde-haired troubadour named Larry Norman laid track for an album that would launch a new genre of music and one of the strangest, most interesting careers in modern rock. Having spent the bulk of the 1960s playing on bills with acts like the Who, Janis Joplin, and the Doors, Norman decided that he wanted to sing about the most countercultural subject of all: Jesus. Billboard called Norman “the most important songwriter since Paul Simon,” and his music would go on to inspire members of bands as diverse as U2, The Pixies, Guns ‘N Roses, and more. To a young generation of Christians who wanted a way to be different in the American cultural scene, Larry was a godsend—spinning songs about one’s eternal soul as deftly as he did ones critiquing consumerism, middle-class values, and the Vietnam War. To the religious establishment, however, he was a thorn in the side; and to secular music fans, he was an enigma, constantly offering up Jesus to problems they didn’t think were problems. Paul McCartney himself once told Larry, “You could be famous if you’d just drop the God stuff,” a statement that would foreshadow Norman’s ultimate demise. In Why Should the Devil Have all the Good Music?, Gregory Alan Thornbury draws on unparalleled access to Norman’s personal papers and archives to narrate the conflicts that defined the singer’s life, as he crisscrossed the developing fault lines between Evangelicals and mainstream American culture—friction that continues to this day. What emerges is a twisting, engrossing story about ambition, art, friendship, betrayal, and the turns one’s life can take when you believe God is on your side.
Why The Sky Is Blue
by Susan MeissnerWhat options does a Christian woman have after she's brutally assaulted by a stranger. . . and becomes pregnant? That's the heartrending situation Claire Holland faces. Happily married and the mother of two when she is attacked, Claire begins an incredible journey on the painful pathway to trusting God in all things. When Claire's husband, Dan, confesses he can't be a father to the expected child, Claire's decision to put the baby up for adoption creates a sense of tremendous loss for Claire. Later, unexpected circumstances turn this seeming loss into victory. This wonderful first novel isn't a love story. . . . but a life story, presenting the twin themes trusting God in tragic circumstances and reaping the rewards that eventually come with sacrificial loving.
Why So Many Christians Have Left the Faith: Responding to the Deconstructionist Movement With Unshakable, Timeless Truth
by Michael L. BrownFROM THE BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF JEZEBEL'S WAR WITH AMERICA, HYPER-GRACE, AND THE REAL KOSHER JESUSAt a time when the Bible and Christianity are considered untrustworthy, will we choose faith or follow the culture? This book will provide you with the facts and understanding you need to respond to difficult questions biblically and stay rooted in your faith even when others seem to be abandoning theirs. We are living in unprecedented times when Christian leaders are renouncing their faith and large numbers of believers are falling away. Is this the final apostasy prophesied by Jesus and Paul? And can we do anything to help those struggling with their faith? In Why So Many Christians Have Left the Faith, Dr. Michael L. Brown confronts the problem of &“Christian deconstruction&” with solid, faith-building answers and honest responses to difficult questions. He addresses:What the Bible says about an end-time falling away and whether that is what we are seeing in our day;How solidarity with and sympathy for the LGBT movement has brought with it a rejection of biblical values;The effect of leadership scandals on the credibility of the gospel;How the me-centered gospel is contributing to the current faith crisis by putting God on trial;The contemporary objections to the Bible&’s moral standards;The problem of pluralism; andWhat the Bible does and doesn&’t say about future punishment in hell, while also examining the scriptural statement that &“God is love.&”Looking at the stories of those who fell away as well as the larger cultural factors, this book offers solid answers to the major attacks against the Bible and helps readers build an unshakable faith.
Why Study History?: Reflecting On The Importance Of The Past
by John FeaWhat is the purpose of studying history? How do we reflect on contemporary life from a historical perspective and can such reflection help us better understand ourselves, the world around us, and the God we worship and serve? <p><p> In this introductory textbook, accomplished historian John Fea shows why Christians should study history, how faith is brought to bear on our understanding of the past, and how studying the past can help us more effectively love God and others. Deep historical thinking can relieve us of our narcissism; cultivate humility, hospitality, and love; and transform our lives more fully into the image of Jesus Christ.
Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense
by Ravi Zacharias Vince VitaleWhy would a loving and powerful God allow so much pain and suffering? In WHY SUFFERING? Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale carefully walk you through a variety of responses that considered together provide a clear, comprehensive, and convincing answer. Responses like: Where there is the possibility of love, there has to be the reality of freedom, and therefore the possibility of pain. Wishing God had made a different world is to wish yourself out of existence. The cross is the key to a compelling and rational explanation for trusting in God in the face of suffering. In comparison with other world religions, the Christian response is highly distinctive. The reality of evil only makes sense in light of the reality of divine goodness. Relational knowledge about God takes the argument beyond reason to the presence of God amidst suffering. God's decision to allow temporal suffering is understandable when viewed from an eternal perspective. Divine goodness shows how to conquer not in spite of, but even through suffering. Here is a book written with great respect for the complexity of the issue, recognizing that some who read it will be in the trenches of deep suffering themselves and others questioning the very existence of a loving God. WHY SUFFERING? provides an answer to the problem of pain and suffering with emotional sensitivity and intellectual integrity.
Why the Amish Sing: Songs of Solidarity and Identity (Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies)
by D. Rose ElderAn intimate portrait of the diverse music-making at the center of Amish faith and life.Singing occurs in nearly every setting of Amish life. It is a sanctioned pleasure that frames all Amish rituals and one that enlivens and sanctifies both routine and special events, from household chores, road trips by buggy, and family prayer to baptisms, youth group gatherings, weddings, and "single girl" sings. But because Amish worship is performed in private homes instead of public churches, few outsiders get the chance to hear Amish people sing. Amish music also remains largely unexplored in the field of ethnomusicology. In Why the Amish Sing, D. Rose Elder introduces readers to the ways that Amish music both reinforces and advances spiritual life, delving deep into the Ausbund, the oldest hymnal in continuous use. This illuminating ethnomusicological study demonstrates how Amish groups in Wayne and Holmes Counties, Ohio—the largest concentration of Amish in the world—sing to praise God and, at the same time, remind themselves of their 450-year history of devotion. Singing instructs Amish children in community ways and unites the group through common participation. As they sing in unison to the weighty words of their ancestors, the Amish confirm their love and support for the community. Their singing delineates their common journey—a journey that demands separation from the world and yielding to God's will.By making school visits, attending worship services and youth sings, and visiting private homes, Elder has been given the rare opportunity to listen to Amish singing in its natural social and familial context. She combines one-on-one interviews with detailed observations of how song provides a window into Amish cultural beliefs, values, and norms.
Why the Bible Began: An Alternative History of Scripture and its Origins
by Jacob L. WrightWhy did no other ancient society produce a text remotely like the Bible? That a tiny, out of the way community, could have produced a text so determinative for peoples across the globe seems improbable.For Jacob Wright, the Bible is not only a testimony of survival, but also an unparalleled achievement in human history. Forged during Babylonian exile after the shattering destruction of Jerusalem, it makes not victory but total humiliation the foundation of a new idea of belonging. Lamenting the destruction of their homeland, scribes who composed the Bible turned to the golden ages of the past, reflecting deeply on abject failure. More than just religious scripture, the Bible is a resonant blueprint for the inspiring creation of a nation. As a response to catastrophe, it offers a powerful, message of hope and restoration that is unique in the Ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman worlds. Wright's Bible is thus a social, political, and even economic roadmap – one that enabled a small and obscure community located on the periphery of leading civilizations and empires, not just to come back from the brink, but ultimately to shape the world's destiny. The Bible speaks ultimately of being a united, yet diverse people, and its pages present a manual of pragmatic survival strategies in response to societal collapse.
Why the Church?
by Luigi GiussaniGiussani begins by focusing on the Church as a community composed of people who are aware of themselves as defined by the gift of the Spirit, from which they derive a new conception of existence, the fruit of conversion. He then describes the Church's developing self-awareness of its dual elements of the human and divine. Concerned with verifying the Church's claim to embody Christ, Giussani situates the locus of verification in human experience, arguing that a different type of life is born in those who try to live the life of the Church. Why the Church? is a seminal study that will engage both the scholar and the general reader.
Why the Church?
by Luigi GiussaniGiussani begins by focusing on the Church as a community composed of people who are aware of themselves as defined by the gift of the Spirit, from which they derive a new conception of existence, the fruit of conversion. He then describes the Church's developing self-awareness of its dual elements of the human and divine. Concerned with verifying the Church's claim to embody Christ, Giussani situates the locus of verification in human experience, arguing that a different type of life is born in those who try to live the life of the Church. Why the Church? is a seminal study that will engage both the scholar and the general reader.
Why the Church? (Reframing New Testament Theology)
by Joel B. Green Robert W. WallGiven the way many in the West have read the New Testament in the last century, the church might be regarded as an afterthought at best. But at the worst, it can be viewed as an unnecessary, perhaps even problematic, institutionalization of genuine faith especially in our post-denominational context. These perspectives fly in the face of the robust ecclesiological concerns and commitments of the New Testament documents when read as witnesses from, to, and for congregations of God's people. For Wall, the problem is spiritual because fewer go to find God in church. Why the church? Because this peculiar fellowship of saints, whose loving communion is with the risen One, has been appointed by the triune God as God's herald. With its sacred vocation, every demonstration of the church's oneness, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity--each eschatological mark enabled and brought to maturity by God's grace--is the concrete means to address our theological crisis. This book will contribute to New Testament studies but also serve related discussions in theology and church history. Reframing New Testament Theology is a series that fulfills the need for brief, substantive, yet highly accessible introductions to central questions and themes raised by New Testament study.
Why the Church?: Self-Optimization or Community of Faith (Cultural Memory in the Present)
by Hans JoasWhy did Christianity produce the special organizational form "church" in the first place? Is it possible to be a Christian without the church? To what extent is Christian faith in community with other believers an alternative to the mere self-optimization of individuals? In this accessible and questioning new work, Hans Joas traverses theological, church-historical, sociological, and ethical territory in search of a viable conception of the church adequate to contemporary globalized societies. Across eleven essays that draw on work by Ernst Troeltsch, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, H. Richard Niebuhr, Leszek Kolakowski and others, Joas reflects on key debates—from the failure of so-called secularization theory to explain religiosity in modern society, to the role of Christianity and the church in relation to rampant nationalism and refugee crises, and to the question of whether or not human dignity ever was, or still is, the highest value in the West. Addressing the sociology of the church as the distinctive communal formation of Christianity for the last two millennia, Joas underscores the need for Christian conceptions of church to balance theological sensibility with concrete sociological grounding. In the process, he considers the relation of a community of faith to contemporary ideas about the optimization of life.
Why the Church Needs Bioethics: A Guide to Wise Engagement with Life’s Challenges
by John F. KilnerIn a world where incredible medical technologies are possible … does “can do” mean “should do”? Why the Church Needs Bioethics helps you understand and constructively engage bioethical challenges with the resources of Christian wisdom and ministry. Three rich and true-to-life case studies illustrate the urgency of such bioethical issues as reproductive and genetic technologies, abortion, forgoing treatment, assisted suicide, stem cell research, and human enhancement technologies. Leading Christian voices bring biblical and theological perspective to bear on the incredible medical technologies available today; mobilize useful insights from health care, law, and business; and demonstrate the powerful ways the church can make a difference through counseling, pastoral care, intercultural ministry, preaching, and education. This book equips students, church and lay leaders, and people in health-related fields with the knowledge to make faithful bioethical decisions and to help foster a world where human beings are shown respect as people created in the image of God. Contributors to Why the Church Needs Bioethics include leading Bible and theology scholars, such as D. A. Carson and Kevin Vanhoozer; leaders in the areas of preaching (Greg Scharf) and ethics (Scott Rae); and 15 other experts in the fields of biblical-theological studies, ministry, communication, business, law, healthcare, and bioethics.
Why the Cross? (Reframing New Testament Theology)
by Joel B. Green Donald SeniorThe meaning of Jesus's execution on a Roman cross is one of the most divisive issues in contemporary theological discourse because issues related to the goodness of God and the place of suffering in the Christian life are at stake. Although it is important to locate that discussion in the context of the range of New Testament perspectives on the soteriological significance of the cross, it is also important that we recover the meaning of the cross as a metaphor for discipleship. In the end, the event of Jesus's death cannot be understood apart from the character of his life. This book will contribute to New Testament studies but also serve related discussions in theology and Christian formation. Reframing New Testament Theology is a series that fulfills the need for brief, substantive, yet highly accessible introductions to central questions and themes raised by study of the New Testament. A significant defining question will serve as the point of departure and will frame the discussion. Students will be drawn into an active, theological engagement with the New Testament and related materials by the subsequent analysis.