True spiritual freedom--a liberating of the whole person in Christ--is an essential part of mature Christian living. Ruth Truman has discovered it for her life, and in this encouraging book, she shows readers how to acquire this freedom and wholeness for their own lives. Speaking from personal experiences of examining, discarding, and arriving at solutions, she plots a course for maturity in Christian living today. Dr. Truman includes the basics of becoming a Christian; learning to pray; reading the Scriptures; rejoicing; dealing with special attitudes and problems of singles, singles-again, and married persons; parenting; feelings; and coping with today’s society. It’s all here, the entire sequence of choices to be faced and decisions to be made as you move along into a successful liberating Christian life-style. The result is a life totally committed to Christ, knowing yourself, recognizing the possibilities in that self through Christ, and projecting your new self-image into the world around you. This honest, revealing book opens up new and endless possibilities for continuing creative Christianity.

In [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off]. Is who you are today based on what you do, or is it defined by who you are? A distorted identity and life of bondage are not a coincidence. A poor understanding of our identity is the primary cause of bondage amongst Christians today. For your identity directly determines your every decision and how you choose to live your life. A person who is liberated has the right or power to do as one pleases, or freedom without restraint or bondage. Galatians 5:1 declares this reality It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. However, too many sincere believers today are living in some type of bondage when they already have the power to be set free. Therefore understanding who we are and unlocking the power within us as children of God is the key to liberated life. A desire to be all that God created us to be should be our highest pursuit in life. When we understand who we are and our purpose in Christ, we will be able to take hold of all the amazing plans He has in store for us. In this book you will understand the reality of your true identity as a Christian, the purpose of being broken and restored, as well as the importance our thoughts captive. You will discover practical steps to walking in freedom and the significance of becoming all you were created to be. Founded in biblical principles and inspiring stories, this book will help you realize your true identity that can empower you to having long lasting freedom in every area of your life. What other people daily struggle with does not have to be your story too. That there is absolutely nothing which is too powerful or difficult for God to set you free today. No matter your past mistakes or current circumstances, join me as we realize the divine freedom that is ours in Christ.

An exploration of the rapid development of African Christianity, offering an analysis and interpretation of its movements and issues.

This comprehensive volume brings together a distinguished editorial team, including some of the field’s pioneers, to explore the aims, practice, and historical context of interfaith collaboration. Explores in full the background, history, objectives, and discourse between the leaders and practitioners of the world’s major religions Examines relations between religions from around the world, moving well beyond the common focus on Christianity, to also cover over 12 major religions Features a wealth of case studies on contemporary interreligious dialogue Charts a long-term shift away from a competitive rivalry between belief systems, and a change in focus towards the more respectful, cooperative approach reflected in institutions such as the World Council of Churches Includes up-to-date commentary on the growing dialogue of recent years, written by some of the leading figures working in the field of interfaith discourse

Churches discriminate. LGBTQ+ people have been among the most notable groups to have suffered the trauma of being rejected and ostracised by religious institutions who claim to espouse God’s love. Most Christians, gay and straight, find themselmes in the crosshaires of what has become a toxic debate over how to affirm the lives of LGBTQ+ people. Felipe Sostre brings a unique biblical perspective that frees Christians from the burden of having to choose whether to condemn or condone LGBTQ+ lives. Liberate and Engage presents a paradigm for inclusivity that is inspired by the words, heart, and example of Jesus Christ.

It is generally agreed that Mark's Gospel was the first to have been written and that the Markan narrative created a literary form that inspired Matthew, Luke, and to a lesser extent, John to follow suit with the writing of their own gospels. But where did Mark go to find a framework that would shape his story? This question has been debated for more than two centuries. Several theories have been propounded but none without sufficient evidence to gain broad acceptance. It is the thesis of this book that Mark drew on the Greek tragedy, the most suitable literary genre of his time, to organize the oral and written traditions that he had collected. The Greek tragic genre had been created with the works of the great masters of the Fifth Century BC, and later, had been codified by Aristotle. The extraordinary points of congruence between the form of the Gospel and the canons of Greek drama are carefully explored in the Liberated Gospel. The compelling conclusion is that there is a relation of dependency whereas Mark used the form of Greek tragedy as a template without compromising the integrity of the story. As the title of the book suggests, the use of ancient tragedy by Mark served also another purpose. The Gospel was being written at a time during the early history of the church when its Judaistic faction attempted to impose the requirements of the Mosaic law on Gentile believers (as attested by Galatians and the Council of Jerusalem). By telling the very Jewish but universally relevant story of Jesus in the mode of the supreme Gentile literary genre of antiquity, Mark was proclaiming the manifesto that the gospel of Christ was not the exclusive property of a narrow ethnic group but that it belonged to all humanity.

Liberating Christ examines the various trajectories within the broad liberation framework for understanding the person and work of Jesus. Lisa Isherwood draws out the common themes found in liberation theologies, especially the use of class-race-gender analysis, as well as the distinctive understandings of Jesus within these theologies. In this wonderfully constructed introduction to liberation Christology, Isherwood surveys liberation theologies and the evolution of a Christology for our time -- a Christology that hopes to reclaim Christ from death by doctrinal fossilization.

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A journey in Christian theology through biblical, historical, and thematic perspectives, with special attention to the context of today's world.

The Judeo-Christian tradition testifies to a God that cries out, demanding that justice "roll down like waters, righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24). Christians agree that being advocates for justice is critical to the Christian witness. And yet one need not look widely to see that Christians disagree about what social justice entails. What does justice have to do with healthcare reform, illegal immigration, and same-sex marriage? Should Christians support tax policies that effectively require wealthy individuals to fund programs that benefit the poor? Does justice require that we acknowledge and address the inequalities borne out of histories of gender and ethnic exclusivity? Is the Christian vision distinct from non-Christian visions of social justice? Christians disagree over the proper answer to these questions. In short, Christians agree that justice is important but disagree about what a commitment to justice means. Christian Faith and Social Justice makes sense of the disagreements among Christians over the meaning of justice by bringing together five highly regarded Christian philosophers to introduce and defend rival perspectives on social justice in the Christian tradition. The positions advocated and critiqued are: libertarianism, political liberalism, liberation theology, feminism, and virtue ethics. While it aspires to offer a lucid introduction to these theories, the purpose of this book is more than informative. It is purposefully dialogical and is structured so that contributors are able to model for the reader reasoned exchange among philosophers who disagree about the meaning of social justice. The hope is that the reader is left with a better understanding of range of perspectives in the Christian tradition about social justice.