Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age

Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age
Author: David G. Attfield
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2017-11-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 135175257X

This title was first published in 2001. Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age explores how a religion, Christian or any other focussing on a personal God, may be communicated to people in a secular age. With people uninterested, uninformed or unbelieving in the Godward dimension and in any particular religious tradition, David Attfield claims that appropriate communication is essential. Before direct communication can begin some background conditions in the targeted population must be satisfied, and communication then requires a series of stages. This book offers an examination of seven particular species for communication: evangelism; inter-faith dialogue; nurture of adults; nurture of children; religious education in schools; the academic study of religion; professional ministerial formation. David Attfield offers fresh insights and practical suggestions which will be of interest to a wide-range of students, academics and those in ministerial training and practice.

To Light a Fire on the Earth

To Light a Fire on the Earth
Author: Robert Barron
Publisher: Image
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2017-10-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1524759511

The highly anticipated follow-up to Bishop Robert Barron's hugely successful Catholicism: A Journey to the Faith As secularism gains influence, and increasing numbers see religion as dull and backward, Robert Barron wants to illuminate how beautiful, intelligent, and relevant the Catholic faith is. In this compelling new book—drawn from conversations with and narrated by award-winning Vatican journalist John L. Allen, Jr.—Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, proclaims in vivid language the goodness and truth of the Catholic tradition. Through Barron’s smart, practical, artistic, and theological observations as well as personal anecdotes—from engaging atheists on YouTube to discussing his days as a young diehard baseball fan from Chicago—To Light a Fire on the Earth covers prodigious ground. Touching on everything from Jesus to prayer, science, movies, atheism, the spiritual life, the fate of Church in modern times, beauty, art, and social media, Barron reveals why the Church matters today and how Catholics can intelligently engage a skeptical world.

Preaching

Preaching
Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2015-06-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0698195094

Pastor, preacher, and New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet Timothy Keller shares his wisdom on communicating the Christian faith from the pulpit as well as from the coffee shop. Most Christians—including pastors—struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian gospel to change people’s lives. Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.

Christ Actually

Christ Actually
Author: James Carroll
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2014-11-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1101609125

A New York Times bestselling and widely admired Catholic writer explores how we can retrieve transcendent faith in modern times Critically acclaimed and bestselling author James Carroll has explored every aspect of Christianity, faith, and Jesus Christ except this central one: What can we believe about—and how can we believe in—Jesus in the twenty-first century in light of the Holocaust and other atrocities of the twentieth century and the drift from religion that followed? What Carroll has discovered through decades of writing and lecturing is that he is far from alone in clinging to a received memory of Jesus that separates him from his crucial identity as a Jew, and therefore as a human. Yet if Jesus was not taken as divine, he would be of no interest to us. What can that mean now? Paradoxically, the key is his permanent Jewishness. No Christian himself, Jesus actually transcends Christianity. Drawing on both a wide range of scholarship as well as his own acute searching as a believer, Carroll takes a fresh look at the most familiar narratives of all—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Far from another book about the “historical Jesus,” he takes the challenges of science and contemporary philosophy seriously. He retrieves the power of Jesus’ profound ordinariness, as an answer to his own last question—what is the future of Jesus Christ?—as the key to a renewal of faith.

Interpreting Your World

Interpreting Your World
Author: Justin Ariel Bailey
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2022-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493437828

Whether we interpret Scripture or culture, it matters what we do, not just what we think or feel. How do we live with our interpretation, and how do we live it out? This book helps us understand how culture forms us as political actors, moves us aesthetically, shapes the rhythms of our lives, and connects (or disconnects) us from God and neighbors we are called to love. The goal is to be equipped to engage culture with greater fluency and fidelity in response to the triune God. This short, accessible introduction to the conversation between theology and culture offers a patient, thoughtful, and theologically attuned approach to cultural discernment. It helps us grow our interpretive skill by training our intuition and giving us a slower, more deliberate approach that accounts for as much of the complexity of culture as possible. The book explores 5 dimensions of culture--meaning, power, morality, religion, and aesthetic--and shows how each needs the others and all need theology. Each chapter includes distinctive practices for spiritual formation and practical application. Foreword by Kevin J. Vanhoozer.

Disruptive Witness

Disruptive Witness
Author: Alan Noble
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2018-07-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830881093

What should Christian witness look like in our contemporary society? In this timely book, Alan Noble looks at our cultural moment, characterized by technological distraction and the growth of secularism, laying out individual, ecclesial, and cultural practices that disrupt our society's deep-rooted assumptions and point beyond them to the transcendent grace and beauty of Jesus.

The Joy of the Gospel

The Joy of the Gospel
Author: Pope Francis
Publisher: Image
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0553419544

The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

Faith Formation in a Secular Age

Faith Formation in a Secular Age
Author: Andrew Root
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017-10-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780801098468

A Top Ten Book for Parish Ministry in 2017, Academy of Parish Clergy The loss or disaffiliation of young adults is a much-discussed topic in churches today. Many faith-formation programs focus on keeping the young, believing the youthful spirit will save the church. But do these programs have more to do with an obsession with youthfulness than with helping young people encounter the living God? Questioning the search for new or improved faith-formation programs, leading practical theologian Andrew Root offers an alternative take on the issue of youth drifting away from the church and articulates how faith can be formed in our secular age. He offers a theology of faith constructed from a rich cultural conversation, providing a deeper understanding of the phenomena of the "nones" and "moralistic therapeutic deism." Root helps readers understand why forming faith is so hard in our context and shows that what we have lost is not the ability to keep people connected to our churches but an imagination for how and where God could be present in their lives. He considers what faith is and what steps we can take to move into it, exploring a Pauline concept of faith as encounter with divine action. This is the first book in Root's Ministry in a Secular Age series.

the Truth Will Make You Free

the Truth Will Make You Free
Author: Robert F. Leavitt
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2019-03-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0814646689

2020 Association of Catholic Publishers first place award in theology The available literature on the new evangelization is wide-ranging and focused on issues of ecclesial renewal. In The Truth Will Make You Free, Fr. Robert Leavitt adopts a different approach to the subject. From Paul VI until Pope Francis, the nature and challenges of modern secularism have become a recurring factor in the agenda of the new evangelization, yet often without historical perspective and philosophical balance. Few popular works bother to examine in such depth and scope, as this book does, what the history, nature, and implications of the secular age are for revitalizing ministry in an age of optional belief. Written for the interested layperson, seminarian, theology student, and pastor, The Truth Will Make You Free is an indispensable catechism for rethinking our understanding of the secular world in proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.