[PDF] A Transforming Faith eBook

Author : Pope Benedict XVI
Publisher : Ignatius Press
Page : 107 pages
File Size : 18,17 MB
Release : 2013-08-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1586178423

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"Having faith in the Lord is not something that involves solely our intelligence, the area of intellectual knowledge; rather, it is a change that involves our life, our whole self: feelings, heart, intelligence, will, corporeity, emotions, and human relationships. With faith everything truly changes." So Pope Benedict XVI introduced his catecheses for the Year of Faith, a series of sixteen talks given at his weekly audience from October 2012 to the end of his papacy in February 2013. These talks explore how and why faith is relevant in the contemporary world. How can we come to certainty about things that cannot be calculated or scientifically confirmed? What does God's revelation mean for our daily lives? How can the hunger of the human heart be fulfilled? Offering the guidance of biblical exegesis, pastoral exhortation, and brotherly encouragement, Pope Benedict seeks to answer these questions and many others.

Author : Fred Howard
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 23,46 MB
Release : 2014
Category : Faith
ISBN : 9781502521804

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The Golden Rule of "do unto others" has often been called the essence of religion. But Fred Howard's own spiritual journey takes a decidedly less traveled path when he faces a situation where the Golden Rule simply isn't adequate. Embarking on a deep spiritual quest away from literal Christianity and into the New Thought movements of the 1980s and 1990s, Howard eventually comes full circle to reclaim his Christian identity. Armed with a fresh perspective on his old life, he now sees the doctrines and tenets with new eyes. In Transforming Faith: Stories of Change from a Lifelong Spiritual Seeker, Howard explores this fresh insight through the five areas of imagination, faith, compassion, God, and Christianity. Using the time-tested tradition of conveying wisdom through story, Howard encourages you to develop a transforming faith-one that not only leads to changes in your life, but also one that grows into new understandings of the reality of God's presence. Following in the footsteps of M. Scott Peck's The Road Less Traveled, this book offers a fresh and sometimes unconventional guide to understanding your spirituality.

Author : Alan Wolfe
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 24,50 MB
Release : 2005-04
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0226905187

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In this astounding account, a leading sociologist demonstrates that religion in America has become so tamed and softened that it hardly serves any of its original functions.

Author : Henry H. Knight III
Publisher : Upper Room Books
Page : 109 pages
File Size : 42,82 MB
Release : 2019-02-15
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0881779245

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Because of the more aggressive and confrontational tactics we hear about, evangelism has developed a bad connotation. Doors are shut hurriedly, phone calls end abruptly, and e-mails left unanswered. After all, isn't this a task better handled by the pastor? Perhaps it's time to reexamine John Wesley's model of evangelism as a full, natural circle—where it's a communal beginning point rather than a solitary end. The central motive of authentic evangelism is: Having received a message that's made all the difference in our lives, we desire to share that message with others in the hope that it will transform their lives as well. Wesley models an evangelism that reaches out and welcomes, invites, and nurtures, and speaks to both head and heart. "Evangelism is about relationship," the authors write. "How we are in relationship to God, who is able to transform us into new beings. How we are in relationship to our neighbor, whom we must love like ourselves." As one reviewer says, "Knight and Powe have given us a relational book. They describe the deep connection between John Wesley's thoughts, Charles Wesley's hymns, scholarly thinking about evangelism and biblical understandings of the gospel—all in relation to the needs, concerns, and hopes of everyday people." Learn on your own or as a congregational group from this practical study on living an evangelistic life that demonstrates the transforming power of loving God and neighbor.

Author : Michael Todd
Publisher : WaterBrook
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 26,48 MB
Release : 2021-09-21
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0593239199

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Relationship Goals . . . Will you be remembered as a person who claimed to follow God but liked to play it safe? Or as a person who lived your life out on the limb and trusted God enough to live in crazy faith? Noah looked crazy when he started building the ark . . . until it started raining. It was crazy for Moses to lead a nation of people into the desert away from Egypt . . . until the Red Sea parted. It was crazy to believe that a fourteen-year-old virgin would give birth to the Son of God . . . until Mary held Jesus in her arms. There are many things that seem normal or average today that at one point in time seemed absolutely crazy. Smartphones, Wi-Fi, and even the electric light bulb were all groundbreaking, history-making inventions that started out as crazy ideas. Our see-it-to-believe-it generation tends to have a hard time exercising true faith—one that steps out, takes action, and sees mountain-moving results. Many of us would rather play it safe and stand on the sidelines, but it’s crazy faith that helps us see God move and reveals His promises. In Crazy Faith, Pastor Michael Todd shows us how to step out in faith and dive into the purposeful life of trusting God for the impossible. Even if you have to start with baby faith or maybe faith, you can become empowered to let go of your lazy faith, trust God through your hazy faith, and learn to live a lifestyle of crazy faith. With powerful stories of modern-day faith warriors who take their cues from biblical heroes, Michael Todd equips you to • believe for the impossible • choose hope over fear • be alert to the voice of God • cope with loss and doubt • develop a deeper level of trust in God • speak faith-filled declarations • inspire crazy faith in others God’s not looking for somebody to give Him all the reasons why His plans can’t happen. He’s looking for somebody to believe they will happen. In fact, He has so much He wants to do through you. The question is, Are you crazy enough to believe it?

Author : Erin Dufault-Hunter
Publisher : Lexington Books
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 29,82 MB
Release : 2012-04-26
Category : Religion
ISBN : 073917553X

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The Transformative Power of Faith examines how and why some people, particularly those coming out of highly self-destructive, violent, and antisocial backgrounds who appear beyond repair, experience profound personal transformation through conversion to strong faith. Illustrated by stories of converts who came out of serious drug addiction, gangs, and poverty through adherence to a demanding faith, Erin Dufault-Hunter argues for a narrative approach to conversion. This holistic theoretical perspective offers an alternative epistemological stance to reductionistic models sometimes perpetuated among social scientists and religious ethicists alike. In this study, the narrative lens gives vision of the religious “Other” a depth and complexity too often lacking. Such an approach allows a deeper understanding of the dynamics of personal transformation in ways that make sense of psychological and social factors without ignoring so-called “spiritual” ones.

Author : Debra Rienstra
Publisher : Fortress Press
Page : 282 pages
File Size : 26,52 MB
Release : 2022-02-22
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1506473806

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Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth explores how Christian spirituality and practice must adapt to prepare for life on a climate-altered planet. Refugia (reh-FU-jee-ah) is a biological term describing places of shelter where life endures in times of crisis, such as a volcanic eruption, fire, or stressed climate. Ideally, these refugia endure, expand, and connect so that new life emerges. Debra Rienstra applies this concept to human culture and faith, asking, In this era of ecological devastation, how can Christians become people of refugia? How can we find and nurture these refugia, not only in the biomes of the earth, but in our human cultural systems and in our spiritual lives? How can we apply all our love and creativity to this task as never before? Rienstra recounts her own process of reeducation--beginning not as a scientist or an outdoors enthusiast but by examining the wisdom of theologians and philosophers, farmers and nature writers, scientists and activists, and especially people on the margins. By weaving nature writing, personal narrative, and theological reflection, Rienstra grapples honestly with her own fears and longings and points toward a way forward--a way to transform Christian spirituality and practice, become a healer on a damaged earth, and inspire others to do the same. Refugia Faith speaks to people securely within the faith as well as to those on the edge, providing a suitable entry for those who sense that this era of upheaval requires a transformed faith but who don't quite know where to begin.

Author : Terry Law
Publisher : Victory House Publishers
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 22,21 MB
Release : 1987-07
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780932081155

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God's power in you life. Not only will it build your faith, it will give you a foundation that will enable you to stand in the face of all assaults. It will open the eyes of your faith to all God has in store for you.

Author : James L. Heft
Publisher : Fordham Univ Press
Page : 334 pages
File Size : 11,3 MB
Release : 2009-08-25
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0823226492

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From the beginning, the Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—have stressed the importance of transmitting religious identity from one generation to the next. Today, that sustaining mission has never been more challenged. Will young people have a faith to guide them? How can faith traditions anchor religious attachments in this secular, skeptical culture? The fruit of a historic gathering of scholars and religious leaders across three faiths and many disciplines, this important book reports on the religious lives of young people in today’s world. It’s also a unique inventory of creative and thoughtful responses from churches, synagogues, and mosques working to keep religion a significant force in those lives. The essays are grouped thematically. Opening the book, Melchor Sanchez de Toca and Nancy Ammerman explore fundamental issues that have an impact on religion—from the cultural effects of global consumerism and personal technology to pluralism and individualism. In Part Two, leading investigators present three leading studies of religiosity among young people and college students in the United States, illuminating the gap between personal values and organized religion—and the emergence of new, different forms of spirituality and faith. How religious institutions deal with these challenges forms the heart of the book—in portraits of “best practices” developed to revitalize traditional institutions, from a synagogue in New York City and a Muslim youth camp in California to the famed French Catholic community of the late Brother John of Taizé. Finally, Jack Miles and Diane Winston weave the findings into a broader perspective of the future of religious belief, practice, and feeling in a changing world. Filled with real-world wisdom, Passing the Faith will be an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand what religions must, and can, do to inspire a vigorous faith in the next generation.

Author : Austen Hartke
Publisher : Westminster John Knox Press
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 27,19 MB
Release : 2018-04-07
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1611648521

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In 2014, Time magazine announced that America had reached the transgender tipping point, suggesting that transgender issues would become the next civil rights frontier. Years later, many peopleeven many LGBTQ alliesstill lack understanding of gender identity and the transgender experience. Into this void, Austen Hartke offers a biblically based, educational, and affirming resource to shed light and wisdom on this modern gender landscape. Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians provides access into an underrepresented and misunderstood community and will change the way readers think about transgender people, faith, and the future of Christianity. By introducing transgender issues and language and providing stories of both biblical characters and real-life narratives from transgender Christians living today, Hartke helps readers visualize a more inclusive Christianity, equipping them with the confidence and tools to change both the church and the world.