Against the Church

Against the Church PDF Author: Douglas Wilson
Publisher: Canon Press & Book Service
ISBN: 1591281415
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
In Against the Church, longtime pastor Douglas Wilson takes a hammer to some of our very favorite graven images, and (surprise, surprise) we've set up display cases for most of them in our churches: Liturgy, Tradition, Systematics, infant Baptism, and that crafty old Baal Doctrine. Alongside a critique of philosophical assumptions about human nature, dualism, and grace, Wilson stresses the unavoidable and absolute necessity of individual hearts being born again. He concludes by laying out the case for the church. This isn't contradictory, though--the only way to be effectually for the church is to master the case against it. After all, God Himself is the ultimate iconoclast.

Against the Church

Against the Church PDF Author: Douglas Wilson
Publisher: Canon Press & Book Service
ISBN: 1591281415
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Get Book Here

Book Description
In Against the Church, longtime pastor Douglas Wilson takes a hammer to some of our very favorite graven images, and (surprise, surprise) we've set up display cases for most of them in our churches: Liturgy, Tradition, Systematics, infant Baptism, and that crafty old Baal Doctrine. Alongside a critique of philosophical assumptions about human nature, dualism, and grace, Wilson stresses the unavoidable and absolute necessity of individual hearts being born again. He concludes by laying out the case for the church. This isn't contradictory, though--the only way to be effectually for the church is to master the case against it. After all, God Himself is the ultimate iconoclast.

Victims

Victims PDF Author: Richard Eyring Turley
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252018855
Category : Criminals
Languages : en
Pages : 538

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Book Description
Three pipe bombs exploded in Salt Lake County in 1985, killing two people. Behind the murders lay a vast forgery scheme aimed at dozens of other victims, most prominently the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mark Hofmann, a master forger, went to prison for the murders. He had bilked the church, document dealers, and collectors of hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years while attempting to alter Mormon history. Other false documents of Americana still circulate. The crimes garnered intense media interest, spawning books, TV and radio programs, and myriad newspaper and magazine articles. Victims is a thoughtful corrective to the more sensationalized accounts. More important, Richard Turley adds substantially to the record with previously unavailable church documentation and exclusive interviews with church officials, giving this book greater depth and resonance. He also goes beyond the Hofmann case, illustrating how forgeries have hampered the church's efforts to document its history. Victims includes a complete appendix of every known document the church acquired from Hofmann, reviews of trial transcripts and police reports, as well as dozens of photographs, some never before published. Turley, who gave up the practice of law to become a historian, has managed the delicate task of exposing the myths and complexities of this case with skill and objectivity. His unique access to church documents and personnel, together with his understanding of the legal system and Mormon history, afforded him an unparalleled view of how the case affected the church as well as the many others who were involved. Victims will fascinate anyone who does archival work, who cares aboutthe historical record, or who likes to read compelling mystery.

On Guard

On Guard PDF Author: Deepak Reju
Publisher: New Growth Press
ISBN: 1939946999
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 227

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Book Description
On Guard offers churches eight strategies for preventing child abuse and three for responding to it, helping to move church staff and leaders beyond fearful awareness to prayerful preparedness.

The Religion Clauses

The Religion Clauses PDF Author: Howard Gillman
Publisher:
ISBN: 0190699736
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
In The Religion Clauses, Erwin Chemerinsky and Howard Gillman examine the extremely controversial issue of the relationship between religion and government. They argue for a separation of church and state. To the greatest extent possible, the government should remain secular. At the same, time they contend that religion should not provide a basis for an exemptions from general laws, such as those prohibiting discrimination or requiring the provision of services.

Vocation and Violence

Vocation and Violence PDF Author: Miryam Clough
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9781003164937
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
"As #MeToo and its sister movement #ChurchToo demonstrated, sexual violence is systemic in many and varied workplace settings, including Christian churches, and can destroy women's careers and vocational aspirations. The study draws on empirical evidence - personal stories from survivors and the views of church leaders and educators - in dialogue with theoretical perspectives, to consider clergy sexual abuse of adult women and the conditions that support it. Institutional abuse only changes when survivors come forward. This study focusses on New Zealand Anglicanism, the locus of the author's experience, and has resonance for a range of denominational settings. It aims to be a useful resource to clergy, ministry educators, and those training for ministry, and to academics and scholars with an interest in theology, gender, and professional ethics. Notably, it will be a potentially helpful text for women survivors of sexual misconduct by clergy, not least those who are considering a future in the church or grieving the loss of one. The volume concludes by suggesting that alternative theological models and relational ethics are essential if the church is to truly address the problem of clergy sexual abuse and give greater priority to the abused"--

Facing Messy Stuff in the Church

Facing Messy Stuff in the Church PDF Author: Kenneth L. Swetland
Publisher: Kregel Academic
ISBN: 9780825495366
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
A collection of fifteen case studies that give church leaders practical and realistic preparation to handle tough issues like sexual harassment, pornography, divorce, and the effects of abortion. The book includes discussion questions, an appendix for facilitating discussions, and a bibliography of additional resources.

Don't Fire Your Church Members

Don't Fire Your Church Members PDF Author: Jonathan Leeman
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 1433686228
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
Church membership is not just a status, it’s an office. Leaders shouldn’t fire members from the responsibilities given to them by Jesus—they should train them! When members are trained, the church grows in holiness and love, discipleship and mission. Complacency and nominalism are diminished. Jesus gives every church member an office in the church’s government: to assume final responsibility for guarding the what and the who of the gospel in the church and its ministry. Similarly, Jesus gives leaders to the church for equipping the members to do this church-building and mission-accomplishing work. In our day, the tasks of reinvigorating congregational authority and elder authority must work together. The vision of congregationalism pictured in this book offers an integrated view of the Christian life. Congregationalism is biblical, but biblical congregationalism just might look a little different than you expect. It is nothing less than Jesus’ authorization for living out his kingdom rule among a people on mission.

The Sins of Brother Curtis

The Sins of Brother Curtis PDF Author: Lisa Davis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451612850
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
This brilliantly reported, unforgettable true story reveals how one of the most monstrous sexual criminals in the history of the Mormon church preyed on his victims even as he was protected by the church elders who knew of his behavior. When Seattle attorney Tim Kosnoff agreed to listen to an eighteen-year-old man who claimed to have been molested by his Mormon Sunday school teacher, he had no idea he was embarking on a quest for justice on behalf of multiple victims or that the battle would consume years of his life and pit him against the vast, powerful, and unrepentant Mormon church itself. As Kosnoff began to investigate the case, he discovered that the Sunday school teacher, a mysterious figure named Frank Curtis, possessed a long and violent prison record before he was welcomed into the church, where he became a respected elder entrusted with the care of prepubescent Mormon boys. Through Lisa Davis’s deft storytelling, two astonishing narratives unfold. The first shows how Brother Curtis ingratiated himself into the lives of young boys from working-class Mormon families where money was tight, and was accepted by mothers and fathers who saw in him a kindly uncle or grandfather figure who enjoyed the blessing of the church. Having gained the families’ trust, Curtis became fiendishly helpful, offering to supervise trips or overnights out of the sight of parents, when he could manipulate his victims or ply them with alcohol. The other narrative is a real-life legal thriller. As Davis shows, Kosnoff and his partners tirelessly assembled the case against the church, sifting through records, tracking down victims, and convincing them to testify about Brother Curtis’s acts. What began as a case of one plaintiff turned into a complex web stretching across multiple states. Joined by what would become a team of attorneys and investigators, Kosnoff found himself up against one of the most insular institutions in the United States: the secretive and powerful Mormon church. The amazing legal case at the heart of The Sins of Brother Curtis shows how the church’s elite, well-funded team of attorneys claimed the church was protected under the Constitution from revealing that Curtis had molested a number of Mormon boys. Yet Kosnoff and his devoted legal team (which included a female investigator adept at getting parents of victims to talk to her) succeeded in forcing the church to reveal that it knew about Curtis and ultimately achieved a successful settlement. Emotionally powerful page by page, The Sins of Brother Curtis delivers a redemptive reading experience in which the truth, no matter how painful and hidden, is told at last and justice is hard won. This is a remarkable story, all true.

Church Planting Movements

Church Planting Movements PDF Author: V. David Garrison
Publisher: WIGTake Resources
ISBN: 9780974756202
Category : Christianity and other religions
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
David Garrison, PhD University of Chicago, defines Church Planting Movements as rapidly multiplying indigenous churches planting churches that sweep across a people group or population segment. Garrison's Church Planting Movements: How God Is Redeeming a Lost World signaled a breakthrough in missionary church planting. After the publication of Garrison's book in 2004 it became impossible to talk about missions without referencing Church Planting Movements. Church Planting Movements examines more than two-dozen movements of multiplying churches on five continents. After presenting these case studies, Garrison identifies ten universal elements present in each movement. He then broadens the circle of examination to identify a further ten common characteristics, factors identified in most, but not all, of the movements. He concludes his examination with a list of "Seven Deadly Sins," i.e. harmful practices that stifle or impede Church Planting Movements. Important for evangelical readers, the author returns to his findings to see how they stand up to the light of Scripture. What he discovers is that Church Planting Movements are much more consistent with the New Testament lay-led house-church movements that swept rapidly through the Mediterranean world in the face of hostile opposition than today's more sedentary professional institutionalized Christianity. Learn more about Church Planting Movements from the book's website: www.ChurchPlantingMovements.com.

The Catholic Church and Argentina's Dirty War

The Catholic Church and Argentina's Dirty War PDF Author: Gustavo Morello SJ
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190234288
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
On August 3rd, 1976, in Córdoba, Argentina's second largest city, Fr. James Week and five seminarians from the Missionaries of La Salette were kidnapped. A mob burst into the house they shared, claiming to be police looking for "subversive fighters." The seminarians were jailed and tortured for two months before eventually being exiled to the United States. The perpetrators were part of the Argentine military government that took power under President General Jorge Videla in 1976, ostensibly to fight Communism in the name of Christian Civilization. Videla claimed to lead a Catholic government, yet the government killed and persecuted many Catholics as part of Argentina's infamous Dirty War. Critics claim that the Church did nothing to alleviate the situation, even serving as an accomplice to the dictators. Leaders of the Church have claimed they did not fully know what was going on, and that they tried to help when they could. Gustavo Morello draws on interviews with victims of forced disappearance, documents from the state and the Church, field observation, and participant observation in order to provide a deeper view of the relationship between Catholicism and state terrorism during Argentina's Dirty War. Morello uses the case of the seminarians to explore the complex relationship between Catholic faith and political violence during the Dirty War-a relationship that has received renewed attention since Argentina's own Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis. Unlike in countries such as Chile and Brazil, Argentina's political violence was seen as an acceptable tool in propagating political involvement; both the guerrillas and the military government were able to gain popular support. Morello examines how the Argentine government deployed a discourse of Catholicism to justify the violence that it imposed on Catholics and how the official Catholic hierarchy in Argentina rationalized their silence in the face of this violence. Most interestingly, Morello investigates how Catholic victims of state violence and their supporters understood their own faith in this complicated context: what it meant to be Catholic under Argentina's dictatorship.