The Religious Test: Why We Must Question the Beliefs of Our Leaders PDF Download
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Author: Damon Linker
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393067955
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253
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Book Description
A manifesto seeking to exhort both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere. The Constitution states that “no religious test” may keep a candidate from aspiring to political office. Yet, since John F. Kennedy used the phrase to deflect concerns about his Catholicism, the public has largely avoided probing candidates’ religious beliefs. Is it true, however, that a candidate’s religious convictions should be off-limits to public scrutiny? Damon Linker doesn’t think so, and in this book he outlines the various elements of religious belief—including radical atheism—that are simply incompatible with high office, and sometimes even active citizenship, in a democracy. In six forceful chapters he enlightens us to the complicated interrelations between churches and states, consistently applying a political litmus test to a range of theological views. Along the way, he clearly explains, among other topics, why the government in a religiously tolerant society must not promote a uniform, absolute code of ethics and behavior; why the conviction that America is worthy of divine attention is dangerous; and why the liberal position on the political deregulation of sex is our nation’s only hope for conciliation. In this provocative, hard-hitting manifesto, Linker exhorts both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere, and he offers a carefully charted road map for doing so.
Author: Damon Linker
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393080552
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252
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Book Description
A manifesto seeking to exhort both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere. The Constitution states that “no religious test” may keep a candidate from aspiring to political office. Yet, since John F. Kennedy used the phrase to deflect concerns about his Catholicism, the public has largely avoided probing candidates’ religious beliefs. Is it true, however, that a candidate’s religious convictions should be off-limits to public scrutiny? Damon Linker doesn’t think so, and in this book he outlines the various elements of religious belief—including radical atheism—that are simply incompatible with high office, and sometimes even active citizenship, in a democracy. In six forceful chapters he enlightens us to the complicated interrelations between churches and states, consistently applying a political litmus test to a range of theological views. Along the way, he clearly explains, among other topics, why the government in a religiously tolerant society must not promote a uniform, absolute code of ethics and behavior; why the conviction that America is worthy of divine attention is dangerous; and why the liberal position on the political deregulation of sex is our nation’s only hope for conciliation. In this provocative, hard-hitting manifesto, Linker exhorts both believers and atheists to behave better in the public sphere, and he offers a carefully charted road map for doing so.
Author: Mark Mittelberg
Publisher: NavPress
ISBN: 1496425480
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 566
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Book Description
This collection bundles 2 of Mark Mittelberg’s nonfiction titles into one e-book for a great value! Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask 2011 Retailers Choice Award winner! “Why are Christians against same-sex people getting married? . . . Why do you believe God exists at all? . . . Why would God allow evil and suffering? . . . Why trust the Bible when it’s full of mistakes? . . . How could a loving God send people to hell? . . . What makes you think Jesus was more than just a good teacher? . . . Why are Christians so judgmental?” Some questions can stop a conversation. Today, more than ever, people are raising difficult, penetrating questions about faith, God, and the Bible. Based on an exclusive new Barna survey of 1,000 Christians, The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask presents compelling, easy-to-grasp answers to ten of the most troubling questions facing Christians today. These include everything from the existence of heaven to the issues of abortion and homosexuality, as well as the question of whether evolution eliminates our need for a God. Confident Faith In Confident Faith, Mark Mittelberg assures Christians that we can be confident in our beliefs. There’s no reason to be timid about what we believe, because our beliefs can stand up to the test. Truth isn’t dependent on how a person feels or one’s own point of view, as so many assert. On the contrary, we can determine truth through our five senses, and that truth reliably points to a deeper and unseen reality. Mark walks readers through twenty arrows that point towards Christian beliefs: from the intricate design of the universe to archaeological proofs, from the consistent testimony of changed lives to the reliability of the ancient documents of the Bible. After studying these arrows, you’ll put this book down with a renewed confidence in what you believe and why it matters for eternity.
Author: Steven R Bruck
Publisher: WestBow Press
ISBN: 1490841830
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 166
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Book Description
For too long, too many people have told us too many ways in which we should worship God. God, Himself, told us how to worship Him, and thats all we need to know. This book will not give you any answers but should raise many questions, for which you need to ask God to get the answers. My goal is that when you have finished this book, you will feel very uncomfortable with what you have been told to believe. I believe we are living in prophetic times, and this book is a wake-up call.
Author: R. Ward Holder
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317026985
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233
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Book Description
Drawing on the political theology of Reinhold Niebuhr, described by Barack Obama as 'one of my favourite philosophers', this book assesses the challenges facing the President during his first term. It evaluates his success in adhering to Niebuhr's path of 'Christian realism' when faced with the pragmatic demands of domestic and foreign affairs. In 2008 Candidate Obama used the ideas of 'Hope' and 'Change' to inspire voters and secure the presidency. Obama promised change not only regarding America's policies, but even more fundamentally in the nation's political culture. Holder and Josephson describe the foundations of President Obama's Christian faith and the extent to which it has shaped his approach to politics. Their book explores Obama's journey of faith in the context of a broadly Augustinian understanding of faith and politics, examines the tensions between Christian realism and pragmatic progressivism, explains why a Christian realist interpretation is essential to understanding Obama's presidency, and applies this model of understanding to considerations of foreign and domestic policy. By combining this theological and political analysis the book offers a special opportunity to reflect on the relationship between Christian faith and statesmanship, reflections that are missing from current popular discussions of the Obama presidency. Through consideration of Niebuhr's models of the prophet and the statesman, and the more popular alternative of the political evangelist, Holder and Josephson are better able to explain the president's successes and his failures, and to unveil the Augustinian limits of the political life.
Author: D. G. Mcleod
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1438976739
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 180
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Book Description
This book brilliantly answers several of life's questions that many people have but are too afraid to voice. The author is easy to understand as he walks the reader through the interconnecting philosophical pathways to turn the spotlight on the flaws and inconsistencies in many popularly held controversial beliefs - politics, religion, abortion, homosexuality, and more. It masterfully points out the pitfalls of believing a lie and the various techniques that people use to mislead us and control our lives. It helps you to properly analyze the dogmas that govern your life. The process helps to either reinforce those beliefs or invalidate them. This book is therefore a very powerful tool that helps everyone test the validity of a religion. It helps to cull false beliefs and protects against new erroneous ones. If after reading it people of faith still hold the same beliefs because the supporting irrefutable evidence they have pass the smell test, then they will feel more justified propagating their ideas. It helps to cement beliefs and make you more immune to brainwashing. This delightful book also highlights the fact we must never give control of the asylum to the inmates. It emphasizes that if we have already done so it is time to take it back. For more information or to contact us, visit us at: http: //www.denjenpublishing.com
Author: Randall Balmer
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231540892
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 261
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Book Description
When Joseph Smith ran for president as a radical protest candidate in 1844, Mormons were a deeply distrusted group in American society, and their efforts to enter public life were met with derision. When Mitt Romney ran for president as a Republican in 2008 and 2012, the public had come to regard Mormons as consummate Americans: patriotic, family-oriented, and conservative. How did this shift occur? In this collection, prominent scholars of Mormonism, including Claudia L. Bushman, Richard Lyman Bushman, Jan Shipps, and Philip L. Barlow, follow the religion's quest for legitimacy in the United States and its intersection with American politics. From Brigham Young's skirmishes with the federal government over polygamy to the Mormon involvement in California's Proposition 8, contributors combine sociology, political science, race and gender studies, and popular culture to track Mormonism's rapid integration into American life. The book takes a broad view of the religion's history, considering its treatment of women and African Americans and its portrayal in popular culture and the media. With essays from both Mormon and non-Mormon scholars, this anthology tells a big-picture story of a small sect that became a major player in American politics.
Author: Janiece Johnson
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469673541
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 235
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Book Description
On September 11, 1857, a small band of Mormons led by John D. Lee massacred an emigrant train of men, women, and children heading west at Mountain Meadows, Utah. News of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, as it became known, sent shockwaves through the western frontier of the United States, reaching the nation's capital and eventually crossing the Atlantic. In the years prior to the massacre, Americans dubbed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the "Mormon problem" as it garnered national attention for its "unusual" theocracy and practice of polygamy. In the aftermath of the massacre, many Americans viewed Mormonism as a real religious and physical threat to white civilization. Putting the Mormon Church on trial for its crimes against American purity became more important than prosecuting those responsible for the slaughter. Religious historian Janiece Johnson analyzes how sensational media attention used the story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre to enflame public sentiment and provoke legal action against Latter-day Saints. Ministers, novelists, entertainers, cartoonists, and federal officials followed suit, spreading anti-Mormon sentiment to collectively convict the Mormon religion itself. This troubling episode in American religious history sheds important light on the role of media and popular culture in provoking religious intolerance that continues to resonate in the present.
Author: Steven Michels
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1440802831
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 329
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Book Description
The case for democracy is an intrinsic part of our political culture. This non-partisan book provides the other side of the story via well-researched history and current events that illuminate the theory and practice of democracy. Are the politics of the United States to blame for its current unsteady footing in the 21st century? This book aims to answer this uncomfortable but relevant question by examining the strengths and weaknesses of democracy, addressing complex topics such as the history of liberalism, the relationship between democracy and capitalism, the nature of representation, and the difference between government and politics. Each of the book's chapters focuses on a recognized shortcoming of popular government, such as inefficiency, self-interestedness, and non-participation. Each section begins by focusing on current events and tracing issues back through history—through to the American founding, and in many instances, to antiquity. In the conclusion, the author proposes a series of thought-provoking fixes.
Author: Luke B. Yarbrough
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108496601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 379
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Book Description
Reveals how early Muslims devised and elaborated normative views concerning non-Muslim state officials at moments of intense competition.
Author: Samuel Dawson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781790318759
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 324
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Book Description
How would you answer the above question? In I Pt. 3.15, Peter obligated Christians to be ready to answer any person that asks you that question. Nearly everyone you know who claims to be a Christian will easily acknowledge that none of us start out as accomplished students of the Bible. Nearly everyone will admit that in the beginning at least, someone else handed their beliefs down to them: their parents, their spouse, a friend. Some say they don't question their beliefs, they just live by them.You surely recall Jesus' condemnation of the religious leaders of his time for following the traditions of their elders, saying that following the traditions of men made their worship of God worthless (Mk. 7.7-9). Jesus also gave us the solution to the problem of "handed down" beliefs and practices. In I Thes. 5.21 and Eph. 5.8, we are commanded as children of light to put everything proposed for our belief and activity to the test of Scripture, and reject what we can't find therein. We're also told in Eph. 5.11 to have no fellowship with such, that is, not to participate in and contribute to such.The purpose of this book is to initiate your examination of everything you belief and do in your service of Christ. It begins with simple, quick observations of popular religious beliefs and practices that absolutely have no foundation in the Bible, and proceeds to more advanced topics.Shouldn't you be willing to put your beliefs & practices to the test?
