Bullies And Saints

Download or read book Bullies and Saints written by John Dickson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is the world better off without Christianity? Combining narrative with keen critique of contemporary debates, author and historian John Dickson gives an honest account of 2,000 years of Christian history that helps us understand what Christianity is and what it's meant to be. To say that the Christian Church has an "image problem" doesn't quite capture it. From the Crusades and the Inquisition to the racism and abuse present in today's Church--both in Catholic and Protestant traditions--the institution that Christ established on earth has a lot to answer for. But the Church has also had moments throughout history when it has been in tune with Jesus' teachings--from the rise of charity to the invention of hospitals. For defenders of the faith, it's important to be able to recognize the good and bad in the church's history and be inspired to live aligned with Christ. For skeptics, this book is a thought-provoking introduction to the idea that Christianity is, despite all, an essential foundation of our civilization. Bullies and Saints will take you on a big-picture journey from the Sermon on the Mount to the modern church: Giving contextual accounts of infamous chapters of Christian history, such as the Crusades, and acknowledging their darkness. Outlining the great movements of the faith and defending its heroes and saints, some of whom are not commonly recognized. Examining the Church beside the teachings and life of Jesus and how it has succeeded in its mission to imitate Christ.

Download or read book The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission written by John Dickson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book comes out of years of reflection, failures, and some successes in the task of reaching out to others with the gospel. Many Christians think of the task of mission as an entirely verbal activity, when perhaps the best kept secret of New Testament teaching about mission is that it involves a whole range of activities that explicitly promote Christ to the world and draw others to him, and only a few of them involve speaking. Without diminishing or downplaying the importance of speaking the gospel, John Dickson shows that, on the other hand, downplaying the range of activities that promote Christ to the world has its own set of problems. It can make those who are not confident about speaking--of anything, let alone Jesus--feel inadequate and self-conscious in the task of reaching out to others. Equally, it can make those who do have a flair for speaking feel as though they are fulfilling Christ's mission just by talking. But the reality is that the Lord wants our whole life, not just our lips, in the task of bringing the gospel to the world. Every facet of our lives can be used by God to promote the news of his power and mercy. In this practical guide to the biblical art of sharing your faith, John Dickson offers refreshing insight into the ways that all Christians can and should be involved in spreading the good news of Jesus. While not all Christians are called and gifted to become evangelists, we are all called to promote the gospel through a wide range of activities--prayer, financial partnership, good deeds, godly lives, public worship, daily conversation, etc.--with and without our lips. As readers engage with this book, grapple with its arguments and hear the stories of people coming to faith, they will be inspired to see the whole of life as significant for bringing the gospel to the world, and they will be liberated out of guilt and self-consciousness in evangelism into becoming perfectly natural promoters of Jesus Christ.

Download or read book Saints and Misfits written by S. K. Ali and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-06-13 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen-year-old Janna Yusuf, a Flannery O'Connor-obsessed book nerd and the daughter of the only divorced mother at their mosque, tries to make sense of the events that follow when her best friend's cousin--a holy star in the Muslim community--attempts to assault her at the end of sophomore year.

Download or read book Is Jesus History? written by John Dickson and published by The Good Book Company. This book was released on 2019-10-01 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of the historicity of Jesus and whether he is relevant today What can we really know for sure about the past? Can anything be trusted as reliable historical fact? What can we really know for sure about the past? Can anything from ancient history be regarded as €˜fact’? In particular, how seriously can we take the historical sources for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth? Did he really even live in first-century Galilee and Judaea, or is he a figure of legend? In this timely book, historian Dr John Dickson unpacks how the field of history works, giving readers the tools to evaluate for themselves what we can confidently say about figures like the Emperor Tiberius, Alexander the Great, Pontius Pilate, and, of course, Jesus of Nazareth. He presents the evidence, methods, and conclusions of mainstream scholars-both Christian and not-and asks some pertinent contemporary questions, without offering any pushy answers: If Jesus really did exist, what are we to make of his own claims and those of his followers, and what would any of it mean for us today?

Download or read book Life of Jesus written by John Dickson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What really happened back in the first century, in Jerusalem and around the Sea of Galilee, that changed the shape of world history? Who is this figure that emerges from history to have a profound impact on culture, ethics, politics, and philosophy? Join historian John Dickson on this journey through the life of Jesus. This book, which features a self-contained discussion guide for use with Life of Jesus DVD, will help you and your friends dig deeper into what is known about Jesus’ life and why it matters. “John Dickson has done a marvelous job of presenting the story of Jesus, and the full meaning of that story, in a way that is both deeply faithful to the biblical sources and refreshingly relevant to tomorrow's world and church. I strongly recommend this study to anyone who wants to re-examine the deep historical roots of Christian faith and to find them as life-giving as they ever were.”—Tom Wright

Download or read book Saints of the Household written by Ari Tison and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR). This book was released on 2023-03-28 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Pura Belpré Award and Walter Dean Myers Award for Young Adult Literature! Saints of the Household is a haunting contemporary YA about an act of violence in a small-town--beautifully told by a debut Indigenous Costa Rican-American writer--that will take your breath away. Max and Jay have always depended on one another for their survival. Growing up with a physically abusive father, the two Bribri American brothers have learned that the only way to protect themselves and their mother is to stick to a schedule and keep their heads down. But when they hear a classmate in trouble in the woods, instinct takes over and they intervene, breaking up a fight and beating their high school's star soccer player to a pulp. This act of violence threatens the brothers' dreams for the future and their beliefs about who they are. As the true details of that fateful afternoon unfold over the course of the novel, Max and Jay grapple with the weight of their actions, their shifting relationship as brothers, and the realization that they may be more like their father than they thought. They'll have to reach back to their Bribri roots to find their way forward. Told in alternating points of view using vignettes and poems, debut author Ari Tison crafts an emotional, slow-burning drama about brotherhood, abuse, recovery, and doing the right thing.

Download or read book Heroes & Hooligans Growing Up in the City of Saints written by Dennis James Ganahl and published by . This book was released on 2017-04-10 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Laugh out loud stories about adventurous boys, strict nuns, summer baseball, camp outs, visits to Grandmas, young love, drive-in movies and wild hooligans. Everyone, especially people who ate TV dinners and didn't tell their parents where they were going, will enjoy this book.