Christianity And Transforming States

This volume examines what it means to live as a Christian minority: both in non-Christian societies and in societies where other forms of Christianity are predominant. Many Christians live in states where other religions have historically influenced national identities, or where secularism defines communal expectations. At the same time, some Christian minorities live among other, more prevalent Christian traditions and often experience marginalization as a result. This volume provides insight into the experiences of the many contemporary Christian communities throughout the world and how they are responding to their varied societal circumstances.

When early Christians began to study the Bible, and to write their own history and that of the Jews whom they claimed to supersede, they used scholarly methods invented by the librarians and literary critics of Hellenistic Alexandria. But Origen and Eusebius, two scholars of late Roman Caesarea, did far more. Both produced new kinds of books, in which parallel columns made possible critical comparisons previously unenvisioned, whether between biblical texts or between national histories. Eusebius went even farther, creating new research tools, new forms of history and polemic, and a new kind of library to support both research and book production. Christianity and the Transformation of the Book combines broad-gauged synthesis and close textual analysis to reconstruct the kinds of books and the ways of organizing scholarly inquiry and collaboration among the Christians of Caesarea, on the coast of Roman Palestine. The book explores the dialectical relationship between intellectual history and the history of the book, even as it expands our understanding of early Christian scholarship. Christianity and the Transformation of the Book attends to the social, religious, intellectual, and institutional contexts within which Origen and Eusebius worked, as well as the details of their scholarly practices--practices that, the authors argue, continued to define major sectors of Christian learning for almost two millennia and are, in many ways, still with us today.,

WE MUST PUT GOD BACK IN OUR GOVERNMENT! The Integration of Church and State begins in Chapter One debunking one of the biggest lies of our generation, the oft-repeated phrase "The Separation of Church and State." The remaining chapters look at many crucial political issues that our country is facing today through the lens of God's Word. --From the Introduction "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12 Nolan Lewallen is a retired pilot of a major airline and lives near Stephenville, TX with his wife, Kim. Together, they have seven grown children and four grandchildren. Nolan's two greatest passions are the Bible and politics, so The Integration of Church & State is the culmination of the two. He has appeared on several Christian television programs, and his previously published works include Where's My 100-Fold Return?, The Sports Edition of the Bible, and The Cowboy Pictorial Edition of the Bible.

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.

Transforming Faith Communities draws upon a model for the church that combines congregationalism with a constructive approach to church-state relationships within a vision for a renewed Christendom, commended as a viable option for Christian missionin the twenty-first-century world. Michael Ian Bochenski uses two movements to make his case: sixteenth-century Anabaptism and late twentieth-century Latin American liberation theology. Each movement is held up as a mirror to the other in a vision for the transformation of church and society that resonates powerfully with contemporary culture. Outlining the development of radical religious communities, Bochenski examines some of the factors that create world-affirming Christian faith communities, and explores many examples of effective and constructive engagement with church and society across the centuries.

Christ's Strategy to Transform Nations is a comprehensive look at the Biblical best practices that over history have proven to transform nations for good. Dr. Mark Beliles, Ph.D., draws from his 30 years of studying Christian thought and actions in many nations. He has personally visited over 50 nations as well. His research led him to a startling find: Never has prayer, church growth and revival been enough to significantly transform a nation. He discovered that the missing element is found in Christ's Great Commission to "disciple the nations." When Christians have intentionally focused on not only training leaders for the church itself but also the nation, eventually the culture is changed. The Pilgrims who settled America and the Founding Fathers shared in this commitment and they founded the most transformed nation in history. But today most of it is lost. Business as usual for the modern church is not working. We must return to the historically-proven practices that transforms culture. Following the signs that Christ said would follow them, the book presents 3 major practices for 5 different areas of life. Rich with historical examples, and modern testimonies, the reader comes away not just inspired, but prepared to begin developing a long-term strategic plan for his own community.

Christian communities flourished during late antiquity in a Zoroastrian political system, known as the Iranian Empire, that integrated culturally and geographically disparate territories from Arabia to Afghanistan into its institutions and networks. Whereas previous studies have regarded Christians as marginal, insular, and often persecuted participants in this empire, Richard Payne demonstrates their integration into elite networks, adoption of Iranian political practices and imaginaries, and participation in imperial institutions. ÊThe rise of Christianity in Iran depended on the Zoroastrian theory and practice of hierarchical, differentiated inclusion, according to which Christians, Jews, and others occupied legitimate places in Iranian political culture in positions subordinate to the imperial religion. Christians, for their part, positioned themselves in a political culture not of their own making, with recourse to their own ideological and institutional resources, ranging from the writing of saintsÕ lives to the judicial arbitration of bishops. In placing the social history of East Syrian Christians at the center of the Iranian imperial story, A State of Mixture helps explain the endurance of a culturally diverse empire across four centuries. Ê

Brian J. Walsh and J. Richard Middleton offer a vision for transforming economics, politics, technology and every part of contemporary culture.

Symbolism in the song of Jonah.--Greenspoon, L. J. The origin of the idea of resurrection.--Purvis, J. D. The Samaritan problem.--Collins, J. J. Patterns of eschatology at Qumran.--Collins, A. Y. Myth and history in the book of Revelation.

Following the Communist Revolution of 1949, missionaries were kicked out of China and proselytizing was outlawed. However, since the beginning of the reform era, China has witnessed a massive return of missionary workers. Today there are more Christians in church on a given Sunday in China than anywhere else on the globe. This book investigates the interaction of Western missionaries, ethnic minorities, and Han Chinese converts with the Chinese state in an increasingly globalized China. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Yunnan, it tries to make sense of the disparity between official state rhetoric and everyday reality. Examining morality in the context of the free-market system, spatial practices, linguistic activity, and Christian welfare organizations, Gideon Elazar reveals the ways in which the previously conflicting Communist Party and Christian “civilizing projects” have reached a measure of convergence, enabling local authorities to treat missionaries with a degree of tolerance. Elazar shows how this unofficial arrangement relates to the social realities and challenges of the reform era, including ethnic culture and identity, Yunnan’s many social problems, and the integration of ethnic minorities into the state system. By exploring the continuously shifting social and religious borders negotiated by converts, missionaries, and state authorities in Southwest China, this book sheds light on the larger issue of contemporary religion in China’s global era. It will be of interest to researchers of religion, Christianity, and minority groups in the People’s Republic of China.