Hating God
Hating God

Author: Bernard Schweizer

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-11-04

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 0199780013

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While atheists such as Richard Dawkins have now become public figures, there is another and perhaps darker strain of religious rebellion that has remained out of sight--people who hate God. In this revealing book, Bernard Schweizer looks at men and women who do not question God's existence, but deny that He is merciful, competent, or good. Sifting through a wide range of literary and historical works, Schweizer finds that people hate God for a variety of reasons. Some are motivated by social injustice, human suffering, or natural catastrophes that God does not prevent. Some blame God for their personal tragedies. Schweizer concludes that, despite their blasphemous thoughts, these people tend to be creative and moral individuals, and include such literary lights as Friedrich Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, Rebecca West, Elie Wiesel, and Philip Pullman. Schweizer shows that literature is a fertile ground for God haters. Many authors, who dare not voice their negative attitude to God openly, turn to fiction to give vent to it. Indeed, Schweizer provides many new and startling readings of literary masterpieces, highlighting the undercurrent of hatred for God. Moreover, by probing the deeper mainsprings that cause sensible, rational, and moral beings to turn against God, Schweizer offers answers to some of the most vexing questions that beset human relationships with the divine.

I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die
I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die

Author: Sarah J. Robinson

Publisher: WaterBrook

Published: 2021-05-11

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0593193539

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A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Broken Idols of the English Reformation
Broken Idols of the English Reformation

Author: Margaret Aston

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-11-26

Total Pages: 1994

ISBN-13: 1316060470

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Why were so many religious images and objects broken and damaged in the course of the Reformation? Margaret Aston's magisterial new book charts the conflicting imperatives of destruction and rebuilding throughout the English Reformation from the desecration of images, rails and screens to bells, organs and stained glass windows. She explores the motivations of those who smashed images of the crucifixion in stained glass windows and who pulled down crosses and defaced symbols of the Trinity. She shows that destruction was part of a methodology of religious revolution designed to change people as well as places and to forge in the long term new generations of new believers. Beyond blanked walls and whited windows were beliefs and minds impregnated by new modes of religious learning. Idol-breaking with its emphasis on the treacheries of images fundamentally transformed not only Anglican ways of worship but also of seeing, hearing and remembering.

Is Sunday School Destroying Our Kids?
Is Sunday School Destroying Our Kids?

Author: Samuel C Williamson

Publisher:

Published: 2013-12

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 9781941024003

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How do we make grace part of Christian living? Does Sunday School encourage discipleship and teach our children faith? People in the world often reject Christianity simply because they can't distinguish it from mere morality. The world needs morality--oppression thrives when consciences are abandoned--but we need more than that alone. We need the gospel of grace. A gospel that has largely been lost amid the dos and don'ts and preoccupations of religious culture.12 Essays on the Distinction Between Grace and Morality Includes perspectives on topics such as: Why Do Our Children Leave the Church?Graceless Goodness: The Problem with MoralismThe False Gospel of "Just Do It"The Temptations of Christian PublishingThe Ugliness of Religious RighteousnessThe Insidious Danger of "I'd Never Do That"We Read the Bible the Wrong WayComments from Readers I like what Sam Williamson has to say about how good people--people like us--may be piling burdens on our children they can't possibly bear. Has the good news of the gospel magically morphed into bad news for them? Read Sam's provocative new book to find out. -Ann Spangler, Author, Praying the Names of God (and many other books) These days we hear so much and think so little. We consume without digesting and then wonder why our body is acting strangely. In this book, Sam helps us look carefully, graciously, and wonder-fully at the Gospel and the beliefs of our heart. -Gary Barkalow, founding director of The Noble Heart, and Author, It's Your Call. This has got to be one of the best books on raising Godly children (or simply new believers) I've ever read. Thank you. -Brian This is as clearly and as beautifully communicated as I have heard the Gospel for a long time. -Bob This is such an excellent read!!! I wish all Christians could read it. What a great blessing to see this truth presented in a way that it is so easily understood. Thank you for this thoughtful book. - Linda This is a fitting warning that Christian education could fall into moralization (and idolizing "heroes of faith"). The same warning is applicable even to the whole teaching/preaching ministry of many churches. - RayFrom the Book People often pit grace against moralism. And they should. Moralism circumvents heart-changed morality. We need moral men and women, but moralism damages the foundation of heart-change. It's okay to pit grace against moralism, but let's not pit grace against morality. Grace is the source of real morality, and grace--thank God!--breaks the bars of moralism that imprison us. Is Sunday School Destroying Our Kids? exposes moralism for its false pretensions--the sham that it is--and it moves our hearts to believe the gospel, for the first, or the hundred-and-first, time.Available in Print and eBook Editions Scroll up and order your copy now.