Singleness and Marriage after Christendom
Singleness and Marriage after Christendom

Author: Lina Toth

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-07-28

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1532635567

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Momentous change is taking place in Western societies and churches. Singleness is on the rise, along with growing interest in different pathways to human happiness. However, we still largely consider coupledom as the norm and a symbol of the good life. This is especially true in the Christian context, where the decline of “traditional” marriage and family patterns is often presented as an erosion of the Christian way of living. Yet when the church was very young, the world was also very concerned with the demise of traditional family ways—but the culprits accused of destroying family values were none other than Christians. A considerable number of them willingly chose to forego marriage, embracing Jesus’s vision of a new kind of a family: the church. This book follows the changes in the practice of marriage and singleness, from those early days of the Christian movement to our modern preoccupation with romance and coupledom as essential ingredients of a happy, fulfilled life. It argues that the current surge in the number of single people is actually an opportunity for us to reconsider both singleness and marriage in the larger context of a community of faith.

Singleness and Marriage after Christendom
Singleness and Marriage after Christendom

Author: Lina Toth

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-07-28

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1532635575

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Momentous change is taking place in Western societies and churches. Singleness is on the rise, along with growing interest in different pathways to human happiness. However, we still largely consider coupledom as the norm and a symbol of the good life. This is especially true in the Christian context, where the decline of "traditional" marriage and family patterns is often presented as an erosion of the Christian way of living. Yet when the church was very young, the world was also very concerned with the demise of traditional family ways--but the culprits accused of destroying family values were none other than Christians. A considerable number of them willingly chose to forego marriage, embracing Jesus's vision of a new kind of a family: the church. This book follows the changes in the practice of marriage and singleness, from those early days of the Christian movement to our modern preoccupation with romance and coupledom as essential ingredients of a happy, fulfilled life. It argues that the current surge in the number of single people is actually an opportunity for us to reconsider both singleness and marriage in the larger context of a community of faith.

Missional Discipleship After Christendom
Missional Discipleship After Christendom

Author: Andrew R. Hardy

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2018-03-14

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 153261893X

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It is not a changing culture, reduced resources, or a rescinding Christian memory that creates the greatest challenges for the church in the West. It is the lack of a clear commitment to the intentional, authentic, and contextual expressions of missional disciple-making, which will shape current and future generations of followers of Jesus to express the values of the Kingdom today. This book offers stimulating historical, biblical, and theological reflections on discipleship and considers some of the possibilities and opportunities afforded to us by our post-Christian context. Missional discipleship allows the missio Dei to shape us in our engagement our practices and sustain us in the lifelong journey of becoming and developing disciples that follow Jesus today.

After Christendom
After Christendom

Author: Stanley Hauerwas

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2011-07-01

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 142672201X

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Liberal/conservative and modern/postmodern concepts define contemporary theological debate. Yet what if these categories are grounded in a set of assumptions about what it means to be the church in the world, presuming we must live as though God's existence does not matter? What if our theological discussion distracts us from the fact that the church is no longer able to shape the desires and habits of Christians? Hauerwas wrestles with these and similar questions constructing a theological politics necessary for the church to be the church in the world. In so doing, he challenges liberal notions of justice and freedom.

Re-Membering the Body
Re-Membering the Body

Author: Anthony R. Cross

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-07-08

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 1532677057

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This volume celebrates the ministry and theological contribution of Dr. Ruth Gouldbourne, one of the foremost Baptist and Free Church women ministers and scholars in Britain and Europe. Following studies at St Andrews University, and King’s College London, and ministerial training at Spurgeon’s College, she served at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, the Free Church Bunyan Meeting, Bedford, and had been a Tutor, after which she returned to the local pastorate at Bloomsbury then Grove Lane Baptist Church, Cheadle. Her doctorate explores gender and theology in the writings of the radical reformer, Caspar Schwenckfeld, and she has recently earned her MA in Shakespearean Studies. She has served the Baptist Union on the Baptist Women in Ministry and Training group, the Covenant 2000 Committee, the Working Groups on Membership, and Superintendency, as well as the Baptist Historical Society. Internationally, she chaired the Academic Board of the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTSC), and its the Board of Trustees, and her ecumenical commitment has included sitting on the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission, and serving Churches Together in Britain and Ireland. An Associate Fellow of Spurgeon’s College, she is also Senior Research Fellow of IBTSC Amsterdam, and a Research Fellow of Bristol Baptist College.

The Meaning of Singleness
The Meaning of Singleness

Author: Danielle Treweek

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2023-05-09

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 1514004860

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Drawing upon ancient and contemporary theologians, Dani Treweek offers biblical, historical, cultural, and theological reflections to retrieve a theology of singleness for the church today. Far from being a burden, she shows that singleness presents the church with a foretaste of the eschatological reality that awaits all of God's people.

The New Anabaptists
The New Anabaptists

Author: Stuart Murray

Publisher: MennoMedia, Inc.

Published: 2024-01-30

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1513813005

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What does it look like to be an Anabaptist community in the modern world? And why does it matter? A new incarnation of Anabaptism is emerging, but not where we might expect. In the United Kingdom—a post-Christendom context with little historical Anabaptist presence—Christian communities are embodying fresh expressions of Anabaptist faith and practice. In this companion to The Naked Anabaptist, author Stuart Murray identifies twelve common practices of such churches and communities that are shaped by an Anabaptist vision. Murray explores how these practices—which include encouraging economic radicalism in the face of rampant consumerism, truth-telling in a “post-truth” society, and accountability in an individualistic culture that knows little about the Christian story—might shape emerging Christian communities and inspire those seeking fresh expressions as cultural changes accelerate. The book concludes with three on-the-ground reports from ministry leaders pursuing this Anabaptist vision in their own post-Christendom contexts. ​ The New Anabaptists provides foundational resources for followers of Jesus in many different settings as they rise to the challenge of faithful and radical discipleship in local communities.

Single for a Greater Purpose
Single for a Greater Purpose

Author: Luanne Zurlo

Publisher: Sophia Institute Press

Published: 2019-11-19

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 1622826574

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In these fascinating pages, author Luanne Zurlo shows that, contrary to popular opinion, single life is often a holy, joyful vocation lived out, sometimes in a hidden way, by souls who have had an authentic encounter with Christ. Here she sheds light on this little-understood vocation discerned and embraced by a growing number of single persons who neither marry nor enter religious life. These souls are joyfully single for a greater purpose, nourishing both the world and the Church with the unique spiritual strengths and graces that God gives to souls who deliberately remain single for Him — in the world but not of it. Read these pages to learn: Why dedicated single life is uniquely suited to our times How it builds on our baptismal vocations The special role that dedicated singles have in the Church How the dedicated-single vocation complements marriage and religious life How celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom yields a fruitful spousal relationship with Christ How dedicated singles can follow the evangelical counsels of obedience and poverty without the structured life of a religious community The vows that singles can take to dedicate themselves to such service of God within the world In the face of mounting difficulties within our world and our Church, God is now calling for an army of dedicated singles — laymen for the Kingdom of God — nourished from within and empowered by an authentic, personal encounter with Him alone.

Women and Men After Christendom
Women and Men After Christendom

Author: Fran Porter

Publisher: Authentic Media Inc

Published: 2015-06-01

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 184227905X

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This book explores the way that gender relationships changed under Christendom and then after Christendom, challenging us to rethink gender relations in both church and society. Fran Porter goes beyond the personal aspects of gender identity to structural, philosophical and theological considerations; and offers a paradigm for gender relationships different to the oppositional models that currently prevail. "This is an accessible read about the complex topic of gender, Christendom and post Christendom. For those seeking to explore the history of gender relationships in the church from the first century this is an excellent introduction." Dianne Tidball, East Midland Baptist Association, UK "Through careful handling of the argument, Fran Porter helps us to glimpse that vision of what the new community of Christ, the new kin-work he inaugurated, could look like - and how the church, in the way she is in the world, can be radical good news for men and women everywhere." Sian Murray Williams, Tutor in Worship Studies at Bristol Baptist College

Post-Christendom Studies: Volume 7
Post-Christendom Studies: Volume 7

Author: Steven M. Studebaker

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2023-08-04

Total Pages: 118

ISBN-13: 166678883X

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Post-Christendom Studies publishes research on the nature of Christian identity and mission in the contexts of post-Christendom. Post-Christendom refers to places, both now and in the past, where Christianity was once a significant cultural presence, though not necessarily the dominant religion. Sometimes "Christendom" refers to the official link between church and state. The term "post-Christendom" is often associated with the rise of secularization, religious pluralism, and multiculturalism in western countries over the past sixty years. Our use of the term is broader than that however. Egypt for example can be considered a post-Christendom context. It was once a leading center of Christianity. "Christendom" moreover does not necessarily mean official public and dominant religion. For example, under Saddam Hussein, Christianity was probably a minority religion, but, for the most part, Christians were left alone. After America deposed Saddam, Christians began to flee because they became a persecuted minority. In that sense, post-Saddam Iraq is an experience of post-Christendom--it is a shift from a cultural context in which Christians have more or less freedom to exercise their faith to one where they are persecuted and/or marginalized for doing so.