2018 Book Award Winner, The Gospel Coalition (Academic Theology) A Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2019 Will all evil finally turn to good, or does some evil remain stubbornly opposed to God and God's goodness? Will even the devil be redeemed? Addressing a theological issue of perennial interest, this comprehensive book (in two volumes) surveys the history of Christian universalism from the second to the twenty-first century and offers an interpretation of how and why universalist belief arose. The author explores what the church has taught about universal salvation and hell and critiques universalism from a biblical, philosophical, and theological standpoint. He shows that the effort to extend grace to everyone undermines the principle of grace for anyone.
Now a Netflix film starring Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson A dark and riveting vision of 1960s America that delivers literary excitement in the highest degree. In The Devil All the Time, Donald Ray Pollock has written a novel that marries the twisted intensity of Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers with the religious and Gothic overtones of Flannery O’Connor at her most haunting. Set in rural southern Ohio and West Virginia, The Devil All the Time follows a cast of compelling and bizarre characters from the end of World War II to the 1960s. There’s Willard Russell, tormented veteran of the carnage in the South Pacific, who can’t save his beautiful wife, Charlotte, from an agonizing death by cancer no matter how much sacrificial blood he pours on his “prayer log.” There’s Carl and Sandy Henderson, a husband-and-wife team of serial killers, who troll America’s highways searching for suitable models to photograph and exterminate. There’s the spider-handling preacher Roy and his crippled virtuoso-guitar-playing sidekick, Theodore, running from the law. And caught in the middle of all this is Arvin Eugene Russell, Willard and Charlotte’s orphaned son, who grows up to be a good but also violent man in his own right. Donald Ray Pollock braids his plotlines into a taut narrative that will leave readers astonished and deeply moved. With his first novel, he proves himself a master storyteller in the grittiest and most uncompromising American grain.
“Kotsko goes beyond the biography of an icon to a provocative investigation of the devil’s many lives and effects in cultural and political ideologies.” —Laurel C. Schneider, author of Beyond Monotheism The most enduring challenge to traditional monotheism is the problem of evil, which attempts to reconcile three incompatible propositions: God is all-good, God is all-powerful, and evil happens. The Prince of This World traces the story of one of the most influential attempts to square this circle: the offloading of responsibility for evil onto one of God’s rebellious creatures. In this striking reexamination, the devil’s story is bitterly ironic, full of tragic reversals. He emerges as a theological symbol who helps oppressed communities cope with the trauma of unjust persecution, torture, and death at the hands of political authorities and eventually becomes a vehicle to justify oppression at the hands of Christian rulers. And he evolves alongside the biblical God, who at first presents himself as the liberator of the oppressed but ends up a cruel ruler who delights in the infliction of suffering on his friends and enemies alike. In other words, this is the story of how God becomes the devil—a devil who remains with us in our ostensibly secular age. “This diabolically gripping genealogy offers a stunning parable of western politics religious and secular. It tracks as has never been done before the dramatic shifts of the relation between God and the Devil—conflict, rivalry, game of mirrors, fusion. With the ironic wisdom of a postmodern Beatrice, Kotsko guides us through the sequence of hells that leads to our own.” —Catherine Keller, author of On the Mystery: Discerning Divinity in Process
Lex Luger, wrestling megasensation and three-time world heavyweight champion, ruled the ring for years as “The Total Package.” Whether he was making a dramatic entrance from a helicopter, defeating champ Hulk Hogan, or sculpting a near-perfect physique, Lex was on top of his game. Yet backstage, he was wrestling with addictions to sex, drugs, and alcohol—things he clung to even when his mistress died suddenly of a drug overdose and Lex went to jail. There, Lex faced the truth: he was losing the fight for his life. And still awaiting him was his most brutal opponent yet, when the wrestling champ found himself helplessly paralyzed from the neck down. In Wrestling with the Devil, Lex Luger reveals never-before-told stories from his career, his struggle with personal demons, and how, through unexpected faith, grace, and redemption, he overcame all odds to fight the only battle that really matters.
This box set contains Devil's Pawn & Devil's Redemption and tells the complete story of Jericho St. James and Isabelle Bishop in one convenient bundle! Isabelle Jericho St. James hates my family. Powerful, wealthy beyond belief, he's the most dangerous man I know. And I belong to him. He's taken me from my home. He'll make me his wife. And he's made it very clear I'll be sleeping in his bed. But my beast has a secret. His one weakness. One that makes hating him impossible. He has a daughter. And he'll do anything to keep her safe. Jericho The Bishops stole what money cannot replace. A life for a life. Now I'll take one of theirs. Isabelle is my pawn. I will make her my wife. I will bed her. She will be mine in every way. And once I take what I need from her, I will erase the Bishop family as if they never existed at all.
Strong. Fierce. Unshakeable. Three things I've always strived to be. But life is unexpected. It's confusing. It's cruel. All it takes is one blink, one blip in time, and your life is changed irrevocably. I knew he would come for me. What I didn't anticipate was how much I would need him. He locked me up and told me I was his forever. Until I wasn't. In the darkest moments since then, he was the light that kept me going. The life I thought I didn't want, I now prayed that I'd return to. Taking me was the easy part. Breaking me tested my strength. Surviving both could be my ruin.
"It's been twenty years since 9/11, two decades since the United States was attacked on home soil and set out to make the guilty pay with their lives. In the shadows, the enemy has been patient--learning, and adapting. And the enemy is ready to strike again. A new president offers hope to a country weary of conflict. He's a young, popular, self-made visionary...but he's also a man with a secret. Halfway across the globe a regional superpower struggles with sanctions imposed by the United States and her European allies, a country whose ancient religion spawned a group of ruthless assassins. Faced with internal dissent and extrajudicial targeted killings by the United States and Israel, the Supreme Leader puts a plan in motion to defeat the most powerful nation on earth. Meanwhile, a young PhD student has gained access to a bioweapon thought to be confined to a classified military laboratory known only to a select number of officials. A second-generation agent, he has been assigned a mission that will bring his adopted homeland to its knees."--Back cover.
Lucifer doesn't have time for romance. He's been ousted as King of Hell. After escaping his chains, he retreats to lick his wounds and plan his revenge. The original sinner takes on the guise of a bakery owner, ready to pass the time until he can retake his throne. Lexi Sutton, a witch with mischief magic, only wants to live a normal life with normal relationships. The problem? Getting through dates without her chaotic magic going haywire has proven impossible. She's ready to give up on ever finding love. When Lexi hears about a job opening at a new bakery, she goes for it. How could she know resisting the charms of the panty-melting owner would be so difficult, or that giving in would kick off a chain of events that destiny had been waiting thousands of years to unleash? Will Hell's number one Devil heal her heart, or will finding out his secret identity shatter it?
Have you ever wondered if Satan is real? In his book Out of the Devil's Caldron: A Journey from Darkness to Light, John Ramirez tells the story of how he was trained to be the third-ranked high priest of a satanic cult in New York City-casting powerful witchcraft spells and controlling entire spiritual regions. But what started as a long spiral into the underworld ended in a miraculous encounter with Jesus Christ that changed the course of his life. Let John Ramirez walk you through the dark alleys of this world as he uncovers the hidden secrets of darkness through his powerful testimony. People from all ethnic backgrounds dabble in the occult and fall victim to this satanic underworld, never seeing the way out. John Ramirez is one in a million who made it out. John Ramirez's home church for the past nine years has been Times Square Church in New York, founded by David Wilkerson. John has been blessed with the opportunity not only to attend there and sit under the Word and mature spiritually, but the Lord opened the door through the security ministry to form a tight bond between him and Pastor Dave. For two and a half years John had the privilege and blessing to walk with Pastor Dave, and he became a spiritual father to John. He prayed with him, laid hands on him, and even read the manuscript of Out of the Devil's Cauldron before the book was published, giving his blessing. Pastor Dave was so touched by John's testimony that one night he brought him up on stage to have him share his story with the congregation. In the 1950s, Pastor Dave had a young Nicky Cruz in his life. When Nicky told Pastor Dave "I will cut you into a thousand pieces," through the Holy Spirit Pastor Dave said, "Nicky, if you cut me into a thousand pieces, all one thousand pieces would say 'Jesus loves you.'" Many years later, David Wilkerson through the Holy Spirit said to John Ramirez, "I see Jesus in you." And those words forever changed John's life, to go minister anywhere in the world. Today, John Ramirez says, "Thank you, Pastor Dave, for seeing Jesus in me." John Ramirez is a sought-out speaker by many who want to hear of his involvement in the highest levels of the occult and how he got out. He speaks at churches, schools, rallies, and conferences--both secular and Christian--and has been a featured guest on TV and radio programs. He can be reached at JohnRamirez.org
SAGE: How does this stuff keep happening to me? First it was my cheating ex and the--uhhhh--"accident" that had everyone in town calling me crazy. Now, I've moved to a completely different state, and what have I done? I dropped right into another problem. This time though, it's not a cheating ex, it's the Russian Mob. To make matters worse, I now have to live with the son of my landlords, who are part of the Devil's Soldiers MC, who is a smart-mouthed, arrogant, jerk. I don't care how hot he is, I'm not about to make his life easy. Except, the chemistry between us is out of this world, and now he's the only one that seems to be able to save me from the mob that's hot on my tail. KING: She is the most irritating woman I've ever met. How the hell have I gotten wrapped up in being her bodyguard/roommate? I mean, we can barely stand each other, she's crazy, and now I have to be around her twenty-four/seven. I'm talking worse than my mother crazy. Do we have chemistry? Oh yeah, but I don't have time for that brand of insanity. The Russian Mob is after her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I need to keep her safe. So why am I constantly allowing myself to think about her in all the ways I shouldn't?
