Urban God Talk
Urban God Talk

Author: Andre E. Johnson

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2013-08-28

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 0739168304

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Urban God Talk: Constructing a Hip Hop Spirituality, edited by Andre Johnson, is a collection of essays that examine the religious and spiritual in hip hop. The contributors argue that the prevailing narrative that hip hop offers nothing in the way of religion and spirituality is false. From its beginning, hip hop has had a profound spirituality and advocates religious views—and while not orthodox or systemic, nevertheless, many in traditional orthodox religions would find the theological and spiritual underpinnings in hip hop comforting, empowering, and liberating. In addition, this volume demonstrates how scholars in different disciplines approach the study of hip hop, religion, and spirituality. Whether it is a close reading of a hip hop text, ethnography, a critical studies approach or even a mixed method approach, this study is a pedagogical tool for students and scholars in various disciplines to use and appropriate for their own research and understanding. Urban God Talk will inspire not only scholars to further their research, but will also encourage publishers to print more in this field. The contributors to this in-depth study show how this subject is an underrepresented area within hip hop studies, and that the field is broad enough for numerous monographs, edited works, and journal publications in the future.

Urban Spirituality
Urban Spirituality

Author: Karina Kreminski

Publisher:

Published: 2018-05-03

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 9780998917726

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Do we have a positive theology of the city so that an urban spirituality can emerge from this place? We have for too long focused on quick fixes, pop up churches, and strategic solutions which have left us malnourished and emaciated, yet bloated from our over-consumption of these unsatisfying approaches. Spiritual formation is something that we need to pay closer attention to today. How do we live this kind of holy life in the city?

God Talk
God Talk

Author: Ruth A. Tucker

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2006-01-01

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 9780830833313

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Does God speak?The answer seems clear. Books abound on the topic of hearing God's voice. And many believers testify to God's conversational guidance in their life: "God told me to help you." "I knew it was God speaking to me."Our culture reinforces the idea that speaking--constant speaking--is good and natural and essential. In those rare moments during a day when talking ceases or when we're alone, we quickly find some way to fill the void, whether turning on the television or radio, or calling someone on the phone. With others, and especially with God, we get the message: speaking is good, silence is bad.But still, Ruth Tucker is not afraid to ask the question, "Does God speak?" And her answer might surprise you. She urges caution in speaking about hearing God, pointing out that our privatized spirituality often sets those who hear God on a pedestal and leaves those who don't feeling spiritually inferior. Further, she shows how the expectation of conversation may too easily humanize God in our minds, causing us to approach God with the same attitude we have when we call a friend on the phone. And if God does speak, how can we be sure our own desires are not affecting our interpretation of God's voice?InGod TalkTucker offers us a new paradigm for viewing silence and prayer. Rather than feeling inferior when we don't hear God speak, she helps us lean more deeply on his silent, Spirit-inspired Word. By examining the Trinity, Tucker gives us a new glimpse of how God the Father spoke his words in the past, how Christ the Incarnate Word lived among us, and how the Holy Spirit speaks to us now through Scripture. Here is a probing, thought-provoking read on how our present, active, powerful God relates to us and how we, in turn, should relate to God.

God Land
God Land

Author: Lyz Lenz

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2019-07-19

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 0253041546

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“Will resonate with any readers interested in understanding American landscapes where white, evangelical Christianity dominates both politics and culture.” —Publishers Weekly In the wake of the 2016 election, Lyz Lenz watched as her country and her marriage were torn apart by the competing forces of faith and politics. A mother of two, a Christian, and a lifelong resident of middle America, Lenz was bewildered by the pain and loss around her—the empty churches and the broken hearts. What was happening to faith in the heartland? From drugstores in Sydney, Iowa, to skeet shooting in rural Illinois, to the mega churches of Minneapolis, Lenz set out to discover the changing forces of faith and tradition in God’s country. Part journalism, part memoir, God Land is a journey into the heart of a deeply divided America. Lenz visits places of worship across the heartland and speaks to the everyday people who often struggle to keep their churches afloat and to cope in a land of instability. Through a thoughtful interrogation of the effects of faith and religion on our lives, our relationships, and our country, God Land investigates whether our divides can ever be bridged and if America can ever come together. “God Land, Lyz Lenz’s much-anticipated debut book, is a marvel. Not only is it a window into the middle America so many like to stereotype but fail to fully understand in all of its complexity, but it mixes reportage, memoir, and gorgeous prose so seamlessly I wanted to know how she did it.” —Sarah Weinman, author of The Real Lolita

Urban Ministry
Urban Ministry

Author: Ronald E. Peters

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2011-07-01

Total Pages: 357

ISBN-13: 1426737025

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A comprehensive introduction to the particular challenges and opportunities of congregational ministry in urban settings.Urban ministry has long been a part of seminary curricula, but a basic and definitive understanding of what students should know as they prepare for congregational ministry in the city has remained elusive. Too often it is assumed that the theological resources developed for ministry in other settings are adequate for urban ministry, but these resources fail to account for the unique challenges and opportunities of the urban setting. Ronald Peters clarifies the nature of urban ministry as a theological discipline by showing how its core values of love, justice, community, and reconciliation (among others) engage the issues of economics, education, family life, public health, ethnic relations, and religious life in the urban environment. Arguing that the city has always served as an arena of God's activity, Peters articulates a theological rationale for urban ministry that is both hopeful and yet realistic, affirming that God loves the city and its people and encouraging practitioners to do the same.

Everybody Is Wrong About God
Everybody Is Wrong About God

Author: James A. Lindsay

Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA)

Published: 2015-12-01

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1634310381

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A call to action to address people's psychological and social motives for a belief in God, rather than debate the existence of God With every argument for theism long since discredited, the result is that atheism has become little more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs. Thus, engaging in interminable debate with religious believers about the existence of God has become exactly the wrong way for nonbelievers to try to deal with misguided—and often dangerous—belief in a higher power. The key, author James Lindsay argues, is to stop that particular conversation. He demonstrates that whenever people say they believe in "God," they are really telling us that they have certain psychological and social needs that they do not know how to meet. Lindsay then provides more productive avenues of discussion and action. Once nonbelievers understand this simple point, and drop the very label of atheist, will they be able to change the way we all think about, talk about, and act upon the troublesome notion called "God."

Urban Apologetics
Urban Apologetics

Author: Eric Mason

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2021-04-06

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 031010095X

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Urban Apologetics examines the legitimate issues that Black communities have with Western Christianity and shows how the gospel of Jesus Christ—rather than popular, socioreligious alternatives—restores our identity. African Americans have long confronted the challenge of dignity destruction caused by white supremacy. While many have found meaning and restoration of dignity in the black church, others have found it in ethnocentric socioreligious groups and philosophies. These ideologies have grown and developed deep traction in the black community and beyond. Revisionist history, conspiracy theories, and misinformation about Jesus and Christianity are the order of the day. Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community. The book is divided into three main parts: Discussions on the unique context for urban apologetics so that you can better understand the cultural arguments against Christianity among the Black community. Detailed information on cults, religious groups, and ethnic identity groups that many urban evangelists encounter—such as the Nation of Islam, Kemetic spirituality, African mysticism, Hebrew Israelites, Black nationalism, and atheism. Specific tools for urban apologetics and community outreach. Ultimately, Urban Apologetics applies the gospel to black identity to show that Jesus is the only one who can restore it. This is an essential resource to equip those doing the work of ministry and apology in urban communities with the best available information.

He Speaks in the Silence
He Speaks in the Silence

Author: Diane Comer

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2016-01-05

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0310341787

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He Speaks in the Silence is about Diane Comer’s search for the kind of intimacy with God every woman longs for. It is a story of trying to be a good girl, of following the rules, of longing for a satisfaction that eludes us. Disappointed with all Diane had been told was supposed to fulfill her, she begged God in desperation to give her more. And He did. But first He took her through a trial so debilitating it almost destroyed what little faith she had. He let her go deaf. Using vivid parallels between her deafness and every woman’s struggle to hear God, this book shows women not only how Diane, as a deaf woman, hears in everyday life, but also how she can learn to listen to God in the midst of her own loud life, finding intimacy with God and the deep soul satisfaction she longs for.

The Urban Myths of Popular Modern Atheism
The Urban Myths of Popular Modern Atheism

Author: Paul E. Hill

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing

Published: 2019-02-22

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 1789040337

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How Atheists rely on urban myths about religion to buttress their case against God. God, and the whole business of being dependent upon him, is being downgraded, downsized, downplayed, and most of all, just plain dismissed in the modern, cultured, educated parts of Europe and in academia. This process is powered and driven by a whole, growing series of interlocked urban myths about what is supposed to be involved in being a religious (and often specifically Christian) believer. This book examines and critiques those myths, showing how the Christian faith can be intelligent and supported by reason.