Bowing Toward Babylon
Bowing Toward Babylon

Author: Craig Watts

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2017-03-08

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 1498291856

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What is being done in worship when national holidays are celebrated, the American flag is displayed and honored, and songs are sung that extol the nation? Are these benign gestures? Or could they actually be idolatrous? In this insightful and persuasively argued study Craig M. Watts contends the inclusion of elements of American nationalism in worship is detrimental to the integrity of Christian worship. He maintains that in faithful worship the story of Jesus must be re-presented and performed in such a way that the only affections and loyalty that are fostered are those Christians everywhere rightfully share. To do otherwise opens the door to idolatry and leaves the church doing what Watts calls "bowing toward Babylon." He reviews the development of the symbols, songs, and gestures that celebrate America and how they were introduced into worship. Watts concludes that the spirituality of American Christian nationalism does not complement the faith of the church but distorts it, hindering global Christian unity and the peaceable witness of the church in a divided world.

Apocalypse and Allegiance
Apocalypse and Allegiance

Author: J. Nelson Kraybill

Publisher: Brazos Press

Published: 2010-04

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1587432617

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A respected biblical scholar shows how the Book of Revelation made sense to its first readers and what it really means for Christians today.

Baptizing America
Baptizing America

Author: Brian Kaylor

Publisher: Chalice Press

Published: 2024-06-04

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 0827203403

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In the face of a rising threat to both church and democracy, Baptizing America provides an urgent examination and an enlightening critique exposing the dangerous undercurrents of Christian Nationalism. How can Mainline Protestants spot such practices in their own activities? A crucial call to reckon with influences before it's too late. Christian Nationalism presents an existential threat to both Christ’s church and American democracy. Now is the time—before it is too late—to reckon with all the places its pernicious influence arises. On full display in recent elections, Christian Nationalism also exists in sanctuaries where an American flag has been displayed for decades, when we pledge allegiance to one nation “Under God,” or when the U.S. is called a Christian nation. Baptizing America critiques the concept of civil religion, arguing that such expressions are far more dangerous than we realize. Mainline Protestant congregations will likely recognize themselves in the overlooked expressions of Christian Nationalism that pop up in the activities of both church and state.

Common Ground
Common Ground

Author: Donald V. Gaffney

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 2019-02-24

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 161164917X

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Every time a shooting makes national headlines, the same debates erupt: Is the problem guns or mental health? Why is the United States unique in its gun violence problem? Can we reduce this violence while protecting the right to bear arms? Newtown, Connecticut, native and Disciples of Christ minister Donald V. Gaffney brings a calm and compassionate voice to these complex questions, offering a guide for individuals and groups to reflect on and discuss guns and gun violence. Common Ground explores the place of guns in our individual and national histories, violence in Scripture, the legal issues surrounding gun rights, and ways in which we as moral, life-valuing people can bridge the divide to help solve the problem of gun violence in the United States. To move beyond the talking points and rhetoric dominating gun violence discussions, Gaffney concludes chapters with questions for reflection and discussion to encourage self-examination, exploration, and evaluation of potential solutions to gun violence.

By the Waters of Babylon
By the Waters of Babylon

Author: Stephen Vincent Benet

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-08-24

Total Pages: 38

ISBN-13: 9781517031244

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The north and the west and the south are good hunting ground, but it is forbidden to go east. It is forbidden to go to any of the Dead Places except to search for metal and then he who touches the metal must be a priest or the son of a priest. Afterwards, both the man and the metal must be purified. These are the rules and the laws; they are well made. It is forbidden to cross the great river and look upon the place that was the Place of the Gods-this is most strictly forbidden. We do not even say its name though we know its name. It is there that spirits live, and demons-it is there that there are the ashes of the Great Burning. These things are forbidden- they have been forbidden since the beginning of time.

Bowing Toward Babylon
Bowing Toward Babylon

Author: Craig Watts

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2017-03-08

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 1532611730

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What is being done in worship when national holidays are celebrated, the American flag is displayed and honored, and songs are sung that extol the nation? Are these benign gestures? Or could they actually be idolatrous? In this insightful and persuasively argued study Craig M. Watts contends the inclusion of elements of American nationalism in worship is detrimental to the integrity of Christian worship. He maintains that in faithful worship the story of Jesus must be re-presented and performed in such a way that the only affections and loyalty that are fostered are those Christians everywhere rightfully share. To do otherwise opens the door to idolatry and leaves the church doing what Watts calls "bowing toward Babylon." He reviews the development of the symbols, songs, and gestures that celebrate America and how they were introduced into worship. Watts concludes that the spirituality of American Christian nationalism does not complement the faith of the church but distorts it, hindering global Christian unity and the peaceable witness of the church in a divided world.

Mennocostals
Mennocostals

Author: Martin William Mittelstadt

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2020-02-05

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 153261974X

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Pentecostal and Mennonite contributors to this volume have been enriched by mutual hospitality. Through friendships across their respective traditions, they have shared and received the benefits of theological, experiential, and ministry convergence. In celebration of their common journeys, they offer their collective lives as Mennocostals. You will enjoy inspiring, honest, and vulnerable accounts of formation and ministry from academics, pastors, and missionaries. If you find these Mennocostal stories compelling, you will invariably want to discover your own story alongside and beyond the stories in this volume.

Setting the Spiritual Clock
Setting the Spiritual Clock

Author: Paul Louis Metzger

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2020-11-15

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1725258706

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Various Christian traditions mark their calendars to reflect the biblical and ecclesial narrative and enhance public worship. Such efforts safeguard against secularization’s encroachment in the church’s life. Setting the Spiritual Clock serves as a guide and traveling companion for the liturgical year, which circles the glorious Son as he breaks through the secular eclipse.

Unbinding Christianity
Unbinding Christianity

Author: Jan G. Linn

Publisher: Universal-Publishers

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1627342923

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Unbinding Christianity is a book that will be good news for some readers while stretching others in uncomfortable ways. It begins with the premise that traditional Christian teaching is focused on right beliefs while the life and teachings of Jesus was all about right living. The book represents a fresh voice for Christians who struggle to accept traditional beliefs by assuring them that Jesus himself said much more about right values than he did right beliefs. The goal of this book is to unbind Christianity from the wrappings of creeds, doctrines, dogma, and beliefs in order to make room for an understanding of what it means to be Christian defined by values that invites unity among Christians without the need for conformity of beliefs. One of the important by-products of a values-based Christianity is that it paves the way for Christians with different beliefs to find common ground with one another while also freeing them to build bridges of understanding with non-Christian. WORDS OF PRAISE If you have found it impossible to continue believing in some of the doctrines the church has taught to be essential and don't know if you can continue being a Christian, Jan Linn offers some much needed guidance. --Craig Watts Unbinding Christianity is a thought-provoking argument for expansion of Christianity's often employed litmus tests of inclusion and rejection. --Joshua Santana This book is a wake-up call to all of us who choose to follow Jesus, a challenge for us to rethink what it truly means to be Christian. --Heather Cargill