The Myth of the Empty Church
Author: Robin Gill
Publisher:
Published: 1993-01-01
Total Pages: 335
ISBN-13: 9780281046430
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The 'Empty' Church Revisited
Author: Robin Gill
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2018-01-12
Total Pages: 455
ISBN-13: 1351775987
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis title was first published in 2003. When did churches start to appear more empty than full - and why? The very physicality of largely empty churches and chapels in Britain plays a powerful role in popular perceptions of 'religion'. Empty churches are frequently cited in the media as evidence of large scale religious decline. The Empty Church Revisited presents a systematic account of British churchgoing patterns over the last two hundred years, uncovering the factors and the statistics behind the considerable process of decline in church attendence. Dispelling as myth the commonly held views that the process of secularization in British culture has led to the decline in churchgoing and resulted in the predominantly empty churches of today, Gill points to physical factors, economics and issues of social space to shed new light on the origins of empty churches. This thoroughly updated edition of Robin Gill's earlier work, The Myth of the Empty Church, presents new data throughout to explore afresh the paradox of church building activity in a context of decline, the patterns of urbanisation followed by sub-urbanisation affecting churches, changes in patterns of worship, and changes within the sociology of religion in the last decade.
Myth of the Empty Church
Author: Robin Gill
Publisher: Society for Promoting Christian
Published: 1993-05
Total Pages: 335
ISBN-13: 9780687858354
DOWNLOAD EBOOKEmpty Tomb, Apotheosis, Resurrection
Author: John Granger Cook
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
Published: 2018-09-06
Total Pages: 733
ISBN-13: 3161565037
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBack cover: In this work, John Granger Cook argues that there is no fundamental difference between Paul's conception of the resurrection body and that of the Gospels; and, the resurresction and translation stories of antiquity help explain the willingness of Mediterranean people to accept the Gospel of a risen savior.
Christian Mythology
Author: Philippe Walter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: 2014-11-20
Total Pages: 221
ISBN-13: 1620553694
DOWNLOAD EBOOKReveals how Christian mythology has more to do with long-standing pagan traditions than the Bible • Explains how the church fathers knowingly incorporated pagan elements into the Christian faith to ease the transition to the new religion • Identifies pagan deities that were incorporated into each of the saints • Shows how all the major holidays in the Christian calendar are modeled on pagan rituals and myths, including Easter and Christmas In this extensive study of the Christian mythology that animated Europe in the Middle Ages, author Philippe Walter reveals how these stories and the holiday traditions connected with them are based on long-standing pagan rituals and myths and have very little connection to the Bible. The author explains how the church fathers knowingly incorporated pagan elements into the Christian faith to ease the transition to the new religion. Rather than tear down the pagan temples in Britain, Pope Gregory the Great advised Saint Augustine of Canterbury to add the pagan rituals into the mix of Christian practices and transform the pagan temples into churches. Instead of religious conversion, it was simply a matter of convincing the populace to include Jesus in their current religious practices. Providing extensive documentation, Walter shows which major calendar days of the Christian year are founded on pagan rituals and myths, including the high holidays of Easter and Christmas. Examining hagiographic accounts of the saints, he reveals the origin of these symbolic figures in the deities worshipped in pagan Europe for centuries. He also explores how the identities of saints and pagan figures became so intermingled that some saints were transformed into pagan incarnations, such as Mary Magdalene’s conversion into one of the Celtic Ladies of the Lake. In revealing the pagan roots of many Christian figures, stories, and rituals, Walter provides a new understanding of the evolution of religious belief.
The Myth of American Religious Freedom
Author: David Sehat
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2011-01-14
Total Pages: 368
ISBN-13: 0199793115
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the battles over religion and politics in America, both liberals and conservatives often appeal to history. Liberals claim that the Founders separated church and state. But for much of American history, David Sehat writes, Protestant Christianity was intimately intertwined with the state. Yet the past was not the Christian utopia that conservatives imagine either. Instead, a Protestant moral establishment prevailed, using government power to punish free thinkers and religious dissidents. In The Myth of American Religious Freedom, Sehat provides an eye-opening history of religion in public life, overturning our most cherished myths. Originally, the First Amendment applied only to the federal government, which had limited authority. The Protestant moral establishment ruled on the state level. Using moral laws to uphold religious power, religious partisans enforced a moral and religious orthodoxy against Catholics, Jews, Mormons, agnostics, and others. Not until 1940 did the U.S. Supreme Court extend the First Amendment to the states. As the Supreme Court began to dismantle the connections between religion and government, Sehat argues, religious conservatives mobilized to maintain their power and began the culture wars of the last fifty years. To trace the rise and fall of this Protestant establishment, Sehat focuses on a series of dissenters--abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, socialist Eugene V. Debs, and many others. Shattering myths held by both the left and right, David Sehat forces us to rethink some of our most deeply held beliefs. By showing the bad history used on both sides, he denies partisans a safe refuge with the Founders.
Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson
Author: Ron Dart
Publisher: Lexham Press
Published: 2020-03-25
Total Pages: 176
ISBN-13: 1683593634
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPopular philosopher Jordan Peterson has captured the imagination of Western world. For some, Peterson represents all that is wrong with patriarchal culture; for others, he is the Canadian academic prophet who has come to save civilization from dizzying confusion. Regardless of how one feels about him, his influence in North America--and beyond--is difficult to deny. While the "Peterson phenomenon" has motivated numerous articles and responses, much of what has been written is either excessively fawning or overly critical. Little has been produced that explores Peterson's thought--especially his immensely popular 12 Rules for Life--within the context of his overall context and scholarly output. How is one to understand the ascendency of Jordan Peterson and why he's become so popular? Does his earlier Maps of Meaning shed light on how one might understand his worldwide bestseller, 12 Rules for Life? In Myth and Meaning in Jordan Peterson, scholars across various disciplines explore various aspects of Jordan Peterson's thought from a Christian perspective. Both critical and charitable, sober-minded and generous, this collection of ten essays is a key resource for those looking to faithfully engage with Jordan Peterson's thought.
The Oxford History of Anglicanism
Author: Anthony Milton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017
Total Pages: 470
ISBN-13: 0199641404
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Oxford History of Anglicanism is a major new and unprecedented international study of the identity and historical influence of one of the world's largest versions of Christianity. This global study of Anglicanism from the sixteenth century looks at how was Anglican identity constructed and contested at various periods since the sixteenth century; and what was its historical influence during the past six centuries. It explores not just the ecclesiastical and theological aspects of global Anglicanism, but also the political, social, economic, and cultural influences of this form of Christianity that has been historically significant in western culture, and a burgeoning force in non-western societies today. The chapters are written by international exports in their various historical fields which includes the most recent research in their areas, as well as original research. The series forms an invaluable reference for both scholars and interested non-specialists. Volume four of The Oxford History of Anglicanism explores Anglicanism examines the twentieth-century history of Anglicanism in North America, Britain and Ireland, and Australasia. A historiographical introduction provides insight into changing historical interpretation. The volume explores perspectives on secularization, decolonization, mission, and the theological identity of Anglicanism. It highlights the global communion's movement away from an Anglo-centric leadership and a British imperial legacy towards greater diversity and greater influence for the global south. Ten themed chapters open up complementary aspects of the history of Western Anglicanism, including theological development, social justice, women, human sexuality, ecumenical relations, mission and decolonization, war and peace, liturgical revision, sociological analysis, and the relationship of the church, state, and nationalism. A further section on institutional development looks at the history of communion-wide institutions in the twentieth century, and at changing ideas of Anglican identity. Later chapters survey the regional history of Western Anglicanism in three substantial chapters examining excessively Australia and New Zealand, North America, and the British Isles.
The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 8, World Christianities C.1815-c.1914
Author: Sheridan Gilley
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2006
Total Pages: 730
ISBN-13: 9780521814560
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is the first scholarly treatment of nineteenth-century Christianity to discuss the subject in a global context. Part I analyses the responses of Catholic and Protestant Christianity to the intellectual and social challenges presented by European modernity. It gives attention to the explosion of new voluntary forms of Christianity and the expanding role of women in religious life. Part II surveys the diverse and complex relationships between the churches and nationalism, resulting in fundamental changes to the connections between church and state. Part III examines the varied fortunes of Christianity as it expanded its historic bases in Asia and Africa, established itself for the first time in Australasia, and responded to the challenges and opportunities of the European colonial era. Each chapter has a full bibliography providing guidance on further reading.
The Empty Church
Author: Mark Bohaichuk
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2018-04-23
Total Pages: 181
ISBN-13: 1641912235
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Empty Church is a street-level discussion that explores the modern-day Christian Church attendance and why it seems to be dwindling. Mark Bohaichuk walks the reader through logical and clear ways of thinking about Christianity and the decline in church attendance. Is it a coincidence that as people leave the Christian faith for materialism that our world is slowly being submerged in chaos and an out-of-control politically correct movement? Is the waning of the world's moral barometer related to the weakening of our faith? The Empty Church begins an informal discussion on why we may be seeing these declines. The author takes us on an explorative journey to the forces that continue to relentlessly pressure and push people out of the Christian Church. A society of materialism and fast-food-like gratifications lure the gentle sheep of the church out into a world of ravenous wolves. The Empty Church is a great place to start a dialogue with your friends and fellow believers about the condition and health of our modern society and how it may tie in with the decline in our church attendance. Has our faith in God been lost in the stampede of atheistic pleasures of our fast and furious society? Can we reclaim the faith and refill the churches with followers of the truth and the life and once again become the change agents that our society so desperately needs? The Empty Church looks at possible reasons there exists a decline in our faith and looks at the ways we can once again become the salt and the light to the nations.
