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Estrelda Alexander was raised in an urban, black, working-class, oneness Pentecostal congregation in the 1950s and 1960s, but she knew little of her heritage and thought that all Christians worshiped and believed as she did. Much later she discovered that many Christians not only knew little of her heritage but considered it strange. Even today, most North Americans remain ignorant of black Pentecostalism.Black ...
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die..."
When the reformers of the sixteenth century turned to this well-known text from the Book of Ecclesiastes, they did not find a reason to despair, but rather confirmation of their hope and faith in God. For example, Martin Luther pointed ...
"He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world . . ."
Among the traditional tenets of the Christian faith is the belief that God chooses or elects people for salvation. For some Christians, such an affirmation is an indication of God's sovereign and perfect will. For others, such a notion is troubling for it seems to downplay the significance of human agency and ...
What preachers preach is not necessarily what hearers hear. Have you ever wondered why some hearers are affected by a sermon but not others? The issue may not necessarily be the content or delivery of the message. It may be how your hearers' brains process what you say. Modern neuroscience illuminates how our brains understand and hear sermons. Verbal stimuli can be accepted or rejected depending ...
Many Christians today long to become reacquainted with their ancient ancestors in the faith. They see a deeper worship and devotion in the prayers and hymns of the early church. And they believe that the writings of the early church can shed new light on their understanding of Scripture.
But where and how do we begin? Our first encounter with the writings of the church fathers may seem like ...
Danish theologian and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard was not afraid to express his opinions. Living amid what he perceived to be a culturally lukewarm Christianity, he was often critical of his contemporary church.
But that does not mean Kierkegaard rejected traditional Christian theology. Indeed, at a time when many of his contemporaries were questioning the classical doctrine ...
"Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God."
Ruth's response to her mother-in-law Naomi demonstrated both Ruth's loyalty to her family and her trust in God. The Reformers of the sixteenth century found theological significance in such Old Testament narratives. For example, German Lutheran pastor and theologian ...
"As they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.'"
How should one interpret these words of Jesus?
The sixteenth-century Reformers turned to Scripture to find the truth of God's Word, but that doesn't mean they always agreed on how to interpret it. For example, when approaching ...
Marx, Mill, Hegel, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Emerson, Darwin, Freud and Weber brought to the nineteenth century new realms of thought, which still continue to wield substantial influence today. As a result, the study of history, science, psychology,philosophy, sociology and religion have never been the same.These heirs to rationalism began to explore the full range of human experience--which became ...
Protestant is shorthand for a spreading family tree of church and theological traditions. Each tradition embodies a historically shaped perspective on the beliefs, practices and priorities that make up a Christian community.Whether you are an insider to one tradition, a hybrid of two or three, or--as many Christians today--an outsider to all, Exploring Protestant Traditions is ...