He was just married but still shoplifting, breaking and entering, pulling guns. He was evil, but wanted salvation. A charismatic neighbor, smelling this, fed him Hussite truths, and then bang!: he and his wife get baptized. Suddenly he’s a fanatic, drops his friends, dismisses all plans, and enrols to become a Seventh-day Hussite minister. He graduates as one of the chosen few who can go out to recruit souls. He pulls big crowds in Sydney. In Papua New Guinea the villagers tell him Hussite missionaries tricked them out of their mountain for a bag of shells. They want their mountain back. He gives it to them! The Church is furious—but backers in high places get him a scholarship to the USA. There he’s the Moses from Melbourne, the hot-shot evangelist from Down Under, swaggering across campus and perfecting his soul-winning stage show—until, on a dare, he discovers secret papers that show his religion is a sham. His mind is tumbling! He concludes his study and retreats to New Zealand. Soon Hussitism is defending itself against religious fraud. It closes ranks, whitewashes its history, purges hundreds of ministers. He becomes a target, is spied upon, lied about, goes from superstar to outcast. He moves sideways, undertakes a PhD in America, keeps his head down. But they hit him with a new ambush. This time he’s too weary to go on. And his wife wanted out. And so, at 43, he headed home to the Australian bush, no money, no prospects. But he’s a fighter: he sued them for the way they treated him, and he beat the bastards.

A bold and persuasive case for abandoning old religions and still believing in God In this book, Mark Johnston argues that God needs to be saved not only from the distortions of the "undergraduate atheists" (Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris) but, more importantly, from the idolatrous tendencies of religion itself. Each monotheistic religion has its characteristic ways of domesticating True Divinity, of taming God's demands so that they do not radically threaten our self-love and false righteousness. Turning the monotheistic critique of idolatry on the monotheisms themselves, Johnston shows that much in these traditions must be condemned as false and spiritually debilitating. A central claim of the book is that supernaturalism is idolatry. If this is right, everything changes; we cannot place our salvation in jeopardy by tying it essentially to the supernatural cosmologies of the ancient Near East. Remarkably, Johnston rehabilitates the ideas of the Fall and of salvation within a naturalistic framework; he then presents a conception of God that both resists idolatry and is wholly consistent with the deliverances of the natural sciences. Princeton University Press is publishing Saving God in conjunction with Johnston's forthcoming book Surviving Death, which takes up the crux of supernaturalist belief, namely, the belief in life after death. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Annotation Johnston presents an argument for a form of immortality that divests the notion of any supernatural elements. The book is packed with illuminating philosophical reflection on the question of what we are, and what it is for us to persist over time.

Does it ever feel like life is out of control? Could you use the reminder that God is in control? When tragedy strikes, people desperately search for answers. Believers and unbelievers alike find themselves turning to God. Bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado tells us that though it may not be quick or painless, God will use this mess for good. In this booklet, Max Lucado will help you: Find courage to never give up during turbulent times Trust God to help you through all of life’s trials Remember that God will use every painful circumstance for good Scriptures for Your Turbulent Times also included.

When the screams of innocents dying engulf you, how do you hear God's voice? Will God and God's people call you to life when your breath is being strangled out of you? For people of color living each day surrounded by violence, for whom survival is not a given, vocational discernment is more than "finding your purpose" - it's a matter of life and death. Patrick Reyes shares his story of how the community around him - his grandmother, robed clergy, educators, friends, and neighbors - saved him from gang life, abuse, and the economic and racial oppression that threatened to kill him before he ever reached adulthood. A story balancing the tension between pain and healing, Nobody Cries When We Die takes you to the places that make American society flinch, redefines what you are called to do with your life, and gives you strength to save lives and lead in your own community. Part of the FTE (Forum for Theological Exploration) Series

As a girl, Alia Joy came face to face with weakness, poverty, and loss in ways that made her doubt God was good. There were times when it felt as if God had abandoned her. What she didn't realize then was that God was always there, calling her to abandon herself. In this deeply personal exploration of what it means to be "poor in spirit," Joy challenges our cultural proclivity to "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps." She calls on readers to embrace true vulnerability and authenticity with God and with one another, showing how weakness does not disqualify us from inclusion in the kingdom of God--instead, it is our very invitation to enter in. Anyone who has struggled with feeling inadequate, disillusioned, or just too broken will find hope. This message is an antidote to despair, helping readers reclaim the ways God is good, even when life is anything but.

Many people believe in and practice praying to the Lord, but the Bible is very clear that the Lord also speaks back to us in various ways! This book goes into detail about the 7 different ways that God speaks to us as found in the Bible, and how that applies to our lives today. It reveals to us that these 7 areas are not just the different ways that God still speaks to us, but that when looked at as a whole they are a picture of what a healthy relationship with God involves. It further shows that this kind of intimate relationship is available to all believers and that this is exactly the kind of relationship that God desires to have with each of us. Throughout the book several Biblical and personal examples are used to validate each section. The reader is also given opportunities to see how God has already been talking to them in his/her own life, and then record these examples at the end of every chapter. Each person who reads this book is challenged to grow in his/her relationship with the Lord and is given many tools to help accomplish that. This is important because when a believer has an intimate relationship with the Lord they hear His voice more clearly. The Holy Spirit is then better able to guide and empower the believer to become victorious in their daily walk.

Meyer offers level-headed advice for coping with death and its aftermath. Surviving Death includes chapters on "Pulling the Plug", "Hastening the Inevitable", and the issue of an afterlife. A useful resource for pastoral staff, counselors, and the grieving.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans. Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them. It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers. The triumphant story of this remarkable young woman’s journey through the darkness of genocide will inspire anyone whose life has been touched by fear, suffering, and loss.