In the book, Second Thoughts About The Second Coming, teacher, author, and systems engineer, Joe Reeves deals with many aspects of the idea of Jesus' second coming that are seldom considered by modern Christians; but, he does so from the standpoint of asking several critical questions. The basic questions he asks, and answers, in this book are, "can a book of scripture, at some later date, come to mean what it never meant?" Can a scriptural text, at a later date, come to mean what the author obviously did not intend it to mean to those of his original envisioned recipients to whom he wrote, and a meaning that the first recipients simply would not have understood? Then based on those answers, he asks and answers several questions about Jesus' resurrection, His resurrected nature, and His ascension. Then based on the biblical answers to those questions asks and answers the question about whether or not Jesus and the biblical writers predicted a "second coming." Using those questions, and the question of "specifically what would those first-century Christians have understood about what modern interpreters call Jesus' "second coming," as the basis for study, Joe uses his training and experience in systems thinking, Bible, history, cultural anthropology, and logic and philosophical realism to formulate a system of thinking that challenges many of the modern assumptions upon which the four most common doctrines about Jesus' second coming are based. For the person who wishes to learn more about how the first Christians would have used, and understood, the writings they received about Jesus' and His life after His resurrection, this book is a must read.

Various ideas float around about the subject of last things, leading many Christians to conclude that they don’t know what to think about the subject. Yet at the core of the Christian doctrine of last things lies two simple and complementary hopes: that God ever and always offers hope for our individual futures and for the future of the whole world. In this helpful book, Allen and Cornwall explain how we don’t have to subscribe to sensationalist theories or sketchy interpretations to believe in Christian hope. They walk the reader through the central biblical teachings on last things and then show the ways the church has interpreted those teachings throughout the centuries. In a respectful way, the authors demonstrate that end-time beliefs centered on the Rapture came into existence only recently, and they then offer several more life-affirming, contemporary interpretations as alternatives. The book includes a study guide and web-based appendixes designed to help pastors develop both topical and lectionary-based sermon series on Christian hope.

A Study Guide and a Teacher’s Manual Gospel Principles was written both as a personal study guide and as a teacher’s manual. As you study it, seeking the Spirit of the Lord, you can grow in your understanding and testimony of God the Father, Jesus Christand His Atonement, and the Restoration of the gospel. You can find answers to life’s questions, gain an assurance of your purpose and self-worth, and face personal and family challenges with faith.

Michael O'Brien presents a thrilling apocalyptic novel about the condition of the Roman Catholic Church at the end of time. It explores the state of the modern world, and the strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary religious scene, by taking his central character, Father Elijah Schäfer, a Carmelite priest, on a secret mission for the Vatican which embroils him in a series of crises and subterfuges affecting the ultimate destiny of the Church. Father Elijah is a convert from Judaism, a survivor of the Holocaust, a man once powerful in Israel. For twenty years he has been "buried in the dark night of Carmel" on the mountain of the prophet Elijah. The Pope and the Cardinal Secretary of State call him out of obscurity and give him a task of the highest sensitivity: to penetrate into the inner circles of a man whom they believe may be the Antichrist. Their purpose: to call the Man of Sin to repentance, and thus to postpone the great tribulation long enough to preach the Gospel to the whole world. In this richly textured tale, Father Elijah crosses Europe and the Middle East, moves through the echelons of world power, meets saints and sinners, presidents, judges, mystics, embattled Catholic journalists, faithful priests and a conspiracy of traitors within the very House of God. This is an apocalypse in the old literary sense, but one that was written in the light of Christian revelation.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

A lovely, searching meditation on second children—on whether to have one and what it means to be one—that seamlessly weaves pieces of art and culture on the topic with scientific research and personal anecdotes The decision to have more than one child is at least as consuming as the decision to have a child at all—and yet for all the good books that deliberate on the choice of becoming a parent, there is far less writing on the choice of becoming a parent of two, and all the questions that arise during the process. Is there any truth in the idea of character informed by birth order, or the loneliness of only children? What is the reality of sibling rivalry? What might a parent to one, or two, come to regret? Lynn Berger is here to fill that gap with the curious, reflective Second Thoughts. Grounded in autobiography and full of considered allusion, careful investigation and generous candor, it’s an exploration specifically dedicated to second children and their particular, too often forgotten lot. Warm and wise, intimate and universal at once, it’s a must read for parents-to-be and want-to-be, parents of one, parents of two or more, and second children themselves.

This dictionary of American English is designed to help learners write and speak accurate and up-to-date English. • Ideal for upper-intermediate and advanced learners of English • Based on the Collins 4.5-billion-word database, the Collins Corpus • Up-to-date coverage of today’s English, with all words and phrases explained in full sentences • Authentic examples from the Collins Corpus show how English is really used • Extensive help with grammar, including plural forms and verb infl ections • Fully illustrated Word Web and Picture Dictionary boxes provide additional information on vocabulary and key concepts • Vocabulary-building features encourage students to improve their accuracy and fl uency: †- Word Partnership notes highlight important collocations †- Thesaurus entries offer synonyms and antonyms for common words †- Usage notes explain different meanings and uses of the word • Supplements on Grammar, Writing, Speaking, Words That Frequently Appear on TOEFL® and TOEIC®, Text Messaging and Emoticons

What happens when we have second thoughts about the epistemic standing of our beliefs, when we stop to check on beliefs which we have already formed or hypotheses which we have under consideration? In the essays collected in this volume, Hilary Kornblith considers this and other questions about self-knowledge and the nature of human reason. The essays draw extensively on work in social psychology to illuminate traditional epistemological issues: in contrast with traditional Cartesian approaches to these issues, Kornblith engages with empirically motivated skeptical problems, and shows how they may be constructively addressed in practical and theoretical terms. As well as bringing together ten previously published essays, the volume contains two entirely new pieces that engage with ideas of self and rational nature. Kornblith's approach lays the foundations for further development in epistemology that will benefit from advances in our understanding of human psychology.

Co-authored by Karen A. Cerulo, the Eastern Sociological Society’s Robin L. Williams Lecturer for 2013-2014 Do birds of a feather flock together or do opposites attract? Is honesty the best policy? Are children our most precious commodity? Is education the great equalizer? Adages like these shape our social life. This Sixth Edition of Second Thoughts reviews several popular beliefs and notes how these conventional wisdoms cannot be taken at face value, but instead require careful second thoughts. This unique text encourages students to step back and sharpen their analytic focus with 25 essays that use social research to expose the gray areas of commonly held beliefs, revealing the complexity of social reality and sharpening students’ sociological vision.