The controversial Bible scholar and author of The Evolution of Adam recounts his transformative spiritual journey in which he discovered a new, more honest way to love and appreciate God’s Word. Trained as an evangelical Bible scholar, Peter Enns loved the Scriptures and shared his devotion, teaching at Westminster Theological Seminary. But the further he studied the Bible, the more he found himself confronted by questions that could neither be answered within the rigid framework of his religious instruction or accepted among the conservative evangelical community. Rejecting the increasingly complicated intellectual games used by conservative Christians to “protect” the Bible, Enns was conflicted. Is this what God really requires? How could God’s plan for divine inspiration mean ignoring what is really written in the Bible? These questions eventually cost Enns his job—but they also opened a new spiritual path for him to follow. The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns’s spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God’s Word as it is actually written. As he explores questions progressive evangelical readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider—the essence of our spiritual study.

Exploring Christian Scripture: Issues, Themes, Books, Topics John Wesley believed the Scriptures are a complete rule of faith and practice" and "they are clear in all necessary points." To this affirmation, Wesley immediately adds, "and yet their clearness does not prove that they need not be explained" The book you are holding emerged as a companion to a Scripture conference at Northwest Nazarene University. Many scholars at the conference contributed essays to this important book. About half of the essays address vital issues, such as biblical inspiration, inerrancy, interpretation, and authority. John Wesley's approach to the Bible is examined, and some essays explore how the Bible ought to be approached in a postmodern world. Other essays address crucial themes in various books of the Bible. These essays will help preachers and teachers greatly as they work to present the truths of Scripture to contemporary people. If understanding the Bible well is a high priority to you, this may become one of the most important books you'll ever read!

What does the Bible teach and what does it not teach? Does the Bible Tell Me So? addresses this question by first examining how the Bible has been misinterpreted in the past and then asking if the same mistakes are being made today. The topic of how to interpret scripture so as to correctly understand what it teaches is extremely important not only for creating unity among Christian denominations but for civil dialogue and peaceful decision making. To correctly interpret the teachings of the Bible, various contexts must be taken into consideration: the literary form the biblical author is using, the beliefs at the time of the original author and audience, and the two-thousand-year process of ongoing revelation modeled in scripture. In this book, author Margaret Nutting Ralph explains each of these three contexts and applies this method of interpretation to historical issues, demonstrating how the Bible was abused to support the deep-seated prejudices of well-meaning people of the past. She then examines this approach in relation to current issues to determine whether scripture is being misused today.

The Road to Freedom is the path of hope for all of us who are stuck. With practical application and inspiration, Johnny Baker shares his story of recovering from alcoholism and offers the truths he has learned from his 25 years with Celebrate Recovery. Baker’s father, John, founded Celebrate Recovery when Baker was 15 years old. Later, Baker became involved with alcohol himself. Even though he saw his parents’ marriage heal and watched his dad become a new person, he had to experience his own journey of healing. Baker began the process of recovery as a young adult. Now he serves on the leadership team of Celebrate Recovery, sharing his testimony of how God brought him back home. In the years since leaving alcohol behind, Baker has witnessed thousands of other lives change through the power of Christ. Whether you are dealing with substance abuse, relational struggles, or eating challenges, or you simply want to let go of what is holding you back in life, you will find answers in The Road to Freedom. In addition to telling his own story, Baker offers ten principles of healing. These life lessons remind you that pain has a purpose, small and steady improvement lasts longer than overnight change, serving others leads to deeper healing, and facing your problems is the only way to heal. The Road to Freedom will help you move from coping with hurts, hang-ups, and habits to the hope and health that only Jesus can bring.

There is a palpable sense of confusion—and sometimes even embarrassment—with regard to so-called limited atonement today, pointing to the need for thoughtful engagement with this controversial doctrine. Incorporating contributions from a host of respected theologians, From Heaven He Came and Sought Her stands as the first comprehensive resource on definite atonement as it examines the issue from historical, biblical, theological, and pastoral perspectives. Offering scholarly insights for those seeking a thorough and well-researched discussion, this book will encourage charitable conversations as it winsomely defends this foundational tenet of Reformed theology. *The epub edition of this title will not display correctly when viewed on Adobe Digital Editions. Hebrew characters will be inaccurately displayed in this reader.

A careful, well-researched exposition of the biblical texts which are used to manipulate women into remaining in situations of domestic abuse, together with scriptures which are liberatory to women in this situation Adopts a high view of scripture and engages honestly with passages which are traditionally viewed as oppressive to women Draws on interviews with women who have experienced domestic violence Pastoral, direct, highly accessible style of writing which seeks to engage abused women and enable them to take a fresh look at the situation they are trapped in Written by a biblical scholar and practising pastor with a track record of being able to communicate to audiences at all levels

Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.

"I can't imagine a college student—skeptic, doubter, Christian, struggler—who wouldn't benefit from this book." —Kevin DeYoung For many young adults, the college years are an exciting period of selfdiscovery full of new relationships, new independence, and new experiences. Yet college can also be a time of personal testing and intense questioning— especially for Christian students confronted with various challenges to Christianity and the Bible for the first time. Drawing on years of experience as a biblical scholar, Michael Kruger addresses common objections to the Christian faith—the exclusivity of Christianity, Christian intolerance, homosexuality, hell, the problem of evil, science, miracles, and the reliability of the Bible. If you're a student dealing with doubt or wrestling with objections to Christianity from fellow students and professors alike, this book will equip you to engage secular challenges with intellectual honesty, compassion, and confidence—and ultimately graduate college with your faith intact.

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.