Author: Richard Peace Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing ISBN: 9780802842350 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 420
Book Description
A landmark work in the study of conversion. With the tools of scholarship and as a seasoned practitioner, Richard Peace explores the New Testament understanding of the turning points of conversion -- from the night of our captivities to the light of Christ, into the church and out to the neighbor in need. Our contemporary efforts in evangelism have much to learn from this full-orbed view of conversion. - Gabriel Fackre, on back cover.
Author: Craig Harline Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 0300167415 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 369
Book Description
The experiences of two families—one in seventeenth-century Holland, the other in America today—and how they coped when a family member changed religions. This powerful and innovative work by a gifted cultural historian explores the effects of religious conversion on family relationships, showing how the challenges of the Reformation can offer insight to families facing similarly divisive situations today. Craig Harline begins with the story of young Jacob Rolandus, the son of a Dutch Reformed preacher, who converted to Catholicism in 1654 and ran away from home, causing his family to disown him. In the companion story, Michael Sunbloom, a young American, leaves his family’s religion in 1973 to convert to Mormonism, similarly upsetting his distraught parents. The modern twist to Michael’s story is his realization that he is gay, causing him to leave his new church, and upsetting his parents again—but this time the family reconciles. Recounting these stories in short, alternating chapters, Harline underscores the parallel aspects of the two far-flung families. Despite different outcomes and forms, their situations involve nearly identical dynamics and heart-wrenching choices. Through the author's deeply informed imagination, the experiences of a seventeenth-century European family are transformed into immediately recognizable terms. “A beautiful and moving book. Harline is a master at narrative and at making the most painstaking research look effortless.” —Carlos Eire, Yale University “An absorbing, creative book . . . it will definitely become a go-to book for readers interested in the history and psychology of conversion.” —Lauren Winner, author of Girl Meets God: A Memoir “An unexpected joy. . . . A compelling, insightful examination. . . . Conversions is a journey well worth taking.” —Gerald S. Argetsinger, Affirmation.org
Author: John M. Mulder Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing ISBN: 0802865755 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 419
Book Description
The search for God is a staple of human history. Finding God records sixty first-person accounts of Christians who found God in different ways and the impact this discovery made on their lives and on the world in which they lived. Ranging from the first century to the present, Finding God is a fascinating digest of conversion stories from a wide variety of people -- from the apostle Paul to the rock musician Bono. These narratives together demonstrate the remarkable diversity of spiritual journeys and the dramatic changes that can result from encounters with God. Both instructive and inspirational, Finding God will expand horizons and deepen the faith of those who seek insight into the age-old spiritual quest to find God.
Author: Scot McKnight Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press ISBN: 9780664225148 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 228
Book Description
Scot McKnight's careful study of Jesus' relationship with his followers reveals that elements of all three contemporary models of conversion--the personal decision, the sociological, and the liturgical--are present within the Gospel accounts. But because the Gospel narratives themselves are insufficiently explicit to support only one contemporary model of conversion, McKnight suggests that an enhanced reading of the Gospels should engender an appreciation for each of the models in the church today.
Author: Lutheran Librarian Publisher: ISBN: 9781704015040 Category : Languages : en Pages : 174
Book Description
Of the making of books, there is no end. "Why then a new book on Conversion? Because not all that has been written and preached on the subject is truth. Much of it is the saddest and most dangerous caricature of truth. Few subjects have been more abused, misrepresented and misunderstood. A veritable flood of ruinous error has emanated from pen and pulpit on this subject. A sad wreckage of doubt, gloom, skepticism, despair, insanity and self-destruction is the result. Much of the current twaddle is the shallowest sentimentalism or the wildest fanaticism, with all the various baseless gradations be tween. It tends to confuse the mind, to harden the heart, to quench the spirit, to ruin the soul." -- G.G. George Henry Gerberding (1847-1927) studied under Charles Krauth and C. F. Schaeffer and assisted the Rev. Passavant. An indefatigable worker, he established and restored churches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Fargo, ND. His Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church was one of the most successful books ever published by the English Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry finds, restores and republishes good, readable books from Lutheran authors and those of other sound Christian traditions. All titles are available at little to no cost in proofread and freshly typeset editions. Many free e-books are available at our website LutheranLibrary.org. Please enjoy this book and let others know about this completely volunteer service to God's people. May the Lord bless you and bring you peace.
Author: David W. Kling Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0195320921 Category : Christian converts Languages : en Pages : 853
Book Description
Conversion has played a central role in the history of Christianity. In this first in-depth and wide-ranging narrative history, David Kling examines the dynamic of turning to the Christian faith by individuals, families, and people groups. Global in reach, the narrative progresses from early Christian beginnings in the Roman world to Christianity's expansion into Europe, the Americas, China, India, and Africa. Conversion is often associated with a particular strand of modern Christianity (evangelical) and a particular type of experience (sudden, overwhelming). However, when examined over two millennia, it emerges as a phenomenon far more complex than any one-dimensional profile would suggest. No single, unitary paradigm defines conversion and no easily explicable process accounts for why people convert to Christianity. Rather, a multiplicity of factors-historical, personal, social, geographical, theological, psychological, and cultural-shape the converting process. A History of Christian Conversion not only narrates the conversions of select individuals and peoples, it also engages current theories and models to explain conversion, and examines recurring themes in the conversion process: divine presence, gender and the body, agency and motivation, testimony and memory, group- and self-identity, "authentic" and "nominal" conversion, and modes of communication. Accessible to scholars, students, and those with a general interest in conversion, Kling's book is the most satisfying and comprehensive account of conversion in Christian history to date; this major work will become a standard must-read in conversion studies.