It's the end of Christianity as we know it. But it's not a catastrophe-it's an opportunity. Thousands are walking away from the church. Christians are grappling with their faith. And both believers and nonbelievers wondering-what's coming next? Fearless and provocative, spiritual trailblazer Christian Piatt offers a roadmap to the future of faith with an unflinching examination of the church today. What's left? Pairing the best "virtues" and worst "scandals" of Christianity, Piatt invites us to abandon institutional religion for deeper, truer faith. Can we fix it? Guided by the biggest historical, religious, and pop-cultural pioneers of the post Christian era, he demonstrates how to save the best of what Christianity has to offer-and how to rediscover and reinvent the rest. Do we care? There's plenty of good left in Christianity-if we dare to be as scandalously graceful and loving as Jesus Himself. Bold and insightful, Postchristian dares Christians to break out of the box and invites outsiders into the fold as we revolutionize faith for a postmodern world.
Have you ever had a burning question that seemed off limits or inappropriate to ask about Christianity, the Bible, or Jesus? You Can’t Ask That! gathers 50 of the most provocative, challenging, or otherwise taboo questions that many of us have wondered about but few have actually asked. Edited by Christian Piatt, who once had a bible thrown at his head for asking too many questions during a Sunday school class, this collection considers nothing off limits and takes the hard questions seriously. Responses from theology professors, pastors, lay leaders, and other progressive Christians range from the personal to the profound and from sarcastic to deeply touching. By offering multiple perspectives to those banned questions, readers can craft their own answers. Better yet, they’ll understand that questioning faith is not taboo; it’s the foundation of a strong and growing faith.
A scholar among the laity, anonymous author "David Christian," in checking the text amongst the ordained, received positive feedback including the following: Ernie (38 years of church pastoral leadership) wrote, "Book is remarkable with more knowledge of biblical literature and history than most ministers including yours truly." Laurie (pastor of a small local church) offered "For your fun and engaging approach - abundant praise. And know that it's a fine book to use with small groups." Wayne (ordained seminary professor) calls it "a thesaurus of great reading, good thinking, and delightfully provocative writing." The goal of the book is to motivate saving the many Christian churches from themselves so that in unity the Church will motivate saving the world from itself. We don't have a lot of time.
This latest book in the insightful and entertaining Banned Questions series addresses fifty questions about Christians that many of us have wondered regarding Hell, sprinkle vs dunk baptism, gay and lesbian issues in ministry, the inconsistencies of communion, the multitude of denominations, God's allowance of suffering in the world, and more. This is a great addition to your library as you (or your study group) ponder the questions many have wanted to ask and few were brave enough to answer.
The World Wide Web has enabled the creation of a global information space comprising linked documents. As the Web becomes ever more enmeshed with our daily lives, there is a growing desire for direct access to raw data not currently available on the Web or bound up in hypertext documents. Linked Data provides a publishing paradigm in which not only documents, but also data, can be a first class citizen of the Web, thereby enabling the extension of the Web with a global data space based on open standards - the Web of Data. In this Synthesis lecture we provide readers with a detailed technical introduction to Linked Data. We begin by outlining the basic principles of Linked Data, including coverage of relevant aspects of Web architecture. The remainder of the text is based around two main themes - the publication and consumption of Linked Data. Drawing on a practical Linked Data scenario, we provide guidance and best practices on: architectural approaches to publishing Linked Data; choosing URIs and vocabularies to identify and describe resources; deciding what data to return in a description of a resource on the Web; methods and frameworks for automated linking of data sets; and testing and debugging approaches for Linked Data deployments. We give an overview of existing Linked Data applications and then examine the architectures that are used to consume Linked Data from the Web, alongside existing tools and frameworks that enable these. Readers can expect to gain a rich technical understanding of Linked Data fundamentals, as the basis for application development, research or further study. Table of Contents: List of Figures / Introduction / Principles of Linked Data / The Web of Data / Linked Data Design Considerations / Recipes for Publishing Linked Data / Consuming Linked Data / Summary and Outlook
Based upon his experience as the director of Small and Minority Business for the Economic Development Cabinet in Kentucky and as a Sunday teacher, the writer uses this knowledge to encourage you to follow your dream of being the owner of your own small business. To do this, you are encouraged to utilize the scriptures for spiritual guidance in starting and managing your small business. For godly assistance, the services of the Small Business Centers are recommended. The writer gives a different view on planning and developing your dream into a reality.
Like King David, someone has sincerely asked of God, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you."- Psalm 51:12-13. Unfortunately, saints hurt other saints, causing some "hurt saints" to sin by turning their backs on God-refusing to trust Him. We can't hurt people in the church and let them walk away with a "bad taste" in their mouths. We just can't lodge a dagger into their hearts and say, "Get over it-it came to make you stronger!" We can't tell people to do right, and not even try to practice what we have preached. The time has come for all of God's saints to put the Word of God into practice. The time is critical for Christians to reach out to estranged, bruised, and injured Christians; and to zealously seek those who have not yet proclaimed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Some retort, "How dare we address the 'Church Hurt Christian' who has run to every other place, with the exception of God, seeking refuge!" The Holy Spirit of God has spoken and said, "I want these restored back unto Me." Jeremiah 50:6 says, "My people have been lost sheep: Their shepherds have led them astray and turned them loose in the mountains. They have lost their way and cannot remember how to get back to the sheepfold." God says, "Go back to Jesus. He is the only way." Faith Christian enjoys sharing revelations from Christ. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, she writes boldly about Christian issues. She desires to encourage the saved and to enlighten the unsaved about salvation through Jesus Christ. Faith Christian is also the published author of, "While We Are Waiting.
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