The movie We Are Marshall brought national attention to the tragic loss and dramatic reconstitution of the school’s football team. But neither this film nor the Emmy-winning documentary, Marshall University: Ashes to Glory, explores the spiritual context and effect of the plane crash. Few know that a visiting campus preacher touched the life of a popular defensive lineman the week before his ill-fated flight; that a campus minister was surprised several weeks later by a nighttime visit from students who’d come to ask “the Jesus man” how to be saved; that two years before the crash, a new, young professor, with a doctorate from India, enlisted five students to help evangelize the campus; and that three decades later, a devout linebacker urged the coach to change the name of a play since it was demeaning to women. The story extends back to the school’s log-church beginnings, up through the decades when campus Ys generated foreign missionaries, to the national championship years, when key players testified freely to their faith—nearly two centuries of spiritual highs (and yes, lows) in the life of this remarkable school.
What do you get when you add a Fortune 500 CEO to a veteran Muppeteer, both recently awakened in Christ? Steep them in the prophetic preaching of Times Square Church and the story of William Wilberforce. Simmer them in the spectacle of moral chaos in the West and the heroics of Anglican archbishops in the Global South. Before long, you have an inspired array of publications, productions, gatherings, and endowments. This is the ongoing legacy of Emmanuel and Camille Kampouris. The prophet Zechariah (4:10) assures us that the Lord can use small beginnings for great purposes. This book illustrates the way in which seemingly-minor divine appointments and providential junctures can open the way to momentous Kingdom effects. Some of the junctures were difficult (President Nassers theft of the family business in Egypt), even tragic (the loss of Manos beloved wife, Myrto, to cancer). Others seemed slight and incidental at the time (the loan of a book, C.S. Lewiss Mere Christianity). But great things came of these incidents, and the unfolding narrative may well encourage readers to be prayerfully alert to the spiritual possibilities in their own happenstances, to stand ready to act as the Spirit leads and circumstances suggest.
A dying man hires the services of a cannibal; a customs official insults a world-class sculptor; a farmer complains that low-flying bombers are killing his chickens; two rock groups claim the same name; a monkey takes a selfie; and a minister with mail-order credentials performs a wedding. The resulting court cases (and sixteen others) serve to introduce a wide range of philosophical notions (such as libertarianism, speciesism, and speech acts). Next, a subway employee draws a revolutionary map; a mountain loses its name; a strange cineplex puts people in each others' movies; the art museums of Madrid loom over neighboring buildings; a nautical chart guides seamen into a Connecticut port; and Jerusalem stands "due north" of the Mediterranean. These maps (twenty-three in all), whether real or imaginary, introduce yet other philosophical notions (such as pragmatism, universals, and paradigms). Along the way in both sections, we meet a wide range of thinkers, from Plato to Aquinas to Hume to Kant to Searle. The explanations and discussion questions are written from a Christian perspective, inviting believers to join in the perennial dialogue with the conviction that if you don't have philosophical and theological positions sorted out, then they will have you.
Have Christians grown accustomed to those who defame the Church? Whether it’s a best-selling author who claims “religion poisons everything” or an atheist comedian whose punch lines aren’t hassled by the burden of proof, foes of the faith continue to declare Christianity morally deficient without much resistance. In Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians, Mark Coppenger mixes compelling references—from classic philosophers to modern entertainers—to reasonably push back against both harsh critics and less intense cultural relativists, contending that Christianity is morally superior to its competitors as well as true. Coppenger doesn’t avoid uncomfortable realities like the misbehavior of many Christians and false teachers, but he sets the book’s course in defense of his faith with evidence that a Christian approach to life makes people and societies flourish, while those who turn their backs on genuine Christianity are more liable to behave wickedly. “I hope to help replenish our cultural confidence,” he writes. “We have a great moral story to tell, and it surely points to the Author of Light and Life.” Acclaim for Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians: "I wish every Christian could have the opportunity of sitting in Mark Coppenger's classroom—a place of constant intellectual exchange, all aimed at developing a consistently biblical worldview. Well, reading this book is as close as many Christians may ever get to sitting in that classroom, but it is an experience not to be missed. This book is a tour de force of apologetic thought, revealing ethical issues to be apologetic opportunities. Fascinating on every page . . . get ready for a guided tour through contemporary culture and Christian apologetics." R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "Mark Coppenger is not only the author of a strategy for doing moral apologetics, he is a skilled practioner. As a seminary professor, church planter, soldier, and world traveler who has never met a stranger, Mark's method has been tested in the laboratory of personal experience from New York City to Jakarta and from Toronto to Rio de Janero." C. Ben Mitchell, Graves professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University "Pascal noted that 'the heart has reasons that reason cannot know.' Mark Coppenger in his extraordinary book realizes the mind has positions the brain cannot fathom. Here in poignant argumentation is the case for faith and the natural state of morality. His explanations are breathtakingly persuasive regardless of your religious conviction." Herbert I. London, president emeritus, Hudson Institute "Mark Coppenger has rendered a great service to the Christian church in the 21st Century. Moral Apologetics is a special gift to all of those faithful Christians who believe that Christianity brings new life to the mind as well as to the soul. Moral Apologetics should be added to every thinking Christian's bookshelf." Richard Land, president, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
A dying man hires the services of a cannibal; a customs official insults a world-class sculptor; a farmer complains that low-flying bombers are killing his chickens; two rock groups claim the same name; a monkey takes a selfie; and a minister with mail-order credentials performs a wedding. The resulting court cases (and sixteen others) serve to introduce a wide range of philosophical notions (such as libertarianism, speciesism, and speech acts). Next, a subway employee draws a revolutionary map; a mountain loses its name; a strange cineplex puts people in each others’ movies; the art museums of Madrid loom over neighboring buildings; a nautical chart guides seamen into a Connecticut port; and Jerusalem stands “due north” of the Mediterranean. These maps (twenty-three in all), whether real or imaginary, introduce yet other philosophical notions (such as pragmatism, universals, and paradigms). Along the way in both sections, we meet a wide range of thinkers, from Plato to Aquinas to Hume to Kant to Searle. The explanations and discussion questions are written from a Christian perspective, inviting believers to join in the perennial dialogue with the conviction that if you don’t have philosophical and theological positions sorted out, then they will have you.
The movie We Are Marshall brought national attention to the tragic loss and dramatic reconstitution of the school’s football team. But neither this film nor the Emmy-winning documentary, Marshall University: Ashes to Glory, explores the spiritual context and effect of the plane crash. Few know that a visiting campus preacher touched the life of a popular defensive lineman the week before his ill-fated flight; that a campus minister was surprised several weeks later by a nighttime visit from students who’d come to ask “the Jesus man” how to be saved; that two years before the crash, a new, young professor, with a doctorate from India, enlisted five students to help evangelize the campus; and that three decades later, a devout linebacker urged the coach to change the name of a play since it was demeaning to women. The story extends back to the school’s log-church beginnings, up through the decades when campus Ys generated foreign missionaries, to the national championship years, when key players testified freely to their faith—nearly two centuries of spiritual highs (and yes, lows) in the life of this remarkable school.
Have Christians grown accustomed to those who defame the Church? Whether it’s a best-selling author who claims “religion poisons everything” or an atheist comedian whose punch lines aren’t hassled by the burden of proof, foes of the faith continue to declare Christianity morally deficient without much resistance. In Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians, Mark Coppenger mixes compelling references—from classic philosophers to modern entertainers—to reasonably push back against both harsh critics and less intense cultural relativists, contending that Christianity is morally superior to its competitors as well as true. Coppenger doesn’t avoid uncomfortable realities like the misbehavior of many Christians and false teachers, but he sets the book’s course in defense of his faith with evidence that a Christian approach to life makes people and societies flourish, while those who turn their backs on genuine Christianity are more liable to behave wickedly. “I hope to help replenish our cultural confidence,” he writes. “We have a great moral story to tell, and it surely points to the Author of Light and Life.” Acclaim for Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians: "I wish every Christian could have the opportunity of sitting in Mark Coppenger's classroom—a place of constant intellectual exchange, all aimed at developing a consistently biblical worldview. Well, reading this book is as close as many Christians may ever get to sitting in that classroom, but it is an experience not to be missed. This book is a tour de force of apologetic thought, revealing ethical issues to be apologetic opportunities. Fascinating on every page . . . get ready for a guided tour through contemporary culture and Christian apologetics." R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "Mark Coppenger is not only the author of a strategy for doing moral apologetics, he is a skilled practioner. As a seminary professor, church planter, soldier, and world traveler who has never met a stranger, Mark's method has been tested in the laboratory of personal experience from New York City to Jakarta and from Toronto to Rio de Janero." C. Ben Mitchell, Graves professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University "Pascal noted that 'the heart has reasons that reason cannot know.' Mark Coppenger in his extraordinary book realizes the mind has positions the brain cannot fathom. Here in poignant argumentation is the case for faith and the natural state of morality. His explanations are breathtakingly persuasive regardless of your religious conviction." Herbert I. London, president emeritus, Hudson Institute "Mark Coppenger has rendered a great service to the Christian church in the 21st Century. Moral Apologetics is a special gift to all of those faithful Christians who believe that Christianity brings new life to the mind as well as to the soul. Moral Apologetics should be added to every thinking Christian's bookshelf." Richard Land, president, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
What do you get when you add a Fortune 500 CEO to a veteran Muppeteer, both recently awakened in Christ? Steep them in the prophetic preaching of Times Square Church and the story of William Wilberforce. Simmer them in the spectacle of moral chaos in the West and the heroics of Anglican archbishops in the Global South. Before long, you have an inspired array of publications, productions, gatherings, and endowments. This is the ongoing legacy of Emmanuel and Camille Kampouris. The prophet Zechariah (4:10) assures us that the Lord can use small beginnings for great purposes. This book illustrates the way in which seemingly-minor divine appointments and providential junctures can open the way to momentous Kingdom effects. Some of the junctures were difficult (President Nassers theft of the family business in Egypt), even tragic (the loss of Manos beloved wife, Myrto, to cancer). Others seemed slight and incidental at the time (the loan of a book, C.S. Lewiss Mere Christianity). But great things came of these incidents, and the unfolding narrative may well encourage readers to be prayerfully alert to the spiritual possibilities in their own happenstances, to stand ready to act as the Spirit leads and circumstances suggest.
Toward a Dramaturgical Sensibility begins with a moment in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra in which Cleopatra says to Antony, "Not know me yet?" With these four words Cleopatra poses a simple but fundamental human problem: What can we know? She and Antony have known each other for years, at times gloriously - emotionally, mentally, and in the archaic sense of the word, physically - but still the challenge of knowing hangs in the air. Cleopatra's question reminds us that knowledge is not simple: that it is as likely to create yearning as satisfaction; that it is not confined to any one part of the self; that it is far from intellect alone. It reminds us as do most great plays - that life is part wonder, part terror." "What we can know? This study - aimed at students, teachers, and theater artists - suggests that he attempt to know the dramaturgy of a play is little different from the attempt to know another person for whom we care."--BOOK JACKET.
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