Baptism is a very special moment in the Christian journey. It is a moment of awe and wonder, and of recognition that we are accepted by God and special in his sight.Getting Ready for Baptism recognises that baptism can take place at any age and stage of life. Its aim is to deepen understanding of the biblical background to baptism for all involved and to explore what it means to be a child of God. With the emphasis on facilitating rather than a teacher-led approach, the material seeks to encourage all those involved in the sacrament, whether they are the candidate, the parent, godparent, friend, extended family member or member of the church community.Part 1 focuses on baptism as a ministry. It explores the relationship between the candidate, parents and godparents, examines the place of discipleship for those taking part, considers the implications of baptism for the whole worshipping community, and places the emphasis on baptism being a step to belonging as well as a statement of belief. Part 2 offers three practical sessions: Come to the party!, Enjoy the party! and Party on! A task-based activity book is available separately to help the child make a personal record of his or her baptism journey.
Richard Bell examines the impact of Paul's life changing experience before Damascus on his theological understanding of Israel. The book considers the development of Paul's view concerning the election and salvation of Israel, paying special attention to 1 Thessalonians, Galatians and Romans. The author examines Paul's critique of Israel's religion in the light of traditional protestant approaches and the 'new perspective'. The work concludes by considering some contemporary issues relating to Israel in the light of Paul's theology."--BOOK JACKET.
How did the United States, a nation known for protecting the “right to remain silent” become notorious for condoning and using controversial tactics like water boarding and extraordinary rendition to extract information? What forces determine the laws that define acceptable interrogation techniques and how do they shift so quickly from one extreme to another? In Confessions of Guilt, esteemed scholars George C. Thomas III and Richard A. Leo tell the story of how, over the centuries, the law of interrogation has moved from indifference about extreme force to concern over the slightest pressure, and back again. The history of interrogation in the Anglo-American world, they reveal, has been a swinging pendulum rather than a gradual continuum of violence. Exploring a realist explanation of this pattern, Thomas and Leo demonstrate that the law of interrogation and the process of its enforcement are both inherently unstable and highly dependent on the perceived levels of threat felt by a society. Laws react to fear, they argue, and none more so than those that govern the treatment of suspected criminals. From England of the late eighteenth century to America at the dawn of the twenty-first, Confessions of Guilt traces the disturbing yet fascinating history of interrogation practices, new and old, and the laws that govern them. Thomas and Leo expertly explain the social dynamics that underpin the continual transformation of interrogation law and practice and look critically forward to what their future might hold.
On May 12, 1960, as John F. Kennedy campaigned for the presidency, Chester Burge—slumlord, liquor runner, and the black sheep of the proud (and wealthy) Dunlap family of Macon, Georgia—lay in a hospital bed, recovering from surgery. He listened to the radio as the news reported that his wife had just been murdered. Police soon ruled out robbery as a motive, and suspicion centered upon the Ku Klux Klan, which two weeks earlier had descended upon his house to protest his renting of homes in white neighborhoods to black families. Then, on June 1, Chester was charged with the murder, and when the trial finally began, the sweet Southern town of Macon witnessed a story of epic proportions—a tale of white-columned mansions, an insane asylum, real people as “Southern grotesque” as the characters of Flannery O’Connor, and a volatile mix of taboo interracial relationships and homosexuality. This was a story as fantastical as a Greek tragedy, complete with a stunning conclusion. It is told in riveting detail in Richard Jay Hutto’s A Peculiar Tribe of People. Chester Burge was a walking streak of deception and sex. After weaseling his way to be the caretaker of the last Dunlap sister and forcing his way into her will, Burge and his family inherited a fortune as well as one of the family mansions. Then came his numerous assignations with men—including his black chauffeur—and, either single-handedly or with help from a lover, the murder of his wife. The trial would spawn the first testimony in Georgia history of a black man disclosing that he had been a white man’s sexual partner. Burge would be acquitted of murder, but convicted of sodomy. And yet, this Southern grotesque tale would take even more twists and turns before coming to an explosive conclusion.
Starting a new organization is risky business. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, most startups fail; half of them do not reach the five-year mark. Protestant churches are not immune to these trends. Most new churches are not established with denominational support-more than 50% are actually non-denominational-and, therefore, have many of the same vulnerabilities other infant organizations must overcome. Research on both congregants and congregations has shown that millions of Americans are leaving churches, half of all churches do not add any new members, and thousands of churches shutter their doors each year. These numbers suggest that American religion is not a growth industry. Yet, more than 1000 new churches are started in any given year. What are the forces that move people who might otherwise be satisfied working for churches to the more risky role of starting one as a religion entrepreneur? In Church Planters, sociologist Richard Pitt uses more than 125 in-depth interviews with church planters to understand their motivations. First, he uncovers themes in their sometimes miraculous, sometimes mundane answers to the question: "why take on these risks?" Then he examines how they approach three common entrepreneurial challenges-recognizing opportunities, marshalling resources, and framing success-in ways that reduce uncertainty and lead them to believe they will be successful. The book combines their evocative stories with insights from research on commercial and social entrepreneurship to explain how these religion entrepreneurs come to believe their organizational goals must be accomplished, that they are capable of being accomplished, and that they would accomplish them over time"--
With the end of the Cold War, the invention of the World Wide Web, the widespread availability to cellphones and personal computers, and remarkable advances in space exploration-the 1990s introduced a new era in human history. During that decade, the United States experienced changes that previous generations never imagined-the abrupt collapse of worldwide communism, the ability of ordinary Americans to connect with individuals and organizations throughout the world via the internet, and the initiation and near completion of the Human Genome Project that led to unprecedented advances in human health. These and other developments changed Americans' lives forever. This volume in the Daily Life through History series examines how the cultural trends of the 1990s revolutionized the way people were able to teach and learn, conduct business, express themselves, and interact with one another. The book goes on to explore the evolution in long-held attitudes about the proper roles for women in society, sex, sexuality, and the concept of family to include other kinds of relationships-childless marriages, single-parent and mixed families, and LGBTQ+ relationships. New trends in fashion and music-from grunge to hip hop culture-also had a powerful impact on how some Americans presented themselves, while others rejected these cultural shifts and clung fervently, and sometimes violently, to traditional values and worldviews. Daily Life in 1990s America enables readers to better understand the significance, complexities, and enduring influence of this era-defining period in American history.
Soloway examines the origins of the modern birth control movement in England in the wider context of the dramatic decline in fertility that first became apparent in the 1880s. He concludes that the response of individuals and organizations drawn into the debate over birth control and the consequences of diminished fertility mirrored their attitudes toward the profound social, economic, moral, political, and cultural changes altering Great Britain and its influential position in the world. Originally published 1982. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
This book defends a version of linguistic idealism, the thesis that the world is a product of language. In the course of defending this radical thesis, Gaskin addresses a wide range of topics in contemporary metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophical logic, and syntax theory. Starting from the context and compositionality principles, and the idea of a systematic theory of meaning in the Tarski–Davidson tradition, Gaskin argues that the sentence is the primary unit of linguistic meaning, and that the main aspects of meaning, sense and reference, are themselves theoretical posits. Ontology, which is correlative with reference, emerges as language-driven. This linguistic idealism is combined with a realism that accepts the objectivity of science, and it is accordingly distinguished from empirical pragmatism. Gaskin contends that there is a basic metaphysical level at which everything is expressible in language; but the vindication of linguistic idealism is nuanced inasmuch as there is also a derived level, asymmetrically dependant on the basic level, at which reality can break free of language and reach into the realms of the unnameable and indescribable. Language and World will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in metaphysics, philosophy of language, and linguistics.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.