Have you ever considered the ultimate purposes and consequences of good work performed by non-Christians? Have you ever theologically considered the work of non-Christians at all? Is it possible that God would ever give credence to, let alone honor the work of, non-Christians in an ultimate sense? Are you frustrated by theologies of work that are entirely protological in orientation? How do we make sense of biblical excerpts that talk of work being judged towards a particular outcome? The Good Work of Non-Christians, Empowerment, and the New Creation attempts to answer these questions in a manner that also challenges evangelical assumptions about the ultimate outcomes of working life. Drawing strength from eschatologically minded theologies by Miroslav Volf and Darrell Cosden, Weir seeks to replace protology with eschatology in a theology of work about non-Christians. The British evangelical tradition is specifically taken up here so as to make critical assessments of certain airtight theologies regarding human action with reference to the new creation. This book attempts to create a heuristic against unhelpful hermeneutical tendencies that inform evangelical theologies. This is a work that is not only theological, it is biblically, historically, and ethically rigorous.
The International IDEA Handbook on Democracy Assessment is a robust and sensitive guide to assessing the quality of democracy and human rights in any country around the world. The Handbook introduces an easy-to-use and universal methodology for assessing the condition of democracy in any country, or its progress in democratisation, that has been developed in a three-year action programme at IDEA, the inter-governmental Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Sweden. The Handbook provides a means to measure systematically the full range of values, institutions and issues relating to modern democracy that is sensitive to the underlying principles and democracy and the differences between democracies themselves. It is therefore both universal in application and capable of responding to particular aspects of any one nation's democratic arrangements. The animating principle of the Handbook is that only citizens of a nation themselves are qualified to assess the quality of their own democratic arrangements. Thus, it provides a self-help guide, which gives academics, lawyers, political practitioners, journalists and interested citizens the tools to assess the state of their democracy, or any key aspects of their democracy. The Handbook is above all a practical working document that draws on the actual experience of assessing democracy in different countries, comparative knowledge and research, and democratic principles and practice. It gives a step-by-step guide to the purposes and methods of democracy assessment; who to involve; how to use the research tools; how to validate the findings; what standards of practice to adopt; and how to present and publicise a finished assessment. It contains extracts from completed assessments, guidance on the use of qualitative and quantitative data, examples of codes of democratic practice and international and regional standards, and a vast list of accessible data sources. The methodology was created by a team of political scientists assembled from all regions of the world by International IDEA and has been tried and tested in a variety of countries, including Bangladesh, El Salvador, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea and the United Kingdom. International organisations like the World Bank and UNECA are adapting it for in-country use. The four main authors and editors have been directly involved from the inception of the project - in developing and refining the methodology and participating in and advising on the nine country studies that form the essential practical core of experience on which this invaluable Handbook is based.
Democratic Institutions and Practices is the second study carried out under the Democratic Audit of the UK. This volume explores the formal institutions and processes of the liberal democratic state: including the executive, elections, parliament and the civil service.
Stuart Weir provides a fascinating history to the Olympics from its origins in Greece, through the Olympian revival of the 19th century to the high-tech Olympic Villages of the 21st Century. This unique book has been written from a Christian perspective, focusing on some of the games' great Christian athletes such as Eric Liddell and Jonathan Edwards, and relating the Olympic ethos to the Gospel. He also looks at some of the lows that have hit the Olympics, from drug taking to disqualifications, as well as some of the amazing trivia and facts associated with the Olympics.
Test developers need to provide a clear explication of the language ability constructs that underpin the tests they offer in the public domain; such an explication is essential for supporting claims about the validity - or usefulness - of test scores. This volume describes the theory and practice of Cambridge ESOL's approach to assessing second language writing ability. A comprehensive test validation framework is used to examine the tasks in Cambridge ESOL writing tests from a number of different validity perspectives that reflect the socio-cognitive nature of any assessment event. The authors show how an understanding and analysis of the framework and its components can assist test developers to operationalise their tests more effectively, especially in relation to the key criteria that differentiate one proficiency level from another. The book provides: an up-to-date review of relevant literature on assessing writing, an accessible and systematic description of the different proficiency levels in second language writing, a comprehensive and coherent basis for validating tests of writing. This volume is a rich source of information on all aspects of examining writing ability. As such, it will be of considerable interest to examination boards who wish to validate their own writing tests in a systematic and coherent manner, as well as to academic researchers and students in the field of language assessment more generally. Book jacket.
Former international athlete Kriss Akabusi presents a series of straightforward reflections on the Psalms - how they can help ordinary Christians draw closer to God, no matter what their daily circumstances. He shows how the hopes, fears and problems faced by the psalm writers still face us today. he also explores how the writers honestly expressed their relationship with God - voicing anger and dispair, as well as love and joy. Along the way, he tackles such questions as:
Bernhard Langer is considered by many to be one of the best-known golf professionals playing in the modern game. He has hovered in the upper echelons of the game for over 20 years, and since 1980, he has only once been outside the top 30 in the Volvo Order of Merit. His story is one of conquering adversity.
A reprint of this popular book that takes a look at a Christian approach to sport in terms of theology and evangelism-sure to become increasingly relevant as the UK gears up for the 2012 Olympics. Published in conjunction with Christians in Sport.
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