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What is the church? Why are there so many different expressions of church throughout time and space, and what ties them all together?

Ecclesiology-the doctrine of the church-has risen to the center of theological interest in recent decades. In this text, theologian Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen provides a wide-ranging survey of the rich field of ecclesiology in the midst of rapid developments and new horizons. Drawing on Kärkkäinen's international experience and comprehensive research on the church, this revised and expanded edition is thoroughly updated to incorporate recent literature and trends. This unique primer not only orients readers to biblical, historical, and contemporary ecclesiologies but also highlights contextual and global perspectives and includes an entirely new section on interfaith comparative theology. An Introduction to Ecclesiology surveys

As the church today encounters challenges and opportunities related to rapid growth in the Majority World, new congregational forms, ecumenical movements, interfaith relations, and more, Christians need a robust ecclesiology that makes room for both unity and diversity. In An Introduction to Ecclesiology students, pastors, and laypeople will find an essential resource for understanding how the church can live out its calling as Christ's community on earth.

Do you seek the truth?Do you value reason, science, and independent thinking? Are you skeptical of beliefs that people maintain merely "on faith," yet you remain interested in the big questions of life? Do you hope there could be a greater purpose to the universe, if only that were realistic?If so, then philosopher Joshua Rasmussen can encourage you in your journey. Beginning with his own story of losing faith and the belief in any ultimate purpose in life, he then builds a bridge to a series of universal truths about ultimate reality. Using only the instruments of reason and common experience, Rasmussen constructs a pathway-step by step, brick by brick-that he argues can lead to meaning and, ultimately, a vision of God.

How does the canon of Scripture fit together?

For evangelical Christians, there is no question about the authority of Scripture and its testimony to the centrality of Jesus Christ in God's salvation plan. But several questions remain: How do the Old Testament and New Testament relate to each other? What is the relationship among the biblical covenants? How should Christians read and interpret Scripture in order to do justice to both its individual parts and its whole message? How does Israel relate to the church?

In this Spectrum Multiview volume, readers will find four contributors who explore these complex questions. The contributors each make a case for their own view-representing two versions of covenantal theology and two versions of dispensational theology-and then respond to the others' views to offer an animated yet irenic discussion on the continuity of Scripture.

Views and Contributors:

Spectrum Multiview Books offer a range of viewpoints on contested topics within Christianity, giving contributors the opportunity to present their position and also respond to others in this dynamic publishing format.

Is the Earth relatively young or very old?

We've all heard the controversy. The consensus regarding the age of the Earth, based on the best geological evidence, is that it is billions of years old. But many Christians believe that the Bible teaches the Earth is only a few thousand years old at best. What are we to make of this discrepancy? Geologists Davis Young and Ralph Stearley tackle this issue head-on.

Thoroughly examining historical, biblical, geological and philosophical perspectives, the amply illustrated Bible, Rocks and Time takes a comprehensive and authoritative look at the key issues related to the Earth's antiquity.

Christianity Today Book Award Finalist-Biblical Studies

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist

How Has Misinterpreting Paul Led to the Silencing of Women?

Some Christians think Paul's reference to "saved through childbearing" in 1 Timothy 2:15 means that women are slated primarily for delivering and raising children. Alternate readings, however, sometimes fail to build on the best historical and textual evidence.

Sandra Glahn thinks that we have misunderstood Paul by misunderstanding the context to which he wrote. A key to reading and applying 1 Timothy, Glahn argues, lies in getting to know a mysterious figure who haunts the letter: the goddess Artemis.

Based on groundbreaking research and new data about Artemis of the Ephesians, Nobody's Mother:

This book is for those who want to avoid sacrificing a high view of Scripture while working to reconcile conflicting models of God's view of women. Through the unexpected channel of Paul's advice to Timothy-and the surprising help of an ancient Greek myth-Nobody's Mother lays a biblical foundation for men and women serving side by side in the church.

"Mining an impressive wealth of research, including artifacts, Ephesian inscriptions, and literature from the likes of Homer and Pliny the Elder, Glahn makes an exacting case that Paul's words described a "specific time-bound situation"-debunking interpretations tying women to childbirth and barring them from church leadership for subsequent generations. It's a rigorous and much needed reassessment of a passage long used to silence women in the church." - Publishers Weekly Starred Review, July 2023

Have We Misunderstood the Ten Commandments?

Have you ever wondered what the Old Testament-especially the Old Testament law-has to do with your Christian life? You are not alone. Some Christian leaders believe we should cast off the Old Testament now that we have the New. Carmen Joy Imes disagrees.

In this warm, accessible volume, Imes takes readers back to Sinai, the ancient mountain where Israel met their God, and explains the meaning of events there. She argues that we've misunderstood the command about "taking the Lord's name in vain." Instead, Imes says that this command is about "bearing God's name," a theme that continues throughout the rest of Scripture. The story of Israel turns out to be our story too, and you'll discover why Sinai still matters as you follow Jesus today.

Bearing God's Name offers:

Science, technology and economic growth motivate our society. Each is carried on with little regard for Christian concerns.

Brian Walsh and Richard Middleton yearn for change. They long to see Christianity penetrate the structures of society, reforming and remolding our culture. From scholarship in the universities to politics, business and family life, the Christian vision can transform our world.

To stimulate such change the authors analyze our troubled age, show us how it got that way and suggest a solution. Their clear presentation of a Christian world view forms the basis of their hope.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson is one of the most eminent public intellectuals in America today. In addition to literary elegance, her trilogy of novels (Gilead, Home, and Lila) and her collections of essays offer probing meditations on the Christian faith. Many of these reflections are grounded in her belief that the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer John Calvin still deserves a hearing in the twenty-first century.

This volume, based on the 2018 Wheaton Theology Conference, brings together the thoughts of leading theologians, historians, literary scholars, and church leaders who engaged in theological dialogue with Robinson's published work-and with the author herself.