Howard Books – serie

Theological firebrand Peter Rollins asserts that mainstream Christianity reduces God to an idol, made in our own image, for the purpose of providing certainty and satisfaction.You can’t be satisfied. Life is difficult. You don’t know the secret. Whether readers are devout believers or distant seekers, The Idolatry of God shows that we must lay down our certainties and honestly admit our doubts to identify with Jesus. Rollins purposely upsets fundamentalist certainty in order to open readers up to a more loving, active manifestation of Christ’s love. In contrast to the usual understanding of the “Good News” as a message offering satisfaction and certainty, Rollins argues for a radical and shattering alternative. He explores how the Good News actually involves embracing the idea that we can’t be whole, that life is difficult, and that we are in the dark. Showing how God has traditionally been approached as a product that will render us complete, remove our suffering, and reveal the answers, he introduces an incendiary approach to faith that invites us to joyfully embrace our brokenness, resolutely face our unknowing, and courageously accept the difficulties of existence. Only then, he argues, can we truly rob death of its sting and enter into the fullness of life.

In this mind-bending exploration of traditional Christianity, firebrand Peter Rollins turns the tables on conventional wisdom, offering a fresh perspective focused on a life filled with love.Peter Rollins knows one magic trick—now, make sure you watch closely. It has three parts: the Pledge, the Turn, and the Prestige. In Divine Magician, each part comes into play as he explores a radical view of interacting with the world in love. Rollins argues that the Christian event, reenacted in the Eucharist, is indeed a type of magic trick, one that is echoed in the great vanishing acts performed by magicians throughout the ages. In this trick, a divine object is presented to us (the Pledge), disappears (the Turn), and then returns (the Prestige). But just as the returned object in a classic vanishing act is not really the same object—but another that looks the same—so this book argues that the return of God is not simply the return of what was initially presented, but rather a radical way of interacting with the world. In an effort to unearth the power of Christianity, Rollins uses this framework to explain the mystery of faith that has been lost on the church. In the same vein as Rob Bell’s bestseller Love Wins, this book pushes the boundaries of theology, presenting a stirring vision at the forefront of re-imagined modern Christianity. As a dynamic speaker as he is in writing, Rollins examines traditional religious notions from a revolutionary and refreshingly original perspective. At the heart of his message is a life lived through profound love. Just perhaps, says Rollins, the radical message found in Christianity might be one that the church can show allegiance to.

SOME SECRETS ARE NEVER MEANT TO BE REVEALED. FOR BEHIND THIS MYSTERY LIES A REVELATION THAT WILL MAKE YOU QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU BELIEVE IN. In the desert near Jerusalem, an archaeologist is murdered after he uncovers stunning evidence in a Dead Sea Scroll about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The two-thousand-year-old parchment containing enigmatic references to not one but two messiahs is stolen before it can be fully translated. In Rome, a charismatic American priest with long-hidden secrets is elected pope, setting off widespread panic among some of the faithful who question whether he is the Antichrist or the world's new savior. As the conspiracy over the scroll explodes into a political and religious standoff, two people find themselves on the run, trying to stay one step ahead of unknown assassins in their search for truth. Archaeologist Jack Cane and Israeli police inspector Lela Raul must solve the mystery of the Second Messiah and uncover the real secret behind the message of Jesus before they are permanently silenced and the scroll and its contents are forever lost to humanity. Compared to the likes of John le Carré and Tom Clancy, Glenn Meade offers a tantalizing blend of fact and fiction that takes you on a thrilling ride from the first page to the last.

From the collaborator of the blockbuster bestseller Proof of Heaven comes the definitive book proving angels are real, all around us, and interacting in our lives every day.In March 2015, millions worldwide were captivated by news reports of the dramatic rescue of an eighteen month old girl, Lily Groesbeck, who’d somehow survived fourteen hours in an overturned car partially submerged in an icy-cold Utah river after her mother apparently lost control of the vehicle. A voice the four responding officers assumed was the child’s mother still trapped inside spurred them on: “Help me, help me.” Yet, once the two victims were recovered, it was clear that the voice could not have come from Lily’s mother: she’d been killed on impact. New York Times bestselling author Ptolemy Tompkins, with the help of Tyler Beddoes, one of the responding officers who helped rescue Lily, will explain this modern-day miracle and the existence of angels in our world. Proof of Angels weaves real-life stories into a rich narrative, exploring the history, nature, and significance of angels in our lives. With an introduction by Colleen Hughes, the editor-in-chief of Angels on Earth magazine, Proof of Angels proves that the barrier between the spiritual and the scientific is less certain than we often think. Not only does Tompkins offer a highly entertaining look into a universally fascinating topic, but he also delivers a fresh and deeply reassuring message: we are not alone.