Church Theology

Karen Armstrong meets Pico Iyer in this sweeping history of Christianity that visits a dozen places of worship on every inhabited continent to tell their often wild stories and examine their sometimes difficult legacies. Christianity is the largest religion in the US with upwards of 200 million...

From an award-winning biblical scholar, the untold story of how enslaved people created, gave meaning to, and spread the message of the New Testament, shaping the very foundations of Christianity in ways both subtle and profound. For the past two thousand years, Christian tradition, scholarship...

Walter Brueggemann is one of the most highly regarded Old Testament scholars of our time; talk-show host Krista Tippett has even called him "a kind of theological rock star." In this new book Brueggemann incisively probes our society-in-crisis from the ground up. Pointing out striking correlations between the catastrophe of 9/11 and the destruction of ancient Jerusalem, Brueggemann shows how the prophetic biblical response to that crisis was truth-telling in the face of ideology, grief in the face of denial, and hope in the face of despair.

New York Times bestselling author Rob Bell, whom The New Yorker describes as “one of the most influential Christian leaders in the country,” does for the concept of God what he did for heaven and hell in his book Love Wins: He shows how traditional ideas have grown stale and dysfunctional...

Christian identity is in moral and political crisis. Lee Camp writes “that one major reason Christianity in America has been made into a bad public joke is our failure to rightly understand what Christianity is.” Scandalous Witness provides a way forward. Although refusing to reduce Christianity to any partisan agenda, he reminds us that the gospel is inherently political and that we are called to be political witnesses.

How to analyze and reevaluate your Christian beliefs and experiences in the church while keeping the core of your faith intact. The number of Christians leaving the church today is significant. Many feel there is no place for them within the faith—they no longer feel at home in their church...

A journey of the soul through the map of Christian time. The liturgical year, beginning on the first Sunday of Advent and carrying through the following November, is the year that sets out to attune the life of the Christian to the life of Jesus, the Christ. What may at first seem to be simply...

In all the discussion of women’s roles in the Church, we’ve ignored a pressing question: Why don’t men go to church anymore? Why are the most common traits of the modern Church doves and quilts and little old ladies? Dr. Leon Podles documents the current feminized state of the Western Church, the masculine traits that once characterized Christianity, and how they can be restored. While the masculine exodus from churches is dangerous for the Church, it is also dangerous for society as a whole. Masculinity will out.

A confession and manifesto from a senior leader in the emerging church movement, A Generous Orthodoxy calls for a radical, Christ-centered orthodoxy of faith and practice in a missional, generous spirit. Brian McLaren argues for a post-liberal, post-conservative, post-protestant convergence, which will stimulate lively interest and global conversation among thoughtful Christians from all traditions.

When Satan claimed to have authority over the kingdoms of the world and said he could give them to whomever he chose, why did Jesus not contradict him? Why instead did Jesus go on to describe Satan as the "god of this world?" If Satan is the spiritual head over the world's governments, can there be such a thing as a Christian nation? In Fight the Powers, Cody Cook compiles the relevant biblical data which draws connections between political power and spiritual forces, seeking to answer the question of how Christians ought to relate to the state in light of these connections.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). This declarative phrase introduces fundamental questions circling the minds of skeptics and believers of Christianity alike. What was God’s mission when he chose to create? And why, through the Savior’s death on the cross and the witness of his church, does he continue to redeem the very creation that rebels against him?

Worshiptainment: The Modern Church's Golden Calf is a hard-hitting look at the ungodly practice of mixing Christian worship services with the popular entertainment practices of the secular world.

Yes, I know that memorizing the Faith is no substitute for living a holy life, but even devout people can't live by truths and precepts they don't remember. That's why, over 700 years ago, St. Thomas Aquinas perfected an easy method for his students to memorize most any information, but especially the truths taught by Christ and His Church. Now thanks to Memorize the Faith!, you can easily keep all these in mind by tapping into the power of the classical memory system that helped St. Thomas become the Church's preeminent theologian.

The Roman Curia is the central body for the administration of the Roman Catholic Church. Its structure and organization is governed by Praedicate Evangelium, a new law issued by Pope Francis in 2022. The nature of the Curia is both confusing to many and vitally important for the administration of the Church and the Vatican.

What can you do to be a force for racial justice? Many White Christians are eager to fight against racism and for racial justice. But what steps can they take to make good, lasting change? How can they get involved without unintentionally doing more harm than good? In this practical and...

In our quest to renew the church, Christians have walked through seeker-friendly, emergent, missional, and other movements to develop new expressions of the body of Christ. Now, in the post-Christian world in North America, we're asking the question again: Is there a way to be the church that engages the world, not by judgment nor accommodation but by becoming the good news in our culture?

The figure of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) has become a clay puppet in modern American politics. Secular, radical, liberal, and evangelical interpreters variously shape and mold the martyr’s legacy to suit their own pet agendas. Stephen Haynes offers an incisive and clarifying perspective. A recognized Bonhoeffer expert, Haynes examines “populist” readings of Bonhoeffer, including the acclaimed biography by Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.

It is woven into the fabric of modern evangelicalism. The subject of numerous books, conferences, and sermons every year, it’s promoted as essential for a vibrant relationship with Christ, and a measure of the maturity of your faith. What is it? Hearing God speak personally, outside of Scripture.

Is Deconstruction A Rebellion Against God or a Prophetic Movement Resisting a Distorted Gospel? In recent years, we've seen an increase in the number of Christians who are "deconstructing" their faith—critically analyzing Christianity and the church and finding that it falls short. Many end up...

The Church's Best-Kept Secret is a short primer which lays out the basics of Catholic social teaching in a way accessible to the ordinary Catholic as well as to any other person of good will attempting to grasp this often profoundly misunderstood area of Church doctrine and practice. Writing in everyday language for the non-scholar, award-winning writer Mark Shea concisely describes the roots of Catholic social teaching in Scripture and tradition and gives simple, practical examples of how it works in ordinary life.