Social Theology

Both inside and outside the church, people are asking the same question: Is this the end of the world? With a global pandemic that has killed millions; nations spending millions of dollars to update their nuclear weapons arsenals; and an increase in fire, floods, plagues, and other natural disasters, Christians and non-Christians alike are concluding that history appears to be drawing to a close. Yet Dr. Michael Youssef says now is not the time to fear.

Widely respected pastor and ethicist Robin Lovin offers sage counsel in this helpful book, arguing that to resist the trend of polarization in our church we must rediscover how the gospel teaches us to understand ourselves, our neighbors, and the purpose of politics. With questions for discussion and reflection aligned with the content of each chapter, What Do We Do When Nobody Is Listening? provides an accessible road map for navigating out of the morass of polarization into a brighter future of church unity, during election seasons and beyond.

From best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes comes a dramatic story of faith, science, and courage unlike any since the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. Monkey Girl takes you behind the scenes of the recent war on evolution in Dover, Pennsylvania, when the town's school board decision to confront the controversy head-on thrust its students, then the entire community, onto the front lines of America's culture wars.

Has America entered a prophetic time of judgment? Is the division, political instability, reliance on government, inflation, and increased crime a sign of more to come? Author Carmelita Greco sees the current national unrest as a sign of judgment upon the nation and a call to return to the American motto, “In God we trust.” A series of prophetic encounters, a previous run for Congress, and an inner spiritual urgency to release a call to repentance to a nation that has replaced the historical biblical God with gods of prosperity and self-reliance.

Ben Lindsay offers eye-opening insights into the black religious experience, challenging the status quo in white majority churches. Filled with examples from real-life stories, including his own, and insightful questions, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of race relations in the Church in the UK and shows us how we can work together to create a truly inclusive church community.

Digital innovation has rapidly changed the landscape of sexual experience in the 21st century. Rules-based sexual ethics, subscribed to by many Christians, are unable to keep up with new developments and, more often than not, seem effective at little other than generating shame.

In Possible, he presents clear and biblical thinking, powerful stories, and practical tools for sustainably impacting our workplaces, neighborhoods, villages, and cities. Possible is an eloquent and personal call to reconsider what it means to change ourselves so we can change the world.

What if Jesus was serious about loving our enemies? For too long, those who carry the name "Christian" have ignored the Christlike path of enemy-love and creative nonviolence. For many of us, the Second Amendment has become more important than the Sermon on the Mount. It's time we begin to walk the path of peace marked out for us by the Prince of Peace and learn to study war no more.

Neither "everything's fine" nor "burn it all down", Stringer offers a thoughtful appreciation of evangelicalism's history, identity, and strengths, but also lament for its blind spots, toxic brokenness, and complicity with injustice. From this complicated space, we can move forward with informed vision rather than resignation and with hope for our future together.

Is Christianity the White Man's Religion? affirms that ethnic diversity has played a powerful role in the formation of the Old and New Testaments and that the Bible is a book of justice, promoting equality for all people. Contrary to popular Eurocentric conceptions, biblical Christianity is not just for White Westerners. It's good news for all of us.

Many American Christians have good intentions, working hard to welcome immigrants with hospitality and solidarity. But how can we do that in a way that empowers our immigrant neighbors rather than pushing them to the fringes of white-dominant culture and keeping them as outsiders? That's exactly the question Karen González explores in Beyond Welcome.

Throughout history, many people have rejected God because they wanted to act immorally - why does it seem like those walking away from God today believe God is the immoral one? There are so many competing visions of morality. One's culture, background, political affiliation, and religious beliefs (or lack thereof) have profound impacts on our moral thought. What one person says is right another says is wrong, and vice versa, leading to much debate and confusion.

What should Christians think about Donald Trump? His policies, his style, his personal life? Thirty evangelical Christians wrestle with these tough questions. They are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. They don't all agree, but they seek to let Christ be the lord of their political views. They seek to apply biblical standards to difficult debates about our current political situation. Don't listen to this audiobook to find support for your views. Listen to it to be challenged - with facts, reason, and biblical principles.

Being pro-life means that not only do we see abortion as a murder, but we also see our apathy against injustice toward outside of the womb as a coconspirator in the fight for life. It means that we fight for racial equality. It means that we love - the woman walking into the abortion clinic - passionately with the love of Christ, and it means we embrace life no matter what label may be attached to a person's identity.

In Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us, Layton E. Williams proposes that our primary calling as humans is not to create unity but rather to seek authentic relationship with God, ourselves, one another, and the world around us. And that means actively engaging those with whom we disagree. Our religious, political, social, and cultural differences can create doubt and tension, but disunity also provides surprising gifts of perspective and grace.

The signs are unmistakable. Jesus said there would be clear signs in our world before his return. Over the last few months and years, as we read headline after amazing headline, those signs seem to be escalating. Could Christ's return and our world's final days be very far away? Greg Laurie opens up the Scriptures, offering insight, warning, and encouragement to "make the most of every opportunity" in these challenging days.

We’re not good at living with tension. It’s uncomfortable. It feels unsafe. The moment a friend, spouse, business, or political movement disagrees with us, we flee to the safety of like-minded thinkers, and dehumanize and attack anyone who thinks differently. No one wins. And if someone dares question our particular stance, we demonize them. This is killing us - families, friendships, civility, and discourse. It kills our chance to hear and be heard. We must step out of our bunkers and step into no-man’s-land....

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Christianity offers answers to the secular world's criticism of Christianity's history, traditions, and beliefs. You think you know about Christianity, but did you know: God likes "organized religion" - it's clear from both the New and Old Testaments; Christians have always believed that men and women are equal; the correct pronoun for angels is "he"; science was stillborn everywhere outside the Christian West; Christianity, which first taught the world to value victims, is now the victim of a victimhood culture; and more.

What are the origins of the idea of human rights and universal human dignity? How can we most fully understand and realize these rights going into the future? Internationally renowned sociologist and social theorist Hans Joas tells a story that differs from conventional narratives by tracing the concept of human rights back to the Judeo-Christian tradition or, alternately, to the secular French Enlightenment. Joas sets out a new path, proposing an affirmative genealogy in which human rights are the result of a process of "sacralization" of every human being.

So Help Me God relates the compelling story of Chief Justice Roy Moore, including his controversial Ten Commandments displays, his refusal to obey an unlawful order of a federal court, and why the critical legal and political question of our time is, 'Can the state acknowledge God?'