Religion Theory

How did the Islamic State attract so many followers and conquer so much land? By being more ruthless, more apocalyptic, and more devoted to state building than its competitors. The shrewd leaders of the Islamic State combined two of the most powerful yet contradictory ideas in Islam - the return of the Islamic Empire and the end of the world - into a mission and a message that shapes its strategy and inspires its army of zealous fighters.

In this pop Christian culture, many believers have never been exposed to the great truths upon which the Church of Jesus Christ has been built. One of those forgotten truths is the purpose and power of the blood of Jesus. We sing about it in our hymns, that there is power in the blood, but few of us have experienced the reality of those words. Chavda carefully lays the foundation as he presents a refreshing look at the importance of the blood of Jesus in the life of the believer. The Hidden Power of the Blood of Jesus is theologically sound, but passionately written.

Rise of ISIS gives a better understanding of the modern face of terror, and provides an overview of the laws of war and war crimes. These laws differentiate between the guilty and innocent, and explain why the US military and the Israeli Defense Forces are often limited in their defensive measures. The authors’ firsthand experience, including multiple appearances before the Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court at The Hague, along with direct contact battling jihadists during operation Iraqi Freedom lends insight into this important geopolitical issue.

In the 1820s, two families, unknown to each other, worked on farms in the American wilderness. It seemed unlikely that the families would ever meet—and yet, they did. The son of one family, the famed actor John Wilkes Booth, killed the son of the other, President Abraham Lincoln, in the most significant assassination in American history. The murder, however, did not come without warning—in fact, it had been foretold. In the Houses of Their Dead is the first book of the many thousands written about Lincoln to focus on the president's fascination with Spiritualism.

This classic text simply and beautifully illustrates the gospel of salvation and the free gift of grace from Jesus Christ. Considered a cornerstone of Christianity and Christian theology, All of Grace presents a clear and complete description of what it means to be saved. Charles Spurgeon describes and explains salvation in a way that is perfect for believers and nonbelievers alike, painting a picture of faith, repentance, unmerited grace, and perfect freedom in God’s word and in his love.

For years, Robert A. Peterson taught about the assurance of salvation in seminary and Sunday school classrooms. He was concerned, however, to find that some people, for a variety of reasons, were unable to grasp the certainty of their salvation. The Assurance of Salvation identifies these "troublers" of assurance and provides the remedy to diffuse insecurity.

Sum and Substance is a concise, factual, and lucid summary of the history of our universe and mankind, giving broad understanding of the past, present, and future. Richly illustrated and augmented by insightful quotes from great thinkers, the book offers the ambitious hope that if you spend eight hours reading it, you may learn more than in any other eight hours of your life! This book has been highly praised by reviewers from around the United States. Following are some of their comments: “A timeless classic that will resonate with readers for generations to come.” “An excellent read...

Longtime pastor Douglas Wilson takes a hammer to some of our very favorite graven images, and (surprise, surprise) we've set up display cases for most of them in our churches: liturgy, tradition, systematics, infant baptism, and that crafty old Baal doctrine. Alongside a critique of philosophical assumptions about human nature, dualism, and grace, Wilson stresses the unavoidable and absolute necessity of individual hearts being born again. He concludes by laying out the case for the church.

In this brilliantly analytical yet personal book, nondemocratic societies are put under a microscope to reveal the mechanics of tyranny that sustain them. In exposing the inner workings of a "fear society", the authors explain why democracy is not beyond any nation's reach, why it is essential for our security, and why there is much that can be done to promote it around the world.

Discover the magnitude of God's grace and how it can impact your life! Grace is one of the most phenomenal, yet least understood, gifts we receive from God. Grace does more than just allow you to be forgiven of your sin - it empowers you to overcome sin! To many, grace is just a doctrine, a spiritual concept. But as you will discover in listening to this audiobook, grace is so much more. Grace is unreasonable; it is so miraculous that we cannot make sense of it intellectually. Instead, we must ask God daily to help us walk in a childlike faith so we can simply receive his grace.

Justin Holcomb, pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle and executive director of the Resurgence, highlights Scripture's recurring emphasis on humanity’s desperate need and God’s extravagant grace. Holcomb convincingly demonstrates that grace - most powerfully manifested in the person and work of Jesus Christ - is the foundational theme and primary message of the whole Bible.

How did we get here? All cultures have a creation story, but a little over 150 years ago, Charles Darwin introduced a revolutionary new one. We, and all living things, exist because of the action of evolution on the first simple life form and its descendants. In How Evolution Explains Everything About Life, leading biologists and New Scientist take you on a journey of a lifetime, exploring the questions of whether life is inevitable or a one-off fluke and how it got kick-started.

Politics Reformed makes a provocative contribution to understanding foundational questions in an era of rising fundamentalism and emboldened secularism, inspiring listeners to rethink the importance of religion in political theory and practice, and the role of the covenant tradition in particular.

This is one of Dion Fortune's first works, when she was still writing under her birth name of Violet Firth. Here, she is examining spiritual and metaphysical subject matter through a psychological lens. She looks into the consciousness, dreams, hypnosis, symbolization, and much more.

Where did the coronavirus outbreak originate, and was the pandemic predicted? Did aliens help to build the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza, and what were they trying to tell us? Is the food industry colluding to make us addicted to sugar? Prepare yourself for some startling revelations on these topics and many more in this updated and expanded compendium of the world’s scariest and strangest conspiracy theories.

In How Jesus Saves, Joshua McNall unpacks the meaning of Jesus’ life and death for everyday people. Taking listeners on a journey through Scripture, McNall brings together the primary models of atonement doctrine making the latest theology accessible.

We’ve all felt the weight of shame and brokenness. We long for a fresh start, but what we need most is the ability to see ourselves through God’s eyes of grace. New York City pastor Chris Durso believes grace is the central message of all Scripture. While there have been some daring heists and cunning capers throughout history, this book is about the greatest heist the world has ever seen...a daring raid where God’s son took back what the enemy had stolen, freeing us from the power of shame, sin, and Satan.

What is the meaning of the Lord’s Supper? Jesus instituted the Supper to strengthen the faith of his followers by reminding them of his promises. More than an ancient church tradition or a complex doctrinal controversy, it has practical importance in the lives of Christians today. God has always made promises to his people through covenants, and along with them given signs and meals to point to and confirm his blessings. In this book, professor Guy Prentiss Waters defines and explores the unity of the covenants in the Old and New Testaments.

Some people think that salvation is merely about meeting the minimal entrance requirements needed to get into heaven when they die. But that’s not how Jesus talked about it. Rightly understood, salvation is an invitation to know God and to experience his presence, favor, and power starting right here on earth. Best-selling author John Ortberg dispels the myth that eternal life is something we can only hope to experience after we die; recaptures the New Testament definition of salvation, eternal life, and the Good News of the Gospel; and explains what it really means to be a disciple.

Brennan W. Breed claims that biblical interpretation should focus on the shifting capacities of the text, viewing it as a dynamic process rather than a static product. Rather than seeking to determine the original text and its meaning, Breed proposes that scholars approach the production, transmission, and interpretation of the biblical text as interwoven elements of its overarching reception history.