Showing results by author "Markus McDowell" in All Categories

This book examines the prayer texts in the collection of ancient documents known as the Apostolic Fathers, written during the early second century. The book begins with an overview of the Apostolic Fathers and of the prayers found therein. Appendices include every prayer passage in the nine documents. The core of the book explores the function of prayer in the letters of the collection (1 Clement, The Letter of Ignatius, Polycarp to the Philippians, and the Martyrdom of Polycarp). Each letter includes an introduction (authorship, date, form, genre, sources, purpose, and theme), followed by ...

Based on a true story, Onesimus is the tale of a young, unhappy slave who lived during the first century Roman Empire. The world is a highly structured society of deities, slaves, masters, prostitutes, government corruption, soldiers—with little opportunity to move out of one’s role. But he has a plan to become free and make something of himself—until he is betrayed. His response leads him on a path of danger, deceit, and discovery until he comes into contact with a famous leader of a young new religion based on the Jewish faith. What he finds will test his will and his courage, and ...

This book contains a brief examination of the prayers found in the books of the Old Testament known as the books of Wisdom, Poetry, and Writings. The prayers (and any mention of prayer) in each category and book are analyzed in terms of the type of prayer, content, and structure. The Old Testament books that are examined are Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Lamentations, Ruth, Esther, and the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books called the Testament of Job and Additions to Esther. A bibliography is included for further study.

Desert. Sun. Sand. No roads or human settlements within fifty miles in any direction. The perfect place to found a town? That’s what Steve Ragsdale believed. So he and his wife bundled up their four kids in a 1915 Ford Model T, bought a local prospector’s shack and well, and built a fuel station (50-gallon drum), a repair garage, and café. He advertised “Free food on days the sun doesn’t shine” and “No drunks, no dogs—we prefer dogs.” He was the owner, sheriff, rockhound, writer, naturalist, desert guide, and Santa Claus at Christmas. He became one of the local “desert ...

There are hundreds of passages about prayer in the Bible: teachings about prayer, mentions of prayer, and, of course, actual prayers. These are excellent resources for learning about the types of prayers, styles, content, when and where, and so much more. This series, Praying Through the Bible, examines each instance of a prayer passage, looking at the historical and cultural background and the context, the meaning of the prayer, and then offering a brief idea of how it might be used as a model. Each short study is also perfect for a brief analysis, a personal devotional study, or a group ...

Enriching Your Prayers is a key companion to McDowell’s expansive project, Praying Through the Bible. With the goal of studying every prayer in the Bible, this series explores biblical prayer in their original contexts, and then draws meaning from them for the purpose of expanding and enriching our own prayer practice. This book delves into each of the nine prayer types found in the Bible, studying their structure, content, and purpose, with examples of each.

Developed through years of teaching the method in church classes and bible studies, this ebook describes a three-part method of Bible study that anyone can use. Through careful reading of the text, the use of some dictionaries and encyclopedias, and some common sense, anyone can learn to engage in sound biblical interpretation. The method draws on three standard approaches: behind the text (historical and cultural), in the text (literary), and in front of the text (the worldview and attitude of the reader). Bringing these three together provides a rich and clear method of biblical ...

Dr. Markus McDowell writes multigenre fiction and nonfiction, travel reviews, edits books for other authors, and ghostwrites for nonauthors. He has taught at colleges and universities in the US and Europe and spoken at conferences and retreats around the world. He lives on a 40′ motoryacht in Southern California and travels half the time. When he is not writing or editing, he enjoys hiking, fishing, reading, drinking Scottish whisky and smoking Cuban cigars. He shares a birthday with his favorite author, Ernest Hemingway. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://...

McDowell’s third novel is set in the near future when biotechnology is stretching the limits of ethics and legality. Three people: a man, a woman, and a young child, are caught up in a heavily-funded project based on the theories of the brilliant geneticist, Vladimir Androvich, which involve gene-editing, bio-engineering, and selective breeding. While the geneticist is only interested in the benefits to humanity, bio-research firms, Big Pharm, militaries organizations, governments, and black marketeers see the project as a way to become fabulously wealthy and powerful. The subjects become...

This literary novel is a new take on an old story of grief and the search for meaning in a world that seems not only uncaring, but vindictive. To and Fro Upon the Earth is a captivating (and disturbing) story about a man who rejects the common answers to life, suffering, and injustice. In his life, in his dreams, and in painful flashbacks, Jay Adam faces the agony of grave injustice, experiences the cold hand of fate, and reluctantly embarks upon a questionable search for meaning and hope. “In this novel, McDowell expertly drills deep into the core of humanity and exposes a raw nerve—a ...

Enjoy these six winning short stories from the Riversong Short Story Contest, 2022. Unique, quirky, thought-provoking stories in various contemporary genres. The contest and volume was run and edited by Neela Tudurí-Kłepfisch, editor and writer at Sulis International Press. A panel of six publishers, editors, authors, and book reviewers reviewed more than 30 finalists to choose the six winners. “Redemption in the Thorny Thicket” by Sean Anderson. “6EQUJ4, Thank You Very Much!” by Robert McDermott** “Coping with Covid-19 lockdown in Pretoria” by Nape Motana “So Rude” by ...

Are your prayers boring, impoverished, and repetitious? Do you want to prayer more effectively, more often? Do you want your prayers to be richer, fuller, and more meaningful? Dr. McDowell uses his extensive experience in researching, writing, and teaching about prayer to demonstrate how our prayers can be all of those things. Analysis of biblical prayers, stories about real-life practices, and the presentation of a variety of styles and models of prayer will help you to find the practice of prayer that engages you where you are, and, through that, glorifies God. After all, as Dr. McDowell ...

Most of us never had anyone teach us how to pray. We mimicked what we heard from others. Sometimes this leads us to a repetitive and even shallow prayer life.Yet the Bible contains hundreds of passages about prayer, with a lot of richness and variety. This third volume of the Praying through the Bible helps us enrich our own prayers by studying those found in the Bible.Each chapter contains the text of prayer passage, followed by a study of its background, an exploration of its meaning, and an application of what we learn.

A sample collection of previously published short that will entertain and perhaps disturb you. Author Markus McDowell explores his favorite themes about of life, death, suffering, and chaos. His characters find themselves in such chaotic situations…how would you respond?

This essay is an overview of the ways in which the Old Testament books of wisdom, poetry, and Writings are used in the New Testament. The OT Writings are rarely quoted in the NT, but the many themes are found therein. The use of OT Wisdom books (Job, Eccl) is examined in the Gospels, Pauline Letters, and other letters separately. The use of OT poetry is seen in the frequent quotation and use of Psalms and hymns. The essays includes an extensive bibliography.

Chaos rattles our arrogance, shakes loose the dust, breaks rigor mortis. In chaos, you find out who you are—what matters, what you fear, what you love…. Here is a collection of nine short stories about chaos in multiple genres: historical, speculative, stream-of-consciousness, poetic, literary, and more.

A collection of short stories about the extremes we often find ourselves in—sometimes of our own making. Each story uses the adverb “so” in its title, emphasizing the extreme function of the following adjectives (tired, snowy, long, alive, dense, rude). McDowell uses fantasy, literary fiction, historical fiction, and speculative fiction genres to capture his explorations of the human experience.

This preliminary study explores the concept and practice of prayer found in the writings of six major Stoic philosophers from the ancient world: Zeno, Cleanthes, Chrysippus, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius. Placing these writers in their context within the evolution of Stoic philosophy, and in their socio-religious and historical context, McDowell then characterizes the nature, purpose, and practices of Stoic prayer. A brief comparison with prayer from the New Testament closes the study.