Many people equate evangelical Christianity with conservatism in religion, politics, theology and social attitudes. Some are scandalized by any separation between them. As one evangelical pastor's wife declared to a church group "We are a conservative people!" In fact, however, evangelicals have not always been conservative; radical stances on doctrines, worship, social norms, politics and church leadership have often marked evangelicalism in the past. The 2007 movie Amazing Grace about Wi...

“Jesus is the answer.”“God has a perfect plan for your life.”“All sins are equal.”Sayings like these may make catchy bumper stickers, but as deep, life-changing truths they fall short. They are the earmarks of “folk religion”—a badly distorted pop-Christianity that thrives on clichés and slogans and resists reflection and examination. Such pat spiritual answers often contain a nugget of truth, but that truth is easily misunderstood and misapplied in ways that do more harm than good.Roger O...

The Handbook of Denominations in the United States has long been the gold standard for reference works about religious bodies in America. The purpose of this Handbook is to provide accurate and objective information about the most significant Christian traditions and denominations in the United States today. It contains descriptions of over 200 distinct Christian denominations as well as overviews of the several major Christian traditions to which they belong—based on sha...

Liberal Christian theology is a big topic in today's churches and seminaries. But what does liberal theology really mean and why is it so controversial? What does it actually believe about truth, Scripture, and Jesus Christ? And where does it lead?The term "liberal theology" is often misinterpreted, confused with a set of loose ideologies within the Christian faith and sometimes rallied behind by genuine Christians who are simply concerned about modern social justi...

Perspectives on the Doctrine of God presents in counterpoint form four basic common beliefs on the doctrine of God that have developed over the course of church history with a goal of determining which view is most faithful to Scripture.Contributors to this fifth book in the PERSPECTIVES series are Regent College J.I. Packer chair in Theology and Philosophy Paul Helm (Classical Calvinist perspective), editor Bruce Ware (Modified Calvinist ...

To many Christians theology is something alien, overly intellectual and wholly unappealing. Even seminary students are known to balk at the prospect of a course on theology. Yet theology--most simply, the knowledge of God--is essential to the life and health of the church. In this short introduction, Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson, two theologians who care deeply about the witness of ordinary Christians and the ministry of the church, show what theology is, what tools theology uses, why eve...

This volume creatively explores the history of Christian thought by imagining a series of twenty-nine dialogues and debates among key figures throughout church history. It traces the history of theology via such conversation partners as Augustine and Pelagius, Calvin and Arminius, Barth and Brunner, and Bultmann and Pannenberg. Each imagined dialogue includes a brief summary that introduces the figures under consideration, a more detailed assessment of the thinkers and theological issues p...

A respectful approach to the debate over Reformed theology.Calvinist theology has been debated and promoted for centuries. Roger Olson suggests that Calvinism, also commonly known as Reformed theology, holds an unwarranted place in our list of accepted theologies and certainly shouldn’t be understood as the only authentic Christian theology.In Against Calvinism, readers will find scholarly arguments disputing some points of Calvinist theology and h...

Liberal Christian theology is a big topic in today's churches and seminaries. But what does liberal theology really mean and why is it so controversial? What does it actually believe about truth, Scripture, and Jesus Christ? And where does it lead?The term "liberal theology" is often misinterpreted, confused with a set of loose ideologies within the Christian faith and sometimes rallied behind by genuine Christians who are simply concerned about modern social justi...

An ECPA 2003 Gold Medallion FinalistThe story of Christian theology has often been divisive and disjointed. Providing this companion volume to his earlier work The Story of Christian Theology, Roger E.Olson thematically traces the contours of Christian belief down through the ages, revealing a pattern of both unity and diversity. He finds a consensus of teaching that is both unitive and able to incorporate a faithful diversity when not forced intothe molds of ...

For some decades American (and other) culture has been obsessed with cults. But what does "cult" mean? How should a religious group be identified as a cult? Who joins cults and why? These and other questions are answered in this book. It provides a basic introduction to cults, "unsafe sects," especially from an orthodox Christian perspective. Here readers will also find accounts of the author's personal experiences of cults.

Postconservative theology may be said to parallel with "postliberal theology" at its best. Orthodox, biblical, but open to new insights about how to interpret Scripture. But the new insights must be faithful as well as fresh. Postconservative theology is not the same as "progressive theology," which tends to lean toward indeterminant faith expressions, whereas "postconservative" allows for particular faith commitments and expressions but understands that the constructive task of theology i...