This groundbreaking book examines the anarchic aspects of Jesus' message, and suggests that the demise of the church as pillar of social order gives it a fresh opportunity to exercise its prophetic role - challenging injustice, shaking institutions and undermining some of the central values and norms on which post-Christian society is built.

From the posterboy of Catholic conservatism, a major change of heart and soul on one of the Church's most controversial and intractable stances."This past February, a conservative Roman Catholic blog, Contra|Diction, gave me perhaps my best headline ever: 'Michael Coren Complicit in Destruction of Souls Who Practice Homosexuality, Pt 1' (I'm still waiting for part two). It was one of countless posts, tweets, and articles that have condemned me for coming out in favo...

Terrorism. Same-sex marriage. Debt cancellation. The AIDS pandemic. These are just some of the critical contemporary issues addressed in this book.Issues Facing Christians Today helps thinking Christians sift through and respond to a sweeping array of complex and pressing topics. Thoroughly revised and updated by Roy McCloughry and fully endorsed by John Stott, this fourth edition continues a two-decades-plus legacy of bringing important current issues und...

The call to make the world a better place is inherent in the Christian belief and practice. But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive--and provocative--answers to these questions. Hunter begins with a penetrating appraisal of the mos...

In the forthright style that has earned him a reputation for controversy, theologian Gregory Baum presents the Faith and Justice movement in the churches -- especially the Roman Catholic Church -- together with the considerable opposition to it. He discusses why many Christians are becoming activists, turning their faith into deeds by working for the liberation of the poor, not only in South America and the Third World but in Canada, as well.Baum argues for a new ecumenism, permitt...

This Very Short Introduction to Christian ethics introduces the topic by examining its sources and historical basis. D. Stephen Long presents a discussion of the relationship between Christian ethics, modern, and postmodern ethics, and explores practical issues including sex, money, and power. Long recognises the inherent difficulties in bringing together 'Christian' and 'ethics' but argues that this is an important task for both the Christian faith and for ethics. Arguing that Ch...

"As Canadian as the maple leaf" is how one observer summed up the United Church of Canada after its founding in 1925. But was this Canadian-made church flawed in its design, as critics have charged? A Church with the Soul of a Nation explores this question by weaving together the history of the United Church with a provocative analysis of religion and cultural change.The story begins in the aftermath of Confederation, when the prospects of building a Christian nation persu...

Western societies are experiencing a series of disorientating culture shifts. Uncertain where we are heading, observers use "post" words to signal that familiar landmarks are disappearing, but we cannot yet discern the shape of what is emerging. One of the most significant shifts, "post-Christendom," raises many questions about the mission and role of the church in this strange new world. What does it mean to be one of many minorities in a culture that the church no longer dominates? How d...

The Church of England still seemed an essential part of Englishness, and even of the British state, when Mrs Thatcher was elected in 1979. The decades which followed saw a seismic shift in the foundations of the C of E, leading to the loss of more than half its members and much of its influence. In England today 'religion' has become a toxic brand, and Anglicanism something done by other people. How did this happen? Is there any way back?This 'relentlessly honest' and surprisingly ...

How Christianity Made The Modern World - The Legacy of Christian Liberty: How the Bible Inspired Freedom, Shaped Western Civilization, Revolutionized Human Rights, Transformed Democracy and Why Free People Owe So Much to their Christian Heritage.What has Christianity ever done for the world? The answer is both profound and inexhaustible. Discover how Christianity became the most important factor in the creation of the modern world by shaping our values, beliefs and civilization. Fi...

At a time when Canadians were arguing about the merits of a new flag, the birth-control pill, and the growing hippie counterculture, the leaders of Canada's largest Protestant church were occupied with turning much of English-Canadian religious culture on its head. In After Evangelicalism, Kevin Flatt reveals how the United Church of Canada abruptly reinvented its public image by cutting the remaining ties to its evangelical past. Flatt argues that although United Church leaders had alread...

Over the past decade, scholars and policy makers interested in Canadian multiculturalism have begun to take religion much more seriously. Moreover, Christian communities have become increasingly aware of the impact of ethnic diversity on church life. However, until very recently almost no systematic academic attention has been paid to the intersection between the ethnic and religious identities of individuals or communities. This gap in both our academic literature and our public discourse...