Recommendations based on "Sin, Death, and the Devil"

The Timeless Novel About a Bus Ride from Hell to HeavenIn The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis again employs his formidable talent for fable and allegory. The writer finds himself in Hell boarding a bus bound for Heaven. The amazing opportunity is that anyone who wants to stay in Heaven, can. This is a starting point for an extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment. Lewis’s revolutionary idea is the discovery that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis’s The Great Divorce will change the way we think about good and evil.

The Heart of the Story will help you see God’s Word in a new and inspiring light. In the Bible’s seemingly disconnected stories, you’ll discover one grand, unfolding epic – God’s story from Genesis onward – and your own life-story contained within it.“To understand the Bible,” says author and pastor Randy Frazee, “you need bifocal lenses, because two perspectives are involved. The Lower Story, our story, is actually many stories of men and women interacting with God in the daily course of life. The Upper Story is God’s story, the tale of his great, overarching purpose that fits all the individual stories together like panels in one unified mural.”In this new edition, Randy dives deeper in the Upper and Lower stories and shows how both perspectives will open your eyes to the richness and relevance of the Bible. Illuminating God’s master-plan from Genesis to our daily lives, The Heart of the Story will encourage you to experience the joy that comes from aligning your stories with God’s.

The Essentials ExplainedMaster storyteller and essayist C. S. Lewis here tackles the central questions of the Christian faith: Who was Jesus? What did he accomplish? What does it mean for me?In these classic essays, which began as talks on the BBC during World War II, Lewis creatively and simply explains the basic tenets of Christianity. Taken from the core section of Mere Christianity, the selection in this gift edition provides an accessible way for more people to discover these timeless truths. For those looking to remind themselves of the things they hold true, or those looking for a snapshot of Christianity, this book is a wonderful introduction to the faith.

Ancient Jewish sacrifice has long been misunderstood. Some find in sacrifice the key to the mysterious and violent origins of human culture. Others see these cultic rituals as merely the fossilized vestiges of primitive superstition. Some believe that ancient Jewish sacrifice was doomed from the start, destined to be replaced by the Christian eucharist. Others think that the temple was fated to be superseded by the synagogue. In Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple Jonathan Klawans demonstrates that these supersessionist ideologies have prevented scholars from recognizing the Jerusalem temple as a powerful source of meaning and symbolism to the ancient Jews who worshiped there. Klawans exposes and counters such ideologies by reviewing the theoretical literature on sacrifice and taking a fresh look at a broad range of evidence concerning ancient Jewish attitudes toward the temple and its sacrificial cult. The first step toward reaching a more balanced view is to integrate the study of sacrifice with the study of purity-a ritual structure that has commonly been understood as symbolic by scholars and laypeople alike. The second step is to rehabilitate sacrificial metaphors, with the understanding that these metaphors are windows into the ways sacrifice was understood by ancient Jews. By taking these steps-and by removing contemporary religious and cultural biases-Klawans allows us to better understand what sacrifice meant to the early communities who practiced it. Armed with this new understanding, Klawans reevaluates the ideas about the temple articulated in a wide array of ancient sources, including Josephus, Philo, Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, and Rabbinic literature. Klawans mines these sources with an eye toward illuminating the symbolic meanings of sacrifice for ancient Jews. Along the way, he reconsiders the ostensible rejection of the cult by the biblical prophets, the Qumran sect, and Jesus. While these figures may have seen the temple in their time as tainted or even defiled, Klawans argues, they too-like practically all ancient Jews-believed in the cult, accepted its symbolic significance, and hoped for its ultimate efficacy.

The problem of evil has long perplexed traditional theists: Why do terrible events, such as crimes, wars, and natural disasters, occur in a world believed to be created by an omnipotent and wholly good God? In The Problem of Evil for Atheists, Yujin Nagasawa offers a fresh perspective that seeks to transform the perennial philosophical debate on this matter. The book contends that the problem of evil surpasses its conventional understanding, impacting not only traditional theists but also posing a challenge for atheists and other 'non-theists', including pantheists, axiarchists, and followers of Eastern religious traditions. Moreover, it posits that traditional theists, who typically embrace some form of supernaturalism, are better equipped to address the problem than naturalist atheists/non-theists because the only potentially successful response requires supernaturalism. Conversely, it suggests that if atheists/non-theists can develop a successful naturalist response, traditional theists can also adopt it. The volume concludes that traditional theists are better positioned than atheists/non-theists to grapple with the problem-an unexpected assertion, given that the problem of evil is normally viewed as an argument against traditional theism and in favour of atheism/non-theism. The Problem of Evil for Atheists presents a comprehensive defence of a fundamentally new approach to tackling the age-old philosophical conundrum. By challenging the conventional perspective, it endeavours to reshape our understanding and interpretation of evil in a profound manner. An open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.

For Christians, the issues raised by the different views on creation and evolution are challenging. Can a "young earth" be reconciled with a universe that appears to be billions of years old? Does scientific evidence point to a God who designed the universe and life in all its complexity? Three Views on Creation and Evolution deals with these and similar concerns as it looks at three dominant schools of Christian thought. Proponents of young earth creationism, old earth creationism, and theistic evolution each present their different views, tell why the controversy is important, and describe the interplay between their understandings of science and theology. Each view is critiqued by various scholars, and the entire discussion is summarized by Phillip E. Johnson and Richard H. Bube. The Counterpoints series provides a forum for comparison and critique of different views on issues important to Christians. Counterpoints books address two categories: Church Life and Bible and Theology. Complete your library with other books in the Counterpoints series.

KNOWING GOD is one of the most significant and popular Christian books of our time and has deepened the faith and understanding of millions of people around the world.''Dr Packer says we''re cruel to ourselves if we try to live in his world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. I''m convinced we''re cruel if we deny ourselves the wisdom contained in this Christian classic.'' Rico Tice

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROne of our greatest novelists and thinkers presents a radiant, thrilling interpretation of the book of Genesis.For generations, the book of Genesis has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherency, just as fundamentalist interpretation has centered on the question of the appropriateness of reading it as literally true.Both of these approaches preclude an appreciation of its greatness as literature, its rich articulation and exploration of themes that resonate through the whole of Scripture. Marilynne Robinson’s Reading Genesis, which includes the full text of the King James Version of the book, is a powerful consideration of the profound meanings and promise of God’s enduring covenant with humanity. This magisterial book radiates gratitude for the constancy and benevolence of God’s abiding faith in Creation.

The Gospel of John is filled with profound truths and rich spiritual stories. Stories of Christ's miracles that inspire His followers; stories of a death that redeems the lost; and stories of a resurrection that provides us with hope for eternal glory. Pastor John MacArthur will take you through the fourth gospel account, passage by passage, so that you can better understand everything from its unique and urgent tone to the ways the apostle John makes his case for Christ's sovereignty and victory. Every miracle, teaching, and action of Jesus that his disciple John captures in his Gospel has one clear purpose: to prove that Jesus is the Word, the Messiah, and the Son of God. The dramatic milestones of Christ's ministry, as portrayed by John, have invited millions of believers throughout the ages into a saving faith with Jesus Christ, and will lead you into a deeper understanding of the ultimate story of Jesus, the Son of God. --ABOUT THE SERIES-- The MacArthur Bible Study series is designed to help you study the Word of God with guidance from widely respected pastor and author John MacArthur. Each guide provides intriguing examinations of the whole of Scripture by examining its parts and incorporates: Extensive, but straight-forward commentary on the text. Detailed observations on overriding themes, timelines, history, and context. Word and phrase studies to help you unlock the broader meaning and apply it to your life. Probing, interactive questions with plenty of space to write down your response and thoughts.

ECPA Christian Book Award 2021 Finalist: Biography & Memoir Explore Apologetics through the Lives of History's Great Apologists The History of Apologetics follows the great apologists in the history of the church to understand how they approached the task of apologetics in their own cultural and theological context. Each chapter looks at the life of a well-known apologist from history, unpacks their methodology, and details how they approached the task of defending the faith. By better understanding how apologetics has been done, readers will be better able to grasp the contextualized nature of apologetics and apply those insights to today's context. The History of Apologetics covers forty-four apologists including: Part One: Patristic Apologists Justin Martyr by Gerald Bray Irenaeus of Lyons by Stephen O. Presley Athenagoras of Athens by W. Brian Shelton Tertullian of Carthage by Bryan M. Litfin Origen by A. Chadwick Thornhill Athanasius of Alexandria by Jonathan Morgan Augustine of Hippo by Chad Meister Part Two: Medieval Apologists John of Damascus by Daniel J. Janosik Theodore Abu Qurrah by Byard Bennett Timothy I of Baghdad by Edward L. Smither and Trevor Castor Anselm of Canterbury by Edward N. Martin and Steven B. Cowan Saint Thomas Aquinas by Francis J. Beckwith and Shawn Floyd Ramon Lull by Greg Peters Gregory Palamas by Byard Bennett Part Three: Early Modern Apologists Hugo Grotius by Bryan Baise Blaise Pascal by Tyler Dalton McNabb and Michael R. DeVito Jonathan Edwards by Michael McClymond William Paley by Charles Taliaferro Joseph Butler by David McNaughton Part Four: 19th C. Apologists Simon Greenleaf by Craig A. Parton John Henry Newman by Corneliu C. Simut Søren Kierkegaard by Sean A. Turchin and Christian Kettering James Orr by Ronnie Campbell B. B. Warfield by Kim Riddlebarger Part Five: 20th C. American Apologists J. Gresham Machen by D. G. Hart Cornelius Van Til by K. Scott Oliphint Gordon Haddon Clark by Robert A. Weathers Francis A. Schaeffer by William Edgar Edward John Carnell by Steven A. Hein Part Six: 20th C. European Apologists A. E. Taylor by Michael O. Obanla and David Baggett G. K. Chesterton by Ralph Wood Dorothy Sayers by Amy Orr-Ewing C. S. Lewis by Alister McGrath Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Matthew D. Kirkpatrick Lesslie Newbigin by Krish Kandiah Part Seven: Contemporary Apologists John Warwick Montgomery by Craig A. Parton Charles Taylor by Bruce Riley Ashford and Matthew Ng Alvin Plantinga by James Beilby Richard Swinburne by Greg Welty William Lane Craig by R. Keith Loftin Gary R. Habermas by W. David Beck and Benjamin C. F. Shaw Alister E. McGrath by James K. Dew and Jordan Steffaniak Timothy Keller by Joshua D. Chatraw