Handbook of the Christian Faith , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - John Schwarz

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177 pages

English

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A Handbook of the Christian Faith is a one- volume overview of the Bible, church history, Christian beliefs and practices, other religions, and other issues of Christianity written in an easy-to-understand style. Organized in ten thematic chapters, the book is designed for use by individuals or study groups. "I cannot think of a more helpful resource for adults who are serious about their faith and the desire to understand it better," says Dr. W. Ward Gasque, President, Pacific Association for Theological Studies.

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Christianity

Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 août 2004
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441211439
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0900€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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For those curious about the Christian faith, John Schwarz s Handbook is a good place to begin. It is not the last word on any of the subjects it covers, but for many people it may be a first word.
- BISHOP N . T . ( TOM ) WRIGHT Durham , England
A H ANDBOOK OF THE C HRISTIAN F AITH

J OHN S CHWARZ
A Handbook of the Christian Faith Copyright 1993, 1999, 2001, 2004 John Schwarz
Cover design by Lookout Design, Inc.
Originally published under the titles Word Alive! by Tabgha Foundation and The Compact Guide to the Christian Faith by Bethany House Publishers.
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a Division of Baker Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
E-book edition created 2011
ISBN 978-1-4412-1143-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
P REFACE
Some people write several books. I write the same book several times. In 1980 I wrote a Bible study called A Year With the Bible, which I taught in several churches in Minneapolis. In the mid-1980s my wife and I went to Kenya as missionaries, where I taught a slimmed down version of the study in 1985 and 1986. In 1992 I began producing Christian education videos and developed a video-assisted Bible study course called Word Alive!: An Introduction to the Christian Faith and wrote a study manual for the course. In 1998 Bethany House Publishers asked if they could publish the study manual, which I revised and they published as The Compact Guide to the Christian Faith . I revised the book again in 2004, which is the book you are holding, now titled A Handbook of the Christian Faith .
When I started my Christian walk in 1976, I didn t know anything about the Bible, the church or what it meant to be a Christian. I decided that someday I would write the kind of book that I wished someone had given me when I became a Christian, a book that answered questions like the following:
Who wrote the Bible? What does the Old Testament have to do with the New? Why are there four gospels rather than one? Why are there so many different translations?
Why did the first-century church divide into Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant? How are they different from one another? Why are there so many different Protestant denominations?
What are the bottom-line Christian beliefs regarding God and Jesus, sin and salvation, grace and faith, and the end of the age and the life to come?
How does Christianity differ from Judaism, Hinduism, Islam and other world religions, and from Mormonism, the New Age and other non-Christian belief systems?
What does it mean to live as a Christian in the twenty-first century? Is there a Christian worldview? What is the role of prayer? What about evangelism?
This book attempts to answer these and other questions. The first five chapters have to do with the Bible, the Old Testament, the life and ministry of Jesus, the four gospels and the Pauline Epistles and other writings in the New Testament. The second five chapters have to do with the history of Christianity, Christian doctrines and beliefs, other religions and beliefs, growing in and sharing Christ and some guidelines for Christian living.
The source materials for the book come from Bible study curriculum programs that I have studied; readings and classroom notes from Regent College, a graduate school of theology in Vancouver, British Columbia, where I received a Master s in Christian Studies in 1990; and from reading Bible dictionaries and commentaries and studying books on the Bible, the history of Christianity, world religions and how to live Christianly in the modern world. The book was reviewed and edited by Dr. Roy A. Harrisville Jr., professor emeritus, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota; Rev. Norman H. Dodman, founder and principal lecturer, Nairobi (Kenya) Bible Training Institute; and Dr. Alfred A. Glenn, adjunct professor, Fuller Seminary Southwest, Phoenix, Arizona. I want to thank Julie Smith, Bethany House Publishers managing editor for nonfiction, for her vision, editing, encouragement and help in making this book a reality.
The book that you are holding in your hands reflects an orthodox view of Scripture; the version of the Bible I used in quoting from Scripture is the New Revised Standard Version. I have tried to reflect different ways that scholars and Bible commentators have understood the biblical text, but throughout I emphasize the historic teachings and positions of the apostolic church. Where there were differences-for instance, in quotations, the spelling and/ or capitalization of words, the dating of events, matters of geography, the translation of Greek and Latin words and other particulars-I used a majority rule approach. Finally, in an effort to make the book easy to read, I have amplified material parenthetically rather than in footnotes and have used clear headers, quotation marks, italics, even in quoting from the Bible, and italics to highlight important words, phrases and thoughts.
John Schwarz
C ONTENTS
1 - THE BIBLE
The Story and Message of the Bible
The Two Covenants or Testaments
The Bible: Formation, Structure and Books
The Hebrew Scriptures
The Apocrypha
The New Testament
The Books of the Bible
The Theme and Message of the Bible
The Biblical Story
The Transmission and Translations of the Bible
Revelation, Inspiration and Authority
Reading the Bible
Bible Translations, Bible Dictionaries and Bible Commentaries
2 - THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Old Testament: The Roots of Our Faith
The Pentateuch: Creation, Fall, Election, Salvation and Covenant
The Prologue to the Biblical Story
The Ancestral History of Israel
Exodus: The Center of the Old Testament
Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy
The Historical Books: The Rise and Fall of Israel
The Voice and Message of the Prophets
The Writings: Israel s Wisdom and Devotional Literature
Judaism Today
3 - JESUS OF NAZARETH
The World, Life and Ministry of Jesus
The Intertestamental Period
The House of Herod
Jewish Political and Religious Communities in the First Century
The First-Century New Testament World
Jesus of Nazareth: In The Fullness of Time
The Birth of Jesus
Brief Outline of Jesus Ministry
Jesus Baptism, Testing and Calling Twelve to Be His Disciples
Jesus Public Ministry
Jesus Arrest, Crucifixion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension
Jesus Names, Titles and Symbols
4 - THE GOSPELS
The Gospel Testimonies to Jesus
The Gospels: The Good News
The Synoptic Gospels
Mark: The Foundation Gospel
Matthew: The Jewish-Christian Gospel
Luke: The Universal Gospel
John: The Spiritual Gospel
Summary Comparison of the Four Gospels
5 - THE OUTWARD MOVEMENT
The Acts and Letters of the Apostles
The Acts of Peter and the Travels of Paul
The Apostle Paul: Ambassador for Christ
Galatians: The Epistle of Freedom From the Law
Romans: Paul s Magnum Opus
The Corinthian Correspondence
Paul s Other Letters
Hebrews, James, Peter, John and Jude
The Book of Revelation
Why Didn t the Jews Accept Jesus?
6 - THE CHURCH
A Brief History of Christianity
The Apostolic Era
The Church in the Middle Ages
The Protestant Reformation
Christian Missions to All the World
Christianity in America
Important Dates and Events in Christian History
7 - CHRISTIAN BELIEFS
A Summary of Christian Doctrines and Beliefs
Christian Theology
God Our Father: All-Mighty and All-Loving
The Doctrine of Creation
Sin: The Human Predicament
Jesus Christ: Lord and Savior
Salvation: By Grace Through Faith
The Holy Spirit: The Perfecter of Our Faith
The Church: Marks and Sacraments
The Church: Polity, Clergy Titles and Calendar
The End Times or Final Things
Angels, Satan and Demons
8 - OTHER RELIGIONS
Other Religions and Beliefs
Other World Religions
Hinduism: The Religion of India
Buddhism: The Middle Way
Five Other Eastern Religions
Islam: Christianity s Greatest Competitor
Christian and Non-Christian Cults
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Jehovah s Witnesses
Christian Science
Unity School of Christianity
Recent Religious Movements
The New Age Movement: Blending East and West
Do All Religions Lead to God?
9-GROWING IN AND SHARING CHRIST
Growing in Christ and Sharing Christ
Christian Apologetics
Challenges to Christianity
Growing in Christ Through Prayer
Growing in Christ Through Study
Obstacles to Growth: The Seven Deadly Sins
The Message of Evangelism: Jesus Christ
The Mechanics of Evangelism: Sharing the Good News
Pascal s Wager : Betting on God
10 - LIVING CHRISTIANLY
Biblical Guidelines for Living the Christian Faith
How to Think As a Christian
The Ten Commandments: Rules for Christian Living
The Sermon on the Mount: The Christian Manifesto
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Parables of Wealth and Possessions
How Then Should We Live?
Three Who Lived for Jesus Sake
APPENDIX: World Religions and Belief Systems
The World of the Old and New Testaments Map
The Fi