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Baptism is a foundational rite and sacrament of the church. Over the centuries, the significance of baptism for Christian life and faith has been confirmed by the church, but baptism remains a highly controversial topic. Numerous disagreements exist between denominations and faith traditions--including the various descendants of the original Methodist movement--over the doctrine and practice of baptism. Who can be baptized? Why is baptism done? What does the rite mean? New Life in the Risen Christ: A Wesleyan Theology of Baptism seeks to address confusion over baptism and offer a coherent treatment of the sacrament from a Wesleyan theological perspective. Distinguished scholars from around the world are brought together in this volume to examine the writings of John Wesley and offer scholarly reflections on topics related to the sacrament of baptism. Their work is an invitation to remember and be thankful for baptism as the sign of divine grace that initiates Christians into a new reality: life in the risen Christ.
The title of the book, The X-Manual, is taken from the word exousia, from the subtitle. It is the Greek word for authority. The word is used throughout the New Testament. For our purposes, it is used to express the divine authority or right to cast out demons--"I have given you authority [exousia] to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you" (Luke 10:19 NIV). Jesus gives believers authority to cast out demons. This book is about spiritual authority over evil. The X-Manual is a practical "how to" handbook for clergy and laity on deliverance and exorcism. One reason I wrote the book is because so few understand and/or operate effectively...
Depression is difficult to define. It is commonly described as a chemical imbalance, a subjective experience of despondency, or even a semiotic construct. The various theories of depression--biochemical, psychological, cultural--often reflect one's philosophical anthropology. How one defines the human person is telling in how one defines mental disorder. Philosophy and the sciences tend to offer reductive explanations of what it means to be human, and such approaches rarely consider that we may be spiritual beings and so fail to entertain a theological approach. Peter J. Bellini invites us to reimagine the person in light of the image of God in Christ, the divine enfleshed in human weakness....
There is a simple, yet transformative, truth that fundamentally changes the way we think about and approach the ministry of praying for others to be healed. It's the simple truth that Jesus heals-- the healing ministry to which we are called is not primarily our ministry, but Christ's. What we are called to do is to participate in his ongoing healing ministry. And as his ministry continues today through his body, the Church, he invites us to join him. In Follow the Healer, Stephen Seamands draws upon four decades of teaching theology and active involvement in healing ministry to help us grasp the "why-to" of healing that comes before the "how-to." He lays out the essential theological foundations for healing ministry in a way that is simple and accessible. This holistic, Wesleyan approach to healing will help traditional evangelicals more readily embrace healing ministry and lead Pentecostals and charismatics already engaged in this ministry move toward a more wholistic and discerning approach to healing.
John Williamson Nevin’s life has never been given the full attention that it deserves. That may be due in part to the controversial nature of his thinking. Yet in many respects, his enormous contribution to American religious history is acknowledged by those who have read him. He stood out as the great advocate of evangelical catholicism, and his call for a thorough examination of the place of the church in nineteenth-century theology was revolutionary. It was Nevin who first saw the threat to the church in the erosion of faith in the church as a divine institution sacramentally entrusted by God with the reclamation of the whole world—an erosion that occurred well before the Civil War in the hypersubjectivity of Protestant America.
This book is a historical and theological look into the deliverance and exorcism ministry of John Wesley. It examines how Wesley understood the phenomenon of deliverance and his own practice of it in terms of ordinary and extraordinary gifts. The text looks at how Wesley understood deliverance in general in relation to salvation, and how he understood an aspect of deliverance that involved expulsion of demons. Further, the book assesses how contemporary Wesleyans and Christians in general can apply Wesley's theology and practice to deliverance ministry today. Practices like baptismal vows and the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are explored in the life of the believer today in terms of deliverance.
Can artificial intelligence (AI) attain human-level consciousness? And if so, should the church minister salvation to AI? Through engaging philosophy of mind, AI research, the cognitive sciences, neuroscience, and theological anthropology, Dr. Bellini attempts to answer these questions. The hypothesis is if the hard problem of consciousness can be solved, and if human consciousness is replicable in AI, then attaining artificial general conscious intelligence (AGCI) is possible, and perhaps needs to be evangelized or discipled, as some claim. On the contrary, if the hard problem of consciousness cannot be solved and human consciousness is not replicable in AI, then AGCI is not possible, and i...
The definitive history of the Wesleyan movement in the United States. An expansive, substantive history of the Wesleyan tradition in the United States, Doctrine, Spirit, and Discipline offers a broad survey of the Methodist movement as it developed and spread throughout America, from the colonial era to the present day. It also provides an theological appraisal of these developments in light of John Wesley's foundational vision. Beginning with Wesley himself, Watson describes the distinctiveness of the tradition at the outset. Then, as history unfolds, he identifies the common set of beliefs and practices which have unified a diverse group of people across the centuries, providing them a com...
Spiritual warfare is not a church fad. Rather, it is the rediscovery of biblical Christianity. Furthermore, one will not grasp what the Bible teaches until one comprehends what it affirms about spiritual warfare. In truth, spiritual warfare permeates the entire Bible. When one learns to read the Scriptures through the lens of spiritual warfare, one will discern the mission of God, understand the kingdom of God, and be able to participate in the work of God. As a professional theologian, seminary professor, and spiritual warfare practitioner, Bill Payne believes that the church will not make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20) until it operationalizes what the Bible teaches about spiritual warfare. As it orients the reader to the spiritual warfare mandate, Satan Exposed tackles the difficult passages of Scripture. In short, this book will change how you read the Bible, how you understand reality, and how you do ministry.
Our world is inundated with war, poverty, disease, economic crises, terrorism, unemployment, fatherlessness, addictions, divorce, abortion, sex trafficking, racism, depression and anxiety, information and stimulation overload, and the list goes on and on. Where do people find relief? How do people find true peace and hope? Do they find it? Do they even find it in church, or do they endlessly and hopelessly search? Truth Therapy is a devotional strategy for spiritual formation and discipleship that employs scripture, basic Christian truths, the names of God, and faith affirmations blended with cognitive-behavioral theory. It is an intentional approach that tackles many of the maladies of our ...