Spectator's Guides
3 total works
The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are worshipping, praying, believing, following, even dying for their faith. But are all faiths the same? Do they all call on the same God using different names? Are their beliefs and practices simply cultural expressions of the same spiritual longings? In this timely book, John Dickson presents each of the world's major religions in its best light. He carefully outlines the history, belief systems and spiritual practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam so that the interested 'spectator' can explore their similarities and differences. For sceptics, believers and students of religion the book provides a fair and friendly introduction to this ultimate subject.
What does the historical Jesus have to do with the Jesus of contemporary imagination? This book is neither a sceptical tirade nor an evangelistic tract. It is rather a popular-level historical introduction to the life and teaching of Jesus written for the average 'spectator' rather than the academic or religious believer. Dr Dickson takes readers through the historical data to reveal a figure who will surprise both the religious and the not-so-religious. The Jesus who emerges from the ancient sources challenges the norms of society and religion, associates with 'sinners', demands compassion toward the needy and subverts imperialism. Dickson's Jesus is neither 'left-wing' nor 'right-wing'. The Jesus of history transcended these simplistic modern categories.
Are you willing to give a few hours of your time to understand the book that has consistently outsold all others - everywhere? What makes the Bible special? What message is it trying to convey, and why does it matter? What relevance does it have for today's world - and today's people? A Spectator's Guide to the Bible covers: * A PUBLISHER'S DREAM: Why the Bible is still history's bestseller * THE GENESIS OF EVERYTHING: Does the Bible really teach 6-day creation * HOW EVERYTHING IS GOOD: God, atheism and the point of life * WHY SO MUCH IS BAD: The Bible's diagnosis of our problem * PLAN A, B & C: Three things God intends to make right * THE GOOD LIFE: What's the point of the Old Testament law? * UNHOLY WAR: The violence of the Bible * KINGDOM COME: The Bible's vision of the true leader * ALPHA AND OMEGA: Jesus as the fulfillment of everything * THE GREAT WORK: The church's roles in society * THE FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY?: What the apostle Paul did and didn't do * THE END OF THE WORLD AND OTHER MYTHS: What God intends to do with everything and why it matters now