great approach of the Christian influence of major American mental ...
581237
great approach of the Christian influence of major American mental health advocacy and early development of the field.  This is missing from the secular educational standard texts.
389911
Gordon did an incredible jobs in outlining a very rational, systematic , and Christian view of reconciling the difficulties in reading the bible with all the scientific knowledge we have today. Being a conservative evangelical Christian, I have been thinking there is a better methodology in reading the first 12 chapter of Genesis that would allow us to accept the mounting scientific edvidence about the origin of the universe, the earth's age and most of all, the evolution biology.
Gordon approach is simple and the principles are consistent with the way we read the bible. There is not a lot of technical terms in biblical interpretation or complicated science research. You do need to be comfortable with scientific terminology. I am not all done with the book. A few more chapter to go. But can't wait to write this comment to have more Christian to read and learn from Gordon's work so that we won't feel our faith is being undermined for not able to reconcile with modern scientific data.
4185148
Get in touch with your Christian roots.  Great understanding here.  Amazing mind at work.
4705952
If "Kansas" is a former time in our country where a Judeo-Christian understanding and ethic were largely understood and accepted, we are certainly not there anymore. That being the case, it is incumbent upon Christians to understand today's current cultural situation and to know how to live within, and respond to, that current situation in a way that is biblical. Albert Mohler (President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY) has done Christians a great service by writing his new book Culture Shift: The Battle for the Moral Heart of America (Multnomah, 2011). Originally released in 2008, this updated book clearly outlines many of the most dramatic cultural shifts that have taken place in America and evaluates them in light of biblical truth.

Mohler's approach to the book is certainly more broad than deep, covering topics such as "Christian Morality and Public Law," Abortion, Natural disasters, Atheism, Reproductive Technology, Family and Retirement, among others. Mohler addresses these topics in terms of how they have been viewed in the past, how they are being viewed today, and why Christians should care about these shifts. To a lesser degree, he describes how Christians should respond to these issues.

This book certainly does not answer every question or expose every detail of the shifts that have taken place in these key areas. It does, however, give some great background and simple introductions to the topics that will help Christians understand today's culture. The book is written at a level that is very accessible to most readers. Prayerfully, those who read it will be motivated to learn and read more about these things, equipping themselves to speak biblically about these topics with their friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers and others. As Christians, we are called to be salt and light in the world in which we live (see Matthew 5:13-16). This book will help us be better prepared to do so.

(FTC Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.)
2572980
This book takes the classical approach to atonement-Christ died for our sins and to conquer death, and illustrates what that looks like in contemporary life through great stories. This book would probably be of the greatest interest to pastors/priests who are in the pulpit each week illustrating atonement theology. Even those who are enamored with process theology will find some new insights and thoughts about the presence of evil in the world, how that came to be, and Christ's role in overcoming it.  It is well written, well thought out, and presents a strong argument for atonement theology.
2924601
An informative and thought provoking take on the state of the American Catholic today ending with a call for courage to remedy the problem.  This book provides an interesting perspective of the impact Liberalism (not the liberalism of American politics but the Liberalism of John Locke, etc) has had on the American psyche and consequently on the ability of American Catholics to follow their faith. Theological, historical, and cultural, this book touches on all areas of American life.  Worth the read.
4712239
I saw Michael Dowd and was very impressed with his talk, so I bought this CD set. In person, Michael presented the topic as viewed from an Atheist perspective. In this book, he presents it from a Christian perspective. Both perspectives are valid, and the goal of either presentation is to heal the division. Evolution is not incompatible with religion. My only complaint is the vocal delivery, I felt like I was listening to an infomercial. Hearing Mr. Dowd in person was much better than the CD experience.
2219835
Mike LeMay gives Christians plenty to consider in this compelling new book on the very important subject of our thought process. It is a good reminder that God created our minds to be much more effective, but we we have been taught and conditioned to think in ways that conform to this world rather than to God's Word. Then we go through life without revisiting how we think and why. The Bible says believers have been given "the mind of Christ" and thanks to the Holy Spirit, "a sound mind, but we often fail to take our thoughts captive and think/process things clearly. God designed our heart, brain, and conscience to work well together, and LeMay reveals a few of the key problems most of us can relate to: a lack of discipline and, contradictions.
Many Christians claim to believe but cannot defend or explain WHY we are saved, why the Bible is true, and why we have placed our hope in Jesus Christ. We neglect verses such as 1 Peter 3:15 and would rather avoid questions than ask or answer them. This book helps take the reader through much needed self-examination and provides encouragement to meditate on Scripture in order to produce better results. It's not too late to change our minds, and the thought patterns we choose each day does reveal our heart for either this world or for God and spiritual things. Considering the wisdom put into this book, you will benefit from reading it!
2151782
Other reviews on the Amazon web site will go into more detail, but I want to highly recommend this book.  I also want to recommend books by Daniel Amen,M.D.,  Henslin's "mentor." This book shows how different brain injuries or disorders affect the brain which can be seen by brain scans.

If you are a Christian, you will welcome wholeheartedly the Christian concepts and methods sprinkled throughout the book.  However, if you are not a Christian, please read the book because this is not a book on Christianity. You can apply the principles whether you are a Christian or not.

He points out that you do NOT have to have a brain scan to help discover how the brain works.  He gives enough information that you can figure out for yourself where your problems may lie.  Then he provides information on nutritional supplements and food that may help.  He also has suggestions on spiritual and self help techniques. He also would recommend getting professional medical help if simple methods do not help or the problem is seriously affecting someone's life.

The information in this book can help you choose a medical doctor, too.

Henslin is not against prescription medication, pointing out how specific medications may be helpful.  He goes into some detail here, showing, for example, how there are different anxiety medications that treat different types of anxiety or ADD or whatever.  There is not one pill for whatever "diagnosis" is ailing the brain even for the so-called same "disorder."  His goal would be to try to help a person improve enough to eliminate the need for medicine if possible, but not necessarily..

This book is very well written and reads like a breeze.
1608354
In this thoughtful and relevant introduction to Hall's three book series, Christians are called upon to think about how faith is expressed in a North American context.  For too long Christians have relied on the theology of history, of Western European thinkers.  Of late we have relied upon South American Liberation Theology as the "new thing."  Hall does an excellent job of walking the reader through a process of thinking the faith and integrates a Theology of the Cross as a lens through which to view our God talk.
1046025
It would be a fallacy not to explore the Christian concept of the end of the world, even if one is not Christian, nor particularly religious if born a Christian. The topic has significant impact on US policy. There is an institutionalize premillenialist perspective of "how the world will end" that is currently being propagated in the US, that affects the way people vote and organize themselves to promote US policies, particularly those that affect peace and human rights in the middle east and attitudes towards the EU. What really interested me is that Premillenialism seems to have less a consistent root in Protestant beliefs, than it does in a distinctly American perception of the world. Very few Christians outside of the US, believe in premillenialism, even if they belong to congregations far removed from the Catholic church

David Currie's book, "Rapture: The End Times Error that Leaves the Bible behind" is a seminal analysis of apocalyptic literature in the Bible, and a comparison of the interpretations of the amillenialist (those who believe humans will not know the date of the end of the world) and premillenialist (those who think they can tell you the exact date when the world ends) camps. He provides examples of how people' attitudes towards life and ideas of responsibility in life can be influenced of solely dependent upon which end-times scenario they believe. He surveys modern literature in the field, but the advantage of this book over its contemporaries is that the meat of the book centers on the Bible itself. He compares the results of his biblical exegesis and the biblical exegesis of the premillenialists, with historical documents from the Roman Empire, and Jewish scholars such as Josephus, and writings from a few of the early church fathers.

Currie has an excellent background to analyze both perspectives. He was raised in a premillenialist home; his parents were both teachers as Moody Bible Institute. Currie himself graduated from Divinity Evangelical Divinity School, and spent years working as a missionary teaching premillenialist theology to college students. However, as he taught, he began to question the biblical foundation of the premillenialist beliefs, and eventually abandoned them as biblically unsound. The biblical analysis of the book focuses on visions in Daniel, the Olivet Discourse in the gospels, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation (the bulk of the study). He also analyses the book of Zechariah in the appendix.

The apocalyptic passages in the Bible are often the ones I refrained most from reading, until Currie's book. His analysis thoroughly demystifies those passages, and the ground rules he provides for interpreting the Bible and information in regards to symbolic importance of numbers were immeasurable resources that enriched my study of all biblical passages, and may be helpful for everyone one, even if they are not persuaded by his interpretation. His argument completely persuaded me, and the perspective deeply reaffirmed my faith in Christianity. He wrote simply about a topic with deep implications, which made the information easy to comprehend and remember. The use of timelines that expressed his theories was invaluable. I can not recommend this book highly enough, and hope that many more come from David Currie in the future.
2109514
I would highly recommend Ross Douthat`s book Bad Religion to anyone with any interest in the evolution of Christianity in the United States. Without ever dumbing down, the book is a thoughtful and accurate historical narrative that is also prophetic. He evenly dissects the good, bad, and overlapping aspects of each of this nation`s prevailing religious and spiritual trends. Most effectively, he catalogues and connects the ways in which each of these trends is uniquely American - which goes a long way in explaining the current political state of things. To me the book is less provocative than its title, which is a good thing as it is mostly educative. In Bad Religion Douthat has made a serious contribution to American religious discourse. I learned something valuable from this book and I believe those who approach it with an open mind will as well.
4010915
Noll has done a splendid job identifying the theological considerations that neutralized the ability of Christians to help the nation avoid the recourse to arms to settle the slavery question. His examination of how various Christian leaders, north and south, viewed divine providence is enough to make anyone uncomfortable with a self-assured approach to understanding the ways of God. His inclusion of European theological perspectives on slavery and the American scene are an added treat. This is a fine book.
769054
Barna does a great job of showing the reader why the Christian church in America doesn't have the influence that it should.  Using interesting statistics obtained by surveys/polls, Barna shows us that many are calling themselves Christians but few are living it.  In his opinion  this is largely the main reason the church isn't making the impacts it once did so many years ago.  Great read, I highly recommend it.
4168891
I have enjoyed reading and studying with Grudem's books before, and this short book is no exception. Its length is closer to say, a single lecture in a University class, rather than an entire course.

The points that are made are solid, biblical arguments. The only problem I have with the book is that its application is applied only to the United States. Being an American living in a foreign nation, I understand his references and good application, but would have loved to seen reference to other countries as well.

Highly recommended for Christians in America to see what role they should fill in government issues.
2446981
The author's main point of the book is "American Christianity is important for the world primarily because the world is coming more and more to look like America. Therefore, the way that Christianity developed in the American environment helps to explain the way Christianity is developing in many parts of the world. But correlation is not causation: the fact that globalization and other factors have created societies that resemble in many ways what Americans experienced in the frontier period of their history does not mean that Americans are dictating to the world. It means, instead, that understanding American patterns provides insight for what has been happening elsewhere in the world" (pg. 189).

Noll goes on to prove his main idea by: looking at the identity of Evangelicals in the Nineteenth-Century , looking at what western missionaries have accomplished all over the world, and by looking at three case studies, that being, American Evangelical trends from 1900-2000, Korean believers and East African revival. Also, he draws some of his ideas from Andrew Walls, Lamin Sanneh, Dana Robert, David Martin and Philip Jenkins.

The strengths of his work are that he is very careful and cautious in his research, he comes to his careful conclusions after he has labored diligently, he has very board knowledge of the works of Protestants and Catholics, he walks a good line in describing how American Missionaries have influenced other countries but not dictated to them, he has a forward, yet gentle and accurate critique of American Christianity, and does a very good job at summarizing some complex ideas.

If you are someone interested in having a greater understanding of how American Christianity has influenced the Christian world and how the Christian world at large can draw insights from the patterns of American Christianity, this book is for you.
2402482
I first heard of Bacevich on Charlie Rose interview show (PBS) and was impressed.  The author references Reinhold Niebuhr throughout the book, a very impressive tie to the greatest American theologian of the last hundred years, and in doing so, he demonstrates his grasp of events in a broad context. If you want to know why things are the way they are, and what can be done about it- or more accurately, what will be done about it,read the book. It is well-documented and reasoned. He explains the effect "Americanism" has on the world, how events are leading toward an end to what we do not call but what has become the "American Empire."  It is a disquieting book but also one the shows a path ahead.