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What really happened at Pentecost? Could the apostles really speak languages they didn't know before? Doesn't Paul have a warped view of marriage? Why would he teach that it is 'well for a man not to touch a woman?' Why are there only 144,000 redeemed from the earth? that doesn't seem like very many. These are just some of the many questions which thoughtful people ask and that Dr. Ralph helps the reader answer. 'Discovering The First Century Church In Scripture' tackles the many questions of scripture in a straightforward manner. This practical book provides readers with a thorough introduction to the content of the Acts of the Apostles, the letters of Paul, and the book of Revelation. It acquaints readers with the methodologies and conclusions of modern biblical scholarship, and challenges readers to integrate this knowledge into their own faith lives. It is an ideal text for juniors in high school, faith-sharing groups, adult education study, and introductory college courses.

A survivor said, Our plane crashed hitting first on the left wing and then on the nose. Before coming to a stop the small plane cartwheeled about 250 feet. When it finally stopped, it was no longer a plane or hardly even recognizable as one. Somewhere inside that twisted heap of steel, with gasoline soaked all over it and its passengers, were three human beings who had been on a mission of mercy.The story which follows is true. It's a heart-warming account of how God in His infinite wisdom, led one step at a time; how through every new adjustment there was grace commensurate with the need. The reader will want to read Triumph Through Tragedy in one evening. You'll experience, through the printed page, just what can happen to a victim of a plane crash, and how all difficulties are overcome by God's grace.

Building Strong People is written for church and ministry leaders who want to learn how to encourage others to become effective team members and leaders. Beginning with an extensive, self-administered leadership test, Reed and Westfall give readers the tools to recognize their own style of leadership and understand how to adjust their approach for the best results.

From the author's Preface: ...The root of the organization of the Church is the proclamation of the Word of God. The Word of God took the form of a Gospel. In the Christian preaching at a very early period the Trinitarian Confession came to the front and gave the new religion its distinctive stamp. These were the strongest motive forces in the formative period of the Church. Yet we look in vain in theological literature for monographs in which their origin, their original meaning, and their development are made clear. This noticeable gap I have sought to fill, confining myself, as regards the Trinitarian Confession, to showing the motive which led at a very early period to a bipartite or tripartite formula. The result of the investigations into 'Gospel' will be to show that on this most important point also the Christian religion displayed from the beginning the wonderful many-sidedness, elasticity, and capacity for development which is the presupposition of its universality.

In the spring of 1941 the Nazis invaded Greece, and by the end of April, they had invaded most of the islands of the Aegean, including the beautiful Lesbos, home of young Takis (Peter Kalellis). While cycling to school, fifteen-year-old Takis was horrified to see a swastika flying atop the old castle in Mytilene, the island's capital city. Later in the day, the soldiers ransacked his home town of Moria, and a Nazi lieutenant confiscated his bike. That night, under cover of darkness, Takis violated the curfew to remove the direction signs erected by the Germans. So began the struggle against the invaders. This riveting account of fighting and enduring the occupation is both a memoir of harrowing times and a story of Kalellis and his three idealistic, fiercely loyal young friends who defy the invading powers and suffer the consequences of imprisonment and torture. It is also the story of the people of the ancient city of Mytilene who cling to the hope of liberation and freedom for three long years. On September 10, 1944, Lesbos was officially liberated. The four young men who survived the occupation were able to see the emancipation of their beloved homeland, and life gradually returned to normal as they went their separate ways. As Takis left for America, his comrade Papavasile handed him a small vial, saying, Take this with you, Takis. It is a little vial of earth - Greek earth. You can look upon it as an amulet to ward off evil and grief. There is nothing more precious, my son, than this little piece of Greece, cooled by nocturnal winds, baptized in the blood of the brave, and scented by Aegean breezes. Takis kissed his hand. I'll keep it close to my heart and draw strength from it. And some day, Papavasile responded, come back to us.

In nature we observe both diversity and discontinuity among all plants and animals. Living things cannot be arranged in a continuous, unbroken series from simple to complex, nor can one variant be traced through a continuous series to a markedly different variant. What do these two phenomena - diversity and discontinuity - say to us about the origin and meaning of living things? How do the observable facts fit in with the various theories of origins? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? These questions and more are addressed in this major contribution to the literature on creation and evolution.

In The Battle for the Trinity, Dr. Bloesch tackles the controversial issues surrounding the questions of God-language and their potential as one of the most divisive issues facing the church in the twentieth century. Should God be addressed as Father, Mother or Parent, should Jesus be referred to primarily as the Son of God or the Child of God, did God really reveal himself definitively in the person of his Son Jesus Christ? Bloesch contends that how we speak about God embodies the very core of Christianity and how we ultimately understand the biblical and historical meaning of the Trinity itself. The debates surrounding the Doctrine of God are many, and Bloesch urges the church to respond to the concerns of women that the sacred carries both masculine and feminine dimensions. Bloesch emphasizes that the God of the Bible is not described in masculine terms exclusively, and we err in our failure to recognize it. If Christianity is to remain genuinely Christian, these controversial issues must be dealt with in such a manner that will preserve the full historical and biblical understanding of the Trinity.

His 'Geschichte des Volkes Israel', the result of thirty years' labour, was epoch-making in that branch of research. While in every line it bears the marks of intense individuality, it is at the same time a product highly characteristic of the age, and even of the decade, in which it appeared. If it is obviously the outcome of immense learning on the part of its author, it is no less manifestly the result of the speculations and researches of many laborious predecessors in all departments of history, theology, and philosophy. Taking up the idea of a divine education of the human race, which Lessing and Herder had made so familiar to the modern mind, and firmly believing that to each of the leading nations of antiquity a special task had been providentially assigned, Ewald felt no difficulty about Israel's place in universal history or about the problem which that race had been called upon to solve. The history of Israel, according to him, is simply the history of the manner in which the one true religion really and truly came into the possession of humankind. Other nations had indeed attempted the highest problems in religion; but Israel alone, in the providence of God, had succeeded, for Israel alone had been inspired. Such is the supreme meaning of that national history which began with the exodus and culminated in the appearance of Christ. The historical interval that separated these two events is treated as naturally dividing itself into three great periods: those of Moses, David, and Ezra. The periods are externally indicated by the successive names of the chosen people: Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews. The events prior to the exodus are relegated by Ewald to a preliminary chapter of primitive history, and the events of the apostolic and postapostolic age are treated as a kind of appendix. The entire construction of the history is based on a critical examination and chronological arrangement of the available documents. Ewald's work is a storehouse of learning and increasingly recognized as a work of rare genius.

In this innovative book, women are invited to transcend the traditional boundaries of patriarchal theology and to discover their personal self-worth through the process of re-imaging.

Philip Comfort's 'Oceanic' is an intensely personal collection of sea poems written in stream of consciousness poetry. Freed from constraints of orthodox grammar and syntax, there are more than a few hints of G.M. Hopkins in these refreshingly innovative poems, meant above all to be read aloud. There are also subtly expressed paeans to a Creator God embedded in the verse. Philip Comfort's poetry is a capturing of the cosmic power and might of God, terrible sometimes in manifesting his power in hurricanes and ocean waves, yet always in control of Creation - including mankind; a God who shares delight in Creation with us, a God who is a merciful, loving God, as well as an omnipotent Creator. Reverend John Waddington-Feather, Shrewsbury, UK

The problem of too little time, says Robert Banks, is a real one. The notion of increased leisure time is a myth. From a distinctly Christian perspective, Banks explains how we can break out of the time prison at work and at church, as individuals and as families. He emphasizes who we are over what we do and shows how we can develop a sense of personal and social rhythms.

It's a remarkable poem in many ways...[a] splendid poetical unfolding of Jesus's life as shown to us in the Gospels. from the Introduction by John Waddington-Feather

'Dying to Live' tells Georgia's story in all its dimensions-the physical pain, the humiliation, the treatments, the strain on family relationships. But 'Dying to Live' is more. . .it's a story of inspiration and hope.

Macalister here presents, in convenient form, a summary of what was known about the Philistine people by the early twentieth century. This volume is an expansion of a course of three lectures, delivered in 1911 before the British Academy under the Schweich Fund.

Contents Lecture 1: The Nucleus of the Book of Isaiah Lecture 2: Enlargement of the Original Book of Isaiah by the Addition of Prophecies composed in the Babylonian and Persian Periods Lecture 3: Modification of the Enlarged Book of Isaiah during the Maccabean Period, and Addition to It of Prophecies Recently Composed This volume contains three lectures from the second annual Schweich Lectures of 1909. Written clearly and with the English reader in mind, Kennett's work investigates the redactional history of the book of Isaiah. Among his conclusions is the assignment of over half of the book to the Maccabean era. These lectures serve as a good review of Isaiah scholarship at the turn of the twentieth century.

...Bible students who have felt that earlier methods of interpreting the Bible, while orthodox and secure, result in rather unfruitful 'abstract meaning' will find exciting and challenging ideas in 'Beyond the Obvious'. Stephen A. Hayner, Peachtree Associate Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth, Columbia Theological Seminary Here is a stimulating, thoroughly evangelical, and orthodox challenge to the dominant evangelical paradigm of biblical interpretation known as the single meaning, authorial intent approach.... I believe the book is an impressive and convincing corrective to the one-sided emphasis of some evangelicals on single meaning authorial intent hermeneutics. Alan F. Johnson, Professor of New Testament and Christian Ethics, Wheaton College The authors offer a timely and vigorous challenge to the hermeneutical status quo among evangelicals.... The book will greatly clarify the issues in the current hermeneutical debate. David Fisher, Senior Minister of Colonial Church, Edina, MN This is a noteworthy and valuable effort for recognizing the implications of culture in hermeneutics. By making the Kingdom of God central, a whole Bible view of mission develops from this hermeneutic, deepening and broadening our understanding of God at work in the world. Donald K. Smith, Division of Intercultural Studies, Western Seminary

Samuel Curtiss was a critical scholar who often departed from the reigning consensus of his day. Near the end of his career, Curtiss turned his attention to the Near East. He, like Wellhausen, believed that Israelite religion was a manifestation of a primitive Semitic religion that could best be recovered by a careful investigation of the practices of contemporary Arabian Bedouin. Curtiss spent fourteen months in the Near East to research this hypothesis, recording his discoveries in this book.