Christian Living

Do miracles really happen? Are miracles logically impossible? How do you prove that miracles exist? Everyone has an opinionated response but if you're a sceptic then no historical evidence is likely to convince you.

In Miracles, C.S. Lewis challenges the rationalists and cynics who are mired in their lack of imagination and provides a poetic and joyous affirmation that miracles really do occur in everyday lives. He presents the idea that miracles are not compatible with nature and thus introduces evidence of a supernatural world. Lewis defines a miracle as "an interference with nature by supernatural power" and concludes they are not statistical anomalies because "miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature."

Lewis encourages readers to not only trust personal experiences as a basis of understanding miracles because one's perception cannot be the concluding basis, and we must define miracles to fully understand them.

This is a book for C. S. Lewis fans and readers interested in Christians philosophy. Lewis says, "This book is intended as a preliminary to historical inquiry. I am not a trained historian and I shall not examine the historical evidence for the Christian miracles. My effort is to put my readers in a position to do so."

Combat is not a football game. Losers lose with their lives and winners often lose with their souls. "Thou shalt not kill," is still the natural law code given by God ingrained upon all human hearts since the dawn of civilization. In combat it takes a supreme act of consciousness to distinguish between murder and killing in defense of a nation. The wounds that our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines can suffer from combat are not only physical but spiritual; wounds to the soul and conscience from perceived violations of moral norms based upon one's upbringing, societal standards and religion. Such moral injury can be devastating to the warrior's mental health. Things go wrong in war quickly and easily. War is a toxic. Combat comes with a terrific personal price tag. Healing and cleansing are necessary after combat.

How do our warriors integrate the numbing images of violence and destruction that invades their souls without permission? How do our warriors reintegrate back into the civilian society that they have just defended with their lives and their blood? Will time and distance from the battlefield plus a splash of cognitive restructuring heal all wounds eventually? These questions I seek to answer through the lens of the cross of Christ. The answer will surprise you because God's Word is always counter-intuitive to our natural thoughts, intuitive solutions and our personal but often unchallenged worldviews.

Moral injury is defined in the literature as a wound to the conscience, an act of commission or omission, performed in a warzone by the warfighter while engaged in killing behaviors. All warriors live by a code, written and unwritten. What norms the conscience of the combat veteran is absolutely vital for his/her recovery after suffering moral injury. Collateral damage to innocent civilians, survivor's guilt, unintended deaths where the veteran was the perpetrator or betrayed by higher authority are all toxic events powerful enough to leave permanent scars and no lasting solution for the conscience. Imaginary self-forgiveness offered by VA counselors cobbled together with strenuous renewal therapies stand juxtaposed to authentic forgiveness proffered through the cross of Christ and the creation of the new man in Christ Jesus. The combat veteran has a choice in the therapeutic/soteriological worldview; a choice which gazes down upon two divergent paths that have little in common now and no future intersection on the distant horizon.

The NT centurion passages reveal that the military mindset by vocation and training is pre-wired for obedience to a word of authority which principle the missio Dei (mission of God) uses to shatter false norms and allegiances. The cross is not an offer of "self-forgiveness" but the present reality of the world objectively reconciled and forgiven. The conscience of the combat veteran normed by the cross in exchange for all the guilt, shame, sorrow and regret war can muster heals the conscience of the combat veteran suffering moral injury. The arduous military training of the servicemember uniquely positions him/her to receive the sure peace of God through faith alone in the highest Word of authority. The cross of Christ stands immovable, counter-intuitive and a beacon of hope for every combat veteran struggling and engaging in self-healing, self-medication and self-rationalization. The bloody warfare of Christ upon His cross renews the soul and the conscience, again and again and again.

This book addresses important moral questions people commonly face when they or their loved ones experience life-threatening injuries, end-stage illnesses, or advanced old age. Due to modern medical technology, patients and their family members often confront such questions as: What medical procedures are morally required, and what procedures are optional? Is providing food and water to a patient an optional medical treatment, or is it basic care necessary for all human beings? What roles do conscience, quality of life, pain, and financial burden play in end-of-life decision-making? With a clear, concise question-and-answer format, this book provides moral answers to these questions, and many more, in the light of Catholic teaching based on Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

Without knowledge of medical science or familiarity with common medical terminology, people can be misled or confused by authoritative-sounding medical assertions, even immoral ones--thus the need for this easy-to-use guide. In these pages, readers can quickly find the most pressing end-of-life questions along with answers consistent with the moral teachings of the Church. The book uses practical reasoning to reach proper moral conclusions based on correct moral principles. Timely and highly practical, this book addresses issues everyone will eventually face, showing that making good moral decisions leads to happiness now and at the hour of our death.

Take a moment and think about your life. What personal trials, disasters, or setbacks have you had to overcome? Were there moments you thought you couldn't possibly persevere through? God gives an example of someone in a similar situation: the prophet Jeremiah. The Book of Jeremiah is quite possibly the best against-all-odds story ever written and can help you see how to overcome your sorrows.

Settle into Jeremiah's narrative with Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing and see how Jeremiah finds hope and joy despite numerous tragedies. You'll see how through God's Word, Hope, Trust, Faith, and more, you can get through anything.

In this provocative yet thoughtful collection of poems, Rev. Sabel reinvigorates the neglected art of poetical reflection on the Christian life. Avoiding the dull didacticism and self-interrogation which characterize much contemporary poetry, Sabel's work recalls a more fundamental and generous purpose in poetry: it invites the reader to contemplate matters which can only be intimated. The matters which Rev. Sabel calls us to contemplate are those of the Christian life ""in a time when the Christian faith is an option among many, and when the politics of the moment seems to pollute the faith beyond recognition."" Sabel's reflections remind us that faith and art need not be separated; that, indeed, the Old and New Testament abound in a poetic rhythm, repetition, and representation which serve the glory of God. The poems in this volume--as indicated in its title--should be understood as a pilgrimage: a pilgrimage which takes the ancient affinity between faith and art as its point of origin, and which traverses out of this origin onto the uncertain paths of twenty-first-century Christian life. As all pilgrimages do, this pilgrimage aims at eternal life with Christ Jesus. On this pilgrimage, Rev. Sabel invites us as fellow travelers.

This book will explore the milestone in which we move from being baptized and rooted in the basics of the faith to living out those basics within all the areas and seasons of life. Rooted in the Faith makes a great tool for pastors to use in the preparation of post-confirmation youth and adults who desire church membership in the basics of the Christian faith.

Includes:
- Looking at the shape of our life of faith as set forth in Luther's catechism.

- Rite of Confirmation

- Rite of Reception of Members by Transfer or Profession of Faith

- Explore how the basics of the faith help guide us throughout our lives as we read the Scriptures, worship as a community, engage in daily prayer, and tell others about Jesus

A Masterpiece of Satire on Hell's Latest Novelties and Heaven's Unanswerable Answer

C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the unique vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to "Our Father Below." At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the wordly-wise devil to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation--and triumph over it--ever written.

First published in 1985 as Les sources de la morale chrétienne by University Press Fribourg, this work has been recognized by scholars worldwide as one of the most important books in the field of moral theology. Already its acclaim has warranted translations into Spanish, Italian, and Polish. Now it is available for the first time in an English translation, which includes a new preface. Writing in a tone that is reconciliatory rather than polemical, Servais Pinckaers returns Christian ethics to its sources, the Gospel and the Holy Spirit. After discussing the complementary domains of morality and the behavioral and natural sciences, he traces the scriptural themes-particularly in the Sermon on the Mount and the writings of St. Paul-that most influence moral instruction. He then examines in depth the history of moral theology from the patristic period to the present day. This history includes a discussion of the relation of Protestant and Catholic views of Christian ethics. The unique feature of Pinckaers's contemporary Thomistic view is its emphasis on the virtues, gifts, and evangelical Beatitudes as the heart of the Christian moral life. His approach to morality results in what he calls the freedom for excellence, a notion of freedom that he contrasts with the nominalist concept of the freedom of indifference, which has dominated moral theology since the fourteenth century. As a complete handbook of moral theology, this book will serve the needs of both beginning and advanced students in seminary and university courses in moral theology and ethics. For Catholic readers in particular, it will provide the background and perspective needed to achieve a fuller understanding of the moral teaching of the Catechism and of the encyclical Veritatis splendor.

From Philosophy to Technology, Tracing the Origin of Identity Politics

How did the world arrive at its current, disorienting state of identity politics, and how should the church respond? Historian Carl R. Trueman shows how influences ranging from traditional institutions to technology and pornography moved modern culture toward an era of "expressive individualism." Investigating philosophies from the Romantics, Nietzsche, Marx, Wilde, Freud, and the New Left, he outlines the history of Western thought to the distinctly sexual direction of present-day identity politics and explains the modern implications of these ideas on religion, free speech, and personal identity.

For fans of Trueman's The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Strange New World offers a more concise presentation and application of some of the most critical topics of our day. Individuals and groups can work through the book together with the Strange New World Study Guide and Strange New World Video Study, sold separately.

Cultural Analysis from a Christian Perspective: Explores the history of the sexual revolution and its influence today

A Concise Version of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Offers an approachable presentation of the points in Trueman's popular book

A Great Resource for Individual and Small-Group Study: Each chapter ends with thought-provoking application questions

Part of the Strange New World Suite: Can be used with the Strange New World Video Study and Strange New World Study Guide

Some associate it with its evil twin, pietism, and reject piety based on the incorrect assumption that the two are one and the same. Pietism is inwardly focused, obsessed with carefully following spiritual to-do lists and rules. Piety, rather, fights against that inward focus, turning our attention out toward God and His promises and toward our neighbor in love and care. Piety is simply the cultivation of godly habits-habits that befit the household of God, the family of our heavenly Father.

In Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey: Recover the Joys of Piety, Martin Luther's small catechism and the Book of Concord serve as our trusty roadmaps as we explore how to properly hear in the Scriptures our heavenly Father summoning us to the joy and freedom of living and growing as His beloved children through Jesus Christ.