Recommendations based on "Book of the Subgenius"

The perfect books for the true book lover, Penguin's Great Ideas series features twelve more groundbreaking works by some of history's most prodigious thinkers. Each volume is beautifully packaged with a unique type-driven design that highlights the bookmaker's art. Offering great literature in great packages at great prices, this series is ideal for those readers who want to explore and savor the Great Ideas that have shaped our world.Regarded as the father of Existentialism, Kierkegaard transformed philosophy with his conviction that we must all create our own nature; in this great work of religious anxiety, he argues that a true understanding of God can only be attained by making a personal "leap of faith."

The baffling age-old question, if there is a good God, why is there evil in the world? has troubled ordinary people and great thinkers for centuries. God, Power, and Evil illuminates the issues by providing both a critical historical survey of theodicy as presented in the works of major Western philosophers and theologians--Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Augustine, Aquinas, Spinoza, Luther, Calvin, Leibniz, Barth, John Hick, James Ross, Fackenheim, Brunner, Berkeley, Albert Knudson, E. S. Brighton, and others--and a brilliant constructive statement of an understanding of theodicy written from the perspective of the process philosophical and theological thought inspired primarily by Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLEROne of our greatest novelists and thinkers presents a radiant, thrilling interpretation of the book of Genesis.For generations, the book of Genesis has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherency, just as fundamentalist interpretation has centered on the question of the appropriateness of reading it as literally true.Both of these approaches preclude an appreciation of its greatness as literature, its rich articulation and exploration of themes that resonate through the whole of Scripture. Marilynne Robinson’s Reading Genesis, which includes the full text of the King James Version of the book, is a powerful consideration of the profound meanings and promise of God’s enduring covenant with humanity. This magisterial book radiates gratitude for the constancy and benevolence of God’s abiding faith in Creation.

This book includes arguments for and against belief in God. The arguments for the belief are analyzed in the first six chapters and include ontological arguments from Anselm through Gödel; the cosmological arguments of Aquinas and Leibniz; and arguments from evidence for design and miracles. The next two chapters consider arguments against belief. The last chapter examines Pascalian arguments for and against belief in God. This book is a valuable resource for philosophers of religion and theologians and interests logicians and mathematicians as well.

A former evangelical pastor explains why we can stop worrying about hell and start focusing on love"If you’ve ever struggled with...the idea of eternal conscious torment, Hell Bent is for you.”—Pete EnnsThere is a black hole at the center of Christian spirituality: the doctrine of hell. No matter how hard we try to believe in a loving God, the fear of eternal torment always lurks at the back of our minds, warping our sense of what love means. Worse still, many churches act as if the point of Christianity is not to follow Jesus but to secure a get-out-of-hell-free card—and to “save” everyone you know by converting them to your religion. For many of us, the whole story of Christianity has punishment at the very center. But does the Bible really say we’re going to hell if we don’t do or believe the “right” things?In this taboo-shattering book, former evangelical pastor Brian Recker takes an honest look at scripture and reveals what has been true all along: Hell isn’t real, and God’s universal love is radically inclusive, in this life and the next. By removing punishment from Christianity's center, Recker boldly reimagines the core questions of faith, such as why Jesus lived and died, and what it means to be “saved.” It’s time to rediscover spirituality as Jesus taught it: loving God, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Whether you’re Christian, exvangelical, or anywhere along a deconstruction journey, Hell Bent is the perfect resource to help you replace fear and church hurt with healing and peace.

A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding everyday readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike. Each volume employs three main, easy-to-use sections designed to help readers live out God's story: LISTEN to the Story: Includes complete NIV text with references to other texts at work in each passage, encouraging the reader to hear it within the Bible's grand story. EXPLAIN the Story: Explores and illuminates each text as embedded in its canonical and historical setting. LIVE the Story: Reflects on how each text can be lived today and includes contemporary stories and illustrations to aid preachers, teachers, and students.   —Ephesians— Like all of Paul's letters, Ephesians is centered in the gospel and its implications. It tells the story of what God has done in Christ and spells out the ethical implications of this story. But the letter to the Ephesians is unique among Paul's letters in many ways, including in how it tells of the story of God, beginning "before the creation of the world" and ending in eternity. Edited by Scot McKnight and Tremper Longman III, and written by a number of top-notch theologians, The Story of God Bible Commentary series will bring relevant, balanced, and clear-minded theological insight to any biblical education or ministry.

There's proof a man named Jesus of Nazareth once walked the earth, but opinions on who he was vary widely. Was he really the Son of God, or was he a nice guy who did some positive things on earth, or was he possibly an unstable man? And how can you know for sure what is true and what is false when it comes to what you’ve read or been told? Lee Strobel decided to investigate the real, historical Jesus and gather irrefutable evidence on everything connected to him so you can discover the biblical truth for yourself.A great prophet. A rebel. The Messiah. A crazy lunatic. Someone who never existed at all. All of these phrases describe different people's views of Jesus, and various ancient documents have been discovered and various books have been written by scholars that seem to support each version. Not to mention all the arguments that say the Bible can't be trusted as a reliable source of information on Jesus. So what are you supposed to believe—and why?Lee Strobel wanted the provable, undeniable truth, so he decided to return to the investigation he began in The Case for Christ and explore a variety of new angles to find out once and for all who the real Jesus was. Inside are interviews with numerous biblical scholars and once-zealous doubters about the most common arguments against Jesus, discussions of how reliable Scripture really is, examinations of unearthed ancient texts that appear to counter the gospels, and the evidence that shows who Jesus really was and continues to be in our world. Explore the case for yourself and decide: Is the real Jesus the one the Bible has proclaimed all along?The Case for the Real Jesus Student Edition:Presents the arguments for and against who Jesus is that teens and young adults often ask and encounter so they can see the real factsUses logic and solid information to examine why Christians believe what they doPresents Christian philosophy and core theology in an apologetic for teensCan also be used in the classroom, small groups, bible studies, or as a family devotionalContains infographics and charts to make the concepts clearCheck out these other books from Lee Strobel for young adults:The Case for Christ Student EditionThe Case for a Creator Student EditionThe Case for Faith Student EditionThe Case for Miracles Student EditionThe Case for Grace Student Edition

For Self-Examination and its companion piece Judge for Yourself! are the culmination of Søren Kierkegaard's second authorship, which followed his Concluding Unscientific Postscript. Among the simplest and most readily comprehended of Kierkegaard's books, the two works are part of the signed direct communications, as distinguished from his earlier pseudonymous writings. The lucidity and pithiness, and the earnestness and power, of For Self-Examination and Judge for Yourself! are enhanced when, as Kierkegaard requested, they are read aloud. They contain the well-known passages on Socrates' defense speech, how to read, the lover's letter, the royal coachman and the carriage team, and the painter's relation to his painting. The aim of awakening and inward deepening is signaled by the opening section on Socrates in For Self-Examination and is pursued in the context of the relations of Christian ideality, grace, and response. The secondary aim, a critique of the established order, links the works to the final polemical writings that appear later after a four-year period of silence.-- "Library Journal"

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A former evangelical pastor explains why we can stop worrying about hell and start focusing on love "If you’ve ever struggled with...the idea of eternal conscious torment, Hell Bent is for you.”—Pete Enns There is a black hole at the center of Christian spirituality: the doctrine of hell. No matter how hard we try to believe in a loving God, the fear of eternal torment always lurks at the back of our minds, warping our sense of what love means. Worse still, many churches act as if the point of Christianity is not to follow Jesus but to secure a get-out-of-hell-free card—and to “save” everyone you know by converting them to your religion. For many of us, the whole story of Christianity has punishment at the very center. But does the Bible really say we’re going to hell if we don’t do or believe the “right” things? In this taboo-shattering book, former evangelical pastor Brian Recker takes an honest look at scripture and reveals what has been true all along: Hell isn’t real, and God’s universal love is radically inclusive, in this life and the next. By removing punishment from Christianity's center, Recker boldly reimagines the core questions of faith, such as why Jesus lived and died, and what it means to be “saved.” It’s time to rediscover spirituality as Jesus taught it: loving God, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Whether you’re Christian, exvangelical, or anywhere along a deconstruction journey, Hell Bent is the perfect resource to help you replace fear and church hurt with healing and peace.

"The key to understanding this difficult book is God's wisdom in Jesus Christ. Solomon realistically appraises many human endeavors and finds them to be futile. The things of this world are temporary, and life is fleeting. Yet the Gospel endows our lives with eternal significance. Divine wisdom instills fear and faith in God. This knowledge enables us to serve meaningfully in our vocations and pass through the coming eschatological judgment into eternal life. This commentary is perfect for the pastor seeking to study, preach, and teach Ecclesiastes. It provides insightful wisdom and mature theological reflection on this enigmatic book of Holy Scripture. Dr. Bollhagen draws on his lifetime of faithful service as a seminary professor and parish pastor as he writes with practical wisdom for daily living."--Amazon.com.