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Christian Fundamentalism is a doctrine and a discourse in tension. Fundamentalists describe themselves as both marginal and a majority. They announce the imminent end of the world while building massive megachurches and political lobbying organizations. They speak of the need for purity and separation from the outside world while continually innovating in their search for more effective and persuasive ways to communicate with and convert outsiders. To many outsiders, Fundamentalist speech seems contradictory, irrational, intolerant, and dangerously antidemocratic. To understand the complexity of Fundamentalism, we have to look inside the tensions and the paradoxes. We have to take seriously the ways in which Fundamentalists describe themselves to themselves, and to do that, we must begin by exploring the central role of “the church” in Fundamentalist rhetoric and politics. Drawing on five fascinating case studies, Superchurch blends a complex yet readable treatment of rhetorical and political theory with a sophisticated approach to Fundamentalism that neither dismisses its appeal nor glosses over its irresolvable tensions. Edwards challenges theories of rhetoric, counterpublics, deliberation, and civility while offering critical new insights into the evolution and continuing influence of one of the most significant cultural and political movements of the past century.
Dr. Gregory goes behind the scenes to reveal the inside story on the inner politics, corruption of character, power struggles and hypocracy that have existed in super churches hiding behind the claims of being houses of God.
 Much of the material included in each superbook (of supernotational aphorisms/maxims) in this volume is, of course, complementary, since their author's structural and thematic integrity has remained fairly consistent throughout. But if that were only the case he could have settled for one such superbook instead of two, the latter of which gradually emerged in its own right with a thematic and stylistic integrity of its own that, in many instances, not only went beyond but corrected and even contradicted some of the material already broached, thereby justifying its inclusion as a separate superbook that, nonetheless, was not unrelated, in most respects, to its predecessor. Some incidental material in the four supernotebooks of the first superbook and two of the second was not used or could not, for various reasons, be used, but what has been extracted from them has undergone sufficient rewriting and revision, not to say expansion, as to justify the concept of 'superbook', the intent of which is to draw a firm line under the biconical criteria which characterize not only this volume but other recent titles by John O'Loughlin, and all in the interests of a fresh approach to both logic and civilization that should enhance, rather than diminish, the capacity of the human mind to embrace morality and the complexities of moral issues to a degree and in a way arguably never before broached in the history of serious theoretical, or philosophical, endeavour. Every light of faith is dogged by a shadow of doubt, and it would be strange to the point of absurd if that were not the case with John O'Loughlin, even here in what should be a definitive account of his philosophical evolution. But such a shadow is actually complementary to the light and in no way a hindrance to the faith but, rather, a means of questioning and modifying one's approach to it so that the end-product, if end-product there be, will serve to enhance one's concept of truth and make one's faith in it all the more justifiably credible.– A Centretruths editorial
Christ commanded the church to make disciples, to produce people who love and obey God, bear fruit, and live with joy. The crisis at the heart of the church is that we often pay lip service to making disciples, but we seldom put much effort behind doing it. For the pastor who is ready to put words into action, The Disciple-Making Pastor offers the inspiration and practical know-how to do so. Bill Hull shows pastors the obstacles they will face, what disciples really look like, the pastor's role in producing them, and the practices that lead to positive change. He also offers a six-step coaching process to help new disciples grow in commitment and obedience and practical ideas to integrate disciple making into the fabric of the church.
Fads by nature and by definition are hard to capture, yet Hoffmann and Bailey have captured over one hundred of the passing fashion fancies and merchandising miracles during America’s short history in their latest collection of fads, Fashion & Merchandising Fads. Life devoid of fads is impossible to imagine, and the fads that do enter our lives become vehicles for amusement upon retrospection. How long any fad stays in vogue is anybody’s guess, but Hoffmann and Bailey have again found those fads that somehow took root and flourished, if only for a short period of time, in America. Concise entries describe each fad from its beginning to its demise and its devout followers. Readers are sure to recognize many of the trends and fads collected in Fashion & Merchandising Fads. A browse through the contents will have readers smiling as they remember Alex, Stroh’s Beer-Drinking Dog and “Baby On Board” Stickers Barbie Dolls and Celebrity Perfumes Convertibles, Digital Watches, and Drive-In Banking Garfield, G. I. Joe, and Handbags for Men Knickers and Matchbox Cars The Model T and the Mustang Paper Dolls and Rubik’s Cube Silly Putty, the Slinky, and Synthetics in Clothes Top Hats, the Trilby, and Twiggy VCRs, Yuppies, and Zubaz Each fad featured in Fashion & Merchandising Fads is examined thoroughly and concisely by the authors. They look at the historical setting, how the trend became popular, and the people most fascinated and involved with the trend. References follow each entry to make further reading on each fad a relatively easy task for those intrigued by fads. As fads enter and encompass society for a period of time, this collection of fads, arranged alphabetically, is sure to captivate readers from beginning to end, or, in a world of fads, from the A-2 Flight Jacket to the Zipper.
A nuanced look at the rhetorical narratives used by conservative Republicans and evangelicals to make both personal and political choices As a political constituency, white conservative evangelicals are generally portrayed as easy to dupe, disposed to vote against their own interests, and prone to intolerance and knee-jerk reactions. In Decoding the Digital Church: Evangelical Storytelling and the Election of Donald J. Trump, Stephanie A. Martin challenges this assumption and moves beyond these overused stereotypes to develop a refined explanation for this constituency’s voting behavior. This volume offers a fresh perspective on the study of religion and politics and stems from the author’s personal interest in the ways her experiences with believers differ from how scholars often frame this group’s rationale and behaviors. To address this disparity, Martin examines sermons, drawing on her expertise in rhetoric and communication studies with the benefits of ethnographic research in an innovative hybrid approach she terms a “digital rhetorical ethnography.” Martin’s thorough research surveys more than 150 online sermons from America’s largest evangelical megachurches in 37 different states. Through listening closely to the words of the pastors who lead these conservative congregations, Martin describes a gentler discourse less obsessed with issues like abortion or marriage equality than stereotypes of evangelicals might suggest. Instead, the politicaleconomic sermons and stories from pastors encourage true believers to remember the exceptional nature of the nation’s founding while also deemphasizing how much American citizenship really means. Martin grapples with and pays serious, scholarly attention to a seeming contradiction: while the large majority of white conservative evangelicals voted in 2016 for Donald J. Trump, Martin shows that many of their pastors were deeply concerned about the candidate, the divisive nature of the campaign, and the potential effect of the race on their congregants’ devotion to democratic process itself. In-depth chapters provide a fuller analysis of our current political climate, recapping previous scholarship on the history of this growing divide and establishing the groundwork to set up the dissonance between the political commitments of evangelicals and their faith that the rhetorical ethnography addresses.
Thousands of Protestant churches are perplexed by plateaued or declining attendance, while other congregations nearby thrive. Is there a way for them to combine forces, drawing on both their strengths, in ways that also increase their missional impact? Church merger consultant Jim Tomberlin, with co-writer Warren Bird, makes the case that mergers today work best not with two struggling churches but with a vital, momentum-filled lead church partnering with a joining church. In this new book, they provide a complete, practical, hands-on guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches so that they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute a variety of forms of merger for church expansion and renewal to reinvigorate declining churches and give them a "second life."
As suggested by the pun-like title, LAST (W)RITES is both a bringing to a conclusion of certain previous theories by John O'Loughlin, self-taught philosopher and literary writer, which here attain to a well-nigh definitive presentation, and a ceremonial conclusion to certain lifestyles which this book is intended to assist kill off in the interests of what it calls a Superchristian dispensation commensurate with Social Transcendentalism and, hence, with an antithesis to all that, in contemporary terms, is effectively Superheathen, though the term 'secular', not least in relation to 'feminism' is of course more germane.
In this timely book, Jerome Himmelstein offers a new interpretation of the growth of conservatism in American politics. Tracing the New Right of the 1970s and 1980s back to the Old Right of the 1950s, Himmelstein provides an interpretive map of the political landscape over the past decades, showing how conservatives ascended to power by reconstructing their ideology and building an independent movement. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1990. In this timely book, Jerome Himmelstein offers a new interpretation of the growth of conservatism in American politics. Tracing the New Right of the 1970s and 1980s back to the Old Right of the 1950s, Himmelstein provides an interpretive map of the politi