The globalizing world of late modernity is heavily awash with pseudo-gods. Gods That Fail provocatively deploys the theological concept of idolatry to explore the ways in which these gods blind their devotees and wreak suffering and dehumanization. Many of these pseudo-gods have infiltrated the life of the Church and compromised its witness. Combining lively social critique with fresh expositions of familiar biblical stories, this book engages with a variety of secular discourses as well as the sub-Christian practices that accompany and undermine Christian involvement in the public square.

Throughout history, arguments for and against the existence of God have been largely confined to philosophy and theology, while science has sat on the sidelines. Despite the fact that science has revolutionized every aspect of human life and greatly clarified our understanding of the world, somehow the notion has arisen that it has nothing to say about the possibility of a supreme being, which much of humanity worships as the source of all reality. This book contends that, if God exists, some evidence for this existence should be detectable by scientific means, especially considering the central role that God is alleged to play in the operation of the universe and the lives of humans. Treating the traditional God concept, as conventionally presented in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, like any other scientific hypothesis, physicist Stenger examines all of the claims made for God's existence. He considers the latest Intelligent Design arguments as evidence of God's influence in biology. He looks at human behavior for evidence of immaterial souls and the possible effects of prayer. He discusses the findings of physics and astronomy in weighing the suggestions that the universe is the work of a creator and that humans are God's special creation. After evaluating all the scientific evidence, Stenger concludes that beyond a reasonable doubt the universe and life appear exactly as we might expect if there were no God. This paperback edition of the New York Times bestselling hardcover edition contains a new foreword by Christopher Hitchens and a postscript by the author in which he responds to reviewers' criticisms of the original edition.

The globalizing world of late modernity is heavily awash with pseudo-gods. Gods That Fail provocatively deploys the theological concept of idolatry to explore the ways in which these gods blind their devotees and wreak suffering and dehumanization. Many of these pseudo-gods have infiltrated the life of the Church and compromised its witness. Combining lively social critique with fresh expositions of familiar biblical stories, this book engages with a variety of secular discourses as well as the sub-Christian practices that accompany and undermine Christian involvement in the public square.

One Bible, Many Answers In God's Problem, the New York Times bestselling author of Misquoting Jesus challenges the contradictory biblical explanations for why an all-powerful God allows us to suffer.

In God’s Generals, Roberts Liardon will help you recapture God’s glory with compelling spiritual biographies of some of the most powerful ministries to ever ignite the fires of revival. Liardon faithfully chronicles their lives in this work, along with their teachings, their spiritual discoveries, and many revealing photos. Four of God’s Generals who you will meet include: William J. Seymour, the son of ex-slave, who turned a tiny horse table on Azusa Street, Los Angeles, into an internationally famous center of revival Aimee Semple McPherson, the glamourous and flamboyant founder of the Foursquare Church and the nation’s first Christian radio station Smith Wigglesworth, the plumber who read no book but the Bible—and raised the dead! Kathryn Kuhlman, the beloved evangelist whose miracle-filled meetings drew millions of skeptics to faith

Vinoth Ramachandra shows how modern idols like science, reason and irrationality enslave their devotees and block effective mission in today's world.

-- Introduction to and critique of the idols of contemporary culture: science, reason and irrationality. -- Lively social criticism and fresh biblical exposition argue that secular and religious worlds are both awash in idolatry. -- A survey of the forces that block effective mission today. -- Compelling arguments and a global perspective. In this Provocative and Brilliant Book, Vinoth Ramachandra argues that the modern world -- secular as well as religious -- is awash with pseudogods. Idols such as science, reason and irrationality stand tall across the landscape. Ramachandra shows how they enslave their devotees and too often wreak chaos inside as well as outside the church. Gods That Fail combines lively social criticism with fresh biblical exposition, It will prove illuminating and helpful to any Christian who wants to see through the forces that block effective mission in today's world.