The starting point for the book is the following anomoly: If Jesus lived as has been supposed at the beginning of the 1st century AD, the only NT documents written by a near contemporary, the Epistles of St Paul, make no mention of him as an historical figure, neither do they record any of his sayings, but rather they talk of him as a vision or mystical experience of the risen Christ. Further, the same is true of the earliest Christian non-NT texts, such as the Epistles of St Clement, roughly contemporary with Paul. Furthermore, contemporary records of the region from non-Christian sources, such as those by the Jewish historian Josephus, fail to mention Jesus at all where we would expect them to; the mentions that there are have recently been shown to be later interpolations by medieval Christian apologists - the gospel accounts of Jesus and his millieu are inaccurate in all major respects e. g. the relative dates of Herod and Pilate, if contemporary Roman and Jewish historians, who had no theological axe to grind, are taken as measure. By comparative textual studies, the author shows that the gospel accounts of Jesus' life and sayings were written approximately 100 years after Jesus is supposed to have lived, and so 100 years later than alleged contemporaries such as Paul, Clement, Josephus etc.

How do you continue to find God as dementia pulls your loved one into the darkness? Philosopher Douglas Groothuis offers a window into his experience of caring for his wife as a rare form of dementia ravages her once-brilliant mind. Mixing personal narrative with spiritual insight, he captures moments of lament as well as theological reflection and poignant pictures of their life together.

What if the way the book of Esther has been taught to us in church and retold to us in films, cartoons, and romance novels has missed the original point of the story? Far from being models of piety and devotion, Esther and Mordecai seem indifferent to the faith of their ancestors. How then did this story become part of the Bible and gain the broad acceptance that it has? If the church should not neglect the story, how should it be read? Esther and Her Elusive God calls Christians to avoid the common attempts to make Esther more palatable and theological, and to reclaim this secular story as Scripture. Readers will be encouraged to see in Esther a profound message of God's grace and faithfulness to his wayward people.

In this edition of this classic study of postmillennialism, you will sense anew the powerful message of Psalm 72 that Christ "shall have dominion from sea to sea" (Psa 72:8). You will learn that God's word boldly promises that "the whole earth will be filled with his glory" (72:19) so that "all nations will call him blessed" (72:17) - before Christ returns. Many evangelicals today are concerned about those being Left Behind on this Late Great Planet Earth as it collapses into absolute chaos. But the postmillennialist optimistically believes regarding Christ that He Shall Have Dominion throughout the earth. In this book you will find the whole biblical rationale for the postmillennial hope, from its incipient beginning in Genesis to its glorious conclusion in Revelation. Your faith will be re-invigorated as you begin to recognize that "the gospel is the power of God unto salvation" (Rom 1:16) and that our Lord Jesus really meant it when he commanded us to "go and make disciples of all the nations" (Matt 28:19).

""The Bible Home Instructor"" is a classic Bible study guide, originally published in 1920. It is a compilation of Bible testimony on a multitude of Christian subjects. Each of the many biblical topics encapsulates one or more doctrinal truths, as understood and explained by the original author, Andrew N. Dugger. In 1995, I assisted ministerial author, Richard C. Nickels, in creating an updated edition of this popular Bible study guide. For all of us who participated in this project, it was a work of love. That printed version is still being sold, and oftentimes at exorbitant prices. Therefore, I have decided to publish this updated edition and sell it for the cost of printing. I also offer a free, text-only PDF through my online bookstore at http: //www.lulu.com/spotlight/KerryBarger . The PDF can be copied and shared freely among any number of people. This book can shed the precious light of God's truth into your life and the lives of all who take its teachings to heart.