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Informationen zum Autor Richard Wagner is publisher of Digitalwalk.net, a Web-based Christian discipleship magazine. He has more than a decade's broad experience in church leadership and teaching roles. Klappentext Get to know the beliefs and practices inspired by Jesus ChristDiscover what it means to be a Christian and follow the gospelCurious about Christianity? This friendly guide helps you understand the basic teachings of the Christian faith, exploring the common ground that all Christians share, the differences among the major branches, the key events in Christian history, the key theological issues, and the many ways Christians live out their faith in today's world.The Dummies Way* Explanations in plain English* "Get in, get out" information* Icons and other navigational aids* Tear-out cheat sheet* Top ten lists* A dash of humor and funDiscover how to:* Express the core essentials of Christianity* Appreciate the life and teachings of Jesus* Understand why the Bible is central to the faith* Respect the unique roles of the Trinity* Explore controversial issues among the branches Zusammenfassung A guide to what Christians hold in common and how major denominations differ. It demystifies two millennia of Christian history and theology and helps people grasp the uses of the faith and put their own beliefs in context. Inhaltsverzeichnis Foreword: xxiii Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What You're Not to Read 4 Foolish Assumptions 4 How This Book Is Organized 4 Part I: Uncovering What Christianity's All About 5 Part II: Exploring the Basic Principles of the Christian Faith 5 Part III: Here's the Church, Here's the Steeple: Peeking into the Christian Church 5 Part IV: Christian Living in a Postmodern World 5 Part V: The Part of Tens 6 Icons Used in This Book 6 Where to Go from Here 7 Part I: Uncovering What Christianity's All About 9 Chapter 1: Good News in a Bad News World 11 Packing Christianity into a Nutshell 12 Going back to the beginning: People choosing, God responding 12 Understanding how Christians define their faith 13 Being forewarned of stereotypes: What Christianity is not 16 Making Sense of Christian Paradoxes 20 Understanding How the Branches of the Church Came About 21 Putting It into Perspective: Christianity in the World Today 22 Focusing on facts about the faith 22 Relating Christianity to other world faiths 23 Chapter 2: Christianity: But Is It True? 27 Defending the Faith Through Apologetics 28 Exploring Whether God Exists 28 The world appears to be intelligently designed 28 People (most, anyway) can think and reason 29 People instinctively sense right and wrong 30 Demonstrating Christianity as a Livable Faith 31 Retracing Christianity as a Historical Faith 33 Examining artifacts 33 Documenting history in the Bible 34 Chapter 3: That Amazing Stuff Called Grace 41 Defining Grace 42 Grace is a costly gift 42 Grace is undeserved 43 Grace is an unexpected surprise 45 Grace in a nutshell 46 Receiving God's Gift of Grace: Salvation 47 Principle #1: God loves 48 Principle #2: People sin 48 Principle #3: God responds 50 Principle #4: People must choose 51 Understanding Salvation by Faith 52 Being "Born Again" 54 Dealing with Hopeless Cases 55 Last gasps for a thief 56 Within a stone's throw of judgment 56 The original "wretch like me" 56 Part II: Exploring the Basic Principles of the Christian Faith 59 Chapter 4: Sin: Why "Do's and Don'ts" Miss the Bigger Picture 61 Desiring to Be Different: The Original...
