Cleveland Community

Defending Your Faith

10/29/08

Those who oppose Christianity work hard to close the minds and mouths of those who profess belief, trying to make faith seem uneducated or naïve. R. C. Sproul equips readers to give a convincing presentation of what they believe and to combat the common assault on their commitment to Christ.

What Is An Evangelical?

10/29/08

Regardless of your background, it's important to understand the meaning of the term "evangelical." People first began using that label in the sixteenth century, as a designation for those who embraced the gospel which had been, in a very real sense, recovered by the Protestant Reformation in that century. "Evangelical" comes from "evangel," which is Greek for "gospel." Thus, the "evangelicals" were the Lutherans and Calvinists who wanted to recover the evangel and shout it from the rooftops. It was a designation employed to set Protestants in sharp contrast to Roman Catholics and "sects." But to understand why these Protestants thought they were the ones who had really recovered the true, biblical gospel, we have to understand what that gospel was.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism--the New American Religion

10/29/08

When Christian Smith and his fellow researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took a close look at the religious beliefs held by American teenagers, they found that the faith held and described by most adolescents came down to something the researchers identified as "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism."

The American Religion

10/29/08

There is no way of getting around it: The American Religion is not Christianity. There's a common thread running through it all: Man-centeredness instead of God-centeredness; a theology of glory rather than a theology of the Cross; moralism instead of Christ; sentimentalism and pragmatism instead of the Gospel; marketing instead of truth.

Still Surprised by Lewis

10/29/08

C. S. Lewis is today beloved of evangelicals. His books have brought provided beeline expression to our rabbit-trail thoughts, compelling language to our religious longings, and a vision of God to our impaired imaginations. In this essay, J. I. Packer explains why a man whose theology had decidedly unevangelical elements has come to be the Aquinas, the Augustine, and the Aesop of contemporary evangelicalism.

Advise for Beginners - John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul

12/03/07

John of the Cross (1542-1591), a Carmelite priest and close contemporary of Theresa of Avila, wrote one of the most influential devotional works in church history in his work Dark Night of the Soul. This selection from the first few sections of the book include his instruction to "beginners", those who are early stages of thier spiritual formation.

Relationships: Who Needs Them?

09/24/07

Randy Hester

Lecture notes for a Men's weekend retreat concerning the value and development of redemptive relationships. The study covers the theology of God's design for our relationships, the kinds of relationships we should developed (based on a study of the kinds of relationships in the life of Paul), practical steps in developing these redemptive relationships.

Questions I'd Ask - Apologetics Study

09/23/07

Randy Hester

These are the lecture notes for a class designed for public high school students in a release time Bible class. The content starts from the point of considering belief in God as a viable option and progresses through various doctrinal beliefs that are essential for orthodox Christian faith. Topics include: the Trinity, the attributes of God, general and specific revelation, the Bible, the problem of evil, sin, forgiveness, and the Cross.