This book gives a quick look at the major forces shaping the religious movement called the restoration movement and how the churches of Christ fit into the overall picture. Members of the churches of Christ (or anyone really) can gain much from seeing the similarities and differences between themselves and the men and women of the past who spent their lives asking many of the same questions and came up with many of the same answers. Be inspired by people who gave their lives for truth, purity and their convictions.

This book is a very timely treatment of "liberals" vs "conservatives" in the church. It provides a balanced approach to an understanding of the issue; a perceived conflict between evangelism and social action. The authors present both sides of the argument and a summary of the possible "middle" ground. The proposition that people of faith are spiritually bigger than any single issue is key to living together in Christian Community. I recommend this book for any serious individual or group study.

Great. It dispels the myth that "Moonies are mindless automatons" because there is more disagreement and varied interpretations among the Unificationists than among the Evangelicals!

This book is for anyone who is deeply interested in the similarities and differences between Evangelical Christianity and Unificationism.

The authors make a great contribution to the need for small groups in churches today. The book is easy to read but filled with great information and principles needed in order to start and maintain an effective small group ministry.

From page one this story reminds one of the adventures of youth. The miracle of discovering a cave and the anticipation and fear involved in exploring it seems to be bred into every young man.

Much like Golding's "Lord of the Flies," this story shows us the depth of a child's mind. The cave, both as a setting and as a metaphor, challenges the boys to become men in a crisis situation.

I highly recomend this book, if it can be found. It had the earmarks of classic literature.

This book is a great introduction for anybody who is interested in the historical development of the rosary. The author does a good job of simply laying out the historical facts of the rosary's development, and does not allow his Catholic beliefs to influence his interpretation of those facts too heavily. Each chapter has a concise summary that provides the audience with a good review of the most important points of that particular section of the book.

The first three chapters are perhaps the most important sections of the book as the author does a great job of dispelling Catholic myth about the origins of the rosary. Here, we learn of the gradual development of the rosary from the counting beads of the early Christian monks, to the evolution of the Paternoster "cord" of the Middle Ages, and the gradual replacement of the "Our Father" prayer with the "Hail Mary" prayer in the 13th to 15th centuries. The third chapter in particular is a fantastic overview of how, during the 16th century, many different forms of the rosary were unified into one universal form, popularized, officially recognized by the Catholic Church, and solidified into the rosary that modern Catholics would recognize today.

Given the scholastic achievement of the first three chapters, the readers of this book will probably not be too impressed with the rest of the book. In the later parts of this work, Gribble describes how later Popes, priests, and events helped to increase popular devotion to the rosary. He also outlines the evolution of the rosary in European art, and the use of prayer beads in other world religions. Though these later chapters are interesting, they are nowhere near as important and informative as the first three for the person who is trying to learn more about the rosary. The first three chapters alone make this book a great purchase and addition to your library.

Hutcheson gives an excellent description of the cultural conflict that arose between mainline and evangelical churches in the 20th century. His commentary on the loss of youth in mainline churches to evangelical churches is well researched and thought out. Although he comes from a mainline perspective, he provides a very balanced look at the problem of flight that occured in the younger generations of the 60's and 70's. Having worked wtih youth in both sides in the late 90s, I feel that some of his perspectives are a little dated. I also feel that he lacks an in depth understanding of what goes on in Evangelical settings. That said, I think that he provides an excellent and balanced historical analysis that is still of value. His words of caution should still be heeded by both mainline and evangelical readers. I think its a shame that this book has not received a wider reading because it offers a wealth of information in its pages.

It must be difficult to reduce such a complex subject as Mormonism into a good, short book for non-member young people, but that is what the Bushmans have done for this installment of the Oxford University Press series "Religion in American Life." I assume Richard, the well-known historian, wrote the chapters on basic LDS history. He doesn't sugarcoat or sensationalize. Claudia must have written the chapters on Mormons facing contemporary issues. They are refreshingly candid, and give the accurate impression that Mormons are human beings who struggle with personal problems along with everyone else. The two viewpoints nicely complement each other and give insight into a much-misunderstood movement. That they have been a successful couple in the New York academic world should make Mormons proud and should attract the attention of curious "gentiles":-)

Perhaps our author's early years as a young Jesuit novice started out just as unusual as his early priesthood was destined to be. At 15 yrs old, Jan Korec, a native of Bosany (in the Slovak Republic) was the youngest Jesuit novitiate in his region; he took his vows at age 17 in 1941. Three yrs later, during the 1944 Slovak National Uprising, Korec hid out in a cellar in Trnava, reading philosophy to pass the time as the front line moved on thru. After that, he worked at a Trnava hospital caring for wounded Russian soldiers! Then while completing his studies at the Jesuit Institute, he wrote his thesis on Dialectical Materialism--irony incarnate, of course, as this is the official swan song of good marxists everywhere. And it was these very marxist followers who committed the horrors on that barbarian night of April 13, 1950 when the Czechoslovak state government shut down convents and monasteries and arrested religious leaders as "enemies of the state." Undaunted, Korec was secretly ordained a priest 6 months after this; the following year, he was secretly consecrated a Bishop of the Catholic Church. Over the coming years, he himself would ordain over 120 priests in "underground" ceremonies. Alas, in 1960, he was arrested for "treason" and imprisoned at the infamous Valdice and Pankrac prisons (he received early release in 1968 during the "thaw"). Even after his release, Bishop Korec lived under constant surveillance up until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. The 30 years he spent under the communist hacks make up the bulk of this book and provide compelling reading. Many editors and distinguished personages went into the making of this book; forewards are penned by Vaclav Havel and Pope John Paul II. Fotos are provided liberally thru the text, as well as helpful footnotes to events and persons discussed within. Korec pulls no punches either in naming specific commie villains (a pox to you Vojtech Filkorn!) and he weaves his prison experiences with other famous Church figures (Bishops Vojtassak and Hnilica) alongside him. Occasionally, the text gets bogged down with legal details in his trial hearings and individual's names are not always provided in a uniform manner with diacritics. NOTB is not a grim preachy and humorless read at all: Korec weaves humorous anecdotes all through his trials with marxist mayhem. You'll learn all kinds of things in this book: that Czech crystal was the product of prisoners working under duress and in unsafe conditions...in 1991, Korec was appointed a Cardinal in the Church (Nitra). Don't believe the naysayers who claim we have no heroes today--you just have to know where to look! For starters, then, meet Cardinal Jan Korec, a man who defied the machinations of a police state to ensure the survival of the Catholic Church in Slovakia.

Pastoral care is difficult, demanding, draining, and sometimes dangerous. Yet it also touches Christians one-on-one in a way that no therapy or counseling can match. Rather than exhaust oneself in programs that may not work or in legalistic snares, Eyer invites the pastor to live under the cross as a redeemed sinner, to point to the cross as the source of life and bringer of sense in a senseless and dead world, and to trust in the cross rather than leaning on human wisdom.

Eyer knows the difference between a clergyman and a counselor and he keeps the reader/pastor from straying into unfamiliar territory where lawsuits may be the most minor risks.

If you desire to be a Gospel-centered pastor and seelsorger, ~Pastoral Care Under the Cross~ belongs on your bookshelf and in your hands.