Handbook for the Christian Faith

Essential Beliefs and Practices for Twenty-First-Century American Methodists and Like-Minded Protestants. A Book about Extraordinary People

James M. Dawsey

• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781666738087, 9781666798357
• eBook ISBN: 9781666798364
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

Is religion disappearing from American life? Less than 50 percent of Americans now hold membership in any religious institution, and even fewer attend worship services. The decline in Christian churches is especially pronounced among the young and cuts across all denominations. But for Methodists and like-minded Protestants, concerns are deeper than shrinking denominational membership. Polls show disconcerting ignorance about religious and spiritual matters even among churchgoers. Our values as a society are in large measure molded by religion. What shape will Protestant Christianity take in the twenty-first century? And of Methodism? And beyond that, what kind of community will we be?Dawsey proposes returning to the roots of Christianity. And with anecdotes and stories and a sweeping grasp of church history, he examines those essential practices and beliefs necessary to revitalize American churches. Key, he argues, is rediscovering Christianity as a philosophy of living. John Wesley characterized the practice of religion as first, doing no harm; second, doing good; and third, keeping the ordinances of faith. Loving God and God's creation--the doing of Christianity--marks the path for becoming the churches and individuals Christians were called to be.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part I: Longing for God
• Part II: The Door of Religion
• Part III: How Do We Know the Truth about God, Ourselves, and Our Intended Relationship with the World?
• Part IV: Inclusion in the Family of God
• Part V: The Nature and Task of the Church
• Conclusion
• Bibliography