Amazing Grace in Navajo

Predestination: The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine

Predestination: The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine  Peter J. Thuesen (Oxford University press)

Hardcover: 328 pages

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 6, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0195174275

ISBN-13: 978-0195174274

Here's the blurb: Predestination-the idea that God foreordains one's eternal destiny-is one of the most fascinating and controversial doctrines in Christianity. In this groundbreaking history, the first of its kind, Peter Thuesen shows that far from being only about the age-old riddle of divine sovereignty versus human free will, the debate over predestination is inseparable from other central Christian beliefs and practices-the efficacy of the sacraments, the existence of purgatory and hell, the extent of God's providential involvement in human affairs-and has fueled theological conflicts across denominations for centuries. In Puritan New England, the "terrifying decree" of predestination drove some people to suicidal despair even while it convinced others that they were an elect remnant in a fallen world. The doctrine subsequently declined, ridiculed by deists like Thomas Jefferson and evangelicals like John Wesley. Yet to those on the margins, from Lutheran immigrants to "hard-shell" Baptists, it never lost its urgency as a burning theological issue. It provided the religious context of Abraham Lincoln's childhood, and precipitated a schism in the Lutheran church. By the early 21st century, with the rise of conservative Protestantism as a social and political force, the doctrine was spawning disputes online as evangelicals disagreed over what an "inerrant" Bible teaches on the subject. Although battles over predestination occurred throughout Christianity's long history, says Thuesen, only in the American free marketplace of competing Protestant sects could the doctrine persist in so many contexts as a catalyst of religious change. Thuesen reexamines not only familiar predestinarians like the New England Puritans and many later Baptists and Presbyterians, but also non-Calvinists, from Catholics and Lutherans to Methodists and Mormons, and shows how even contemporary megachurches preach a "purpose-driven" outlook that owes much to the doctrine of predestination. For anyone wanting a fuller understanding of religion in America, Predestination offers both historical context on a doctrine that reaches back 1,600 years and a fresh perspective on today's denominational landscape.

Black Pearls Magazine's Bookclub Appreciation in Atlanta

Black Pearls Magazine's Bookclub Appreciation in Atlanta , GA. This fabulous night of live author readings and networking is scheduled for Thursday night, July 29, 2010 at 7.00 pm. at the chic Hyatt Regency Atlanta. The Chocolate Social literary event is for all avid readers, local media and authors to meet in an intimate setting in order to discuss the latest book releases. Black Pearls Magazine would like to honor the bookclubs and readers who create our foundation.

Delicious food. Incredible books. Talented authors. What a combination for a memorable celebration! The event will start with a dinner buffet and hourly book giveaways. Over four hours, readers will meet 25 talented authors and poets.  Each guest will receive a priceless gift bag filled with new books!  One lucky guest will receive a $250.00 gift bag filled with books! This is sure to be a reader's paradise.  Join us to meet the authors and to tell us about your readers group! 

Date: Thursday Night, July 29, 2010

Time: 7:00pm – 11:00pm EST

Location: Hyatt Regency Atlanta

265 Peachtree Street, NE , Atlanta , Georgia 30303  

We look forward to partying with you at the ATL Chocolate Social. Reserve your seat here today:  http://bpmchocsocial.eventbrite.com

Please confirm your attendance by reserving your seat at the ATL Chocolate Social today. Your presence will be an encouragement for all the authors. This event will give you an opportunity to interact with your colleagues and meet new authors in the publishing industry. Ticket sales end on July 20, 2010.  I can't wait to meet you and your guest!  Feel free to share this invitation with your network too.

Yours truly,

Ella D. Curry

EDC Creations President

Editor-in-Chief Black Pearls Magazine

An Inconvenient Friend by Rhonda McKnight

An Inconvenient Friend
by Rhonda McKnight

This social media tour is for Rhonda McKnight, author of "An Inconvenient Friend." The tour runs from July 5 – August 12, 2010.

This is NOT a BLOG TOUR

Have you been wanting to participate in a blog tour, but you don't have a blog? Now you can participate in a Tywebbin Virtual Book Tour. Blogs are NOT a requirement for SOCIAL MEDIA TOURS, but you can use your blog to post information.

These tours were created for the authors fan-base which may include family, friends, readers, etc - not necessarily bloggers. The SOCIAL MEDIA TOURS are also CONTEST-DRIVEN tours. The wider your influence, the more chances you have to WIN! WHAT ARE THE PRIZES? SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS EBLAST.

About the Book

In Secrets and Lies, Samaria Jacobs tried to seduce Dr. Jonah Morgan. Now she’s back in An Inconvenient Friend. Her creed is “If at first you don’t succeed, try…try…again.”

Samaria Jacobs has her sights set on Gregory Preston. A successful surgeon, he has just the bankroll she needs to keep her in the lifestyle that her credit card debt has helped her grow accustomed to. Samaria joins New Mercies Christian Church to get close to Gregory’s wife. If she gets to know Angelina Preston, she can become like her in more than just looks, and really work her way into Greg’s heart.

Angelina Preston’s life is filled with a successful career and busy ministry work, but something’s just not right with her marriage. Late nights, early meetings, lipstick- and perfume-stained shirts have her suspicious that Greg is doing a little more operating than she’d like. But does she have the strength to confront the only man she’s ever loved and risk losing him to the other woman?

Just when Samaria thinks she’s got it all figured out, she finds herself drawn to Angelina’s kindness. Will she be able to carry out her plan after she finds herself yearning for the one thing she’s never had . . . the friendship of a woman?

About the Author

Rhonda McKnight is the owner of Legacy Editing, a free-lance editing service for fiction writers and Urban Christian Fiction Today, a popular Internet site that highlights African-American Christian fiction. She’s the vice-president of Faith Based Fiction Writers of Atlanta. When she’s not editing projects, teaching workshops about writing or penning her next novel, she spends time with her family. Originally from a small, coastal town in New Jersey, she’s called Atlanta, Georgia home for twelve years. Visit the author online at www.RhondaMcKnight.net

Holy Rollers -

Holy Rollers
ReShonda Tate Billingsley
release date July 6, 2010

ONLY TAKEN THE FIRST 10 BLOGGERS WHO SIGN-UP. SIGN-UP FOR THIS BLOG TOUR ASAP.
About the Book

Looking for Love . . .

Lifelong friends Coco, Nita, and Audra have spent years looking for love in the arms of flashy pro athletes, hoping to land a baller but ending up with a stream of failed relationships. The beautiful and demure Coco has endured years of physical abuse from her boyfriend, Sonny, while Audra, a single mother, has dated her fair share of cheaters and yearns for a stable companion who will be a father figure to her son. And feisty, seductive Nita is tired of being the million-dollar mistress and wants to settle down—if she can find someone worth coming home to.

Changing the Game . . .

Now that the women are approaching thirty, they’re finding it harder than ever to compete with the pro groupies. Determined to change the game and find some worthwhile men, Audra hatches an outrageous plan. Soon the trio is "holy rolling," masquerading as God-fearing churchgoers at a local conference for young ministers in the hopes of snagging a prominent pastor. But will their big gamble pay off? Men of the cloth are still just men, after all. As the three friends meet their potential life partners, they will have to decide how far they want to take their holy rollers scheme—each risking heartbreak while taking a chance on finding a reliable, responsible man to love and cherish, flaws and all.

About the Author

ReShonda Tate Billingsley is a national bestselling author of 19 books, all published by Simon and Schuster/Pocket Books. In 2000, after numerous rejections from publishers, ReShonda stepped out on faith, established her own publishing company, and self published her debut novel, My Brother’s Keeper. The book caught the attention of one of the country’s top literary agents, who secured a deal for ReShonda with megahouse publisher, Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books.

The rest, as they say, is history.

ReShonda went on to sign one deal after another with Simon & Schuster and to date, is considered one of the country’s top inspirational authors. Her sophomore novel, Let the Church Say Amen, is being made into a movie of which she is Executive Producer and actress Regina King is the director. ReShonda’s literary career is such a success that in 2007, she was able to leave her job as a reporter with Fox 26 News in Houston to write full time.

ReShonda has appeared on the Essence Bestseller’s list more than 20 times, as well as The Washington Post, Dallas Morning News and Ebony Magazine Bestseller’s lists. Her books include The Devil is a Lie, Can I Get a Witness, The Pastor’s Wife, Let the Church Say Amen, Everybody Say Amen, I Know I’ve Been Changed and My Brother’s Keeper. Her inspirational teen novels include Nothing But Drama, Blessings in Disguise,With Friends Like These, Getting Even, Fairweather Friends, Friends ‘Til the End, and Caught up in the Drama. She has one non-fiction title, Help! I’ve Turned into my Mother. ReShonda has won numerous awards for her journalism, fiction and poetry writing skills. She is a five-time winner of the National Association of Black Journalists Spirit in the Words competition, one of Rolling Out Magazine’s Top 25 Women in Houston and H-Texas Magazine’s Top Professional.

ReShonda’s upcoming projects include Holy Rollers (July 2010), Say Amen, Again (July, 2011), the teen novel Drama Queens (Fall 2010), and two travel suspense novels. The Houston native also serves as a freelance editorial and marketing consultant. She has ghostwritten four fiction projects and five non-fiction projects. She is married with three small children and does not hide her addiction to Reality TV and Facebook.

She welcomes readers to her websites at www.reshondatatebillingsley.com

An Inconvenient Friend

This social media tour is for Rhonda McKnight, author of "An Inconvenient Friend." The tour runs from July 5 – August 12, 2010.



This is NOT a BLOG TOUR

Have you been wanting to participate in a blog tour, but you don't have a blog? Now you can participate in a Tywebbin Virtual Book Tour. Blogs are NOT a requirement for SOCIAL MEDIA TOURS, but you can use your blog to post information.

These tours were created for the authors fan-base which may include family, friends, readers, etc - not necessarily bloggers. The SOCIAL MEDIA TOURS are also CONTEST-DRIVEN tours. The wider your influence, the more chances you have to WIN! WHAT ARE THE PRIZES? SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS EBLAST.

About the Book

In Secrets and Lies, Samaria Jacobs tried to seduce Dr. Jonah Morgan. Now she’s back in An Inconvenient Friend. Her creed is “If at first you don’t succeed, try…try…again.”

Samaria Jacobs has her sights set on Gregory Preston. A successful surgeon, he has just the bankroll she needs to keep her in the lifestyle that her credit card debt has helped her grow accustomed to. Samaria joins New Mercies Christian Church to get close to Gregory’s wife. If she gets to know Angelina Preston, she can become like her in more than just looks, and really work her way into Greg’s heart.

Angelina Preston’s life is filled with a successful career and busy ministry work, but something’s just not right with her marriage. Late nights, early meetings, lipstick- and perfume-stained shirts have her suspicious that Greg is doing a little more operating than she’d like. But does she have the strength to confront the only man she’s ever loved and risk losing him to the other woman?

Just when Samaria thinks she’s got it all figured out, she finds herself drawn to Angelina’s kindness. Will she be able to carry out her plan after she finds herself yearning for the one thing she’s never had . . . the friendship of a woman?

About the Author

Rhonda McKnight is the owner of Legacy Editing, a free-lance editing service for fiction writers and Urban Christian Fiction Today, a popular Internet site that highlights African-American Christian fiction. She’s the vice-president of Faith Based Fiction Writers of Atlanta. When she’s not editing projects, teaching workshops about writing or penning her next novel, she spends time with her family. Originally from a small, coastal town in New Jersey, she’s called Atlanta, Georgia home for twelve years. Visit the author online at www.RhondaMcKnight.net.

For this tour, participants are …

The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke

by  Roger Stronstad

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (July 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0913573116
• ISBN-13: 978-0913573112

The blurb:
"I am quite frankly excited at the appearance of Roger Stronstad's book The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke. Until now people have had to recognize Pentecostalism as a powerful force in the areas of spirituality, church growth, and world mission, but they have not felt it had much to offer for biblical, theological, and intellectual foundations. But this is fast changing, and with the appearance of this book we may be seeing the first motions of a wave of intellectually convincing Pentecostal theology which will sweep in upon us in the next decades."
—From the Foreword by Clark H. Pinnock

In recent years, considerable scholarly discussion has occurred regarding the meaning of the Holy Spirit's activity in Luke-Acts. The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke represents a new and fresh approach to this important issue.

At the crux of the controversy is the interpretation of the phrases "baptism in the Holy Spirit" and "filled with the Spirit" as used in Luke-Acts. Roger Stronstad argues that, in an effort to harmonize Lukan and Pauline theology of the Holy Spirit, Luke's charismatic emphases have been improperly forced into a mold.

Stronstad offers a cogent and thought-provoking study of Luke as a charismatic theologian, whose understanding of the Spirit shaped wholly his understanding of Jesus and of the nature of the Early Church. Writing in the spirit of the finest of biblical scholarship, Stronstad challenges, indeed forces, traditional Protestants to reexamine and reconsider the impact of Pentecost.