Introductions in Seven Sentences

• "No one whatsoever should be denied the opportunity to give his heart to the observance of the Christian religion." -The Edict of Milan (AD 313) • "Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance from the Father." -The Nicene Creed (325) • "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." -Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) • "The church is confronted today, as in no preceding generation, with a literally worldwide opportunity to make Christ known." -The Edinburgh Conference (1910)

We often explore individual passages of Scripture without seeing the whole. 'You are the Messiah, the son of the living God!' 'By grace you have been saved, through faith … not by works.' 'You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession.' 'I saw a new heaven and a new earth'.

Some people find the Old Testament to be confusing, out of date, and essentially replaced by the New Testament. They are missing out. The Old Testament offers us a grand narrative that reveals God's work, God's purposes, and God's wisdom. Christopher J. H. Wright fits the pieces together and shows us the coherent whole. Using seven key sentences drawn straight from the Old Testament, he connects the dots and points us toward Jesus. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you." "You shall have no other gods before me." "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news." Such sentences as these are not merely beautiful or helpful (though they are that). They are part of the great drama of Scripture, the story of God's plan of redemption that embraces all nations and the whole of his creation. Wright starts from the beginning, describing God's promises and covenants with his people and his mission to bless the world. At the end of this short survey, readers will clearly see God's faithfulness and love for his people and will understand how the Old Testament scriptures prepared for the identity and mission of Jesus as Messiah, Savior, and Lord.

Understanding the beliefs and practices of other faiths is essential not just to the task of interreligious dialogue, but also to grasping one's own faith. In this brief volume in “IVP Academic's Introductions in Seven Sentences”, philosopher Douglas Groothuis creatively uses a single sentence representing each of several world religions as a way to open readers to their depth and complexity, including: • Atheism: "God Is Dead." • Judaism: "I Am Who I Am." • Hinduism: "You Are That." • Buddhism: "Life Is Suffering." • Daoism: "The Dao That Can Be Spoken Is Not the Eternal Dao." • Christianity: "Before Abraham Was, I Am." • Islam: "There Is One God, and Mohammad Is His Prophet." With a sympathetic but not uncritical approach, Groothuis welcomes readers to a vital and global conversation. The accessible primers in the “Introductions in Seven Sentences” collection act as brief introductions to an academic field, with simple organization: seven key sentences that give readers a birds-eye view of an entire discipline.