Perspectives on God and faith have evolved throughout human history, and this type of development can be found even within the biblical narrative.
Phases of Faith in the Biblical Story is the latest title from Nurturing Faith Books, Good Faith Media’s publishing imprint, with author Sherrill Gardner Stevens considering the various ways that people have expressed their faith over time in the Bible.
Incorporating contextual background information, Stevens helps readers to understand more clearly the events and ideas found in the biblical narrative and to consider how the views of God expressed therein evolved and changed over time.
“My purpose is to help readers understand what people through the ages have believed about God and religion, what their religious practices have meant to them, and how they have applied their faith to their lives,” Stevens writes. “I am deeply convinced that God is always active in guiding the human development of religious faith so that in our Bible a stream of truth is preserved that leads humanity upward and prepares us for the awesome life and teachings of Jesus.”
Stevens is a retired pastor, having served 48 years in churches in North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia. He also served 30 years as an Army Reserve chaplain.
A graduate of Wake Forest College (B.A.), Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (Th.M.) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ph.D.), he also has experience as a writer of Sunday School literature and biblical interpretation and as an adjunct professor at Southeastern Seminary and Campbell University Department of Religion.
“The Christian faith has been, and is, a living faith,” Stevens writes. “It has continued to change through the centuries of church history as the store of human knowledge has grown, as culture has affected it, and as skilled and devoted Christians have searched and applied discovered information and inspired insights. Divine guidance has been an unfailing help in fulfilling humanity’s search for light, truth, and abundant life.”
Phases of Faith in the Biblical Story is available in paperback at GFM’s bookstore, and it will be available soon as an eBook at Amazon (Kindle) and Barnes and Noble (Nook).
Reflection and resources at the intersection of faith and culture through an inclusive Christian lens.