 Michael Green is Chaplain to the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and teaches the Evangelism module. He is also Director of the Good News Initiative of the Anglican Communion Network in the USA. Dr Green widely known and respected in the UK, in particular for his ministry of reaching non-Christians and encouraging Christians in their evangelism. For many years he was a Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford where he taught Evangelism, Apologetics and some New Testament Studies. Most recently, he has been helping to grow a start-up Anglican Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, but returned to Oxford in 2008 to invest his time in the OCCA. Dr Green's previous experiences include being Principal of St John's College, Nottingham; Rector of St Aldate's Church, Oxford; Professor of Evangelism at Regent College, Vancouver; and Advisor to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on Evangelism. His recently published works include The Books the Church Suppressed, a repudiation of the Coptic Gospels on which the Da Vinci Code relied, I'd like to believe, but... and You can't be serious!
Publications by Michael Green
 Who Is This Jesus?
These days most people will grant that Jesus Christ was a great teacher who lived in a corner of the old Roman empire. Most also welcome his teachings as a sound basis for civilisation. But what difference does that make now? Why has a whole religion been built on this person? What did he actually say and do? And how can we trust the written records about him? This fast-moving, highly readable book introduces Jesus of Nazareth honestly and openly, with no prior knowledge assumed. You are simply invited to consider the facts, and make your own conclusions. Who is this Jesus? has been written to satisfy the curious, challenge the sceptic, and hearten the disillusioned.
 Evangelism in the Early Church
This is a comprehensive evaluation and reappraisal of the main aspects of evangelism in the early church, concentrating on the New Testament period but also providing a topical treatment of evangelism up to the middle of the third century. Michael Green combines his undoubted talents both as evangelist and theologian as he focuses, with numerous quote from primary sources, on evangelism 'in the strict sense of proclaiming the Good News of salvation to men and women with a view to their conversion to Christ and incorporation into his Church.' This revised edition introduces the reader to the latest finds and developments in scholarship.
 I'd Like to Believe, But...
The hurdles that keep people from embracing belief in Christ are varied and numerous. Michael Green here addresses objections posed by real people, meeting seekers where they are and helping them see beyond their questions to a faith of their own.
 You Cannot Be Serious!
Most of us are sceptics when we first consider the Christian faith, and the same basic issues crop up. Generally these are excuses for ignoring Jesus. Michael Green has collected twelve common responses, and takes them seriously. He observes, "Will you stand out from the crowd, and think for yourself? Will you have the courage to examine the evidence and ask yourself how sound are the assumptions about God and meaning, life and death, with which you have lived so far? Will they bear the weight of your life and future?"
 The Books the Church Suppressed - Fiction and Truth in The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown's bestseller The Da Vinci Code argues that the church has suppressed the truth - that the story of Jesus, dying on the Cross for the sins of the world, is utterly false: a fiction perpetrated by a male, power-hungry hierarchy. Brown's novel - based, he insists, on fact - suggests that Jesus survived to marry Mary Magdalene and that their descendants live to this day in France. Is this part of the truth the church has striven to conceal? Brown implies that the Bible is a late, distorted selection of documents chosen, from among more reliable alternatives, by a clergy bent on selling a particular myth. michael Green goes back to the original sources to check these assertions. Did the church suppress the truth? It certainly denounced many 'gospels' and other purported revelations. Why? What did it fear?
 In Search of Spirituality
Today everyone is looking for a spirituality. This new quest takes many forms. Some explore the ancient wisdom of the Egyptian Pharaohs, or the secrets of Stonehenge. Others get involved in Wicca or the New Age. But how can you find a way through the maze of spiritualities on offer? How can you find something that really works, and satisfies your spirit without rubbishing your mind? A spirituality to live by has got to be true. If you go for a lovely fairy tale it will not support you when disaster strikes. A spirituality to live by has got to be relevant. It may be true, but if it does not make any differencein ordinary life, you can keep it. A spirituality to live by has got to be able to change lives. If it can't remove fear, especially the fear of death; if it can't break bad habits; if it can't clean up guilt, then it is not good enough. "I want a spirituality that can bear my weight through life and in the face of death," says Michael Green. "It must be based on truth, not fantasy. That is why it is worth bothering about Jesus. He might just prove to be the way out of the maze."
|
