The second volume covers the period from when the dust of the Civil War has settled to the dawn of the 21st century. The documents are almost all by people actively engaged in religion, and so reflect the course of religion itself rather than an external view of it. The chronological chapters focus View More...
A groundbreaking scholarly work, Deep Religious Pluralism is based on the conviction that the philosophy articulated by Alfred North Whitehead encourages not only religious diversity but deep religious pluralism. Arising from a 2003 Center for Process Studies conference at Claremont Graduate University, this book offers an alternative to the version of religious pluralism that has dominated the recent discussion, especially among Christian thinkers in the West, which has evoked a growing call to reject pluralism as such.Renowned contributors of a diversity of faiths include: Steve Odin, John S... View More...
Combining history, politics, and religion, Mike Aquilina and Jim Papandrea provide practical lessons to be learned from the struggles of the Early Church, lessons that can be applied to the day-to-day lives of Christian readers. Prolonged, multiple wars in the Middle East. Waves of immigrants crossing the borders. Ongoing economic recession. Increasing political polarization, often with religious overtones. Conflicts over ideologies that pit the progressive against the traditional. Sound familiar? These conditions not only describe the United States, but the situation of the Roman Empire in th... View More...
In the late twentieth century, fundamentalism has emerged as one of the most powerful forces at work in the world, contesting the dominance of modern secular values and threatening peace and harmony around the globe. Yet it remains incomprehensible to a large number of people. In The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong brilliantly and sympathetically shows us how and why fundamentalist groups came into existence and what they yearn to accomplish. We see the West in the sixteenth century beginning to create an entirely new kind of civilization, which brought in its wake change in every aspect of li... View More...
Instant New York Times BestsellerRob Bell, the beloved author of Love Wins and What We Talk About When We Talk About God, goes deep into the Bible to show how it is more revelatory, revolutionary, and relevant than we ever imagined--and offers a cogent argument for why we need to look at it in a fresh, new way.In Love Wins, Rob Bell confronted the troubling questions that many people of faith were afraid to ask about heaven, hell, fate, and faith. Using the same inspired, inquisitive approach, he now turns to our most sacred book, the Bible. What Is the Bible? provides insights and answers t... View More...
"Original sin is the Western world's creation story." According to the Christian doctrine of original sin, humans are born inherently bad, and only through God's grace can they achieve salvation. In this captivating and controversial book, acclaimed historian James Boyce explores how this centuries-old concept has shaped the Western view of human nature right up to the present. Boyce traces a history of original sin from Adam and Eve, St. Augustine, and Martin Luther to Adam Smith, Sigmund Freud, and Richard Dawkins, and explores how each has contributed to shaping our conception of original s... View More...
Offering a host of classic and new essays surveying the scholarly ethical and biblical debate surrounding the Ten Commandments, William Brown organizes his volume into three parts: the history of interpretation, contemporary reflections on the Decalogue as a whole, and contemporary reflections on individual commandments. A useful addition to ethics as well as Old Testament and Hebrew Bible courses, Brown's The Ten Commandments will be a standard reference for all Decalogue research, as it facilitates a helpful balance between moral, theological, and biblical study.The Library of Theological Et... View More...
This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. This intriguing book compares beliefs concerning the nature of God in a variety of world religions by focusing on a number of "polarities," or pairs of qualities in the divine character that are seemingly opposed. Carman examines such polarities as supremacy/accessibility, immanence/transcendence, justice/mercy, and majesty/meekness, tracing their roles in the understandings of God expressed by Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism. View More...
A provocative, insightful explanation for why it is that belief?not religion?keeps us in a perilous state of willful ignorance In "The Religious Case Against Belief," James Carse identifies the twenty-first century's most forbidding villain: belief. In distinguishing religions from belief systems, Carse works to reveal how belief?with its restriction on thought and encouragement of hostility?has corrupted religion and spawned violence the world over. Galileo, Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, and Jesus Christ?using their stories Carse creates his own brand of parable and establishes a new vocab... View More...
An innovative thinker tackles the controversial question of why we believe in God and how religion shapes our lives and our future For a growing number of people, there is nothing more important than religion. It is an integral part of their marriage, child rearing, and community. In this daring new book, distinguished philosopher Daniel C. Dennett takes a hard look at this phenomenon and asks why. Where does our devotion to God come from and what purpose does it serve? Is religion a blind evolutionary compulsion or a rational choice? In "Breaking the Spell," Dennett argues that the time has ... View More...
A deeply personal journey to interfaith collaboration that offers hope for an inclusive and healing way of being together in the world. Too often religion seems to fuel more hatred than love, more conflict than collaboration. Interfaith Talk Radio's "interfaith amigos"--a pastor, a rabbi and an Imam--provide a rich understanding of the road to interfaith collaboration by sharing their stories, challenges and the inner spiritual work necessary to go beyond tolerance to a vital, inclusive spirituality.From their deep commitment and lived experience, they present ways we can work together to tran... View More...
This volume contains Freud's speculations on various aspects of religion, on the basis of which he explains certain characteristics of Jewish people in their relations with Christians. From an intensive study of the Moses legend, Freud comes to the startling conclusion that Moses himself was an Egyptian who brought from his native country the religion he gave to the Jews. He accepts the hypothesis that Moses was murdered in the wilderness, but that his memory was cherished by the people and that his religious doctrine ultimately triumphed. Freud develops his general theory of monotheism, which... View More...
In Working On God, Winifred Gallagher takes us on a personal pilgrimage that explores new approaches to Western faiths, the impact of Eastern traditions, the influence of science and psychology, and the democratization of religious authority. Gallagher presents a multi-faceted view of religion at the millennium through up-close, insightful encounters with congregants and spiritual leaders of various faiths, including a Zen monastery in California, a conservative Manhattan synagogue that shares a Christian church, an African-American mosque, and a nuns' cloister. View More...
Sam Keen challenges the notions and habits we'e formed about religion over the centuries in order to build a deeper faith, that is relevant today. How has religion failed us?. Must we choose between dogmatic religion and atheism? How might religion unite rather than divide us? View More...
There's nothing more American than a road trip-- and a spiritual road trip at that. From mosque to synagogue to chapel to coffee shop, Tom Levinson's entertaining and erudite stories of conversations with the faithful and the seeking get to the heart of religion in America today. All That's Holy is a fascinating conversational collage set against the backdrop of the author's deepening appreciation-- both intellectually and spiritually-- of his own religious roots. "Tom Levinson has given us a spiritual Odyssey, an extended adventure in the new meaning of faith and hope. Eloquent, heartfelt, an... View More...
A towering figure in American literature, Norman Mailer has in recent years reached a new level of accessibility and power. His last novel, "The Castle in the Forest," revealed fascinating ideas about faith and the nature of good and evil. Now Mailer offers his concept of the nature of God. His conversations with his friend and literary executor, Michael Lennon, show this writer at his most direct, provocative, and challenging. "I think," writes Mailer, "that piety is oppressive. It takes all the air out of thought." In moving, amusing, probing, and uncommon dialogues conducted over three year... View More...
A world Bible for our time from Buddhist, Hindu, Confucian, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and primal religion sources
In this perfect companion to Huston Smith's bestselling The World's Wisdom, Philip Novak distills the most powerful and elegant expressions of the wisdom of humankind. Authentic, poetic translations of key texts are coupled with insightful introductions and grace notes. View More...
