The islands of the Outer Hebrides are home to some of the most remote and spectacular scenery in the world. They host an astonishing range of mysterious structures - stone circles, beehive dwellings, holy wells and 'temples' from the Celtic era. Over a twelve-day pilgrimage, often in appalling conditions, Alastair McIntosh returns to the islands of his childhood and explores the meaning of these places. Traversing moors and mountains, struggling through torrential rivers, he walks from the most southerly tip of Harris to the northerly Butt of Lewis. The book is a walk through space and time, across a physical landscape and into a spiritual one. As he battled with his own ability to endure some of the toughest terrain in Britain, he met with the healing power of the land and its communities. This is a moving book, a powerful reflection not simply of this extraordinary place and its people met along the way, but of imaginative hope for humankind.

This volume introduces students to the history of cultural and theological responses to abortion as background for understanding a diversity of ethical positions in contemporary Christian, Jewish, and Muslim writings. Politicized debates about abortion are often presented in terms of a binary rhetoric of prolife versus prochoice; however, this collection of essays shows how that binary often breaks down when abortion is seen from different religious perspectives and in light of the voices of women themselves. While abortion is a global phenomenon, this volume focuses on the U.S. context. American abortion politics and culture wars have been dominated by Christian voices; nevertheless, Jewish and Muslim abortion ethics engage many of the same issues from different cultural and religious perspectives. Finally, this volume presents important examples of recent social scientific studies about the relationship of religion and abortion in the diverse cultural, racial, and economic fabric of American society. Pedagogical features include: - Introduction to the subject matter by the editors - Introductory essays to all five parts of the book - Questions for classroom discussion Additional pedagogical materials can be found at: https://abortionreligionreader.com/

The last thing you need is another book on leadership. So how is UnLeader different?Leadership-centric conversations dominate the contemporary evangelical church scene. The largest church leadership conferences each year include talks from corporate business executives and world famous CEOs. We are drilled with the message that if it worked for them it will work for the church.There is one overwhelming problem. Jesus himself is not our first choice when it comes to who we model ourselves after as leaders. Many times the life of Jesus directly contradicts much of what is being imported into the church under the mantra of effective leadership.This book is not about eliminating leadership in the church. UnLeader will help you redefine and recalibrate your view of leadership according to Jesus' life. Renew your ministry, reimagine your path to authentic servant leadership, and discover that the only leaders worthy of being followed in the Church are the ones who are following Christ himself.Reviews'In a culture obsessed with leadership and leaders, this book turns the pyramid upside down, provoking all Christians to reexamine what the New Testament really has to say about the subject.'-Frank Viola, author of Reimagining Church'UnLeader is a fast, engaging read that makes a compelling case for a different way - a starkly Biblical way - towards leading the church into God's future. -David Fitch, B R Linder Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary'As the church struggles through seizmic shifts, UnLeader unwraps the reality of true God-sized influence. The future of the church and the fate of the world, at least in your neighborhood, are at stake...so read only if you intend to give your life away.' -Hugh Halter, author of The Tangible Kingdom and Sacrilege