Grazia Mangano Ragazzi offers an in-depth examination of the concept of discretion in the spiritual writings of Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), who is honored as one of the few female ''Doctors'' of the Catholic Church and who in 2000 was named a co-patroness of Europe by Pope John Paul II. Despite her illiteracy, which necessitated that she dictate to a scribe, Catherine is revered for her writings, which reveal spiritual reflection of remarkable depth. At the same time she is an inspiring example of one who remained active in the political and ecclesiastical life of her time without sacrificing an intense contemplative life. This book investigates the concept of "discretion," to which Catherine dedicates chapters IX to XI of her Dialogue and letter 213. Discretion, Ragazzi argues, is a helpful tool for interpreting the whole edifice of Catherine's spirituality. The term evades precise definition but can be summarized as a form of self-knowledge that leads to an authentic knowledge of God. Ragazzi first examines the role played by scribes in the composition of Catherine's writings, and whether it is possible to consider such writings as authentic representations of her thought, then provides a detailed analysis of Catherine's works to determine the meaning and importance of discretion in her spirituality, and how it relates to the concept of prudence. Ragazzi finds that the clearest influence on Catherine's thought was that of Dominican spirituality: her spiritual director, Raymond of Capua, was a Dominican, as was the majority of those belonging to her circle. But Franciscan mysticism, which was prevalent in religious life during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, also seems to have exerted considerable influence. Ragazzi's meticulous study shows how Catherine's way of being a theologian exemplifies the principle that any person authentically striving to live a Christian life, if gifted with great faith and intellectual ability, can engage in theology in a creative manner without the abstract and specialized speculation reserved for academic theologians.

The Life of St Martin by Sulpicius Severus was one of the formative works of Latin hagiography. Yet although written by a contemporary who knew Martin, it attracted immediate criticism. Why? This study seeks an explanation by placing Sulpicius works both in their intellectual context, and in the context of a church that was then undergoing radical transformation. It is thus both a study of Sulpicius, Martin, and their world, and at the same time an essay in the interpretation of hagiography.

What if there was a way to put a stop to your worrying before it steals your peace of mind? In The Answer to Anxiety, Joyce Meyer reveals truth from God’s Word that shows us how to focus on God when we’re feeling unsettled. She also teaches readers practical steps based on Scripture that we can take when we need to face our fears.

God doesn’t want you to live with worry and anxiety. And when you understand that He has a plan for you, you can experience the life-changing peace He offers.

Integration of Bible Stories with education methodology. Helps with early child development, based on favourite bible stores for children. Great for use in schools and Sunday schools. Contains 1x colouring book, 1x Yeskids Bible stories and prayers, 1x pack of crayons (6)

In this cultural and intellectual history, David Burns contends that the influence of biblical criticism in America was more widespread than previously thought. Burns proves this point by uncovering the hidden history of the radical historical Jesus, a construct created and sustained by freethinkers, feminists, socialists and anarchists during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. The result of this exploration is a new narrative revealing that Cyrenus Osborne Ward, Caroline Bartlett, George Herron, Bouck White, and other radical religionists had an impact on the history of religion in America rivaling that of recognized religious intellectuals such as Shailer Mathews, Charles Briggs, Francis Peabody, and Walter Rauschenbusch. The methods and approaches utilized by radical religionists were different from those employed by elite liberal divines, however, and part of a larger struggle over the relationship between religion and civilization. There were numerous reasons for this conflict, but, as Burns argues, the primary one was that radicals used Ernest Renan's The Life of Jesus to create an imaginative brand of biblical criticism that struck a balance between the demands of reason and the doctrines of religion. Thus, while radical religionists like Robert Ingersoll, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Eugene Debs were secular-minded thinkers who sought to purge Christianity of its supernatural dimensions, they believed the religious imagination that enabled modern day radicals to make common cause with an ancient peasant from Galilee was something wonderful. This provocative blend of reason and religion produced a vibrant countercultural movement that spanned communities, classes, and creeds and makes The Life and Death of the Radical Historical Jesus a book that deserves a wide readership in an era when public intellectuals and politicians on both the left and right draw rigid lines between the secular and the sacred.

Long the dominant religion of the West, Christianity is now rapidly becoming the principal faith in much of the postcolonial world--a development that marks a momentous shift in the religion's very center of gravity. In this eye-opening book, Lamin Sanneh examines the roots of this "post-Western awakening" and the unparalleled richness and diversity, as well as the tension and conflict, it has brought to World Christianity.
Tracing Christianity's rise from its birth on the edge of the Roman empire--when it proclaimed itself to be a religion for the entire world, not just for one people, one time, and one place--to its key role in Europe's maritime and colonial expansion, Sanneh sheds new light on the ways in which post-Western societies in Africa, Asia, and Latin America were drawn into the Christian orbit. Ultimately, he shows, these societies outgrew Christianity's colonial forms and restructured it through their own languages and idioms--a process that often occurred outside, and sometimes against, the lines of denominational control. The effect of such changes, Sanneh contends, has been profound, transforming not only worship, prayer, and the interpretation of Scripture, but also art, aesthetics, and music associated with the church. In exploring this story of Christianity's global expansion and its current resurgence in the non-Western world, Sanneh pays close attention to such issues as the faith's encounters with Islam and indigenous religions, as well as with secular ideologies such as Marxism and nationalism. He also considers the challenges that conservative, non-Western forms of Christianity pose to Western liberal values and Enlightenment ideas.
Here then is agroundbreaking study of Christianity's role in cultural innovation and historical change--and must reading for all who are concerned with the present and future of the faith.

Winner of an Award of Merit in the Christianity Today Book Awards, History/Biography category
On January 17, 1776, one week after Thomas Paine published his incendiary pamphlet Common Sense, Connecticut minister Samuel Sherwood preached an equally patriotic sermon. "God Almighty, with all the powers of heaven, are on our side," Sherwood said, voicing a sacred justification for war that Americans would invoke repeatedly throughout the struggle for independence.
In Sacred Scripture, Sacred War, James Byrd offers the first comprehensive analysis of how American revolutionaries defended their patriotic convictions through scripture. Byrd shows that the Bible was a key text of the American Revolution. Indeed, many colonists saw the Bible as primarily a book about war. They viewed God as not merely sanctioning violence but actively participating in combat, playing a decisive role on the battlefield. When war came, preachers and patriots alike turned to scripture not only for solace but for exhortations to fight. Such scripture helped amateur soldiers overcome their natural aversion to killing, conferred on those who died for the Revolution the halo of martyrdom, and gave Americans a sense of the divine providence of their cause. Many histories of the Revolution have noted the connection between religion and war, but Sacred Scripture, Sacred War is the first to provide a detailed analysis of specific biblical texts and how they were used, especially in making the patriotic case for war. Combing through more than 500 wartime sources, which include more than 17,000 biblical citations, Byrd shows precisely how the Bible shaped American war, and how war in turn shaped Americans' view of the Bible.
Brilliantly researched and cogently argued, Sacred Scripture, Sacred War sheds new light on the American Revolution.

The central act of Christian worship is the Mass or Eucharist. This, however, is a formal public act, and generally a once-in-a-week event, which does not entirely answer the spiritual aspirations of the vast majority of Christians who express these through prayer and "devotional practices". The cult of relics and of saints in general; banding together into confraternities to foster a special devotion; going on pilgrimages, wearing medals, badges and scapulars - all these are forms of devotion. Where did they all come from? They have left their mark on the Church, in the history of books and in manuals of prayers, but relatively little is known about them. The idea for this book arose when, in the senior common room of a university theological faculty, it became clear that none of those present knew why there was an "Infant of Prague". The book is in a dictionary format. Mainly historical in its approach, it explains how a particular devotion arose, sets it in its context and explains the purpose it served in the life of the Church. It is critical without being judgemental on subjects such as the "truth" behind apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Some 600 entries range over topics such as relics, pilgrimages and the cult of the saints, as well as more specialized and local devotions. The work is designed to be of use to historians and those engaged in religious studies, as well as being of interest to the general public. The topics are confined to the Christian religion and, in effect, almost entirely to the Roman Catholic tradition. Tables provide a comparison of the Liturgical Calendar (fixed and moveable feasts) before and after the Reform of 1969. A comprehensive index enables readers to follow virtually any subject through its different aspects, as well as providing a quick guide to the contents of the dictionary. Michael Walsh is the editor of Bishop Butler's "Lives of the Saints" in one concise volume, and the author of a companion volume, "Patron Saints".

What should be the Christian's attitude toward society? When so much of our contemporary culture is at odds with Christian beliefs and mores, it may seem that serious Christians now have only two choices: transform society completely according to Christian values or retreat into the cloister of sectarian fellowship.
In Making the Best of It, John Stackhouse explores the history of the Christian encounter with society, the biblical record, and various theological models of cultural engagement to offer a more balanced and fruitful alternative to these extremes. He argues that, rather than trying to root up the weeds in the cultural field, or trying to shun them, Christians should practice persistence in gardening God's world and building toward the New Jerusalem. Examining the lives and works of C. S. Lewis, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer for example and direction, Stackhouse suggests that our mission is to make the most of life in the world in cooperation with God's own mission of redeeming the world he loves. This model takes seriously the pattern of God's activity in the Bible, and in subsequent history, of working through earthly means--through individuals, communities, and institutions that are deeply flawed but nonetheless capable of accomplishing God's purposes. Christians must find a way to live in this world and at the same time do work that honors God and God's plan for us.
In an era of increasing religious and cultural tensions, both internationally and domestically, the model that Stackhouse develops discourages the "all or nothing" attitudes that afflict so much of contemporary Christianity. Instead, he offers a fresh, and refreshingly nuanced, take on thequestion of what it means to be a Christian in the world today.

Learn how to give voice to your changing needs and acknowledge your growth. The Power in Surrender teaches you to refuse the burden of bearing it all alone, allowing you to release the power within you.

In a world that constantly bombards us with expectations and distractions, it's easy to lose sight of who we truly are. We're often overwhelmed by other people's projections of how we should feel, act, or respond. But imagine harnessing the power to be your authentic self, free from judgment and full of courage.

The Power in Surrender by Sarah Jakes Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Woman Evolve and Power Moves, will inspire you with 100 ways to seize courage, conquer doubt, and yield to God's plan. When your life is filled with noise, you need to find the strength to be unapologetically you. With her signature warmth and wisdom Sarah Jakes Roberts helps you strip away external pressures and reconnect with your true self in Christ. A life where you are free to live, love, and grow without judgment or fear is waiting for you, if you will only step into it!

You will learn principles to activate the most powerful version of yourself and be guided in presenting your authentic self to the world. The Power in Surrender will help you:

• Seize Courage: Learn to face life's challenges with bravery and faith, guided by Sarah's empowering words
• Conquer Doubt: Overcome your uncertainties and insecurities by tapping into the principles of truth and humility
• Yield to God's Plan: Discover the freedom that comes from surrendering to God's love and purpose for your life
• Unleash Authentic Power: Understand the strength that lies in being yourself, without the need for external validation

Take hold of the life you have been dreaming of—the one filled with purpose and courage that flows from being your true self in Christ—and let these 100 encouraging and uplifting devotions propel you to become your authentic self.

Organize your life on your terms with the Pocket Edition Baxter Undated Planner, ideally sized to fit perfectly in any pocket, purse or backpack. No matter your lifestyle, this undated planner leaves you ample room to organize, schedule and keep track of your life wherever you are and in whatever way works best for you. The highly flexible design offers:

• Space to set goals and create a vision board for the year ahead.
• 12 non-dated month pages for noting important dates, deadlines and goalposts.
• Dot-grid pages with generous space for daily planning or to keep track of appointments, to-do lists, budgeting, meal-planning, workout routines, habit tracking and so much more.
• Thought-provoking quotes to keep you motivated and inspired.

The uncluttered layout of the Pocket Edition Baxter Undated Planner is guaranteed to keep you focused and organized, allowing you to achieve the perfect work-life balance while enhancing your productivity.

Extra Features:

• Premium no-bleed paper will hold up to a variety of mediums, including ballpoint ink and marker
• An elastic band closure keeps the planner and all loose notes secure when not in use
• A satin ribbon marker is included for you to mark the place you last used
• An elastic pen loop lets you keep a pen always handy
• Lay-flat design
• 240 one-color pages
• Two year-at-a-glance calendars for 2023 and 2024

366 Devotions on Following Jesus and Living Life to the Full

As believers in Christ we long for eternity and for the day we will be united with our beloved Savior. But how should we live in the meantime and how should we handle all that comes our way? Firm Faith is a 366-day devotional that will help you to live a godly life built on an unbreakable foundation of unwavering faith. With a steadfast conviction in God, you will be equipped to navigate any challenge, difficulty or uncertainty you might face in this life.

Join Angus Buchan on a yearlong journey of living each day to the full for Jesus and finishing your race on this earth strong, steadfast and victorious.

• 366 devotions with key Scripture verses.
• 392 pages.
• Hardcover with ribbon marker.
• Also available in Afrikaans under the title Vaste geloof.

Ontdek die vreugde van kreatiewe stilword by God!

My kreatiewe Joernaal-Bybel bevat die volledige teks van die Nuwe Lewende Vertaling en ongeveer 400 woordkuns-teksverse om in te kleur. Elke bladsy het breë kantlyne met óf ’n woordkuns-teksvers, óf lyntjies waar gebede, notas en ander persoonlike inskrywings gedoen kan word.

Ervaar vrede, vernuwing en inspirasie in jou geloofslewe wanneer jy stil word met die Woord van God en nadink oor die waarhede daarin terwyl jy die woordkuns-verse inkleur.

• Volledige teks van die NLV in enkelkolom-uitleg
• Lesersvriendelike 8.5 punt lettergrootte
• Breë kantlyne met lyntjies spesiaal vir gedagtes, gebede, notas en ander persoonlike inskrywings
• Ongeveer 400 woordkuns-teksverse
• Indeks van woordkuns-teksverse

Is Jesus regtig wie Hy gesê het Hy is? Die dilemma waarmee die gemeente in Kolosse geworstel het, eggo vandag nog in die kerk en wêreld.

In Kolossense – ’n Bybelstudie ondersoek Riekert Botha die identiteit van Christus in ’n vers-vir-vers-bespreking van die Bybelboek Kolossense. Paulus het aan die gemeente in Kolosse geskryf om die waarheid omtrent Jesus Christus te bevestig sodat hulle enige misleiding deur vals leraars sou kon herken. Die 8 studies gee agtergrond oor Paulus se verhouding met die gemeente, asook die redes vir sy brief aan hulle. Elke hoofstuk eindig met vrae en aan die einde van die Bybelstudie is daar ’n diagram om meer as 25 eienskappe van Jesus wat in die brief voorkom, in te vul. Daar is ook ’n blokkiesraaisel met die name van die persone wat in die brief genoem word. Hierdie Bybelstudie is vir groepe of individue.

• 8 Studies oor die identiteit van Jesus Christus vir groepe en individue.
• ’n Vers-vir-vers-bespreking van die Bybelboek Kolossense met besprekingsvrae en plek om antwoorde neer te skryf.
• Sluit ’n diagram in waarop die 25 eienskappe wat Christus se identiteit beskryf, ingevul kan word, asook ’n blokkiesraaisel oor die name van die persone wat in die brief genoem word.
• Skrywer van die bekende Pleisters vir die siel-reeks.
• Hersiene uitgawe met nuwe buiteblad.

It is normal for parents to worry about their children, especially when it comes to their faith. Making sure that they understand the Bible and its importance is crucial if they are to successfully navigate those pesky teen years and the challenges of adulthood in the future.

Bible Trivia Devotional: 365 Devotions To Enlighten And Brighten Your Day is a 365-day devotional containing fun Bible trivia and short devotions that will challenge teens to think beyond the answers to how it applies to their everyday lives. They will be guided in recalling Scriptures, heroes of the faith, miracles, historical places and events, and glean new insight and perspective from old, familiar Bible passages. Teens will discover that facts in the Bible are never trivial—it is God's living Word and a source of hope, peace and life!

Are you a current or emerging Christian leader who yearns to make a significant long-term difference?
Do you sometimes wonder how to distinguish what is imperative from what is important?
Are you a board member who wants your church or parachurch leadership team to become more intentional and on-target about doing the right things the right way?
"The Leader's SEEcret" is a parable that explores and applies God's Word to today's world of leadership diversions. It delves underneath the surface issues of a leader's or manager's knowledge and skills.
"The Leader's SEEcret" will help you discover, understand, and apply ten core features of one ancient principle. You will understand how to infuse the situations you face as a leader or manager with that timeless reality. And you will learn how you can inspire your staff to do so, too.
Along the way, "The Leader's SEEcret" shows the failure and regret a leader causes when his or her current leadership priorities conflict with lifetime purposes.
This story comes in a concise, get-to-the-point writing style, making it very helpful for individual or group study.
One warning: The principle undergirding LeaderSlip is simple---but not necessarily easy. If you take the challenge, you will become a more effective leader and---perhaps even more crucial---you will protect yourself from eventual failure.

How can religion contribute to democracy in a secular age? What can the millennia-old Catholic tradition say to church-state controversies in the United States and around the world? Secularism, Catholicism, and the Future of Public Life, presents a dialogue between Douglas W. Kmiec, a prominent scholar of American constitutional law and Catholic legal thought, and an international cast of experts from a range of fields. In his essay, "Secularism Crucified?," Kmiec illustrates the profound tensions around religion and secularism through an examination of the Lautsi case, a European judicial decision that supported the presence of crucifixes in Italian classrooms. Laying out a church-state typology, Kmiec argues for clarifying U.S. church-state jurisprudence, and advances principles to prudently limit the over-stretching impulse of religious conscience claims. In the process, he engages secular thinkers, popes, U.S. Supreme Court rulings, and President Barack Obama. The respondents, scholars of legal theory, international relations, journalism, religion, and social science, challenge Kmiec and illustrate ways in which both scholars and citizens should understand religion, democracy, and secularism. Their essays bring together current events in Catholic life, recent social theory, and issues such as migration, the Arab Spring, and social change.

The Jesus People movement of the late 1960s and 1970s was an important force in the lives of millions of American Baby Boomers. This unique combination of the hippie counterculture and evangelical Christianity first appeared amid 1967's famed "Summer of Love" in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district and grew like wildfire in Southern California and in cities like Seattle, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. In 1971 the growing movement found its way into the national spotlight, attracting a great deal of contemporary media and scholarly attention. In the wake of publicity, the movement gained momentum and attracted a huge new following among evangelical church youth who enthusiastically adopted the Jesus People persona as their own. In the process, the movement spread across the country - particularly into the Great Lakes region - and coffeehouses, "Jesus Music" singers, and "One Way" bumper stickers soon blanketed the land. Within a few years, however, the movement faded and disappeared and was largely forgotten by everyone but those who had filled its ranks. God's Forever Family is the first major attempt to re-examine the Jesus People phenomenon in over thirty years. It reveals that it was one of the most important American religious movements of the second half of the 20th-century. Not only did the Jesus movement produce such burgeoning new evangelical groups as Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard movement, but the Jesus People paved the way for the huge Contemporary Christian Music industry and the rise of "Praise Music" in the nation's churches. More significantly, perhaps, it revolutionized evangelicals' relationship with youth and popular culture-important factors in the evangelical subculture's emerging engagement with the larger American culture from the late 1970s forward. God's Forever Family makes the case that the Jesus People movement not only helped create a resurgent evangelicalism but - alongside the hippie counterculture and the student movement - must be considered one of the major formative powers that shaped American youth in the late 1960s and 1970s.

This volume initiates von Balthasar's study of the biblical vision and understanding of God's glory. Starting with the theopanies of the Patriarchal period, it shows how such glory is most fully expressed in the graciousness of the Covenant relationship between God and Israel.

In this book, Dr. Werner Keller has brought the Bible alive for countless readers by telling the exciting story of how archaeologists have adventured 4000 years into the past to document events and to illuminate the backgrounds of the Scriptures. With this entirely fresh, lavishly illustrated new volume, the same distinguished author makes the world of the Bible visible as well as intelligible. He has selected a wide range of photographs-scenery, monuments, sculptures, wall paintings, excavations and the rest- to illustrate the Bible story. In his text he links the pictures to the words of the Scriptures and adds explanatory notes in such a way as to provide a unique companion to the Bible which will appeal to every reader.

This volume presents a series of studies of representative mystics, theologians, philosophers, and poets and explores the three mainstreams of metaphysics which have developed since the catastrophe of Nominalism.

Heralding a new era in literary studies, the Oxford English Literary History breaks the mould of traditional approaches to the canon by focusing on the contexts in which authors wrote and how their work was shaped by the times in which they lived. These are books that every serious student and scholar of the period will need on their shelves.

James Simpson covers both high medieval and Tudor writing, showing how the coming of the Renaissance and Reformation displaced the earlier, hospitably diverse literary culture. Out went the flourishing variousness of medieval writing (Chaucer, Langland, the 'mystery' plays, feminine visionary writing); in came writing - by Wyatt, Surrey, and others - that prized coherence and unity, even while reflecting a sense of what had been lost.