Two Harvard professors explain the stages in which governments collapse - and how we can prevent this.

Democracies can die with a coup d'état - or they can die slowly. This happens most deceptively when in piecemeal fashion, with the election of an authoritarian leader, the abuse of governmental power and the complete repression of opposition. All three steps are being taken around the world - not least with the election of Donald Trump - and we must all understand how we can stop them.

From the reign of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile to the quiet undermining of Turkey's constitutional system by President Recip Erdogan, Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt draw insightful lessons from across history to shine a light on governmental breakdown across the 20th and 21st centuries - including the dangers of an authoritarian leader faced with a major crisis.

Based on years of research, they present a deep understanding of how and why democracies die; an alarming analysis of how democracy is being subverted today in the US and beyond; and a guide for maintaining and repairing a threatened democracy, for governments, political parties and individuals.

History doesn't repeat itself. But we can protect our democracy by learning its lessons, before it's too late.

The authors suggest new roles that faith communities can play in the search for truth and in the reconstruction of South Africa.

In November 1997 representatives of a number of faith traditions - Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'i and African - appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to give an account of their roles in South Africa's past. This book, which reproduces the full version of the subsequent report - followed by a series of critical reflections - is intended to reinvigorate discussion about truth and reconciliation.

Dit is die verhaal van ’n vrou wat haar familie in ’n terreuraanval verloor. Dit vertel van ’n gelowige wat in gehoorsaamheid leef, net sodat die mat onder haar uitgeruk kan word. Die boek sal die leser aanmoedig om die werklike koste van ons geloof te bereken, na te dink oor die karakter van God en ons identiteit as Sy kinders. Hannelie se verhaal is ’n merkwaardige getuienis van ’n lewe in geloof en die krag van vergifnis.

This book tells the story of the Prophet Muhammad as an inspirational role model for anyone who wants to be extraordinary.

You will learn how Muhammad shaped his personality as a child, dealt with the universal challenges of adolescence while a teenager, and then emerged as a leader in his community as a young adult. The book deliberately avoids the language of historical narration used in typical biographies of the Prophet in favor of a more informal, down-to-earth approach.

In this book, the reader will get a completely different view of Muhammad and hopefully will see how Muhammad addressed our own daily challenges, inspiring us to excel in confronting these challenges.

To know what the future holds, know what the past is hiding.

This book will open your eyes to groundbreaking mysteries that will impact not only how you understand the past, but also how you can be ready for the future. Jonathan Cahn, author of the New York Times best sellers The Harbinger, The Mystery of the Shemitah, The Book of Mysteries, and The Paradigm, now unveils The Oracle, in which he opens up the Jubilean mysteries and a revelation so big that it lies behind everything from the rise and fall of nations and empires (even America), to the current events of our day, to the future, to end-time prophecy, and much more.

• Could an ancient prophecy and a mysterious ordinance given in a Middle Eastern desert over three thousand years ago be determining the events of our day?
• Could some of the most famous people of modern history and current events be secretly linked to this mystery-even a modern president of the United States?
• Could this ancient revelation pinpoint the events of our times down to the year, month, and day of their occurring?
• Could a mysterious phenomenon be manifesting on the world stage on an exact timetable determined from ancient times?
• Could these manifestations have altered-and now be altering-the course of world events?

Jonathan Cahn takes the reader on a journey to find the man called the Oracle. One by one each of the Jubilean mysteries will be revealed through the giving of a vision. The Oracle will uncover the mysteries of The Stranger, The Lost City, The Man With the Measuring Line, The Land of Seven Wells, The Birds, The Number of the End, The Man in the Black Robe, The Prophet's Song, The Matrix of Years, The Day of the Lions, The Awakening of the Dragon, and much more.

The reader will discover the ancient scrolls that contain the appointed words that have determined the course of world history from the onset of modern times up to our day. The revelation is so big that it will involve and open up the mysteries of everything and everyone from Mark Twain to Moses, from King Nebuchadnezzar to Donald Trump, from the fall of empires to the rise of America, from a mystery hidden in a desert cave to another in an ancient scroll, from the palace of the Persian Empire to the US Senate, from the Summer of Love to the Code of Babylon, and much, much more. Ultimately the Oracle will reveal the secret that lies behind end-time prophecy and the mystery of the end of the age.

As with The Harbinger and The Book of Mysteries, Cahn reveals the mysteries through a narrative. A traveler is given seven keys; each will open up one of seven doors. Behind each door lies a stream of mysteries. The reader will be taken on a journey of angels and prophetic revelations waiting to be discovered behind each of the seven doors-the ancient secrets that lie behind the world-changing events of modern times-and revelations of what is yet to come.

Hailed as a mind-blowing masterpiece, The Oracle will reveal mysteries that are absolutely real, amazing, stunning, mind-blowing, and life-changing.

Prepare to be blown away.

In hierdie versamelbundel is daar ‘n groep uiteenlopende mense gevra om elk ‘n onafhanklike essay te skryf na aanleiding van ‘n Bybelteks.

Daar is skrywers, ekonome, musikante, akademici en joernaliste. Die enigste voorwaardes was dat dit persone moet wees wat nie meer kerklik betrokke en/ of ‘n dominee of teoloog is nie. Baie essays is bloot verhale, vertellings, reise of verduidelikings wat met ‘n teks verbind kan word.

Ons almal is medereisigers in hierdie verbygaande wêreldse bestel. Kom ons luister met ‘n oop gemoed na mekaar. Dán staan ons ‘n kans om te verstaan, te begryp, eerder as om te oordeel.

Van die bekende en bekroonde skrywers wat deelneem aan hierdie projek is onder andere Jurie van den Heever, Annelie Botes, Dana Snyman, Pik Botha, Heinz Modler, Lizette Rabe, Dawie Roodt, Rachelle Greeff, Piet Croukamp, Joan Hambidge, Koos Kombuis, Karin Brynard, Jean Oosthuizen, Christine Barkhuizen Le Roux, Lina Spies, Valda Jansen, Valiant Swart, Nathan Trantraal, Churchil Naude, Riku Lätti en Luke Alfred.

Christianity, the faith of almost three-quarters of the diverse South African population, has long been pushed to the margins of historical writing on South Africa, yet for more than two centuries it has shaped South African society and its diverse subcultures. This tightly constructed and vigorously written book - a collaboration of thirty specialists working in seven countries - situates Christianity for the first time in the broad political, social, and economic context of South African history; it also traces a variety of religious movements and their histories both before and during apartheid.

Perhaps nowhere in the African continent is the study of Christianity as fascinating, complex, or contentious as in South Africa. In the twentieth century South Africans have used Christian doctrine both to justify and to oppose doctrines of racial segregation, and Christian leadership provided much of the impetus for the founding of the African National Congress in 1912. But the history of South African Christianity is found for the most part in local, or "micro" narratives, while the highly elaborated "macro" narratives of colonialism, capitalism, and liberation - the backbone of the conventional histories of South Africa - assign Christianity a marginal role, or no role at all.

This volume seeks to insert the Christian micro-narratives into the macro-narratives of South African history, providing for the first time an in-depth, cohesive look at Christianity in South Africa.

DeVon Franklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Wait and prominent Hollywood producer, reveals that secular and spiritual success are not opposites. To have one, you need the other.

You can be wildly successful without losing your faith. In fact, your secular success will strengthen your faith if you allow it. Too often we believe that success in secular environments contradicts the core principles of faith, but the opposite is true: Your faith was designed to thrive in the secular world and to transform it as a result. You may never experience the true fulfillment you were created for until you pursue the secular ambitions in your heart.

New York Times bestselling author DeVon Franklin knows this to be true. In The Hollywood Commandments, the prominent Hollywood producer and spiritual success coach reveals 10 life-changing lessons picked-up from his over-twenty-year career in the entertainment business. You won’t learn these lessons in the church yet they will help you achieve an amazing life and thriving career that glorifies God.

The Hollywood Commandments will help you:

• Identify how to use what makes you unique to propel your career.
• Overcome fear and build the courage to pursue new opportunities waiting for you.
• Gain the confidence to make important life decisions with greater peace and clarity.
• Negotiate the life and career advancement you deserve.

No, you don’t have to work in Hollywood for this book to work for you, these "commandments" apply to every walk of life! If you are stuck, looking for the secrets to advance your career, or have a feeling there’s more to life, this book is for you.

""New York Times""bestselling author Joyce Meyer believes that giving thanks to God daily will positively impact our lives. When we pause to acknowledge His blessings it restores us to a state of spiritual peace.
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"In this 365 day devotional, Joyce offers an inspiring message that will spark an attitude of gratitude in our hearts. Through uplifting Scripture, she illustrates God's never-ending love, inexhaustible grace, and always-accessible presence in our lives. As we develop a renewed outlook, we will better recognize and be further blessed by God's abundant goodness.
Each devotion will also include a prayer of thanks, so that we may begin every day ready to receive the transforming power of a thankful heart. ""
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From Plato to Wittgenstein and religions from Judaism to the Hindu tradition, interspersed with divine influences from Classical Greece, Romantic poetry, and the occasional scene from 'Alien', `God: A Guide for the Perplexed' charts the path of humanity's great spiritual odyssey: the search for God. Leading the way through this minefield is acclaimed philosopher-theologian Keith Ward, blending the sublime and the eclectic in a narrative which offers wit, erudition and moments of genuine pathos. As a survey of the different manifestations of God through the centuries, and an examination of humanity's search for the divine, this is an engaging and informative book. As a deeply moving testament to our endless capacity for spiritual hope, it is compulsive reading for anyone interested in, or embarking on, the great quest for meaning. `A lively and very clearly written discussion summarizing and criticizing the thoughts of many significant thinkers.' Times Literary Supplement `Wry but delightfully non-ironic, intelligent and clear, this book is a blessing. ` Publishers Weekly `Highly informed, witty and immensely accessible. One of the most congenial, lively and informative introductions to this field.' Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology, Oxford University

Wat gebeur as ’n mens sterf?

Wat wag anderkant die dood? Is dit ’n reis na die onbekende of eerder ’n glorieryke, geestelike pelgrimstog waarna ons kan uitsien? As pastoor het ISAK BURGER die voorreg gehad om met baie mense te doen te kry wat voor die dood te staan gekom het. Hy het mense op hulle sterfbed besoek, begrafnisse waargeneem en families getroos wat oor geliefdes gerou het. In sulke tye het mense gewoonlik diep vrae oor die lewe ná die dood. Die dood en die lewe hierna is ’n kragtige en genesende geloofsgids oor die lewe ná die dood. Dit beskryf met groot verantwoordelikheid wat die Bybel oor die onderwerp sê, en verskaf antwoorde op die algemeenste vrae wat mense het oor kwessies soos naby-dood-ervarings, verassing, die vaevuur, die hemel en die hel. Dit sal jou op ’n geestelike reis neem en jou siening oor die lewe, die dood en die lewe ná die dood vir altyd verander.

ISAK BURGER se wysheid uit die Woord sal ook jou vrese oor die dood vervang met sekerhede oor die genade wat vir elkeen beskikbaar is. En as jy treur oor ’n geliefde wat dood is, sal jy getroos voel en weet: Eendag sien ons mekaar weer!

Is there an inevitable global violent clash unfolding between the world's largest religions: Islam and Christianity? Do religions cause violent conflicts, or are there other factors at play? How can we make sense of increasing reports of violence between Christian and Muslim ethnic communities across the world? By seeking to answer such questions about the relationship between religion and violence in today's world, Ziya Meral challenges popular theories and offers an alternative explanation, grounded on insights inferred from real cases of ethno-religious violence in Africa and the Middle East.

The relationship between religion and violence runs deep and both are intrinsic to the human story. Violence leads to and shapes religion, while religion acts to enable violence as well as providing responses that contain and prevent it. However, with religious violence being one of the most serious challenges facing the modern world, Meral shows that we need to de-globalise our analysis and focus on individual conflicts, instead of attempting to provide single answers to complex questions.

A panoramic exploration of peoples, objects and beliefs over 40,000 years from the celebrated author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany, following the new BBC Radio 4 documentary and British Museum exhibition. One of the central facts of human existence is that every society shares a set of beliefs and assumptions - a faith, an ideology, a religion - that goes far beyond the life of the individual. These beliefs are an essential part of a shared identity. They have a unique power to define - and to divide - us, and are a driving force in the politics of much of the world today. Throughout history they have most often been, in the widest sense, religious. Yet this book is not a history of religion, nor an argument in favour of faith. It is about the stories which give shape to our lives, and the different ways in which societies imagine their place in the world. Looking across history and around the globe, it interrogates objects, places and human activities to try to understand what shared beliefs can mean in the public life of a community or a nation, how they shape the relationship between the individual and the state, and how they help give us our sense of who we are. For in deciding how we live with our gods, we also decide how to live with each other. 'The new blockbuster by the museums maestro Neil MacGregor ... The man who chronicles world history through objects is back ... examining a new set of objects to explore the theme of faith in society' Sunday Times

In hierdie boek kyk Jean Oosthuizen krities na die NG Kerk se geskiedenis sedert Jan van Riebeeck se aankoms in die Kaap, tot waar die kerk vandag is. In sy bestaan van meer as 350 jaar het die NG Kerk en die Nasionale Party so verstrengel geraak dat die kerk as “die Nasionale Party in gebed” bekend gestaan het. Die teoloog Ferdinand Deist se voorspelling in die laat tagtigerjare dat die kerk sal ondergaan wanneer apartheid tot ’n einde kom, blyk vandag in die kol te wees.

As instelling wat apartheid uit die Bybel geregverdig en verdedig het, het die kerk se vernietigende invloed nie alleen gemeenskappe in Suid-Afrika van mekaar vervreem nie – ook lidmate wat kritiese vrae gestel het, is na die periferie geskuif. Talle individue se menswaardigheid is geskend en verskeie loopbane is onder die dekmantel van Christenskap vernietig, soos die skrywer self kan getuig.

Oosthuizen se blik strek egter wyer as sy ervaring toe hy in 2013 as nuusredakteur van Kerkbode geskors is ná die opspraakwekkende Woordfees-debakel. Sy reis vanuit die kerk se binnekring sluit die verhale in van gelowiges sowel as ongelowiges wie se paaie met die NG Kerk gekruis het. Die opkoms en ondergang van die NG Kerk bied ’n kontemporêre blik op die tragiese geskiedenis van ’n instelling wat deur die aandadigheid aan verontregting stelselmatig irrelevant geraak het.

Ancient scriptures from the most popular book of all time, revolutionised to reveal its themes and narratives for a modern generation.

Billions of people across the world find solace, meaning and wisdom from reading the Bible. But for some, it can be a difficult book to engage with and understand. In this this pioneering book Karen Sawrey shows you the bible as you never seen it before, using powerful infographics, with data sourced by experts in their fields, to communicate the key biblical themes and narratives. The Info Graphic Bible focuses on the meta narrative, the key points of the major stories and themes, to give the reader insight into the bigger story and help you understand the complex or abstract themes in a relevant way.

Through revealing the ancient traditions, showing connections between Old and New Testament themes, and profiling important characters, you are left with a deeper and more memorable interpretation of the scriptures. Covering themes such as the First Family Tree, the Nature and Character of God to the Sacrificial System and Jesus I AM, this fascinating book, painstakingly gathered and presented in this unique and beautiful way will appeal to both the Christian and non-religious readers alike and provide unexpected insight into (one of) the most important book/s ever written.

LOUIS THEROUX: 'For anyone who enjoyed Hillbillly Elegy or Educated, Unfollow is an essential text' NICK HORNBY: 'A beautiful, gripping book about a singular soul, and an unexpected redemption' JON RONSON: 'Her journey - from Westboro to becoming one of the most empathetic, thoughtful, humanistic writers around - is exceptional and inspiring' It was an upbringing in many ways normal. A loving home, shared with squabbling siblings, overseen by devoted parents. Yet in other ways it was the precise opposite: a revolving door of TV camera crews and documentary makers, a world of extreme discipline, of siblings vanishing in the night. Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church - the fire-and-brimstone religious sect at once aggressively homophobic and anti-Semitic, rejoiceful for AIDS and natural disasters, and notorious for its picketing the funerals of American soldiers. From her first public protest, aged five, to her instrumental role in spreading the church's invective via social media, her formative years brought their difficulties. But being reviled was not one of them. She was preaching God's truth. She was, in her words, 'all in'. In November 2012, at the age of twenty-six, she left the church, her family, and her life behind. Unfollow is a story about the rarest thing of all: a person changing their mind. It is a fascinating insight into a closed world of extreme belief, a biography of a complex family, and a hope-inspiring memoir of a young woman finding the courage to find compassion for others, as well as herself.

Days after the assassination of his prime minister in the middle of Rome in November 1848, Pope Pius IX found himself a virtual prisoner in his own palace. The wave of revolution that had swept through Europe now seemed poised to put an end to the popes' thousand-year reign over the Papal States, if not indeed to the papacy itself. Disguising himself as a simple parish priest, Pius escaped through a back door. Climbing inside the Bavarian ambassador's carriage, he embarked on a journey into a fateful exile. Only two years earlier Pius's election had triggered a wave of optimism across Italy. After the repressive reign of the dour Pope Gregory XVI, Italians saw the youthful, benevolent new pope as the man who would at last bring the Papal States into modern times and help create a new, unified Italian nation. But Pius found himself caught between a desire to please his subjects and a fear-stoked by the cardinals-that heeding the people's pleas would destroy the church. The resulting drama-with a colorful cast of characters, from Louis Napoleon and his rabble-rousing cousin Charles Bonaparte to Garibaldi, Tocqueville, and Metternich-was rife with treachery, tragedy, and international power politics. David Kertzer is one of the world's foremost experts on the history of Italy and the Vatican, and has a rare ability to bring history vividly to life. With a combination of gripping, cinematic storytelling, and keen historical analysis rooted in an unprecedented richness of archival sources, The Pope Who Would Be King sheds fascinating new light on the end of rule by divine right in the west and the emergence of modern Europe.

\"It\'s almost upon us \" yelled a frantic voice as the ship neared the iceberg. \"God\'s Will be done, \" prayed Mother Marie. If God wanted her to drown in the icy Atlantic Ocean before ever reaching Canada, His Holy Will be done. Yet perhaps . . . This book tells what happened next, plus the many other adventures that met the Sisters who brought the Holy Catholic Faith to Canada. 152 Pp. PB. Impr. 18 Illus.

Grappling with nature, religion, violence and politics, poems of lucid intensity and astonishing power from three remarkable British poets Geoffrey Hill (1932-2016) was often considered the greatest English-language poet of his generation. Penguin Modern Poets 7: God Is Distant gathers a selection spanning Hill's full body of poetry, from the astonishing power and compression of the first five decades to the greater experimentalism and fluency of the creative outpouring that began in 1997, and places it alongside work by two younger British poets: Rowan Evans, whose 'tirelessly inventive' and 'vivid lyrical work' (Denise Riley, Eric Gregory Award citation) plays with the legacy of late modernism to create poetry of great beauty, energy and precision; and Toby Martinez de las Rivas, whose first two collections have seen his 'visionary disposition' (Guardian) build to rhetorical heights of Blakean dimensions. Taken together, these are poems of lucid intensity, high seriousness and knowing sidelong glances, as alert to the natural world of the British countryside as they are to the body that suffers and to questions of the soul. They take a long view of humanity's riches and crises, and consider such issues as morality, faith, innocence, redemption, the public spaces of democracy and the acts of violence that rupture them.