People everywhere are facing difficult situations and they need to know how to cope with the frustration and other overwhelming emotions that accompany any uncertain situation. This book of hope from Tammy interweaves third-person stories and letters of people who needed-and found-encouragement. We're not alone in our fight . . . in our struggles ... in our loneliness...or in our questions. Other people are going through tough times too, and are pressing on through the storms. It's usually easier for us to press on when we see that others have gone before us and have found joy again. We often need others to stand in the gap for us, when we cannot stand on our own during those difficult times. If we look-if we watch, we'll see and notice that we are never alone. When it's more then we can bear-Jesus stands in those gaps for us. He is able. Give it to God and let Him put your life back together again!

Stem cell research, genetically modified crops, animals developed with personalized human organs for transplantation, and other previously inconceivable biotech applications could increase the quality of all human lives and maximize the health of the biosphere. But ironically, as the science becomes more precise and transparent, it also becomes more contentious. In "Challenging Nature," Silver argues that although they seem to have little in common, Christian fundamentalists opposed to embryo research and New Age organic food devotees are both driven by a deeply rooted fear that biotechnology--in some guise--challenges the sovereignty of a higher or deeper transcendent authority. In the short term, Silver writes, Eastern spiritual traditions will give Asian countries a research advantage. But over the millennia, human nature may have the potential to remake Mother Nature in the image of an idealized world.

Visionary theologian and evolutionary theorist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin applied his whole life, his tremendous intellect, and his great spiritual faith to building a philosophy that would reconcile religion with the scientific theory of evolution. In this timeless book, which contains the quintessence of his thought, Teilhard argues that just as living organisms sprung from inorganic matter and evolved into ever more complex thinking beings, humans are evolving toward an "omega point"--defined by Teilhard as a convergence with the Divine.

Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. In recent decades, however, the nation's religious landscape has undergone several seismic shocks. "American Grace "is an authoritative, fascinating examination of what precipitated these changes and the role that religion plays in contemporary American society.
Although there is growing polarization between religious conservatives and secular liberals today, at the same time personal interfaith ties are strengthening. Interfaith marriage has increased, and religious identities have become more fluid. More people than ever are friendly with someone of a different faith or no faith at all. Putnam and Campbell show how this denser web of personal ties brings greater interfaith tolerance, despite the so-called culture wars.
Based on two of the most comprehensive surveys ever conducted on religion and public life in America (and with a new epilogue based on a third survey), "American Grace "is an indispensable book about American religious life, essential for understanding our nation today.

A warmly funny, intensely moving and startlingly personal account of the lives of an urban parish priest and his parishioners. Father Alex Frost was not always a man of the cloth. He found his calling while running an Argos store in his native Burnley, moonlighting as a stand-up comedian and die-hard fan of The Clarets and Depeche Mode. But having achieved his profession, Fr Alex quickly recognised the 17,000 inhabitants of his new parish were in dire need of help. Burnley is typical of many towns across Britain: a place of run-down council estates, severe poverty litter, crime and drugs, but also a place where the sacred sits alongside the secular in an intimate and personal way. And so it was that he found himself running a food bank from a car park, helping the desperate amid his flock as the pandemic raged. Fr Alex’s down-to-earth style of ministry struck a chord with people of all faiths, cultures and class at a time when the divide between rich and poor is widening cataclysmically. But amid the tragedy, addiction, appalling loss, illness and neglect, there also lies hope, joy and moments of comedy. Our Daily Bread is as much the story of the rich cast of characters that cross the threshold of any church as it is our vicar’s. Through them it shows the continued relevance of the church for those in peril: the poor and the marginalised. This heartfelt and moving book seeks to give a voice to the voiceless, charting the tragedy and pain, humour and hope which are ever-present in his community. It is ultimately about modern poverty – and how we all can, and should, espouse Christian virtues of love, kindness, tolerance.

Offering an interdisciplinary, international and philosophical perspective, this comprehensive Research Handbook explores both perennial and recent legal issues that concern the modern state and its interaction with religious communities and individuals. Providing in-depth, original analysis the book includes studies of a wide array of nation states, such as India and Turkey, which each have their own complex issues centred on law, religion and the interactions between the two. Longstanding issues of religious liberty are explored such as the right of conscientious objection, religious confession privilege and the wearing of religious apparel. The contested meanings of the secular state and religious neutrality are revisited from different perspectives and the reality of the international human rights protections for religious freedom are analysed. Timely and astute, this discerning Research Handbook will be a valuable resource for both academics and researchers interested in the many topics surrounding law and religion. Lawyers and practitioners will also appreciate the clarity with which the rights of religious liberty, and the challenges in making these compatible with state law, are presented. Contributors include: R. Ahdar, F. Ahmed, R. Albert, R. Barker, B.L. Berger, J.E. Buckingham, J. Burnside, P. Dane, J. Harrison, M.A. Helfand, M. Hill, M. Kiviorg, A. Koppelman, I. Leigh, J. Neo, Y. Rosnai, R. Sandberg, S.D. Smith, P.M. Taylor, H.-M. ten Napel, K. Thompson, F. Venter

Essayist and biographer Alan Jacobs introduces us to the world of original sin, which he describes as not only a profound idea but a necessary one. As G. K. Chesterton explains, "Only with original sin can we at once pity the beggar and distrust the king."

Do we arrive in this world predisposed to evil? St. Augustine passionately argued that we do; his opponents thought the notion was an insult to a good God. Ever since Augustine, the church has taught the doctrine of original sin, which is the idea that we are not born innocent, but as babes we are corrupt, guilty, and worthy of condemnation. Thus started a debate that has raged for centuries and done much to shape Western civilization.

Perhaps no Christian doctrine is more controversial; perhaps none is more consequential. Blaise Pascal claimed that "but for this mystery, the most incomprehensible of all, we remain incomprehensible to ourselves." Chesterton affirmed it as the only provable Christian doctrine. Modern scholars assail the idea as baleful and pernicious. But whether or not we believe in original sin, the idea has shaped our most fundamental institutions--our political structures, how we teach and raise our young, and, perhaps most pervasively of all, how we understand ourselves. In Original Sin, Alan Jacobs takes readers on a sweeping tour of the idea of original sin, its origins, its history, and its proponents and opponents. And he leaves us better prepared to answer one of the most important questions of all: Are we really, all of us, bad to the bone?

Over the years, thousands have turned to the Handbook for Today's Catholic Family as a guide to Catholic family living. This revised edition offers families and pastoral-care providers a profound and serious resource for Catholic-family life. Updated with topical reference citations to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Handbook also contains new material for blended and single-parent families. It stresses the significance of prayer, sacraments, and traditions that can build a stronger Catholic identity. Now more than ever, building a strong foundation is vital to faith formation, and this begins in the home. No family should be without the Handbook for Today's Catholic Family, the perfect tool for transforming life together into an experience of peace and joy.

The New Testament writers use spatial language and imagery to portray our relationship with God, speaking both about God or Christ in us, and us in them. Believers are also described as possessing and participating in divine qualities such as life and glory. Both aspects are prominent in John's Gospel and letters. However, outside the Pauline writings, union with Christ has hardly been addressed in New Testament scholarship. Dr. Clive Bowsher seeks to redress this balance in Life in the Son. In John's Gospel, the oneness of the Father and Son is described as the Father and Son being 'in-one-another.' Clive Bowsher's study shows that union with Christ in John's Gospel and letters is the in-one-another relationship of believers with the Father and Son by the Spirit - the intimate, loving, relational participation of the believer and God, each in the life, affections, ways and work of the other. Insightful and accessible, Bowsher's study also explores connections with the shape of sonship, and with covenant and the life of the age to come. This new volume in the NSBT series fills a significant gap in the literature and promises to be a blessing to pastors, preachers and scholars alike.

The Beatitudes offer a summary of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount - a succinct summary of his essential teaching. In probing the meaning of these eight verses, Michael Crosby cuts to the heart of Matthew's Gospel: a spiritual message that is at once personal and deeply social. Crosby posits that Matthew's Gospel was written for a more affluent church community. As such, his Gospel offers a particularly telling challenge to First-World Christians. To pray in the spirit of the Beatitudes is to answer a radical call to conversion: a journey into God's Reign of peace, justice, mercy, and renewal.

The KJV Paragraph-style Large Print Thinline Bible features the timeless beauty of the trustworthy King James Version Bible. While the traditional design of the King James text starts each verse on its own line, this edition improves the reading experience and comprehension by keeping the writers' thoughts together in paragraph format. And with Thomas Nelson's exclusive KJV Comfort Print (R), you'll enjoy typography designed to be exceptionally easy-to-read and honoring the legacy of the King James Version. In 1611 the King James Bible was published and authorized by the monarch of England and Scotland. Today, more than 400 years since its initial publication, the KJV is considered one of the most influential and beautiful works of the English language and continues to be the favorite translation for millions of Christians worldwide. Features include: Clear and readable 10-point KJV Comfort Print Line-matched double column text Bible book introductions Words of Christ in red Over 22,000 translator notes Over 43,000 cross-referenced passages Concordance One-year Bible Reading Plan The Parables of Jesus Christ chart The Miracles of Jesus Christ chart 8 pages of full-color maps 1 satin ribbon

This is an accessible two-part introduction to key periods of Christian history. Faith in the Byzantine World For many people the Byzantine world is an intriguing mystery. Here, Mary Cunningham presents readers with an ideal guide to this most fascinating of empires. Covering the period between 330 and 1453, the author begins by providing an outline of the history of the Byzantine Church, and then looks at key aspects of its outward expression, including the solitary ideal; holy places and holy people; service to the community; the nature of belief; and art, architecture and icons. Faith in the Medieval World The medieval period constituted a turbulent stage in religious history. Gillian R. Evans begins her immersive account by providing an overview of the development of Christianity in the West in the Middle Ages, before looking at key aspects of medieval faith: the Bible and belief; popular piety and devotion; the Crusades and the idea of 'holy war'; politics and the Church; rebellion against authority; and the road to Reformation. This analysis is a must for all those keen to understand one of the most enthralling periods of history.

One day a Georgia-born son of an Orthodox rabbi discovers that his enthusiasm for Judaism is flagging. He observes the Sabbath, he goes to synagogue, and he even flies to New York on weekends for a series of "speed dates" with nice, eligible Jewish girls. But, something is missing. Looking out of his window and across the street at one of the hundreds of churches in Atlanta, he asks, "What would it be like to be a Christian?"

So begins Benyamin Cohen's hilarious journey that is "My Jesus Year"--part memoir, part spiritual quest, and part anthropologist's mission. Among Cohen's many adventures (and misadventures), he finds himself in some rather unlikely places: jumping into the mosh-pit at a Christian rock concert, seeing his face projected on the giant JumboTron of an African-American megachurch, visiting a potential convert with two young Mormon missionaries, attending a Christian "professional wrestling" match, and waking up early for a sunrise Easter service on top of Stone Mountain--a Confederate memorial and former base of operations for the KKK.

During his year-long exploration, Cohen sees the best and the worst of Christianity-- #8212;from megachurches to storefront churches; from crass commercialization of religion to the simple, moving faith of the humble believer; from the profound to the profane to the just plain laughable. Throughout, he keeps an open heart and mind, a good sense of humor, and takes what he learns from Christianity to reflect on his own faith and relationship to God. By year's end, to Cohen's surprise, his search for universal answers and truths in the Bible Belt actually make him a better Jew.

Born without a dowry, nearly forced into a convent, and later married off to a man she didn't love, Olimpia Maidalchini vowed never to be poor, powerless, or beholden to any man again. Instead, using her wits, Olimpia became the unofficial ruler of the most powerful institution in the world: the Roman Catholic Church.

The Church firmly states that women must be excluded from church leadership positions--but for more than a decade in the seventeenth century, Olimpia ran the Vatican. As sister-in-law and reputed mistress of the indecisive Pope Innocent X, she appointed cardinals, negotiated with foreign ambassadors, and helped herself to a heaping portion of the Papal States' treasury.

In Mistress of the Vatican, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman brings to life not only an extraordinary woman lost in history but an entire civilization in all its greatness . . . and ignominy. This is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time.

Hereford and Oxford in the century following the Restoration were two widely contrasting sees. Hereford was old, dating from ad 676, and large, sprawling over Herefordshire, half of Shropshire and small parts of other border counties. The Oxford diocese, on the other hand, dated from just 1542 and was compact, merely covering the county of Oxfordshire. This interesting book concerns a much-overlooked period in history, drawing on little-known original sources to build a picture of the administration of these disparate dioceses. There are fascinating insights into the working of the church courts (which controlled people's lives in a way and to an extent that would be unacceptable today), portrayals of the key figures in both sees, and an analysis of diocesan patterns of welfare and education provision. William Marshall's research also reveals that there was a strong commitment to repair - or to build new - places of worship, and to make good the damage caused to Church infrastructure during the civil wars of the 1640s. The closing chapters go on to examine the work of the bishops, their social origins, their academic standards, their efficiency and diligence. As a group, they certainly cut a more energetic and conscientious figure than has often been supposed, and for the most part, the author argues, they were competent men who saw and acknowledged the weaknesses of the Church and sought to address them. In a departure from commonly held wisdom, what emerges from William Marshall's research is that in many places the Church at the time was very much alive, and even vigorous. Its worst failings were, he claims, in its social welfare and in the tedium of its worship for the mass of the people, but here, at this time, it was certainly neither asleep nor decadent.

Experts from six traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese religions discuss rituals, practices, and emotions as they relate to death and the hope of life that follows death.

Inside this seriously funny un-commentary you will find the top seven lists of recently discovered businesses, pet peeves of Noah, favorite Christmas gifts for Bible characters, stand by plagues not inflicted on Egypt, biblical fitness videos, and much more! If you aren't careful, you may learn a few things about the Bible as you laugh your way through the puns, limericks, stories, and jokes told in "Bible Humor Top Seven Lists."

In this incendiary new work, the controversial author and speaker Peter Rollins proclaims that the Christian faith is not primarily concerned with questions regarding life after death but with the possibility of life "before "death.
In order to unearth this truth, Rollins prescribes a radical and wholesale critique of contemporary Christianity that he calls "pyro-theology. "It is only as we submit our spiritual practices, religious rituals, and dogmatic affirmations to the flames of fearless interrogation that we come into contact with the reality that Christianity is in the business of transforming our world rather than offering a way of interpreting or escaping it. Belief in the Resurrection means but one thing: "Participation in an Insurrection."
""What Pete does in this book is take you to the edge of a cliff where you can see how high you are and how far you would fall if you lost your footing. And just when most writers would kindly pull you back from edge, he pushes you off, and you find yourself without any solid footing, disoriented, and in a bit of a panic...until you realize that your fall is in fact, a form of flying. And it's thrilling."
--"Rob Bell, author of "Love Wins "and "Velvet Elvis
""
"While others labor to save the Church as they know it, Peter Rollins takes an ax to the roots of the tree. Those who have enjoyed its shade will want to stop him, but his strokes are so clean and true that his motive soon becomes clear: this man trusts the way of death and resurrection so much that he has become fearless of religion."
"--Barbara Brown Taylor, author of "Leaving Church" and "An Altar in the World"
""Rollins writes and thinks like a new Bonhoeffer, crucifying the trappings of religion in order to lay bare a radical, religionless and insurrectional Christianity. A brilliant new voice--an activist, a storyteller and a theologian all in one--and not a moment too soon."
"--John D. Caputo, Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus, Syracuse University
""What does it mean when the Son of God cries out, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me'? Brilliantly, candidly, and faithfully, Rollins wrestles here with that question. You may not agree with his answers and conclusions, but you owe it to yourself and to the Church at large to read what he says." "--Phyllis Tickle, author, "The Great Emergence"
""Excellent thinking and excellent writing I hope this fine book receives the broad reading it deserves. It will change lives, and our understanding of what religion is all about "
"-- Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation; Albuquerque, New Mexico