After German unification, former officers of the GDR state security service united with GDR professors and cultural managers to establish the East German Committee of Associations (OKV). On the basis of encompassing oral history into this complex web of interest organizations and memory clubs, Bouma argues that these activists are driven by an epistemic nostalgia: a longing for the time when their political understanding of the world was seemingly unchallenged. Far from constituting a 'second life of the Stasi', the main goal of OKV associations has been to validate the personal biographies of their activists, against the now prevalent view that the GDR was a 'state of injustice'. While the OKV quickly adapted to the new legal procedures in post-socialist Germany, their staunch defence of the GDR heritage complicates their relation to SED successor party Die Linke and other radical left parties and associations, even when they share practical goals.

Spiritual discernment is good for more than just making monumental decisions according to God's will. It is an essential, day-to-day activity that allows thoughtful Christians to separate the truth of God from error and to distinguish right from wrong in all kinds of settings and situations. It is also a skill-something that any person can develop and improve, especially with the guidance in this book.

Written by a leading evangelical blogger, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment is an uplifting, scripturally grounded work that explains the need for discernment, its challenges, and the steps that will cultivate it. Author Tim Challies does not do the discerning for readers; he simply shows them how to practically apply scriptural tools, principles, and wisdom so that their conclusions about everything-people, teachings, decisions, media, and organizations-will be consistent with God's Word.

In Religion, Empire, and Torture, Bruce Lincoln identifies three core components of an imperial theology that have transhistorical and contemporary relevance: dualistic ethics, a theory of divine election, and a sense of salvific mission. He shows how these religious ideas shaped Achaemenian practice and brought the Persians unprecedented wealth, power, and territory, but also produced unmanageable contradictions, as in a gruesome case of torture discussed in the book's final chapter. Close study of that episode leads Lincoln back to the present with a postscript that provides a searing and utterly novel perspective on the photographs from Abu Ghraib.

Faithful to the doctrinal tradition of the Orthodox Church, this work reflects the thought of the Eastern Fathers from the time of the Apostles to the end of the Byzantine Era. He reflects them both in the unfolding mystery of the Trinity through worship and the sacraments, and in giving Scripture an important place.

Most of What Happens in Your Life Happens Because of the Way You Think.

Wrong thinking produces wrong emotions, wrong reactions, wrong behavior--and unhappiness Learning to deal with your thoughts is the first step on the road to healthy thinking.

How to handle one's thoughts properly is what this book is all about It explains the life-changing method the authors call Misbelief Therapy, and it can work for you--

In your home
In your own circumstances
In your own problems
In your own adverse environment
In your own thinking

Based on the Bible, this book has helped thousands of people for many years, and it can help you
Telling Yourself the Truth can show you how to identify your own misbeliefs and replace them with the truth.

Also available: the corresponding Telling Yourself the Truth study guide.
Winner of the Gold Book Award (500,000 copies sold),
Winner of the Gold Medallion Award (ECPA), which recognizes excellence in evangelical Christian literature

Exploring the theme of exodus throughout both the Old and New Testaments, this book sheds light on Scripture's unified message of redemption from slavery to sin through Jesus Christ.

Using the Rider-Waite deck as a basis, the author delineates the meditative symbolism inherent in each of the 22 cards of the Greater Arcaria and explains the use of the tarot as a means of divination

In a Panamanian pond, male tungara frogs (Physalaemus pustulosus) gather in choruses, giving their "advertisement" call to the females that move among them. If a female chooses to make physical contact with a male, he will clasp her and eventually fertilize her eggs. But in vying for the females, the males whose calls are most attractive may also attract the interest of another creature: the fringe-lipped bat, a frog eater. In the Tungara Frog, the most detailed and informative single study available of frogs and their reproductive behavior, Michael J. Ryan demonstrates the interplay of sexual and natural selection. Using techniques from ethology, behavioral ecology, sensory physiology, physiological ecology, and theoretical population genetics in his research, Ryan shows that large males with low-frequency calls mate most successfully. He examines in detail a number of explanations for the females' preferences, and he considers possible evolutionary forces leading to the males' success. Though certain vocalizations allow males to obtain mates and thus should be favored by sexual selection, this study highlights two important costs of such sexual displays: the frogs expand considerable energy in their mating calls, and they advertise their whereabouts to predators. Ryan considers in detail how predators, especially the frige-lipped bat (Trachops cirrhosus), affect the evolution of the tungara frog's calls.

The ESV Student Study Bible, adapted from the ESV Study Bible, contains 12,000+ study notes, book introductions and timelines, 80+ maps and illustrations, 120 character profiles, 900 "Did You Know?" facts, 10 topical articles, and more.

Many Christians today feel overwhelmed as they try to live faithfully in a culture that seems increasingly hostile to their beliefs. Politics, marriage, sexuality, religious freedom--with an ever-growing list of contentious issues, believers find it harder than ever to hold on to their convictions while treating their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even family members who disagree with respect and compassion. This isn't just a problem that affects individual Christians; if left unaddressed, the growing gap between the faithful and society's tolerance for public faith will have lasting consequences for the church in America. Now the bestselling authors of unChristian turn their data-driven insights toward the thorny question of how Christians talk with people they know and love about the most toxic issues of our day. They help today's disciples understand what they believe and why, and how to keep believing it without being judgmental and defensive. Readers will discover the most significant trends that offer both obstacles and opportunities to God's people, and how not only to challenge culture but to create and renew it for the common good. Perhaps most importantly, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons invite fellow Christians to understand the heart behind opposing views and show them how to be loving, life-giving friends despite profound differences. This will be the go-to book for young adult and older believers who don't want to hide from culture but to engage and restore it.

Cowboys, Action, Humor, and History Collide in Connealy's Latest When an explosion kills men and damages the CR Mining Company, the Bodens realize their troubles are not behind them as they thought. Shadowy forces are still working against them. Cole Boden finds himself caught between missing his time back East and all that New Mexico offers. Sure he fights with his siblings now and then, but he does care for them. He enjoys running the mine and, when he's honest, he admits that Melanie Blake captures his interest in a way no other woman ever has. Melanie has been a friend to the Bodens forever. A cowgirl who is more comfortable with horses and lassoes than people, she never expected to find herself falling for someone. Particularly for refined Cole Boden, a Harvard graduate who may not stay long at the ranch. She's determined, however, to help the Bodens finally put an end to the danger that's threatened all of them. But will putting herself in harm's way be more dangerous than anyone expected?

Children add a unique strain on a couple's time and relationship, yet they desperately need parents who love each other. That's why, according to Dr. Willard Harley, one of the most important things parents can do for their kids is keep their marriage healthy. His Needs, Her Needs for Parents, now available in trade paper, helps them do just that. Following the pattern of the bestselling His Needs, Her Needs, this book guides both new and seasoned parents through the whys and hows of sustaining romance in a marriage. It also offers specific, practical steps on spending quality time as a couple, deciding on child-training methods, dividing domestic responsibilities, and even handling kids with ADHD and intrusive in-laws. His Needs, Her Needs for Parents helps couples maintain their love for each other and raise happy and successful children at the same time.

Whether Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin, show your House Pride with this unique coaster book celebrating the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This one-of-a-kind gift book features profiles of each of the Houses of Hogwarts, plus a set of five deluxe 3-1/2 x 3-1/2" wooden coasters. Each beautifully designed, full-color spread is devoted to one of the Houses, with a fifth on Hogwarts itself, and each contains a removable House Pride coaster. The embedded coasters in this set are magnetic, giving them dual purpose for both functionality and decor, and make a perfect gift for Harry Potter fans and collectors.

Set the stage for unhindered healing. Rejection, depression, guilt, fear--evidence of spiritual bondage in today's world is rampant. The hurt is real, but so is the good news! In this groundbreaking, classic work, Chester and Betsy Kylstra show how you can trace pain and woundedness back to four foundational sources. True, lasting restoration and healing take place by dealing with these four sources together in an integrated way, instead of as separate areas. They are * release from ancestral sins and curses * replacement of destructive beliefs with godly ones * healing from emotional and spiritual pain * deliverance from demonic oppression This well-proven manual is designed for both personal recovery and ministry to others. In it, the Kylstras provide guiding Scriptures, step-by-step processes, self-inventories, visual aids, tables and real-life stories of people being restored through this integrated, fourfold approach. You can live free! Become who you are meant to be, and help others do the same. "I heartily recommend this book to all who would heal others or be healed themselves."--John Sandford, co-founder, Elijah House, Inc. "An outstanding, life-changing book!"--Dr. Che Ahn, senior pastor, HROCK Church; co-founder, Harvest International Ministry "This book expresses the most balanced and workable ministry in the area of biblical healing that I have ever witnessed or experienced."--Dr. Bill Hamon, founder and bishop, Christian International Ministries Network "The Kylstras' systematic teaching will restore your foundations to be truly free in Christ."--John Arnott, founding pastor, Catch the Fire

In a world that views absolute truth, right and wrong, and salvation as being subject to individual interpretation, the Bible's unwavering proclamations and miraculous stories seem obsolete in modern times. But it is not God's Word that has changed. Indeed, its relevancy and its power to transform lives are intact. What has changed is the number of people who consult it. Now more than ever the need to read the Bible, to understand the big picture of its storyline, and to grasp the relevance this has for your life is critical.

As with its companion volume, For the Love of God-Volume 2, this devotional contains a systematic 365-day plan, based on the M'Cheyne Bible-reading schedule, that will in the course of a year guide you through the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament once.

In an effort to help preserve biblical thinking and living, D. A. Carson has also written thought-provoking comments and reflections regarding each day's scriptural passages. And, most uniquely, he offers you perspective that places each reading into the larger framework of history and God's eternal plan to deepen your understanding of his sovereignty-and the unity and power of his Word.