"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1 In seasons when the world is crashing down, you're faced with a choice: Do you put your confidence in yourself? Or do you let God take the reins of your life? Deep-rooted faith in Christ's presence and providence can be one of life's greatest challenges-yet the fruits of this faith will carry you through every tomorrow. Join Dr. Tony Evans in Kingdom Heroes, a study of the Old Testament men and women lauded in Hebrews 11 for responding in faith during times of crisis. As you journey through the lives of Abraham, Noah, Rahab, and more, you'll witness what it looks like to walk in assurance of God's love and be inspired to... keep giving God your best, no matter life's circumstances view trials as opportunities to strengthen your faith leave behind a spiritual impact on those who follow in your path It's never too late to live like a kingdom hero! Dr. Evans' latest book will leave you encouraged to put your faith into action and experience God's limitless power in your life.

For some, the idea of an Islamic state serves to fulfill aspirations for cultural sovereignty and new forms of ethical political practice. For others, it violates the proper domains of both religion and politics. Yet, while there has been much discussion of the idea and ideals of the Islamic state, its possibilities and impossibilities, surprisingly little has been written about how this political formation is lived. For Love of the Prophet looks at the Republic of Sudan's twenty-five-year experiment with Islamic statehood. Focusing not on state institutions, but rather on the daily life that goes on in their shadows, Noah Salomon's careful ethnography examines the lasting effects of state Islamization on Sudanese society through a study of the individuals and organizations working in its midst. Salomon investigates Sudan at a crucial moment in its history--balanced between unity and partition, secular and religious politics, peace and war--when those who desired an Islamic state were rethinking the political form under which they had lived for nearly a generation. Countering the dominant discourse, Salomon depicts contemporary Islamic politics not as a response to secularism and Westernization but as a node in a much longer conversation within Islamic thought, augmented and reappropriated as state projects of Islamic reform became objects of debate and controversy. Among the first books to delve into the making of the modern Islamic state, For Love of the Prophet reveals both novel political ideals and new articulations of Islam as it is rethought through the lens of the nation.

Kosher haggis, tartan kippot, and Jewish Burns' Suppers: Jews acculturated to Scotland within one generation and quickly inflected Jewish culture in a Scottish idiom. This book analyses the religious aspects of this transition through a transnational perspective on migration in the first three decades of the twentieth century. As immigrants began to outnumber the established Jewish community, and Eastern European rabbis challenged the British Jewish leadership in London, Scottish Jewry underwent momentous changes. The book examines this tumultuous period through a thematic biography of Salis Daiches, Scotland's most significant rabbi. Drawing on previously unseen archival material, including Rabbi Daiches' personal correspondence, the book provides a window into the dynamics of Jewish religious life and power relations.

Among young people, symptoms of social change emerge in a multiple manner. This observation by Karl Mannheim inspired the concept of the survey of social and religious attitudes conducted by the integrated research team of employees of the Department of Sociology of Religion in the Institute of Sociology at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw and Institute for Catholic Church Statistics SAC. The title of the book is an intentional reference to the concept of social constructionism. This idea manifests itself in the subjective function of participants of an interaction who reconstruct social contexts in the course of the interaction on the basis of symbolic meanings. The conducted survey is a diachronic measurement with statistical time series of the years 1988 - 1998 - 2005 - 2017. The survey uses the research tool in which dimensions were primarily established by Charles Glock and Rodney Stark and a community component by Ohio Fukuyama. The term 'global profession of faith' was introduced by French sociologists Louis Dingemans and Jean Remy to describe motivation and dynamics of changes of one's individual religiousness and identification of individuals with religious group of reference. In this survey of social and religious attitudes of young university students, religiousness dimensions adopted by forms of activity on the Internet were added to the research tool.

In 2009, New York Times bestselling author Sara Davidson was surprised by a call from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, asking her to engage with him in what he called "The December Project." At eighty-five, Reb Zalman wanted to teach people how to navigate the December of life and to help them "not freak out about dying."

Davidson jumped at the chance. She feared that death would be a complete annihilation, while Reb Zalman felt certain that "something continues." For two years, they met every Friday to discuss this and how getting "up close with mortality" quickens our ability to relish every day.

Woven through their talks are sketches from Reb Zalman's life: escaping the Nazis; becoming an orthodox rabbi in the U.S.; landing in San Francisco during the sexual revolution; taking L.S.D. with Timothy Leary; befriending other faith leaders, including Thomas Merton and the Dalai Lama; and founding the Jewish Renewal movement.

During their time together, Davidson was nearly killed by a suicide bomb and Reb Zalman faced a steep decline in health. They created strategies to deal with pain and memory loss and found tools to cultivate fearlessness and joy--at any age. Davidson includes twelve exercises so readers can experience what she did, a sea change in facing what we all must face: mortality.

Mary is honored under many titles and in many images. But perhaps none is as famous and beloved around the world as the beautiful icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. There is rich symbolism in each element contained in that painting. Have you ever looked closely at the face of Mary, her hands, or the hands of the child Jesus?
This unique set of novena prayers considers nine different aspects found within this portrait of the Madonna and Child, and offers a guided meditation with prayers for each of the nine elements. "Meditative Novena To Our Mother of Perpetual Help" is a beautiful deluxe pamphlet with full-color illustrations that will not only help you understand and appreciate the beloved icon, but will also deepen your devotion to Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
"Deluxe pamphlet"

"How to Eat" is the second in a Parallax's series of how-to titles by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh that introduce beginners to and remind seasoned practitioners of the essentials of mindfulness practice. Pocket-sized, with bold black-and-white illustrations by Jason DeAntonis, "How to Eat" explains what it means to eat as a meditative practice and why eating mindfully is important. Specific instructions are followed by a collection of verses written for secular practitioners that help set a mindful intention for each activity connected with preparing, serving, eating, and cleaning up after meals.
The results of mindful eating are both global and personal. Eating a meal in mindfulness shows practitioners that the whole universe is supporting them. This awareness helps develop compassion and understanding, reminding practitioners that there are things they can do to help nourish people who are hungry and lonely. Encouraging moderation, mindful eating can lead to optimum health and body weight, while diminishing waste, and contributing to a more healthy society.
Scientific studies indicate that meditation contributes tremendously to well-being, general health, and longevity. "How to Eat" is perfect for those who want a comprehensive yet simple guide to eating as a meditative practice.

As featured in "Ebony magazine! This follow-up volume to the best-selling "From One Brother to Another reflects the thoughts, hopes, and dreams of African American men from a variety of fields. Renowned pastor and preacher Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. has gathered reflections on such themes as unity, peace, justice, faith, liberation, family, responsibility, perseverance, hope, and diversity. Men of all ages and socioeconomic levels ponder the issues of the day and share lessons learned, while offering messages of encouragement and inspiration to people of all races.

Islam through Objects represents the state of the field of Islamic material cultural studies. With contributions from scholars of religion, anthropologists, art historians, folklorists, historians, and other disciplines, Anna Bigelow brings together a wide range of perspectives on Islamic materiality to debunk myths of Islamic aversion to material aspects of religion. Each chapter focuses on a single object in daily use by Muslims-prayer beads, coins, amulets, a cistern well, clothing, jewellery, bodily and domestic adornments-to consider both generic and particular aspects of the object in question. These narratives will engage the reader by describing and analyzing each object in terms of its provenance, materials, uses, and history, as well as the broader history, variety and uses of the object in Islamic history and cultures. Temporal, regional, and sectarian variations in the styles, uses, and theological perspectives are also considered. Framed by an introduction that assesses the various approaches to Islamic material culture in recent scholarship, Islam through Objects provides a template for the study of religion and material culture, which engages current theory, subtle and nuanced narratives, and the creative and imaginal capacities of Muslims through history.

Within the broad contours of Islamic traditions, Muslims are enjoined to fast during the month of Ramadan, they are invited to a disciplined practice of prayer, and they are offered the Quran as the divine revelation in the most beautiful verbal form. But what happens if Muslims choose not to fast, or give up prayer, or if the Quran's beauty seems inaccessible? When Muslims do not take up the path of piety, what happens to their relationships with more devout Muslims who are neighbors, friends, and kin? Between Muslims provides an ethnographic account of Iraqi Kurdish Muslims who turn away from devotional piety yet remain intimately engaged with Islamic traditions and with other Muslims. Andrew Bush offers a new way to understand religious difference in Islam, rejecting simple stereotypes about ethnic or sectarian identities. Integrating textual analysis of poetry, sermons, and Islamic history into accounts of everyday life in Iraqi Kurdistan, Between Muslims illuminates the interplay of attraction and aversion to Islam among ordinary Muslims.

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (d. 505/1111) has been described by some scholars as the greatest Muslim in Islamic history. His prolific works, written over the duration of his relatively short lifetime, have deeply influenced Islamic thought for nearly a thousand years. Al-Ghazali was a polymath who had mastered every discipline known to the scholars of his time. In many ways, his corpus of writings on law, theology, philosophy, and Islamic spirituality, represent the most influential understanding of the Islamic religion ever articulated. This short volume, written by one of the world's leading experts on al-Ghazali, comprises forty gems from al-Ghazali's inexhaustible treasury of writings, that give the modern reader insights into both the richness of al-Ghazali's thought, and how they can better help us understand Islam today.

What was the relationship between government and religion in Middle Eastern history? In a world of caliphs, sultans, and judges, who exercised political and religious authority? In this book, Ali Humayun Akhtar investigates debates about leadership that involved ruling circles and scholars of jurisprudence and theology. At the heart of this story is a medieval rivalry between three caliphates: the Umayyads of Cordoba, the Fatimids of Cairo, and the Abbasids of Baghdad. In a fascinating revival of Late Antique Hellenism, Aristotelian and Platonic notions of wisdom became a key component of how these caliphs debated their authority as political leaders. By tracing how these political debates impacted the theological and jurisprudential scholars and their own conception of communal guidance, Akhtar offers a new picture of premodern political authority and the connections between Western and Islamic civilizations. It will be of use to students and specialists of the premodern and modern Middle East.

This revised edition goes behind the scenes into the lives of Muslim women and reveals a secret world that is unknown to outsiders. It shows how their lives are very different from those of Western women and reveals the tensions and stresses that Muslim women often face within their families and societies. The author describes how the little understood concepts of honour and shame can oppress and endanger women, and how arranged and forced marriages can be life-threatening situations.

Combining historical and ethnographic research methods, along with a thorough review of existing literature on the study of Latin American Christianity, New Faces of God in Latin America addresses the important question of how global religion and local culture interact, situating the experience of Latin American Christianity in the broader conversations in the field of world Christianity, particularly with respect to the growing understanding of Christianity as a non-Western religion. Through case studies of different Pentecostal experiences in Latin America, Virginia Garrard explores cross-pollination and interaction with indigenous religions and cultures, finding widely varied responses to the material and spiritual needs of Latin Americans. The author locates Latin American religious experience within a field known as the "history of non-Western Christianity." This focuses on the experience, perceptions, and adaptations of those who adopt Christianity outside the context of Western missionary or other colonizing projects. The book engages with the intersection of culture and spirit-filled religion, with an eye to how those interactions help frame an alternative religious modernity. Throughout the book, the author uses culture as both a heuristic lens and as a variable within the equation. She argues that culture helps us understand how people engage with and reconfigure global religious flows within their own imaginations and for their own parochial uses.

How faith, the natural world, and community can provide complementary paths for leading a good life People have long looked to nature and the divine as paths to the good. In this panoramic meditation on the harmonious life, Michael Mayerfeld Bell traces how these two paths came to be seen as separate from human ways, and how many of today's conflicts can be traced back thousands of years to this ancient divide. Taking readers on a spellbinding journey through history and across the globe, Bell begins with the pagan view, which sees nature and the divine as entangled with the human--and not necessarily good. But the emergence of urban societies gave rise to new moral concerns about the political character of human life. Wealth and inequality grew, and urban people sought to justify their passions. In the face of such concerns, nature and the divine came to be partitioned from the human, and therefore seen to be good--but they also became absolute and divisive. Bell charts the unfolding of this new moral imagination in the rise of Buddhism, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism, Jainism, and many other traditions that emerged with bourgeois life. He follows developments in moral thought, from the religions of the ancient Sumerians, Greeks, and Hebrews to the science and environmentalism of today, along the way visiting with contemporary indigenous people in South Africa, Costa Rica, and the United States. City of the Good urges us to embrace the plurality of our traditions--from the pagan to the bourgeois--and to guard against absolutism and remain open to difference and its endless creativity.