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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Alternative belief systems > Syncretist & eclectic religions & belief systems > General
Now in paperback, "an examination of the most profound issues of
faith and science that is both intellectually rigorous and generous
in spirit." ("Shelf Awareness")
An impassioned, erudite, thoroughly researched, and beautifully
reasoned book--from one of the most admired religious thinkers of
our time--that argues not only that science and religion are
compatible, but that they complement each other--and that the world
needs both.
"Atheism deserves better than the new atheists," states Rabbi
Jonathan Sacks, "whose methodology consists of criticizing religion
without understanding it, quoting texts without contexts, taking
exceptions as the rule, confusing folk belief with reflective
theology, abusing, mocking, ridiculing, caricaturing, and
demonizing religious faith and holding it responsible for the great
crimes against humanity. Religion has done harm; I acknowledge
that. But the cure for bad religion is good religion, not no
religion, just as the cure for bad science is good science, not the
abandonment of science."
Rabbi Sacks's counterargument is that religion and science are the
two essential perspectives that allow us to see the universe in its
three-dimensional depth. Science teaches us where we come from.
Religion explains to us why we are here. Science is the search for
explanation. Religion is the search for meaning. We need scientific
explanation to understand nature. We need meaning to understand
human behavior. There have been times when religion tried to
dominate science. And there have been times, including our own,
when it is believed that we can learn all we need to know about
meaning and relationships through biochemistry, neuroscience, and
evolutionary psychology. In this fascinating look at the
interdependence of religion and science, Rabbi Sacks explains why
both views are tragically wrong.
***National Jewish Book Awards 2012, Finalist***
Dorot Foundation Award forModern Jewish Thought and Experience
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Sanctuary
(Paperback)
Alexandra Berrocal
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R275
R231
Discovery Miles 2 310
Save R44 (16%)
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A psychiatrist presents a compelling argument for how human purpose
and caring emerged in a spontaneous and unguided universe. Can
there be purpose without God? This book is about how human purpose
and caring, like consciousness and absolutely everything else in
existence, could plausibly have emerged and evolved unguided,
bottom-up, in a spontaneous universe. A random world--which
according to all the scientific evidence and despite our intuitions
is the actual world we live in--is too often misconstrued as
nihilistic, demotivating, or devoid of morality and meaning.
Drawing on years of wide-ranging, intensive clinical experience as
a psychiatrist, and his own family experience with cancer, Dr.
Lewis helps readers understand how people cope with random
adversity without relying on supernatural belief. In fact, as he
explains, although coming to terms with randomness is often
frightening, it can be liberating and empowering too. Written for
those who desire a scientifically sound yet humanistic view of the
world, Lewis's book examines science's inroads into the big
questions that occupy religion and philosophy. He shows how our
sense of purpose and meaning is entangled with mistaken intuitions
that events in our lives happen for some intended cosmic reason and
that the universe itself has inherent purpose. Dispelling this
illusion, and integrating the findings of numerous scientific
fields, he shows how not only the universe, life, and consciousness
but also purpose, morality, and meaning could, in fact, have
emerged and evolved spontaneously and unguided. There is persuasive
evidence that these qualities evolved naturally and without
mystery, biologically and culturally, in humans as conscious,
goal-directed social animals. While acknowledging the social and
psychological value of progressive forms of religion, the author
respectfully critiques even the most sophisticated theistic
arguments for a purposeful universe. Instead, he offers an
evidence-based, realistic yet optimistic and empathetic
perspective. This book will help people to see the scientific
worldview of an unguided, spontaneous universe as awe-inspiring and
foundational to building a more compassionate society.
How Atheists rely on urban myths about religion to buttress their
case against God. God, and the whole business of being dependent
upon him, is being downgraded, downsized, downplayed, and most of
all, just plain dismissed in the modern, cultured, educated parts
of Europe and in academia. This process is powered and driven by a
whole, growing series of interlocked urban myths about what is
supposed to be involved in being a religious (and often
specifically Christian) believer. This book examines and critiques
those myths, showing how the Christian faith can be intelligent and
supported by reason.
An extraordinary vision of unity among the world's historic faiths
and a classic of New Age spirituality.
Here is a hugely influential interpretation of the "lost years" of
Jesus Christ-from roughly the ages of twelve to thirty that are not
covered in Scripture- in which the Son of Man is seen to travel
through the religious cultures of the East, learning and preaching
the unifying spiritual ethic behind all religions.
"The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ" is a stirring and deeply
involving vision that profoundly impacted the development of
alternative spirituality in the early twentieth century, and
continues to touch readers today.
Now, the unabridged narrative of this powerful work- drawn from
one of its earliest volumes-is redesigned for ease of reading in a
handsome signature edition.
Based upon the old tale of "The Marriage of Sir Gawain", "Kissing
the Hag" brings us face to face with the nauseating horror of the
hag - the raw side, the dark side, the inside of a woman's
essential nature. Here we find the untamed soul, the wild, angry,
selfish, lustful, manipulative and incomprehensible elements of
woman: all that makes us unacceptable and badly behaved. Too often
we have been guided to point a finger of blame, accusing our
parents, society, our partners of being dysfunctional. Here Emma
Restall Orr doesn't allow us that option. As a Druid and animist,
she takes the negative stereotypes of the irrational, emotional
woman - feisty bitch to shameless whore, smothering mother to
grumpy old bag - and finds the archetypes behind them, the faces
and forms of the dark goddess.Instead of dismissing these as
unacceptable, she encourages us to ride their wild emotional
currents, surfing the awesome tides that threaten to overwhelm us.
In "Kissing the Hag", we come to accept the fullness of our nature,
celebrating the deep mystery, the magic and power of all we are.
"Kissing the Hag" is a book written for women who long to loose the
chains of insecurity, convention, guilt and self-negation, and
rediscover the freedom and creativity of their true nature. It is
also a book written for men fascinated but infuriated by the women
they love.
"What if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense? "Alain
de Botton's bold and provocative book argues that we can benefit
from the wisdom and power of religion--without having to believe in
any of it.
He suggests that rather than mocking religion, agnostics and
atheists should instead steal from it--because the world's
religions are packed with good ideas on how we might live and
arrange our societies. De Botton looks to religion for insights
into how to build a sense of community, make relationships last,
overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, inspire travel, get more
out of art, and reconnect with the natural world. For too long
non-believers have faced a stark choice between swallowing lots of
peculiar doctrines or doing away with a range of consoling and
beautiful rituals and ideas. "Religion for Atheists" offers a far
more interesting and truly helpful alternative.
One of the first attempts ever to present in a systematic way a
non-western semiotic system. This book looks at Japanese esoteric
Buddhism and is based around original texts, informed by explicit
and rigorous semiotic categories. It is a unique introduction to
important aspects of the thought and rituals of the Japanese
Shingon tradition. Semiotic concerns are deeply ingrained in the
Buddhist intellectual and religious discourse, beginning with the
idea that the world is not what it appears to be, which calls for a
more accurate understanding of the self and reality. This in turn
results in sustained discussions on the status of language and
representations, and on the possibility and methods to know reality
beyond delusion; such peculiar knowledge is explicitly defined as
enlightenment. Thus, for Buddhism, semiotics is directly relevant
to salvation; this is a key point that is often ignored even by
Buddhologists. This book discusses in depth the main elements of
Buddhist semiotics as based primarily on original Japanese
pre-modern sources. It is a crucial publication in the fields of
semiotics and religious studies.
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