The God of All Comfort is an inspiring manual of faith by Hannah Whitall Smith, who was one of the leading authors of Christian advice in the late nineteenth century. Smith, having lived and witnessed a life of supreme faith to God, writes her account of the principles of the Lord and Jesus Christ. Her aim is to inspire Christians who may be doubting their faith, as well as those who need guidance through crises or struggles in life. With a close reading of the Bible, Whitall Smith is able to demonstrate the sublime comfort and serenity which the Lord God can dispense through His love. Blessed with a gift for words and eloquent turns of phrase, Hannah Whitall Smith places both her faith and her affinity for language front and center in this book. For many years this book has been consulted as a sublime manual of true Christian advice, notable for the greathearted way in which lessons on how to live and take joy as a follower of God are dispensed.

This major work comprises a comprehensive study of Eastern and Western esoteric streams and the occult powers that stand behind them. In Part 1 Prokofieff discusses the spiritual movement of Agni Yoga, presented to the world by Helena Roerich and her husband, the painter Nicholas Roerich. Part 2 focuses on the teachings developed by Alice Bailey, whilst Part 3 considers the relationship between Eastern and Western spiritual masters and the occult streams they represent. The first two Parts of the book give descriptions of both the Roerichs' and Alice Bailey's philosophy, based on their own perspective, together with anthroposophical commentaries that give an understanding of these two streams in the light of modern Christian esotericism. As Prokofieff points out, both the Roerichs and Bailey were convinced that the occult teachers who inspired them were the same as those referred to by the founder of Theosophy, Helena Blavatsky. Part 3 deals directly with the mystery of the Eastern teachers, or mahatmas, and their relationship to Christian esotericism. On the basis of extensive research, Prokofieff comes to the startling conclusion that the occultists whom both the Roerichs and Alice Bailey named as their leaders actually have nothing in common with Blavatsky's Eastern mahatmas. In Prokofieff's words: 'Hence...one has to do not with the Eastern mahatmas but with quite different occultists who had illicitly appropriated their names and then tried - while deliberately misleading their followers - to attain their highly dubious occult political aims with the help of the occult movements which had already been initiated.' Prokofieff argues that this appropriation led to a distortion of the age-old Eastern philosophies, giving them an anti-Christian character, and led to phenomena such as 'occult materialism', insidious political goals, and prophecies of a physically incarnating 'Messiah'. Previously available only in German as three separate books, with just an early version of Part 1 published in English, this long-awaited translation of Prokofieff's incisive study offers a fine schooling in discernment, judgement and spiritual insight.

Lloyd Geering forces us to respond to, rethink, and reinterpret Christian origins, institutions, and beliefs. He demands that we begin from a position of informed knowledge that includes a central engagement with science, religion, and scholarship. Geering came to prominence in an age when religion seemed to be losing its relevance. How do we explain his move from accused heretic to New Zealand's foremost public intellectual? Through interviews, expansive notes, and an excellent introduction, Michael Grimshaw guides us through the life and times of Lloyd Geering.