This book is the third in a trilogy of books on introductory psychology. It emphasizes the application of psychological principles for the improvement of individual and group behaviors. The two principles of greatest relevance are the Law of Effect and the Principle of Human Agency. The universally-accepted Law of Effect states that rewarded behaviors tend to be repeated, whereas unrewarded or punished behaviors are not likely to be repeated. The controversial Principle of Human Agency states that individuals can make voluntary choices of behaviors that may, or may not, be successful in achieving their goals in life. If this second principle is true, the behaviors of individuals are not totally determined by the personal heredity of the individuals or by their environmental rewards or punishments. Applied Psychology for Servant Religion discusses problem solving, interpretation of test results, and ways to improve individual and social behaviors.

School textbooks in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab and Muslim worlds are filled with anti-Western and anti-Israel propaganda. Most readers will be shocked to discover that history and geography textbooks widely used in America's elementary and secondary classrooms contain some of the very same inaccuracies about Jews, Judaism, and Israel. Did you know that "there is no record of any important Jewish contribution to the sciences?" (World Civilizations, Thomson Wadsworth). Or that "Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus?" (The World, Scott Foresman/Pearson). Supplemental materials and other classroom influences are even worse. The Trouble with Textbooks exposes the poor scholarship and untruths in textbooks about Jews and Israel. The problems uncovered in this ground-breaking analysis are instructive, and illustrate the need for reform in the way textbooks are developed, written, marketed, and distributed. Substitute another area how we teach American history, Western civilization, or comparative religion and we have another, equally intriguing case study. The Trouble with Textbooks shows what can go terribly wrong in discussing religion, geography, culture, or history and in this case all of them. The Trouble with Textbooks tells a cautionary tale for all readers, whatever their background, of how textbooks that Americans depend on to infuse young people with the values for good citizenship and to help acculturate students into the multicultural salad that is American life, instead disparage some groups and teach historical distortions. With millions of young people using these textbooks each year, the denigration of some should be a concern for all."

Judaic Spiritual Psychotherapy is in the contemporary mode of utilizing the profound insights present in spiritual literature for psychotherapeutic use. Jewish spiritual writings are a rich source that encompasses three thousand years of scholarship and experience dealing with emotional problems. These insights can benefit all clients, not only those nurtured in the Jewish tradition. A whole range of topics include an introduction and history of this modern trend. The basic principles of this approach are clearly defined, and case histories are presented to further refine and clarify the method. In addition, meditation -- including some of its methods and basic, guiding principles -- is analyzed from a Jewish point of view. The topic of forgiveness and its relevance to psychotherapy is presented through the analysis of Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower, in which he discusses the morality of forgiving a dying SS soldier for his part in murdering Jews during World War II. Several prominent moral and religious authorities express their views, helping to clarify the role of forgiveness in the fabric of interpersonal relationships. The book concludes with a discussion of the place of values in the process of psychotherapy.

Boundless Love provides a detailed survey of the scholarship on Luke 15:11-32, the parable of the Prodigal Son arguably the best loved and most familiar of Jesus' parables. Readers will find key insights regarding the teachings of the parable from leading experts on the Gospels including William Barclay, Kenneth Bailey, Fred Craddock, Luke Timothy Johnson, Henri Nouwen, Pheme Perkins, and N.T. Wright. Part I of this volume offers students of the Bible a firm grasp on the scholarly consensus regarding the parable's historical, literary, and theological contexts, as well as its wide-ranging applicability in today's world. Part II focuses on the exploration of the parable's potential contributions in discussions of reconciliation and draws on the insights of authors such as Annie Dillard, Sam Keen, Desmond Tutu, and Miroslav Volf. Boundless Love is thoroughly accessible and will appeal to both general readers and specialists."

Without Adversity there is no Truth. Without Truth there is no Diversity. Creation Testifies This book, a continuation of the concepts explored in Truth Eternal and the Adversity of Diversity Law, is all about the truth which underlies everything. This volume, Truth is "The Word," takes its name from the phrase: truth is simply that which is true. The first volume of this work, Truth Eternal and the Adversity of Diversity Law, introduced the concepts that are further explored in this new volume. In this second volume, the essays relate and extend the examination of truth using straightforward English and understandable examples.

In this book, Lewis Sperry Chafer instructs the aspiring preacher on the authentic principles of evangelism: that salvation, and proper communication of Christ's message, are of utmost importance. Chafer begins by noting the emergence of preachers who behave and speak contrary to the wishes of Jesus Christ. It is these 'False Forces' that moved the author to spell out precisely what is and is not true evangelic preaching. The identification of falsehoods in the messages delivered, and improper emphases which distract from the ever-present, ever-beneficent God, led Lewis Sperry Chafer to pen this book. Lewis Sperry Chafer spent a lifetime in evangelical preaching and writing in service of the Lord. Although remembered mainly for his scholarly work upon Biblical theology, he was also praised for his easygoing and relaxed demeanor. His leadership at the Dallas Theological Seminary was characterized by this competent, just and thoroughly Christian personality.

This book illuminates the connectedness of Dostoevsky's literary art with his philosophical and psychological brilliance. Two Fyodor Dostoevsky conferences originating at the University of North Texas set the stage for this volume. Scholars contributed original papers focusing on how Dostoevsky's literary art and philosophical insights enrich one another. Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote and thought polyphonically. His polyphonic method is both his special literary technique and his distinctive way of probing theological, social, and philosophical depths. As Bakhtin and Terras suggest, all Dostoevsky's major literary inventions from the underground man to the vitriolic Grushenka are products of his ability to listen profoundly to his own characters. Like the genius author-redactor of 1 and 2 Samuel, he reports the heights and depths of human emotion and behavior, whether exploring the anatomy of dysfunctional families, making the heart soar with Zosima's vision of forgiveness, or giving Ivan Karamazov full rein to challenge theism. Dostoevsky's characters transform themselves into irregular verbs whose fierce independence emerges only because of their desperate and inescapable interdependence. His major characters are text, subtext, and context for each other. They play inside each other's head and answer in one way or another."

The political emergence of evangelical Christians has been a signal development in America in the past quarter century. And while their voting tendencies have been closely scrutinized, their participation in the policy debates of the day has not. They continue to be caricatured as anti-intellectual Bible thumpers whose views are devoid of reason, logic, or empirical evidence. They're seen as lemmings, following the cues of Dobson and Robertson and marching in lock step with the Republican party on the "culture wars" issues of abortion, gay rights, and guns. Is The Good Book Good Enough? remedies the neglect of this highly influential group, which makes up as much as a third of the American public. It offers a carefully nuanced and comprehensive portrait of evangelical attitudes on a wide range of policies and their theological underpinnings. Each essay applies an evangelical lens to a contemporary issue - environmentalism, immigration, family and same-sex marriage, race relations, global human rights, foreign policy and national security, social welfare and poverty, and economic policy. The result thoroughly enriches our understanding of evangelicalism as a prism through which many view a wide range of policy debates.

A widespread early Palestinian Jewish saying was 'As the first redeemer of Israel, so the last redeemer of Israel': as Moses, so the Messiah. This was the major reason why the death, burial, and translation of Moses to heaven in primarily Palestinian early Jewish tradition greatly influenced the descriptions of numerous accounts in the Gospels. The most significant examples of this are Jesus' burial by Joseph of Arimathea in Mark 15:42-46, and the narrative of the empty tomb in 16:1-8. Striking new insights into the background and significance of these episodes are gained here through an analysis of early Jewish materials.

The Catholic Church on Marital Intercourse traces the development of the Church's theology of marital sexuality from New Testament times to the present day. The early ecclesial leaders promoted a theology of sexuality based on Stoicism's biological perception that sexual activity was solely for the purpose of reproduction. Only in the early twentieth century did a few theologians begin to move beyond discussing "the purposes of marital intercourse" to discussing the meaning that the marital act might have for the spouses themselves. With the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), a new and positive view of marital sexuality emerged recognizing the Pauline view that the couple's marital acts express their love for each other along the lines of Christ's love for his church (Ephesians 5). In sum, The Catholic Church on Marital Intercourse treats the way in which the Catholic Church has moved away from an attitude of conditional acceptance of marital intercourse on the basis of its utility to recognition that the dynamics of sexual union are both good and holy, not only because that is the way children are conceived, but also because the marital act enhances the love of husband and wife for each other.

What do Osama bin Laden, Adolph Hitler, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Gene Applewhite, and the slayers of abortion doctors all have in common? All of them based their dangerous and destructive actions, to a large extent, on a message they believed they received from God. The receipt of messages from God is known by many religions as "spiritual gifts theology." In his earlier book, Implicit Rhetoric: Kenneth Burke's Extension of Aristotle's Concept of Entelechy, author Stan Lindsay presented the concept of psychotic entelechy, which is based on Burke's writings. In this new work, Lindsay expands upon the concept of psychotic entelechy by analyzing the religious motives behind the dangerous behavior of some individuals and organizations. Psychotic Entelechy also illustrates the curative aspect of the Burkean methods and presents key indicators of psychotic entelechy. The hope, and ultimate goal, is that as readers learn to identify psychotic entelechy in their own lives and/or the lives of those whom they influence or who influence them, the dangers will be diminished.

This book assumes questions that perceptive readers of all persuasions might ask about the Bible. These questions pertain both to the nature of the text and the text itself. With regard to the former, its historical development is described in reverse order, back through 16th century England to the definitive Hebrew text from which all modern translations are made, the Leningrad Codex, dated 1008 CE. The development continues through prior centuries, importantly, to the Dead Sea Scrolls, which raise new questions about which text to translate. The Pentateuch throughout is discussed with the question in mind: Is it history or story? The great wealth of information, both material and literary, which archaeology has provided over the last one and half centuries as well as the intensive literary analysis of biblical scholars is brought to bear on the text. The attempt is made to provide information not commonly known to the general reader in searching for an answer to the question. The identification of literary traditions with their theological perspectives serves to show the diversity of the material amidst its overall unity. The traditions, which make up the Old Testament, did not end with our canon, whether Jewish, Catholic or Protestant. A group of these later books, known as Apocrypha, are included in some Bibles but not in others. A large number of other books, known as Pseudepigrapha, represent the continuation of the traditions. Those related to Genesis, as well as the ambivalent status of the Apocrypha, are discussed here.

Daily Strength, a year-long devotional, walks Christian men through Scripture passages that speak to their most pressing issues. Each single-page daily reading features a short summary of a Bible passage with a thought-provoking message from one of more than forty contributors.

Dalya Cohen-Mor examines the evolution of the concept of fate in the Arab world through readings of religious texts, poetry, fiction, and folklore. She contends that belief in fate has retained its vitality and continues to play a pivotal role in the Arabs' outlook on life and their social psychology. Interwoven with the chapters are 16 modern short stories that further illuminate this fascinating topic.

Throughout the ages and across religious traditions, people have yearned to personally experience God and deeply connect with the Creator. In Mysticism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ori Z. Soltes traces the sweep of mysticism-this search for oneness with God-throughout the three Abrahamic traditions. This unique comparative overview begins with a definition of mysticism and a discussion of its place within religion as a whole. Soltes then explores the history of mysticism from Biblical times through the present day, highlighting the emergence of mysticism within the three traditions and how beliefs and practices converge and diverge over time. The final chapters discuss the growing interest in mysticism today through practices such as Kabbalah and how people publicly express their private encounters with God through art, literature, and other modern media.

Liturgy, a complex interweaving of word, text, song, and behavior is a central fixture of religious life in the Jewish tradition. It is unique in that it is performed and not merely thought. Because liturgy is performed by a specific group at a specific time and place it is mutable. Thus, liturgical reasoning is always new and understandings of liturgical practices are always evolving. Liturgy is neither preexisting nor static; it is discovered and revealed in every liturgical performance.
Jewish Liturgical Reasoning is an attempt to articulate the internal patterns of philosophical, ethical, and theological reasoning that are at work in synagogue liturgies. This book discusses the relationship between internal Jewish liturgical reasoning and the variety of external philosophical and theological forms of reasoning that have been developed in modern and post liberal Jewish philosophy. Steven Kepnes argues that liturgical reasoning can reorient Jewish philosophy and provide it with new tools, new terms of discourse and analysis, and a new sensibility for the twenty-first century.
The formal philosophical study of Jewish liturgy began with Moses Mendelssohn and the modern Jewish philosophers. Thus the book focuses, in its first chapters, on the liturgical reasoning of Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, and Franz Rosenzweig. However, it attempts to augment and further develop the liturgical reasoning of these figures with methods of study from Hermeneutics, Semiotic theory, post liberal theology, anthropology and performance theory. These newer theories are enlisted to help form a contemporary liturgical reasoning that can respond to such events as the Holocaust, the establishmentof the State of Israel, and interfaith dialogue between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

The author writes: "Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook (5635-5695/1865-1935) was one of the greatest Jewish leaders of recent history. He was steeped in Jewish knowledge of all kinds, a master of halacha, Talmud, and Jewish philosophy, and he also had a good knowledge of the general philosophy and science of his day." Rav Kook was also a prolific writer and complex thinker who developed a system of understanding the events that were happening to the Jewish people. It was a time of change, HerzI convened the Zionist Congress in Basel, irreligious Zionists were moving to Israel and establishing settlements and kibbutzim. There was a negative reaction from many religious leaders to the young men and women. Darwin's theory and Freud I s new science were gaining popularity and many Jews were drawn further away from a traditional lifestyle. Rav Kook was able to perceive the inner yearnings that accompanied these revolutionary changes. They represented a deep yearning within these young Jews for morality, equality, and justice. They realized that the world was not static but evolved and moved in a positive direction. Rav Kook embraced both Zionism and the young irreligious Zionists. He developed a philosophy that was based on the kabbalistic concept of fusion. The world appears divided; there is a break between heaven and earth, physical and spiritual, politics and religion. But at the heart of it all, everything is fused into a cohesive unit. This is true for the individual, the nation, and all of existence. Rav Kook set about publicizing his theories and spreading his teachings to young thinkers, both religious and secular. This represents the bulk of his voluminous writings. Rav Kook never wrote a book of commentary on the Torah, but he did create a lens through which we can perceive and better understand the Torah. That is the basis for this book.

Men, we will never get anywhere in life without discipline, and doubly so in spiritual matters. None of us is inherently righteous, so Paul's instructions regarding spiritual discipline in 1 Timothy 4:7-8 take on personal urgency: "Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." That word "train" comes from the Greek word from which we derive gymnasium. So, I invite you into God's Gym--to some pain and great gain! Discipline of Purity Sensuality is the biggest obstacle to godliness among Christian men. The fall of King David should not only instruct us but scare the sensuality right out of us! Fill yourself with God's Word--memorize passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, Job 31:1, Proverbs 6:27, Ephesians 5:3-7, and 2 Timothy 2:22. Find someone who will help you keep your soul faithful to God. A pure mind is impossible if you mindlessly watch TV and movies or visit pornographic web sites (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7). Develop the divine awareness that sustained Joseph: "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9). Discipline of Relationships To be all God wants you to be, put some holy sweat into your relationships! If you're married, you need to live out Ephesians 5:25-31: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (v. 25). For those who are fathers, God provides a workout in one pungent sentence: "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4). Relationships are not optional (Hebrews 10:25); they enable us to develop into what God wants us to be and most effectively learn and live God's truth. Discipline of Mind The potential of possessing the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) introduces the scandal of today's church--Christians who do not think Christianly, leaving our minds undisciplined. The Apostle Paul understood this well: "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). Each ingredient is a matter of personal choice. You can never have a Christian mind without reading the Scriptures regularly because you cannot be influenced by that which you do not know. Discipline of Devotion Reading God's Word is essential, but meditation internalizes the Word and responds, "I desire to do your will, O my God" (Psalm 40:8). Beyond instructions like Ephesians 6:18-20, there are two great reasons to pray. The more we expose our lives to the white-hot sun of Christ's righteous life, the more his image will be burned into our character. The second reason is that prayer bends our wills to God's will. Many men never have an effective devotional life because they never plan for it; they never expose their lives to his pure light. Discipline of Integrity We can hardly overstate the importance of integrity to a generation of believers so much like the world in ethical conduct. But integrity's benefits--character, a clear conscience, deep intimacy with God--argue its importance. We must let God's Word draw our lines of conduct. Our speech and actions must be intentionally true (Proverbs 12:22; Ephesians 4:15), backed by the courage to keep our word and stand up for our convictions (Psalm 15:4). An old saying sums it up: "Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny."(1) Discipline of Tongue "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless" (James 1:26). The true test of a man's spirituality is not his ability to speak, but rather his ability to bridle his tongue! Offered to God on the altar, the tongue has awesome power for good. There must be an ongoing prayerfulness and resolve to discipline ourselves: "Who keeps the tongue doth keep his soul."(2) Discipline of Work We meet God, the Creator, as a worker in Genesis 1:1-2:2. Since "God created man in his own image" (1:27), the way we work will reveal how much we allow the image of God to develop in us. There is no secular/sacred distinction; all honest work ought to be done to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). We must recover the biblical truth that our vocation is a divine calling and thus be liberated to do it for the glory of God. Discipline of Perseverance Hebrews 12:1-3 presents a picture of perseverance in four commands. Divest! "Lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely" (v. 1a). That includes besetting sin, and anything else that hinders. Run! "...with endurance the race that is set before us" (v. 1b). Each of us can finish our race (see also 2 Timothy 4:7). Focus! "Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith" (v. 2). There never was a millisecond that he did not trust the Father. Consider! Our life is to be spent considering how Jesus lived (v. 3). Discipline of Church You don't have to go to church to be a Christian; you don't have to go home to be married. But in both cases if you do not, you will have a very poor relationship! You will never attain your full spiritual manhood, nor will your family reach its spiritual maturity without commitment to the church. Find a good church, join it, and commit yourself to it wholeheartedly. Your participation should include financial support, but it should also include giving your time, talents, expertise, and creativity to the glory of God. Discipline of Giving How can we escape the power of materialism? By giving from a heart overflowing with God's grace, like the believers in Macedonia who "gave themselves first to the Lord" (2 Corinthians 8:5): this is where grace giving must begin. Giving disarms the power of money. Though giving should be regular, it should also be spontaneous and responsive to needs. And it should be joyous--"God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). And Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). As we sweat out the disciplines of a godly man, remember, with Paul, what energizes us to live them out--"not I, but the grace of God that is with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Second Edition, (London: Oxford UP, 1959), p. 405. James S. Hewitt, ed., Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1988), p. 475.

Sefer Yetzira is a sacred book of great antiquity and power, and one of Judaism's oldest texts after the Bible. In this new translation and commentary, Rabbi Worch leads us step-by-step through innermost chambers of Jewish mysticism. We are allowed to listen in to the arguments between Moses and God, to the whispered dialogue between Rabbis Akiba and Ishmael, and to those fervid and passionate practitioners of whose ecstasies these pages remain redolent. In the beginning was God's desire for us. Sefer Yetzira describes the process whereby desire materializes in the Breath of God and thence into the Ten Sephirot and twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Commentaries to the Sefer Yetzira, through the ages, have reflected the spirit and yearning of those times, the genius and romance of the zeitgeist, be it philosophical, mathematical or contemplative. This commentary reflects the strikingly mystical qualities of Hasidism and the post-modern approach to text. In this book, we read how to listen for the breath of the Living God, how to hear it and breathe it back, in the mystery of our sacred kisses.

Moses' Staff and Aeneas' Shield uses two emblems to symbolize the important differences between the tragic but triumphant heroism of Virgil's Aeneid and the kenotic heroism of Moses in the Exodus story of Aeneas' shield and Moses' staff. The shield of Aeneas represents Rome's imperial destiny to rule the earth's peoples by strength, and Aeneas' personal destiny to end in triumph as a warrior. In contrast, the staff of Moses represents the saving wonders the Lord works through him to save the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt and bind them to himself in covenant, and his mission to go beyond being simply a wonder worker to "a man of words" who preaches the Lord's Torah.

Throughout the ages and across religious traditions, people have yearned to personally experience God and deeply connect with the Creator. In Mysticism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ori Z. Soltes traces the sweep of mysticism-this search for oneness with God-throughout the three Abrahamic traditions. This unique comparative overview begins with a definition of mysticism and a discussion of its place within religion as a whole. Soltes then explores the history of mysticism from Biblical times through the present day, highlighting the emergence of mysticism within the three traditions and how beliefs and practices converge and diverge over time. The final chapters discuss the growing interest in mysticism today through practices such as Kabbalah and how people publicly express their private encounters with God through art, literature, and other modern media.

There were fifteen important prophets in Israel, whose lives covered nearly four centuries, beginning about 750 B.C.E. Known as the literary prophets because they wrote down their prophecies, they were chosen by God at a time of social and political crisis in the community. Their task was to warn, criticize the morals and ethics of their day, and counsel and comfort the Israelite people. This book presents an overview of the literary prophets and the nature of their prophecies. They include Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Joel, Obadiah, Nachum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, and Jonah. In addition to the so-called literary prophets, there were other people in the Bible referred to as prophets as well. Gideon, in the Book of Judges, was referred to as a prophet, Deborah is called a prophetess in the Book of Judges. Moses was twice called a prophet in the Bible and even Abraham is once referred to as a prophet in the Book of Genesis. Messengers of God: A Jewish Prophets Who's Who explores these prophets as well. Topics in this volume include: what is a prophet; varieties of prophets; commissioning of the prophet; preliterary prophets; false prophets; Moses; Deborah; prophetic signs and visions; values of the prophets; prophecy in the Talmud, philosophers and prophets, and prophets in the liturgy and rabbinic sources. Messengers of God: A Jewish Prophets Who's Who will enable the reader to have a better understanding of the nature of the prophets and their works.