Why are some marriages more successful, more satisfying, and more enduring than others?

The answer to this question is perhaps the most widely studied and best-known part of our marriage and family-therapy literature, although arguably, it is the least understood and certainly the least followed in terms of avoiding the pitfalls that lead to unsuccessful marriages. What this book proposes as an answer to this question is the nearest thing we have to a manifesto for marriage and family living. It provides us with a clear description of what married life should be like. No words or ideas sum up the intention of this manifesto better or indicate more clearly its challenge to contemporary marriages than the words "making marriage user-friendly."

Race and the Assemblies of God Church chronicles the treatment of African Americans by the largest, predominantly white, Pentecostal denomination in the United States. The formation of the Assemblies of God in 1914, brought an end to the interracial focus of the Pentecostal movement that characterized the revival from its inception in Los Angeles, California, at an abandoned warehouse on Azusa Street in 1906. Dr. Newman utilizes the extensive archival holdings of the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, housed in the international headquarters of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri, to support his contention that Assemblies of God leaders deliberately engaged in racist efforts to prevent African American participation in Assemblies of God activities because the denominational leaders feared the reaction of its ministers and congregations in the American South. In addition, a concerted effort to refer African Americans interested in the Assemblies of God to African American groups, such as the Church of God in Christ, was approved at the highest levels of Assemblies of God leadership. Ultimately, efforts to exclude African Americans from the denomination led to official decisions to refuse them ordination and approved resolutions to support the establishment of a separate, unrelated Pentecostal denomination specifically for African Americans. Assemblies of God attitudes regarding racial issues changed only as a result of the civil rights movement and its effect upon American society during the 1960s and 1970s. The treatment of race in church groups with European origins was compared to that of the Assemblies of God and the influence of African and slave religions upon the rise of the Pentecostal movement. Finally, the author provides an analysis of the 1994 event known as the "Miracle of Memphis" in which white Pentecostal denominations dissolved the racially segregated Pentecostal Fellowship of North America in favor of a new organization, the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches of North America. The book concludes that although current Assemblies of God leaders have embraced the concept of an integrated church fellowship that no longer excludes African Americans, there is virtually no evidence of wide acceptance of this concept at the local church level in the denomination.

Today many believers desire to know God more intimately, and enjoy the blessings that come in His Presence.

Free to Be Fruitful offers unique insight on how God brings freedom from bondage and how people may best minister freedom to one another. Taking key sections of Scripture, Joey Benami presents a comprehensive foundation for healing and freedom from bondage. This book will give you transforming
revelation about:
fruitfulness as the goal of spiritual freedom;
the obstacles to fruitfulness;
generational iniquities and curses;
spiritual bondage and oppression.
Free to Be Fruitful also explores how God redeems people, how He defeats Satan, and how to overcome unfruitfulness.

David Tittensor offers a groundbreaking new perspective on the Gulen movement, a Turkish Muslim educational activist network that emerged in the 1960s and has grown into a global empire with an estimated worth of $25 billion. Named after its leader Fethullah Gulen, the movement has established more than 1,000 secular educational institutions in over 140 countries, aiming to provide holistic education that incorporates both spirituality and the secular sciences. Despite the movement's success, little is known about how its schools are run, or how Islam is operationalized. Drawing on thirteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Turkey, Tittensor explores the movement's ideo-theology and how it is practiced in the schools. His interviews with both teachers and graduates from Africa, Indonesia, Central Asia, and Turkey show that the movement is a missionary organization, but of a singular kind: its goal is not simply widespread religious conversion, but a quest to recoup those Muslims who have apparently lost their way through proselytism and to show non-Muslims that Muslims can embrace modernity and integrate into the wider community. Tittensor also examines the movement's operational side and shows how the schools represent an example of Mohammad Yunus's social business model: a business with a social cause at its heart. The House of Service is an insightful exploration of one of the largest transnational Muslim associations in the world today, and will be invaluable for those seeking to understand how Islam will be perceived and practiced in the future.

Nature plays an important and often neglected role in Jewish apocalypses. Most Second Temple Jewish apocalypses (ca. 200 BC - AD 100) do not oppose the material world, but view nature as damaged by human and angelic sin. Rather than expecting God to destroy the world, many look forward to God's dramatic eschatological deliverance of nature from corruption. Although Romans 8:19-22 was not written in the genre of an apocalypse, it shares the basic apocalyptic world view. The Apostle Paul follows that stream of apocalyptic thought that looks forward to the transformation of creation by an eschatological divine act, the reversal of the damage caused by sin, and the perfection of nature to share glory with redeemed humanity. A comparison of nature in Jewish apocalypses and Romans 8:19-22 reveals important insights into the theology of early Judaism and its influence on early Christian thought.

During the first half of this century the forests of Thailand were home to wandering ascetic monks. They were Buddhists, but their brand of Buddhism did not copy the practices described in ancient doctrinal texts. Their Buddhism found expression in living day-to-day in the forest and in contending with the mental and physical challenges of hunger, pain, fear, and desire. Combining interviews and biographies with an exhaustive knowledge of archival materials and a wide reading of ephemeral popular literature, Kamala Tiyavanich documents the monastic lives of three generations of forest-dwelling ascetics and challenges the stereotype of state-centric Thai Buddhism. Although the tradition of wandering forest ascetics has disappeared, a victim of Thailand's relentless modernization and rampant deforestation, the lives of the monks presented here are a testament to the rich diversity of regional Buddhist traditions. The study of these monastic lineages and practices enriches our understanding of Buddhism in Thailand and elsewhere.

Where can religions find sources of legitimacy for human rights? How do, and how should, religious leaders and communities respond to human rights as defined in modern International Law? When religious precepts contradict human rights standards - for example in relation to freedom of expression or in relation to punishments - which should trump the other, and why? Can human rights and religious teachings be interpreted in a manner which brings reconciliation closer? Do the modern concept and system of human rights undermine the very vision of society that religions aim to impart? Is a reference to God in the discussion of human rights misplaced? Do human fallibilities with respect to interpretation, judicial reasoning and the understanding of human oneness and dignity provide the key to the undeniable and sometimes devastating conflicts that have arisen between, and within, religions and the human rights movement? In this volume, academics and lawyers tackle these most difficult questions head-on, with candour and creativity, and the collection is rendered unique by the further contributions of a remarkable range of other professionals, including senior religious leaders and representatives, journalists, diplomats and civil servants, both national and international. Most notably, the contributors do not shy away from the boldest question of all - summed up in the book's title. The thoroughly edited and revised papers which make up this collection were originally prepared for a ground-breaking conference organised by the Clemens Nathan Research Centre, the University of London Institute of Commonwealth Studies and Martinus Nijhoff/Brill.

Exploring one of the most controversial topics in contemporary theology, this scholarly volume reveals what the world's great faiths—East and West—preach about sexuality, with a special emphasis on American religion. What do the world's most important religious texts have to say about one of humanity's favorite activities? Editors David W. Machacek and Melissa M. Wilcox have brought together top scholars in the field of religious studies to ask and answer these critical questions. Carefully researched, elegantly written, and respectfully presented, Sexuality and the World's Religions explores the intersection of the spiritual and the carnal in Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and African and Native American spiritual traditions. A separate section explores critical religious and sexual topics in American society, including the role of spirituality in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities; the role of sex in the modern witchcraft community; and the ever thorny problem of religion and sexual liberty. Reconciling sexuality and spirituality in every human soul is one of religion's most important tasks. Students and other readers will find this timely and comprehensive volume of interest in exploring these issues.

This book examines the competing regimes of law and religion an offers a multidisciplinary approach to demonstrate the global scope of their influence. It argues that the tension between these two institutions results from their disagreements about the kinds of rule that should govern human life and society, and from where they should be derived.

Covering the nonviolence traditions in all the major religions as well as the contributions of religious traditions to major nonviolent practices, this book addresses theories of nonviolence, considers each religion individually, and highlights what discrete religious perspectives have in common. Covering all the major-and some of the larger minor-religions of the world, Religions and Nonviolence: The Rise of Effective Advocacy for Peace examines the rich history of how human thinking on nonviolence has developed and what each religion offers to the theory and practice of nonviolence, providing a counterpoint to the perspective that religion has largely inspired violence and intolerance. It also traces the contributions of religious traditions to secular nonviolent practices, recognizes and explains why religion has historically inspired violence, and provides additional resources for investigating the crossroads of religion and advocacy of nonviolence and peace. The author addresses the nonviolence traditions in religions such as Bahai, Buddhism, Christianity, Ethical Atheism, the First Nations of North America, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Tenrikyo, and Revitalized Paganism. Ancient religions with important contributions to nonviolence-Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and Jainism-receive attention, as do Mo Tse and other Chinese philosophers as well as Pythagoras and other classical Greek thinkers. Students of religion, history of religion, sociology, or psychology will find this book key to achieving a balanced and therefore more accurate understanding of both religion and history. General readers will gain insights into the commonalities among different religions as well as each major religion's historical and current stances on issues of violence, such as human or animal sacrifice, slavery, war, and the death penalty. Explores all major world religions in the context of nonviolence in great detail Serves as academic material to supplement a lesson plan or as general interest reading for nonacademic audiences Highlights the history of each religion and its standing today Addresses the subject from the perspective of an author with a background in peace and conflict studies, psychology, and sociology

The traditional Catholic Church views true celibacy as a gift from God. But today's reality paints a much different picture. In "Sex, Celibacy, and Priesthood, " the Most Rev. Lou A. Bordisso reviews the research on sexual activity and celibacy among Catholic priests. Featuring heart-wrenching, anonymous, and candid self-disclosures about the sexual behaviors of heterosexual, gay, and bisexual priests, Bordisso explores the meaning of celibacy in accordance with Roman Catholic Church teachings, doctrine, and canon law. "Sex, Celibacy, and Priesthood" provides an honest and frank study of current perspectives on celibacy in light of priestly sexual behaviors. It allows for Roman Catholic priests to speak out in their own voices about their struggles and the conflicts they experience between celibacy and their sexual activities. At a time when most are disgusted with the sexual scandal cover-ups, smokescreens, and veil of secrecy provided by many Roman Catholic bishops and their apologists, "Sex, Celibacy, and Priesthood" tells the truth and encourages us to think imaginatively and compassionately about an issue of crucial importance to the Roman Catholic Church at this moment in history.

Through research interviews with 19 clergymen of different religious affiliation, age, and race, this volume explores the views and attributes of ordained male ministers. Who is the man behind the pulpit? How does he balance personal and professional life? How do clergymen feel about their chosen profession? What events and family/societal influences led to a life of service? Through the interviews, the author examines these and other aspects of clergy life. The strength of the study lies in the delivery of extensive first-person commentary. From this, the reader gains access to the texture and tone of the voices as well as the men's thinking about theological, moral, and administrative leadership. People considering a life in the ministry, as well as students of sociology, religion, psychology, and anthropology, will be interested in this informative discourse.

Ministry Mess Management is directed principally at Christian ministry leaders and presumes that Christian ministry leaders subscribe to biblically based principles and Christ-centered management. It is our humble attempt to examine ministry failures and malperformance rooted in breeches of one or more of those biblical principles. We will demonstrate the close link between biblical principles and wise management, indeed a linkage based in God's reality. They go hand in hand. Necessary management decisions, including gritty and distasteful ones such as terminations, should be as much grounded in biblical principles as good management principles, not simply pragmatism or financial need. Furthermore, we invite you to think, and to frame, organizational behavior (and failure) within these values and wisdom. We wish to encourage, even urge, Christ-centered boards and managers to discerningly understand, detect and courageously be able to expeditiously act, yet with grace, out of a sense of biblical necessity in an organizational context when danger signs based both in biblical and sound management principles are flashing warnings. Governing and executive leadership are sobering responsibilities with, we believe, transcendent effects.

What is the nature and impact of faith and religion in prison? This book summarizes contemporary and cutting-edge research on religion in correctional contexts, enabling a scientific understanding of how prisoners use faith in their everyday lives. Religion long has been a tool for correctional treatment. In the United States, religion was the primary treatment modality in the first prisons. Only since the 1980s, however, have social scientists begun to study the nature, extent, practice, and impact of faith and faith-based prison programs. Bringing together the knowledge of scholars from around the world, this single-volume book offers readers a science- and research-based understanding of how prisoners use faith in everyday life, examining the role of religion in prison/correctional contexts from a variety of interdisciplinary and international viewpoints. By considering the perspectives of professionals actually working in corrections or prison settings as well as those of scholars studying religion and/or criminal justice, readers of Finding Freedom in Confinement: The Role of Religion in Prison Life can gain insight into the most contemporary research on religion in correctional contexts. The book contains data-driven, conceptual, and policy-oriented essays that cover major religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam within correctional environments. It also addresses subject matter such as the roles of prison chaplains and correctional officers and the relationships between religion and common aspects of prison life, such as drug abuse, gangs, violence, prisoner identity, rights of prisoners, and rehabilitation. Presents an international scope that covers a diversity of faith traditions Comprises contributions from leading scholars who incorporate various research methodologies, such as surveys, in-depth interviews, participant observation, and content analysis into their writings Moves the discussion of religion in prison away from popular discourse, advocacy works, and media stories that prioritize emotion and sensationalism over empirical verification