When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted in 1945, French Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain observed, "We agree on these rights, providing we are not asked why. With the 'why, ' the dispute begins." The world since then has continued to agree to disagree, fearing that an open discussion of the divergent rationales for human rights would undermine the consensus of the Declaration. Is it possible, however, that current failures to protect human rights may stem from this tacit agreement to avoid addressing the underpinnings of human rights?

This consequential volume presents leading scholars, activists, and officials from four continents who dare to discuss the "why" behind human rights. Appraising the current situation from diverse religious perspectives -- Jewish, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Confucian, and secular humanist -- the contributors openly address the question whether God is a necessary part of human rights. Despite their widely varying commitments and approaches, the authors affirm that an investigation into the "why" of human rights need not devolve into irreconcilable conflict.

Contributors: Khaled Abou El Fadl
Barbra Barnett
Elizabeth M. Bucar
Jean Bethke Elshtain
Robert P. George
Vigen Guroian
Louis Henkin
Courtney W. Howland
David Novak
Sari Nusseibeh
Martin Palous
Robert A. Seiple
Max L. Stackhouse
Charles Villa-Vicencio
Anthony C. Yu

THE DESIRE OF SO MANY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST Is the primary theme of this latest book by Dr. Stan DeKoven. Added to this is the importance of reestablishing a positive and healing relationship with significant others in the Christian Community, and with our Father God.

This important book is sure to foster informed public discussion about the death penalty by deepening readers' understanding of how religious beliefs and perspectives shape this contentious issue. Featuring a fair, balanced appraisal of its topic, "Religion and the Death Penalty brings thoughtful religious reflection to bear on current challenges facing the capital justice system.

One look at the list of contributors reveals the significance of this book. Here are recognized leaders from the academy, government, and public life who also represent a wide range of faith commitments, including Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. Like many people of faith and goodwill, the authors disagree with one another, variously supporting retention, reform, or abolition of capital punishment. As a result, the book presents the most comprehensive and well-rounded religiously oriented discussion of the death penalty available.

Contributors: Khaled Abou El Fadl
Victor Anderson
Jeanne Bishop
J. Budziszewski
John D. Carlson
Mario M. Cuomo
E. J. Dionne Jr.
Avery Cardinal Dulles, S. J.
Eric P. Elshtain
Richard W. Garnett
Stanley Hauerwas
Frank Keating
Gilbert Meilaender
David Novak
Erik C. Owens
George H. Ryan
Antonin Scalia
Paul Simon
Glen H. Stassen
Michael L. Westmoreland-White
Beth Wilkinson

He Must Increase but I Must Decrease is for those who overweight, underweight, bulemic or anorexic. If you have weight problems of any kind, this book is for you! Inside is 20 years experience in counseling men/women with weight control problems. The key is discipline of mind, body and spirit. Followed in its entirety, results will exceed expectations. It will do for you what it has done for many others who committed their weight control to God rather than following fad diets/diet plans which produce no results or result in poor health or death! This plan does not require any special foods or diets

He Must Increase but I Must Decrease is for those who overweight, underweight, bulemic or anorexic. If you have weight problems of any kind, this book is for you! Inside is 20 years experience in counseling men/women with weight control problems. The key is discipline of mind, body and spirit. Followed in its entirety, results will exceed expectations. It will do for you what it has done for many others who committed their weight control to God rather than following fad diets/diet plans which produce no results or result in poor health or death! This plan does not require any special foods or diets

This book, arising from over twenty years experience of working with the world's major faiths, draws extensively upon joint World Bank and ARC (Alliance of Religion & Conservation) /WWF (World Wildlife Fund for Nature) projects world wide. It shows, through stories, land management, myths, investment policies, legends, advocacy and celebration, the role the major faiths have, do and can play in making the world a better place. The major faiths are the oldest institutions in the world and have survived essentially because they are constantly evolving and changing. There is much to be learnt by newer institutions such as the World Bank and the multitudes of NGOs about how to remain true to what you believe but change and grow as you develop. The book explores issues of climate change, forestry, asset management, education and biodiversity protection and does so using the techniques of the great faiths - storytelling, example and celebration. It reveals a variety of world views and it asks us to see that our personal view may be just one amongst many.The challenge of living with integrity in a pluralist world underlies the book and it offers models of how diversity is crucial in attempting to ensure we have a sustainable world.

An excellent guide to successful counseling Milo Review A good book for any person needing direction Stidham View and Review Dennis Frey provides a masterful script for the counselor utilizing Biblical principles. Observer and Review

This is the first book to take a broad interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between female blood and issues of purity and impurity. Well-known women scholars examine blood and purity laws, especially as those laws have been passed down in the biblical literature and in the Roman Catholic tradition. Theses scholars work with different texts, ranging across the biblical, classical, patristic, medieval, and modern, with approaches varying from the historical critical to postmodern. Kristin De Troyer (Claremont) asks whether blood is a threat to holiness or a step toward another holiness. Judith Ann Johnson (Claremont) explores the shedding of blood as the sanctifying rite of heroes. Anne-Marie Korte (The Netherlands) takes an anthropological look at female blood rituals. Kathleen O'Grady (Toronto) analyzes the woman with a discharge of blood in light of menstrual prohibitions in the Hebrew Bible. Deborah Ellens (Claremont) offers a challenging reading of Leviticus 15. Mayer Gruber (Beer Sheva, Israel) examines Qumran law and halachic sources dealing with women and pollution. Kathleen P. Rushton (Brisbane, Australia) offers a feminist reading of the story of the woman in childbirth in John 16:21. Jennifer Schultz (Toronto, Canada) explores doctors, philosophers, and the Christian Fathers on menstrual blood. Susan K. Roll Buffalo, New York) surveys patristic and medieval texts dealing with the churching of women after childbirth. Grietje Dresen (The Netherlands) examines the churching of new mothers in the Roman Catholic tradition. Kristin De Troyer is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Claremont School of Theology and Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University. She is the author of The End of the Alpha-Text of Esther: Translation Techniques and Narrative Techniques in MT-LXX 8:1-17-AT 7, 14-4. Judith A. Herbert is a Ph.D. student at Claremont School of Theology. Judith Ann Johnson is an independent research scholar working with Claremont Graduate University's Women's Studies in Religion and University of Global Ministries. Anne-Marie Korte is lives in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and is the editor of Women and Miracle Stories: Multidisciplinary Explanation.

How does a minister respond to a cry for help when the concern is alcohol or drug abuse? With one out of eight adults in the country suffering from alcohol dependency or drug abuse and one out of four families distressed by someone

What is at the root of the problem of humanity? Is it pride or lack of self-esteem? Do we love ourselves too much or too little? The debate about the human condition has often been framed this way in both theological and psychological circles. Convictions about preaching, teaching, marriage and child rearing, as well as politics, social welfare, business management and the helping professions, more often than not, fall on one side or the other of this divide. With theological and psychological insight Terry D. Cooper provides trenchant analysis of this centuries-long debate and leads us beyond the usual impasse. Humanistic psychology has often regarded traditional Christianity as its archrival in assessing the human condition. Cooper demonstrates how the Christian doctrine of a sinful and fallen humanity sheds light on the human condition which exhibits both pride and self-denigration. Bringing theological insights ranging from Augustine and John Calvin to Reinhold Niebuhr together with the psychological theories of Freud, Jung, Carl Rogers, Gerald May and Karen Horney, Cooper guides readers through the maze of competing claims to a resolution which affirms Christian conviction while critically engaging modern psychological theory. A model of the proper integration of Christian theology and the discipline of psychology, Sin, Pride & Self-Acceptance will be of special help to students and practitioners of psychology, pastoral counseling and clinical psychology.

"Good Sex is a pioneering effort to create an interreligious dialogue specifically on sexuality. . . . It] is the realization of efforts by concerned feminists to talk across national and religious borders in the name of social justice."-VOLUNTUS, International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations "This collection of essays is a useful addition to contemporary post-colonial, post-Beijing women's studies courses that seek to integrate a plurality of cultural and religious perspectives into the discourse on women's sexuality. . . . The volume is very helpful in communicating a sense of the history or feminist discourse and the effects of globalization on that discourse. . . . And everyone smiles when they hear the title of the book."-Journal of Contemporary Religion "This groundbreaking collection of 11 articles by women from eight countries and seven religious traditions challenges male-defined ideas of sexuality that have constricted women by denying them pleasure and autonomous agency and threatening their well-being and, sometimes, lives. . . . While the contributors do not always agree, they do recognize the importance of global and interdisciplinary perspectives and affirm the tension women experience when they work for change from within a repressive tradition. Recommended." -Library Journal "The collection as a whole makes both an explicit and implicit case for culture, and not religion, being the primary source of undertandings of sex as solely for reproduction, and illustrates religions that have always recognized other purposes (Judaism, Islam) as well as religions which have come to recognize other purposes (Christianity). . . . A very useful collection in terms of both the data is provides and its methodological reflection."-Conscience "At this most timely moment in history, Good Sex] presents diverse and supremely intelligent perspectives on the systematic terrorizing of women through sexual slavery, marital rape, domestic violence, and rules of behavior designed to numb mind, body, and spirit. . . . At the same time, the major message of the book is one of optimism. It offers eloquent language for redefining sexual pleasure beyond immediate, goal-oriented gratification and for discussing ethical principles that locate sex at the center of public policy, not only in the bedroom or the family law courts. . . . Good Sex] contains insightful arguments for sexual justice, inviting us to rethink and expand our stock definitions of what constitutes good sex, or even sex itself, and to reevaluate the contexts in which such redefined sex can be enjoyed. This collection of essays deserves to be on the shelf of every library on the planet as well as standard issue in women's study courses and all courses dealing with sexuality, spirituality, and religion."-The Journal of Sex Research "Good Sex is a rare gem. It opens doors of inquiry into feminism, religion, and sexuality-exploring terrain that is vital to the human rights of women and men. It invites passionate debate and will no doubt become a classic."-Charlotte Bunch, executive director, Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University What is "good sex" in the globalized world of the twenty-first century? This volume brings together essays by feminist scholars from different religions and cultures to consider how women are redefining sexuality for the common good. The essays explore sexual and social restrictions on women; religiously and socially acceptable avenues of sexual expression; constructions of sexual identities; and attitudes toward women's sexual desires. How is sexual desire constructed within specific cultural and religious contexts? What sacrifices must women make (and how do they make them) simply to have sexual lives? What options and strategies are available to women to dissolve the many restrictions imposed on their sexuality? These are some of the questions being explored.