This biography of the writer of Amazing Grace takes us on a journey worthy of a Hollywood extravaganza with swashbuckling adventures on the high seas coupled with the horrors of the slave trade. Once Blind retells Newton's conversion during a crushing storm no one expected to survive, moving on to his most unusual career as an evangelical clergyman with the Church of England during which he was known for his ability to bridge gaping theological chasms. In the end, John Newton risked his reputation, his wife's emotional well-being, even his cherished right to preach--all so that he could bear witness to the horrors he had witnessed and had participated in, and to help bring about laws that would stop the slave trade. This is indeed a timely book as we mark the 200th anniversary of the laws that set in motion the end of 18th century slavery, for God's grace is every bit as amazing today as it was in Newton's era.

'My Confession' is Tolstoy's chronicle of his journey to faith; his account of how he moved from despair to the possibility of living; from unhappy existence to 'the glow and strength of life'. It describes his spiritual and philosophical struggles up until he leaves the Orthodox Church, convinced that humans discover truth not by faith, but by reason. The story begins when at the age of 50, Tolstoy is in crisis. Having found no peace in art, science or philosophy, he is attacked by the black dog of despair, and considers suicide. His past life is reappraised and found wanting; as slowly light dawns within. 'As gradually, imperceptibly as life had decayed in me, until I reached the impossibility of living, so gradually I felt the glow and strength of life return to me... I returned to a belief in God.' Here is a quest for meaning at the close of the 19th century - a time of social, scientific and intellectual turbulence, in which old forms were under threat. Tolstoy looks around at both old and new alike, and like the author of Ecclesiastes, discovers that 'All is vanity'. His spiritual discoveries first take him into the arms of the Orthodox Church; and then force his angry departure from it. 'My Religion' carries on from where 'My Confession' left off. Describing himself as a former nihilist, Tolstoy develops his attack on the church he has left. He accuses them of hiding the true meaning of Jesus, which is to be found in the Sermon on the Mount; and most clearly, in the call not to resist evil. For Tolstoy, it is this command which has been most damaged by ecclesiastical interpretation. 'Not everyone, ' he writes, 'is able to understand the mysteries of dogmatics, homilectics, liturgics, hermeneutics, apologetics; but everyone is able and ought to understand what Christ said to the millions of simple and ignorant people who have lived and are living today.' Here is Tolstoy's religion; and non-violence is at its heart.

When he was only nine years old, Satish Kumar renounced the world and joined the wandering brotherhood of Jain monks. Dissuaded from this path by an inner voice at the age of eighteen, he became a campaigner for land reform, working to turn Gandhi's vision of a renewed India into reality. Fired by the example of Bertrand Russell, he undertook a peace pilgrimage, walking from India to America without any money, through mountains, deserts, storms and snow. It was an adventure during which he was thrown into jail in France, faced a loaded gun in America, and delivered packets of 'peace tea' to the leaders of the four nuclear powers. He settled in England, taking on the editorship of Resurgence magazine, and becoming the guiding light behind a number of ecological, spiritual and educational ventures, including Schumacher College.This edition of Satish Kumar's inspirational autobiography commemorates the foundation of Schumacher College, with new chapters about the college and bringing Satish's story up-to-date. Following Indian tradition, in his fiftieth year he undertook another pilgrimage: again without any money, he walked to the holy places of Britain - Glastonbury, Lindisfarne, and Iona. Written with a penetrating simplicity, No Destination is an exhilarating account of an extraordinary life.

""Robert Y. Ellis' A Collision of Truths is a beautifully written and insightful autobiography of one man's journey of faith. Ellis was raised a Christian Scientist but later both rejected and appropriated many of its central beliefs. Ellis narrates the role Christian Science played in providing balance and meaning in his life while questioning its hostility to critical inquiry and modern medicine. Through sensitive description of the arc of his own life, Ellis calls his readers to re-examine their basic values and commitments amidst the complexities of daily existence in a digital world where knowledge increases exponentially. A genuine achievement and must read for fellow travelers who are looking for meaning and hope in our time.""
-Mark I. Wallace, PhD, Professor of Religion, Swarthmore College, Author of "Finding God in the Singing Rive"r

"A man would be singularly inert if he were not to find this account vastly tantalizing. What an extraordinary tale The way Ellis proceeds through his life from earliest childhood on keeps a reader wanting to know what comes next. And his prose is a blessed relief to anyone who loves good English prose.""
-Thomas Howard, PhD, author "Christ the Tiger"

This narrative is the first to reveal one Christian Science family's story, their faith's underpinnings and those singular episodes that collided with Ellis' beliefs including his Christian Science mother being treated by a beam of protons at the Harvard University cyclotron, his father's unsolved murder in Harlem, and the religious tensions in his childhood home that ultimately exploded. Ellis' sometimes painful, always captivating journey will inspire everyone being challenged by today's extraordinary scientific discoveries which appear to leave no room for God.

This compelling reconstruction of the life and thought of St Paul paints a vivid picture of the Roman world in which he preached his revolutionary message and explains the significance of his lasting impact on both the Church and the world. Regarded by many as the founder of Christianity, Paul of Tarsus is one of the most controversial and powerful figures in history. His writings have had an incalculable influence on Western culture and beyond, and his words continue to guide the lives of over two billion Christians across the world today. In this superbly detailed biography Tom Wright traces Paul's career from zealous persecutor of the fledgling Church, through his journeys as the world's greatest missionary theologian, to his likely death as a Christian martyr at the hands of Nero in the mid 60s CE. Drawing judiciously on the latest research into the Jewish, Greek and Roman worlds, and enriched by a wealth of critical insight into Paul's own writings, this is the most rounded portrait of the apostle ever painted - his development, motivations, spiritual struggles and intellectual achievements, and his lasting impact over two millennia.

Out of the generation that grew up in the Great Depression and World War II, thousands of young Christians felt called by God to the ends of the earth. Pauline A. Brown, with her husband Ralph, and two other families, went to the Sindh Province in southern Pakistan in 1954 -- their goal, to share God's message love with Muslim Sindhis. This book is not just about North Americans abroad, but about a fellowship of ordinary people crossing cultural and linguistic barriers to take on the extraordinary challenge of establishing the Church in the Sindh desert. Jars of Clay is a story of laughter and tears, of danger and deliverance, of despair and hope, of victory and defeat. Above all, it is a story of perseverance in the face of great odds. The story of how the Church of Jesus Christ, small and fragile as it is, is taking root in the barren desert soil of Sindh in Pakistan, an Islamic Republic, is relevant more than ever in our post 9/11 world.

THIS IS A SPIRITUAL BOOK BASED ON MY LIFE AND OBSERVATIONS, ALSO CALLED THE 3L'S / LAW-LOVE-LIFE / OR "LLL." I HOPE / PRAY THAT THIS HELPS ALL OF YOU AND HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS BOOK.

Reaching for Heaven chronicles Rebecca Browder's struggle with the Proteus syndrome, a condition that involves atypical growth of the bones, skin, head, and a variety of other symptoms. Rebecca is dedicated to learning as much as she can and to sharing a positive outlook on life through her faith in her Savior, Jesus Christ. She has learned to overcome overwhelming obstacles because of her malformation and medial disabilities manifested by the Proteus syndrome.

Rebecca seeks to reach out to others who may be struggling with a disability or with a challenging life. By letting people know that they are not alone, Rebecca believes she is fulfilling God's purpose for her. She believes that God doesn't take anything away from us to make us sad or hurt us, but rather to make us stronger so that we can reach out to others and treat them with loving kindness.

Rebecca's story is one of strength, challenges, and the understanding that God has something better in store for her. It has been challenging for her to go from being able to walk to being bed bound, but she understands that sometimes we have to accept the hardest things in life in order to receive better things in the future. Our faith and trust in God can carry us through our difficulties.