The perfect Lent book for art lovers of all ages

Who was ultimately responsible for sentencing Jesus to death on the cross? Can we ever be good enough for God? Do all "religious" people go to heaven?

In "Who Put Jesus on the Cross?" A.W. Tozer examines some of the most difficult questions of the Christian faith. His indictment of lackluster belief forms the cornerstone of his appeal as he asks the reader what it really costs to be a Christian.

Tozer inspires conviction that will have you digging deep within your heart to newly realize the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection and discover the "Word of God as the foundation of our peace and rest."

Teaching writing is not for the faint of heart, but it can be a tremendous gift to teachers and students. Students often approach writing courses with trepidation because they think of writing as a mystical and opaque process. Teachers often approach these same courses with dread because of the enormous workload and the often-unpolished skills of new writers. This approachable composition textbook for beginning writers contends that writing can be a better experience for everyone when taught as an empathetic and respectful conversation. In a time in which discourse is not always civil and language is not always tended carefully, a conversation-based writing approach emphasizes intention and care. Written by a teacher with more than fifteen years of experience in the college writing classroom, Composition as Conversation explores what happens when the art of conversation meets the art of writing. Heather Hoover shows how seven virtues--including curiosity, attentiveness, relatability, open-mindedness, and generosity--inform the writing process and can help students become more effective writers. She invites writers of all skill levels to make meaningful contributions with their writing. This short, accessible, and instructive book offers a reflective method for college-level writing and will also work well in classical school, high school, and homeschool contexts. It demystifies the writing process and helps students understand why their writing matters. It will energize teachers of writing as they encourage their students to become careful readers and observers, intentional listeners, and empathetic arguers. The book also provides helpful sample assignments.

Vita Kirk is a travel writer who has never left her hometown. In fact, she rarely leaves her house. Due to deep wounds and bitter losses, Vita has chosen isolation over vulnerability. But when she stumbles across an antique chest in a hole-in-the-wall boutique, she discovers a puzzling link to her past and her physical surroundings mysteriously begin to change. Inscribed in the treasure chest are the words, "Love is the key that unlocks every portal."

The power of these words prove to unlock a part of Vita she thought had died years ago.

"Stories like this go by many different names-fantasy, time-shift, magical realism. Some are overtly Christian or religious in nature, others are not. But from a spiritual perspective, the common thread in all these works is the redeeming, transforming power of God's grace not only to alter the future but to change our understanding of the past."--Penelope Stokes

The ideas of heaven and hell have sparked some of the most powerful writings of all time. In this creative coupling of literature and Scripture, classic writers such as T.S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, Charles Dickens and Emily Dickenson share their own inspiring visions of immortality.

Doyle constructs communion ecclesiology as a broad and inclusive category that makes room for a range of legitimate approaches. He examines the approaches of Johann Adam Mohler, Charles Journet, Henri de Lubac, Yves Congar, Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Elizabeth Johnson, Joseph Ratzinger and many others.

Includes all of the pupil book plus additional instructions on each lesson for the teacher. An outline of each lesson helps in presenting the lesson. Answers to workbook exercises are included.

Russell Krabill's church membership study for young believers. This pupil book is a workbook with 12 lessons for 12 weeks of work. Instead of a catechism with questions and answers, Krabill has interwoven Christian doctrine into the lessons. Included are projects which put the new believer to work.

A visual feast of eclectic artwork informed and inspired by spiritual beliefs, magical techniques, mythology and otherworldly experiences. Mystical beliefs and practices have existed for millennia, but why do we still chase the esoteric? From the beginning of human creativity itself, image-makers have been drawn to these unknown spheres and have created curious artworks that transcend time and place - but what is it that attracts artists to these magical realms? From theosophy and kabbalah, to the zodiac and alchemy; spiritualism and ceremonial magic, to the elements and sacred geometry - The Art of the Occult introduces major occult themes and showcases the artists who have been influenced and led by them. Discover the symbolic and mythical images of the Pre-Raphaelites; the automatic drawing of Hilma af Klint and Madge Gill; Leonora Carrington's surrealist interpretation of myth, alchemy and kabbalah; and much more. Featuring prominent, marginalised and little-known artists, The Art of the Occult crosses mystical spheres in a bid to inspire and delight. Divided into thematic chapters (The Cosmos, Higher Beings, Practitioners), the book acts as an entertaining introduction to the art of mysticism - with essays examining each practice and over 175 artworks to discover. The art of the occult has always existed in the margins but inspired the masses, and this book will spark curiosity in all fans of magic, mysticism and the mysterious.

A rich and powerful exploration of desire, sin and redemption, by "our best chronicler of the rewards and pitfalls of present-day faith" [PHILIP PULLMAN] "A novel that probes any number of aggressive varieties of moralism, while testing the reader's own moral alertness for rigour, realism and generosity. An engrossing, three-dimensional, grown-up narrative." ROWAN WILLIAMS "An irresistibly readable, thoughtful and characteristically witty examination of the quandaries and compromises faced by the Church of England in an era of decline . . . I loved this book for its lightness of touch about serious subjects and for dialogue that glitters like clashing rapiers." MIRANDA SEYMOUR As a woman in the early 1980s, Clarissa Phipps is unable to pursue her vocation to the priesthood. Instead, she joins the BBC's religious affairs department, where she is sent to interview celebrated artist, Seward Wemlock, about the panels he is painting for an ancient Cheshire church. "A serious and important writer" ROSE TREMAIN Thirty years on, Clarissa, now rector of that same church, chances upon Brian, the chief bell-ringer and husband of her closest friend, fondling fifteen-year-old David. Dismissing David's claim that they are in love, Clarissa is obliged to act. Will she choose friendship or conscience, sympathy or her official duty of care? The fallout from that choice forces her to reflect on the original controversy over Wemlock's panels and her concerns about his relationship with the teenagers who modelled for Adam and Eve. Had she acted on the whispers that reached her at the time, how many lives - her own included - would have turned out differently? The Choice is a rich and powerful exploration of desire, sin and redemption, questioning whether it's possible, let alone prudent, to separate the art from the artist. It examines the fault lines in both religious and secular society, from the AIDS crisis and the struggle for women's ordination in the 1980s to the culture wars of today. Richly comic and deeply compassionate, The Choice is a remarkable synthesis of the sacred and profane. "At a time when British fiction has never been more timorous about tackling novels of ideas, Michael Arditti has produced one worthy of Iris Murdoch and Graham Greene. Brilliantly ambiguous, waspishly witty and thoroughly enjoyable, this is Michael Arditti's own masterpiece to date" AMANDA CRAIG

Publishers Weekly starred review A Best Book of 2018 in Religion, Publishers Weekly Reading great literature well has the power to cultivate virtue, says acclaimed author Karen Swallow Prior. In this book, she takes readers on a guided tour through works of great literature both ancient and modern, exploring twelve virtues that philosophers and theologians throughout history have identified as most essential for good character and the good life. Covering authors from Henry Fielding to Cormac McCarthy, Jane Austen to George Saunders, and Flannery O'Connor to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Prior explores some of the most compelling universal themes found in the pages of classic books, helping readers learn to love life, literature, and God through their encounters with great writing. The book includes end-of-chapter reflection questions geared toward book club discussions, original artwork throughout, and a foreword by Leland Ryken. The hardcover edition was named a Best Book of 2018 in Religion by Publishers Weekly. "[A] lively treatise on building character through books.'"--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The walls of medieval churches were brightly painted with religious imagery and colourful patterns, and although often shadows of their former selves, these paintings are among the most enigmatic art to survive the Middle Ages. This beautifully illustrated book is an ideal introduction to this fascinating subject. It tells the stories behind the paintings and explains their purpose, the subjects they showed, how they were made and by whom, and what happened to these works of art during and after the enormous upheavals of the Reformation. It also compares and contrasts religious and domestic wall paintings and explores modern approaches to their conservation and care. A comprehensive gazetteer provides an invaluable guide to where the best British examples can be seen. Roger Rosewell is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a leading expert on medieval wall paintings. He is also the Features Editor of Vidimus, the online magazine about medieval stained glass and a professional lecturer and photographer. Educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University, he has also written Stained Glass and The Medieval Monastery for Shire.