Contains a general introduction to the discipline, featuring classic and pioneering essays that address the history, methods, issues, and exemplary illustrations of research, teaching, and practice Presenting a diverse collection of landmark essays, The Wiley-Blackwell Reader in Practical Theology explores the turn-of-the-century renaissance of practical theology as an academic discipline and shows how the discipline has advanced a steady epistemological insurgency in theology throughout the twentieth- and twenty-first century. The text provides scholars, students, and ministerial professionals with easy access to original seminal sources that represent major milestones, growing edges, and useful classificatory rubrics. A handy, one-volume primer to practical theology, the book: Offers an excellent bird's-eye-view of the discipline's essential foundational contributions Provides significant introductory overview material helpful in guiding both new and experienced readers to practical theology Includes brief overview introductions before each essay to situate the reading and highlight key contributions and occasional limitations Features essay selections that consider race, gender, sexuality, age, and other differences as a critical subtheme The Wiley-Blackwell Reader in Practical Theology is an indispensable resource for students, faculty, and professionals in practical theology and colleagues in related cognate disciplines in theological education and religious studies.

Varanasi, also known as Kashi and Banaras, is a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh dating to the 11th century B.C.E. Regarded as the spiritual capital of India, the city draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters for prayer and ritual. In Varanasi, one is in a time warp where one is living in history as if time has never stopped, for the people, both residents and pilgrims, continue their daily practices and worship in ways relatively unchanged for millennia, a continuum of thousands of years. Being in Varanasi is like being on a thread pulled from a cloth that dates back to the beginning of time. Here, one doesn’t “see” a ruin, as one does in other ancient civilizations, but a living city where history hasn’t stopped. David Scheinbaum guides us, with his camera, through the city’s winding streets that are filled with thousands of shrines and temples at virtually every turn. He takes us on an incredible visual journey to the Ganges, the sacred river where bathers are in prayer, and to the funerary Ghats, steps that lead down to the river where cremations take place, filling the air with incense and burning pyres. Hindus believe that being cremated along the banks of the holy Ganges allows one to break the cycle of death and rebirth and attain Moksha, (salvation) making it a major center for pilgrimages. David Scheinbaum’s beautiful, soulful photographs present an ancient, holy city immersed in prayer. Woven through are the words of B. J. Miller and Diana L. Eck, noted scholars and writers who each shed light on the special qualities that make Varanasi the holy city it has always been.

Through a series of essays contributed by leading experts in the field, The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology presents an introduction to practical theology as a major area of Christian study and practice, including an overview of its key developments, themes, methods, and future directions. * The first comprehensive reference work to provide a survey, description and analysis of practical theology as an area of study * A range of leading scholars in the field provide original contributions on the major areas, issues, and figures in practical theology * Reviews an extensive range of methods for studying theology in practice, along with sub-disciplines in theological education such as pastoral care and preaching * Covers developments in the discipline in a range of global contexts and distinct Christian traditions * Shows how practical theology is relevant to everyday life

"I wish I'd had this book when I needed it. Death and dying are not subjects that many people are comfortable talking about, but it's hugely important to be as prepared as you can be - emotionally, physically, practically, financially, and spiritually. This book may be the most important guide you could have." - Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love ___________ The end of a life can often feel like a traumatic, chaotic and inhuman experience. In this reassuring and inspiring book, palliative care physician Dr BJ Miller and writer Shoshana Berger provide a vision for rethinking and navigating this universal process. There are plenty of self-help books for mourners, but nothing in the way of a modern, approachable and above all useful field guide for the living. And all of us - young, old, sick and well - could use the help. After all, pregnant couples have ample resources available to them as they prepare to bring a new life into the world: Lamaze courses, elaborate birth plans, tons of manuals. Why don't we have a What to Expect When You're Expecting to Die book? An accessible, beautifully designed and illustrated companion, A Beginner's Guide to the End offers a clear-eyed and compassionate survey of the most pressing issues that come up when one is dying, and will bring optimism and practical guidance to empower readers with the knowledge, resources and tools they'll need to die better, maybe even with triumph.

Life in America has not been easy in the twenty-first century. With a government that has strayed from principles established by our Founding Fathers, some Americans may believe all hope is lost. Americans need a great president, but one question remains: Who can restore faith for a better future for America? B. J. Miller provides a platform for everyday American citizens to imagine what they would do to make a difference if they were president of the United States. By addressing a variety of governmental policies such as federal spending, the treatment of veterans, Social Security, and minimum wage, Miller shares his opinions while encouraging others to contemplate whether each policy is right for the country and offer their own ideas for improvement. If You Were President seeks to stimulate Americans to reflect and respond with creative proposals intended to set our government on the right track, allowing the people to once again achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Life in America has not been easy in the twenty-first century. With a government that has strayed from principles established by our Founding Fathers, some Americans may believe all hope is lost. Americans need a great president, but one question remains: Who can restore faith for a better future for America? B. J. Miller provides a platform for everyday American citizens to imagine what they would do to make a difference if they were president of the United States. By addressing a variety of governmental policies such as federal spending, the treatment of veterans, Social Security, and minimum wage, Miller shares his opinions while encouraging others to contemplate whether each policy is right for the country and offer their own ideas for improvement. If You Were President seeks to stimulate Americans to reflect and respond with creative proposals intended to set our government on the right track, allowing the people to once again achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Winner of the Royal Palm Award in the horror, sci-fi division from the Florida Writer's Association. Philadelphia lawyer Lance DeBrasse is hired by Diana Pendergast to defend her in an incompetency lawsuit. Diana's sadistic brother Benson alleges that she is delusional and prays to the moon. While defending the case, Lance becomes embroiled with her other sisters - Willow, a wild woman that loves to party, and weird Daphne, who tries to kill him when he becomes infatuated with gentle Diana. But when Diana's personality abruptly changes and she becomes a seductress, his love cools, and he begins to believe she really is insane. Only when Lance learns the secret of Latona Pendergast, the sisters' dead mother, does he understand the source of their madness. Determined to fight the evil that has trapped the sisters' minds and bodies in a wicked web of enslavement, Lance knows he will forfeit his life if he fails. If he is to win, he must regain the faith he had before his fiancee died. With his future at stake, he plunges into the final confrontation-winner take all.