The Market has deified itself, according to Harvey Cox's brilliant exegesis. And all of the world's problems-widening inequality, a rapidly warming planet, the injustices of global poverty-are consequently harder to solve. Only by tracing how the Market reached its "divine" status can we hope to restore it to its proper place as servant of humanity. The Market as God captures how our world has fallen in thrall to the business theology of supply and demand. According to its acolytes, the Market is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. It knows the value of everything, and determines the outcome of every transaction; it can raise nations and ruin households, and nothing escapes its reductionist commodification. The Market comes complete with its own doctrines, prophets, and evangelical zeal to convert the world to its way of life. Cox brings that theology out of the shadows, demonstrating that the way the world economy operates is neither natural nor inevitable but shaped by a global system of values and symbols that can be best understood as a religion. Drawing on biblical sources, economists and financial experts, prehistoric religions, Greek mythology, historical patterns, and the work of natural and social scientists, Cox points to many parallels between the development of Christianity and the Market economy. At various times in history, both have garnered enormous wealth and displayed pompous behavior. Both have experienced the corruption of power. However, what the religious have learned over the millennia, sometimes at great cost, still eludes the Market faithful: humility.

Concern about the relationship between government and the people is often popularly expressed in calls for greater public participation in decision making. However, although the press is clearly central to this relationship, the debate on the role and influence of the local press on city government and politics has often been seriously hindered by a lack of detailed information. Mr Cox and Dr Morgan improved this situation in their detailed 1973 study of the role of the provincial daily and weekly press in the life of a community. The central part of their book examines the ways in which six daily and weekly papers reported the affairs of the English conurbation of Merseyside during the 1960s. They begin by examining the general, social, political and economic setting of these newspapers and then turn to the particular situation of each individual paper. There follows a quantitative analysis both of their coverage of local politics and the ways in which various political topics were treated.

"Essential and thoroughly engaging...Harvey Cox's ingenious sense of how market theology has developed a scripture, a liturgy, and sophisticated apologetics allow us to see old challenges in a remarkably fresh light." -E. J. Dionne, Jr. We have fallen in thrall to the theology of supply and demand. According to its acolytes, the Market is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. It can raise nations and ruin households, and comes complete with its own doctrines, prophets, and evangelical zeal. Harvey Cox brings this theology out of the shadows, demonstrating that the way the world economy operates is shaped by a global system of values that can be best understood as a religion. Drawing on biblical sources and the work of social scientists, Cox points to many parallels between the development of Christianity and the Market economy. It is only by understanding how the Market reached its "divine" status that can we hope to restore it to its proper place as servant of humanity. "Cox argues that...we are now imprisoned by the dictates of a false god that we ourselves have created. We need to break free and reclaim our humanity." -Forbes "Cox clears the space for a new generation of Christians to begin to develop a more public and egalitarian politics." -The Nation

Selected as one of the Books of the Century by the New York Public Library "The Courage to Be changed my life. It also profoundly impacted the lives of many others from my generation. Now Harvey Cox's fresh introduction helps to open up this powerful reading experience to the current generation."-Robert N. Bellah, University of California, Berkeley Originally published more than fifty years ago, The Courage to Be has become a classic of twentieth-century religious and philosophical thought. The great Christian existentialist thinker Paul Tillich describes the dilemma of modern man and points a way to the conquest of the problem of anxiety. This edition includes a new introduction by Harvey Cox that situates the book within the theological conversation into which it first appeared and conveys its continued relevance in the current century. "The brilliance, the wealth of illustration, and the aptness of personal application . . . make the reading of these chapters an exciting experience."-W. Norman Pittenger, New York Times Book Review "A lucid and arresting book."-Frances Witherspoon, New York Herald Tribune "Clear, uncluttered thinking and lucid writing mark Mr. Tillich's study as a distinguished and readable one."-American Scholar

CHRIST FOR UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS is an engaging and thoughtful inquiry into Christianity for Unitarian Universalists and other spiritual seekers - including sceptics, non-religious people, liberal Christians and those who consider themselves "spiritual but not religious." The book has several purposes. The first is to present Christ in an understandable and compelling way to the increasing number of people who do not consider themselves Christian. The second is to present liberal and progressive Christians with the non-dogmatic way that Unitarian Universalists have viewed Christ through the Bible and personal experience. And the third is to promote active dialogue between non-Christians and the nearly 80% of Americans who identify themselves as Christian. CHRIST FOR UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS addresses frank questions with integrity and intellectual honesty, yet, also, presents a sincere and genuine sense of love as embodied in Jesus that is so heartfelt, so unconditional and so revolutionary that it will take your breath away.

Since its initial publication in 1965, "The Secular City" has been hailed as a classic for its nuanced exploration of the relationships among the rise of urban civilization, the decline of hierarchical, institutional religion, and the place of the secular within society. Now, half a century later, this international best seller remains as relevant as when it first appeared. The book's arguments--that secularity has a positive effect on institutions, that the city can be a space where people of all faiths fulfill their potential, and that God is present in both the secular and formal religious realms--still resonate with readers of all backgrounds.

For this brand-new edition, Harvey Cox provides a substantial and updated introduction. He reflects on the book's initial stunning success in an age of political and religious upheaval and makes the case for its enduring relevance at a time when the debates that "The Secular City" helped ignite have caught fire once again.

In this fascinating interpretation of contemporary culture and theology, Harvey Cox examines both the loss and reemergence of festivity and fantasy in Western civilization. He evaluates both processes from a theological perspective, defining festivity as the capacity for genuine revelry and joyous celebration and defining fantasy as the faculty for envisioning radically alternative life situations. He asserts that both are absolutely vital to contemporary human life and faith; both are a precondition for genuine social transformation. In a success and money-oriented society we need a rebirth of unapologetically unproductive festivity and expressive celebration. In an age that has quarantined parody and separated politics from imagination, we need a renaissance of social fantasy.

It has been said over and over again that affluent Western man has been gaining the whole world while losing his soul. In the face of this Mr. Cox affirms the possibility and necessity of a resurgence of hope, celebration, liberation, and experimentation. The medieval Feast of Fools, from which he has taken his title, symbolizes both the problem and the process. Centuries ago it provided an opportunity for the choirboy to play bishop and for serious townsfolk to mock the stately rituals of church and court. The eventual disappearance of the custom in the sixteenth century, unlamented if not welcomed by those in authority, illustrates the concerns of this provocative and controversial essay. Mr. Cox does not propose that a medieval practice should be revived, but he does argue for a rebirth in our own cultural idiom of what was right and good about the Feast of Fools.

It is likely that this book will become significant in wide circles. It speaks directly to such contemporary movements as the theology of hope, the rapidly disappearing radical theology, and the theology of culture. For many it will provide a new perspective on the renewal of religious life and the secular search for religious experience. For others it will function as a window into the experimental laboratories of the so-called "underground church." For everyone it is a refreshing encounter with a wholly new set of perceptive observations about the problems that plague us.

The latest edition of this annual, assembled by the acclaimed writer and editor Philip Zaleski, not only showcases some of the finest writing of the year but offers astute perceptions on subjects that are universal, timeless, and yet deeply personal. Culled from an impressive variety of sources and ranging over topics as disparate as Shaker furniture, perfume, and the monastic life, the essays and poems collected here share a search for purpose beyond the mundane -- and find answers in the likeliest and unlikeliest of sources.
Here you will find George Packer's "The Moderate Martyr," a profile of the peaceful Islamic visionary Mahmoud Muhammad Taha, alongside Sridhar Pappu's report on "the Preacher," Bishop T. D. Jakes, the entrepreneurially inclined leader of one of the largest churches in the country. Garry Wills questions whether it is possible (or even desirable) to live according to the maxim "What would Jesus do?" In response to the recent spate of atheist attacks on organized religion, Marilynne Robinson offers an insightful critique of "Hysterical Scientism." Adam Gopnik explores the link between Shaker beliefs and the austere beauty of Shaker creations, and Joseph Epstein muses on the reasons for broken friendships. Some of the essays are deeply personal: Mary Gordon examines her complex relationship with her mother, and Pico Iyer reveals the place where he goes to be himself.
Including powerful poetry from notable contributors such as Deborah Digges, Galway Kinnell, and John Updike, and an introduction by Harvey Cox, The Best American Spiritual Writing 2007 is one of those transformative "magical books" that Zaleski describes in his foreword, a volume that gracefully probes the role of faith in modern life while offering both spiritual insight and literary excellence.

It was born a scant ninety-five years ago in a rundown warehouse on Azusa Street in Los Angeles. For days the religious-revival service there went on and on-and within a week the "Los Angeles Times" was reporting on a "weird babble" coming from the building. Believers were "speaking in tongues," the way they did at the first Pentecost recorded in the Bible?and a pentecostal movement was created that would, by the start of the twenty-first century, attract over 400 million followers worldwide. Harvey Cox has traveled the globe to visit and worship with pentecostal congregations on four continents, and he has written a dynamic, provocative history of this explosion of spirituality?a movement that represents no less than a tidal change in what religion is and what it means to people.

The Harvard Divinity School professor recounts meetings with Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, and Marxist men and women, and what they have taught him about the relationship between Christianity and other great religious traditions of the world.

Legendary Harvard religion scholar Cox offers up a new interpretation of the history and future of religion. He explains why Christian beliefs and dogma are giving way to new grassroots movements rooted in social justice and spiritual experience.

In this urgently relevant, wholly enlightening discussion of modern moral decisions, the Harvard theology professor Harvey Cox considers the significance of Jesus and his teachings today. As he did in his undergraduate class Jesus and the Moral Life--a course that grew so popular that the lectures were held in a theater often used for rock concerts--Cox examines contemporary dilemmas in the light of lessons gleaned from the Gospels. Invigorating and incisive, this book encourages an intellectual approach to faith and inspires a clear way of thinking about moral choices for all of us.

There is no consensus about what someone who has violated society's rules must do in order to be fully restored to the community. Although repentance is a prominent idea in religions ranging from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to Buddhism and Hinduism, its use in civic culture is vague and inconsistent. For example, is remorse the same as repentance? Drawing from a variety of religious and civic perspectives, the renowned contributors to this book_from the fields of theology, philosophy, and the social sciences_offer a broad understanding of repentance and its many applications. The essays question the legitimacy of repentance as a religious concept for the civic culture, exploring the way in which the religious origins of repentance might both illuminate and facilitate our civic usage of the idea. Excellent for theologians, philosophers, moral ethicists, and anyone asking, ' Who deserves a second chance?'