Is God the eternal and immutable presence that Christianity has commonly proclaimed him to be - the Rock of Ages? John Butler offers a different perspective through a personal exploration of the changing images of God within the main streams of the Christian faith over a period of some four thousand years. Butler takes the reader on a kaleidoscopic odyssey that begins with the pantheon of deities in Bronze Age Canaan from which the God of the early Old Testament emerged and ends with the radical images of God that were surfacing in the late twentieth century. The story is told largely through the record of the Bible and the ideas of key writers and thinkers whose authority or persuasiveness have allowed their visions of God to become embedded in the major Christian traditions. The book concludes with a discussion of the central question raised by the analysis: why is it that people across the ages have claimed to have experienced so many different and sometimes contradictory faces of the Christian God? Written in an elegant and engaging style, this informative book will appeal to Christians, atheists, students, and those who are simply interested in the cultural and intellectual history of God. John Butler is Emeritus Professor at the University of Kent and a guide at Canterbury Cathedral. He is the author of the acclaimed 'Quest for Becket's Bones' and the prize-winning 'Red Dean of Canterbury'. 'This beautifully written book tells the fascinating story of the evolving portrait of the Christian God from Abraham to the present day. It is an illuminating read for those who feel the need to cross their fingers whenever they say the Nicene Creed - and for many who don't ' Richard Llewellin, former Bishop at Lambeth

In a ceremony of great solemnity in July 1220, almost fifty years after his murder in December 1170, the relics of Saint Thomas Becket, Canterbury's most famous archbishop, were taken from the tomb in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral where they had lain for fifty years and placed in a magnificent bejewelled shrine in the cathedral's Trinity Chapel. The shrine, which became the focus of pilgrimage and veneration for generations of travellers to Canterbury, remained in the Trinity Chapel for more than 300 years until its destruction in September 1538 by commissioners acting on the orders of King Henry VIII. The fabulous jewels and precious metals were carted off to the king's treasury in London, but no authentic record has come to light of the fate of the mortal remains - the holy relics - of Saint Thomas. There are many stories but few hard facts. This book marks the 800th anniversary of the translation of Thomas Becket's relics in 1220 from the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral to the shrine in the Trinity Chapel. In it, John Butler carefully sifts the evidence about the fate of Becket's bones when the shrine was destroyed in 1538, and he explores a series of probing questions. Did the monks of the cathedral attempt to hide the relics before King Henry's commissioners arrived in Canterbury? Were the bones burnt on the orders of Pope Paul III, as many believe, or did they somehow survive? What is the significance of the grave discovered in the crypt of the cathedral in 1888? Against a background of church politics and carefully referencing all his sources, John Butler pieces together an intriguing story of faith, science and romanticism that will appeal to all who relish a true-life mystery.

This book tells the story of how a team of colleagues at Boston College took an unusual approach (working with a design consultancy) to renewing their core and in the process energized administrators, faculty, and students to view liberal arts education as an ongoing process of innovation. It aims to provide insight into what they did and why they did it and to provide a candid account of what has worked and what has not worked. Although all institutions are different, they believe their experiences can provide guidance to others who want to change their general education curriculum or who are being asked to teach core or general education courses in new ways. The book also includes short essays by a number of faculty colleagues who have been teaching in BC’s new innovative core courses, providing practical advice about the challenges of trying interdisciplinary teaching, team teaching, project-or problem-based learning, intentional reflection, and other new structures and pedagogies for the first time. It will also address some of the nuts and bolts issues they have encountered when trying to create structures to make curriculum change sustainable over time and to foster ongoing innovation.

The office of Archbishop of Canterbury is the oldest continuous institution in Britain - older than the English crown and much older than Parliament. For over fourteen hundred years, from Augustine in the 6th century to Justin Welby in the 21st, successive Archbishops have been caught up in the transformation of the country from a collection of feudal Saxon kingdoms ruled by warrior kings to a modern industrial state with a democratic parliament and an established Church - as well as the longest reigning sovereign. Some Archbishops have managed the tension between their responsibility to lead the Church and proclaim the gospel and their obligation to serve the interests of the state and its rulers. Others have lost their lives - three executed by the state, while two have met violent deaths at the hands of lawless mobs. This new Pitkin captures the story of their faith and power, wisdom and folly and explores how high principle is matched at times by craven self-interest.

This study of Thomas Hardy provides a substantial introduction to his six major novels and his poems. It deals more briefly with the minor fiction. Hardy now seems a more important novelist and poet than at any previous time. This importance is only partly due to his capabilities as a social historian or provincial chronicler. Far more important than these is his faithful exploration of the daily trials and tragedies of men and women as feeling beings. Man and woman in love, man and woman up against it, are his theme. Butler's study of his work emphasises this central aspect of Hardy's fiction and poetry. His tendency to universalize his tragic material, in which he is akin to Shakespeare, is seen as his abiding achievement. Detailed analyses are made of some crucial passages in the major novels and a serious attempt is made to counter the proposition that Hardy wrote badly .

EVEN IF THERE IS A REALM BEYOND MORTALITY, WOULD FINDING IT IMPROVE OUR LIVES ON EARTH? What use is Spirit to a troubled world? Do prayer and meditation work? As a young man in search of love and a purpose to live for, the author could not fit within the world he found. Longing to be useful but unwilling to conform, he went out to South America. It wasn't so easy. Alone on a mountainside one day, an inner voice said, 'To make whole, be whole'. This was a turning point. He realised that, before being able to help others, he first had to work on himself. Once back in England, he looked for and found a method of meditation. Love of nature led him to become one of the first organic farmers but, when asked what he really wanted in life, he answered 'God'. He'd been schooled in Christian faith but was not, at this time, attracted to the Church. Meditation proved an ideal accompaniment as further adventures took him to Africa and, in particular, the desert. Later, at low ebb in the USA, he 'met' Jesus, which brought his practice of meditation and Christianity together. At the age of 51, he re-entered university to study Russian prior to visiting his mother's homeland for the first time in 1991. This led to several years living in Russia, where he realised the similarity between his own practice and traditional Orthodox 'prayer of the heart'. The book is based on notes of the author's unfolding spiritual experience, which taught him that the wholeness he sought is actually - Spirit. How is it attained? By many encouraging examples he shows how, with patient perseverance, the grip of the ego with all the restrictive unhappiness it brings, can be released. Being then more open to the influence of Grace, we may come to discover the Kingdom of God - our original, spiritual and perfect home.

Further study of the Book of Mormon's Visionary Men yields new insights into their worship and ideas, and also into other ancient scripture. John 1 uses ritual props and staging to introduce Jesus as the Lord; Helaman 5 recounts an endowment of power; Ether 3 is a temple account; and Isaiah is an underground prophet, describing the dark apostasy of his day in code. This book is a follow-up to "Plain and Precious Things: The Temple Religion of the Book of Mormon's Visionary Men," which should be read first.

An electrifying debut coming of age story set in San Francisco during the dotcom boom

"I had seen the Internet recently, in a cafe on Haight and Steiner that had a grey coin-operated computer terminal in the corner. One guy was using it to read what another guy was saying about some computer thing. And another Irish friend of a friend had it in their apartment when Milo and I called over one night, and he tried to show it to us, but it seemed he was using it to talk to a guy just like him about some computer game and I couldn't understand why he didn't just pick up the phone. But at least I knew about it."

It's 1995 and Evan has embarked on an adventure that will change his life--leaving his Dublin home for the rolling hills and fog-swept bays of San Francisco. Between the Internet revolution and the rave culture, young naive Evan is completely clueless about how to succeed; but he's determined to stumble on, looking for work, looking for love, and, ultimately, looking to define himself. Soon, however, the troubles of his past catch up with him, and everything begins to unravel.