Memoir Religion

Henry Bennion Eyring was born on May 31, 1933, in Princeton, New Jersey, bearing the first name of his father, who was fast building a reputation as a brilliant scientist, and the family name of his mother, who didn't care for the name "Henry" and insisted that he be called Hal. In 1970, Hal received an impression to make a daily record of his activities. Years of journals form the backbone of this personal biography, a candid look at his walk through life with his beloved companion, Kathy.

While the 20th century was often a time of turbulence, selfishness, godlessness, and violence, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a witness to love. She was a clear reminder of the goodness within human nature and the beauty of being truly open to God. "Mother" was her religious title, but as she ascended to the world stage, it became her role for the world - to be like a mother to all, no matter their origins. She was accepting and welcoming towards all people, not only towards the good or the like-minded. She continues to serve as an inspiration to people of all walks of life.

Scripture is filled with examples of men and women whom God used late in life, often with great impact—Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elizabeth, and Anna, to name a few. They were ordinary men and women who discovered that the latter years of life can be some of the most rewarding and fulfilling. “For them, growing older wasn’t something to be denied or dreaded;” says Billy Graham, “it was to be embraced as part of God’s plan for their lives.” Billy Graham’s life and ministry have been dedicated to the here and now but always with a happy-ever-after in view.

The Magi of nativity scenes are romanticized as well-dressed wisemen bringing gifts to Jesus. Traditional Chrstians tell of a miraculous star that guided exotic kings from Persia, India, and Africa. Academics dismiss both accounts as no more than a pious legend. Who is right? In The Mystery of the Magi, Dwight Longenecker shows that all sides are wrong and the Magi were diplomats from Petra, the capital of the Nabatean kingdom of Arabia.

This year Christians worldwide will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's conversion and victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than did Constantine. The reason is not simply that he converted to Christianity but that he did so in a way that brought his subjects along after him. Indeed, this major new biography argues that Constantine's conversion is but one feature of a unique administrative style that enabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths.

Sands Hall chronicles her slow yet willing absorption into the Church of Scientology. Her time in the Church, the 1980s, includes the secretive illness and death of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and the ascension of David Miscavige. Hall compellingly reveals what drew her into the religion - what she found intriguing and useful - and how she came to confront its darker sides.

In this accessible and well-documented study, philosopher Douglas Groothuis introduces listeners to Pascal's life as well as the breadth of his intellectual pursuits, including his contributions to mathematics, science, ethics, and theology. Groothuis overviews the key points of Pascal's Pensees, which captures his thoughts about God, humanity, and Jesus Christ. Listeners will also explore Pascal's views on a range of topics, including culture, politics, Islam, and miracles.

Living in-between the physical world and the spirit realm, yet feeling a stranger in both, Sherrie Dillard criss-crossed the country by bus, train, and hitchhiking in a search for answers. Along the way, she was led to help the poor and homeless on skid row, install water systems in Mayan Indian villages, live alone in a tent in the mountains, and make art with juvenile offenders.

In the Shadow of Enlightenment is the gripping story of Carroll’s childhood inside the Osho Rajneesh cult—one of the most controversial spiritual movements of the 20th century. While in the commune, Sarito was submerged in a world where devotion and freedom clashed with manipulation, sexual misconduct, and neglect. This was the life she knew until the movement collapsed amid scandal and criminal charges in 1985, when sixteen-year-old Sarito was thrust into a society she knew little about.

« Le docteur a dit qu’il n’y avait plus rien à faire. » Nous sommes en 1943 à La Malbaie. À 6 ans, le petit André Larouche est condamné par la maladie. Sa mère, Rose-Yvonne Lapointe, qui a une grande dévotion envers le frère André, demande son aide. Elle est exaucée. Durant les années qui suivent, le frère André deviendra le protecteur d’André Larouche. Il lui procurera de grandes joies et l’aidera à donner un sens à une vie qui lui avait réservé plus tard le pire des drames.

When Carolyn Weber moved to Oxford University to study, she didn't expect to find God there. But she did. As she grappled with her newest and most important relationship, she also found that there was another invitation: to think bigger about love. In this book we follow Weber through courtship and into marriage and parenthood. Now a literature professor, Weber reflects on her relationship with a sometimes-absent father and how that has shaped her.

For over 100 years, the Mockett family has owned a 7,000 acre wheat farm in Nebraska, where Marie Mutsuki Mockett’s father was raised. Mockett, who grew up in Carmel, California, with her father and her Japanese mother, knew little about farming when she inherited this land. Her father had all but foresworn it. At the invitation of Eric Wolgemuth, the conservative farmer who has cut her family’s fields for decades, Mockett accompanies a group of evangelical wheat harvesters through the heartland as they follow the trail of ripening wheat from Texas to Idaho.

The Book of Queer Prophets contains modern-day epistles from some of our most important thinkers, writers and activists: Jeanette Winterson tackles religious dogma, Amrou Al-Kadhi writes about trying to make it as a Muslim drag queen in London, John Bell writes about his decision to come out later in life, Tamsin Omond remembers getting married in the middle of a protest and Kate Bottley explains her journey to becoming an LGBT ally.

Purely by chance, renowned author Mary Summer Rain met No-Eyes, a blind Chippewa visionary who lives in a small, remote cabin in the Colorado mountains. Spirit Song the first volume in Summer Rain's No-Eyes tetralogy, introduces us to this remarkable, unforgettable woman. No-Eyes teaches her about many fascinating topics, including the history of the Chippewa people, the songs of the shaman, and the healing power of medicinal herbs.

In the early 1970s, Swami Kriyananda asked Asha to start taking notes for the book he knew she would someday write. He explained himself to her in a way he did to only a few others. Since then, she has stayed in constant contact with him, as a devotee, friend, personal assistant, and eventually, a spiritual teacher in her own right. It's a rare gift to live with a true teacher. Experience it for yourself, as Asha brings you into meetings, conversations, personal counseling, living rooms, classrooms, long walks, meetings, and meditations.

In 1971, at age 20, Visakha had just published her first book and was beginning her ascent to fame and fortune through a career in photojournalism. Then, at the invitation of her college boyfriend, Visakha traveled east, where she first learned about bhakti yoga - the yoga of devotion - from a simple Indian sage. The bhakti tradition seemed irrelevant to Visakha. Five Years, Eleven Months and a Lifetime of Unexpected Love is Visakha’s deeply personal account of the emotional upheaval caused by her doubting her own cherished convictions....

In My Life with Deth, cofounder and bassist of Megadeth David Ellefson reveals the behind-the-scenes details of life in one of the world's most popular heavy metal bands. If you're looking for revelations, they're here, including the drug habits that brought the band members to their knees. You'll learn of David's unsuccessful attempts at rehab and the period when he was strung out on methadone, cocaine, and heroin - all at the same time.

In 1974, Jim and Tammy Bakker launched their television show, The PTL Club, from a former furniture store in Charlotte, North Carolina, with half a dozen friends. By 1987, they stood at the center of a ministry empire that included their own satellite network, a 2300-acre theme park visited by six million people a year, and millions of adoring fans.

The Atheist’s Prayer is not a book about religion. It’s a book about the parts of us that survive when religion leaves—or when we leave it. I’ve been excommunicated twice. Divorced once. I’ve been tossed out of faith, love, and community and left to sort through the wreckage. I’ve wandered through shame, loneliness, and the awkwardness of starting over—sometimes crying, sometimes laughing at how absurd it all was.

The messianic beliefs of radical LDS fundamentalists Dan Lafferty and his brother Ron drove them to commit an unspeakable crime.This is a riveting, raw, and unfiltered look at the Lafferty family saga from a daughter who lived it, and of her journey to self-love and forgiveness. Rebecca Lafferty...