Religion Social

In Sacrifice, Rene Girard interrogates the Brahmanas of Vedic India, exploring coincidences with mimetic theory that are too numerous and striking to be accidental. The Bible reveals collective violence, similar to that which generates sacrifice everywhere, but instead of making victims guilty, the Bible and the Gospels reveal the persecutors of a single victim. Instead of elaborating myths, they tell the truth absolutely contrary to the archaic sense.

Picture respectful, responsible, obedient children who entertain themselves without television or video games, do their own homework, and have impeccable manners. A pie-in-the-sky fantasy? Not so, says family psychologist and best-selling author John Rosemond. Any parent who so desires can grow children who fit that description - happy, emotionally healthy children who honor their parents and their families with good behavior and do their best in school.

In this new edition, popular author Walter Brueggemann writes that the Sabbath is not simply about keeping rules but rather about becoming a whole person and restoring a whole society. Brueggemann calls out our 24/7 society of consumption, a society in which we live to achieve, accomplish, perform, and possess. We want more, own more, use more, eat more, and drink more. Brueggemann tells listeners how keeping the Sabbath allows us to break this restless cycle and focus on what is truly important: God, other people, all life.

Woven from Joseph Campbell’s previously unpublished work, this volume explores Judeo-Christian symbols and metaphors - and their misinterpretations - with the famed mythologist’s characteristic conversational warmth and accessible scholarship. Campbell’s insights highlight centuries of confusion between literal and metaphorical interpretations of Western religious symbols that are, he argues, perennially relevant keys to spiritual understanding and mystical revelation.

Many bemoan the decay of culture. But we all have a responsibility to care for culture, to nurture it in ways that help people thrive. In Culture Care artist Makoto Fujimura issues a call to cultural stewardship, in which we become generative and feed our culture's soul with beauty, creativity, and generosity. We serve others as cultural custodians of the future. This is a book for artists, but artists come in many forms.

Why just survive when you can thrive? The US has one of the highest rates of addiction, depression, anxiety, OCD, ADD, ADHD, obesity, and cancer in the world. We use more pharmaceuticals than any other nation. These statistics are not much different in the church, and yet, the Bible says it should not be so.

In contrast to the oppressive Roman military occupation of the first century, Crossan examines the meaning of the non-violent Kingdom of God prophesized by Jesus and the equality advocated by Paul to the early Christian churches. Crossan contrasts these messages of peace with the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation, which has been misrepresented by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify US military actions in the Middle East.

The topic of divorce is a complicated one, even among Christians. The Bible provides some clear answers, but gray areas remain. In this short audio booklet, theologian Wayne Grudem offers a thought-provoking analysis of what the Bible says - and doesn’t say - about divorce and remarriage.

Wait! Stop! Don't say it! Pegues knows how easily a few careless words can cause problems in our business and personal relationships. Here she offers 30 warm-hearted Scripture-based devotions to help you take control of that hasty, gossiping, belittling, know-it-all, retaliatory tongue . . . before you really put your foot in your mouth!

With practical teachings and detailed instructions, Ken Wilber introduces Integral Mindfulness, a new way of practicing the widely popular meditation. Integral Mindfulness applies many of the leading-edge insights of Ken Wilber's Integral Theory - the first system to combine Eastern teachings on the five stages of awakening with the eight major Western models of human development, thus portraying the complete path of human evolution.

Set against the backdrop of the turbulent late 1960s and early 1970s, this compelling audiobook provides the first comprehensive history of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, notorious for the abduction of Israeli Olympians by Palestinian terrorists and the hostages' tragic deaths after a botched rescue mission by the German police. Drawing on a wealth of newly available sources from the time, eminent historian David Clay Large explores the 1972 festival in all its ramifications.

Many claim that Catholic Social Teaching implies the existence of a vast welfare state. In these pages, Anthony Esolen pulls back the curtain on these false philosophers, showing how they've undermined the authentic social teachings of the Church in order to neutralize the biggest threat to their plans for secularization the Catholic Church.

Philosophy is thinking critically about questions that matter. But many people find philosophy intimidating, so they never discover how invaluable it can be in engaging ideas, culture, and even their faith. Garrett DeWeese and J. P. Moreland understand these challenges, and in this book they apply their decades of teaching experience to help to make philosophy a little less difficult. Using straightforward language with plenty of everyday examples, they explain the basics needed to understand philosophical concepts.

Communications from beloved pets are seen by thousands every day. Some messages are given in ways that require an acute awareness and more interpretation as well. From the heavens above, signs are given by deceased pets to connect with their families they left behind. Oftentimes, the gifts they share are unseen or are difficult to identify. Learning to speak the language of spirit requires practice, but once identified, the joy of hearing from your pet in spirit can bring great comfort.

Why has Christianity, a religion premised upon neighborly love, failed in its attempts to heal social divisions? In this ambitious and wide-ranging work, Willie James Jennings delves deep into the late medieval soil in which the modern Christian imagination grew, to reveal how Christianity's highly refined process of socialization has inadvertently created and maintained segregated societies.

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians provides access into an underrepresented and misunderstood community and will change the way listeners think about transgender people, faith, and the future of Christianity. By introducing transgender issues and language and providing stories of both biblical characters and real-life narratives from transgender Christians living today, Hartke helps listeners visualize a more inclusive Christianity, equipping them with the confidence and tools to change both the church and the world.

You live in a dystopia. Every part of historical human existence in our world has been turned on its head. The world we live in is an inversion of what God created you to live in. All that is good is treated as though it were repugnant. All that is beautiful is treated as though it were repulsive. And the truth is forbidden while the most outrageous lies are exalted. This world did not become like this by accident or by inexorable forces of history. This world was engineered to be this way. It was designed to take the life your ancestors had and tear it apart.

Approximately four million Americans claim to be Buddhist. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of Americans of various faiths read about Buddhism, are interested in its philosophical tenets, or fashionably view themselves as Buddhists. They’re part of what’s been described as the fastest growing religious movement in America: a large group of people dissatisfied with traditional religious offerings and thirsty for an approach to spirituality grounded in logic and consistent with scientific knowledge.

Millions of Christians, sadly, have not recognized the continuing authority of God's law or its many applications to modern society. They have thereby reaped the whirlwind: cultural and intellectual impotence. They implicitly have surrendered this world to the devil. They have implicitly denied the power of the death and resurrection of Christ. They have served as footstools for the enemies of God. But humanism's free ride is coming to an end. This book serves as an introduction to this woefully neglected topic.

In 1993, Andrew Brunson was asked to travel to Turkey, the largest unevangelized country in the world, to serve as a missionary. Though hesitant because of the daunting and dangerous task that lay ahead, Andrew and his wife, Norine, believed this was God's plan for them. What followed was a string of threats and attacks, but also successes in starting new churches in a place where many people had never met a Christian. As their work with refugees from Syria, gained attention and suspicion, Andrew and Norine acknowledged the threat but accepted the risk.