Religion

God won't give you more than you can handle. Really? Pastor and speaker Shane Pruitt shines a light on this and other Christian cliches that upon further inspection are actually unbiblical lies that keep far too many believers stuck in spiritual immaturity.

Mania surrounding messianic prophets has defined the national consciousness since the American Revolution. From Civil War veteran and virulent anticapitalist Cyrus Teed, to the dapper and overlooked civil rights pioneer Father Divine, to even the megalomaniacal Jim Jones, these figures have routinely been dismissed as dangerous and hysterical outliers.

After years of studying these emblematic figures, Adam Morris demonstrates that messiahs are not just a classic trope of our national culture; their visions are essential for understanding American history. As Morris demonstrates, these charismatic, if flawed, would-be prophets sought to expose and ameliorate deep social ills--such as income inequality, gender conformity, and racial injustice. Provocative and long overdue, this is the story of those who tried to point the way toward an impossible "American Dream" men and women who momentarily captured the imagination of a nation always searching for salvation.

"I'm not sure there's such a thing as the cultural 'center, ' nor that it's very interesting if it exists. But left of center and right of center, in the expansive middle and heart of our life together, most of us have some questions left alongside our answers, some curiosity alongside our convictions. This book is for people who want to take up the great questions of our time with imagination and courage, to nurture new realities in the spaces we inhabit, and to do so expectantly and with joy."

In Becoming Wise, Krista Tippett has created a master class in living for a fractured world. Fracture, she says, is not the whole story of our time. The enduring question of what it means to be human has become inextricable from the challenge of who we are to one another. She insists on the possibility of personal depth and common life for this century, nurtured by science and "spiritual technologies," with civility and love as muscular public practice. And, accompanied by a cross-disciplinary dream team of a teaching faculty, she shows us how.

"Krista Tippett [is] a modern-day Simone Weil. . . . Becoming Wise is a tremendously vitalizing read in its totality--a wellspring of nuance and dimension amid our Flatland of artificial polarities, touching on every significant aspect of human life with great gentleness and a firm grasp of human goodness." --Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * A LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A SPIRITUALITY & PRACTICE BOOK AWARD WINNER * A NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD WINNER

A Landmark Message from His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Are we ready to hear it? Are we ready to act?

I call on you to confront the challenges of our era by rising up and embarking upon a revolution that has no precedent in human history

This eloquent, urgent manifesto is possibly the most important message the Dalai Lama can give us about the future of our world. It's his rallying cry, full of solutions for our chaotic, aggressive, divided times: no less than A CALL FOR REVOLUTION.

From the author of Praying for Strangers and four Southern gothic novels comes a chronicle of faith and spirituality that is personal, raw, wise, revelatory - and very funny.
With a unique mix of passionate revelation and quirky humor, River Jordan takes us on a journey through her Southern childhood to her present-day life as a novelist. Her stories run the gamut from dancing disco nights and midnight desert rides to surprise visitations with the Divine. Included are comforting letters to personal friends and loved ones about faith, death, heartbreaks and their futures. Confessions of a Christian Mystic is a highly original work about an extraordinary faith that never loses touch with current culture or everyday realities. Jordan invites us to join in on her wild ride searching for the holy mysteries of God. This haunting work will leave you deeply comforted and full of hope. Hailed as "a book for our times," Confessions gently leads us closer to that Divine mystery that shapes us and gives us life.

In Harran, the locals refused to convert. They were dismembered, their limbs hung along the town's main street. In Alexandria, zealots pulled the elderly philosopher-mathematician Hypatia from her chariot and flayed her to death with shards of broken pottery. Not long before, their fellow Christians had invaded the city's greatest temple and razed it--smashing its world-famous statues and destroying all that was left of Alexandria's Great Library.

Today, we refer to Christianity's conquest of the West as a "triumph." But this victory entailed an orgy of destruction in which Jesus's followers attacked and suppressed classical culture, helping to pitch Western civilization into a thousand-year-long decline. Just one percent of Latin literature would survive the purge; countless antiquities, artworks, and ancient traditions were lost forever.

As Catherine Nixey reveals, evidence of early Christians' campaign of terror has been hiding in plain sight: in the palimpsests and shattered statues proudly displayed in churches and museums the world over. In The Darkening Age, Nixey resurrects this lost history, offering a wrenching account of the rise of Christianity and its terrible cost.

'A masterpiece' - Vanity Fair (Italy)

After the best-seller The End is My Beginning, co-authored with his father Tixiano Terzani, the long-awaited Folco Terzani's comeback with an extraordinary harmony of words and images, a simple and profound story about nature, friendship and the sense of the divine.

The Dog, was always used to the comforts and safety of domestic life, suddenly finds himself abandoned on the street, convinced that without his beloved master he will not be able to survive. Then a mysterious Wolf appears that will lead him to the discovery of the wild nature that the city hides and forbids. Thus, begins a long pilgrimage, a journey of initiation to the north, in the company of a pack of wolves, through caves, waterfalls, forests, mountains and lightning storms. In order to survive, the Dog will learn to hunt and will be forced to face many dangers, until he arrives at Moon Mountain where, immersed in the blinding glacier light, he will finally have to face the biggest question of all.

Greg and Lynn McDonald had never interacted with members of the LGBTQ community until they discovered that their son was gay--and without resources or support, they had no idea how to handle this discovery. At first they tried to "fix" him, to no avail. But even in the earliest days of their journey, the McDonalds clung to two absolutes: they would love God, and they would love their son.

This book follows the McDonald family's journey over the next twenty years, from a place of grief to a place of gratitude and acceptance that led the McDonalds' to start one of the first Christian ministries for parents of LGBTQ children. Based on their experience from counseling and coaching hundreds of struggling Christian parents, they offer tools for understanding your own emotional patterns and spiritual challenges. They also help you experience a deeper relationship with God while handling difficult or unexpected situations that are out of your control. You will discover tested principles, patterns, and spiritual lessons that can change the way we all see our families, and help Christians at large think though Christ-like ways to respond to the LGBTQ community.

Written in an unvarnished, honest, reassuring, and relatable voice, this is a practical guide for parents and a roadmap to learning to love God, the people He created, and the church, even when they seem to be at odds.

The Exodus has become a core tradition of Western civilization. Millions read it, retell it, and celebrate it. But did it happen?

Biblical scholars, Egyptologists, archaeologists, historians, literary scholars, anthropologists, and filmmakers are drawn to it. Unable to find physical evidence until now, many archaeologists and scholars claim this mass migration is just a story, not history. Others oppose this conclusion, defending the biblical account.

Like a detective on an intricate case no one has yet solved, pioneering Bible scholar and bestselling author of Who Wrote the Bible? Richard Elliott Friedman cuts through the noise -- the serious studies and the wild theories -- merging new findings with new insight. From a spectrum of disciplines, state-of-the-art archeological breakthroughs, and fresh discoveries within scripture, he brings real evidence of a historical basis for the exodus -- the history behind the story. The biblical account of millions fleeing Egypt may be an exaggeration, but the exodus itself is not a myth.

Friedman does not stop there. Known for his ability to make Bible scholarship accessible to readers, Friedman proceeds to reveal how much is at stake when we explore the historicity of the exodus. The implications, he writes, are monumental. We learn that it became the starting-point of the formation of monotheism, the defining concept of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Moreover, we learn that it precipitated the foundational ethic of loving one's neighbors -- including strangers -- as oneself. He concludes, the actual exodus was the cradle of global values of compassion and equal rights today.

All his life, President Jimmy Carter has been a courageous exemplar of faith. Now he shares the lessons he learned. He writes, "The issue of faith arises in almost every area of human existence, so it is important to understand its multiple meanings. In this book, my primary goal is to explore the broader meaning of faith, its far-reaching effect on our lives, and its relationship to past, present, and future events in America and around the world. The religious aspects of faith are also covered, since this is how the word is most often used, and I have included a description of the ways my faith has guided and sustained me, as well as how it has challenged and driven me to seek a closer and better relationship with people and with God."

Quoting eminent Protestant theologians, in Faith President Carter describes his belief in religious freedom, moral politics, and the place of prayer in his daily life. He examines faith's many meanings, he describes how to accept it, live it, how to doubt and find faith again. This is a serious and moving reflection from one of America's most admired and respected citizens.

A fresh, clear, joyful guide for parents on how to teach their children to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
GIVE THEM JESUS aims to help parents not simply add to their children's stockpile of knowledge, but to cultivate children-disciples who are able to display Christ-likeness in every situation. Parents are the ones primarily responsible for opening up the Scriptures to help their children understand God, the world, and themselves. The family is the divinely appointed discipleship program; the home is first and foremost a place of worship. The introduction of the book discusses the four vital components of family worship: teach, treasure, sing, and pray, and offers practical suggestions for beginning and prioritizing family worship in the rough and tumble of life.
Subsequent chapters guide parents to a deeper understanding of the core truths of the historic Christian faith, as summarized in the Apostles' Creed, arming them with appropriate language, helpful illustrations, and relevant object lessons, so that in the end they will be better prepared to pass these truths on to their children. Each chapter concludes with a family worship guide, which includes: 1) family memory verses, 2) nuggets of truth from the chapter, 3) questions for family discussion, 4) songs that celebrate the truths of the Creed, and 5) prayer prompts.
GIVE THEM JESUS equips parents to prepare their children to leave home and go out into the world as faithful participants in the great gospel story. "Never stop telling the gospel story to your kids," Thornton says. "Give your children Jesus. Again. And again. And again. And you'll see them walk in the truth."

So, too, does Miles uncover the spiritual and scriptural continuity of the Islamic tradition with those of Judaism and Christianity, and the deep affinities among the three by setting passages from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an side by side. In the spirit of his two previous books, God and Christ, and with his characteristic sensitivity, perspicacity and prodigious command of the subject, Miles calls for us all to read another's scriptures with the same understanding and accommodating eye that we turn upon our own.