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Almost Everything: Notes on Hope
I am stockpiling antibiotics for the Apocalypse, even as I await the blossoming of paperwhites on the windowsill in the kitchen, Anne Lamott admits at the beginning of Almost Everything. Despair and uncertainty surround us: in the news, in our families, and in ourselves. But even when life is at its bleakest--when we are, as she puts it, doomed, stunned, exhausted, and over-caffeinated--the seeds of rejuvenation are at hand. All truth is paradox, Lamott writes, and this turns out to be a reason for hope. If you arrive at a place in life that is miserable, it will change. That is the time when we must pledge not to give up but to do what Wendell Berry wrote: 'Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts.' In this profound and funny book, Lamott calls for each of us to rediscover the nuggets of hope and wisdom that are buried within us that can make life sweeter than we ever imagined. Divided into short chapters that explore life's essential truths, Almost Everything pinpoints these moments of insight as it shines an encouraging light forward. Candid and caring, insightful and sometimes hilarious, Almost Everything is the book we need and that only Anne Lamott can write.
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American Messiahs: False Prophets of a Damned Nation
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.
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Angels and Saints
Threaded throughout Angels & Saints are the glorious illuminated grid poems by the eighteenth-century Benedictine monk Hrabanus Maurus. These astonishingly complex, proto-"concrete" poems are untangled in a lucid afterword by the medieval scholar and historian Mary Wellesley.
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Approaching the Buddhist Path
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Art of Bible Translation
From the recipient of the National Jewish Book Award for Lifetime Achievement, a hugely entertaining and irreverent (Adam Gopnik, New Yorker) account of the art of translating the Hebrew Bible into English
In this brief book, award-winning biblical translator and acclaimed literary critic Robert Alter offers a personal and passionate account of what he learned about the art of Bible translation over the two decades he spent completing his own English version of the Hebrew Bible.
Alter's literary training gave him the advantage of seeing that a translation of the Bible can convey the text's meaning only by trying to capture the powerful and subtle literary style of the biblical Hebrew, something the modern English versions don't do justice to. The Bible's style, Alter writes, "is not some sort of aesthetic embellishment of the 'message' of Scripture but the vital medium through which the biblical vision of God, human nature, history, politics, society, and moral value is conveyed." And, as the translators of the King James Version knew, the authority of the Bible is inseparable from its literary authority.
For these reasons, the Bible can be brought to life in English only by re-creating its literary virtuosity, and Alter discusses the principal aspects of style in the Hebrew Bible that any translator should try to reproduce: word choice, syntax, word play and sound play, rhythm, and dialogue. In the process, he provides an illuminating and accessible introduction to biblical style that also offers insights about the art of translation far beyond the Bible.
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Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God Retold in Simplified English is the latest title in the Essential Wisdom Library. This unique edition of the timeless epic is designed to be accessible for readers without any prior experience of Hinduism. Not simply a translation of the original, Viljoen has simplified and restated the Gita's complex ideas, so that a first-time reader can fully appreciate the scope and beauty of this magnificent Indian classic. Written in concise, modern language the retelling vividly captures the power and depth of the original work.
Part of the Mahabharata, the Gita is a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Lord Krishna. Its verses contain some of the key ideas of Hindu philosophy--Dharma, Moksha, and various yogic practices. Originally written well over a thousand years ago, the Gita has proven to be a timeless source of wisdom, inspiring philosophers and revolutionaries alike in the millennia since it was written. In addition to the retelling of the text, this edition includes a character list, a glossary of important terms, and chapters exploring the back-story from the Mahabharata and the impact and meaning of the Bhagavad Gita itself. The Bhagavad Gita is an approachable way for today's readers to engage with one of history's richest spiritual epics.- Please log in to review this product
Black Theology of Liberation (Anniversary) (Anniversary)
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Blessing and the Curse: The Jewish People and Their Books in the Twentieth Century
Following The People and the Books, which "covers more than 2,500 years of highly variegated Jewish cultural expression" (Robert Alter, New York Times Book Review), poet and literary critic Adam Kirsch now turns to the story of modern Jewish literature. From the vast emigration of Jews out of Eastern Europe to the Holocaust to the creation of Israel, the twentieth century transformed Jewish life. The same was true of Jewish writing: the novels, plays, poems, and memoirs of Jewish writers provided intimate access to new worlds of experience.
Kirsch surveys four themes that shaped the twentieth century in Jewish literature and culture: Europe, America, Israel, and the endeavor to reimagine Judaism as a modern faith. With discussions of major books by over thirty writers--ranging from Franz Kafka to Philip Roth, Elie Wiesel to Tony Kushner, Hannah Arendt to Judith Plaskow--he argues that literature offers a new way to think about what it means to be Jewish in the modern world. With a wide scope and diverse, original observations, Kirsch draws fascinating parallels between familiar writers and their less familiar counterparts. While everyone knows the diary of Anne Frank, for example, few outside of Israel have read the diary of Hannah Senesh. Kirsch sheds new light on the literature of the Holocaust through the work of Primo Levi, explores the emergence of America as a Jewish home through the stories of Bernard Malamud, and shows how Yehuda Amichai captured the paradoxes of Israeli identity.
An insightful and engaging work from "one of America's finest literary critics" (Wall Street Journal), The Blessing and the Curse brings the Jewish experience vividly to life.
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Complete Illustrated New Testament
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Confessions of a Christian Mystic
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.
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Dangerous Religious Ideas: The Deep Roots of Self-Critical Faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
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Dangers of Christian Practice: On Wayward Gifts, Characteristic Damage, and Sin
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Does Jesus Really Love Me?
Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America is part memoir and part investigative analysis that explores the explosive and confusing intersection of faith, politics, and sexuality in Christian America.
The quest to find an answer is at the heart of Does Jesus Really Love Me?--a personal journey of belief, an investigation, and a portrait of a faith and a nation at odds by award-winning reporter Jeff Chu.
From Brooklyn to Nashville to California, from Westboro Baptist Church and their "God Hates Fags" protest signs, to the pioneering Episcopalian bishop Mary Glasspool--who proclaims a message of liberation and divine love, Chu captures spiritual snapshots of Christian America at a remarkable moment, when tensions between both sides in the culture wars have rarely been higher.
Funny and heartbreaking, perplexing and wise, Does Jesus Really Love Me? is an intellectual, emotional, and spiritual pilgrimage that reveals a nation in crisis.
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Dog, the Wolf and God
'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.
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DYNAMICS OF FAITH (PERENNIAL CLASSICS ED) (P)
One of the greatest books ever written on the subject, Dynamics of Faithis a primer in the philosophy of religion. Paul Tillich, a leading theologian of the twentieth century, explores the idea of faith in all its dimensions, while defining the concept in the process.
This graceful and accessible volume contains a new introduction by Marion Pauck, Tillich's biographer.
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Ear of the Heart
"Listen and attend with the ear of your heart." - Saint Benedict.
Dolores Hart stunned Hollywood in 1963, when after ten highly successful feature films, she chose to enter a contemplative monastery. Now, fifty years later, Mother Dolores gives this fascinating account of her life, with co-author and life-long friend, Richard DeNeut.
Dolores was a bright and beautiful college student when she made her film debut with Elvis Presley in Paramount's 1957 Loving You. She acted in nine more movies with other big stars such as Montgomery Clift, Anthony Quinn and Myrna Loy. She also gave a Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway play The Pleasure of His Company and appeared in television shows, including The Virginian and Playhouse 90. An important chapter in her life occurred while playing Saint Clare in the movie Francis of Assisi, which was filmed on location in Italy.
Born Dolores Hicks to a complicated and colorful Chicago family, Mother Dolores has travelled a charmed yet challenging road in her journey toward God, serenity and, yes, love. She entered the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut, at the peak of her career, not in order to leave the glamorous world of acting she had dreamed of since childhood, but in order to answer a mysterious call she heard with the "ear of the heart." While contracted for another film and engaged to be married, she abandoned everything to become a bride of Christ.
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Essence of Tsongkhapa's Teachings
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Face of Water
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Faith
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From Christendom to Americanism and Beyond: The Long, Jagged Trail to a Postmodern Void
"Thomas Storck has quite possibly contributed more than any other living writer to the articulation, defense, and contemporary application of Catholic Social Teaching. But his incisive work on broader philosophical, cultural, and historical subjects is not known nearly as well as it should be, a misfortune this book will help remedy. Christendom, Modernity, and Americanism--among the most elusive quarry in the world of ideas--are fatally attractive, yet rarely captured in a convincing analysis. In these essays Storck shows that he has the wide-ranging thoughtfulness, command of detail, and synthetic vision to pull this off. Storck's cultural and philosophical examination of the trajectory of recent centuries is invaluable for all who would understand more deeply the complicated and contradictory Western world we live in."--PETER KWASNIEWSKI, Wyoming Catholic College, author of Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis
"I am stretched and challenged whenever I read anything by Thomas Storck. In this fine collection of essays, he examines the many streams of thought and convictions that have led our contemporary world away from its philosophical and religious roots into post-modernity. Particularly in the final chapter he brings this all together to describe the plight we, our children, and our grand-children now face. As Joseph Pearce states in his excellent foreword, 'He must be heard and heeded.'"--MARCUS GRODI, founder and president of the Coming Home Network International, author of What Must I do to be Saved?
"Drawing upon the tradition of Belloc, Chesterton, and Dawson, Thomas Storck offers a compelling re-interpretation of developments within the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. Moving beyond the stale, false alternatives of liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, Storck argues for the necessity of a distinctly Catholic social vision predicated upon the organic unity of family, faith, economy, and culture. These essays are a true breath of fresh air offering new possibilities for an authentic public Catholicism open to the world yet committed to the first principles of the faith."--CHRISTOPHER SHANNON, Christendom College, co-author of The Past as Pilgrimage
THOMAS STORCK, a convert to the Catholic faith, is a social and cultural philosopher and historian who has written widely concerning the intersection of Catholic faith and culture. He is the author of three previous books, The Catholic Milieu, Foundations of a Catholic Political Order, and Christendom and the West, as well as numerous essays and articles; and is a member of the editorial boards of The Chesterton Review and Ethika Politika.
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Given Up for You: A Memoir of Love, Belonging, and Belief
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God's Favorites
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Great Shift: Encountering God in Biblical Times
The answers come from ancient texts, archaeology and anthropology, and even modern neuroscience. They concern the origins of the modern sense of self and the birth of a worldview that has been ours ever since. James Kugel, whose strong religious faith shines through his scientific reckoning with the Bible and the ancient world, has written a masterwork that will be of interest to believers and nonbelievers alike, a profound meditation on encountering God, then and now.
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Growing Up Amish: A Memoir
One fateful starless night, 17-year-old Ira Wagler got up at 2 AM, left a scribbled note under his pillow, packed all of his earthly belongings into in a little black duffel bag, and walked away from his home in the Amish settlement of Bloomfield, Iowa. Now, in this heartwarming memoir, Ira paints a vivid portrait of Amish life--from his childhood days on the family farm, his Rumspringa rite of passage at age 16, to his ultimate decision to leave the Amish Church for good at age 26. Growing Up Amish is the true story of one man's quest to discover who he is and where he belongs. Readers will laugh, cry, and be inspired by this charming yet poignant coming of age story set amidst the backdrop of one of the most enigmatic cultures in America today--the Old Order Amish.
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HarperCollins Study Bible-NRSV (Revised and Updated)
The HarperCollins Study Bible--Student Edition is the landmark general reference Bible that offers the full text of the New Revised Standard Version as well as in-depth articles, introductions, and comprehensive notes by today's leading biblical scholars for the Society of Biblical Literature. Completely revised and updated, this edition incorporates the latest scholarship and findings as well as incorporating new diagrams, charts, and maps--25% revised or new material.
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He Held Radical Light
A moving meditation on memory, oblivion, and eternity by one of our most celebrated poets
What is it we want when we can't stop wanting? And how do we make that hunger productive and vital rather than corrosive and destructive? These are the questions that animate Christian Wiman as he explores the relationships between art and faith, death and fame, heaven and oblivion. Above all, He Held Radical Light is a love letter to poetry, filled with moving, surprising, and sometimes funny encounters with the poets Wiman has known. Seamus Heaney opens a suddenly intimate conversation about faith; Mary Oliver puts half of a dead pigeon in her pocket; A. R. Ammons stands up in front of an audience and refuses to read. He Held Radical Light is as urgent and intense as it is lively and entertaining--a sharp sequel to Wiman's earlier memoir, My Bright Abyss.
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Heaven and Hell
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