Why? This is the fascinating, disturbing question that bestselling author Karen Armstrong addresses in her brilliant new book The Battle for God. Writing with the broad perspective and deep understanding of human spirituality that won huge audiences for A History of God, Armstrong illuminates the spread of militant piety as a phenomenon peculiar to our moment in history.Contrary to popular belief, fundamentalism is not a throwback to some ancient form of religion but rather a response to the spiritual crisis of the modern world. As Armstrong argues, the collapse of a piety rooted in myth and cult during the Renaissance forced people of faith to grasp for new ways of being religious--and fundamentalism was born. Armstrong focuses here on three fundamentalist movements: Protestant fundamentalism in America, Jewish fundamentalism in Israel, and Islamic fundamentalism in Egypt and Iran--exploring how each has developed its own unique way of combating the assaults of modernity.Blending history, sociology, and spirituality, The Battle for God is a compelling and compassionate study of a radical form of religious expression that is critically shaping the course of world history.

    Inspiring and practical, the Discourses provide an ever-fresh framework of spiritual perspective on the challenges of everyday life. As Meher Baba stated, "Words that proceed from the Source of Truth have real meaning." The Discourses bear eloquent testimony to that fact and will remain an incomparable companion for those seeking spiritual direction.

    When it fades, her palms are bleeding. Anthony Priest, the junkie sitting beside her, instinctively touches her when she cries out, but Gina flees in shock and pain. A prize-winning journalist before drugs destroyed his career, Anthony is flooded with a sense of well-being and knows he is cured of his addiction. Without understanding why, Anthony follows Gina home to find some answers. Together they search for an answer to this miraculous event and along the way they cross paths with a skeptical evangelical pastor, a gentle Catholic priest, a certifiable religious zealot, and an oversized transvestite drug dealer, all of whom lend their opinion. It's a quest for truth, sanity, and grace . and an unexpected love story.

    It is a collection of religious and philosophic texts gathered and translated into Coptic by fourth-century Gnostic Christians and translated into English by dozens of highly reputable experts. First published in 1978, this is the revised 1988 edition supported by illuminating introductions to each document. The library itself is a diverse collection of texts that the Gnostics considered to be related to their heretical philosophy in some way. There are 45 separate titles, including a Coptic translation from the Greek of two well-known works: the Gospel of Thomas, attributed to Jesus' brother Judas, and Plato's Republic. The word gnosis is defined as "the immediate knowledge of spiritual truth." This doomed radical sect believed in being here now--withdrawing from the contamination of society and materiality--and that heaven is an internal state, not some place above the clouds. That this collection has resurfaced at this historical juncture is more than likely no coincidence.--P. Randall Cohan

    Each chapter includes a specific exercise designed to help the reader understand the nature and practice of the specific therapies. Wilber presents an easy-to-use map of human consciousness against which the various therapies are introduced and explained. This edition includes a new preface.

    Filled with humorous insights and challenging ideas, The God Who Smokes imagines a twenty-first-century church where hope hangs with holiness, passion sits next to purity, and compassion can relate to character.

    It is organized into four parts. First, Steiner builds a comprehensive understanding of human nature: physical bodily nature; soul qualities; spirit being, or I-being; and the higher spiritual aspects. This leads us to Steiner’s description of the human being as sevenfold: -Material, physical body -Ether body, or body of life forces -Sentient soul body -Mind soul -Spirit-filled consciousness soul -Life spirit -Spirit body In the next section, Steiner offers an extraordinary overview of the laws of reincarnation and the principles of karma, as we pass from one life to the next. This prepares us for the third section, in which he shows the various ways in which we live—during life on earth and after death and in the three worlds of body, soul, and spirit.Finally, we are given a succinct description of the path of knowledge, along which each person can begin to understand the marvelous and harmonious complexity of the psycho-spiritual worlds in their fullness.

    It is a subject that he explores in the widest context but underpinning this examination is his belief that religion has given us many of the best stories and metaphors for the act. He proceeds to relate forgiveness to such events as September 11th, the Truth Commission in South Africa, and the ongoing conflicts in Palestine/Israel, Northern Ireland and Serbia. On Forgiveness is a discourse on how forgiveness works, where it came from and how the need to embrace it is greater than ever if we are to free ourselves from the binds of the past. Drawing on philosophers and writers of the caliber of George Steiner, Frederick Nietzsche, Jacques Derrida, Hannah Arendt, and Nelson Mandela, Holloway has written another fascinating and timely book.

    Why, in short, won’t God go away? In this groundbreaking new book, researchers Andrew Newberg and Eugene d’Aquili offer an explanation that is at once profoundly simple and scientifically precise: The religious impulse is rooted in the biology of the brain.In Why God Won’t Go Away, Newberg and d’Aquili document their pioneering explorations in the field of neurotheology, an emerging discipline dedicated to understanding the complex relationship between spirituality and the brain. Blending cutting-edge science with illuminating insights into the nature of consciousness and spirituality, they bridge faith and reason, mysticism and empirical data. The neurological basis of how the brain identifies the “real” is nothing short of miraculous. This fascinating, eye-opening book dares to explore both the miracle and the biology of our enduring relationship with God.

    Gaines, an ordained Unity minister, has been delivering her inspirational, life-changing message to audiences of all faiths at workshops across the country. Now she brings her powerful words to readers of this, her first book. Explaining the four spiritual laws, she shows why it is essential to:o tithe to the person or place where you have received your spiritual nourishmento set clear-cut, tangible goalso forgive everyone all the time, especially yourselfo seek, discover, and follow your divine purpose-which will help you to assign significance to your life and bring a passion to all that you doThe solution to financial problems lies within, Gaines insists, and here she shows readers how to raise their abundance consciousness and free themselves from a life of deprivation and want.

    A Compact yet thoroughly informative series on philosophical and religious topics, written with the general reader in mind.

    Eliade traces manifestations of the sacred from primitive to modern times in terms of space, time, nature, and the cosmos. In doing so he shows how the total human experience of the religious man compares with that of the nonreligious. This book of great originality and scholarship serves as an excellent introduction to the history of religion, but its perspective also encompasses philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, and psychology. It will appeal to anyone seeking to discover the potential dimensions of human existence.

    Timely and fascinating messages from the people of the ancient civilization of Lemuria, living in the fifth dimensional city of Telos beneath Mount Shasta, CA. Telos is an ancient Lemurian City of Light that is real and still exists to this day in the physical realm, underneath Mount Shasta. Re-acquaint yourself with Adama, the High Priest of Telos and your eternal father, as he describes the kind of Earthly paradise they have forged for themselves as they raised their consciousness to a fifth dimensional reality. They are the survivors of the lost continent of Mu who perished beneath of waves of the Pacific Ocean over 12,000 years ago. Our Lemurian brothers and sisters of Telos and our former family of ancient times are soon looking forward to coming out, when we are ready, to teach us how to do the same here on the surface. Due to their isolation from the surface population, they have succeeded in creating a civilization of peace and abundance, with no sickness, aging or death. They have mastered immortality in physical expression and they wish to teach us to do the same. Vividly and heroically, Telos delivers a clear understanding of what is required on the surface to create a prosperous society and a healthy environment. The Telosians and many other spiritually advanced civilizations are very real inside the Earth. They are coming forward at this time to inspire us to follow in their footsteps. The return of the Lemurians and their eventual emergence among us is nothing less than the "Second Coming" that we have been waiting for, for so very long. The Lemurians have long achieved the fullness of the Christ consciousness, and as we are ready to receive them among us, they will teach us how to implement, right here on the surface of this planet, the type of paradise they have forged for themselves in Telos. They will assist us in building a golden age that will manifest the fullness of the Christ consciousness, which is the divinity that has always been there within our hearts. The indwelling Christ of our being becoming tangibly manifested on this planet and in our daily lives. Here is what Adama has to say at this time: It is with much delight and anticipation that we bring to you the memories of Lemuria. Though these memories have appeared to be lost for a while, they have continued to live and thrive in your hearts unto this now moment in time. In Telos, we are honored to join hearts with you, and to assist in the unification of our two civilizations. We send you much love from Telos, where this divine energy flows in great abundance. Until we meet, keep practicing the art of true love, which starts with loving yourself. May love abound in your heart for each other and for all of creation, as precious jewels and expressions of the Love of the Mother/Father God! We hold you dearly in our hearts. Adama.

    Culled from twenty-five years of lectures to spiritual seekers in the West and the East, these readings are expressed with the simplicity and authority of one who speaks from his own experience. What is purity of heart? It’s a heart full of tranquility and peace. Having a steady mind, a balanced mind, is what you call purity of heart. You must be well balanced between the dualities: the ups and downs, the pleasure and pain, the profit and loss. If the mind is free from turbulence, then the seer can see its own nature. If your heart is pure and steady, you can see God reflected in that steady heart.

    God is not far away, but is within ourselves, other people, and everywhere present. Why then, do we fall prey to unwanted conditions - illness, financial lack, relationship difficulties, loneliness and problems of every kind? Written as a manual for the practical applications of the principles set forth in The Science of Mind, this book takes the original philosophy of "change your thinking, change your life," and explains a clear and definite scientific method of prayer that can help you overcome life's obstacles.