In Irreligion he presents the case for his own worldview, organizing his book into twelve chapters that refute the twelve arguments most often put forward for believing in God's existence. The latter arguments, Paulos relates in his characteristically lighthearted style, "range from what might be called golden oldies to those with a more contemporary beat. On the playlist are the firstcause argument, the argument from design, the ontological argument, arguments from faith and biblical codes, the argument from the anthropic principle, the moral universality argument, and others." Interspersed among his twelve counterarguments are remarks on a variety of irreligious themes, ranging from the nature of miracles and creationist probability to cognitive illusions and prudential wagers. Special attention is paid to topics, arguments, and questions that spring from his incredulity "not only about religion but also about others' credulity." Despite the strong influence of his day job, Paulos says, there isn't a single mathematical formula in the book.

    In Battling the Gods, Tim Whitmarsh journeys into the ancient Mediterranean, a world almost unimaginably different from our own, to recover the stories and voices of those who first refused the divinities.Homer’s epic poems of human striving, journeying, and passion were ancient Greece’s only “sacred texts,” but no ancient Greek thought twice about questioning or mocking his stories of the gods. Priests were functionaries rather than sources of moral or cosmological wisdom. The absence of centralized religious authority made for an extraordinary variety of perspectives on sacred matters, from the devotional to the atheos, or “godless.” Whitmarsh explores this kaleidoscopic range of ideas about the gods, focusing on the colorful individuals who challenged their existence. Among these were some of the greatest ancient poets and philosophers and writers, as well as the less well known: Diagoras of Melos, perhaps the first self-professed atheist; Democritus, the first materialist; Socrates, executed for rejecting the gods of the Athenian state; Epicurus and his followers, who thought gods could not intervene in human affairs; the brilliantly mischievous satirist Lucian of Samosata.Before the revolutions of late antiquity, which saw the scriptural religions of Christianity and Islam enforced by imperial might, there were few constraints on belief. Everything changed, however, in the millennium between the appearance of the Homeric poems and Christianity’s establishment as Rome’s state religion in the fourth century AD. As successive Greco-Roman empires grew in size and complexity, and power was increasingly concentrated in central capitals, states sought to impose collective religious adherence, first to cults devoted to individual rulers, and ultimately to monotheism. In this new world, there was no room for outright disbelief: the label “atheist” was used now to demonize anyone who merely disagreed with the orthodoxy—and so it would remain for centuries.As the twenty-first century shapes up into a time of mass information, but also, paradoxically, of collective amnesia concerning the tangled histories of religions, Whitmarsh provides a bracing antidote to our assumptions about the roots of freethinking. By shining a light on atheism’s first thousand years, Battling the Gods offers a timely reminder that nonbelief has a wealth of tradition of its own, and, indeed, its own heroes. From the Hardcover edition.

    Provides guidelines for preparing traditional and unique wedding vows, toasts, and readings; explains the history and significance behind wedding rituals; and discusses music selection for the ceremony and reception.

    It is undoubtedly the most popular and common Marian devotion due to its simplicity, the ease with which it can be learnt and the profound and sublime character of its prayers and meditations.The Rosary has been variously described as “an epitome of the Old Testament,” “an abridgement of the New Testament,” “a compendium of the Gospel,” “the Breviary of the laity,” “the catechism of youth,” “a beautiful system of popular theology,” “an inexhaustible book of meditation for our greatest theologians” and “a whole badge of Christian piety.””Apart from the Eucharist and other Sacraments of the Church, the Rosary is probably the most powerful means of sanctification. It is a key to the most intimate knowledge of Jesus and Mary, and is an effective way to attain to the perfection of Christian charity.As Blessed Pope John Paul II pointed out in his great Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, published at the beginning of the Year of the Rosary in October 2002, “to recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ.”As the title suggests, this book is a step-by-step guide to praying the Rosary. The layout of a standard Rosary bead set is imitated, so that each section of the Rosary begins on a new page. The active Table of Contents contains hyperlinks to every prayer in the book.The Introduction includes sections on the origins of the Rosary, the Rosary today, Our Lady's 15 promises, the prayers of the Rosary, and how to pray the Rosary. In addition to the complete Rosary, the book contains the Angelus, the Memorare of Saint Bernard, the Magnificat and the Thirty Days Prayer for obtaining graces, an Act of Consecration to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, the Prayer to Saint Joseph for the October devotions, and the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel.The Bibliography contains an extensive list of Papal Encyclicals related to the Rosary. Clicking on the title of an encyclical will open a web browser and take the reader directly to the official English text of the Encyclical on the Vatican web site.Interest in the Rosary has been rekindled since Blessed Pope John Paul II proposed the addition of a new decade comprised of the five 'Mysteries of Light' which he described as “a revelation of the Kingdom now present in the very person of Jesus.”In addition to the traditional Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, the Luminous Mysteries (which have never been officially incorporated into the Rosary) have been included in this book for those who like to recite them.To supply a scriptural foundation and greater depth to the meditations on each mystery, suitable Bible passages are provided before the commencement of each decade.The Biblical texts chosen by the author refer not only to the subject-matter of the particular mystery, but also to the spiritual grace which the mystery is believed to confer. The spiritual grace is specified, as is the day on which the subject-matter of the mystery is commemorated by the Church.To give the user's meditation even further depth, and to help focus his or her attention on the mysteries of the Rosary, the beautiful woodcut engravings of Gustave Doré which were made for the English translation of the Bible of 1866 are included to illustrate the mysteries.As Sister Lucia of Fatima said, "There is no problem ... no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

    In fact, Ross Douthat of The New York Times wrote that “if Aslan had actually written in defense of the Islamic view of Jesus, that would have been something provocative and new.”Mustafa Akyol’s The Islamic Jesus is that book.The Islamic Jesus reveals startling new truths about Islam in the context of the first Muslims and the early origins of Christianity. Muslims and the first Christians—the Jewish followers of Jesus—saw Jesus as not divine but rather as a prophet and human Messiah and that salvation comes from faith and good works, not merely as faith, as Christians would later emphasize. What Akyol seeks to reveal are how these core beliefs of Jewish Christianity, which got lost in history as a heresy, emerged in a new religion born in 7th Arabia: Islam.Akyol exposes this extraordinary historical connection between Judaism, Jewish Christianity and Islam—a major mystery unexplored by academia. From Jesus’ Jewish followers to the Nazarenes and Ebionites to the Qu’ran’s stories of Mary and Jesus, The Islamic Jesus will reveal links between religions that seem so contrary today. It will also call on Muslims to discover their own Jesus, at a time when they are troubled by their own Pharisees and Zealots.

    This devotional is your definitive guide to… • Unpacking the Daniel Fast • A Closer Connection with God • The Four Keys to Powerful Prayer • How Fasting and Prayer Produces Breakthrough The book you’re holding walks you through Pastor Scott Williams’ own discovery of the Daniel Fast and the amazing life change, breakthrough, and success that followed. Since then, he’s done it on an annual basis for over a decade and has taught others to do the same. The results have been staggering! All 21 days come power packed daily dose of... • Scripture • Devotionals • Journal Ideas • Prayers • Fasting Tips Start a journey toward more intimacy with God as you learn to Fast Like Daniel.

    It can feel like we are pulling a cart behind us with all are troubles and worries, it slows us down, we can become tired, depressed, even jealous, as life seems so easy for others. All we need to do is LET GO of the cart and we will feel lighter and free, but often we have held onto it so long that it has become part of us. Many of the people we know are also carrying carts, so it can seem normal. We talk about how heavy are cart is with anyone that will listen, at no point do we realize that we can set down that heavy cart that is keeping us from Gods love. We need to learn to Let go. In this book I will share with you stories of people that struggled with letting go and what happened when they did. God is only in the present moment, he is not in the past or future. The moment that we let go of the past God will turn the page to the next chapter of our life, which will be much better than the last. It will take courage and faith, but I invite you to take this journey with me. By the end of the book God will shine a light into your life that will illuminate you to… THE POWER OF LETTING GO.

    It is interesting how many confuse this counterfeit with the rider of the white horse in Revelation 19. In chapter 6, however, this rider is among some very bad company! “Behold a White Horse” explores the career of the first of these “Four Horsemen” who seems to have at least 33 titles in the Old Testament and 13 in the New Testament and the common term “AntiChrist” really isn’t one of them. We also explore the only physical description of him in the Scripture! Why is he a “mistaken identity”? How do we know this is NOT the Christ? What is the precedent condition(s) for his appearance? What is the precedent condition for the unsealing of the Seven Sealed Book? What is the Seven Sealed Book? Is his “bow” a pun? How? Why? How can he “go forth to conquer” if he is a “peace maker”? Is the Church on the earth at this time? How do we know? Is He alive today? How do we know? How can he be the “Seed of the Serpent”?

    There is more than enough evidence to prove that the historical Jesus was a Black man. Today Jesus Christ is widely portrayed as a White man. This eBook explains how and why Jesus Christ metamorphosed from Black to White.

    He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way 'to yield an understanding of the religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity'. The need and capacity of men and women to relate to one another socially lies at the heart of Durkheim's exploration, in which religion embodies the beliefs that shape our moral universe. The Elementary Forms has been applauded and debated by sociologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, philosophers, and theologians, and continues to speak to new generations about the intriguing origin and nature of religion and society. This new, lightly abridged edition provides an excellent introduction to Durkheim's ideas.

    Covering a wide range of religious communities—including Evangelical, Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, Calvinist, Moonie, and Jehovah’s Witness—and containing contributions from authors like Julia Scheeres (Jesus Land), the stories in Beyond Belief reveal how these women became involved, what their lives were like, and why they came to the decision to eventually abandon their faiths. The authors shed a bright light on the rigid expectations and misogyny so often built into religious orthodoxy, yet they also explain the lure—why so many women are attracted to these lifestyles, what they find that’s beautiful about living a religious life, and why leaving can be not only very difficult but also bittersweet.

    He shows how the long history of Shintoism is deeply woven into the fabric of Japanese spirituality and mythology--indeed, it is regarded as Japan's very spiritual roots--and discusses its role in modern Japan and the world. He also carefully analyzes the relationship of the spirit and the soul, which will provide informed and invaluable insight into how spirituality affects our daily existence. Through the author's emphasis on the universality of Shinto and its prevalence in the natural world, the book will appeal to all readers with an appreciation of humanity's place in nature and the individual's role in the larger society.

    A classic study of an influential American religion....Provides both the specialist in religion and the general reader with a thoughtful history of this complex religion.

    Mack's investigation of the various groups and strands of the early Christian community, out of which were generated the texts of Christianity's first anthology of religious literature, makes sense of a topic that has been confusing.

    Atheism: A Very Short Introduction sets out to dispel the myths that surround atheism and show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral. It also confronts the failure of officially atheist states in the Twentieth Century. The book presents an intellectual case for atheism that rests as much upon positive arguments for its truth as on negative arguments against religion.