Thoroughly personal and inspiring, Drawn into the Mystery challenges all Christians to encounter the fullness of life lived in close communion with God. Vanier writes: "These insights that I share in this book come from the life of Jesus in me . . . They also flow from my life with people who are weak and who have taught me to welcome Jesus from the place of the poverty in me." Jean Vanier was a friend and influential mentor to the late Henri Nouwen. Toward the end of his life, Nouwen left Harvard to live and work at one of Jean Vanier's L'Arche communities. This was perhaps the most profound experience of Christianity Nouwen experienced. The thought and spiritual direction/discipleship of Jean Vanier is available to all in Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus-through the Gospel of John. +

    With a mastery of Scripture equal to that of the most committed Protestants, author David Armstrong shows that the Catholic Church is the "Bible Church par excellence," and that many common Protestant doctrines are in fact not biblical.

    As long-held beliefs on love, faith, and God are challenged by the aggregate of changes that have overhauled our world, many of us are left feeling confused and uncertain while old norms are challenged and redefined at breakneck speed.In Wrestling with God, Ronald Rolheiser offers a steady and inspiring voice to help us avow and understand our faith in a world where nothing seems solid or permanent. Drawing from his own life experience, as well as a storehouse of literary, psychological, and theological insights, the beloved author of Sacred Fire examines the fears and doubts that challenge us. It is in these struggles to find meaning, that Rolheiser lays out a path for faith in a world struggling to find faith, but perhaps more important, he helps us find our own rhythm within which to walk that path.

    He discusses his views on freedom and democracy and speaks about the twentieth-century totalitarian ideologies of communism and nazism. Making an emphatic appeal for mankind to regard freedom "not only as a gift but a task" to be used for the common good, he calls for a dialogue between all the world's civilizations and religions. This work is a unique reflection on human life, and will be admired by thinkers of all religions and nationalities.

    It tells of four young men, born in the tiny state of Judah around 500 b.c., and captured by Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of Babylon. Daniel describes how they eventually rose to senior positions of administration. Daniel and his friends did not simply maintain their private devotion to God; they maintained a high-profile witness in a pluralistic society antagonistic to their faith. Their story carries a powerful message for us today. Society tolerates the practice of Christianity in private and in church services, but increasingly it deprecates public witness. If Daniel and his compatriots were with us today they would be in the vanguard of public debate. This is a lucid and erudite examination of the life of Daniel from a leading expert on faith and science. In his first biblical work, Dr. Lennox provides a unique perspective on both Western society and biblical exegesis that will make "Against the Flow" an instant classic encouraging Christians to speak out in our modern Babylon.

    How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.

    God doesn't have boundaries, and faith doesn't have to be limited to what someone else has told us. God is alive. Faith is alive. Velvet Elvis helps us find our faith. And even if it doesn't, it encourages us to keep looking. Faith doesn't end with this book. But it just might begin...

    He brings to his treatment of these questions the same courage, scrupulous logic, and lofty wisdom for which his other work as philosopher, writer, and teacher has been famous. These qualities make the essays included in this book perhaps the most graceful and moving presentation of the freethinker's position since the days of Hume and Voltaire. "I am as firmly convinced that religions do harm as I am that they are untrue," Russell declares in his Preface, and his reasoned opposition to any system or dogma which he feels may shackle man's mind runs through all the essays in this book, whether they were written as early as 1899 or as late as 1954. The book has been edited, with Lord Russell's full approval and cooperation, by Professor Paul Edwards of the Philosophy Department of New York University. In an Appendix, Professor Edwards contributes a full account of the highly controversial "Bertrand Russell Case" of 1940, in which Russell was judicially declared "unfit" to teach philosophy at the College of the City of New York. Whether the reader shares or rejects Bertrand Russell's views, he will find this book an invigorating challenge to set notions, a masterly statement of a philosophical position, and a pure joy to read.Why I am not a Christian --Has religion made useful contributions to civilization? --What I believe --Do we survive death? --Seems, madam? Nay, it is --Free man's worship --On Catholic and Protestant skeptics --Life in the Middle Ages --Fate of Thomas Paine --Nice people --New generation --Our sexual ethics --Freedom and the colleges --Can religion cure our troubles? --Religion and morals --Appendix: How Bertrand Russell was prevented from teaching at the College of the City of New York

    

    Forty meditations on Great Lent based on liturgical, scriptural and patristic texts.

    Throughout the Gospels, Christ employed humor for the sake of truth and many of his teachings, when seen in this light, become brilliantly clear for the first time. Irony, satire, paradox, even laughter itself help clarify Christ's famous parables, His brief sayings, and important events in His life. In a valuable appendix 30 humorous Gospel passages are listed for further study.

    The real identity of the person who chose to write under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite is unknown. Even the exact dates of his writings have never been determined. Moreover the texts themselves, though relatively short, are at points seemingly impenetrable and have mystified readers over the centuries. Yet the influence of this shadowy figure on broad range of mystical writers from the early middle ages on is readily discernible. His formulation of a method of negative theology that stresses the impotence of humans' attempt to penetrate the "cloud of unknowing" is famous as is his meditation on the divine names.Despite his influence, relatively few attempts have been made to translate the entire corpus of his written into English. Here in one volume are collected all of the Pseudo-Dionysius' works. Each has been translated from the Migne edition, with reference to the forthcoming Göttingen critical edition of A.M. Ritter, G. Heil, and B. Suchla.To present these works to the English-speaking public, an outstanding team of six research scholars has been assembled. The lucid translation of Colm Luibheid has been augmented by Paul Rorem's notes and textual collaboration. The reader is presented a rich and varied examination of the main themes of Dionysian spirituality by René Roques, an incisive discussion of the original questions of the authenticity and alleged heresies in the Dionysian corpus by Jaroslav Pelikan, a comprehensive tracing Dionysius' influence on medieval authors by Jean Leclercq, and a survey by Karlfried Froehlich of the reception given the corpus by Humanists and sixteenth-century Reformers.

    What have you got to lose? If you’ve ever had doubts or questions about the justification for eternal torment, Raising Hell will open your eyes to a radical new look at God’s love for all mankind—and what the Good News is really about. Picking up where Rob Bell and others leave off, Julie Ferwerda offers compelling evidence as to why she now believes the doctrine of eternal torment is the biggest deception of the modern Church. What people are saying about Raising Hell...“Mercy triumphs over judgment…brilliant reminder!” —Saint James“Ms. Ferwerda dares to believe in a victorious gospel, where God actually wins and Satan loses. The author promises much more than God possibly can or will deliver! If you read this book, you may be putting your soul in danger of eternal hellfire!” —Pastor Todd Doubter “This book fully explains what was meant by the famous declaration of long ago: ‘Good news of great joy shall be for all the people.’ I love it and will buy it for eleven of my friends!” —A. Fisherman“Julie has not been to seminary and therefore her message is rife with the ignorant heresies you would expect from a regular lay person with no formal training.” —Dr. Theo Logian PhD, M.Div., D.Min.“My opinion? Julie Ferwerda is going straight to hell with Rob Bell!” —The Church Lady

     Every follower of Jesus in the Gospels had a not-so-great “before”: A brash fisherman. A pious religious leader. A demon-possessed woman. A thieving tax collector. Christ’s love saw beyond their brokenness and forgave. Jesus revolutionized the lives of those who followed Him. And He’s still doing it today. Each of the forty devotions in The Chosen contains a Scripture, a unique look into a Gospel story, suggestions for prayer, and questions that lead you further in your relationship with Christ. See Jesus through the eyes of those who knew him best, and explore the backstories of people like Mary Magdalene, Peter, Matthew, Nicodemus, and more. It’s hard to relate to the sinless Son of God, but we can all identify with the sinners. You too can be transformed: Jesus sees past your "before" to the person He is creating you to be.

    Doug easily demonstrates the fallacies, prejudice, and irrationality of perhaps the most talented of the atheistic writers today, and shows how Christianity is the only reasonable, solid, and in fact, necessary, alternative.