This book by Jamie Smith is a small field guide to Taylor's genealogy of the secular, making it accessible to a wide array of readers. Smith's How (Not) to Be Secular is also, however, a philosophical guidebook for practitioners a kind of how-to manual that ultimately offers guidance on how to live in a secular age. It's an adventure in self-understanding and a way to get our bearings in postmodernity. Whether one is proclaiming faith to the secularized or is puzzled that there continue to be people of faith in this day and age, this is a philosophical story meant to help us locate where we are and what's at stake.

    How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion-an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus-was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history. Today, the West remains utterly saturated by Christian assumptions. As Tom Holland demonstrates, our morals and ethics are not universal but are instead the fruits of a very distinctive civilization. Concepts such as secularism, liberalism, science, and homosexuality are deeply rooted in a Christian seedbed. From Babylon to the Beatles, Saint Michael to #MeToo, Dominion tells the story of how Christianity transformed the modern world.

    But miracles? Rising from the dead? Some of the stories you hear about him sound like just that - stories. A reasonable person would never believe them, let alone the claim that he's the only way to God! But a reasonable person would also make sure that he or she understood the facts before jumping to conclusions. That's why Lee Strobel - an award-winning legal journalist with a knack for asking tough questions - decided to investigate Jesus for himself. An atheist, Strobel felt certain his findings would bring Christianity's claims about Jesus tumbling down like a house of cards. He was in for the surprise of his life. Join him as he retraces his journey from skepticism to faith. You'll consult expert testimony as you sift through the truths that history, science, psychiatry, literature, and religion reveal. Like Strobel, you'll be amazed at the evidence - how much there is, how strong it is, and what it says. The facts are in. What will your verdict be in The Case for Christ?

    There are no verse references, and Scripture segments are seamlessly woven together with transition text into a single grand narrative. For those intimidated or overwhelmed by the unabridged Bible, The Story helps people understand God’s Word more fully and engage with it more easily.Simple, accessible, and easy to use, churches are finding The Story a powerful way to engage their people in Bible reading like never before. As The Story brings the Bible to life, the broad scope of God’s message will penetrate hearts. People of all ages will be swept up in the story of God’s love and God’s plan for their lives.God goes to great lengths to rescue lost and hurting people. That is what The Story is all about: the story of the Bible, God’s great love affair with humanity. Condensed into 31 accessible chapters, The Story sweeps you into the unfolding progression of Bible characters and events from Genesis to Revelation. Using the clear, accessible text of the NIV Bible, it allows the stories, poems, and teachings of the Bible to read like a novel. And like any good story, The Story is filled with intrigue, drama, conflict, romance, and redemption; and this story’s true! “This book tells the grandest, most compelling story of all time: the story of a true God who loves his children, who established for them a way of salvation and provided a route to eternity. Each story in these 31 chapters reveals the God of grace---the God who speaks; the God who acts; the God who listens; the God whose love for his people culminated in his sacrifice of Jesus, his only Son, to atone for the sins of humanity.”

    "A collection of 239 short devotional-style lessons exploring one verse from each chapter of the Book of Mormon"--

    With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan's story into an audacious exploration of Christianity's shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.

    In a compelling narrative, Marlantes weaves riveting accounts of his combat experiences with thoughtful analysis, self-examination and his readings -- from Homer to the Mahabharata to Jung. He talks frankly about how he is haunted by the face of the young North Vietnamese soldier he killed at close quarters and how he finally finds a way to make peace with his past. Marlantes discusses the daily contradictions that warriors face in the grind of war, where each battle requires them to take life or spare life, and where they enter a state he likens to the fervor of religious ecstasy.Just as Matterhorn is already being acclaimed as a classic of war literature, What It Is Like To Go To War is set to become required reading for anyone -- soldier or civilian -- interested in this visceral and all too essential part of the human experience.

    This definitive volume brings the most unique, most compelling, and most insightful comments on the Book of Mormon all to one place to help you get more out of your personal scripture study. As we ask inspired questions and seek a deeper understanding of the scriptures, we invite personal revelation to help us in our ever-changing journey of life.

    Filled with compassion and brilliant scholarship, Fulton Sheen's recounting of the Birth, Life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ is as dramatic and moving as the subject Himself.

    Prostitutes and pagans, tax collectors and tricksters. The more unlikely, the more it seemed to please God and to demonstrate his power, might, and mercy. America in the 1960s and 1970s was full of unlikely people--men and women who had rejected the stuffy religion of their parents' generation, who didn't follow the rules, didn't fit in. The perfect setting for the greatest spiritual awakening of the 20th century.With passion and purpose, Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn tell the amazing true story of the Jesus Movement, an extraordinary time of mass revival, renewal, and reconciliation. Setting fascinating personal stories within the context of one of the most tumultuous times in modern history, the authors draw important parallels with our own time of spiritual apathy or outright hostility, offering hope for the next generation of unlikely believers--and for the next great American revival.Those who lived through the Jesus Revolution will find here an inspiring reminder of the times and people that shaped their lives and faith. Younger readers will discover a forgotten part of recent American history and, along with it, a reason to believe that God is not finished with their generation.

    Brigham Young, second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, and first Governor of Utah, was the founder and chief builder of the Great Intermountain West of the United States of America. He is recognized as one of the foremost colonizers and empire builders of all time. In this book Young is allowed to speak for himself. Excerpts have been made from his many discourses, and these have been arranged to show the coherent system of faith which he continuously taught his people and by which he was enabled to win success for his followers. Partial Contents: The Godhead; The Communication Between God and Man; Pre-existence, the Plan of Salvation; Free Agency; The Power of Evil; The Law of Eternal Progression; The Destiny of Man; Dispensations of the Gospel; The Last Days; The Scriptures; The Priesthood; The First Principles of the Gospel; The Word of Wisdom; The Family; Some Womanly Duties; Obedience; Gratitude, Humility, Devotion, Liberality, Honesty; Happiness and Social Enjoyments; Education; Self Control; Our Fellow-Men; Unity and Cooperation; Thrift and Industry; Wealth; Missionary Work; Visions, Mysteries and Miracles; Trials and Persecution; Political Government; Death and Resurrection; The Spirit World; Eternal Judgment; Salvation; Temples and Salvation for the Dead; Man's Search for Truth and Salvation; Testimony of the Truth; The Church and Kingdom of God on Earth; Some Effects of the Gospel; Joseph Smith the Prophet; and The Settlement in the West. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

    With equal expertise and enthusiasm she radiates her testimony of the brightness of hope that the gospel brings.A bumper sticker she quotes could well be a summary of this collection of addresses. 'Hard-hat construction area: christian under construction'. She adds: 'We're all Christians under construction, and that's an area where we need hard hats. It's . . . a little risky sometimes'.Sister Okazaki shares her personal experiences reaching out to the reader with love, support and encouragement. Her often penetrating insights into the tests of mortal life ring with truth and sincerity. Just as with the pattern of the cat's cradle, our lives connect and intersect. She describes those connections in both inspiring and practical terms over a broad spectrum of topics: partnership in marriage and in Church callings; love, the heart of the gospel; the process and the joy of service; replacing circles that exclude with circles that include; the changes life brings and the responses we choose; how to accept and handle our mistakes; bringing hope and growth out of the deserts of adversity; using the flowers of our loves for either joy or consolation, as needed; and much more. Pervading every address is Sister Okazaki's sense of the reality of Jesus Christ and how we can make his cause- love- more deeply our own.

    Latter-day Saints have not been immune to this trend. In recent years, many faithful Church members have encountered challenging aspects of Church history, belief, or practice. Feeling isolated, alienated, or misled, some struggle to stay. Some simply leave. Many search for a reliable and faithful place to work through their questions. The abundance of information online can make them feel frustrated. Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt offers people who struggle with questions and people who love those who struggle practical ways to stay planted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rather than attempting to answer every possible question or doubt, Planted presents an empathetic, practical, and candid dialog about the relationship of doubt and faith.

    It’s an approach that has become her trademark. Now in Small Victories, Lamott offers a new message of hope that celebrates the triumph of light over the darkness in our lives. Our victories over hardship and pain may seem small, she writes, but they change us—our perceptions, our perspectives, and our lives. Lamott writes of forgiveness, restoration, and transformation, how we can turn toward love even in the most hopeless situations, how we find the joy in getting lost and our amazement in finally being found.Profound and hilarious, honest and unexpected, the stories in Small Victories are proof that the human spirit is irrepressible.

    As we come to understand the difference between the experience in the Natural and the Spiritual Mind, we gain greater access to unseen spiritual realities. We find that the Light in our Wilderness is literal, and that it continually seeks access to our awareness. In this book, Catherine Thomas invites fellow seekers to search behind familiar gospel words and concepts to find a greater revelation.