Book picks similar to
Readings from the Perspective of Earth by Norman C. Habel


ecotheology
mythology
hermeneutics-and-exegesis
spirituality

Don Juan in Soho: After Molière


Patrick Marber - 2007
    Moliere's farcical, tragic, anarchic Don Juan (1665) is the inspiration for Patrick Marber's new play in which the action of the original is relocated to present day Soho, London.Whereas Moliere condemned his anti-hero to a literal Hell, Marber condemns him to a hell of his own making.Don Juan in Soho premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in December 2006.

Life and Teaching Of The Masters Of The Far East, Vol 1


Baird T. Spalding - 1983
    

Na Akua


Clayton Smith - 2016
    But when Grayson Park's bride leaves him at the altar, a solo trip to paradise seems like just the thing to take him far from his troubles. Then he meets the beautiful and enigmatic Hi'iaka, and his troubles just begin--because when she's abducted by the sinister Kamapua'a, a savage creature bent on draining her life by the light of the full moon, she calls on Grayson to rescue her. With his loyal, new-found Hawaiian friend Polunu as his steadfast guide, Grayson sets out on an incredible adventure that pits him against the very gods of Hawaiian mythology and leads him to the heart of Pele's volcano, into the ocean to find the mythical Hook of Maui, and through the strange and brutal upcountry fleeing from demonic mo'o sent to destroy him. But there are only two nights left before the moon becomes full, and Grayson is running out of time to save Hi'iaka...and himself.

Meditation and the Bible


Aryeh Kaplan - 1978
    First English translation from ancient unpublished manuscripts, with commentary.

Honey from Stone: A Naturalist's Search for God


Chet Raymo - 1987
    As he wanders the land year upon year, Raymo gathers the revelations embedded in the geological and cultural history of this wild and ancient place. "When I called out for the Absolute, I was answered by the wind," Raymo writes. "If it was God's voice in the wind, then I heard it." In poetic prose grounded in a mind trained to discover fact, Honey from Stone enters the wonder of the material world in search of our deepest nature.

Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation


Elaine Pagels - 2012
    Through the bestselling books of Elaine Pagels, thousands of readers have come to know and treasure the suppressed biblical texts known as the Gnostic Gospels. As one of the world's foremost religion scholars, she has been a pioneer in interpreting these books and illuminating their place in the early history of Christianity. Her new book, however, tackles a text that is firmly, dramatically within the New Testament canon: The Book of Revelation, the surreal apocalyptic vision of the end of the world . . . or is it?In this startling and timely book, Pagels returns The Book of Revelation to its historical origin, written as its author John of Patmos took aim at the Roman Empire after what is now known as "the Jewish War," in 66 CE. Militant Jews in Jerusalem, fired with religious fervor, waged an all-out war against Rome's occupation of Judea and their defeat resulted in the desecration of Jerusalem and its Great Temple. Pagels persuasively interprets Revelation as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome. Soon after, however, a new sect known as "Christians" seized on John's text as a weapon against heresy and infidels of all kinds-Jews, even Christians who dissented from their increasingly rigid doctrines and hierarchies.In a time when global religious violence surges, Revelations explores how often those in power throughout history have sought to force "God's enemies" to submit or be killed. It is sure to appeal to Pagels's committed readers and bring her a whole new audience who want to understand the roots of dissent, violence, and division in the world's religions, and to appreciate the lasting appeal of this extraordinary text.

Touching Heaven: Real Stories of Children, Life, and Eternity


Leanne Hadley - 2013
    It is when children are sick, even dying, that they can suddenly bring us closer to God ourselves. Children's minister and former children's hospital chaplain Leanne Hadley has been ministering to hurting children for years. In "Touching Heaven," she recounts the poignant stories and simple faith of the remarkable children she has been privileged to serve. She shares their encounters with God, Jesus, and angels. And with humor and tenderness, she offers their inspiring testimonies to the presence of God in our lives--even as earthly life is ending. Anyone who has lost a child or another loved one, or anyone who is currently supporting a dying person along the journey, will find in these stories comfort, inspiration, and hope of everlasting life.

7 Secrets of Divine Mercy


Vinny Flynn - 2015
    In 2006, Pope Benedict stressed that "Divine Mercy is not a secondary devotion, but an integral dimension of Christian faith and prayer." Now Pope Francis has proclaimed an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will begin on December 8, 2015. These three Popes have made it very clear that Divine Mercy is a major part of the Christian faith, and now this powerful new book reveals why.Best-selling author Vinny Flynn continues his popular "7 Secrets" series with a book that brings him back to his roots. Vinny was one of the original editors of the official English edition of the actual Diary of St. Faustina, and he has written and edited a vast number of the Divine Mercy materials that are used today.Through his "secrets" of Divine Mercy, Vinny shows how Divine Mercy is not just another worthy "private devotion"; it is the key devotion, the umbrella devotion over everything else. Every other devotion in the Church, every ritual, every activity, every teaching is under that umbrella of Divine Mercy. It’s all there to help us understand and enter into Divine Mercy. He shows us how everything in our lives can become more meaningful, more powerful, more life-changing once we really embrace the gift of Divine Mercy — the overflow of love from the Holy Trinity.In this compelling and timely book, Flynn draws from Scripture, the teachings of the Church, and the Diary of St. Faustina to not only reveal the heart of Divine Mercy, but to offer you an invitation and a road map so that this mercy can transform your life.If you're not yet convinced of the impact Divine Mercy can have on your life, if you've never heard of this message and devotion, or if you're curious to learn more about it, this book is perfect for you. It shows us all how to respond to the call of Pope Francis "to live lives shaped by mercy", and benefit greatly from the "Year of Mercy".

The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus


Gary R. Habermas - 2004
    It is interesting, engaging, and crucial material. --Norman Geisler This is an accessible, comprehensive, and persuasive resource providing detailed evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. It also demonstrates how to share the material clearly, honestly, and definitively. Included is an interactive CD which tests the reader's knowledge of the material by using an entertaining TV game show format.[The authors] have distinguished themselves as leading experts on the evidence for this all important event. --D. James KennedyWritten by the leading evangelical apologist on the resurrection and an up-and-comerIncludes an interactive CD to cement the information from the bookWritten for lay people but includes extensive footnotes that scholars will find valuableIncludes charts, diagrams, and a detailed outline for quick reference

Journey of a Master: Swami Chinmayananda


Nancy Freeman Patchen - 1989
    In telling the story of one master’s training and evolution in the Himalayas and his subsequent mission to his countrymen, the author enlightens you on the essence of India’s culture, philosophy and religion. His story will surely educate you, inspire you, and broaden your horizons of the meaning of life.The Swami spent five years in the Himalayas under the tutelage of two incredible Masters of live, as different as day and night. Although both were scholars of the scriptures, their manifestation was unique. One was an incredible streak of light and energy who traveled India teaching, then created a huge ashram center to serve all of humanity. The other was a quiet contemplative recluse who sang inspirational songs and taught only a few students.Swami Chinmayananda appeared on the scene at an appropriate time in Indian history. The British had just left the country with no one trained to take the helm of State. The British had taken all the top government positions. In addition, they had curtailed any industrial development; the Empire was about having consumers for British products. The Indians had lost their moorings: economically, spiritually and personally. To these countrymen, beaten down by 150 years of British rule, repression and slavery, the Swami gave a message of hope. He worked relentlessly for about 40 years to bring about a spiritual revival in India and abroad. His unique style and logical approach was appreciated by everyone from college students to bankers to priests—both Hindu and Christian.By teaching directly the wisdom of their ancient scriptures, he gave the listeners confidence and inspiration to move forward in business and in creating charitable endeavors for the uplifting of the downtrodden of the country. Through 200 centers in India, his devotees have built and operate schools, hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, retirement homes and training centers for nurses and teachers, as well as spiritual training centers.This story of the legacy of one of the most influential persons in the modern history of Hinduism is sure to surprise you, amaze you—and inspire you.

Felicity


Mary Oliver - 2015
    Finally, in her stunning new collection, Felicity, we can immerse ourselves in Oliver’s love poems. Here, great happiness abounds.  Our most delicate chronicler of physical landscape, Oliver has described her work as loving the world. With Felicity she examines what it means to love another person. She opens our eyes again to the territory within our own hearts; to the wild and to the quiet. In these poems, she describes—with joy—the strangeness and wonder of human connection.  As in Blue Horses, Dog Songs, and A Thousand Mornings, with Felicity Oliver honors love, life, and beauty.

Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus: Prostitution and Religious Obedience in the Bible


Chester Brown - 2016
    Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus is the retelling in comics form of nine biblical stories that present Chester Brown's fascinating and startling thesis about biblical representations of prostitution. Brown weaves a connecting line between Bathsheba, Ruth, Rahab, Tamar, Mary of Bethany, and the Virgin Mother. He reassesses the Christian moral code by examining the cultural implications of the Bible's representations of sex work.Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus is a fitting follow-up to Brown's sui generis graphic memoir Paying for It, which was reviewed twice in The New York Times and hailed by sex workers for Brown's advocacy for the decriminalization and normalization of prostitution. Brown approaches the Bible as he did the life of Louis Riel, making these stories compellingly readable and utterly pertinent to a modern audience. In classic Chester Brown fashion, he provides extensive handwritten endnotes that delve into the biblical lore that informs Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus.

Sister Wendy on Prayer


Wendy Beckett - 2006
    Her celebrated television specials and books about art have led her many admirers to ask about her own faith and practices. For the first time, in this thoughtful examination of the nature of prayer, she reveals her deeply held beliefs about her religion and her intimate understanding of God.What should I do during prayer? Can prayer really be as simple as a conversation? How do I let God enter my being? Do I need to belong to a religion in order to pray? Sister Wendy answers these and many other common questions, all the while imparting the importance of prayer in our daily lives. No book by Sister Wendy would be complete without art accompanying her wisdom are thirteen beautiful reproductions of paintings that Sister Wendy has selected because of the spiritual connection she has with each.

Praying the Bible


Donald S. Whitney - 2015
    Offering readers hope, encouragement, and the practical advice they’re looking for, this concise book by professor Donald Whitney outlines a simple, time-tested method that can help transform our prayer lives: praying the words of the Bible. Praying the Bible shows readers how to pray through portions of Scripture one line at a time, helping us stay focused by allowing God’s Word itself to direct our thoughts and words. Simple yet profound, this resource will prove invaluable to all Christians as they seek to commune with their heavenly Father in prayer each and every day.

Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness


Richard B. Hays - 2014
    Hays maps the shocking ways the four Gospel writers interpreted Israel's Scripture to craft their literary witnesses to the Church's one Christ. The Gospels' scriptural imagination discovered inside the long tradition of a resilient Jewish monotheism a novel and revolutionary Christology.Modernity's incredulity toward the Christian faith partly rests upon the characterization of early Christian preaching as a tendentious misreading of the Hebrew Scriptures. Christianity, modernity claims, twisted the Bible they inherited to fit its message about a mythological divine Savior. The Gospels, for many modern critics, are thus more about Christian doctrine in the second and third century than they are about Jesus in the first.Such Christian misreadings are not late or politically motivated developments within Christian thought. As Hays demonstrates, the claim that the events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection took place according to the Scriptures stands at the very heart of the New Testament's earliest message. All four canonical Gospels declare that the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms mysteriously prefigure Jesus. The author of the Fourth Gospel puts the claim succinctly: If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me (John 5:46).Hays thus traces the reading strategies the Gospel writers employ to read backwards and to discover how the Old Testament figuratively discloses the astonishing paradoxical truth about Jesus' identity. Attention to Jewish and Old Testament roots of the Gospel narratives reveals that each of the four Evangelists, in their diverse portrayals, identify Jesus as the embodiment of the God of Israel. Hays also explores the hermeneutical challenges posed by attempting to follow the Evangelists as readers of Israel's Scripture--can the Evangelists teach us to read backwards along with them and to discern the same mystery they discovered in Israel's story?In Reading Backwards Hays demonstrates that it was Israel's Scripture itself that taught the Gospel writers how to understand Jesus as the embodied presence of God, that this conversion of imagination occurred early in the development of Christian theology, and that the Gospel writers' revisionary figural readings of their Bible stand at the very center of Christianity.--Joel B. Green, Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary "First Things"