For good and for evil, religion is the single greatest influence in the world. We accept as self-evident that competing economic systems (capitalist or communist) or clashing political parties (Republican or Democratic) propose very different solutions to our planet's problems. So why do we pretend that the world's religious traditions are different paths to the same God? We blur the sharp distinctions between religions at our own peril, argues religion scholar Stephen Prothero, and it is time to replace naÏve hopes of interreligious unity with deeper knowledge of religious differences. In Religious Literacy, Prothero demonstrated how little Americans know about their own religious traditions and why the world's religions should be taught in public schools. Now, in God Is Not One, Prothero provides readers with this much-needed content about each of the eight great religions. To claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. For example: –Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission –Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation –Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order –Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening –Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God Prothero reveals each of these traditions on its own terms to create an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to better understand the big questions human beings have asked for millennia—and the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. A bold polemical response to a generation of misguided scholarship, God Is Not One creates a new context for understanding religion in the twenty-first century and disproves the assumptions most of us make about the way the world's religions work.

    His thoughtful advice clears the path for finding recovery and peace.Newly packaged in a convenient, portable format, Finding Your Strength in Difficult Times can provide comfort anywhere at any time. Users can bring it along in a bag or backpack and dip into it throughout the day to find inspiration and motivation, for problems both large and seemingly small. Includes meditations for anger, loneliness, jealousy, and more.

     You will learn how Muhammad shaped his personality as a child, dealt with the universal challenges of adolescence while a teenager, and then emerged as a leader in his community as a young adult. The book deliberately avoids the language of historical narration used in typical biographies of the Prophet in favor of a more informal, down-to-earth approach. In this book, the reader will get a completely different view of Muhammad and hopefully will see how Muhammad addressed our own daily challenges, inspiring us to excel in confronting these challenges. "I enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to everyone who wants to be inspired by Muhammad, the greatest of mankind." Mirza Yawar Baig, author of Presenting Islam Today.

    Through the principles and practices of Islam, you will learn how to unlock your spiritual potential and unveil your divine purpose. Secrets of Divine Love uses a rational, yet heart-based approach towards the Qur'an that not only enlightens the mind, but inspires the soul towards deeper intimacy with God.

    50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology uses popular myths as a vehicle for helping students and laypersons to distinguish science from pseudoscience.# Uses common myths as a vehicle for exploring how to distinguish factual from fictional claims in popular psychology# Explores topics that readers will relate to, but often misunderstand, such as 'opposites attract', 'people use only 10% of their brains', and 'handwriting reveals your personality'# Provides a 'mythbusting kit' for evaluating folk psychology claims in everyday life# Teaches essential critical thinking skills through detailed discussions of each myth# Includes over 200 additional psychological myths for readers to explore# Contains an Appendix of useful Web Sites for examining psychological myths# Features a postscript of remarkable psychological findings that sound like myths but that are true# Engaging and accessible writing style that appeals to students and lay readers alike

    Thoughtful and inspiring, it offers a rare vision of hope that will redefine what we think about our neighbors, our future, and ourselves.In this timely, provocative, and uplifting journey, the bestselling author of Walking the Bible searches for the man at the heart of the world's three monotheistic religions -- and today's deadliest conflicts.At a moment when the world is asking, "Can the religions get along?" one figure stands out as the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. One man holds the key to our deepest fears -- and our possible reconciliation. Abraham.Bruce Feiler set out on a personal quest to better understand our common patriarch. Traveling in war zones, climbing through caves and ancient shrines, and sitting down with the world's leading religious minds, Feiler uncovers fascinating, little-known details of the man who defines faith for half the world.Both immediate and timeless, Abraham is a powerful, universal story, the first-ever interfaith portrait of the man God chose to be his partner. Thoughtful and inspiring, it offers a rare vision of hope that will redefine what we think about our neighbors, our future, and ourselves.

    With the Heart in Mind asks readers to consider an alternative understanding of intelligence in which the primary function of the intellect is to know God and lead others to Him as well.

    The only bootstrap in the Christian life is the Cross," says Mason. "Sometimes laying hold of the cross can be comforting, but other times it is like picking up a snake."Job knew this firsthand. From him we learn that there are no easy answers to suffering. That the mark of true faith is not happiness, but rather, having one's deepest passions be engaged by the enormity of God. And through Job we learn the secret of the gospel: that "mercy is the permission to be human." The Lord never gave Job an explanation for all he had been through. His only answer was Himself. But as Job discovered, that was enough.The Gospel According to Job sensitively brings the reader to this realization, using a devotional commentary format that reminds them that it's all right to doubt, to be confused, to wonder-in short, to be completely human. But what will heal us and help us endure is a direct, transforming encounter with the living God.

    Whether you're coping with loss, making a major decision, or facing a fear, 100 Days to Brave will give you courage and confidence to move forward. With honesty and relatable humor, New York Times bestselling author Annie F. Downs invites you to embrace the path and plan God has for you. Stop allowing your fears to hold you back. Face them head on with 100 Days to Brave as your devotional guide to walking the road to your most courageous self.Dare to spend the next 100 days discovering how to:Experience personal growth, navigate difficult transitions, and overcome anxietyConquer your fear so it doesn't hold you backEstablish daily habits to keep you mentally strongImpacting 400,000 individuals and families, 100 Days to Brave is for:Women (and men, too) of all agesIndividuals wanting to ignite hope in their lifeDevotions by yourself, with a small group, or a youth groupGifts of self-care and self-discoveryBirthday gifts, Mother's Day, National Best Friends Day, and holiday givingAs a society, we are going through a lot! With anxiety and loneliness at all-time highs, it's important that you take the next 100 days to discover that you are braver than you know and stronger than you thought possible.Look for additional inspirational books from Annie:Let's All Be BravePerfectly UniqueSpeak Love

    In Sectarian Gulf, Toby Matthiesen paints a very different picture, offering the first assessment of the Arab Spring across the region. With first-hand accounts of events in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, Matthiesen tells the story of the early protests, and illuminates how the regimes quickly suppressed these movements.Pitting citizen against citizen, the regimes have warned of an increasing threat from the Shia population. Relations between the Gulf regimes and their Shia citizens have soured to levels as bad as 1979, following the Iranian revolution. Since the crackdown on protesters in Bahrain in mid-March 2011, the "Shia threat" has again become the catchall answer to demands for democratic reform and accountability. While this strategy has ensured regime survival in the short term, Matthiesen warns of the dire consequences this will have—for the social fabric of the Gulf States, for the rise of transnational Islamist networks, and for the future of the Middle East.

    No storming of the Bastille. No mutiny on the Aurora. Instead, the mediocre have seized power without firing a single shot. They rose to power on the tide of an economy where workers produce assembly-line meals without knowing how to cook at home, give customers instructions over the phone that they themselves don’t understand, or sell books and newspapers that they never read.

    Unlike other translations of the Bar do thos grol, the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead , Robert Thurman's takes literally the entire gamut of metaphysical assumptions. The Bar do thos grol, or as Thurman translates, The Great Book of Natural Liberation through Understanding in the Between, is but one of many mortuary texts of Nyingma sect of Tibetan Buddhism and is commonly recited to or by a person facing imminent death. Thurman reproduces it for this purpose, explaining in some depth the Tibetan conception of post-mortem existence. Over as many as 12 days, the deceased person is given explanations of what he or she sees and experiences and is guided through innumerable visions of the realms beyond to reach eventual liberation, or, failing that, a safe rebirth. Like a backpacker's guide to a foreign land, Thurman's version is clear, detailed, and sympathetic to the inexperienced voyager, including background and supplementary information, even illustrations (sorry, no maps). Don't wait until the journey has begun, every page should be read and memorised well ahead of time. --Brian Bruya

    Combining the best of what Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures had to offer, al-Andalus and its successors influenced the rest of Europe in dramatic ways, from the death of liturgical Latin and the spread of secular poetry, to remarkable feats in architecture, science, and technology. The glory of the Andalusian kingdoms endured until the Renaissance, when Christian monarchs forcibly converted, executed, or expelled non-Catholics from Spain. In this wonderful book, we can finally explore the lost history whose legacy is still with us in countless ways. Author Biography: María Rosa Menocal is R. Selden Rose Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and head of the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale University. She lives in New Haven, CT.

    From the author of the bestselling book Heaven, here are 60 meditations that will inspire you to live each day with an eternal perspective. Spiritually speaking, we live in the Country of the Blind. Sin has blinded us to the truth about God and Heaven, both of which are real yet unseen. But just as the physically blind must accept by faith there are stars in the sky, we must remind ourselves what Scripture tells us about eternal realities. In daily doses, author Randy Alcorn offers insights on the Christian life along with Scriptures and inspirational quotes that can transform the way you think and live today. It's time to open your eyes--and see the unseen.

    In three parts, Alan Watts -- the author of The Way of Zen and The Joyous Cosmology -- explains the basic philosophy of meditation, how individuals can practice a variety of meditations, and how inner wisdom grows naturally.