secularist, denomination vs. denomination, liberal vs. conservative -- in the last forty years, American Jews have increasingly found themselves torn apart by their diversity. In this chronicle of the evolution of American Jewry, Samuel G. Freedman illuminates the forces that have undermined the traditional peaceful coexistence among the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist branches, and secular and unaffiliated Jews. Examining recent headline-making stories as well as less publicized controversies, Freedman discusses the vitriolic battles that have arisen over intermarriage, standards of conversion, the role of women in religious ritual, the Middle East peace process, and the secular influence on religious life. As he weighs the arguments of both extremes, Freedman comes to the controversial conclusion that the Jewish-American community is headed for a Reformation, a permanent fracture of one faith into many.

    As he follows them across continents and decades, mapping individual lives that diverge and intertwine, vital patterns of struggle and resilience, valued heritage and evolving loyalties (religious, ethnic, national), converge into a resonant portrait of cultural identity in the modern age. Beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing through to the present day, Cohen tracks his family’s story of repeated upheaval, from Lithuania to South Africa, and then to England, the United States, and Israel. It is a tale of otherness marked by overt and latent anti-Semitism, but also otherness as a sense of inheritance. We see Cohen’s family members grow roots in each adopted homeland even as they struggle to overcome the loss of what is left behind and to adapt—to the racism his parents witness in apartheid-era South Africa, to the familiar ostracism an uncle from Johannesburg faces after fighting against Hitler across Europe, to the ambivalence an Israeli cousin experiences when tasked with policing the occupied West Bank.At the heart of The Girl from Human Street is the powerful and touching relationship between Cohen and his mother, that “girl.” Tortured by the upheavals in her life yet stoic in her struggle, she embodies her son’s complex inheritance. Graceful, honest, and sweeping, Cohen’s remarkable chronicle of the quest for belonging across generations contributes an important chapter to the ongoing narrative of Jewish life.

    This smart and funny book includes tales from many of these much-loved comics, and will appeal to their broad audience, while revealing the history, context and wider culture of Jewish joking.The Jewish joke is as old as Abraham, and like the Jews themselves it has wandered over the world, learned countless new languages, worked with a range of different materials, been performed in front of some pretty hostile crowds, and yet still retained its own distinctive identity. So what is it that animates the Jewish joke? Why are Jews so often thought of as ‘funny’? And how old can a joke get?The Jewish Joke is a brilliant—and laugh-out-loud funny—riff on about what marks Jewish jokes apart from other jokes, why they are important to Jewish identity and how they work. Ranging from self-deprecation to anti-Semitism, politics to sex, Devorah Baum looks at the history of Jewish joking and asks whether the Jewish joke has a future. With jokes from Lena Dunham to Woody Allen, as well as Freud and Marx (Groucho, mostly), Baum balances serious research with light-hearted humor and provides fascinating insight into this well-known and much loved cultural phenomenon.

    Christianity does all this but who has ever looked to see if it is true? This is a fundamental question and no one has yet set out to prove or disprove Christianity. Until now. From inconsistencies, absurdities, errors, contradictions and adult make-believe this books shows how the bible is false and thus that Christianity cannot possibly be true. This book examines claims in the bible against fact, and it asks deep questions of how the bible mandates that we should live. If you have ever wondered how you could know that the earth is older than 6000 years, or that Noah's flood could not possibly happen, or that the biblical creation story and ten commandments have critical flaws then this book is for you. If you are a Christian and you have questions about your faith then this book is for you. It will set your mind at ease that you will not face judgement day and it will help free your mind from the shackles of indoctrination. If you debate with Christian friends then this is your kryptonite for Christians. If you are a woman or from a lifestyle minority then this book is for you too. Especially for you. Voices of reason, logic and compassion are ever more important in today's complex political landscape. Read this book and understand why humanity should call time on Christianity and why we will all be the better for it.

    Thus inspired, Coffin, former university chaplain at Yale, imagined a similar volume of letters.

    In this honest Advent devotional, best-selling progressive Christian author John Pavlovitz reminds us that God came to meet us in the low places of our lives — and that Jesus continues to come low this Advent season. When we plant our feet firmly in the dirt of everyday life, we see Jesus meeting us in the low places: when we live humbly, when we seek forgiveness, in our grief and suffering, when we act on behalf of someone else, when we pray. As we walk the road of Advent, Jesus reminds us the invitation is not to escape this world to an elevated Heaven somewhere else, but to bring Heaven down. “God with us” is Jesus, getting low. Each devotional includes a scripture and Advent reflection on Jesus meeting us on the ground.

    He covers every book of the Old Testament in the order in which it appears in the Hebrew Bible and treats the most important issues and methods in contemporary interpretation of the Old Testament--literary, historical, and theological.

    Prophetic perspective concerning the Middle East, Israel, Australia, and the United States are all covered inside these pages. If you are searching for accurate, specific, and revelatory prophecy, the messages from heaven contained in this book will give leaders, saints, and intercessors a clear prayer agenda and tangible burden from God. The body of Christ must be prepared for the days ahead and the dreams, visions, and encounters inside these pages will do just that. Now is the time to seek the face of God like never before!

    After seven months of pouring my heart, soul and guts into something so demanding and so intense, this was the moment of truth. We were one of the most watched Congressional campaigns in America and everyone “knew” Super Tuesday was just a stepping stone to get to November. Then the finality of the words came. Second place. The end of the road.Sean Feucht never backed down from a challenge and running for US Congress was no exception. From birth, there was a call on his life to dream about the impossible, and then partner with God to see miracles come about. From going to the darkest corners of the earth to starting a world-wide prayer and worship movement, Sean has been brazen as he resolutely pursues the call of God on his life.Sean poignantly shares the deep losses in his life and how God showed up inexplicably to always show Himself to be faithful and good. In Brazen, he shares a vulnerable story of trust and how God always shows up even in your darkest hour and seemingly greatest loss. Be inspired to see your circumstances in a new way.

    This step-by-step system only works with understanding and a disciplined plan. Clayton and Natali give you just that by breaking it all down for you in this book. They arm you with the knowledge and inspiration to free yourself from the dead weight of your mortgage so that you can enjoy your monthly income however the heck you want to! Clayton and Natali Morris met while working as TV news broadcasters. Clayton has been a news anchor for over 15 years and Natali has worked for CBS and NBC for most of her career. In 2010 they started a family and got serious about building legacy wealth for their three children, Miles, Ava, and Eve. They podcast, write, and speak around the world about personal finance and financial empowerment in order to help other families like theirs employ the skills they have learned along the way to attain true financial freedom.

     Blood moons that brought nothing. Shemitah years that have long passed. 10 horns that seem neither to be 10 countries of the failing European Union nor 10 Islamic nations. Yet 1900 years after John, the code of the Antichrist is finally clear and as failed ideologies of the recent past entice the younger generation through great deception, Nimrod is rising once again. The symbols of Daniel's and John's visions are no longer a mystery but hide in plain sight today. History you can verify for yourself right now will convince you of the global Antichrist to come, before the Second Coming. There is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9). This book decodes simply the vision of John on the Number of the Beast, reliving the first lie in the garden of Eden. And it does not end at Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Nero Caesar or "nrwn qsr" You will see : Extraordinary proofs of God's omniscience in predicting the future movements of the human race, from the beginning of the world A dark agenda that is no longer a conspiracy theory, but is out in the open, operating in the halls of government worldwide Is America Mystery Babylon ? or as this book shows - has America stood time and again in the gap for Humanity against the real Beast for exactly over a 100 years now ? How World War 3 will be the global entry ramp for the Antichrist but wars are not the end (Matt 24:6) The rise of Homo Deus as prophesied (2 Thessalonians 2:4) Four horns or ten ? - Maps of the Middle East and the most likely regions of the Ten horns from a meeting that preceded even the European Union The coming enforcement of a trans-national "planetary regime" to enforce totalitarian population control measures and control of all renewable and non-renewable resources on earth, even OPENLY demanded by some politicians today. The goal of this future regime to fundamentally and irreversibly change human nature through government action A connection between two events that occurred more than two decades ago EXACTLY one year apart the first a political earthquake and the second, one that started small but today has irrevocably changed humanity. How FAKE news will be the ONLY news just before the return of Christ How the Antichrist will finally make peace between Israel and the Arabs and WHY this will have to happen, inevitably! New meaning in the prophecies of Isaiah and how Psalm 83 aligns perfectly with his prophecies of the changes surrounding the end times Why Mystery Babylon and the Headquarters of the Beast are the same TWO cities in the future as in the 1st century from prophecies of Jeremiah and John You will also see how the Apocalypse or "uncovering" will unfold through a new yet doomed-to-fail system of global government and two new technologies not fully here today

    Determined to keep the family together, Zetta and their toddlers join Asa and her brothers at the Golden Gate coal camp just before Christmas 1922. She is eight months pregnant. During the first week in the dismal camp, Zetta suffers fearful nightmares of cut trees and fresh dirt--Appalachian signs of trouble. Asa dismisses his wife's pleas to return to their farm, insisting their three-month stay will provide the $400 they need to give their children better lives. Disappointed, Zetta draws strength from her plump red-haired neighbor, Dosha, and the strong willed granny woman, Clarie, who will deliver her baby. And each morning, she thanks the Lord they are one more day closer to home. Or are they?

    Readers will also find the results of exclusive research commissioned by Group magazine--thoughtfully explored by the editor of Group magazine. This research sheds light on how teenagers really feel about their faith...and how youth pastors really feel about their ministries.

    Discusses the history of Israel during Old Testament times and examines economic and political factors.

    The Himsels followed an evangelical branch of Christianity—the Worldwide Church of God—which espoused a doomsday philosophy. Only faith in Jesus, the Bible, significant tithing, and the church's leader could save them from the evils of American culture—divorce, television, makeup, and even medicine.From the time she was a young girl, Himsel believed that the Bible was the guidebook to being saved, and only strict adherence to the church's tenets could allow her to escape a certain, gruesome death, receive the Holy Spirit, and live forever in the Kingdom of God. With self-preservation in mind, she decided, at nineteen, to study at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. But instead of strengthening her faith, Himsel was introduced to a whole new world—one with different people and perspectives. Her eyes were slowly opened to the church's shortcomings, even dangers, and fueled her natural tendency to question everything she had been taught, including the guiding principles of the church and the words of the Bible itself.Ultimately, the connection to God she so relentlessly pursued was found in the most unexpected place: a mikvah on Manhattan's Upper West Side. This devout Christian Midwesterner found her own form of salvation—as a practicing Jewish woman.Himsel's seemingly impossible road from childhood cult to a committed Jewish life is traced in and around the major events of the 1970s and 80s with warmth, humor, and a multitude of religious and philosophical insights. A River Could Be a Tree: A Memoir is a fascinating story of struggle, doubt, and finally, personal fulfillment.