That is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. Now, go and study." This is the most famous teaching of Hillel, one of the greatest rabbis of the Talmudic era. What makes it so extraordinary is that it was offered to a gentile seeking conversion. Joseph Telushkin feels that this Talmudic story has great relevance for us today. At a time when religiosity is equated with ritual observance alone, when few Jews seem concerned with bringing Jewish teachings into the world, and when more than 40 percent of Jews intermarry, Judaism is in need of more of the openness that Hillel possessed two thousand years ago.Hillel's teachings, stories, and legal rulings can be found throughout the Talmud; many of them share his emphasis on ethical and moral living as an essential element in Jewish religious practice, including his citing the concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world) as a basis for modifying Jewish law. Perhaps the most prominent rabbi and teacher in the Land of Israel during the reign of Herod, Hillel may well have influenced Jesus, his junior by several decades. In a provocative analysis of both Judaism and Christianity, Telushkin reveals why Hillel's teachings about ethics as God's central demand and his willingness to encourage the process of conversion began to be ignored in favor of the stricter and less inclusive teachings of his rabbinic adversary, Shammai.Here is a bold new look at an iconic religious leader.

    He suggests that seeing ourselves as animals may lead us to find reasons for treating others as less than human.

    Forged in the literary and mythical leanings of the Beat Generation, inspired in the lecture halls of Stanford by radical scholars of comparative religion, the institute was the remarkable brainchild of Michael Murphy and Richard Price. Set against the heady backdrop of California during the revolutionary 1960s, Esalen recounts in fascinating detail how these two maverick thinkers sought to fuse the spiritual revelations of the East with the scientific revolutions of the West, or to combine the very best elements of Zen Buddhism, Western psychology, and Indian yoga into a decidedly utopian vision that rejected the dogmas of conventional religion. In their religion of no religion, the natural world was just as crucial as the spiritual one, science and faith not only commingled but became staunch allies, and the enlightenment of the body could lead to the full realization of our development as human beings.  “An impressive new book. . . . [Kripal] has written the definitive intellectual history of the ideas behind the institute.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Kripal examines Esalen’s extraordinary history and evocatively describes the breech birth of Murphy and Price’s brainchild. His real achievement, though, is effortlessly synthesizing a dizzying array of dissonant phenomena (Cold War espionage, ecstatic religiosity), incongruous pairings (Darwinism, Tantric sex), and otherwise schizy ephemera (psychedelic drugs, spaceflight) into a cogent, satisfyingly complete narrative.”—Atlantic Monthly “Kripal has produced the first all-encompassing history of Esalen: its intellectual, social, personal, literary and spiritual passages. Kripal brings us up-to-date and takes us deep beneath historical surfaces in this definitive, elegantly written book.”—Playboy

    Thought-provoking coverage of infantile anxiety, sexual gratification, neurotic reproduction, religious sublimation, other topics.

    The best collection of Zen wisdom and wit since "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones": koans, sayings, poems, and stories by Eastern and American Zen teachers and students capture the delightful, challenging, mystifying, mind-stopping, outrageous, and scandalous heart of Zen.

    Everything Dahl says can be applied in a fascinating way to the governing of any human enterprise involving more than one person—whether it is a nation-state, a political party, a business firm, or a university.

    Eliade traces manifestations of the sacred from primitive to modern times in terms of space, time, nature, and the cosmos. In doing so he shows how the total human experience of the religious man compares with that of the nonreligious. This book of great originality and scholarship serves as an excellent introduction to the history of religion, but its perspective also encompasses philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, and psychology. It will appeal to anyone seeking to discover the potential dimensions of human existence.

    There are about 13 or 14 million Jews spread around the world, including about 6 million in the United States and about 5 million in Israel - so Judaism clearly isn't "a nation." So what does it mean to be Jewish? Here are the basics:Being Jewish (being "a Jew") means you're a Member of the Tribe (an M-O-T). The tribe started with a couple named Abraham and Sarah about 4,000 years ago, it grew over time, and it's still here today. You can become part of the Jewish tribe in two ways: By being born to a Jewish mother or joining through a series of rituals (called converting).Judaism is a set of beliefs, practices, and ethics based on the Torah. You can practice Judaism and not be Jewish, and you can be a Jew and not practice Judaism. Whether you're interested in the religion or the spirituality, the culture or the ethnic traditions, Judaism For Dummies explores the full spectrum of Judaism, dipping into the mystical, meditative, and spiritual depth of the faith and the practice. In this warm and welcoming book, you'll find coverage ofOrthodox Jews and breakaway denominations Judaism as a daily practice The food and fabric of Judaism Jewish wedding ceremonies Celebrations and holy days 4,000 years of pain, sadness, triumph, and joy Great Jewish thinkers and historical celebrities Jews have long spread out to the corners of the world, so there are significant Jewish communities on many continents. Judaism For Dummies offers a glimpse into the rituals, ideas, and terms that are woven into the history and everyday lives of Jewish people as near as our own neighborhoods and as far-reaching as across the world.

    * The text has been completely revised to take into account developments of the past 14 years, since History and Social Theory was first published. * Topics which have been added and that are now treated in depth include globalization, postcolonialism and social capital.

    Rollins offers a clear exploration of this embryonic movement and provides key resources for those involved in communities that are conversant with, and seeking to minister effectively to, the needs of a postmodern world. “Here in pregnant bud is the rose, the emerging new configuration, of a Christianity that is neither Roman nor Protestant, neither Eastern nor monastic; but rather is the re-formation of all of them. Here, in pregnant bud, is third-millennium Christendom.” —Phyllis Tickle “I am a raving fan of the book you are holding. I loved reading it. I have already begun widely recommending it. Reading it did good for my mind and for my soul. It helped me understand my own spiritual journey more clearly, and it gave me a sense of context for the work I’m involved in. In fact, I would say this is one of the two or three most rewarding books of theology I have read in ten years.” —Brian McLaren, from the Foreword

    They have won 11 World Series titles and some of the most famousplayers in the history of the game have worn the storied “Birds on the Bat”uniform.While thaton-field success has been well documented, IntentionalWalk is the first book which goes beyond the story of what happens on thefield to take an in-depth look at the men inside the Cardinal uniforms, andexamine how their strong Christian faith is one of the driving forces behindtheir success.Intentional Walk features the stories of AdamWainwright, David Freese, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, JasonMotte and other members of the 2012 Cardinals, written as those players and therest of the team tried to repeat the 2011 world championship. The book talksabout how they became Christians and offers their testimony about what it meansfor them to have God play such a prominent role in their lives.Playing forfirst-year manager Mike Matheny, a strong Christian as well, these men talkabout their success and failure, about the challenges that come from playingbaseball at the highest level, and how thankful and blessed they are to havethat God-given ability. In the end, however, what is far more important to themis their life-long relationship they have established with Jesus Christ.

    The Golden Bough" describes our ancestors' primitive methods of worship, sex practices, strange rituals and festivals. Disproving the popular thought that primitive life was simple, this monumental survey shows that savage man was enmeshed in a tangle of magic, taboos, and superstitions. Revealed here is the evolution of man from savagery to civilization, from the modification of his weird and often bloodthirsty customs to the entry of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.

    This volume brings together their discussions on the philosophical and political import of the communist idea, highlighting both its continuing significance and the need to reconfigure the concept within a world marked by havoc and crisis.

    In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus resurrected a beloved friend named Lazarus from the dead. Missing from the Gospel is a description of how Jesus accomplished this miracle and if he had a special purpose for saving his companion. Acclaimed and best-selling historical novelist Richard Zimler takes up the tale, and through the eyes of the troubled Lazarus, recreates the story of the Passion. Returned to life, Lazarus has difficulties regaining his previous identity and confidence. His experience of death has left him fragile and disoriented. Worse still, he has seen nothing of any afterlife. As Lazarus turns more and more to Jesus for guidance and answers, watching as his friend's mystical powers grow, along with his cult, he finds that their lives are now politically and, therefore, dangerously entwined. In an often surprising and subtle portrayal, Zimler places Jesus in his historical context of ancient Jewish practice and traditions; at once a charismatic Rabbi and political activist, who used his knowledge of a transcendent reality—the Kingdom of Heaven—to bring justice and compassion to his time and place. Through Lazarus, Zimler makes the familiar story new and finds fresh meaning and poignancy in the Passion and Crucifixion.

    His last novel, The Castle in the Forest, revealed fascinating ideas about faith and the nature of good and evil. Now Mailer offers his concept of the nature of God. His conversations with his friend and literary executor, Michael Lennon, show this writer at his most direct, provocative, and challenging. “I think,” writes Mailer, “that piety is oppressive. It takes all the air out of thought.”In moving, amusing, probing, and uncommon dialogues conducted over three years but whose topics he has considered for decades, Mailer establishes his own system of belief, one that rejects both organized religion and atheism. He presents instead a view of our world as one created by an artistic God who often succeeds but can also fail in the face of determined opposition by contrary powers in the universe, with whom war is waged for the souls of humans. In turn, we have been given freedom–indeed responsibility–to choose our own paths. Mailer trusts that our individual behavior–always a complex mix of good and evil–will be rewarded or punished with a reincarnation that fits the sum of our lives. Mailer weighs the possibilities of “intelligent design” at the same time avowing that sensual pleasures were bestowed on us by God; he finds fault with the Ten Commandments–because adultery, he avers, may be a lesser evil than others suffered in a bad marriage–and he holds that technology was the Devil’s most brilliant creation. In short, Mailer is original and unpredictable in this inspiring verbal journey, a unique vision of the world in which “God needs us as much as we need God.”From The Naked and the Dead to The Executioner’s Song and beyond, Mailer’s major works have engaged such themes as war, politics, culture, and sex. Now, in this small yet important book, Mailer, in a modest, well-spoken style, gives us fresh ways to think about the largest subject of them all.From the Hardcover edition.