A full fledged techie himself, he relates some classic philosophical reflections, his interviews with dozens of fellow techies, and his own personal take on his Catholic beliefs to provide, like a set of "worked out sample problems," the hard data on the challenges and joys of embracing a life of faith as a techie. And he also gives a roadmap of the traps that can befall an unwary techie believer. With lively prose and wry humor, Brother Guy shows how he not only believes in God but gives religion an honored place alongside science in his life. This book offers an engaging look at how--and why--scientists and those with technological leanings can hold profound, "unprovable" religious beliefs while working in highly empirical fields. Through his own experience and interviews with other scientists and engineers who profess faith, Brother Guy explores how religious beliefs and practices make sense to those who are deeply rooted in the world of technology.

    She slept on a bed of thorns. She had a friend whip her. She put hot coals between her toes. She suffered from smallpox, and the disease left her almost blind. Yet she still fasted, in penitence, and ministered to the sick and elderly. When she died, it was said, the smallpox scars instantly vanished from her face. It wasn’t long before people began to credit her with miracles.Indeed, the Vatican has just announced, 300 years after her death, that Tekakwitha is a miracle worker. She will be named a saint—America’s first indigenous saint, no less—as early as next fall. But what, exactly, does that mean? How does someone become a saint? What’s the vetting process? In this thoroughly entertaining investigation into the mysterious world of saints, Bill Donahue tells the strange and fascinating story of how the holy get their halos. The journey to canonization is long (sometimes, as in the case of Tekakwitha, it can take centuries), lurid (decayed body parts play a role), and, nowadays, surprisingly cutting-edge. Tekakwitha earned her saint status thanks to a medical miracle she allegedly caused in 2006: A boy suffering from a fatal flesh-eating bacteria suddenly and inexplicably recovered after his family prayed to the Blessed Kateri. Church experts grilled the boy’s doctors, studied his MRIs and hospital chart, and came to the conclusion that a force stronger than modern medicine saved him. In addition to Tekakwitha, Donahue introduces us to a cast of celestial characters, from Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II—both on the fast track to sainthood—to Saint Francis, Joan of Arc, and the shady Padre Pio, who claimed to suffer stigmata and raise bodies from the dead. But it’s what happens after these holy folk die that’s arguably even more intriguing. Mixing legend and science, history and on-the-ground reporting, The Secret World of Saints sheds light on one of the Catholic Church’s most arcane and captivating traditions.* * *Early praise for "The Secret World of Saints":"My sinful covetousness for Bill Donahue's talents and the fun he's having here has put me out of the running for sainthood. I love his story anyway."— Mary Roach, author of the bestselling "Stiff," "Spook," "Bonk," and "Packing for Mars"* * * About the Author: Bill Donahue is a journalist living in Portland, Oregon. His work has appeared in "The Atlantic," "The New York Times Magazine," "Wired," "Runner’s World," "The Washington Post Magazine," and "Inc." He has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards, and his stories have been reprinted in Best American Travel Writing, Best American Sports Writing, and numerous other anthologies.

    Inside, you’ve got heaven and earth, and all of creation. You’re a world – everything is hidden in you.” –Hildegard of Bingen She was a Benedictine abbess, artist, composer, dietician, naturalist, poet, travelling preacher, mystic, and political consultant. She was a self-doubter with acute certainty in a merciful and mysterious God; a gifted healer who suffered from illness her whole life. Meet the incomparable Hildegard of Bingen. Nourishing, challenging, and idea-bursting, her writings will stir and awaken your soul. This essential reader captures the vibrant spirit and intelligence of Hildegard with selections from her songs, theological texts, liturgical music, and letters. Combined with an introduction to Hildegard’s life and era, a map of Hildegard’s Germany, chronology, and a thorough bibliography/discography, Hildegard of Bingen provides the ideal introduction to the thought of this fascinating medieval mystic.

    In a short life of thirty-two years, Shankaracharya not only revived Hinduism, but also created the organisational structure for its perpetuation through the mathas he established in Sringeri, Dwaraka, Puri and Jyotir Mathas.Adi Shankaracharaya: Hinduism’s Greatest Thinker is a meticulously researched and comprehensive account of his life and philosophy. Highly readable, and including a select anthology of Shankaracharya’s seminal writing, the book also examines the startling endorsement that contemporary science is giving to his ideas today. A must read for people across the ideological spectrum, this book reminds readers about the remarkable philosophical underpinning of Hinduism, making it one of the most vibrant religions in the world.

    Whether with friends, family, or on social media, we expend lots of energy, lots of sharp words, and lots of strong feelings. But very few know how to have a good religious argument a rational, respectful, and productive exchange of differing views.Bishop Robert Barron, one of the leading Catholic figures in the world and among the most active on social media, has enjoyed thousands of fruitful religious arguments. In this book based on talks delivered at Facebook and Google, he explains why religion at its best opens up the searching mind, and how we all believer and unbeliever alike can share better discussions about God.

    Surprisingly, though, the Bible does not have one answer but many "answers" that often contradict one another. Consider these competing explanations for suffering put forth by various biblical writers:The prophets: suffering is a punishment for sinThe book of Job, which offers two different answers: suffering is a test, and you will be rewarded later for passing it; and suffering is beyond comprehension, since we are just human beings and God, after all, is GodEcclesiastes: suffering is the nature of things, so just accept itAll apocalyptic texts in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament: God will eventually make right all that is wrong with the worldFor renowned Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is more than a haunting thought. Ehrman's inability to reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of real life led the former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church to reject Christianity.In God's Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible's contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith—or no faith—to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.

    Now, in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship. Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining.Drawing on his own journey from a naïve, unquestioning belief in Christ through collegiate skepticism to a mature and contemporary Christian faith, Borg illustrates how an understanding of the historical Jesus can actually lead to a more authentic Christian life—one not rooted in creed or dogma, but in a life of spiritual challenge, compassion, and community.In straightforward, accessible prose, Borg looks at the major findings of modern Jesus scholarship from the perspective of faith, bringing alive the many levels of Jesus's character: spirit person, teacher of alternative wisdom, social prophet, and movement founder. He also reexamines the major stories of the Old Testament vital to an authentic understanding of Jesus, showing how an enriched understanding of these stories can uncover new truths and new pathways to faith.

    Came to the Episcopacy (Serm. 355, 2); A. Chooses Eraclius as His Successor (Letter 213, 1, 5f); A. on His Own Writings (Retractations Prol. I, 1-3)2 FAITH & REASON: Belief is Volitional Consent (On the Spirit & Letter 21, 54; 34, 60); To Believe Is to Think w/Assent (Predestination of the Saints 5); Believing & Understanding (On Free Choice II, 2, 4-6); Authority & Reason (Against the Academics III, 20, 43); Two Ways to Knowledge (On Order II, 9, 26f); Reason & Authority in Manicheism (Value of Believing 1-4); The Relation of Authority to Reason (True Religion 24, 45--25, 47); If I Am Deceived, I Am Alive (City of God XI, 26); I Know that I Am Alive (The Trinity XV, 12, 21f); Knowledge & Wisdom (The Trinity XII, 14, 21--15, 25); Error & Ignorance (Enchiridion 17)3 THREE LEVELS OF REALITY: Creator, Human Soul, Body (Questions for Simplicianus I, 2, 18); Natures on Three Levels (Letter 18, 2); Soul, Ruled by God, Rules Its Body (On Music VI, 5, 12f); Soul: Above the Sensible, Below God (True Religion 3. 3); God, Mutable Spirits, & Bodies (Nature of the Good 1-25); Divine, Psychic & Bodily Nature (City of God VIII, 5f); Causality: Divine, Psychic & Bodily (City of God V, 9); Divine Ideas as Prototypes (83 Different Questions 46, 1f); God Set Spiritual Creation Above the Corporeal (Literal Commentary on Genesis VIII, 20, 39; 25, 46; 26, 48); Evil: the Privation of the Good (Enchiridion 10-12)4 MAN’S SOUL: Existence, Life, Sense & Reason (On Free Choice II, 3, 7f, 10); Sensation as an Activity of the Soul (On Music VI, 5, 9f); Memory, Understanding & Will (The Trinity X, 11, 17f); The Wonders of Memory (Confessions X, 8-26); Three Levels of Vision (Literal Commentary on Genesis XII, 6, 15--11, 22; 30, 58--31, 59)5 THE WORLD OF BODIES: All Bodily Natures Are Good (City of God XII, 4); Invisible Seeds in the Elements (The Trinity III, 8, 13); The Elements Contain Seminal Reasons (Literal Commentary on Genesis IX, 17, 32); Measure, Number, & Weight (Literal Commentary on Genesis IV, 3, 7); Concerning Formless Matter (Confessions XII, 3. 3--9, 9); Place, Time & the Physical World (City of God XI, 5-6); The Wonders of Nature (City of God XXI, 4-5); God Works Thruout Nature (The Trinity III, 5, 11--6, 11); Man’s Natural Endowments (City of God XXII, 24); The Physical World & the Xian (Enchiridion 9)6 APPROACHING GOD THRU UNDERSTANDING: Creation is a Great Book (Serm., Mai 126, 6); The Journey of the Soul to God (On Free Choice II, 12, 33f; 15, 39f; 16, 41f); The Soul’s Ascent to God (Confessions VII, 10, 16--17, 23); The Whole World Proclaims Its Maker (On Psalm 26, Serm. 2, 12); Ascending to the Supreme Truth (True Religion 29, 52--31, 58); Plato’s View of God (City of God VII, 4); How to Think About God (The Trinity V, 1f--2f); The Problem of Speaking About God (The Trinity VII, 4, 7-9); God Is the Selfsame (On Psalm 121, 3, 5); A Divine Invocation (Soliloquies I, 2-6); Late Have I Loved Thee (Confessions X, 27, 38--28, 39)7 MORAL & RELIGIOUS LIFE: All Men Desire Happiness (On Psalm 32, Serm. 3, 15f); Man’s Greatest Good (Moral Behavior of the Catholic Church 3-8); Good Love & Bad Love (City of God XIV, 6f); Moral Evil Stems from Bad Will (City of God XII, 6); Two Precepts of Love (City of God XIX, 14); On Diversities of Local Customs (Letter 54, 1-4); Doing Good to Body & Soul (Moral Behavior of the Catholic Church 27f); The Evil of Telling a Lie (Enchiridion 18f, 22); Lying & Concealing the Truth (On Psalm 5, 7); Faith, Hope & Charity (Enchiridion 8); No Virtues Apart from God (City of God XIX, 25); Our Reward Is Not in This Life (On Psalm 48, Serm. 2)8 DIMENSIONS OF GRACE: What the Grace of God Is (On Admonition & Grace 2f); A. Was Never a Pelagian (Retractations I, 9, 2-4); What True Grace Is (On the Grace of Christ 26f); The Work of Grace (City of God XXI, 15f); How Freedom Is Restored by Grace (Enchiridion 30-32); God’s Foreknowledge & Human Willing (City of God V, 10); Grace Before & After the Fall (Enchiridion 104-106); Grace & Good Works (On Psalm 31, Serm. 2, 6-8); Prevenient Grace (On Psalm 18, Serm. 2); Grace & Human Miseries (City of God XXII, 20-22); The Beatific Vision (On Psalm 36, Serm. 2, 8)9 THE TWO CITIES: A.’s Analysis of the City of God (Letter to Firmus); How the Two Cities Differ (City of God XIV, 1); Two Loves Make Two Cities (Literal Commentary on Genesis XI, 15, 20); Two Cities Formed by Two Loves (City of God XIV, 28); The Unimportance of Externals (City of God XIX, 19); Relation of the Heavenly & Earthly Cities (City of God XIX, 17); Jerusalem & Babylon (On Psalm 64, 2); Summary of the Two Cities (City of God XVIII, 1); All Nations Are in the City of God (On Psalm 86, 5); The Church & the City of God (On Psalm 98, 4); The Foundation of the Holy City (On Psalm 121, 4); Religion & Human Destiny (True Religion 7, 13--8, 14); The Meaning of a People (City of God XIX, 23f); Peace: the Tranquility of Order (City of God XIX, 11-13); Two Kingdoms After the Resurrection (Enchiridion 111)10 PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY: Belief & Historical Events (83 Different Questions 48); The Universality of Providence (City of God V, 11); Meaning in History (True Religion 50, 98f); Six Ages in Biblical History (On Psalm 92, 1); Symbolic Meaning of Jewish History (On Psalm 64, 1); Christ in History (Letter 137, 4, 15f); The Two Cities in History (On Catechizing the Uninstructed 21, 37); What Is Time? (Confessions XI, 14, 17--30, 40); Critique of Cyclicism (City of God XII, 13-15)APENDIXES: 1 Selected, Annotated Bibliography 2 Alphabetical List of A.’s Writings 3 Glossary of TermsINDEX

    In this cogent and multifaceted introduction to the great Saint's work, Edward Feser argues that you cannot fully understand Aquinas' philosophy without his theology and vice-versa. Covering his thoughts on the soul, natural law, metaphysics, and the interaction of faith and reason, this will prove a indispensible resource for students, experts or the general reader.

    It speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam's Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "the Fall" really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ's true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.

    I would highly recommend this book as a place to start." "I have more than 50 books on Gurdjieff's and Ouspensky's Work on my shelves, but this is no doubt the most practical one for beginners." "Couldn't Put it Down!" "Gil Friedman has done the near-impossible: rendered Gurdjieff's esoteric philosophy eminently readable, even entertaining. . . No serious student of philosophy or metaphysics should miss this great book!" "The clearest and most useful book on the basics." "I want to express my appreciation for for your Beginner's Guide to Gurdjieff's philosophy. Before reading your book, I have read several books on Gurdjieff ( Ouspensky, Needleman, Waker, Gurdjieff) and, at times, got lost in the complexity of what I was reading, and left wondering. It is not until I read your book, that Gurdjieff's philosophy emerged to the light, and resonated deeply within me. Trying to describe your book to a friend, I mentioned that the gift I saw in you was your ability to unearth the precious nuggets of Gurdjieff's philosophy and process, and to bring them to the light in a way that is accessible to the "house-keeper".

    "Now I am forty and realize that I could have found the Tao in Jesus." This is an intriguing book that reveals how Zen philosophy parallels the core message of the gospel. It is the spiritual side of Zen, the art to trust and accept life that coincides with the core of the Gospel message. For power, dogma and doctrine were not Jesus' passion, but the mystery of life and the possibility of love. Sometimes people have overlooked the joy, the humor and the depth of Jesus' teachings—often because they could not surmount the narrow confines of openness to the scripture's power to transform our lives.

    All books in the Unity Classic Library series feature hardcover binding with gold engraving, colorful endpapers, library nameplate page, author photograph, and biography. The series makes a beautiful display on a library shelf, and each book is a respected addition to any metaphysical collection.Cady simplifies metaphysics and practical Christianity from the perspective of her personal experiences.

    This book is a classic example.”—CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS author of God is Not Great“The most eloquent witness of internal delusion that I know—a triumphantly smiling refugee from the zany, surreal world of American fundamentalist Protestantism—is Dan Barker.”—RICHARD DAWKINS author of The God Delusion“Godless was a revelation to me. I don’t think anyone can match the (devastating!) clarity, intensity, and honesty which Dan Barker brings to the journey—faith to reason, childhood to growing up, fantasy to reality, intoxication to sobriety.”—OLIVER SACKS authors of MusicophiliaIn Godless, Barker recounts his journey from evangelical preacher to atheist activist, and along the way explains precisely why it is not only okay to be an atheist, it is something in which to be proud.”—MICHAEL SHERMER publisher of Skeptic Magazine“Godless is a fascinating memoir and a handbook for debunking theism. But most of all, it is a moving testimonial to one man’s emotional and intellectual rigor in acclaiming critical thinking.”—ROBERT SAPOLSKY author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

    Here is the Creator who nearly destroys his chief creation; the bloodthirsty warrior and the protector of the downtrodden; the lawless law-giver; the scourge and the penitent. Profoundly learned, stylishly written, the resulting work illuminates God and man alike and returns us to the Bible with a sense of discovery and wonder.