The Future of Religion


Richard Rorty - 2000
    The challenges they put forward extend beyond philosophy and entail a reconsideration of the foundations of belief in God and the religious life. They urge that the rejection of metaphysical truth does not necessitate the death of religion; instead it opens new ways of imagining what it is to be religious—ways that emphasize charity, solidarity, and irony. This unique collaboration, which includes a dialogue between the two philosophers, is notable not only for its fusion of pragmatism (Rorty) and hermeneutics (Vattimo) but also for its recognition of the limits of both traditional religious belief and modern secularism.In "Anticlericalism and Atheism" Rorty discusses Vattimo's work Belief and argues that the end of metaphysics paves the way for an anti-essentialist religion. Rorty's conception of religion, determined by private motives, is designed to produce the gospel's promise that henceforth God will not consider humanity as a servant but as a friend. In "The Age of Interpretation," Vattimo, who is both a devout Catholic and a frequent critic of the church, explores the surprising congruence between Christianity and hermeneutics in light of the dissolution of metaphysical truth. As in hermeneutics, interpretation is central to Christianity, which introduced the world to the principle of interiority, dissolving the experience of objective reality into "listening to and interpreting messages." The lively dialogue that concludes this volume, moderated and edited by Santiago Zabala, analyzes the future of religion together with the political, social, and historical aspects that characterize our contemporary postmodern, postmetaphysical, and post-Christian world.

What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life


Phil Zuckerman - 2019
    In What It Means to Be Moral: Why Religion Is Not Necessary for Living an Ethical Life, Phil Zuckerman argues that morality does not come from God. Rather, it comes from us: our brains, our evolutionary past, our ongoing cultural development, our social experiences, and our ability to reason, reflect, and be sensitive to the suffering of others. By deconstructing religious arguments for God-based morality and guiding listeners through the premises and promises of secular morality, Zuckerman argues that the major challenges facing the world today-from global warming and growing inequality to religious support for unethical political policies to gun violence and terrorism-are best approached from a nonreligious ethical framework. In short, we need to look to our fellow humans and within ourselves for moral progress and ethical action.

Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing


Timothy Mccall - 2007
    Beginning with an overview of the history and science of yoga, Dr. McCall describes the many different techniques in the yoga tool kit; explains what yoga does and who can benefit from it (virtually everyone!); and provides lavishly illustrated and minutely detailed instructions on starting a yoga practice geared to your fitness level and your health status. Yoga as Medicine offers a wealth of practical information, including how to:•Utilize yogic tools, including postures, breathing techniques, and meditation, for both prevention and healing of illness•Master the art of becoming more in tune with your body•Communicate more effectively with your doctor•Adopt therapeutic yoga practices as either an alternative or a complement to surgery and to expensive, sometimes dangerous medications•Practice safely Find an instructor and a style of yoga that are right for you. With twenty chapters devoted to the work of individual master teachers, including such well-known figures as Patricia Walden, John Friend, and Rodney Yee, Yoga as Medicine shows how these experts have applied the wisdom of this ancient holistic practice to twenty different conditions, ranging from arthritis to chronic fatigue, depression, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, infertility, insomnia, multiple sclerosis, and obesity. Defining yoga as “a systematic technology to improve the body, understand the mind, and free the spirit,“ Dr. McCall shows the way to a path that can truly alter your life. An indispensable guide for the millions who now practice yoga or would like to begin, as well as for yoga teachers, body workers, doctors, nurses, and other health professionals.

The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate


Scott D. Sagan - 2012
    The new edition, An Enduring Debate, continues the important discussion of nuclear proliferation and the dangers of a nuclear-armed world. With new chapters on the questions surrounding a nuclear North Korea, Iran, and Iraq and the potential for a world free of nuclear weapons, this Third Edition will continue to generate a lively classroom experience.

Does God Exist?


William Lane Craig - 2014
    Craig takes a departure from special revelation to present the powerful philosophical and scientific evidence for God found in natural theology. Premise-by-premise, point-by-point, Does God Exist? builds the case for God in language our secular culture understands.

Chronicles of Tao: The Secret Life of a Taoist Master


Ming-Dao Deng - 1993
    Born into a wealthy family in a remote province of China, Kwan defies his parents' wishes and enters into the rigorous and mysterious discipline of Taoist practice. Renamed "Little Butterfly" by his Taoist masters, he survives the upheaval of the Japanese occupation, and the later the Chinese Revolution, all the while becoming adept in the Taoist arts. Eventually his inner and outer journey lead him to America, where he becomes a Golden Gloves boxer and martial arts instructor.Part adventure, part parable, Chronicles of Tao travels through a labyrinth of enigmatic Taoist practice, marital arts discipline, and international adventure.

The Writing on the Wall: Why We Must Embrace China as a Partner or Face It as an Enemy


Will Hutton - 2006
    In this provocative and stimulating book critically acclaimed author Will Hutton warns instead that China is running up against a set of daunting challenges from within its own political and economic system that could well derail its rise, leading to a massive shock to the global economy. The United States, he argues, must recognize that it has a vital stake in working to assure this doesn't happen, for if China's political liberalization and economic growth collapse, the United States will suffer crippling consequences.In today's highly globalized world economy, so much of the economic health of the United States -- our low inflation, high profits, and cheap credit -- rests upon China's economic growth and its massive investment in the United States. A great deal has been said about the economic and military threat China poses. But rather than provoking China with the military hawkishness of recent years and resisting Chinese economic supremacy with the saber rattling of protectionist antitrade policies -- twenty such bills have been introduced in Congress in just the last year -- the United States must build a strong relationship that will foster China's transition from an antiquated Communist state beset with profound problems to a fully modern, enlightened, and open society. Doing so will require understanding and engagement, not enmity and suspicion.China's current economic model, Hutton explains, is unsustainable, premised as it is on the myriad contradictions and dysfunctions of an authoritarian state attempting to control an economy in its transition to capitalism. If the twenty-first century is to be the China century, the Chinese will have to embrace the features of modern Western nations that have spurred the political stability and economic power of the United States and Europe: the rule of law, an independent judiciary, freedom of the press, and authentic representative government that is accountable to the people. Whether or not China does so rests in large part on how well the United States manages the relationship and persuades the Chinese of the virtues of an open, enlightened democratic system. The danger is that fearmongering will intensify animosities, leading both countries down a path of peril.Turning conventional wisdom on its head, this brilliantly argued book is vital reading at a crucial juncture in world affairs.

The Seven Feasts of Israel


Zola Levitt - 2012
    An explanation of the commandments of Jehovah to Moses on Mount Sinai regarding the festival days and their deep significance. Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles are shown in all their glory.

Yoga Vasishta Sara


Vālmīki - 1973
    It is a dialogue between Sage Vasishta and Sri Rama, during which Advaita (the doctrine of non-duality) in its pure form of ajatavada (theory of non-origination) is expounded, with illustrative stories in between. This vast work was abridged some centuries ago by Abhinanda Pandita, a Kashmiri scholar, into 6,000 couplets, which go by the name of Laghu Yoga Vasishta. This is a masterpiece in itself, like the original Brihat.Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi used to refer to Yoga Vasishta frequently and has even incorporated six couplets from it in His Supplement to Forty Verses (verses 21 to 27).A further condensation of this work was made long ago, by an unknown author, into about 230 couplets, divided into ten chapters, as Yoga Vasishta Sara (Essence of Yoga Vasishta). By making this condensation the author has rendered a great service to all sadhaks. This is indeed a goldmine fit for repeated reading and meditation.

A Promise Is A Promise


Wayne W. Dyer - 1996
    Dyer brings you this extraordinary true story about two ordinary people whose lives were touched by miracles–and he shows us what these miracles can teach all of us.

Against All Gods: Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness


A.C. Grayling - 2007
    In its place he argues for a set of values based on reason, reflection, and sympathy, taking his cue from the great ethical tradition of Western philosophy.

Mystery Babylon: Unlocking the Bible's Greatest Prophetic Mystery


Joel Richardson - 2016
     Mystery Babylon is an in-depth look at the prophecy of Revelation 17 and 18. Richardson dissects the longest prophecy in the New Testament – the final chapters of the Bible – in order to make sense of these deeply elusive and profoundly controversial passages. At once a queen, a prostitute, and a cold-blooded killer, this great harlot waves a golden cup filled with blood. Adorned in purple and scarlet and gold and precious stones, she seduces the kings of the earth with luxury. Most commonly known, perhaps, is that she rides a beast with seven heads and ten horns. Her title is Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of all harlots and of the abominations of the earth. From the early days of Christianity, believers have struggled to understand the mystery of the great harlot. Scholars and students alike have arrived at many different conclusions. In his characteristically easy-to-understand style, Richardson works through the history of Christian interpretation of Mystery Babylon, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each view, making a powerful case for a solution to this prophecy that will rock the prophecy world. Divided into three parts Mystery Babylon Richardson exposits Scripture in part 1, examines the more common positions in part 2, and invites the reader to a powerful conclusion in part 3. Keep both your Bible and your mind open as you read this book not simply with an intellectual curiosity, but with much prayer and a truly contrite and trusting heart, believing indeed that the Lord will open up his secrets to all “those who fear Him” (Ps. 25:14).

Hope for Today Bible


Joel Osteen - 2009
     • HOPENOTES -- brief inspirational insights on scripture and how they apply to your everyday living. • Hope for Today devotionals -- encouraging insights from Joel and Victoria that focus on the principles and promises of God. • Topical Scriptures -- a special section with verses to pray over during critical moments of your life. • The Blessing -- Joel and Victoria's prayer for you that both proclaims and claims the promises of the Bible. • This Is My Bible Pledge -- our declaration that His Word is full of divine truths and abundant promises for your future.

Confucius from the Heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today's World


Yu Dan - 2006
    Her highly personal interpretation of Confucian thought was rapturously received, An edited transcript of the lectures sold 10,000 copies on the day it was published in book form and by September the following year the book had sold 4.2 million legal copies in China and an estimated 6 million pirated ones, remaining at the top of the Chinese bestseller lists today.Simply written, and with a view to taking the wisdom of Confucius out of the hands of the academics and the philosophers and making it accessible to the general reader, "Confucius From the Heart "gives us a contemporary Confucius, one who can teach us how to attain spiritual happiness, adjust our daily routines and find our place in modern life. Yu Dan arguesthat his sayings, or Analects - far from being merely interesting quotes from ancient lore, of little use in our hectic, stress-filled world. Instead, they are simple truths that can speak to each and every one of us and help us lead better, happier, calmer lives.

Blood on the Altar: The Coming War Between Christian vs. Christian


Thomas Horn - 2014
    According to a 2014 Pew Research Center report, this hostility now includes the United States, which elevated from the lowest category of government restrictions on Christian expressions as of mid-2009 to an advanced category in only the last three years. This trend may point to one of the most overlooked aspects of Bible prophecya war that ultimately pits born-again believers against religious Christians. NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, IN BLOOD ON THE ALTAR YOU WILL Read the Global developments that indicate Antichrist is on Earth and preparing to emerge, Become acquainted with the government report on how true believers will be driven underground, Understand how Religious Christians are set to join Antichrist in persecuting those born-again, Discover how university experiments prove a Lucifer Effect is concealed within all humanity, Learn how scientists have isolated the Evil Gene that will transform the armies of the Beast, Grasp the social implications involving technology that will be used for the final battle, Hear the new theory of the Image of the Beast that has powerful implications about man, Walk with the authors as they disclose the occult organizations devising psychotronic weapons, Realize what Jesus meant by the Days of Noah and its connection to new genetic horrors, Uncover how the Mark of the Beast will change those who receive it into murderers, In Blood on the Altar: The Coming War Between Christian vs. Christian, leading national and international researchers, scholars, authors, and speakers share urgent information and specialized knowledge ab