Written in the mystical tradition of the Sufi poets, this book recounts the odyssey of the human soul as it travels from the world of creation to the sphere of the absolute, its ultimate goal being reunion with God.

    

    It provides a glimpse into the life and spirituality of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, who has often been called "The greatest mystic of the 20th Century." More than thirty individuals, all who had met Padre Pio, were interviewed for this first edition book. The author and her husband, Deacon Ron Allen, have traveled to many parts of the United States in order to record the personal testimonies of Padre Pio's friends from near and far.

    The method employed is to take the obscurantist vocabulary of monotheism and translate it into plain language. In doing so, the book attempts to show that god worshippers themselves do not understand the things they claim to believe, and by which they live their lives. For the reader who believes in god, this polemical little volume may help them to understand why secularists get so frustrated and infuriated when in debate with god worshippers. For the secularist, this book is a reminder that not everyone is susceptible to reasoned argument. The reminder is a timely one for those who live in an era of the resurgence of Islamic Jihad. A clear understanding of the irrationality of monotheism is something which matters urgently when confronted by the global rise of religious fascism. What is said in this little book will no doubt be found impolite and overly-provocative by those authoritarian people within the politically correct establishment who conflate morality with niceness. They will probably utter the familiar refrain that we ought not to denigrate other people’s deeply and sincerely held beliefs. Instead we should live in a permanent state of apology for the crime of having minds of our own. But religions are no more above criticism than any other ideologies. They have no entitlement to a privileged status. Besides which, large numbers of god worshippers feel free to denigrate and insult everyone else’s deeply and sincerely held beliefs, so why should they have special permission to be hypocrites? Topics covered: 01. God 02. Prayer 03. Worship 04. God the Infinite 05. Immortality and Heaven 06. Soul / Spirit 07. Salvation 08. Faith 09. Spreading The Word 10. Theocracy 11. Theocracy and Nuclear Armageddon 12. God, Guilty of Genocide 13. Religion and Morality are Mutually Exclusive 14. God worship is Immoral 15. God worship is Obscene 16. Everything is God’s Fault 17. If it’s in The Book, then it Must be True 18. Claiming Incomprehensible Beliefs 19. Is Islamism the New Fascism? 20. The Moderates

    Mr. Blai is an auxiliary member of the International Association of Exorcists, a peritus of religious demonology and exorcism in the Roman Catholic church, and he trains priests in exorcism and deliverance on a national level in the United States. He has worked on demonic cases for about 10 years and has combined this with his professional training in adult clinical psychology, brain research experience, and clinical exposure to mental illness. This unique perspective and experience has been summarized here for the public audience.

    It opens a window onto the Catholic faith and will open the minds of believers and skeptics alike.” --Peggy NoonanThe Catholic Church may be the most controversial institution in the world. Some find its teachings inexplicable, puzzling, even cruel. In this incisive new work, George Weigel suggests that we look at Catholicism and its controversies from “inside” the convictions that make those controversies not only possible, but necessary. The truths of Catholicism then come into clearer focus as affirmations and celebrations of human life and human love, even as they challenge us to imagine a daring future for humanity and for ourselves.Is Jesus uniquely the savior of the world? Is the moral life about rules or about happiness? Doesn’t suffering contradict the biblical claim that God is good? How does the Catholic Church think about other Christians and about other great world religions? In an engaging, accessible style, George Weigel leads us into the truth of Catholicism: the truth about a love that creates a vast, liberating terrain on which to live a fully human life.

    But for the new believer, these things can be difficult and confusing. To resolve this difficulty, I created The Story Bible. The idea was to remove from the text those things that are complicated and/or confusing for the new believer, or for anyone who is new to Bible reading. For example, the books of First and Second Chronicles contain some great stories. But they include so many numbers and lists that the narratives get lost in the shuffle. So in The Story Bible I simply removed the lists, while leaving the stories to be read and enjoyed. Another example is the book of Numbers, which also contains some fascinating stories. But the stories are interspersed with descriptions of sanctuary rituals and census data that can become boring or confusing to the new believer. So again, I simply removed the sanctuary ritual descriptions and the census data while leaving the stories in place to be enjoyed without frustration. What I have produced is a Bible that can be read by a new believer from cover to cover without getting stuck.After serving as a Christian pastor for many years, I not only recognize the problem of new believers getting stuck in genealogies, sanctuary rituals, etc., but I also recognize that what new believers need most is familiarity with Bible stories. The Bible narratives form the backbone for everything else in scripture. Prophecy, sanctuary rituals, pastoral letters, genealogies, and even census data find their place once the new believer becomes familiar with the stories.Keep in mind that I have not edited the narratives themselves. Every word of The Story Bible is from the text itself. I have only removed that which is not narrative, so that the narratives are no longer obscured and can more easily be enjoyed. Another way to put it is to say that The Story Bible is a compilation of all the stories of Scripture. Every portion of the Bible that is narrative was included. I did not edit, condense, or rewrite the narratives. I only compiled them.The translation I used for this project is the Bible in Basic English. It was translated by Professor Samuel Henry Hooke (1874-1968), an English scholar and Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies in the University of London. The BBE was printed in 1965 by Cambridge Press in England. Published without any copyright notice and distributed in America, this work fell immediately and irretrievably into the public domain in the United States. The BBE is easy to read, since it utilizes a 1000 word vocabulary. My hope is that new believers will be drawn in by the Bible stories and discover how relevant and practical the Bible is for us today.

    God is assembling the cast of characters and making preparations for the final scene--a scene so powerfully dramatic that nothing could possibly compare. In Earth’s Final Moments, New York Times best-selling author Pastor John Hagee unveils how biblical prophecy and current world events are intersecting to give us an unparalleled glimpse into our planet’s final days. Aligning prophecy with End Time signs, he describes Israel’s emerging opponent and reveals the shock and awe of God’s coming judgment against those who oppose His people. As the Jewish people return to their homeland and the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate, you can’t afford to miss what comes next.

    With a new introduction and conclusion, as well as a foreword by author Simcha Fisher, Like Living Among Scorpions is a fresh look at the most popular humorous posts that chronicle Jen's attempts to keep her sanity while managing a house full of babies and scorpions. Longtime readers will love reliving these moments with Jen, and new readers will enjoy this introduction to her unique perspective on life.

    We feel like we’re missing the life we’re supposed to live and we somehow veered off course. We ask questions like, “Is this God’s plan for me? How do I know? What is His plan, anyway?” What if Scripture not only answered these questions but also taught us an entirely new way of living? Instead of waiting for the perfect person, place, or plan, what if we lived, above all else, as chosen for Christ?Chosen for Christ invites you to step into the life you’ve been missing. You were chosen for a Person, not a plan. Now it’s time to live out your calling to:worship Jesuslive as His treasured possessionbelong to a new householdbecome like Jesusdisplay God’s powercomplete the good works He designed for youlive differently from the rest of the worldIn a world fixated on personal purpose and impact, Chosen for Christ presents a new way to think about calling. Each chapter includes discussion questions that will help women embrace their identity as chosen ones and step into a new way of living each new day.Chosen for Christ completes Heather Holleman’s vivid verbs trilogy, which also includes Seated with Christ and Guarded by Christ. It works wonderfully as a stand-alone book or as a powerful companion to her previous works. It also provides an expansion of ideas that appear briefly in Holleman’s devotional Included in Christ.

    Each day readers will enjoy a Scripture verse, a true first-person story told in an informal, conversational style, which shares the ways God speaks to us in the ordinary events of life, and a brief prayer to help focus the reader to apply the day’s message. For those who wish for more, “Digging Deeper” provides additional Bible references that relate to the day’s reading. Enjoy favorite writers like Debbie Macomber, Edward Grinnan, Elizabeth Sherrill, Patricia Lorenz, Julia Attaway, Karen Barber, Sabra Ciancanelli, Marion Bond West, Brian Doyle, and Rick Hamlin. In just five minutes a day, Daily Guideposts helps readers find the spiritual richness in their own lives and welcomes them into a remarkable family of over one million people brought together by a desire to grow every day of the year.

    He decided to send an email to all of these Ambassadors, asking for their answers to three questions:Why do you love being Catholic?What is your favorite memory as a Catholic?As a Catholic, what are your hopes for the future?The response was overwhelming.Why I Love Being Catholic is the result of that rallying call. Compiled from thousands of answers, this collection of insights, stories, hopes, and dreams is both inspirational and motivational.The authors are people just like you they've laughed, cried, suffered, and celebrated their way through all the ups and downs of life. Some have been Catholic all their lives; others have taken a longer route home. All, however, can speak to the amazing gift that the Catholic faith has been in their lives.These days, it's challenging to be a Catholic. The collection of entries in Why I Love Being Catholic celebrates the best of the Catholic faith, highlights the everyday miracles taking place all around us, and reminds us that there are thousands of everyday heroes out there who dare to have big dreams for the Church. Even amidst the challenges of our times, holiness is possible, grace abounds, and there is every reason to live our lives with hope!

    This message helps readers to more fully understand their faith, and the book is widely embraced by readers around the world.      With this new companion book, readers—both individuals and groups—now have everything they need to further deepen their engagement with, understanding of, and enthusiasm for Catholicism’s central and defining Sacrament, the Eucharist. With his Study Guide for The Lamb’s Supper, Scott Hahn adds summary and key points, scriptural references, excerpts from Church teachings, songs of praise, and questions for reflection and discussion for each section of the original to supplement, complement, and illuminate his bestselling work.

    Bergsma once considered obstacles to ever becoming Catholic himself. Over an eighteen-month spiritual journey, Bergsma was stunned again and again by the biblical support he found for even the stickiest teachings of the Catholic Church.Weaving his personal story into clear explanations of Catholic teachings as found in Scripture, Dr. Bergsma explores seven key Catholic doctrines, including: The Pope Devotion to Mary Confession The Eucharist The priesthood Belief in the Bible alone Salvation by faith alone theologies Stunned by Scripture will help Catholics understand, defend, and explain the biblical basis for the Faith and show them how the Bible solidly supports even the most frequently misunderstood Catholic teachings.

    Whatever happened to planes, trains and automobiles? But Father Dave Pivonka knew that the Camino—the ancient pilgrim path to the tomb of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago—offered an opportunity to focus on God in the stripped-down environment typical of the religious journey known as a pilgrimage. Father Dave takes you along with him, eager to show that God wants to take care of you whether or not you can see down the road or, if tired and sore, you're tempted to quit. His Camino hike holds real lessons for your own life's journey.