Philosophy & Religion
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by David Malouf (Get the Book)
Even as we lament a sluggish economy, economic uncertainty, or even global warming, we are free of the kind of illness and famine common to earlier eras. So why aren't we happier? Why doesn't the good fortune of the times outweigh the bad? Australian author Malouf offers a penetrating meditation on happiness, quoting thinkers and philosophers from Kant to Plato, from Aristotle to Locke. He gives close examination to Thomas Jefferson's thinking in developing the Declaration of Independence with its famous evocation of the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and the significance of that evocation at the time and since. Malouf draws on etymology, psychology, religion, and philosophy to explore the meaning of happiness in a developed society, when greater freedom and leisure afford the luxury to ponder what makes us truly happy. In this slim volume, Malouf eloquently weighs the appeal of material goods and well-being against the heft of morality and individual longing for something we can't always articulate.
by Christine Caine (Get the Book)
Using her own dramatic life story, Caine reveals that God rescued her from a life where she was unnamed, unwanted, and unqualified. She tells how she overcame abuse, abandonment, fears, and other challenges to go on a mission of adventureNfueled by faith and filled with love and courage. Christine Caine, advocate and sought-after speaker, is no stranger to suffering. Christine has embraced God's love to find hope and healing. She is a cofounder with her husband, Nick, of the anti-human-trafficking organization The A21 Campaign. They and their two daughters make their home in Sydney, Australia. (Publisher)
by Jim Holt (Get the Book)
Aesthetically, wrote Wittgenstein, the miracle is that the world exists. In his lifelong quest to penetrate this miracle and, so, to explain why there is something rather than nothing, Holt has entertained deep thoughts. Here he invites readers to join him in the intellectual explorations that sustain such thoughts. Readers share in Holt's reflections on how the universe originated, pondering the cosmogonies found in Greek philosophy and Norse mythology and interrogating the theology of creation expounded by Anselm and Aquinas. Though Enlightenment thinkers such as Hume and Kant dismissed the entire question of cosmic origins as an irrelevance, Holt realizes that the modern theory of the big bang has pushed that question inescapably back into view. To cope with the difficulties inherent in modern explanations of cosmic beginnings, Holt seeks out living authorities, such as historian Adolf Grunbaum and physicist Steven Weinberg, probing their views with relentless curiosity. But Holt embeds these animated interviews in a profoundly personal narrative punctuated by insistent life events, such as the abrupt death of his mother. Winding its way to no reassuringly tidy conclusion, this narrative ultimately humanizes the huge metaphysical questions Holt confronts, endowing them with real-life significance. A potent synthesis of philosophy and autobiography. --Booklist
by John Bevere (Get the Book)
Flee or Fight? You experience adversity. You know what it is like to endure hardship. You hold on, buckle down, and ride the wave of bad fortune, praying you will make it out alive. You just do what it takes to survive. But what if these trials had the raw potential to change your life? What if the challenges you face could propel you to the next level of faith and maturity? What if you were designed to thrive in adversity, not merely "get by?" John Bevere wants to take you on a journey to unlock your tenacity. As he recounts the stories of Jesus and John the Baptist, as well as those of many contemporary believers, he presents a powerful pattern: These pillars of faith do not just hang on and survive troubles. They look adversity in the face and stare it down. Armed with the truth in the Word and the power of prayer, you, too, can join the determined ranks of the army of God. Will you fight relentlessly? Learn today how to fight, never give up, and enjoy all God has for you. "John Bevere has a mandate on his life to serve the body of Christ. His desire to see everyone find and flourish in their God-given destiny is evident in his teachings. His love for Christ and deep revelation of the Word of God will have you pursuing the cause of Christ, relentlessly." (Publisher)
