Instinct: The Power to Unleash Your Inborn Drive

by T.D. Jakes     (Get the Book)
"Never settle for less than God's best for your life." So says respected preacher, bestselling author, and entrepreneur Jakes (Reposition Yourself) in his latest book. Jakes takes readers on a journey into their instincts—God-given natural aptitudes that, when examined, reveal considerable opportunities and resources to help people succeed in business, overcome obstacles, gain a better sense of direction, stay protected from predators, become better leaders, and build more inspiring relationships, among other things. "Instincts are the product of what we have and what we want to have," writes Jakes. "They are the inner compass guiding us from where we are to where we want to go." A big part of understanding how that inner compass works, though, is heeding Jakes' advice not to settle for less than God's best. Being in touch with inner instincts helps individuals meet life's challenges without fear. This positive book encourages readers to get in touch with their instincts, trust them, and rely on them, because they come from God. --Publishers Weekly

Christian Reconstruction: R. J. Rushdoony and American Religious Conservatism

by R.J. Rushdoony     (Get the Book)
McVicar (religion, Florida State Univ.) provides an extensively researched and critical yet balanced history of the Christian Reconstruction movement and its founder, R.J. Rushdoony (1916–2001). The author relies on a multitude of resources, including Rushdoony's personal papers and correspondence, to demonstrate that the movement and its creator aspired to a powerful "restructuring" of individual lives and also of American society and politics as a whole through their variety of controversial "Christian" leadership, based in part upon Old Testament law. McVicar doesn't shy away from discussing some of the moral contradictions—mean-spiritedness and even cruelty, personal opportunism disguised as piety—of Rushdoony and his associates. Despite the movement's decline starting in the 1990s and beyond, McVicar finds many of its racist, patriarchal, antistate, and educational tenets (such as homeschooling) flourishing in newer movements (e.g., the Tea Party) and in much popular public opinion—especially about what constitutes good and bad religion. VERDICT Specialists in religion, politics, sociology, history, and cultural analysis, as well as the general public, can find rich reflection herein no matter their personal, political, or religious persuasions. --Library Journal

The Road Home: A Contemporary Exploration of the Buddhist Path

by Ethan Nichtern      (Get the Book)
Nichtern (founder, Interdependence Workshop; A Declaration of Interdependence) writes that "Buddhist teachings are only meaningful if they positively inform the way we live our lives." With this in mind, the author makes ancient Buddhist teachings and texts approachable, contemporary, and relevant. Using an informal and engaging style, Nichtern applies the metaphor of a commuter to describe the way people often feel when trying to become more present in their daily lives or feel at home in their minds: as though they are always trying to get to a different place. The content is grounded in meditation practice, although this book will not serve as a how-to guide to meditation. Rather, Nichtern presents the bigger picture as to why such techniques are important to cultivating meaningful and compassionate relationships with self, others, and society in our fast-paced and hyperconnected world. The author provides a helpful list of suggested readings for more in-depth exploration into Buddhism and meditation practice. VERDICT Valuable for readers looking for an introduction to Buddhist teachings as they relate to meditation practice or for those searching for ways to live their lives in the here and now.  --Kirkus

UnOffendable

by Brant Hansen    (Get the Book)
Hansen is a radio host and also works with CURE International and is active as a blogger and Twitter user. So, while neither an academic nor a traditional minister, he is the very model of a modern Christian: full of a missionary's zeal and conversant with social media. Hansen's message is true to his approach. His mode is remarkably inoffensive, and the lesson he offers is that it is better for Christians to discard their personal (or societal) propensity to take offense or indulge in righteous anger. He asserts that being "unoffendable" is the meaning of service, of humility, of "dying to the self," as the faith instructs. His method is light, accessible, and occasionally touched with suitably humble instances of humor, usually at his own expense. Unoffendability, to the author, is key to the conclusion of a certain sort of pain and the answer to discovering "the joy of gratitude." VERDICT A slight but charming handbook for the contemporary Christian that will also find its audience among pastors.

Encounters With Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life's Biggest Questions

by Timothy Keller

Famed pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, hugely best-selling Keller argues that Jesus didn't give easy answers to our most basic questions, e.g., What's my purpose? What does it mean to live successfully? Here he evokes ten crucial encounters in the New Testament to show how Jesus wanted us to ponder these concerns. --Library Journal

How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee

by Bart D. Ehrman    (Get the Book)
Ehrman, who has written prolifically about early Christianity, here takes up one of religious history’s most profound questions: How did a messianic Jewish preacher become identified as God? This is a particularly astonishing phenomenon when one considers how fast it happened and how different the idea of Jesus as God was from Jesus’ actual message. Ehrman writes very personally, especially in the beginning, and this approach draws the reader into a subject that is littered with curves and contradictions. Eventually, all writers who tackle this topic must answer the fundamental question: Did Jesus’ followers actually see a resurrected Christ? Ehrman sets up his answer well, first considering the various interpretations of divine humanity in ancient times. When it comes to the resurrection, he explains that whether the apostles actually saw Jesus or saw a vision makes no difference. Their belief in a risen Jesus is what shifted and shaped Christianity. A discussion of later Christologies and heresies becomes complicated, but this fascinating discussion will engage—and provoke—a wide audience. --Booklist

Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church

by Rachel Held Evans     (Get the Book)
Evans (A Year of Biblical Womanhood) uses the lens of her own journey as an evangelical Christian to explore what is happening in church circles today and, more broadly, what it means to be part of a church community. Evans humorously describes her gradual evolution from a teenager with a "crusader complex" to an adult who became increasingly uncomfortable with her church's conservative theology: "The trouble started when I began to suspect God was less concerned with saving people from hell than I was." Dividing the book into sections named after sacraments, Evans begins by contemplating, in lyrical prose, the theological significance of each sacrament's key ingredient (water, bread, ash, etc.). A powerful storyteller, Evans captures transformative moments, such as leaving a church full "of kind, generous people"; investing wholeheartedly in a new church that "collapsed slowly, one week at a time"; and witnessing healing at the Gay Christian Network's conference, feeling "simultaneously furious at Christianity's enormous capacity to wound and awed by its miraculous capacity to heal." Honest and moving, this memoir is both theologically astute and beautifully written. --Publisher's Weekly

Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well

by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen     (Get the Book)
A guide to taking the bad feedback with the good and learning from what we're told. As Harvard Law School lecturers Stone and Heen (co-authors: Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, 1999) note early on, there have been countless books on the management side of the feedback equation: how to be a good boss and effective leader, delivering feedback to employees that hits every nail on the head. While it's often a shell game to drive employees to be better while also not burning them out, surprisingly little attention has been focused on being an effective recipient of feedback. Enter Stone and Heen with a well-rounded consideration of "the science and art of receiving feedback well." As they write, both of those disciplines are required to receive feedback in productive ways—not only in the workplace, but in personal life as well. The authors examine therapy and neurology as two of the avenues through which we can locate and address the blocks to feedback; thoughts can cause emotions, emotions can cause thoughts, and feedback from someone in a position of authority can trigger the fight-or-flight response.  --Kirkus

Beyond Championships: A Playbook for Winning at Life

by Dru Joyce II      (Get the Book)

A few years after getting married and starting a career in sales, Joyce began coaching basketball part-time. Despite having played very little organized basketball and having no coaching experience, Joyce felt he was called to help young people. In 2002, he became the head boys' basketball coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, OH, where he has coached three state championship teams, won the National Coach of the Year award, and taught one of the greatest basketball players of all time—LeBron James, who wrote the foreword. This book contains the principles by which Coach Dru lives his life and instills in his players for success both on-and-off court. Each chapter centers on one principle, which is given a catchy phrase ("Decisions Create Environment") and contains real-life examples from Joyce's life as a husband and father, his years coaching, and his Christian faith. He preaches discipline, taking responsibility for your choices, and following your dreams. While these tenets are not unique, the book's style makes it palatable for a teenage, mostly male audience, especially given its connection to basketball and James. VERDICT Recommended for preteens, teenagers, and anyone who works with and mentors students of that age. --Library Journal

Galileo's middle finger : heretics, activists, and the search for justice in science

by Alice Domurat Dreger     (Get the Book)
Raised by conservative Catholic parents, Dreger (One of Us, 2004) rejects the church that persecuted Galileo both as champion of evidence-based science and as forerunner of rights-endowing democracy. But in two decades as a bioethicist committed to progressive causes, she has encountered unexpected conflict between the political and scientific branches of Galileo’s legacy. The author indeed takes readers into the dangerous no-man’s land separating warriors for political enlightenment from tough-minded researchers reporting unwelcome empirical findings about human identity, especially sexually identity. Seasoned by her own combat on behalf of intersex individuals, Dreger understands that those attacking women and sexual minorities have often (mis)used science. But she fears the consequences when political crusaders—including her allies—­reject empirical science and slander those who do it. In a disarmingly candid narrative, she chronicles her political-scientific struggles dealing with passion-laden issues such as transgender rights, rape, child sexual abuse, and prenatal fetal experimentation. Readers see repeatedly the high costs when Galileo’s scientific epigones clash with his political heirs. A sobering report from a hotly contested cultural battlefield. --Booklist

Fields of blood : religion and the history of violence

by Karen Armstrong     (Get the Book)
The relationship of religion and violence arose, Armstrong relates, as nomadic hunter-gatherers settled into agrarian communities that developed a system in which protectors kept peons at work, especially to produce more than the community needed—wealth that the protectors controlled with the same violence exerted against alien thieves. The religion of nomads was adapted to apologize for this master-and-subject structure of agrarian society, thereby inextricably entwining religion and politics. Eventually, though, in each major religion, a reaction set in, reaffirming the egalitarianism of hunter-gatherer society through mutual pacific love. The first part of this—characteristically for Armstrong—sweeping history traces that development and that reaction in Mesopotamia, India, China, and among the Hebrews. Reaction continues as the theme of the second part, examining the challenges of Jesus and Muhammad to the systemic violence of empires and the ethical crippling of Christianity and Islam as they were incorporated into empires. The third part, covering modernity, reports the conceptual separation of religion from the state, the emergence of secularism, and the battles seemingly between religion and secularity in our own time, in which secular movements have proved as violent as religious ones, and religion is often only opportunistically claimed to inspire a violent political movement, for instance, al-Qaeda. Armstrong again impresses with the breadth of her knowledge and the skill with which she conveys it to us. 

Thoughts for a new perspective

by Kurt M. Jordan    (Get the Book)
Too often in life, we see only what we are conditioned to see. Influenced by our parents, environment, education, religious beliefs, mass media, or society in general, these narrow-minded perspectives limit our growth and prevent us from truly connecting with others. In his guidebook Thoughts for a New Perspective, an innovative transformational leader shares fascinating insight on how to remove our blinders, open our minds to a new way of thinking, and ultimately find a new perspective on life. Through a unique roadmap filled with over eight hundred transformational thoughts, Kurt Jordan leads others through an introspective process that opens the mind to think about God in a new way, encourages a look inward to find the answers to a variety of questions about life, offers a new outlook on relationships and love, and shares guidance on how to connect with our spirit in order to discover who we really are deep inside. (Publisher)

The meaning of human existence

by Edward O. Wilson      (Get the Book)Eloquent and caring biologist and humanist Wilson posits that it is our limited biological understanding of our now dominant species that induces us to unthinkingly destroy the biosphere and, therefore, ourselves even as we're developing genetic technologies that will allow us to direct our own evolution. To gain the knowledge we need to navigate these dilemmas, Wilson argues, we must unite the humanities and the sciences to develop a deeper form of history that embraces both biology and culture. In this collection of rigorous yet lyrical essays, themselves models of the science-humanities fusion he envisions, Wilson extends his in-depth analysis of our complex, competitive social behavior launched in The Social Conquest of Earth (2012), nimbly discussing the evolutionary sources of our inborn turmoil. Homo sapiens is an innately dysfunctional species, Wilson avers, due to what he defines as the Paleolithic Curse, genetic adaptations that once helped us thrive but now hold us back. Wilson's suggested solutions to our paradoxical predicaments are firmly rooted in science and finely crafted with tonic common sense, unusual directness, and no small measure of valor. --Booklist

The return of the prodigal son : a story of homecoming

by Henry J. Nouwen    (Get the Book)This extended meditation on the biblical story of the prodigal son is full of insight. Nouwen's inspiration was a portion of Rembrandt's painting depicting the return of the younger son. As he discusses the painting and its subject, the reader is able to visualize the canvas and become, with Nouwen, each of the characters in the story. His understanding of the aspects of his own character that mirror the humility and hope of the younger son, the anger of the elder, and the patient forgiveness of the father is remarkable. Everyone should be this honest when they encounter others. This is a book that can be read again and again. --Booklist

The mingling of souls : God's design for love, marriage, sex & redemption

by Matt Chandler     (Get the Book)
Defining marital love as the mingling of souls, Chandler (The Explicit Gospel) proceeds to chart a course through the narrative poetry of the Song of Solomon. Using the Old Testament's "book of love" as guide, Chandler leads couples (and singles looking for love) along the path of "a gospel-centered marriage," through the stages of attraction, dating, courtship, engagement, marriage-all the way to sitting on the back porch with the grandkids around. The book's advice is unapologetically counter to prevailing notions of love, dating, and marriage, firmly entrenched in a complementarian and neo-Calvinist view of sexuality. Chandler's vision of God's design will leave many people wondering if they can aspire to such heavenly standards in earthly relationships. Still, he is gentle with his rebuke, giving relevant, humorous, and eminently practical advice. Conservative Christians will find Chandler's words on continuously kindling the fires of love hopeful and helpful. Others may also glean some advice from a guy who sounds like he is there in the trenches with you. --Publisher's weekly

Stay : a history of suicide and the philosophies against it

by Jennifer Michael Hecht     (Get the Book)
Hecht (New School Univ., NYC) offers an interesting, well-crafted history of Western philosophical thought on suicide. Unlike most other books on the topic, this one defends two longstanding (but often forgotten) arguments against suicide: that we owe it "to society at large," and "to our future selves" to "stay." The persuasive force of these arguments is bolstered by limiting the context to "despair suicide," but not necessarily to "end-of- life management." Thus, most of the contemporary biomedical debate over physician-assisted suicide is avoided. Critics will point out that both arguments assume that the collective and individual benefits of "staying" necessarily outweigh the future costs. Hence, many critics would argue that suicide is inexorably contextual and not amenable to "one-size-fits-all" arguments. This book is recommended for a general audience, especially those who may be vulnerable to despair suicide. For a more rigorous book that covers the deep philosophical issues associated with suicide, see Michael Cholbi's Suicide: The Philosophical Dimensions (CH, Mar'12, 49-3784). --Choice

The moral arc : how science and reason lead humanity toward truth, justice, and freedom

by Michael Shermer    (Get the Book)
Despite the Twin Towers terrorist attacks and the Rwandan genocide, Shermer discerns moral progress in the last quarter century. Evidence of that progress inheres in statistics limning a global decline of lethal violence and a global proliferation of the rights of women, ethnic minorities, homosexuals, and increasingly even animals. Shermer attributes this progress to the triumph of scientific reasoning and the retreat of religious dogma. To be sure, Shermer is more willing than some New Atheists to recognize that faith can foster volunteerism and generosity. But he still regards piety as a retrograde social influence, incapable of leading the way into an enlightened future. That future, he assures readers, is already unfolding as secular thinkers promulgate a rational morality premised on the principle of interchangeable perspectives, granting special privileges to none but affording equal protection to all. What Shermer calls his protopian theorizing will persuade few who draw their moral precepts from scripture, tradition, or group loyalty. But at a time of widespread cultural ferment, such theorizing will spark keen interest. --Booklist

The nuns of Sant'Ambrogio : the true story of a convent in scandal

by Hubert Wolf      (Get the Book)
As if the current controversies brewing in the Roman Catholic Church aren't enough, a church historian reaches back in time, unearthing a religious scandal of epic proportions. When German princess Katharina Von Hohenzollern joined the convent of Sant'Ambrogio in Rome in the mid-nineteenth century, she became privy to the convent's salacious secrets, including heresy, sexual abuse, and bizarre lesbian initiation rituals. Eventually perceived as a threat by other convent members, especially Maria Luisa, the convent's beautiful but deranged mistress of novices, she became a target for murder. After surviving several poisoning attempts, she made her escape with the assistance of her cousin, the bishop of Edessa and a confidant of Pope Pius IX. In this meticulously researched account, Wolf unravels the case, the ecclesiastical inquiry, and the aftermath of this disgraceful episode. Religion, sex, and politics reader interest should be high. --Booklist

Post Christian : what's left? can we fix it? do we care?

by Christian Piatt      (Get the Book)
Any book, not least an ostensibly Christian one, that announces its plan to "piss you off" promises to be provocative. Piatt (PregMANcy) delivers on his disconcerting promise as he calls out Christianity for what he sees as its "seven deadly scandals" (pride, certainty, lust, greed, judgment, fear, and envy) and invites everyone to imagine a more humble, faithful, loving, charitable, merciful, courageous and just future. Piatt pulls no punches in his postmodern verdict against Western Christianity, and his analysis of the "post-Christian" moment should touch a nerve among progressives and traditionalists alike. Piatt is an expert at deconstructing false precepts, false practices, and prejudices of all sorts. Still, while he criticizes Christendom's mistaken sense of cultural hegemony, he leaves too many of his readers of faith standing foundationless and asking nervously, "Now what?" That may be exactly what the author wants. Instead of offering pat remedies to Christianity's ills, he invites readers on a Kerouac-style journey of faith on the road with others who are preoccupied with similar questions and are comfortable living, and dying, with them. --Publisher's Weekly

Buddhism for mothers : a calm approach to caring for yourself and your children

by Sarah Napthali   (Get the Book)
What do motherhood and the concept of self-reliance have in common with Buddhist philosophy? In a familiar, conversational style, Napthali, a mother and a Buddhist writer, thoughtfully explores this question, teaming Buddhist teachings (e.g., to be truthful, compassionate, and tolerant) with the ordinary experiences of mothers. She aims to convey the message that developing inner resources will help women nurture themselves so that they may parent wisely and well. With simple instructions for meditative practice and a one-minute breath meditation, the author guides busy women in the art of transforming their lives in the midst of chaos. She asks good spiritual questions, too-the real strength of the book-e.g., How am I interpreting a given situation? Am I upset due to unsolved family issues? One criticism is a lack of illustrations. Ultimately, what readers learn is that treating our children as though they are respected parts of ourselves hastens compassion toward others in our inner circle, rewarding us with less isolation and loneliness in our daily lives. For all public libraries in a category bridging self-help and comparative religion. --Library Journal

Infinite thought : truth and the return to philosophy

by Alain Badiou     (Get the Book)
Alain Badiou (1937- ) is one of the most high profile and controversial philosophers writing in France today. A leading light in the generation of thinkers who come of intellectual age in 1968, his work deftly draws on a wide range of intellectual traditions and thinkers from Plato and Lucretius, through Heidegger to Lacan and Deleuze.Now available in the Bloomsbury Revelations series, Infinite Thought is a vivid demonstration of that range. Here Badiou introduces his own thought on the full gamut of intellectual concerns, from politics, psychoanalysis and art to truth, desire and the definition of philosophy itself. As well as Badiou's reflections on the fall of communism and the 'War on Terror', the book also includes an interview with the author. (summary)

Heirs to forgotten kingdoms : journeys into the disappearing religions of the Middle East

by Gerard Russell    (Get the Book)
Russell (coauthor, Paktika Provincial Handbook) has lived and traveled throughout the Middle East for more than a decade, working at British embassies in Baghdad and Kabul. His work led him to explore remote areas of Iraq and Afghanistan, among other countries, observing religious rituals and interviewing practitioners of small sects, curious about what has enabled them to survive for thousands of years in spite of isolation and persecution. The author is fluent in both Arabic and Farsi and his mostly solitary travels brought him to seek Zoroastrians in Iran, Kalasha in Pakistan, and Copts in Egypt, as well as Ezidis, Mandaeans, and Druze in Syria and Iraq. Russell succeeds in creating a rich, humanistic study highlighting cultural diversity and historical continuity and change. While he describes the theology of the groups, he is more interested in the creative ways they have explained the universe and defined their communities. The author regrets the harsh aspects of modernization and the growing intolerance in the Middle East that may result in the dispersion or extinction of these believers. VERDICT A fascinating and gracefully written study of minority religions, recommended for its appreciation of cultural richness and variety. Russell's portrayal of religious creativity both past and present contrasts, sadly, with the brutality and chaos in current headlines. --Library Journal