Philosophy & Religion
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by Lysa Terkeurst (Get the Book)
If auditions were held for a replacement for Oprah Winfrey.1-the early Oprah, who was vulnerable, open, girlfriendly, and not a billionaire-TerKeurst would make a short list. This mom of five had a breakout hit with Made to Crave, and her newest should also resonate. TerKeurst is open about her moments of losing it-especially at home, saying nasty things in the heat of the moment to her best-loved ones. But after those confessions come tips and tricks for being less emotionally reactive. There's a bit of scientific and psychological discussion of these states, but mostly she presents psychologically acute insights that will be familiar to those with some self-awareness through therapy, 12 steps, journaling, or other self-help methods. She does it in a distinctive voice and with Bible in hand. While there's no groundbreaking psychology, her voice is fresh and friendly. It will be most welcome to Oprah's large audience of suburban mothers who are currently in need of a guiding light, as long as they're open to advice with a distinctly Christian inflection. --Publishers Weekly
by Carlin Romano (Get the Book)
Romano, currently a critic at large for the Chronicle of Higher Education, jabs provocatively at the notion that philosophy is largely irrelevant to American culture by arguing that American culture is actually the planet's most vibrant and important marketplace for ideas. America the Philosophical, he argues, deserves its name precisely because it is a place where anyone can be a philosopher, but all philosophers must prove the relevance and utility of their ideas lest they be shredded, ridiculed, or simply ignored by the pluralistic, cosmopolitan, and unfailingly skeptical American public. To illustrate this, Romano presents a vast and diverse panorama of influential American thinkers everyone from John Dewey and Susan Sontag to Robert Fulghum and Hugh Hefner and reminds readers that the academy has considerable but far from complete influence over American thought, and this is probably a good thing. Like the ancient Greek thinker Isocrates, America the Philosophical rejects esoteric and systematic thinking in favor of truths that emerge through consensus, however elusive or messy it may be in our diverse and opinionated land. Part love letter, part hand grenade, Romano's commentary is sure to delight and infuriate in a way that will underscore its thesis. --Booklist
by Claire Coleman (Get the Book)
Advance praise for Special Intentions "Special Intentionsreminds us of the importance of not simply praying for what we need, but for whatothersneed. Jesus taught us to ask God for our daily bread, but he also asked us to love one another. Commending our friends and families (and co-workers, neighbors, acquaintances and even those who bother us) to the care of God is a key aspect of that love, and an important element of the Christian tradition. "Claire Coleman's sensitive new work will help readers to more fully enter into this rich stream of the spiritual life."-James Martin, author ofMy Life with the Saints "If you've ever offered up a simple 'God help him' at the sight of someone less fortunate, then this book will resonate with your innate sense that prayers have power. Claire Coleman offers a graceful, easy way to benefit others with her beautifully written portraits of those in need. Take her advice, say a prayer for a stranger and make the world a better place." -Patricia Sheridan, Assistant Editor/Features Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "WhileSpecial Intentionsis a beautiful meditative book for the person alone in prayer before God, it likely also will be will be an inspiration for those in prayer groups, and friends who come together to talk about their life's journeys." -Dianne M. Traflet, J.D., S.T.D., Associate Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University "Prayer is a personal experience, but sometimes we need a little reminder. --Publisher
by Liz Curtis Higgs (Get the Book)
The bestselling author (Bad Girls of the Bible) takes readers on a time travel trip to the biblical world of Ruth. Higgs's contemporary, conversational style provides insight into the themes of strong women, devotion, and faith found in the biblical book. A perfect blend of humor, extensive research, descriptive language, and insightful commentary brings to vibrant life Ruth and her relationships with mother-in-law Naomi and second husband Boaz. Breathe in the smells of ancient Bethlehem; hear the sounds of laborers threshing in the fields; see the emotions on the faces of these women; and understand how God walked with them through their lives. Readers view the events with the help of friendly tour guide Higgs, who provides extremely detailed information in a way that's enjoyable and memorable. Each chapter ends with a "Ruth in Real Life" feature, in which women share personal messages about their husbands, mothers, and daughters-in-law to emphasize the contemporary application of the biblical lesson. The text also includes a map, discussion questions, a study guide, and tips for further reading. --Publishers Weekly
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 R. J. Magill (Get the Book)
When Sarah Palin told a 2010 radio interviewer that she yearned to connect with the real people, the sincere people, few heard echoes of eighteenth-century romantic Jean-Jacques Rousseau. But Magill did. And here Magill explores the surprising implications of such echoes, tracing the tangled cultural history of sincerity as a moral and emotional ideal. That ideal, readers learn, first emerged in the theological firestorms of the sixteenth-century Reformation but metamorphosed when romantics (Rousseau and Diderot in France; Shelley and Byron in England) invested it with secular meanings in republican politics and emotive literature. But sincerity acquired dark, new connotations when Nietzsche reinterpreted it as a license for ruthless self-assertion, and Freud plumbed its depths for hidden lust and violence. Avoiding the depths, advertisers have transformed sincerity into a marketing formula, while self-help gurus have championed it as a success strategy. No wonder many artists and intellectuals have recast the question of sincerity as one of existential authenticity, while others have retreated into a cagey cynicism! Yet Magill sees Palin as just one of many twenty-first-century Americans on the Left and on the Right who still crave sincerity, even it if they must mask that craving with a hipster's protean irony. A wide-ranging and penetrating cultural inquiry. --Booklist
by Joyce Meyer. (Get the Book)
In her most popular bestseller ever, the beloved author and minister shows readers how to change their lives by changing their minds. This expanded commemorative edition features an additional Introduction and updated material. (Summary)
by Dan Ariely. (Get the Book)
The author of Predictably Irrational (rev. ed., 2009) again turns his keen mind to the realm of irrational decision-making, this time in an effort to understand the causes of and reveal interesting ways to limit our seemingly intrinsic capacity for dishonesty. Through a remarkable series of experiments, Ariely presents a convincing case that while we all want to view ourselves as honest, we have a strong desire to reap the benefits cheating brings while continuing to view ourselves as honest, wonderful people. We rationalize our misbehaviors by chalking them up to lack of willpower, the what-the-hell effect, creativity, or even a blatant desire for retribution. Ariely argues that in so doing, however, we increase the fudge factor, a process that produces further dishonesty that can quickly lead to future actions and even become contagious to those around us. Lucid and succinct as always, Ariely ably identifies the primary reasons for dishonesty and adds a few pointers, such as moral reminders, to help us curb future actions. Required reading for politicians and Wall Street executives. --Booklist
by Michael J. Sandel (Find the Book)
Should we pay children to read books or to get good grades? Should we allow corporations to pay for the right to pollute the atmosphere? Is it ethical to pay people to test risky new drugs or to donate their organs? What about hiring mercenaries to fight our wars? Auctioning admission to elite universities? Selling citizenship to immigrants willing to pay?In What Money Can't Buy , Michael J. Sandel takes on one of the biggest ethical questions of our time: Is there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale? If so, how can we prevent market values from reaching into spheres of life where they don't belong? What are the moral limits of markets?In recent decades, market values have crowded out nonmarket norms in almost every aspect of life--medicine, education, government, law, art, sports, even family life and personal relations. Without quite realizing it, Sandel argues, we have drifted from having a market economy to being a market society. Is this where we want to be?In his New York Times bestseller Justice , Sandel showed himself to be a master at illuminating, with clarity and verve, the hard moral questions we confront in our everyday lives. Now, in What Money Can't Buy , he provokes an essential discussion that we, in our market-driven age, need to have: What is the proper role of markets in a democratic society--and how can we protect the moral and civic goods that markets don't honor and that money can't buy? --Summary
by Huangbo. (Get the Book)This complete translation of the original collection of sermons, dialogues, and anecdotes of Huang Po, the illustrious Chinese master of the Tang Dynasty, allows the Western reader to gain an understanding of Zen from the original source, one of the key works in its teachings; it also offers deep and often startling insights into the rich treasures of Eastern thought. Nowhere is the use of paradox in Zen illustrated better than in the teaching of Huang Po, who shows how the experience of intuitive knowledge that reveals to a man what he is cannot be communicated by words. With the help of these paradoxes, beautifully and simply presented in this collection, Huang Po could set his disciples on the right path. It is in this fashion that the Zen master leads his listener into truth, often by a single phrase designed to destroy his particular demon of ignorance. --Summary
