Paul and Jesus : how the Apostle transformed Christianity

by James D. Tabor     (Get the Book)
In this compulsively readable exploration of the tangled world of Christian origins, Tabor (The Jesus Dynasty) vividly recreates the frenetic and fraught attempts by the earliest followers of Jesus to maintain his teachings and keep his memory alive. The followers of James, who was the brother of Jesus and likely the author of the New Testament letter that bears his name, continued to live as Jews, observing Torah and worshipping in the Jerusalem Temple while honoring Jesus as their martyred Teacher and Messiah. This group was quickly displaced by Paul, whose theological teachings on the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ; the gift of eternal life guaranteed by faith in Jesus' resurrection from the dead; and a glorified heavenly reign with Christ when he returns reached a larger, non-Jewish audience because of the more philosophical language and nature. Although Paul has long been acknowledged as the founder of Christianity, Tabor weaves a fascinating story out of close readings of Paul's letters and the book of Acts, which contains an idealized history of the early movement as well as Paul's earliest activities on behalf of his teachings, and compellingly illustrates the ways that Christianity is Paul and Paul is Christianity. --Publishers Weekly

The Templars and the shroud of Christ

by Barbara Frale     (Get the Book)
For a certain period in history, the Knights Templar are the most powerful military religious order of the Middle Ages. Secretly guarded, the Shroud of Turin, worshipped in a relentlessly secret manner, and known in its intimate nature by only a handful of the order's officials, the swathe of fabric was kept in the central treasury of the Knights Templar, who were known for their expertise in the field of relics. The precious cloth's history and whereabouts were known only to the highest dignitaries of the secretive order. In an era of widespread doctrinal confusion in much of the Church, the Templars considered the Shroud to be a powerful antidote against the proliferation of heresies. Easy to read and thoroughly researched, this book tracks the Templars from their inception as warrior-monks protecting religious pilgrims, to the later fascination with their secret rituals and incredible wealth, which ultimately led to their dissolution and the seizing of their assets. Following the Shroud's pathway through the Middle Ages, Vatican historian Barbara Frale has gone back in time, to the dawn of the Christian era, to provide a new perspective on the controversial relic. The author also includes several photos of the Shroud itself that reveal in startling detail a human face, mysterious writing, and marks of a crucifixion that many have claimed identify it as the true burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth. (Publisher)

Grace : more than we deserve, greater than we imagine

by Max Lucado    (Get the Book)
A woman critically injured and permanently disfigured by a frozen turkey hurled at the windshield of her car manages to forgive the youth who threw it. A physician stricken with a reaction to an AIDS vaccine is helped by a planeload of doctors. A dress-shop owner lets a nonpaying customer wear a wedding dress to the hospital room of her dying father. These are just a few examples of God's grace working through people, according to best-selling author Lucado. Grace, he insists, is available in quantities greater than we imagine and more than we deserve, if we only open our hearts. Often it is extended to us whether or not we deserve it. Lucado's latest provides comforting and inspirational revelations about grace and the phenomena of getting and giving amazing second chances through true stories, Bible passages, and quotes from famous writers and spiritual leaders. True grace, Lucado rightly insists, is grand both to give and receive. --Booklist

Radical hope : ethics in the face of cultural devastation

by Jonathan Lear     (Get the book)
Lear, a psychoanalyst and professor of philosophy, delves into what he calls the blind spot of any culture: the inability to conceive of its own devastation. He molds his thoughts around a poignant historical model, the decimated nation of Crow Indians in the early decades of the twentieth century. The last Crow chief, Plenty Coups, told his white friend and biographer, Frank B. Linderman, about what happened to his people when the buffalo went away. They were despondent, and in Plenty Coups' words, After this nothing happened. Lear dissects this phenomenon, and the Crows' struggle for continued survival, in a highly esoteric discussion drawing on the writings of Aristotle, Plato, and other philosophers. What makes this discussion relevant to mainstream readers is his application of the blind-spot hypothesis to the present, in which the twenty-first century was ushered in by terrorist attacks, social upheavals, and natural catastrophes, leaving us with an uncanny sense of menace and a heightened perception of how vulnerable our civilizations are to destruction, as was the Crow's. --Booklist

Seven thousand ways to listen : staying close to what is sacred

by Mark Nepo    (Get the Book)
MARK NEPO MOVED AND INSPIRED millions of people with his #1 New York Times bestseller The Book of Awakening, a spiritual daybook that draws on his awakening through cancer to offer life lessons from all the spiritual traditions. In his continuing exploration of the human journey, Nepo has been called "one of the finest spiritual guides of our time," "a consummate storyteller," and "an eloquent spiritual teacher." In his latest book, he inquires into the endless ways we are asked to listen. Experiencing hearing loss himself, Nepo affirms that listening is one of the most mysterious, luminous, and challenging art forms on Earth: "Whatever difficulty you face, there are time-tried ways you can listen your way through. Because listening is the doorway to everything that matters. It enlivens the heart the way breathing enlivens the lungs. We listen to awaken our heart. We do this to stay vital and alive." In Seven Thousand Ways to Listen , Nepo offers ancient and contemporary practices to help us stay close to what is sacred. --Publisher

Read the Bible for life : your guide to understanding & living God's word

by George H. Guthrie    (Get the Book)
As a Bible scholar at Union University, one of the oldest American universities in the Southern Baptist tradition, Guthrie has tracked the decline in biblical literacy with consternation. With earlier books (The Structure of Hebrews and Biblical Greek Exegesis) best suited for academia, Guthrie has switched gears to produce a reader-friendly, digestible, biblical literacy study program that includes this book as well as a participant's workbook, study leader's CD-ROM, and three DVDs for group use. Anyone "touched by the English language or Western culture," argues Guthrie, should be conversant in biblical literature. Through informal kitchen-table conversations with evangelical scholars, Guthrie guides the reader through a study of historical context, differences in Bible translations, varieties of literary genres, and finally a heartfelt devotional on how to read the Bible in a postmodern world. Though successful in reaching beyond a Southern Baptist audience, Guthrie remains limited by the Protestant concept of "progressive revelation," which prefers later parts of the Bible over earlier ones, a concept not accepted by Roman Catholics or Orthodox Christians. --Publishers Weekly

Prayer : the art of believing

by Neville Gaddard    (Get the Book)
PRAYER is the master key. A key may fit one door of a house, but when it fits all doors it may well claim to be a master key. Such and no less a key is prayer to all earthly problems. This book is an attempt to reduce the unknown to the known, by pointing out the conditions on which prayers are answered, and without which they cannot be answered. It defines the conditions governing prayer in laws that are simply a generalization of our observations. The universal law of reversibility is the foundation on which its claims are based. (Summary)

Sacred ground : pluralism, prejudice, and the promise of America

by Eboo Patel     (Get the Book)
Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, lets his love for his work and his country shine through in this brief but charming introduction to the importance of interfaith work in America. Patel is particularly concerned with the contemporary mistrust of Muslim Americans, but his focus is broader, as he argues eloquently that America, by its very founding principles, should be a pluralist society, citing historical examples of religious tolerance. Patel also muses on practical considerations of interfaith leadership; he has adopted the somewhat counterintuitive practice of educating mostly individuals who are already committed to interfaith tolerance rather than trying to convert the unconvinced, since he has found that inspiring these individuals to action allows for a broader impact as they share their commitment with their own social networks. In some sections the book is only loosely organized, and sometimes Patel veers too far into the political arena, with examples that are likely to be outdated soon, but generally his expertise and blend of compelling personal anecdotes with researched argumentation makes this work an accessible and inspiring introduction to the meaning and practice of pluralism. --Publishers Weekly

Change your words, change your life: understanding the power of every word you speak

by Joyce Meyer     (Get the Book)
"Words are a big deal. They are containers for power, and we have to decide what kind of power we want our words to carry," says Joyce Meyer in CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE. "I believe that our words can increase or decrease our level of joy. They can affect the answers to our prayers and have a positive or negative effect on our future. ... One might say that our words are a movie screen that reveals what we have been thinking and the attitudes we have." Building on the premises of Power Thoughts and Living Beyond Your Emotions , she examines the tremendous power of words - which are the vehicles that convey our thoughts and emotions - and provides a series of guidelines for making sure that our talk is constructive, healthy, healing and used to good results. Topics include: The Impact of Words How to Tame Your Tongue How to be Happy When to talk and when not to talk Speaking Faith and Not Fear The Corrosion of Complaints Do you really have to give your opinion? The importance of keeping your word The power of speaking God's word How to have a smart mouth In a 'Dictionary of God's Word' at the end of the book, Joyce provides dozens of scripture verses, arranged by topic, that she recommends reading and saying out loud as one way of using and claiming healing words.

A little history of philosophy

by Nigel Warburton                  (Get the Book)
A readable if unremarkable addition to the increasingly crowded shelves of philosophy primers. Warburton (Philosophy Bites) provides a history of the major philosophers of the West from Socrates to Peter Singer-with a few surprising exclusions (Bentham but no Foucault, Philippa Foot but no Martin Heidegger). However, in his effort to make the work accessible, the author veers into a sophomoric style that tends to grate quickly. Furthermore, in the quest for brevity, Warburton's decisions about what exactly to emphasize in each philosopher are sometimes questionable; for example, his treatment of John Locke reduces the political philosopher's contributions to a series of musings on how memory influences identity. Still, this brisk primer is, for the neophyte, a good place to start immersing oneself in the history of Western thought. Others may find themselves wishing for a philosophical history that would combine such accessibility with a little more substantiality. --Publishers Weekly