The family : the secret fundamentalism at the heart of American power

by Jeff Sharlett. They insist they are just a group of friends, yet they funnel millions of dollars through tax-free corporations. They claim to disdain politics, but congressmen of both parties describe them as the most influential religious organization in Washington. They say they are not Christians, but simply believers.Behind the scenes at every National Prayer Breakfast since 1953 has been the Family, an elite network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful. Their goal is "Jesus plus nothing." Their method is backroom diplomacy. The Family is the startling story of how their faith-part free-market fundamentalism, part imperial ambition-has come to be interwoven with the affairs of nations around the world. (Check Catalog)

The heart and science of yoga : a blueprint for peace, happiness and freedom from fear

by Leonard T Perlmutter.
This book is both the record of a personal journey and a transformational teaching. Readers will find meditations, prayers, teaching stories, breathing practices, a user's guide for the mind, an introduction to ancient Ayurvedic health principles, and more.
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The family : the secret fundamentalism at the heart of American power

by Jeff Sharlet. Checking in on a friend's brother at Ivenwald, a Washington-based fundamentalist group living communally in Arlington, Va., religion and journalism scholar Sharlet finds a sect whose members refer to Manhattan's Ground Zero as "the ruins of secularism"; intrigued, Sharlet accepts on a whim an invitation to stay at Ivenwald. He's shocked to find himself in the stronghold of a widespread "invisible" network, organized into cells much like Ivenwald, and populated by elite, politically ambitious fundamentalists; Sharlet is present when a leader tells a dozen men living there, "You guys are here to learn how to rule the world." As it turns out, the Family was established in 1935 to oppose FDR's New Deal and the spread of trade unions; since then, it has organized well-attended weekly prayer meetings for members of Congress and annual National Prayer Breakfasts attended by every president since Eisenhower. Further, the Family's international reach ("almost impossible to overstate") has "forged relationships between the U.S. government and some of the most oppressive regimes in the world." In the years since his first encounter, Sharlet has done extensive research, and his thorough account of the Family's life and times is a chilling expose. (Check catalog)

Moments with you : 365 all-new devotions for couples

by Dennis Rainey.
Each devotion provides a discussion point, prayer, and Scripture reference on topics that address a range of issues including parenting, marriage, friendship, finances, and the empty nest.
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When God writes your love story : the ultimate approach to guy/girl relationships

by Eric Ludy. Using the "four secrets to an amazing love story," the Ludys present a Christ-centered approach to building a relationship that will stand the test of time. (Check catalog)

The evolution of God

by Robert Wright. While the diatribes of the "new atheists"—Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and company—have made headlines in recent years, Wright (The Moral Animal, Nonzero) takes a decidedly more friendly approach to human religiousness. Although he shares their materialist, naturalist assumptions, he argues that over time human notions of God have "gotten closer to moral and spiritual truth….Religion hasn't just evolved, it has matured." Making the best recent scholarship accessible to the general reader, Wright follows the historical trajectory from polytheism through monolatry (worship of one god among many) to monotheism, focusing primarily on the evolving vision of God in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Qur'an, and ending with a discussion of religion's place in human evolution. In his focus on scriptures, Wright avoids the philosophical terrain covered more intently in Karen Armstrong's The History of God and The Great Transformation. VERDICT Wright's approach will appeal to a broad range of readers turned off by the "either/or" choice between dogmatic atheism and religious traditionalism. Recommended for all readers engaged in consideration of our notions of God. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

The rising of Bread for the World : an outcry of citizens against hunger

by Arthur R. Simon. In this autobiography, author and retired pastor Simon traces the path of his life to show how he began and developed Bread for the World, the influential religious lobby on hunger. Simon's past experience with the civil rights movement laid the groundwork for a life championing rights for the oppressed and underprivileged. While taking leave from pastoral duties to study hunger, Simon saw Christianity as the social force that could push government to change hunger policy, thereby aiding the impoverished. He forged a lobbying organization that gained congressional approval for two grain reserves; amassed more than 58,000 members; attracted leaders like Bono and Bob Dole; and obtained $15.5 billion in funding for poverty-stricken countries in 2008 alone. As he takes readers through a crash course on hunger policy and the workings of a Christian nonprofit, Simon applauds all those who helped leave their fingerprints on the struggle to overcome world hunger. If readers can have patience through the chapters on Simon's early years, they will find themselves cheering on a humble, mission-driven organization—and perhaps be persuaded to join the movement. --Publisher's Weekly (Check Catalog)

The Bible and the people

by Lori Anne Ferrell. This energetically written, wonderfully illustrated book seeks to demonstrate how generations of people have sought, through a seemingly endless array of methods (some quite strange), to make the Bible their own in their personal and religious lives. Ferrell (Claremont Graduate Univ.) admirably succeeds in her goals, once the reader understands that her focus is the "Christian Bible" and adherents of Christianity. As a professor of early modern literature and history, Ferrell is on firmer ground when she writes about the period and the people she knows best. But she is absolutely superb whenever she concentrates on a particular document (almost all housed at The Huntington Library, San Marino): she has a rare talent for bringing a wide variety of biblical texts to life, often starting with a stray note or short inscription and imaginatively building to construct a lively account of how and by whom such materials were constructed and subsequently used. Because of Ferrell's engaging style, her volume is accessible to everyone and holds surprises and delights for anyone with an interest in the Bible as it is, and has been, experienced by actual people in real-life circumstances for hundreds of years. Most libraries should acquire this volume. --Choice (Check Catalog)

Amazing tales for making men out of boys

by Neil Oliver. Tales of brave and selfless deeds used to be part of every boy's education. We grew up sharing stories with our fathers, uncles and grandfathers of how other men had lived their lives, met their challenges, reached their goals and faced their deaths. Becoming a man was about comradeship and standing by your friends whatever the circumstances. And it meant that sometimes it was more important to die a hero than live a coward's life. Through Neil Oliver's vivid, stirring accounts we can rediscover the stories that inspire men to perform acts greater than themselves. These are the epics that we should all know by heart; the tales of courage, endurance and sacrifice that made men out of boys (Check catalog)

by Brent W. Jeffs. In this moving debut memoir, the nephew of a Mormon sect leader chronicles life in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and what came after. Among a 10,000-member Mormon community, Jeffs grew up with three mothers, more than a dozen siblings, and a deep fear of the world outside of the church. Within the secretive community, Jeffs was taught that purity came from special attention to dress, hard work, generosity and, most importantly, obedience to one's elders (especially his uncle, the prophet Warren Jeffs). The focus of this fast-paced memoir is the sexual abuse Jeffs and his brothers endured at the hands of their relatives during church and school functions, for which he would file a class-action lawsuit in 2004. Jeffs's descent into depression proves the beginning of the end for his relationship with the church and, consequently, with much of his family. Jeffs outlines the core beliefs of the Church, along with the oppressive ends to which they were used, and the heartbreaking fate of those church members expelled into a society they were raised to see as evil and corrupt. This hard-to-put-down, tightly woven account pulls back the curtain on what's become a perennial news story, while illustrating the impiety of absolute power and the delicacy of innocence. --Publisher's Weekly (Check Catalog)