A journey through the ecclesiastical year with Christianitysmost eloquent and inspiring spokesman. A potent anthology (LosAngeles Times). Edited and with a Preface by Walter Hooper.

A noted historian of religion traces manifestations of thesacred from primitive to modern times, in terms of space, time,nature and the cosmos, and life itself. Index. Translated byWillard Trask.

This book presents in as clear a way as possible the NewTestament material dealing with women and their roles in thecontext of the movement Jesus began. Dr Witherington begins byillustrating the roles of women in Judaism, in the Hellenisticworld, and in the Roman Empire. She goes on to show how Jesus brokesignificantly with convention in the way he viewed women and theirroles, offering as he did a wholly new conception of the legitimaterights of women in society. An analysis follows of the apostlePaul's attitude toward women, which shows how he agreed with anddiffered from the ideas of his contemporaries. The concludingchapters discuss the evangelists, whose selection and presentationof material with respect to women casts much light on the earlyChurch's understanding of women and their roles. This comprehensivesurvey, which avoids slanting its material to serve a modernpatriarchal or feminist bias, comes to the exciting conclusion thatwe can see in the New Testament an attempt to reform thepatriarchal

This book is meant to be useful and readable. It assumes someexperience in ordinary historical techniques, but no expertknowledge. In discussing the various kinds of source material forearly Irish history, the problems each kind raises and the sort ofquestions it will answer, the author discusses many of the majorhistorical issues. Her book is therefore not so much abibliographical guide as a work of historical analysis anddiscussion. It deals with the main sources of Irish history betweenc. 400 and c. 1170, and has nine chapters: on archaeology (withappendices on aerial photography and coins), the secular laws,ecclesiastical legislation, the annals (with an appendix on thegenealogies), secular literature, ecclesiastical learning,hagiography, art and architecture, eleventh- and twelfth-centuryhistories and compilations. A bibliography and index complete thebook.

Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer namedL. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest growing religion,with millions of members around the world and huge financialholdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and itsteams of "volunteer ministers" offer aid at disaster sites such asHaiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notablyclosed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigationand intimidation, even infiltrating the highest levels of thegovernment to further its goals. Its attacks on psychiatry and itsrequirement that believers pay into the tens and even hundreds ofthousands of dollars for salvation have drawn scrutiny andskepticism. And ex-members use the Internet to share stories ofharassment and abuse. Now Janet Reitman offers the first fulljournalistic history of the Church of Scientology, in an evenhandedaccount that at last establishes the astonishing truth about thecontroversial religion. She traces Scientology's development fro

Dating from around 300BC, Tao Te Ching is the first great classic of the Chinese school of philosophy called Taoism. Within its pages is summed up a complete view of the cosmos and how human beings should respond to it. A profound mystical insight into the nature of things forms the basis for a humane morality and vision of political utopia.

In this revelatory exploration of one of our most revered icons,a critically acclaimed author and professor takes us back to earlyChristianity to ask how a box of handwritten scrolls became theBible, and forward to see how the multibillion-dollar business thathas brought us Biblezines and Manga Bibles is selling down theBible's sacred capital. Showing us how a single official text wascreated from the proliferation of different *s, Beal tracesits path as it became embraced as the word of God and Book ofbooks. Among his surprising insights: * Christianity thrived for centuries without any Bible--there wasno official canon of *ures, much less a book big enough tohold them all. Congregations used various collections of scrollsand codices. * There is no "original" Bible, no single source text behind thethousands of different Bibles on the market today. The farther wego back in the Bible's history, the more versions we find. * The idea of the Bible as the literal Word of God is relativelynew--only about a century

Here, Roshi Kapleau addresses how Westerners can adapt andpractice Zen.

World-renowned Buddhist teacher Roshi Kapleau brings a newintroduction to his twenty-five-year-old classic. Useful to bothinitiates and long-term disciples alike, the comprehensive guide isan overview of the profundities of Buddha. (Philosophy)

This is a study of the political, religious, social and mentalworlds of the Catholic aristocracy from 1550 to 1640. MichaelQuestier examines the familial and patronage networks of theEnglish Catholic community and their relationship to the laterTudors and Stuarts. He shows how the local history of theReformation can be used to rewrite mainstream accounts of nationalpolitics and religious conflict in this period. The book takes inthe various crises of mid- and late Elizabeth politics, theaccession of James VI, the Gunpowder Plot, religious toleration andthe start of the Thirty Years War and finally the rise ofLaudianism, leading up to the civil war. It challenges recenthistorical notions of Catholicism as fundamentally sectarian anddemonstrates the extent to which sections of the Catholic communityhad come to an understanding with both the local and national Stateby the later 1620s and 1630s.

Rabbi Steinberg identifies seven strands that weave togetherto make up Judaism: God, morality, rite and custom, law, sacredliterature, institutions, and the people. A classic work directedto both the Jewish and the non-Jewish reader.

In this provocative must-read, the preeminent scientist—andworld’s most prominent atheist—Richard Dawkins asserts theirrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion hasinflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11. The God Delusionmakes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong, butpotentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight on theadvantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the leastof which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe’s wondersthan any faith could ever muster. With rigor and wit, Dawkinseviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates thesupreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religionfuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing hispoints with historical and contemporary evidence. This is a bookthat challenges all of us to test our beliefs, no matter whatbeliefs we hold.

An examination of the influence of the Bible on Western artand literature and on the Western creative imagination in general.Frye persuasively presents the Bible as a unique text distinct fromall other epics and sacred writings. No one has set forth soclearly, so subtly, or with such cogent energy as Frye the literaryaspect of our biblical heritage (New York Times Book Review).Indices.

This classic book grew out of the fascination that Germanjournalist, Werner Keller, developed when he began to learn thatthe work of archaeologists and historians corroborated Biblicalaccounts which he had hitherto dismissed as mere "pious tales.

Reading the Gospels without knowing the personality of Jesusis like watching television with the sound turned off. The resultis a dry, two dimensional person doing strange, undecipherablethings. In BEAUTIFUL OUTLAW, John Eldredge removes the religious varnishto help readers discover stunning new insights into the humanity ofJesus. He was accused of breaking the law, keeping bad company,heavy drinking. Of being the devil himself. He was so compellingand dangerous they had to kill him. But others loved himpassionately. He had a sense of humor. His generosity wasscandalous. His anger made enemies tremble. He'd say the mostoutrageous things. He was definitely not the Jesus of the stainedglass. In the author's winsome, narrative approach, he breaks Jesus outof the typical stereotypes, just as he set masculinity free in hisbook, Wild at Heart. By uncovering the real Jesus, readers arewelcomed into the rich emotional life of Christ. All of theremarkable qualities of Jesus burst like fireworks with

A modern-day Confessions of Saint Augustine, The Seven StoreyMountain is one of the most influential religious works of thetwentieth century. This edition contains an introduction byMerton's editor, Robert Giroux, and a note to the reader bybiographer William H. Shannon. It tells of the growing restlessnessof a brilliant and passionate young man whose search for peace andfaith leads him, at the age of twenty-six, to take vows in one ofthe most demanding Catholic orders--the Trappist monks. At theAbbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," ThomasMerton struggles to withdraw from the world, but only after he hasfully immersed himself in it. The Seven Storey Mountain has been afavorite of readers ranging from Graham Greene to Claire BoothLuce, Eldridge Cleaver, and Frank McCourt. And, in the half-centurysince its original publication, this timeless spiritual tome hasbeen published in over twenty languages and has touched millions oflives.