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.

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

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

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.

The Little Book of Changes is a fresh interpretation of the I Ching, one of the oldest books in the world-recognized by both Confucians and Taoists as a fundamental work. Author Peter Crisp's perceptive and poetic rendition reimagines the ancient philosophical text as a friendly, accessible, and modern companion.

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.

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 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.

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)

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.

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

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

While in the service of India’s Nizam of Hyderabad, MarmadukePickthall converted to Islam and, with the help of Muslimtheologians and linguists, produced this clear and lovingly preciseEnglish interpretation of the Holy Koran. His work is honored bybeliever and non-believer alike for its unique combination ofpiety, scholarly rigor in its translation and explanatory notes,and deep feeling for the poetic beauty and moral grandeur of itsArabic original.

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.