Art Religion

In Becoming Wise, Tippett distills the insights she has gleaned from this luminous conversation in its many dimensions into a coherent narrative journey, over time and from mind to mind, into what it means to be human. The book is a master class in living, individually and collectively, curated by Tippett and accompanied by a delightfully ecumenical dream team of a teaching faculty. Wisdom emerges through the raw materials of the everyday.

Free Play is directed toward people in any field who want to contact, honor, and strengthen their own creative powers. It integrates material from a wide variety of sources among the arts, sciences, and spiritual traditions of humanity. Filled with unusual quotes, amusing and illuminating anecdotes, and original metaphors, it reveals how inspiration arises within us; how that inspiration may be blocked, derailed, or obscured by certain unavoidable facts of life; and how it can finally be liberated - how we can be liberated - to speak or sing, write or paint, dance or play.

Three decades ago, renowned literary expert Robert Alter radically expanded the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as not only a human creation but a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In The Art of Biblical Poetry, his companion to the seminal The Art of Biblical Narrative, Alter takes his analysis beyond narrative craft to investigate the use of Hebrew poetry in the Bible.

A book of power, beauty and grandeur, here is a majestic rendition of the love of God. Rarely has a piece of Christian literature combined the simplicity of the storytelling art with the profound depths of the Christian faith. In this sweeping saga, spanning from eternity to eternity, you will discover some of the deepest riches afforded the believer. Who is fit to be the beautiful bride of God? How shall the Carpenter, rising from the dead, bring her forth? The story concludes at the consummation of the ages, when a victorious Lord takes his bride to himself.

The Shaolin Monastery charts for the first time in any language the history of the Shaolin Temple and the evolution of its world-renowned martial arts. In this meticulously researched and eminently readable study Meir Shahar considers the economic political and religious factors that led Shaolin monks to disregard the Buddhist prohibition against violence and instead create fighting techniques that by the 21st century have spread throughout the world.

Unique among books that examine the bible as literature, this brilliantly compact introduction offers an intriguing double-edged look at this universal text - a religiously informed literary analysis. The book first explores the major sections of the New Testament - the gospels, Paul's letters, and Revelation - as individual literary documents. Keefer shows how, in such familiar stories as the parable of the Good Samaritan, a literary analysis can uncover an unexpected complexity to what seems a simple, straightforward tale.

Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out. (Leviticus 6:13) Two hundred years ago, this verse was burned into the hearts of a community of Moravian refugees in tiny Hernnhut in eastern Germany under Count von Zinzendorf. They committed themselves to restore this "Watch of the Lord" through 24 hours of unbroken prayer and intercession that continued for more than 100 years!

Deanna Lorea, author of Unraveled, offers listeners more God-inspired guidance in the second spiritual work of The Undoing series, Undignified. What does it mean to be undignified? To be undignified is to be fully foolish and undone. It is the antithesis of appearing composed, well-learned, and societally correct. When our culture suggests we tidy up before absorbing all God is, Undignified invites the mess, the chaos, and the crazy; it welcomes the dark, the dingy, and the dysfunction.

Every artist has been given an invitation to co-create with the Creator of the Universe. As we cooperate with him, though the power of the Holy Spirit, we can reveal, reflect, and release his image, nature and presence into the world through our creative expression. It's simply mind-blowing and yet, that's his invitation to us. Art, like any other created means, is a vehicle for the presence of God to move in and through. It functions almost as a stealth language by which God can commune with us as kingdom artists.

This book aims to teach you how to believe in and change your inner self — the imaginal you. Based on extensive study of Neville Goddard's work and personal experimentation, I present two key ideas: "There is no one or nothing to change but self," and "Whatsoever you desire, believe you have it, and you will." Each chapter explores this theme from different angles. Repetition is intentional, as sometimes a single sentence can trigger understanding. However, reading alone is not enough; these ideas must be tested with personal experimentation.

Lou Reed was a musician, singer, songwriter, poet, and founding member of the legendary rock band the Velvet Underground. He collaborated with many artists, from Andy Warhol and John Cale to Robert Wilson and Metallica. Reed had a groundbreaking solo career that spanned five decades until his death in 2013.

Many women are not enjoying an abundant, full, and satisfying life because they are still imprisoned by the pain of the past. It's time to get free and live free! Bishop TD Jakes shares words of encouragement that will heal your soul and liberate your heart. Maybe you have experienced trauma, abuse, destructive relationships, betrayal, pain from poor decisions, unforgiveness, guilt, or shame. Even though you may have already received God's forgiveness, it's time for you to start walking in the healing and wholeness He has made available to you.

The pandemic has only exacerbated what was already a startling trend: loneliness and disconnection have been on the rise for a long time in our society. We long for a deep sense of meaning to make sense of our lives, but we don't know how to find it. Even worse, we often search for it in unhealthy ways that hinder the very thing we're desperate for: genuine relational connection.

Alli Worthington offers a guilt-free, often hilarious, empowering, research-informed guide to help modern mothers learn to better care for their own emotional, spiritual, and physical health so they can rediscover the beauty, the joy, and the sacred and secret art of confident motherhood.

The average American watches five hours of TV every day. Collectively, we spend roughly $30 billion on movies each year. Simply put, we're entertainment junkies. But can we learn something from our insatiable addiction to stories? Mike Cosper thinks so. From horror flicks to rom-coms, the tales we tell and the myths we weave inevitably echo the narrative underlying all of history: the story of humanity's tragic sin and God's triumphant salvation.

In The Artisan Soul, Erwin Raphael McManus, author, thought leader, and founder of MOSAIC in Los Angeles, pens a manifesto for human creativity and the beginning of a new renaissance. McManus not only calls us to reclaim our creative essence but reveals how we can craft our lives into works of art. There are no shortcuts to quality, and McManus celebrates the spiritual process that can help us discover our true selves.

Discover the original, instinctive, nonreligious form of meditation that has been lost to the world. Richard L. Haight, award-winning author of The Unbound Soul and master of four samurai arts, shares the best-kept secret in self-improvement, cognitive development, and stress relief, which he calls the "warrior's meditation".

Two quotients analyze our minds and emotions: IQ and EQ. But Kris Vallotton believes we are ignoring a deeper dimension - spiritual intelligence. Because believers have the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit, we have the capacity for brilliance. God invites us to embark on a journey of discovery as he reveals mysteries and helps us bring our perspective in line with his - transforming our understanding and endowing us with spiritual intelligence.

Mindfulness and insight - clearly knowing what is happening in one's present moment experience - and concentration - the ability of the mind to remain steady and undistracted - are foundational elements of meditation, yet people are often confused about how these aspects of the practice fit together. Should they be doing insight meditation or concentration practices? How does concentration fit into insight meditation? To help, The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation offers specific guidance.

In The Storied Life, veteran author Jared C. Wilson explores the ins and outs of writers and writing, exploring the myriad ways the craft is more about transformation than simply communication. From decades of experience and with his signature wit, Wilson brings well-earned insight, autobiographical reflections, and meaningful meditations to the topic of writing as a way of life and as a way of worship, showing how the concept of Story—our personal stories and God's grand story of redemption—shapes fiction and non-fiction writers alike.