Showing titles in Essays & Commentary

For more than fifty years, Madeleine L'Engle has delighted and inspired readers/listeners with her warm, eloquent prose and inspirational poetry. She continues this tradition with Miracle on 10th Street, a collection of poignant writings and reflections that give listeners a glimpse of how the wonder of Christmas resonates in her personal life, which deeply involves her family and faith: "I think back to that Christmas when my husband and I did not know whether our little girl would live to grow up," she writes.

Într-o dimineață din primăvara anului 1953, Aldous Huxley ia patru zecimi de gram de mescalină și așteaptă răbdător să vadă ce se întâmplă. După un timp, constată că totul, de la florile din vază până la cutele pantalonilor, e complet schimbat: culorile sunt mai intense și mai luminoase, iar timpul și spațiul par să nu aibă nici o importanță. Huxley notează cu lux de amănunte senzațiile trăite în Porțile percepției, conchizând că halucinogenele stimulează creativitatea și brodând pe marginea efectelor pe care asemenea experiențe le-ar putea avea asupra artei și religiei.

More than 50 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Much has transpired in the half-century since, and progress has been made in the issues that were close to Dr. King’s heart. Thankfully, the burning crosses, biting police dogs, and angry mobs of that day are long gone. But in their place, passivity has emerged. A passivity that must be addressed. That’s the aim of Letters to a Birmingham Jail. A collection of essays written by men of various ethnicities and ages.

The critic and essayist Meghan O'Gieblyn was born into an evangelical family, attended the famed Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for a time before she had a crisis of belief, and still lives in the Midwest, aka "Flyover Country". She writes of her "existential dizziness, a sense that the rest of the world is moving while you remain still", and that rich sense of ambivalence and internal division inform the 15 superbly thoughtful and ironic essays in this collection.

Another seven great chapters that reveal where we are in the last days. Chapter one - One Blood: The Biblical Answer to Racism by Ken Ham. How science proves we all came from Adam...and its ramifications. Chapter two - 50 Reasons the Rapture's Close by Chuck Missler. Chuck takes you on an incredible journey through 50 Bible prophecy verses and how each is being or has been fulfilled. And much more!

This book focuses on the most significant biblical reflection of God's purpose for choosing President Trump, His End-Time vessel.

Walter Brueggemann points us toward energizing hope for an alternative life of social equity and thriving. In Brueggemann's work, hope is not understood as easy optimism but as an honest facing of the unjust structures that human beings have created and a call to lean into the deep symbols of Scripture that imagine the alternative way of God, restoring solidarity and relationship that have been eroded by the violence of empire.

I have always felt compelled not to allow women’s research to be further behind, as we live in a patriarchal society. For the Christian female, we are even further behind with well-articulated research on Christian women’s sexual health, because we are just emerging from decades of purity culture in the Western, White, patriarchal church systems. We need all women’s voices to bring their stories to the table, so here is mine. As a Christian, psychotherapist, and PhD in women's sexual and spiritual health, these are the stories I have listened to for the past 15 years.

With childlilke boldness and profound logic, Martin Zender exposes the spiritual bankruptcy of the religious institution. Zender's mastery of satire separates him from the pious; his Scriptural expertise launches him as the primary spokesman for those who desire God, but don't trust the establishments that boast His name.

Is Joseph - the deserted son of Jacob from the Old Testament - relevant in our modern age? For Madeleine L'Engle, the answer is a resounding yes; not solely because Joseph is an important historical character, but primarily because his experiences of disenfranchisement, tragedy, and profound betrayal resonate within our own society. These thoughtful meditations on obedience, prophecy, forgiveness, and compassion are masterfully woven to bridge gaps of belief, politics, education, and even faith.

Centuries ago, sound theology and good fiction were friends and not strangers. Decades ago, authors strove not for self-expression and self-disclosure but for a mastery of craft and language and books that transformed the reader with wisdom and love. In more recent years, the old ideals have been exchanged for lesser ones. Few guides to writing, which tend to focus on mechanics, point of view, and plot, address the more important matters of meaning, depth, and heart. But it is the latter qualities that make a book a blessing and gift to both writer and reader.

Here is an eyewitness account of the true nature and existence of Hell. Uebert Angel was afforded visitations to Hell by God, and was commanded to let the world know the reality of Hell and to remind the world to choose life and prepare for eternity. As the Lord Jesus appeared to Uebert Angel, he took him on tours of Hell and showed him the suffering there. He saw some of the horrors of Hell and saw many souls in torment. Jesus showed him what happens to souls when they die as unbelievers. He was also shown the horrors purported Christians face in Hell when they reject His grace.

Dive into the profound exploration of the Pentateuch with Joseph Lumpkin's insightful study, "The Five Books of Moses." This work seamlessly blends scholarly analysis with literary critique, offering listeners a deeper understanding of the foundational texts of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In Genesis, Lumpkin illuminates the themes of creation, covenant, and human nature, connecting ancient insights with contemporary interpretations to underscore the text's enduring relevance.

From time immemorial, prayer has provided comfort in our darkest hours, stirred us to action beyond what we thought possible, and shown us the way through seemingly insurmountable challenges. In this engaging tour of world history, author and historian Jean-Pierre Isbouts takes us on an inspiring tour of 10 prayers that played a pivotal role in world events.

The idea that religion has undergone a radical change since the Christian Reformation—from totalitarian and socially repressive to private and relatively benign—is a familiar part of the story of secularization. It is often invoked to explain and justify the liberal politics and world view of modernity. And it leads to the view that "politicized religions" threaten both reason and liberty. Asad's essays explore and question all these assumptions.

La escuela del alma es una fascinante invitación para descubrir, partiendo de los cimientos de la educación, el horizonte de una vida madura, fecunda y espiritual. Paso a paso las realidades que nombran palabras como lugar, enseñanza, compañía, atención, mundo, cuidado, contemplación, creación... van iluminando el camino con luz propia, y nos descubren nuevos sentidos: cada ser humano se nos revela como origen y el encuentro, como "un alma que toca otra alma".

Quoi qu'en disent les pragmatiques à outrance, les utilitaires, ce que l'Homme cherche tout le long de sa vie, ce qu'il poursuit plus que le pain et tout le bien-être matériel, c'est le savoir. L'essence même de notre vie est de tendre non pas à être mieux, mais à être plus. Or, un instinct plus fort que toutes les remontrances des sceptiques et des faux sages nous en avertit : pour être plus, il faut d'abord que nous sachions plus.

These true Christian testimonies and doctrines are each presented in short chapters. They are, in many cases, summations of biblical teaching without the unnecessary filler information. A wide range of subjects are covered, and you'll hear about some subjects that are not often addressed in churches.

With its emphasis on relation over substance and possibility over predetermined endings, open and relational theology provides a way forward for both Muslims and Christians. This way, as “Open and Relational Theology and its Social and Political Implications: Muslim and Christian Perspectives” posits, aligns beautifully with important and ancient thinking from both traditions. Our world desperately needs “people of the book” to pursue cooperation over competition. Open and relational theology affords us that possibility. These essays were presented in their original forms at a ...

With this collection of essays on the life of faith, Fred Smith tells the truth in a way that does not blind but simply turns the prism a degree or two for seeing differently. He "tells it slant" as Emily Dickinson called it. Fred's themes range from finding significance to navigating life transitions to living a life of obedience. Fred writes that this book is not about my life but seeing the world for a time through my eyes. It is about the prism through which the light divides. A point of view.