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Strange Tales from Virginia's Mountains: The Norton Woodbooger, The Missing Beale Treasure, The Ghost Town of Lignite and More
by Denver MichaelsExplore the mysterious side of Virginia with these strange tales of Bigfoot, buried treasure, phantom dogs, UFOs, ghosts, and more. The stunning mountains of Virginia offer spectacular views and endless outdoor activities, yet they also hold secrets. A nineteenth-century cache of gold is buried in the hills. Nine-foot giants once walked the ridges, pre-Columbian explorers built homes on isolated mountaintops and a ghost town lies deep in the Jefferson National Forest. The mountains conceal canines that walk upright, black panthers and a resurgent mountain lion population. The hide-and-seek champion of the world, Bigfoot, lurks in the dark hollows, phantom dogs pace the back roads and aggressive monkeys swing through the trees. UFOs crisscross the skies, and ghosts haunt the caverns below. Join Denver Michaels, local author and explorer of the unexplained, as he explores these mysteries and many more.
Strange Tales of an Oriental Idol: An Anthology of Early European Portrayals of the Buddha
by Donald S. Lopez Jr.We tend to think that the Buddha has always been seen as the compassionate sage admired around the world today, but until the nineteenth century, Europeans often regarded him as a nefarious figure, an idol worshipped by the pagans of the Orient. Donald S. Lopez Jr. offers here a rich sourcebook of European fantasies about the Buddha drawn from the works of dozens of authors over fifteen hundred years, including Clement of Alexandria, Marco Polo, St. Francis Xavier, Voltaire, and Sir William Jones. Featuring writings by soldiers, adventurers, merchants, missionaries, theologians, and colonial officers, this volume contains a wide range of portraits of the Buddha. The descriptions are rarely flattering, as all manner of reports--some accurate, some inaccurate, and some garbled--came to circulate among European savants and eccentrics, many of whom were famous in their day but are long forgotten in ours. Taken together, these accounts present a fascinating picture, not only of the Buddha as he was understood and misunderstood for centuries, but also of his portrayers.
Strange Wonder: The Closure of Metaphysics and the Opening of Awe (Insurrections: Critical Studies in Religion, Politics, and Culture)
by Mary-Jane RubensteinStrange Wonder confronts Western philosophy's ambivalent relationship to the Platonic "wonder" that reveals the strangeness of the everyday. On the one hand, this wonder is said to be the origin of all philosophy. On the other hand, it is associated with a kind of ignorance that ought to be extinguished as swiftly as possible. By endeavoring to resolve wonder's indeterminacy into certainty and calculability, philosophy paradoxically secures itself at the expense of its own condition of possibility.Strange Wonder locates a reopening of wonder's primordial uncertainty in the work of Martin Heidegger, for whom wonder is first experienced as the shock at the groundlessness of things and then as an astonishment that things nevertheless are. Mary-Jane Rubenstein traces this double movement through the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Jacques Derrida, ultimately thematizing wonder as the awesome, awful opening that exposes thinking to devastation as well as transformation. Rubenstein's study shows that wonder reveals the extraordinary in and through the ordinary, and is therefore crucial to the task of reimagining political, religious, and ethical terrain.
Strange but True: Canadian Stories of Horror and Terror
by John Robert ColomboThis is a chilling collection of 50 accounts of truly unusual events and experiences that are told by the people who experienced them. Are there ghosts here? Yes. Are there strange coincidences here? Yes. Are there strange creatures of the forest here? Yes. Are there conspiracies here? Yes. Are there horors here aplenty? Yes, yes! The accounts come from many regions of Canada and cover the last hundred or so years. These fascinating first-person accounts originate in the columns of old newspapers or in the highly readable narratives derived from correspondence conducted by the author with present-day witnesses. Shake hands with your fears and dreads. Here are engrossing and unsettling occurences that are supernatural or psychical, paranormal, or parapsychological, all betweent he covers of one book. Not for the faint of heart! Highly exciting reading!
Strange, Surprising, Sure: Essays in Uncommon Philosophy
by Robert Cummings NevilleIn Strange, Surprising, Sure, Robert Cummings Neville presents a theory of being, change, and value, and engages other philosophers who deal with these concepts. The book's central thesis is that the entire created world includes everything determinate, and thus the creator does not exist within creation. Strangely, this reverses nearly everything in the Western tradition. Surprisingly, this thesis is approached from a great many angles, all of which are within the Western, South Asian, or East Asian traditions. Surely put, this thesis will win out in the long run. Although Neville writes for an English-reading audience, he engages with thinkers from all these traditions."
Stranger No More: A Muslim Refugee’s Story of Harrowing Escape, Miraculous Rescue, and the Quiet Call of Jesus
by Craig Borlase Annahita ParsanThere will be pain ahead, and trouble and problems that I won’t be able to fix on my own.But in them all, I know God will be there, calling me to look to him. Inviting me to take the next step toward his open arms.And I will say yes.And yes.And yes.Annahita Parsan was born into a Muslim family in Iran and grew up with the simple hope of one day finding a good husband, having children, and doing some good in the world. Married and a mother before she turned eighteen, Annahita found herself unexpectedly widowed and trapped for years in an abusive second marriage that she later fled—discovering instead a God who might love her.Stranger No More is the remarkable true story of Annahita’s path from oppression to the life-changing hope of Jesus. Fleeing Iran across the mountains into Turkey, she spent months in the terrifying Agri prison before a miraculous release and flight to Europe, where she and her two children knelt in a church and prayed, “God, from this day on we are Christians.”Filled with unthinkable circumstances, miraculous rescues, and the quietly constant voice of Jesus, Stranger No More leads readers deep into the heart of God and draws them toward the same call that Annahita heeds today: using her past to save others from theirs. As the leader of two congregations in Sweden, Annahita has baptized hundreds of former Muslims since her own conversion, has seen firsthand the powerful ways God is at work among those who have left Islam behind, and is reminded every day that saying yes to God is always worth the risk.
Stranger Online (TodaysGirls.com #1)
by Carol Smith Terry BrownMeet Amber. Mysterious, threatening emails end up in Amber's mailbox in her mailbox on the girls Web site. But only the Today'sGirls know about their new site! Suddenly, the stranger logs on during a routine nightly chat session. Who could this sixth person be? Amber's integrity -- and her spot on the swim team -- is called into question before she manages to solve the mystery and save her reputation.
Stranger Things
by Erin HealyIn the burnt-out hollow, a house of dark secrets and an eerie beauty beckon.Serena Diaz&’s life is imploding. A troubled student has accused the young biology teacher of sexual misconduct, cutting off her promising career just as it was starting to blossom. But that&’s just the beginning of Serena&’s problems.When a therapeutic walk in the woods leads her to a ruined house overtaken by criminals, Serena is assaulted and finds herself witness to the senseless murder of the one man who tries to help her.Hurled into a world of false accusations and hounded by the press, Serena must confront evil itself to unravel the mysterious visions—and terrifying danger—that pursue her. But she can&’t ignore the most haunting question: Why would a mysterious stranger give his life to save hers?The answer, if she can find it, will point the way to her freedom from evil men in a lascivious trade.&“With her typical flair and eloquence, Healy takes readers through an incredible journey that will leave you thinking long after the last page closes.&” —Lifeisstory.com&“Healy&’s latest is thought-provoking and engaging, and becomes even more so as the story progresses. The author uses courageous characters to address the sex trade crisis. Themes of hope and redemption are seamlessly woven with spiritual elements and a touch of the supernatural.&” —RT Book Reviews, 4 stars
Stranger Within The Gates (Grace Livingston Hill Ser. #14)
by Grace Livingston HillSylvia’s impulsive young brother has come home from college with astounding news--news that throws the entire Garland family into confusion: He is married, and to a most unsuitable young woman named Florimel! But Sylvia determines that she will reach out in love to the difficult and selfish young bride. But Florimel has plans of her own--plans to get her hands on her young husband’s inheritance. And in the process of carrying out her plans, she stirs up such strife and discord it seems that the Garland family will be torn apart, a fact that leaves Sylvia overcome with despair. And Sylvia’s despair only intensifies when the crisis at home seems to leave her no choice but to turn her back on her own chance at love.... Grace Livingston Hill's books remain popular because they are about young people who must struggle to overcome obstacles and strive toward a better future and find love along the way. Bookshare has over 42 of her over 100 books including: #50. The Finding of Jasper Holt, #55. Ladybird, #56 The Prodigal Girl , #60. Miranda, #61. Mystery Flowers, #66. The Girl From Montana, #67 A Daily Rate, #68. The Story of a Whim, #69. According to the Pattern,#70. in the way, #71. exit Betty, #72. The White Lady, #73. Not Under the Law, #74. Lo Michael, #76. The City of Fire, #77. The Ransom, #81. Duskin, #84. Cloudy Jewel, #85. Crimson Mountain,#86 The Mystery of Mary, #93. Katharine’s yesterday, #94. The Angel of His Presence, #95. Mary Arden, #96. because of Stephen, #98. Aunt Crete’s Emancipation,
Stranger at Stonewycke (Stonewycke Legacy #1)
by Judith Pella Michael R. PhillipsFrom the time the Picts settled in northern Scotland in the seventh century, until the region was overrun by the Vikings in the ninth, and then settled throughout the following centuries by the Scots, the estate known as Stonewycke became a symbol of the enduring quality of the land. When the castle of that same name was built by Andrew Ramsay in the 1540's, his prayer was that the estate would stand as a sentinel in the north to God's goodness. His prayers for the generations who would follow him in the Ramsay line resulted in blessings and prosperity to the family throughout the next two and a half centuries, finding special fulfillment in the righteousness of his descendant Anson Ramsey in the early nineteenth century.
Stranger at the Crossroads
by Gena DaltonTIME HEALS ALL WOUNDSWidowed veterinarian Darcy Hart wanted to believe the old adage, but a year after the tragic deaths of her husband and son, she knew it wasn’t true. Desperate to escape her grief-stricken life, Darcy headed south to Mexico-and landed in the arms of a kindred soul with the bluest eyes in Texas.LOVE HEALS ALL HEARTSReclusive rancher Jackson McMahan didn’t want Darcy’s help, but with a pregnant mare to care for, he needed the feisty female vet more than he cared to admit. What was it about the green-eyed beauty that made him want to welcome her into his home-and into his heart?
Stranger in My Own Country: A Jewish Family in Modern Germany
by Yascha MounkA moving and unsettling exploration of a young man's formative years in a country still struggling with its pastAs a Jew in postwar Germany, Yascha Mounk felt like a foreigner in his own country. When he mentioned that he is Jewish, some made anti-Semitic jokes or talked about the superiority of the Aryan race. Others, sincerely hoping to atone for the country's past, fawned over him with a forced friendliness he found just as alienating. Vivid and fascinating, Stranger in My Own Country traces the contours of Jewish life in a country still struggling with the legacy of the Third Reich and portrays those who, inevitably, continue to live in its shadow. Marshaling an extraordinary range of material into a lively narrative, Mounk surveys his countrymen's responses to "the Jewish question." Examining history, the story of his family, and his own childhood, he shows that anti-Semitism and far-right extremism have long coexisted with self-conscious philo-Semitism in postwar Germany. But of late a new kind of resentment against Jews has come out in the open. Unnoticed by much of the outside world, the desire for a "finish line" that would spell a definitive end to the country's obsession with the past is feeding an emphasis on German victimhood. Mounk shows how, from the government's pursuit of a less "apologetic" foreign policy to the way the country's idea of the Volk makes life difficult for its immigrant communities, a troubled nationalism is shaping Germany's future.
Stranger in Savannah (Savannah Quartet ##4)
by Eugenia PriceSavannah, 1854. Throughout the city's elegant streets, stirrings of the Civil War are taking hold. For three families, the war has already begun within their hearts, drawing battle lines where once there was love... The Brownings: Mark Browning's unwavering faith in the Union sparks a battle of conscience that threatens all that he holds dear...and challenges the loyalty of his headstrong daughter, Natalie. The Mackays: The elderly matriarch, Miss Eliza, is Mark's only ally in a city divided within itself. The Stileses: Their lives are forever changed as the legacies of the past clash with an uncertain future.
Stranger in a Strange Land: Searching for Gershom Scholem and Jerusalem
by George ProchnikTaking his lead from his subject, Gershom Scholem—the 20th century thinker who cracked open Jewish theology and history with a radical reading of Kabbalah—Prochnik combines biography and memoir to counter our contemporary political crisis with an original and urgent reimagining of the future of Israel.In Stranger in a Strange Land, Prochnik revisits the life and work of Gershom Scholem, whose once prominent reputation, as a Freud-like interpreter of the inner world of the Cosmos, has been in eclipse in the United States. He vividly conjures Scholem’s upbringing in Berlin, and compellingly brings to life Scholem’s transformative friendship with Walter Benjamin, the critic and philosopher. In doing so, he reveals how Scholem’s frustration with the bourgeois ideology of Germany during the First World War led him to discover Judaism, Kabbalah, and finally Zionism, as potent counter-forces to Europe’s suicidal nationalism. Prochnik’s own years in the Holy Land in the 1990s brings him to question the stereotypical intellectual and theological constructs of Jerusalem, and to rediscover the city as a physical place, rife with the unruliness and fecundity of nature. Prochnik ultimately suggests that a new form of ecological pluralism must now inherit the historically energizing role once played by Kabbalah and Zionism in Jewish thought.
Stranger in the Glade: And More Tales from Memory Creek Ranch (Circle C Milestones #6)
by Susan K. MarlowAndi and Riley are together at last--but the adventures don't stop in their happily-ever-afterEveryone's favorite frontier heroine, Andi Carter, is back! Only she's Andrea Prescott now, and she and her husband, Riley, are starting their lives together. And a new addition to the family joins the couple in Stranger in the Glade. How will they fare as new parents when old friends and enemies reenter their lives--and bring chaos along for the ride?Always high on action and danger, Susan Marlow's beloved Circle C adventures continue to grow in these new short story collections that fans can't wait to pick up.
Stranger in the Night
by Catherine PalmerIn the dead of night, there's a knock on the door at Haven, an inner-city youth center in St. Louis. A refugee family -- frightened, tired and hungry -- seeks shelter. Freshly returned from Afghanistan, former marine sergeant Joshua Duff takes on the mission. He recruits aid worker Liz Wallace, but she has some pointed questions for Joshua. Like why a Texan with an oil magnate for a father is working at Haven. And why a man who fears nothing, including vicious gang violence, seems terrified of opening up to her. Joshua will have to call on not just his training -- but his faith -- to protect Liz and Haven. But the most dangerous threat lurks much closer than they realize.
Stranger in the Shadows
by Shirlee McCoyA grieving woman’s fresh start comes with a handsome minister and a dangerous stalker in this inspirational romantic suspense mystery.Someone was watching Chloe Davidson. She had the unsettling feeling the stalker was waiting to strike. But who could it be? After a heartbreaking tragedy, Chloe had relocated to sleepy, safe Lakeview, Virginia, where she’d spent idyllic summers as a child. Where handsome minister Ben Avery had welcomed her and helped her believe in more than she’d ever thought possible. Yet her fear had followed her. Chloe kept seeing a stranger lurking in the shadows. And her things were going missing. Was it just her fragile imagination? Or was a sinister somebody much closer than she ever expected?
Stranger to History: A Son's Journey through Islamic Lands
by Aatish Taseer"Indispensable reading for anyone who wants a wider understanding of the Islamic world, of its history and its politics." —Financial TimesAatish Taseer's fractured upbringing left him with many questions about his own identity. Raised by his Sikh mother in Delhi, his father, a Pakistani Muslim, remained a distant figure. Stranger to History is the story of the journey he made to try to understand what it means to be Muslim in the twenty-firstcentury. Starting from Istanbul, Islam's once greatest city, he travels to Mecca, its most holy, and then home through Iran and Pakistan. Ending in Lahore, at his estranged father's home, on the night Benazir Bhutto was killed, it is also the story of Taseer's divided family over the past fifty years. Recent events have added a coda to Stranger to History, as his father was murdered by a political assassin. A new introduction by the author reflects on how this event changes the impact of the book, and why its message is more relevant than ever.
Strangers At Home: Amish and Mennonite Women in History (Center Books In Anabaptist Studies)
by Kimberly D. Schmidt Diane Zimmerman Umble Steven D. Reschly“Uniformly sophisticated, interesting, and worthwhile” essays focusing on the often misunderstood experiences of Anabaptist women across 400 years (Agricultural History).Equal parts sociology, religious history, and gender studies, this book explores the changing roles and issues surrounding Anabaptist women in communities ranging from sixteenth-century Europe to contemporary North America. Gathered under the overarching theme of the insider/outsider distinction, the essays discuss, among other topics:• How womanhood was defined in early Anabaptist societies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and how women served as central figures by convening meetings across class boundaries or becoming religious leaders • How nineteenth-century Amish tightened the connections among the individual, the family, the household, and the community by linking them into a shared framework with the father figure at the helm • The changing work world and domestic life of Mennonite women in the three decades following World War II • The recent ascendency of antimodernism and plain dress among the Amish • The special difficulties faced by scholars who try to apply a historical or sociological method to the very same cultural subgroups from which they derive. The essays in this collection follow a fascinating journey through time and place to give voice to women who are often characterized as the “quiet in the land.” Their voices and their experiences demonstrate the power of religion to shape identity and social practice.“Makes a major contribution to our understanding of Anabaptist history and the ongoing construction of Anabaptist identity.” —Mennonite Quarterly Review“This work is significant both for its breadth . . . and for offering glimpses into the varieties of Mennonite and Amish life.” —Annals of Iowa
Strangers Below
by Joshua GuthmanBefore the Bible Belt fastened itself across the South, competing factions of evangelicals fought over their faith's future, and a contrarian sect, self-named the Primitive Baptists, made its stand. Joshua Guthman here tells the story of how a band of antimissionary and antirevivalistic Baptists defended Calvinism, America's oldest Protestant creed, from what they feared were the unbridled forces of evangelical greed and power. In their harrowing confessions of faith and in the quavering uncertainty of their singing, Guthman finds the emotional catalyst of the Primitives' early nineteenth-century movement: a searing experience of doubt that motivated believers rather than paralyzed them. But Primitives' old orthodoxies proved startlingly flexible. After the Civil War, African American Primitives elevated a renewed Calvinism coursing with freedom's energies. Tracing the faith into the twentieth century, Guthman demonstrates how a Primitive Baptist spirit, unmoored from its original theological underpinnings, seeped into the music of renowned southern artists such as Roscoe Holcomb and Ralph Stanley, whose "high lonesome sound" appealed to popular audiences searching for meaning in the drift of postwar American life. In an account that weaves together religious, emotional, and musical histories, Strangers Below demonstrates the unlikely but enduring influence of Primitive Baptists on American religious and cultural life.
Strangers Next Door: Immigration, Migration and Mission
by J. D. PayneMore than ever, North America is being flooded by people from all around the world, many of them here illegally. How should the church respond to these sojourners among us? In Strangers Next Door professor of evangelism and church planting J. D. Payne introduces the phenomenon of migrations of peoples to Western nations and explores how the church should respond in light of the mission of God. As we understand and embrace the fact that the least-reached people groups now reside in (and continue to migrate to) Western countries, churches have unprecedented opportunites to freely share the gospel with them. This book includes practical guidelines for doing crosscultural missions and developing a global strategy of mission. It also highlights examples of churches and organizations attempting to reach, partner with, and send migrants to minister to their people. Discover how you can reach out to the strangers next door by welcoming them into God's family.
Strangers No Longer: Latino Belonging and Faith in Twentieth-Century Wisconsin (Latinos in Chicago and Midwest)
by Sergio M. GonzálezHospitality practices grounded in religious belief have long exercised a profound influence on Wisconsin’s Latino communities. Sergio M. González examines the power relations at work behind the types of hospitality--welcoming and otherwise--practiced on newcomers in both Milwaukee and rural areas of the Badger State. González’s analysis addresses central issues like the foundational role played by religion and sacred spaces in shaping experiences and facilitating collaboration among disparate Latino groups and across ethnic lines; the connections between sacred spaces and the moral justification for social justice movements; and the ways sacred spaces evolved into places for mitigating prejudice and social alienation, providing sanctuary from nativism and repression, and fostering local and transnational community building. Perceptive and original, Strangers No Longer reframes the history of Latinos in Wisconsin by revealing religion’s central role in the settlement experience of immigrants, migrants, and refugees.
Strangers and Friends at the Welcome Table: Contemporary Christianities in the American South
by James Hudnut-BeumlerIn this fresh and fascinating chronicle of Christianity in the contemporary South, historian and minister James Hudnut-Beumler draws on extensive interviews and his own personal journeys throughout the region over the past decade to present a comprehensive portrait of the South's long-dominant religion. Hudnut-Beumler traveled to both rural and urban communities, listening to the faithful talk about their lives and beliefs. What he heard pushes hard against prevailing notions of southern Christianity as an evangelical Protestant monolith so predominant as to be unremarkable. True, outside of a few spots, no non-Christian group forms more than six-tenths of one percent of a state's population in what Hudnut-Beumler calls the Now South. Drilling deeper, however, he discovers an unexpected, blossoming diversity in theology, practice, and outlook among southern Christians. He finds, alongside traditional Baptists, black and white, growing numbers of Christians exemplifying changes that no one could have predicted even just forty years ago, from congregations of LGBT-supportive evangelicals and Spanish-language church services to a Christian homeschooling movement so robust in some places that it may rival public education in terms of acceptance. He also finds sharp struggles and political divisions among those trying to reconcile such Christian values as morality and forgiveness—the aftermath of the mass shooting at Charleston's Emanuel A.M.E. Church in 2015 forming just one example. This book makes clear that understanding the twenty-first-century South means recognizing many kinds of southern Christianities.
Strangers and Pilgrims (Homestead #1)
by Stephen A. BlyThe Bowers are not your typical, late-nineteenth-century homesteading family. They did not move west to farm Nebraska; they moved east. Matthew Bowers won't be working the land; his wife Lissa will--despite her diminutive size. And while Papa is dreaming of new ideas and Mama is farming, it will be 17-year-old Jolie who runs the household and mothers her three younger siblings. It's unusual, but the Bowers are determined to make this plan--unlike all of Matthew's others--work. That is, if Mama can get the team of horses to settle down and plow. If they can conquer the challenges of floods, grasshoppers and cash flow that keep them on the edge of survival. And if Jolie can keep every young man in the state from fighting over her. The Bowers are a family of faith in a land where everyone is a stranger and pilgrim... at least for a few days. People of warmth, love and hospitality who don't hesitate to defy convention. A family no one ever forgets or wants to lose as a friend. A family readers will want to get to know for themselves.
Strangers and Pilgrims Once More: Being Disciples of Jesus in a Post-Christendom World
by Addison Hodges HartIn this book Addison Hodges Hart articulates some crucial questions for contemporary Christians: What sort of church must we become in today's post-Christendom world, where we can no longer count on society to support Christian ideals? What can we salvage from our Christendom past that is of real value, and what can we properly leave behind? How do we become "strangers and pilgrims" once more, after being "at home" in Christendom for so long?Summoning readers to wise and faithful discipleship in our post-Christendom age, Hart suggests both how Christ's disciples can say "yes" to much that was preserved during the age of Christendom and why they should say "no" to some of the cherished accretions of that passing epoch.