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The Billy Fidget Letters
by Eric Delve Nick BattleBilly Fidget is a feckless, foul-mouthed, forty-something, father of three who spends his life selling fast cars and seducing even faster women. When he is caught in the back of an Aston Martin DB7 with the wife of a gangster, he finds himself in very hot water indeed.With his life disappearing down the plughole faster than a bullet from a Glock 9mm, he remembers that once, long ago, he sang in his local church choir. In dire straits and out of sheer desperation, hard man Billy Fidget finds himself writing a letter - to God.In this fast moving, funny and yet wittily poignant book we see the harsh reality of what happens when the stuff hits the fan. On the surface Billy is successful - on the inside he harbours dark, dirty secrets. Will he succeed in conquering his demons or will he be consumed by his venal appetite for destruction?God only knows ... or does he?
The Billy Graham Story: The Authorized Biography
by John PollockAn updated account of the inspiring and influential life of Dr. Billy GrahamWhen the hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, President Bush immediately proclaimed a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. For the interfaith, interdenominational service at the Washington National Cathedral he chose Billy Graham to give the address. At that terrible hour no other clergyman, whatever his office, could so aptly bring the Word of God to America—and a watching world.At eighty-four, Billy Graham remains one of the most respected people in the world today. He has addressed over eighty-two million people face to face and at least one billion people through television, radio, and satellite. Yet he is far more than an evangelist of integrity and vision; he is a Christian statesman whose profound influence on the growth and depth of Christianity across the world cannot be overestimated. This official biography of Dr. Graham is based on his private files, correspondence, and interviews, as well as the author’s widespread research.• Written by John Pollock, Dr. Graham’s official biographer• Parts one and two (1918 to 1978), based on Pollock’s authorized biographies, have been abridged and contain new material• Part three (1978 to 1983) deals at length with Dr. Graham’s controversial visit to Moscow, which can now be seen as a factor in the fall of communism• Part four (1984 to 2003) updates the story to recent events, including the horrors of September 11 and the honorary knighthood Dr. Graham received from the Queen of England in December 2001• 8-page section of black-and-white photos new to this book
The Billy Graham Training Center Bible
by Thomas NelsonThe Billy Graham Training Center Bible is a valuable resource that guides you to discover what the Bible says about anger, forgiveness, grief, marriage, peace, salvation, suffering, and temptation - more than 100 time-tested answers to your toughest questions from over 50 years of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's ministry. With an easy-to-use index, each topic is covered in a series of helpful chained notes throughout the Bible text, which clearly guide the reader to discover what the Bible says about his or her deepest needs.
The Biogenealogy Sourcebook: Healing the Body by Resolving Traumas of the Past
by Christian FlècheA practical guide to the correspondence between emotion, organ systems, and disease • Identifies what emotional shocks will engender illnesses specific to a certain part of the body • Shows how illness is an ally that enables individuals to restore balance to their health Biogenealogy is a comprehensive new vision of health that takes the mind-body connection one step further by identifying and consciously addressing the emotional shocks that create physical disorders. Each symptom of an illness precisely indicates its emotional origin. Thus, far from being an enemy, the physical symptom is actually a valuable ally that provides the key to the cure of the physical disease as well as resolution of the emotional imbalance that created it. Christian Flèche, the leading researcher and practitioner in the field of biogenealogy, explains that the “activation of illness” is the body’s reaction to unresolved events that are frozen in time. These unresolved traumas affect the body on the cellular level and manifest in minor as well as more serious chronic conditions. In The Biogenealogy Sourcebook, Flèche systematically chronicles all the major organs of the body and specifies the types of emotional conflicts that lead to illness in those areas. For example, he explains that conflicts of separation are evidenced in diseases of the skin; a reduction of self-worth or deep anguish will manifest in the lymph nodes. He also shows that unresolved emotional issues can also be passed down to future generations if left untreated. Intended for therapists, researchers, and any person who wants to take his or her health in hand, this book is an important guide to understanding and decoding the causes and not just the effects of illness.
The Biographies of Rechungpa: The Evolution of a Tibetan Hagiography
by Peter Alan RobertsThis book traces the lifestory of Rechungpa (1084-1161) - the student of the famous teacher Milarepa - using rare and little-known manuscripts, and discovers how the image of both Milarepa and Rechungpa underwent fundamental transformations over a period of over three centuries. Peter Alan Roberts compares significant episodes in the life of Rechungpa as portrayed in a succession of texts, and thus demonstrates the evolution of Rechungpa’s biography. This is the first survey of the surviving literature which includes a detailed analysis of their dates, authorship and interrelationships. It shows how Rechungpa was increasingly portrayed as a rebellious, volatile and difficult pupil, as a lineage from a fellow-pupil prospered to become dominant in Tibet. Written in a style that makes it accessible to broad readership, Roberts' book will be of great value to anyone with an interest in the fields of Tibetan literature, history or religion.
The Biography of Ancient Israel
by Ilana PardesThe nation--particularly in Exodus and Numbers--is not an abstract concept but rather a grand character whose history is fleshed out with remarkable literary power. In her innovative exploration of national imagination in the Bible, Pardes highlights the textual manifestations of the metaphor, the many anthropomorphisms by which a collective character named "Israel" springs to life. She explores the representation of communal motives, hidden desires, collective anxieties, the drama and suspense embedded in each phase of the nation's life: from birth in exile, to suckling in the wilderness, to a long process of maturation that has no definite end. In the Bible, Pardes suggests, history and literature go hand in hand more explicitly than in modern historiography, which is why the Bible serves as a paradigmatic case for examining the narrative base of national constructions. Pardes calls for a consideration of the Bible's penetrating renditions of national ambivalence. She reads the rebellious conduct of the nation against the grain, probing the murmurings of the people, foregrounding their critique of the official line. The Bible does not provide a homogeneous account of nation formation, according to Pardes, but rather reveals points of tension between different perceptions of the nation's history and destiny. This fresh and beautifully rendered portrayal of the history of ancient Israel will be of vital interest to anyone interested in the Bible, in the interrelations of literature and history, in nationhood, in feminist thought, and in psychoanalysis.
The Biography of Eld. Barton Warren Stone
by John Rogers Barton Warren StoneAutobiography of Elder B. W. Stone written in 1846. The original book had many imperfections, which have been retained.
The Biography of Muhammad: Nature and Authenticity
by Gregor SchoelerThis book considers the Arabic biographies of Prophet Muhammad, the earliest of which dates from two centuries after his life. These biographies, prized by Muslims, have been approached in the Western study of Islam from a range of positions. Some scholars reject them entirely, seeing in them products of the Muslim community’s idealisation of its history, while others accept them at face value, reasoning that, if not exact versions of events, the events could not have differed too much from their descriptions. The author revisits the debate and reconsiders several key incidents in the life of the Prophet. By compiling an extensive corpus of materials and comparing them closely, this book analyses the transmission and the contents of the accounts. It shows that by understanding clearly the interaction in early Islam between written and oral modes of transmission, and by the judicious sieving of the accounts, as well as the lines of transmission, we can sometimes reach back to that generation of Muslims who though not themselves witness to the events were younger contemporaries of those who were. Establishing a solid basis for the informed study of Muhammad’s biography and adding to the ongoing debate, this book will appeal to scholars of early Islam, history and theology.
The Biological Evolution of Religious Mind and Behavior
by Eckart Voland Wulf SchiefenhövelIn a Darwinian world, religious behavior - just like other behaviors - is likely to have undergone a process of natural selection in which it was rewarded in the evolutionary currency of reproductive success. This book aims to provide a better understanding of the social scenarios in which selection pressure led to religious practices becoming an evolved human trait, i.e. an adaptive answer to the conditions of living and surviving that prevailed among our prehistoric ancestors. This aim is pursued by a team of expert authors from a range of disciplines. Their contributions examine the relevant physiological, emotional, cognitive and social processes. The resulting understanding of the functional interplay of these processes gives valuable insights into the biological roots and benefits of religion.
The Biology Of Belief: Unleashing The Power Of Consciousness, Matter And Miracles
by Bruce LiptonIn The Biology Of Believe Bruce Lipton explores celular development and how the environment plays a much more important roll in how life develops than conventional science ever thought. He challenges the belief that genetics control how we and all life develop and thrive ground breaking research. We once believed that the world was round but now marvel that anyone would have thought this. Bruce Lipton along with many micro biologist genetics are the blue print and plans but our environment and beliefs are the catolist that determine the quality of life.
The Biology of Sin: Grace, Hope, and Healing for Those Who Feel Trapped
by Matthew S. StanfordThere are heated discussions happening on the conflict between science and faith. This disagreement tends to focus around three main issues, one of them being what causes our sinful behavior. The intense conflict has to do with biblically defined sinful behaviors and if there just might be a biological predisposition for these behaviors. The Biology of Sin speaks to this debate and hopefully brings some resolution to the conflict. As both a Christian and a neuroscientist, Dr. Stanford has seen scientific knowledge distorted to justify sinful behavior and perhaps more disturbingly, he has seen Christians misuse Scripture to demonize and alienate the very ones they should be reaching out to. He suggests that the underlying cause of this problem in the church is a lack of knowledge, both of basic brain function and scriptural teaching. The Biology of Sin discusses sinful behaviors, including adultery, rage, addiction, and homosexuality, asking of each: What does science say, and what does the Bible say about this behavior? He then attempts to reconcile the fact that biological predispositions do play a role in behavior which the Bible defines as sinful while always emphasizing the authority of God's Holy Word and the abundant grace he has for those struggling with habitual sin.
The Biology of Transcendence: A Blueprint of the Human Spirit
by Joseph Chilton PearceUses new research about the brain to explore how we can transcend our current physical and cultural limitations • Reveals that transcendence of current modes of existence requires the dynamic interaction of our fourth and fifth brains (intellect and intelligence) • Explores the idea that Jesus, Lao-tzu, and other great beings in history are models of nature’s possibility and our ability to achieve transcendence • 17,000 sold in hardcover since April 2002 Why do we seem stuck in a culture of violence and injustice? How is it that we can recognize the transcendent ideal represented by figures such as Jesus, Lao-tzu, and many others who have walked among us and yet not seem to reach the same state? In The Biology of Transcendence Joseph Chilton Pearce examines the current biological understanding of our neural organization to address how we can go beyond the limitations and constraints of our current capacities of body and mind--how we can transcend. Recent research in the neurosciences and neurocardiology identifies the four neural centers of our brain and indicates that a fifth such center is located in the heart. This research reveals that the evolutionary structure of our brain and its dynamic interactions with our heart are designed by nature to reach beyond our current evolutionary capacities. We are quite literally, made to transcend. Pearce explores how this “biological imperative” drives our life into ever-greater realms of being--even as the “cultural imperative” of social conformity and behavior counters this genetic heritage, blocks our transcendent capacities, and breeds violence in all its forms. The conflict between religion and spirit is an important part of this struggle. But each of us may overthrow these cultural imperatives to reach “unconflicted behavior,” wherein heart and mind-brain resonate in synchronicity, opening us to levels of possibility beyond the ordinary.
The Birobidzhan Affair
by Marek HalterA thrilling saga set in the Jewish republic of Birobidzhan At the height of the Red Scare in the 1950s, the House Un-American Activities Committee questions a Russian woman named Marina. She stands accused of being a spy and is suspected of murdering OSS agent Michael Apron. But even more scandalous than the accusations against her is the truth that her interrogation will reveal. In Russia, Marina was a successful actress--and one night, she found herself seduced by Stalin. To avoid a dangerous scandal, she pretended to be Jewish and fled to Birobidzhan, a lost city in the far southeastern corner of the Soviet Union bordering China, originally populated by those escaping the Nazis. This forgotten city was home to a wealth of Jewish culture and also happened to be in an ideal geographical position for the Allied forces to observe Japan's movements in Manchuria. It was there that Marina met and fell in love with Michael Apron. Following a fascinating heroine from Stalinist Russia to the United States during the McCarthy era, this thrilling story of love and espionage shows readers two worlds rocked by political turmoil.This book was translated from the original French by Anna Declerck.
The Birth of Christian History: Memory and Time from Mark to Luke-Acts
by Eve-Marie BeckerThe first comprehensive account to explore the beginnings of early Christian history writing, tracing its origin to the Gospel of Mark and Luke-Acts When the Gospel writings were first produced, Christian thinking was already cognizant of its relationship to ancient memorial cultures and history-writing traditions. Yet, little has been written about exactly what shaped the development of early Christian literary memory. In this eye-opening new study, Eve-Marie Becker explores the diverse ways in which history was written according to the Hellenistic literary tradition, focusing specifically on the time during which the New Testament writings came into being: from the mid-first century until the early second century CE. While acknowledging cases of historical awareness in other New Testament writings, Becker traces the origins of this historiographical approach to the Gospel of Mark and Luke-Acts. Offering a bold new framework, Becker shows how the earliest Christian writings shaped “Christian” thinking and writing about history.
The Birth of Christianity
by John Dominic CrossanIn this national bestseller, John Dominic Crossan, the world's leading expert on the historical Jesus, reveals how Christianity emerged in the period following Jesus' death. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Crossan shines new light on the theological and cultural contexts from which the Christian church arose. He argues powerfully that Christianity would have happened with or without Paul and contends that Jesus' "resurrection" meant something vastly different for his early followers than it does for many traditional Christians today--what mattered was Christina origins finally illuminates the mysterious period that set Western religious history in its decisive course.
The Birth of Christianity
by Maurice GoguelOriginally published in 1953, The Birth of Christianity analyses the development of Christian doctrine and the establishment of the Church. The book traces the history of the formation of the Church as a new religious society and considers its development both in the realm of thought as well as on a social level, in both emotional life and moral action. It explores how the Christian faith first found expression in society through a variety of forms that were gradually assimilated into one system of doctrine, and examines both how Christian theology and dogma were formed, and how the Church developed its constitution. The Birth of Christianity will appeal to those with an interest in the history of religion, the history of Christianity, theology, and the philosophy of religion.
The Birth of Conservative Judaism: Solomon Schechter's Disciples and the Creation of an American Religious Movement
by Michael CohenSolomon Schechter (1847–1915), the charismatic leader of New York's Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), came to America in 1902 intent on revitalizing traditional Judaism. While he advocated a return to traditional practices, Schechter articulated no clear position on divisive issues, instead preferring to focus on similarities that could unite American Jewry under a broad message. Michael R. Cohen demonstrates how Schechter, unable to implement his vision on his own, turned to his disciples, rabbinical students and alumni of JTS, to shape his movement. By midcentury, Conservative Judaism had become the largest American Jewish grouping in the United States, guided by Schechter's disciples and their continuing efforts to embrace diversity while eschewing divisive debates. Yet Conservative Judaism's fluid boundaries also proved problematic for the movement, frustrating many rabbis who wanted a single platform to define their beliefs. Cohen demonstrates how a legacy of tension between diversity and boundaries now lies at the heart of Conservative Judaism's modern struggle for relevance. His analysis explicates four key claims: that Conservative Judaism's clergy, not its laity or Seminary, created and shaped the movement; that diversity was—and still is—a crucial component of the success and failure of new American religions; that the Conservative movement's contemporary struggle for self-definition is tied to its origins; and that the porous boundaries between Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism reflect the complexity of the American Jewish landscape—a fact that Schechter and his disciples keenly understood. Rectifying misconceptions in previous accounts of Conservative Judaism's emergence, Cohen's study enables a fresh encounter with a unique religious phenomenon.
The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism & the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (Buddhism and Modernity)
by Erik BraunInsight meditation, which claims to offer practitioners a chance to escape all suffering by perceiving the true nature of reality, is one of the most popular forms of meditation today. The Theravada Buddhist cultures of South and Southeast Asia often see it as the Buddha’s most important gift to humanity. In the first book to examine how this practice came to play such a dominant—and relatively recent—role in Buddhism, Erik Braun takes readers to Burma, revealing that Burmese Buddhists in the colonial period were pioneers in making insight meditation indispensable to modern Buddhism. Braun focuses on the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw, a pivotal architect of modern insight meditation, and explores Ledi’s popularization of the study of crucial Buddhist philosophical texts in the early twentieth century. By promoting the study of such abstruse texts, Braun shows, Ledi was able to standardize and simplify meditation methods and make them widely accessible—in part to protect Buddhism in Burma after the British takeover in 1885. Braun also addresses the question of what really constitutes the “modern” in colonial and postcolonial forms of Buddhism, arguing that the emergence of this type of meditation was caused by precolonial factors in Burmese culture as well as the disruptive forces of the colonial era. Offering a readable narrative of the life and legacy of one of modern Buddhism’s most important figures, The Birth of Insight provides an original account of the development of mass meditation.
The Birth of Kirtan: The Life & Teachings of Chaitanya
by Ranchor PrimeA Simon & Schuster eBook. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.
The Birth of Modern Belief: Faith and Judgment from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment
by Ethan H. ShaganAn illuminating history of how religious belief lost its uncontested status in the WestThis landmark book traces the history of belief in the Christian West from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, revealing for the first time how a distinctively modern category of belief came into being. Ethan Shagan focuses not on what people believed, which is the normal concern of Reformation history, but on the more fundamental question of what people took belief to be.Shagan shows how religious belief enjoyed a special prestige in medieval Europe, one that set it apart from judgment, opinion, and the evidence of the senses. But with the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation, the question of just what kind of knowledge religious belief was—and how it related to more mundane ways of knowing—was forced into the open. As the warring churches fought over the answer, each claimed belief as their exclusive possession, insisting that their rivals were unbelievers. Shagan challenges the common notion that modern belief was a gift of the Reformation, showing how it was as much a reaction against Luther and Calvin as it was against the Council of Trent. He describes how dissidents on both sides came to regard religious belief as something that needed to be justified by individual judgment, evidence, and argument.Brilliantly illuminating, The Birth of Modern Belief demonstrates how belief came to occupy such an ambivalent place in the modern world, becoming the essential category by which we express our judgments about science, society, and the sacred, but at the expense of the unique status religion once enjoyed.
The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots
by Gregory Mobley T. J. WrayOf all the demons, monsters, fiends, and ogres to preoccupy the western imagination in literature, art, and film, no figure has been more feared—or misunderstood--than Satan. But how accurate are the popular images of Satan? How--and why--did this rather minor biblical character morph into the very embodiment of evil? T.J. Wray and Gregory Mobley guide readers on a journey to retrace Satan's biblical roots. Engaging and informative, The Birth of Satan is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered about the origins of the Devil.
The Birth of The Prophet Muhammad: Devotional Piety in Sunni Islam (Culture and Civilization in the Middle East)
by Marion Holmes KatzIn the medieval period, the birth of the Prophet Muhammad (the mawlid) was celebrated in popular narratives and ceremonies that expressed the religious agendas and aspirations of ordinary Muslims, including women. This book examines the Mawlid from its origins to the present day and provides a new insight into how an aspect of everyday Islamic piety has been transformed by modernity. The book gives a window into the religious lives of medieval Muslim women, rather than focusing on the limitations that were placed on them and shows how medieval popular Islam was coherent and meaningful, not just a set of deviations from scholarly norms. Concise in both historical and textual analysis, this book is an important contribution to our understanding of contemporary Muslim devotional practices and will be of great interest to postgraduate students and researchers of Islam, religious studies and medieval studies.
The Birth of Thought in the Spanish Language: 14th century Hebrew-Spanish Philosophy (Philosophical Studies Series #127)
by Ilia Galán DíezThis book takes readers on a philosophical discovery of a forgotten treasure, one born in the 14th century but which appears to belong to the 21st. It presents a critical, up-to-date analysis of Santob de Carrión, also known as Sem Tob, a writer and thinker whose philosophy arose in the Spain of the three great cultures: Jews, Christians, and Muslims, who then coexisted in peace. The author first presents a historical and cultural introduction that provides biographical detail as well as context for a greater understand of Santob's philosophy. Next, the book offers a dialogue with the work itself, which looks at politics, sociology, anthropology, psychology, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and theodicy. The aim is not to provide an exhaustive analysis, or to comment on each and every verse, but rather to deal only with the most relevant for today’s world.Readers will discover how Santob believed knowledge must be dynamic, and tolerance fundamental, fleeing from dogma, since one cannot avoid a significant dose of moral and aesthetic relativism. Subjectivity, within its own codes, must seek a profound ethics, not puritanical but which serves to escape from general ill will. Santob offers a criticism of wealth and power that does not serve the people which appears to be totally relevant today. In spite of the fame he achieved in his own time, Santob has largely remained a vestige of the past. By the end of this book, readers will come to see why this important figure deserves to be more widely studied. Indeed, not only has this medieval Spanish philosopher searched for truth in an unstable, confused world of contradictions, but he has done so in a way that can still help us today.
The Birth of the Living God: A Psychoanalytic Study
by Ana-Marie Rizzuto M.D.Utilizing both clinical material based on the life histories of twenty patients and theoretical insights from the works of Freud, Erikson, Fairbairn, and Winnicott, Ana-Maria Rizzuto examines the origin, development, and use of our God images. Whereas Freud postulated that belief in God is based on a child's idea of his father, Rizzuto argues that the God representation draws from a variety of sources and is a major element in the fabric of one's view of self, others, and the world.
The Birthday Card: Snapshots of a Man's Grief
by Bruce L. ParkIt is a sickening feeling to experience the death of someone who is precious to you. To be hit full in the face with the reality that a person whose life is intricately interwoven in yours has been forcibly removed from it and you will never, never see them on this planet again. You will not be able to talk to them, or hug them. All you will ever have for the rest of your life will be memories, which no matter how hard you try to hold onto them, will fade. Photographs, birthday cards, videos and journal entries will all become two-dimensional and lose their authenticity, because the person they represent is no longer accessible. No matter what you do, you can no longer interact with the image, for the connection with the real person is severed, and there is no making it better, no turning back the clock. And when all of this gut-wrenching, cold, reality is jam-packed into one single moment ... a blink of the eye, no wonder your fuse can blow, and you break and crumple like a dried-up piece of pottery. The Birthday Card is an attempt to give testimony to God's grace and presence with us in the darkest of moments ... even when we can't see him, let alone feel him.