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The Amber Photograph
by Penelope StokesDiedre McAlister's mother is dying. But before she lets go of this life, she givers her daughter an old photograph and these parting words: "Find yourself. Find your truth. Just don't expect it to be what you thought it would be." And Now Diedre's search begins-a quest to find the only person who can provide the missing pieces, the truth. But that search will cost Diedre her naïve innocence and expose her family's unknown dark side. It will shake up Diedre's world, threaten lives, bring out the shadow of her past, challenge her faith-and quite possibly save her life.
The Ambiguity of Play
by Brian Sutton-SmithFrom the Pilgrims who settled at Plymouth Rock to Christian Coalition canvassers working for George W. Bush, Americans have long sought to integrate faith with politics. Few have been as successful as Hollywood evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. During the years between the two world wars, McPherson was the most flamboyant and controversial minister in the United States. She built an enormously successful and innovative megachurch, established a mass media empire, and produced spellbinding theatrical sermons that rivaled Tinseltown's spectacular shows. As McPherson's power grew, she moved beyond religion into the realm of politics, launching a national crusade to fight the teaching of evolution in the schools, defend Prohibition, and resurrect what she believed was the United States' Christian heritage. Convinced that the antichrist was working to destroy the nation's Protestant foundations, she and her allies saw themselves as a besieged minority called by God to join the "old time religion" to American patriotism. Matthew Sutton's definitive study of Aimee Semple McPherson reveals the woman, most often remembered as the hypocritical vamp in Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry, as a trail-blazing pioneer. Her life marked the beginning of Pentecostalism's advance from the margins of Protestantism to the mainstream of American culture. Indeed, from her location in Hollywood, McPherson's integration of politics with faith set precedents for the religious right, while her celebrity status, use of spectacle, and mass media savvy came to define modern evangelicalism.
The Ambiguity of Virtue
by Bernard WassersteinIn May 1941, Gertrude van Tijn arrived in Lisbon on a mission of mercy from Germanâe#144;occupied Amsterdam. She came with Nazi approval to the capital of neutral Portugal to negotiate the departure from Hitler's Europe of thousands of German and Dutch Jews. Was this middleâe#144;aged Jewish woman, burdened with such a terrible responsibility, merely a pawn of the Nazis, or was her journey a genuine opportunity to save large numbers of Jews from the gas chambers? In such impossible circumstances, what is just action, and what is complicity? A moving account of courage and of all-too-human failings in the face of extraordinary moral challenges, The Ambiguity of Virtue tells the story of Van Tijn's work on behalf of her fellow Jews as the avenues that might save them were closed off. Between 1933 and 1940 Van Tijn helped organize Jewish emigration from Germany. After the Germans occupied Holland, she worked for the Naziâe#144;appointed Jewish Council in Amsterdam and enabled many Jews to escape. Some later called her a heroine for the choices she made; others denounced her as a collaborator. Bernard Wasserstein's haunting narrative draws readers into the twilight world of wartime Europe, to expose the wrenching dilemmas that confronted Jews under Nazi occupation. Gertrude van Tijn's experience raises crucial questions about German policy toward the Jews, about the role of the Jewish Council, and about Dutch, American, and British responses to the persecution and mass murder of Jews on an unimaginable scale.
The Ambivalent Impact of Religion on Human Rights: Empirical Studies in Europe, Africa and Asia (Religion and Human Rights #7)
by Hans-Georg Ziebertz Francesco ZaccariaThis volume presents the most recent joint study of the research group Religion and Human Rights. This text is comprised of studies carried out in twelve countries and divided into three parts according to their respective tree continents. Almost 10,000 youths have participated and all chapters deal with the question of whether and to what extent religious or worldview convictions hinder or favor the support of human rights. Studies are comparative on multiple levels because of the many religious groups and countries. The studies take into account personal, religious and socio-cultural differences, showing the ambivalent role of religion in the striving to make the world safer, more democratic, just, and compassionate thru human rights. This text appeals to students and researchers.
The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World
by Sharon BrousThe national bestsellerFrom one of our country&’s most prominent rabbis, an inspiring book about the power of community based on one of her most impactful sermons.In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture and alienation, what will it take to mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society?Sharon Brous—a leading American rabbi—makes the case that the spiritual work of our time, as instinctual as it is counter-cultural, is to find our way to one other in celebration, in sorrow, and in solidarity. To show up for each other in moments of joy and pain, vulnerability and possibility, to invest in relationships of shared purpose and build communities of care. Brous contends that it is through honoring our most basic human instinct-- the yearning for real connection-- that we reawaken our shared humanity and begin to heal. This kind of sacred presence is captured by the word amen, a powerful ancient idea that we affirm the fullness of one another&’s experience by demonstrating, in body and word: &“I see you. You are not alone.&” An acclaimed preacher and story-teller, Brous pairs heart-driven anecdotes from her experience building and pastoring to a leading-edge faith community over the past two decades with ancient Jewish wisdom and contemporary science. The result is a clarion call: the sense of belonging engendered by our genuine presence is not only a social and biological need, but a moral and spiritual necessity.With original insights and practical tools, The Amen Effect translates foundational ideas into simple practices that connect us to our better angels, offering a blueprint for a more meaningful life and a more connected and caring world.
The American Bible Challenge: A Daily Reader Volume 1
by Troy SchmidtA fun and challenging way to dig into the Bible In fall 2012, a new show premiered on the Game Show Network that quickly surprised Hollywood. Hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, The American Bible Challenge built up an audience of 2.3 million viewers in just nine weeks, making it the highest-rated show ever in GSN history. By taking on unique questions spanning all of Scripture, teams excitedly won money, not for themselves, but for a favorite charity. The interest has grown so fast in recent months, a second season hits the airwaves in March 2013. Now, the consulting producer for the show, Troy Schmidt, with a foreword written by host Jeff Foxworthy, has released a daily reader based on The American Bible Challenge designed to take us deeper into the questions from the show and the life applications that they inspire. Using many of the questions from the first season as a guide, each day features an inspiring lesson along with five challenging Bible questions to take you deeper into Scripture. The book guides the reader through nine weeks of study and encouragement--the same length of time as a season of The American Bible Challenge--with over three hundred questions to test your Bible knowledge. And don't worry, all the answers are in the back. The American Bible Challenge Daily Reader includes questions to deepen your knowledge and to change your life. Are you ready to jump in and take the challenge?
The American Catholic Almanac
by Brian Burch Emily StimpsonWHAT DO BUFFALO BILL , JOHN F. KENNEDY, VINCE LOMBARDI , DOROTHY DAY, FULTON SHEEN, AND ANDY WARHOL HAVE IN COMMON? They're all Catholics who have shaped America. In this page-a-day history, 365 inspiring stories celebrate the historic contributions of American men and women shaped by their Catholic faith. From famous figures to lesser-known saints and sinners, The American Catholic Almanac tells the fascinating, funny, uplifting, and unlikely tales of Catholics' influence on American history, culture, and politics. Spanning the scope of the Revolutionary War to Notre Dame football, this unique collection of stories highlights the transformative role of the Catholic Church in American public life over the last 400 years.Did you know...* The first immigrant to arrive in America via Ellis Island was a 15-year-old Irish Catholic girl?* Al Capone's tombstone reads "MY JESUS MERCY"?* Andrew Jackson credited America's victory in the Battle of New Orleans to the prayers of the Virgin Mary and the Ursuline Sisters?* Five Franciscans died in sixteenth-century Georgia defending the Church's teachings on marriage?* Jack Kerouac died wanting to be known as a Catholic and not only as a beat poet?* Catholic missionaries lived in Virginia 36 years before the English settled Jamestown?From the Hardcover edition.
The American Catholic Experience: A History from Colonial Times to the Present
by Jay P. Dolans Reprint of the Doubleday edition originally published in 1985 and included in BCL3. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc. , Portland, Or.
The American Church in Crisis
by David T. OlsonDirector of church planting for the Evangelical Covenant Church, Minnesota-based Olson cites data reported by over 200,000 orthodox Christian churches to raise an alarm, though not in an alarmist manner, he says. On any given Sunday, he says, the vast majority of Americans are absent from church, and church attendance is not keeping up with the country's population growth. Chapter-end questions for reflection and discussion are included, but no index. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
The American Constitution and Religion
by Richard J. ReganA &“highly informative and enjoyable&” study of Supreme Court cases involving the place of religion in society (Nicholas P. Cafardi, America Magazine). The Supreme Court&’s decisions concerning the first amendment are hotly debated, and the controversy shows no signs of abating. Adding much-needed historical and philosophical background to the discussion, Richard J. Regan reconsiders some of the most important Supreme Court cases regarding the establishment clause and the free exercise of religion. Governmental aid to church-affiliated elementary schools and colleges; state-sponsored prayer and Bible reading; curriculum that includes creationism; tax exemption of church property; publicly sponsored Christmas displays—these and other notable cases are discussed in Regan&’s chapters on the religious establishment clause. On the topic of the free-exercise clause, Regan considers such subjects as the value of religious freedom, as well as the place of religious beliefs in public schooling and government affairs. Important cases concerning conscientious objection to war, regulation of religious organizations and personnel, and western traditions of conscience are also examined. This book, written for students of law, political science, and religion, presents the relevant case law in chronological order. The addition of the historical context and Regan&’s philosophical discussion enhances our understanding of these influential cases.
The American Creed: A Biography of the Declaration of Independence
by Forrest ChurchWhat makes us all Americans--whatever our differences--is adherence to a creed, a creed based upon cornerstone truths the founders believed "self-evident." From the earliest days, the survival of the new republic hinged not merely upon the expression of these grand principles of liberty and equality but upon their spiritual underpinnings. Freedom and faith were intertwined. America, as a foreign observer once put it, is a nation with the soul of a church.In this stirring and timely book, Forrest Church charts the progress of this creed from the America's beginnings to the present day by evoking those whose words-whether in declarations, songs, inaugural addresses, speeches, or prayers-have expressed its letter and captured its spirit. What emerges is our shared destiny. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream that this country might someday "rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed," echoes Thomas Jefferson's belief that "equal and exact justice to all" is the "creed of our political faith." Our connection with the past represents our commitment to the future and vice versa. A "spiritual and patriotic primer," The American Creed distills the essence of American history while also matching its sweep. Church lets the story of the Declaration of Independence unfold before our eyes, giving us both the big picture and the details that place it into brilliant focus. Those steeped in our nation's heritage will find fresh insight and renewed purpose. Those still discovering its riches could have no finer introduction. In its scope and embrace, this is a book for us all.
The American Encounter with Buddhism, 1844-1912
by Thomas A. TweedIn this landmark work, Thomas Tweed examines nineteenth-century America's encounter with one of the world's major religions. Exploring the debates about Buddhism that followed upon its introduction in this country, Tweed shows what happened when the transplanted religious movement came into contact with America's established culture and fundamentally different Protestant tradition. The book, first published in 1992, traces the efforts of various American interpreters to make sense of Buddhism in Western terms. Tweed demonstrates that while many of those interested in Buddhism considered themselves dissenters from American culture, they did not abandon some of the basic values they shared with their fellow Victorians. In the end, the Victorian understanding of Buddhism, even for its most enthusiastic proponents, was significantly shaped by the prevailing culture. Although Buddhism attracted much attention, it ultimately failed to build enduring institutions or gain significant numbers of adherents in the nineteenth century. Not until the following century did a cultural environment more conducive to Buddhism's taking root in America develop. In a new preface, Tweed addresses Buddhism's growing influence in contemporary American culture.
The American Evangelical Story: A History Of The Movement
by Douglas A. SweeneyThe American Evangelical Story surveys the role American evangelicalism has had in the shaping of global evangelical history. Author Douglas Sweeney begins with a brief outline of the key features that define evangelicals and then explores the roots of the movement in English Pietism and the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century. He goes on to consider the importance of missions in the development of evangelicalism and the continuing emphasis placed on evangelism. Sweeney next examines the different subgroups of American evangelicals and the current challenges faced by the movement, concluding with reflections on the future of evangelicalism. Combining a narrative style with historical detail and insight, this accessible, illustrated book will appeal to readers interested in the history of the movement, as well as students of church history.
The American Jeremiad
by Sacvan BercovitchWhen Sacvan Bercovitch'sThe American Jeremiadfirst appeared in 1978, it was hailed as a landmark study of dissent and cultural formation in America, from the Puritans' writings through the major literary works of the antebellum era. For this long-awaited anniversary edition, Bercovitch has written a deeply thoughtful and challenging new preface that reflects on his classic study of the role of the political sermon, or jeremiad, in America from a contemporary perspective, while assessing developments in the field of American studies and the culture at large.
The American Jesuits: A History
by Raymond A SchrothChoice Outstanding Academic Title for 2008A broad and compelling look at the impact of the largest Catholic order of men on American cultureWith infectious energy and a genuine gift for storytelling, Raymond A. Schroth recounts the history of Jesuits in the United States. The American Jesuits isn’t simply a book for Catholics; it’s for anyone who loves a well-told historical tale. For more than 450 years, Jesuit priests have traveled the globe out of a religious commitment to serve others. Their order, the Society of Jesus, is the largest religious order of men in the Catholic Church, with more than 20,000 members around the world and almost 3,000 in the United States. It is one of the more liberal orders in the Church, taking very public stands in the U.S. on behalf of social justice causes such as the promotion of immigrants’ rights and humanitarian aid, including assistance to Africa’s poor, and against American involvement in “unjust wars.” Jesuits have played an important part in Americanizing the Catholic Church and in preparing Catholic immigrants for inclusion into American society.Starting off with the first Jesuit to reach the New World—he was promptly murdered on the Florida coast—Schroth focuses on the key periods of the Jesuit experience in the Americas, beginning with the era of European explorers, many of whom were accompanied by Jesuits and some of whom were Jesuits themselves. Suppressed around the time of the American Revolution, the Society experienced resurgence in the nineteenth century, arriving in the U.S. along with waves of Catholic immigrants and establishing a network of high schools and universities. In the mid-twentieth century, the Society transformed itself to serve an urbanizing nation.Schroth is not blind to the Society’s shortcomings and not all of his story reflects well on the Jesuits. However, as he reminds readers, Jesuits are not gods and they don’t dwell in mountaintop monasteries. Rather, they are imperfect men who work in a messy world to “find God in all things” and to help their fellow men and women do the same.A quintessential American tale of men willing to take risks — for Indians, blacks, immigrants, and the poor, and to promote a loving picture of God—The American Jesuits offers a broad and compelling look at the impact of this 400-year-old international order on American culture and the culture’s impact on the Jesuits.
The American Jewish Experience (2nd Edition)
by Jonathan D. SarnaThe second edition of this textbook constitutes a substantial revision designed to take advantage of recent scholarship in the field. Nine new pieces have been added, requiring me to delete seven excellent chapters from the earlier edition for which room could no longer be found.
The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex: The History of a Multibillion-Dollar Institution
by Lila Corwin BermanThe first comprehensive history of American Jewish philanthropy and its influence on democracy and capitalismFor years, American Jewish philanthropy has been celebrated as the proudest product of Jewish endeavors in the United States, its virtues extending from the local to the global, the Jewish to the non-Jewish, and modest donations to vast endowments. Yet, as Lila Corwin Berman illuminates in The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex, the history of American Jewish philanthropy reveals the far more complicated reality of changing and uneasy relationships among philanthropy, democracy, and capitalism.With a fresh eye and lucid prose, and relying on previously untapped sources, Berman shows that from its nineteenth-century roots to its apex in the late twentieth century, the American Jewish philanthropic complex tied Jewish institutions to the American state. The government’s regulatory efforts—most importantly, tax policies—situated philanthropy at the core of its experiments to maintain the public good without trammeling on the private freedoms of individuals. Jewish philanthropic institutions and leaders gained financial strength, political influence, and state protections within this framework. However, over time, the vast inequalities in resource distribution that marked American state policy became inseparable from philanthropic practice. By the turn of the millennium, Jewish philanthropic institutions reflected the state’s growing investment in capitalism against democratic interests. But well before that, Jewish philanthropy had already entered into a tight relationship with the governing forces of American life, reinforcing and even transforming the nation’s laws and policies.The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex uncovers how capitalism and private interests came to command authority over the public good, in Jewish life and beyond.
The American Jewish Story through Cinema (Jewish Life, History, and Culture)
by Eric A. GoldmanLike the haggadah, the traditional “telling” of the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt that is read at the Passover seder, cinema offers a valuable text from which to gain an understanding of the social, political, and cultural realities of Jews in America. In an industry strongly influenced by Jewish filmmakers who made and continue to make the decisions as to which films are produced, the complex and evolving nature of the American Jewish condition has had considerable impact on American cinema and, in particular, on how Jews are reflected on the screen. This groundbreaking study analyzes select mainstream films from the beginning of the sound era to today to provide an understanding of the American Jewish experience over the last century. In the first half of the twentieth century, Hollywood’s movie moguls, most of whom were Jewish, shied away from asserting a Jewish image on the screen for fear that they might be too closely identified with that representation. Over the next two decades, Jewish moviemakers became more comfortable with the concept of a Jewish hero and with an overpowered, yet heroic, Israel. In time, the Holocaust assumed center stage as the single event with the greatest effect on American Jewish identity. Recently, as American Jewish screenwriters, directors, and producers have become increasingly comfortable with their heritage, we are seeing an unprecedented number of movies that spotlight Jewish protagonists, experiences, and challenges.
The American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan: Biography Of Mordecai M. Kaplan (Reappraisals in Jewish Social History)
by Emanuel S. Goldsmith Mel Scult Robert M. SeltzerMordecai M. Kaplan, a pioneering figure in the reinterpretation and redefinition of Judaism in the 20th century, embraced religious liberalism, naturalism, and empiricism, and gave expression to a unique American attitude in philosophy and theology. This volume, the first comprehensive treatment of Kaplan since his death in 1983 . . . illustrates Kaplan's links to traditional Jewish roots and demonstrates his evolutionary philosophy of Jewish culture, his Zionist orientation, and the vast range of his thought and action. The volume also features a complete bibliography of Kaplan's writings. -- ChoiceA must for every serious thinker probing American Jewish culture, history and theology.-- Alfred GottschalkPresident, Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion These highly knowledgeable essays provide us with a new and more complex image of a central personality in 20th century American Jewish life. They are indispensable for understanding the influences that helped shape Mordecai Kaplan's thought and personality, the nature of his relationships with significant contemporaries, and the various aspects of his ideology and practical program for American Jewry.-- Professor Michael A. MeyerDepartment of Jewish HistoryHebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion This leading American Jewish thinker of the pre-war period is still the point of departure for any attempt to construct a Judaism for this new age in the history of the Jewish people. The volume brings them an and this thought to life.-- Dr. Arthur GreenPresident, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
The American Miracle: Divine Providence in the Rise of the Republic
by Michael MedvedLUCKY . . .OR BLESSED?The history of the United States displays an uncanny pattern: At moments of crisis, when the odds against success seem overwhelming and disaster looks imminent, fate intervenes to provide deliverance and progress. Historians may categorize these incidents as happy accidents, callous crimes, or the product of brilliant leadership, but the most notable leaders of the past four hundred years have identified this good fortune as something else--a reflection of divine providence. In The American Miracle, bestselling author and radio host Michael Medved recounts some of the most significant events in America's rise to prosperity and power, from the writing of the Constitution to the Civil War. He reveals a record of improbabilities and amazements that demonstrate what the Founders always believed: that events unfolded according to a master plan, with destiny playing an unmistakable role in lifting the nation to greatness. Among the stirring, illogical episodes described here:* A band of desperate religious refugees find themselves blown hopelessly off course, only to be deposited at the one spot on a wild continent best suited for their survival* George Washington's beaten army, surrounded by a ruthless foe and on the verge of annihilation, manages an impossible escape due to a freakish change in the weather* A famous conqueror known for seizing territory, frustrated by a slave rebellion and a frozen harbor, impulsively hands Thomas Jefferson a tract of land that doubles the size of the United States* A weary soldier picks up three cigars left behind in an open field and notices the stogies have been wrapped in a handwritten description of the enemy's secret battle plans--a revelation that gives Lincoln the supernatural sign he's awaited in order to free the slavesWhen millions worry over the nation losing its way, Medved's sweeping narrative, bursting with dramatic events and lively portraits of unforgettable, occasionally little-known characters, affirms America as "fortune's favorite," shaped by a distinctive destiny from our beginnings to the present day.From the Hardcover edition.
The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook
by Dilara Hafiz Imran Hafiz Yasmine HafizHow do you reconcile being a teenager in America with being a Muslim? It's not as difficult as you think! The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook is a positive, fun, informative guide to being a Muslim teenager in America today. Covering everything from basic Islamic history and reading the Quran to drinking and dating, and filled with thoughts and opinions from Muslim teenagers across the country, this is an indispensable primer, for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to learning about and finding one's place in American Islamic culture.
The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty
by David G. MyersWell-known social psychologist David G. Myers addresses why Americans can have so many social problems--reflecting a deep spiritual poverty--at a time when material wealth is at record levels. 32 illustrations.
The American Puritan Elegy: A Literary and Cultural Study
by Jeffrey A. HammondHammond reconstructs the historical, theological and cultural contexts of these poems to demonstrate how they responded to a specific process of mourning defined by Puritan views on death and grief.
The American Queen
by Vanessa MillerThere is only one known queen who truly ruled a kingdom on American soil.Transformative and breathtakingly honest, The American Queen is based on actual events that occurred between 1865 - 1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom as a refuge for the courageous people who dared to dream of a different way of life. As seen on Good Morning America: GMA 15 New Books to Read!Over the twenty-four years she was enslaved on the Montgomery Plantation, Louella learned to feel one thing: hate. Hate for the man who sold her mother. Hate for the overseer who left her daddy to hang from a noose. Hate so powerful there's no room in her heart for love, not even for the honorable Reverend William, whom she likes and respects enough to marry.But when William finally listens to Louella's pleas and leads the formerly enslaved people off the plantation, Louella begins to replace her hate with hope. Hope that they will find a place where they can live free from fear. Hope that despite her many unanswered prayers, she can learn to trust for new miracles.Soon, William and Louella become the appointed king and queen of their self-proclaimed Kingdom of the Happy Land. And though they are still surrounded by opposition, they continue to share a message of joy and goodness--and fight for the freedom and dignity of all.The American Queen weaves together themes of love, hate, hope, trust, and resilience in the face of great turmoil. With every turn of the page, you will be transported to a pivotal period in American history, where oppressed people become extraordinary heroes.
The American Soul
by Jacob NeedlemanThe venerated religious scholar and bestselling author of Money and the Meaning of Lifeprovides a history of America from an angle never before conceived: how the spiritual vision of the founders shaped our nation. What was the spiritual vision of the founding fathers-and how can we reclaim it today? This inquiry lies at the heart of Jacob Needleman's The American Soul. In mini-biographies of the founders-including Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin-Needleman explores their core inner beliefs, their religious and spiritual sensibilities, and their individual understandings of the purpose of life. The founders, he argues, conceived of an "inner democracy": a continual pursuit of wisdom and self-improvement that would undergird the outer democracy in which we live. Needleman also explores how the religious and spiritual traditions of the Native Americans, the African slaves, and America's early mystical communities, such as those based in Quakerism, wielded an enormous -and sometimes hidden-impact on the shape of our young nation. The American Soulgives readers a new conception of what America meant in its founding, and what it can mean today.