"This book continues the conversations begun in Emilie Townes's path-breaking A Troubling in My Soul: Womanist Perspectives on Evil and Suffering. Once again, Townes brings together essays by leading womanist theologians, interweaving a concern for matters of race, gender, and class, as these bear on the survival and well-being of the African-American community. In Embracing the Spirit the emphasis is not on evil and suffering, but on "hope, salvation, and transformation" for individuals and their communities."--Jacket
An exploration into the lives of people who embrace two or more religious traditions, and what this growing community tells us about change in our society Named a best book of 2018 by Library Journal In the United States, we often assume religious and spiritual identity are pure, static, and singular. But some people regularly cross religious boundaries. These “spiritually fluid” people celebrate complex religious bonds, and in the process they blur social categories, evoke prejudice, and complicate religious communities. Their presence sparks questions: How and why do people become spiritually fluid? Are they just confused or unable to commit? How do we make sense of them? When One Religion Isn’t Enough explores the lives of spiritually fluid people, revealing that while some chose multiple religious belonging, many more inherit it. For many North Americans, the complicated legacies of colonialism are part of their family story, and they may consider themselves both Christian and Hindu, or Buddhist, or Yoruban, or one of the many other religions native to colonized lands. For some Asian Americans, singular religious identity may seem an alien concept, as many East Asian nations freely mix Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, and other traditions. Some African American Christians are consciously seeking to reconnect with ancestral spiritualities. And still other people are born into religiously mixed families. Jewish-Christian intermarriage led the way in the US, but religious diversity here is only increasing: almost four in ten Americans (39 percent) who have married since 2010 have a spouse who is in a different religious group. Through in-depth conversations with spiritually fluid people, renowned scholar Duane Bidwell explores how people come to claim and be claimed by multiple religious traditions, how spiritually fluid people engage radically opposed truth claims, and what this growing population tells us about change within our communities.
An innovative Asian feminist perspective on God's Spirit We live in a time of great racial strife and global conflict. How do we work toward healing, reconciliation, and justice among all people, regardless of race or gender? In Embracing the Other Grace Ji-Sun Kim demonstrates that it is possible only through God's Spirit. Working from a feminist Asian perspective, Kim develops a new constructive global pneumatology that works toward gender and racial-ethnic justice. She draws on concepts from Asian and indigenous cultures to reimagine the divine as "Spirit God" who is restoring shalom in the world. Through the power of Spirit God, Kim says, our brokenness is healed and we can truly love and embrace the Other.
A theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the transforming gifts, voices, and power of marginalized cultures and groups bring new life to the mainline church.
A comprehensive guide to Jewish spiritual practices, with explanations based on Talmudic and Midrashic texts as well as Hasidic and mystical stories, includes a survey of daily prayers, Shabbat rituals, holidays, Torah study, Jewish meditation, and more.
In The Knowledge Seeker, Blair Stonechild shares his sixty-year journey of learning-from residential school to PhD and beyond-while trying to find a place for Indigenous spirituality in the classroom. Encouraged by an Elder who insisted sacred information be written down, Stonechild explores the underlying philosophy of his people's teachings to demonstrate that Indigenous spirituality can speak to our urgent, contemporary concerns.
What does a Christian life lived "by the Spirit" look like? Bringing together Protestant scholars and practitioners of spiritual formation, this volume offers a distinctly evangelical consideration of the benefits of contemplation. Drawing on historical examples from the church—including John Calvin, Richard Baxter, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley—this book considers how contemplative prayer can shape Christian living today.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The groundbreaking account of life after death that has become a source of comfort, inspiration, and solace to millions “I felt a surge of energy, and my spirit was suddenly drawn through my chest and pulled upward. My first impression is that I was free. . . .” On the night of November 19, 1973, following surgery, thirty-one-year-old wife and mother Betty J. Eadie died. This is her extraordinary story of the events that followed, her astonishing proof of life after physical death. She saw more, perhaps than any other person has seen before and shares her almost photographic recollections of the remarkable details. Compelling, inspiring, and infinitely reassuring, her vivid account gives us a glimpse of the peace and unconditional love that awaits us all. More important, Betty's journey offers a simple message that can transform our lives today, showing us our purpose and guiding us to live the way we were meant to—joyously, abundantly, and with love. Praise for Embraced by the Light “The most detailed and spellbinding near-death experience I have ever heard.”—Kimberly Clark-Sharp, president, Seattle International Association of Near-Death Studies
Author of Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway From the multi-million bestselling author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway comes a powerful and healing book designed to offer a safety net in a world of never-ending change. It may be one of the most comforting and life-affirming books you will ever read. With her invaluable insights and exercises, Susan Jeffers gives you the tools you need to deal with all the uncertainty in your life with a sense of peace and possibility. You will learn: - Forty-two exercises to help make your life an exciting adventure instead of a continuous worry - How to lighten up and put problems into a life-affirming perspective - The amazing power of the word "maybe" - And much more. You will discover that there is a wondrous, joyous, and abundant life that can exist in the presence of uncertainty. The question is, "What do you need to do to reach this wonderful state?" And the answers abound in Embracing Uncertainty..
Knowledge without God is not the Truth. Only the Truth leads us to the meaning of life as the power of life is in God. God is the everlasting Truth. Faith without an understanding of Faith is an unfinished work in Faith. Each and everyone of us needs to discover our true identity of who we are before we could truly inherit the fullness of life as we desire to live a life filled with gifts in fullest measure of Peace, Love and Joy in our hearts now and forevermore, with an assured destiny of eternal life. The objective of this Book is not to put down any religious beliefs, teachings, laws and practices we embrace. Its intention is to discover our true identity of who we are in the spiritual realm and how our identity relates to God, who is our Creator and Master of this universe, and how this Father and Child relationship gives us freedom of Peace, which is the ultimate goal in humanity with an assured destiny of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Every living soul in the history of mankind is a child of God. You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free. The glory of God shall be revealed and all flesh shall set it together for the mouth of God had spoken it. God loves you! Jesus loves you! Peace and Grace be with you. Amen.
