Ravished by Beauty

Ravished by Beauty

Author: Belden C. Lane

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-04-21

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0199831688

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In this novel exploration of Reformed spirituality, Belden C. Lane uncovers a "green theology" that celebrates a community of jubilant creatures of all languages and species. Lane reveals an ecologically sensitive Calvin who spoke of himself as ''ravished'' by the earth's beauty. He speaks of Puritans who fostered a ''lusty'' spirituality in which Christ figured as a lover who encouraged meditation on the wonders of creation. He presents a Jonathan Edwards who urged a sensuous ''enjoyment'' of God's beauty as the only real way of knowing God. Lane argues for the ''double irony'' of Reformed spirituality, showing that Calvinists who often seem prudish and proper are in fact a people of passionate desire. Similarly, Reformed Christians who appear totally focused on divine transcendence turn out at times to be closet nature mystics, exulting in God's glory everywhere. Lane also demonstrates, however, that a spirituality of desire can be derailed, ending in sexual excess and pantheism. Ecologically, holy longing can be redirected from a contemplation of God's splendor in the earth's beauty to a craving for land itself, resulting in disastrous misuse of its resources. Between the major chapters of the book are engaging personal essays drawn from the author's own love of nature as a Reformed Christian, and providing a thoughtful discussion of contemporary issues of species diversity and the honoring of an earth community.


Ravished

Ravished

Author: Amanda Quick

Publisher: Bantam

Published: 1992-06-01

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0553293168

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From the cozy confines of a tiny seaside village to the glittering crush of the a fashionable London soiree comes an enthralling tale of a thoroughly mismatched couple . . . poised to discover the rapture of love. There was no doubt about it. What Miss Harriet Pomeroy needed was a man. Someone powerful and clever who could help her rout the unscrupulous thieves who were using her beloved caves to hide their loot. But when Harriet summoned Gideon Westbrook, Viscount St. Justin, to her aid, she could not know that she was summoning the devil himself. . . . Dubbed the Beast of Blackthorne Hall for his scarred face and lecherous past, Gideon was strong and fierce and notoriously menacing. Yet Harriet could not find it in her heart to fear him. For in his tawny gaze she sensed a savage pain she longed to soothe . . . and a searing passion she yearned to answer. Now, caught up in the Beast’s clutches, Harriet must find a way to win his heart–and evade the deadly trap of a scheming villain who would see them parted for all time.


Ravished by Beauty

Ravished by Beauty

Author: Belden C. Lane

Publisher: OUP USA

Published: 2011-05-05

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 9780199755080

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Belden Lane weaves autobiographical essays that illuminate his own experience of nature into a "green theology" drawn from the unexpected resources of Reformed Christian spirituality. He offers a surprising new portrait of the Reformed tradition, revealing a Calvin who spoke of himself as "ravished" by the earth's beauty and a Jonathan Edwards who urged a sensuous enjoyment of God's beauty as the only real way of knowing God. Lane explores the apparent paradox of Reformed spirituality, arguing that Calvinists who may seem prudish are in fact a people of passionate desire.


Ravish

Ravish

Author: Cathy Yardley

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2009-10-06

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0061982326

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An innocent beauty, trapped in sleep . . . Sheltered from society, Aurora Jacquard has yet to feel the sweet release of physical love. Then, on the night she is about to give in to temptation, she inexplicably falls into a deep coma. A handsome prince, determined to discover her secrets . . Jacob White is one of the best neurologists in the world, and he intends to awaken Aurora from her virginal slumber. But when she begins to invade his dreams every night, beckoning him into a sensuous place of lust and danger, Jacob realizes there's more to this woman than meets the eye. It will take more than a kiss to wake her up . . Trapped in a world of erotic dreams, Aurora and Jacob must surrender to their deepest darkest desires . . but how far are they willing to go?


A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Author: Libba Bray

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2010-05-01

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 0731814908

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It's 1895, and after the death of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma's reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she's being followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence's most powerful girls - and their foray into the spiritual world - lead to?


The Great Conversation

The Great Conversation

Author: Belden C. Lane

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0190842679

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In the face of climate change, species loss, and vast environmental destruction, Belden C. Lane's spiritually centered environmentalism suggests that we must look to teachers in nature to understand how to save ourselves. Pairing anecdotes of personal encounters with nature with the teachings of spiritual leaders from a range of religious traditions, this book invites us to participate once more in the great conversation among all creatures and the earth itself.


The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality

The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality

Author: Belden C. Lane

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2007-01-25

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 0199886326

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In the tradition of Kathleen Norris, Terry Tempest Williams, and Thomas Merton, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes explores the impulse that has drawn seekers into the wilderness for centuries and offers eloquent testimony to the healing power of mountain silence and desert indifference. Interweaving a memoir of his mothers long struggle with Alzheimers and cancer, meditations on his own wilderness experience, and illuminating commentary on the Christian via negativa--a mystical tradition that seeks God in the silence beyond language--Lane rejects the easy affirmations of pop spirituality for the harsher but more profound truths that wilderness can teach us. There is an unaccountable solace that fierce landscapes offer to the soul. They heal, as well as mirror, the brokeness we find within. It is this apparent paradox that lies at the heart of this remarkable book: that inhuman landscapes should be the source of spiritual comfort. Lane shows that the very indifference of the wilderness can release us from the demands of the endlessly anxious ego, teach us to ignore the inessential in our own lives, and enable us to transcend the false self that is ever-obsessed with managing impressions. Drawing upon the wisdom of St. John of the Cross, Meister Eckhardt, Simone Weil, Edward Abbey, and many other Christian and non-Christian writers, Lane also demonstrates how those of us cut off from the wilderness might make some desert in our lives. Written with vivid intelligence, narrative ease, and a gracefulness that is itself a comfort, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes gives us not only a description but a performance of an ancient and increasingly relevant spiritual tradition.


Reformed Spirituality

Reformed Spirituality

Author: Howard L. Rice

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 1991-01-01

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780664252304

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"Rice makes a concerted effort to point us toward new and exciting avenues of spiritual growth and development. I find the book provocative, stimulating, and challenging".---Ben Campbell Johnson, Peachtree Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia


Enslave

Enslave

Author: Cathy Yardley

Publisher: Avon Red

Published: 2013-04-23

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780062265579

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With Enslave, author Cathy Yardley updates the famous “Beauty and the Beast” story, giving it a distinctly adult, deliciously erotic treatment. Having previously reimagined “Sleeping Beauty” (Ravish) and “Snow White” (Crave), Yardley now completes the trilogy, cementing her reputation as one of the hottest stars of literary erotica with a steamy and sensation bedtime tale that would make the Brothers Grimm blush. Some fairy tales are definitely not for children!