St John of the Cross testifies to a God who longs to meet us in our deepest need. Whilst rejection and imprisonment played their part in the life of this sixteenth-century Spanish friar, John's poetry and prose reveal the beauty and power of a wondrous God. It gives us courage to believe in the possibility of change in our own lives, however unlikely or impossible this may seem. Father Iain Matthew uses this classic inspirational Christian writing as his starting point, and offers five interpretations which make its richness relevant to the modern reader.
If so, this helpful book by Wayne Mack is especially for you. Maximum Impact will tell you exactly how to make an impact for Christ in a way that is simple, yet profound. Drawn from Dr. Mack's lifetime of loving, compassionate ministry, this book will help you increase your effectiveness in every aspect of life. With a special emphasis on 1 Corinthians 13, Maximum Impact will help you approach this "love chapter" with a newfound appreciation. Very practical and well illustrated, it includes application, study, and discussion questions so that you can put into practice what you have learned ... and learn you will! Your friends, family, and colleagues will notice the change in you as you become more filled with love and more effective in your ministry every day. So read and learn how to live and love for God's glory. Spiritual fruit has never been sweeter. Book jacket.
God wants you to be a world changer. Your acts of service, words of truth, love for God, and care for people can have a transformational impact. In a dark world, the light of heaven can shine through you. It's time to influence the world with the love of Jesus. It's time to maximize our impact for God!
Western history would be unrecognizable had it not been for people who believed in One True God. There would have been wars, but no religious wars. There would have been moral codes, but no Commandments. Had the Jews been polytheists, they would today be only another barely remembered people, less important, but just as extinct as the Babylonians. Had Christians presented Jesus to the Greco-Roman world as ''another'' God, their faith would long since have gone the way of Mithraism. And surely Islam would never have made it out of the desert had Muhammad not removed Allah from the context of Arab paganism and proclaimed him as the only God. The three great monotheisms changed everything. With his customary clarity and vigor, Rodney Stark explains how and why monotheism has such immense power both to unite and to divide. Why and how did Jews, Christians, and Muslims missionize, and when and why did their efforts falter? Why did both Christianity and Islam suddenly become less tolerant of Jews late in the eleventh century, prompting outbursts of mass murder? Why were the Jewish massacres by Christians concentrated in the cities along the Rhine River, and why did the pogroms by Muslims take place mainly in Granada? How could the Jews persist so long as a minority faith, able to withstand intense pressures to convert? Why did they sometimes assimilate? In the final chapter, Stark also examines the American experience to show that it is possible for committed monotheists to sustain norms of civility toward one another. A sweeping social history of religion, One True God shows how the great monotheisms shaped the past and created the modern world.
“A marvelously clear and engaging account of . . . the deepest mysteries of the quantum world and [converting] them into a useful technology.” —Gregory Chaitin, author of Meta Math! The Quest for Omega What is entanglement? It’s a connection between quantum particles, the building blocks of the universe. Once two particles are entangled, a change to one of them is reflected—instantly—in the other, be they in the same lab or light-years apart. So counterintuitive is this phenomenon and its implications that Einstein himself called it “spooky” and thought that it would lead to the downfall of quantum theory. Yet scientists have since discovered that quantum entanglement, the “God Effect,” was one of Einstein’s few mistakes. What does it mean? The possibilities offered by a fuller understanding of the nature of entanglement read like something out of science fiction: communications devices that could span the stars, codes that cannot be broken, computers that dwarf today’s machines in speed and power, teleportation, and more. In The God Effect, veteran science writer Brian Clegg has written an exceptionally readable (and equation-free) account of entanglement, its history, and its application. Those interested in the marvelous possibilities coming down the quantum road will find much to marvel, illuminate, and delight. “Clegg does an excellent job of explaining this complex situation in nontechnical terms . . . implications for future technological advances are huge, and Clegg is at his finest as he embeds potential advances in a broad historical context.” —Publishers Weekly “Well organized and succinct. . . . will fascinate [students].” —School Library Journal “Delightful. . . . The author does a superb job of presenting the story of a remarkable concept . . . in a relaxed and entertaining style.” —Professor Artur Ekert, Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics, Cambridge University
Why does God feel so far away? The reason--and the solution--is in your attachment style. We all experience moments when God's love and presence are tangible. But we also experience feeling utterly abandoned by God. Why? The answer is found when you take a deep look at the other important relationships in your life and understand your attachment style. Through his years working in trauma recovery programs, extensive research into attachment science, and personal experiences with spiritual striving and abuse, licensed therapist Krispin Mayfield has learned to answer the question: Why do I feel so far from God? When you understand your attachment style you gain a whole new paradigm for a secure and loving relationship with God. You'll gain insights about: How you relate to others--both your strengths and weaknesses The practical exercises you can use to grow a secure spiritual attachment to God How to move forward on the spirituality spectrum and experience the Divine connection we all were created for You'll learn to identify and remove mixed messages about closeness with God that you may have heard in church or from well-meaning Christians. With freedom from the past, you can then chart a new path toward intimate connection with the God of the universe.
The book Son of God is a tie-in with the major motion picture of the same title, slated for wide theatrical release (through 20th-Century Fox) on February 28, 2014. Like the movie, the book possesses an epic scope, providing a panoramic picture of first-century Judea as it recounts the events and reveals the meaning of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection. Though based on New Testament accounts, including the four Gospels as well as the book of Acts, Son of God reads like a contemporary novel, delving deeply into the character of Jesus and the personalities and motives all of those who surround him, both his followers and his enemies. Even minor Gospel characters (Mary Magdelene, the servant Malchus, the Jewish elder Nicodemus) come vividly to life in the book, and its portrayal of the political machinations behind Jesus's trial and death-the contest for power between the Roman governor Pontius Pilate and the high priest Caiaphas-is especially engaging. Beyond depicting the historical milieu in which Jesus lived, Son of God deftly explains the customs and culture of the Jewish people and the Roman officials and soldiers who oppress them, enhancing readers' understanding of the biblical record. In its final part, the book extends the Christian story past Jesus's resurrection to show how Jesus's followers, impassioned by their faith, began spreading his message of salvation throughout the wider world. Grittily realistic, Son of God pulls no punches in conveying the harsh realities of Jesus's era. But it is also inspirational, showing how Jesus transformed the lives of the humble and the powerful alike-and conveying Jesus's message of comfort and hope to present-day readers.
"It's widely acknowledged that American parents from different class backgrounds take different approaches to raising their children. Upper and middle-class parents invest considerable time facilitating their children's activities, while working class and poor families take a more hands-off approach. These different strategies influence how children approach school. But missing from the discussion is the fact that millions of parents on both sides of the class divide are raising their children to listen to God. What impact does a religious upbringing have on their academic trajectories? Drawing on 10 years of survey data with over 3,000 teenagers and over 200 interviews, God, Grades, and Graduation (GGG) offers a revealing and at times surprising account of how teenagers' religious upbringing influences their educational pathways from high school to college. GGG introduces readers to a childrearing logic that cuts across social class groups and accounts for Americans' deep relationship with God: religious restraint. This book takes us inside the lives of these teenagers to discover why they achieve higher grades than their peers, why they are more likely to graduate from college, and why boys from lower middle-class families particularly benefit from religious restraint. But readers also learn how for middle-upper class kids--and for girls especially--religious restraint recalibrates their academic ambitions after graduation, leading them to question the value of attending a selective college despite their stellar grades in high school. By illuminating the far-reaching effects of the childrearing logic of religious restraint, GGG offers a compelling new narrative about the role of religion in academic outcomes and educational inequality"--
