This illustrated tale introduces children to the wondrous teachings from the Muslim theologian and mystic al-Ghazali (1058–1111CE) This enchanting tale illustrates how that the human heart is like a rusty mirror which, when polished through beautiful doings, is able to reflect the real essence of all things. In addition to this story is a poem by the renowned poet, Coleman Barks. Both draw on the same account found in Ghazali's The Marvels of the Heart, Book XXI, of his magnum opus,The Revival of Religious Sciences.
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is one of the greatest European writers, whose untrammelled imaginative capacity was matched by a huge base in embracing the science of his era. His texts also paint compelling visual images. In Visions of Heaven, renowned scholar Martin Kemp investigates Dante's supreme vision of divine light and its implications for the visual artists who were the inheritors of Dante's vision. The whole book may be regarded as a new Paragone (comparison), the debate that began in the Renaissance about which of the arts is superior. Dante's ravishing accounts of divine light set painters the severest challenge, which took them centuries to meet. A major theme running through Dante's Divine Comedy, particularly in its third book, the Paradiso, centres on Dante's acts of seeing (conducted according to optical rules with respect to the kind of visual experience that can be accomplished on earth) and the overwhelming of Dante's earthly senses by heavenly light, which does not obey his rules of earthly optics. The repeated blinding of Dante by excessive light sets the tone for artists' portrayal of unseeable brightness.
#1 New York Times bestseller with more than 11 million copies sold! When 4-year-old Colton Burpo emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven, his family doesn’t know what to believe. Heaven is For Real details what Colton saw and his family’s journey towards accepting their young son had visited the afterlife. “Do you remember the hospital, Colton?” Sonja said. “Yes, mommy, I remember,” he said. “That’s where the angels sang to me.” Colton told his parents he left his body during an emergency surgery–and proved that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital during his operation. He talked of visiting heaven and described events that happened before he was born and how he spoke with family members he’d never met. Colton also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, even though he had not yet learned to read. With disarming innocence and the plainspoken boldness of a child, Colton recounts his visit to heaven, describing: Meeting long-departed family members Jesus, the angels, how “really, really big” God is, and how much God loves us How Jesus called Todd, Colton’s father, to be a pastor The Battle of Armageddon Retold by his father, but using Colton’s uniquely simple words, Heaven Is for Real offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us, where as Colton says, “Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses.” Heaven Is for Real will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering the chance to see, and believe, like a child. Praise for Heaven is for Real: “A beautifully written glimpse into heaven that will encourage those who doubt and thrill those who believe.” —Ron Hall, coauthor of Same Kind of Different as Me
When the wicked have traveled a course of sin, and discover they have reason to fear the God;s judgement and wrath for their sins, they begin to wish there is no God to punish them, then by degrees they persuade themselves there is no God, and then they set themselves to study the arguments to support their opinion. This excellent book by John Bunyan covers the subject matter of the existence of heaven and hell as well as studies and dispells the arguments presented by sinners who argue there is no heaven and hell. Most do not know that Bunyan wrote some 60 books, and poetry too. And also almost a well-kept secret is that his doctrine was so biblically laced that many good men would call him too severe. He believed in, and taught, ALL the doctrines of grace, including double-predestination, or reprobation. Why then is he not smeared with the name of hyper-Calvinist like Goodwin, Gill, and others? I guess the same people ought to call Luther a hyper-Lutheran, for he believed and taught it, too. Why begin a review of Bunyan's writings with such a view of his doctrine? It is to show that a Pilgrim's Progress can come only from someone who believes and teaches ALL the counsel of God, without flinching, yea, with loving-kindness. Illegally, He sat in a jail cell over a river for 12 years with his Bible, Galatians by Luther, and another book or two. He had the choice of feeling miserable and murmuring, or of filling his time, thoughts, and energies with studying that Bible, and seeking a way to be of help to his more comfortable, but less dedicated, brothers and sisters. Listen, dear saints, you can't do any better than reading Bunyan. Like Gurnall, he covers everything here and there, and with a sweetness that can come only from God. What a shame that his large heart should be encased in such small print. But, like digging gold, it is worth the time and trouble to dig spiritual gold. Bunyan (1628-1688) rose from an humble beginning to being a preacher to a little house church, to 12 years in jail because he would not agree to quit preaching, to a huge church in London. He wrote 66 books, nearly all while in jail.
Ten-year-old Jake struggles to understand his grandma's death. But as he spends two weeks at his grandfather's home, he is able to receive answers to his questions about Heaven. As Jake and Grandpa fish, watch the stars, and take long walks, Grandpa shares what the Bible says about the reality and beauty of Heaven. As Jake learns the truth about Heaven, he begins to better understand and accept his grandmother's death. As readers uncover the truths in the dialogue between Grandpa and Jake, they will better appreciate the home that awaits all who place their faith in Christ.
An unknown masterpiece of visionary art—as daring as Blake or Goya, but utterly different—reproduced in full color, with a commentary by one of our most original art historians Somewhere in Europe—we don't know where—around 1700. An artist is staring at something on the floor next to her worktable. It's just a log from the woodpile, stood on end. The soft, damp bark; the gently raised growth rings; the dark radial cracks—nothing could be more ordinary. But as the artist looks, and looks, colors begin to appear—shapes—even figures. She turns to a sheet of paper and begins to paint. Today this anonymous artist's masterpiece is preserved in the University of Glasgow Library. It is a manuscript in a plain brown binding, whose entire contents, beyond a cryptic title page, are fifty-two small, round watercolor paintings based on the visions she saw in the ends of firewood logs. This book reproduces the entire sequence of paintings in full color, together with a meditative commentary by the art historian James Elkins. Sometimes, he writes, we can glimpse the artist's sources—Baroque religious art, genre painting, mythology, alchemical manuscripts, emblem books, optical effects. But always she distorts her images, mixes them together, leaves them incomplete—always she rejects familiar stories and clear-cut meanings. In this daring refusal to make sense, Elkins sees an uncannily modern attitude of doubt and skepticism; he draws a portrait of the artist as an irremediably lonely, amazingly independent soul, inhabiting a distinct historical moment between the faded Renaissance and the overconfident Enlightenment. What Heaven Looks Like is a rare event: an encounter between a truly perceptive historian of images, and a master conjurer of them.
“A raw, tender portrait of adolescent misery, reminiscent of Elena Ferrante’s fiction.” —NPR From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs, a sharp and illuminating novel about the impact of violence and the power of solidarity. Tormented by his peers because of his lazy eye, Kawakami’s protagonist suffers in silence. His only respite comes thanks to his friendship with a girl who is also the victim of relentless teasing. But what is the nature of a friendship if your shared bond is terror? Unflinching yet tender, intimate and multi-layered, Heaven is yet another dazzling testament to Kawakami’s uncontainable talent. “An argument in favor of meaning, of beauty, of life.” —The New York Times Book Review “If you enjoyed Mieko Kawakami’s brilliant Breasts and Eggs, you’re certain to be astonished by her latest novel exploring violence and bullying with fierce, feminist and damning candor.” —Ms. Magazine “This is the real magic of Heaven, which shows us how to think about morality as an ongoing, dramatic activity. It can be maddening and ruinous and isolating. But it can also be shared, enlivened . . . and momentarily redeemed through unheroic acts of solidarity.” —The New Yorker “Quietly devastating.” —TIME Magazine “Keen psychological insight, brilliant sensitivity, and compassionate understanding.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Raw and eloquent. . . . An unexpected classic.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “An incredible literary talent.” —Booklist, starred review “Kawakami writes with jagged, visceral beauty.” —Oprah Daily “Kawakami never lets us settle comfortably, which is a testament to her storytelling power.” —Los Angeles Review of Books “One of Japan’s brightest stars.” —Japan Times
Since the first funerary statues were placed in the first sepulchres, the ideas of death and the afterlife have always held a prominent place at the heart of the art world. An unlimited source of inspiration where artists can search for the expression of the infinite, death remains the object of numerous rich illustrations, as various as they are mysterious. The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the forever sleeping statues on medieval tombs, and the Romantic and Symbolist movements of the 19th century are all evidence of the incessant interest that fuels the creation of artworks featuring themes of death and what lies beyond it. In this work, Victoria Charles analyses how, through the centuries, art has become the reflection of these interrogations linked to mankind’s fate and the hereafter.
A cat looks on as her master, a poor Japanese artist, works on a painting commissioned by a high priest. The artist must paint all the animals blessed by Buddha except cats, which have been excluded from paradise. Despite the risk, the compassionate artist decides to include a cat in his painting and is rewarded. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.
Is Wilhelm Sasnal (born in 1972 in Poland) the best painter to emerge in the twenty-first century? This small volume presents highlights from his early career along with several extraordinary new canvases and a series of 16mm films and video work from the artist's recent travels in the U.S. and Brazil.
