This book points out the undeniable similarities between The Gospel of Thomas, the psychedelic experience, the mystic path, and the near death experience in order to put together the big picture and expose the truth about our existence. Can you put together the similarities and understand the TRUTH that organized religion and the government have sought to keep from us? Do you have the ears to HEAR?
This work argues that there is a universal message that can be found in the study of religions. It offers a comprehensive examination of religions and their meaning, bound by the hope and affirmation that in some way they are universally connected. It affirms a universalism by wisdom, which contends that a moral and spiritual wisdom can be found in many of the world's religions.
This book points out the undeniable similarities between the teachings of Jesus via the Gospel of Thomas, the psychedelic experience, mysticism, and the near death experience, to guide us down the road of life toward our ultimate destination, spiritual consciousness. The knowledge within this book can help you achieve for yourself what a lifetime of religion will fail to do for you.
The instant New York Times bestseller about humanity's place in the universe—and how we understand it. “Vivid...impressive....Splendidly informative.”—The New York Times “Succeeds spectacularly.”—Science “A tour de force.”—Salon Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant, lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics, Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on Higgs bosons and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions: Where are we? Who are we? Are our emotions, our beliefs, and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void? Do human purpose and meaning fit into a scientific worldview? In short chapters filled with intriguing historical anecdotes, personal asides, and rigorous exposition, readers learn the difference between how the world works at the quantum level, the cosmic level, and the human level—and then how each connects to the other. Carroll's presentation of the principles that have guided the scientific revolution from Darwin and Einstein to the origins of life, consciousness, and the universe is dazzlingly unique. Carroll shows how an avalanche of discoveries in the past few hundred years has changed our world and what really matters to us. Our lives are dwarfed like never before by the immensity of space and time, but they are redeemed by our capacity to comprehend it and give it meaning. The Big Picture is an unprecedented scientific worldview, a tour de force that will sit on shelves alongside the works of Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, Daniel Dennett, and E. O. Wilson for years to come.
The Big Picture is a worldview that examines the interconnectedness of people and concepts. Once we begin to recognize and appreciate these connections, we become more self-aware and open to positive change. The Big Picture compels readers to look more deeply within themselves and their lives to find greater meaning. Ultimately, our primary purpose is to become better humans and thus realize our full potential.
In a secular age which dismisses once-revered matters such as Bible reading, is there still a point to reading and studying Christianity’s foundational text? This book will answer an unequivocal “Absolutely[!].” Why? For us located in the West, the Bible is a vital part of our “spiritual ancestry,” a dominant idea of the book. Hence, learning how to read and interpret the Bible properly (particularly, the New Testament) is like getting to know our spiritual ancestry better. The main strategy that this work will suggest is to treat the New Testament as a metaphorical textual village where some of our most important spiritual ancestors continue to live. If we learn some good strategies to communicate with them, we will be able, as it were, to visit this village, have meaningful conversations with our spiritual ancestors and, thus, become better grounded in our spiritual ancestry here in the West. With that, we can return to our secular context, better equipped both to embrace and wrestle with that spiritual ancestry. Hopefully, that will also help us to create for ourselves a meaning-system or spirituality that would be appropriate for our present world while being well grounded in our spiritual tradition.
Christ said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). A joy-filled person is the best advertisement Christ has for a joyless world to consider his loving offer of salvation. The second fruit of the Spirit (joy) makes one an inspirational and infectious person to be around, whether you are a marriage partner, a business leader, or a next-door neighbor. The way Christ wants to accomplish this in and for us is through his two-step process as outlined in Colossians 3: •Step One: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Col 3:5). We will refer to this as the removal of a Joy Killer. •Step Two: “Put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge” (Col 3:10). We will refer to this as a Joy Maker. Each chapter is divided into these two steps. First, it begins with a removal of a Joy Killer and it is immediately followed with its replacement of a Joy Maker. With each chapter, you find an increasingly deep and rewarding joy as you pitch your tent one day closer to eternity.
If you feel like you're sitting at the table of life staring at a confusion of puzzle pieces, Alex McLellan has a word of wisdom. In this book, he explores competing views of truth and the nature of doubt, urging us to proceed in piecing the world together in the faith that the truths of Christianity will resonate with life.
A sincere and thorough exploration by the author to make sense of a world full of overwhelming amounts of information and conflicting belief systems. Who is telling the truth? Which religion is the right one? What does the Bible tell us? Who are we? By peering into the author's world view, we develop our own sense of ourselves, we appreciate life more, and we make peace with many important areas of internal conflict.
This book is an exciting opportunity for exercising individual thought based upon humanity's search for a significant role in the ongoing drama of a much better world. It is a challenge to all of humanity of every race and culture, every religious faith, and to those who possess an avid religion of no religion, the pure atheist. Throughout the book, the author proclaims the dignity of the human creature as he seeks his destiny. It reflects a destiny that exists beyond all human comprehension, and is not to be restricted by any religion, especially Christianity. The author suggests that the most tragic happening for the Christian faith is that it has been categorized as "just another religion". The central theme of the book is that there is an awesomely bigger picture for the success of human life, and we are a precise part of its unfolding as humans, with the gifts of a reasoning mind, and a delicate inner spirit, searching for meaning and destiny. The book suggests that the ultimate destiny and goal is the ultimate perfection of human nature; his character and his behavior. This lies at the heart of all searching minds, and spirits, as they are driven to a discovery or destiny. Contained in Paul's letter to the Corinthians in the first century is his observation that "the human eye has never seen, or the ear heard; nor has there entered into the mind of any man, what it is that God has prepared for those who love Him." This book affirms that God is, and that God possesses the true blueprint for the perfection of human nature. Our human destiny is dependent upon our relationship to the Master Creator and our cooperation with Him. This is a crucial ingredient of all religions, and for all human beings who can recognize that God has created the human creature in His own image of a mind and spirit capable of communication with Him. This book does not attempt to identify the realistic facts of what the "bigger picture" is like. It only challenges us to realize that there is a "bigger picture", and we humans must participate in the development of it. We can only use our God-given minds and our spirits to cooperate with God in the attainment of a perfect humanity in a perfect new world. The book is designed as a "thinking" and "pondering" opportunity. It consists of nine chapters containing commentaries on the meaning of life, followed by thought- provoking sermons preached many years ago, but are currently challenging with a great depth of thought that enables the reader to ponder and consider and experience what it is that is happening to us as a part of the drama of world history, and cosmic exploration. The Christian event is vital to our thinking exploration because it was a happening that revealed the simple but essential fact that we humans are a part of a dramatic movement of life that involves the entire panorama of the cosmic universe. The book is full of affirmations that we humans are a part of a much more significant existence than we realize. Chapter titles reflect the insightful progress of the book: Chapter 1 "The Prelude"; Chapter II "The Glory of Life"; Chapter III "The Vital Truth That Eludes Us"; Chapter IV "Life is Utterly Amazing"; Chapter V "What is Really Going On?"; Chapter VI "Faith Is Vital"; Chapter VII "When Hope Comes Alive"; Chapter Vifi "Love Is Like a Miracle"; and Chapter IX "Your Ultimate Goal". The fmal statement of the author reflects his common-sense analysis of human life. He states that "There is no such thing as perfection in this life, but ultimately in 'God's Bigger Picture' there will be!" It is God's goal for His human creation--you and me.
