Religion

An indispensable guidebook through the journey of life and death, Mind Beyond Death weaves a synthesis of wisdom remarkable in its scope. With warm informality and profound understanding of the Western mind, the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche makes the mysterious Tibetan teachings on the bardos-the intervals of life, death, and beyond-completely available to the modern reader. Drawing on a breathtaking range of material, Mind Beyond Death shows us how the bardos can be used to conquer death. Working with the bardos means taking hold of life and learning how to live with fearless abandon. Exploring all six bardos-not just the three bardos of death-Mind Beyond Death demonstrates that the secret to a good journey through and beyond death lies in how we live. Walking skillfully through the bardos of dream meditation and daily life, the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche takes us deep into the mysterious death intervals, introducing us to their dazzling mindscape. This tour de force gives us the knowledge to transform death, the greatest obstacle, into the most powerful opportunity for enlightenment. With both nuts-and-bolts meditation techniques and brilliant illumination, Mind Beyond Death offers a clear map and a sturdy vehicle that will safely transport the reader through the challenging transitions of this life and the perilous bardos beyond death.

A collection of Gnostic texts spanning centuries, geographical locations, and cultural traditions-"a wonderful achievement" (Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels) Gnosticism was a wide-ranging religious movement of the first millennium CE-with earlier antecedents and later flourishings-whose adherents sought salvation through knowledge and personal religious experience. Gnostic writings offer striking perspectives on both early Christian and non-Christian thought. For example, some gnostic texts suggest that god should be celebrated as both mother and father, and that self-knowledge is the supreme path to the divine. Only in the past fifty years has it become clear how far the gnostic influence spread in ancient and medieval religions-and what a marvelous body of scriptures it produced.The selections gathered here in poetic, readable translation represent Jewish, Christian, Hermetic, Mandaean, Manichaean, Islamic, and Cathar expressions of gnostic spirituality. Their regions of origin include Egypt, the Greco-Roman world, the Middle East, Syria, Iraq, China, and France. Also included are introductions, notes, an extensive glossary, and a wealth of suggestions for further reading.

In this devotional volume Alec Motyer delves into the songbook of the Jewish people on their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Exploring the background and themes in these psalms he draws out their application for travellers on the Christian journey today.

This "fresh, blunt, and highly persuasive account of how the West was won?for Jesus" (Newsweek) is now available in paperback. Stark's provocative report challenges conventional wisdom and finds that Christianity's astounding dominance of the Western world arose from its offer of a better, more secure way of life."Compelling reading" (Library Journal) that is sure to "generate spirited argument" (Publishers Weekly), this account of Christianity's remarkable growth within the Roman Empire is the subject of much fanfare. "Anyone who has puzzled over Christianity's rise to dominance...must read it." says Yale University's Wayne A. Meeks, for The Rise of Christianity makes a compelling case for startling conclusions. Combining his expertise in social science with historical evidence, and his insight into contemporary religion's appeal, Stark finds that early Christianity attracted the privileged rather than the poor, that most early converts were women or marginalized Jews?and ultimately "that Christianity was a success because it proved those who joined it with a more appealing, more assuring, happier, and perhaps longer life" (Andrew M. Greeley, University of Chicago).

Retells the story of Genesis. In this title, readers of every persuasion can gain fresh insights from these stories. It reintroduces us to the bountiful tree-lined garden of Adam and Eve, the massive ark of Noah with beasts of every kind, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by brimstone and fire, and the Egypt of the Pharaoh.

In LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT, author Ronald J. Frederick, does a brilliant job of describing why people are so afraid of their emotions and how this fear creates a variety of problems in their lives. While the problems are different, the underlying issue is often the same. At the core of their distress is what Dr.

Explores essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths. This book emphasizes the inner - rather than the institutional - dimensions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It conveys the appeal and gifts of each of the traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination.

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Presents a hard-hitting rebuttal of religious fundamentalism and blind belief. With deceptively simple arguments, the author demolishes the myths on which Christianity was built, challenges believers to open their eyes to the contradictions of their faith and warns us of the dangers of America's ever increasing unification of Church and State.

A contemporary version of important early Christian texts that are not included in the New Testament. The translation, Greek texts, introduction, notes, and bibliographies are freshly revised.

The astonishing and bestselling life story of the renowned campaigner for religious tolerance and women's rights, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Enjoy the surprising clarity of The Message . . . with a font size to match.This large-print edition of The Message is designed for anyone who prefers larger type for clearer, more enjoyable reading.The Message is a reading Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures by scholar, pastor, author, and poet Eugene Peterson. Thoroughly reviewed and approved by twenty biblical scholars, The Message combines the authority of GodΓÇÖs Word with the cadence and energy of conversational English.What makes The Message the best reading Bible? Discover for yourself. Enjoy the familiar one-column design, like books youΓÇÖre used to. Find passages with The MessageΓÇÖs unique verse-numbered paragraphs. Relax with the large-print type size. See the big picture with ΓÇ£The Story of the Bible in Five Acts,ΓÇ¥ alongside handcrafted maps, charts, and timelines. Keep your place with a satin ribbon marker.Come and delight in the unexpected passion and personality that fill GodΓÇÖs Word.

This comprehensive volume offers readers clear and concise answers to every major Bible difficulty from Genesis to Revelation, staunchly defending the authority and inspiration of Scripture.

Stein provides a comprehensive summary of Jung's vision of psychological and spiritual life. The work covers: the collective unconscious; human consciousness and the structure of the ego; synchronicity; the complexes; shadow; psychic energy; self; persona; individuation; and anima/animus.

If you're suffering from pain and worry you know how hard it is to write of peace and serenity within. The message of comfort and hope that breathes through the pages of this book was forged out of adversity, and as a result has touched the hearts of millions.

Winner of the Thornton Wilder Prize for TranslationThe most influential Buddhist sutra in the Mahayana tradition, from one of the world’s preeminent translators of religious texts   The Heart Sutra is Buddhism in a nutshell. It has had the most profound and wide–reaching influence of any text in Buddhism. This short text covers more of the Buddha’s teachings than any other scripture, and it does so without being superficial or hurried. Although the original author is unknown, he was clearly someone with a deep realization of the Dharma. For this new English translation, Red Pine, award–winning translator of Chinese poetry and religious texts, has utilized various Sanskrit and Chinese versions, refining the teachings of dozens of ancient teachers together with his own commentary to offer a profound word–for–word explication. Divided into four parts and broken into thirty–five lines to make it easier to study or chant, and containing a glossary of names, terms, and texts, The Heart Sutra is a wise book of deep teaching destined to become the standard edition of this timeless statement of Mahayana truth.

How does one traverse the spiritual landscape to move beyond suffering to experience the peace and love of God, to transcend illusion and realize the state of enlightenment? This title lets the reader remind the illusory nature of the personal self (identification of the ego/mind) and the direct pathways to transcend the ego/mind's trappings.

This volume is full of exercises, meditations and discussion questions about Paganism for group or individual study. The text explores how the Pagan sacred year is arranged; what Pagans do in ritual; what magic is; and what Pagans believe about God, worship, human nature and ethics.

In this ground-breaking book, the Dalai Lama advises us to gain familiarity with the process and practices of death so that, when we are physically weak, our minds can still be focussed in the right direction, and in the right manner.

All ritual is a focus. It makes you aware of the point at which you stand -- be that of a time of year, of day or night, of a moment of potential when the way forward becomes apparent or a possible future is revealed, of an instant when one cycle closing opens the next. It also makes you aware of the place where you stand, for none of the events celebrated by our rituals takes place in limbo. They happen in the real world, marking real and often intimate events of enormous consequence. And by marking these events, we allow them to mark us -- binding us to the sky, to the land, and to the sea from which they all derive. Along with sample rituals for the eightfold year and eight major rites of passage, it contains chapters on the nature of ritual and its place in our spiritual and everyday lives. There are also prayers and other workings.

This edition makes a good first Bible for young readers and contains the full-text plus 233 Bible stories in full-color, graphic novel format. Including such special features as time lines, story listing, maps, and much more, this edition brings the Bible to vivid life.

To find out why reasonable people are drawn to the seemingly bizarre practices of magic and witchcraft, Luhrmann immersed herself in the arcane world of Londoners who call themselves magicians. Her report is as fascinating as the esoteric world itself. Illustrated.

Do they have features in common and why does religion persist in the face of science? Pascal Boyer shows how experimental findings in cognitive science, evolutionary biology and cultural anthropology are now providing precise answers to these general questions, and providing, for the first time, real answers to the question: Why do we believe?