Expanding the scope of religious rhetoricOver the past twenty-five years, the intersection of rhetoric and religion has become one of the most dynamic areas of inquiry in rhetoric and writing studies. One of few volumes to include multiple traditions in one conversation, Rhetoric and Religion in the Twenty-First Century engages with religious discourses and issues that continue to shape public life in the United States.This collection of essays cen...

Timely and audacious, Buddha at the Apocalypse challenges us to look directly at the devastating assumptions underlying the very mechanisms of the modern world - and offers a clarion call to awaken from a pervasive culture of destruction into a natural, sustainable, and sane peace. Kurt Spellmeyer references the Bible, popular culture, Zen, and Western philosophy in addressing two questions: how did we get here, and what can we do now. An answer to pervasive cynicism and decline, ...

Karen Armstrong explains how to practise the religion of compassion that her last books have preached.In November 2009 Armstrong and TED launched The Charter of Compassion, which states that "We call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion...to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings — even those regarded as enemies." To date, it's been signed by over 48,000 people on the Web, including such figures as The Dal...

The author believes that over the past forty years movements like New Age spirituality and society's obsession with human potential have combined like a "perfect storm" to redefine for popular culture what has been for centuries the classic biblical definition of the person, work, and teaching of Jesus Christ. In Why Jesus?, Ravi Zacharias looks at the impact of this "storm" by discussing the 60s-70s "Age of Aquarius," actor Shirley MacLaine's book and TV series Out On a Limb

The World’s Religions, by beloved author and pioneering professor Huston Smith (Tales of Wonder), is the definitive classic for introducing the essential elements and teachings of the world’s predominant faiths. This essential guide to comparative religion covers Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, as well as regional native traditions.This revised and updated edition provides sympathetic descriptions of the various traditions, ...

Since the dawn of man, stories of guilt have formed the fabric of our history. From wars and conflicts to crime and punishment, guilt has driven our actions. We want to see guilt punished, but fear we may need to be punished as well. Everyone living in this world experiences guilt, whether at a deeply personal level or perceived in others. Guilt feels heavy and dark, like a great weight holding us down, and we look for ways to keep it hidden. Ultimately, hidden or not, the guilt remains an...

The path to freedom is filled with questions and uncertainty. Is it possible to truly know who we are? Do our lives have a purpose, or are we just accidental? What are we meant to contribute? What are we meant to become, to create, and to share? In The Book of Understanding, Osho, one of the most provocative thinkers of our time, challenges us to understand our world and ourselves in a new and radical way. The first step toward understanding, he says, is to question and doubt all ...

As Matthew Fox notes when an aging Albert Einstein was asked if he had any regrets he replied I wish I had read more of the mystics earlier in my life. The 365 writings in Christian Mystics represent a wide-ranging sampling of these readings for modern-day seekers of all faiths or no faith. Fox is uniquely qualified to comment on these profound sometimes startling often denounced insights. In 1998 this longtime member of the Dominican Order was silenced by Cardinal Ratzinger now Pope Bened...

There is a famous Zen story about a disciple, Riko, who once asked his master Nansen to explain to him the old Zen koan of the goose in the bottle. Namely, if a man puts a gosling into a bottle, and feeds the gosling through the bottle’s neck until it grows and becomes a goose and then there is simply no more room inside the bottle - how can the man get it out without killing the goose or breaking the bottle? In response, Nansen shouts "RIKO!" and gives a great clap with his hands. Start...

An authentic, inclusive, and approachable guide to practicing Buddhism.Profound and amusing, this book provides a viable approach to answering the perennial questions: Who am I? Why am I here? How can I live a meaningful life? For author Stephen Asma, the answers are to be found in Buddhism.There have been a lot of books that have made the case for Buddhism. What makes this book fresh and exciting is Asma's approach to the subject. He is distressed that muc...

It is no secret that men are in trouble today. From war to ecological collapse most of the worlds critical problems stem from a distorted masculinity out of control. Yet our culture rewards the very dysfunctions responsible for those problems. To Matthew Fox our crucial task is to open our minds to a deeper understanding of the healthy masculine than we receive from our media culture and religions. Popular religion forces the punitive imagery of fundamentalism on us pushing most men away f...

Neale Donald Walsch has changed the way the world thinks about God. His books have beentranslated into twenty-five languages, and his Conversations With God series, book1, book 2, and book 3, have all been New York Times bestsellers-book 1 for over two years.In the Conversations books, Walsch shared with his readers the beginning of a sacred relationship, as he began an exchange with God on everything from love and faith, to life and death, and good and e...