In an era like ours, when the Christian scriptures are so often used as an excuse to harm others and destroy the environment in the name of God, wilderness explorer and preservationist John Muir (1838–1914) gives us a completely fresh perspective. Like those who perform the ancient monastic practice of lectio divina, Muir usually discovered insights within scriptural passages of which the original authors most likely were not aware. Rocks and Waters Are Words of God: Reflections on John Mu...

God and the soul are one. And yet they remain lovers.You have sensed it in silence, in nature, in fleeting moments of prayer: a unity deeper than doctrine, a presence that dissolves the boundary between self and the divine. Yet every tradition you have explored seems to split apart what you know in your bones belongs together. Eastern nonduality dissolves the self entirely. Western theology insists on separation. You are left stranded between two worlds, longing fo...

As the percentage of unaffiliated seekers or Spiritual But Not Religious people or “Nones” increases in America and in the world at large, a sizable number are drawn toward a spirituality of Nature. And while many of these seekers emphasize simply the physical challenge and ignore the theological or philosophical aspect of their relationship to Nature, Wilderness Mysticism seeks to offer a spiritual / theological interpretation for those who want it. In the process, it employs insights and...

Many in our era long for a sense of optimism grounded in a deep experience of the beauty of nature. However, much of the nature writing over the past several decades has emphasized the grief caused by climate change and environmental destruction. In addition, the natural world has primarily become a place to process one's own trauma rather than a reality in its own right. We might wonder: does any writer in our time truly appreciate the wonders and joys of nature? Fortunately, this is prec...

Originally published in 1981 Social Welfare and the Failure of the State looks at how the 1980s have ushered in an intensification on the debate of the role of the state in social welfare. The book highlights the trends towards centralisation in modern Britain and then provides a critical argument on to new ground. It highlights the trends towards centralisation in modern Britain and then provides a critical analysis of the growth of the social services in the 1960s and 1970s. But...

As religiously grounded moral arguments have become ever more influential factors in the national debate-particularly reinforced by recent presidential elections and the creation of the faith-based initiative office in the White House-journalists' ignorance about theological convictions has often worked to distort the public discourse on important policy issues. Pope John Paul II's pronouncements on stem-cell research, the constitutional controversies regarding faith-based initiatives, the...

As the percentage of unaffiliated seekers or Spiritual But Not Religious people or "Nones" increases in America and in the world at large, a sizable number are drawn toward a spirituality of Nature. And while many of these seekers emphasize simply the physical challenge and ignore the theological or philosophical aspect of their relationship to Nature, "Expanse of God, Caress of Sophia: An Introduction to Wilderness Christian Mysticism" seeks to offer a spiritual / theological interpretatt...

Detective Mike Bennett takes on a chilling man trying to play god as he threatens New York with a terrifying epidemic in this gripping novel from the world’s #1 bestselling author.A calculating killer who calls himself The Teacher is taking on New York City, killing the powerful and the arrogant. His message is clear: remember your manners or suffer the consequences! For some, it seems that the rich are finally getting what they deserve. For New York's elite, it is...

A powerful, thought-provoking and always lively examination of how American Christianity has badly lost its way—with most of what goes by the name of Christianity today being one or another type of heresy—by the youngest writer ever appointed as editorial columnist for The New York Times.In a world populated by “pray and grow rich” gospels and Christian cults of self-esteem, Ross Douthat argues that America’s problem isn’t too much religion; nor is it into...

The bestselling author of Liberal Fascism dismantles the progressive myths that are passed-off as wisdom in our schools, media and politics.According to Jonah Goldberg, if the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, the greatest trick liberals ever pulled was convincing themselves that they’re not ideological.Today, “objective” journalists, academics and “moderate” politicians peddle some of the most radical a...

American Grace is a major achievement, a groundbreaking examination of religion in America.Unique among nations, America is deeply religious, religiously diverse, and remarkably tolerant. But in recent decades the nation’s religious landscape has been reshaped.America has experienced three seismic shocks, say Robert Putnam and David Campbell. In the 1960s, religious observance plummeted. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, a conservative reaction produced...

* Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award* National Book Award Finalist* Time magazine Top 10 Nonfiction Book of the Year* New York Times Notable Book“We have long needed a fair-minded overview of this vitally important religious sensibility, and FitzGerald has now provided it” (The New York Times Book Review).Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Frances FitzGeral...