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Dissimilar Similitudes: Devotional Objects in Late Medieval Europe
by Caroline Walker BynumFrom an acclaimed historian, a mesmerizing account of how medieval European Christians envisioned the paradoxical nature of holy objectsBetween the twelfth and the sixteenth centuries, European Christians used in worship a plethora of objects, not only prayer books, statues, and paintings but also pieces of natural materials, such as stones and earth, considered to carry holiness, dolls representing Jesus and Mary, and even bits of consecrated bread and wine thought to be miraculously preserved flesh and blood. Theologians and ordinary worshippers alike explained, utilized, justified, and warned against some of these objects, which could carry with them both anti-Semitic charges and the glorious promise of heaven. Their proliferation and the reaction against them form a crucial background to the European-wide movements we know today as “reformations” (both Protestant and Catholic).In a set of independent but inter-related essays, Caroline Bynum considers some examples of such holy things, among them beds for the baby Jesus, the headdresses of medieval nuns, and the footprints of Christ carried home from the Holy Land by pilgrims in patterns cut to their shape or their measurement in lengths of string. Building on and going beyond her well-received work on the history of materiality, Bynum makes two arguments, one substantive, the other methodological. First, she demonstrates that the objects themselves communicate a paradox of dissimilar similitude—that is, that in their very details they both image the glory of heaven and make clear that that heaven is beyond any representation in earthly things. Second, she uses the theme of likeness and unlikeness to interrogate current practices of comparative history. Suggesting that contemporary students of religion, art, and culture should avoid comparing things that merely “look alike,” she proposes that humanists turn instead to comparing across cultures the disparate and perhaps visually dissimilar objects in which worshippers as well as theorists locate the “other” that gives their religion enduring power.
Wicked Weeds: A Zombie Novel
by Jessica Ernst Powell Pedro CabiyaSet at the contact zones between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, this is a polyphonic novel, an intense and sometimes funny pharmacopeia of love lost and humanity regained; a most original combination of Caribbean noir and science-fiction addressing issues of global relevance including novel takes on ecological/apocalyptical imbalance bound to make an impact.A Caribbean zombie-smart, gentlemanly, financially independent, and a top executive at an important pharmaceutical company-becomes obsessed with finding the formula that would reverse his condition and allow him to become "a real person." In the process, three of his closest collaborators (cerebral and calculating Isadore, wide-eyed and sentimental Mathilde, and rambunctious Patricia), guide the reluctant and baffled scientist through the unpredictable intersections of love, passion, empathy, and humanity. But the playful maze of jealousy and amorous intrigue that a living being would find easy to negotiate represents an insurmountable tangle of dangerous ambiguities for our "undead" protagonist.Wicked Weeds is put together from Isadore's scrapbook, where she has collected her boss' scientific goals and existential agony, as well as her own reflections about growing up as a Haitian descendant in the Dominican Republic and what it really means to be human. The end result is a precise combination of Caribbean noir and science-fiction, Latin American style.Wicked Weeds, A Zombie Novel combines Cabiya's expertise in fiction, graphic novels and film to create a memorable literary zombie novel of a dead man's search for his lost humanity that can now take its place alongside other leading similar novels like Jonathan Mayberry's Patient Zero, S.G. Browne's Breathers: A Zombie's Lament, Daryl Gregory's Raising Sony Mayhall, World War Z by Max Brooks, and The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell. As for the novel's immersion in orality and Caribbean folk traditions and noir it can very well align with Wade Davis' The Serpent and the Rainbow and Karen Russell's St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.
Isra-Isle: A Novel
by Jessica Cohen Nava SemelThis novel is inspired by a true historical event. Before Theodore Herzl there was Mordecai Manuel Noah, an American journalist, diplomat, playwright, and visionary. In September 1825 he bought Grand Island, downriver from Niagara Falls, from the local Native Americans as a place of refuge for the Jewish people and called it "Ararat." But no Jews came. What if they had followed Noah's call? In Nava Semel's alternate history Jews from throughout the world flee persecution and come to Ararat. Isra Isle becomes the smallest state in the US. Israel does not exist, and there was no Holocaust. In exploring this what-if scenario, Semel stimulates new thinking about memory, Jewish/Israeli identity, attitudes toward minorities, women in top political positions, and the place of cultural heritage.The novel is divided into three parts. Part 1, a detective story, opens in September 2001 when Liam Emanuel, an Israeli descendant of Noah, learns about and inherits this island. He leaves Israel intending to reclaim this "Promised Land" in America. Shortly after he arrives in America Liam disappears. Simon T. Lenox, a Native American police investigator, tries to recover Israel's "missing son." Part 2 flashes back to the time and events surrounding Mordecai Noah's purchase of the island from the local Native Americans. Part 3 poses an alternate history: the rise of a successful modern Jewish city-state, Isra Isle, on the northern New York and Canadian border-a metropolis that looks remarkably like New York City both before and after 9/11-in which the Jewish female governor campaigns to become president of the United States.Nava Semel has published novels, short stories, poetry, plays, children's books, and a number of TV scripts. Her books have been translated and published in many countries. Her book, Becoming Gershona, received the 1990 National Jewish Book Award in the US.
Oedipus in Brooklyn and Other Stories
by Blume Lempel Ellen Cassedy Yermiyahu Ahron TaubWriting in Yiddish using stream-of-consciousness, flashback, and eroticism, Lempel's modern short-story style was appropriate to her themes, which were often daring: incest-Oedipus in Brooklyn (1981), rape-"Alone Together," (1989) and the ambivalent attraction of one woman to another "Correspondents" (1992). The settings of her short stories were largely American. This is the first translation and prize-winning collection of her best stories.Ellen Cassedy and Yermiyahu Ahron Taub (the translators) on encountering Blume Lempel's stories wrote: "When we began reading and translating, we didn't know we were going to find a mother drawn into an incestuous relationship with her blind son. We didn't know we'd meet a young woman lying on the table at an abortion clinic. We didn't know we'd meet a middle-aged woman full of erotic imaginings as she readies herself for a blind date. Buried in this forgotten Yiddish-language material, we found modernist stories and modernist story-telling techniques - imagine reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez with the conversational touch of Grace Paley."Lempel (1907-1999) was one of a small number of writers in the United States who wrote in Yiddish into the 1990s. Though many of her stories opened a window on the Old World and the Holocaust, she did not confine herself to these landscapes or themes. She often wrote about the margins of society, and about subjects considered untouchable. her prize-winning fiction is remarkable for its psychological acuity, its unflinching examination of erotic themes and gender relations, and its technical virtuosity. Mirroring the dislocation of mostly women protagonists, her stories move between present and past, Old World and New, dream and reality.While many of her stories opened a window on the Old World and the Holocaust, she also wrote about the margins of society, about subjects considered untouchable, among them abortion, prostitution, women's erotic imaginings, and even incest. She illuminated the inner lives of her characters-mostly women. Her storylines migrate between past and present, Old World and New, dream and reality, modern-day New York and prewar Poland, bedtime story and passionate romance, and old-age dementia and girlhood dreams.Immigrating to New York when Hitler rose to power, Blume Lempel began publishing her short stories in 1945. By the 1970s her work had become known throughout the Yiddish literary world. When she died in 1999, the Yiddish paper Forverts wrote: "Yiddish literature has lost one of its most remarkable women writers."Ellen Cassedy, translator, is author of the award-winning study "We Are Here", about the Lithuanian Holocaust. With her colleague Yermiyahu Ahron Taub, they received the Yiddish Book Center 2012 Translation Prize for translating Blume Lempel. Yermiyahu Ahron Taub is the author of several books of poetry, including "Prayers of a Heretic/Tfiles fun an apikoyres" (2013),"Uncle Feygele"(2011), and "What Stillness Illuminated/Vos shtilkayt hot baloykhtn (2008)."
Questioning Return: A Novel
by Beth KissileffStudent Wendy Goldberg spends a year in Jerusalem questioning the lives of American Jews who "return" both to Israel itself and to traditional religious practices. Are they sincere? Are they happier? The unexpected answers and her experiences (a bus bombing, a funeral, an unexpected suicide, a love affair, a law suit),lead her to reconsider her own true identity.
Crevice (Earth Hunters #1)
by Janice BoekhoffAn Arizona mine owner risks her life—and tests her faith—to find her missing brother in this suspenseful, action-packed adventure. Desperate to save her family&’s gold mine, Elery Hearst gives an order that results in the tragic death of one of her men. But before she can come to terms with the guilt consuming her, her brother disappears. To find him, she must find the legendary Lost Dutchman gold mine. And the one person who can help, Lucan Milner, has every reason to want her to fail; he&’s the twin brother of the miner who died. He holds the secret to finding Elery&’s brother, but sharing it with her not only rips open his grief-stricken heart, it puts both of them in the path of a killer…Praise for Crevice&“An intriguing and modern tale around the legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine. This debut novel has adventure, romance, and an insightful spiritual thread that readers will enjoy.&”—Marissa Shrock, author of the Emancipation Warriors series &“Refreshingly original, Boekhoff's treasure hunt of legends and intrigue will leave you tantalizingly infected with gold fever! An adventure not to be missed!&”—Amy Leigh Simpson, author of the Girl Next Door Series &“Get ready for an emotional, action-packed adventure through the Arizona desert. Boekhoff keeps the tension high until the nail-biting ending.&”—Jill Kemerer, author of Her Small-town Romance
First Church of the Higher Elevations: Mountains, Prayer and Presence
by Peter AndersonThese contemplative essays, written for seekers and wanderers, explore the complexity of the scripture of place, the geography of the heart, the landscape of imagination, and the topography of memory. Thoughtful and rich in spirit, the book discusses a personal relationship to place and prayer. Dark, serious, joyful, and funny, it is a perfect companion on a trek through the woods or in the comfort of your own home.
Heading Home: Field Notes
by Peter AndersonThese contemplative essays, written for seekers and wanderers, explore the complexity of the scripture of place, the geography of the heart, the landscape of imagination, and the topography of memory. Thoughtful and rich in spirit, this book discusses a personal relationship to place and prayer. Dark, serious, joyful, and funny, it is a perfect companion on a trek through the woods or in the comfort of your own home.
Everybody Loved Roger Harden
by Cecil MurpheyA dinner party turns into a case of whodunit when the host, millionaire Roger Harden, is found dead before the first course. On the scene are psychologist Julie West and Reverend James Burton, who don their detective hats to take a closer look at their fellow partygoers.There are ten possible suspects, all sharing close living quarters at the millionaire's secluded home on Palm Island. Each one harbors deep secrets and a reasonable motive to have wanted Roger gone. But in order to uncover the true criminal, Julie must first push aside her growing attraction to the reverend, and focus on a different type of fascination--one for murder.Note: This is a previously published work. For readers who purchased the original edition, this second edition is not substantially different.
Everybody Wanted Room 623
by Cecil MurpheyWhen psychologist Julie West responds to a call from "reformed" criminal Stefan Lauber, she doesn't expect to find him murdered in Room 623 at the Cartledge Inn. Even more, she can't understand why people are calling to reserve that particular room before the body even gets cold. She's going to find out, though, even if it means working with the man she secretly loves to solve the mystery. And once Julie and Pastor James Burton are on the case, there's no time to dwell on unrequited love. Not when there's a murderer on the loose, odd detectives to work with...and more killings to come.Note: This is a previously published work. For readers who purchased the original edition, this second edition is not substantially different.
Everybody Called Her a Saint
by Cecil MurpheyAfter their broken engagement, there's only one thing that can get unbeatable crime-solvers Julie West and Reverend James Burton back into action--the murder of a beloved friend.No one can figure out who would have a motive to kill Twila Belk, who was a saint by all accounts. Paying for a cruise to Antarctica for 48 of her "closest friends" was just one of many generous gifts she bestowed upon those around her. When the body of the benefactress is discovered on Brown Bluff Island, Julie and James must set their past aside to bring the killer to justice and along the way, perhaps, uncover a new beginning for themselves.Note: This is a previously published work. For readers who purchased the original edition, this second edition is not substantially different.
Spiritual Multiplication in the Real World: Why some disciple-makers reproduce when others fail.
by Bob McNabbWhy do some disciple-makers reproduce while others fail? Spiritual Multiplication in the Real World takes an in-depth look into this question and gives answers based on solid research and biblical foundations. The solutions presented are inspiring and highly practical. Best of all, the keys to fruitfulness shared are universal principles that work in the “real world.” These principles will help you multiply generations of disciples, wherever you find yourself! BECOME A REPRODUCER: • Don’t just make disciples. Learn to reproduce disciple-makers! • Gain an overview of the discipling process and how to move new believers to maturity and reproduction. • Grasp the keys to successful evangelism and multiplication in the context of a disciple-making team.
The Biblioplan Companion Year Two: A Text for Medieval History
by Robert Nalle Julia NalleThe Biblioplan Companion Year Two: A Text for Medieval History Two Volume Set is the primary spine and text for this year of study in the Biblioplan system. <p><p> Providing a context for the living books students read, students will gain an understanding of the overall narrative of history, and where various figures and events fit into the past. Each companion weaves together Church History, the Bible, and the overall narrative of history, helping students to understand Christian themes and connections. <p><p> Medieval History covers Western European and Church History, Asia, Africa, Pre-Columbian America, the Age of Discovery, the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, Elizabethan England and more. A World Geography focus is also integrated. <p><p> Two Volumes, 745 total indexed pages, hardcover. Non-consumable text. <p><p> BiblioPlan is a four-year classical Christian history curriculum (Ancient History, Medieval History, Early Modern History, and Modern History) that's designed to be used with multiple ages. For parents using this companion with younger readers, they may wish to preview before addressing some of the cruel, violent deeds in history.
Cults: In Too Deep From Jonestown to Scientology
by Lightning GuidesCults: In Too Deep From Jonestown to Scientology explores 20th and 21st Century cults and the 1960's American culture by which many of them were birthed. From Then Manson Family to The Ripper Crew to Scientology, Cults provides an in-depth look at America's religious and social cults, their nefarious leaders, and the millions of lives they have stolen.
The Tarot Issue: Chancletazo for Your Soul (An Aster(ix) Anthology #December 2022)
by Marlène Ramírez-Cancio Amanda Tien"If you get La Cuarentena in a reading, you are called to accept an uncomfortable-but possibly transformative-moment of suspension. While everything seems to be upside down, ask yourself: What new ways of seeing become available to me from this position? Is there a life-altering perspective for me to discover? What are the lessons of slowing down?" <P><P> Chancletazo for Your Soul, a project that Marlène Ramírez-Cancio began during the early months of the Covid pandemic, re-imagines the Major Arcana with Latinx sociocultural icons featured in original collage artwork with text that invites new reflections, meditations, and discovery.
Suffering And The Heart Of God: How Trauma Destroys And Christ Restores
by Diane LangbergWhen someone suffers through trauma, can healing happen? And, if yes, how does it happen? Dr. Diane Langberg tackles these complex and difficult questions with the insights she has gained through more than forty years of counseling those whose lives have been destroyed by trauma and abuse. Her answer carefully explained in Suffering and the Heart of God is Yes, what trauma destroys, Jesus can and does restore.
Think Again: Relief from the Burden of Introspection
by Marty MachowskiBeing mindful about who you are and what you are doing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Evaluating yourself is necessary and can lead to positive change. But what about the dark side of introspection? Do you ever feel weighed down and exhausted by your own self analysis? Perhaps you made a mistake, said a careless word, or even messed up big time. Now you can’t get it out of your mind. You keep revisiting what happened. Your mind circles around the event, fruitlessly trying to somehow make the outcome different–so that you don’t feel embarrassment, shame, and regret. Jared Mellinger, a pastor and self-confessed struggler with introspection holds out the hope of the gospel for those who, like him, overdose on introspection. Only truly understanding the gospel can rescue us from false guilt, fruitless self-examination, and self-accusation. The only long-term solution to thinking too much about ourselves is when our attention is drawn away from ourselves and Jesus fills our mind’s eye.
Lost and Found: Losing Religion, Finding Grace
by Kendra FletcherWhat happens when you lose your religion? Kendra Fletcher, homeschooling mom of eight, took pride in having it all together—the right schooling, the right theology, the right church. Everything was “right.” Then it all fell apart. Three of their children were taken to the brink of death in a period of eighteen months. As wave after wave of crisis hit their family, they learned that getting religion “right” wasn’t a good substitute for a living relationship with a loving God. As they learned about their misplaced identities and false hope, they found that religion couldn’t save them–only Jesus. Only Jesus gives the grace we need to survive and thrive. Only in Jesus will our lives overflow with his grace, love, and mercy–spilling out over our families like the life-giving good news it is meant to be. More than a memoir, Lost and Found is a call to give up those things that hold us in bondage and find the overwhelming grace and freedom of the cross. Woven through the life-changing stories that forever altered Kendra Fletcher’s family is an encouragement to readers to find their value, worth, significance, hope, and identity in Christ alone. Gripping true story of how God heals physically and spiritually. The difference between the gospel and merely being religious explained simply and clearly using one family’s story. Clear direction on how to live with freedom and joy despite challenging circumstances.
The Dynamic Heart In Daily Life: Connecting Christ To Human Experience
by Jeremy PierreOur hearts are not steel. They are living, complex things that grow and change. Sometimes they fly so high we scrape the top of heaven. Sometimes they barely make it off the ground. Sometimes they feel buried under the ground. What hope do we have of understanding ourselves when we are so changeable? And what hope do we have for lasting change when our response to life is so different from one day to the next? But God designed our hearts to be both varied and varying, and he delights in his craftsmanship. He made our hearts to respond to life in a wide, beautiful spectrum of thought, desire, and choice. This spectrum bends, adapts, expands, and contracts as it dynamically responds to changing situations. The goal of change is not to flatten this variety, but to guide our responses so they reflect who we are in Christ. Jesus perfectly lived his humanity out as a dynamic being. Now as our risen Savior, he redeems all of human experience for his purposes. Without a holistic understanding of people, our approach to those in need of help will be lopsided, focusing on just one aspect of human experienceperhaps simply trying to correct faulty thinking, to stir different emotions, or to correct wrong actions. Focusing on one of these aspects of human experience to the exclusion of the others does not do justice to Gods design. Jeremy Pierre, in this ground-breaking book, lays out a holistic understanding of who we are and how we change through a dynamic relationship with Christ. Every day our dynamic hearts need help from our dynamic Savior.
Moving On: Beyond Forgive And Forget
by Ruth Ann BatstoneMoving On presents a compassionate and nuanced exploration of what forgiveness is and is not. Written by an experienced counselor and sexual abuse survivor, it looks honestly at the realities of deep hurt and how to find hope and help in Christ, includes chapter-by-chapter questions for personal or group study.
Getting Jesus Wrong: Giving Up Spiritual Vitamins and Checklist Christianity
by Matt JohnsonIf you met Jesus today, and he asked, “What do you want from me?” what would you say? When Jesus asked that question long ago, he got a variety of answers. Some wanted a miracle, some a theological debate, some a sign that he was the Messiah, some wanted power, some wanted just to see him, and others wanted to get rid of him. We are much the same aren’t we? We all want something from Jesus. We are just hoping for a little help to get through life—a new direction, a purpose that will get us up in the morning, an exercise plan, a way to get organized. But that approach to Jesus doesn’t result in real faith or love.The real Jesus doesn’t give us just a little help. He turns our world upside down. Getting Jesus right means a whole new way of thinking (the way up is down) and a whole new way of life (daily dependence on the one who knows the beginning from the end). Instead of a blueprint for living or a new workout plan, we get a rich life where the simple truths of the gospel inform our everyday life with each other. Where we daily remember our deep need for forgiveness, the joy of being forgiven, and gradually become those who receive grace and share grace with those around us.Aimed at a young adult audience who has drifted from the church, by unpacking the ways the author got Jesus wrong, with a strong call to meet the biblical Christ.An easy–to–read introduction to the living God for those who say they have tried Christianity and it doesn’t work.A call to a radical, robust discipleship based on a biblical view of who Christ is and who he calls his people to be.
Soul Care: Seven Transformational Principles for a Healthy Soul
by Rob ReimerBrokenness grasps for the soul of humanity. We are broken body, soul, and spirit, and we need the healing touch of Jesus. Soul Care explores seven principles that are profound healing tools of God: securing your identity, repentance, breaking family sin patterns, forgiving others, healing wounds, overcoming fears, and deliverance.
Creation Stories for Children
by Cory BartonCory Tails is a collection of charming stories about lovable creatures from God's creation that help teach Katie and Jeffrey principles and values as they face challenges in their young lives. Along the way they meet Silly Millie Moose, Peter Proud Peacock, Flash the Firefly and many others. Cory Tails is not merely a book of stories but a tool to help parents instill the Christian principles and values of obedience, self-esteem, kindness, compassion, temperament, trust, and faith in their own children's lives as they enjoy the adventures and antics of these endearing characters.
Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation
by Matthew KellyAt a time when so many people are spiritually disillusioned and searching for ways to live, love, work, and play that nurture the soul rather than destroy it, Matthew Kelly once again delivers a powerful book that encourages us in our weariness, challenges us in our comfort, and invites us to rediscover the beautiful possibilities God places before us daily. <P><P> Rediscover Jesus is a profound invitation to seek deeply personal answers to our deeply personal questions. Each page seems to effortlessly reach into every aspect our lives, providing spiritual wisdom and practical insights that help us to know both Jesus and ourselves in a new way. Some books find us at just the right time, and those books change our lives forever. Rediscover Jesus is one of those books.
Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation
by Matthew KellyAT A TIME WHEN SO MANY PEOPLE are spiritually disillusioned and searching for ways to live, love, work, and play that nurture the soul rather than destroy it, Matthew Kelly, once again, delivers a powerful book that encourages us in our weariness, challenges us in our comfort, and invites us to rediscover the beautiful possibilities God places before us daily. Rediscover Jesus is a profound invitation to seek deeply personal answers to our deeply personal questions. Each page seems to effortlessly reach deep into our lives, providing spiritual wisdom and practical insights that help us get to know both Jesus and ourselves in a new way. Some books find us at just the right time, and those books change our lives forever. Rediscover Jesus is one of those books. This book may be used any time or as a meditation for Lent with its 40 short chapters (about 4 pages long) each followed by a Point to Ponder, question to consider, a Bible Verse to Live and a Prayer, all practical, very brief and inspiring.