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After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles
by Bryan LitfinWhat really happened after Acts?If you&’ve ever wondered what happened to the biblical characters after Acts—from the well-known Matthew to the lesser-known Bartholomew—then this book is for you. Join Dr. Bryan Litfin as he guides you through Scripture and other ancient literature to sift fact from fiction, real-life from legend. Skillfully researched and clearly written, After Acts is as accurate as it is engaging. Gain a window into the religious milieu of the ancient and medieval church. Unearth artifacts and burial sites. Learn what really happened to your favorite characters and what you should truly remember them for.Did Paul ever make it to Spain? Was he beheaded in Rome?Is it true that Peter was crucified upside down?Was the Virgin Mary really bodily assumed into heaven?The book of Acts ends at chapter 28. But its characters lived on.
After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles
by Bryan LitfinWhat really happened after Acts?If you&’ve ever wondered what happened to the biblical characters after Acts—from the well-known Matthew to the lesser-known Bartholomew—then this book is for you. Join Dr. Bryan Litfin as he guides you through Scripture and other ancient literature to sift fact from fiction, real-life from legend. Skillfully researched and clearly written, After Acts is as accurate as it is engaging. Gain a window into the religious milieu of the ancient and medieval church. Unearth artifacts and burial sites. Learn what really happened to your favorite characters and what you should truly remember them for.Did Paul ever make it to Spain? Was he beheaded in Rome?Is it true that Peter was crucified upside down?Was the Virgin Mary really bodily assumed into heaven?The book of Acts ends at chapter 28. But its characters lived on.
After All: A Hanover Falls Novel
by Deborah RaneyEighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband, David, and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she's finally beginning to heal. But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave. A secret that changes everything she thought their marriage had been. For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable? Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence--because her dearest friend was someone else's husband. Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls' fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters who lost their lives that awful November night. Can he ever shake the feeling that he should have somehow prevented the tragedy? As he tries to rebuild the team at Clemens County's Station 2, it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.
After All
by Deborah RaneyEighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband, David, and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she's finally beginning to heal. But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave. A secret that changes everything she thought their marriage had been. For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable? Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence--because her dearest friend was someone else's husband. Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls' fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters who lost their lives that awful November night. Can he ever shake the feeling that he should have somehow prevented the tragedy? As he tries to rebuild the team at Clemens County's Station 2, it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.
After Amen: What to Do While You're Waiting on God
by Rusty GeorgeYou’ve prayed about it. Now what? Though none of us pray enough, we all pray some. There eventually comes a moment when we get desperate enough to cry out to God. We pour out our prayers, making confessions, promises, and deals, then we say “Amen.” And we wait. And wait. Sometimes the silence is deafening, and we question whether God hears us or not. We wonder if our prayers ever got past the ceiling, if he’s even there, or if he is waiting on us to do something. So what do we do while we wait for God to answer our prayers? As a pastor with decades of experience, Rusty George offers a new way to help you connect with God and get answers while you wait. By exploring the ministry of Jesus, you will encounter a variety of people who come to him in need, but receive a mixed response; while some get an immediate answer, some have work to do, and some simply wait. As you read, discover the powerful steps of faith you can take after saying “Amen.”
After Anatevka: A Novel Inspired By Fiddler On The Roof
by Alexandra Silber Sheldon HarnickA sweeping historical novel in the grand tradition of Russian literature that imagines what happens to the characters of Fiddler on the Roof after the curtain falls. The world knows well the tale of Tevye, the beloved Jewish dairyman from the shtetl Anatevka of Tsarist Russia. In stories originally written by Sholem Aleichem and then made world-famous in the celebrated musical Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, his wife Golde, and their five daughters dealt with the outside influences that were encroaching upon their humble lives. But what happened to those remarkable characters after the curtain fell? In After Anatevka, Alexandra Silber picks up where Fiddler left off. Second-eldest daughter Hodel takes center stage as she attempts to join her Socialist-leaning fiancé Perchik to the outer reaches of a Siberian work camp. But before Hodel and Perchik can finally be together, they both face extraordinary hurdles and adversaries—both personal and political—attempting to keep them apart at all costs. A love story set against a backdrop of some of the greatest violence in European history, After Anatevaka is a stunning conclusion to a tale that has gripped audiences around the globe for decades.
After Buddhism
by Stephen Batchelor<P><P><i>Advisory: Bookshare has learned that this book offers only partial accessibility. We have kept it in the collection because it is useful for some of our members. Benetech is actively working on projects to improve accessibility issues such as these.</i> <P><P>Some twenty-five centuries after the Buddha started teaching, his message continues to inspire people across the globe, including those living in predominantly secular societies. <P><P> What does it mean to adapt religious practices to secular contexts? Stephen Batchelor, an internationally known author and teacher, is committed to a secularized version of the Buddha's teachings. The time has come, he feels, to articulate a coherent ethical, contemplative, and philosophical vision of Buddhism for our age. After Buddhism, the culmination of four decades of study and practice in the Tibetan, Zen, and Theravada traditions, is his attempt to set the record straight about who the Buddha was and what he was trying to teach. <P><P>Combining critical readings of the earliest canonical texts with narrative accounts of five members of the Buddha's inner circle, Batchelor depicts the Buddha as a pragmatic ethicist rather than a dogmatic metaphysician. He envisions Buddhism as a constantly evolving culture of awakening whose long survival is due to its capacity to reinvent itself and interact creatively with each society it encounters. <P><P> This original and provocative book presents a new framework for understanding the remarkable spread of Buddhism in today's globalized world. It also reminds us of what was so startling about the Buddha's vision of human flourishing.
After Christendom?: How the Church Is to Behave If Freedom, Justice, and a Christian Nation Are Bad Ideas
by Stanley HauerwasLiberal/conservative and modern/postmodern concepts define contemporary theological debate. Yet what if these categories are grounded in a set of assumptions about what it means to be the church in the world, presuming we must live as though God's existence does not matter? What if our theological discussion distracts us from the fact that the church is no longer able to shape the desires and habits of Christians? Hauerwas wrestles with these and similar questions constructing a theological politics necessary for the church to be the church in the world. In so doing, he challenges liberal notions of justice and freedom.
After Christianity (Italian Academy Lectures)
by Gianni VattimoWhat has been the fate of Christianity since Nietzsche's famous announcement of the "death of God"? What is the possibility of religion, specifically Christianity, thriving in our postmodern era? <P><P>In this provocative new book, Gianni Vattimo, leading Italian philosopher, politician, and framer of the European constitution, addresses these critical questions. When Vattimo was asked by a former teacher if he still believed in God, his reply was, "Well, I believe that I believe." This paradoxical declaration of faith serves as the foundation for a brilliant exposition on Christianity in the new millennium—an age characterized by a deep uncertainty of opinion—and a personal account of how Vattimo himself recovered his faith through Nietzsche and Heidegger. He first argues that secularization is in fact the fulfillment of the central Christian message, and prepares us for a new mode of Christianity. He then explains that Nietzsche's thesis concerns only the "moral god" and leaves room for the emergence of "new gods." Third, Vattimo claims that the postmodern condition of fragmentation, anti-Eurocentrism, and postcolonialism can be usefully understood in light of Joachim of Fiore's thesis concerning the "Spiritual Age" of history. Finally, Vattimo argues for the idea of "weak thought." Because philosophy in the postmetaphysical age can only acknowledge that "all is interpretation," that the "real" is always relative and not the hard and fast "truth" we once thought it to be, contemporary thought must recognize itself and its claims as "weak" as opposed to "strong" foundationalist claims of the metaphysical past. Vattimo concludes that these factors make it possible for religion and God to become a serious topic for philosophy again, and that philosophy should now formally engage religion.
After Cloven Tongues of Fire: Protestant Liberalism in Modern American History
by David A. HollingerThe important role of liberal ecumenical Protestantism in American historyThe role of liberalized, ecumenical Protestantism in American history has too often been obscured by the more flamboyant and orthodox versions of the faith that oppose evolution, embrace narrow conceptions of family values, and continue to insist that the United States should be understood as a Christian nation. In this book, one of our preeminent scholars of American intellectual history examines how liberal Protestant thinkers struggled to embrace modernity, even at the cost of yielding much of the symbolic capital of Christianity to more conservative, evangelical communities of faith.If religion is not simply a private concern, but a potential basis for public policy and a national culture, does this mean that religious ideas can be subject to the same kind of robust public debate normally given to ideas about race, gender, and the economy? Or is there something special about religious ideas that invites a suspension of critical discussion? These essays, collected here for the first time, demonstrate that the critical discussion of religious ideas has been central to the process by which Protestantism has been liberalized throughout the history of the United States, and shed light on the complex relationship between religion and politics in contemporary American life.After Cloven Tongues of Fire brings together in one volume David Hollinger's most influential writings on ecumenical Protestantism. The book features an informative general introduction as well as concise introductions to each essay.
After College: Navigating Transitions, Relationships and Faith
by Erica Young Reitz"The first year out was one of the hardest years of my life." —Curt
After Death, Life! Thoughts to alleviate the grief of all Muslims facing death and bereavement
by Ruqaiyyah Waris MaqsoodBack of book--Death is a highly traumatic business, both for those who are dying, and for those who are caring for them. There are so many fears, so many questions, so many worries about coping after the death has taken place. This book is written primarily for those who have lost loved ones and are struggling with bereavement and coming to terms with that loss. Muslims accept the existence of life after death as a part of their faith. When faced with the fact of death, it naturally becomes a prime concern, and colours the way the dying person and the bereaved think and act. This book offers practical advice, not only on Islamic attitudes to the dying, and the correct procedures of burial according to the Sunnah or the Prophet, but also much to console and strengthen the bereaved, to help them though this sad but inevitable experience. Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, a teacher and writer, was Head of Religious Studies at various schools in England. She took her honours degree as a Christian theologian at Hull University, in 1963. After extensive travels in the Middle East, she embraced Islam. Among her twenty books on many aspects of religion she has written the much acclaimed Teach Yourself Islam and The Muslim Marriage Guide.
After Disbelief: On Disenchantment, Disappointment, Eternity, and Joy
by Anthony T. KronmanAn intimate, philosophic quest for eternity, amidst the disenchantments and disappointments of our time &“Aims to persuade America&’s &‘relentlessly rational&’ elites to acknowledge the existence of &‘divinity.&’ . . . Kronman&’s ambition is to repair &‘the schism between those for whom religion continues to matter and those who view it with amusement or contempt.&’&”—Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal &“In this deceptively quiet and self-effacing book, Anthony Kronman makes an audacious argument: the most important things in our lives make sense only if we believe the world is divine. In a sense, we already believe it, if only we could find the words. Here they are.&”—Jedediah Britton-Purdy, author of After Nature: A Politics for the Anthropocene Many people of faith believe the meaning of life depends on our connection to an eternal order of some kind. Atheists deride this belief as a childish superstition. In this wise and profound book, Anthony Kronman offers an alternative to these two entrenched positions, arguing that neither addresses the complexities of the human condition. We can never reach God, as religion promises, but cannot give up the longing to do so either. We are condemned by our nature to set goals we can neither abandon nor fulfill, yet paradoxically are able to approach more closely if we try. The human condition is one of inevitable disappointment tempered by moments of joy. Resolutely humanistic and theologically inspired, this moving book offers a rational path to the love of God amidst the disenchantments of our time.
After Evangelicalism
by Kevin N. FlattAt a time when Canadians were arguing about the merits of a new flag, the birth-control pill, and the growing hippie counterculture, the leaders of Canada's largest Protestant church were occupied with turning much of English-Canadian religious culture on its head. In After Evangelicalism, Kevin Flatt reveals how the United Church of Canada abruptly reinvented its public image by cutting the remaining ties to its evangelical past. Flatt argues that although United Church leaders had already abandoned evangelical beliefs three decades earlier, it was only in the 1960s that rapid cultural shifts prompted the sudden dismantling of the church's evangelical programs and identity. Delving deep into the United Church's archives, Flatt uncovers behind-the-scenes developments that led to revolutionary and controversial changes in the church's evangelistic campaigns, educational programs, moral stances, and theological image. Not only did these changes evict evangelicalism from the United Church, but they helped trigger the denomination's ongoing numerical decline and decisively changed Canada's religious landscape. Challenging readers to see the Canadian religious crisis of the 1960s as involving more than just Quebec's Quiet Revolution, After Evangelicalism unveils the transformation of one of Canada's most prominent social institutions.
After Expulsion: 1492 and the Making of Sephardic Jewry
by Jonathan S RayA &“groundbreaking&” portrait of the migration and resettlement of Spain&’s Jewish community after 1492, and how the Sephardic identity emerged (American Historical Review). Honorable Mention, Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in Medieval and Early Modern Jewish History presented by the Association for Jewish Studies On August 3, 1492, the same day that Columbus set sail from Spain, the long and glorious history of that nation&’s Jewish community officially came to a close. The expulsion of Europe&’s last major Jewish community ended more than a thousand years of unparalleled prosperity, cultural vitality, and intellectual productivity. Yet, the crisis of 1492 also gave rise to a dynamic and resilient diaspora society spanning East and West. After Expulsion traces the various paths of migration and resettlement of Sephardic Jews and Conversos over the course of the tumultuous sixteenth century. Pivotally, the volume argues that the exiles did not become &“Sephardic Jews&” overnight. Only in the second and third generation did these disparate groups coalesce and adopt a &“Sephardic Jewish&” identity. This is a new and fascinating portrait of Jewish society in transition from the medieval to the early modern period—a portrait that challenges many longstanding assumptions about the differences between Europe and the Middle East. &“A rich and compelling history . . . With its intense focus on one century, Ray&’s book makes a distant time and trauma painfully vivid and immediate to the reader.&” ―Jewish Currents Magazine
After God
by Peter SloterdijkIn his Critique of Cynical Reason, Peter Sloterdijk pursued an enlightenment of the Enlightenment in both its beginnings and the present. After God is dedicated to the theological enlightenment of theology. It ranges from the period when gods reigned, through the rule of the world-creator god to reveries about the godlike power of artificial intelligence. The path of this self-enlightening theology, which is carried out here by a non-theologian, must begin well before Nietzsche’s declaration of the death of God, and it must move beyond this dictum to explore the present and the future. Since the early 20th century we have seen how the metaphysical twilight of the gods, which has preoccupied philosophers and theologians, has been accompanied by an earthly twilight of the souls. The emergence of psychoanalysis, and more recently the development of the neuro-cognitive sciences, have secularized the old Indo-European concept of the soul and transferred many accomplishments of the human mind to computerized machines. What remains of the eternal light of the soul after the artificial lights have been turned on? Have the inventors of AI thrust themselves into the position vacated by the death of god? Perhaps the distinction between God and idols will soon re-emerge here for the citizens of modernity, only this time in a technological and political register. For them, theological enlightenment – which is completely different from an instinctive rejection of religion – will be a fateful task. This new work by one of the most original thinkers today will appeal to students and scholars across the humanities and social sciences, as well as anyone interested in religion, philosophy and critical theory today.
After God's Own Heart: The Key to Knowing and Living God's Passionate Love for You
by Mike BickleImagine what David felt like to be singled out and given an almost unfathomable spiritual identity…to seen by God as “a man after His own heart.” David's secret is that he was energized by intimacy with God as a student of God's emotions. He encountered the power of God's emotions. It transformed his emotions for God. You can also become a student of God’s emotions and experience being energized by the Holy Spirit to a life of deep obedience and mature love. Invest time in understanding the emotions found in God’s heart for you, and your own heart will experience a glorious awakening.
After Heaven: Spirituality in America Since the 1950s
by Robert WuthnowThe evolution of American spirituality over the past fifty years is the subject of Robert Wuthnow's engrossing new book. Wuthnow uses in-depth interviews and a broad range of resource materials to show how Americans, from teenagers to senior citizens, define their spiritual journeys. His findings are a telling reflection of the changes in beliefs and lifestyles that have occurred throughout the United States in recent decades.Wuthnow reconstructs the social and cultural reasons for an emphasis on a spirituality of dwelling (houses of worship, denominations, neighborhoods) during the 1950s. Then in the 1960s a spirituality of seeking began to emerge, leading individuals to go beyond established religious institutions. In subsequent chapters Wuthnow examines attempts to reassert spiritual discipline, encounters with the sacred (such as angels and near-death experiences), and the development of the "inner self." His final chapter discusses a spirituality of practice, an alternative for people who are uncomfortable within a single religious community and who want more than a spirituality of endless seeking.The diversity of contemporary American spirituality comes through in the voices of the interviewees. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, and Native Americans are included, as are followers of occult practices, New Age religions, and other eclectic groups. Wuthnow also notes how politicized spirituality, evangelical movements, and resources such as Twelve-Step programs and mental health therapy influence definitions of religious life today.Wuthnow's landmark book, The Restructuring of American Religion (1988), documented the changes in institutional religion in the United States; now After Heaven explains the changes in personal spirituality that have come to shape our religious life. Moreover, it is a compelling and insightful guide to understanding American culture at century's end.
After Identity: Mennonite Writing in North America
by Robert ZachariasFor decades, the field of Mennonite literature has been dominated by the question of Mennonite identity. After Identity interrogates this prolonged preoccupation and explores the potential to move beyond it to a truly post-identity Mennonite literature. The twelve essays collected here view Mennonite writing as transitioning beyond a tradition concerned primarily with defining itself and its cultural milieu. What this means for the future of Mennonite literature and its attendant criticism is the question at the heart of this volume. Contributors explore the histories and contexts—as well as the gaps—that have informed and diverted the perennial focus on identity in Mennonite literature, even as that identity is reread, reframed, and expanded.After Identity is a timely reappraisal of the Mennonite literature of Canada and the United States at the very moment when that literature seems ready to progress into a new era.In addition to the editor, the contributors are Ervin Beck, Di Brandt, Daniel Shank Cruz, Jeff Gundy, Ann Hostetler, Julia Spicher Kasdorf, Royden Loewen, Jesse Nathan, Magdalene Redekop, Hildi Froese Tiessen, and Paul Tiessen.
After Ideology: Recovering the Spiritual Foundations of Freedom
by David Walsh<p>The crises of the twentieth century - wars, genocide, the proliferation of atomic weapons, the rise and fall of communism, the breakup of the family - have shaken our faith in modernity and in the fundamental conceit upon which it is grounded: that human beings are capable of providing their own moral and political order. Ideologies based on this conceit have at their heart the revolt against God that has so characterized modern history, and these ideologies have failed us. <p>Walsh contends that the solution is to recover the spiritual foundations of freedom and order. To make his case, he draws lessons from the intellectual pilgrimages of four contemporary thinkers who overcame the modern spirit of revolt against God: Dostoevsky, Solzhenitsyn, Camus, and Voegelin. He shows how each confronted the full consequences of secular messianism and found within his own experience the means of overcoming it. In the process of mounting a critique of modernity and articulating the direction in which the alternative lies, the four recovered what is in essence philosophic Christianity. They show us that beyond nihilism, beyond the revolt against God, there is the existential rediscovery of transcendent truth. <p>Walsh believes liberal democracy is redeemable, but that its redemption hinges on our return to a proper understanding of human nature and to a spiritual foundation based on Christian principles. We must first recognize, however, that without God, without moral absolutes, without divine order, we can not resolve our worldwide modern crisis.</p>
After Integration: Islam, Conviviality and Contentious Politics in Europe (Islam und Politik)
by Marian Burchardt Ines MichalowskiThe integration of Muslims into European societies is often seen as a major challenge that is yet to be confronted. This book, by contrast, starts from the observation that on legal, political and organizational levels integration has already taken place. It showcases the variety of theoretical approaches that scholars have developed to conceptualize Muslim life in Europe, and provides detailed empirical analysis of ten European countries. Demonstrating how Muslim life unfolds between conviviality and contentious politics, the contributors describe demographic developments, analyze legal controversies, and explore the action of government and state, Muslim communities and other civil society actors. Driving forces behind the integration of Islam are discussed in detail and compared across countries.
After Jesus Before Christianity: A Historical Exploration of the First Two Centuries of Jesus Movements
by Hal Taussig Erin Vearncombe Brandon Scott Westar Institute, TheFrom the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the Jesus movement, transforming our understanding of the religion and its early dissemination.Christianity has endured for more than two millennia and is practiced by billions worldwide today. Yet that longevity has created difficulties for scholars tracing the religion’s roots, distorting much of the historical investigation into the first two centuries of the Jesus movement. But what if Christianity died in the fourth or fifth centuries after it began? How would that change how historians see and understand its first two hundred years?Considering these questions, three Bible scholars from the Westar Institute summarize the work of the Christianity Seminar and its efforts to offer a new way of thinking about Christianity and its roots. Synthesizing the institute’s most recent scholarship—bringing together the many archaeological and textual discoveries over the last twenty years—they have found: There were multiple Jesus movements, not a singular one, before the fourth centuryThere was nothing called Christianity until the third centuryThere was much more flexibility and diversity within Jesus’s movement before it became centralized in Rome, not only regarding the Bible and religious doctrine, but also understandings of gender, sexuality and morality.Exciting and revolutionary, After Jesus Before Christianity provides fresh insights into the real history behind how the Jesus movement became Christianity. After Jesus Before Christianity includes more than a dozen black-and-white images throughout.
After Jews and Arabs: Remaking Levantine Culture
by Ammiel AlcalayThis book not only makes a significant contribution to the literature but, by breaking new ground, seeks to create a new frame of reference for further studies of the Mediterranean. The author has pulled together many strands of scholarship to present a view of the Middle East that is starkly at odds with that put forth in the establishment press and academic journals - while taking care not to sacrifice the erudition and research, whether literary critical, historical or linguistic, that have traditionally sanctioned the orientalists' version of Levantine history in the service of Western control over the region.
After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy
by Noah FeldmanHow do we make democratic nations?
After Lament: Psalms for Learning to Trust Again
by Glenn PembertonJust as the Book of Psalms provides the words we need for lament (expressing our grief and hurt to God), the Psalter also provides the guidance and language we need for negotiating the time after lament (learning to trust and give thanks).Nearly half of the psalms in the Book of Psalms are "laments," expressions of grief, trouble, and suffering combined with calls for God's help. Glenn Pemberton's earlier book, Hurting with God, describes how the lament psalms helped him express his heart honestly before God. In After Lament, he masterfully explores the next stage of thejourney, pointing out that lament does not always lead to thanksgiving. What happens when God does not answer our lament? In this rich book, Pemberton draws our attention to psalms of trust. How do we learn to trust God "after lament"?Even if God's answer to our lament was "yes," we cannot return to our life before the storm. Scars remain. And should God's answer to our lament be something other than we wanted, we have an even greater faith challenge. How do we live with a God who said "no" in our moment of greatest need? Focusing on the psalms of trust, this book shows the Bible's answer to this question.