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Feng Shui: The Secrets of Harmony (Ancient Wisdom for the New Age)
by Sonya HwangGain prosperity, tranquility, and better health through the ancient practice of Feng Shui with this illustrated, introductory guide. Today, the notion that our well-being is influenced by the atmosphere of a place is widely accepted. The ancient Chinese developed this notion into a profoundly spiritual practice that decided everything from building design to furniture arrangement. This work explains how Feng Shui can help us improve our lives and fortunes by making changes to our living spaces. It discusses how feng shui can be used to promote self-awareness, positive health, and personal happiness, whether at work or in the home.
The Feng Shui of Abundance: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Attracting Wealth into Your Life
by Suzan HiltonMoney is more than a bank balance; it's a reflection of the overall abundance in your life. Now, a CPA and feng shui practitioner presents an unusual and valuable application of the ancient Eastern tradition of feng shui. Delving into all of the life forces that affect financial health, The Feng Shui of Abundance is not just a monetary makeover; it is a whole-being program whose benefits include: ·Locating the wealth area of your office or home ·Dislodging clogged energy in your career ·Drawing on the ...
Ferdinand II, Counter-Reformation Emperor, 1578-1637
by Robert BireleyEmperor Ferdinand II (1619–37) stands out as a crucial figure in the Counter-Reformation in central Europe, a leading player in the Thirty Years War, the most important ruler in the consolidation of the Habsburg monarchy, and the emperor who reinvigorated the office after its decline under his two predecessors. This is the first biography since a long-outdated one written in German in 1978 and the first ever in English. It looks at his reign as territorial ruler of Inner Austria from 1598 until his election as emperor and especially at the influence of his mother, the formidable Archduchess Maria, in order to understand his later policies as emperor. This book focuses on the consistency of his policies, the profound influence of religion throughout his career and follows the contest at court between those who favored consolidation of the Habsburg lands and those who aimed for expansion in the empire.
Fernand Dumont
by Gregory BaumFernand Dumont (1927-1997) was a sociologist, philosopher, theologian, and poet. A prominent intellectual in Quebec, he is recognized for his research on the sociology of knowledge and the foundations of modern culture. Dumont's work conceives of culture in terms of both memory and distance, arguing that without culture, man would be immersed in the monotony of his present actions, never achieving the distance necessary to create a past or a future. In Fernand Dumont: A Sociologist Turns to Theology, Gregory Baum interprets Dumont's L'institution de la théologie, which studies the assumptions and commitments implicit in the rational reflection of Catholic thinkers on the meaning of their faith. Baum shows that while Dumont's book is preoccupied with the theoretical, its methodology is informed by the cognitive presuppositions of the social sciences, and its contents - dealing with the spiritual, personal, and social struggles that constitute daily life - are concrete. For Dumont religious truth is insufficient, and may have no impact on everyday life. What counts is relevance, insights that reply to urgent questions and unresolved conflicts. He offers an innovative interpretation of Catholicism that is faithful to the Gospel and relevant to the problems of modern life and the serious questions Quebecers are asking themselves. In Fernand Dumont: A Sociologist Turns to Theology, Baum elucidates Dumont's main ideas and connects the concerns of the Christian gospel with those of contemporary society.
Fernpeople (Montaland #2)
by S. G. ByrdIn this second book of the Montaland series the evil Fern Queen is dead but five green-veined fernpeople have survived. They will do anything to protect themselves.The Kingdom of Mount Pasture seems like a peaceful, safe place. The most exciting event in eleven-year-old Benk’s life is lambing time. His older brother Alland is traveling to another kingdom to woo a princess. This infuriates Benk who is left behind with pregnant sheep duty.Sixteen-year-old Janna is baking cookies in Mount Pasture’s castle kitchen when something hits her on the head, knocking her to the floor. As she loses consciousness, Janna has a dazed vision of a green-veined arm coming around her and roughly lifting her up. Fernpeople! Fernpeople have her!Benk “borrows” a horse and sets out from Mount Pasture. Wolves start howling near the fernpeople’s hidden cave—and Janna, held hostage, wonders how she can keep going.
Ferocious Warrior: Dismantle Your Enemy and Rise
by Cora Jakes ColemanWhen the fight gets fierce, you have to get ferocious. This book will teach me how to train with my pain, push with my prayers and conquer what&’s trying to conquer me. SUMMARY: This book isn&’t about winning pretty. Rather, it will show you how to punch through your pain, deliver a fatal blow to the enemy, possess all God has for you, and experience ferocious victory. The devil is striking from every side and it&’s not because he wants to distract you or ruin your day—he wants to take you out! He&’ll do anything to break you down. But you can flip the script and dismantle him instead! When the enemy attacks, the fight gets ugly. Your prayers and your faith have to get intense. You have to remove the makeup, take off the tie, and get down in the dirt of life to destroy the work of the devil. In Ferocious Warrior, Cora Jakes Coleman shows you how to win. Sharing keys that helped her through personal battles with depression, insecurity, infertility, and loss, Cora offers strategies to help identify the tactics and agenda of the enemy, and the obstacles to your breakthrough. Ferocious warriors don&’t shrink back from the enemy—they go into his camp and take back everything he stole from them. The book also reveals: How to use the weapons of warfare that are already at your disposalHow to implement the five principles of prayerHow to let your pain push you to your next levelHow to think like a warrior and win even the toughest fights FEATURES AND BENEFITS:Prayers and affirmations to help readers activate their faithHow to experience and maintain deliveranceGuidance to develop the lifestyle of a warrior and sharpen the weapons that bring victory
The Fervent Embrace: Liberal Protestants, Evangelicals, and Israel
by Caitlin CarenenWhen Israel declared its independence in 1948, Harry Truman issued a memo recognizing the Israeli government within eleven minutes. Today, the U.S. and Israel continue on as partners in an at times controversial alliance--an alliance, many argue, that is powerfully influenced by the Christian Right. In The Fervent Embrace, Caitlin Carenen chronicles the American Christian relationship with Israel, tracing first mainline Protestant and then evangelical support for Zionism.In the aftermath of the Holocaust, American liberal Protestants argued that America had a moral humanitarian duty to support Israel. Christian anti-Semitism had helped bring about the Holocaust, they declared, and so Christians must help make amends. Moreover, a stable and democratic Israel would no doubt make the Middle East a safer place for future American interests. Carenen argues that it was this mainline Protestant position that laid the foundation for the current evangelical Protestant support for Israel, which is based primarily on theological grounds.Drawing on previously unexplored archival material from the Central Zionist Archives in Israel, this volume tells the full story of the American Christian-Israel relationship, bringing the various "players"--American liberal Protestants, American Evangelicals, American Jews, and Israelis--together into one historical narrative.
Fervor: A Novel
by Toby LloydA chilling and unforgettable story of a close-knit Jewish family in London pushed to the brink when they suspect their daughter is a witch.Hannah and Eric Rosenthal are devout Jews living in North London with their three children and Eric's father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. Both intellectually gifted and deeply unconventional, the Rosenthals believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament and in the presence of God (and evil) in daily life. As Hannah prepares to publish a sensationalist account of Yosef's years in war-torn Europe—unearthing a terrible secret from his time in the camps—Elsie, her perfect daughter, starts to come undone. And then, in the wake of Yosef&’s death, she disappears. When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is altered in disturbing ways. Witnessing the complete transformation of her daughter, Hannah begins to suspect that Elsie has delved too deep into the labyrinths of Jewish mysticism and gotten lost among shadows. But for Elsie's brother Tovyah, a brilliant but reclusive student struggling to find his place at Oxford, the truth is much simpler: his sister is the product of a dysfunctional family, obsessed with empty rituals, traditions, and unbridled ambition. But who is right? Is religion the cure for the disease or the disease itself? And how can they stop the darkness from engulfing Elsie completely? Alive with both the bristling energy of a great campus novel and the unsettling, ever-shifting ground of a great horror tale, Fervor is at its heart a family story—where personal allegiances compete with obligations to history and to mysterious forces that offer both consolation and devastation.
Fervour
by Toby LloydThe Secret History meets Jewish horror meets Jonathan Safran Foer in this exciting debut novel about a Jewish family in contemporary London.Hannah and Eric are a successful couple living in North London with their three children and Eric's father, Yosef, a survivor of the camps. They are devout Jews who believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament, all except for their youngest son, Tovyah.The death of Yosef fractures the family's apparent harmony and has a disastrous effect on Elsie, the model daughter, who disappears for four days, plunging her parents and siblings into a living nightmare. When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is strangely altered. Witnessing the complete transformation of their daughter's personality and some increasingly hard-to-explain events, Hannah and Eric begin to suspect Elsie is under the influence of black magic while Tovyah, a brilliant university student, believes his sister is suffering a mental collapse caused by his parents' antiquated beliefs. But who is right? And can the family be reconciled before tearing itself apart?(P)2024 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Fervour
by Toby Lloyd'Intriguing, propulsive and profoundly disturbing, this is a fearless look into the dark heart of family politics from a naturally gifted storyteller'JONATHAN COE'Magnificent, indelible . . . That a young British novelist, on his first try, should have so effectively taken up a gauntlet laid down by the greatest American novelist of an era [Toni Morrison] might seem surprising. But maybe not . . . Enriching his story with detail and above all heart, Lloyd has crafted a lasting allegory of our dark historical time'NEW YORK TIMES'Stylish, puzzling, mystical . . . Fervour marks the arrival of an intriguing and intelligent new voice'FINANCIAL TIMES'A suspenseful debut novel that propels the reader deep into the heart of an idiosyncratic family'OBSERVER'A rich and dark stew that mixes ingredients from the Bible and the headlines, with a biting send-up of the vampiric nature of writing itself'DAILY MAIL'Remarkable . . . a work of real poignancy'MAIL ON SUNDAY'Darkly comedic in parts, yet deeply disturbing and utterly compelling, Fervour is an exceptional debut novel'JENNIE GODFREY, AUTHOR OF THE LIST OF SUSPICIOUS THINGSTHE ROSENTHALS ARE NOT LIKE OTHER FAMILIESHannah and Eric are devout Jews living in North London with their three children and Eric's father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. Both intellectually gifted and deeply unconventional, the Rosenthals believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament and in the presence of God (and evil) in daily life.As Hannah prepares to publish a sensationalist account of Yosef's years in war-torn Europe - unearthing a terrible secret from his time in the camps- Elsie, her perfect daughter, starts to come undone. And then, in the wake of Yosef's death, she disappears. When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is altered in disturbing ways.Witnessing the complete transformation of her daughter, Hannah begins to suspect that Elsie has delved too deep into the labyrinths of Jewish mysticism and got lost among shadows. But for Elsie's brother Tovyah, a brilliant but reclusive student at Oxford, the truth is much simpler: his sister is the product of a dysfunctional family, obsessed with empty rituals and unbridled ambition.But who is right? And how can they stop the darkness from engulfing Elsie forever?'Extraordinary. . . A tremendous debut from a strikingly talented new writer'KIRKUS (starred review)'Gripping and powerful . . . Fans of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Stephen King alike will thrill to this superb modern folk tale'PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)'In this debut that explores identity, faith, and folklore . . . the dynamics are acutely observed, the characters vividly realised, and the escalating drama has the hypnotic, chilling effect of a horror film'BOOKSELLER (Editor's Choice)
Festival Cultures: Mapping New Fields in the Arts and Social Sciences
by Maria Nita Jeremy H. KidwellThis book brings together interdisciplinary research from the fields of Anthropology, Sociology, Archaeology, Art, History and Religious Studies, showing the necessity of a transdisciplinary and diachronic approach to examine the last half-century of modern arts and performance festivals. The volume focuses on new theoretical and methodological approaches for the examination of festivals and festival cultures, both the Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert and burner culture in Europe. The editors argue that festival cultures are becoming values-inflected global forms of travel, dwelling, festivity, communication, and social organisation that are transforming contemporary cultures and have significant political capital.
Festival of Freedom: Essays on Pesah and the Haggadah
by Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joel B. Wolowelsky Reuven ZieglerFrom the book: For Rabbi Soloveitchik, the Passover Seder is not simply a formal ritual or ceremonial catechism. Rather, the Seder night is "endowed with a unique and fascinating quality, exalted in [its] holiness and shining with a dazzling beauty." It possesses profound experiential and intellectual dimensions, both of them woven into the fabric of halakhic performance. Its central mitzvah, sippur yetzi'at Mitzrayim, recounting the exodus, is extraordinarily multifaceted, entailing study and teaching, storytelling and symbolic performance, thanksgiving and praise. In these essays on major themes associated with Passover, the Rav explains how the resonances of the Seder extend far beyond the confines of one night. As he sets forth, the Seder teaches us about the Jewish approach to the meal, Torah study, peoplehood, and the nature of freedom. Yetzi'at Mitzrayim is not just the story of an event lying in the distant past. It is the doctrine of the Jewish people, the philosophy of our history. It is the Jewish people's outlook on the world; and to that, the Haggadah says, the entire process of intellectual understanding can be applied. As the Rav explained in one of his many discourses on the Haggadah, the hakham, the creative genius, can behold things that are invisible to others; the navon, the systematizer, can develop and organize a philosophy of Jewish fate and destiny; and the yode'a et ha-Torah, the master of practical application, can apply it to present problems, to our acute situations, to the events of the day.
Festive: Simple recipes, crafts and traditions for the perfect Christmas
by Francesca StoneMake Christmas magicIn this book, you'll find easy, accessible ways to embrace your festive spirit and create lasting memories with the family with a collection of traditions - old and new - including simple recipes, styling tips and crafts to make your celebrations meaningful and beautiful without the big spend.By using traditional, low-cost ingredients to create simple and tasty festive recipes and foraging, recycling, and using inexpensive items from around your home for cosy styling and beautiful crafts to keep or give as gifts, you can have a perfect, budget-friendly and more sustainable Christmas.Recipes will include Mini gingerbread house biscuits, Brie and cranberry waffles, Christmas Cake and Mince pies, with styling tips covering how to dress your front door, tree and shelves, and crafts ranging from honeycomb paper trees to creating needle felted ornaments, recycled wax candles and natural beaded garlands.This is a book you'll reach for year on year.
Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us
by Allen SalkinA brand-new and revised edition of the hilarious guide to the national anti-holiday made famous by Seinfeld, complete with never-before-seen material, photos, and illustrations on how to prepare and enjoy your very own Festivus.
Fethullah Gülen’s Teaching and Practice: Inheritance, Context, and Interactive Development
by Paul WellerThis is the first book of its kind about the Turkish Muslim scholar, Fethullah Gülen, since the July 2016 events in Turkey, the trauma experienced by Gülen, and the disruption to initiatives inspired by his teaching, known as Hizmet. Drawing on primary interviews with Gülen and Hizmet participants and a literature review, this Open Access book locates the clear origins of Gülen’s teaching in the Qur’an and Sunnah in dynamic engagement with their geographical, temporal and existential reception, translation, and onward communication. It argues that as Hizmet cannot be understood apart from Gülen and his teaching, Gülen and his teaching cannot be understood apart from Hizmet, while exploring the heritage of both. A more geographically focused case study is set out in author Paul Weller’s Hizmet in Transitions: European Developments of a Turkish Muslim-Inspired Movement, also published by Palgrave Macmillan (2022).
The Fetish of Theology: The Challenge of the Fetish-Object to Modernity (Radical Theologies and Philosophies)
by Colby DickinsonBy delving into the history of the fetish-object among both modern and contemporary commentators, this book highlights the fetish-object’s role as a philosophical and religious concept of the highest significance. Historically, fetishes are implicated in specific struggles for sovereign (political) and/or religious (hierarchical) power, with their interwoven symbols defined as the primary location for transcendence in our world. This book defines the political consequences of fetish-objects within a western cultural, and primarily theological context through a comparative approach of various literatures on fetish-objects—anthropological to the psychological, Marxist to the theological. It reconceives of fetishes as a form of resistance to oppressive structures, something which motivated Christians themselves historically, and shaped our western understanding of the sacraments far more than has been acknowledged. Taking up this conversation likewise holds forth the possibility of reconceptualizing how fetish-objects and sacramental presences both speak profoundly to our late-modern selves.
The Fetish Revisited: Marx, Freud, and the Gods Black People Make
by J. Lorand MatorySince the early-modern encounter between African and European merchants on the Guinea Coast, European social critics have invoked African gods as metaphors for misplaced value and agency, using the term “fetishism” chiefly to assert the irrationality of their fellow Europeans. Yet, as J. Lorand Matory demonstrates in The Fetish Revisited, Afro-Atlantic gods have a materially embodied social logic of their own, which is no less rational than the social theories of Marx and Freud. Drawing on thirty-six years of fieldwork in Africa, Europe, and the Americas, Matory casts an Afro-Atlantic eye on European theory to show how Marx’s and Freud’s conceptions of the fetish both illuminate and misrepresent Africa’s human-made gods. Through this analysis, the priests, practices, and spirited things of four major Afro-Atlantic religions simultaneously call attention to the culture-specific, materially conditioned, physically embodied, and indeed fetishistic nature of Marx’s and Freud’s theories themselves. Challenging long-held assumptions about the nature of gods and theories, Matory offers a novel perspective on the social roots of these tandem African and European understandings of collective action, while illuminating the relationship of European social theory to the racism suffered by Africans and assimilated Jews alike.
Fetishes of the Floating World
by Don DomanskiGovernor General's Award–winning poet Don Domanski's posthumous last collection once again melds perception-expanding environmental poetry and metaphysics into a seamless, moving lyric whole. Fetishes of the Floating World continues Don's lifelong exploration of mystical ecology. It is an invitation to experience the sacred dimensions of what-is and to become more intimate with the strangeness that haunts our lively, changeable world. Here is a spirituality that doesn't turn its back on the material and immerses us in earthly being. The sustained apprehension of deep time underlies every moment of this work; every moment is held up against that more-than-human span and is relinquished to it. Domanski's full-bodied, incantatory language will penetrate your very marrow, calling you out of yourself to testify to the world's "inclement graces." "Domanski’s poems are intimate, but intimate on a grand scale. As far as I am concerned, there is no better poet writing in English."–Mark Strand on All Our Wonder Unavenged
Fetishizing Tradition: Desire and Reinvention in Buddhist and Christian Narratives
by Alan ColeThis innovative work documents the literary gesture that "fetishizes tradition," making long-standing religious traditions appear present and available through the reading experience. Taking as examples Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Gospel of Mark, the Sūtra on the Land of Bliss (Sukhāvatīvyūha), and the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch (Liuzu tanjing), Alan Cole shows how these texts invite readers into the fantasy that they can leave behind tradition's established rites, rituals, sacrifices, institutions, and festivals in order to take up just the text and its narrative as the key to salvation. Ironically, then, one's salvation is determined by how one receives the (new) message of salvation. Crucial to making these more virtual forms of tradition appear plausible is the reconstruction of tradition's "truth-fathers"—God or the Buddha, as the case may be—so that they appear to endorse the legitimacy of these new ways of being traditional. Relying on a wide body of critical theory, this book presents an intriguing way to rethink key elements in Christian and Buddhist thought.
Fever at Dawn
by Péter GárdosTwenty-five-year-old Holocaust survivor Miklós is being shipped from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp to Gotland, Sweden, to receive treatment at the Larbro Hospital. Here he is sentenced to death again: he is diagnosed with tuberculosis and his doctors inform him that he has six months to live. But Miklós decides to wage war on his own fate: he writes 117 letters to 117 Hungarian girls, all of whom are being treated in the Swedish camps, with the aim of eventually choosing a wife from among them. Two hundred kilometres away, in another Swedish rehabilitation camp, nineteen-year-old Lili receives Miklós’s letter. Since she is bedridden for three weeks due to a serious kidney problem, out of boredom — and curiosity — she decides to write back. The slightly formal exchange of letters becomes increasingly intimate. When the two finally manage to meet, they fall in love and are determined to marry, despite the odds that are against them. Based on the original letters written by Miklós and Lili (ninety-six altogether), Fever at Dawn is a tale of passion, striving, and betrayal; true and false friendships; doubt and faith; and the redeeming power of love.
Fever at Dawn: A Novel
by Péter GárdosAfter World War II, two concentration camp survivors begin a battle for love in this heartwarming, historical novel based on a true story.It&’s 1945, and Miklós is looking for a wife. The fact that he has six months left to live doesn&’t discourage him—he isn&’t one to let small problems like that stand in the way, especially not after he&’s survived a concentration camp. Currently marooned in an all-male sanatorium in Sweden, and desperate to get out, he acquires the names of the 117 Hungarian women also recovering in Sweden and writes each of them a letter in his beautiful cursive hand. Luckily for him, Lili decides to write back…Drawn from the real-life letters of Péter Gárdos&’s parents, and reminiscent of the film Life Is Beautiful, Fever at Dawn is a vibrant, ribald, and unforgettable tale, showing the death-defying power of the human will to live and to love.&“Fever at Dawn has the sweetness of The Rosie Project and the pathos of The Fault in Our Stars…A book to fall in love with.&”—The Herald Sun&“At once heartrending and lighthearted, this romance covers enormous ground in love and war, joy and tragedy.&” — Shelf Awareness, starred review &“A riveting and high-spirited journey from the brink of death toward life, [Fever at Dawn] asserts the power of love.&”—Julie Orringer, author of The Invisible Bridge
Few Call it War: Religious Terrorism, Then and Now
by Robert Michael HicksMost Americans could not fathom how Islamic terrorists could bring down the World Trade Center or an army psychiatrist could turn on his own soldiers, taking their lives in the name of his religion. How could an ex-army veteran blow up a federal building, or a Jewish doctor gun down Muslims at worship? Or how can one understand why a meditation guru would put sarin gas in a Tokyo subway? None of these incidents fit our conceptions of the benevolence of religion. More importantly, is there something inherent within religions that justifies the taking of human lives? In Few Call It War, Dr. Robert Hicks explores these questions and takes the blinders off illuminating the roots of religious violence, what religious terrorists have in common, and how they differ. He focuses on the current administration’s struggle to call ISIS or ISIL what it really is: War. Hicks disagrees with the administration’s slow recognition of this enemy. In reality, this war is not as unique as some might think. It is a modern explosion of ancient religious ideologies that masks its historic roots. As Hicks points out, all major religions have used violence and terrorist methodologies at some points in their histories. Few Call It War reveals how the teachings of religious founders and the sacred writings attributed to them provide rich soil from which contemporary religious clerics and ideologues gain converts. Hicks raises the crucial question often asked: “Is there any difference between a Timothy McVeigh and an Osama bin Laden?” For those making the moral equivalence arguments between various terrorists, Hicks dispels the equivalence with a clear understanding of history and religious ideologies. If one is interested in gaining an answer to the question, “Of all the religions in the world, which are most prone to using violence?” Few Call It War provides a well-reasoned answer that is well worth the read.
A Few Days Full of Trouble: Revelations on the Journey to Justice for My Cousin and Best Friend, Emmett Till
by Reverend Wheeler Parker Christopher BensonThe last surviving witness to the lynching of Emmett Till tells his story, with poignant recollections of Emmett as a boy, critical insights into the recent investigation, and powerful lessons for racial reckoning, both then and now. New York Times Book Review Editors&’ Choice • &“In this moving and important book, the Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. and Christopher Benson give us a unique window onto the anguished search for justice in a case whose implications shape us still.&”—Jon Meacham In 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was lynched. That remains an undisputed fact of the case that ignited a flame within the Civil Rights Movement that has yet to be extinguished. Yet the rest of the details surrounding the event remain distorted by time and too many tellings.What does justice mean in the resolution of a cold case spanning nearly seven decades? In A Few Days Full of Trouble, this question drives a new perspective on the story of Emmett Till, relayed by his cousin and best friend—the Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr., a survivor of the night of terror when young Emmett was taken from his family&’s rural Mississippi Delta home in the dead of night. Rev. Parker offers an emotional and suspenseful page-turner set against a backdrop of reporting errors and manipulations, racial reckoning, and political pushback—and he does so accompanied by never-before-seen findings in the investigation, the soft resurrection of memory, and the battle-tested courage of faith. A Few Days Full of Trouble is a powerful work of truth-telling, a gift to readers looking to reconcile the weight of the past with a hope for the future.
A Few Steps in the Right Direction: Give Yourself the Chance You Deserve
by Kendrick SavageI started writing this book years ago during a very difficult moment in graduate school. I didn't realize it at the time, but writing this book became my way of motivating and encouraging my way through this difficult time. This moment encouraged me to write something that would encourage other people who might also be going through a difficult time. I wanted people to believe in themselves and not to allow the limitations that others place on them or the hardships of life to get the best of them. This book is also my reflection on the power of God and everything He has meant to my life. It is a source of encouragement for anyone and everyone that needs it! This book highlights moments where I had a choice of going either left or right, backwards or forwards, to listen or not to listen, or to give up or keep going. These are inspirational moments and moments of impact. These are the moments I call A Few Steps in the Right Direction! We all have these moments. Moments that somehow leave a lasting impact on the direction of our lives. Some come out of nowhere, whereas others we see coming like headlights on a dark road. Nevertheless, if handled carefully, these moments can serve as a few steps in the right direction if we allow them to. So, in this book, I aim to share some of those moments with you from my life and what that has meant for my journey. I hope it blesses you as much as it blessed me.
Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality: From popular culture to religion (Routledge Inform Series on Minority Religions and Spiritual Movements)
by Carole M. Cusack Pavol KosnáčThe twentieth century was a period of rapid change for religion. Secularisation resulted in a dramatic fall in church attendance in the West, and the 1950s and 1960s saw the introduction of new religions including the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the Church of Scientology, and the Children of God. New religions were regarded with suspicion by society in general and Religious Studies scholars alike until the 1990s, when the emergence of a second generation of 'new new' religions – based on popular cultural forms including films, novels, computer games and comic books – and highly individualistic spiritualities confirmed the utter transformation of the religio-spiritual landscape. Indeed, Scientology and ISKCON appeared almost traditional and conservative when compared to the radically de-institutionalised, eclectic, parodic, fun-loving and experimental fiction-based, invented and hyper-real religions. In this book, scholarly treatments of cutting-edge religious and spiritual trends are brought into conversation with contributions by representatives of Dudeism, the Church of All Worlds, the Temple of the Jedi Order and Tolkien spirituality groups. This book will simultaneously entertain, shock, challenge and delight scholars of religious studies, as well as those with a wider interest in new religious movements.