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The Burn Zone: A Memoir
by Renee LinnellAfter seven years of faithfully following her spiritual teacher, Renee Linnell finally realized she was in a cult and had been severely brainwashed. But how did that happen to someone like her? She had graduated magna cum laude with a double degree. She had traveled to nearly fifty countries alone before she turned thirty-five. She was a surf model and a professional Argentine tango dancer. She had started five different companies and had an MBA from NYU. How could someone like her end up brainwashed and in a cult? The Burn Zone is an exploration of how we give up our power―how what started out as a need to heal from the loss of her parents and to understand the big questions in life could leave a young woman fighting for her sanity and her sense of self. In the years following her departure from the cult, Linnell struggled to reclaim herself, to stand in her truth, and to rebuild her life. And eventually, after battling depression and isolation, she found a way to come out the other side stronger than ever. Part inspirational story, part cautionary tale, this is a memoir for spiritual seekers and those who feel lost in a world that makes them feel less than perfect.
The Burning Heart: Evangelist
by Arthur Skevington WoodHere in this classic work A. Skevington Wood has the advantage of the British perspective and yet he provides a reliable interpretation of Wesley's own theological thinking. Wood also rightly notes that the key to understanding Wesley is to see him as an evangelist. This interpretative theme is the prism for seeing the whole Wesley. Wood's profound appreciation for Wesley allows him to penetrate insightfully into the central concerns and contributions of Wesley. The decisive contribution of this book is that it gives the reader a clear and straightforward account of the ancestry, life, and theology of John Wesley and it does so all in one volume.
The Burning Land (Way of Ârata #1)
by Victoria StraussIn a hidden desert sanctuary, the sorcerer-priest of a reborn faith uncovers dark truths about his world and its masters in the first book of Victoria Strauss&’s fantasy masterwork, the Way of Ârata A realm long held in the iron grasp of godless tyrants, Arsace is finally free to worship its beloved, once-outlawed deity, Ârata. But decades of cruelty and oppression have left their mark—evidenced not only by the desecrated Âratist temples throughout the holy city of Baushpar but by the widespread mistrust and suspicion that has lately fallen on the Shapers, the powerful mages whose magic is beholden to no religious or government institution. Both a Shaper and a deeply devout priest, Gyalo Amdo Samchen has embarked on a great mission into the sacred Burning Land to rescue the renegades who, years before, fled into the desert to escape the city&’s madness—among them the Dreamer Axane, who dares not reveal her forbidden visions of a world beyond. But shocking truths await Gyalo in the hidden sanctuary of Refuge—and what he learns there of his quest, his land, its leaders, and its faith will cause him to question everything he fervently believes while providing the terrible spark that could ignite the war to end all wars. In a magnificent feat of world building, Victoria Strauss has created a unique, vividly imagined land, society, and religious culture while spinning a riveting tale of duty, revelation, destiny, and magic that places her in the top ranks of contemporary fantasists.
The Burning Saints: Cognition and Culture in the Fire-walking Rituals of the Anastenaria (Religion, Cognition and Culture)
by Dimitris XygalatasThe Anastenaria are Orthodox Christians in Northern Greece who observe a unique annual ritual cycle focused on two festivals, dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen. The festivals involve processions, music, dancing, animal sacrifices, and culminate in an electrifying fire-walking ritual. Carrying the sacred icons of the saints, participants dance over hot coals as the saint moves them. 'The Burning Saints' presents an analysis of these rituals and the psychology behind them. Based on long-term fieldwork, 'The Burning Saints' traces the historical development and sociocultural context of the Greek fire-walking rituals. As a cognitive ethnography, the book aims to identify the social, psychological and neurobiological factors which may be involved and to explore the role of emotional and physiological arousal in the performance of such ritual. A study of participation, experience and meaning, 'The Burning Saints' presents a highly original analysis of how mental processes can shape social and religious behaviour.
The Burning Season: A Novel
by Alison Wisdom"This masterful novel combines readable, lyrical prose with a compelling plot and complex characters. . . . Wisdom weaves these tangled threads with overarching themes of how the patriarchy controls women’s minds and bodies." —Booklist (Starred Review)The acclaimed author of We Can Only Save Ourselves returns with an urgent and unsettling story that journeys into the heart of religious fanaticism and cult behavior as it probes one woman’s struggle to define life on her own terms.“Here comes trouble,” Rosemary’s high school English teacher used to say whenever he saw her. Rosemary has often felt like trouble, and now at thirty-two, her marriage to her college sweetheart, Paul, is crumbling. In a last-ditch attempt to restore it, she agrees to give herself over to a newly formed Christian sect in central Texas, run by charismatic young pastor Papa Jake. While Paul acclimates quickly to the small town of Dawson and the church’s insistence on a strict set of puritanical rules, Rosemary struggles to fit in. She finds purpose only when she’s called upon to help Julie, a new mother in the community, who is feeling isolated and lost.Then the community is rocked by a series of fires which take some church members’ homes and nearly take their lives, but which Papa Jake says are holy and a representation of God’s will. As the fires spread, and Julie is betrayed in a terrible way, Rosemary begins to question the reality of her life, and wonders if trouble will always find her—or if she’ll ever be able to outrun it.
The Burning Time: Henry VIII, Bloody Mary and the Protestant Martyrs of London
by Virginia RoundingSmithfield, settled on the fringes of Roman London, was once a place of revelry. Jesters and crowds flocked for the medieval St Bartholomew's Day celebrations, tournaments were plentiful and it became the location of London's most famous meat market. Yet in Tudor England, Smithfield had another, more sinister use: the public execution of heretics.The Burning Time is a vivid insight into an era in which what was orthodoxy one year might be dangerous heresy the next. The first martyrs were Catholics, who cleaved to Rome in defiance of Henry VIII's break with the papacy. But with the accession of Henry's daughter Mary - soon to be nicknamed 'Bloody Mary' - the charge of heresy was leveled against devout Protestants, who chose to burn rather than recant.At the center of Virginia Rounding's vivid account of this extraordinary period are two very different characters. The first is Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell's protégé, who, almost uniquely, remained in a position of great power, influence and wealth under three Tudor monarchs, and who helped send many devout men and women to their deaths. The second is John Deane, Rector of St Bartholomew's, who was able, somehow, to navigate the treacherous waters of changing dogma and help others to survive.The Burning Time is their story, but it is also the story of the hundreds of men and women who were put to the fire for their faith.
The Burnout Antidote: A Spiritual Guide to Empowerment for Empaths, Over-Givers, and Highly Sensitive People
by Anne BerubeRestore Your Core Essence, Find Emotional Freedom, and ThriveUse your body as an instrument for accelerated transformation and growth with this powerful guide to overcoming burnout. Anne Bérubé helps you access your innate capacity to heal and shows you that your burnout can become a gateway to embodied wisdom and vitality. This book empowers you through a variety of practical tools and exercises, including breath work, meditations, visualizations, and self-inquiry. Learn to overcome obstacles and gain access to limitless spiritual energy. Discover how to communicate with your inner child and reclaim the fragmented parts of yourself. With this book, you can tune in to your natural gifts and recover from burnout.
The Burnt Book: Reading the Talmud
by Marc-Alain OuakninA profound look at what it means for new generations to read and interpret ancient religious texts In this book, rabbi and philosopher Marc-Alain Ouaknin offers a postmodern reading of the Talmud. Combining traditional learning and contemporary thought, Ouaknin dovetails discussions of spirituality and religious practice with such concepts as deconstruction, intertextuality, undecidability, multiple voicing, and eroticism in the Talmud. On a broader level, he establishes a dialogue between Hebrew tradition and the social sciences, which draws, for example, on the works of Lévinas, Blanchot, and Jabès as well as Derrida. The Burnt Book represents the innovative thinking that has come to be associated with a school of French Jewish studies, headed by Lévinas and dedicated to new readings of traditional texts.The Talmud, transcribed in 500 C.E., is shown to be a text that refrains from dogma and instead encourages the exploration of its meanings. A vast compilation of Jewish oral law, the Talmud also contains rabbinical commentaries that touch on everything from astronomy to household life. Examining its literary methods and internal logic, Ouaknin explains how this text allows readers to transcend its authority in that it invites them to interpret, discuss, and recreate their religious tradition. An in-depth treatment of selected texts from the oral law and commentary goes on to provide a model for secular study of the Talmud in light of contemporary philosophical issues.Throughout, the author emphasizes the self-effacing quality of a text whose worth can be measured by the insights that live on in the minds of its interpreters long after they have closed the book. He points out that the burning of the Talmud in anti-Judaic campaigns throughout history has, in fact, been an unwitting act of complicity with Talmudic philosophy and the practice of self-effacement. Ouaknin concludes his discussion with the story of the Hasidic master Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav, who himself burned his life achievement—a work known by his students as "the Burnt Book." This story leaves us with the question, should all books be destroyed in order to give birth to thought and renew meaning?
The Bushman Way of Tracking God: The Original Spirituality of the Kalahari People
by Bradford KeeneyFrom &“the Indiana Jones of the spiritual world&” (Utne Reader)—a groundbreaking look at original spirituality with a unique and all-encompassing approach to life that comes from the world&’s most ancient religion.The Kalahari Bushmen are the keepers of the world&’s oldest living culture. In spite of colossal challenges and never-ending crises, they have survived for over 60,000 years with joy and peace—yet their spiritual teachings, the source of their enduring wisdom, have never been fully presented. For the first time, these ancient oral traditions have been put down onto paper taking you through the veil of original spirituality, connecting the fragments of world religions to a source that is unlike any other. Through this wisdom, you can find the deepest meaning, fullest purpose, and highest joy in life. The Bushman&’s Way to Tracking God is articulated through twelve original mysteries, including: activating the non-subtle universal life force (what the Bushmen call n/om), heightening emotional experience, vibratory interaction, direct downloading and absorption of sacred knowledge, extraordinary healing, activation of the ecstatic &“pump,&” spontaneous ways of rejuvenation, attending the spiritual classrooms, so-called telepathy, an uncommon range of mystical experiences, and last but not least, total bliss.
The Business Francis Means: Understanding the Pope's Message on the Economy
by Martin SchlagAn overview of Pope Francis&’s teachings on money and morality that bridges the gap between political sides. Pope Francis, generally speaking, has thus far chosen to concentrate his papacy on social justice issues, as opposed to doctrinal or liturgical issues. This has led to Francis being hailed as a hero to many on the left, while it has made some conservative supporters of St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI disappointed and uncomfortable, even as they love and appreciate his person and gestures of mercy and compassion. Some find his teachings difficult to embrace, especially those concerning business and the economy. Pope Francis has spoken of building bridges as part of what it is to be Christian, but aspects of his message seem to be just constructing walls between the Holy Father and groups of the faithful. The Business Francis Means aims to break through these walls, showing that Pope Francis has something to say to all Christians. His message, taken as a whole, keeps us from dividing the &“seamless garment&” of Christ: he reminds the conservatives of the problems of inequality and poverty, and the liberals that social justice is not enough—the Church is the bride of Christ, not a social institution or an NGO. Martin Schlag summarizes and explains the message of Pope Francis on business and the economy in this compact volume. The Business Francis Means will be of great interest to the Catholic layperson, especially one involved in political or economic life.
The Business Of The Church: The Uncomfortable Truth That Faithful Ministry Requires Effective Management
by John W. Wimberly Jr.Pastors are called to be not only leaders with vision, but also managers of congregational systems, says John Wimberly in The Business of the Church. Drawing on his thirty-six years in ordained ministry, Wimberly weaves the realities of congregational dynamics and faith-centered purpose together with practical, proven approaches to business management. A student and friend of Rabbi Edwin Friedman, Wimberly builds on Friedman's systems theory as he helps readers avoid common pitfalls and put into practice effective techniques of congregational management. The book begins with a foundational discussion of how a systems approach helps congregational managers identify areas of dysfunction and effective solutions. Managing the critical 'inputs' of people, facilities, and finances has a direct bearing on the desired 'outputs' of proclamation, pastoral care, and mission. A strategic plan, through which a congregation sets its goals and identifies and prioritizes resources, is an essential management tool for both pastors and lay leaders. The author's conversational writing style and many real-life examples make a seemingly complicated, mysterious topic for some an engaging and easily applicable read.
The Business of Heaven
by C. S. LewisA journey through the ecclesiastical year with Christianity's most eloquent and inspiring spokesman. "A potent anthology" (Los Angeles Times). Edited and with a Preface by Walter Hooper.
The Business of Heaven: Daily Readings
by C. S. LewisA repackaged edition of Lewis’s classic reading collection—reminiscent of the bestselling A Year with C. S. Lewis—featuring 365 selections from his writings that explore our connection to God.C. S. Lewis, author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics, considers humankind’s spiritual journey in this collection of wise, meditative excerpts and writings. In these daily reflections, the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, and Christian apologist, explores a range of connected themes, including "the serious business of heaven," "Nearness to God," "Heaven and Sexuality," and "Two Kinds of Good and Bad."
The Business of Identity: Jews, Muslims, and Economic Life in Medieval Egypt
by Phillip I. Ackerman-LiebermanThe Cairo Geniza is the largest and richest store of documentary evidence for the medieval Islamic world. This book seeks to revolutionize the way scholars use that treasure trove. Phillip I. Ackerman-Lieberman draws on legal documents from the Geniza to reconceive of life in the medieval Islamic marketplace. In place of the shared practices broadly understood by scholars to have transcended confessional boundaries, he reveals how Jewish merchants in Egypt employed distinctive trading practices. Highly influenced by Jewish law, these commercial practices served to manifest their Jewish identity in the medieval Islamic context. In light of this distinctiveness, Ackerman-Lieberman proposes an alternative model for using the Geniza documents as a tool for understanding daily life in the medieval Islamic world as a whole.
The Business of Ministry: How to Maximize God's Resources for Kingdom Impact
by Jeff SimmonsWhen Jeff Simmons started in ministry, he was surprised at how much of his time involved business. Yet business was never a part of his theological education.He&’s not alone. Most people in ministry receive little or no training in this area. When faced with multiple business decisions and tasks a day, leaders can become discouraged or frustrated.We need help and guidance to become effective and wise stewards of the money and resources entrusted to us by God. Pastor and entrepreneur Jeff Simmons equips you with the training you need to have the greatest kingdom impact. When pastors and nonprofit leaders are good at the business side of their ministry, more people can be blessed and supported.Simmons explores topics such as:The Tension between Faith and BusinessThe Importance of Strategic PlanningFinancial TransparencyResources and BuildingsWork and Life BalanceDeveloping a Community—and moreThis book will help every ministry, church, and nonprofit maximize their resources for greater kingdom impact.
The Busy Grandma's Guide to Prayer: A Guided Prayer Journal
by Lisa Whelchel Genny ColemanScores of people attribute their faith to a "praying grandmother." That's why Lisa Whelchel teamed up with her mother, the grandmother of her children, to create this guided prayer journal for the busy grandma. In just ten minutes a day, even the busiest grandma can pray through six prayer categories, and in one month bring nearly one hundred and fifty matters before her heavenly Father. This you-can-do-it guide offers prompts that can be used for each grandma's special needs. Everyone knows what a difference grandmothers make in their families; through prayer, those differences will last for eternity.
The Busy Mom's Devotional: 10 Minutes a Week to a Life of Devotion
by Lisa Tawn BergrenFrom this best-selling author comes a 52-week devotional guide designed to help busy but spiritually-hungry women carve out time each week for God. The Busy Mom's Devotional makes a vibrant, growing relationship with God seem do-able, and shows that the life-lessons Christ taught to a handful of fishermen are just as applicable to moms driving minivans and making corporate decisions. In the time it takes to empty an e-mail inbox or drive a child to soccer practice, Lisa T. Bergren draws harried women God-ward with 10-minute devotions including Scripture, real life illustrations, and reflective questions to think on through the day and week. Using this heartfelt, insightful guide, readers can begin the lifetime habit of devotion, even when time is at a premium.
The Busy Mom's Guide to Bible Study
by Lisa WhelchelA Bible Study Plan for the Busiest Mom! The Busy Mom's Guide to Bible Study is an amazing Bible study tool specifically aimed at moms. What makes it so remarkable is the way author Lisa Whelchel has packed twenty solid Bible study tools into a five-day-a-week, fifteen-minute-a-day, anybody-can-do-it plan. Not only is this plan doable, it's satisfying. As a busy mom, you give of yourself all day long - often with no way to refresh and replenish the cravings of your own soul. But this simple three-month, come-along-beside-you guide will take you deep into the Word, nourishing your heart and soul. And in just three months, you will be a changed woman - changed by the power of God's word in you.
The Busy Mom's Guide to Prayer: A Guided Prayer Journal
by Lisa WhelchelSurely you know someone who is an amazing prayer warrior but finds herself caught in the battle of day-to-day chores...and then winds up feeling like she has short-changed her prayer life because she has been slaying the dragons that cross her path in daily life. She's one of the busiest people you know, who truly cares about the people in her life...and in her children's lives...and in her friends' lives. Lisa Whelchel has now given us (and our prayer warrior friends) a tool that can be used to leverage those rare and treasured moments of free time when we want to pray, but simply don't know where to begin. The Busy Mom's Guide to Prayer helps organize our prayer priorities so that we can pray in a practical and effective way and be confident that our petitions are covering people and issues that are important to us. Lisa has provided the framework, you get to provide the content, and the Holy Spirit will provide the power!
The Busy Mom's Guide to Wisdom GIFT
by Lisa WhelchelDrawing from the Book of Proverbs, the former star of The Facts of Life, who now leads the fast-paced life of a wife, mother, speaker, and author, invites readers to consider how these ancient words of wisdom are applicable in raising young children today. Grateful to have these guidelines to live out the privilege of parenting, Whelchel turns to this supernatural advice to take on the sometimes superhuman task of loving, nurturing, discipling, and disciplining children. Organized as quick-reads for mothers with precious little free time while caring for their precious little ones, it's a smart selection for wise moms.
The Butcher's Daughter: A Novel
by Victoria GlendinningThe atmospheric novel set during the Tudor era of a young woman’s struggle to define herself in a world of uncertainty, intrigue, and danger in a period of great upheaval In 1535, England is hardly a wellspring of gender equality; it is a grim and oppressive age where women—even the privileged few who can read and write—have little independence. In The Butcher’s Daughter, it is this milieu that mandates Agnes Peppin, daughter of a simple country butcher, to leave her family home in disgrace and live out her days cloistered behind the walls of the Shaftesbury Abbey. But with her great intellect, she becomes the assistant to the Abbess and as a result integrates herself into the unstable royal landscape of King Henry VIII. As Agnes grapples with the complex rules and hierarchies of her new life, King Henry VIII has proclaimed himself the new head of the Church. Religious houses are being formally subjugated and monasteries dissolved, and the great Abbey is no exception to the purge. The cosseted world in which Agnes has carved out for herself a sliver of liberty is shattered. Now, free at last to be the master of her own fate, she descends into a world she knows little about, using her wits and testing her moral convictions against her need to survive by any means necessary . . . The Butcher’s Daughter is the riveting story of a young woman facing head-on the obstacles carefully constructed against her sex. This dark and affecting novel by award-winning author Victoria Glendinning intricately depicts the lives of women in the sixteenth century in a world dominated by men, perfect for fans of Wolf Hall and Philippa Gregory.
The Butcher's Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town
by Helmut Walser SmithThe book provides an excellent look at a true crime incident that led to unproven accusations followed by anti-Semitic rioting and acts of violence against the Jewish population.
The Butterfly
by Patricia PolaccoEver since the Nazis marched into Monique's small French village, terrorizing it, nothing surprises her, until the night Monique encounters the little ghost sitting at the end of her bed. She turns out to be a girl named Sevrine, who has been hiding from the Nazis in Monique?s basement. Playing after dark, the two become friends, until, in a terrifying moment, they are discovered, sending both of their families into a nighttime flight.
The Butterfly Farm
by Diane NobleNewly widowed Harriet MacIver has just taken on her first travel writing assignmenturating an adventure cruise in the Caribbean. Add a gaggle of college students on a mini semester-at-sea voyage, a rusting hulk of a ship that misses more ports than it makes, and two deaths by poisonous butterfly, and Harriet is off and running on a hair-raising adventure. And that's before two coeds, Kate and Carly, go missinguCarly being her boss's daughter. Pulled into a dangerous web of bioethical intrigue, Harriet races against time. If the killer isn't stopped, Kate and Carly will dieuand that may only be the beginning of his plans for destruction. With scant clues and fewer resources, Harriet must track down the college girlsuand outmaneuver a murderer who is only part of an elaborate plot of medical madness. Travel writing certainly isn't what Harriet thought it would be. Spiked with suspense and bioethical intrigue, The Butterfly Farm invites you to solve a Caribbean puzzle with travel's most delightful woman of mystery.
The Butterfly Mosque: A Memoir
by G. Willow Wilson“The extraordinary story of an all-American girl’s conversion to Islam and her ensuing romance with a young Egyptian man, “The Butterfly Mosque” is a stunning articulation of a Westerner embracing the Muslim world. When G. Willow Wilson already an accomplished writer on modern religion and the Middle East at just twenty-seven leaves her atheist parents in Denver to study at Boston University, she enrolls in an Islamic Studies course that leads to her shocking conversion to Islam and sends her on a fated journey across continents and into an uncertain future. She settles in Cairo where she teaches English and submerges herself in a culture based on her adopted religion. And then she meets Omar, a passionate young man with a mild resentment of the Western influences in his homeland. They fall in love, entering into a daring relationship that calls into question the very nature of family, belief, and tradition. Torn between the secular West and Muslim East, Willow records her intensely personal struggle to forge a third culture” that might accommodate her own values without compromising the friends and family on both sides of the divide.