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The Biology of Sin: Grace, Hope, and Healing for Those Who Feel Trapped
by Matthew S. StanfordThere are heated discussions happening on the conflict between science and faith. This disagreement tends to focus around three main issues, one of them being what causes our sinful behavior. The intense conflict has to do with biblically defined sinful behaviors and if there just might be a biological predisposition for these behaviors. The Biology of Sin speaks to this debate and hopefully brings some resolution to the conflict. As both a Christian and a neuroscientist, Dr. Stanford has seen scientific knowledge distorted to justify sinful behavior and perhaps more disturbingly, he has seen Christians misuse Scripture to demonize and alienate the very ones they should be reaching out to. He suggests that the underlying cause of this problem in the church is a lack of knowledge, both of basic brain function and scriptural teaching. The Biology of Sin discusses sinful behaviors, including adultery, rage, addiction, and homosexuality, asking of each: What does science say, and what does the Bible say about this behavior? He then attempts to reconcile the fact that biological predispositions do play a role in behavior which the Bible defines as sinful while always emphasizing the authority of God's Holy Word and the abundant grace he has for those struggling with habitual sin.
The Biology of Transcendence: A Blueprint of the Human Spirit
by Joseph Chilton PearceUses new research about the brain to explore how we can transcend our current physical and cultural limitations • Reveals that transcendence of current modes of existence requires the dynamic interaction of our fourth and fifth brains (intellect and intelligence) • Explores the idea that Jesus, Lao-tzu, and other great beings in history are models of nature’s possibility and our ability to achieve transcendence • 17,000 sold in hardcover since April 2002 Why do we seem stuck in a culture of violence and injustice? How is it that we can recognize the transcendent ideal represented by figures such as Jesus, Lao-tzu, and many others who have walked among us and yet not seem to reach the same state? In The Biology of Transcendence Joseph Chilton Pearce examines the current biological understanding of our neural organization to address how we can go beyond the limitations and constraints of our current capacities of body and mind--how we can transcend. Recent research in the neurosciences and neurocardiology identifies the four neural centers of our brain and indicates that a fifth such center is located in the heart. This research reveals that the evolutionary structure of our brain and its dynamic interactions with our heart are designed by nature to reach beyond our current evolutionary capacities. We are quite literally, made to transcend. Pearce explores how this “biological imperative” drives our life into ever-greater realms of being--even as the “cultural imperative” of social conformity and behavior counters this genetic heritage, blocks our transcendent capacities, and breeds violence in all its forms. The conflict between religion and spirit is an important part of this struggle. But each of us may overthrow these cultural imperatives to reach “unconflicted behavior,” wherein heart and mind-brain resonate in synchronicity, opening us to levels of possibility beyond the ordinary.
Biology of Wonder: Aliveness, Feeling and the Metamorphosis of Science
by Andreas WeberThe disconnection between humans and nature is perhaps one of the most fundamental problems faced by our species today. The schism between us and the natural world is arguably the root cause of most of the environmental catastrophes unraveling around us. However, until we come to terms with the depths of our alienation, we will continue to fail to understand that what happens to nature also happens to us.In Healing Ecology author Andreas Weber proposes a new approach to the biological sciences that puts the human back in nature. He argues that feelings and emotions, far from being superfluous to the study of organisms, are the very foundation of life. From this basic premise flows the development of a "poetic ecology" which intimately connects our species to everything that surrounds us--showing that subjectivity and imagination are prerequisits of biological existence.Healing Ecology demonstrates that there is no separation between us and the world we inhabit, and in so doing it validates the essence of our deep experience. By reconciling science with meaning, expression and emotion, this landmark work brings us to a crucial understanding of our place in the rich and diverse framework of life-a revolution for biology as groundbreaking as the theory of relativity for physics. Dr. Andreas Weber is a German academic, scholar and author. He is a leader in the emerging fields of "biopoetics" and "biosemiotics," and his work has been translated into several languages and published around the globe.
Biology Through the Eyes of Faith
by Richard T. WrightNewly Revised The Council of Christian Colleges and Universities Series Stressing the biblical message of stewardship, biologist Richard T. Wright celebrates the study of God's creation and examines the interaction of the life sciences with society in medicine, genetics, and the environment. The author brings a biblical perspective to theories on origins, contrasting creationism, intelligent design, and evolution. Highlighting the unique nature of biology and its interaction with Christian thought, Wright demonstrates that Christian stewardship can be the key to a sustainable future. This comprehensive work, one of a series cosponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, addresses the needs of the Christian student of biology to align science and faith. It demonstrates that the study of biology penetrates to the core of human existence and has much to contribute to the construction of a consistent Christian worldview.
Biopolitiken – Regierungen des Lebens heute: Regierungen Des Lebens Heute (Politologische Aufklärung – konstruktivistische Perspektiven)
by Helene Gerhards Kathrin BraunDas Buch versammelt konstruktivistische Perspektiven auf das Konzept „Biopolitik“. Dadurch werden die Analysepotentiale für aktuelle Phänomene, die den Zusammenhang zwischen dem Leben und dem Lebendigen und der Regierbarmachung betreffen, ausgelotet. Im Fokus stehen die Strategien und die Objekte der Regierungs- und Regulierungsbemühungen: In welcher Weise werden gesellschaftliche Probleme konstruiert und bestimmten „Zielscheiben“ zugeschrieben? Welche Subjektivierungsformen lassen sich im Rahmen biopolitischer Zugriffe ausmachen? Inwiefern spielen spezifische sozialtheoretische Überlegungen und Konzeptionen von Zeit für biopolitische Strategien und Konflikte eine Rolle? An welchen Gegenständen sind die fortdauernden Konflikte, die sich im Spannungsfeld zwischen Medizin, Ethik und Politik ergeben, zu explizieren?
Biotechnology, Human Nature, and Christian Ethics (New Studies in Christian Ethics)
by Gerald McKennyIn public debates over biotechnology, theologians, philosophers, and political theorists have proposed that biotechnology could have significant implications for human nature. They argue that ethical evaluations of biotechnologies that might affect human nature must take these implications into account. In this book, Gerald McKenny examines these important yet controversial arguments, which have in turn been criticized by many moral philosophers and professional bioethicists. He argues that Christian ethics is, in principle, committed to some version of the claim that human nature has normative status in relation to biotechnology. Showing how both criticisms and defences of this claim have often been facile, he identifies, develops, and critically evaluates three versions of the claim, and contributes a fourth, distinctively Christian version to the debate. Focusing on Christian ethics in conversation with secular ethics, McKenny's book is the first thorough analysis of a controversial contemporary issue.
Birch Hollow Schoolmarm (Dora's Diary #1)
by Carrie BenderPopular author Carrie Bender begins a new series about Dora, the adopted daughter of Miriam and Nate (in Miriam's Journal). Join Dora as she runs around with the Amish youth, then makes peace with her parents and church.
A Bird in Flight Leaves No Trace: The Zen Teaching of Huangbo with a Modern Commentary
by Seon Master SubulPenetrate the nature of mind with this contemporary Korean take on a classic of Zen literature.The message of the Tang-dynasty Zen text in this volume seems simple: to gain enlightenment, stop thinking there is something you need to practice. For the Chinese master Huangbo Xiyun (d. 850), the mind is enlightenment itself if we can only let go of our normal way of thinking. The celebrated translation of this work by John Blofeld, The Zen Teaching of Huang Po, introduced countless readers to Zen over the last sixty years. Huangbo’s work is also a favorite of contemporary Zen (Korean: Seon) Master Subul, who has revolutionized the strict monastic practice of koans and adapted it for lay meditators in Korea and around the world to make swift progress in intense but informal retreats. Devoting themselves to enigmatic questions with their whole bodies, retreatants are frustrated in their search for answers and arrive thereby at a breakthrough experience of their own buddha nature. A Bird in Flight Leaves No Trace is a bracing call for the practitioner to let go and thinking and unlock the buddha within.
Bird Medicine: The Sacred Power of Bird Shamanism
by Evan T. PritchardExplores the living spiritual tradition surrounding birds in Native American culture • Pairs scholarly research with more than 200 firsthand accounts of bird signs from traditional Native Americans and their descendants • Examines the legends, wisdom, and powers of the birds known as the gatekeepers of the four directions—Eagle, Hawk, Crow, and Owl • Provides many examples of bird sign interpretations and human-bird communication that can be applied in your own encounters with birds Birds are our strongest allies in the natural world. Revered in Native American spirituality and shamanic traditions around the world, birds are known as teachers, guardians, role models, counselors, healers, clowns, peacemakers, and meteorologists. They carry messages and warnings from loved ones and the spirit world, report deaths and injuries, and channel divine intelligence to answer our questions. Some of their “signs” are so subtle that one could discount them as subjective, but others are dramatic enough to strain even a skeptic’s definition of coincidence. Pairing scholarly research with more than 200 firsthand accounts of bird encounters from traditional Native Americans and their descendants, Evan Pritchard explores the living spiritual tradition surrounding birds in Native American culture. He examines in depth the birds known as the gatekeepers of the four directions--Eagle in the North, Hawk in the East, Crow in the South, and Owl in the West--including their roles in legends and the use of their feathers in shamanic rituals. He reveals how the eagle can be a direct messenger of the Creator, why crows gather in “Crow Councils,” and how shamans have the ability to travel inside of birds, even after death. Expanding his study to the wisdom and gifts of birds beyond the four gatekeepers, such as hummingbirds, seagulls, and the mythical thunderbird, he provides numerous examples of everyday bird sign interpretations that can be applied in your own encounters with birds as well as ways we can help protect birds and encourage them to communicate with us.
A Bird on the Wing
by Osho Osho International FoundationEleven classic anecdotes provide starting points to demonstrate the relevance of Zen to every aspect of 21st-century life. From the professor so full of his own ideas that he has no room for any new learning, to the monastery cook who solves a koan by kicking over a jug of water, readers will see themselves, their friends, and even modern-day celebrities and politicians reflected in the characters who populate these fascinating Zen stories. In each chapter, following the discussion of the story at hand, Osho responds to questions from his audience about matters of love, life, relationships, and "the search." Throughout the book he emphasizes the importance both of honoring our "roots" in the simple pleasures of everyday life, and nourishing the "wings" that allow us to experience our connection with that which is universal, transcendent, and eternal.
A Bird's Eye
by Cary FaganShortlisted for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and selected as an Amazon.ca Best Book. With all the wonder of a small-scale The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay comes this moving and unforgettable novel about childhood, love, and magic. Growing up in a Jewish neighbourhood in the 1930s, young Benjamin Kleeman falls in love, first with Corrine Foster and then with magic. Hiding his new passions from his parents — the long-suffering Bella, an Italian immigrant, and Jacob, a talented but failed inventor of elaborate mechanical devices — Benjamin begins apprenticeships in magic and life itself, learning along the way that everything is more complicated than it seems. With wit, tenderness, humour, and, startling beauty, Cary Fagan brings a gifted young man’s rise to a peculiar kind of stardom, wonderfully alive.
Birds of a Feather (Mysteries of Sparrow Island)
by Carolyn GreeneWHILE PLANTING HUCKLEBERRY and rose bushes in her parents' backyard, Abigail Stanton is startled by the discovery of a padlocked metal box. When no one in her family lays claim to it, Abby begins a search for its owner. Who could have buried it at Stanton Farm ... and why? But it's what's inside the box that makes this mystery all the more puzzling. Meanwhile, can Abby help her new friend Ida escape a destructive relationship and find her way back to God? MYSTERIES OF SPARROW ISLAND: MeetAbigail Stanton, ornithologist, bird-watcher and a keen observer who brings a sharp eye to bear on the secrets that lie hidden on Sparrow Island, a place of extraordinary natural beauty in the San Juan Islands. Abby has a knack for finding her way into the middle of mysteries full of excitement and intrigue... but also inspired by hope and faith.
Birds of Pray: The Story of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Faith, Brotherhood, and Super Bowl Victory
by Rob Maaddi Carson WentzHigh Stakes, Deep Faith, and Unbreakable BrotherhoodThey were the first No. 1 seed in NFL history to enter the playoffs as an underdog. Their star quarterback was out with a season-ending knee injury. Five-time Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots towered over them. But public opinion didn't matter to the Philadelphia Eagles. They believed in each other. The band of Christian brothers on the team believed in the God of the impossible, and they played for an audience of One.The most extensive book to explore the Christian faith shared by many of the team's players, Birds of Pray details the incredible inside story behind the Eagles' capture of the biggest prize in professional sports: the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Through exclusive interviews with the players, never-before-seen photos, and insider accounts of the miracle season's most memorable moments, Philly native and Associated Press sportswriter Rob Maaddi reveals a side of the team the world has yet to fully witness.From an impromptu baptism in the team's cold tub to weekly Bible studies and pre-game prayers, to the unique friendship between star quarterback Carson Wentz and back-up-then-MVP Nick Foles - the Eagles excel in the unexpected. Birds of Pray follows the deep faith shared among players, the high stakes they faced together, and their relentless reliance on Christ who gives all strength in moments of crisis and celebration alike. The result is a boldly inspiring, entertaining read that will challenge readers to go deeper in their faith, dream bigger, and live with renewed courage for whatever odds life stacks against them.
Birds - A Spiritual Field Guide: Explore the Symbology and Significance of These Divine Winged Messengers
by Arin Murphy-HiscockBirds are all around us-building nests for their eggs, perching on a nearby tree branch, floating freely on a breath of wind. But do you ever feel like a bird might be trying to connect with you-or even tell you something? This book can help you figure out the special message your visitor is trying to share.Inside this lovely illustrated field guide you'll find everything you need to decipher the unique meaning behind each individual bird sighting. From physical description to folklore, each of the common bird species detailed within has a story and a unique symbolism which will help reveal the changes these mystical creatures want you to make in your life. With this enlightening volume as your inspiration, get ready to take a look at your life from a bird's eye view-one robin, crow, and hummingbird at a time!
Birds Without Wings
by Louis De BernieresIn his first novel since Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernières creates a world, populates it with characters as real as our best friends, and launches it into the maelstrom of twentieth-century history. The setting is a small village in southwestern Anatolia in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Everyone there speaks Turkish, though they write it in Greek letters. It's a place that has room for a professional blasphemer; where a brokenhearted aga finds solace in the arms of a Circassian courtesan who isn't Circassian at all; where a beautiful Christian girl named Philothei is engaged to a Muslim boy named Ibrahim. But all of this will change when Turkey enters the modern world. Epic in sweep, intoxicating in its sensual detail, Birds Without Wings is an enchantment.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Birmingham Revolution: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Epic Challenge to the Church
by Edward GilbreathBirmingham Revolution
The Birobidzhan Affair
by Marek HalterA thrilling saga set in the Jewish republic of Birobidzhan At the height of the Red Scare in the 1950s, the House Un-American Activities Committee questions a Russian woman named Marina. She stands accused of being a spy and is suspected of murdering OSS agent Michael Apron. But even more scandalous than the accusations against her is the truth that her interrogation will reveal. In Russia, Marina was a successful actress--and one night, she found herself seduced by Stalin. To avoid a dangerous scandal, she pretended to be Jewish and fled to Birobidzhan, a lost city in the far southeastern corner of the Soviet Union bordering China, originally populated by those escaping the Nazis. This forgotten city was home to a wealth of Jewish culture and also happened to be in an ideal geographical position for the Allied forces to observe Japan's movements in Manchuria. It was there that Marina met and fell in love with Michael Apron. Following a fascinating heroine from Stalinist Russia to the United States during the McCarthy era, this thrilling story of love and espionage shows readers two worlds rocked by political turmoil.This book was translated from the original French by Anna Declerck.
Birth Control Battles: How Race and Class Divided American Religion
by Melissa J. WildeConservative and progressive religious groups fiercely disagree about issues of sex and gender. But how did we get here? Melissa J. Wilde shows how today’s modern divisions began in the 1930s in the public battles over birth control and not for the reasons we might expect. By examining thirty of America’s most prominent religious groups—from Mormons to Methodists, Southern Baptists to Seventh Day Adventists, and many others—Wilde contends that fights over birth control had little do with sex, women’s rights, or privacy.Using a veritable treasure trove of data, including census and archival materials and more than 10,000 articles, statements, and sermons from religious and secular periodicals, Wilde demonstrates that the push to liberalize positions on contraception was tied to complex views of race, immigration, and manifest destiny among America’s most prominent religious groups. Taking us from the Depression era, when support for the eugenics movement saw birth control as an act of duty for less desirable groups, to the 1960s, by which time most groups had forgotten the reasons behind their stances on contraception (but not the concerns driving them), Birth Control Battles explains how reproductive politics divided American religion. In doing so, this book shows the enduring importance of race and class for American religion as it rewrites our understanding of what it has meant to be progressive or conservative in America.
Birth in Buddhism: The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)
by Amy Paris LangenbergRecent decades have seen a groundswell in the Buddhist world, a transnational agitation for better opportunities for Buddhist women. Many of the main players in the transnational nuns movement self-identify as feminists but other participants in this movement may not know or use the language of feminism. In fact, many ordained Buddhist women say they seek higher ordination so that they might be better Buddhist practitioners, not for the sake of gender equality. Eschewing the backward projection of secular liberal feminist categories, this book describes the basic features of the Buddhist discourse of the female body, held more or less in common across sectarian lines, and still pertinent to ordained Buddhist women today. The textual focus of the study is an early-first-millennium Sanskrit Buddhist work, "Descent into the Womb scripture" or Garbhāvakrānti-sūtra. Drawing out the implications of this text, the author offers innovative arguments about the significance of childbirth and fertility in Buddhism, namely that birth is a master metaphor in Indian Buddhism; that Buddhist gender constructions are centrally shaped by Buddhist birth discourse; and that, by undermining the religious importance of female fertility, the Buddhist construction of an inauspicious, chronically impure, and disgusting femininity constituted a portal to a new, liberated, feminine life for Buddhist monastic women. Thus, this study of the Buddhist discourse of birth is also a genealogy of gender in middle period Indian Buddhism. Offering a new critical perspective on the issues of gender, bodies and suffering, this book will be of interest to an interdisciplinary audience, including researchers in the field of Buddhism, South Asian history and religion, gender and religion, theory and method in the study of religion, and Buddhist medicine.
Birth of an Age: Book Two of the Christ Clone Trilogy
by James BeauseigneurIn book two of the Christ Clone Trilogy, Christopher Goodman--cloned from the ancient cells of Jesus Christ--is forced to sit back and watch the seeming destruction of Earth in order to fulfill his destiny.
The Birth of Christian History: Memory and Time from Mark to Luke-Acts
by Eve-Marie BeckerThe first comprehensive account to explore the beginnings of early Christian history writing, tracing its origin to the Gospel of Mark and Luke-Acts When the Gospel writings were first produced, Christian thinking was already cognizant of its relationship to ancient memorial cultures and history-writing traditions. Yet, little has been written about exactly what shaped the development of early Christian literary memory. In this eye-opening new study, Eve-Marie Becker explores the diverse ways in which history was written according to the Hellenistic literary tradition, focusing specifically on the time during which the New Testament writings came into being: from the mid-first century until the early second century CE. While acknowledging cases of historical awareness in other New Testament writings, Becker traces the origins of this historiographical approach to the Gospel of Mark and Luke-Acts. Offering a bold new framework, Becker shows how the earliest Christian writings shaped “Christian” thinking and writing about history.
The Birth of Christianity
by John Dominic CrossanIn this national bestseller, John Dominic Crossan, the world's leading expert on the historical Jesus, reveals how Christianity emerged in the period following Jesus' death. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Crossan shines new light on the theological and cultural contexts from which the Christian church arose. He argues powerfully that Christianity would have happened with or without Paul and contends that Jesus' "resurrection" meant something vastly different for his early followers than it does for many traditional Christians today--what mattered was Christina origins finally illuminates the mysterious period that set Western religious history in its decisive course.
The Birth of Christianity
by Maurice GoguelOriginally published in 1953, The Birth of Christianity analyses the development of Christian doctrine and the establishment of the Church. The book traces the history of the formation of the Church as a new religious society and considers its development both in the realm of thought as well as on a social level, in both emotional life and moral action. It explores how the Christian faith first found expression in society through a variety of forms that were gradually assimilated into one system of doctrine, and examines both how Christian theology and dogma were formed, and how the Church developed its constitution. The Birth of Christianity will appeal to those with an interest in the history of religion, the history of Christianity, theology, and the philosophy of religion.
The Birth of Conservative Judaism: Solomon Schechter's Disciples and the Creation of an American Religious Movement
by Michael CohenSolomon Schechter (1847–1915), the charismatic leader of New York's Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), came to America in 1902 intent on revitalizing traditional Judaism. While he advocated a return to traditional practices, Schechter articulated no clear position on divisive issues, instead preferring to focus on similarities that could unite American Jewry under a broad message. Michael R. Cohen demonstrates how Schechter, unable to implement his vision on his own, turned to his disciples, rabbinical students and alumni of JTS, to shape his movement. By midcentury, Conservative Judaism had become the largest American Jewish grouping in the United States, guided by Schechter's disciples and their continuing efforts to embrace diversity while eschewing divisive debates. Yet Conservative Judaism's fluid boundaries also proved problematic for the movement, frustrating many rabbis who wanted a single platform to define their beliefs. Cohen demonstrates how a legacy of tension between diversity and boundaries now lies at the heart of Conservative Judaism's modern struggle for relevance. His analysis explicates four key claims: that Conservative Judaism's clergy, not its laity or Seminary, created and shaped the movement; that diversity was—and still is—a crucial component of the success and failure of new American religions; that the Conservative movement's contemporary struggle for self-definition is tied to its origins; and that the porous boundaries between Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism reflect the complexity of the American Jewish landscape—a fact that Schechter and his disciples keenly understood. Rectifying misconceptions in previous accounts of Conservative Judaism's emergence, Cohen's study enables a fresh encounter with a unique religious phenomenon.
The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw (Buddhism and Modernity)
by Erik BraunInsight meditation, which claims to offer practitioners a chance to escape all suffering by perceiving the true nature of reality, is one of the most popular forms of meditation today. The Theravada Buddhist cultures of South and Southeast Asia often see it as the BuddhaOCOs most important gift to humanity. In the first book to examine how this practice came to play such a dominantOCoand relatively recentOCorole in Buddhism, Erik Braun takes readers to Burma, revealing that Burmese Buddhists in the colonial period were pioneers in making insight meditation indispensable to modern Buddhism. aBraun focuses on the Burmese monk Ledi Sayadaw, a pivotal architect of modern insight meditation, and explores LediOCOs popularization of the study of crucial Buddhist philosophical texts in the early twentieth century. By promoting the study of such abstruse texts, Braun shows, Ledi was able to standardize and simplify meditation methods and make them widely accessibleOCoin part to protect Buddhism in Burma after the British takeover in 1885. Braun also addresses the question of what really constitutes the OC modernOCO in colonial and postcolonial forms of Buddhism, arguing that the emergence of this type of meditation was caused by precolonial factors in Burmese culture as well as the disruptive forces of the colonial era. Offering a readable narrative of the life and legacy of one of modern BuddhismOCOs most important figures, "The Birth of Insight" provides an original account of the development of mass meditation. "