Contemporary Religion

When an injured stranger staggers down a Hawaiian mountainside and into her backyard, Monica believes God has directed this mysterious young lady to her. But Monica's brother, an insurance-fraud investigator, isn't so sure. He finds it hard to believe this green-eyed outsider doesn't know who she is, what has happened, or where she is.

Of the many recent books on the historical Jesus, none has explored what the latest biblical scholarship means for personal faith. Now, in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship. Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining.

Now in an updated second edition, Gabriel Said Reynolds tells the story of Islam in this brief survey, beginning with Muhammad's early life and rise to power, then tracing the origins and development of the Qur'an juxtaposed with biblical literature, and concluding with an overview of modern and fundamentalist narratives of the origin of Islam. Reynolds offers a fascinating look at the structure and meaning of the Qur'an, revealing the ways in which biblical language is used to advance the Qur'an's religious meaning.

When you think of a Christian pastor, you probably don't envision a tattooed 30-something who wears a motorcycle jacket, listens to hip-hop music, references The Walking Dead and Black Lives Matter in his sermons, and every Sunday draws a standing-room only crowd to a venue normally used for rock concerts - in godless New York City, no less. But then you clearly have never met Carl Lentz. As head pastor of the first United States branch of global megachurch Hillsong, the former college basketball player is on a mission to make Christianity accessible in the 21st century.

In many ways, we seem to be living in wintry times at present in the Western world. In this new book, Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and a noted scholar of Eastern Christianity, introduces us to some aspects and personalities of the Orthodox Christian world, from the desert contemplatives of the fourth century to philosophers, novelists and activists of the modern era, that suggest where we might look for fresh light and warmth.

The Enchiridion or Manual of Epictetus (Enchiridion is Greek for "that which is held in the hand") is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice. This manual has been carefully adapted in to modern English to allow for easy listening. Enjoy.

Here is the modern classic that interweaves the solitude, silence, and prayer of the fourth- and fifth-century Egyptian Desert Fathers and Mothers with our contemporary search for an authentic spirituality.

Nick grew up on a typical American farm in the heart of the great Midwest. But when his best friend in college invites him into a romantic relationship, Nick's life takes an unexpected twist. Join Nick as he explores and experiences all the glorious, unpredictable, and multi-faceted dimensions of a life lived in love - love with men, love with women, and even love with God Himself. Filled with passion and romance, heartbreak and sex, you'll always be yearning for more!

Buddhism aims for the development of a flexible mind and skillful responsiveness-whether toward problems in one's personal life or broader issues like the ecological crisis. But in a culture now saturated with cliches about mindfulness and unrealistic fantasies about happiness, what does it truly mean to walk this path? The key practice is that of embodied aliveness.

"In this house we believe that: Black Lives Matter, Love Is Love, Gay Rights Are Civil Rights, Women’s Rights Are Human Rights, Transgender Women Are Women". You may have seen signs with some of these messages in your neighborhood. They offer us an all-or-nothing package deal - in short, a secular creed. In this provocative audiobook, Rebecca McLaughlin helps us disentangle the beliefs Christians gladly affirm from those they cannot embrace, and invites us to talk with our neighbors about the things that matter most.

Enjoy this single-voice audio recording of the Contemporary Chinese Bible, which offers a concise “thought-for-thought" translation. By focusing on delivering a clear rendition of the Bible’s stories and concepts, the Contemporary Chinese Bible in the Mandarin dialect offers a better comprehension of Scripture for the listener than a word-for-word translation.

Do you feel at home right now? Or do you sense a hovering anxiety or uncertainty, an underlying unease that makes you feel just a bit uncomfortable, a bit distracted and disconnected from those around you? In The Road Home, Ethan Nichtern, a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, investigates the journey each of us takes to find where we belong.

A sparklingly strange odyssey through the kaleidoscope of America's new spirituality: the cults, practices, high priests, and prophets of our supposedly post-religion age.

Celebrity Charles James can't shake the nightmare that wakes him each night. He sees himself walking down a long, broken highway, the sides of which are lit in flames. Where is he going? Why is he walking? What is the wailing he hears around him? By day he wonders why he's so haunted and unhappy when he has all he ever wanted - fame, fans, and fortune and the lavish lifestyle it affords him. Coming from a childhood of poverty and pain, this is what he's dreamed of. But now, at the pinnacle of his career, he's started to wonder if he's wanted the wrong things.

Best-selling author Lisa Wingate serves up small-town values with humor and romance. Lauren hasn't returned to her hometown since her husband's death. But when her dad needs her help, she heads for their horse ranch in Daily, Texas. There she must prepare a "broke down" race horse for his role in a movie that will alter the fortunes of her dad, a Hollywood star, and a screenwriter.

Enjoy this audio recording of the Tagalog Contemporary Bible™, read by one reader. The Tagalog Contemporary Bible™ offers a faithful rendering of Scripture’s original word order while also delivering the most comprehensive and clear translation of the Bible’s stories and concepts in the Tagalog language.

A survey and critique of various current schools of theological thought that have contributed to the decline of the Biblical perspective in today's world, together with a vigorous call to return to the theology of the New Testament and the Reformation.

Enjoy this single-voice recording of the Nova Versão Internacional. The Nova Versão Internacional offers both a faithful rendering of Scripture’s original word order while also delivering the most comprehensive and clear translation of the Bible’s stories and concepts in the Portuguese language.

Bishop, Bible scholar, and best-selling author N. T. Wright here provides a series of case studies on how to apply the Bible to the pressing issues of today. Among the topics Wright addresses are the intersection of religion and science, why women should be allowed to be ordained, what we get wrong and how we can do better when Christians engage in politics, why the Christian belief in heaven means we should be at the forefront of the environmental movement, and many more.

From the heights of sacred sexuality to the depths of human foible, they ultimately have to choose: surrender to this love or shrink back to mediocrity, work through their emotional baggage or flee the connection, open to the next portal of possibility or postpone it until the next lifetime. Shaped and reshaped in love's cosmic kiln, Sarah and Lowen become a symbol of our own longing for wholeness in the presence of another.