An Agnostic in the Fellowship of Christ: The Ethical Mysticism of Albert Schweitzer details the theology, ethics, and philosophy of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965). It surveys his entire corpus of religious writings, including his unfinished estate works, and explores the intellectual history behind his distinctive theological synthesis. David K. Goodin traces Schweitzer’s intellectual and spiritual development from childhood to his academic years and throughout his time at the African medical mission. It also places Schweitzer into dialogue with other Protestant theologians including Martin Luther, Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Thomas Altizer, as well as with contemporary philosophers like Jacques Derrida. The aim is to reveal what a living faith and mysticism can mean for the modern world, and where common ground can be found for traditional and liberal Protestant theology today.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

A Secular Sobriety will help alcoholics and addicts to understand the fellowship and program of Alcoholics Anonymous "without having to accept anyone else's beliefs or having to deny their own." It includes a secular and non-sexist version of the first 164 pages of the Big Book bringing a 78 year old text into the 21st century. A Secular Sobriety brings truth to AA's claim to be "spiritual, but not religious." The author offers insightful commentary regarding AA's fellowship, program, organization and its primary text. Succeeding over the misery of addiction is within the reach of any person regardless of personal beliefs. There is no reason for religious conversion to be a part of any 12 Step program.

An overview essay and approximately 50 alphabetically arranged reference entries explore the background and significance of atheism and agnosticism in modern society. This is the age of atheism and agnosticism. The number of people living without religious belief and practice is quickly and dramatically rising. Some experts call nonreligion, after Christianity and Islam, the third largest "religion" in the world today. Understanding the origins, history, variations, and impact of atheism and agnosticism is crucial to getting a grasp of the meaning of the present and gaining a glimpse of the future. Exploring some of the most extraordinary people, events, and ideas of all time, this book provides a fair, comprehensive, and engaging survey of all aspects of contemporary atheism and agnosticism. An overview essay discusses the background and social and political contexts of unbelief, while a timeline highlights key events. Some 50 alphabetically arranged reference entries follow, with each providing fundamental, objective information about particular topics along with cross-references and suggestions for further reading. The volume closes with an annotated bibliography of the most important resources on atheism and agnosticism.

Both believers and non-believers who are looking for answers to life's hard questions will find this an engaging and thought-provoking book, which defines each term, historical person, event, or doctrine as it arises, rather that relying on a presupposition to prior acquaintance with Christian history, vocabulary, or beliefs.

This Element is an elementary introduction to atheism and agnosticism. It begins with a careful characterisation of atheism and agnosticism, distinguishing them from many other things with which they are often conflated. After a brief discussion of the theoretical framework within which atheism and agnosticism are properly evaluated, it then turns to the sketching of cases for atheism and agnosticism. In both cases, the aim is not conviction, but rather advancement of understanding: the point of the cases is to make it intelligible why some take themselves to have compelling reason to adopt atheism or agnosticism.

The authentic spiritual quest is marked not by certainties but by questions and doubt. Mark Vernon who was a priest, and left an atheist explores the wonder of science, the ups and downs of being 'spiritual but not religious', the insights of ancient philosophy, and God the biggest question.

The Soul of Sponsorship explores the relationship of Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, and his spiritual adviser and friend, Father Ed Dowling. Many might consider that such a remarkable individual as Bill Wilson, who was the primary author of AA literature, would be able to deal with many of life's problems on his own. Reading The Soul of Sponsorship will illuminate and answer the question of how Father Ed, an Irish Catholic Jesuit priest who was not an alcoholic, was able to be of such great help to Bill Wilson. Part of AA's Twelfth Step reminds us "to carry this message to alcoholics," and The Soul of Sponsorship illustrates how sober alcoholics still need the principles of the Twelve Steps brought to them by friends, sponsors, and spiritual advisers. Some of the problems faced by Bill Wilson were: - depression in recovery - dependency issues - whether or not to experiment with LSD - the place of money and power in AA - knowing God's plan and will - learning from mistakes Father Ed taught Bill the importance of "discernment." In Father Ed's Jesuit tradition, discernment was a gift, passed down to him from St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, who described his own struggle with discernment in The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The Twelve Steps of AA and The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius presuppose that there is a caring God whose will can be known. The act of tuning in to God's action at one's center is discernment. The big question is, how do you know your Higher Power is speaking and revealing Himself through your feelings and desires? For the good of AA and himself, Bill learned to listen to his desires, be aware of his inner dynamics, and tune into the action of God within. Doing this meant learning to recognize and identify his personal movements -- those inner promptings and attractions often called emotions or affections -- which are part of ordinary human experiences. The person who helped Bill grow in discernment was Father Ed, the Jesuit priest with a cane who limped into the New York AA clubhouse one sleet-filled November night in 1940. The two "fellow travelers," Father Ed Dowling and Bill Wilson, gave each other perhaps the greatest gift friends can give: calling on each to know who he is -- before God.

When religion reporter Cathleen Falsani climbed aboard Bono's tour bus, it was to interview the rock start about AIDS awareness. Instead, they plunged into a lively discussion about faith. "This is a defining moment for us," Bono said. "For the culture we live in." Spirituality clearly now plays a key role in the United States. But what is also clear is that faith is a more complex issue than snapshots of the country convey. Jesus. Buddha. Kabbalah. Angels. This may be a nation of believers but not of one belief—of many. To shape a candid picture of modern faith, Falsani sat down with an array of people who shape our culture, and in turn, our collective consciousness. She's talked about Jesus with Anne Rice; explored "Playboy theology" with Hugh Hefner; discussed evil with crusading attorney Barry Scheck, and heaven with Senator Barack Obama. Laura Esquivel, basketball star Hakeem Olajuwon, Studs Terkel, guru Iyanla Vanzant, rockers Melissa Etheridge and Annie Lennox, economist Jeffrey Sachs, Pulitzer-winning playwright John Patrick Shanley—all opened up to her. The resulting interviews, more than twenty-five in all, offer a fresh, occasionally controversial, and always illuminating look at the beliefs that shape our lives. THE GOD FACTOR is a book for the believers, the seekers, as well as the merely curious among us. Included are interviews with Sherman Alexie, Bono, Dusty Baker, Sandra Bernhard, Sandra Cisneros, Billy Corgan, Kurt Elling, Laura Esquivel, Melissa Etheridge, Jonathan Safran Foer, Mike Gerson, Seamus Heaney, Hugh Hefner, Dr. Henry Lee, Annie Lennox, David Lynch, John Mahoney, Mark Morris, Mancow Muller, Senator Barack Obama, Hakeem Olajuwon, Harold Ramis, Anne Rice, Tom Robbins, Russell Simmons, Jeffrey Sachs , Barry Scheck, John Patrick Shanley , The Reverend Al Sharpton, Studs Terkel, Iyanla Vanzant, and Elie Wiesel.

For some, religious people who think and act irrationally can be confounding, while for others, unbelievers who dont see the reality of God are just as baffling. C. M. Blakeson, an agnostic who grew up living a fundamentalist lifestyle in Kansas, explores both perspectives in this candid memoir. From his initial journey to Jesus to his deepening belief in fundamentalist Pentecostalism, he explores how religion affected his thoughts on love and life. With God rooted as such a reality for him, he never imagined hed one day become an agnosticor how happy hed be to reach such nonreligious enlightenment. Now he seeks to battle misconceptions about agnosticism. Get the true definition of agnosticism, learn how to break free from spiritual bondage, and join Blakeson as he seeks to understand various religions. If youve ever pondered what goes through the minds of fundamentalists, or if youre a religious person who wonders why your best friend left the faith, Spiritual Confessions of an Agnostic seeks to help you find answers.