The Catholic Church at the dawn of the twenty-first century is arguably the last feudal system in the West. Once the feudal structure of the church is recognized, the bishops' response to the clergy abuse crisis comes into focus. Bishops and other church authorities reacted to the scandal the only way their feudal culture allowed--with secrecy, denial, and a no holds barred effort to protect the reputation, authority, and resources of the institution. While tragic, and in many cases reprehensible, their response was consistent with the way feudal systems function. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Donald Cozzens addresses the laity's role in challenging a feudal church to embrace accountability and transparency and to bring light where there is now darkness. Awakened to their dignity and responsibility as full, equal, and adult members of the church, lay Catholics in North America are finding their voice and daring to speak to church authorities long accustomed to deferential obedience and compliance. Church life, Cozzens believes, will never be quite the same. The current crisis in the Church, while profoundly disturbing and troubling, offers possibilities for a renewed and revitalized Church. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Cozzens underscores the critical need for laity and clergy to speak honestly and courageously to church authorities. He addresses the obstacles to faithful speech as well as the spiritual and moral foundations of mature, adult conversation and commitment. The current crisis in the Church, while profoundly disturbing and troubling, offers possibilities for a renewed and revitalized Church. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Cozzens underscores the critical need for laity and clergy to speak honestly and courageously to church authorities. He addresses the obstacles to faithful speech as well as the spiritual and moral foundations of mature, adult conversation and commitment. Chapters include "The Courage to Speak," "The Humility to Listen," "Love That Dares to Question," "The Liberation of the Laity," "Voice of the Faithful," and "Contemplative Conversation."

The current crisis in the Church, while profoundly disturbing and troubling, offers possibilities for a renewed and revitalized Church. Cozzens underscores the critical need for laity and clergy to speak honestly and courageously to Church authorities.

The God Dare. Where will you hear it? . . . Deep down inside, you know you’re on this planet for a reason. God has a plan in mind just for you. In fact, He chose you for His plan before the foundation of the world. He designed you very specifically for this time and this place, and He’s perfectly equipped you to accomplish His purpose in the earth. Through engaging and memorable true stories—both biblical and modern—author Kate Battistelli challenges and encourages you to discover how God has specifically designed you for this time in history, your place in the world, your role in His cosmic plan. Once and for all, let go of your fear, worry, pride and strife. . . All God ever needs is a willing vessel. Will you say yes?

Preachers Dare is adapted from Will Willimon’s Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale and is inspired by a quote from the great theologian Karl Barth. In a world in which sermons too often become hackneyed conventional wisdom or tame common sense, preachers dare to speak about the God who speaks to us as Jesus Christ. Willimon draws upon his decades of preaching, as well as his many books on the practice of homiletics, to present a bold theology of preaching. This work emphasizes preaching as a distinctively theological endeavor that begins with and is enabled by God. God speaks, preachers dare to speak the speech of God, and the church dares to listen. By moving from the biblical text to the contemporary context, preachers dare to speak up for God so that God might speak today. With fresh biblical insights, creativity and pointed humor, Willimon gives today’s preachers and congregations encouragement to speak with the God who has so graciously and effusively spoken to us.

Happiness and the Christian Moral Life introduces students to Christian Ethics looking at ethics as a path to the "good life" and happiness, rather than a strict set of rules. Revisions and updates include lists of suggested readings and resources, new discussions of how technology shapes relationships, a more fully developed account of Augustine and happiness, and more.

"A long and happy marriage." It sounds like the end of a fairy tale--an illusion that modern times have exposed. And it is, if marriage depends on a constant stream of romantic emotion, or even on copious amounts of time or money. Thank the Lord, none of those are necessary. Two thousand years ago, Paul gave women the key to a successful marriage, and it can be summed up in two words: unconditional respect. It's not popular. It doesn't sound fair. It can be hard to imagine. But it works. Nina Roesner has led countless women through this practical and life-changing journey, and in The Respect Dare she offers you the hope that so many others have found. Day by day, true stories and thought-provoking questions will help you apply biblical wisdom to the most important relationship in your life. The book is filled with stories of struggle and success, and many practical applications of respect that have dramatically impacted marriages. Give it forty days. Experience the intimacy God intended and discover what he can do in your heart and in your marriage when you choose to show respect his way.

Bart D. Ehrman, the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus, Interrupted and God’s Problem reveals which books in the Bible’s New Testament were not passed down by Jesus’s disciples, but were instead forged by other hands—and why this centuries-hidden scandal is far more significant than many scholars are willing to admit. A controversial work of historical reporting in the tradition of Elaine Pagels, Marcus Borg, and John Dominic Crossan, Ehrman’s Forged delivers a stunning explication of one of the most substantial—yet least discussed—problems confronting the world of biblical scholarship.

From New York Times bestselling author and pastor Timothy Keller, a book about facing the death of loved ones, as well as our own inevitable death Significant events such as birth, marriage, and death are milestones in our lives in which we experience our greatest happiness and our deepest grief. And so it is profoundly important to understand how to approach and experience these occasions with grace, endurance, and joy. In a culture that does its best to deny death, Timothy Keller--theologian and bestselling author--teaches us about facing death with the resources of faith from the Bible. With wisdom and compassion, Keller finds in the Bible an alternative to both despair or denial. A short, powerful book, On Death gives us the tools to understand the meaning of death within God's vision of life.

Dare to Believe Every woman struggles to believe she is who God says she is and to believe the stunning promises He whispers to her heart. But when you're a hot mess (and we all are to one degree or another), it's hard to imagine things can be different—that you can be different. Author Julie Gillies has experienced broken dreams, trauma, and plenty of drama, but she has also encountered the holy hope and promises of God. She longs to help you... understand your identity in Christ instead of believing "I'll always be this way" embrace your true significance instead of feeling less-than hold on to peace instead of freaking out when hard things keep happening grasp your God-given destiny and begin walking in it It's not that God doesn't bless hot messes. (If that were the case, where would any of us be?) But you don't have to remain a hot mess. It's time to receive and experience God's hope and promises in a fresh way! Includes questions for group study or personal reflection.

"First published in French in 1943 Jean-Paul Sartre's L'Être et le Néant is one of the greatest philosophical works of the twentieth century. In it, Sartre offers nothing less than a brilliant and radical account of the human condition. The English philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch wrote to a friend of "the excitement - I remember nothing like it since the days of discovering Keats and Shelley and Coleridge". What gives our lives significance, Sartre argues in Being and Nothingness, is not pre-established for us by God or nature but is something for which we ourselves are responsible. Combining this with the unsettling view that human existence is characterized by radical freedom and the inescapability of choice, Sartre introduces us to a cast of ideas and characters that are part of philosophical legend: anguish; the 'bad faith' of the memorable waiter in the café; sexual desire; and the 'look' of the other, brought to life by Sartre's famous description of someone looking through a keyhole. Above all, by arguing that we alone create our values and that human relationships are characterized by hopeless conflict, Sartre paints a stark and controversial picture of our moral universe and one that resonates strongly today. This new translation includes a helpful Translator's Introduction, notes on the translation, a comprehensive index and a foreword by Richard Moran."--Book jacket.