“Will resonate with any readers interested in understanding American landscapes where white, evangelical Christianity dominates both politics and culture.” —Publishers Weekly In the wake of the 2016 election, Lyz Lenz watched as her country and her marriage were torn apart by the competing forces of faith and politics. A mother of two, a Christian, and a lifelong resident of middle America, Lenz was bewildered by the pain and loss around her—the empty churches and the broken hearts. What was happening to faith in the heartland? From drugstores in Sydney, Iowa, to skeet shooting in rural Illinois, to the mega churches of Minneapolis, Lenz set out to discover the changing forces of faith and tradition in God’s country. Part journalism, part memoir, God Land is a journey into the heart of a deeply divided America. Lenz visits places of worship across the heartland and speaks to the everyday people who often struggle to keep their churches afloat and to cope in a land of instability. Through a thoughtful interrogation of the effects of faith and religion on our lives, our relationships, and our country, God Land investigates whether our divides can ever be bridged and if America can ever come together. “God Land, Lyz Lenz’s much-anticipated debut book, is a marvel. Not only is it a window into the middle America so many like to stereotype but fail to fully understand in all of its complexity, but it mixes reportage, memoir, and gorgeous prose so seamlessly I wanted to know how she did it.” —Sarah Weinman, author of The Real Lolita

Two decades before the Second Vatican Council, a section of the Catholic Church decided to enact sweeping reforms of its own. The Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church, or I.C.A.B., abolished latin, celibacy and confession, embraced religious freedom, and redefined the pope as just another bishop. I.C.A.B. became the renegade church within a church. With over half a million members in Brazil, and up to four million in a complex worldwide network, I.C.A.B.'s offshoots are at the center of the hottest and most controversial clashes between Catholics and their hierarchy. Independent Catholicism, progressive Catholicism, women's ordination, celibacy, homosexuality, and church reform in general, cannot be fully understood without understanding I.C.A.B. Whether sect or schism, I.C.A.B. represents the most extraordinary attempt in modern times to defy the Vatican and reform the Catholic Church from below. God, Land and Freedom, The True Story of I.C.A.B., tells this remarkable story as it has never been told before. Much archival material has been translated for the first time. I.C.A.B.'s alleged links to freemasonry, communism, the occult, and the far right are investigated. I.C.A.B.'s theology is explained, and the exploits of I.C.A.B.'s founders are revealed. It is a story that can no longer be ignored.

About the novel: A new novel written by the novelist Dr. Ayman Otoom The protagonist of the novel (Omar bin Sayyid), who was born in Senegal in 1770 AD, as an army comes to occupy his country in 1800 AD, taken as a slave to (Charleston) in southern North America, Omar had a cultural upbringing, he memorized the Qur’an, was well off, married before he was enslaved, and left his wife pregnant... He did not know after these years of slavery whether she had been enslaved with him in the same campaign or in other subsequent one of slave traders, and he did not know Whether she had given birth to their only son or not... Yet he still clings to the hope that he will be freed from his slavery and that he will meet them... But his hopes have not been fulfilled, and he dies as a slave in 1863 AD after he was over ninety years old; which was one year before US President Abraham Lincoln passed the end of the slave trade and liberate the enslaved people... Where a manuscript is found that he wrote on parchment in which he narrated his biography before his death, and this is a real parchment kept by the Library of Congress and released to the public a short time ago... It is the story of an Islamic scholar who has lived in slavery for more than sixty years, in which he is exposed to countless forms of injustice, humiliation, torture and pain... The novel is told through notes or letters sent by the hero to his son, who does not know whether he has remained alive after those long years or not.

Uses the New American Bible, Revised Edition! The epic story of liberation and covenant-making flowers in the pages of the book of Exodus, making this study the perfect choice for the holy season of Lent. Exodusprovides a deeper understanding of Passover and the journey to the Promised Land, with commentary and questions that reveal the profound meaning of the patterns of slavery, freedom, and promise etched in its pages.

"A superb book about a topic that should be front and center in the American political debate" (National Review), from the acclaimed Harvard scholar and historian of the Russian Revolution An exploration of a wide range of national and political systems to demonstrate persuasively that private ownership has served over the centuries to limit the power of the state and enable democratic institutions to evolve and thrive in the Western world. Beginning with Greece and Rome, where the concept of private property as we understand it first developed, Richard Pipes then shows us how, in the late medieval period, the idea matured with the expansion of commerce and the rise of cities. He contrasts England, a country where property rights and parliamentary government advanced hand-in-hand, with Russia, where restrictions on ownership have for centuries consistently abetted authoritarian regimes; finally he provides reflections on current and future trends in the United States. Property and Freedom is a brilliant contribution to political thought and an essential work on a subject of vital importance.

“Will resonate with any readers interested in understanding American landscapes where white, evangelical Christianity dominates both politics and culture.” —Publishers Weekly In the wake of the 2016 election, Lyz Lenz watched as her country and her marriage were torn apart by the competing forces of faith and politics. A mother of two, a Christian, and a lifelong resident of middle America, Lenz was bewildered by the pain and loss around her—the empty churches and the broken hearts. What was happening to faith in the heartland? From drugstores in Sydney, Iowa, to skeet shooting in rural Illinois, to the mega churches of Minneapolis, Lenz set out to discover the changing forces of faith and tradition in God’s country. Part journalism, part memoir, God Land is a journey into the heart of a deeply divided America. Lenz visits places of worship across the heartland and speaks to the everyday people who often struggle to keep their churches afloat and to cope in a land of instability. Through a thoughtful interrogation of the effects of faith and religion on our lives, our relationships, and our country, God Land investigates whether our divides can ever be bridged and if America can ever come together. “God Land, Lyz Lenz’s much-anticipated debut book, is a marvel. Not only is it a window into the middle America so many like to stereotype but fail to fully understand in all of its complexity, but it mixes reportage, memoir, and gorgeous prose so seamlessly I wanted to know how she did it.” —Sarah Weinman, author of The Real Lolita

Each book in this Land of Our Lady series contains a concise yet interesting record of a specific period in American history--always explaining the Catholic influence of religion, culture and morality. Every private Catholic school, home-schooling family, and library will benefit from these Catholic textbooks. Book 1: Founders of Freedom, most often used in Grade 4, begins with the Creation, ending with events leading up to the discovery of the New World.

"Join former NBC newsman and Meet the Press moderator David Gregory as he probes various religious traditions to better understand his own faith and answer life's most important questions: who do we want to be and what do we believe? While David was covering the White House, he had the unusual experience of being asked by President George W. Bush "How's your faith?" David's answer was just emerging. Raised by a Catholic mother and a Jewish dad, he had a strong sense of Jewish cultural and ethnic identity, but no real belief--until his marriage to a Protestant woman of strong faith inspired him to explore his spirituality for himself and his growing family. David's journey has taken him inside Christian mega-churches and into the heart of Orthodox Judaism. He's gone deep into Bible study and asked tough questions of America's most thoughtful religious leaders, including evangelical preacher Joel Osteen and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic Archbishop of New York. It has brought him back to his childhood, where belief in God might have helped him through his mother's struggle with alcoholism, and through a difficult period of public scrutiny and his departure from NBC News, which saw his faith tested like never before. David approaches his faith with the curiosity and dedication you would expect from a journalist accustomed to holding politicians and Presidents accountable. But he also comes as a seeker, one just discovering why spiritual journeys are always worthwhile"--

In recent sociological approaches to the Old Testament, Christians have been finding unexpected resources for their ethical reflection and action relative to the modern world's pressing social and economic dilemmas. This unique survey by Christopher Wright examines life in Old Testament Israel from an ethical perspective by considering how the economic facts of Israel's social structure were related to the people's religious beliefs. Observing the centrality of the family in social, economic and religious spheres of Israelite life, Wright analyzes Israel's theology of land, the rights and responsibilities of property owners, and the socioeconomic and legal status of dependent persons in ancient Israel - wives, children, and slaves - showing the mutual interaction between such laws, institutions, and customs and the nation's covenant relationship with God. While primarily exegetical, God's People in God's Land contains many useful insights for Christian social ethics: Wright suggests how the ethical application of his findings might proceed as Christians with different theological perspectives and cultural contexts seek to work out the relevance of the Old Testament for today.