Christianity is a religion of salvation in which believers have always anticipated some type of post-mortem bliss. This belief in salvation for the faithful has usually meant non-salvation for others. This text examines the establishment of this view.

Christianity is a religion of salvation in which believers have always anticipated post-mortem bliss for the faithful and non-salvation for others. Here, Trumbower examines how and why death came to be perceived as such a firm boundary of salvation. Analyzing exceptions to this principle from ancient Christianity, he finds that the principle itself was slow to develop and not universally accepted in the Christian movement's first four hundred years. In fact, only in the West was this principle definitively articulated, due in large part to the work and influence of Augustine.

The “heartbreaking . . . deeply-moving” story of the heroic crusade to save Puerto Rico’s stray dogs, and an impassioned appeal to help all animals in need (Daily Mail). Looking for inspiration and adventure in their lives, Steve McGarva and his wife Pam moved to Puerto Rico. While kite surfing at Playa Lucia, Steve made a shocking discovery—a sick and abandoned dog—that would transform his life. With its shimmering white sand, palm trees, and dazzling azure water, the beach looked postcard perfect. But its beauty hid a dark side: To the locals, this slice of paradise was known as Dead Dog Beach—a notorious dumping ground for the island’s unwanted canines. Considered a threat to the area’s lucrative tourism industry, these defenseless animals were in constant danger of brutality and death. Enraged, and refusing to accept such cruelty, McGarva began protecting these helpless animals—actions that would jeopardize his marriage, challenge his sanity, and make him a target of locals determined to stop him. The Rescue at Dead Dog Beach is the story of Steve’s fearless dedication to hundreds of dogs, and his efforts to expose their systemic abuse. Exposing the true costs of the tourist industry, it is also a call to arms for animal lovers, offering insights and practical information to help strays anywhere in the world. “Stephen McGarva moved to Puerto Rico in search of sun and fun. What he found was a new purpose: saving the island’s abandoned dogs.” —People “This is an amazing story.” —Ellen DeGeneres

Poetic explorations of a celebrated poet’s inner world.

The Dead Sea Squirrels are back with another fun-filled adventure! The Gomez family and friends continue the search for Merle through the Holy Land. But instead of finding Merle, they uncover Dr. Simon’s master plan to create the BabbleLand Animal Park: “the only zoo where cuddly creatures talk to you” and where you can engage in “small talk with the livestock.” Meanwhile, Merle meets Dave, a talking blue Lizard of Judah. The two of them escape Ruben’s clutches and take off along the Jordan River toward Galilee. The Gomezes capture Ruben, but they just miss Merle and Dave. Themes: Choosing to follow God’s will Pleasing God by obeying him

From dishwasher to international celebrity in one afternoon . . . Charles Ramsey gives a roller coaster account of his life before, during, and after the dramatic rescue of three kidnapped women in Cleveland . . . Global news media declared him a hero. Well-wishers mobbed him. The Internet made him a viral sensation. It couldn’t have happened to a less likely guy. Now, read how it all went down. Ramsey was in the wrong place at the right time when he answered a young woman’s cry for help, kicked in his neighbor’s locked front door, and got her the hell out of there—leading to the astonishing rescue of three young women—Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight—who had been missing for a decade. Reporters and TV cameras flocked to a neighborhood—and a man—they otherwise would have ignored. Ramsey was ready, with plenty to say. “Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man’s arms . . . Dead giveaway.” It was a quote that launched a thousand Internet memes . . . In this book Ramsey walks us step-by-step through the day of the rescue and talks about living right next door to Ariel Castro—outwardly charming, secretly a monster. He tells about life before the rescue—growing up a privileged black kid in a white suburb, seeking out trouble over and over, getting kicked out of school, selling drugs, going to prison, and ultimately finding work as a dishwasher and landing by chance on gritty Seymour Avenue. And he shares what it’s like to become an instant celebrity, when suddenly everybody wants a piece of you. (For example, he learned the hard way that when a big TV network flies you to New York City for an interview, that doesn’t mean they also bought you a ticket back home to Cleveland!) This is a wild, eye-opening tale told with a sharp sense of humor.

375 exciting teales of heroism and tragedy drawn from the nearly 150,000 search and rescue missions carried out by the National Park Service since 1872.

In the year 2000, future Bram Stoker Award-winning author Jeff Strand published one of his earliest novels, How to Rescue a Dead Princess. Readership was extremely small...actually, let's go with "intimate." It was an incredibly goofy fantasy comedy, the work of an author who didn't yet have a speck of silver in his hair, much less the gray onslaught that's going on now. The book disappeared for many years. People pleaded with Mr. Strand to reissue it. "It's not my best work!" he snarled. "There are lots of other books in the world-read those!" But now, on its 24th anniversary, Mr. Strand has succumbed to peer pressure and brought it back! It's the saga of Randall, a squire assigned to escort the lovely Princess Dolores on a diplomatic journey of utmost importance. Then she gets killed. Now Randall must overcome desperate odds and ridiculous dangers in his quest to bring her back to life...before the entire Generic Fantasy Land falls into the evil clutches of The Dark One! How to Rescue a Dead Princess. The greatest comedic fantasy novel of all time? An immature work that tries too hard? YOU decide.

In People Who Don't Know They're Dead, Gary Leon Hill tells a family story of how his Uncle Wally and Aunt Ruth, Wally's sister, came to counsel dead spirits who took up residence in bodies that didn?t belong to them. And in the telling, Hill elucidates much of what we know, or think we know, about life, death, consciousness, and the meaning of the universe. When people die by accident, in violence, or maybe they're drunk, stoned, or angry, they get freeze-framed. Even if they die naturally but have no clue what to expect, they might not notice they're dead. It's frustrating to see and not be seen. It's frustrating not to know what you're supposed to do next. It's especially frustrating to be in someone else's body and think it's your own. That's if you're dead. If you're alive and that spirit has attached itself to you, well that's a whole other set of frustrations. Wally Johnston, a behavioral psychologist, first started working with a medium in the 70s to help spirits move on to the next stage. Some years after that, Ruth Johnston, an academic psychiatric nurse, who'd become interested in new consciousness and alternative healing, began working with Wally to clear spirits who weren't moving on. These hitchhikers had attached themselves to the auras of living relatives or strangers in an attempt to hold on to a physical existence they no longer need. Through her pendulum, Ruth obtains permission from the higher self of both hitchhiker and host to work with them. Then Wally speaks with them, gently but firmly, to make sure they know they are no longer welcome to inhabit the bodies and wreak havoc on the lives of the living. Hill has woven this fascinating story with the history and theory of what happens at death, with particular emphasis on the last 40 years and the work of such groundbreaking thinkers as Elmer Green, Raymond Moody, William James, Aldous Huxley, Edith Fiore, Martha Rogers, Mark Macy, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Bruce Lipton, and a host of others, whose work helps inform our idea of what it is to live and to die. As it turns out, our best defense against hitchhikers is to live consciously. And our best chance of doing that is by paying attention and staying open to possibilities.

The Falling Season is Clifford's thrilling account of an insider's life and time on one of America's premier mountain rescue teams. Giving new voice to the adrenaline rush, he recounts the harrowing moments and the against- the-clock, painstaking procedures of more than a dozen mountain rescues, including 1993's infamous Express Creek crisis and its attendant media circus.