When writer and media personality Malcolm Muggeridge unexpectedly converted to Christianity in the 1960s, fans around the world flocked to his devotional writings and television programs about his spiritual journey. Because Muggeridge was critical of institutional Christianity and initially refused to join a church, he inspired a special affinity in those who were disillusioned with mainstream religious authority. Readers from around the world sent him deeply personal letters describing their spiritual and religious lives, revealing their anxieties, doubts, and hopes about the future of Christianity. In Searching for God in Britain and Beyond David Reagles draws on nearly two thousand of these remarkable fan letters to explore the thoughts and feelings of ordinary Christians in a time of cultural and religious upheaval. In these candid letters, Muggeridge’s correspondents wrestled with their experiences of faith and doubt, the value of institutional religion, uncertainties about permissiveness in society, the proper role of Christian social activism, and the forces of secularism. For these fans and skeptics alike, reading and writing were a vital means of working out their religious identities and convictions amid the supposed decline of Christendom. Searching for God in Britain and Beyond provides a rare and fascinating glimpse into the inner worlds of ordinary Christians in the 1960s and 1970s, revealing how the secularization of postwar society felt to average people.

Apophatic theology, or negative theology, attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God. It is a way of coming to an understanding of who God is, which has played a significant role across centuries of Christian tradition but is very often treated with suspicion by those engaging in theological study today. This book seeks to introduce students to this oft-misunderstood form of spirituality. Beginning by placing apophatic spirituality within its biblical roots, the book later considers the key pioneers of apophatic faith and a diverse range of thinkers, including C. S. Lewis and Keats, to inform us in our negative theological journey. A final section explores what difference a negative theological approach might make to our practice and our liturgy.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed comes a brave, frank, and exquisitely written memoir that will change the way you see the world. Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Educated as a scientist, she is an author, journalist, activist, and advocate for social justice. In Living With a Wild God, she recounts her quest-beginning in childhood-to find ""the Truth"" about the universe and everything else: What's really going on? Why are we here? In middle age, she rediscovered the journal she had kept during her tumultuous adolescence, which records an event so strange, so cataclysmic, that she had never, in all the intervening years, written or spoken about it to anyone. It was the kind of event that people call a ""mystical experience""-and, to a steadfast atheist and rationalist, nothing less than shattering. In Living With a Wild God, Ehrenreich reconstructs her childhood mission, bringing an older woman's wry and erudite perspective to a young girl's impassioned obsession with the questions that, at one point or another, torment us all. The result is both deeply personal and cosmically sweeping-a searing memoir and a profound reflection on science, religion, and the human condition. With her signature combination of intellectual rigor and uninhibited imagination, Ehrenreich offers a true literary achievement-a work that has the power not only to entertain but amaze.

Waters explores the process by which the hope of a society was sabotaged and plundered in the name of a mis-defined freedom.

What's ahead for the United States and Britain? Is the world's most powerful nation—the United States of America—overlooked in Bible prophecy? Why are relatively small powers like Egypt, Syria and Lebanon mentioned, but no nation recognizable as the United States can be found? What about other major English-speaking nations such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia? In fact, many prophecies do mention these nations. But, without a proper understanding of history and the Scriptures, few can identify these countries and understand what lies ahead for them. The Bible study aid booklet, The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy, takes you on a remarkable journey through history and Bible prophecy to reveal an incredible story with sobering implications for the major English-speaking nations. You can't afford to be without this priceless information. Chapters in this ebook: -- Two Nations That Changed the World -- God's Commitment to Abraham and His Descendants -- What Is a Biblical Covenant? -- How God Shaped Israel's Future -- Does God Keep His Word? -- How Jacob Became Abraham's Heir -- Israel's Golden Age -- With Justice for All -- International Trade: A Source of Solomon's Wealth -- God's Covenant With David -- Were All the Israelites Deported? -- Are All Israelites Jews? -- The Mysterious Scythians Burst Into History -- Celts and Scythians Linked by Archaeological Discoveries -- Linguistic Links: What's in a Name? -- The Label Celt and Celtic Society -- Prophecies of Israel's Resettlement in Northwestern Europe -- Britain and the United States Inherit Joseph's Birthright -- Benjamin Disraeli: Maestro of Empire -- Advocates of British-Israelism -- The Bible In British and American History -- From Punishment to Destiny -- Dual Fulfillment in Bible Prophecy -- The Geography of Celtic-Scythian Commerce Inside this Bible Study Aid ebook: "Why has history been so benevolent and economically generous to Britain and the United States? Why have they been blessed so favorably over the nations that preceded them in history? The answer lies in the understanding and fulfillment of biblical prophecy." "God's promise to Abraham was not limited to a small and ancient people in the Middle East. It extends far into the future, and it is not limited by national boundaries." "Where can we find the descendants of Joseph, the lost tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh? This list of blessings eliminates most of the nations of the world as contenders. To find them we must ask: Which nations possess these blessings in our world?" "When we understand that the modern descendants of Joseph are the people of the United States and Britain, we see that over the past three centuries God has been true to His promises." "Though the United States and Britain do not appear in the Bible's prophecies of the end time under their present names, God hasn't ignored these nations. He identifies them in prophecy according to their ancestry. Most people simply haven't known where to look for them."

This evocative work of nature writing traverses the world’s largest temperate rainforest to uncover the legend of the Sasquatch. Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest is home to trees as tall as skyscrapers and moss as thick as carpet. According to the people who live there, another giant may dwell in these woods. For centuries, locals have reported encounters with the Sasquatch—a species of hairy man-ape that could inhabit this pristine wilderness. Driven by his childhood obsession with the Sasquatch, yet trying to remain objective, journalist John Zada seeks out the people and stories surrounding this enigmatic creature. He speaks with local Indigenous peoples and a Sasquatch-studying scientist. He hikes with a former bear hunter. Soon, he finds himself on quest for something infinitely more complex, cutting across questions of human perception, scientific inquiry, Indigenous traditions, the environment, and the power of the human imagination to believe in—or to outright dismiss—one of nature’s last great mysteries.

So controversial was Black Girl when it first appeared in 1932 that it provoked public outcry with Shaw decried as a blasphemer. Today, it remains a surprisingly irreverent depiction of the universal search for God. Dissatisfied with the teachings of respectable white missionaries, an African girl embarks upon her own quest for God and Truth. Journeying through the forest, she encounters various religious figures, each one seeking to convert her to their own brand of faith. This brilliantly sardonic allegory showcases some of Shaw's most unorthodox thoughts on religion and race. George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) is best known for his dramatic works, of which Pygmalion is the most famous.

Following the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, a panoramic exploration of peoples, objects and beliefs from the celebrated author of A History of the World in 100 Objects and Germany 'Riveting, extraordinary ... tells the sweeping story of religious belief in all its inventive variety. The emphasis is not on our differences, but on shared spiritual yearnings' Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times, Books of the Year One of the central facts of human existence is that every society shares a set of beliefs and assumptions - a faith, an ideology, a religion - that goes far beyond the life of the individual. These beliefs are an essential part of a shared identity. They have a unique power to define - and to divide - us, and are a driving force in the politics of much of the world today. Throughout history they have most often been, in the widest sense, religious. Yet this book is not a history of religion, nor an argument in favour of faith. It is about the stories which give shape to our lives, and the different ways in which societies imagine their place in the world. Looking across history and around the globe, it interrogates objects, places and human activities to try to understand what shared beliefs can mean in the public life of a community or a nation, how they shape the relationship between the individual and the state, and how they help give us our sense of who we are. For in deciding how we live with our gods, we also decide how to live with each other. 'The new blockbuster by the museums maestro Neil MacGregor ... The man who chronicles world history through objects is back ... examining a new set of objects to explore the theme of faith in society' Sunday Times

A literary history of our most influential book of all time, by an Oxford scholar and Anglican priest In our culture, the Bible is monolithic: It is a collection of books that has been unchanged and unchallenged since the earliest days of the Christian church. The idea of the Bible as "Holy Scripture," a non-negotiable authority straight from God, has prevailed in Western society for some time. And while it provides a firm foundation for centuries of Christian teaching, it denies the depth, variety, and richness of this fascinating text. In A History of the Bible, John Barton argues that the Bible is not a prescription to a complete, fixed religious system, but rather a product of a long and intriguing process, which has inspired Judaism and Christianity, but still does not describe the whole of either religion. Barton shows how the Bible is indeed an important source of religious insight for Jews and Christians alike, yet argues that it must be read in its historical context--from its beginnings in myth and folklore to its many interpretations throughout the centuries. It is a book full of narratives, laws, proverbs, prophecies, poems, and letters, each with their own character and origin stories. Barton explains how and by whom these disparate pieces were written, how they were canonized (and which ones weren't), and how they were assembled, disseminated, and interpreted around the world--and, importantly, to what effect. Ultimately, A History of the Bible argues that a thorough understanding of the history and context of its writing encourages religious communities to move away from the Bible's literal wording--which is impossible to determine--and focus instead on the broader meanings of scripture.

Should we believe in God? In this brisk introduction to modern atheism, one of the world’s greatest science writers tells us why we shouldn’t. Richard Dawkins was fifteen when he stopped believing in God. Deeply impressed by the beauty and complexity of living things, he’d felt certain they must have had a designer. Learning about evolution changed his mind. Now one of the world’s best and bestselling science communicators, Dawkins has given readers, young and old, the same opportunity to rethink the big questions. In twelve fiercely funny, mind-expanding chapters, Dawkins explains how the natural world arose without a designer—the improbability and beauty of the “bottom-up programming” that engineers an embryo or a flock of starlings—and challenges head-on some of the most basic assumptions made by the world’s religions: Do you believe in God? Which one? Is the Bible a “Good Book”? Is adhering to a religion necessary, or even likely, to make people good to one another? Dissecting everything from Abraham’s abuse of Isaac to the construction of a snowflake, Outgrowing God is a concise, provocative guide to thinking for yourself. Praise for Outgrowing God “My son came home from his first day in the sixth grade with arms outstretched plaintively demanding to know: ‘Have you ever heard of Jesus?’ We burst out laughing. Maybe not our finest parenting moment, given that he was genuinely distraught. He felt that he had woken up one day to a world in which his peers were expressing beliefs he found frighteningly unreasonable. He began devouring books like The God Delusion, books that helped him formulate his own arguments and helped him stand his ground. Dawkins’s new book is special in the terrain of atheists’ pleas for humanism and rationalism precisely since it speaks to those most vulnerable to the coercive tactics of religion. As Dawkins himself says in the dedication, this book is for ‘all young people when they’re old enough to decide for themselves.’ It is also, I must add, for their parents.”—Janna Levin, author of Black Hole Blues “When someone is considering atheism I tell them to read the Bible first and then Dawkins. Outgrowing God—second only to the Bible!”—Penn Jillette, author of God, No!