Just six weeks apart in the spring of 1981, Pope John Paul II and President ­Ronald Reagan took bullets from would-be assassins. Few realized at the time how close both men came to dying. Surviving these near-death experiences created a singular bond between the pope and the president that ­historians have failed to appreciate. When John Paul II and Reagan met only a year later, they confided to each other a shared conviction: that God had spared their lives for a ­reason. That reason? To defeat Communism. In private, Reagan had a name for this: "The DP"—the Divine Plan. * * * It has become fashionable to see the collapse of the Soviet empire as inevitable. Hardly. In this riveting book, bestselling author Paul Kengor and writer-­director Robert Orlando show what it took to end the Cold War: leaders who refused to accept that hundreds of ­millions must suffer under totalitarian ­Communism. And no leaders proved more important than the pope and the president. Two men who seemed to have little in common developed an extraordinary bond—including a spiritual bond between the Catholic pope and Protestant president. And their shared core convictions drove them to confront Communism. To tell the full story of the dramatic closing act of the Cold War, Kengor and Orlando draw on their exhaustive research and exclusive interviews with more than a dozen experts, including well-known historians Douglas Brinkley, H. W. Brands, Anne Applebaum, Stephen Kotkin, John O'Sullivan, and Craig Shirley; the leading biographer of John Paul II, George Weigel; close Reagan advisers Richard V. Allen and James Rosebush; and Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron. You can't understand Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan—or how the Cold War came to such a swift and peaceful end—without understanding how much faith they put in the Divine Plan.

MANKIND AND PLANET EARTH HAVE TODAY ARRIVED at a critical juncture in their evolutionary journey. At the close of this 75,000 year major cycle, a New World is about to be born. The memories and higher faculties of certain individuals are just today returning to them, and they are beginning to recall the purpose of their incarnation, their duty to humanity and to planet Earth. They are becoming aware of the close attendance of legions of incorporeal divine Emissaries, the exalted ranks to which they inherently belong. They are remembering that they are an essential part of a vast collective effort and tremendously important task, the scope of which stretches back across millions of years and a myriad of past lifetimes upon Earth and elsewhere, all geared toward the forthcoming and conclusive glory. In their remembrance, they are perceiving that they are about to realise the grand consummation of a vital phase of the Divine Plan for Earth, the solar system and beyond. The Servers are awakening, and they are taking up their positions as agents of the New Spirit in order to play an active role within today's expanding world-consciousness around the planet.

Even as historians credit Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II with hastening the end of the Cold War, they have failed to recognize the depth or significance of the bond that developed between the two leaders. Acclaimed scholar and bestselling author Paul Kengor changes that. In this fascinating book, he reveals a singular bond—which included a spiritual connection between the Catholic pope and the Protestant president—that drove the two men to confront what they knew to be the great evil of the twentieth century: Soviet communism. Reagan and John Paul II almost didn't have the opportunity to forge this relationship: just six weeks apart in the spring of 1981, they took bullets from would-be assassins. But their strikingly similar near-death experiences brought them close together—to Moscow's dismay.Based on Kengor's tireless archival digging and his unique access to Reagan insiders, A Pope and a President is full of revelations. It takes you inside private meetings between Reagan and John Paul II and into the Oval Office, the Vatican, the CIA, the Kremlin, and many points beyond. Nancy Reagan called John Paul II her husband's "closest friend"; Reagan himself told Polish visitors that the pope was his "best friend." When you read this book, you will understand why. As kindred spirits, Ronald Reagan and John Paul II united in pursuit of a supreme objective—and in doing so they changed history.

"Developed by the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops"--T.p. verso.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1909 edition. Excerpt: ... STUDY XVL CONCLUDING THOUGHTS. Our Duty Toward The Truth.--Its Cost, Its Valur, Its Profit. TN the preceding chapters we have seen that both the light * of nature and that of revelation clearly demonstrate the fa6t that an intelligent, wise, almighty and righteous God is the Creator of all things, and that he is the supreme and rightful Lord of all; that all things animate and inanimate are subject to his control; and that the Bible is the revelation of his character and plans so far as he is pleased to disclose them to men. From it we have learned that though evil now predominates among some of his creatures, it exists for only a limited time and to a limited extent, and by his permission, for wise ends which he has in view. We have also learned that though darkness now covers the earth, and gross darkness the people, yet God's light will in due time dispel all the darkness, and the whole earth will be filled with his glory. We have seen that his great plan is one that has required ages for its accomplishment thus far, and that yet another age will be required to complete it; and that during all the dark ages of the past, when God seemed to have almost forgotten his creatures, his plan for their future blessing has been silently but grandly working out, though during all those ages the mysteries of his plan have been wisely hidden from men. We have also seen that the day or age which is now about to dawn upon the world is to be the day of the world's judgment or trial, and that all previous preparation has been for the purpose of giving mankind in general as favorable an opportunity as possible, when, as individuals, they will be placed on trial for eternal life. The long period of six thousand years has greatly multiplied the race, and...

In response to a world awash in sexual chaos and gender confusion, this book offers a bold and thoroughly biblical look at the meaning of the body, sex, gender, and marriage. Bestselling author, cultural commentator, and popular theologian Christopher West is one of the world's most recognized teachers of John Paul II's Theology of the Body. He specializes in making this teaching accessible to all Christians, with particular attention to evangelicals. As West explains, from beginning to end the Bible tells a story of marriage. It begins with the marriage of man and woman in an earthly paradise and ends with the marriage of Christ and the church in an eternal paradise. In our post-sexual-revolution world, we need to remember that our bodies tell a divine story and proclaim the gospel itself. As male and female and in the call to become "one flesh," our bodies reveal a "great mystery" that mirrors Christ's love for the church (Eph. 5:31-32). This book provides a redemptive rather than repressive approach to sexual purity, explores the true meaning of sex and marriage, and offers a compelling vision of what it means to be created male and female. Foreword by Eric Metaxas.

In GREEN LIKE GOD, Jonathan Merritt gently and insightfully observes that the bible has a lot to say about environmental problems like unclean water, material waste, over consumption, air pollution, and global warming. In fact, Jonathan writes that "in the book of Genesis, God went green and never looked back." Relying heavily on scripture, Jonathan gives the case for green living, but not because it's trendy and hip. Rather, it's part of living rightly as a believer. It's an act of obedience to our Creator-God. GREEN LIKE GOD is at once practical, prescriptive, and conversational in tone. The author looks at a number of trends with tips to help the reader wade into the world of creation care living. An appendix includes suggestions of things we can do. In addition, the book includes interviews with everyday Christians to tell the story of the journey to environmental stewardship among people of faith. This is the book that Christians are longing for and need today. Written for a new generation of Christians who are struggling with how to deal with the important issue of creation-care and green living, GREEN LIKE GOD is both highly relevant and theologically sound. It will have a profound impact on how Christians live and interact with the world today.

The Theology of the Body contains talks given by John Paul II in which he discusses the bodily dimension of human personhood, sexuality, and marriage in the light of biblical revelation.