The thirteen essays collected in this volume investigate the possibility that the word "God" can be understood now, at the end of the twentieth century, in a meaningful way. Nine of the essays appear in English translation for the first time. Among Levinas's writings, this volume distinguishes itself, both for students of his thought and for a wider audience, by the range of issues it addresses. Levinas not only rehearses the ethical themes that have led him to be regarded as one of the most original thinkers working out of the phenomenological tradition, but he also takes up philosophical questions concerning politics, language, and religion. The volume situates his thought in a broader intellectual context than have his previous works. In these essays, alongside the detailed investigations of Husserl, Heidegger, Rosenzweig, and Buber that characterize all his writings, Levinas also addresses the thought of Kierkegaard, Marx, Bloch, and Derrida. Some essays provide lucid expositions not available elsewhere to key areas of Levinas's thought. "God and Philosophy" is perhaps the single most important text for understanding Levinas and is in many respects the best introduction to his works. "From Consciousness to Wakefulness" illuminates Levinas's relation to Husserl and thus to phenomenology, which is always his starting point, even if he never abides by the limits it imposes. In "The Thinking of Being and the Question of the Other," Levinas not only addresses Derrida's Speech and Phenomenon but also develops an answer to the later Heidegger's account of the history of Being by suggesting another way of reading that history. Among the other topics examined in the essays are the Marxist concept of ideology, death, hermeneutics, the concept of evil, the philosophy of dialogue, the relation of language to the Other, and the acts of communication and mutual understanding.

Around 1800 roughly three per cent of the human population lived in urban areas; by 2030 this number is expected to have gone up to some seventy per cent. This poses problems for traditional religions that are all rooted in rural, small-scale societies. The authors in this volume question what the possible appeal of these old religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam could be in the new urban environment and, conversely, what impact global urbanization will have on learning and on the performance and nature of ritual. Anthropologists, historians and political scientists have come together in this volume to analyse attempts made by churches and informal groups to adapt to these changes and, at the same time, to explore new ways to study religions in a largely urbanized environment.

This is a story about a man who had achieved success, but wasn't content. Ted had a vision for the world, a vision for all people to have an opportunity to learn about Jesus. Ted reasoned, "Why should some hear the life-giving message many times before some had the chance to hear it once?"Ted and his wife, Peggy, applied to become missionaries, but were declined. They were too old, had too many kids, and did not have the right education. All avenues for personal involvement in world evangelization seemed closed, so the Fletchers founded their own organization. Drawing on Ted's experience as a Marine and as a corporate executive, they stepped out in faith to send others to places in the world where missionaries were not welcome. Despite the odds, the mission grew beyond any of their expectations.This updated edition of When God Comes Calling includes two new chapters by Pioneers' cofounder, Peggy Fletcher, who writes about the growth of the mission among the unreached since the first edition was published in 2001 and since Ted's homegoing in 2003. 170 pages, 2010.

The God Who Goes before You provides a foundation for the study of leadership that looks at the topic with both feet firmly planted in the whole counsel of Scripture.

"At the age of 44, after a prominent career as a Catholic activist, Carlo Carretto was summoned by a voice that said: 'Leave everything, come with me into the desert. I don't want your action any longer, I want your prayer, your love.' Carretto responded by leaving for North Africa, where he joined the Little Brothers of Jesus and embraced the example of Charles de Foucauld. Among the fruits of Brother Carlo's response was Letters from the Desert, the first and most popular of his many books. Its life-affirming message has inspired countless readers in a dozen languages. Simply, it reminds us that in the evening of our lives we will be judged by love."--Publisher description

Often our Advent/Christmas journey is focused on us our memories, feelings, relationships and experiences. This study puts the focus on Gods action in Jesus Christ. It encourages participants to think more deeply in terms of the biblical, theological and spiritual meaning of the Nativity, while still applying it to their own life experience.

In "When God comes to church," Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. explores what the Bible teaches about revival. He explains what God can do to revive his people and what we must do to prepare ourselves for revival. Ortlund's conclusions provide solid guidance for church leaders and lay people who long for renewal and revival from God.

What you believe about God sets the foundation of the person you will become. In God Has a Name, pastor and New York Times bestselling author John Mark Comer invites you to rethink many of the prevalent myths and misconceptions about God and weigh them against what God actually tells us about himself. After all, what you believe about God will ultimately shape the type of person you become. We all live at the mercy of our ideas, and nowhere is this more true than our ideas about God. The problem is many of our ideas about God are wrong. Not all wrong, but wrong enough to form our souls in detrimental and disheartening ways. God Has a Name is a simple yet profound guide to understanding God in a new light--focusing on what God says about himself in the Bible. This one shift has the potential to radically alter how you relate to God, not as a doctrine, but as a relational being who responds to you in an elastic, back-and-forth way. John Mark Comer takes you line by line through Exodus 34:6-8--Yahweh's self-revelation on Mount Sinai, one of the most quoted passages in the Bible. Along the way, Comer addresses some of the most profound questions he came across as he studied these noted lines in Exodus, including: Why do we feel this gap between us and God? Could it be that a lot of what we think about God is wrong? Not all wrong, but wrong enough to mess up how we relate to him? What if our "God" is really a projection of our own identity, ideas, and desires? What if the real God is different, but far better than we could ever imagine? No matter where you are in your spiritual journey, God Has a Name invites you to step into a fresh and biblically rooted vision of who God is that has the potential to alter your life with God and shape who you become.