Dramatic geographical formations tower over the Four Corners country in the southwestern United States. The mountains, cliffs, and sandstone spires, familiar landmarks for anglo travelers, orient Navajos both physically and spiritually. In Sacred Land, Sacred View, Robert McPherson describes the mythological significance of these landmarks. Navajos read their environment as a spiritual text: the gods created the physical world to help, teach, and protect people through an integrated system of beliefs represented in nature. The author observes that the Middle East is of "no greater import to Christians than the Dine's holy land is to Navajos." He continues: "Sacred mountains circumscribe the land, containing the junction of the San Juan River and Mancos Creek, where Born for Water invoked supernatural aid to overcome danger and death and where, at the Bear's Ears formation, good triumphed over evil." The more one learns about the Dine, the more one inevitably admires their way of perceiving and interpreting what lies just beyond the focus of human vision. Their renowned respect for nature and way of living in harmony with the environment derive from their religious traditions.

In late 2016, President Barack Obama designated 1.35 million acres of public lands in southeastern Utah as Bears Ears National Monument. On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump shrank the monument by 85 percent. A land rich in human history and unsurpassed in natural beauty, Bears Ears is at the heart of a national debate over the future of public lands. Through the stories of twenty individuals, and informed by interviews with more than seventy people, Voices from Bears Ears captures the passions of those who fought to protect Bears Ears and those who opposed the monument as a federal “land grab” that threatened to rob them of their economic future. It gives voice to those who have felt silenced, ignored, or disrespected. It shares stories of those who celebrate a growing movement by Indigenous peoples to protect ancestral lands and culture, and those who speak devotedly about their Mormon heritage. What unites these individuals is a reverence for a homeland that defines their cultural and spiritual identity, and therein lies hope for finding common ground. Journalist Rebecca Robinson provides context and perspective for understanding the ongoing debate and humanizes the abstract issues at the center of the debate. Interwoven with these stories are photographs of the interviewees and the land they consider sacred by photographer Stephen E. Strom. Through word and image, Robinson and Strom allow us to both hear and see the people whose lives are intertwined with this special place.

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Lost City of the Monkey God comes an entrancing, eloquent, and entertaining account of the author’s adventurous journey on horseback through the Southwest in the heart of Navajo desert country. In 1992 author Douglas Preston and his wife and daughter rode horseback across 400 miles of desert in Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. They were retracing the route of a Navajo deity, the Slayer of Alien Gods, on his quest to restore beauty and balance to the Earth. More than a travelogue, Preston’s account of their “one tough journey, luminously remembered” (Kirkus Reviews) is a tale of two cultures meeting in a sacred land and is “like traveling across unknown territory with Lewis and Clark to the Pacific” (Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee).

A “thought-provoking, myth-smashing” exploration of American identity and a passionate call for a more tolerant, interfaith America (Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State) There is no better time to stand up for your values than when they are under attack. Alarmist, hateful rhetoric once relegated to the fringes of political discourse has now become frighteningly mainstream, with pundits and politicians routinely invoking the specter of Islam as a menacing, deeply anti-American force. In Sacred Ground, author and renowned interfaith leader Eboo Patel says this prejudice is not just a problem for Muslims but a challenge to the very idea of America. Patel shows us that Americans from George Washington to Martin Luther King Jr. have been “interfaith leaders,” illustrating how the forces of pluralism in America have time and again defeated the forces of prejudice. And now a new generation needs to rise up and confront the anti-Muslim prejudice of our era. To this end, Patel offers a primer in the art and science of interfaith work, bringing to life the growing body of research on how faith can be a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division and sharing stories from the frontlines of interfaith activism. Patel asks us to share in his vision of a better America—a robustly pluralistic country in which our commonalities are more important than our differences, and in which difference enriches, rather than threatens, our religious traditions. Pluralism, Patel boldly argues, is at the heart of the American project, and this visionary book will inspire Americans of all faiths to make this country a place where diverse traditions can thrive side by side.

Reconnect to Mother Earth and recharge your creativity by combining the healing energy of nature with the meditative process of drawing and painting mandalas. Explore Botanical Mandalas and watch your artistic expression flourish! Full of inspiration for reconnecting with natures beauty to inspire you to create expressive mandala artworks. Includes drawing, painting and mixed-media projects to find endless inspiration for your own botanical mandala journey.

Sacred sites offer believers the possibility of communing with the divine and achieving deeper insight into their faith. Yet their spiritual and cultural importance can lead to competition as religious groups seek to exclude rivals from practicing potentially sacrilegious rituals in the hallowed space and wish to assert their own claims. Holy places thus create the potential for military, theological, or political clashes, not only between competing religious groups but also between religious groups and secular actors. In War on Sacred Grounds, Ron E. Hassner investigates the causes and properties of conflicts over sites that are both venerated and contested; he also proposes potential means for managing these disputes. Hassner illustrates a complex and poorly understood political dilemma with accounts of the failures to reach settlement at Temple Mount/Haram el-Sharif, leading to the clashes of 2000, and the competing claims of Hindus and Muslims at Ayodhya, which resulted in the destruction of the mosque there in 1992. He also addresses more successful compromises in Jerusalem in 1967 and Mecca in 1979. Sacred sites, he contends, are particularly prone to conflict because they provide valuable resources for both religious and political actors yet cannot be divided. The management of conflicts over sacred sites requires cooperation, Hassner suggests, between political leaders interested in promoting conflict resolution and religious leaders who can shape the meaning and value that sacred places hold for believers. Because a reconfiguration of sacred space requires a confluence of political will, religious authority, and a window of opportunity, it is relatively rare. Drawing on the study of religion and the study of politics in equal measure, Hassner's account offers insight into the often-violent dynamics that come into play at the places where religion and politics collide.

The earth is marked with the traces of man's ancient past, and Marilyn Bridges's photographs reveal the spiritual forces inherent in our ancestral creations. Her exploration highlights the mysterious Nazca lines painstakingly scored two thousand years ago onto a Peruvian desert landscape the sacred temples and pyramids of the Maya, deep in the Yucatan jungle the enigmatic earthworks of ancient North American Indians and the colossal prehistoric temple of Stonehenge. Taken from daringly low altitudes, Bridges's aerial photographs pose profound questions about the relationship of human culture and the natural world. Essays by Haven O'More, director of the Institute of Traditional Science, Lucy Lippard, and other leading thinkers lend insight into the quest to uncover lost knowledge of the creation of these mysterious markings.

Fox reveals the strange subdiscipline of biblical archaeology and pursues the various suspects--Islamic zealots, Jewish extremists, and rival archaeologists--only to find himself caught in an expanding labyrinth of deceit. A lively history and a riveting mystery, this is also the tragic story of a man who dedicated himself to a cause that ultimately destroyed him.

This book captures the singular beauty of Bears Ears country in all seasons, its textural subtleties portrayed alongside the drama of expansive landscapes and skies, deep canyons, spires, and towering mesas. To photographer Stephen E. Strom's sensitive eyes, a scrub oak on a hillside or a pattern in windswept sand is as essential to capturing the spirit of the landscape as the region's most iconic vistas. Years from now, this book may serve as either a celebration of the foresight of visionary leaders or as an elegy for what was lost.

What better way is there to become configured to Christ than by following in His footsteps? A pilgrimage to the Holy Land allows one to follow, quite literally, in Our Lord’s footsteps, to discover His homeland and the cultural, linguistic, historical, and topographical landscapes that reveal so much about Jesus Christ. Come and See: A Catholic Guide to the Holy Land accompanies pilgrims through holy sites in Galilee, the Dead Sea, and Jerusalem. Contemplate the mysteries of Our Lord’s earthly life and ministry with appropriate biblical texts and the testimonies of both Roman historians and early Christian witnesses and writers. This uniquely Catholic travel guide features: Vibrant, full-color pictures Almost every page features photographs of the holy sites, as well as sacred art and even diagrams for historical context. Scripture on Site See the place the Lord’s Ascension actually occurred while reading about it in the Book of Acts. Experience the Jordan River while contemplating Christ’s baptism in that very place. Bring both the sites and the Scriptures to life by reading the Scripture on Site suggestions. Reflection sections with specific reflections for seminarians Not only is this guide informative, it is devotional. The reflection sections are perfect journaling prompts, group discussion questions, or simply guides for quiet reflection. Seminarians particularly will benefit from questions focused on their formation and future priestly ministry. Special durable cover and compact travel size This is one guide that can stand up to the rigors of travel! The cover is tear-resistant and the size is perfect for taking along on day trips to holy sites. Fr. Charles Samson’s Come and See will be a welcome companion for all who journey to the Holy Land to better know and love Christ.