“How has unbelief come to dominate so many Western societies? The usual account invokes the advance of science and rational knowledge. Ryrie’s alternative, in which emotions are the driving force, offers new and interesting insights into our past and present.” —Charles Taylor, author of A Secular Age Why have societies that were once overwhelmingly Christian become so secular? We think we know the answer, pointing to science and reason as the twin culprits, but in this lively, startlingly original reconsideration, Alec Ryrie argues that people embraced unbelief much as they have always chosen their worldviews: through the heart more than the mind. Looking back to the crisis of the Reformation and beyond, he shows how, long before philosophers started to make the case for atheism, powerful cultural currents were challenging traditional faith. As Protestant radicals eroded time-honored certainties and ushered in an age of anger and anxiety, some defended their faith by redefining it in terms of ethics, setting in motion secularizing forces that soon became transformational. Unbelievers tells a powerful emotional history of doubt with potent lessons for our own angry and anxious times. “Well-researched and thought-provoking...Ryrie is definitely on to something right and important.” —Christianity Today “A beautifully crafted history of early doubt...Unbelievers covers much ground in a short space with deep erudition and considerable wit.” —The Spectator “Ryrie traces the root of religious skepticism to the anger, the anxiety, and the ‘desperate search for certainty’ that drove thinkers like...John Donne to grapple with church dogma.” —New Yorker

This study of the Qur'an arises from an interest in a pressing contemporary issue, the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims ('the Ummah and the Other'). This text explores how the Qur'an comments on this relationship as it changed in the course of Muhammad's ministry. Particular attention is paid to the portrayal in the Meccan 'punishment-narratives' of a fascinating and complex triangular relationship between God, the powerless and persecuted believing community with Muhammad at its centre, and the unbelieving Meccans who rejected Muhammad's preaching. The text raising questions about the possible contemporary relevance of this analysis, focusing firstly on discussions about the appropriate models for Islamic society today, and secondly on dialogue between Christians and Muslims. This book presents a detailed and illuminating analysis of many important Qur'anic themes and passages, and offers a coherent and original account of significant developments within the thought of the Qur'an as a whole.

This study of the Qur'an arises from an interest in a pressing contemporary issue, the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims ('the Ummah and the Other'). This text explores how the Qur'an comments on this relationship as it changed in the course of Muhammad's ministry. Particular attention is paid to the portrayal in the Meccan 'punishment-narratives' of a fascinating and complex triangular relationship between God, the powerless and persecuted believing community with Muhammad at its centre, and the unbelieving Meccans who rejected Muhammad's preaching. The text raising questions about the possible contemporary relevance of this analysis, focusing firstly on discussions about the appropriate models for Islamic society today, and secondly on dialogue between Christians and Muslims. This book presents a detailed and illuminating analysis of many important Qur'anic themes and passages, and offers a coherent and original account of significant developments within the thought of the Qur'an as a whole.

In this succinct history of modern atheism, a prolific author, editor, and scholar traces the development of atheist, agnostic, and secularist thought over the past century and a half.

A brooding, Victorian murder mystery set in the Scottish Highlands and featuring Inspector Allerdyce and Sergeant McGillivray Scotland's richest man has been shot dead and dumped down a well. Was the Duke of Dornoch murdered by one of the miners whose wages he cut because of "market forces"? Was he killed in return for his part in clearing the Highlands of their people? Did a discarded lover take their final revenge? Inspector Allerdyce and Sergeant McGillivray VC must find out before the killer strikes again. But their search, from the material heights of Victorian society to its moral dregs, threatens to overturn everything Allerdyce believes and loves. In the tradition of Charles Finch and The Somnambulist, Alastair Sim has crafted a memorable, atmospheric novel that covers new ground in the world of Victorian mysteries.

One of Northern Europe's most popular writers, Guus Kuijer was fascinated with the Bible from an early age, but was never able to believe it, no matter how hard he tried. Now, in prose that is humorous and sometimes irreverent, Kuijer reinterprets the most popular book in the world, making it new again for the twenty-first century and for the first time rendering it accessible to "unbelievers"—that is, to people who are ready to appreciate it as something other than a sacred text. The first volume of The Bible for Unbelievers tells the story of the Book of Genesis as an agnostic novel in which man's curiosity causes creation, not God alone. Kuijer explores the nagging loneliness of the universe before creation. He asks if man and woman are indeed God's handiwork or vice versa. The entire cast of characters in this Bible is imperfect, a little lawless, and at times fumbling and jealous—God included. Kuijer's afterword tells us that no story can "come to life unless the storyteller makes it his or her own." There's a charming invitation in these pages for us all to dare to revisit our founding myths and the roles we play in them. The Bible for Unbelievers is here to draw us into questions that have no answers. It does so not with fear or religiosity, but with joy.

A child who never should have been born… Tara Spencer is the new mother of a baby girl—one who, by all accounts, should not exist. Despite fears about her child’s origins, Tara finds herself settling into the Willow Springs community, away from the prying eyes of the sinister Brotherhood religious order and former-flame-turned-betrayer Cyril Woods. But when her daughter goes missing and her best friend is violently attacked, Tara’s newfound sense of security screeches to a halt. She realizes nowhere will be safe until she discovers the truth behind her mysterious virgin pregnancy. When evil walks among us… After accepting help from a charismatic but secretive billionaire, Tara’s quest for answers leads her across the world. Attacked by those who see her as the ultimate evil, Tara fights to separate the trustworthy from the treacherous as a series of shocking discoveries calls everything she’s ever known into question. In the stunning second installment of The Awakening series, societal roles are tested and religious norms questioned in a thrilling paranormal page-turner combining elements of Rosemary’s Baby and The Da Vinci Code. The Awakening Series The Unbelievers is the second installment of the popular four-book Awakening series. If you love occult and supernatural thrillers, dark fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal fantasy or religious conspiracy thrillers with young women protagonists, this series is for you. Buy The Unbelievers today.

Knowing the life of Mohammed (the Sira) is the key to understanding Islam and the Koran. In one of the great stories of history, Mohammed went from being an orphan to the first ruler of all Arabia. Battles, raids, torture, deception, slavery, assassinations, heroes, secret agents, and religion all figure in his glorious triumph. Mohammed was the world's supreme master of war. Poetry, passion, culture, immigration, history, sex, ethics, economics, Paradise and Hell were all used to define a new form of war-jihad. This is an epic story and sacred text and a part of the Islamic Trilogy Series. Islam is a political system, a culture and a religion based upon the Koran, Sira (life of Mohammed) and Hadith (the Traditions of Mohammed). The Islamic Trilogy series integrates the three primary sources to give the entire Islamic political doctrine-the treatment of non-Muslims. The Trilogy is authoritative and fact-based. All statements can be confirmed by the use of reference numbers. The knowledge is integrated-all of the primary sources are used to give the complete picture of Islam's political doctrine.