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Spirituality and Religion January 2017
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| On Living by Kerry EganAlthough hospice chaplain Kerry Egan works with people who are experiencing their last days and hours, this inspiring yet down-to-earth memoir focuses on life. Relating what she's heard from her patients, she portrays them as storytellers whose first interest is their families, who recall their earlier lives, and who sometimes express heartbreak and has regrets. Egan also confesses that what she hears from the dying has promoted her own healing from sorrow and pain. Filled with quotations from her conversations, On Living offers testimony to the power of life even at the point of death. Of the many patients she's listened to, she concludes, "Always, they taught me something." |
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| The Murderous History of Bible Translations: Power, Conflict, and the Quest for Meaning by Harry FreedmanThe Bible has been translated into more versions than any other book, and interpreting the scriptures for general readers has sometimes led to remarkable conflict and even bloody violence. In The Murderous History of Bible Translations, author and Aramaic scholar Harry Freedman traces this history, starting with the early translation of Hebrew scriptures into Greek (the Septuagint). He discusses how translation that was usually intended to make the scriptures widely accessible was often driven by sectarian agendas. This engaging and accessible survey opens a fascinating window onto the Bible's history. |
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| Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary by Joe Jackson In Black Elk, author Joe Jackson presents the first comprehensive account of this Lakota holy man, who was present at many of the crucial events in Native American history: as a fighter at Little Big Horn, a leader in the traditionalist Ghost Dance movement, and -- perhaps ironically -- a performer in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. In this major contribution to the subject, Jackson brings Black Elk to life in the context of world history. |
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| Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis by Mark K. ShriverWhen author Mark Shriver was asked to write a book about the newly elected Pope, he embarked on a pilgrimage to trace the roots of the Jesuit priest Jorge Mario Bergoglio who became Pope Francis. In this engaging and thoughtful portrait, Shriver recounts interviews with Bergoglio's novice master, Argentinian friends and colleagues, political critics, and poor people with whom Bergoglio kept in touch once he became a cardinal. Confessing his own doubts about the church after his parents' deaths, Shriver also expresses hope for the church's renewal under the new pope. For another accessible biography of Francis, try Austen Ivereigh's The Great Reformer. |
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| Genghis Khan and the Quest for God: How the World's Greatest Conqueror Gave Us... by Jack WeatherfordThough Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan's conquering armies were merciless to those who resisted, Khan's techniques for uniting his conquests into the largest empire in history were based on tolerance. In addition to promoting justice and peace (after the bloodshed was over), he allowed his subjects to practice their religions without restriction. Drawing on recently discovered documents, anthropologist Jack Weatherford also finds that Khan became a student of religion in his later years, learning from the peoples he had conquered. Though Genghis Khan and the Quest for God doesn't minimize Khan's bloodthirstiness, it presents a more peaceable aspect than history usually acknowledges. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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