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Spirituality and Religion January 2019
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| A Call for Revolution: A Vision for the Future by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Sofia Stril-Rever What it is: a thoughtful, impassioned appeal from His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV, urging readers to improve the world around them through compassion and an understanding of the ways in which all living things are interconnected.
Why you might like it: The writing is persuasive but concise, making for an approachable introduction to the Dalai Lama's teachings.
Who it's for: Although readers of all ages will find wisdom here, this book is primarily targeted at the young people who will inherit the consequences of climate change and increasing inequality. |
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Atheist Overreach: What Atheism Can't Deliver
by Christian Smith
In recent years atheism has become ever more visible, acceptable, and influential. Atheist apologists have become increasingly vociferous and confident in their claims. In Atheist Overreach, Christian Smith takes a look at the evidence and explains why we ought to be skeptical of these atheists' claims about morality, science, and human nature.
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Walking in Wonder: Eternal Wisdom for a Modern World
by John O'Donohue
The latest collection of inspirational conversations and presentations by the late author of Anam Cara and his radio broadcaster friend spans a number of years and explores such themes as aging, death and the medieval mystic Meister Eckhart.
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| Living With the Gods: On Beliefs and Peoples by Neil MacGregorWhat it's about: the ways that religion and society shape one another, from the primal origins of religious belief to the effects of spiritual practice on things like architecture and perceptions of time.
Read it for: its sweeping scale, relevance to contemporary issues of religion and society, and engaging, accessible writing style.
Author alert: Neil MacGregor is the author of other expansive histories, most notably A History of the World in 100 Objects. |
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The Heart of the Shaman: Stories & Practices of the Luminous Warrior
by Alberto Villoldo
In his latest book, Alberto Villoldo sets his focus on the dreaming and time-travel practices of the medicine men and women of the Andes and Amazon, whose wisdom radically changed his worldview. Villoldo shares some of their time-honored teachings that emphasize the sacred dream: an ephemeral, yet powerful vision that has the potential to guide us to our purpose and show us our place in the universe.
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Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing
by Liz Theoharis
Drawing from the history of social movements in the US, a collection of sermons and speeches, grounded in the fundamental biblical theme of poor and oppressed people taking action together, features response essays by prominent public intellectuals, activists and faith leaders.
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| God in the Qur'an by Jack MilesWhat it is: an accessible introduction to the Qur'an, discussing the shared God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as depicted in the Muslim holy text.
Who it's for: non-Muslims will probably get the most out of this book, since it focuses on figures that the Bible and the Qur'an have in common but covers few that are exclusive to Islam.
Don't miss: the appendix, which details concepts like the afterlife and Satan as they are portrayed in the Qur'an. |
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When One Religion Isn't Enough: The Lives of Spiritually Fluid People
by Duane R Bidwell
When One Religion Isn’t Enough explores the lives of spiritually fluid people, revealing that while some chose multiple religious belonging, many more inherit it. For many North Americans, the complicated legacies of colonialism are part of their family story, and they may consider themselves both Christian and Hindu, or Buddhist, or Yoruban, or one of the many other religions native to colonized lands.
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A Book of Pagan Prayer
by Ceisiwr Serith
A unique collection of nearly 500 prayers written to fulfill the needs of contemporary pagans from a variety of traditions, A Book of Pagan Prayer is a book to turn to again and again.
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| Dear Zealots: Letters From a Divided Land by Amos OzWhat it is: a thought-provoking, reflective collection of essays by Israeli intellectual and writer Amos Oz, detailing his reflections on the state of his homeland and the forces that keep it divided.
Why you should read it: Oz offers a path to reconciliation different from the current discourse, encouraging everyone to be aware of 'the little fanatic who hides, more or less, inside each of our souls."
You might also like: Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor by Yossi Klein Halevi and The Balfour Declaration by Jonathan Schneer. |
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| Why Religion? A Personal Story by Elaine PagelsWhat it's about: religion scholar Elaine Pagels' story of her relationship with spirituality over the course of her life and career, with insights from neurologists and social scientists about the purpose faith serves for humanity.
Don't miss: the parallels between parts of the author's life story and the Book of Job, and the lessons she took from these difficult experiences.
What sets it apart: the artful balance between Pagels' respect for faith as a concept and her curiosity about why it manages to endure in the modern era. |
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| The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims by Mustafa AkyolWhat it is: a thought-provoking exploration of the influences of Christian and Jewish thinkers on early Islamic conceptions of Jesus and his nature.
Topics include: depictions of Jesus's mother Mary as she appears in Islamic writings; discussions = of the lessons that believers of all three Abrahamic faiths can take away from the Qur'an.
Read it for: its conversational, accessible evaluation of holy texts and evidence from the archaeological record. |
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Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity
by James J. O'Donnell
Religion in the Roman Empire during the first four centuries A.D. assumed that there were many gods. People were devoted to their deities but also tolerant of different beliefs. The early followers of Jesus asserted a strange, novel idea when they claimed that their God was the only one. In Pagans, Georgetown University scholar James O'Donnell offers an easy to follow tour of ancient Roman religions preceding Christianity. He also explains how Christian doctrine began to drive out polytheism and eventually dominated Western religion. Though it's packed with historical scholarship, this book "employs the classical texts with irony and irreverence" (Kirkus Reviews).
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| Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and... by Bart D. EhrmanWhat it is: an exploration of the historicity of the Gospels and the possible effects that the tradition of oral transmission may have had before they were written down.
Don't miss: the differing stories of Jesus that were circulating before and after his death, with special attention paid to the historical context in which they developed.
Author alert: Noted Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman is the author of numerous books about early Christianity, including Misquoting Jesus and How Jesus Became God. |
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| Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World by Tim WhitmarshWhat it's about: the existence of atheism in the ancient world, countering the idea that the concept of a life without religion is unique to modern thinkers.
Why you should read it: Cambridge scholar Tim Whitmarsh provides an accessible entry point to a long-forgotten aspect of the diverse and sometimes volatile religious milieu of Antiquity.
Reviewers say: "In [Whitmarsh's] capable hands, this topic will engage readers from classical scholars to interested laypeople" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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