Spirituality and Religion
May 2023

Recent Releases
Please, Sorry, Thanks: The Three Words That Change Everything
by Mark Batterson

What it's about: the power that three polite words (“the psychology of please, the science of sorry, and the theology of thanks”) can have on your life and your faith.

Topics include: respectful disagreement, the desire to serve others, empathy as a Godly attribute, and gratitude for miracles.

Reviewers say: “This earnest entry offers believers abundant inspiration” (Publishers Weekly).
Living Resistance: An Indigenous Vision for Seeking Wholeness Every Day
by Kaitlin B. Curtice

What it is: a thoughtful and accessible call to explore the concept of resistance as it relates to the self, the spirit, and society. 

Read it for: the author's moving story of growing up as an evangelical Christian and how it intersected with her indigenous (Potawatomi Nation) identity.

Book buzz: "
A work of both spiritual direction and challenge toward social engagement, with welcoming, lambent prose" (Library Journal).
Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End
by Bart D. Ehrman

What it's about: popular misconceptions about the biblical Apocalypse, with a deep dive into the text and context of the Book of Revelation.

Don't miss: the examination of the social and political consequences of misunderstandings about Armageddon throughout history.

About the author: Bart D. Ehrman is a bestselling New Testament scholar whose previous work includes Misquoting Jesus and Jesus Before the Gospels. 
Christendom: The Triumph of A Religion, A.D. 300-1300
by Peter Heather

What it's about: Christianity's journey from a small sect of scattered, isolated groups of believers to a continent-spanning movement with connections in the highest circles of power.

Don't miss: an illuminating and richly detailed section about the Christianization of northwest Europe and the unique strategies missionaries deployed there. 

About the author:  
Peter Heather is a historian of late antiquity and early medieval Europe and professor at King's College London.
The Transcendent Brain: Spirituality in the Age of Science
by Alan Lightman

What it's about: "Spiritual materialism" or the idea that a scientific worldview can (and maybe should) coexist with spirituality.

Read it for: the lyrical and engaging writing and thought-provoking questions it raises.

About the author: In addition to his scholarly work, professor, physicist, and writer Alan Lightman is also known for his fiction, including Einstein's Dream and Three Flames.  
All My Knotted-Up Life: A Memoir
by Beth Moore

What it is: a candid, inspiring memoir about joining -- then leaving -- the Southern Baptist Convention and finding a more sustainable way of engaging with faith during politically fraught times. 

Reviewers say: "The frank views expressed in this remembrance will divide opinion, but the quality of Moore’s writing is indisputable" (Kirkus Reviews).

You might also like: Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey or Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Vuolo.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
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3005 112th St. E • Tacoma, WA 98446
253-548-3300

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