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Bestselling author of The Gospel According to Peanuts Robert Short reveals what man''s best friend can teach us about life. Dogs do much more than just keep us company and give us love and attention—they are models for how we can live better lives as humans. From humility and obedience to singleness of purpose and unconditional love, Short shows us how we can learn from the remarkable qualities of dogs. Using examples from more than forty classic comic strips, including Peanuts, Blondie, Family Circus, Luann, Mother Goose & Grimm, Fred Basset, and more, as well as charming photographs of real dogs, The Gospel According to Dogs is a delight-fully entertaining book for dog lovers, comic enthusiasts, and anyone looking for reassuring wisdom for the good life.

The discovery of a previously lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot has electrified the Christian community. What Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us about Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is inconsistent and biased. Therefore, the revelation of an ancient gospel that portrays this despised man as someone who saw his role in the Passion of Christ as integral to a larger plan?a divine plan?brings new clarity to the old story. If Judas had not betrayed Jesus, Jesus would not have been handed over to the authorities, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Could it be that without Judas, the Easter miracle would never have happened?In The Secrets of Judas, James M. Robinson, an expert historian of early Christianity, examines the Bible and other ancient texts and reveals what we can and cannot know about the life of the historical Judas, his role in Jesus's crucifixion, and whether the Christian church should reevaluate his intentions and possible innocence. Robinson tells the sensational story of the discovery of a gospel attributed to Judas, and shows how this affects Judas's newfound meaning for history and for the Christian faith.

Frederick Buechner has long been a kindred spirit to those who find elements of doubt as constant companions on their journey of faith. He is a passionate writer and preacher who can alter lives with a simple phrase. Buechner's words, both written and spoken, have the power to revolutionize and revitalize belief and faith. He reveals the presence of God in the midst of daily life. He faces and embraces difficult questions and doubt as essential components of our lives, rather than as enemies that destroy us. "Listen to your life!" is his clarion call. This theme pervades this definitive collection of sermons, delivered throughout Buechner's lifetime. Presented chronologically, they provide a clear picture of the development of his theology and thinking. Reflecting Buechner's exquisite gift for storytelling and his compassionate pastor's heart, Secrets in the Dark will inspire laughter, hope, and bring great solace. Turn the pages and rediscover what it means to be thoughtful about faith. See why this renowned writer has been quoted in countless pulpits and beloved by Americans for generations.

Addiction and Grace offers an inspiring and hope-filled vision for those who desire to explore the mystery of who and what they really are. May examines the "processes of attachment" that lead to addiction and describes the relationship between addiction and spiritual awareness. He also details the various addictions from which we can suffer, not only to substances like alcohol and drugs, but to work, sex, performance, responsibility, and intimacy. Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist working with the chemically dependent, May emphasizes that addiction represents an attempt to assert complete control over our lives. Addiction and Grace is a compassionate and wise treatment of a topic of major concern in these most addictive of times, one that can provide a critical yet hopeful guide to a place of freedom based on contemplative spirituality.

Rebecca Martin is a single mother with an apartment to rent and a sense that she has used up her illusions. I had the romantic thing with my first husband, thank you very much, she tells a hapless suitor. I'm thirty-eight years old, and I've got a daughter learning to read and a job I don't quite like. I don't need the violin music. But when the new tenant in her in-law apartment turns out to be Michael Christopher, on the lam after twenty years in a monastery and smack dab in the middle of a dark night of the soul, Rebecca begins to suspect that she is not as thoroughly disillusioned as she had thought.Her daughter, Mary Martha, is delighted with the new arrival, as is Rebecca's mother, Phoebe, a rollicking widow making a new life for herself among the spiritual eccentrics of the coastal town of Bolinas. Even Rebecca's best friend, Bonnie, once a confirmed cynic in matters of the heart, urges Rebecca on. But none of them, Rebecca feels, understands how complicated and dangerous love actually is.As her unlikely friendship with the ex-monk grows toward something deeper, and Michael wrestles with his despair while adjusting to a second career flipping hamburgers at McDonald's, Rebecca struggles with her own temptation to hope. But it is not until she is brought up short by the realities of life and death that she begins to glimpse the real mystery of love, and the unfathomable depths of faith.Beautifully written and playfully engaging, this novel. is about one man wrestling with his yearning for a life of contemplation and the need for a life of action in the world. But it's Rebecca's spirit, as well as her relationships with Mary Martha, Phoebe, her irresponsible surfer ex-husband Rory -- and, of course, the monk downstairs -- that makes this story shine.

Spend a year with Jesus with commentary and meditations by the definitive voice for Christian spirituality today. Chosen from the Gospels of Matthew and John, the 365 readings encourage us to remove ourselves from our hectic, day-to-day pace and reflect on the life and teachings of Jesus himself. These Gospel selections are accompanied by reflections and prayers from bestselling Christian author Eugene Peterson. Readers will discover a daily companion that offers wisdom and guidance throughout the year.

For brides and grooms who want to give their weddings new depth and meaning, two acclaimed poet-translators have gathered a stunning collection of poems and prose that will add a unique and personal dimension to the ceremony.

It's summer in Harmony, but not everything is as sunny as the weather. The good citizens of Harmony are back and stirring up trouble as usual, sometimes with disastrous results. Pastor Sam Gardner must take a leave of absence from his post at Harmony Friends Meeting to take care of his ailing father.But when spunky pastor Krista Riley comes to fill his position, the quirky Quakers seem to fall in love with her, and it begins to look like Sam's sabbatical may be permanent. Krista's resilience is put to the test when Dale Hinshaw and Fern Hampton begin to question whether a woman can faithfully lead their flock, and it looks like the resulting tiff might just be the undoing of Harmony Friends Meeting. Will Sam come to the rescue? Finding the answer to this question makes the trip back to Harmony worth turning every page.

This pocket edition of Richard McBrien's acclaimed Lives of the Popes is a practical quick reference tool for scholars, students, and anyone needing just a few concise facts about all the popes, from St. Peter to Benedict XVI.

The Terri Schiavo case was a key battle in a larger political struggle over abortion, stem-cell research, physician-assisted suicide, gay rights, and the appointment of federal judges. The religious Right chose to make it a national spectacle because they thought they could win. They were wrong. But there are many more battles to come. Jon Eisenberg, who served as one of the lead attorneys on Michael Schiavo's side, exposes the religious Right's strategies and follows the money trail to reveal how they are organized, who is funding the movement, and where we can expect future legal maneuvers to combat the American traditions of autonomy and freedom.Jon Eisenberg has experienced the family struggle of removing a feeding tube from a loved one and witnessed firsthand the Florida drama that will continue to have national legal and political consequences for years to come. What tactics can we expect to see in courtrooms and state legislatures all across this country in the days ahead? Who is behind the funding and what do they hope to accomplish and when? What are the religious and bioethical issues that are at the center of these debates and how will they affect future legal battles? Using Terri gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what happened -- and what's coming.

How did we go from John F. Kennedy declaring that religion should play no role in the elections to Bush saying, "I believe that God wants me to be president"?Historian Randall Balmer takes us on a tour of presidential religiosity in the last half of the twentieth century--from Kennedy's 1960 speech that proposed an almost absolute wall between American political and religious life to the soft religiosity of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society; from Richard Nixon's manipulation of religion to fit his own needs to Gerald Ford's quiet stoicism; from Jimmy Carter's introduction of evangelicalism into the mainstream to Ronald Reagan's co-option of the same group; from Bill Clinton's covert way of turning religion into a non-issue to George W. Bush's overt Christian messages, Balmer reveals the role religion has played in the personal and political lives of these American presidents.Americans were once content to disregard religion as a criterion for voting, as in most of the modern presidential elections before Jimmy Carter.But today's voters have come to expect candidates to fully disclose their religious views and to deeply illustrate their personal relationship to the Almighty. God in the White House explores the paradox of Americans' expectation that presidents should simultaneously trumpet their religious views and relationship to God while supporting the separation of church and state. Balmer tells the story of the politicization of religion in the last half of the twentieth century, as well as the "religionization" of our politics. He reflects on the implications of this shift, which have reverberated in both our religious and political worlds, and offers a new lens through which to see not only these extraordinary individuals, but also our current political situation.

In 1692 Puritan Samuel Sewall sent twenty people to their deaths on trumped-up witchcraft charges. The nefarious witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts represent a low point of American history, made famous in works by Longfellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne (himself a descendant of one of the judges), and Arthur Miller. The trials might have doomed Sewall to infamy except for a courageous act of contrition now commemorated in a mural that hangs beneath the golden dome of the Massachusetts State House picturing Sewall's public repentance. He was the only Salem witch judge to make amends.But, remarkably, the judge's story didn't end there. Once he realized his error, Sewall turned his attention to other pressing social issues. Struck by the injustice of the New England slave trade, a commerce in which his own relatives and neighbors were engaged, he authored "The Selling of Joseph," America's first antislavery tract. While his peers viewed Native Americans as savages, Sewall advocated for their essential rights and encouraged their education, even paying for several Indian youths to attend Harvard College. Finally, at a time when women were universally considered inferior to men, Sewall published an essay affirming the fundamental equality of the sexes. The text of that essay, composed at the deathbed of his daughter Hannah, is republished here for the first time.In Salem Witch Judge, acclaimed biographer Eve LaPlante, Sewall's great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter, draws on family lore, her ancestor's personal diaries, and archival documents to open a window onto life in colonial America, painting a portrait of a man traditionally vilified, but who was in fact an innovator and forefather who came to represent the best of the American spirit.

One woman's struggle to restore an old slave cemetery uncovers centuries-old racism When China Galland visited her childhood hometown in east Texas, she learned of an unmarked cemetery for slaves-Love Cemetery. Her ensuing quest to restore and reclaim the cemetary unearths racial wounds that have never completely healed. Research becomes activism as she organizes a grassroots, interracial committee, made up of local religious leaders and lay people, to work on restoring community access to the cemetery. The author also presents material from the time of slavery and the Reconstruction Era, including stories of “landtakings” (the theft of land from African Americans), and forms of slavery that continued well into the twentieth century. Ultimately Keepers of Love delivers a message of tremendous hope as members of both black and white communities come together to right an historical wrong, and in so doing, discover each other's common dignity.“Galland captures the struggle to reclaim one small cemetery in Texas with such engrossing drama and personal detail that the story becomes something larger still-a universal struggle to reclaim the ground of Deep Compassion that lies untended in the human heart.”-Sue Monk Kidd

For decades the accepted wisdom has been that America's mainline Protestant churches are in decline, eclipsed by evangelical mega-churches. Church and religion expert Diana Butler Bass wondered if this was true, and this book is the result of her extensive, three-year study of centrist and progressive churches across the country. Her surprising findings reveal just the opposite?that many of the churches are flourishing, and they are doing so without resorting to mimicking the mega-church, evangelical style. Christianity for the Rest of Us describes this phenomenon and offers a how-to approach for Protestants eager to remain faithful to their tradition while becoming a vital spiritual community. As Butler Bass delved into the rich spiritual life of various Episcopal, United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Lutheran churches, certain consistent practices?such as hospitality, contemplation, diversity, justice, discernment, and worship?emerged as core expressions of congregations seeking to rediscover authentic Christian faith and witness today. This hopeful book, which includes a study guide for groups and individuals, reveals the practical steps that leaders and laypeople alike are taking to proclaim an alternative message about an emerging Christianity that strives for greater spiritual depth and proactively engages the needs of the world.

Sociologists, therapists, and psychiatrists have spent entire careers investigating the ins and outs of health, success, and happiness, but their findings are inaccessible to ordinary people, hidden in obscure journals seen only by other experts.Now David Niven, the international bestselling author of the Simple Secrets series, has collected the most current and significant data from more than a thousand of the best scientific studies on three of the most important aspects of our daily lives. Niven has boiled these findings down to sound, succinct advice for each day of the year, presenting 365 essential ways to find and maintain health, wealth, and wisdom. Each entry is accompanied by a true story showing the results in action. Whether you want to enhance your body, your bank account, your IQ, or all three, this bestselling series offers 365 essential ways to let science help you.

At the heart of the Bible is a moral and ethical call to fight unjust superpowers, whether they are Babylon, Rome, or even America. From the divine punishment and promise found in Genesis through the revolutionary messages of Jesus and Paul, John Dominic Crossan reveals what the Bible has to say about land and economy, violence and retribution, justice and peace, and, ultimately, redemption. In contrast to the oppressive Roman military occupation of the first century, he examines the meaning of the non-violent Kingdom of God prophesized by Jesus and the equality advocated by Paul to the early Christian churches. Crossan contrasts these messages of peace with the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation, which has been misrepresented by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify U.S. military actions in the Middle East.In God and Empire Crossan surveys the Bible from Genesis to Apocalypse, or the Book of Revelation, and discovers a hopeful message that cannot be ignored in these turbulent times. The first-century Pax Romana, Crossan points out, was in fact a "peace" won through violent military action. Jesus preached a different kind of peace?a peace that surpasses all understanding?and a kingdom not of Caesar but of God. The Romans executed Jesus because he preached this Kingdom of God, a kingdom based on peace and justice, over the empire of Rome, which ruled by violence and force. For Jesus and Paul, Crossan explains, peace cannot be won the Roman way, through military victory, but only through justice and fair and equal treatment of all people.

Beyond the House of the Lama, now in paperback, traces Crane's adventures as a writer, wanderer, and anarchic but still failing student of Zen. It begins in 1996 at the edge of the Gobi Desert in Inner Mongolia, where he and his teacher and friend, Zen Master Tsung Tsai, are forced by a sandstorm to end their quest to find the lost temple at Two Wolf Mountain. It continues with a harrowing, near disastrous attempt to deliver a ratty, 58 foot ferrous cement sailboat to Granada. Setting sail from Key Largo into the heart of hurricane season, with a crew of eccentrics and outlaws, led by the infamous Captain Bananas. They run with a disintegrating sailboat into the perfect squall. The tale ends in the winter of 2003, when after weeks of desert travel, Crane and his companions---the nomad Jumaand and the young, beautiful Mongol girl Oka, his bed mate and bodyguard---stand beneath the remote cliffs of Delgaz Khaan in Outer Mongolia's South Gobi. Here, Crane, after burying his long dead father, sets out on a new quest, looking to find what the nomads call Windhorse, "the beginning of the wind," but finds what every nomad knows, that every road is more a direction than a destination.

Now in paperback, in the fifth full–length novel in the beloved Harmony series Philip Gulley reunites us with the quirky cast of Quakers in Harmony, Indiana.

Mary Magdalene, Jesus's Closest DiscipleMarvin Meyer, one of the foremost scholars of the Gnostic Gospels:translates and introduces the Gnostic and New Testament texts that together reveal the story and importance of Mary Magdaleneincludes new translations of the Gospels of Mary, Thomas, Philip, and related texts about Mary Magdalenediscloses, with Esther A. De Boer, the long-suppressed story of Mary's vital role in the life of Jesus and in the formative period after his crucifixionpresents as authentically as possible the real Mary Magdalene

A Practical and Engaging Guide for Changing the Way We Seek God's WillHow do we know God's will for our lives? This question lies at the heart of Christian life. And yet, attempting to understand our greater purpose can become a source of frustration as we look for help when making important life decisions. Spiritual retreat leader and Episcopal priest Fred Schmidt reveals how we can better recognize the difference between God's will and our own, deepen our ability to hear God's voice, and sharpen our powers of discernment.

The answers to all the questions you''ve ever had about homosexuality but were afraid to ask are finally in one book, Is It a Choice? In this newly revised and updated edition, Eric Marcus provides insightful, no-nonsense answers to hundreds of the most commonly asked questions about homosexuality. Offering frank insight on everything you''ve always wanted-and needed-to know about same-gender relationships, coming out, family roles, politics, and much more, including: How do you know if you''re gay or lesbian? What should you do if your child is gay or lesbian? Do gay parents raise gay children? If you think a friend is gay or lesbian, what should you say? Why do gay men and women want to get married? What does the Bible say about homosexuality?

If God is love, why are so many Christians fearful, and why do so many church leaders sound hateful? Two controversial pastors address issues the church won′t face, calling us to restore grace as the center of the Christian life. o In If Grace Is True, Pastors Philip Gulley and James Mulholland revealed their belief that God will save every person. They now explore the implications of this belief, and its power to change every area of our lives. They attempt to answer one question: If we took God′s love seriously, what would our world look like? Gulley and Mulholland argue that what we believe is crucial and dramatically affects the way we live and interact in the world. Beliefs have power. The belief in a literal hell where people suffer eternally has often been used by the Church to justify hate and violence, which contradicts what Jesus taught about love and grace. The authors present a new vision for our personal, religious, and corporate lives, exploring what our world would be like if we based our existence on the foundational truth that God loves every person. Gulley and Mulholland boldly address many controversial issues people in the pews have wondered about but churches have been unwilling to tackle. For too long, the Christian tradition has been steeped in negativity, exclusion, and judgment. Gulley and Mulholland usher us into a new age--an age where grace and love are allowed to reign.

In a book the San Francisco Chronicle called "unclassifiably wise" and a "masterpiece," noted Harper′s essayist Garret Keizer explores the paradox that we are human only by helping others- and all too human when we try to help. It is the primal cry, the first word in a want ad, the last word on the tool bar of a computer screen. A song by the Beatles, a prayer to the gods, the reason Uncle Sam is pointing at you. What we get by with a little of, what we could use a bit more of, what we were only trying to do when we were so grievously misunderstood. What we′ll be perfectly fine without, thank you very much. It makes us human. It can make us suffer. It can make us insufferable. It can make all the difference in the world. It can fall short. "Help is like the swinging door of human experience: ′I can help!′ we exclaim and go toddling into the sunshine; ′I was no help at all,′ we mutter and go shuffling to our graves. I′m betting that the story can be happier than that . . . but I have a clearer idea now than I once did of what I′m betting against." In his new book, Help, Garret Keizer raises the questions we ask everyday and in every relationship that matters to us. What does it mean to help? When does our help amount to hindrance? When are we getting less help-or more-than we actually want? When are we kidding ourselves in the name of helping (or of refusing to "enable") someone else? Drawing from history, literature, firsthand interviews, and personal anecdotes, Help invites us to ponder what is at stake whenever one human being tries to assist another. From the biblical Good Samaritan to present day humanitarians, from heroic sacrifices in times of political oppression to nagging dilemmas in times of ordinary stress, Garret Keizer takes us on a journey that is at once far-ranging and never far from where we live. He reminds us that in our perpetual need for help, and in our frequent perplexities over how and when to give it, we are not alone.

A Do-It-Yourself Retreat Book from the Author of The Woman''s Comfort Book Do you yearn for time to rest, dream, listen, grieve, celebrate, stretch, or just be? Then you -- like most women today -- need to retreat: to make time to get away from it all and reconnect with yourself. With the wit, humor, and style that have made her Comfort Book series so popular, comfort queen and modern-day pioneer of women''s well-being Jennifer Louden offers a practical and inspirational handbook -- the first to focus on the needs and stresses of women -- that walks you step-by-step through planning and savoring a self-led retreat. Easy-to-do practices and encouraging insights help you: Find the time to retreat whenever and wherever you areDecide whether to retreat at home or away, solo or with othersSeparate from daily concernsCounter fear, guilt, and boredomReenter ordinary life renewedA wise and useful sourcebook of ideas and inspiration, The Woman''s Retreat Book can be turned to again and again, whenever you feel the need to retreat.

Romance at Your FingertipsIn the tradition of the phenomenally successful The Woman''s Comfort Book, Jennifer Louden brings her masterful sustenance skills to this creative guide filled with ways for couples to stay connected in a busy world. With playful rituals and reliable recipes for making the most of your time together, this is the comprehensive compendium of coupledom.

Many were present the night Jesus Christ was born. Joseph and Mary were there, their hearts filled with peace. So were the donkey, the lamb, and the three Wise Men. Even the Star of Bethlehem looked on, casting a single heavenly beam of light upon the scene. This book gives voice to every creature present on that miraculous night and shares their twelve special prayers to the Christ Child.

''Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house . . .The familiar words of Clement C. Moore''s classic Christmas poem have never before been illustrated with such style. Richard Jesse Watson''s magnificent paintings infuse traditional holiday images with pizzazz and flair. Spilling over with all the joy and generosity of the season, this playful picture book is perfect for families of today.