The Orthodox Church has been characterized by some as «the best-kept secret in North America.» Making use of personal interviews and correspondence, magazine and news articles, and other publications, Timothy Cremeens weaves the story of a spiritual renewal movement that began in the United States in the early 1960s and rapidly spread around the globe touching millions of Roman Catholics and Protestants, what is today called the Charismatic Renewal Movement. In 2017, this Movement, celebrated its 50th Jubilee anniversary in the Roman Catholic Church. However, Cremeens presents here the never-before heard story of that Movement among the Orthodox Churches in North America. He recounts the history of this spiritual renewal movement through the first-hand accounts and eyewitnesses of Orthodox clergy and laity who testify to their life-changing encounters with the Holy Spirit.
For several centuries now the Muslim Midwest, notably the Northwest and the Southwest, had been the «Muslim country» of China. Although Muslims only sporadically constituted local majorities in some towns, villages, counties, and neighborhoods, they remained overall a minority in the overwhelming Han landscape of China. Nonetheless, in those areas the Muslim-Hui culture has had its greatest impact and visibility. It was in those areas in mid-nineteenth-century China that major Muslim rebellions took place with the stated purpose of seceding from the Kingdom and establishing independent Muslim states. Almost two centuries later, those areas still bear the traumas of the past–crushed Muslim rebellions with massive massacres of Muslims, who lost their predominance and are reluctant to invoke past glories. The result has been a multitude of sects and sub sects, notably the Menhuan, which has no parallel in other parts of China, and even a new hybrid–the Xidaotang.
As a leader, Martin Luther shook the world. Yet, oddly enough, while a great deal has been written about his life, theology, and legacy, few authors have taken the time to examine his leadership characteristics. Luther on Leadership fills this gap by examining his life in light of modern leadership theories. This book looks at Luther's life from a variety of angles to show why he was such an effective leader. With chapters focusing on Luther as a change agent, transformational leader, adaptive leader, and more, this work will help the reader understand why Luther transformed the landscape of Europe. Examining not only his theological contributions, but also his contributions in fields such as law, politics, economics, and education, Luther on Leadership aims to give a holistic picture of Luther as a leader in many areas of society.
It is well known that energy is a fundamental concept in physics. Much less well known is that it is also a key concept in Eastern Christian or Orthodox theology. This book from Dr. Stoyan Tanev–a physicist, innovation management scholar, and theologian–provides a comparative analysis of the conceptualizations of energy in Orthodox theology and in physics, and demonstrates the potential of such comparison for a better understanding of these two quite different domains of human enquiry. The book explores the rediscovery of the Byzantine Church's teaching on the Divine energies in twentieth-century Orthodox theology, and offers new insights about the key contributions of key theologians such as Sergius Bulgakov, George Florovsky, John Meyendorff, Christos Yannaras, and Thomas Torrance. Where do the understandings of energy in theology and physics meet? The author argues that the encounter between theology and physics happens at the level of quantum physics, where the subtle use of words and language acquires a distinctive apophatic dimension. His comparative approach focuses on the epistemological struggles of theologians and physicists. According to Tanev, this focus on the struggles of knowing offers a new way to look at the dialogue between science and theology.
Celebrate the Human Experience by Giving Thanks at Mealtime. Try It! Count your blessings. Today there is a deep hunger for connection with ourselves, with nature, and with the process of birth and death itself says life coach and author M. J. Ryan, creator of the New York Times best-selling Random Acts of Kindness series. What her book, A Grateful Heart , is offering from a wide variety of spiritual disciplines and secular perspectives, is a way of satisfying that hunger by setting aside time before we eat to acknowledge the blessings in our lives. When we give thanks, we take our place in the great wheel of life, recognizing our connection to one another and to all of creation. Choose from 365 blessings and give thanks. A Grateful Heart is a tool to help readers reclaim and enrich the tradition of pausing before the evening meal to give thanks. Drawing from a range of religious and cultural practices, the 365 blessings in this book celebrate friendship, love, peace, reconciliation, the body, nature, joy, and appreciation of the moment. This illustrated feast for the mind includes quotations from Martin Luther King Jr., Thich Nhat Hanh, Gandhi, Rumi, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Denise Levertov, the Bible, and the Tao Te Ching. M. J. Ryan wrote A Grateful Heart to encourage families to share the experience of being part of something greater than themselves. With that in mind, the book includes 365 traditional and nontraditional blessings organized into four sections corresponding to the seasons. Experience the blessings in A Grateful Heart in a variety of ways: Just open it and begin reading one-a-day in the order givenUse the index to pick and choose topics of interest that dayOpen at random and read what is offered If you have benefited from books such as Earth Prayers , M. J. Ryan’s Attitudes of Gratitude , Don Miguel Ruiz’s Prayers , June Cotner’s Graces , or Marcia M. Kelly’s 100 Graces ; you and your family will love M. J. Ryan’s A Grateful Heart .
Gale Pryor offers found blessings, traditional blessings, and her own original blessings, which are at times funny, at times thought provoking, but always meaningful. Included are «Blessings for Home,» «Blessings for Friends & Neighbors Wherever They Are,» «Blessings for Our Daily Bread,» «Blessings for Babies and Children,» «Blessings for Partnership,» and «Blessings for Small Pleasures.»From the book:Among the blessings Pryor wrote:May your home have more books than shelves, more food than plates, and more guests than chairs.Bless the partner who sorts and cleans the spice cabinet.May every small child watch an ant and let it live.Pryor calls these «the prayers drawn up from the little things rather than prayers drawn down from the heavens.»Drawn down from those heavens are the traditional blessings she shares in this lovely, evocative, family-friendly book.
This book tackles the core problem of how painful historical memories between diverse religious communities continue to impact–even poison–present-day relations. Its operative notion is the healing of memory, developed by John Paul II. Chapters explore how painful memories of yesteryear can be healed and so address some of the root causes. Strategies from six different faith traditions are brought together in what is, in some ways, a cross-religious brainstorming session that identifies tools to improve present-day relations.
At the other pole of the conceptual axis of this book is the notion of hope. If memory informs our past, hope sets the horizon for our future. How does the healing of memory open new horizons for the future? And what is the notion of hope in each of our traditions that could lead to a common vision of good?
Between memory and hope, this book seeks to offer a vision of healing that can serve as a resource in contemporary interfaith relations.
Contributors: Rahuldeep Singh Gill, Alon Goshen-Gottstein, Maria Reis Habito, Flora A. Keshgegian, Anantanand Rambachan, Meir Sendor, Muhammad Suheyl Umar, and Michael von Bruck
If you think that Jesus might have had something significant to say related to the well-being of the human race, this book is for you. If you think that Jesus' purpose was to get people into heaven after they died, this book is not for you. Actually, maybe it is, but you may not like it.
Through individual and group encounters and thought-provoking questions, through poetry, prayers, icons, and meditation exercises, this companion for the warrior mystic monk seeks to guide the reader into an encounter with the life force that holds together and flows through all creation.
This guide is intended for those who believe that Jesus began something central to the well-being of humanity and all creation, which has become almost lost within the institution of religion. Many who are embracing this emerging spiritual awakening remain within the church. The church continues to be family. At the same time, one's primary spiritual community is made up of those who are seeking awakening whether they are inside or outside of a religious institution.
How is it that the person who created and defined the field of Black Studies and drafted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's prophetic Beyond Vietnam speech needs an introduction, even in movement circles today? In this provocative and poignant interview, Dr. Vincent Harding reflects on the communities that shaped his early life, compelled him to join movements for justice, and sustained his ongoing transformation. He challenges those committed to justice today to consider the enduring power of nonviolent social change and to root out white supremacy in all of its forms. With his relentless commitment to education and relationship-building across lines of difference, Harding never doubted the capacity of people to create the world we need.