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Stan Lee: A Life in Comics (Jewish Lives)
By Liel Leibovitz. 2020
From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a meditation on the deeply Jewish and surprisingly spiritual roots of Stan Lee and…
Marvel Comics Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as Stan Lee. The characters he created—Spider-Man and Iron Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four—occupy Hollywood’s imagination and production schedules, generate billions at the box office, and come as close as anything we have to a shared American mythology. This illuminating biography focuses as much on Lee’s ideas as it does on his unlikely rise to stardom. It surveys his cultural and religious upbringing and draws surprising connections between celebrated comic book heroes and the ancient tales of the Bible, the Talmud, and Jewish mysticism. Was Spider-Man just a reincarnation of Cain? Is the Incredible Hulk simply Adam by another name? From close readings of Lee’s work to little-known anecdotes from Marvel’s history, the book paints a portrait of Lee that goes much deeper than one of his signature onscreen cameos.About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent." – New York times "Exemplary." – Wall St. Journal "Distinguished." – New Yorker "Superb." – The GuardianThe Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry
By Mark T. Mulder, Gerardo Martí. 2020
Robert H. Schuller’s ministry—including the architectural wonder of the Crystal Cathedral and the polished television broadcast of Hour of Power—cast a…
broad shadow over American Christianity. Pastors flocked to Southern California to learn Schuller’s techniques. The President of United States invited him sit prominently next to the First Lady at the State of the Union Address. Muhammad Ali asked for the pastor’s autograph. It seemed as if Schuller may have started a second Reformation. And then it all went away. As Schuller’s ministry wrestled with internal turmoil and bankruptcy, his emulators—including Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and Joel Osteen— nurtured megachurches that seemed to sweep away the Crystal Cathedral as a relic of the twentieth century. How did it come to this? Certainly, all churches depend on a mix of constituents, charisma, and capital, yet the size and ambition of large churches like Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral exert enormous organizational pressures to continue the flow of people committed to the congregation, to reinforce the spark of charismatic excitement generated by high-profile pastors, and to develop fresh flows of capital funding for maintenance of old projects and launching new initiatives. The constant attention to expand constituencies, boost charisma, and stimulate capital among megachurches produces an especially burdensome strain on their leaders. By orienting an approach to the collapse of the Crystal Cathedral on these three core elements—constituency, charisma, and capital—The Glass Church demonstrates how congregational fragility is greatly accentuated in larger churches, a notion we label megachurch strain, such that the threat of implosion is significantly accentuated by any failures to properly calibrate the inter-relationship among these elements.Conversations With My Unbelieving Friend
By Michael Gayle. 2020
Very few topics generate as much emotion as religious beliefs. Those with religious inclinations and those who are against religion…
frequently embrace their particular viewpoint on the basis of information, much of which may be incorrect. This holds true for both believers and non-believers. Through a series of semi-fictitious conversations, Michael Gayle seeks to address some of the issues which influence an individual&’s worldview. For the non-believers, this is useful in clarifying any misconceptions which may be preventing them from even considering Christianity. For believers, it provides at least two useful functions. First of all, it may help to clarify their own misconceptions and thus strengthen their faith. Secondly, it helps to provide them with information which they can use in their own conversations with non-believers that they will encounter in their Christian walk.The format is that of a series of semi-fictitious conversations between the author and a fictitious friend. The conversations represent dramatizations of the content of real conversations that the author has had over the years, combined with issues which he has deliberated on himself. In a number of instances, he addresses topics in respect of which he found the traditional explanations to be unconvincing, even though they may have been correct. If someone does not believe in the veracity Bible, it will be difficult to try to convince them of the truth of a statement in the Bible, on the basis that because it is in the Bible, therefore by definition it must be true. The author has encountered this approach and was himself, unconvinced thereby. Accordingly, whilst not denying the truth of the Bible, he has taken a different approach to some of these issues, and approach which is practical, reasonable and defensible. In so doing, his hope is that he will be able to clarify some of the issues which have caused many people to arrive at misconceptions related to the Bible and Christianity. In a very light-hearted manner, he addresses such issues as atheism, blind faith, evolution, intelligent design, miracles, science, biblical accuracy and a number of other topics which are typically the subject of disagreement or misunderstanding.This is intended to be the first in a series of three or more books. The intention of this first volume is not necessarily to convert anyone to Christianity. The intention is to remove any obstacles which are preventing anyone from honestly rather than emotionally evaluation the validity of Christian beliefs. Of course, there is the hope and possibility that some will be converted as a result, but that is not the primary objective. The conversations will continue in the subsequent volumes and maybe, just maybe, some may find the subject matter sufficiently compelling so that they are prepared to open up their hearts to the Lord.Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up In Polygamy
By Dorothy Allred Solomon. 2004
"Probably the best book ever written about polygamy. Neither an apologia nor an exposé."—Salt Lake City Tribune "I am the…
daughter of my father's fourth plural wife, twenty-eighth of forty-eight children—a middle kid, you might say." So begins this astonishing and poignant memoir of life in the family of Utah fundamentalist leader and naturopathic physician Rulon C. Allred. Since polygamy was abolished by manifesto in 1890, this is a story of secrecy and lies, of poverty and imprisonment and government raids. When raids threatened, the families were forced to scatter from their pastoral compound in Salt Lake City to the deserts of Mexico or the wilds of Montana. To follow the Lord's plan as dictated by the Principle, the human cost was huge. Eventually murder in its cruelest form entered when members of a rival fundamentalist group assassinated the author's father. Dorothy Solomon, monogamous herself, broke from the fundamentalist group because she yearned for equality and could not reconcile the laws of God (as practiced by polygamists) with the vastly different laws of the state. This poignant account chronicles her brave quest for personal identity. Originally published in hardcover under the title Predators, Prey, and Other Kinfolk.From New Age To New Life: A Passage from Darkness to the Light of Christ
By Sandra Clifton. 2007
&“Whether or not you believe that psychics are real is not the point of this book,&” writes Clifton. &“Obviously there…
is ongoing appeal for such things, or God&’s Word would not keep warning against them. The point of my book is to show triumph over sin and darkness.&”The former professional psychic, then known as Sandra McNeil, reveals the true nature of New Age thought and practices and how God opened her eyes to deception and set her free. She presents practical insight for tactful dialogue with individuals caught in the web of such beliefs, as well as tips for intercessory prayer. The inclusion of prayer strategies and discussion questions makes From New Age to New Life both theological and practical.With great experience as an author and editor, as well as a doctorate of ministry from Oral Roberts University, Clifton does an excellent job of telling her story in five significant parts: &“My Journey,&” &“Reflections,&” &“What Can Be Done?&” &“Prayer Strategies,&” and &“Talking It Over.&” Like sharing snapshots from a trip, she also includes distinct scenes from her life. Each is followed by reflection, in which she looks back on her experiences or thoughts with theological and biblical perspectives. In the process, she addresses how to help lost people out of the occult and New Age.Readers of this wonderfully written book will come away feeling warm inside knowing good still comes out on top.In Your Eyes I See My Words, Volume 2 contains Pope Francis’s homilies and speeches spanning from 2005 to 2008.…
Continuing what began in the first volume of this three-volume publication, Volume 2 shows Archbishop Bergoglio’s growth as a pastor and a theologian/scholar in the midst of his people. At the same time, it shows him emerging as an international voice calling for changes in the way the Church carries out its ministry and its educational task on behalf of children, youth, adults, and church ministers. In his homilies from Christmas, Easter, and especially in his response to the tragic fire and deaths of 194 people at the nightclub Republica Cromañon, we see Bergoglio speak passionately to his parishioners, challenging them with equal portions of tenderness and righteous anger. Perhaps uniquely, we also watch as his audiences, prominence, and influence grow globally, foreshadowing who he will become in 2013 when he is elected Pope.On the larger national and international scale, Bergoglio addresses various conferences, such as the Argentina Press Association and the Episcopal Conference of Argentina of which he was elected President in 2005 and served the maximum possible term of six years. We see and read as his work takes him outside his country to Rome (2007) at the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; to Brasil (2007), where his presentation on the Crisis of Civilization and Culture at the Fifth CELAM Conference ends up shaping much of the Aparecida Conclusions; and finally, to Quebec (2008) as he speaks at the Forty-Ninth International Eucharistic Congress.All told, In Your Eyes I See My Words, Volume 2 is a glimpse into a period of time in which Archbishop Bergoglio grows immensely in thought, reflection, and action, laying the groundwork for the mature, thoughtful, and beloved Pope Francis he has come to be known as around the world.Out Of Islam: One Muslim's Journey to Faith in Christ
By Christopher Alam. 2006
Click Here For Sample ChapterChristopher Alam&’s life and ministry have been filled with one adventure and miraculous event after another.…
Out of Islam traces the adventures of Alam as a young Pakistani convert to Christianity from a traditional Muslim family to his emergent worldwide evangelistic and healing ministry. With his father being a devout Muslim and lifelong military officer who once trained fighters alongside Osama bin Laden, and his mother an India-born performing artist, Alam knew a privileged life that few experience. After Alam&’s conversion, his father had him arrested and sought to have him beheaded for betraying the family faith. Through a series of miraculous events, Alam ultimately escaped to Sweden, where he met and married his wife, Britta. Together they have launched their ministry, which has been praised by evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, the late Kenneth E. Hagin, and Ray McCauley. Alam has preached in more than sixty nations, with millions making firsttime decisions for Christ and hundreds of new churches started. This book will encourage the hearts of readers to rise above hardships and move into the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit, while offering faith lessons for evangelists. About the AuthorChristopher Alam is founder and director of Christopher Alam Ministries International, also known as Dynamis World Ministries, which has a full-time crusade team on the field in Africa and numerous evangelists and church-planters working in Asia.Called Out: A Former Lesbian's Discovery of Freedom
By Janet Boynes. 2008
Janet Boynes leads readers through her inspiring testimony, from her decision to try the homosexual lifestyle, to the trauma and…
pain she suffered during her 14-year walk as a lesbian, and finally, to her glorious homecoming back to God in 1998. Janet discusses with honorable candor many of the issues so aggressively guarded by the gay agenda. This book is also recommended for anyone who knows or is related to a member of the homosexual community and desires to love them as Christ would love them.Through his entrepreneurial experiences, Dennis Jones shares the principles he learned along the way that can be applied in a…
reader&’s personal life, business or ministry. He provides an inside look at the ups and downs of success and reveals how his faith in God is a stabilizing force.Climbing Out of Adversity teaches readers how to start and grow a business, and manage aspects of their personal and professional lives in ways that will lead to success. Through his frank, vivid storytelling, the author passes on a treasury of godly wisdom that will challenge and inspire men and women to be courageous, honorable and to always seek the truth.In His Footsteps
By Gabby Heusser. 2014
Walking to Freedom God's &“sweet interruption&” brings wholeness to a broken life Young mother-of-two Gabby Heusser was unable to walk…
more than a few steps without crippling pain—until God came with an unexpected promise of healing. As Gabby began to recover physically, He also led her gently back into the past to touch the broken places of her childhood. A myriad of troubles including abuse, an eating disorder, and poor teenage choices had left deep scars. Join Gabby on her journey from fear to freedom, from shame and insecurity to joy and confidence in her true identity as one of God's beloved daughters. Once virtually chair-bound, now she dances with joy. Her moving experience of His &“sweet interruption&” will encourage you to believe that God wants to touch and restore your areas of hurt, too, so that you can walk free and tall...and follow joyfully in His footsteps.Acts 29: The Ministry of Peter Hakim Hosein, Apostle to the Caribbean
By W. Douglas Cowie. 2015
A MODERN-DAY PAULMiracles and Salvation in the Islands What would it be like if the Book of Acts wasn't…
finished? It would be something like the dynamic life and ministry of Peter Hakim Hosein, who touched the Caribbean and elsewhere in the Western World with the power of the Holy Spirit. During his time of grief over the loss of a three year old son, Hosein's father promised the God he himself had never met personally, that he would dedicate his next born son to His full time service. Undeterred by death threats, he traveled from village to village to heal the sick, cast out demons, and share the good news with power. Like a modern-day apostle Peter or Paul, he established churches in Trinidad and Tobago, and throughout the surrounding islands.Acts 29: The Ministry of Peter Hakim Hosein, Apostle to the Caribbean records the largely unknown ministry of a remarkable but humble man with simple faith in a powerful God. Drawn together from interviews with Hosein himself, and conversations with the family and fellow workers, this account will inspire you to believe God for the miraculous today--and in your own world.Through the Eyes of Hope: Love More, Worry Less, and See God in the Midst of Your Adversity
By Lacey Buchanan. 2017
Understand how God turns tragic circumstances into something beautiful for His glory, while you love more, complain less, and see…
God at work in the most unlikely of places. &“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.&” Hebrews 11:1, MEV What happens when things don&’t go as planned? What happens when the storm you face is completely out of your control? The Buchanans&’ precious son Christian was born with a medical condition that is so incredibly unique, it&’s one of only fifty known cases in the world. This story has captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands. In Through the Eyes of Hope Lacey Buchanan tells this compelling story of trusting God in the face of adversity. You will be moved and inspired to hold on to God&’s promises when things go wrong and find joy in midst of any storm.What happens when a nineteen-year-old boy leaves home and heads into the jungles to evangelize a murderous tribe of South…
American Indians? For Bruce Olson, it meant capture, disease, terror, loneliness, and torture. But what he discovered by trial and error has revolutionized then world of missions. Bruchko, which has sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide, has been called “more fantastic and harrowing than anything Hollywood could concoct.” Living with the Motilone Indians since 1961, Olson has won the friendship of four presidents of Colombia and has made appearances before the United Nations because of his efforts. Bruchko includes the story of his 1988 kidnapping by communist guerrillas and the nine months of captivity that followed. This revised version of Olson’s story will amaze you and remind you that simple faith in Christ can make anything possible. “[Bruchko is] an all-time missionary classic. Bruce Olson is a modern missionary hero who has modeled for us in our time the reaching of the unreached tribes.” --Loren Cunningham Co-founder, Youth With A MissionBruchko and the Motilone Miracle, the powerful sequel to Bruce Olson's best-selling missionary classic, Bruchko, is a remarkable tale of…
adventure, tragedy, faith, and love. It shows how, despite incredible dangers and obstacles, one humble man and a tribe of primitive, violent Indians by joining together in simple obedience have been transformed forever by the sovereign will of god. This book, which details Olson’s missionary work and events from the 1970s to the present, will stir and encourage the hearts of readers to serve and follow God passionately.The Day I Died: My Astonishing Trip to Heaven and Back
By Freddy Vest. 2014
Freddy Vest was on the back of a horse, competing in a calf-roping event in front of a crowd when…
he suddenly collapsed due to a heart attack. He was dead before he hit the ground. One moment he was sitting on his horse. The next moment he was somewhere else--somewhere beyond description. He had moved on. Without travel, transport, angelic assistance, or the passage of time he was with Jesus, where he discovered firsthand that heaven is a real place and God is a real person and that death is not the end but the beginning of true life. In The Day I Died, Vest touches on the transformation from death to heaven and some of the benefits of finding oneself in that place, including: The unforgettable awareness of God’s presence The sense of His immeasurable love The freedom from the constraints of time The ease of communication with the Lord The peace and security that attend His presence The understanding that prayers are instantly heard by God.A shrewd synthesizer, gifted popularizer, and inspiring founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance movement, A.B. Simpson (1843–1919) was enmeshed…
in the most crucial threads of evangelical Christianity at the turn of the twentieth century. Daryn Henry presents Simpson's life and ministry as a vivid, fascinating, and paradigmatic study in evangelical religious culture, during a time when the conservative wing of the movement has often been overlooked. Simpson's ministry, Henry explains, fused the classic evangelical emphasis on revivalist conversion with the intensification of that sensibility in the quest for the deeper Christian life of holiness. Recovering the practice of divine healing, Simpson emphasized a dynamically empowered and supernaturally animated Christianity that would spill over into nascent Pentecostalism. His encouragement of cross-cultural missions was part of a trend that unleashed the dramatic rise of world Christianity across the Global South. All the while, his Biblical literalism, antagonism to modernist theology, campaigns against evolution, and views on premillennialism, Biblical prophecy, and the role of Israel in the end times made Simpson a precursor of the fundamentalist melees of subsequent decades. From his upbringing in rural Canada and confessional Scottish Presbyterianism, Simpson journeyed into the heart of American evangelicalism revolving around his base in New York City. Against most previous writing on Simpson, Henry's biography presents both continuities and discontinuities in the development of modern interdenominational evangelicalism out of the denominational evangelicalism of the nineteenth century.Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion
By Danya Ruttenberg. 2009
At thirteen, Danya Ruttenberg decided that she was an atheist. Watching the sea of adults standing up and sitting down…
at Rosh Hashanah services, and apparently giving credence to the patently absurd truth-claims of the prayer book, she came to a conclusion: Marx was right. As a young adult, Danya immersed herself in the rhinestone-bedazzled wonderland of late-1990s San Francisco-attending Halloweens on the Castro, drinking smuggled absinthe with wealthy geeks, and plotting the revolution with feminist zinemakers. But she found herself yearning for something she would eventually call God. As she began inhaling countless stories of spiritual awakenings of Catholic saints, Buddhist nuns, medieval mystics, and Hasidic masters, she learned that taking that yearning seriously would require much of her. Surprised by God is a religious coming-of-age story, from the mosh pit to the Mission District and beyond. It's the memoir of a young woman who found, lost, and found again communities of like-minded seekers, all the while taking a winding, semi-reluctant path through traditional Jewish practice that eventually took her to the rabbinate. It's a post-dotcom, third-wave, punk-rock Seven Storey Mountain-the story of integrating life on the edge of the twenty-first century into the discipline of traditional Judaism without sacrificing either. It's also a map through the hostile territory of the inner life, an unflinchingly honest guide to the kind of work that goes into developing a spiritual practice in today's world-and why, perhaps, doing this in today's world requires more work than it ever has.Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace, and Courage
By Carey Wallace. 2020
Performing Miracles. Facing Wild Lions. Confronting Demons. Transforming the World. From Augustine to Mother Teresa, officially canonized as St. Teresa…
of Calcutta, discover seventy of the best-known and best-loved saints and read their riveting stories. Meet Joan of Arc, whose transcendent faith compelled her to lead an army when the king&’s courage failed. Francis of Assisi, whose gentleness tamed a man-eating wolf. Valentine, a bishop in the time of ancient Rome, who spoke so often of Christ&’s love that his saint&’s day, February 12, has been associated with courtly love since the Middle Ages. St. Thomas Aquinas, the great teacher. Peter Claver, who cared for hundreds of thousands of people on slave ships after their voyage as captives. And Bernadette, whose vision of Mary instructed her to dig the spring that became the healing waters of Lourdes. Each saint is illustrated in a dramatic and stylized full-color portrait, and included in every entry are the saint&’s dates, location, emblems, feast days, and patronage. Taken together, these stories create a rich, inspiring, and entertaining history of faith and courage. For kids age 10 and up. A perfect gift for Confirmation.El papa Borgia: Un inédito Alejandro VI liberado al fin de la leyenda negra
By Lola Galán, José Catalán Deus. 2014
En este libro se ofrece una visión inédita de un Papa-rey que despertó gigantescas envidias. Es momento de rescatar a…
Alejandro VI del sumidero de una historia casi siempre interesada. ¿Fue el papa Borgia un político competente o un embaucador corrupto? ¿Cuidó de la Iglesia o la usó para promocionar a su familia? ¿Fue un ser humano con sus defectos y virtudes al timón de una institución sumamente compleja o un malvado asesino? Durante siglos la respuesta ha estado clara para el común de los historiadores y novelistas, que han encontrado en la vida de Rodrigo Borja, valenciano de nacimiento y romano de adopción, elementos suficientes para construir un relato de terror, plagado de ambición, sexo y veneno. La realidad, sin embargo, es otra. Los datos históricos de que disponemos permiten reconstruir la biografía de este Papa que, libre de la leyenda, emerge como una figura de excepcionales cualidades. Vicecanciller vaticano durante tres décadas y pontífice católico durante diez años vitales para la Iglesia, aseguró la supervivencia de la institución a él encomendada gracias a sus grandes dotes políticas, diplomáticas y humanas. Tildado de lujurioso y homicida, Alejandro VI fue un hombre apasionado, carnal y tolerante, entregado a su familia y a la defensa de la Iglesia. Pocos personajes de la historia han sido tan calumniados como él por difamadores a sueldo de sus rivales políticos. La verdad es sorprendente y más apasionante que los tópicos.Juan Pablo II: Recuerdos de la vida de un santo
By Paloma Gómez Borrero. 2014
Un retrato fascinante de 31 momentos desconocidos en la vida del Papa más querido de los últimos tiempos a punto…
de ser canonizado. Solo Paloma Gómez Borrero podía escribir este libro con las anécdotas más íntimas, más cercanas, más simpáticas y sobre todo menos conocidas de la vida del Papa Juan Pablo II. Ella misma fue testigo de las historias y vivencias que nos presenta en este libro. Hay anécdotas que demuestran su lado más humano, más cercano, y otras que nos narran los momentos más serios, dramáticos y trágicos, como el del atentado que sufrió en 1981. Paloma relata también los encuentros que tuvo el pontífice con enfermos, con presos, con famosos, con políticos (y no todos creyentes), y una serie de curiosidades que tuvieron lugar durante los múltiples viajes por todo el mundo.