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The Last Days: A memoir of faith, desire and freedom
By Ali Millar. 2022
A Scotsman Book to Watch for 2022 It is 1982 and in the Kingdom Hall we are Jehovah's Witnesses. The…
state of the world shows us the end is close, and Satan is like a roaring lion, seeking to devour us. Ali Millar is waiting for Armageddon. Born into the Jehovah's Witnesses in a town in the Scottish Borders, her childhood revolves around regular meetings in the Kingdom Hall, where she is haunted by vivid images of the Second Coming, her mind populated by the bodies that will litter the earth upon Jehovah's return. In this frightening, cloistered world Ali grows older. As she does, she starts to question the ways of the Witnesses, and their control over the most intimate aspects of her life. As she marries and has a daughter within the religion, she finds herself pulled deeper and deeper into its dark undertow, her mind tormented by one question: is it possible to escape the life you are born into? A tale of love and darkness, of faith and absolution, The Last Days is an unforgettable memoir of one woman's courageous journey to freedom.Listening To The Light
By Jim Pym. 1999
Quakers have long been respected for their simplicity, integrity, truthfulness, non violence and undestanding of the need for silence. This…
inspirational little book explores Quaker values and shows how - even if we are not members of the Society of Friends - we can bring Quaker practices and ideals into our everyday lives and relationships with others. Including a fascinating chapter on how to use the tools of Quakerism in a business context, there is also much helpful advice on how to slow down, still the mind and 'let the heart create for us'.The Life of St Teresa of Avila by Herself
By Teresa Of Avila. 1957
Born in the Castilian town of Ávila in 1515, Teresa entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation when she was…
twenty-one. Tormented by illness, doubts and self-recrimination, she gradually came to recognize the power of prayer and contemplation - her spiritual enlightenment was intensified by many visions and mystical experiences, including the piercing of her heart by a spear of divine love. She went on to found seventeen Carmelite monasteries throughout Spain. Teresa always denied her own saintliness, however, saying in a letter: 'There is no suggestion of that nonsense about my supposed sanctity.' This frank account is one of the great stories of a religious life and a literary masterpiece - after Don Quixote, it is Spain's most widely read prose classic.Life of St Columba
By Adomnan Of Iona. 1991
Founding father of the famous monastery on the island of Iona, a site of pilgrimage ever since his death in…
597, St Columba was born into one of the ruling families in Ireland at a time of immense expansion for the Irish Church. This account of his life, written by Adomnán - the ninth abbot of Iona, and a distant relative of St Columba - describes his travels from Ireland to Scotland and his mission in the cause of Celtic Christianity there. Written 100 years after St Columba's death, it draws on written and oral traditions to depict a wise abbot among his monks, who like Christ was capable of turning water into wine, controlling sea-storms and raising the dead. An engaging account of one of the central figures in the 'Age of Saints', this is a major work of early Irish and Scottish history.Kneelers: The Unsung Folk Art of England and Wales
By Elizabeth Bingham. 2019
A charming and witty history of the quirky - but surprisingly widespread - craft of embroidering kneeler cushions. The perfect…
gift book this Christmas, for those who love kneelers and those who don't!'A lovely look at a not-quite-vanishing craft that lies, literally, below our knees ... Inventive and interesting' The Oldie, 'Best Reads for All Ages This Christmas''A treasure of a collection' Amber Butchart, of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee'I think I may already have discovered the best non fiction book of 2023' Reverend Richard Coles, author of A Murder Before EvensongKneelers is a celebration of the most widely practised - but often overlooked - folk art in England and Wales over the past ninety years: the design and craft of church kneelers. Featuring charming stories and enchanting designs from churches across the country, the book traces the history of kneelers; from their spectacular beginnings at Winchester in the 1930s to their booming popularity after Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and the present-day congregations who are keeping the tradition alive.In their range and diversity, the kneelers collected here form a fascinating social record of the concerns and interests that occupied their makers - including local fauna and flora, cricket, dragons, post-war tributes and the thrills of high-speed travel.Filled to the brim with beautiful full-colour images, Kneelers displays the quirky artistry and widely varied (and often surprising) motifs which have characterised church kneelers in the twentieth century. It rejoices in the personal stories of some of the people who have practised and advanced the art form, and is a wonderful commemoration of what happens when communities come together to celebrate their history and their environment.'A glorious and delightful salute' Tracy Chevalier, author of A Single Thread'This book is a Godsend!' Alan Titchmarsh, author of The Gardener's AlmanacJesus: One Hundred Years Before Christ - A Study In Creative Mythology
By Alvar Ellegard. 1999
The starting point for the book is the following anomoly: If Jesus lived as has been supposed at the beginning…
of the 1st century AD, the only NT documents written by a near contemporary, the Epistles of St Paul, make no mention of him as an historical figure, neither do they record any of his sayings, but rather they talk of him as a vision or mystical experience of the risen Christ. Further, the same is true of the earliest Christian non-NT texts, such as the Epistles of St Clement, roughly contemporary with Paul. Furthermore, contemporary records of the region from non-Christian sources, such as those by the Jewish historian Josephus, fail to mention Jesus at all where we would expect them to; the mentions that there are have recently been shown to be later interpolations by medieval Christian apologists - the gospel accounts of Jesus and his millieu are inaccurate in all major respects e. g. the relative dates of Herod and Pilate, if contemporary Roman and Jewish historians, who had no theological axe to grind, are taken as measure. By comparative textual studies, the author shows that the gospel accounts of Jesus' life and sayings were written approximately 100 years after Jesus is supposed to have lived, and so 100 years later than alleged contemporaries such as Paul, Clement, Josephus etc.Journey: A Spiritual Odyssey
By Peter France. 1998
Peter France looks at the various stages of his own spiritual odyssey and talks intimately of his long search for…
knowledge and enlightenment. Warm, lucid, humorous, Journey is grounded in France's own life and experience. He takes us from the beginning of his journey in a small Methodist chapel in Yorkshire, and his first perception of Christianity, through Oxford where he rejected Christianity and became a humanist and a career as a colonial administrative officer in Fiji, to his later position as an investigative reporter for BBC religious television. Finally-and movingly-he writes about his conversion to the Greek Orthodox Church, and describes his baptism at the age of 57 on the Greek island of Patmos by total immersion in a 44 gallon oil drum of lukewarm water. Illuminated by personal anecdote and information by a broad knowledge of different religions and religious experiences, Journey is both immensely engaging, and studded with powerful spiritual insight.It's Earlier 'Tis Getting: The Christmas Book of Irish Mammies
By Colm O'Regan. 2014
Christmas – a time for peace, joy and Mammies. While others are focusing on Santa/Santy, the school nativity play, the…
office party and its wild cousin the Twelve Pubs, panicked present shopping and the delicate diplomacy of in-law visiting, the Irish Mammy is mobilized in her war-room – ready for the campaign. Electric blankets have been set to maximum power; cards have been despatched; the turkey has been ordered; the decorations have been retrieved from the Place Where The Decorations Go and the fifth Big Shop (to get breadcrumbs) has been completed. There are homecomings from near and far, new arrivals, drama, bustle, tears and laughter, and Mammy at the heart of it all, directing operations. There’s bound to be something she’s forgotten – but luckily, just like a certain someone, she’s made a list.Eusebius's account is the only surviving historical record of the Church during its crucial first 300 years. Bishop Eusebius, a…
learned scholar who lived most of his life in Caesarea in Palestine, broke new ground in writing the History and provided a model for all later ecclesiastical historians. In tracing the history of the Church from the time of Christ to the Great Persecution at the beginning of the fourth century, and ending with the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, his aim was to show the purity and continuity of the doctrinal tradition of Christianity and its struggle against persecutors and heretics.The Historical Figure of Jesus
By E. Sanders. 1993
A biography of the historical figure of Jesus. The book studies the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, distinguishing the certain…
from the improbable, and assessing the historical and religious context of Christ's time. The spread of Christianity is also discussed.Have A Little Faith: Life Lessons on Love, Death and How Lasagne Always Helps
By The Reverend Kate Bottley. 2023
'Thank God for Kate and this book' Dawn French 'Kate's natural warmth, wit and wisdom shines through every page' Sara…
Cox *****Hello there, come on in.Firstly, I know what you're thinking, 'I'm not religious so I'm not sure if this is for me' but, the truth is, we can all benefit from having a little faith and it will look different to each of us. Granted, some of the stories about a man who can walk on water and come back from the dead are anything but normal, but the point isn't about what we believe in, it's about believing in something. It's what humans have always done, it's in our DNA, because having faith in something makes us feel connected. It makes us feel like we matter. Faith means we are in it together, that we believe we will be OK.So, yes, this book is about faith, but it's also about being human, because believing in things is just part of our existence. Wherever you sit on the faith spectrum, I'm here to tell you it's okay. You don't have to sign up to all of something to get something out of some of it. You don't have to like every song on the album.My belief has guided me through life's ups and downs, and I hope that sharing what I've learned will help you face your own challenges armed with hope, and plenty of lasagne.Love,Kate xWhen did you last tell your children to put their hand over their mouth when they yawn? When did you…
last suggest that when they are introduced to someone they should shake hands firmly and look them in the eye? Do you suggest that they should wait until everyone is served before they eat rather than hoover up the best bit for themselves? Do you demand that your young daughter dress decorously lest she elicit outraged looks? Do you think that the children of today have disgraceful manners? Unlike, of course, when you were young ... Well, that's certainly what Erasmus of Rotterdam thought in 1530 when he published De Civilitate Morum Puerilium: A Handbook on Good Manners for Children. He felt that learning good manners was crucial to a child's upbringing, and that the uncouth and ill-disciplined behaviour around him demanded a new kind of book. After all, as William of Wykeham memorably said in the 1350s, 'Manners maketh man'. A Handbook on Good Manners for Children is considered to be the first treatise in Western Europe on the moral and practical education of children. It was a massive bestseller - indeed the biggest-selling book of the sixteenth century - going into 130 editions over 300 years and being translated into 22 languages within ten years of its publication. In it, Erasmus concerns himself with matters such as how to dress, how to behave at table, how to converse with one's elders and contemporaries, how to address the opposite sex and much else. For example: Table Manners 'It's just as rude to lick greasy fingers as it is to wipe them on your clothing, Use a cloth or napkin instead.''Some people, no sooner than they've sat down, immediately stick their hands into the dishes of food. This is the manner of wolves.' 'Making a raucous noise or shrieking intentionally when you sneeze, or showing off by carrying on sneezing on purpose, is very ill-mannered.''To fidget around in your seat, and to settle first on one buttock and then the next, gives the impression that you are repeatedly farting, or trying to fart.' The advice is as relevant today as it was 500 years ago.Sharpen your mind to beat the smartest brains in Britain with the original official GCHQ puzzle bookWould GCHQ recruit you?…
Pit your wits against the people who cracked Enigma in the official puzzle book from Britain's top secret intelligence and security organisationOver the years, their codebreakers have helped keep our country safe, from the Bletchley Park breakthroughs of WWII to the modern-day threat of cyber attack. So it comes as no surprise that, even in their time off, the staff at GCHQ love a good puzzle.Whether they're recruiting new staff or challenging each other to the toughest Christmas quizzes and treasure hunts imaginable, puzzles are at the heart of what GCHQ does. Now they're opening up their archives of decades' worth of codes, puzzles and challenges for everyone to try.In this book you will find:- Tips on how to get into the mindset of a codebreaker- Puzzles ranging in difficulty from easy to brain-bending- A competition section where we search for Britain's smartest puzzlerWith hundreds of stimulating puzzles, The GCHQ Puzzle Book is the perfect companion and will keep you occupied as you attempt to beat the smartest brains in Britain.GOOD LUCK!'Fiendish . . . as frustrating, divisive and annoying as it is deeply fulfilling' Guardian'Ideal for the crossword enthusiast' Daily TelegraphLooking for more ways to test yourself? The GCHQ Puzzle Book 2, a new collection of head-scratching, mind-boggling and brain-bending puzzles is out now!Composed and published while John Bunyan (1628-1688) was in prison for his religious principles, Grace Abounding is an extraordinary spiritual…
autobiography. It was written in an age when religious radicalism was regarded as socially subversive, and is a haunting, often harrowing and ultimately inspiring account of his inner life: his long struggle with and eventual triumph over doubt and despair, his spiritual regeneration and his subsequent emergence as a preacher and writer of great imaginative power. God and Satan are the chief protagonists in Bunyan's drama, existing not as theological concepts but as terrifyingly immediate adversaries in the competition for his soul. Yet he finds his spiritual defences in the Bible, and Grace Abounding charts his passionate and imaginative involvement with this ultimate source of wisdom.A Friend for Christmas
By Gloria Stewart. 2018
Yorkshire, Christmas, 1953. They'd had a cold and hungry winter but Gloria's mother had scrimped and saved to ensure the…
fire was lit and her five children each had a plate full of food. There was even a place at the table ready for an unexpected visitor; every year there seemed to be someone in need.Despite the busy household, Gloria often ended up playing by herself. That is, until a knock on the door that brought a scruffy pup into her life and her heart. Over the years, Gloria adopted many more dogs, even the odd cat, who helped her through the good times and the bad; through illness, love and loss. They even helped her to carry on her mother's legacy, bringing warmth, food and happiness to those alone at Christmas.The Funny Christmas Stocking Filler Book
By Jonathan Swan. 2016
Say stuffing balls to Christmas and survive the festive season with The Funny Christmas Stocking Filler BookGuaranteed to entertain and…
amuse, this book contains everything you need to get you from the turkey to the Queen’s speech! It’s the perfect distraction from rubbish Christmas telly and tipsy relatives, and could even help you dodge the washing up. The Funny Christmas Stocking Filler Book is packed full of hilarious games, dubious jokes and fun Christmas facts. Involve your sleeping relatives in a game of human buckaroo, play sprout golf or the Christmas movie charade game, or entertain the family with amazing Christmas trivia. For best results, consume with alcohol!Festive: Simple recipes, crafts and traditions for the perfect Christmas
By Francesca Stone. 2023
Make Christmas magicIn this book, you'll find easy, accessible ways to embrace your festive spirit and create lasting memories with…
the family with a collection of traditions - old and new - including simple recipes, styling tips and crafts to make your celebrations meaningful and beautiful without the big spend.By using traditional, low-cost ingredients to create simple and tasty festive recipes and foraging, recycling, and using inexpensive items from around your home for cosy styling and beautiful crafts to keep or give as gifts, you can have a perfect, budget-friendly and more sustainable Christmas.Recipes will include Mini gingerbread house biscuits, Brie and cranberry waffles, Christmas Cake and Mince pies, with styling tips covering how to dress your front door, tree and shelves, and crafts ranging from honeycomb paper trees to creating needle felted ornaments, recycled wax candles and natural beaded garlands.This is a book you'll reach for year on year.Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers
By Andrew Louth. 1968
The writings in this volume cast a glimmer of light upon the emerging traditions and organization of the infant church,…
during an otherwise little-known period of its development. A selection of letters and small-scale theological treatises from a group known as the Apostolic Fathers, several of whom were probably disciples of the Apostles, they provide a first-hand account of the early Church and outline a form of early Christianity still drawing on the theology and traditions of its parent religion, Judaism. Included here are the first Epistle of Bishop Clement of Rome, an impassioned plea for harmony; The Epistle of Polycarp; The Epistle of Barnabas; The Didache; and the Seven Epistles written by Ignatius of Antioch - among them his moving appeal to the Romans that they grant him a martyr's death.Early Christian Lives
By Athanasius, Gregory, Hilarion, Jerome, Sulpicius Severus. 1998
Written between the mid-fourth and late sixth centuries to commemorate and glorify the achievements of early Christian saints, these six…
biographies depict men who devoted themselves to solitude, poverty and prayer. Athanasius records Antony's extreme seclusion in the Egyptian desert, despite temptation by the devil and visits from his followers. Jerome also shows those who fled persecution or withdrew from society to pursue lives of chastity and asceticism in his accounts of Paul of Thebes, Hilarion and Malchus. In his Life of Martin, Sulpicius Severus describes the achievements of a man who combined the roles of monk, bishop and missionary, while Gregory the Great tells of Benedict, whose Rule became the template for monastic life. Full of vivid incidents and astonishing miracles, these Lives have provided inspiration as models for centuries of Christian worship.Written in AD 731, Bede's work opens with a background sketch of Roman Britain's geography and history. It goes on…
to tell of the kings and bishops, monks and nuns who helped to develop Anglo-Saxon government and religion during the crucial formative years of the English people. Leo Sherley-Price's translation brings us an accurate and readable version, in modern English, of a unique historical document. This edition now includes Bede's Letter to Egbert concerning pastoral care in early Anglo-Saxon England, at the heart of which lay Bede's denunciation of the false monasteries; and The Death of Bede, an admirable eye-witness account by Cuthbert, monk and later Abbot of Jarrow, both translated by D. H. Farmer.