Scientology is known for its celebrity believers and its team of "volunteer ministers" at disaster sites such as the World Trade Center; its notably aggressive response to criticism or its attacks on psychiatry; its requirement that believers pay as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars to reach the highest levels of salvation. The author offers a full, journalistic history of the Church of Scientology, in an even-handed account that establishes...

Analyzes the feelings and problems involved in different types of human love, including familial affection, friendship, passion, and charity. In this candid, wise and warmly personal book, C.S. Lewis describes the four basic kinds of human love -- affection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. He explores the possibilities and problems of the love between parents and children; the love of men for other men and women for women; the love...

Describes the gods and goddesses and the religious practices of the early Egyptians.

"From the renowned and best-selling author of A History of God, a sweeping exploration of religion's connection to violence. For the first time in American history, religious self-identification is on the decline. Some have cited a perception that began to grow after Sept 11: That faith in general is a source of aggression, intolerance and divisiveness--something bad for society. But how accurate is that view? And does it apply equally to all faiths?...

"Recruited into the fundamentalist Quiverfull movement as a young wife, Tia Levings learned that being a good Christian meant following a list of additional life principles--a series of secret, special rules to obey. Being a godly and submissive wife in Christian Patriarchy included strict discipline, isolation, and an alternative lifestyle that appeared wholesome to outsiders. Women were to be silent, 'keepers of the home.' Tia knew that to their...

This work traces the evolution of the belief that Jerusalem is the center of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religious worlds and argues that this fixation is a main cause of the modern-day Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It uncovers the ways in which the city became a transcendent fantasy that ignites religious fervor unlike anywhere else on Earth. The author shows how the conflicts within this holiest of cities underscore an important point of history:...

Offering fresh biblical insight and life-giving perspectives, the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries draws on her own experiences to present this guide that shows us how to live assured when life doesn’t turn out the way we expected.

Offers a phrase-by-phrase exploration of the serenity prayer, and how understanding and practicing its message can bring true happiness and fulfillment.