Faiths Of Man

Many believe that religion plays a positive role in men’s identity development, with religion promoting good behavior, and morality. In contrast, we often assume that the media is a negative influence for men, teaching them to be rough and violent, and to ignore their emotions. In Does God Make the Man?, Stewart M. Hoover and Curtis D. Coats draw on extensive interviews and participant observation with both Evangelical and non-Evangelical men, including Catholics as well as Protestants, to argue that neither of these assumptions is correct. Dismissing the easy notion that media encourages toxic masculinity and religion is always a positive influence, Hoover and Coats argue that not only are the linkages between religion, media, and masculinity not as strong and substantive as has been assumed, but the ways in which these relations actually play out may contradict received views. Over the course of this fascinating book they examine crises, contradictions, and contestations: crises about the meaning of masculinity and about the lack of direction men experience from their faith communities; contradictions between men’s religious lives and media lives, and contestations among men’s ideas about what it means to be a man. The book counters common discussions about a “crisis of masculinity,” showing that actual men do not see the world the way the “crisis talk” has portrayed it—and interestingly, even Evangelical men often do not see religion as part of the solution.

Bestselling author of Geography of Bliss returns with this funny, illuminating chronicle of a globe-spanning spiritual quest to find a faith that fits. When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner-an agnostic by default-finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. "Have you found your God yet?" The thought of it nags him, and prods him-and ultimately launches him on a far-flung journey to do just that. Weiner, a longtime "spiritual voyeur" and inveterate traveler, realizes that while he has been privy to a wide range of religious practices, he's never seriously considered these concepts in his own life. Face to face with his own mortality, and spurred on by the question of what spiritual principles to impart to his young daughter, he decides to correct this omission, undertaking a worldwide exploration of religions and hoping to come, if he can, to a personal understanding of the divine. The journey that results is rich in insight, humor, and heart. Willing to do anything to better understand faith, and to find the god or gods that speak to him, he travels to Nepal, where he meditates with Tibetan lamas and a guy named Wayne. He sojourns to Turkey, where he whirls (not so well, as it turns out) with Sufi dervishes. He heads to China, where he attempts to unblock his chi; to Israel, where he studies Kabbalah, sans Madonna; and to Las Vegas, where he has a close encounter with Raelians (followers of the world's largest UFO-based religion). At each stop along the way, Weiner tackles our most pressing spiritual questions: Where do we come from? What happens when we die? How should we live our lives? Where do all the missing socks go? With his trademark wit and warmth, he leaves no stone unturned. At a time when more Americans than ever are choosing a new faith, and when spiritual questions loom large in the modern age, Man Seeks God presents a perspective on religion that is sure to delight, inspire, and entertain.

An era has ended. The political expression that most galvanized evangelicals during the past quarter-century, the Religious Right, is fading. What's ahead is unclear. Millions of faith-based voters still exist, and they continue to care deeply about hot-button issues like abortion and gay marriage, but the shape of their future political engagement remains to be formed. Into this uncertainty, former White House insiders Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner seek to call evangelicals toward a new kind of political engagement -- a kind that is better both for the church and the country, a kind that cannot be co-opted by either political party, a kind that avoids the historic mistakes of both the Religious Left and the Religious Right. Incisive, bold, and marked equally by pragmatism and idealism, Gerson and Wehner's new book has the potential to chart a new political future not just for values voters, but for the nation as a whole.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

The title leads one to believe that this may be just another boring book about our religions--but the author presents us with an entirely new religion that will make more sense to many readers than any of the religions that we have today. Tagore was a man of great wisdom who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 and was one of India's greatest poets. His personal mystical experiences, rather than any philosophical reasoning, led him to the Religion of Man, as he terms it. The God of this religion is an Eternal Spirit of unity that can be found within the heart of every person rather than in the sky. Each person is on a path to discover our unity with one another so that we may one day be released from the idea of division and separateness, which results in war and hatred. Ultimate truth can be realized by anyone who learns how to listen and tap into an inner source of divine wisdom. This power of realization can be enhanced through involvement with symbols, ceremonies, art, nature, literature, myths and legends. There is only one commandment in this religion, which is to spread this Divine Truth to others through words and deeds. This book has the power to open one's mind into a new and different level of meaningful consciousness, having been written by a gifted mystic who knew how to communicate on this level to others.

Master storyteller Ace Collins offers deeply personal narratives of sixteen men whose living faith has made a vital difference in the world. Stories Behind Men of Faith uncovers the influences, the turning points, and the surprising twists that have created icons of faith, past and present, who continue to inspire us to live better Christian lives and to witness to others. Contemporary men such as Bono, Branch Rickey, Jim Valvano, and Fred Rogers and historical figures such as William Carey, John Newton, Albert Schweitzer, George Washington Carver, and Nicholas of Myra have inspired millions. They have led countless souls to follow in their steps and created legacies that have helped bring so much light into a dark world simply by courageously living their faith. Stories Behind Men of Faith will remind readers that with faith in God, anything is possible.