Field Guide To The Wild World Of Religion

The American religious scene in 1955 was a very tame and predictable world. It matched the tame, predictable world of women's clothing, where most women going out shopping wore a dress with coordinating gloves, hat, and shoes. And it matched the tame, predictable world of children's toys, where almost every young girl yearned for a baby doll that said Ma-Ma, and almost every boy needed a coonskin cap. Choices of fashions, toys, preachers, and churches were limited and domesticated. Fifty years later, the tame, predictable world of 1950s fashions and toys is long gone. Women go shopping in everything from sweatshirts and jeans to tube tops and short shorts. And both boys and girls want the latest Sponge Bob Square Pants video game. The same kind of transformation has gone on in the world of religion. It is no longer tame and predictable either. Welcome to the Wild World of Religion of the 21st Century. Explore its habitats, identify some of the inhabitants, and learn about their characteristics and customs in this Field Guide.

What Believers Don't Have to Believe, author Craig Payne uses evidence from the Creeds, Christian history, the scriptures, and philosophy to establish what one is required to believe to maintain Christian orthodoxy, and how much one is not required to believe. This book focuses on five areas of disagreement: creation, biblical inerrancy, human nature, Christian political involvement, and eschatology.

Film explores what our salvation is really all about ; how Christians can live faithfully in a broken world.

How do religion and the natural world interact with one another? Grounding Religion introduces students to the growing field of religion and ecology, exploring a series of questions about how the religious world influences and is influenced by ecological systems. Grounding Religion examines the central concepts of ‘religion’ and ‘ecology’ using analysis, dialogical exchanges by established scholars in the field, and case studies. The first textbook to encourage critical thinking about the relationships between the environment and religious beliefs and practices, it also provides an expansive overview of the academic field of religion and ecology as it has emerged in the past forty years. The contributors introduce students to new ways of thinking about environmental degradation and the responses of religious people. Each chapter brings a new perspective on key concepts such as sustainability, animals, gender, economics, environmental justice, globalization and place. Discussion questions and contemporary case studies focusing on topics such as Muslim farmers in the US and Appalachian environmental struggles help students apply the perspective to current events, other media, and their own interests.

For believers and skeptics alike, A Doubter's Guide to World Religions introduces the five major world religions so that you can explore their similarities and differences in a fair and engaging way. The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are worshipping, praying, believing, following, even dying for their faith. But what does it mean to be religious? Are all religions the same? Do they all call on the same God simply using different names? Are their beliefs and practices simply cultural expressions of the same spiritual longings? Written by historian and theologian John Dickson in his characteristically engaging style, this book presents each of the world's five major systems of faith, carefully outlining the history, doctrines, beliefs, and spiritual practices of: Hinduism ("The Way of Release") Buddhism ("The Way of Enlightenment") Judaism ("The Way of the Torah") Christianity ("The Way of the Christ") Islam ("The Way of Submission") In his own words, Dickson acts as an art curator in a gallery, presenting each of these "works of art" in their best light and letting each have their say. Along the way, he demonstrates the importance of religion in general—to society and to individual believers—and addresses many of the universal questions that all of these serious and ancient religions ask: Who are we? What is our worth? How should we live? Are we alone? At the end of each section is a bibliography of helpful books and websites for those who are interested in learning even more.

Includes small portraits of all the major religious traditions by scholars in each field, as well as essays on spiritual philosophies such as Wicca, theosophy, and indigenous religions by various adherents. The book is divided into four sections: major world religions, spiritualisms, and philosophies; interfaith dialogue; creating a peaceful, inclusive, just world; and a very large resource guide with various directories of on- and off-line religious sites. Under the third section, on creating a peaceful world, for example, one may find "The Jain Declaration on Nature," wherein it is written that one of Gandhi's most treasured friends was a Jain, Shrimad Rajchandra, who influenced the Mahatma with a central Jain tenet, ahimsa, or nonviolence. The section on the Unification Church, another example, is absent all mention of the different phases and kinds of Moon's troubles, attempting only to give an objective portrait of the religion's tenets. This uncontentious, unconditionally loving compendium came out of a 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

Explore the connections between God, wilderness and Judaism. This comprehensive how-to guide to the theory and practice of Jewish wilderness spirituality unravels the mystery of Judaism's connection to the natural world and offers ways for you to enliven and deepen your spiritual life through wilderness experience. Over forty practical exercises provide detailed instruction on spiritual practice in the natural world, including: Mindfulness exercises for the trail • Meditative walking • Four-Winds wisdom from Jewish tradition • Wilderness blessings • Soul-O Site solitude practice in wilderness • Wilderness retreat For wilderness lovers and nature novices alike, this inspiring and insightful book will lead you through experiences of awe and wonder in the natural world. It will show you the depth and relevance of Judaism to your spiritual awareness in wilderness and teach you new ways to energize your relationship with God and prayer.

Keys to understanding our shrinking world A generation ago almost everyone a Christian encountered went to church--or at least knew he or she should. Today, with the world at America's doorstep, evangelical Christians more than ever need to understand their neighbors and their changing beliefs. The Compact Guide to World Religions is a complete, easy-to-use handbook of the origins, basic beliefs, and evangelistic challenges and opportunities of the world's major religions in clear, easy-to-use chapters and charts.