Liquid Love

This book is about the central figure of our contemporary, ‘liquid modern’ times – the man or woman with no bonds, and particularly with none of the fixed or durable bonds that would allow the effort of self-definition and self-assertion to come to a rest. Having no permanent bonds, the denizen of our liquid modern society must tie whatever bonds they can to engage with others, using their own wits, skill and dedication. But none of these bonds are guaranteed to last. Moreover, they must be tied loosely so that they can be untied again, quickly and as effortlessly as possible, when circumstances change – as they surely will in our liquid modern society, over and over again. The uncanny frailty of human bonds, the feeling of insecurity that frailty inspires, and the conflicting desires to tighten the bonds yet keep them loose, are the principal themes of this important new book by Zygmunt Bauman, one of the most original and influential social thinkers of our time. It will be of great interest to students and scholars in sociology and in the social sciences and humanities generally, and it will appeal to anyone interested in the changing nature of human relationships.

Liquid Love is a journey through an abyss of paradoxical contradictions. Life has a way of playing tricks on you; first it loves you then it hates you; it supports your dreams and aspirations, and then it sabotages the very essence of the dream. Life can promise you a rose garden and fill it with thorns that try your patience, mitigates forgiveness, and proliferate bitterness. Life is funny that way. Yet these contradictions serve a greater purpose than what the physical eye can determine. It is at those most ambiguous times that love speaks to you in a way that makes everything better even when it still does not make sense. Liquid Love speaks to these contradictions and offer a way out of that deep hole. It speaks of the love of God and the power His love has to bring beauty out of ashes. It speaks to the deep hurt and offers its power to heal and deliver through pages of personal experience and God's abiding truth. Take this journey through liquid love and let it peel back another layer of discovery to a self you may not have known before. Be courageous! Take the journey.

Liquid Love: One Woman’s Spiritual Journey By: Evangelist Reverend Sherry D. Nelson About the Book Liquid Love: One Woman’s Spiritual Journey is the story of one woman’s religious experiences. The author describes, analyzes, and explores how she grew in her relationship with the true and living God. She also discusses how she was influenced in her everyday life experiences. The story explores the author’s supernatural experience and how it impacted her life.

Genevieve, a poet, and Sean, a bartender, wrote this literary affair between classic cocktails and love poems—an adventure into the romance and libertine spirit of classic cocktails, including fabulous recipes from the 1920’s with modern variations. Hemingway’s advice to “write drunk and edit sober” describes their creative process as poems were written under the spirit of each drink. The cocktails provide the metaphors for a poetic love story, giving the history, secrets, and mystique of each drink. What started as a single poem, using the martini as a metaphor for love and life, grew into a merger of many classic cocktails with the developing romance. Key social issues of the times were also swept along with it as the poems invite the reader along on their journey. Classic Cocktails: Liquid Love Poems is a tribute to the slower styles of earlier times, linking classic cocktails with important issues such as liberty, freedom of choice, love between men and women as equals, and honoring previous generations—for whom everyone should be grateful to as part of the evolution of the human species. These issues are still present in modern culture, and now more than ever people need poetry, romance, and spirituality in their lives. With the quick pace of life and dependence on technology to communicate, people need to slow down and take time to get in touch with their natural selves; who we were before the social conditioning around survival, money, and materialism cemented people into false identities or stereotypical roles. Everyone needs time to just be—to reconnect with one’s spirit and allow creative urges and inspirations to express themselves freely. This reconnection can truly be a spiritual journey to not only connect with our selves, but also with each other. Hemingway has a lot to say about this in the last poem, The Liberty Bell.

This updated edition provides an ideal teaching text for first-year university and college courses.

A Postmodern Theology of Ritual Action is a unique work that seeks to explore where we find meaning within ritual and actions within the church. Bridging hermeneutics, philosophy, and postmodern thought, this work seeks to explore how to do theology with the community through conversation. Beginning with the mindset that meaning is already present within ritual action rather than outside it, Best engages the practice of foot washing among the Original Free Will Baptist denomination of eastern North Carolina. Foot washing suggests a new future for theology, a future that models love, service, and acceptance. Incorporating insights gained from conversing with philosophy, theology, and the Original Free Will Baptists, foot washing points toward a future relational practical theology. A Postmodern Theology of Ritual Action is a captivating work that draws from both philosophers and theologians to show that we can learn much by listening to the voices of religious practitioners.

An Introduction to the Sociology of Religion provides an overview of sociological theories of contemporary religious life. Some chapters are organized according to topic. Others offer brief presentations of classical and contemporary sociologists from Karl Marx to Zygmunt Bauman and their perspectives on social life, including religion. Throughout the book, illustrations and examples are taken from several religious traditions.