No Offense

Counselling Without Offense reflects the compassion and concern of our Lord Jesus towards all suffering humanity, irrespective of their faith. Principles of psychology, guidelines to counsellors, the personal experiences of Dr. Samson Gandhi, and the Truth are beautifully and sensitively interwoven to make this book equally inspiring to all counsellors no matter where they are on their journey as counsellors. An extremely readable book which will grace any counsellors library . . . I could not put it down, once I had started reading it. Dr. Veena Easvaradoss, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Psychology, Womens Christian College, Chennai, India Samson Gandhi writes as though he is at your side sharing insights with you. He peppers the book with real life situations and examples to bolster the points he makes. A must-read for all Christian counsellors. This pragmatic and sharp book thrilled my heart! Go ahead, read, pray and with Gods help counsel without offense! Dr. Anthony David, MD, Professor and Head, Physiology, Anna Medical College & Research Center, Mauritius Counselling Without Offense is an excellent book written by Samson Gandhi to show that a Christian and a non-Christian face similar problems and the solution lies in knowing the truth as the Truth holds the key to set them free. By saying our goal is counselling and not converting he removes the unnecessary pressure from the counsellor. This book is a must for all counsellors. Stanley Mehta, Senior Pastor, Bombay Baptist Church, Mumbai

"A Crossroad book." Includes bibliographical references and index.

This book offers a comprehensive study of the nature and significance of offense and offensiveness. It incorporates insights from moral philosophy and moral psychology to rationally reconstruct our ordinary ideas and assumptions about these notions. When someone claims that something is offensive, others are supposed to listen. Why? What is it for something to be offensive? Likewise, it’s supposed to matter if someone claims to have been offended. Is this correct? In this book, Andrew Sneddon argues that we should think of offense as a moralized bad feeling. He explains offensiveness in terms of symbolic value. We tend to give claims of both offense and offensiveness more credence than they deserve. While it is in principle possible for there to be genuine moral problems of offense and offensiveness, we should expect such problems to be rare. Offense and Offensiveness: A Philosophical Account will be of interest to scholars and students working in moral philosophy and moral psychology.

New York Times-bestselling author Meg Cabot returns with a charming romance between a children's librarian and the town sheriff in the second book in the Little Bridge Island series. Welcome to Little Bridge, one of the smallest, most beautiful islands in the Florida Keys, home to sandy white beaches, salt-rimmed margaritas, and stunning sunsets—a place where nothing goes under the radar and love has a way of sneaking up when least expected... A broken engagement only gave Molly Montgomery additional incentive to follow her dream job from the Colorado Rockies to the Florida Keys. Now, as Little Bridge Island Public Library’s head of children’s services, Molly hopes the messiest thing in her life will be her sticky-note covered desk. But fate—in the form of a newborn left in the restroom—has other ideas. So does the sheriff who comes to investigate the “abandonment”. When John Hartwell folds all six-feet-three of himself into a tiny chair and insists that whoever left the baby is a criminal, Molly begs to differ and asks what he’s doing about the Island’s real crime wave (if thefts of items from homes that have been left unlocked could be called that). Not the best of starts, but the man’s arrogance is almost as distracting as his blue eyes. Almost… John would be pretty irritated if one of his deputies had a desk as disorderly as Molly’s. Good thing she doesn’t work for him, considering how attracted he is to her. Molly’s lilting librarian voice makes even the saltiest remarks go down sweeter, which is bad as long as she’s a witness but might be good once the case is solved—provided he hasn’t gotten on her last nerve by then. Recently divorced, John has been having trouble adjusting to single life as well as single parenthood. But something in Molly’s beautiful smile gives John hope that his old life on Little Bridge might suddenly hold new promise—if only they can get over their differences. Clever, hilarious, and fun, No Offense will tug at readers’ heartstrings and make them fall in love with Little Bridge Island and its unique characters once again.

A “wonderful” novel of suspense about a woman journeying into her own dark past to protect her child’s future (Michael Connelly). When her ex-lover comes to see her, Miranda “Munch” Mancini has mixed feelings. On one hand, he’s a reminder of all she has left behind in order to stay sober and rebuild her life. On the other hand, he’s Sleaze Garillo, the father of the baby girl she is now raising. When Sleaze disappears, Munch can’t help but get involved. The police don’t see foul play, but Munch is the one with the knowledge—and the friends—to get to the truth behind Sleaze’s suspicious disappearance. To find him, she’ll have to take an unwelcome trip down memory lane to visit people from her shady past. There’s more at stake here than tracking down Sleaze: Munch must also protect the life she’s built for herself, and for the little girl she calls her own. This “fast-paced” mystery (Los Angeles Times) is a “real cause for celebration . . . Seranella keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, with surprises around every corner” (Chicago Tribune). “A splendid read.” —T. Jefferson Parker

Ārya Asanga’s Bodhisattvabhūmi, or The Stage of a Bodhisattva, is the Mahāyāna tradition’s most comprehensive manual on the practice and training of bodhisattvas—by the author’s own account, a compilation of the full range of instructions contained in the entire collection of Mahāyāna sutras. A classic work of the Yogācāra school, it has been cherished in Tibet by all the historical Buddhist lineages as a primary source of instruction on bodhisattva ethics, vows, and practices, as well as for its summary of the ultimate goal of the bodhisattva path—supreme enlightenment. Despite the text’s seminal importance in the Tibetan traditions, it has remained unavailable in English except in fragments. Engle’s translation, made from the Sanskrit original with reference to the Tibetan translation and commentaries, will enable English readers to understand more fully and clearly what it means to be a bodhisattva and practitioner of the Mahāyāna tradition.