Strings Of Faith

The words “you have one year to live” had an impact on author Kirby Smith and changed the way she lived her life. At the age of twenty-eight, she learned her mother, Nancy, would not survive her battle with breast cancer. In the days leading up to her mother’s death, she and her family witnessed multiple spiritual events. Kirby and her family cared for her terminally ill mother until she passed away on October 13, 2012. In 2013, Kirby’s sister was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Rochelle, a young mother and registered nurse, faced her diagnosis and treatment with faith and a positive attitude that mirrored Nancy’s grace during her own multiple diagnoses with cancer. Rochelle and Kirby’s father, Les, stood by Nancy’s side during their thirty-three years of marriage and led their two daughters through the grieving process. His prayers for peace and comfort were answered both during and after Nancy’s passing. Some of the answers to their questions came from genetic testing, proactive health care, interaction with a spiritual medium, and signs from heaven. Some of their questions remain unanswered, but Kirby and her family know they will see how all of the pieces fit together at the end of their lives. As you read Strings from Above, you will walk through the journey with Kirby and her family as they experience happiness and sorrow. In their darkest of days, God never abandoned them; He continued to guide them through life’s trials and hardships. Their mother’s light continues to shine, and they have been blessed beyond measure. They have learned to embrace God’s greatest blessings, and they are excited to invite others to see His great works and His constant love through their story.

Between 838 and 1403 CE, there was a six-century lapse in diplomatic relations between present day China and Japan. This hiatus in what is known as the tribute system has led to an assumption that there was little contact between the two countries in this period. Yiwen Li debunks this assumption, arguing instead that a vibrant Sino-Japanese trade network flourished in this period as Buddhist monks and merchants fostered connections across maritime East Asia. Based on a close examination of sources in multiple languages, including poems and letters, transmitted images and objects, and archaeological discoveries, Li presents a vivid and dynamic picture of the East Asian maritime world. She shows how this Buddhist trade network operated outside of the framework of the tribute system and, through novel interpretations of Buddhist records, provides a new understanding of the relationship between Buddhism and commerce.

In this posthumous book, the late Professor R. Hooykaas (1906-1994) conveys a lifetime of historical thought about modes of scientific advance over the centuries. In what variety of ways has the human mind, with all its subjectivity and its capacity for self-deception, but also its piercing gifts of discovery, managed to come to terms with `the whimsical tricks of nature'? Central to this erudite, penetrating, and widely ranging study is Hooykaas's distinction between facts (given by nature yet entirely subject to our mode of interpreting them), faith (broad conceptions like the idea of order, of simplicity, or of harmony), and fictions in the sense of those daring intellectual tools, such as theories and hypotheses and models, which reflect the scientist's creative imagination. Case studies drawn from the history of all branches of science (including chemistry and the earth sciences) and from Antiquity to the present day, serve to widen and to deepen the understanding of every reader (whether a historian of science or not) with a desire to learn more about the realities of the scientific pursuit.

After 70 years of living an adventurous life, Dave Lakin has penned his thoughts, experiences and stories with us. In this book you will read about his upbringing in a small Yorkshire town that led to leading the largest youth ministry in the UK in his time. Self admitting he lacked confidence, Dave's story will inspire you to realise that God does pull the strings and will lead you into an incredible journey of faith if you trust Him.

This is a collection of poems reflecting the authors unique views on life, systems, politics, religion, and more.

If you were asked to define the essence of Christianity, what would you say? Which words would you choose to describe the life-changing pursuit of something completely intangible? All too often, ¿Christian¿ words are used superficially, without comprehension of their truest meaning¿surface answers to humanity¿s most important questions. But these words influence your sole connection to eternal life.

Few words are as widely misconceived as the word "faith." Faith is often set in stark opposition to reason, considered antithetical to scientific thought, and heavily identified with religion. Donald Crosby's revealing book provides a more complex picture, discussing faith and its connection to the whole of human life and human knowledge. Crosby writes about that existential faith that underlies, shapes, and supports a person's life and its sense of purpose and direction. Such faith does not make a person religious and being secular does not mean one rejects all forms of faith. Throughout the book Crosby makes the case that faith is fundamentally involved in all processes of reasoning and that reason is an essential part of all dependable forms of faith. Crosby elaborates the major components of faith and goes on to look at the mutually dependent relationships between faith and knowledge, faith and scientific knowledge, and faith and morality. The work's final chapters examine crises of faith among several noted thinkers as well as the author's own journey of faith from plans for the ministry to pastor to secular philosopher and religious naturalist.