The Man Who Refused Heaven

Joy Is Fundamental to Who We Are Paramhansa Yogananda translated the classic definition of God given by Swami Shankarananda, “Sat-chid-ananda,” as, “Ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new joy.” Yogananda added the concept of “new” to the ancient definition. Yogananda explained that God became His creation, which means that all of life exists, is conscious, and has the quality of joy innately within it. This is why human beings universally seek happiness. It is our nature to be happy, and the search for happiness motivates everyone. A master is one who has united his consciousness with Satchidananda, and so you see in the masters profound joy. Some share this joy outwardly through their personalities; others may be more serious outwardly, but great joy sparkles in their eyes and is felt in their presence. Yogananda's experience of life, his experience of the goal of all life, was filled with joy. He lived in joy always, and sought to awaken it in others. Though he could be intensely serious and deep as appropriate, he also could express the greatest joy, often in unexpected situations. The humor in The Man that Refused Heaven arose spontaneously from Yogananda's deep joy. Sometimes he used humor to express an important spiritual principle. Sometimes he used it in training the disciples, to help them learn in a way that reasoned lectures could never achieve. Most of the humor in this book was taken from Yogananda's writings. Also included are experiences with the master that demonstrate his playful spirit. These were written by Swami Kriyananda, from his years of being trained personally by Yogananda, or from stories that were shared with him by other close disciples. The message of this book is both playful and serious. The serious message is that joy can be found within us always. We should look for it there and share it with others.

More than a decade after Jack Gilbert’s The Great Fires, this highly anticipated new collection shows the continued development of a poet who has remained fierce in his avoidance of the beaten path. In Refusing Heaven, Gilbert writes compellingly about the commingled passion, loneliness, and sometimes surprising happiness of a life spent in luminous understanding of his own blessings and shortcomings: “The days and nights wasted . . . Long hot afternoons / watching ants while the cicadas railed / in the Chinese elm about the brevity of life.” Time slows down in these poems, as Gilbert creates an aura of curiosity and wonder at the fact of existence itself. Despite powerful intermittent griefs–over the women he has parted from or the one lost to cancer (an experience he captures with intimate precision)–Gilbert’s choice in this volume is to “refuse heaven.” He prefers this life, with its struggle and alienation and delight, to any paradise. His work is both a rebellious assertion of the call to clarity and a profound affirmation of the world in all its aspects. It braces the reader in its humanity and heart.

Over half of Americans believe in a literal heaven, in a literal hell. Most people who hold these beliefs are Christian and assume they are the age-old teachings of the Bible. Ehrman shows that eternal rewards and punishments are found nowhere in the Old Testament, and are not what Jesus or his disciples taught. He recounts the long history of the afterlife, ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. Ehrman shows that competing views were intimately connected with the social, cultural, and historical worlds out of which they emerged. -- adapted from jacket

This is the fourth part of Swedish philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg's spiritual commentary on the book of Revelation.

The acclaimed author of American Dirt reveals the devastating effects of a shocking tragedy in this landmark true crime book—the first ever to look intimately at the experiences of both the victims and their families. A Rip in Heaven is Jeanine Cummins’ story of a night in April, 1991, when her two cousins Julie and Robin Kerry, and her brother, Tom, were assaulted on the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which spans the Mississippi River just outside of St. Louis. When, after a harrowing ordeal, Tom managed to escape the attackers and flag down help, he thought the nightmare would soon be over. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Tom, his sister Jeanine, and their entire family were just at the beginning of a horrific odyssey through the aftermath of a violent crime, a world of shocking betrayal, endless heartbreak, and utter disillusionment. It was a trial by fire from which no family member would emerge unscathed.

Christianity is Jesus Christ. It is not the teaching, doctrine, system or organization of Christ. Rather, it is Jesus Christ himself. We need to see Him as God sees Him. Yet this can only come about by revelation from above. The Holy Spirit will reveal Jesus to us. And when we do see Him as God sees Him, we will fall down and worship. Such, then, is the intent of this series of messages, whose overarching theme is best summed up in the author’s choice of title to the entire series: “But We See Jesus” (Hebrews 2:9a). All nineteen messages were delivered by the author before a Christian audience in Richmond, Virginia over a three-year period, commencing in the year 1992. May God use this volume to inspire His people to see the Savior and Lord we have so that we may truly worship Him with all our hearts and love Him with all our heart, mind, will and strength. Jesus alone is worthy!

Top-selling author Scott returns with his third blockbuster book on Jesus. This time, he shows readers exactly what Jesus wants from their lives. Christ completed 27 missions while on Earth; now readers can take up the four he assigned to them.