The Seeker S Guide To Faith

The Seeker’s Guide to Faith confronts and answers the thirteen principal arguments against God that are now advanced by modern secularist movement (sometimes called New Atheism) using the powerful insights and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are many books written to encourage faith for people who are experiencing doubts about God generally. However, this book is the only one of its kind by a Latter-day Saint author that directly and specifically challenges all the main arguments against faith in God that are now aggressively asserted by the belligerent modern secular movement. Its uniqueness is enhanced by the fact that the doctrines and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are used whenever applicable to effectively answer the challenges raised by this movement. This author believes that the unique teachings and insights of the Church are better suited than those of any other faith for answering those challenges. Furthermore, the author’s professional and volunteer activities have afforded him the opportunity to know and work with people of nearly all religious backgrounds, in nearly all walks of life. Recent experiences have led him to examine the reasons many apparently intelligent people reject faith. His legal background and training have aided him in spotting and understanding the weaknesses and flaws of the logical underpinnings of atheism. His Gospel upbringing as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has helped him see through the fog of the dogma and arguments of atheism to the “More Excellent Way” afforded by the Gospel’s plan of happiness. He hopes The Seeker’s Guide to Faith will help others who stand at the crossroads of their doubts to find their faith in Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

What if we truly belong to each other? What if we are all walking around shining like the sun? Mystic, monk, and activist Thomas Merton asked those questions in the twentieth century. Writer Sophfronia Scott is asking them today. In The Seeker and the Monk, Scott mines the extensive private journals of one of the most influential contemplative thinkers of the past for guidance on how to live in these fraught times. As a Black woman who is not Catholic, Scott both learns from and pushes back against Merton, holding spirited, and intimate conversations on race, ambition, faith, activism, nature, prayer, friendship, and love. She asks: What is the connection between contemplation and action? Is there ever such a thing as a wrong answer to a spiritual question? How do we care about the brutality in the world while not becoming overwhelmed by it? By engaging in this lively discourse, readers will gain a steady sense of how to dwell more deeply within--and even to love--this despairing and radiant world.

Who is that sitting on a small rotating planet gliding through a large cold universe? It's you, of course. And where do you think you are going? The deepest question in every human heart is: does my life ultimately matter? What is my value based on? In Who Are You, Really? you will see where others have found meaning, which can be a vantage point from which to make your own discoveries. Becoming the person you are called to be is a journey into reality. The journey involves shedding all that is not your true self. The journey is about becoming more real. These pages cover a range of topics--your past, coming to see God's gifts, your relationship with God, and more--touching on things you might have thought were unrelated to each other. They all have something to do with who you are and how you can know this. Doing the exercises at the end of each chapter and praying the psalms will help you make your own discoveries and "see for yourself." There is someone waiting for you at the end of this journey--someone you will enjoy meeting. You will find the answer to who you really are.

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Sam Harris’s latest New York Times bestseller is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, Waking Up is for the twenty percent of Americans who follow no religion but who suspect that important truths can be found in the experiences of such figures as Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history. Throughout this book, Harris argues that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow, and that how we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the quality of our lives. Waking Up is part memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.

"Elizabeth Lesser offers up a rich cornucopia of lessons for the soul in The New American Spirituality, a warm and fascinating account of a modern pilgrimage." --Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., author of Emotional Intelligence In the crowded field of books dealing with spirituality, psychology, and religion, what has been missing is a comprehensive, authoritative guide to the many choices facing spiritual seekers today. The New American Spirituality fills that need. This encouraging, empowering "user's manual" for the soul teaches you how to chart a unique and personal path through the diverse landscapes of the American spiritual quest. In 1977, Lesser cofounded the Omega Institute, now America's largest adult-education center focusing on wellness and spirituality. Working with many of the eminent thinkers and practitioners of our times in the fields of religion, psychology, mysticism, science, and healing, Lesser found that the hunger for a spiritual life can be satisfied by a rich blend of the world's wisdom traditions. In The New American Spirituality she synthesizes the lessons she has learned from different belief systems, and intertwines them with illuminating stories from her life as a seeker, teacher, daughter, wife, and mother. She answers pertinent questions--how do you determine what is right for you from the many strains of the modern spiritual search? how do you assess a teacher or practice? how can you gauge your progress?--while warning of the tendency to miss out on real growth by merely dabbling in the latest fads. Recounting her own trials and errors and offering meditative exercises as well as references to some of the world's great spiritual teachers, Lesserprovides directions through the four landscapes of the spiritual journey: the mind: developing awareness, learning meditation, easing stress and anxiety the heart: finding what one really loves, dealing with grief and loss, becoming fully alive the body: returning the body to the spiritual fold, healing, coping with aging and the fear of death the soul: naming God for ourselves, exploring other realms of consciousness, trusting the mysterious nature of the universe, developing compassion and forgiveness Warm, accessible, and wise, The New American Spirituality is a cross-disciplinary sourcebook for the millions of Americans who, whether or not they participate in an organized religion, wish to incorporate a more meaningful, joyful, and individualized spirituality into their daily lives.

This book is written for laypersons who want to know more about themselves, their world, and their God.

In a concise, straightforward manner, Sadleir presents essential information on a remarkable array of religious and spiritual belief systems. From Roman Catholicism to Rastafarianism, the world's religions are discussed in terms of their histories, beliefs, sacred texts, and rituals.