Mind & Body > Religion

Is religion toxic or tonic? Is it a force for good or for evil? The answer is 'all of the above' - which is to say that religion is a force far too powerful to be ignored. God is Not One is the essential guide to learning about and understanding religion and its place in our global culture today, written for religious and non-religious people alike, and for people in between. Stephen Prothero's fresh and controversial argument that the great religions present us with different paths up different mountains creates a new context for ... read more

Britain's greatest religious historian chronicles the rise and rise of fundamentalism.

Suppose you could ask God the most puzzling questions about existence - questions about love and faith, life and death, good and evil. Suppose God provided clear, understandable answers. It happened to Neale Donald Walsch. It can happen to you. You are about to have a conversation... I have heard the crying of your heart. I have seen the searching of your soul. I know how deeply you have desired the Truth. In pain have you called out for it, and in joy. Unendingly have you beseeched Me. Show Myself. Explain Myself. Reveal Myself. I... read more

Hidden from the rest of the world, high in the Himalayan mountains, the people of Tibet developed a science of the mind over the centuries it took the West to build cars and planes. Forty years ago, Tenzin Palmo was one of the early Western women to meet the lamas coming out of Tibet and to study the Tibetan Buddhist teachings deeply. In her second book, she invites Western readers into the heart of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In her characteristically clear and insightful style, she introduces us to the essential teachings ... read more

'Love's Urgent Longing' is the story of a journey made over the past few years by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson. In seeking for answers to the urgent longings of the title he goes back to basics to encounter the spiritual, to consciously respond to the force of his deepest desires and to understand the ways that they move him towards higher goals. This sounds like a very personal journey, and so it is. However it is also a journey that will resonate with a great many Catholics. The Bishop asks questions that every thinking Catholic ... read more

Written by the author of the international bestseller, "Conversations with God", this book takes us further in our questioning and search for answers, while dealing with the universal truths of the highest order, and the challenges and opportunities of the soul.

In the public mind, Islam is a religion of extremes: it is the world's fastest growing faith; more than three-quarters of the world's refugees are Islamic; it has produced government by authoritarian monarchies in Saudi Arabia and ultra-republicans in Iran. Whether we are reading about civil war in Algeria or Afghanistan, the struggle for the soul of Turkey, or political turmoil in Pakistan or Malaysia, the Islamic context permeates all these situations. Karen Armstrong's elegant and concise book traces how Islam grew from the othe... read more

Buddha and Christ, each left behind a legacy of teachings and practices that have shaped the lives of billions of people. If they were to meet on the road today, what would each think of the other's spiritual views and practices? This work explores the crossroads of compassion and holiness at which the two traditions meet.

'What is it I hope for from this book? To inspire a quiet revolution in the whole way we look at death and care for the dying and the whole way we look at life, and care for the living'. Written by Buddhist meditation master and popular international speaker Soygal Rinpoche, this highly acclaimed book clarifies the majestic vision of life and death that underlies the Tibetan tradition. It includes not only a lucid, inspiring and complete introduction to the practice of meditation but also advice on how to care for the dying with lo... read more

A homeless man walking. A soldier preparing for combat. A mother nursing her newborn child. Never before has a publisher illuminated the Bible with such an array of striking, even provocative contemporary photographs. Wrapped in an arresting cover, "Bible Illuminated: The Book, New Testament" presents the Bible in a full-color, glossy magazine format, set in running text with no verses, inviting readers to step into the Bible and experience it in a whole new way. The Book, using the Good News Translation as approved by the American... read more

The enormous popularity of books by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and others shows that despite the religious revival that is under way in many parts of the world, there is widespread confusion about the nature of religious truth. The militant atheism we are witnessing at present is a historical phenomenon, a product of modernity. This groundbreaking book will examine this Western recoil from religion in an historical context, showing how our rational, scientific culture has distorted the notion of religious fai... read more

With her children at school, a mother is on to a new stage of her life, playing a new role. The daily challenges she confronts have changed, yet for each one Buddhist teachings of mindfulness, compassion and calm are invaluable. This book explores those teachings through many scenarios, including managing the stress of numerous deadlines, coping with routine and repetition, answering children's tricky questions about how the world works, fitting in with other parents, managing fears and expectations for their children, and dealing ... read more

The Bible is the most important book in the history of Western civilization, and also the most difficult to interpret. It has been the vehicle of continual conflict, with every interpretation reflecting passionately-held views that have affected not merely religion, but politics, art, and even science. This unique edition offers an exciting new approach to the most influential of all English biblical texts - the Authorized King James Version, complete with the Apocrypha. Its wide-ranging Introduction and the substantial notes to ea... read more

The Dalai Lama always recommends a classic text by the Buddhist sage Shantideva as essential reading for those seeking a practical approach to Buddhism. With its life-changing psychological tools and transcendent wisdom, it is one of the world's great spiritual treasures. David Michie provides a lively, accessible introduction to the 'best of' Shantideva. He shows how modern psychology confirms the insights of Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, and he unpacks its powerful antidotes to contemporary problems, includ... read more

Written in conjunction with educators, scholars, and religious advisors, this retelling of favorite Old and New Testament stories retains the original feel and poetry of the Bible while appealing to contemporary young readers. DK's "Children's Illustrated Bible" features some of the best-known Bible tales, including, the Birth of Jesus, Jacob's Ladder, Noah's Ark, and the Resurrection, written especially for children in a clear, easy-to-understand tone. A "Who's Who in the Bible Stories" section and quotations from the King James B... read more

A variety of prominent overseas authors have made significant contributions to the general public conversation on belief and religion, but Australians have been somewhat less heard. The Australian Book of Atheism aims to change that, gathering together an impressive collection of essays from pre-eminent Australian atheist, rationalist, secular, humanist, and skeptic thinkers, many of whom participated in the 2010 Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne. The collection showcases a range of published authors, including Robyn Williams,... read more

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Certain special places move us at a profound level - with a kind of inner beauty that puts us in direct touch with the spirit. It might be a temple, a church, a commemorative monument, a wayside shrine or a landscape feature that is saturated in the ambience of ancient sacred traditions. Such places are worth taking the trouble to visit. They add meaning to our lives, awakening a sense of awe, beauty or tranquillity. From the prehistoric megaliths of Carnac in Brittany to the Buddhist temple-complex of Borobodur in Java, from the g... read more

Geoffrey Blainey, one of Australia's most accomplished and popular historians, takes us on a journey from the very beginnings of Christianity through to the current day. Looking at the development of the religion itself, as well as the social and economic forces that have influenced it, this book will include biographical details of many of the significant players in Christianity's rise and fall through the ages, including Francis of Assisi, Wesley, Whitefield and Bunyan. Written with Blainey's characteristic curiosity and story-te... read more

Every Sunday, the Lord's Prayer echoes in churches around the world. It is an indisputable principle of Christian faith. It is the way Jesus taught his followers to pray and distills the most essential beliefs required of every one of the world's 2.5 billion Christians. In "The Greatest Prayer," our foremost Jesus scholar explores this foundational prayer line by line for the richest and fullest understanding of a prayer every Christian knows by heart. An expert on the historical Jesus, Crossan provides just the right amount of ... read more