This audio will appeal to listeners seeking a reflective blend of religion and pop culture. Recommended for fans of hopeful, humorous takes on heavy topics, as in Kristin Chenoweth’s I’m No Philosopher, But I Got Thoughts.
This title is better at assuring Christians of their own position than challenging their interlocutors. Readers are left with little understanding of other religions’ appeal.
International-film enthusiasts will applaud the author for providing such in-depth consideration of Israeli films; others might simply be grateful for a list of new movies. Best for only the most comprehensive film studies collections.
Christians who consider themselves evangelical will especially be drawn to this title that focuses on Christian discipleship and spiritual growth for troubled times.
What initially looks like a reworking of Buddhism becomes a recovery of it from the dominant culture. A great and intriguing source for readers to work through, featuring stories, analyses, and proposed exercises.
This groundbreaking work will be appreciated particularly by scholars, but those with an interest in history or Christian history will likely find it engaging as well.
This title offers a window into the formation of the American Jewish community. A very well-researched book of interest to anyone who ever attended or sent their child to a Jewish Sunday school.
Although all of the subjects March commends to the reader are Christians, the suggested practices are not bound by any religious faith and open to anyone who strives to live deliberately.
Often insightful and rewarding in its commentary on the Victorian roots of evangelical Christian ideas, this book could confront current issues a bit more strongly.
This book treats conspiracy theories like an aberration, instead of confronting the possibility that recent events might be a natural development within the evangelical movement itself.
The author’s journey will be a familiar one to many readers who struggle to find meaning in their day-to-day existence and their ability to conquer any threats against it.
This is an exceptional resource for readers looking to understand conservative Christianity. The book also illuminates much of U.S. religious history in general.
Recommended for fans of the show, of course. This memoir will also appeal to readers who enjoy reading about women successfully navigating adulthood and motherhood.
A work of both spiritual direction and challenge toward social engagement, with welcoming, lambent prose. Curtice is a fresh and intelligent voice in the genre.
Like a rollicking drum solo, Moss’s writing will reward readers willing to go along for the ride. The author’s passion and joy for both music and spirituality are radiant.
Brown’s vibrant portrait is sure to pique curiosity into Thurman’s writings and open meaningful conversation about what the relationship between spirituality and social action can be today.
Each beautiful chapter develops a topic drawn from Buddhist thought, followed by a section born from interviews with contemporary practitioners and activists, a mindfulness exercise, and a concluding set of reflective queries in the Quaker style. Perfect for those who want to progress on their spiritual journey.
A hopeful and easily accessible handbook written with clarity and authenticity, for those interested in exploring Buddhist teachings or simply hoping to improve the quality of their own lives and the lives of others.
It is hard to avoid the historical echoes of Anabaptists and English Dissenters as a struggle for religious freedom plays out once again in a different key.
As valuable for skeptical or reluctant meditative practitioners as it is for experienced ones, this book is actionable, intentional, personal, and practical.
The text stays close to the primary classical sources but does not broadly engage the larger scholarly conversation about critical research and debates on the life of Jesus.
Extensive research with primary-source materials makes this a monumental achievement that will be valuable to scholars and general readers interested in Judaism, religion, and art history.
While those who feel the borders of their Christian faith are under threat may applaud the approach, those left on the outside may find this presentation less than thrilling.
Those who lead and support congregations would do well to consider this well-supported book. It’s filled with advice about how to adjust to a post-pandemic world.
Sacks, a sage, never fails to impart an accessible, yet deeply sagacious insight into the modern struggle for a life of meaning and purpose. A valuable list of his published works completes this collection.
This book will be of interest to general readers but especially those wanting to know more about immigration or biblical and theological reflections on the topic.
Engaging and profound, Lahn’s insights will be much welcomed by readers looking to deepen their meditation practice. Although grounded in Zen Buddhist philosophy, the essence of his teachings will resonate with people of a variety of backgrounds.
Recommended for readers looking for new, exciting ways to understand the Bible and Christianity, particularly through the eyes of a trans man who is theologically informed and writes lucidly about his journey.
Exhibiting a keen knowledge of the Bible and related scholarship, Sechrest’s work may be a tough read at times for those unversed in biblical scholarship, but it will appeal to those seeking fresh insights from the New Testament.
An accessible and coherent work that brings hope to those who are suffering from the loss of communication and relationships with former friends and estranged loved ones.
That Chih is captivated by the Dalai Lama is beyond question. But this effusive narrative falls just shy of a hagiography. Perhaps for this reason, Chih’s biography fails to capture the depth of this remarkable human being, the Tibetan people, and the distinctiveness of Tibetan Buddhism.
Written for believers of faith and non-believers too (Dana is careful not to distinguish between the two), this book is recommended for readers wanting a sympathetic voice to guide them through these confusing and isolating times.
Tackling issues often charged with high emotions, Garcia offers a guide to social change with an accessible and easy-to-understood model. Suited for readers interested in religious studies and social justice.
For those familiar with this topic and the ecology and religion space, there isn’t much that is new or surprising. The author does, however, add an irenic, credible, hopeful voice in the often-heated debates surrounding religious involvement, human responsibility, and society’s future on this planet.
Readers looking for life-coaching advice, admonition, affirmation, inspiration, and encouragement will find it here. The text also contributes general knowledge about Hinduism and Indian culture.
The conversation of how to navigate the tension of what it means to be Christian and to live in the world is not new. However, this thought-provoking volume asks readers to reconsider their assumptions and offers fresh challenges in this discussion. Best for religious, church, and community organizations.
This simplistic and unsatisfying book is most disappointing for what it chooses to ignore: the awesome and inexplicable mystery of Job as a text and the even greater mystery of redemptive suffering. Recommended for Bible study groups and seminary libraries.
Although there are not enough anecdotes from desert mothers and fathers to fully appreciate them, Arndt’s book (citing Anglican, Orthodox, and Catholic sources) succeeds in showing that they were not some curious aberration but a genuine response that has repeated itself throughout Church history.
A good choice for religious, political, and legal scholars seeking a thorough confrontation of what historically has and hasn’t counted as a sincerely held religious belief.
Villodas’s work, which presents the Christian God as one who seeks to forgive, not punish, and calls on disciples to do the same, will appeal to readers who appreciate a down-to-earth Christianity that is not solely focused on itself.
Telling rich stories about people and communities across a vast religious spectrum, Smietana delivers his insights on reimagining American Christianity and organized religion more broadly.
By integrating Eastern practices to illuminate her own spiritual tradition and personal encounters, Spitzer moves beyond merely touting the benefits of mindfulness exercises, even while one wonders whether the Big Person can be integrated with these metaphors and practices or must be left behind.
This is a book full of difficult choices, about choosing not to waste energy trying to convince those willfully entrenched in racist narratives, during a personal and historic struggle for meaning, life, and Black joy.
Highly recommended for general readers interested in Eastern philosophy and open to learning practical approaches to dealing with anxiety. Masuno’s useful advice is particularly needed in recent times.
Although readers might be occasionally disappointed by an infelicitous approach to a delicate topic or a missed opportunity for a critical conversation with pre-modern quotations, reading Leviticus alongside Zornberg still manages to be a thoughtful, informative experience.