A HUMAN HISTORY « ZEALOT » Explores humanity's quest to make sense of the divine, and sounds a call to embrace a deeper, more expansive understanding of God.
In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as one long and remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition.
As the author empathizes with those who are suffering, and demonstrates the tangible benefits of practising forgiveness and compassion, he reveals the many lessons he has learned, including how his collaborations with leading neuroscientists, psychologists, teachers and students from around the world have taught him how to educate the heart.
The Tibetan spiritual leader assesses the modern world's polarization along religious lines while outlining a hopeful vision of kinship among faiths that recognizes both commonalities and differences.
An analysis of the controversial and secretive religious organization known as Opus Dei sheds light on the group's history, its tenets, and its influence within the Vatican hierarchy and on the politics and policies of the Catholic Church.
Why did the Jews reject Jesus? Was he really the son of God? Were the Jews culpable in his death? These ancient questions have been debated for almost two thousand years, most recently with the release of Mel Gibsonyes'>#8217;s explosive The Passion of the Christ. The controversy was never merely academic. The legal status and security of Jewsyes'>#8212;often their very livesyes'>#8212;depended on the answer. In WHY THE JEWS REJECTED JESUS, David Klinghoffer reveals that the Jews since ancient times accepted not only the historical existence of Jesus but the role of certain Jews in bringing about his crucifixion and death. But he also argues that they had every reason to be skeptical of claims for his divinity. For one thing, Palestine under Roman occupation had numerous charismatic wouldbe messiahs, so Jesus would not have been unique, nor was his following the largest of its kind. For another, the biblical prophecies about the coming of the Messiah were never fulfilled by Jesus, including an ingathering of exiles, the rise of a Davidic king who would defeat Israelyes'>#8217;s enemies, the building of a new Temple, and recognition of God by the gentiles. Above all, the Jews understood their biblically commanded way of life, from which Jesusyes'>#8217;s followers sought to yes'>#8220;freeyes'>#8221; them, as precious, immutable, and eternal.Jews have long been blamed for Jesusyes'>#8217;s death and stigmatized for rejecting him. But Jesus ived and died a relatively obscure figure at the margins of Jewish society. Indeed, it is difficult to argue that yes'>#8220;the Jewsyes'>#8221; of his day rejected Jesus at all, since most Jews had never heard of him. The figure they really rejected, often violently, was Paul, who convinced the Jerusalem church led by Jesusyes'>#8217;s brother to jettison the observance of Jewish law. Paul thus founded a new religion. If not for him, Christianity would likely have remained a Jewish movement, and the course of history itself would have been changed. Had the Jews accepted Jesus, Klinghoffer speculates, Christianity would not have conquered Europe, and there would be no Western civilization as we know it. WHY THE JEWS REJECTED JESUS tells the story of this long, acrimonious, and occasionally deadly debate between Christians and Jews. It is thoroughly engaging, lucidly written, and in many ways highly original. Though written from a Jewish point of view, it is also profoundly respectful of Christian sensibilities. Coming at a time when Christians and Jews are in some ways moving closer than ever before, this thoughtful and provocative book represents a genuine effort to heal the ancient rift between these two great faith traditions.
Offers insightful revelations about the mysteries of life and consciousness based on the author's research, which showed that crystals formed in frozen water are affected by thoughts, words, and feelings.
Drawing on personal interviews, provides a portrait of one of the world's most important religious figures, offering a study of Tibet and its Buddhist traditions, the forces that shaped his beliefs, his role in exile, and the future of Tibet.
Explores the limitations of the human sense of direction and navigation, and explains the adaptations that modern society has made to provide its citizens with the means to orientate themselves within their environment, including street signs, maps, and GPS systems.
