Religion Books

This Bible is absolutely wonderful. At the start of each book it tells who wrote the book if known and why the book is important. The text is written in plain English much easier for kids to understand (and myself). There are side texts with sugessted activities and additional explanation of significant stories. I LOVE this Bible - this is the one I read personally now myself and I don't know how I would get through Bible School without it!

Adventure Bible, Revised, NIV This book arrived in exellent condition. It was exactly what I was looking for.
The 7 Day Mental Diet This book arrived in excellent condition. It was exactly what I was looking for.

I received book in excellent condition, a lot faster than I expected (within days). My son loves it!

Love the historical/background information. This is a good resource for helping today's kids identify with the Bible's historical figures, cultures, and lessons. Without completely altering the poetic language, it offers activities and ideas to improve comprehension and help children see the relevance of the text to their own lives.

I purchased this as a first bible for my 6 year old son. There are bursts of fast facts and passages paraphrased to make it easier for browsing. My son enjoys reading these and even for adults like myself, the background informations are helpful.
The generous amount of illustrations captures his attention and aids in his comprehension of certain passages of the bible.
I can surely say this is the best thing I've bought for my son.

Dr. Larry Osborne, among many other gifts, is an established expert on how to help churches get 'sticky' --- that is, keeping and including the adults and families that they initially attract through programs, events and ministries.

Simply put: Nobody does it better!

Osborne is the senior pastor of North Coast Church in Vista, California (7,000 plus attend each weekend) and has led the church for three decades. Always good at drawing new people in, North Coast was not originally strong on incorporating and including.

Fast forward to right now --- North Coast does "sticky" better than any other church in North America. One key factor is a dynamic small group program that actually functions as the heart of the ministry.

In this excellent new book Osborne shows you how, step-by-step, a congregation can intentionally become more sticky and thus more effective at long-term discipleship, equipping for ministry, and thus mission.

A must-read for congregations, church boards, church leaders, and anyone interested in long-term assimilation/incorporation/inclusion of those who attend a local community of faith.

Dr. David Frisbie
The Center for Marriage & Family Studies
Del Mar, California
Author ofThe Soul-Mate Marriage: The Spiritual Journey of Becoming One

I should preface this review by stating that I am not a student of philosophy, nor was I previously familiar with Bertrand Russell's other works. I ordered this collection of essays after seeing it referenced in several other books dealing with secular humanism.

While some of the essays necessarily seem a bit dated (most were written between 1900 and 1960), many of the themes Russell touches upon seem particularly relevant today. Russell writes passionately and articulately about the dangerous role that dogma -- particularly religious dogma -- plays in curtailing free thought and active debate. Further, he warns of the pain and suffering that have historically followed when dogmatic views are forced upon the population at large by those in power.

There are many other powerful ideas contained in this collection. For example, Russell also provides sobering insights on the dangers inherent in any democracy -- particularly the "tyranny of the majority" which can silence unpopular ideas.

Given the chilling times we live in -- when reasoned debate and diversity of opinion seem to be increasingly threatened by dogma (both political and religious) -- Russell's ideas (and warnings) are especially poignant.

Of course, not all of the essays resonate today. The discussion of Catholic and Protestant skeptics seems a bit strange (to say the least).

Finally, this volume concludes with an article written by Prof. Paul Edwards detailing why Bertrand Russell was prevented by teaching at the College Of The City Of New York. It is a fascinating example of how the political and legal systems of a supposedly free democracy can be used to suppress unpopular ideas and impose dogmatic belief systems.

My only reason for withholding a 5th star is that I would like to have seen the publishers release an updated edition with greater historical background and footnotes. Otherwise, an excellent and thought-provoking collection of essays.

The fact that short essays carried one theme, instead of a lengthy essays with complex nuances, strengthens the theories of B. Russell.
A bright ideological strategy to say the least.
Russell's atheism is not a tumultuous philosophy, but rather conceptual pacifism. And his anti-war policy echoes a high standard of ethics.

Then, should we question liberal morality when intended to equality and peace among nations?
I don't think so.

The historical Chairman Mao condemned religion as poison, Bertrand Russell defined religion as the expression of fear and social inquietude.
Through intellectual development, societies progress, and nations prosper. Mr. Russell is perfectly correct.

I give this book 5 stars without hesitation

One need not be against religious belief to appreciate Russell's scholarship. If one is against the subjection of the individual for the benefit of the state, one can find much to appreciate in his philosophy, even if you disagree with his theistic views.

After 9/11, when I finally determined to clarify my own beliefs about gods and religions (I'd left them hazy for much too long) this and Ibn Warraq's Why I Am Not a Muslim were the two most useful books I found. Russell's essay isn't elaborate or long, but it covered the ground for someone like me who's lives in a basically Judeo-Christian culture. It was interesting and gratifying to see that Warraq's book (which gave me new knowledge about Islamic religion, history, and culture) was, in essence, much the same. Not that I started out thinking myself either a Judeo-Christian or Muslim, but it was interesting to get better perspective on how all the major religions offer basically the same set of rewards and pitfalls. I used to make Buddhism a benign exception to that, but not so much anymore after a glimpse of Sri Lankan history. Take Me With You When You Go Nutty to Meet You! Dr. Peanut Book #1

One has to wonder just how sound someone's philosophical underpinnings are when to justify a philosophical point the author makes an appeal to a well-known character of fiction such as Robinson Crusoe and Charles Dickens' novels as vindication of that principal or principles! His purpose would best be served it he maintained the use of realistic examples.

Mr. Russell provides the reader with examples of Christian intolerance and injustice and the like while stating that it was freethinkers that corrected such errors shows that the author is being very selective in his choice of examples of the errors of Christianity. The author wrote, "The whole contention that Christianity has had an elevating moral influence can only be maintained by wholesale ignoring or falsification of the historical evidence." Mr. Russell is clearly being very selective of his "historical evidence" and choosing only those examples that best suit the purpose of his book. To the contrary the followers of Christ have introduced reforms that have improved the lot of man tremendously as true history clearly shows while one would be hard pressed to find any such benefits introduced, much less produced, by freethinkers on such a scale that Christianity has. While it is true that some supposed segments of Christianity were responsible for certain outrages these incidences are not symptomatic of Christianity as a whole nor should be construed as such. The atrocities committed by those who adopted the guise of Christian have done so only to gain the support and popularity of the people for their cause if not to use it as the justification of such acts.
The examples Mr. Russell chose as representative of Christianity are, as I've stated before, very selective and are not representative of Christianity as a whole. It is abundantly clear that the author is not being intellectually honest.
One gets the impression that the author thinks that Christianity is some sinister evil waiting for the appropriate time for it to rear its head to befoul the world anew. It appears that the author is letting his atheism interfere with his objectivity.
In his book Mr. Russell makes the rather outrageous claim, "And yet everybody who has taken the trouble to study morbid psychology knows that prolonged virginity is, as a rule, extraordinarily harmful to women, so harmful that, in a sane society, it would be severely discouraged in teachers." It's statements like this that has diminished a once bright star in the philosophical heavens.
The examples Mr. Russell chose as representative of Christianity are, as I've stated before, very selective and are not representative of Christianity as a whole. It is abundantly clear that the author is not being intellectually honest.

This book is nothing more than the result of a very narrow and/or biased philosophy.

Several small groups in my church are using this little book, augmenting the book with the DVD in which Bishop Job talks about the three simple rules--Do no harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. We are buying it by the boxful and hope to use it as a starting place in building a congregation that practices the faith in a more deliberate way.

Excellent book...quick reading. Book arrived ahead of time. In new condition. Well protected.

Retired United Methodist Bishop Rueben Job's "Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living" (2007, 77-page pocket sized hardback) is a handy quick read commentary for John Wesley's General Rules. This small book suggests to believers the profound nature of boldly loving God. Indeed, the good bishop is determined that his readers return love for love, in Jesus Christ.

Along with Wesley, Job begins with Deuteronomy 6:5 and Mark 12:29-31 as the biblical warrants for Christian love. We believers are to love God and others unconditionally! This book reminds that there are no other rules for Christians as important.

In three chapters (on doing no harm, on doing good, and on loving God) and one appendix (litanies for the use of prayer in drawing oneself closer to God) pastor Job offers a daily guide that encourages and matures the Christian walk. This is a Wesleyan spiritualist's self-help.

The downside of this great little book is its dearth of stories and illustrations for making the good bishop's points. One wishes for more narrative from Job's long and accomplished career as he speaks for Wesley's rules. A few stories would have barely increased the length of this book while broadened its scope (helping, perhaps, to make the General Rules more preachable and shareable). Narrative scarcity, here, prevents more stars.

This book is recommended to all new to Wesley's General Rules, novice Christians, Christian spiritualists, seminarians, and Christians-in-training.

This is a wonderful little hardcover volume which, if implemented, will revolutionize your life. John Wesley espoused three simple rules: Do No Harm, Do Good, and Stay in Love with God. Though these rules sound amazingly simple - and they are - yet to actually practice them may indeed be the hardest thing you've ever done. This small book shows how difficult the instructions of Jesus (and Wesley) can be in real life, and yet how rewarding they can also be both in this life and in the life to come, if we simply take them to heart.

The main point is to stay in love with God. If we do this, the rest will follow. As Bishop Job says, "Holy living will not be discovered, achieved, continued, and sustained without staying in love with God. And while staying in love with God involves prayer worship, study, and the Lord's Supper, it also involves feeding the lambs, tending the sheep, and providing for the needs of others (John 21:15-16). Feeding the lambs and tending the sheep are the signs of love that we exchange with God. And they are signs of the love that the world can understand. Spiritual disciplines not only include practices that bind us to God every day but they also include actions that heal the pain, injustice, and inequality of our world. It is impossible to stay in love with God and not desire to see God's goodness and grace shared with the entire world." (p. 58).

This inexpensive little volume, taken seriously by the Church of Jesus, could well ignite a holy reality that burns hot with the fire of God in our day.

Our prayer group has used this book for our weekly sessions and we have all been very happy with it. It is easy to read, interesting and very practical. The discussion questions in the back make leading the group easy, and yet the questions themselves always challenge and lead to good discussions. We have all learned a lot about prayer and have really appreciated the author's own experiences and struggles. Highly recommended.

I used this book to help teach bible study on prayer. I am totally new to teaching small group and used this book extensively. Easy read, great examples..easy to understand.

If u are a xtian, u should read this book, it explains (IMHO) in a very simple and easy to understand way to any xtian, be it long time xtian or recently converted... i could not stop reading it once i had begun...

This is a wonderful book that lets you know how vital daily prayer is to all.
It is a great guide to use for starting a daily prayer time. Then, it
gives examples of how to do this.
It would make an excellent gift for friends & family.

This book brings home the importance of Prayer in our lives in
a very personal way.
Through the Author's personal stories, he shares his experiences
and how we can apply what he has learned to our situations.
I would put this book as a "Must Read" for all people that don't
seem to be able to find time to Pray and are unsatisfied with their
"Prayer Lives"

I am glad I have had an opportunity to read most of this book. I have to admit, though, that I did not read all of it. It is just too repetitive. Randy has good points, but like many preachers, he tends to say them over and over and over again.

I read the first section of the book and then skipped to some interesting appendixes he has in the back. Maybe someday I will read the middle of the book.

Still, it is a book worth reading, and I learned much from what I did read.

Recommended.

This is the best solidly Biblical treatment about money and possessions, that I've ever read, and I've read a lot!

What an eye opener this book is! He lets you have it like it is. Greed, gluttony and covetousness are NOT treated as virtues, like the "prosperity gospel" preaches. This book helps to get us, as Christians, back on the right track of why God gives us material blessings and what He expects us to do with them. God is the focus, not us. Be prepared for some soul searching introspection!

This is an excellent book on Biblical stewardship. It's a must read for anyone wanting to see what the Bible has to say about your possessions and how to view as well as handle them. Highly, highly recommended!

Those are big words but let me explain why I truly mean them. Before I'd even gotten past the first hundred pages this book helped me change the way I manage my finances. How? By changing and enlightening my perspective. We get so caught up in the here and now that we sometimes forget what life is really about and what truly matters.

To answer the previous post, this book has NOTHING WHATSOVER to do with "buying your way into heaven". That is a gift bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and we can do nothing to earn it. That's why it's a gift from God. However, how we live as a reponse to that is well within our control and how we manage our money says a lot about our view of God and our relationship with Him. That's what this book helps put into perspective first and foremost. Once you have that perspective you will start to change how you spend money without going through major internal efforts. Salvation is one thing and we can only get to Heaven by Jesus Christ and not our own efforts. How we live is another thing and once we've settled the first and are secure in the fact we cannot lose it then our living is to be in gratitude for that precious gift and not an attempt to earn it because we never could. That would diminish the fact that it is a gift of God.

The author's heart-felt and sincere efforts to please the Lord in every aspect of his living have produced the fruit of this very helpful and edifying book. In turn, this book can help the rest of us to do likewise. This book had such a profound impact on me that there was no other book that could compare to it for impact other than the Bible, which of course, is second to none.

We use this book as part of our Bible Study with our teenage girls. It has real life situations and opens up good discussion.

The Chicken Soup books for teens are fabulous! My daughter really gets into them, she is not a teen that always is reading, but when she gets a new Chicken soup book she reads until she is done. We even talk about some of the stories in the books. I recommend them. True stories can help a teen get over what ever is going on in their own life problems.

This book was on my grand daughters christmas list. I was impressed by the way topics were explained and dealt with. I recommend this for all teen agers

VERY HAPPY WITH BOOK. MY DAUGHTER LOVES ALL THE CHICKEN SOUP SERIES SO I AM JUST ADDING TO HER COLLECTION.

Wonderful, brilliant and tought my children to be grateful for our health, wealth and love in our family. A must read for all teenagers.

Dutch Sheets book, "Intercessory Prayer" is a prayer resource worthy of many reads. It is full of thought provoking statements, and will encourage young and old prayer warriors alike. It is especially encouraging for those wanting to learn more about intercession. Sheet's really connects with the reader which makes the book an easy read.This book not only instructs, it helps the reader to apply it's contents and go deeper with God.

I've had the first printing for some years now. Just recently ordered a couple more for some friends to do further studying about God's design in prayer and intercession. This is an excellent source of training in becoming more effective in God's Kingdom through prayer, declaring His will, and seeking Him in the midst of prayer - especially prayer for others.

Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets is a resource book to keep on hand for information and encouragement. The author breaks down terminology, gives numerous examples for easy comprehension and even tackles some of the hard questions concerning long term prayers. In addition, humor is demonstrated as a necessary ingredient for balance and strength in the life of an intercessor and this book has plenty of it!

I loved this book! I have read it several times and recomended it to my friends. For any person that is seriously trying to enter into a deeper form of prayer this has to be a required reading. Dutch Sheets does what he knows best as he leads the reader to analyze Scripture going back to the word's meaning in Greek. Keep it in your shelve with your study books.

One of the most helpful books I've ever read on prayer, and I've read every book I could find on the subject for years. As I read this book, I began to realize that lack of knowledge was the reason some of my prayers had not been very effective. The Holy Spirit used this book to teach me about REAL PRAYER. My prayers are now much more focused and effective.

This is a distillation of the sublime wisdom of fifties and sixties writer on Vedanda, Zen, and psychotherapy in a proto-integral non dual Zen way. This is a perfect, succint glide past constructed and limited ego. Five stars.

In his pursuit of science man emphasizes the difference between things: this is not that. This approach has created the technological world in which we live, but the very same mind set has created a culture in which man feels cut off from the world, isolated in the eternal 'I', lonely and at odds with those around us. "You are not me", we say. But in this book Watts wants to teach us a different way of looking at the problem. Things do not exist in separate categories of, for example, 'right' and wrong. Rather the world is a set of continuums and polarities which are basic to our understanding. Right and wrong are interdependent and we can't understand one without knowledge of the other. Also, we are not divided off from the world, but intimately linked to the environment. In a witty scenario Watts explores the inter-relationship between an ant in a hole in the ground and you, via your own kitchen. You and I share certain qualities, though of course we may have different degrees of them.

This book is, at its heart, Watts' take on the philosophy of Indian, Verdic (Hindu) literature. As usual it is very accessible reading and is filled with witty descriptions and arguments that lead you to think more deeply about life. I read the book several months ago and am still taking on board some of his apparently simple arguments. I found, however, that I agreed with Watts through his long chains of arguments only to balk at his final conclusion. This happened repeatedly. Specifically I cannot agree that man is a total microcosm of the macrocosm, that we are a unique, yet complete, expression of Brahma, God, Absolute Meaning, or whatever you choose to describe the ultimate 'It' as. This is just too much metaphysics and theology for me. It must be remembered that Watts is an ex-Anglican minister and I think his background shows here. I also wished that Watts had spent much more time defining modern man's current predicament as I feel that this is where he is at his very best. For example I loved the first half of his earlier book The Wisdom of Insecurity for that very reason. Of course your understanding of the world may be very different to mine, so you may like the book better than I did. I certainly didn't dislike it, but I do not feel that it is his best.

After reading this marvelous exposé on the advaita view of who I really am, there was nothing left to do than to give it to my son. It is the ultimate gift a father can give!!!

In 1966, Alan Watts published a book near the end of which he introduced the word "nonduality" to a mainstream audience: "The unity, or inseparability, of one and many is ... referred to in Vedanta philosophy as `non-duality' (advaita) to distinguish it from simple uniformity." The Book is important for anyone who wants to understand nonduality. The topics it covers are wider ranging than what's seen in the current crop of more direct and lean books on nonduality. He riffs on God, Christmas morning, American values, spirituality, Dads, religion, social change, philosophy, death. He calls in Blake, Bohm, Schrodinger, a gang of philosophers, a cut of Zen. Did I mention Santa Claus? Yeah, I think I did.

Alan Watts was the Carl Sagan of nonduality. That is, he spoke eloquently, plainly, quotably, and memorably about the essential truth of his sphere of interest, which could be called nonduality, truth, IT, That, or This, or Who You Are.

In the first few pages, Watts informs the reader a new perspective is about to come down: "We do not need a new religion or a new bible. We need a new experience - a new feeling of what it is to be `I.'"

Then he gets into it and in paragraph after paragraph of explanation and example, Watts lays down the nondual perspective: "...what we call `things' are no more than glimpses of a unified process. Certainly, this process has distinct features which catch our attention, but we must remember that distinction is not separation."

Watts' tone of voice is like that of any guru: "If you ask me how to get beyond the ego-feeling, I shall ask you why you want to get there. If you give me the honest answer, which is that your ego will feel better in the `higher spiritual status' of self-transcendence, you will thus realize that you - as ego - are a fake."

Because of the quality of explanation, I would say The Book is an important and excellent book to add to your study of nonduality. I do think there are moments when Watts enjoys hearing his own voice, but I enjoyed hearing it too.

Jerry Katz
One: Essential Writings on Nonduality

There are many many books available today written about the non-dual philosophy or perspective. At the time this book was written, the old nonduality traditions like Zen, Dzogchen and Taoism were well-known but cloaked in the mystery of Asian or Eastern religions or philosophies. Alan Watts was one of the first to take this revolutionary and radical perspective to the West.

Alan Watts writes from a clear understanding of the nature of reality - he does this in a way that slowly lures us from our conditioned and programmed thought process into a more open and accepting stance.

He points to the fact that the illusion of "ME" being a separate entity held prisoner within a bag of skin and bones is merely a mistake in perception, a false belief given to us by unknowing and similarly-illusioned parents. He uses concepts and illustrations to guide us past the mind, past the overlay of conceptual belief, into a pure STOP, a cease of the mind, in which the true nature of beingness can be known.

The traditional Eastern philosophies were always viewed as just that - Eastern and "separate" philosophies, which applied to "those of that faith" but was not much more than a passing curiosity of those in the West. When this book came out, it was an introduction to Advaita Vedanta, a Western slant on the Eastern teachings. It talked about things which were taboo in the west, hence the title "The Book on the Taboo against knowing what you are."

And why is it Taboo? It's taboo because there is a Truth shining through the words, a freedom of being which underlies ALL religious beliefs, a seeing/knowing which is ever-present and prior to the mind and it's attempts to run away from the Truth. And who wants their long-held and treasured beliefs to be questioned?

Who really wants to know that they truly do not exist?

This book is absolutely Great!!! Is very easy to read and the author seems to be in a conversation with the reader. The author makes Buddhist concepts easy to understand.

I loved the intro and the first few pages....Then, the book became an education instead of the sweet collection of anecdotal ideas it started out to be. For me, there's just too much about Dharma and such. I love the ideas, but not the feeling I'm supposed to be learning....being compelled to become a follower.

Maybe in time, but not for now.

Buddhist or not, this book helps to create a great perspective on how to find peace in all life's facets, positive and negative. The poems and essays are very helpful. The book is a great tool in helping to find balance in one's life.

Thich Nhat Hahn's writing style is inherently calming to me. Just reading his simple clear language I find my mind clearing of some of the usual noise. His message is meant to inspire and provide each of us with tools to develop the kind of inner peace that both reduces our own suffering- and thereby necessarily reduces the suffering of others. I highly recommend this book.

The demands of a job and daily life seem to keep us from spirituality and peace. The Book: Being Peace, offers that pause in life to reflect and renew. This is a very good read.