Micronesia Country Study Guide - Strategic Information and Developments Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments

In this new addition to the award-winning BECNT series, respected New Testament scholar and biblical interpretation expert Gene Green offers a substantive yet highly accessible commentary on the books of Jude and 2 Peter. With extensive research and thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, Green leads readers through the sociological, historical, and theological aspects of these New Testament books. As with all BECNT volumes, Jude and 2 Peter features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text. This commentary admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication and pastoral sensitivity and accessibility--making it a useful tool for pastors, church leaders, students, and teachers. The user-friendly design includes shaded chapter introductions summarizing the key themes of each thought unit.

If a list were made of the greatest human beings who have ever lived, those reflected upon in this four-volume series would be at the top of that list. Though historians often attempt to judge greatness from their own subjective perspective, there must be an objective criteria by which human greatness is judged. The only Person Who is capable of establishing that criteria is God. The criteria that God has established are the virtues, as identified by Jesus and revealed by Him through the holy Gospels. The goal of this four-volume series is to present each saint found on the Catholic liturgical calendar (as a Solemnity, Feast, or Memorial) in such a way as to identify the Godly virtues that place them on the top of that list. Though their greatness has already been established and their heroic virtues confirmed by the Church, God chose the men and women found in these pages, not only for greatness in their lifetimes but also as models of holiness in ours. These men and women are gifts to you, given by God through the Church. Every saint is unique, but every saint is similar because each one became living witnesses to Christ and living Gospels for a world in need. Some saints were united to God through martyrdom, some through virginity and chastity, some through works of charity, and some through lives of intense prayer. The saints have come from every culture, every socio-economic background, every level of education, and every personality type. Through every saint, God shines forth, radiating His abundant mercy through the diversity of their lives. In the end, it is not their personality, preferences, gifts, or any other unique qualities that unite them as the one communion of saints. It is God and God alone Who floods their souls and forms them into a united song of praise of God’s eternal glory. Why read about the saints? Why learn about their lives? Why ponder what they said and did? The answer is simple. You are called to be among their company. You are called to become as holy as they were, transformed by God’s grace, and to radiate that grace in the world today. At first, the virtues of the saints might seem to be out of your reach. The saints can appear to be superhuman. The truth is that the saints became fully human by becoming who they were created to be. They rejected the deceptions of the devil, the seductions of the world, and the weaknesses of the flesh. Instead, they discovered the truths of God, sought out the riches of Heaven, and became filled with the strength of every virtue. As you read about the lives of the saints, ponder their words and actions, study their heroic virtues, and learn from their lives of prayer, allow yourself not only to be inspired by them but also to desire to imitate them. Nothing is stopping you from being counted among the saints in Heaven. God promises to lavish every grace upon you that you need to walk down that holy path. Only when you refuse His grace is that mission thwarted.

2008 Catholic Press Association Award Winner! This magnificent new publication distinguishes itself from others by its comprehensiveness, and in its coverage of Eastern, as well as Western, saints. The book contains approximately 7,000 Saints and Blesseds. Entries are placed in alphabetical order according to name. Where there are numerous saints with the same name (for example John) these are now listed chronologically. The entries include date and place of birth and death as well as family background, education, activity for which the saint is remembered, and whether he/she is a patron saint. In order to be comprehensive, even possibly mythical saints are included 'Barbara, Christopher and Katherine of Alexandria, because their stories have been so important in art, literature and popular devotion. This is the most complete and accurate Dictionary of Saints available.

This book provides an edition and translation of depositions of heresy suspects interrogated in Toulouse in the 1270s. These depositions plug a large hole in the history of heresy and inquisition, and they are reminiscent of Montaillou in their sheer colour and liveliness

Traces the decline of Christianity in America since the 1950s, posing controversial arguments about the role of heresy in the nation's downfall while calling for a revival of traditional Christian practices.