Why and how did Korean religious groups respond to growing rural poverty, social dislocation, and the corrosion of culture caused by forces of modernization under strict Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945)? Questions about religion's relationship and response to capitalism, industrialization, urbanization, and secularization lie at the heart of understanding the intersection between colonialism, religion, and modernity in Korea. Yet, getting answers to these questions has been a challenge because of narrow historical investigations that fail to study religious processes in relation to political, economic, social, and cultural developments. In Building a Heaven on Earth, Albert L. Park studies the progressive drives by religious groups to contest standard conceptions of modernity and forge a heavenly kingdom on the Korean peninsula to relieve people from fierce ruptures in their everyday lives. The results of his study will reconfigure the debates on colonial modernity, the origins of faith-based social activism in Korea, and the role of religion in a modern world. Building a Heaven on Earth, in particular, presents a compelling story about the determination of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), the Presbyterian Church, and the Ch'ŏndogyo to carry out large-scale rural movements to form a paradise on earth anchored in religion, agriculture, and a pastoral life. It is a transnational story of leaders from these three groups leaning on ideas and systems from countries, such as Denmark, France, Japan, and the United States, to help them reform political, economic, social, and cultural structures in colonial Korea. This book shows that these religious institutions provided discursive and material frameworks that allowed for an alternative form of modernity that featured new forms of agency, social organization, and the nation. In so doing, Building a Heaven on Earth repositions our understandings of modern Korean history.

"Amazing!" - Laura Lee Bahr ("Haunt") ..".a Heaven where we bring all our baggage from our lives really struck a chord and kept me turning the pages." - Scott Von Doviak ("The Onion A.V. Club") What happens after we die? If the answer is "nothing," then what's the point of existence? If there's no "Final Judgment," then what's the point of morality? And what if the meaning of life has nothing to do with us? BUILDING HEAVEN, an existential thriller about atheism, blind faith, and one agnostic's perilous journey through the afterlife -- while, back on Earth, a scientist's plan for technological immortality threatens the fundamental core of humanity.

Spirituality is the core of our humanness, the essence of who we are and how we express our vitality - our aliveness - whether we are religious or not. In Building Heaven on Earth, Dwight Webb encourages readers to challenge religion's claim to be caretakers of our spiritual life. He argues that we are spiritual beings by nature and that our search must first and foremost be inward, and not skyward. He ask readers to consider that it is our soul self within, that expresses our tangible apirit as we choose to act with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Dr Webb draws upon his personal experiences as well as his four decades of teaching and research as a Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Graduate School at the University of New Hampshire. His book ask us to claim our human spirit and not relegate it to any religions, cults or other institutions requiring devotion and unquestioned faith. It is in our inner life that we will sort our values, our purpose, and personal meaning. It is in our inner life where we make the decisions and take responsibility for contributing to the common good, as each person builds his or her own heaven on earth.

This elegantly written appreciation of the Empire State Building opens up the building’s richness and importance as an icon of America. The book leads us through the facts surrounding the skyscraper’s conception and construction, then enters into a provocative theoretical discussion of its function as an icon, its representation in pictures, literature, and film, and the implications of its iconic status as New York’s most important architectural monument to ambition and optimism. The Empire State Building literally cannot be seen in its totality, from any perspective. And paradoxically, this building of unmistakable solidity has been made invisible by familiarity and reproduction through imagery. Mark Kingwell encourages us to look beneath the strong physical presence of the building, to become aware of its evolving layers of meaning, and to see how the building lives within a unique imaginative space in the landscape of the American consciousness. He offers new ways of understanding the Empire State Building in all its complexity and surprising insights into its special role as an American icon.

In this third book in the Old and New series, author Maura Roan McKeegan recounts how all the world spoke one language--until the people of Shinar became too proud, and the Lord came down from heaven and confused their words. What can undo the chaos? And how will Pentecost help God's children understand one another again? Building the Way to Heaven helps young readers to see God's plan of salvation unfold within the stories of the Tower of Babel and Pentecost. See biblical typology--the Old Testament people, symbols, and events that foreshadow the New Testament--come to life in Building the Way to Heaven. Ages 3 and up. About the Author Maura Roan McKeegan grew up in Potomac, Maryland, and now lives in Steubenville, Ohio, with her husband Shaun and their four children. Her articles have appeared in publications such as Franciscan Way, Guideposts, Lay Witness, and My Daily Visitor. She is the author of the award-winning Old and New Series. About the Illustrator Ted Schluenderfritz is the illustrator of several books including A Life of Our Lord for Children, The Book of Angels, and Darby O'Gill and the Good People. He is a freelance graphic designer and the art director for Catholic Digest and Gilbert Magazine. He lives in Littleton, Colorado with his wife Rachel and their six children. You can view more of his work at www.5sparrows.com. About the Series What do the Old and New Testaments have in common? To answer this question, Maura Roan McKeegan presents biblical typology for children. Taking familiar stories from the Old and New Testaments and placing them side by side, children can easily understand at an early age what St. Augustine meant when he said that "the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New."

Millions of people worldwide dream of making a "good" living, of attaining great wealth, and having an extraordinary and fortunate life. However, they haven’t yet found a way of attaining it, and they fear that they can only do so at the expense of others—perhaps by compromising their higher spiritual values and virtuous nature. Some people who outwardly acknowledge their desire for great wealth feel inwardly guilty about acquiring it, and their illusive conflict blocks or dissipates their potential fortunes. Other people say they just want to be comfortable and secure rather than vastly fortunate. These individuals also hold themselves back from breaking through to new levels of financial freedom, and actually living their most cherished and inspiring dreams. In addition to their conflicting spiritual and material natures, some people have an additional internal struggle between their desires to give and receive. How to Make One Hell of a Profit and Still Get to Heaven was written to help you (if you happen to be like most people) dissolve these apparent conflicts. It can assist you in making your financial dreams come true while shedding light on an entirely new way of looking at, understanding, and appreciating the true nature of Earthly profits and heavenly wealth. If you read and apply the principles and methodologies that are laid out in these pages, your relationship with, and ability to master, your spiritual wealth and material finances as well as other vital areas of your life will undergo an amazing transformation.

Why do some people pray in agreement with Gods will, heart and timing, yet the desired answers do not come? Why would God not respond when we pray from the earnestness of our hearts? What is the problem, or better yet, what is the solution? Robert Henderson believes the answer is found in where your prayer actually takes place. We must direct our prayer towards the Courts of Heaven and not only the battlefield. Robert shows that it is in the courtrooms of Heaven where our breakthroughs can be found. When you learn to operate there you will see your answers unlocked and released. This book will teach you the legal processes of Heaven and how to operate in its courts. When you get off the battlefield and into the courtroom you can grant God the legal clearance to fulfill His passion and answer your prayers.