Godsends is William Desmond’s newest addition to his masterwork on the borderlines between philosophy and theology. For many years, William Desmond has been patiently constructing a philosophical project—replete with its own terminology, idiom, grammar, dialectic, and its metaxological transformation—in an attempt to reopen certain boundaries: between metaphysics and phenomenology, between philosophy of religion and philosophical theology, between the apocalyptic and the speculative, and between religious passion and systematic reasoning. In Godsends, Desmond’s newest addition to his ambitious masterwork, he presents an original reflection on what he calls the “companioning” of philosophy and religion. Throughout the book, he follows an itinerary that has something of an Augustinian likeness: from the exterior to the interior, from the inferior to the superior. The stations along the way include a grappling with the default atheism prevalent in contemporary intellectual culture; an exploration of the middle space, the metaxu between the finite and the infinite; a dwelling with solitudes as thresholds between selving and the sacred; a meditation on idiot wisdom and transcendence in an East-West perspective; an exploration of the different stresses in the mysticisms of Aurobindo and the Arnhem Mystical Sermons; a dream monologue of autonomy, a suite of Kantian and post-Kantian variations on the story of the prodigal son; a meditation on the beatitudes as exceeding virtue, in light of Aquinas’s understanding; and culminating in an exploration of Godsends as telling us something significant about the surprise of revelation in word, idea, and story. Godsends is written for thoughtful persons and scholars perplexed about the place of religion in our time and hopeful for some illuminating companionship from relevant philosophers. It will also interest students of philosophy and religion, especially philosophical theology and philosophical metaphysics.

In California her name was Aden Grace Sawyer. In Pakistan she must choose a different name - Suleyman - and take on a new identity as a young man. She has travelled a long way to begin her new life, and she'll travel further to protect her secret. But once she is on the ground, Aden finds herself in more danger than she could have dreamed. Faced with violence and loss, she must make intense and unimaginable choices that will test not only her faith, but her understanding of who she is. Compelling, unnerving and timely, Godsend is a subtle masterpiece of empathy: a study of what it means for a person to give themselves to their faith, and how far they will go from home to find a place to belong.

We invite you to journey with Mary (Louise) into the supernatural world of God where the supernatural transcends the natural world. All things are possible with God. He is continuously sending miracles our way. How many of these wonderful blessings from God go unnoticed by us? These miracles large and small are what Louise affectionately refers to as Godsends. Skeptics may ask why they don’t see any miracles in their own lives. Louise would quickly remind them that we can’t even breathe without God’s help. No matter how tough we believe ourselves to be, the truth is, we are merely fragile flesh and blood and greatly in need of His love and attention. We should watch for our miracles and thank Him for them when we notice them and even when we don’t. We can’t always discern God’s hand in our situations with our natural senses. Jesus was truly the most wonderful Godsend of all. The Father will instruct Jesus to come again at the appointed time to bring His children home. Will you join with Louise as she watches the Eastern sky for our Savior?

A rip-roaring journey to Theros begins in this thrilling epic fantasy novel set in the Magic: The Gathering universe In a realm where mortals are the unwitting pawns of temperamental gods, the planeswalker Elspeth charts her own fate. Wielding a divinely forged sword, Elspeth’s heroics attract the unwanted attention of vengeful, jealous deities. After surviving an attempt on her life by the sun god Heliod, an even more colossal battle awaits her. If Elspeth can slay Polukranos, a monstrous, many-headed hydra, she will gain the power to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the heroes—and gods—of Theros.

Elspeth’s trials in Theros continue in this second Godsend adventure inspired by the myths of ancient Greece In a realm where fickle gods fight for the devotion of mortals, the planeswalker Elspeth has risen to become the champion of the sun god Heliod, who transformed her legendary sword into a spear named “Godsend.” As Elspeth defends the city Akros from minotaur hordes, she uncovers a horrible truth: If the machinations of the satyr planeswalker Xenagos come to fruition, he’ll ascend to godhood and threaten the entire realm of Theros. Made a pariah by Xenagos, an exiled and hated Elspeth fights for her life. As she hunts Xenagos, Elspeth must attempt to breach Nyx, the realm of night—and the home of the gods.

The Irish philosopher William Desmond is one of the most compelling and adventurous Christian thinkers of our time. The essays gathered here undertake a journey through the Bible with Desmond that ranges across biblical theology, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics, political theory, and literary studies. Some of the essays examine the place of the Bible in Desmond's thought, considering his readings of the creation, the Abraham cycle, and the Beatitudes. Other essays bring Desmond's ideas to bear on broad questions that emerge from the Bible about philosophy and revelation, exegesis, theopoetics, eschatology, and tyranny. Still others bring Desmond into conversation with influential philosophers who engage (or conspicuously do not engage) the Bible, such as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Tillich. Together, these essays show the rich possibilities of approaching the Bible with Desmond. All take their bearings from Desmond's "metaxological" approach, which does not seek to claim the final word, which attends to the text rather than simply imposing on it, and which allows for an ongoing dialogue. / Contributors: Ryan G. Duns, SJ / Caitlin Smith Gilson / Joseph K. Gordon / William Christian Hackett / Steven E. Knepper / Renee Kohler-Ryan / Andrew Kuiper / Brendan Thomas Sammon / Terence Sweeney / Ethan Vanderleek / Erik van Versendaal / Robert Wyllie