Accessible, challenging, funny, and one of the best reads on how to love others in any situation. Love and hospitality can change the way you see the world and others. That's exactly what modern-day theologian, Richard Beck, experienced when he first led a Bible study at a local maximum security prison. Beck believed the promise of Matthew 25 that states when we visit the prisoner, we encounter Jesus. Sure enough, God met Beck in prison. With his signature combination of biblical reflection, theological reasoning, and psychological insight, Beck shows how God always meets us when we entertain the marginalized, the oppressed, and the refugee. Stories from Beck's own life illustrate this truth -- God comes to him in the poor, the crippled, the smelly. Psychological experiments show how we are predisposed to appreciate those who are similar to us and avoid those who are unlike us. The call of the gospel, however, is to override those impulses with compassion, to "widen the circle of our affection." In the end, Beck turns to the Little Way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux for guidance in doing even the smallest acts with kindness, and he lays out a path that any of us can follow.

Evocative readings of the Torah through the lens of transgender experience, exploring the ways trans perspectives can enrich our understanding of religious texts, traditions, and God

Growing up the son of agnostics, John Koessler saw a Catholic church on one end of the street and a Baptist on the other. In the no-man’s land between the two, this curious outside wondered about the God they worshipped—and began a lifelong search to comprehend the grace and mystery of God. A Stranger in the House of God addresses fundamental questions and struggles faced by spiritual seekers and mature believers. Like a contemporary Pilgrim’s Progress, it traces the author’s journey and explores his experiences with both charismatic and evangelical Christianity. It also describes his transformation from religious outsider to ordained pastor. John Koessler provides a poignant and often humorous window into the interior of the soul as he describes his journey from doubt and struggle with the church to personal faith

2018 Creative Quarterly Professional Graphic Design Runner-Up Who is God? Many of us call God our Father, Lord, Savior, and Friend. But when we delve into the perplexing bits of Scripture, we discover a God who cannot be explained or predicted. Is it possible that we have missed the Bible’s consistent teaching that God is other, higher, stranger? Krish Kandiah offers us a fresh look at some of the difficult, awkward, and even troubling Bible passages, helping us discover that when God shows up unannounced and unrecognized, that’s precisely when big things happen. God Is Stranger challenges us to replace our sanitized concept of God with a more awe-inspiring, magnificent and majestic, true-to-the-Bible God. Allow yourself to be surprised by God as you find him in unexpected places doing the unexpected.

What could the supernatural world of Stranger Things have in common with the Bible? The paranormal television series Stranger Things taps into the mysterious elements that have fueled spiritual questions for millennia. The otherworldly manifestations in Hawkins, Indiana offer compelling portrayals of important spiritual truths--and many of these truths are echoed in the supernatural worldview of the Bible. For Michael Heiser, Stranger Things is the perfect marriage of his interest in popular culture and the paranormal. In The Unseen Realm, he opened the eyes of thousands, helping readers understand the supernatural worldview of the Bible. Now he turns his attention to the worldwide television phenomenon, exploring how Stranger Things relates to Christian theology and the Christian life. In The World Turned Upside Down, Heiser draws on this supernatural worldview to help us think about the story of Jesus and discover glimpses of the gospel in the Upside Down. He argues that this celebrated series helps us understand the gospel in unique and overlooked ways. The spiritual questions and crises raised by Stranger Things are addressed the same way they are in the gospel, with mystery and transcendent power.

How to find peace and harmony in an unsettled world.You. Me. The person down the street or halfway around the globe. In this inspiring collection of stories, blessings, poetry, divine teachings, and meditation exercises, Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg conveys a single, powerful message: Let us not be strangers. God loves us all.Using a blend of ancient and modern ideas, God Loves the Stranger carves a clear pathway that enables us to learn how to love one another and create just societies. From teaching us how to handle suffering and aversion in positive, productive ways; how to learn creative skills for mindfulness, meditation, and retreat practice; and how to bring the roots of love and gratitude into our everyday lives, this book is a comprehensive tutorial for navigating today's interpersonal and situational challenges with grace, spiritual fulfillment, and understanding. It offers tender, thought-provoking insight into the awareness that we are not--are never--alone; and that neither are our family members, our friends, or the strangers everywhere in the world.This lovely book comes along at just the right moment. The author has much wisdom to share for these difficult times about how to connect embracing the stranger within--our fears, vulnerabilities, and self-deceptions--with welcoming strangers without, whether they be those near to us or far away.--Judith PlaskowProfessor Emerita of Religious Studies at Manhattan College and author of Goddess and God in the World: Conversations in Embodied Theology