Religion: General

For thousands of years, the Maori tohunga, sages, passed closely guarded knowledge to new generations of sages, using only an orally coded system. Two hundred years ago, they started recording that knowledge into secret manuscripts. Why did they suddenly abandon their oral tra...ditions? Who were they writing for? Can this indigenous knowledge provide us with a beacon in our time?
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Silence in the Catholic Church is used for prayer, contemplation and to form a closeness with God. In the hands of human beings, however, silence can become a dangerous veil behind which some unchallenged key figures in the Church who have lost their way cause untold damage. In t...his book, a former priest who found himself abused by a cardinal in a well-known case speaks for the first time and describes his experiences as a seminarian and then as a priest. Although many disturbing facts are revealed for the first time, this is no ordinary expose but rather a much deeper attempt to understand what has gone wrong and how the Church can be reclaimed for God's people. This is very uncomfortable reading for those who prefer to cover up the symptoms of the threatening malaise of silence. But for those who want to see their Church held in the esteem it deserves, this book is a bright light that not only shines on the dark, silent corners but also offers a better way ahead.
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A compelling history of the ancient schism that continues to divide the Islamic world When Mohammed died in 632 without a male heir, Sunnis contended that the choice of a successor should fall to his closest companions, but Shi'a believed that God had inspired the Prophet to appo...int his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, as leader. So began a schism that is nearly as old as Islam itself. Laurence Louer tells the story of this centuries-old rivalry, taking readers from the last days of Mohammed to the political and doctrinal clashes of Sunnis and Shi'a today. In a sweeping historical narrative spanning the Islamic world, Louer shows how the Sunni-Shi'a divide was never just a dispute over succession'at issue are questions about the very nature of Islamic political authority. She challenges the widespread perception of Sunnis and Shi'a as bitter enemies who are perpetually at war with each other, demonstrating how they have coexisted peacefully at various periods throughout the history of Islam. Louer traces how sectarian tensions have been enflamed or calmed depending on the political contingencies of the moment, whether to consolidate the rule of elites, assert clerical control over the state, or defy the powers that be. Timely and provocative, Sunnis and Shi'a provides needed perspective on the historical roots of today's conflicts and reveals how both branches of Islam have influenced and emulated each other in unexpected ways. This compelling and accessible book also examines the diverse regional contexts of the Sunni-Shi'a divide, examining how it has shaped societies and politics in countries such as Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon.
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Mormonism was the first and most successful new religion to appear in the New World where, despite the biblical language of its narrative, it created a novel and dynamic theology that was vitally different from the Protestant Christianity from which it originated.

A short, powerful exploration of antisemitism - what it is, and why we urgently need to gain a firmer shared understanding