Fascinated by the myth of Cupid and Psyche throughout his life, C. S. Lewis reimagines their story from the perspective of Psyche''s sister, Orual. ''I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer . . . Why should they hear the babble that we think we mean? How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?'' Till We Have Facesis a brilliant examination of envy, betrayal, loss, blame, grief, guilt, and conversion. In this, his final - and most mature and masterful - novel, Lewis reminds us of our own fallibility and the role of a higher power in our lives.

The Upanishads, the earliest of which were composed in Sanskrit between 800 and 400 bce by sages and poets, form part of the Vedas - the sacred and ancient scriptures that are the basis of the Hindu religion. Each Upanishad, or lesson, takes up a theme ranging from the attainment of spiritual bliss to karma and rebirth, and collectively they are meditations on life, death and immortality. The essence of their teachings is that truth can by reached by faith rather than by thought, and that the spirit of God is within each of us - we need not fear death as we carry within us the promise of eternal life.br>br>For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. Lire la suite Fermer

A milestone in the history of popular theology, ''The Screwtape Letters'' is an iconic classic on spiritual warfare and the power of the devil.
This profound and striking narrative takes the form of a series of letters from Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior colleague engaged in his first mission on earth trying to secure the damnation of a young man who has just become a Christian. Although the young man initially looks to be a willing victim, he changes his ways and is ''lost'' to the young devil.
Dedicated to Lewis''s friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien, ''The Screwtape Letters'' is a timeless classic on spiritual conflict and the invisible realities which are part of our religious experience.
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In the fourth century AD, a new faith exploded out of Palestine. Overwhelming the paganism of Rome, and converting the Emperor Constantine in the process, it resoundingly defeated a host of other rivals. Almost a thousand years later, all of Europe was controlled by Christian rulers, and the religion, ingrained within culture and society, exercised a monolithic hold over its population. But, as Peter Heather shows in this compelling new history, there was nothing inevitable about Christendom''s rise to Europe-wide dominance.br>br>In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated and intensely committed congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Peter Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called ''heresies'' and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution of the eleventh century and beyond in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation, Heather traces Christendom''s chameleon-like capacity for self-reinvention and astounding willingness to mobilize well-directed force.br>br>Christendom''s achievement was not, or not only, to define official Christianity, but - from its scholars and its lawyers, to its provincial officials and missionaries in far-flung corners of the continent - to transform it into an institution that wielded effective religious authority across nearly all of the disparate peoples of medieval Europe. This is its extraordinary story.> Lire la suite Fermer

John Barton was the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1991 to 2014 and since 1973 has been a serving priest in the Church of England. He is the author of numerous books on the Bible, co-editor of The Oxford Bible Commentary and editor of The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation . He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2007 and is a Corresponding Fellow of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

From one of the most soulful and perceptive writers of our time (

A poignant portrait of spiritual relationships in the diverse worlds of American and global Buddhism, through stories of over 30 luminaries including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Joan Halifax, Joanna Macy, and more. Across more than thirty-five years of practice in Zen and socially engaged Buddhism, Alan;Senauke;has had a range of remarkable encounters with Buddhist teachers and spiritual friends. Here he collects stories of moments in which someones words, actions, or presence opened his mind and heart in a new way. Touching on meditation, insight, social action, race, family, community, and more, these vignettes build like a chorus and convey lessons such as taking ones work seriously without taking oneself seriously, letting things fall apart, and using oneself up on behalf of others. ; The;books stories and accompanying photographs feature many of the greatest Zen teachers, engaged Buddhists, and global Buddhist leaders of our day, including;Robert Aitken, Bernie Glassman, Shodo;Harada, Dainin Katagiri, Jarvis Masters, Ven. Sheng Yen, Sulak;Sivaraksa, and many more--with;a special section devoted to the teachings of Senauke''s primary teacher, Sojun Mel Weitsman. Lire la suite Fermer

David Baddiel was born in 1964 in Troy, New York, but grew up and lives in London. He is a comedian, television writer, columnist and author of four novels, of which the most recent is The Death of Eli Gold.

For centuries people have been tormented by one question above all - 'If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow his creatures to suffer pain?' And what of the suffering of animals, who neither deserve pain nor can be improved by it? The greatest Christian thinker of our time sets out to disentangle this knotty issue. With his signature wealth of compassion and insight, C.S. Lewis offers answers to these crucial questions and shares his hope and wisdom to help heal a world hungry for a true understanding of human nature.

The Qur'an, believed by Muslims to be the word of God, was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago. It is the supreme authority in Islam and the living source of all Islamic teaching. Recognized as the greatest literary masterpiece in Arabic, it has nevertheless remained difficult to understand in its English translations. This new translation is written in a contemporary idiom that remains faithful to the original, making it easy to read while retaining its powers of eloquence.

'An amazing compilation: this book is more than a typical poetry anthology ... Offers a balm, a consolation, a tune, in our desolate world.' - Ilya Kaminsky.

'An amazing collection of spiritual verse from many cultures and periods ... There cannot be any other anthology that ranges so widely, and anyone concerned with either poetry or spirituality will want to own a copy.' - John Barton.

An inspiring new selection of poems exploring faith and the divine, featuring poets from across the world, from antiquity to the present.

'Yoga is to be known through yoga. Yoga arises from yoga. One who is vigilant by means of yoga delights in yoga for a long time' Yoga is hugely popular around the world today, yet until now little has been known of its roots. This book collects, for the first time, core teachings of yoga in their original form, translated and edited by two of the world's foremost scholars of the subject. It includes a wide range of texts from different schools of yoga, languages and eras: among others, key passages from the early Upanisads and the Mahabharata , and from the Tantric, Buddhist and Jaina traditions, with many pieces in scholarly translation for the first time. Covering yoga's varying definitions across systems, models of the esoteric and physical bodies, and its most important practices, such as posture, breath control, sensory withdrawal and meditation, Roots of Yoga is a unique and essential source of knowledge. Translated and edited with an introduction by James Mallinson and Mark Singleton
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In this uplifting and practical book, written in collaboration with his biographer, Austen Ivereigh , the preeminent spiritual leader explains why we must--and how we can--make the world safer, fairer, and healthier for all people now. In the COVID crisis, the beloved shepherd of over one billion Catholics saw the cruelty and inequity of our society exposed more vividly than ever before. He also saw, in the resilience, generosity, and creativity of so many people, the means to rescue our society, our economy, and our planet. In direct, powerful prose, Pope Francis urges us not to let the pain be in vain. He begins Let Us Dream by exploring what this crisis can teach us about how to handle upheaval of any kind in our own lives and the world at large. With unprecedented candor, he reveals how three crises in his own life changed him dramatically for the better. By its very nature, he shows, crisis presents us with a choice: we make a grievous error if we try to return to some pre-crisis state. But if we have the courage to change, we can emerge from the crisis better than before. Francis then offers a brilliant, scathing critique of the systems and ideologies that conspired to produce the current crisis, from a global economy obsessed with profit and heedless of the people and environment it harms, to politicians who foment their peoples fear and use it to increase their own power at their peoples expense. He reminds us that Christians first duty is to serve others, especially the poor and the marginalized, just as Jesus did. Finally, the Pope offers an inspiring and actionable blueprint for building a better world for all humanity by putting the poor and the planet at the heart of new thinking. For this plan, he draws not only on sacred sources, but on the latest findings from renowned scientists, economists, activists, and other thinkers. Yet rather than simply offer prescriptions, he shows how ordinary people acting together despite their differences can discover unforeseen possibilities. Along the way, he offers dozens of wise and surprising observations on the value of unconventional thinking, on why we must dramatically increase womens leadership in the Church and throughout society, on what he learned while scouring the streets of Buenos Aires with garbage-pickers, and much more. Let Us Dream is an epiphany, a call to arms, and a pleasure to read. It is Pope Francis at his most personal, profound and passionate. With this book and with open hearts, we can change the world. Lire la suite Fermer

B>b>Beloved Buddhist nun Ayya Khema expertly guides the reader through ten meditations on generating loving-kindness and cultivating the fifteen wholesome qualities necessary for igniting compassion and boundless love./b>br>;/b>br>br>Having escaped Nazi Germany in 1938,;Ayya;Khema;has singularly profound perspective on creating peace, unconditional love, and compassion. She gently teaches that inner peace is not necessarily natural or innate. Instead, peace should be considered a skill that needs intentional practice--every day. Peace is the sum of many parts, namely the fifteen wholesome qualities the Buddha himself noted in the Metta Sutta,;including usefulness, mildness, humility, contentment,;receptivity, and;others.;Ayya;Khema;expertly guides us through each individual condition, using her trademark humor and personal narrative, to;help;each reader;shape;their own;path to self-transformation.;br>;br>The second part of the book includes an eye-opening discussion of;metta;(loving-kindness);as both a morality practice and a concentration practice as well as;ten;meditation practices that;use;visualizations rather than more traditional mantra repetition.;Edited by her student and retreat leader, Leigh Brasington, this book is a complete course in practical ways to calm and brighten our minds.;;
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B>b>Insightful and entertaining essays spanning 40 years of lectures by Alan Watts on Zen, Taoism,;psychedelics,;and comparative philosophy./b>/b>br>br>Alan Watts''s essays and talks range widely through psychology, art, religion,;and politics, but always come home to the Zen core.;For those familiar with Alan Wattss style of presentation, the wonderful, memorable, and prophetic style of his voice is captured in this volume. Talking Zen puts on display Wattss ability to;explore;the;very subtle philosophies, those common across traditions and those unique to Zen, in ordinary and accessible language. These lectures paved the way for;the rise of Zen;in the West.;

B>b>A historical tapestry of border-crossing travelers, of students, wanderers, martyrs and invaders, The White Mosque is a memoiristic, prismatic record of a journey through Uzbekistan and of the strange shifts, encounters, and accidents that combine to create an identity/b>/b>br>br>In the late nineteenth century, a group of German-speaking Mennonites traveled from Russia into Central Asia, where their charismatic leader predicted Christ would return.br>br>Over a century later, Sofia Samatar joins a tour following their path, fascinated not by the hardships of their journey, but by its aftermath: the establishment of a small Christian village in the Muslim Khanate of Khiva. Named Ak Metchet, The White Mosque, after the Mennonites whitewashed church, the village lasted for fifty years.br>;br>In pursuit of this curious history, Samatar discovers a variety of characters whose lives intersect around the ancient Silk Road, from a fifteenth-century astronomer-king, to an intrepid Swiss woman traveler of the 1930s, to the first Uzbek photographer, and explores such topics as Central Asian cinema, Mennonite martyrs, and Samatars own complex upbringing as the daughter of a Swiss-Mennonite and a Somali-Muslim, raised as a Mennonite of color in America.br>br>A secular pilgrimage to a lost village and a near-forgotten history, The White Mosque traces the porous and ever-expanding borders of identity, asking: How do we enter the stories of others? And how, out of the tissue of life, with its weird incidents, buried archives, and startling connections, does a person construct a self? Lire la suite Fermer

Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou studied theology at Oxford and is currently Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Religion at the University of Exeter. The author of a number of academic works, she also presented the BBC 2 documentary se

John Barton was the Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1991 to 2014 and, since 1973, has been a priest in the Church of England. His bestselling A History of the Bibl