Nigga” the most controversial word to come out of the English language. Some hate it, some love it, and some just don’t care. Yet, it has become one of the most widely used words to define the modern black in America today. What do I mean? What was your reaction to the title of this book? Did you see someone harshly spit that word out in a southern drawl? Did you see someone use it while giving dap, then affectionately converse about the hood? Did you see someone scream it in rage as they ...

These thoughts are to hopefully make you think…to stir the embers…to fan the flames…illustrations to the mind and heart…substance, food for the soul….to feed the spirit…to move you to a closer relationship with Jesus.

The Cinderella story takes on a fresh twist when told from the perspective of a slightly depressed glass slipper salesman. One Size Fits All is a breezy, modern romantic-comedy tale of love at first sight — and of realizing that it's never too late to write the ending you want for your own fairy tale.ABOUT THE AUTHORGary Scott is a itinerant zen mendicant who dwells largely in the shadowy netherworld of other people's imaginations — particularly that of author, screenwriter...

In the wake of the 2004 election, pundits were shocked at exit polling that showed that 22% of voters thought 'moral values' was the most important issue at stake. People on both sides of the political divide believed this was the key to victory for George W. Bush, who professes a deep and abiding faith in God. While some fervent Bush supporters see him as a man chosen by God for the White House, opponents see his overt commitment to Christianity as a dangerous and unprecedented bridging o...

How faith sustained Jackie Robinson—both as an athlete and as an activist.The integration of Major League Baseball in 1947 was a triumph. But it was also a fight. As the first Black major leaguer since the 1880s, Jackie Robinson knew he was not going to be welcomed into America's pastime with open arms. Anticipating hostility, he promised Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey that he would "turn the other cheek" during his first years in the league, despit...

In his highly praised book Faith and the Presidency, Gary Scott Smith cast a revealing light on the role religion has played in presidential politics throughout our nation's history, offering comprehensive, even-handed examinations of the role of religion in the lives, politics, and policies of eleven presidents. Now, in Religion in the Oval Office, Smith takes on eleven more of our nation's most interesting and influential chief executives: John Adams, James Madison, Joh...

A nuanced portrait of a great historical figure considered everything from a "God-haunted man" to a "stalwart nonbeliever"What did faith mean to Winston Churchill?Churchill was far from transparent about his religious beliefs and never regularly attended church services as an adult, even considering himself "not a pillar of the church but a buttress," in the sense that he supported it "from the outside." But Gary Scott Smith assembles pieces of Churchill's life and...

For 150 years, Grove City College has powerfully promoted faith, freedom, and the pursuit of excellence.Grove City College is perhaps best known for its 1984 Supreme Court battle with the federal government over financial aid—a case that led the college to reject all federal funding. But the history of Grove City College goes much deeper and has cut against the grain in many other ways. From its Reformed theological foundation, focus on Western civilization and the...

We all say that we care about children. We all know that millions of children around the world, including in the United States, are suffering physically, materially, and emotionally and are unable to reach their full potential. Moreover, their material deprivation and physical ills often prevent them from responding to the gospel. Most of us conclude that we cannot do anything significant to help the impoverished children living in our own backyards let alone those living in the slums of N...

Does heaven exist? If so, what is it like? And how does one get in? Throughout history, painters, poets, philosophers, pastors, and many ordinary people have pondered these questions. Perhaps no other topic captures the popular imagination quite like heaven. Gary Scott Smith examines how Americans from the Puritans to the present have imagined heaven. He argues that whether Americans have perceived heaven as reality or fantasy, as God's home or a human invention, as a source of inspiration...

Methodism in the public and private lives of the politicianAfter more than forty contentious years in the public eye, Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of the best-known political figures in the nation. Yet the strong religious faith at the heart of her politics and personal life often remains confounding, if not mysterious, to longtime observers. Even many of her admirers would be surprised to hear Clinton state that her Methodist outlook has “been a huge part of who ...

Mark Twain's literary works have intrigued and inspired readers from the late 1860s to the present. His varied experiences as a journeyman printer, river boat pilot, prospector, journalist, novelist, humorist, businessman, and world traveller, combined with his incredible imagination and astonishing creativity, enabled him to devise some of American literature's most memorable characters and engaging stories. Twain had a complicated relationship with Christianity. He strove to understand, ...