Stories of rape, murder, adultery, and conquest raise crucial issues in the Hebrew Bible, and their interpretation helps societies form their religious and moral beliefs. From the sacrifice of Isaac to the adultery of David, narratives of sin engender vivid analysis and debate, powering the myths that form the basis of the religious covenant, or the relationship between a people and their God.Rereading these stories in their different forms and varying contexts, Alan F. Segal demon...

A magisterial work of social history, Life After Death illuminates the many different ways ancient civilizations grappled with the question of what exactly happens to us after we die.In a masterful exploration of how Western civilizations have defined the afterlife, Alan F. Segal weaves together biblical and literary scholarship, sociology, history, and philosophy. A renowned scholar, Segal examines the maps of the afterlife found in Western religious texts and reveals not...

Enlightment came through my death. I have proof of being out of my body (Chapter 6), and my life changed a lot after my death.Before my death, I was a star athlete with a very high I.Q. and was motivated by everything physical. I only dated girls who were very attractive only on the outside. I had a moment of clarity when I was dead; a moment that I will forever remember.I was living my life all wrong!This book is a self-help manua...

**The #1 New York Times bestselling account of a neurosurgeon's own near-death experience—**for readers of 7 Lessons from Heaven.Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.Then, Dr. A...

The National Book Award–winning author of Hell of a Book shares "a breathtaking novel that navigates emotional minefields with realism and grace" ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review).Harold and Lucille Hargrave's eight-year-old son, Jacob, died tragically in 1966. In their old age they've settled comfortably into life without him. . . . Until one day Jacob mysteriously appears on their doorstep—flesh and blood, still eight years old.All over th...

An insider's tour of cemetery culture—from embalming to epitaphs, restless ghosts, crimes against the dead, and more.Admit it: You're fascinated by cemeteries. We all die, and for most of us, a cemetery is our final resting place. But how many people really know what goes on inside, around, and beyond them? Enter the world of the dead as author Katherine Ramsland talks to mortuary assistants, gravediggers, funeral home owners, and others, and find out about:

You never expected to say goodbye.The most helpful grief book to read when you're ready to start healing after the loss of a loved one.Whether you've lost a parent, partner, child, sibling, friend—or anyone you loved—I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye offers the compassion and clarity you need when grief is sudden, raw, and overwhelming.This trusted guide has helped over a million readers cope with the shock of unexpected loss. Drawing f...

**A New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller“Doughty chronicles [death] practices with tenderheartedness, a technician’s fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief.” —Jill Lepore, The New Yorker**Fascinated by our pervasive fear of dead bodies, mortician Caitlin Doughty embarks on a global expedition to discover how other cultures care for the dead. From Zoroastrian sky burials to wish-granting Bolivian skulls, she investigates the...

A beloved contemporary classic, Holy Days is a personal account of New York's Hasidic community, its beliefs, its mysteries, and its encounter with secularism in the present age.Combining a historical understanding of the Hasidic movement with a journalist's discerning eye, Harris captures in rich detail the day-to-day life of this traditional and often misunderstood community. Harris chronicles the personal transformation she experienced as she grew close...

For more than two decades, hospice nurse Maggie Callanan has tended to the terminally ill and been a cornerstone of support for their loved ones. Now the coauthor of the classic bestseller Final Giftspasses along the lessons she has learned from the experts—her patients. Here is the guide we all need to understanding the special needs of the dying and those who care for them.In her work with thousands of families, Maggie Callanan has witnessed the tears, the love—a...

A hospice chaplain's lessons on the meaning of life, from those who are leaving itWhat are the top regrets of the dying? That's what Kerry Egan, a hospice chaplain, learned as she listened to her patients on their deathbeds, witnessing what she calls the "spiritual work of dying" - the work of finding or making meaning of one's life, the experiences it contained and the people who have touched it. In this book she recalls the stories she heard - stories of hope and...

The 72 names of God are universal powers that exist without and pass within and through us as energies of light.  To attune ourselves with these universal forces is to unleash their powers from within us.  There are powers within the soul, the mind, the spirit within us, and within our subconscious mind that can be unleashed by praying appropriately with these 72 names of God.  In this book I have written out these names such that they can be pronounced easily in the Englis...