Little is known about Valentine, whose name symbolizes romantic love. Chet Raymo draws on the tradition that Valentine was a physician in love with the blind Julia to thread his way through the fabric of romance while illuminating the world of the Roman Empire of Claudius II-a time when Christian deaths provided public entertainment. The ideas in Valentine are startlingly relevant to our own times: globalization vs. fundamentalism, reason vs. superstition, the subversion of virtue by wealt...

“What is the relevance of traditional religion in the world described by contemporary science? Is scientific knowledge a satisfactory ground for the religious experience? Can the language of traditional religion constitute an appropriately modern language of praise?”-from Honey from StoneFraming his meditations as a Book of Hours, scientist Chet Raymo exercises the languages of theology and science to express the majesty of Ireland's remote Dingle Peninsula. As he w...

Probing the depths of science and faith, scientist Chet Raymo investigates the mysteries of human spirituality and meaning contained in astronomy. Ranging through the stars and the myths humans have told about them for millennia, Raymo delves into “a pilgrimage in quest of the soul of the night.”Chet Raymo's elegant essays link the mysterious phenomena of the night sky with the human mind and spirit, as he ranges through the realms of mythology, literature, religion, history, and a...

“Reading of God's silence in the Bible gives me courage to explore the practice of restraint in preaching-not as a deliberate withholding of God's word nor, I hope, as a rationale for my own reticence, but as a sober reaching for more reverence in the act of public speaking about God.”In these 1997 Lyman Beecher Lectures in Preaching delivered at Yale Divinity School, Barbara Brown Taylor focuses on the task of those who preach and those who hear sermons in a world where people thi...

Seventy million assorted individuals comprise a church family that is renowned for its rich diversity. Christians of all shades of belief together make up the Anglican Communion, a fellowship of churches that extends around the world and includes the Episcopal Church in the United States. At its best, the spirit of openness that marks this fellowship is a sign of openness to the Holy Spirit. Few Anglicans would presume to have “arrived” spiritually, and the door is always open to all who a...

The second half of life-which we can enter at any age-is that time when we begin the process essential to a mature faith: discovering who we are, exploring our relationship with God, and beginning to let go. This part of life has a depth and spirituality all its own-a need for structure and rule, a tolerance of ambiguity, an exploration of limitation and mortality, and the deep work of discipline and detachment.Margaret Guenther brings her insights as a spiritual director to the gi...

For many people the Bible is strange and unfamiliar territory, impossible to navigate without a certain kind of knowledge and skill. Roger Ferlo leads his readers through the practical difficulties of reading the Bible, offering advice that is true to the way Anglicans have read Scripture from the time of Tyndale and Cranmer.Ferlo explains why the Bible looks the way it does, the theology that lies behind the many different versions and translations, how to deal with the notes and ...

The Thirty Nine Articles are key part of the Anglican theological tradition. Since 1571 they have shaped the way in which Anglicans have understood and proclaimed the Christian faith and the way in which they have related to Christians of other traditions. Today, however, the Articles are not well understood.Our Inheritance of Faith addresses this problem. It begins by providing a clear and comprehensive introduction to the development of the Articles and their subsequent history w...

The third in Cowley's Cloister Book series, Sabbath Keeping is a collection of ten meditations, each exploring a different aspect of keeping the sabbath and ending with a prayer. Since it is a difficult art in a society that does not value rest, Schaper encourages small acts of sabbath keeping that initially focus on physical and mental renewal but soon broaden to questions of justice and power.She begins with a chapter called “What is Sabbath?” and goes to the Bible for definition...

“Unlike liturgical manuals of the past, which were intended specifically for the use of the clergy, this book is directed to a wider audience-to members of parish worship committees, priests, organists and directors of music, lectors, deacons, cantors and other singers, bishops, altar guild members, acolytes-in short, to all who bear responsability for the planning and conduct of public worship.”-from the PrefaceSo begins Howard Galley's classic guide to the Eucharistic litu...

In this exploration of the foundations of Anglican worship, Louis Weil invites the laity to claim their true baptismal role and serve alongside the ordained as ministers and celebrants of the liturgy. He explains how the contribution of the people of God has steadily diminished over the centuries and why it is necessary to reclaim it today in the midst of Anglicanism's increasing multiculturalism. Since Anglicans are no longer primarily English-speakers worshiping in Gothic cathedrals, Wei...

With clarity, wisdom, and wit, Brian Taylor offers a fresh look at contemplative prayer as the pathway to genuine healing and spiritual transformation. Taylor gives practical, how-to advice for those with a serious interest in contemplative prayer, and also explores its roots in the faith and traditions of the church.This book is itself the fruit of years of contemplative practice, and whether you are new to this form of prayer or an experienced practitioner, Taylor's insight, enco...