Like many other people, the long tradition about hell has been a source of serious confusion and distress for me. Over the past six years or so I was relieved to discover two other alternatives that are also part of the Christian tradition, though less prominent--universalism and the subject of the present book, conditional immortality. Universalism--that everyone would eventually be saved--did not, in the final analysis, seem to really come to grips with the overwhelming scriptural testim...

This reading guide to some of the philosophical and theological literature on universalism offers practical help in providing informed material on a topic that is often treated in a superficial and unenlightened manner. The reader may be surprised to learn that universalism was the predominant belief in the early centuries, and that it has always been present in the Christian tradition. Spurred on by Von Balthasar's book, Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? Robert Wild's guide pro...

The present book is the first work to highlight Catherine Doherty's vocation to spiritual motherhood. Drawing upon primary archival sources, the author traces Catherine's development as a staritsa, or spiritual mother in the Russian-Eastern tradition. Of particular interest are the chapters dealing with Catherine's exercise of spiritual motherhood for priests and laity alike. Previously unpublished letters of spiritual direction between Catherine and her major spiritual directors offer the...

"We need a new kind of mystic," writes Fr. Robert Wild; and in The Tumbler of God, he presents a spiritual portrait of G.K. Chesterton that convincingly shows why he is precisely the new kind of mystic we need. Chesterton's mysticism was grounded in an experiential knowledge that existence is a gift from God, and that the only response is a spirituality of gratitude and praise for the unveiled beauty of creation. Franz Kafka said of Chesterton, "He is so happy one might almost think he had...

Sacred Natural Sites are the world's oldest protected places. This book focuses on a wide spread of both iconic and lesser known examples such as sacred groves of the Western Ghats (India), Sagarmatha /Chomolongma (Mt Everest, Nepal, Tibet - and China), the Golden Mountains of Altai (Russia), Holy Island of Lindisfarne (UK) and the sacred lakes of the Niger Delta (Nigeria).The book illustrates that sacred natural sites, although often under threat, exist within and outside formally...

This is the report of two linked research projects: the SSRC Project on Problems and Effects of Teaching about Race Relations, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Project on Teaching About Race Relations through Drama. Its aim is to help teachers who will face race as a theme, whether it arises in the normal course of their subject teaching or is introduced as a separate topic.The project worked with three groups of teachers, each of which adopted a different approach, and the r...

Nowadays, the concept of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) is starting to replace the concept of MDGs (Millennium Developmental Goals). It is a global goal adopted by all United Nations member states. It emphasizes the idea that the development of every country can only be achieved by balancing other factors such as social, economic, and environmental sustainability. It is already clear how sustainable development works with environmental ethics and management. However, there are still ...

New York Times–bestselling author Garry Wills provides a provocative analysis of the theological and historical basis for the priesthoodIn a riveting and provocative tour de force from the author of What Jesus Meant, Pulitzer Prize winner Garry Wills poses the challenging question: Why did the priesthood develop in a religion that began without it and, indeed, was opposed to it? Why Priests? argues brilliantly and persuasively fo...

Tigers of the World, Second Edition explores tiger biology, ecology, conservation, management, and the science and technology that make this possible. In 1988, when the first edition was published, tiger conservation was still in its infancy, and two decades later there has been a revolution not only in what is known, but how information about tigers is obtained and disseminated. In the fast changing world of conservation, there is a great need to summarize the vast and current state-of-th...

There is today a dramatic reexamination of structure, authority, dogma -- indeed, every aspect of the life of the Church is held up to scrutiny. Welcoming this as a sign of vitality, Avery Dulles has carefully studied the writings of contemporary Protestant and Catholic ecclesiologists and sifted out six major approaches, or "models," through which the Church's character can be understood: as Institution, Mystical Communion, Sacrament, Herald, Servant, and, in a recent addition to the book...

After 2,000 years of flawed history, here at last is a magnificent new biography of Mary Magdalene that draws her out of the shadows of history and restores her to her rightful place of importance in Christianity.Throughout history, Mary Magdalene has been both revered and reviled, a woman who has taken on many forms—witch, whore, the incarnation of the eternal feminine, the devoted companion (and perhaps even the wife) of Jesus. In this brilliant new biography, Bruce Chilton, a re...

'This book aims to inspire the conservation community not to regard poverty reduction as someone else's job but to take responsibility for it as part of ecosystem restoration. Though no solutions are perfect,the text and examples given offer encouraging and useful guidance.' Gill Shepherd, poverty and landscapes thematic leader, IUCN Forest Conservation Programme. 'This book could be the catalyst for a real paradigm shift - not just in capital cities and international conference centres, b...