Both realism and justice demand that efforts to conserve biological diversity address human needs as well. The most promising hope of accomplishing such a goal lies in locally based conservation efforts -- an approach that seeks ways to make local communities the beneficiaries and custodians of conservation efforts.Natural Connections focuses on rural societies and the conservation of biodiversity in rural areas. It represents the first systematic analysis of locally based...

Christmas has served as a fertile background for mystery fiction for a very long time, perhaps because it has the appearance of a time of peace and love while being so deeply at odds with violence, crime, and even murder.Many of the stories in this anthology have been written by some of the greatest Golden Age authors, undoubtedly inspired by the juxtaposition of the disparate elements of love and hate. There is a cliché about anthologies (and clichés become clichés because they ar...

If the church is more than just a building, what could it mean to live in it--to inhabit it as a way of life? From their location in new monastic communities, Otto, Stock, and Wilson-Hartgrove ask what the church can learn from St. Benedict's vows of conversion, obedience, and stability about how to live as the people of God in the world. In storytelling and serious engagement with Scripture, old wisdom breathes life into a new monasticism. But, like all monastic wisdom, these reflections ...

ECPA 2019 Book Award Finalist. Christian Book of the Year Award Finalist. You recite it. But do you understand it? The Apostles' Creed has become so familiar to us that we don't think about what we're saying. Christians from different times, places, and traditions have been united by its eternal truths. We believe them, we recite them, but do we build our lives on them? The fact that so many in the early church died for their faith means they were caught up in something greater than themse...

"For many of the nation's 52 million Catholics, Christ Among Us has become an indispensable guide to applying Church teachings to contemporary problems." — TimeSince it was first published in 1967, Anthony Wilhelm's Christ Among Us has become America's most popular guide to modern Catholicism. This classic text presents a clear and accessible picture of Catholicism and its development in a post-Vatican II world. Perfect for both new Cathol...

YOUCAT is an accessible, contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith. It was written with the help of young Catholics, especially for high-school-age people and young adults. YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church.The appealing graphic format includes Questions-and-Answers, highly readable commentary, summary definitions of key terms, Bible citations, and inspiring and thought-provoking quotes from Saints and others in the margins. What's more...

Combines a serious examination of the state of today's church and a powerful solution: reclaiming the gospel of grace found in the confessional truths of the Reformation.Though the Christian church has achieved a worldly sort of success-big numbers, big budgets, big outreaches-these are not good days for evangelicalism. Attendance is down, and it is increasingly difficult to distinguish so-called "believers" from their non-Christian neighbors-all because the gospel of grace has bee...

Common to people of every time and place is a longing for the truth. We want to know! We want to know the purpose of our life, why we are here on earth, where we came from, whether there is a God, who this God is, whether there is an afterlife, and so much more!These most basic and fundamental questions are hopefully in the forefront of our minds. And if they are not, it's never too late to start! This book offers some of the answers to these questions. It offers the answers found ...

Do you want to learn more about Catholicism? Are you returning to the faith after a long absence? Do you want to know what role the Catholic faith plays in your life? The Seeker’s Catechism answers your questions in an easy-to-read Q&A format to help you feel more at home with what the Church believes and practices.This updated edition of The Seeker’s Catechism by veteran teacher Michael Pennock offers concise answers to questions about the riches of Catholic fait...

"The first thing to say in our exploration of priesthood is this: priesthood is a fundamental and inescapable part of being human. All human beings, knowingly or not, minister as priests to one another. All of us, knowingly or not, receive priestly ministrations from one another. Unless we begin here, we are not likely to understand the confusions and uncertainties and opportunities we have been encountering in the life of the church itself in recent years. We shall be in danger, in fact, ...

In The Widening Circle, Graham Tomlin explores an exhilarating new approach to priesthood.The author suggests that 'Priest' is much more than a term to describe certain Christian ministers - it is a vital category for understanding God's way of blessing his world.This world was made for joy: the joy of God and the joy of Creation. But to know that joy, the world needs the divine blessing that is focused in Jesus Christ, the only true High Priest. His priest...

Christianity Today Book Award of Merit—Popular TheologyThe Gospel Coaltion Award of Distinction—Popular TheologyEvery generation faces the temptation to wander from orthodoxy—to seekout the jolt that comes with false teaching, and to drift with cultural currents. And so every generation must be awakened again to the thrill of orthodoxy, and experience the astonishment that comes from stumbling afresh upon the elect...