The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism

Joad Raymond

Milton's Angels: The Early-Modern Imagination

Milton's Paradise Lost, the most eloquent, most intellectually daring, most learned, and most sublime poem in the English language, is a poem about angels. It is told by and of angels; it relies upon their conflicts, communications, and miscommunications. They are the creatures of Milton's narrative, through which he sets the Fall of humankind against a cosmic background. Milton's angels are real beings, and the stories he tells about them rely on his understanding of what they were and how they acted. While he was unique in the sublimity of his imaginative rendering of angels, he was not alone in writing about them. Several early-modern English poets wrote epics that explore the actions of and grounds of knowledge about angels. Angels were intimately linked to theories of representation, and theology could be a creative force. Natural philosophers and theologians too found it interesting or necessary to explore angel doctrine. Angels did not disappear in Reformation theology: though centuries of Catholic traditions were stripped away, Protestants used them in inventive ways, adapting tradition to new doctrines and to shifting perceptions of the world. Angels continued to inhabit ...

Gregory Boyle

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

"Destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality" ( Los Angeles Times )-- Tattoos on the Heart is a series of parables about kinship and redemption from pastor, activist, and renowned speaker, Father Gregory Boyle. Thirty years ago, Gregory Boyle founded Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart , his debut book, he distills his experience working with gang members into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith. From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JC Penney fresh out of prison, you learn how to feel worthy of God's love. From ten-year-old Pipi you learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Lulu you come to understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the dark--as Father Boyle phrases it, we can only shine a flashlight on a light switch in a darkened room. This is a motivating look at how to stay faithful in spite of failure, how to meet the world with a loving heart, and how to conquer shame with boundless, restorative love.

John D. Beckett

Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul

Instead of grinding it out until Friday and living only for weekends, a successful Ohio manufacturing executive has seen how his work can be filled with meaning and purpose. The key is integrating his work and beliefs. As a result, both grow--along with his love for Mondays. Beckett brings all of life together: work, belief, value, character, relationship, truth, worship and joy. The result is employees who feel valued, enjoy their work, work hard and are successful at what they do. Here is a book for everyone who wants to succeed in business without selling out. Includes study guide and a new afterword.