Convents, monasteries and abbeys have always been places which generously welcomed weary travellers. That tradition continues today and Goodnight and God Bless takes you on a tour of religious hideaways offering tourist and pilgrimage accommodation throughout Europe.

Suitable for the traveller, the pious and the curious alike, this user-friendly travel guide provides invaluable information, travel tid-bits and anecdotes against a fascinating backdrop of history and religion.
from the Publisher

Although several Orthodox theologians have significantly influenced the development of Ecclesiology in the twentieth century, the contribution of (Archbishop) Stylianos Harkianakis remains, without doubt, a landmark in the history of that theological field today. Essentially, the author's consideration of the Church is that it is the most intimate and graced communion not only of human persons but of the entire created cosmos bonded together in a wondrous relationship with the uncreated God. Unconfusedly and indivisibly united with God, the Church therefore enjoys and rightly proclaims the truth — i.e. is infallible — for the world's salvation and the glorification of God. Ultimately, Harkianakis' theology of the Church's infallibility, i.e. its truthfulness, is simply a doxological affirmation of the genuine presence of God among His people and the world at large.
from the Publisher

Can world-wide Anglicanism hold together? Is there something Anglican that is worth sustaining? A Fallible Church is a welcome reminder that moments of great crisis are often the most creative, however difficult they might be to live through. It shows that the communion is full of life, creativity and generosity of spirit, telling the neglected story of the enriching diocese-to-diocese partnerships that exist between England and Africa, where most Anglicans now live. It also reawakens a sense of history. It shows that, serious and painful though they may be, there is nothing fundamentally new or different about the current conflicts within Anglicanism.

The leading Anglicans from different backgrounds and traditions brought together here by Kenneth Stevenson believe that, though our generation will make its own mistakes, like past and future generations, God continues to use the Anglican communion, fallible like all of humanity, for the furtherance of His kingdom. As Anglicans prepare for the Lambeth Conference, A Fallible Church points us to a patient and humble, but faithful future.
from the Publisher

The story of Christ's crucifixion and subsequent resurrection is the rock of faith on which Christianity is founded. But on what evidence is the most miraculous phenomenon in religious history based?

World-famous Biblical scholar Geza Vermes has studied all the evidence that still remains, over two thousand years after Jesus Christ was reported to have risen from the dead. Examining the Jewish Bible, the New Testament and other accounts left to us, as well as contemporary attitudes to the afterlife, he takes us through each episode with a historian's focus: the crucifixion, the treatment of the body, the statements of the women who found the empty tomb, and the visions of Christ by his disciples. Unravelling the true meaning conveyed by the Gospels, the Acts and St Paul, Vermes shines a new light on the developing faith in the risen Christ among the first followers of Jesus.
from the Publisher

Deep in the shuddering guts of that religion known as Christianity is a rich and troubling history of persecution. Bullying. The singling-out those the Church professes to be Anti-God, such as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered people. All built up from the foundation that is God's word, the Bible. Only it isn't. There is no Scriptural foundation for this persecution, no anti-gay passages in the Bible that the Church professes there are. There have been mistranslations. Check. Persecutions. Check. Bullying on the largest scale. Check. But none of this is set down in the Bible as God's way.

The Source is the only New Testament translation based on word meaning evidence from recently discovered papyri and inscriptions. For centuries, translators had to guess the meaning of hundreds of New Testament words. After 1976, huge numbers of papyri and inscritions were discovered containing New Testament words in everyday documents and thus revealling their meaning. The Source is the only New Testament translation by a Classical Greek Scholar (rather than a theologian) and not financed by, or translated by, a committee of a specific denomination.
from the Publisher

In this new major work, Margaret Barker traces the roots of Christian worship back to the Jewish temple. Working with primary sources in translation, she reconstructs something of the early Christian world view, showing the Church as the conscious continuation of the temple worship. Addressing such fundamental practices as baptism and the Eucharist, as well as the significance of music and festivals, and the shape of church buildings Barker sustains this argument with refreshing academic vigour.

'As always, Margaret Barker deploys a great range of scholarly equipment to invite us to rethink quite radically many of the conventional readings of the New Testament. Through a systematic study of biblical imagery, related to rabbinical and patristic interpretation, she makes it clear that the categories associated with the worship of Solomon's Temple and with the person of the High Priest are central for understanding not only the earliest Christological language of the Church — an argument she has set out in other books — but also the nature of Christian sacramental practice.

'This is a book full of insight and challenge; some of its conclusions will be controversial, but it is a wonderfully learned and creative essay, drawing together much neglected or misunderstood material in a compelling new synthesis.'
Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

World Youth Day 2008 and a visit of Pope Benedict XVI provide an opportunity to analyse the state of the Catholic Church in Australia. Believers does just that, offering a comprehensive account of everything that is right and wrong with Catholicism in Australia and asking whether it really is in decline.

In his honest and expert insider analysis, Paul Collins finds that the church continues to have a profound impact on Australian life. But Believers carefully examines the reasons why a declining number of Australians actively participate in formal worship and why there is scepticism about the church as an institution and a movement for people to seek spirituality elsewhere.

Believers doesn't shy away from the difficult questions that must be asked about the church: the lack of effective leadership; sexual abuse scandals; a drastic shortage of priests and declining mass attendance, particularly by young people. Paul Collins ultimately delivers an optimistic message, bolstered by his clear program for reform and renewal and the realisation that the church has managed to recover from its mistakes in the past.
from the Publisher

These talks on meditation by Laurence Freeman are the second in a new ongoing series of talks given to meditators as a preparation for the period of meditation. In the tradition of John Main's talks to groups, Laurenece Freeman continues to develop the teaching in the light of the changing pattern of modern thought and life. The talks are clear and use ideas and examples that speak to the daily experience of people learning to meditate.
from the Publisher

This set of CDs is the third in a series of short talks given by Laurence Freeman to meditators as a preparation for a meditation period. In the tradition of John main's talks to meditation groups, each of these talks can serve to prepare you for a period of meditation as well as inspire your daily practice. They are useful for both beginners and regular meditators who understand the need for preparation and for deepening insight into the journey of meditation.
from the Publisher

We all have basic human needs. When a basic human need is not met, we experience a wound and pain follows when that wound is not healed. We then try to take the pain away by imagination or fantasy, and soon we are indulging in distractions conjured up in our minds. These may temporarily take the pain away but the deeper unmet need that caused the pain stays unfulfilled. This, Fr Laurence Freeman suggests, is a way to understand the origin of addiction. We compulsively repeat what once brought us temporary relief from pain. Over time this becomes an addiction, and with addiction comes loss of freedom. This talk not only explores this process but relates it to the wisdom of the Twelve Steps. In particular, Fr Laurence shows how the simple practice of meditation offers a way to break this vicious cycle of addictive desire and regain wholeness.
from the Publisher

Fr Laurence Freeman is a Benedictine monk of the Monastery of Christ the King, Cockfosters, London, and the spiritual guide for The World Community for Christian Meditation. These talks reflect the theme of his latest book Jesus the Teacher Within — that the only way to 'see' Jesus is by becoming spiritually self-aware.
from the Publisher

Fr Laurence challenges us with this powerful insight: For the first time in human history, humans are now in control of the environment. But we are not handling this very responsibly. An environmental crisis has been generated by economic activity driven by short-term gains. But if we made the crisis, then we can change it. To do this, we ourselves must be prepared to change radically. This Fr Laurence says, is what meditation does. As the mantra sinks deeper into the heart, it opens within us the spirit of wisdom and compassion, the spirit of Christ who came to love the world and to heal it.

Meditation puts the ego back in its proper place, develops self-control and opens us to a new perception of universality: that we are one and interdependent, that our actions are mutually beneficial or mutually harmful. Meditation creates community on a planetary scale.
from the Publisher