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Continuing her very personal journey from a deeply religious Islamic upbringing to a post at Harvard, the brilliant, charismatic and controversial New York Times and Globe and Mail #1 bestselling author of Infidel and Nomad makes a powerful plea for an Islamic Reformation as the only way to end the horrors of terrorism and sectarian warfare and the repression of women and minorities. Today, the world's 1.6 billion Muslims can be divided into a minority of fundamentalists, a majority of observant "daily" Muslims and a few dissidents who risk their lives by questioning their own religion. But there is only one Islam and, as Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues, there is no denying that some of its key teachings--like the subordination of women and the duty to wage holy war--are incompatible with the values of a free society. For centuries it has seemed as if Islam is immune to change. But Hirsi Ali has come to believe that a "Reformation"--a revision of Islamic doctrine aimed at reconciling the religion with modernity--is now at hand, and may even have begun. The Arab Spring may now seem like a political failure. But its challenge to traditional authority revealed a new readiness--not least by Muslim women--to think freely and to speak out. Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues that ordinary Muslims throughout the world want change. Courageously challenging the fundamentalists, she identifies 5 key amendments to Islamic doctrine that must be made in order to set Muslims free from their 7th-century chains. Interweaving her own experiences, historical analogies and powerful examples from contemporary Islamic societies and cultures, Heretic is not a call to arms, but a passionate plea for peaceful change and a new era of toleration.
A young man’s fate is tied to the Protestant Reformation—and the violent upheaval that follows—in this prize-winning novel of sixteenth-century Spain. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther nails his ninety-five theses to a church door and launches the movement that will divide the Roman Catholic Church. On that same day, a child is born in the Spanish city of Valladolid. The young Cipriano Salcedo's fate is marked by the political and religious upheaval taking root across Europe. Cipriano grows up to become a prosperous merchant and joins the Reformation movement, which is secretly advancing on the Iberian Peninsula, the historical bastion of the Catholic church. But before long, the Spanish Inquisition will drive the Reformers to put their lives at stake. Through Cipriano’s story, Delibes paints a masterful portrait of the time of Spain's Charles V and recreates the social and intellectual atmosphere of Europe at one of history's most pivotal moments. Winner of Spain’s Premio Nacional de Narrativa
“A tour de force . . . [Storr’s] dogged approach to nailing many of the most celebrated skeptics in lies and misrepresentations is welcome.” —Salon Why, that is, did the obviously intelligent man beside him sincerely believe in Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden and a six-thousand-year-old Earth, in spite of the evidence against them? It was the start of a journey that would lead Storr all over the world—from Texas to Warsaw to the Outer Hebrides—meeting an extraordinary cast of modern heretics whom he tries his best to understand. Storr tours Holocaust sites with famed denier David Irving and a band of neo-Nazis, experiences his own murder during “past life regression” hypnosis, discusses the looming One World Government with an iconic climate skeptic, and investigates the tragic life and death of a woman who believed her parents were high priests in a baby-eating cult. Using a unique mix of highly personal memoir, investigative journalism, and the latest research from neuroscience and experimental psychology, Storr reveals how the stories we tell ourselves about the world invisibly shape our beliefs, and how the neurological “hero maker” inside us all can so easily lead to self-deception, toxic partisanship and science denial. “The subtle brilliance of The Unpersuadables is Mr. Storr’s style of letting his subjects hang themselves with their own words.” —The Wall Street Journal “Throws new and salutary light on all our conceits and beliefs. Very valuable, and a great read to boot, this is investigative journalism of the highest order.” —The Independent, Book of the Week
Chastised by the Emperor, the Word Bearers set out on their own path - one that will eventually lead them to damnation and heresy… Distraught at the judgement of the Emperor, the Word Bearers cast their fury and fervour onto the battlefield. All the while they explore the old ways of Colchis, seeking their own path - one that can only lead to damnation and heresy…
Management techniques such as strategic planning, project management or operational budgeting, aim to reduce ambiguity and provide clarity. So it is one of the great ironies of modern corporate life that these techniques often end up doing the opposite: increasing ambiguity rather than reducing it.It is easy enough to understand why: organizations are complex entities and it is unreasonable to expect management models, such as those that fit neatly into a 2*2 matrix or a predetermined checklist, to work in the real world. Indeed, expecting them to work as advertised is akin to colouring a paint-by-numbers Mona Lisa with the expectation of recreating Da Vinci's masterpiece. Ambiguity has not been tamed: reality will still impose itself no matter how alluring the model is.Unfortunately, most of us have a deep aversion to situations that involve even a hint of ambiguity. Recent research in neuroscience has revealed the reason for this: ambiguity is processed in the parts of the brain which regulate our emotional responses. As a result, many people associate ambiguity with feelings of anxiety. When kids feel anxious, they turn to transitional objects such as teddy bears or security blankets, providing them with a sense of stability when situations or events seem overwhelming. We contend that as grown-ups, we don't actually stop using teddy bears - they take a different form. Backed by research, we illustrate that management models, fads and frameworks are akin to teddy bears . They provide the same sense of comfort and certainty to corporate managers and minions as real teddies do to distressed kids. This is not a problem in many cases. Children usually outgrow their need for a teddy, unless if development is disrupted or arrested in some way. If this happens, the transitional object can become a fetish - an object that is held on to with a pathological intensity, simply for the comfort that it offers in the face of ambiguity. The corporate reliance on simplistic solutions for the complex challenges faced is akin to little Johnny believing that everything will be OK provided he clings on to Teddy.Ambiguity is a primal force that drives much of our behaviour. It is typically viewed negatively - something to be avoided or to be controlled. The truth however, is that it is a force that can be used in positive ways too. The Force that gave the Dark Side their power in the Star Wars movies was harnessed by the Jedi in positive ways. Similarly, this new management book shows how ambiguous situations, so common in the corporate world, are processed by the brain, and the behaviours that often arise as a consequence. More importantly, though, it shows you how to harness that ambiguity to achieve outstanding results.
The Complete Heretic's Guide to Christmas by David Fitzgerald Pdf
The sharper-eyed readers among you may notice there are a few discrepancies between our two gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth and early years — both written by originally anonymous, admitted non-eyewitnesses, some generations after the fact (possibly in the very late first century, or more probably, the early to mid-second century). Matthew’s story reads like a suspenseful chase thriller: the real action doesn’t even begin until at least a year after Jesus is born. Amazingly, Matthew doesn’t even spend an entire sentence on the actual birth of Jesus, in fact, just five words tucked in one line: “…Jesus was born in Bethlehem…” Then the story goes into high gear with lots of dark happenings: Mysterious wise men from the East, a moving star, intrigue, an evil King’s plot, a late-night escape into Egypt, a horrific massacre, the holy family sneaking from place to place, on the run. Oh, and angels appearing in dreams. Lots of angels, appearing in lots of dreams. Matthew seems to have a great deal of firsthand knowledge of what was going on in peoples’ dreams — either that, or he has a very limited imagination when it comes to plot devices. By contrast, Luke’s story is all sunshine and light and full of cheerful details about Jesus’ wonderful birth and childhood. It’s really two stories, as he intermingles the nativity story of John the Baptist with the nativity story of Jesus, but both are angst-free tales filled with good things happening to happy people. In Matthew anonymous angels repeatedly appear by night in dreams to the menfolk, Joseph mostly. In Luke’s version, however, the angel Gabriel shows up in waking life to the women, one appearance to each. Unlike Matthew, who puts Jesus immediately on the run to Egypt to save his life, in Luke, everyone is instantly delighted with the Savior’s birth, including the prophets who publicly acclaim him before everyone in the Temple.
"Exploring the figure of the heretic in Catholic writings of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as well as the heretic's characterological counterpart in troubadour lyrics, Arthurian romance, and comic tales, Truth and the Heretic seeks to understand why French and Occitan literature of the period celebrated the very characters who were so persecuted in society at large. Karen Sullivan proposes that such literature allowed medieval culture a means by which to express truths about heretics and the epistemological anxieties they aroused." "The first book-length study of the figure of the heretic in medieval French and Occitan literature, Truth and the Heretic will fascinate historians of ideas and literature as well as scholars of religion, critical theory, and philosophy."--
A lively examination of the heretics who helped Christianity become the world’s most powerful religion. From Arius, a fourth-century Libyan cleric who doubted the very divinity of Christ, to more successful heretics like Martin Luther and John Calvin, this book charts the history of dissent in the Christian Church. As the author traces the Church’s attempts at enforcing orthodoxy, from the days of Constantine to the modern Catholic Church’s lingering conflicts, he argues that heresy—by forcing the Church to continually refine and impose its beliefs—actually helped Christianity to blossom into one of the world’s most formidable religions. Today, all believers owe it to themselves to grapple with the questions raised by heresy. Can you be a Christian without denouncing heretics? Is it possible that new ideas challenging Church doctrine are destined to become as popular as Luther’s once-outrageous suggestions of clerical marriage and a priesthood of all believers? A delightfully readable and deeply learned new history, Heretics overturns our assumptions about the role of heresy in a faith that still shapes the world. “Wright emphasizes the ‘extraordinarily creative role’ that heresy has played in the evolution of Christianity by helping to ‘define, enliven, and complicate’ it in dialectical fashion. Among the world’s great religions, Christianity has been uniquely rich in dissent, Wright argues—especially in its early days, when there was so little agreement among its adherents that one critic compared them to a marsh full of frogs croaking in discord.” —The New Yorker
In the chilling new crime novel from award-winning author Liam McIlvanney, a serial killer stalks the streets of Glasgow and Detective Inspector McCormack follows a trail of devastating secrets to uncover the truth ... Glasgow, 1969. In the grip of the worst winter for years, the city is brought to its knees by a killer whose name fills the streets with fear: The Quaker. He takes his next victim — the third woman from the same nightclub — and dumps her in the street like rubbish. The police are left chasing a ghost, with no new leads and no hope of catching their prey. DI McCormack, a talented young detective from the Highlands, is ordered to join the investigation. But his arrival is met with anger from a group of officers on the brink of despair. Soon he learns just how difficult life can be for an outsider. When another woman is found murdered in a tenement flat, it’s clear the case is by no means over. From ruined backstreets to the dark heart of Glasgow, McCormack follows a trail of secrets that will change the city — and his life — forever.
The Heretic is a novel of daring adventure, tender first love, religious persecution, and political intrigue. It tells the story of a family of secret Jews living in Seville on the eve of the Spanish Inquisition. "Don't start reading The Heretic unless you're prepared to put everything else aside...Powerful, riveting, and inspiring...a must read." - David A. Harris, American Jewish Committee "The Heretic is deeply absorbing, but it also helps Jews and Christians better understand their complex and often painful relationship." - Elie Wiesel "I found The Heretic and absorbing and challenging story." Bishop John J. Snyder, Bishop of the Diocese of Saint Augustine and a member of the U. S. Bishops Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs "A first-rate job of recreating the complex tragedy and drama of Jewish life in fifteenth-century Spain." -Jane S. Gerber, Institute for Sephardic Studies, University of New York "Compelling and emotional...an impassioned cry for tolerance that echoes through the centuries." -Monsignor Thomas J Hartman, Director of Radio and Television for the Diocese of Rockville Center and cohost of The God Squad
Monsters prey on the innocent. He preys on the monsters. As commander of the Echo Team, the Templar's most battle-hardened combat unit, Cade Williams spends his days working in the shadows, protecting mankind from supernatural threats and enemies. The public is unaware of the Order's existence, never mind the nature of the enemy they face and that's fine with Cade, for if it became common knowledge that monsters exist, chaos would result. But now the Order's mission and secrecy are threatened when unknown forces attack Templar commanderies in the dead of night, leaving destruction in their wake. Cade and his team are ordered to put an end to the attacks before the battle spills into the open, destroying the hard-won balance between the darkness and the light. By the time he gets to the bottom of it all, Cade will be neck deep in revenants, demons, and death magick. But the true nature of the forces arrayed against him will only be revealed when he comes face to face with an enemy from his own past, the creature known only as the Adversary.
Author : Matthew Stewart Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company Page : 346 pages File Size : 46,7 Mb Release : 2007-01-17 Category : Philosophy ISBN : 9780393071047
The Courtier and the Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the Modern World by Matthew Stewart Pdf
"Exhilarating…Stewart has achieved a near impossibility, creating a page-turner about jousting metaphysical ideas, casting thinkers as warriors." —Liesl Schillinger, New York Times Book Review Once upon a time, philosophy was a dangerous business—and for no one more so than for Baruch Spinoza, the seventeenth-century philosopher vilified by theologians and political authorities everywhere as “the atheist Jew.” As his inflammatory manuscripts circulated underground, Spinoza lived a humble existence in The Hague, grinding optical lenses to make ends meet. Meanwhile, in the glittering salons of Paris, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was climbing the ladder of courtly success. In between trips to the opera and groundbreaking work in mathematics, philosophy, and jurisprudence, he took every opportunity to denounce Spinoza, relishing his self-appointed role as “God’s attorney.” In this exquisitely written philosophical romance of attraction and repulsion, greed and virtue, religion and heresy, Matthew Stewart gives narrative form to an epic contest of ideas that shook the seventeenth century—and continues today.
Theodore Parker (1810-1860) was a powerful preacher who rejected the authority of the Bible and of Jesus, a brilliant scholar who became a popular agitator for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights, and a political theorist who defined democracy as "government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people--words that inspired Abraham Lincoln. Parker had more influence than anyone except Ralph Waldo Emerson in shaping Transcendentalism in America. In American Heretic, Dean Grodzins offers a compelling account of the remarkable first phase of Parker's career, when this complex man--charismatic yet awkward, brave yet insecure--rose from poverty and obscurity to fame and notoriety as a Transcendentalist prophet. Grodzins reveals hitherto hidden facets of Parker's life, including his love for a woman who was not his wife, and presents fresh perspectives on Transcendentalism. Grodzins explores Transcendentalism's religious roots, shows the profound religious and political issues at stake in the "Transcendentalist controversy," and offers new insights into Parker's Transcendentalist colleagues, including Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Bronson Alcott. He traces, too, the intellectual origins of Parker's epochal definition of democracy as government of, by, and for the people. The manuscript of this book was awarded the Allan Nevins Prize by the Society of American Historians.