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Spirituality and Religion May 2024
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| Cloistered: My Years as a Nun by Catherine ColdstreamIn this candid and thought-provoking memoir, former nun Catherine Colstream reflects on her time as a Carmelite at Akenside Priory in northern England, the circumstances that motivated her to join the order, and the internal conflicts that eventually led to her departure. |
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| To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People by Noah FeldmanWell-researched, accessible, and timely, this sobering exploration of modern Judaism surveys the religion's different schools of thought, practice, and identity. Don't miss: the discussions of Israel as a concept and as a modern nation-state, which the author takes great pains to differentiate between while encouraging readers to confront issues like nationalism and the ongoing war in Palestine. |
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| Judaism is About Love: Recovering the Heart of Jewish Life by Shai HeldIn this moving and persuasive look at prevailing narratives about Christianity and Judaism, author Rabbi Shai Held pushes back against the idea that the former is about belief while the latter is about action; or that Christianity is more defined by love and Judaism by law. Recommended for readers looking to deepen the spiritual experience of their Jewish practice and reconnect it with God's love. |
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The Life of the Qur'an : From Eternal Roots to Enduring Legacy
by Mohamad Jebara
Based on extensive scholarship, an innovative biography of the central text of Islam Over a billion copies of the Qur`an exist, yet it remains an enigma. Its classical Arabic language resists simple translation, and its non-linear style of abstract musings defies categorization. Moreover, those who champion its sanctity and compete to claim its mantle offer widely diverging interpretations of its core message at times with explosive results. Building on his intimate portrait of the Qur`an's prophet in Muhammad the World-Changer, Mohamad Jebara returns with a vivid profile of the book itself. While viewed in retrospect as the grand scripture of triumphant empires, Jebara reveals how the Qur`an unfolded over 22 years amidst intense persecution, suffering, and loneliness. The Life of the Qur`an recounts this vivid drama as a biography examining the book's obscured heritage, complex revelation, and contested legacy. The Qur`an re-emerges with clarity as a dynamic life force that seeks to inspire human beingsto unleash their dormant potential despite often-overwhelming odds, in order to transform themselves and the world
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| Somehow: Thoughts on Love by Anne LamottReligious memoir mainstay Anne Lamott brings her well-established candor and thoughtfulness to this examination of love in its many forms, from the parental to sacred to the love of one's community. Who it's for: established fans of Lamott's work. Newer readers might want to start with her other titles like Help Thanks Wow or Traveling Mercies. |
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| The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammonNPR correspondent Sarah McCammon examines the recent, relatively sharp decline in membership in evangelical churches, drawing interviews with others who left their churches and on her own experience being raised in a strict religious environment. Don't miss: the exploration of how responding to large cultural shifts has shaped evangelical churches since the 1970s. |
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| God's Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible by Candida MossEngaging and richly detailed, God's Ghostwriters looks at Christianity and the crucial role that enslaved people played in spreading the faith and even compiling the the Bible to begin with, with a particular focus on the inescapable role that Roman imperial rule played in keeping people in bondage. |
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| Reading Genesis by Marilynne RobinsonJust as she does in her fiction, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson pairs her love of literature with her interest in theology in this thought-provoking close reading of the book of Genesis. Topics include: the "show, don't tell" storytelling rule of thumb, character archetypes as applied to biblical figures, and concepts like grace and justice. |
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| Imagine Freedom: Transforming Pain into Political and Spiritual Power by Rahiel TesfamariamGrounded in her history with liberation theology, journalist, activist, and minister Rahiel Tesfamariam urges Black Americans to reconnect with continental Africans as a means of decolonizing the mind, body, and spirit and to explore Christian ideas of resilience, resistance, and redemption. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Oswego Public Library District Montgomery Campus - 1111 Reading Drive, 60538Oswego Campus - 32 West Jefferson, 60543 (630) 554-3150 https://www.oswego.lib.il.us/
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