Trappist monk Thomas Merton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Merton) wrote more than 70 books on spirituality, social justice and quiet pacifism. In No Man is an Island, he provides meditations on the spiritual life in sixteen thoughtful essays, beginning with his classic treatise ‘Love Can Be Kept Only by Being Given Away.’ This sequel to Seeds of Contemplation (1949) […]
No Man is an Island by Thomas Merton Read More »
In Defence of Wonder is a set of lively and provocative essays. Polymath Raymond Tallis (http://www.raymondtallis.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Tallis) exposes woolly thinking and pulls the rug from beneath a wide range of commentators whether scientist, theologian, philosopher, or pundit. He takes to task much of contemporary science and philosophy, arguing that they are guilty of taking us down every narrowing
In Defence of Wonder by Raymond Tallis Read More »
The problem of the ultimate causes of evil, especially human strife and suffering, has agitated people’s minds from the beginning of history. The problem was particularly acute for the Christian tradition, with its faith in an all-loving and all-powerful God. A whole branch of theology, ‘theodicy’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy), developed to deal with this problem. Good recommendations
The Evolution of Evil by Timothy Anders Read More »
Eighty year old Wilbur Smith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilbur_Smith and http://www.wilbursmithbooks.com/) has won fans the world over for his heart-racing novels that span continents and centuries. Incredibly, he has been publishing books for nearly fifty years. His novels have hit bestseller lists in the United States – and everywhere else – and sold 120 million copies. As a writer of action-adventure
John Leslie Mackie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._L._Mackie) gives a carefully considered account of the arguments for and against the existence of God. His view is that, in the light of these arguments, it is a miracle that theism persists. The book has two main parts. In the first we get a discussion of the traditional arguments for the existence
The Miracle of Theism by J.L. Mackie Read More »
The discovery of the nucleus transformed the twentieth century and will revolutionize this one. Nuclear physics is one of the most exciting—and useful—branches of science. In medicine, it helps save lives through innovative medical technologies, such as the MRI, and in nuclear astrophysics, state-of-the-art theoretical and computer models account for how stars shine and describe how
This inspiring and fascinating memoir, subtitled, ‘The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist,’ The Long Loneliness is the late Dorothy Day’s compelling autobiographical testament to her life of social activism and her spiritual pilgrimage. A founder of the Catholic Worker Movement and long-time associate of Peter Maurin, Dorothy Day was eulogized in the New
The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day Read More »
This is the definitive biography of one of the Christian Church’s most prominent figures. St. Augustine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Augustine) was born in A.D. 354 in the town of Thagaste in North Africa to a pagan father and a Christian mother. From these inauspicious beginnings, he would eventually become one of the most influential thinkers in the history of the
Augustine of Hippo by Peter Brown Read More »
Why is belief so hard to shake? Despite our best attempts to embrace rational thought and reject superstition, we often find ourselves appealing to unseen forces that guide our destiny, wondering who might be watching us as we go about our lives, and imagining what might come after death. In this lively and masterfully argued
The Belief Instinct by Jesse Bering Read More »
