At a moment when "freedom of religion" rhetoric fuels public debate, it is easy to assume that sex and religion have faced each other in pitched battle throughout modern U.S. history. Yet, by tracking the nation's changing religious and sexual landscapes over the twentieth century, this book challenges that zero-sum account of sexuality locked in a struggle with religion. It shows that religion played a central role in the history of sexuality in the United States, shaping sexual politics, communities, and identities. At the same time, sexuality has left lipstick traces on American religious history. From polyamory to pornography, from birth control to the AIDS epidemic, this book follows religious faiths and practices across a range of sacred spaces: rabbinical seminaries, African American missions, Catholic schools, pagan communes, the YWCA, and much more. What emerges is the shared story of religion and sexuality and how both became wedded to American culture and politics. The volume, framed by a provocative introduction by Gillian Frank, Bethany Moreton, and Heather R. White and a compelling afterword by John D'Emilio, features essays by Rebecca T. Alpert and Jacob J. Staub, Rebecca L. Davis, Lynne Gerber, Andrea R. Jain, Kathi Kern, Rachel Kranson, James P. McCartin, Samira K. Mehta, Daniel Rivers, Whitney Strub, Aiko Takeuchi-Demirci, Judith Weisenfeld, and Neil J. Young.

A history of the people who established the first Buddhist monastery outside of Asia.

A compilation of fifty essays from the popular "Modern Love" column in "The New York Times" explores the intricacies and complications of negotiating love and loss in the twenty-first century.

An exploration of the mysteries of love and marriage, pleasure and obligation--through the lens of cat ownership

Most of us know “how to” get healthy. Where things often fall apart is with our “want to.” In Lysa TerKeurst’s book Made to Crave, she helps women find the missing link between our desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. But when French fries are so close and God feels so far away, we need more than nineteen chapters to stay motivated and on track. That’s why Lysa wrote this daily devotional with sixty inspirational entries. There is plenty of new material not in the original book, as well as your favorite nuggets of wisdom from Made to Crave. In this devotional you will find: A daily opening Scripture Thought for the Day Devotion Closing prayer Just like the Made to Crave book, this Made to Crave Devotional is not a how-to-get-healthy book. It is the road to finding the lasting “want to” that extends far beyond the surface issues of weighing less and wanting to wear a smaller clothes size. There’s a spiritual battle going on. It’s real. And it’s amazing how perfectly the Bible gives us specific ways to find victory over our food struggles. Even for girls who don’t crave carrots.

Following Jesus is the greatest privilege of our lives. He has made it possible for us to grow closer to Him and stronger in our faith as a result. Jesus came to this earth and took on flesh, lived the perfect life, died death in our place to pay for our sin, and rose from the grave. In doing so, He secured victory over sin, Satan, and death and He shares His victory with all who trust in Him. Jesus lives in perfect unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit - one God in three Persons. Jesus is the Lord, Messiah, Savior, and ultimate hope for humanity. We were created to worship Him, walk with Him, and bring Him glory forever. He loves us and He assures His followers that He will be with us always. All Scripture is pointing our hearts toward Jesus and in the pages of this devotional series, we'll be looking at various Scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments and learning more about what it means to apply those Scriptures to our lives as an expression of our faith in Jesus. Our prayer is that Jesus will use the content of this devotional to encourage, refresh, and strengthen you in your daily walk with Him.

"There is a rich tradition of wonderful women and other contemplatives who are great resources for thinking differently about Christianity. They emphasized divine love, human compassion, and the radical possibilities of contemplative practices. They were not afraid to criticize the church and indeed thought of their challenge as crucial to their faith. We do not have to lose faith with the beautiful wisdom of this story of intimate and compassionate love, dwelling among us and within us, if we do not want to." —from the acknowledgments and note to readers To those seeking a more open, progressive approach to Christian faith, the Christian past can sometimes seem like a desert, an empty space devoid of encouragement or example. Yet in the latter years of the Middle Ages a quiet flowering of a more accessible, positive approach to Christian belief took place among a group of female mystics, those who emphasized an immediate, nonhierarchical experience of the divine. In this enlightening volume, Wendy Farley eloquently brings the work of three female mystics—Marguerite Porete, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Julian of Norwich—into creative conversation with contemporary Christian life and thought. From alternatives to the standard, violent understandings of the atonement, to new forms of contemplation and prayer, these figures offer us relevant insights through a theology centered on God's love and compassion. Farley demonstrates how these women can help to refresh and expand our awareness of the depth of divine love that encompasses all creation and dwells in the cavern of every human heart.