"This is a book on science for Christians... However, you don't have to be a contemplative trinitarian Christian to find its basic metaphysical argument understandable. Everyone has to face the questions of the One and the Many, the infinite and the finite. My hope is to show religious readers that scientific knowledge of the natural world (which includes people and people's cultures) is important, is part of our religious life, our practice, the way we live the divine life." --From the Introduction

Ecstasy, or extasis, is the Greek term for trance, and is linked with a pleasurable, God-given state of out-of-body experience recorded throughout the New Testament and the church age. Starting with the apostles ecstatic experiences on Pentecost, the Book of Acts further records trances in the lives of Peter and Paul. From the early church to the Christian mystics of the Middle Ages and the famous revivalists of centuries present, God s movements on the earth have always been marked by these supernatural experiences. In this book, John Crowder takes us on a journey from Old Testament ecstatic prophets such as Samuel and Elijah, to the future ecstatics who will usher in a massive wave of harvest Glory to the streets in these last days. God has always wanted a people who live in the Heavens, even as they walk on the Earth. And the world is hungry for the demonstration of a gospel of supernatural power that flows from a life of divine pleasure. More than a state of mind, you will see how the nature of God s ecstasy is found in the joy, bliss and inner raptures of His presence. In this book, you will be encouraged to drink from the river of His pleasure! (Ps. 36:8)

Shiva and Dionysus are the Hindu and Greek gods of magical power, intoxication, ecstatic sexuality, and transcendence who initiate us into communion with the creative forces of life. Revealing the earliest sources of the traditions of Shiva and Dionysus, Alain Danielou reconstructs the fabric of our ancient relationship with creation, vividly relating practices that were observed from the Indus Valley to the coasts of Portugal at least six thousand years ago.

Foreword by Eugene H. Peterson Countering the generic "spirituality" so popular today, Edith Humphrey presents an authentic Christian spirituality that draws on Scripture and the profound riches of the Christian tradition -- Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant. Humphrey shows how Christian spirituality is rooted in the Trinity, in the ecstasy ("going out" of oneself) and intimacy (profound closeness with another) marking the relations between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The book embodies a banquet of excerpts from the greatest spiritual writers in history -- such luminaries as St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, Julian of Norwich, St. Teresa of vila, the Wesley brothers, Thomas Merton, and Alexander Schmemann. Humphrey's elegant prose, laced with stories and images from her own life, beautifully uncovers the ways in which God's trinitarian life informs all human communion. Each chapter ends with questions for further reflection and discussion.

Sex Roles and the Madness of Dionyos.

A leading yoga researcher offers a clear and lively introduction to the history, philosophy, and practice of the Tantric spiritual tradition Tantra—often associated with Kundalini Yoga—is a fundamental dimension of Hinduism, emphasizing the cultivation of “divine power” (shakti) as a path to infinite bliss. Tantra has been widely misunderstood in the West, however, where its practices are often confused with eroticism and licentious morality. Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy dispels many common misconceptions, providing an accessible introduction to the history, philosophy, and practice of this extraordinary spiritual tradition. The Tantric teachings are geared toward the attainment of enlightenment as well as spiritual power and are present not only in Hinduism but also Jainism and Vajrayana Buddhism. In this book, Georg Feuerstein offers readers a clear understanding of authentic Tantra, as well as appropriate guidance for spiritual practice and the attainment of higher consciousness.

Is There a Purpose to Suffering And Loss? We only have to live to see or experience how agonizing life can be. We are surrounded by child abuse and neglect, starving families, premature deaths of those we love, natural disasters and global disease. How could a God worthy of respect and worship allow such a world to exist? There are no simple answers. But there is hope. For, claims author Jim McGuiggan, suffering may in fact be the last thing we expect–an expression of God’s wrath, which in turn is nothing other than his relentless, loving pursuit of us. If this is true, then suffering is a vital part of God’s work to redeem his creation. Give this claim a hearing, and you just might see the suffering world in a new way–a world shot through with glory and hope and assurance.