This is a remarkable account of a personal journey exploring the evidence for, and far-reaching implications of, human evolution. It is also a powerful inside look at the experience of lecturing on controversial matters at the academic meccas of America. In 1964, Raymond Nogar, a Dominican Scholar Priest and author of the highly regarded book, The Wisdom of Evolution, set out on a ten campus tour that took him to the Universities of Illinois, California, Stanford, North Carolina, Harvard, Michigan and Notre Dame, among others. The Lord of the Absurd is not a collection of Nogar's Lectures, but rather a series of reflections about interaction with audiences, challenging modes of thinking, understanding the risk of unsettling ideas, and the deepening of the author's own convictions in the very presentation of his lectures. He came to realize that the "transforming effect of speaking, in its most creative phases, calls forth much more interpersonal existence, one in which the speaker, the listener and the word are caught up in a drama of human experience which reinterprets the world and gives directions to an existence which otherwise would remain utterly senseless." One sees in Nogar's reflections on his lecture experiences a progressive deepening of his own thought and spirituality. The same evidence for human evolution that has led some to atheism and a view of existence itself as Absurd, the result of nothing more than chance, circumstance and complexity, leads Nogar to a deeper appreciation of the mystery of creation. He acknowledges that the human situation is filled with frivolity and fate, wonders and strangeness and happenings whose apparent meaninglessness pose a dilemma. But, for Nogar, it was exactly in that human situation that Christ presented himself. His life, death and resurrection show him not as the Lord of cosmic order but as Lord of the Absurd. This book can be read with profit by anyone who wishes to probe the truly profound questions of life.

Are you ready for something Absolutely Absurd? The tenth book in Ripley’s wildly successful Curioddities series offers more than 1,200 incredible stories of the hard to believe, the hard to swallow, and the hard to miss! From Romeo, a Bengal cat who rides a skateboard, to musician Oz Bayldon’s super-cool gig at the 21,825-foot summit of Mera Peak in the Himalayas, you won’t believe the jaw-dropping facts, stories, and photos contained in every one of this book’s 384 full-color pages. From cover to cover, Absolutely Absurd! is filled to the brim with Ripley’s fun for all ages. Welcome to Ripley’s world of the Absolutely Absurd! This brand-new installment in the bestselling Curioddities series features even more of the amazing stories, astounding full-color photos, and incredible facts Ripley’s is famous for. Is pop culture your thing? Discover Lord of the Rings fan Jeremy Telford’s very own Hobbit Hole—which he built out of 2,600 balloons! Love animals? Meet Buddy, the five legged and five-pawed dog! From food to sports and everything in between, you’ll find something to amaze and astound you on every one of this book’s 384 pages. A must-have for Ripley fans and perfect for reluctant readers of all ages, you won’t believe what you’ll find in Absolutely Absurd!

How to Appear Normal at Social Events is an oddly cheering book of illustrated lists. Largely based on Lord Birthday's popular Instagram account, the book offers excessively absurd, occasionally wise advice on topics ranging from finding your life's purpose to defending yourself against forest clowns. (Hint: Set an oatmeal trap.)

Your life is filled with pressure and pain and heartache and disappointment. So was His. If you’ve ever tried to pick up the shattered pieces of your life and put them back together again without help, you know it’s an impossible task. When you lose your job, when divorce divides your family, when a loved one commits suicide, or when cancer claims a friend, it’s easy to lose perspective and abandon hope. According to Jon Weece, Christianity does not require you to smile through your pain, much less praise God for tormenting you. God doesn’t enjoy your suffering. But he does understand it—and he knows exactly how to fix it. That’s what Me Too is all about: A God who turned the ugliness of the cross into a spectacle of eternal beauty. An all-powerful Lord who will do the same with the pain of this world. An eternal Father who specializes in wiping away tears and putting you back together again. If you’ll allow him.

Packed full of stories about the human condition, this book of insightful sermons based largely on texts from Paul's letter to the Romans will be invaluable to preachers, teachers, and laypersons. Readers will serendipitously find marvelous results when one acts in faith on the "absurd" notion that God loves us unconditionally. These messages from an outstanding preacher demonstrate that when we follow the example of Paul and faithfully try to become what God created us to be, wonderful things begin to happen! Gary Carver moves beyond those who find Paul's words to be complex and rigid. He gives to us examples in which Paul's timeless and deep theological concepts are used to address the struggles of contemporary Christians sensitively.... From teenage athletes to contacts in Alcoholics Anonymous to couples struggling with marriage and a host of other human experiences, Carver profoundly recalls experiences that illustrate Paul's insistence that one can experience a changed life in Christ. (from the Foreword) Harold C. Warlick Jr. Professor of Religion and Minister to the University High Point University With a scholarly understanding of the Pauline writings, Gary Carver uses his masterful skills as a storyteller to bring the biblical accounts to life. His treatment of each passage is brought to a climax with probing ethical insight and deeply moving personal application. Both laypersons and preachers will benefit greatly from a reading of these prophetic sermons laced with marvelous illustrations. Thomas H. Graves President, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond To experience the preaching of Gary Carver is to find oneself in a gallery of living illustrations, all pointing to Jesus Christ. No cookie-cutter preacher, this gifted communicator is endowed both with uncommon insight into the human predicament and God's absurdly fetching grace. Read this book and discover God's spirit calling you to a more meaningful, involved following of Jesus. Timothy L. Owings Pastor, First Baptist Church Augusta, Georgia Gary Carver has a vivid sense of the wonder God creates in everyday life, and he has a keen eye for the human condition.... His insight into the Bible and into the heart of its stories always finds the underlying story of hope, even in the most hopeless-looking of situations. His discoveries, then, make it seem quite natural and sensible to "act on the absurd." Dudley Rose Director of Field Education Harvard Divinity School Gary L. Carver is pastor of First Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has also served as pastor of churches in Alabama and Indiana. Carver is a graduate of Samford University (B.A.) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. and D.Min.) and has done additional graduate study at Candler School of Theology and Harvard Divinity School. He has been widely published in a variety of church and clergy publications, and is the author of Distinctively Different and Out From the Ordinary (CSS).

What is a suitable genre to describe the post-9/11 era mired in wars, violence, and unspeakable horror? What kind of literary expressions and techniques are appropriate to give voice to the prevalence of global anguish in the post-9/11 scenario? Is the Theatre of the Absurd a viable option for the expression of the incongruity of the unspeakable horror unleashed after 9/11? Is the term ‘absurd’ applicable to this era? If yes, in what terms is this applicable? This book tries to find answers to these questions and many more. It reflects on the epistemological shifts in the avant-garde tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd, its ongoing critical currency in contemporary history, and its changing contours in the post-9/11 plays of Rajiv Joseph, an emerging American dramatist. It establishes the continued relevance of the Theatre of the Absurd at the current juncture of human history.

Neil Cornwell's study, while endeavouring to present an historical survey of absurdist literature and its forbears, does not aspire to being an exhaustive history of absurdism. Rather, it pauses on certain historical moments, artistic movements, literary figures and selected works, before moving on to discuss four key writers: Daniil Kharms, Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien. The absurd in literature will be of compelling interest to a considerable range of students of comparative, European (including Russian and Central European) and English literatures (British Isles and American) – as well as those more concerned with theatre studies, the avant-garde and the history of ideas (including humour theory). It should also have a wide appeal to the enthusiastic general reader.