Laurie Guy provides an illuminating, broad-brush survey of the early church in its first four centuries. Readers get to witness the emergence of Great Tradition Christianity as themes unfold over time regarding women, persecution and martyrdom, asceticism and monasticism, eucharist and baptism, doctrine and the ecumenical councils.

In this twelve-session LifeGuide® Bible Study, Stephen Eyre introduces what you need to know about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, human nature, sin, salvation, holiness, the church, mission, revelation and the last things.

Displays of devout religious faith are very much in evidence in nineteenth-century sentimental novels such as Uncle Tom's Cabin and Little Women, but the precise theological nature of this piety has been little examined. In the first dedicated study of the religious contents of sentimental literature, Claudia Stokes counters the long-standing characterization of sentimental piety as blandly nondescript and demonstrates that these works were in fact groundbreaking, assertive, and highly specific in their theological recommendations and endorsements. The Altar at Home explores the many religious contexts and contents of sentimental literature of the American nineteenth century, from the growth of Methodism in the Second Great Awakening and popular millennialism to the developing theologies of Mormonism and Christian Science. Through analysis of numerous contemporary religious debates, Stokes demonstrates how sentimental writers, rather than offering simple depictions of domesticity, instead manipulated these scenes to advocate for divergent new beliefs and bolster their own religious authority. On the one hand, the comforting rhetoric of domesticity provided a subtle cover for sentimental writers to advance controversial new beliefs, practices, and causes such as Methodism, revivalism, feminist theology, and even the legitimacy of female clergy. On the other hand, sentimentality enabled women writers to bolster and affirm their own suitability for positions of public religious leadership, thereby violating the same domestic enclosure lauded by the texts. The Altar at Home offers a fascinating new historical perspective on the dynamic role sentimental literature played in the development of innumerable new religious movements and practices, many of which remain popular today.

The USDA Forest Service revises its Strategic Plan according to the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act (Public Law 103-62). The goals and objectives included in the Strategic Plan are developed from natural resource trend data (Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act) and public input such as the results from this survey. The purpose of this report is to present results from the second version of this survey (RMRS-GTR-95). A random sample of the American public was asked about their objectives for the management of public lands and beliefs about the role the USDA Forest Service should play in fulfilling those objectives. Major findings include, but are not limited to: (a) The public sees the protection of ecosystems and habitats as an important objective and role for the agency; (b) There is a lack of support for developing new paved roads; (c) Managing motorized recreation is a high priority objective; (d) There is support for allowing diverse uses; (e) On average, the public is neutral with respect to expanding energy and mineral production, timber production, and livestock grazing; (f) Reducing the spread of invasive species is supported; and (g) Using management tools to reduce wildfires is an important objective and an appropriate role for the agency.

Conceptual change research investigates the processes through which learners substantially revise prior knowledge and acquire new concepts. Tracing its heritage to paradigms and paradigm shifts made famous by Thomas Kuhn, conceptual change research focuses on understanding and explaining learning of the most the most difficult and counter-intuitive concepts. Now in its second edition, the International Handbook of Research on Conceptual Change provides a comprehensive review of the conceptual change movement and of the impressive research it has spawned on students’ difficulties in learning. In thirty-one new and updated chapters, organized thematically and introduced by Stella Vosniadou, this volume brings together detailed discussions of key theoretical and methodological issues, the roots of conceptual change research, and mechanisms of conceptual change and learner characteristics. Combined with chapters that describe conceptual change research in the fields of physics, astronomy, biology, medicine and health, and history, this handbook presents writings on interdisciplinary topics written for researchers and students across fields.