Why Does God Punish Good People and Reward the Bad Guys?A relative of mine recently told me: "Uday, my husband has cancer - that too diagnosed in a very advanced stage. He is a good and pious man. He has helped everybody, loved everybody and done nothing wrong in his life. Still God has punished him..."When an innocent good student was brutally raped in Manipal, one of my friends told me "There are lots of girls who are frequently out at night spending time in pubs drinking and smoking till wee hours of morning - nothing happens to them. God is blind and there is no justice..."Once, a father of a newlywed daughter told me that his son-in-law was found to be totally immoral, drunkard, cheat and corrupt, with some diseases too. Whereas his daughter was a real gem of a human and he never ever thought God would cheat his daughter like this..."Such sad news always upsets me."Why is God so cruel?" they ask."World is unfair to me" is a popular complaint. Recently another friend of mine, Joyson Abraham, raised the same complaint."I understand that you follow certain set of principles in life. I know you follow all do's and don'ts as per your religion..." I said."Yes- still I had this shocking setback in life. My only son is suffering from Multiple Myeloma, bone-marrow cancer. We have been living a pious life..." his eyes welled up with tears. Every time when somebody cries or when I hear sad stories I can't control myself, it makes me cry.I told him: "I empathize with you. I can also feel the pain and pangs in you. So I also cry. But I recover fast. I know that you are a good man. But being good socially, legally, and spiritually (means religion-wise or cult-wise) doesn't necessarily mean you are cosmically good. Unfortunately we know nothing about cosmic rules and laws...""But the God told us how to live""The statements like 'God wants us to behave a certain way to receive rewards from him. Or God wants us to live in a certain way, else we will be sent to rotten hell' are either just fallacies of human mind or hallucinations of the very people who created such statements. No God would ever have come and told such things.""You mean to say there is no point in such beliefs of good and bad?""Joyson, it is good to have beliefs. Beliefs have placebo effects. But beliefs cannot be truth. The concept of 'God commands' is really poetic and philosophical imagination of some brilliant people, who must have considered themselves as prophets or God-sent-messengers. There is some truth in it. But mostly, all those set of principles are based on their CONCEPT of God. And the concepts are developed by the conditioning and learning that they had. Most of the concepts regarding God are similar to the story of the blind men and an elephant. Of course, they may have touched some part of cosmic secrets as 'God's words' but may not be in its entire form. Had they revealed the actual cosmic laws on good and bad, we would have had clear explanation to whatever happens in life...""So being good is no guarantee to...""When you say, being good, you have to add this: "I am being good based on the conditioning that I have about the good." It is subjective good but not cosmic good....""Life is so unfair and uncertain..." he said."The inconsistency of life makes it most beautiful. We do not know why bad things happen to good people like you. Our ego needs reasoning, so we find some stupid reasons to satisfy our ego. There could be many obvious reasons for bad things to happen, like genetic diseases, harm inflicted by others, natural calamities, accidents, financial losses. There may be intangible reasons like result of bad karma in this life or past. We do not know. It rains on everyone, irrespective of you being good or bad. Things happen whether you are good or not. There are ups and downs in life, irrespective of you being good or bad. Why should you associate it with your beliefs?"

Renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky offers a completely revised and updated edition of his most popular work, with over 225,000 copies in print Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet.

Louie Giglio helps you find encouragement, hope, and strength in the midst of any valley as you reject the enemy voices of fear, rage, lust, insecurity, anxiety, despair, temptation, or defeat. Scripture is clear: the Enemy is a liar who will stop at nothing to tempt you into poor decisions and self-defeating mindsets, making you feel afraid, angry, anxious, or defeated. It is all too easy for Satan to weasel his way into a seat at the table intended for only you and your King. But you can fight back. Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table outlines the ways to overcome those lies so you can find peace and security in any challenging circumstance or situation. With the same bold, exciting approach to Scripture as employed in Goliath Must Fall and his other previous works, pastor Louie Giglio examines Psalm 23 in fresh ways, highlighting verse 5: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." You can find freedom from insecurity, temptation, and defeat--if you allow Jesus, the Shepherd, to lead the battle for your mind and heart. This spiritual warfare book for those who are leery of spiritual warfare books will resonate with Louie's core Passion tribe as well as with Christians of all ages who want to live a triumphant life in God.

“Magoon’s exuberant art recalls classic characters, most particularly Max in his wolf suit…Fanciful pretend play for the dragon-slaying preschooler.” —Kirkus Reviews “The dark color palette and mischievous nature of the text are reminiscent of Jon Klassen’s I Want My Hat Back (2011)—albeit with a different final outcome.” —Booklist From the award-winning author of Warning: Do Not Open This Book! and beloved illustrator Scott Magoon comes a suspenseful and darkly funny new picture book about a creature who resists the urge to eat the animals that wander into his cave…at least for now! Theodore thinks everything is a potential meal. Lucky for the bird, wolf, and tiger, who pass by his cave, Theodore isn’t hungry…yet. But then something new approaches. A boy. Has Theodore found a new favorite food? Or something more?

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

Shawn Baker’s Carnivore Diet is a revolutionary, paradigm-breaking nutritional strategy that takes contemporary dietary theory and dumps it on its head. It breaks just about all the “rules” and delivers outstanding results. At its heart is a focus on simplicity rather than complexity, subtraction rather than addition, making this an incredibly effective diet that is also easy to follow. Carnivore Diet reviews some of the supporting evolutionary, historical, and nutritional science that gives us clues as to why so many people are having great success with this meat-focused way of eating. It highlights dramatic real-world transformations experienced by people of all types. Common disease conditions that are often thought to be lifelong and progressive are often reversed on this diet, and in this book, Baker discusses some of the theory behind that phenomenon as well. It outlines a comprehensive strategy for incorporating the Carnivore Diet as a tool or a lifelong eating style, and Baker offers a thorough discussion of the most common misconceptions about this diet and the problems people have when transitioning to it.

The New York Times bestseller by the acclaimed, bestselling author of Start With Why and Together is Better. Now with an expanded chapter and appendix on leading millennials, based on Simon Sinek's viral video "Millenials in the workplace" (150+ million views). Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work, feels trusted and valued during the day, then returns home feeling fulfilled. This is not a crazy, idealized notion. Today, in many successful organizations, great leaders create environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things. In his work with organizations around the world, Simon Sinek noticed that some teams trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. Other teams, no matter what incentives are offered, are doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure. Why? The answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general. "Officers eat last," he said. Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line. What's symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort--even their own survival--for the good of those in their care. Too many workplaces are driven by cynicism, paranoia, and self-interest. But the best ones foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a "Circle of Safety" that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside. Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories that range from the military to big business, from government to investment banking.