Filmmaker David Lynch's work is viewed here as patriotic and Puritanical. This Lynch is an idealistic conservative on a reformer's mission. Lynch promotes a return to the values inherent in a mythological America, but he indulges in a voyeuristic pleasure which he simultaneously condemns. Like Jeffrey peeking through the slats of Dorothy's closet in Blue Velvet, the viewer of Lynch's work is a rationalist plagued by his dreams; intrigued and repulsed, fascinated and judgmental, he both craves and resists cultural assimilation. Works presented include all features from Eraserhead to Mulholland Drive, shorts such as The Amputee and The Grandmother, and contributions to television such as Hotel Room and, of course, Twin Peaks. This study develops an idea of Lynch's politics, analyzes his work, and explores Lynch's paradox of condemning an immoral world through disturbing images and concepts, and touches on such points as the identifiable figure of evil in his works as well as the archetypes of the nymphet, well-meaning traditionalist, and struggling ethicist. Also included are a history of moralistic criticism in American literature and a review of existing Lynch criticism within this context.

Lesbian clergy today face a multiplicity of challenging issues. In Out in the Pulpit, author Dr. Pamela Pater-Ennis utilizes the intersecting concepts found in social work and theology as an interpretive framework to dissect and discuss these issues. Pater-Ennis addresses the questions of the theoretical constructs of the social identity theory, ecological theory, and the anti-oppressive theory. She’s compiled the data from interviews, utilizing modified grounded theory and listening guide methodologies to give “voice” to the lesbian clergy and the challenges they faced because of their religious, spiritual, and sexual identities. Out in the Pulpit, a qualitative study, offers new insights into the current debate about the inclusion or exclusion of lesbian clergy in four Protestant, mainline denominations: The Reformed Church in America, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and the United Church of Christ. While lesbian clergy remain marginalized in each of these denominations, this study reveals the positive contributions made to the church and society by those who remain active in their denominations and utilize their abilities to benefit their congregations. It is an encouraging book of redemption for lesbians and their allies who have struggled to find their place in the church.

Agency and Imagination in the Films of David Lynch: Philosophical Perspectives offers a sustained philosophical interpretation of the filmmaker’s work in light of classic and contemporary discussions of human agency and the complex relations between our capacity to act and our ability to imagine. With the help of the pathological characters that so often leave their unforgettable mark on Lynch’s films, this book reveals several important ways in which human beings fail to achieve fuller embodiments of agency or seek substitute satisfactions in spaces of fantasy. In keeping with Lynch’s penchant for unconventional narrative techniques, James D. Reid and Candace R. Craig explore the possibility, scope, and limits of the very idea of agency itself and what it might be like to renounce concepts of agency altogether in the interpretation and depiction of human life. In a series of interlocking readings of eight feature-length films and Twin Peaks: The Return that combine suggestive philosophical analysis with close attention to cinematic detail, Reid and Craig make a convincing case for the importance of David Lynch’s work in the philosophical examination of agency, the vagaries of the human imagination, and the relevance of film for the philosophy of human action. Scholars of film studies and philosophy will find this book particularly useful.

This 12 volume set now in one volume. It is contains concise comments and sermon outlines, perfect for preaching, teaching. It has perspective on a passage for any lay person, or teacher More than 100 authors wrote short essays, sermon outlines, and sermon illustrations for selected verses of the Bible. Some of the authors are Thomas Arnold supporter of the Broad Anglican Church Movement, Rev. F.D. Maurice and John William Burgon Dean of Chichester Cathedral. James Nisbet compiled and edited the Church Pulpit Commentary.

Todd McGowan studies Lynch's talent for blending the bizarre and the normal to emphasise the odd nature of normality itself. In Lynch's movies, fantasy becomes a means through which the viewer is encouraged to build a revolutionary relationship with the world.