What makes a good life? The question is inherent to the human condition, asked by people across generations, professions, and social classes, and addressed by all schools of philosophy and religions. This search for meaning, as Yale faculty Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz argue, is at the crux of a crisis that is facing Western culture, a crisis that, they propose, can be ameliorated by searching, in one’s own life, for the underlying truth.

Inextricably linked with the fatwa called against its author in the wake of the novel’s publication, The Satanic Verses is, beyond that, a rich showcase for Salman Rushdie’s comic sensibilities, cultural observations, and unparalleled mastery of language. The book begins with two Indians plummeting from the sky after the explosion of their airliner, and proceeds through a series of metamorphoses, dreams and revelations.

Many believers feel stunted in their Christian growth. We beat ourselves up over our failures and, in the process, pull away from God because we subconsciously believe He tallies our defects and hangs His head in disappointment. In this new edition - now with a foreword by Michael W. Smith, testimony by Rich Mullins and the author's own epilogue, "Ragamuffin Ten Years Later," Brennan Manning reminds us that nothing could be further from the truth.

Where do we go when we die? Or is there nowhere to go? Is death something we can do or is it just something that happens to us? Now in his ninth decade, former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway, has spent a lifetime at the bedsides of the dying, guiding countless men and women towards peaceful deaths. In The Last Bus, he presents a positive, meditative and profound exploration of the many important lessons we can learn from death.

The Ripple Effect is about the phenomenal effect rippling through many lives that were moved to deep interest in what awaits us in heaven and how to live life on Earth. This is a challenging book because it details many strong graphic examples shared by listeners who found an outlet to express themselves and were looking for help.

In Kate Bowler’s bestselling memoir Everything Happens for a Reason, listeners witnessed the ways she, as a divinity-school professor and young mother, reckoned with a Stage IV cancer diagnosis; in her follow-up memoir, No Cure for Being Human, she unflinchingly and winsomely unpacked the ways that life becomes both hard and beautiful when we abandon certainty and the illusion of control in our lives.

After being married for less than a year, country music legend Alan Jackson’s daughter Mattie was faced with navigating a future that didn’t include her young husband and their lifelong plans. Ben Selecman passed away 12 days after a traumatic brain injury - and three weeks before celebrating his first anniversary with his wife. Twenty-eight-year-old Mattie had to find a way to move forward and reconcile herself with a good God, even when he did not give her the healing miracle she prayed for.

Following the death of his little sister and the publication of his New York Times best-selling memoir The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, Rod Dreher found himself living in the small community of Starhill, Louisiana, where he grew up. But instead of the fellowship he hoped to find, he discovered that fault lines within his family had deepened. Dreher spiraled into depression and a stress-related autoimmune disease.

The Bible is filled with examples of an intimate God, a God keenly interested in connecting with ordinary people. He promises to be with us. He says he will personally guide us. Yet somehow, intimacy with God eludes us. Caught up in the mainstream of life, we know we're missing something vital. But how do we attain it?

Twenty years ago, Jerry Sittser lost his daughter, wife, and mother in a car accident. He chronicled that tragic experience in A Grace Disguised, a book that has become a classic on the topic of grief and loss.

Now he asks: How do we live meaningfully, even fruitfully, in this world and at the same time long for heaven? How do we respond to the paradox of being a new creature in Christ even though we don’t always feel or act like one? How can we trust God is involved in our story when our circumstances seem to say he isn’t?

In this eloquent account of her current struggle with physical pain, Joni Eareckson Tada offers her perspective on divine healing, God’s purposes, and what it means to live with joy. Over four decades ago, a diving accident left Joni a quadriplegic. Today, she faces a new battle: unrelenting pain. The ongoing urgency of this season in her life has caused Joni to return to foundational questions about suffering and God’s will.

When you’re in the midst of suffering, you want answers for the unanswerable, resolutions to the unresolvable. But there is a pathway through this suffering. It’s not easy, but God will use it to lead you toward healing. This path is called lament. In the midst of your darkest times, you will discover that lament leads you back to a place of hope - not because lamenting does anything magical, but because God sings a louder song than suffering ever could, a song of renewal and restoration.

In her new book, Stasi Eldredge meets listeners in their painful realities and offers an invitation to a joy that is defiant in the face of this broken world. This joy does not Pollyannaish-ly ignore life's heartache; rather, it insists that sorrow and loss do not have the final say. This kind of joy is present to both goodness and grief and interprets them in the light of heaven.

As the effects of aggressive policing and mass incarceration harm historically marginalized communities and tear families apart, how do we define safety? In a time when the most powerful institutions in the United States are embracing the repressive and racist systems that keep many communities struggling and in fear, we need to reimagine what safety means. Community leader and lawyer Zach Norris lays out a radical way to shift the conversation about public safety away from fear and punishment and toward growth and support systems for our families and communities.

When Rabbi Naomi Levy came across this poignant letter by Einstein it shook her to her core. His words perfectly captured what she has come to believe about the human condition: That we are intimately connected, and that we are blind to this truth. Levy wondered what had elicited such spiritual wisdom from a man of science? Thus began a three-year search into the mystery of Einstein’s letter, and into the mystery of the human soul.

In her new book, Stasi Eldredge meets listeners in their painful realities and offers an invitation to a joy that is defiant in the face of this broken world. This joy does not Pollyannaish-ly ignore life's heartache; rather, it insists that sorrow and loss do not have the final say. This kind of joy is present to both goodness and grief and interprets them in the light of heaven.

Every one of us sooner or later walks through hell. The hell of being hurt, the hell of hurting another. The hell of cancer, the hell of a reluctant, thunking shovel full of earth upon the casket of someone we deeply loved, the hell of betrayal, the hell of betraying, the hell of divorce, the hell of a kid in trouble...the hell of knowing that this year, like any year, may be our last. We all walk through hell. The point is not to come out empty-handed.... There is real and profound power in the suffering we endure if we transform that suffering into a more authentic, meaningful life.

Every person who lives long enough will eventually encounter circumstances that are difficult to explain theologically. From years of counselling experience, Dr. James Dobson offers assurance of God's constant care, even when human suffering is beyond our comprehension.

For many people worry, anxiety, and fear are constant companions: fear of death, fear of danger, fear of disease. And too often these fears are crippling, keeping us from the lives God has called us to live. But it doesn't have to be that way, says Dr. David Jeremiah. As Christians we have been given all we need in order to face down even the most frightening, unexpected, and overwhelming obstacles in life.

In My Sisters the Saints, author Colleen Carroll Campbell blends her personal narrative of spiritual seeking, trials, stumbles, and breakthroughs with the stories of six women saints who profoundly changed her life: Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Faustina of Poland, Edith Stein of Germany, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and Mary of Nazareth. Drawing upon the rich writings and examples of these extraordinary women, the author reveals Christianity's liberating power for women and the relevance of the saints to the lives of contemporary Christians.

The need for change as we get older - an emotional pressure for one phase of our lives to transition into another - is a human phenomenon, neither male nor female. There simply comes a time in our lives - not fundamentally different from the way puberty separates childhood from adulthood - when it's time for one part of ourselves to die and for something new to be born.

This classic work of spirituality from the author of A Wrinkle in Time offers life-transforming insights on the rich heritage of the Bible and shows how the characters of this ancient text are relevant for living the good life now. In the first book of her Genesis Trilogy, beloved author Madeleine L'Engle casts long, loving, and perceptive glances not only at the created universe but also at its Creator.

Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To is a guidebook on how to pray effectively. All over the world, people are shaking their heads in frustration and asking, "Why doesn't God answer me when I cry out to him?" In light of all the problems we face in life, we want to know why God is so often "silent" when we pray. Anthony DeStefano knew there had to be an answer to this mystery, so he set out to find prayers that God says "yes" to all the time.

Many believers feel stunted in their Christian growth. We beat ourselves up over our failures and, in the process, pull away from God because we subconsciously believe He tallies our defects and hangs His head in disappointment. In this new edition - now with a foreword by Michael W. Smith, testimony by Rich Mullins and the author's own epilogue, "Ragamuffin Ten Years Later," Brennan Manning reminds us that nothing could be further from the truth.

When you’re in the midst of suffering, you want answers for the unanswerable, resolutions to the unresolvable. But there is a pathway through this suffering. It’s not easy, but God will use it to lead you toward healing. This path is called lament. In the midst of your darkest times, you will discover that lament leads you back to a place of hope - not because lamenting does anything magical, but because God sings a louder song than suffering ever could, a song of renewal and restoration.

Father Jonathan Morris has seen firsthand how our day-to-day lives are consumed with anxiety and stress as we focus on our failures and troubles while peace feels unattainable. When he rediscovered the Serenity Prayer, he realized that this little prayer can be a powerful road map for our spiritual journey toward God. As he began to share this prayer with others, he saw that living these simple lines became a source of profound peace and happiness.

Life is fragile. But hope in Christ lasts forever. We tend to go about our day to day routines imagining this earthly existence of ours will just go on and on. But it won’t. Our stay on earth is really very brief. And when a loved one unexpectedly steps out of this life into eternity, it shakes us to the core. We ask ourselves: Is heaven real? Will I see him–will I see her–again? Will we be together again? How can I know for sure?

God has dreams - just for you. Becoming Myself is a hope-filled audiobook for anyone who wonders if her life will ever change - if she will ever change. In Stasi Eldredge’s most intimate work yet, she shares her own struggles with self-worth, addiction, and her past as she shows listeners how God is faithfully bringing us to a life of freedom and wholeness. God desires to restore us, and he is able to restore us - the real us. As he heals our inner life he calls us to "rise to the occasion" of our lives.

"God, if you're real, make yourself real to me." Each of us spends our lives on a journey toward God. Yet often our most deeply felt longings - for meaning, for love, for significance - end up leading us away from instead of toward our Creator and the people he made us to be. Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to your longings in a whole new way.

With vulnerability and honesty, Jerry Sittser walks through his own grief and loss to show that new life is possible - one marked by spiritual depth, joy, compassion, and a deeper appreciation of simple and ordinary gifts. This 25th anniversary edition features a new introduction and two additional chapters, one which provides help for pastors and counselors.