Philosophy of Religion Books

Cheryl Simone captures the heart of the seeker. After chapter 2, the book was un-put-downable.
I was drawn to an early book by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa about 15 years ago. The mysticism and depth of the book left a sweet hauting for the inner-dimension. Sadhguru's message as related by Cheryl has rekindled that longing and provides a doorway to reach a living self-realized being. Cheryl's keen sense of questioning provides the depth of his message. I am now reading through his other book 'Mystic Musings' and this is just as captivating as 'Midnights with the Mystic'.Mystic¿s Musings

I have to thank my friend and sister for giving me this book. It changed my life. It is written so simply and eloquently that you cannot ignore the meaning. I read this book over the summer and there began my love affair with Isha and Sadhguru and all of the meditators. I have had a great opportunity to do two classes with Isha and Sadhguru myself and it has changed my life. I am bliss and it is me. I am letting go of past behaviors and letting in love and light. What can be better than that. Read this book as an introduction and just maybe it will let you enter into a whole new realm of possibility.

I thought I had read everything I needed to know after reading the "Power of Now" and "A new earth" but this book opened up a completely new dimension within myself. The contents in this book compelled me to sing up for a couple of Isha programs. I've finally found my inner peace and my life will never be the same again.

This book will take u from a basic place of seeking and straight through a place where your life can really go places. The insight and light that it sheds is second to none & very much straight to the point. Just from reading the book I felt perked up I didn't want to put it down & trust me, I'm not much of a reader. This book became the 6th book I've ever completed in my life so if I can get through it, anyone can.

This book served me as inspirational as well motivational for me to take my life into a different place to where it was & I'm sure I will not be the only one.

All I can say is, if your searching for something or you feel something is missing in your life, if your not happy, if your spiritual and want to experience what what the spiritual books talk about or just stuck in a rut and need something to change or need inspiration, then STOP RIGHT THERE! This book is definitely for you!

This book has done what no other book, video or talk has done & I can categorically say, my life has changed & IS in a much better place. I hope you enjoy it and get something that will help you in your life's journey as well.

I read this book in two sittings. Having participated in programs lead by Sadhguru in the past, I always find it wonderful to spend time in his presence. This book is no exception. While reading, you are transported along the bonfire with Sadhguru and Cheryl -- taking part the journey with them. This book is only a beginning, an introduction to Sadhguru. Sadhguru has also created Isha Yoga Inner Engineering Introduction programs in over 15 cities throughout the US and Canada. You can read this book and if you want more you can find it and most importantly experience it! Just this past weekend over 600 people were in Tennessee as Sadhguru came to consecrate a new +1000 person meditation hall, Mahima (Grace) at the Isha Institute for Inner Sciences.

I thought this book would explain all the Spiritual Symbols of Revelation mystically in the mass. I thought by not being Catholic I had missed some huge chunk of Spiritual understanding and that's why the Revelation of Jesus Christ was still pretty crytpic to me.

So I took a chance on buying this book and actually read it even.

There's one good point that was wonderful about the "It is Finished" and what that means.

But as for the book of Revelation being explained in the mass -- that's not what this book is about.

It basically says that because Catholic "Priests" dress kind of like Levitical priests the mass is "explaining" Revelation.

That because Catholic "Priests" are celibate -- in theory anyways -- like the 144,000 that is "explaining" Revelation.

"It was only when I began attending Mass that the many parts of this puzzling book suddenly began to fall into place" (p. 66)

"Where can we find priests in vestments staning before an altar?...Where do we encounter men consecrated to celibary?...Where else but in the Catholic Church, and most particularly in the Mass." (p. 89)

That because Catholic priests lift the phsyical symbols of "bread and wine" it actually becomes the "lamb of God."

"...the Real Persence of Jesus' body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine;" (p. 30)

"...taking special care to transmit the words of institution, the words that transform the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ..." (p. 37)

And on and on.

It explains nothing but instead assumes that a cheap "flesh" copy of what's written spiritually in the book of Revelation (the Mass) somehow explains the book of Revelation.

Don't even baby Christians know that the bread and the wine are symbols of eating the pure word of God and drinking "spiritual understanding" with it?

You can eat crackers and drink wine till the cows come home -- but until you understand the word of God spiritually you won't be transformed into the divine. Crackers and wine are a snack and a symbol of the spiritual reality of communion with God. Not the literal thing. Just like literal baptism does nothing. It's a symbol of drowning Adam and washing your new self with the word of God. They're all just symbols of spiritual realities.

The letter kills but the spirit gives life. I thought that meant not to read the bible literally but "spiritually".

A literal copy of imitating the book of Revelation is exactly how you're NOT supposed to read it.

This book reminded me why I quit being a Catholic.

Spirit has no Mass only the Material does.

This book changed my life. I read it in one weekend, and I was so excited about it that I kept reading parts of it to my husband. He found it to be so interesting and compelling that he did something I had been praying for (for a very long time). He got up the next Sunday and went to Mass with me. Six weeks later, he is attending every week. And we sit in Church and point out to each other the parts from Revelation. The Mass has turned into an amazing and exciting experience for us! By the way, God put this book into my hands. I had asked our local used book store to call me if they got any of the Scott Hahn books in - and this was the book that found it's way into my home!

Dr. Hahn has gone above and beyound in great detail with love in explaining step by step how the Mass is from the Word of God! If you didn't know or wanted a better understanding about the Mass and the Eucharist, this book is a tell all in detail and backed up with scripture. A must read!!!

This book was written by an world renowned Catholic theologian and Biblical Professor who is himself a convert to the Catholic faith. If you are a Catholic, attending Mass will never be the same again. This book finally explains why things are said and done during the Mass. He quotes scriptures from the Old Testament prophesies, and shows fulfillment of those prophesies in scriptures found in the New Testament. His factual information takes the Catholic Church to its beginning with Jesus Christ, and confirms without a doubt that the Mass is the supreme sacrifice to God. Non-Catholics and non-believers can also benefit from this book, especially from an historical perspective. After reading this book, I invite my non-Catholic friends to attend a Catholic Mass (you will not be able to receive Holy Communion), and experience first hand the ultimate perfect offering to God!

This is an excellent book to understand what we celebrate in Holy Mass and book of Revelation in Holy Bible.

Regards,
Manoj Devassy

You should be able to read this one in no time; hard to put down! The author is sincere.

Fresh Wind Fresh Fire reminds you of all that is really important. It will take you back to why you loved God in the first place and reignite your relationship with him.

Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire: What Happens When God's Spirit Invades the Hearts of His People

This is the story of a church and a man who fulfill the purpose of showing God to a weary world. The emphasis on prayer is what is needed in a day when so many worship the minister or the program. If we prayed more, we would worship God more and would know how to present him to a needy world.

I was given this book to read by a friend at my church, and I reluctantly took it because I am not a huge reader. After the first chapter, I was hooked and couldn't put it down! There is a lot of good instruction, and the part I like most is Jim Cymbala backs up the instruction with real-life experiences and results. Granted, not all results will be similar to his, but he shows the foundation on which to build your life. I highly recommend this book (I bought one for my father, brother, and father-in-law).

You can't not believe this man. It is not the most impressive thing that he built up a huge Church starting with about 10 people in a dangerous area of New York.
It is not the most impressive thing that his wife, who has no training in music, helped to write, guide and direct, songs for one of the world's most loved groups, i.e. The Brooklyn Tablernacle Choir. What is a most impressive to me is that they have stayed right where they started about 25 years ago, continuing to be instrumental in thousands of changed lives of former drug addicts and pushers, prostitutes and pimps, gangs and gangsters, gays and lesbians in what is - except by the grace of the Holy Spirit - still in a dangerous area and with quite a few potentially very dangerous parishioners. People feel embraced by YHWH's welcoming Love in Cymbala's Church. And I believe it is His Love that protects them and moves them all.

With that background I knew I wanted to hear what this man has to say.
I wasn't disappointed. The message is simple as he would say himself:
Prayer, and lots of it, first. Everything else later.

Someone said, "Prayer is not preparation for the work. Prayer IS the work." Cymbala agrees.

The price from Amazon is a bit high--I bought the same book in India for $15! But still the price is worth it.

This is one of the most amazing spiritual books of all time. Every time I read the book I feel uplifted and filled with peace of mind.

Nisargadatta Maharaj was born into Indian rural poverty, drifted to the city, married, supported a family by selling cheap cigarettes. He found a guru, learnt a simple spiritual method, practised it devotedly and in three years "realised", to use the jargon. Gradually "spiritual seekers" began to beat a path to his shabby door. He died in 1981.

I haven't yet worked out why this book is so excellent. No poetry, no eloquence, no indelible stories, no mind-stopping koans. Sri Maharaj lacks the saintly radiance of a Ramana Maharshi: he is a no-nonsense Jñani (one who knows,) his manner is straightforward, cantankerous at times. He teaches only what his teacher taught him:
You think you are a body with a name, a home, with parents, a history, an identity. You are wrong. You are the boundless, changeless, formless Unnameable Reality that always was and always will be. So long as you fail to realise this, you suffer. The easiest way to realise is to concentrate on the pure sense of being - I Am - without content or specification.

Walt Whitman described this as "the thought of identity, yours for you, whoever you are, as mine for me. Miracle of miracles, beyond statement, most spiritual and vaguest of earth's dreams, yet hardest basic fact, and only entrance to all facts."

All kinds of people come to him with all kinds of problems or questions; all are answered with the same teaching. Every word carries conviction, as a heavy weight falling leaves a deep mark in the ground. Nondualism was not a philosophy for Sri Maharaj, not a slogan to sell books, but the reality he lived at every moment. The sense of his presence carries over even through the printed word.
This book is for everyone interested in "spirituality", and for some who aren't. It's as accessible as the latest New Age bestseller but as profound as the Hindu tradition itself.

What makes this a particularly effective book is that Nisargadatta tells it exactly as it is after assessing each of the needs of those who approached him with their own issues. He often did not mince words because he knew that only by being so direct would these people grasp exactly what he knew they needed to grasp. Many other "gurus" aren't like that in the interest of being too "polite". But not Nisargadatta. His real talent or even genius was forcefully penetrating through the obstinate ego driven misconceptions as few others in history could do(at least in his own Advaita tradition).

Like many seekers who've spent decades "searching and never finding", I have a bookshelf full of books that did nothing more then compound the growing frustration while attemptng to resolve the basic question "Who am I?".Everything in our culture points to the "mind" as the source of all solutions; if you "do" this you will "get" this, often brilliantly presented formulas (The Secret etc) that do nothing other than lead "believers" even further into more suffering and end up on the long list of failed efforts.So it was with great amazement that I discovered
the non-duality works of Nisargadatta Maharaj.If you are ready to end the futile mind based "paths to nowhere"search and discover the shockingly simple truth, read this book.

This is one of my favorite books off all time. Spiritual, accessible, non dogmatic, written by a true spiritual master.

I invite you to explore its gifts and wisdom.

I purchased My Utmost For His Highest as an appreciation gift for the Church School Staff Members at my church. The Book was very well received and appreciated. Some of the older members were especially pleased with the Large Print. I definitely recommend this product.

Book was in said condition, very nice. It arrived in a timely manner.
I am happy to have purchased it as the content is very meaningful and helpful.

I have been an Oswald Chambers follower for many years. I had been reading a tattered copy that belonged to my dad. For my birthday today I got this copy for my birthday and it is so very special. The leather cover is so soft and beautiful. Two shades of purple and liliac. Soft and comfortable to hold.

The dovotions are still current today. They make you look deep within your heart to what God is saying to you.

Highly recommend.

This book has been a profound daily devotional for me for 15 + years. I have read it every year. The insights this man of God had are some of the most relevant, authentic, and remarkable devotions I have ever read. I continue to be amazed.

Oswald Chambers gives the awesome truths of the Bible and God's character in this easy, daily study.

Great short read. Ahead of its time given it was writtem in 1955. Great book for women to help understand there role in life, not so much for men.

What more can be said about this lovely collection of thoughts? Even as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, it is as fresh as the day it was penned. This book is a keeper if ever there was one, a volume to be read and re-read and handed down to one's children, which is what I intend to do with the most recent Gift from the Sea that I bought.

Listed as a 'summer read' in a local magazine list - I hadn't heard of this book. I picked it up and finished it from one afternoon into the next morning. And -- there was nothing surprising or new to be found here in the book - the pace at which its written and the uncomplicated natural way Lindbergh examines her life and her impressions of life's stages will have me passing this book on to many people in my life.

What timeless wisdom there is in this little book. Although it was written many decades ago, the challenges and issues faced by Anne Morrow Lindbergh are the same ones faced by women in today's crazy, bustling world. In fact, although women in Siberia, Cameroon, or Ceylon might not have her specific set of circumstances, they can still identify with Lindbergh's ponderings about a woman's life, her obligations, her relationships, and her needs. She lived in an upscale suburb of Connecticut and was the mother of five children, and yet there's something in her writing that can touch the souls of women everywhere whether in a grass hut or trailer beside a busy highway

The chapters in Gift from the Sea center on Lindbergh's musings during a two-week vacation at the shore. Leaving husband, children, and house behind, she lives in a bare beach cabin without heat, telephone, plumbing, hot water, rugs, or curtains. She finds simplicity beautiful and longs to take it home to Connecticut when her vacation ends.

Lindbergh takes a shell at a time and describes it in relation to other things in a woman's life. For instance, the moon shell reminds her that quiet time, solitude, contemplation, and "something of one's own" is needed. The double-sunrise represents the pure relationship found in early stages of friendship and marriage, and she reminds the reader that there is no permanent return to an old form of relationship since all are in the process of change. The oyster bed symbolizes the middle years of marriage and family, especially as the home itself grows and expands to accommodate the growing family.

I first read this book when I was a young mother and could readily understand Lindbergh's comment that saints were so rarely married woman because of the distractions inherent in raising children and running a house. "Human relationships with their myriad pulls--woman's normal occupations in general run counter to creative life, or contemplative life, or saintly life." Now in midlife, I can better understand her affinity for all the shells as reminders that each cycle of the wave, the tide, and the relationship is valid.

This book came very highly recommended by two friends who are avid book readers. However I hate to admit that the book did not move me as much as my friends claimed that it moved them. I was more interested about the background references to the author's personal life and how the book came into being. That I would have read voraciously. The book is short but I don't intend to read it again to see what I missed. I believe a book either moves you or it doesn't. This particular book despite other rave reviews did not move me despite my great affinity for the sea and women writers. I wonder if perhaps if the book would have touched me differently if I read it in the beach rather than on a plane which I did.

Great book and cassette -the title isn't clear in the title (but the product details says paperback/cas) that this ISBN 0809182491 come with the cassette. ISBN:0809117541 is just the paperback.

I'm not good with words, but I'm going to try LOL. This book is so simple, but powerful, a story that will never leave you and one we can all identify with. I find it so hopeful and inspiring, a great read when one "is down". Its not a religious book, but definitely has spiritual themes to it IMO. I read this book in High School and am middle aged now and still adore it, one of my favorites. I read it to my 7 and 5 yo girls and they love it too :)

I received a copy of this beautiful book from my best friend in 1975 as I flew off to join the service. All these years later, I still have my copy and have given out innumerable others to my teenage at-risk students, clients and other people I have encountered. It is a heartwarming tale filled with a huge amount of hope for the future. I especially like to present it to students who have just gone through a devastating relationship breakup, reminding them that it is all part of the process which is preparing them to meet their future life partner.

I purchased this book for seven very special young girls who graduated high school and are heading off to college in the fall. The book is a children's story for all ages and gives an excellent message about life in that it encourages one to seek self established goals and achieve them while still maintaining a degree of intergity and self worth.

I was introduced to this book in a class provided by the company I work for. The class was entitled "Thinking Outside the Box". This class has been attended by executives and managers at large corporations the world over. I'm sure no one in the class expected the last activity to be reading "Hope for the Flowers" aloud. Although this is a "children's" book, it can be appreciated at many levels. I'm sure children will find it very entertaining and moving. However, the specific message relevant to adults is that "following the crowd" in the corporate world can be an empty pursuit, and that we all need to recognize the possibility of reaching for higher goals. The story is engaging, with two charming caterpillars as the main characters, and the beautiful illustrations of them and their exploits are very imaginative. We should all aspire to be butterflies!

I have been a student of the bible all my life and have received and given audio bibles over the years. This by far is the best version I have "experienced" to date and the name is perfectly suited. I gave this as a gift to my husband and even my children like listening to the lively version of the word. If you know someone who is new in the faith or even an elderly person whose eyes aren't what they use to be, get this incredible gift for them to enjoy. There are portions that will make you laugh, wonder in God's love and even weep. The readers aren't just actors but where used by God to make the word alive and rich in a way that has not been done before. It's an expense that is worth every penny!!!

In April 2008 I heard daily readings of the New Testament Bible Experience on Premier Radio London, A UK christian radio station and was very impressed. Several weeks later I bought 6 copies of The Complete Bible Experience, 2 as Mother's day presents for my mother in Toronto and my Aunt in UK/Jamaica, 3 as birthday presents for my brother in Florida , my cousin and my friend in the UK and 1 one for myself. I bought another copy this morning for my cousin in Georgia USA who gave birth to her second son 2 months ago.

I have only listened to some of the Old and New Testament but I am very happy with my purchase as it allows me to listen to the Bible being read while I am busy working in the home, getting ready to go to work or getting read to go out. I am discovering, learning and enjoying parts of the Bible I have never read before.

Clearly the best purchase I have ever made.

Pam
Forest Hill
London UK

i purchased this cd set of the Bible experience, i want to say i have been in the Bibkle for years, yet this Bible experience is very good. interesting, and makes learning and hearing the God so life like, i enjoy listening, it helps keep me focused on what in life is really important.
it is inspiring to the spirit, i hope u enjoy it as much as ido

The people in the bible will be someone you know not just someone you read about. You start to understand that pepole in the bible more. You hear the heart beat of the bible. The Word of God said Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and that is what you are doing hearing the Word of God. I am going to start spending time with my grandchildren listening to each chapter and talking about it. I want my grandchildren to love the Word of God like I do.

Wanda

Overall this is a great buy, the different voices with different inflextions and emotions and the sound affects in the background all add to bringing the text to life. The only problem I have with this product is a small one but it is that the voices of all of the angels are woman's voices even though the text identifies them in the male gender. I am not saying that angels have a gender but the Bible consistently speaks of them in the male gender and the CD's are confusing when you hear, "Then he said to her..." and it is a female voice talking." Just something to look out for.

This book is truly inspirational - no matter how crazy my day, my moment, my mind, I only have to randomly open this book to be filled with peace and mindfulness about what is real, about where to place myself in the moment. The world would be a much better place if we practiced Peace in Every Step....but if not the world, at least for you. I guarantee that you will find peace in this small treasure.

Peace is within. How oft we realize, we don't need to find peace but need to meditate and look inside our very own souls. We find the solutions of the conflicts of our mind. The Author has well written the book - so clear and inspiring. The stories and parables, meditation tips are too useful and transforming tactics of inner self. Sometimes, one need to think out of the box and think positive. The Author teaches the wisdom of life with his own experiences and life life assertively by accepting who you are, what you are and accept the way god wants you to live. Walking for a while, having meals with family, appreciating the surroundings and whatever you get with a smile instead of nagging, keeping a cool to charge the emotional switchboard instead of getting on high temper and many more - all useful reading is provided by the Author that one can digest and understand. Everything is in the Mind and so, any individual need to think mindfully and accept life as it comes our way.
A Good Pick and all #### stars from me. Enjoy!

This book will show you that peace and happiness is available to you at all times, even when doing the dishes! I love this book and will read it again and again.

Every word that Thai has written brings more and more clarity. This is one I will read again and again.

This is one of the incredible diamonds that has been created for the human race - a book that should be read by all world leaders to move each and every one towards an inner peace so that we can all experience results that will ensue from the outer manifestations arising from mediation, deep breathing and appreciation of every tiny step.

Sally Shields, bestselling author of, The Daughter-in-Law Rules, 101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law!

this is not and easy to digest book. It will take some time to process all the information, which is awesome.
read this book with your Bible in hand and take ALL the time necessary to read, check your Bible and meditate about it. YOU WILL NOT REGRET READING THIS BOOK. Highly recommended to make a book study with other Christians

I have bought more than fifty copies of Knowing God for use in teaching the subject. Packer does an excellent job of helping us to have a relationship with the God of the universe rather than just knowing something about Him. I have never found another book that does as good a job of teaching meaningful theology to people who really want to know God.

Next to the Bible this is my favorite book. I have read it several times and each time I learn something new. It will definately increase your knowlege of the true nature and character of God. You will not only learn more about God but you will truely know God better..Tell me what you think of my Christain fiction novel The Palace Theatre..The Palace Theatre

I enjoyed the book Knowing God by J. I. Packer, it was thought provoking and very insightful. This book was part of a New Testament class and I usually sell my books after reading them but I am going to add Knowing God to my personal library.

This is one of the great Christian classics that is a must read for every generation. It is not heady theology though it is thoroughly rooted in Scripture. It's underlying theme is the love of God for human kind expressed through his character. I felt very loved!