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After enduring her own painful separation, counselor and former minister Laura Collins knew that she wanted to create a positive relationship with her ex-husband. While going through the legal process of divorce, the two of them created their own spiritual process, including a divorce ritual, to release themselves from their marriage vows and make new vows to parent their child after divorce and treat each other respectfully. This book tells the story of Laura's journey, while offering practical advice, meditative practices and written exercises to help other couples and individuals navigate the choppy emotional waters of separation. Written from the authentic perspective of one who has been there, Laura invites humor and compassion into the painful process of healing after divorce and moving forward. With a unique perspective on the power of rituals to shift emotional energies and bring greater health to the individuals involved, Laura adds a new voice to the growing conversation about divorce in our country today.
Life’s first breath begins a journey filled with separations. Every crossroad we come to requires that something be left behind. This pathway reflects the invisible spiritual realm, where separations began on day one of creation. God’s beneficial separations have continued throughout time and continue in our spiritual walk even today. We are called to separate what is holy from what is common. When we answer the call, the difference between God-given natural or common gifts, and spiritual gifts becomes evident. They are as different as a sunrise and sunset. Both common talents and spiritual gifts are given by God for a good purpose, and each does its best work when used as God planned. The work of the Great Commission turns into a major obstacle course as nations reject Christian influence and become post-Christian cultures. This mission is too great a task for the church to accomplish by common means. This study guide powerfully portrays the Spirit of Jesus, who manifests Himself in greater measure as Christians separate themselves from serving by human effort alone. This vital work of the kingdom of heaven was given to us on the day Jesus ascended into heaven, and is made possible by means of the anointing, gifting and empowering work of the Spirit.
Award-winning journalist Robert Boston lambastes the zealots of the Religious Right for spreading misinformation about the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state. Boston reveals how a band of ultraconservative religious groups with a political agenda - led primarily by televangelist Pat Robertson - is conducting a systematic war aginst the separation of church and state. The tactics of these groups are designed to exploit unfounded fears and turn the American people against the separationist principle. They will not rest, Boston says, until the United States has become a theocracy. To expose the Religious Right's blatant distortions of U.S. history and correct its skewed analysis of legal rulings, Boston objectively reviews the evolution of church/state relations in the United States and looks at how the separation principle has been applied by the courts. He also examines efforts by sectarian groups to win government support for their schools, the school prayer issue, the history of the free exercise of religion, and the controversial role of religion in the public square. Published in cooperation with Americans United for the Separation of Church and State
In a powerful challenge to conventional wisdom, Philip Hamburger argues that the separation of church and state has no historical foundation in the First Amendment. The detailed evidence assembled here shows that eighteenth-century Americans almost never invoked this principle. Although Thomas Jefferson and others retrospectively claimed that the First Amendment separated church and state, separation became part of American constitutional law only much later. Hamburger shows that separation became a constitutional freedom largely through fear and prejudice. Jefferson supported separation out of hostility to the Federalist clergy of New England. Nativist Protestants (ranging from nineteenth-century Know Nothings to twentieth-century members of the K.K.K.) adopted the principle of separation to restrict the role of Catholics in public life. Gradually, these Protestants were joined by theologically liberal, anti-Christian secularists, who hoped that separation would limit Christianity and all other distinct religions. Eventually, a wide range of men and women called for separation. Almost all of these Americans feared ecclesiastical authority, particularly that of the Catholic Church, and, in response to their fears, they increasingly perceived religious liberty to require a separation of church from state. American religious liberty was thus redefined and even transformed. In the process, the First Amendment was often used as an instrument of intolerance and discrimination.
Through a potent mix of authoritarianism, heterosexism, xenophobia, and ethnoracial nationalism, powerful illiberal Christian movements have upended liberal democracies in countries that were once seen as paradigms of secular governance. Ludger H. Viefhues-Bailey offers new insight into the foundations of these movements, demonstrating how they emerge from the contradictions at the intersection of secularism and democracy. No Separation examines recent conflicts that link national identity, religion, and sexuality: debates over Muslim veiling practices in Germany, same-sex marriage in France, and migration and abortion in the United States. In each case, illiberal Christianities portray popular sovereignty as threatened at the same time as they display an obsessive concern with the politics of sex and reproduction. Underlying these conflicts, No Separation shows, is the fundamental tension of democracy—who belongs to “the People.” Viefhues-Bailey argues that when secularism and democracy meet, cultural religions appear, seeking control over women’s bodies, national borders, and the racialized reproduction of the People in defense of the ideal of popular sovereignty. Connecting political theology, political philosophy, and the sociology of religion with gender and sexuality studies, No Separation is a deeply original analysis of the crisis of democracy and the limits of secularism. It also suggests alternative ways of imagining the People, proposing a more humane vision of borders, sexualities, and social bonds.
Sacred Economics traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth. Today, these trends have reached their extreme--but in the wake of their collapse, we may find great opportunity to transition to a more connected, ecological, and sustainable way of being. This book is about how the money system will have to change--and is already changing--to embody this transition. A broadly integrated synthesis of theory, policy, and practice, Sacred Economics explores avant-garde concepts of the New Economics, including negative-interest currencies, local currencies, resource-based economics, gift economies, and the restoration of the commons. Author Charles Eisenstein also considers the personal dimensions of this transition, speaking to those concerned with "right livelihood" and how to live according to their ideals in a world seemingly ruled by money. Tapping into a rich lineage of conventional and unconventional economic thought, Sacred Economics presents a vision that is original yet commonsense, radical yet gentle, and increasingly relevant as the crises of our civilization deepen. Sacred Economics official website: http://sacred-economics.com/
The Dark Side of Church/State Separation analyzes the Enlightenment's attack upon the Judeo-Christian tradition and its impact upon the development of secular regimes in France, Germany, and Russia. Such regimes followed the anti-Semitic/anti-Christian agenda of the French Enlightenment in blaming the Judeo-Christian tradition for all the ills of European society and believing that human beings can develop their own set of values and purposes through rational means, apart from any revelation from God or Scripture. Stephen Strehle's analysis extends our understanding of church/state relations and its history. He confirms the spiritual roots of modern anti-Semitism within the ideology of the Enlightenment and recognizes the intimate relationship between anti-Semitism and anti-Christianity. Strehle questions the absolute doctrine of church/state separation, given its background in the bigotries of the philosophes. He notes the nefarious motives of subsequent regimes, which used the French doctrine to replace the religious community with the state and its secular ideology. This detailed historical analysis of original sources and secondary literature is woven together with special appreciation for the philosophical and theological ideas that contributed to the emergence of political institutions. Readers will gain an understanding of the most influential ideas shaping the modern world and present-day culture.
Should the wall of separation between church and state be permeable or inviolable? This question has been hotly contested since the nation's founding and contentious debates persist today. With a collection of the most significant documents and an introduction by Clarke E. Cochran that provides the historical context of the debate, prominent scholars Mary Segers and Ted Jelen debate the impact of organized religion on the democratic process, examine its influence on political discourse, and discuss its significance for the creation of public policy. The authors illuminate the constitutional implications of using religion to cultivate public morality and discuss the complexities of creating a civic-minded citizenry in a pluralistic society.
A comprehensive and practical guide to ethnographic research, this book guides you through the process, starting with the fundamentals of choosing and proposing a topic and selecting a research design. It describes methods of data collection (taking notes, participant observation, interviewing, identifying themes and issues, creating ethnographic maps and tables and charts, and referring to secondary sources) and analyzing and writing ethnography (sorting and coding data, answering questions, choosing a presentation style, and assembling the ethnography). Although content is focused on producing written ethnography, many of the principles and methods discussed here also apply to other forms of ethnographic presentation, including ethnographic film. Designed to give basic hands-on experience in the overall ethnography research process, Ethnography Essentials covers a wealth of topics, enabling anyone new to ethnography research to successfully explore the excitement and challenges of field research.
Where to draw the line between church and state in everything from laws and courtrooms to public schools and foreign affairs has been a point of contention throughout American history, a debate between those who believe in a complete separation and those who argue that religion was important to the Founding Fathers and has therefore always been an important part of American culture. This book dives into the foundational documents of the United States, important legal cases, laws governing social behavior, religion in the public schools, and separation of church and state on the international level. Photographs, sidebars, and images of the Constitution and Bill of Rights help readers gain a deeper understanding of the debate from all sides.