Dispatches from the front

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Michael Cheshire

All too often, Christians who are sinners themselves become judge, jury, and jailer over others. Cheshire explores some unsavory questions. Why does the world often do a better job of forgiving their fallen than the Church? Is the decline in Christianity due to the world or have we just become horrible to each other and the world noted it? He challenges the Church to become better at showing grace-- and asks you to examine the way you think about grace and redemption.

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Leon Klenicki and Geoffrey Wigoder

This is an invaluable aid in helping readers become better acquainted with key issues involved in the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. It brings together significant discussions of major theological and religious topics that are an integral part of the faith dialogue between Jews and Christians. Each topic is treated in two separate essays: one by a Christian scholar; the other by a Jewish scholar, and points of agreement and decisive differences stand out clearly.

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Pope Francis

Pope Francis sees marriage as a dynamic path to personal development and fulfillment. Instead of wasting energy worrying about the challenges in our families, we can find creative, transformative ways to offer truth, mercy, and hope to our loved ones. Love enables us to see, beyond all else, the great worth of a human being. With enthusiasm and joy, we can celebrate all that it means to be part of a family.

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[compiled and introduced by] David E. Shi

Since colonial days Americans have greatly admired, variously defined, and occasionally practiced the simple life. In doing so they have provided a significant shaping force in the history of American values. Though quickly displaced by the cult of more and more, the simple life has remained an elevated ideal for a resolute few. For some it has meant a life of pious austerity; for others it has entailed conscientious consumption and aesthetic creation; for a few it has resulted in withdrawal from the larger society. Yet whatever form of simplicity has been adopted, those promoting the ideal have been animated by the same common purpose: to subordinate material desires to 'higher' activities. This richly illustrated anthology presents a fascinating and compelling array of original writings, woven together with Shi's illuminating commentary. -- publisher