No Atheists in Foxholes

No Atheists in Foxholes
Author: Patrick McLaughlin
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2010-04-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1418574708

Experience gripping wartime stories and honest prayers by this Camp David chaplain now serving in Iraq. When words mean less and less, but money talks more and more; when blasphemy is a best seller, and eternal war has replaced hopeful diplomacy; in times like these is prayer even possible? Patrick J. McLaughlin thinks so. McLaughlin is an active duty Navy Chaplain who has ministered to heads of state and to soldiers living and dying in the heat of Iraq. No Atheists in Foxholes assembles Chaplain McLaughlin's experiences and prayers from e-mails, private notes, and personal conversations that take us real-time into realms of duty and spirit: from the quiet darkness of his infant son's New England bedroom on September 11, 2001, to the bomshelled medical tents and blistered Army Humvees of Anbar Province. Chaplain McLaughlin believes that prayer is not only possible, but critical. "We must all learn to pray for peace," he says, "and then become an answer to that prayer."

Global Secularisms in a Post-Secular Age

Global Secularisms in a Post-Secular Age
Author: Michael Rectenwald
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2015-10-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1614519315

Global Secularisms addresses the state of and prospects for secularism globally. Drawing from multiple fields, it brings together theoretical discussion and empirical case studies that illustrate "on-the-ground," extant secularisms as they interact with various religious, political, social, and economic contexts. Its point of departure is the fact that secularism is plural and that various secularisms have developed in various contexts and from various traditions around the world. Secularism takes on different social meanings and political valences wherever it is expressed. The essays collected here provide numerous points of contact between empirical case studies and theoretical reflection. This multiplicity informs and challenges the conceptual theorization of secularism as a universal doctrine. Analyses of different regions enrich our understanding of the meanings of secularism, providing comparative range to our notions of secularity. Theoretical treatments help to inform our understanding of secularism in context, enabling readers to discern what is at stake in the various regional expressions of secularity globally. While the bulk of the essays are case-based research, the current thinking of leading theorists and scholars is also included.

God in the Foxhole

God in the Foxhole
Author: Charles W. Sasser
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 446
Release: 2008-11-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1416541373

From the battlefields of the American Civil War through World Wars I and II, from Korea and Vietnam to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, soldiers of all faiths have struggled for understanding and called on a higher power when faced with the realities of combat.God in the Foxholeis a stunning collection of true personal accounts from generations of American soldiers whose faith, in the words of author Charles W. Sasser, "has been born, reborn, tested, sustained, verified, or transformed under fire."A renowned master of combat journalism and a former Green Beret, Sasser has gathered an immensely moving collection of war stories like no other -- stories of spirituality, conversion, and miracles from the battlefield. Be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or atheist, churched since childhood or touched by the divine for the first time, here are the riveting experiences of army privates, bomber pilots, navy lieutenants, marines, prisoners of war, medics, nurses, chaplains, and others who, under desperate circumstances and with every reason to fear for their lives, found unknown strength, courage, and heroism through their remarkable faith.These inspiring accounts transcend the explainable to become stunning portraits of survival and belief: the angelic vision that brought inner peace to an exhausted helicopter door gunner in Vietnam...the makeshift full-immersion baptisms of eleven soldiers on Palm Sunday in Iraq, 2004...two enemies -- a Nazi priest and an American G.I. -- who served Communion Mass in a Belgian sanctuary in 1944...the prescient letter from a Civil War army major to his beloved wife, one week before his death at Bull Run...the 21st-century toddler with a jaw-dropping spiritual connection to a war hero of Iwo Jima...and dozens more.A war chronicle like no other,God in the Foxholeaffirms, for military buffs and readers from all walks of life, the power of faith in the face of adversity.

50 Great Myths About Atheism

50 Great Myths About Atheism
Author:
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2013-08-12
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1118607813

Tackling a host of myths and prejudices commonly leveled at atheism, this captivating volume bursts with sparkling, eloquent arguments on every page. The authors rebut claims that range from atheism being just another religion to the alleged atrocities committed in its name. An accessible yet scholarly commentary on hot-button issues in the debate over religious belief Teaches critical thinking skills through detailed, rational argument Objectively considers each myth on its merits Includes a history of atheism and its advocates, an appendix detailing atheist organizations, and an extensive bibliography Explains the differences between atheism and related concepts such as agnosticism and naturalism

Religion and Ethnicity in Canada

Religion and Ethnicity in Canada
Author: Paul Bramadat
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2009-10-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1442697024

As the leading book in its field, Religion and Ethnicity in Canada has been embraced by scholars, teachers, students, and policy makers as a breakthrough study of Canadian religio-ethnic diversity and its impact on multiculturalism. A team of established scholars looks at the relationships between religious and ethnic identity in Canada's six largest minority religious communities: Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jews, Muslims and practitioners of Chinese religion. The chapters also highlight the ethnic diversity extant within these traditions in order to offer a more nuanced appreciation of the variety of lived experiences of members of these communities. Together, the contributors develop consistent themes throughout the volume, among them the changing nature of religious practice and ideas, current demographics, racism, and the role of women. Chapters related to the public policy issues of healthcare, education and multiculturalism show how new ethnic and religious diversity are challenging and changing Canadian institutions and society. Comprehensive and insightful, Religion and Ethnicity in Canada makes a unique contribution to the study of world religions in Canada.

Death Anxiety and Religious Belief

Death Anxiety and Religious Belief
Author: Jonathan Jong
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2018-02-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1350061603

There are no atheists in foxholes; or so we hear. The thought that the fear of death motivates religious belief has been around since the earliest speculations about the origins of religion. There are hints of this idea in the ancient world, but the theory achieves prominence in the works of Enlightenment critics and Victorian theorists of religion, and has been further developed by contemporary cognitive scientists. Why do people believe in gods? Because they fear death. Yet despite the abiding appeal of this simple hypothesis, there has not been a systematic attempt to evaluate its central claims and the assumptions underlying them. Do human beings fear death? If so, who fears death more, religious or nonreligious people? Do reminders of our mortality really motivate religious belief? Do religious beliefs actually provide comfort against the inevitability of death? In Death Anxiety and Religious Belief, Jonathan Jong and Jamin Halberstadt begin to answer these questions, drawing on the extensive literature on the psychology of death anxiety and religious belief, from childhood to the point of death, as well as their own experimental research on conscious and unconscious fear and faith. In the course of their investigations, they consider the history of ideas about religion's origins, challenges of psychological measurement, and the very nature of emotion and belief.

The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking

The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking
Author: Matthew Hutson
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2013-02-26
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0452298903

A provocative and entertaining look at the psychology of superstition and religion, how they make us human—and how we can use them to our advantage What is so special about touching a piano John Lennon once owned? Why do we yell at our laptops? And why do people like to say, “Everything happens for a reason”? Drawing on cognitive science, anthropology, and neuroscience, Matthew Hutson shows us that magical thinking is not only hardwired into our brains—it’s been a factor in our evolutionary success. Magical thinking helps us believe that we have free will and an underlying purpose as it protects us from the paralyzing awareness of our own mortality. Interweaving entertaining stories, personal reflections, and sharp observations, The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking reveals just how this seemingly irrational process informs and improves the lives of even the most hardened skeptics.

The Portable Atheist

The Portable Atheist
Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Total Pages: 530
Release: 2007-11-06
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0306816083

Presents excerpts on the subject of religion from the writings of such notable non-believers as John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Richard Dawkins, and Salman Rushdie.