Download or read book Godless written by Dan Barker and published by Ulysses Press. This book was released on 2008-09 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncover the truth about atheism in the book Oliver Sacks calls, "a revelation. . . I don’t think anyone can match the (devastating!) clarity, intensity, and honesty which Dan Barker brings to the journey—faith to reason, childhood to growing up, fantasy to reality, intoxication to sobriety." ADVANCE PRAISE FOR GODLESS “Valuable in the human story are the reflections of intelligent and ethical people who listen to the voice of reason and who allow it to vanquish bigotry and superstition. This book is a classic example.” —CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS author of God is Not Great “The most eloquent witness of internal delusion that I know—a triumphantly smiling refugee from the zany, surreal world of American fundamentalist Protestantism—is Dan Barker.” —RICHARD DAWKINS author of The God Delusion “Godless was a revelation to me. I don’t think anyone can match the (devastating!) clarity, intensity, and honesty which Dan Barker brings to the journey—faith to reason, childhood to growing up, fantasy to reality, intoxication to sobriety.” —OLIVER SACKS authors of Musicophilia In Godless, Barker recounts his journey from evangelical preacher to atheist activist, and along the way explains precisely why it is not only okay to be an atheist, it is something in which to be proud.” —MICHAEL SHERMER publisher of Skeptic Magazine “Godless is a fascinating memoir and a handbook for debunking theism. But most of all, it is a moving testimonial to one man’s emotional and intellectual rigor in acclaiming critical thinking.” —ROBERT SAPOLSKY author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

Download or read book Hope After Faith written by Jerry DeWitt and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2013-06-25 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A former Louisiana pastor's courageous memoir chronicling his conversion to atheism.

Download or read book The Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis written by Paul R. Dokecki and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2004-02-27 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests has sent shock waves around the nation and will not fade from consciousness or the news. We ask, "How could this happen?" And then we ask, "How could the Catholic Church let this continue for so long—in seeming silence and duplicity?" Paul R. Dokecki, a community psychologist at Vanderbilt University, an active Catholic, and a former board member of the National Catholic Education Association, investigates the crisis not only with the eye of an investigative reporter, but with the analytical skills and training of a psychologist as well. Moreover, he lays the foundation for reasonable and practical reform measures. Through the scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston as well as the earlier, if less well known but momentous, case in the Diocese of Nashville, Dokecki reports on and analyzes what is ultimately an abuse of power—not only by the clergy but by church officials. As distasteful as these instances may be, they are compelling reading, enlightened by the author's abilities to contextualize these events through the lenses of professional ethics, the human sciences, and ecclesiology. According to Dokecki, these and other instances of clergy sexual abuse reveal a systemic deficiency in the structure and the nature of the church itself, one that has prevented the church from adequately dealing with its own worst sins. Dokecki may shine a spotlight into the church's dark corners—but he does so in the service of enlightenment, calling the church back toward the vision of Vatican II and the spirit of Pope John XXIII—toward a greater transparency, a more open and participatory governance in the church, and for a greatly expanded role for the people of God who make up the church. It is in this way, Dokecki believes, the church will be better able to keep the innocent children of the church safe from harm.

Download or read book Wives of Catholic Clergy written by Joseph Henry Fichter and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1992 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Catholic women about whom we know the least historically were the wives of the clergy, starting with the Apostles, bishops, presbyters, and deacons of early Christianity. Even though prelates and priests continued for more than a thousand years to marry and to father children, we know little or nothing about the wives, whose life experience, and even their names have been erased from history. Now they are coming back into prominence, mainly as the wives of noncanonical priests, some as wives of convert Episcopal priests, and many as the wives of ordained permanent deacons. In America, as elsewhere, the role and status of Catholic women are changing in significant directions. Their official acceptance by the institutional Church helps to offset traditional sexism and clericalism.

Download or read book Memoirs of an Ex minister written by James Howard Harris Earl of Malmesbury and published by . This book was released on 1884 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book From Apostle to Apostate written by Catherine Dunphy and published by Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA). This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when your entire life and career are constructed around a religious faith that you no longer possess? Do you continue to promote a gospel that you have intellectually and emotionally rejected to maintain your livelihood and the support and respect you receive from your community? Or do you renounce your faith to your congregation and the public at large, putting yourself and your family at risk? From Apostle to Apostate offers a comprehensive introduction to the Clergy Project, established in 2011 to provide a safe space where clergy who have lost their faith can connect with others facing the exact same questions—often alone and in isolation. Charting the origins, growth, and goals of the project, the book draws on the author's own experience as a founding project member and on interviews with its founders. It also reveals the troubles and triumphs experienced by many of its members, whose numbers have grown from just over 50 to more than 500 in a few short years. As the book movingly demonstrates, despite the substantial personal and professional challenges nonbelieving clergy face, for many, a loss of faith has turned out not to be a loss at all—but a gain of newfound community, self-respect, and honesty with themselves and others.

Download or read book BIOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL BOOK OF REFERENCE FOR FACTS RELATING TO THE CLERGY AND THE CHURGE written by and published by . This book was released on 1868 with total page 910 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Journal of the Proceedings of the Bishops Clergy and Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America written by Episcopal Church. General Convention and published by . This book was released on 1838 with total page 788 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Journal of the Proceedings of the Bishops Clergy and Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America written by and published by . This book was released on 1845 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Journal of the proceedings of the bishops clergy and laity in a general convention To which are annexed the constitution of the Church together with the canons written by United States protest. episc. ch, gen. convention and published by . This book was released on 1869 with total page 772 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Clergy and the People An Earnest Appeal Contained in Letters by a Layman to His Diocesan Etc Signed written by ACHNUMENOS. and published by . This book was released on 1868 with total page 70 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The laws and usages of the Church and clergy written by William Henry Pinnock and published by . This book was released on 1856 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Misquoting Jesus written by Bart D. Ehrman and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. In Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we use today. He frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultraconservative views of the Bible. Since the advent of the printing press and the accurate reproduction of texts, most people have assumed that when they read the New Testament they are reading an exact copy of Jesus's words or Saint Paul's writings. And yet, for almost fifteen hundred years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were deeply influenced by the cultural, theological, and political disputes of their day. Both mistakes and intentional changes abound in the surviving manuscripts, making the original words difficult to reconstruct. For the first time, Ehrman reveals where and why these changes were made and how scholars go about reconstructing the original words of the New Testament as closely as possible. Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our cherished biblical stories and widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself stem from both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes -- alterations that dramatically affected all subsequent versions of the Bible.

Download or read book The Victorian Clergy written by Alan Haig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-01 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1984. The Victorian clergy occupied a uniquely prominent position in English society. Their church generated continual and often rancorous debate and they played an important part in the local provision of education, welfare and justice. Politically, also, they were never negligible. But, while in 1830 the clergy still constituted England’s largest and wealthiest professional body, by 1914 their position was increasingly marginal. This title examines these changes and the issues in which the clergy was facing during this transition. The Victorian Clergy will be of particular interest to students of history.

Download or read book The Laws Relating to the Clergy written by David Williams (of Christ Church, Oxford.) and published by . This book was released on 1813 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Pastors in Transition written by Dean R. Hoge and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2005-05-02 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether they leave out of preference for another ministry or due to serious conflict, pastors who relinquish parish ministry face misunderstanding and even hostility. Pastors in Transition brings clarity to this little-examined aspect of the pastorate by examining the main reasons why pastors in five Protestant denominations have left parish ministry. The fruit of careful sociological research, Pastors in Transition presents the findings of the largest-ever study of recently ended ministries. More than 900 ex-ministers, representing the Assemblies of God, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist Church, were surveyed or interviewed. Besides gathering facts and figures, the book contains personal stories, forthright opinions, and concrete recommendations from former pastors for strengthening parish ministry in the future.

Download or read book Journal of the Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Clergy and Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Alabama written by and published by . This book was released on 1853 with total page 822 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: