Sinners and Citizens


Book Description

Sinners and Citizens explores how sexual habits changed in Sweden during its development from an agrarian society into a modern welfare state. Jens Rydström examines the history of homosexuality and bestiality in that country to consider why these sexual practices have been so closely linked in virtually all Western societies. He limns sharply the distinctive experience of rural life, showing that to regularly witness farm animals stirred passions and sparked ideas, especially among young farmhands. Based on medical journals, psychiatric reports, and court records from the period, as well as testimonies from men in diaries, letters, and interviews, Sinners and Citizens reveals that bestiality was once a dreaded crime in Sweden. But in time, mention of the practice disappeared completely from legal and medical debates. This, Rydström contends, is because models of penetrative sodomy shifted from bestiality to homosexuality as Sweden transformed from a rural society into a more urban one. As the nation's economy and culture became less identified with the countryside, so too did its idea of deviant sexual behavior.




The Story of the Word


Book Description

What is the Bible really all about? Is it primarily a work of history, tales of long ago? Is it a collection of spiritual episodes designed to inspire? Is it a series of moral stories intended to show you how to be a better person? Or is it more? In forty-five devotional meditations, The Story of the Word explores the Bible from its beginnings in Genesis all the way to its glorious end in Revelation, showing how Scripture narrates God's story of the world, a story which finds its ultimate meaning and fulfillment in Jesus Christ. This book guides you on a prayerful journey through the major turning points in the Bible, inviting you to trace the developing storyline from creation to the cross to the consummation of history. And as you learn to read the story of the Bible as the story of Jesus, you'll discover how you fit in to the wondrous story God is telling.




Animal Stories


Book Description

How cross-species companionship is figured across a variety of media--and why it matters.




God in Pink


Book Description

Lambda Literary Award winner, Best Gay Fiction A revelatory novel about being queer and Muslim, set in war-torn Iraq in 2003. Ramy is a young gay Iraqi struggling to find a balance between his sexuality, religion, and culture. Ammar is a sheikh whose guidance Ramy seeks, and whose tolerance is tested by his belief in the teachings of the Qur'an. Full of quiet moments of beauty and raw depictions of violence, God in Pink poignantly captures the anguish and the fortitude of Islamic life in Iraq. Hasan Namir was born in Iraq in 1987. God in Pink is his first novel. This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A Simple book with few images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.




SAINTS not sinners


Book Description

Christians are SAINTS. They are not sinners in the present tense saved by grace. Sinners is what they used to be. The Bible nowhere teaches that a Christian has a sin nature or can be labeled a sinner. This is established through examination of the three terms - sinners, Saints and flesh - from a linguistic view as well as from their context in scripture. Additionally there is a comprehensive search of the scriptures on the nature of the Saint. This will empower every Christian to live what he knows.




Evangelism and Politics


Book Description

In a fallen world, politics will be a brutal, at times violent, sport. Grandstanding, demonizing, misleading, and lying are the native language of political debate. Violence is historically how political conflicts are ultimately resolved. This fact raises important questions about our faith. Should Christians participate in politics and government? If so, how should we participate? Evangelism & Politics argues that Christians should participate in politics and government but their ultimate goal in doing so is evangelism, not political change. The way Christians participate in politics is therefore generally more important than the specific policies they advocate for. In short, Christian participation in politics should be marked by the fruit of the spirit. At the same time, Christians should not be naive in thinking godly engagement in politics guarantees political success. Ungodly tactics are effective and Christians will be at a political disadvantage when they refuse to use such methods. Nevertheless, Christians should refuse to use them because they see God, not the government, as their ultimate protector and provider and godly engagement in politics as a way of providing an evangelistic witness to society that fulfills the Great Commission.




Man


Book Description







The Enlightened


Book Description

The Source chose a slightly withdrawn but impeccably devoted ten-year old orphaned boy to carry on the fight against the evil rebel angel Ladimer and his league of dark creatures from the doomed planet of Askaran. With help from both holy citizens of the Perfect Place and the Earth Dominion, the young warrior with his assistant Modesto, anonymously goes through every encounter, each one becoming more challenging as his resolve to fulfill his destiny as the Enlightened is constantly tested. The story though steeped with obvious references to Biblical characters and settings derived from several local folklore, skillfully integrates the thrill of adventure with lessons from commonly held religious values. The result is an atypical spiritual journey that promises to inspire even the unreligious.




A Citizen’s Guide to the Rule of Law


Book Description

In our daily lives, the rule of law matters more than anything and yet remains an invisible presence. We trust in the rule of law to protect us from governmental overreach, mafia godfathers, or the will of the majority. We take the rule of law for granted, often failing to recognize its demise—until it is too late. For under attack it is, not only in the growing number of authoritarian countries around the world but in Europe, too. As a citizen’s guide, this book explains in plain language what the rule of law is, why it matters, and why we have to defend it. The starting point is to ask why EU efforts to promote the rule of law in candidate countries have succeeded or failed, and what this tells us about what is happening inside the EU. The authors move on to suggest ways of strengthening the rule of law in Europe and beyond. This book is a call to action in defense of the most precious human invention of all time.