Convictions


Book Description

Jo Langer and her husband Oscar were committed communists; she Hungarian, he Slovakian. During the Second World War the couple, both Jewish, escaped to America. Most members of their extended family were murdered in the Holocaust. After the war, they returned to Czechoslovakia to help build communism. She worked for state exports in Bratislava; he was an economist working for the Central Committee. In 1951 Oscar Langer was arrested and detained as part of the anti-Semitic purge of the Communist Party that culminated in the infamous Slnksk trials. He was subjected to solitary confinement, threats against his family, unbearable cold and hunger, anti-Semitic abuse and beatings. In the end, he submitted. In a statement dictated by his interrogators he said, 'I confess that I am an important link in the anti-state conspiracy of Zionists and Jewish bourgeois nationalists'. Jo Langer lost her job, and was exiled to the countryside. In Convictions, she vividly describes trying to her protect her two daughters and scrape a living, surviving the loss of her husband, her place in society and her faith in communism. Oscar Langer died shortly after his release from prison. Jo Langer left Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring in 1968, and went into exile in Sweden.




Convictions


Book Description

On the occasion of his seventieth birthday, the renowned scholar Marcus J. Borg shares how he formed his bedrock religious beliefs, contending that Christians in America are at their best when they focus on hope and transformation and so shows how we can return to what really matters most. The result is a manifesto for all progressive Christians who seek the best path for following Jesus today. With each chapter embodying a distinct conviction, Borg writes provocatively and compellingly on the beliefs that can deeply ground us and guide us, such as: God is real and a mystery; salvation is more about this life than an afterlife; the Bible can be true without being literally true; Jesus's death on the cross matters—but not because he paid for our sins; God is passionate about justice and the poor; and to love God is to love like God. Borg calls all American Christians to reject divisiveness and exclusivity and create communities that celebrate joy, possibility, and renewal. Throughout, he reflects on what matters most, bringing to earth the kingdom of God Jesus talked about and transforming our relationships with one another. Rich in wisdom and insight, Convictions is sure to become a classic of contemporary Christianity.




Convictions


Book Description




Living My Convictions


Book Description

Many friends had urged me to write my autobiography. I had started writing last year and now I have a lot of time to complete this project. I have decided that after concluding my autobiography, I would give complete attention to ‘Vishranti’. It is a pleasure writing my autobiography. It feels good to revisit and rewind through my thoughts and through my pen – the life that I lived, journey that I traversed for many years, sights seen and experienced and losses and gains along the way. Last year when I started working on my autobiography, I was not sure about disclosing these incidents since some senior leaders would not be too pleased. But I am determined now, since I am out of active politics and my presence in politics is going to be in name only. I have been telling my friends that I am going to be a guest artist in politics now. I was a politician earlier so my freedom of expression had to be restricted. Now, I am a writer first and then someone else, therefore it is my right to enjoy and employ a writer’s freedom of expression. I have fully utilised that right in writing my autobiography, and many things unsaid have been laid out in the open. I have lived my life. I have lived fully and joyously. I have lived this life and told its story and shared my life experiences in abundant details. I will dedicate the rest of my life to God Almighty in Vivekanand Sewa Kendra. I will wait for the moment when I fulfil all my duties and go back to where I came from. Truthfully speaking, I would go smiling and laughing with a song in my heart and a spring in my step.




Core of Conviction


Book Description

Michele Bachmann is one of the most compelling leaders in America. But despite all the magazine covers and cable television stories, most people don't know who she really is, where she comes from, or what she believes. So she decided to tell her own story and let the reader decide. As you'll learn in this fascinating memoir, Bachmann wasn't the type of kid who started dreaming about the White House in elementary school. She grew up in Iowa and Minnesota as a typical midwestern girl, grounded by her family and her faith. She was raised to believe in the American dream: that anyone could succeed if they worked hard and took advantage of this country's boundless opportunities. She followed her dreams to college and law school, pursued a career as a federal tax attorney, started a successful business with her loving husband, raised five great kids and (over time) twenty-three foster children. By her early forties she was very happy as a full-time mom and homemaker and was a leading education reform advocate in Minnesota. Then she became what she calls "an accidental politician." The political insiders who ran Minnesota held a one-party line-Al Franken-style liberalism. Bachmann became especially concerned about a state-mandated education curriculum that stressed political correctness over academic excellence. She started making calls, writing letters, and recruiting others to act. When her state senator (an entrenched insider) refused to listen, someone had to challenge him for his seat. No one else volunteered, so Bachmann jumped in-and won. That was the start of an amazing journey from obscurity to the state senate, to the U.S. Congress, to an underdog campaign for president. Along the way her style has been consistent. She says what she means and she does it. She is the rare political figure who fights for her beliefs. She speaks from the heart, with common sense about limited government, the sanctity of life and marriage, the power of free enterprise, and the need to confront America's enemies. She also talks about putting principles above partisanship, even if that means ruffling the feathers of the Republican elite. As Bachmann puts it, the Republican coalition is traditionally a "three-legged stool"-economic conservatives, social conservatives, and national security conservatives. Like Ronald Reagan, she represents all three groups. And in addition, as the founder of the Tea Party caucus in Congress, Bachmann considers the Tea Party the dynamic fourth leg of the coalition, in support of a return to constitutional conservatism. This book will show you why Michele Bachmann believes ordinary people can take on the establishment and win. "Armed with values and faith, supported by family and fellow citizens, together we can do much. We can secure what people are yearning for-the chance to take our country back. Just watch."




The Conviction to Lead


Book Description

Change the Way You Think about Leadership At the age of thirty-three, Dr. Albert Mohler became the youngest president in the 164-year history of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was the driving force behind the school's transformation into a thriving institution with an international reputation characterized by a passionate conviction for truth. In the process he became one of the most important and prominent Christian voices in contemporary culture. What will it take to transform your leadership? Effective leaders need more than administrative skills and vision. They need to be able to change the hearts and minds of those they lead. Leadership like this requires passionate beliefs that can stand up to pressure from without and within. In this updated edition Dr. Mohler has added a new introduction and conclusion based on an additional 10 years of leadership. He has also completely rewritten the chapter "The Digital Leader." The Conviction to Lead will crystallize your convictions while revolutionizing your thinking, your decision-making, your communication, and ultimately, those you lead. "Dr. Al Mohler has written a book that shakes us up and challenges our thinking. The Conviction to Lead is poised to become one of the all-time classic works on Christian leadership."--JIM DALY, President - Focus on the Family "Having rarely thought about leadership, I was hooked from the first chapter--to my complete surprise. This is a powerful book and gracefully written."--FRED BARNES, Executive Editor--The Weekly Standard




Pryor Convictions, and Other Life Sentences


Book Description

Pryor tells the story of his life, from his childhood in Peoria, Illinois, through his growth as a comedian, to his battle with addiction and, in later years, multiple sclerosis.




Deep Conviction


Book Description

DEEP CONVICTION, a follow-up to Shane's first life-changing book CONVICTION, is a deeper dive into his amazing journey through a complicated, and often dysfunctional correctional system. This book contains many more true accounts of the people with whom he lived inside the cold, dark walls of several Alaskan prisons. Each account is told straight from the heart by arguably one of the most resilient and inspirational inmates the U.S. correctional system has ever seen.Shane revisits his early days fishing in Alaska and provides perspective on what led up to the fateful day on a fishing boat in Kodiak, Alaska that changed his life forever. DEEP CONVICTION is a fascinating read that doesn't just tell the sad, moving stories of criminals but also asks tough questions of those in charge of the correctional system throughout the USA. Questions that we, the people, all should think about and join Shane in seeking and implementing better solutions to the way the entire system works.-America has only 5% of the world's population but 25% of the world's prison population. How is this possible?-6 out of 10 offenders released from Alaskan prisons are re-incarcerated within 3 years. Why?In DEEP CONVICTION Shane introduces us to two notorious Alaskan murderers he met on the inside. He also shares the heartbreaking stories of several other characters in a way that engenders empathy and compassion and offers compelling lessons for the reader to help guide their own life and make better choices so they avoid the hell that is prison life.Perhaps most powerfully, DEEP CONVICTION further illuminates Shane's journey to know God and build a faith and conviction that unquestionably saved his life in prison and positively influenced many others. It is Shane's most sincere hope that something inside DEEP CONVICTION will touch you to affect change in your life and help others do the same.




Conviction


Book Description

A teenage boy faces an impossible choice in this brutally honest debut novel about family, faith, and the ultimate test of conviction, that was the winner of the Children's Choice Book Awards' Teen Choice Debut Author Award. Ten years ago, Braden was given a sign—a promise that his family wouldn't fall apart the way he feared. But Braden got it wrong: his older brother, Trey, has been estranged from the family for almost as long, and his father, the only parent Braden has ever known, has been accused of murder. The arrest of Braden's father, a well-known Christian radio host, has sparked national media attention. His fate lies in his son's hands; Braden is the key witness in his father's upcoming trial. Braden has always measured himself through baseball. He is the star pitcher in his small town of Ornette, and his ninety-four mile per hour pitch already has minor league scouts buzzing in his junior year. Now the rules of the sport that has always been Braden's saving grace are blurred in ways he never realized, and the prospect of playing against Alex Reyes, the nephew of the police officer his father is accused of killing, is haunting his every pitch.




The Living Church


Book Description

What exactly is a living church? Author John Stott explains, 'We need more radically conservative churches: "conservative" in the sense that they conserve what Scripture plainly requires, but radical in relation to that combination of tradition and convention that we call 'culture'. Scripture is unchangeable, but culture is not.' 'The Living Church' brings together a number of characteristics of what the author calls 'authentic' or 'living' church. The marks, being clearly biblical, are timeless and need to be preserved. We are encouraged to become learning churches, caring churches, worshipping churches and evangelising churches. John Stott unpacks the Bible's wisdom rigorously with a teacher's skill and applies it faithfully with a pastor's heart. Becoming a living church is not an impossible goal.