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Staff Picks Category: Religion

God, a guide for the perplexed by Keith Ward []

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No perplexity required. A survey of beliefs about God, primarily in the West, beginning with ancient Greece. From the common folk to philosophers both famous and obscure. Sprinkled with wry humor and anecdotes. Recommended for history buffs, particularly those interested in the evolution of Christian beliefs.

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Now by Bhagavan Das []

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This is a very interesting recording. Bhagavan Das sings traditional kirtans and bhajans, or devotional songs, from India, and his performance shows his deep familiarity with these traditions while simultaneously embracing a very modern sound. This is in part due to Das’ collaboration with the album’s producer, Mike D of the Beastie Boys, who contributed samples and loops which give the album a very modern feel, but don’t, perhaps surprisingly, feel the least bit out of place. In addition, Das is accompanied by a wide range of musicains playing instruments from the east and from the west, traditional and modern. We hear guitars and ektar, drum sets and tabla, sarangi and synthesizers, harmoniums, organs, and conch shells. We can also hear the influence of the blues, the Beatles, and traditional Indian singing styles.
Every track on this album is powerful, energetic, and alive. Every word is heartfelt. I’ve only had a chance to listen to this album once so far—but I’m very much looking forward to listening to it again.

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In the Dark Places of Wisdom by Peter Kingsley []

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Kingsley aims primarily to situate properly the spiritual teaching and practice of Parmenides and his successors in ancient Creek wisdom traditions. This fifth-century BCE philosopher is commonly described as the “father of Western metaphysics and logic” because he was the first thinker formally to discuss the nature of being. Recent archaeological discoveries indicate that this same Parmenides was a priest in the cult of Apollo the Healer. Kingsley argues that the magical and ecstatic aspects of this healing cult–incubation, meditative quieting of the mind, dream interpretation, and shamanic journeys to other worlds, all rooted in the Anatolian Apollo cult–made up the practical, experiential foundations of Parmenides’ philosophy. This book is a marvelous paradox: despite its overtly scholarly aim (20 pages of dense notes at the end), it is paced like a detective thriller; yet the central aim is to awaken the longing for self-transcendence.

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Leaving church : a memoir of faith []

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A leading female preacher chronicles her personal odyssey of faith and the tensions of her religious life, a conflict that leads her to leave the church in order to maintain her relationship with God and that takes her on an unexpected path of belief.

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