The illusion of certainty in faith may be the last un-named sin, the lack of it the stuff of poetry, the struggle to know, to feel, to believe, a wholly holy pursuit ... even by those brave enough to admit we do not know, only try.

This book is intended to open Christians' minds up to other Christians and to help improve dialog between them. It deals with where a lot of them are coming from doctrinally, and the problems to be dealt with on both sides. There is a core to all true Christians that should bind us, but we cannot do that as long as we cannot be open with our differences and open-minded enough to understand why some people believe what they do. Mature Christians should be able to talk about the elephant in the room. I am of the firm belief that if everybody was coming from the Bible with what they believed, we would have a lot more agreement. (And the world would hate us all the more.) I certainly do not expect every Christian to agree with me on everything. It is not for nothing I call myself Hereticus.

The Heretic's Gospel - Book One tells the story of a young Jewish carpenter, from his birth in a humble cave in Bethlehem, through his childhood, his reluctant betrothal, his baptism by the famous John the Baptist, and to his own preeminence as the "Great Healer of Upper Galilee." Based on literally thousands of hours of archaeological and historical research, the past will come alive again as you look at Life in First Century Israel through the eyes of the man who comes to be known to the world as Jesus Christ.

Distinguishing between religion and spirituality, Burke offers what he calls a new way of looking at God, one centered on the idea of grace. He emphasizes a God who is looking to save the world, not a God who seems more intent on condemning certain practices . . . . For Burke, God is to be questioned, not simply obeyed. His challenging thesis will appeal to many people today who have given up on organized religion but still seek some connection to spirituality.

Since the release of his first novel, The Orchard Keeper, in 1965, Cormac McCarthy’s characters, intricate plots, and sometimes forbidding settings have captivated the attention of countless readers while exploring deep philosophical problems, including that of human agency and free will. This multiauthor volume places the full range of his novels in historical, literary, and cultural contexts and shifts the focus of critical engagement to questions of determinism, fatalism, and free will. Essayists over the course of eleven chapters show how McCarthy’s protagonists and antagonists often confront grotesque realities and destinies, and find themselves prey to incessant subconscious and uncontrollable forces. In the process, these scholars reveal that McCarthy’s works arrive thoroughly tinctured with religious complexities, ambiguities of ancient and modern thinking, and profoundly splintered notions of morality, freedom, and ethics. Consequently, McCarthy’s philosophical depth, mastery of language, and sometimes shocking psychological analysis are brought into sharp focus for longtime readers. With new scholarship from eminent critics, an accessible style, and precise attention to the lesser-known works, Cormac McCarthy’s Violent Destinies re-introduces the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist’s work under the twin themes of fatalism and determinism.