In this volume, Richard Gilmore explores film as a channel through which to engage in philosophical reflection and analyzes the relationship between philosophy and film. This book argues that philosophy and film can and should be used for the amelioration of life’s difficulties and the promotion of life’s boons. Gilmore identifies how philosophy and film complement and enrich one another and explores their relationship by connecting classic wisdom texts to significant movies. For example, the volume analyzes the Coen brothers’ films The Big Lebowski and A Serious Man in light of The Book of Job. Gilmore considers the ancient idea of philosophy as “spiritual exercise” and a way of life. The volume concludes by examining what the author labels “sublime conversations” as the highest expression of philosophy. The book identifies and dissects these conversations in movies directed by the likes of Robert Bresson, Yasujirō Ozu, Jean-Luc Godard, and Ingmar Bergman, among others.

Spiritual themes are common in movies: The unconventional savior. The hero’s journey. The redemption tale. The balance of creation. Journalist John A. Zukowski reflects on twelve major spiritual themes in the world of cinema, discussing films from Dead Man Walking to Bruce Almighty, from Groundhog Day to Chariots of Fire, and many more. See them all—read them all—before you die!

Experience God in the movies! A valuable resource guide examining over thirty films and their theological impact. Excellent for film buffs and church leaders alike.

Help your students experience the wisdom of Proverbs! The principles and truth contained in the book of Proverbs are as relevant as ever. This beautiful study guides students to wise living and instills a lifelong love and appreciation for Scripture. Each day, a student will read a Proverb and be challenged to apply its wisdom to their everyday life. Experience Scripture resources are designed specifically to help readers engage with God’s Word through reading and reflection. As they become Biblically fluent, students will be able to apply its principles in everyday life. These resources are: Rooted in Scripture - this is not a self-help manual, but a resource that fosters a life-long habit of reading the Bible. Beautifully designed - contemporary design that appeals to students who appreciate a clean reading experience. Accessible - can be completed in one month. Each day includes brief explanation of passage’s major themes to quickly understand context. Experiential - Scripture is meant to be experienced. This resource provides tangible ways for students to interact with Scripture. This Biblical commentary can be used devotionally, with these features and practices provided for each day- Know Before You Go – learn the essential context Read the Passage - average of about 20 verses per day After the Passage - explains meaning, themes, and the bottom line Experience – engaging questions and interactions Takeaway and Pray - personal application that lasts

Your best prescription goes beyond science. This book will help transform your way of thinking and give you tools to change your life and even your eternity. It will help you cope with stress and others and change the world around you. Despite health care professionals' constant efforts to educate, entice, advise, convince, indoctrinate, and persuade patients with smooth talk, bribes, guilt, and manipulation to make people understand and follow medical advice, the results are often minimal. People continue to suffer from various diseases and chronic conditions. Many still die prematurely from high levels of stress caused by fear, worry, anxiety, and depression. Even with so much knowledge, the gaps in the way people manage stressors in their daily lives needs to be addressed. In Find Your Peace, Dr. Rodica Malos tackles this universal topic head-on. Brimming with medical research, basic brain chemistry, and scriptural wisdom, this powerful, encouraging book reveals how the divine design of the human body functions most perfectly when a person's thought life aligns with God's instructions (prescriptions beyond science). God's divine prescriptions and timeless truths will transform, comfort, sustain, and heal. Readers will learn to confront their fear, anxiety, and depression with supernatural resources and develop a healthier lifestyle full of blessings and peace.

This informative guide helps readers combine their love of movies with their desire to grow closer to God. Foremost experts on faith and film, all connected with the Reel Spirituality Institute at Fuller Seminary, explore forty leading movies from the last four decades to encourage movie lovers and small groups to reflect critically and theologically on their film choices. God in the Movies introduces and analyzes the spiritual content of top films from the 1980s through the 2010s, opening viewers up to a conversation about life, faith, and God. Following a format similar to Barsotti and Johnston's successful Finding God in the Movies, this completely new book covers different films spanning four decades. This engaging resource contains production notes and film synopses, relevant Scripture texts, theological reflection, discussion questions, film stills, recommended film clips, and more, serving as a treasure chest for hours of film viewing, discussion, and ministry. Clips from the movies referenced in each chapter are available online.

The Man You Never Knew You Knew It’s one of the most powerful and popular images in the history of space exploration: an astronaut in a snow-white spacesuit, untethered and floating alone in an expanse of blue. Bruce McCandless II is the man in that spacesuit, and Wonders All Around: The Incredible True Story of Astronaut Bruce McCandless II and the First Untethered Flight in Space is the thoroughly engrossing, extensively researched story of his inspiring life and groundbreaking accomplishments, as told by his son, a gifted writer and storyteller. Bruce McCandless II, a Navy fighter pilot, joined NASA in 1966. He was Houston’s capsule communicator—the person talking to the astronauts—as Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind in 1969. McCandless supported subsequent Apollo flights and developed technology and techniques his fellow astronauts used during the Skylab program, working behind the scenes until he was chosen to ride Challenger into space on the tenth shuttle mission. When he stepped into the cosmos to test the Manned Maneuvering Unit, he became a space flight icon. But the road to that incredible feat was not the sure bet it should have been for such a gifted man. Bruce McCandless II was an astronaut for 24 years, and his story encompasses the development of the space agency itself—the changes in focus, in personnel, in approach, and in the city of Houston that grew up with it. Wonders All Around is more than a catalogue of McCandless’s extraordinary achievements, which included work on the design, deployment, and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. It is also a tale of perseverance and devotion. Recounted with insight and humor, this book explores the relationship between a father and a son, men of two very different generations. And finally, it is an exploration of the mindset of one unique individual, and the courage, imagination, and tenacity that propelled him and his country to their place in the forefront of space history. From Wonders All Around: "Bruce McCandless turned his Jeep around and screeched out of the cul-de-sac in front of our house for the ten-minute drive to the space center. The moon, a waxing crescent, was standing thirty degrees above the western horizon, and my father slipped into a sort of reverie as he sped toward it on NASA Road One. The moon floated serene and imperturbable in front of him like a black-and-white photograph of itself, Earth’s gravitational remora, her pale silent sister, movie star and legend, goddess and mirage. Bruce McCandless had just turned thirty-two. He was an engineer, a true son of science, a distant nephew of Sir Isaac Newton. He knew the formulas required for achieving orbital velocity, could tell you the fuel mixtures you needed, the stages and timing of rocket-booster separations. He brushed sentiments away like so many spider webs. But even he was having trouble believing that human beings—his colleagues and friends—were up there in the sky, getting ready to do something no one had ever done before. He was going to be part of it. He would be talking to two men as they walked on the moon. The young astronaut hadn’t quite reached his lifelong goal of touching the lunar surface, but he was close. He was almost there. He could feel it."

A cyborg detective hunts for a malfunctioning sex doll that turns itself into a killing machine. A Heian-era Taoist slays evil spirits with magic spells from yin-yang philosophy. A young mortician carefully prepares bodies for their journey to the afterlife. A teenage girl drinks a cup of life-giving sake, not knowing its irreversible transformative power. These are scenes from the visually enticing, spiritually eclectic media of Japanese movies and anime. The narratives of courageous heroes and heroines and the myths and legends of deities and their abodes are not just recurring motifs of the cinematic fantasy world. They are pop culture’s representations of sacred subtexts in Japan. Japanese Mythology in Film takes a semiotic approach to uncovering such religious and folkloric tropes and subtexts embedded in popular Japanese movies and anime. Part I introduces film semiotics with plain definitions of terminology. Through familiar cinematic examples, it emphasizes the myth-making nature of modern-day film and argues that semiotics can be used as a theoretical tool for reading film. Part II presents case studies of eight popular Japanese films as models of semiotic analysis. While discussing each film’s use of common mythological motifs such as death and rebirth, its case study also unveils more covert cultural signifiers and folktale motifs, including jizo (a savior of sentient beings) and kori (bewitching foxes and raccoon dogs), hidden in the Japanese filmic text.

Thinking about getting up and telling the world what you stand for is daunting. Actually doing it is terrifying but the rewards are incredible. Imagine spending every waking hour doing what you love... Authentic shows how to do just that. In Authentic, Neil Crofts offers inspiration for individuals tired of career conformity. He shows how we arrived at a situation where many of us are tied to jobs we don’t enjoy. He demonstrates the steps you need to take to find out who you are and what you want from life, and finally, he reveals how you can turn all that into a business idea that is Authentic to you. Authentic is a lifestyle book based on practical experience. Neil Crofts’ vision of a role that allowed him to be true to himself and make a positive impact on the world around him convinced him to break out of a conventional corporate career. Authentic is about giving others the courage to follow their hearts in the same way.