Supernatural is one of the most successful horror TV shows ever, providing fifteen seasons of the adventures of Dean and Sam Winchester as they hunt monsters and save the world. It has nurtured a passionate fan base, which has been far more directly integrated into the show than is typical. Wry and self-aware, Supernatural repeatedly breaks out of the televisual box to acknowledge its fans and its own fictionality. Though there have already been several studies of Supernatural, this volume is the first to focus extensively and intensively on the show's metafictional elements. This essay collection argues that Supernatural is not merely a horror show, but is a show about how horror works as a genre, and how fans interact with their favorite material. From exploring how the show has equated authorship with divinity, to considering its incorporation of fandom and closely reading several key episodes, the essays in this volume seek to examine the multiple layers of textuality found in Supernatural.

God Out of Control shouts the fact that God’s Presence is not constrained by time, manmade walls around Him, or self-limiting and God-constraining mindsets. Statistics abound about the large numbers of people leaving organized religion and the general disenchantment with all things spiritual as presented by Western religions. Secularists, politicians, political correctness police, public education, government, and law enforcement have all stepped up unwarranted persecution of religion in general and Christianity in particular. These anti-Christ systems are encouraged to continue by the obvious lack of push-back by the religious machines in the United States. Genuine believers, the grassroots movement of quiet anarchy, are quickly dismissed as fringe groups with no real power or organization. Little do the masters of deception understand the inner workings of the Holy Spirit that are reminiscent of the times of the apostles and the early church founders. These early believers knew and understood that He who was in them was greater than who was in the world (1 John 4:4). They could not be bullied, silenced, or ignored. They escaped from legalistic traditions and the mind-numbing status

These commentaries, part of a set from noted Bible scholar John MacArthur, take readers on a journey through biblical texts to discover what lies beneath the surface, focusing on meaning and context, and then reflecting on the explored passage or concept. With probing questions that guide the reader toward application, as well as ample space for journaling, The MacArthur New Testament Commentaries are invaluable tools for Bible students of all ages.This work on Hebrews is part of a New Testament commentary series which has as its objective explaining and applying Scripture, focusing on the major doctrines and how they relate to the whole of the Bible.

For centuries, people attempted to know, why religion? What are the roots of religion? Can we function and lead a decent, moral, meaningful, and good life without blindly believing religious dogmas? So many questions are in the human mind. We are the superior species of all species on earth, and thus, we are free to think, gather new knowledge, innovate, and create new things by virtue of our brains capability and power. This natural gift prompts us to ask unending questions and find answers to those questions. But religions block our freethinking and suggest not thinking beyond the holy books but believing them blindly. This is like totalitarianism modus operandi that silences the dissents. This is an important book and the first of its kind that gives a challenging proposition as to how we can live a good, moral, productive, and meaningful life without instilling blind religious faith but to think rationally and lead life with reason, progress, prosperity, and happinessa humanistic life. We just need new principles based on scientific worldview, that is, science, technology, progress, civilization, and humanity growing together. Conventional religions cannot free people, but freethinking, knowledge, and karma can. The most realistic approach is one world, one life, one god, one universal religionhumanity.

Prayer on Fire is what happens when your initiative to meet with God in prayer connects with His desire to meet you. Learn the biblical steps to take to experience the reality of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your daily prayer life.

Over the past ten years, fan fiction has outgrown its perceived taboo, as made by the public, and has evolved into a legitimate form of writing and self-expression. Academics, too, have recognized the potential for fan fiction studies through the lens of the humanities, psychology, sociology, and gender and queer studies. What makes 'Fix-It Fics: Challenging the Status Quo through Fanfiction' unique is in its specific focus on the fan fiction subgenre: fix-it fics. Also known in fan fiction communities as the fix-it, fans writing in this subgenre are motivated by fixing what they believe the original creators did not get right the first time. More significantly, fix-it fic writers generally use their prose to fix the unaddressed biases that are perpetuated on their favorite character, or plot lines, by either the original creator or other fans. The fix-it fic has existed for some time; however, it was after J.K. Rowling’s degrading remarks about the transgender community that fix-it fic writers clearly saw themselves as the only ones who could challenge the prejudices associated with their fandoms. The essay featured in this book reflects on the fix-it fic as an outlet for self-advocacy and community activism through the written word. Chapters in this book focus on fandoms including but not limited to Supernatural, Harry Potter, Wentworth, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, Star Trek, and Batman, while also addressing topics such as the Omegaverse, healing trauma, and creating community archives. 'Fix-It Fics: Challenging the Status Quo through Fanfiction' will appeal to popular culture, sociology, and gender and queer studies scholars who are invested in the larger academic conversation and offers an array of essays that any college professor teaching popular culture will surely benefit from including in their courses.

The idea of metatextuality is frequently framed as a recent television development and often paired with the idea that it represents genre exhaustion. US television, however, with its early “live” performances and set-bound sitcoms, always suggested an element of self-awareness that easily shaded into metatextuality even in its earliest days. Meta Television thus traces the general history of US television’s metatextuality throughout television’s history, arguing that TV’s self-awareness is nothing new—and certainly not evidence of a period of aesthetic exhaustion—but instead is woven into both its past and present practice, elucidated through case studies featuring series from the 1970s to the present day—many of which have not been critically analyzed before—and the various ways they deploy metatext to both construct and deconstruct their narratives. Further, Meta Television asserts that this re- and de-construction of narrative and production isn’t just a reward to the savvy and/or knowledgeable viewer (or consumer), but seeks to make broader points about the media we consume—and how we consume it. This book explores the ways in which the current metatextual turn, in both the usual genres in which it appears (horror and sci-fi/fantasy) and its movement into drama and sitcom, represents the next turn in television’s inherent self-awareness. It traces this element throughout television’s history, growing from the more modest reflexivity of programs’ awareness of themselves, as created objects in a particular medium, to the more significant breaking of the fictive illusion and therefore the perceived distance between the audience and the series. Erin Giannini shows how the increased currency of metatextual television in the contemporary era can be tied to a viewership well-versed in its stories and production as well as able and willing to “talk back” via social media. If television reflects culture to a certain extent, this increased reflexivity mirrors that “responsive” audience as a consequence of the lack of distance that metafiction embraces. As Robert Stam traced the use—and implications—of reflexivity in film and literature, this book does the same for television, further problematizing John Ellis’s glance theory in terms of both production and spectatorship.

This set includes the entire collection of the MacArthur New Testament Commentary series: Matthew 1-7, Matthew 8-15, Matthew 16-23, Matthew 24-28, Luke 1-5, Luke 6-10, Luke 11-17, John 1-11, John 12-21, Acts 1-12, Acts 13-28, Romans 1-8, Romans 9-16, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter & Jude, 1-3 John, Revelation 1-11, and Revelation 12-22. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series continues to be one of today's top-selling commentary series. These commentaries from respected Bible scholar and preacher John MacArthur give a verse-by-verse analysis in context and provide points of application for passages, illuminating the biblical text in practical and relevant ways.

This set includes the entire collection of the MacArthur New Testament Commentary series: Matthew 1-7, Matthew 8-15, Matthew 16-23, Matthew 24-28, Luke 1-5, Luke 6-10, Luke 11-17, Luke 18-24, John 1-11, John 12-21, Acts 1-12, Acts 13-28, Romans 1-8, Romans 9-16, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians & Philemon, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter & Jude, 1-3 John, Revelation 1-11, and Revelation 12-22. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series continues to be one of today's top-selling commentary series. These commentaries from respected Bible scholar and preacher John MacArthur give a verse-by-verse analysis in context and provide points of application for passages, illuminating the biblical text in practical and relevant ways.