Because the Catholic Church, other Christian churches, and almost every national government permit exceptions to God's commandment that "you shall not kill," Johannes Ude examines Catholic moral law to discern whether this commandment has absolute validity or may be modified so that in certain instances it is permissible to kill another human being. Written clandestinely during the Hitler regime, the book examines the generally accepted Catholic teachings of moral theologians and philosophers and finds that while they almost always reject abortion, suicide, sterilization, and the killing of terminally ill or mentally disabled persons, they justify the death penalty and "just defensive" wars. Ude concludes that because Christ commanded to love one's neighbors, including one's enemies, "You shall not kill" does not permit any exceptions and denies not only the right but especially the duty of self-defense, and, consequently, repudiates all wars. Ude firmly believes that the highest authority of the Catholic Church must forbid its members to fight in wars. He vehemently opposes the taking of interest (usury) and names capitalism a major cause of war, along with the weapons industry, competition for oil, and the complicity of Christian churches.

Recent discussions in the philosophy of religion, ethics, and personal political philosophy have been deeply marked by the influence of two philosophers who are often thought to be in opposition to each other, SÃ ̧ren Kierkegaard and Emmanuel Levinas. Devoted expressly to the relationship between Levinas and Kierkegaard, this volume sets forth a more rigorous comparison and sustained engagement between them. Established and newer scholars representing varied philosophical traditions bring these two thinkers into dialogue in 12 sparkling essays. They consider similarities and differences in how each elaborated a unique philosophy of religion, and they present themes such as time, obligation, love, politics, God, transcendence, and subjectivity. This conversation between neighbors is certain to inspire further inquiry and ignite philosophical debate.

In this fascinating and rare little book, a leading Italian feminist philosopher and the Archbishop of Milan face off over the contemporary meaning of the biblical commandment not to kill. The result is a series of erudite and wide-ranging arguments that move from murder and suicide to just war and drone strikes, from bioethics and biopolitics to hermeneutics and philology, from Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer to Hannah Arendt and Michel Foucault, from Torah and Scripture to art and literature, from the essence of human dignity and the paradoxes of fratricide to engagements with Levinasian ethics. Less a direct debate than a disputation in the classical sense, Thou Shalt Not Kill proves to be a searching meditation on one of the unstated moral premises shared by otherwise bitterly opposed political factions. It will stimulate the mind of the novice while also reminding more advanced readers of the necessity and desirability of thinking in the present.

Open Access for this publication was made possible by a generous donation from Segelbergska stiftelsen för liturgivetenskaplig forskning (The Segelbergska Foundation for Research in Liturgical Studies). In a seminal study, Cur cantatur?, Anders Ekenberg examined Carolingian sources for explanations of why the liturgy was sung, rather than spoken. This multidisciplinary volume takes up Ekenberg’s question anew, investigating the interplay of New Testament writings, sacred spaces, biblical interpretation, and reception history of liturgical practices and traditions. Analyses of Greek, Latin, Coptic, Arabic, and Gǝʿǝz sources, as well as of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, illuminate an array of topics, including recent trends in liturgical studies; manuscript variants and liturgical praxis; Ignatius of Antioch’s choral metaphor; baptism in ancient Christian apocrypha; and the significance of late ancient altar veils.

This book has been written to understand what is meant by the Law and Gospel. How the Ten Commandments are relevant to our walk with the Lord. The different categories of Law as defined in the bible, God's law in today's society, as well as God's law in men's hearts. This book will also help you understand the importance of the Law and Gospel; the law and Jesus, the spirit of life and finally Calvin on the Law and the Gospel. The Law of God is vital for our very existence in both this world and the world to come.

Chapter Zero The Substitute Preface Ⅰ The Civilization of Sages and Worthies and Modern Civilization Ⅱ Knowledge of Wisdom Chapter One The Level of Worlds Ⅰ The Three Great Worlds of Matter, Energy and Information 1. The Relationship between Matter, Energy and Information 2. The Law of Period and Cycle 3. The pure information structure with no information structure II Altruism is Human Nature III The Universe is Unified in Ground State Information IV All Appearances are Empty and False. Chapter Two The Generation of All Things in the Universe Lecture One Concerning the Evolution of the Universe Lecture Two Theories and Mechanism of Evolution I Evolutionary Theories in Eastern and Western Cultures The Cosmic String theory and Taiji Tu Shuo Exposition on the great wisdom in Yi Jing Emptiness is produced in the great perception. Dao produces one; the one produces two; the two produces three. II All Dharmas are the Creation of the Mind. Chapter Three Problems Related to Epistemology I Several Problems concerning Epistemology 1. “Water Knows” proves the non-duality of subject and object and unity of heaven and man 2. The pollution of human mind leads to environmental pollution 3. The “Sudden insight” in the History of Science 4. Direct manifestation and comparative manifestation II Understanding Concerning Time and Space III Sages’ Theories Concerning Knowledge Understanding of differences Turn consciousness into wisdom; go from difference to non-difference 3. Zhuang Zi’s theory on knowledge 4. Desire-based and desire-free cognitive channels 5. The pursuit of learning and the pursuit of Dao 6. There is only one; “Only the self is solely honored.” Chapter Four Order and Disorder I The Open System II Stay Away from the Equilibrium State III Nonlinear Effect IV Fluctuation Effect V The Division of the Ten Dharma Realms VI Brief Introduction to the Four Basic Laws of Thermodynamics VII Development and Evolution VIII The Phenomenon of Self-organization and Others Chapter Five The Phenomenon of the World is Discovered According to Karma I Everything is an Upside-down perception displayed by Consciousness only. II All Appearances Are Empty and False. III The World Discovered is Based on the Karma Created. 1. The information structure of the “S” line 2. Greed, anger and stupidity result in flood, fire and wind. 3. Discovery made according to karma; capacity measured based on knowledge. 4. Show kindness and compassion for creatures and be a vegetarian. 5. Stop doing evil but do good IV The Great Wisdom of Sages Chapter Six Life Forms and the Value of Life Part 1 The Phenomenon of Life I The Phenomenon of Life 1. The software-- the core of life 2. The cycle of life 3. Improve your software and upgrade your life form. 4. Four Types of Life Form II Correct Outlooks on Life and Values Part 2 The Essence of Life I The Composition of Life 1. The relationship between software and hardware 2. Information structure determines life form. 3. The value of life and the summoning of goodness and evilness II The Value and Significance of life III Self-reflection and Practice Chapter Seven Polarization and Depolarization I. The Sages’ Theories on Evolution and Return 1. “Dao” is zero and Wuji 2. Zhou Dunyi: Wuji transforms into Taiji; Taiji is originally Wuji. 3. “The two produces three.” “The three produces all things.” II What is “interact in unseen force to achieve harmony”? 1. Inductions and feelings are “unseen force” 2. The whole universe is connected through feeling and induction. III Polarization and Evolution of the World in the Eyes of the Buddha Chapter Eight The Way of Great Learning I Eastern and Western Cultures are to be integrated II Three States of World Existence 1. The three states embodied by the human body 2. Different systems of the human body III The Way of Great Learning, a Means of Increasing the amount of Information 1. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire; Manifest the bright virtue 2. “Love the people”- the great mind of same-body compassion 3. “Rest in the supreme goodness” Chapter Nine Movement and Change I The Mechanism of Movement 1. All movements are expressions of difference 2. The shadow of the flying bird does not move. 3. Study the culture of sages and worthies to open wisdom. II How do movement and change occur? 1. Things spring up in the very spot where they also come to an end. 2. The ultimate goal of human civilization III The Law of Movement and Change 1. The chain of cause and condition 2. Spot the reality through the dharma of cause and condition. 3. The law of cause and effect 4. The heaven’s net casts wide and has big meshes, but nothing can slip through. IV As soon as One Dharma Arises, the Ten Thousand Dharmas will Follow. Chapter Ten The Relativity of Polarity and Absoluteness of True Emptiness I All Movements and Changes are Transformations of Appearances. II Understanding the one-appearance of absolute vacuum 1. The characteristics of relativity and absoluteness 2. The truly empty absoluteness of one-appearance and non-duality 3 Everything moves in the absoluteness of true emptiness. III The Existence of Relative Things. IV The Information Structure of the “S” Line 1. It is information structure that makes us have to do. 2 Penetrate the cause of everything under heaven through “S” lines 3. Only the absoluteness of true emptiness exists. V Three Suggestions to Transform a Mortal into a Sage Chapter Eleven Witness the Absolute Truth I The Revelation of Color Blindness II How to Spot the True Appearance 1. Seeing, hearing, sensing and knowing are all empty and false. 2. There is no falseness outside trueness; there is no trueness outside falseness. 3. Personally certify the absolute truth III The Mind is Correspondent to the World IV Purify the Mind and Sublimate the State. Chapter Twelve The Grand Unified Field I The Mechanism and Principle of the Grand Unified Field 1. The principle of the “S” line 2. The unification perceived from the appearance of things II Expressions of the Sages’ Great Wisdom 1. The still and unmoving Yi 2. “Neither production nor extinction”, “Suchness” and “The interdependence of the two ways.” III Enter the Realm of Freedom from the Realm of Necessity Chapter thirteen Step into the Way of Sages I Influence of the Correct Three Outlooks II The Wisdom of Sages and Scientific Discoveries 1. The perfect and ultimate wisdom of sages 2. The theory of relativity proves no existence of subject and object. 3. Open up the original conscience 4. Inherit and carry forward the Way of sages III Some statements from Sages and Science 1. Concerning the composition of matter 2. The sages’ theories on the evolution of the universe 3. Water moons and water have the same body and are not dualistic. IV The Common Understanding of Sages and Worthies 1. Zero is all numbers and all numbers are zero. 2. There is only one. 3. The universe is not evolution but direct manifestation 4. “Stick-or-yell”, a superb teaching method V Mankind is in Movement and Change 1. Two types of spontaneity and their applications 2. The importance of nucleation 3. Which do you refer, egoism or altruism? 4. The Mode of motion and relative existence 5. Understand cause and condition, and return to the original source VI Enter the Primary Meaning; Turn a Mortal into a Sage 1. All dharmas have no production, no destruction, no appearance and no action. 2. Zhuang Zi’s theory on equalizing things Chapter Fourteen The Comprehensive I Fu Xi’s Great Wisdom II Eastern Tathagata and Western Tathagata III The Interconnection of the Sages’ wisdoms IV The Three Lectures on Confucianism 1. The Three Outlines in Great Learning 2. The “Nature”, “Way” and “Teaching” in Zhong Yong 3. The Mind-Method of Confucianism V A Lightless Flower VI Achievement at Ease VII Change the Software Programs of life VIII Appendix (1): The Flower Adornment Sutra

The Ten Commandments and Human Rights sets out to evaluate the importance of the Ten Commandments for the life of faith today. The general thesis is that the commandments are immensely important not only for Jews and Christians, but for all persons seeking to find or to reaffirm a moral foundation for their life and for the life of their children, their religious community, and their society.The fact that the commandments are put negatively is immensely important, for it means that the community that claims these commandments and builds on them has to work out for itself the positive import of not having other gods, not worshipping idols, not profaning the sabbath, not killing and stealing, and committing adultery. Put negatively, these commitments become the groundwork for a humanly free and responsible search for the will of God for individual, family, and corporate life today and in any day.It is true that the commandments originate in ancient Israel, are central to the faith of prophets, priests, and sages, and are claimed and made foundational by Jesus for the Christian community. But these commandments also share much with, for example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has been presented by the United Nations for adoption by all the nations of earth.The Ten Commandments and Human Rights seeks to show how to avoid moralistic use of the Ten Commandments in religious life today while still affirming that there are absolutely foundational prohibitions that can and must guide the moral life of all peoples. The Ten Commandments need very little revision in order to become such a foundation for a free and responsible life today.

This is a prose English and very literal translation of the first five books of the Peshitta Aramaic Old Testament (The Torah). Aramaic was the language of Jesus and of 1st century Israel. The Peshitta Bible is the world's first complete Christian Bible. The Peshitta Old Testament is itself a translation of the Hebrew Bible completed in the 1st century AD, according to the available evidence. No Peshitta scholar places the Peshitta OT later than the 2nd century AD. As such, it gives an early look at the state of the Hebrew Bible at that time, since Aramaic and Hebrew are sister Semitic languages and about as close to each other as any two languages can be, sharing the same alphabet, writing, grammar, much vocabulary and even similar pronunciation of many words. Some of the original Old Testament is Aramaic, such as Daniel chapters 2 through 7 inclusive, and Ezra 4 through much of 7. It even appears in a verse of Genesis 31 and one verse in Jeremiah 10:11. 228 pages, paperback.

The fate of a racially persecuted – one of millions. Search for legal and illegal means to emigrate. Denunciation, arrest by the Gestapo, concentration camp, slave labor in the defense industry. The wife of the author commits suicide, because she sees no other way out. The little daughter is sent to the gas chamber, together with her caretaker. After the war’s end, with the cruelties of the years still fresh in Liebrecht’s memory, Heinrich Liebrecht has written down his path through the hell of the Third Reich without a word of reproach or accusation. He is concerned with reconciliation, not retaliation. The star of kindness may not sink, even in the night of cruelty, that is life’s balance for the author, who died at the end of 1989.

No Drugs, No Narcotics, No Death Iron Man of the Street 119 No Drugs, No Narcotics, No Death is more than a book; it is a wake-up call, a tool for change, and a ray of hope for those who are in the darkness of addiction. In this work, Adriano Leonel delves deeply into the destructive reality of drugs, exposing the devastating effects on the body and mind, as well as the devastating impact on families and societies. With real examples, alarming statistics, and stories of overcoming, the author takes the reader on a journey that goes from the initial seduction of substances to the despair of the streets and rehabilitation clinics. Each page is a reminder that, although the path of addiction is dark, recovery is possible and necessary. This book is not only for those who struggle with addiction, but also for families, friends, and communities who want to understand, prevent, and support those who face this battle. The title of the book is a manifesto: no drugs, because narcotics mean death, and life must always prevail. With an emotional, factual and spiritual approach, Adriano Leonel offers a work that will be a landmark in the discussions about addictions, recovery and hope.