Sub-titled 'Rescuing the Sacred Texts', and by the bestselling author of 'A History of God', in our increasingly secular world, holy texts are seen at best as irrelevant, and at worst as an excuse to incite violence, hatred and division. So what value, if any, can scripture hold for us today? If our world no longer seems compatible with scripture, is it perhaps because its original purpose has become lost? Today we see the Quran being used by some to justify war and terrorism, the Torah to deny Palestinians the right to live in the land of Israel, and the Bible to condemn homosexuality and contraception. The holy texts at the centre of all religious traditions are often employed selectively to underwrite arbitrary and subjective views. They are believed to be divinely ordained and claimed to contain eternal truths. But as Karen Armstrong, a world authority on religious affairs, shows in her fascinating journey through millennia of history, this narrow reading of scripture is a relatively recent phenomenon. For hundreds of years these texts were instead viewed as spiritual tools - scripture was a means for individuals to connect with the divine, to transcend their physical existence, and to experience a higher level of consciousness. Holy texts were seen as fluid and adaptable rather than a set of binding archaic rules which had to be believed. Karen Armstrong argues that only by rediscovering an open engagement with their holy texts will the world's religions be able to curtail arrogance, intolerance and violence, and if scripture is used to engage with the world in more meaningful and compassionate ways, we will find it still has a great deal to teach us. The myths, rituals, sacred texts and ethical practices of religion develop a plan of action 'whereby people reach beyond themselves to connect with the true and ultimate reality that will save them from the destructive forces of everyday existence.' But what is that ultimate reality - Brahman, Dao, Nirvana, Elohim or God? Armstrong traces the chronological development of major scriptural canons in India and China as well as the monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and how they prescribe different ways of living in harmony and what the Greeks call Kenosis - the 'emptying' of self, a central scriptural theme. A serious and inspiring piece of scholarship blending cultural history, anthropology and neuropsychology sending us back to the sacred texts with fresh eyes. 605pp, deckle edge pages, highly desirable in the USA.

Does my life look like that of Jesus, and if not, how do I get there? These two powerful questions set the tone for everything you are about to read from Cris and members of his church at All Hallows, Bow, in East London. The book is insightfully built round the idea that followers of Jesus should consider themselves as enrolled apprentices learning the ways of Jesus. Each reflection is rooted in Scripture and as you engage in the reflective exercises, answer questions and wrestle with God in prayer, the aim is that you will experience the Spirit's work in a new way. Do your strengths lie in your hands, in contributing, creating and leading? In your heart in loving, appreciating and belonging? In your head in knowing, thinking and understanding? Though our individual passions and strengths vary, Jesus invites each of us to grow in all areas of discipleship. The 40 daily readings which include Bible passages, reflections, exercises and prayer will help you step-by-step towards becoming more like Jesus. Day 8 is entitled Soul Food. Day 14 Satnavs and Road Maps. Day 18 Rock Bottom. Day 20 Standing on the Shoulders of Jesus. Day 24 A Bigger World. Day 37 Representing Jesus. An SPCK paperback, 168pp. Line art.

The sailing of the Mayflower, the ship that took the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World, is a fundamental event in American history, but it began as an English story that pioneered the idea of religious freedom. The illegal underground movement of Protestant separatists from Elizabeth I's Church of England is a story of subterfuge and danger, arrests and interrogations, prison and executions. It starts with Queen Mary's attempts to burn Protestantism out of England which created a Protestant underground. Later, when her reformation didn't go far enough, radicals recreated that underground, meeting illegally, facing prison and death for their crimes. They went into exile in the Netherlands where they lived in poverty and made their plans for the New World. Historian Stephen Tomkins tells this fascinating story, one that is rarely told as an important piece of English as well as American history that is full of contemporary relevance - religious violence, the threat to national security, freedom of religion, and the tolerance of dangerous opinions. The book is hair raising, sometimes hilarious and often tragic in telling the stories of the men and women who suffered or survived it. Tomkins has a PhD in Church History from the London School of Theology. 372pp, paperback.

Celtic sex aims to deliver a spell by harnessing the energy of orgasm, whether performed singly, in couples or in groups. This book describes in detail how to do it, with a focus on keeping the visualisation of the spell at the front of consciousness while subject to increasing sexual excitement, and in the case of a group, achieving the necessary control to release the energy of orgasm simultaneously. The author belongs to a Druidic tradition whose secrets are closely guarded, and he places emphasis on using the techniques described as part of an ongoing journey towards awareness of the infinite within the belief system of paganism. Aspects of these techniques, for instance the lack of distinction between homosexual and heterosexual activity, may be illegal in some cultures and the author warns against contravening the law. A further warning is that love has no place in the use of sex as part of magic, and practitioners are urged to put aside emotional involvement. The spell is written down, circulated among a group for approval, and then visualised or made part of the practitioner's everyday thoughts. Visualisation is followed by entering and exiting the collective space through different portals. The tools of performing the ritual are discussed here, including a wooden wand, stave, dagger, chalice, libation vessels, cauldron, phallus, and a working stone or surface. You are now ready to start the rituals of sex magic, from awakening and arousal to orgasm. This is followed by cleansing and purifying, unsealing and erasing the circle. Final chapters give advice on details specific to the individual, for instance creating your own ritual salt. Illustrated by line drawings, this book contains sexually explicit material. 230pp, softback.

The picture postcard was in its heyday in the late 19th century, when travel became a regular part of people's lives, and its popularity coincided with outbreaks of anti-semitism throughout Europe, with a notorious example being the Dreyfus case, where a Jewish officer was wrongly accused of an act of treason perpetrated by a French aristocrat. This collection makes profoundly uncomfortable reading at the same time as it sheds important light on the nature of anti-semitism and how it was spread. Around 300 postcards are reproduced here, divided by country as one nation's anti-semitism is markedly different from another's. Ordinary people sent anti-semitic postcards to their friends and relatives without any apparent awareness that the content was distasteful or inflammatory. Even in America the standard tropes are there, including exaggerated features, exclusion from the military, carrying an umbrella and an emphasis on money. In 19th century France the defeat in the Franco-Prussian war was popularly ascribed to Jewish influence. In Germany the Ostjude - Jew from the east - played a key role in forming the country's narrative of Jews as outsiders. Incidents such as the Konitz murder of 1900, where a Jew was wrongly blamed for a gruesome killing, fed into the mythology. The UK's king of seaside postcards, Donald McGill, freely used anti-semitic tropes until the rise of Hitler, when public opinion was no longer so receptive. Other countries discussed are Austria, Ukraine, and notably Poland which lost three million Jews in the Holocaust. A section on Nazi-era postcards includes images from "The Eternal Jew" exhibition of 1937 in Munich, showing Jews as physically deformed and suggesting that they were behind the Communist revolution in countries such as Russia. 238pp, softback, hundreds of colour illustrations. Save £20.

First published to accompany an exhibition of art of the same name at the at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham in October 2017 to January 2018, this rare exhibition catalogue is a celebration of Jan Steen's distinctive genius. Steen (1626-1679) is now widely admired as one of the most engaging and technically brilliant painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He produced a remarkable group of around 70 history paintings, depicting subjects taken principally from the Bible and classical mythology and history. The book concentrates specifically on his Old Testament scenes which represent some of his most ambitious works, none more so than the Wrath of Ahasuerus. In about 25 extant or securely documented paintings, Steen represented some 16 scenes from seven books of the Old Testament. We look closely at the paintings' resonances with Jewish history, culture, picture collecting and theatricality. Comparisons are made with Rembrandt and other great contemporary Dutch painters. Steen slowly shed his unfortunate reputation as a drunk and rather boorish character, and he was praised for his clarity and expressiveness, and his ability to render the humanity of his characters. We are led to understand his sarcastic and comical approach and note that his treatment of the subject of the Marriage at Cana, at which water was miraculously turned into wine, was probably the only Biblical miracle that could truly have touched Steen given his reputation as a jolly drinker. Samson and Delilah, Amnon and Tamar, the Head of a God, Esther accusing Haman at the Banquet, Jews in the Synagogue are among the full-page colour reproductions together with a useful timeline and many other woodcut and colour illustrations. 84 page large paperback.

A gripping personal journey of wonder and insight into science, faith, belief and devotion from the author of the international bestseller Shantaram. 'The Spiritual Path is a book on spiritual matters that my younger self wanted desperately; one that offers more answers than questions, and helps to reset the spiritual compass.' Gregory David Roberts takes us on a gripping personal journey of wonder and insight drawing on sacred traditions, rigorous logic, and the six year instruction of his spiritual teacher. He describes the step-by-step process he followed in search of spiritual connection that anyone of any belief or none can benefit from in their own lives. This account of the 'Leap of Faith' is a compellingly fresh addition to such enduring, spiritually inspiring works as 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance', 'The Road Less Travelled' and 'The Celestine Prophecy'. The book is very much a personal journey. 221pp in fairly large print, paperback.

The TLS said, 'Elegantly written, entertaining and bursting with information... [Menand] has undertaken what few writers of intellectual history would dare to do.' Full of surprises, here is a book that will change the way you think about everything from containment to consumerism, the Beats to the Beatles. The Cold War was not just a conquest of power but also was about ideas in the broadest sense - economic and political, artistic and personal. Scholar and critic Menand tells the story of American culture in the pivotal years from the end of World War Two to Vietnam and stresses the rich flow of ideas across the Atlantic. How did elitism and an anti-totalitarian scepticism of passion and ideology give way to a new sensibility defined by experimentation? How was the ideal of 'freedom' applied to causes that range from anti-communism and civil rights to radical acts of self-creation via art and even crime? Menand takes us inside Hannah Arendt's Manhattan, the Paris of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and the post-war Vogue for French existentialism, structuralism and post-structuralism. He also shows how Europeans played a vital role in promoting and influencing American art and thought so that America's once neglected culture became respected and adored. It is a masterly account of the main characters and minor figures who played their part and touches on Hollywood. It recalls a time when America's government, its philanthropic foundations, universities and cultural institutions established exchange programmes for writers and scholars, distributed literature around the globe, and sent art from American collections and music by American composers and performers abroad. Books were available in affordable translations and foreign movies imported and distributed so sales of books, records and museum attendance soared and laws were rewritten to permit works of art and literature to use virtually any language and to represent virtually any subject, and to protect almost any kind of speech. American industry doubled its output and consumer choice expanded dramatically. The income gap was the smallest in history and the ideological differences between the two major political parties were minor leading to investment in social programmes. People cared; ideas mattered; people believed in liberty and democracy and authenticity and having lived through a worldwide depression that lasted almost ten years, people were eager for a fresh start. A monumental work of 857pp we are delighted to offer at a discount.

Get out your extra powerful magnifying glass or read under any standard microscope this Bible reduced 250 times! The Itty Bitty Bible can be carried on you at all times and open the teeny colourful doors to find faith, hope and love, sending blessings the whole day through. 'Through its small window a heavenly view', which is the teeniest print on a Perspex sheet, over 1200 pages reduced 250 times through a special photographic process. An extraordinary pocket sized book. Have faith, it's all there. A companion to the Catholic Bible code 93197.

When we think of the medieval world we picture spectacular events such as knightly jousting, or mystery plays winding through the streets on the feast of Corpus Christi. This absorbing study of public spectacles in southern Spain in the 15th century gives us a very different picture. The adjacent regions of Castile and Granada represented the Catholic and Muslim worlds: Granada was the only Muslim region left after the north African conquest of Spain six centuries earlier. Until the 15th century co-existence had been relatively peaceful, but the mid 15th century saw a hardening of attitudes and with the advent of the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella the Inquisition was on the horizon. Public spectacles took place on the borders between different religions and cultures, and were a demonstration of power and territorial claims. In the knightly tournaments of 1428 and 1434 at Valladolid, King Juan II appeared in the costume of God the Father, pouring blessings on the military efforts of the knights, who might engage in pageantry one day and raid Granada the next. In the 1450s the exiled Miguel Lucas, constable of Castile, settled in the city of Jaen and mounted lavish spectacles in which Muslims were religious enemies but cultural brethren, the ambiguity reflecting the reality of society at the frontier. By 1480 Ferdinand and Isabella had stabilised Castile ready for sustained aggression towards Granada. In the Castilian city of Murcia all citizens paid tax towards the Christian military, including Muslims and Jews, who in Murcia had escaped the 1391 pogrom, and the Corpus Christi play traditionally involved all citizens mixing together, including those of religious minorities. By 1492, after the city had been used as a base for the assault on Granada, the Corpus Christi processions were a victory gala in which the role of Jews and Muslims was to be humiliated. 246pp, black and white reproductions.