Showing results for "David Kessel" in All Categories

While the Bible is enough to take us to heaven, knowing history helps us live more wisely on our way. George Orwell observed in 1984 that those who pay attention to history have the potential to influence the future. Stuck in the Present offers a grounding in historical consciousness that allows us to better navigate the daily bombardment of information. Amnesia about the past makes us vulnerable to the shackles of modern-day hucksters who try to convince us that the present is all that matters.

Many think of God as wrathful and angry, smiting people right and left for no apparent reason. The Old Testament in particular seems at times to portray God as capricious and malevolent, wiping out armies and nations, punishing enemies with extreme prejudice. But wait. The story is more complicated than that.

We are living in angry times. No matter where we go, what we watch, or how we communicate, our culture is rife with conflict. Unfortunately, Christians appear to be caught up in the same animosity as the culture at large. We are perceived as angry, judgmental, and defensive, fighting among ourselves in various media while the world looks on. How have we failed to be a people of reconciliation and renewal in the face of such tumult?

Escape from Dannemora examines the strange case of Joyce Mitchell, the long-time prison employee who had a sexual relationship with at least one of the killers, and who smuggled them tools and aided in the escape, while they cooked up a plan to kill her husband. In the end, Benson looks closely at conditions at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, a crumbling Gothic pile now under investigation for charges of drug trafficking and brutality.

July 1863 was a momentous month in the Civil War. News of Gettysburg and Vicksburg electrified the North and devastated the South. Sandwiched geographically between those victories and lost in the heady tumult of events was news that William S. Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland had driven Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee entirely out of Middle Tennessee. The brilliant campaign nearly cleared the state of Rebels and changed the calculus of the Civil War in the Western Theater. Despite its decisive significance, few people even today know of these events.

This book introduces us to the meaning of church membership, the traits of a good church, and how we are to function as parts of the body. Written for laypeople, it includes practical discussions on church leadership, male and female roles, worship, spiritual gifts, confrontation, unity, and prayer. Revised and expanded with study questions and new conclusions.

Human rights should protect the dignity and well-being of all people. But in today's deeply divided world, some argue that cultural differences and economic inequality undermine their universality. In Human Rights in a Divided World, David Hollenbach offers a comprehensive and cohesive analysis of the challenges to human rights, suggesting that today's global realities call for important developments rooted in Catholic ethics.