The Age of Aquarius: The Golden Age of Mankind

Part religious study and part scientific study The Age of Aquarius: The Golden Age of Mankind is a fascinating insight into religion, science and the stars. Split into chapters, providing tips on how to meditate, information on astrological symbolism, the Seven Seals and the planets, there is sure to be something to interest everyone in this book.  There are chapters on each of the individual planets, and the book also contains diagrams and illustrations throughout, which will fascinate readers.

Humans Evolved, People Were Made

If you believe in God but recoil from the way some people think that science has the answer to everything, and that the theory of Natural Selection can account for people without the need for God, you will find this book informative and inspiring. While reading it you will learn about the relationship between science and theology. You will be informed about the development of evolutionary science, from Lamarck to the present. You will understand the limitations of science and that Natural Selection is thought to be less important now. You will become aware of the difference between humans and people. How it was that people’s fear of each other led to sedentism and agriculture ten thousand years ago. You will learn more about the work of Charles Darwin, including his genetic theory, Pangenesis, and the writing on evolution by his contemporaries, Wallace and Chambers.You will see how the words of the Bible can be aligned with the material record of archaeology and how the timeline of development of people is different from that of animals.You will be interested in the proposal that God made people by an upgrade of the human, which must have happened just before the migration out of Africa, about 65,000 year ago. Only God could have given the ancient humans a soul, language and the intellect and immortality which go with them. This changed them into the people we are now, to make one living creature that could talk to God.

The Questions Put by Jesus

Questions are revealing. It is exciting, therefore, in this book to study not only how Jesus’ use of questions characterises his ministry and his style of teaching, but also how those questions reveal his train of thought as events unfold, and what they reveal about him as a person in relation to himself, his neighbour, his environment, and God. This book engages with the milieu and the different Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. It examines 108 of his questions in some detail together with their parallels, amounting to 299 questions in all. It explores Jesus’ use of questions to promote his teaching and ministry and sometimes, more aggressively, to defend his disciples or discomfort and discredit his critics and opponents.

Hopefully, being alive to the questions put by Jesus and even wondering, perhaps, how we might answer some of them, helps to sharpen our personal beliefs. 

Shakib Arsalan’s Why Muslims Lagged Behind and Others Progressed

In the fall of 1928, the Imam of Java, a certain Mohammad Basyuni Imran, had a letter delivered to the Lebanese author and scholar, Shakib Arsalan. In his letter, Basyuni Imran requested Arsalan to explain the reasons for the backwardness of Muslims of the time compared to other nations. Furthermore, Basyuni asked Arsalan to suggest what they need to do to join the ranks of nations that have overtaken them and, in many cases, rule over them.

Arsalan published his response in a series of articles written for the Cairo-based Islamic journal, Al-Manar. Subsequently, these articles were combined and published in a book in 1930 with the title: Why did Muslims lag behind? And why did others progress?

In his response, Arsalan begins with an analysis of what has gone wrong. He addresses the belief of some that Islam is to blame for the backwardness of Muslims. He goes on to give examples of how advanced nations progressed while holding firmly onto their religious beliefs.

In simple, elegant prose, Arsalan takes the reader on a fascinating walk through history. There are references to pre-Islamic times and the early Islamic period, French colonialists in North Africa and their efforts to convert Muslim populations to Christianity, goings on in the British Houses of Parliament on the issue of transubstantiation, and much more.

The latter part of the book has examples of recent (1930s and earlier) achievements of Muslims when they set their minds on doing something.

It is a measure of the merit and excellence of Arsalan’s words that his book has never been out of publication. It remains among Arabic speakers as popular and relevant today as at the time it was first published almost a century ago.

Seasons of Antibes

She walks in the gardens of the Parc Exflora for the first time in three days. The 55 days of the first confinement are over and she cannot believe her eyes. For the first time she imagines, really imagines what it must have been like for Noah and the other seven, to be locked up in an “Ark” for 150 days. Wow! It is only something we read, but now truly we have not only imagined and caught a glimpse of it, but we do actually pray that we may never have to live through it!

Opening to the Realness of God

Humanness was created and brought to life 75,000 years ago. Every 25,000 years there is a harvesting of souls according to both positive and negative service polarization. At the end of the third cycle, those harvested as the positively polarized begin the process of working towards collective ascension. This is how humanity evolves from third density negative into fourth density positive that then ascends into fifth density, because that density is not physical.

What ascends collectively is the humanness of will, love, light, and consciousness as they pertain to and involve God—Creator or what brought us to life—and the universe. They are our mind, body, spirit, and soul. What they correspond to is the sun, earth, moon, and universe as a human ideal.

God’s will to be and know extends and expands by inversely reversing into a focus. It begins with a consciousness that is then shared with all else. This is true service polarity. There is only the oneness of God, the healing of life, the wholeness of the Christ as the human, and the ascension of that which ascends after service is performed.

We are only here to be kind and get along.

Let God in: One Ignatian Journey

Perhaps you are a lifelong Christian as is the author, John A. Cooper. Perhaps you are thinking, "I have already let God into my life and my salvation is assured." Perhaps you are not a Christian, maybe you are Muslim, or atheist, or maintain another belief system, or no system at all. Then, this book is for you! Even if you have a relationship with God, would you open the door to your heart even wider and give up everything to live only in the love and Grace of God? Notice the cover art and symbol for the Holy Spirit, the light from the Father, and Jesus, all One God, all of the same substance. Jesus' hands reach out for you… Will you let Him into your life? Will you open the door even wider if he already lives in you? May Jesus be your Peace? John, You share yourself beautifully, both in your life experiences and in your imagination of scripture scenes, in the way you image Jesus, and how you apply those prayers to your personal and spiritual growth. This is a book that will invite all who read it with humility and courage to seek God in their everyday life experiences, with greater depth, trust, and unity. Thank you for sharing this book with me. - Bob Fitzgerald, former Executive Director Ignatius House, Atlanta, GA; currently Adjunct Lecturer, Spring Hill College; and Spiritual Director. This book is both a personal testimony and a practical guide. As in the story of St. Ignatius, the sudden loss of lifelong ambitions led to the grace of transformation, from self-confident determination to profound surrender, to the living Christ. Cooper shares a condensed version of his personal journal during the Spiritual Exercises in daily life. His notes for 32 weeks of prayer and reflection offer a very practical template for others to make their own journey of transformation. - Christopher Viscardi, S.J., Director of Spiritual Direction Program, Spring Hill College.

Corona Virus: Is There a Word from the Lord?

The current pandemic (Covid-19) has left many wondering: ‘is there a word from the LORD?’  

The Psalms deal with features of everyday life from pain and suffering, fear and failure, through to victorious success and prosperity. Understanding the Bible, especially Psalm 119, is essential to making sense of living in the aftermath of the Corona Virus. This alphabetical Psalm deals with the blessing known by following after God’s ways, recognising the temporal world and reflecting upon eternity. Its central message points to the promised Messiah – The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the fulfilment of the Psalm and urges all mankind to wholly trust in Him for salvation.