Following up on his popular Walking the Bible Bruce Feiler journalist and travel writer now presents his very personal exploration of monotheism rsquo s common patriarch in Abraham A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths The importance of his topic mdash the identity and meaning of Abraham mdash

In a period of cultural and religious change this book detects a revival of orthodoxy that offers a solution to the current religious turmoil Oden divides his treatment into two parts The first entitled ldquo The Gift of New Life rdquo deals with the present spiritual crisis in Christianity a

During an interview several years ago Edna O'Brien told me a story about an appearance of hers in the 1960's on an Irish television program during which the host said to the studio audience: "Hands up all of you who think Edna O'Brien has shamed her country."

In case you have ever wondered why the facade of St Peter rsquo s Basilica in Rome seems so disproportionately and disagreeably wide in relation to its height the explanation is that the final bays on both of its sides are in fact not part of the facade itself They instead represent the lower por

From the time of the Devotio Moderna to the present books offering guided meditations on Jesus have been a staple of Christian spirituality Anselm Gr n a Benedictine monk and best-selling spiritual writer in Germany and throughout Europe offers 50 short vignettes of the life and teaching of Jes

In 1970 at the age of 56 Alec Guinness by then one of the best-known character actors in the world sat for a formal portrait Michael Noakes the artist recognized the overwhelming challenge of the task ldquo How does one paint what lies beneath the surface of the skin rdquo asks biographer