Open To New Light

This book is about “the meaning of life” or “the spiritual quest”. It offers a selective and critical evaluation of some central strands of Western religious and philosophical thought over two and a half thousand years. It starts with Socrates' philosophy of life, and the Greek tradition of philosophy that he initiated. It gives its own “take” on the teaching of Jesus, and on the long and controversial history of Christianity. There is a chapter devoted to George Fox and the beginning of the Quaker movement, suggesting some surprising parallels between the undogmatic spirituality of the Quakers and the heavyweight philosophy of Immanuel Kant. It recommends a non-literal interpretation of language about God, with some reference to Austin Farrer on “poetic truth”. The book is intended for the intelligent general reader – it is accessible but not “dumbed down”, knowledgeable but not overburdened with detail, critically argumentative but not prejudiced.

Quaker meetings in Britain today encounter unprecedented diversity of belief and religious language. This text explores the issues that spiritual diversity raises for Quakers individually and corporately, and the challenges and rewards of being a diverse, inclusive community of faith.

Advices and queries designed to challenge and inspire Australian Quakers in their personal lives and in their life as a religious community.

Open to New Light is not only for readers interested in exploring Quaker history and principles but also for anyone interested in different faiths and the relationships between them. The topics covered include Quakers' historic interfaith encounters, as well as more recent engagements with Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Jains, Sikhs, Baha'is, followers of Indigenous religions and Humanists.

Argues that human freedom is threatened by systems of intelligent persuasion developed by tech giants who compete for our time and attention. This title is also available as Open Access.

This “superb history” of artificial light traces the evolution of society—“invariably fascinating and often original . . . [it] amply lives up to its title” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). In Brilliant, Jane Brox explores humankind’s ever-changing relationship to artificial light, from the stone lamps of the Pleistocene to the LEDs embedded in fabrics of the future. More than a survey of technological development, this sweeping history reveals how artificial light changed our world, and how those social and cultural changes in turn led to the pursuit of more ways of spreading, maintaining, and controlling light. Brox plumbs the class implications of light—who had it, who didn’t—through the centuries when crude lamps and tallow candles constricted waking hours. She identifies the pursuit of whale oil as the first time the need for light thrust us toward an environmental tipping point. Only decades later, gas street lights opened up the evening hours to leisure, which changed the ways we live and sleep and the world’s ecosystems. Edison’s bulbs produced a light that seemed to its users all but divorced from human effort or cost. And yet, as Brox’s informative portrait of our current grid system shows, the cost is ever with us. Brilliant is infused with human voices, startling insights, and timely questions about how our future lives will be shaped by light

This book is an attempt 'to explain the Quaker way, as far as that is possible'. It is a distinctive way and, though perhaps no better than others, it has its own integrity and effectiveness. Although it is fairly well known, Quakerism is not well understood, so the purpose of this book is to make it intelligible, to explain how it works as a spiritual practice and why it has adopted the particular practices it has. It is aimed primarily at non-Quakers, who may nonetheless be interested to know what Quakerism is about. ,

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown has long inspired readers to believe that life is full of wonderful possibilities. Here is one of her classic novels, an exquisite tale of longtime friends who have seen it all—and suddenly see each other in a whole new light. Ever since losing her husband, Cyn McCall has counted on his business partner, Worth Lansing. Though a confirmed bachelor, Worth nonetheless proves himself to be a dependable friend and a father figure to her son. He makes her laugh, and she teases him about his many romantic entanglements. But falling for a man who can’t settle down is the furthest thing from her mind—until an innocent gesture changes everything. When Worth invites Cyn to a getaway weekend in Acapulco, he doesn’t expect to be sharing a room. And he certainly doesn’t intend for them to wind up in bed together. Cyn wants to believe that their night of passion was a mistake sparked by the exotic locale. But Worth is convinced that they share something deeper. He knows he’s finally ready to stop playing games—if only Cyn will open her heart to the promise of love.

Structured around questions which non-Quakers often ask, this book explores Quaker practices, explaining them in the context of Quaker theology and present-day diversity. It describes how Quakers make decisions and why they have preferred this method, as well as looking at the Quaker rejection of common Christian practices like baptism. Each short chapter gives an answer, considers why that is so, describes some of the diversity within Quaker groups, and points to other resources which could be used to find out more.