Author: J. L. Schellenberg File Type: pdf Progressive Atheism shows how atheism can make progress in humanitys future. It presents a new way of arguing that God doesnt exist, based on a portrayal of God so positive that you may sometimes wonder whether youre reading the thoughts of a believer. Starting with the simple idea that our understanding of what it takes to be a good person has changed and grown over time, J. L. Schellenberg argues that our understanding of the goodness of God must now change too. Masculine images of God as haughty King or distant Father have to be replaced by God as a paragon of nonviolence and relational openness. This more evolved conception of God is incredibly attractive and admirable. But by the same token it has become less believable. Each moral advance, applied to God, makes it even clearer that such a being would never create a world like ours. Atheists have often approached the subject of God with disdain. Progressive Atheism proves that admiration will be far more powerful.Review Over the last quarter century, atheism has come out of the closet and is today more acceptable-even respectable-than at any time in history. But the militancy often associated with the strong atheism that asserts Gods nonexistence is not enough to build a movement. We need a progressive atheism, which the philosopher J. L. Schellenberg provides us with in this brilliantly-argued and clearly-written book. Progressive Atheism is must reading for everyone interested in these ultimate questions Michael Shermer, Presidential Fellow, Chapman University, USAHow can atheism be progressive? First, by being based on moral progress. Such progress alters our understanding of Gods perfect goodness, yielding an idea of God that is too good to be true. Second, by freeing us to explore new spiritual terrain. Schellenberg acts as guide, ending the book with a fascinating tour of a variety of live religious possibilities. For open-minded readers, this book is a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended! Paul Draper, Professor of Philosophy, Purdue University, USA About the Author J. L. Schellenberg is Professor of Philosophy at Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada.

Author: Eric Laursen File Type: pdf Readers mystified by the yawning gulf between public opinion and current political discussion might benefit from the background provided in Eric Laursens magisterial history, The Peoples Pension The Struggle to Defend Social Security Since Reagan The book offers more than 800 pages of fascinating if gory details about the lobbying efforts and misinformation campaigns aimed at bringing the program down.Nancy Folbre, NYTimes Economix Blog Laursen has given us a comprehensive account of the three decade long war against Social Security. . . . This is a fascinating history that progressives must learn, not only to protect Social Security but also to understand the dynamics behind an effective long-term strategy.Dean Baker, author of False Profits Recovering From the Bubble Economy This magnificent history documents the hydra-headed campaign to cut and kill Social Security, conducted over decades by rightwing bankers, foundations, economists, and politicians. [The Peoples Pension] is utterly urgent.James K. Galbraith, author of The Predator State The Peoples Pension is both groundbreaking history and an indispensable guide for anyone concerned about one of the biggest issues in the upcoming election. With 95 percent of Americans participating in the program either as beneficiaries or through their payroll tax contributions, Social Security is quite literally the glue that binds Americans together as a community. Yet in the aftermath of the debt reduction deal between Barack Obama and congressional Republicans, the 2012 election promises to be a kind of referendum on the size and role of governmentincluding economic support programs like Social Security. Arguing to democratize, not disable, the program, Eric Laursen suggests that the only solution for Social Security is taking it out of the governments hands altogether. Eric Laursen is an independent financial and political journalist, activist, and commentator. The co-founder and former managing editor of Plan Sponsor, a magazine for pension fund executives, Laursen is also the co-author of Understanding the Crash (2010). His work has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including The Huffington Post, The Nation, Institutional Investor, The Village Voice, and Investment Dealers Digest. **Review If you want to put the current struggle over Social Securitys future in context, read this book.Mark Miller, RetirementRevised.com Independent financial reporter Laursen offers a breathtakingly comprehensive look at the history and politics behind the largest income support program in the U.S., ... Comprehensive and compelling reading on an important topic.Booklist, starred review Eric Laursen has written a comprehensive and exhaustive history of the Social Security program in the United States. The Peoples Pension is an honest, detailed and even eye-opening discussion of the programs origins and continuing efforts to provide elderly and disabled Americans with a livable income. Equally important, it is a discussion of the attempts to alter and ultimately destroy the program by forces whose only interest seems to be profit and the elimination of any government institution that guarantees every citizen worker an income in their old age. Ron Jacobs, * CounterPunch * About the Author Eric Laursen, born 1960, is an independent financial and political journalist, activist, and commentator. A native of San Francisco and graduate of Columbia University in New York (B.A. in History, Masters in International Affairs), he began his journalistic career as a reporter for Wall Street Letter, a weekly newsletter for the financial services industry. He later worked for a succession of publications as a staff writer for Corporate Finance Magazine editor of Asset International, a weekly newsletter for international investment firms and as co-founder and managing editor of Plan Sponsor, the leading monthly magazine for North American pension executives. It was there he became interested in the debate over Social Security. An independent journalist since 2000, Eric has written for publications ranging from Z Magazine and The Nation to Institutional Investor and CFO. His specializations are national politics, retirement and aging, global trade, U.S. fiscal policy, social services, business and financial services, civil liberties, and alternative economics. He has also written on anarchist theory, practice, and history for a variety of publications.

Author: Seth File Type: pdf The Seth books are world-renowned for comprising one of the most profound bodies of work ever written on the true nature of reality. In this brand new volume of original material, Seth invites us to look at the world through another lens a magical one. Seth reveals the true, magical nature of our deepest levels of being, and explains how we have allowed it to become inhibited by our own beliefs and conventional thinking.The Magical Approach teaches us how to live our lives spontaneously, creatively, and according to our own natural rhythms. It helps us to discover and tune into our natural, instinctive behavior. By applying the principles in this book, readers will learn to trust their impulses and discover the highest expression of their creativity.We are indeed dealing with two entirely different approaches to reality and to solving problems methods we will here call the rational method and the magical one. The rational approach works quite well in certain situations, such as mass production of goods, or in certain kinds of scientific measurements but all in all the rational method, as it is understood and used, does not work as an overall approach to life, or in the solving of problems that involve subjective rather than objective measurements or calculations. The magical approach has far greater weight, if you use it and allow yourselves to operate in that fashion, for it has the weight of your basic natural orientation.

Author: Niambi Michele Carter File Type: pdf At the same time that the Civil Rights Movement brought increasing opportunities for blacks, the United States liberalized its immigration policy. While the broadening of the United Statess borders to non-European immigrants fits with a black political agenda of social justice, recent waves of immigration have presented a dilemma for blacks, prompting ambivalent or even negative attitudes toward migrants. What has an expanded immigration regime meant for how blacks express national attachment? In this book, Niambi Michele Carter argues that immigration, both historically and in the contemporary moment, has served as a reminder of the limited inclusion of African Americans in the body politic. As Carter contends, blacks use the issue of immigration as a way to understand the nature and meaning of their American citizenship-specifically the way that white supremacy structures and constrains not just their place in the American political landscape, but their political opinions as well. White supremacy gaslights black people, and others, into critiquing themselves and each other instead of white supremacy itself. But what may appear to be a conflict between blacks and other minorities is about self-preservation. Carter draws on original interview material and empirical data on African American political opinion to offer the first theory of black public opinion toward immigration.