Author: Bernard Spilka
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 146250695X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 242
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Book Description
Reviewing the growing body of scientific research on prayer, this book describes what is known about the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, developmental, and health aspects of this important religious activity. The highly regarded authors provide a balanced perspective on what prayer means to the individual, how and when it is practiced, and the impact it has in people's lives. Clinically relevant topics include connections among prayer, coping, and adjustment, as well as controversial questions of whether prayer (for oneself or another) can be beneficial to health. The strengths and limitations of available empirical studies are critically evaluated, and promising future research directions are identified.
Author: Ann Belford Ulanov
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 9780804211345
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 196
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Book Description
Prayer is our basic expression of religious belief. It is our personal and most private act of devotion. Words cannot do justice to the feelings, wishes, terrors, pains, or pleasures that we exchange with God. This book sets out to define prayer as both a means of drawing nearer to God everyday and as a coping tool that people can use in order to achieve harmony, balance, and satisfaction in their in their lives.
Author: Friedrich Heiler
Publisher: Franklin Classics Trade Press
ISBN: 9780353328242
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408
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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Author: John C. Wathey
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1633880745
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 464
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Book Description
An essential feature of religious experience across many cultures is the intuitive feeling of God's presence. More than any rituals or doctrines, it is this experience that anchors religious faith, yet it has been largely ignored in the scientific literature on religion.Starting with a vivid narrative account of the life-threatening hike that triggered his own mystical experience, biologist John Wathey takes the reader on a scientific journey to find the sources of religious feeling and the illusion of God's presence. His book delves into the biological origins of this compelling feeling, attributing it to innate neural circuitry that evolved to promote the mother-child bond. Dr. Wathey argues that evolution has programmed the infant brain to expect the presence of a loving being who responds to the child's needs. As the infant grows into adulthood, this innate feeling is eventually transferred to the realm of religion, where it is reactivated through the symbols, imagery, and rituals of worship. The author interprets our various conceptions of God in biological terms as illusory supernormal stimuli that fill an emotional and cognitive vacuum left over from infancy. These insights shed new light on some of the most vexing puzzles of religion, like the popular belief in a god who is judgmental and punishing, yet also unconditionally loving; the extraordinary tenacity of faith; the greater religiosity of women relative to men; religious obsessions with sex; the mysterious compulsion to pray; the seemingly irrepressible feminine attributes of God, even in traditionally patriarchal religions; and the strange allure of cults. Finally, Dr. Wathey considers the hypothesis that religion evolved to foster reproductive success, arguing that, in an age of potentially ruinous overpopulation, magical thinking has become a luxury we can no longer afford, one that distracts us from urgent threats to our planet.Deeply researched yet elegantly written in a jargon-free and accessible style, this book presents a compelling interpretation of the evolutionary origins of spirituality and religion.
Author: Bernard Spilka
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 146250714X
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 242
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Book Description
Reviewing the growing body of scientific research on prayer, this book describes what is known about the behavioral, cognitive, emotional, developmental, and health aspects of this important religious activity. The highly regarded authors provide a balanced perspective on what prayer means to the individual, how and when it is practiced, and the impact it has in people's lives. Clinically relevant topics include connections among prayer, coping, and adjustment, as well as controversial questions of whether prayer (for oneself or another) can be beneficial to health. The strengths and limitations of available empirical studies are critically evaluated, and promising future research directions are identified.
Author: William FitzGerald
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271056223
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 170
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Book Description
"Explores prayer as a rhetorical art, examining situations, strategies, and performative modes of discourse directed to the divine"--Provided by publisher.
Author: Chester Tolson
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1441244107
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 172
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Book Description
Prayer can heal you. It's not just hype or hope or a spiritual cliché.There is actual scientific evidence to support this. Recent medical and psychological studies claim that prayer can relieve stress, improve attitudes, and mend bodies. Prayer generates peace, power, and health-a triple preventative that guards against anxiety and disease. It's a simple act that heals. According to Chet Tolson and Harold Koenig prayer helps people function at their best when life serves them the worst. Even on good days, it enhances the mind-body-soul connection. In The Healing Power of Prayer, these authors explain the nature of prayer, what happens when we pray, the restorative benefits of prayer, how to organize prayer, and much more. Their facts and insights will encourage believers to increase, the fainthearted to revive, and skeptics to begin a life of prayer.
Author:
Publisher: Chalice Press
ISBN: 9780827230675
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 180
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Book Description
Prayer has long had an action component to it. There are many ways we can pray that involve our senses and our bodies. Journaling, skipping rocks, drawing, singing, touching, dancing, even walking can be acts of prayer. William Tenny-Brittian, himself diagnosed with adult ADHD, goes back to ancient times and into the techno-generation to share ten types of kinesthetic prayer that will help even the most fidgety connect with God. He has filled Prayer for People Who Can't Sit Still with ideas, easy-to-follow instructions, and ways to adapt kinesthetic prayer to most any situation and "personal limitation." Kinesthetic prayer can also have profound effects on the prayer life of children and youth. Prayer for People Who Can't Sit Still is a valuable resource in children's and youth ministries, helping these action-oriented age groups to find ways to build relationships with God. A relationship takes time together, says William Tenny-Brittian. Prayer for People Who Can't Sit Still is written to help you spend more meaningful time with God.
Author: Jane E. Vennard
Publisher: Companions in Christ
ISBN: 9780835899062
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 148
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Book Description
It's said that prayer is so primal an urge for humankind that we're born into the world praying. Yet, something so natural and seemingly so easy comes hard sometimes. The Way of Prayer is a 10-week small-group study about the nature, practice, and results of prayer. "All prayer, formal or informal, is about our relationship with God," the authors write. "Somewhere deep inside us resides the experience of being so deeply connected to God that we long to express the wonder of that relationship. We pray because we can.and must." Honor the ways you were taught to pray while expanding your understanding to include new ways to pray. Topics covered include: How Do You Pray? Images of God Praying by Heart Praying with Music Praying by Gaze Praying with Our Bodies Scriptural Prayer Contemplative Prayer Praying with and for Others Prayer and Social Transformation
Author: Leslie John Francis
Publisher: Gracewing Publishing
ISBN: 9780852445181
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 410
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Book Description
This book brings together seminal articles concerned with the empirical and psychological study of prayer. Topics discussed include the relationship between prayer and psychological development, the place of prayer in the work of doctors, caregivers, and clergy, and the effects of intercessory prayer.
