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Six books on religion would be great gifts for the readers on your list

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Christmas is nearing, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette again offers a selection of 12 books ideal for gift-giving.

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Songs for the Waiting: Devotions Inspired by the Hymns of Advent, by Magrey R. deVega

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Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era, by Jean-Pierre Isbouts

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My Life With the Saints 10th Anniversary Edition, by James Martin

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The Invisible Bestseller: Searching for the Bible in America, by Kenneth A. Briggs

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The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures From the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, edited by Massumeh Farhad and Simon Rettig

This year's selections feature books on a variety of topics for readers interested not only in Christianity but other world religions, too. The first six books are featured this week. They include a look at the saints, an Advent devotional and an exploration of joy, and that's where we'll start.

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Avery, $26) -- The Book of Joy centers on conversations between two of the world's best-known spiritual leaders as they met for a week last year to celebrate the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. Tutu, a retired Episcopal archbishop, and the Tibetan spiritual leader met in Dharamsala, India -- the Dalai Lama's home -- and spent time sharing their thoughts on the topic of joy.

Douglas Abrams interviewed the men and served as co-writer of the book, telling their stories and sharing his own observations. He writes in the introduction about this special meeting between the two, saying "each considered the other his mischievous spiritual brother." He notes there was lots of laughter, as well as "many poignant moments of recalling love and loss."

The men offer their thoughts on the nature of true joy, obstacles to joy, and share the eight pillars of joy as well as their own daily practices before saying their goodbyes.

Songs for the Waiting: Devotions Inspired by the Hymns of Advent, by Magrey R. deVega (Westminster John Knox Press, $15) -- As the title suggests, this book is all about waiting, something many find difficult to do in a culture used to instant gratification. The author urges readers not to skip straight to Christmas but to embrace the waiting and anticipation of the Advent season.

She writes that by skipping ahead, "we have also diminished those moments of richness and fullness that come only with anticipation."

To help readers slow down and observe the season of Advent, the book features 28 daily readings, each including a line from a hymn or song, a Scripture reading and a short devotional. Each entry also includes a reflection with questions to ponder and ends with a prayer.

Featured songs include "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," "Prepare the Way of the Lord," "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus," "Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming" and other Advent favorites.

Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era, by Jean-Pierre Isbouts (National Geographic, $40) -- The latest by Isbouts, best-selling author of In the Footsteps of Jesus, offers a look at some of the archaeological sites of the biblical world. Of course, with this being a National Geographic project, the book features stunning photographs -- more than 350 -- as well as detailed maps and a timeline to give readers a sense of time and place as they explore the featured sites.

Isbouts approaches the book from a nondenominational perspective and writes that the book "treats the biblical texts as historical documents." The people of the Bible are also treated as historical characters. He leaves the question of whether the Bible is fact or a collection of legends and myth to others.

The book is divided into six chapters focusing on the archaeology of the patriarchs, the Exodus, the kingdoms of Israel, the Second Temple period, the life of Jesus and early Christianity. Isbouts draws on Scripture, all the way from Genesis to Revelation, as he highlights various sites, relics and artifacts, taking readers from ancient Mesopotamia all the way to present day.

My Life With the Saints 10th Anniversary Edition, by James Martin (Loyola Press, $16.95) -- The Rev. James Martin revisits his time with the saints in this 10th anniversary edition. When the book was first released in 2006, it was named to a list of Best Books of the Year by Publishers Weekly, won awards and has since been used in schools and parishes around the country. What made it so popular? The priest's wit and warmth come through in his writing as he tells readers how the saints shaped his life.

Saints and other individuals who influenced Martin highlighted in the book include Joan of Arc, Therese of Lisieux, Thomas Merton, Ignatius of Loyola, Pedro Arrupe, Bernadette Soubirous, Mother Teresa, Pope John XXIII, Dorothy Day, Peter, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Joseph, Aloysius Gonzaga, Mary and the Ugandan martyrs of the late 19th century.

The new edition includes updates on some newly canonized saints, as well as a new chapter by Martin -- "Still Trying to Become a Saint," where he updates readers on what has happened in his life in the past 10 years and adds information on other saints influencing his life.

The Art of the Qur'an: Treasures From the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, edited by Massumeh Farhad and Simon Rettig (Smithsonian Books, $50) -- The Art of the Qur'an is a companion book to an exhibit of the same name on display at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington through Feb. 20.

It features photographs of pages from the Muslim holy book embellished with richly colored, intricate designs. The book cover, for example, features a folio in designs of indigo and gold dated to 1434. There are also photographs of mosques, paintings and other works of art, such as a black and cream chest for housing the sacred text.

The featured manuscripts are dated from the seventh to the 17th centuries. Included are essays that explore the history and structure of the Muslim holy book, as well as calligraphy and designs used throughout the centuries. The book also features descriptions and images of dozens of items from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts and the Smithsonian's Sackler and Freer galleries, some rarely seen before.

The Invisible Bestseller: Searching for the Bible in America, by Kenneth A. Briggs (Eerdmans, $25) -- The Bible is touted as the best-selling book of all time and millions of copies can be found in homes across the land. How is it that so few know what it really says? That's the question Briggs, a veteran religion writer, explores in The Invisible Bestseller.

Briggs spent two years traveling the country to talk with scholars, preachers and everyday folks to find out why the Bible has faded from public view. Along the way he visits concerned Bible promoters in Orlando, Fla.; a federal prison in New York; a traditional Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania; and the site of the 1925 Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tenn., as well as a meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Chicago.

He discovers what he believes are two big reasons for the decline in the Bible's influence. One is that for many Americans "the only real god is money" as they pursue success and the other is a lack of belief in transcendence -- or that another world awaits them. What he finds is the emergence of a Bible-less Christianity where there's less emphasis on Scripture and more emphasis on Jesus as the "world's greatest guy."

All is not bad news, however. Briggs ends with a hopeful tone and offers suggestions for what role the Bible might play in the future.

Religion on 11/26/2016

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