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  On Benefits

  Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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  The original Latin name of this important essay by Seneca, written around 60 CE, was De Beneficiis, which is why it is generally translated as ‘On Benefits’. However, it is more usefully titled ‘On Favours’, because this is what it is essentially about: the giving and receiving of favours, with all the implications of such transactions. Seneca is concerned with demonstrating that while such exchanges can be straightforward and beneficial to both parties, often there are pitfalls and hidden complications that, sooner or later, result in problems. Though some centuries later Shakespeare summed it up concisely with Polonius’s warning: ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be,’ Seneca is well aware that in all levels and activities of society, benefits or favours play an undoubtedly crucial role. This was certainly true of Roman society, but little has changed since. Seneca deals with the subject in detail, considering the purposes of role of the giver, of which ‘kindness’, he says, is an important aspect – but not the only one by any means. Similarly, the role and attitude of the receiver, plays its part – and ‘gratitude’ is again only one response. Seneca’s background as a Stoic underpins his approach, so he warns against the inappropriate giving and receiving of benefits, which extend far beyond just material goods: it includes influence, wives, patronage and all manner of vice and immorality. In short, Seneca points out that the giving and receiving of favours can be, and often is a pernicious and dangerous affair, resulting in later disaster. Something to be exercised with caution.

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  God's Bestseller - William...

  Brian Moynahan

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  The true story of the man who gave his life to create the English-language Bible.The English Bible—the most familiar book in our language—is the product of a man who was exiled, vilified, betrayed, then strangled, then burnt.William Tyndale left England in 1524 to translate the word of God into English. This was heresy, punishable by death. Sir Thomas More, hailed as a saint and a man for all seasons, considered it his divine duty to pursue Tyndale. He did so with an obsessive ferocity that, in all probability, led to Tyndale's capture and death.The words that Tyndale wrote during his desperate exile have a beauty and familiarity that still resonate across the English-speaking world: “Death, where is thy sting? . . . eat, drink, and be merry . . . our Father which art in heaven.” His New Testament, which he translated, edited, financed, printed, and smuggled into England in 1526, passed with few changes into subsequent versions of the Bible. So did those books of the Old Testament that he lived to finish.Brian Moynahan's lucid and meticulously researched biography illuminates Tyndale's life, from his childhood in England, to his death outside Brussels. It chronicles the birth pangs of the Reformation, the wrath of Henry VIII, the sympathy of Anne Boleyn, and the consuming malice of Thomas More. Above all, it reveals the English Bible as a labor of love, for which a man in an age more spiritual than our own willingly gave his life.

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  The Everlasting Man

  G. K. Chesterton

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  Embark on an extraordinary journey through history and faith with G.K. Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. In this profound exploration, Chesterton offers a compelling defense of Christianity, tracing humanity’s spiritual evolution from prehistoric times to the rise of Christ. By contrasting pagan mythology with Christian theology, he presents a powerful argument for the uniqueness and enduring relevance of the Christian faith. 
  Chesterton’s eloquence, wit, and insight shine as he delves into the mysteries of human nature, the divine, and the intersection of the two. The Everlasting Man is a profound and thought-provoking work that has inspired readers for generations, including C.S. Lewis, who credited it as a key influence in his spiritual journey. 
  Narrated with clarity and reverence, this audiobook makes Chesterton’s timeless masterpiece accessible to modern listeners. 
  Start listening to The Everlasting Man today and rediscover the story of humanity through the lens of faith and wonder.

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  Dear White Peacemakers -...

  Osheta Moore

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  Dear White Peacemakers is a breakup letter to division, a love letter to God’s beloved community, and an eviction notice to the violent powers that have sustained racism for centuries.   Race is one of the hardest topics to discuss in America. Many white Christians avoid talking about it altogether. But a commitment to peacemaking requires white people to step out of their comfort and privilege and into the work of anti-racism. Dear White Peacemakers is an invitation to white Christians to come to the table and join this hard work and holy calling. Rooted in the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus, this book is a challenging call to transform white shame, fragility, saviorism, and privilege, in order to work together to build the Beloved Community as anti-racism peacemakers.   Written in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Dear White Peacemakers draws on the Sermon on the Mount, Spirituals, and personal stories from author Osheta Moore’s work as a pastor in St. Paul, Minnesota. Enter into this story of shalom and join in the urgent work of anti-racism peacemaking.  

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  Treating Stress with...

  Linda Burlan Sørensen

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  STRESS HAS BECOME A FACT OF LIFE for far too many people today. Until now, the treatment of stress has mostly focused on behavioral changes, combined with talking about and noticing every thought, feeling, and sensation. But according to the metacognitive approach, this excessive focus on the self is what actually creates the problem. Worrying and ruminating are not simply a symptom of stress, but the causes of stress, preventing stress sufferers from fostering real change. Real change can only occur when the metacognitive management systems underlying behaviour are addressed by focusing not on what, but on how stress sufferers respond to their thinking. The thought is not important, but how they react to it, makes the difference. 
  This book comprises concrete examples of how a course of metacognitive therapy can be planned. The reader is invited into the therapy room to learn: how to apply the exercises of this method; what to remember during the therapy process; and which questions are important to ask the client. Metacognitive therapy is a part of the third wave of cognitive behavioural therapies and has shown promising results for clients with depression and anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety, social anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. This approach can also be helpful for stress sufferers. First and foremost, the client should learn that their thoughts do not create the problem, but, on the contrary, their response to them does. By applying metacognitive principles, the therapist or practitioner can help the client improve their cognitive management system at the metacognitive level, so that they can choose new and more effective strategies. The client has to reduce their worrying and ruminating before taking action on their actual problem.

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  Confederacy on the Brink The:...

  Editors Charles River

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  As Union commander George McClellan moved the Army of the Potomac up the Peninsula in early 1862, the Union army had a nearly 2-1 advantage in manpower, so Army of Northern Virginia commander Joseph E. Johnston continued to gradually pull his troops back to a line of defense nearer Richmond as McClellan advanced. In conjunction, the Union Navy began moving its operations further up the James River, until it could get within 7 miles of the Confederate capital before being opposed by a Southern fort.  
  It was at this point that Johnston got uncharacteristically aggressive at the end of May, perhaps because he had run out of breathing space for his army. By the time the Battle of Seven Pines was over, nearly 40,000 had been engaged on both sides, making it the biggest battle in the Eastern theater to date, and Johnston was injured, bringing Robert E. Lee to command. 
  Despite not losing, the fighting rattled McClellan, but even after Lee pushed McClellan’s Army of the Potomac away from Richmond and back up the Peninsula in late June, he then had to swing his army north to face a second Union army: John Pope’s Army of Virginia. Correctly assuming that he needed to strike out before the Army of the Potomac successfully sailed back to Washington and linked up with Pope’s army, Lee daringly split his army to threaten Pope’s supply lines, forcing Pope to fall back to Manassas to protect his flank and maintain his lines of communication. At the same time, it left half of Lee’s army (under Stonewall Jackson) potentially exposed against the larger Union army until the other wing (under James Longstreet) linked back up. Thus, in late August 1862, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of Virginia found themselves fighting over nearly the exact same land the North and South fought over in the First Battle of Bull Run 13 months earlier. 

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