Templeton Foundation Press

PUBLISHER OF FINE BOOKS

Science and Religion v Spirituality and Health v Character Development v Business and Spirituality

February 2002
Issue 8
 

In this Issue:


New Edition of Pitirim Sorokin Book on Altruistic Love Released

The Ways and Power of Love was originally published in 1954 when Pitirim Sorokin (1889-1968) was in the twilight of his career and leading the Harvard Research Center in Creative Altruism. His elaborate scientific analysis of love with regard to its higher and lower forms, its causes and effects, its human and cosmic significance, and its core features constitutes the first study on this topic.
 
Sorokin concluded that with the birth of the atomic age, humanity needed more than ever a quantum leap both in the scientific understanding of altruistic love and its implementation. By the late 1940s, his attention was focused entirely on love and its manifestations in compassion, altruism, and generosity. He was especially interested in discovering more about how love for others is related to felt participation in a Presence that is higher than our own and that serves as a source of unlimited love across all the divisions of tribal, religious, political, and ethnic loyalties.
 
Sorokin was the one absolutely essential twentieth-century pioneer in the study of love at the interface of science and religion. Bringing The Ways and Power of Love back into print allows a new generation of readers to appreciate Sorokin’s genius and to move forward with his endeavor at a time when civilization itself continues to be threatened by a marked inability to live up to the ideal of love for all humankind. It is certainly right to hope, with Sorokin, that progress in knowledge about love can move humanity forward to a better future. Turning the sciences toward the study of love is no easy task, but it can and must be done.
 
This edition of The Ways and Power of Love features a new introduction by Stephen G. Post, professor of biomedical ethics at Case Western Reserve University and president of the newly formed Institute for Research on Unlimited Love.

Special Offer: Purchase a copy The Ways and Power of Love and receive a free copy of Pure Unlimited Love. A $5.00 shipping and handling cost will be applied to all domestic orders. Please add an additional $5.00 for international orders. Refer to Code RN17 when ordering.

Visit our website for more information about this exciting new addition to our Spring list:
http://www.templetonpress.org      
To order special offer:  http://www.templetonpress.org/specialoffers.asp

Spring Season Launched with Six New Titles

Templeton Foundation Press launches its spring season with six new titles, including Wisdom from World Religions: Pathways toward Heaven on Earth by Sir John Templeton, www.Here-I-Am by Russell Stannard, Parish Nursing: Stories of Service and Care by Verna Benner Carson and Harold G. Koenig, and Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, and What, also by Harold G. Koenig.  In addition, we are publishing The Ways and Power of Love (mentioned above) and the paperback edition of Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Please visit our website at www.templetonpress.org to learn more about these books as well as to reacquaint yourself with our backlist titles on science and religion, spirituality and health, character development, and business and spirituality. Order while online and receive a special 10% discount on your purchase.

Templeton Titles become Available as eBooks

Templeton Foundation Press is pleased to announce that several of our books are now available as eBooks. In addition to books previously available such as The Power of Prayer around the World, Writing from the Heart, and God, Science, and Humility, you can now purchase God for the 21st Century, Many Worlds, Worldwide Worship, The Cosmic Dance, Agape Love, and Pure Unlimited Love through our website. Many of our eBook titles are available in both Microsoft Reader format and in Adobe Reader format.

Current Best Sellers

The current best sellers for Templeton Foundation Press are listed below. The statistics are an accumulation of both domestic and foreign sales and are updated monthly.   1.    The Hand of God         http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=1

2.    Forgiveness and Reconciliation         http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=39

3.    Words of Gratitude for Mind, Body, and Soul         http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=17

4.    The Mind of the Universe         http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=7

5.    Investor Politics         http://www.templetonpress.org/book.asp?book_id=24


Recent Reviews

Understanding Wisdom Sources, Science, and Society Edited by Warren S. Brown   Understanding Wisdom: Sources, Science, and Society provides a useful and insightful contribution to the argument for the virtues, in particular, wisdom. It is a collection of 17 articles (with an introduction by Nancey Murphy) divided into 3 parts: (1) the sources of wisdom, (2) the science of wisdom, and (3) the learning of wisdom. Although each article does not explicitly state the main point made by Murphy in the introduction (A Hierarchical Framework for Understanding Wisdom), the book reflects her overall theme: "I shall suggest that our understanding of human life, and in fact of reality in general, depends on the recognition of a hierarchy of levels of complexity or organization… I suggest that while each higher level depends on and is constrained by those below, the higher levels involve a broader and more complex reality that cannot be exhaustively understood in terms of the lower levels."   Taken as a whole, the book's 3 parts offer a convincing argument for the viability of wisdom for moral development. Because the virtue of wisdom is about living prudently in ways reflective of a moral commitment, what the reader can learn from the book would be helpful in nearly all of life's needs and pursuits, from personal authenticity to professional integrity. It makes good sense to reason that if wisdom is necessary for a person to live a good life, then wisdom is also necessary for a professional to practice in a way contributing to the good life of others.                                                         The Annals of Pharmacotherapy                                                             February 2002   Realized Religion Research on the Relationship between Religion and Health Theodore J. Chamberlain and Christopher A. Hall 

The authors state their goal in the introduction: “This book is an attempt to chronicle the relative value of religion in terms of its effect on the various dimensions of living, including mental health, psychopathology, alcohol use and abuse, marital stability, and other forms of psychological and physical well-being and healing.” Not surprisingly, the book goes on to make an argument familiar to the readers of Research News, namely, that there is a growing amount of evidence that religious people experience substantial health benefits, both mental and physical, that are associated with their practice of religion. The authors range over a host of topics, pointing out that serious academic research in most of these areas is surprisingly light, especially considering recent research, which shows that the interaction between religion and a host of health issues turns out to be rather strong.

Like any book attempting to make a controversial argument to a skeptical audience, Realized Religion is careful to document its claims, and each of its several sections includes an extensive bibliography, which provides further support for the general conclusions. Despite the high level of scholarship, the book is accessible and would be an excellent introduction for those interested in pursuing this current hot topic.

                                                        Research News & Opportunities in Science and Theology
                                                            February 2002

 God, Science and Humility
Ten Scientists Consider Humility Theology
Edited by Robert L. Herrmann

As varied as the sciences, so are the approaches to religious issues. In the book God, Science and Humility, 10 scientists consider humility theology. The book expounds key concepts of humility theology and explains how scientists relate theological issues to their work. Together these scientists bring a humble approach to our truth seeing about God, says John M. Templeton Jr., M.C., president John Templeton Foundation and Templeton Foundation Press.

This book represents a new paradigm in looking at science and religion. The contributors show that the two can merge in an atmosphere of awe and wonder if the issue is approached with humility.
                                                            —Cleveland, TN Banner
                                                                January 11, 2002

Science and Religion Bookstor

The Science and Religion Bookstore is an online bookstore that features books in such categories as astronomy, biological sciences, religion, forgiveness and reconciliation, and history of science. The site is updated regularly with new and exciting books that have been nominated by publishers and scholars alike. Please visit often at http://www.scienceandreligionbooks.org/ to explore this comprehensive website and to take full advantage of the calendar of events and the Counterbalance library.

Ordering Information

Books from Templeton Foundation Press are available at bookstores, internet bookstores, and through our website at www.templetonpress.org.  You may also order by calling our distribution center at 1-800-621-2736.  Note: The monthly specials must be placed via our website or by calling the Chicago distribution center with the applicable code number.

Contact Information

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Radnor, PA  19087
 
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