David L. Smith

This book provides the scope and complexity of Freud's contributions and emphasizes the wide proliferation of the Lacanian approach. It describes psychoanalytical theories, and is helpful for the readers as a stimulus to independent investigation and critical thought.

Thomas Jefferson Chinua, a retired African American railroad worker, takes a cross-country train trip reflecting on meaningful conversations he had with passengers, tragic experiences on and off the train, and the challenges of raising a family through decades of social turmoil for black people as he advances up the line from waiter to station master. Rooted in Jesuit Catholicism, a lifetime of soulful inquiry into diverse philosophies and religious beliefs leads him to a place where dogma is left behind, but his Christ-centered spirituality is deepened and broadened to the point where he appreciates the imperative to see God in all things. "There are as many paths to the mountain top as there are people," he says. "And all of them are deserving of respect."In 1963, nearing the March on Washington, Thomas is new on the job as a waiter for the B&O Railroad. Falsely accused of murdering a Senator's wife in a sleeping car and finally acquitted after a month in prison, he becomes enraged and vows never again to be stereotyped. Thomas undergoes a rigorous railroad training program where he reinvents himself in speech, manner, and dress, and he sets out to understand why God seemingly abandoned him, and why, against his childhood prayers, God kept him alive. Thomas and Tina, his wife, raise four talented children. As they go off to college and develop careers-computer engineer, chef, jazz musician, parenting consultant-the family becomes fragmented. But because Tina and Thomas have created a uniquely loving family, they find a way to stay close as they raise their own families. In 2017, Thomas gains an appreciation for how God works in the world-through love. At a grandchild's first communion ceremony, it becomes apparent why God kept him alive. The railroad history and nomenclature in Soul Train is accurate, down to the names, descriptions, dates, and timetables of various trains. Authentic details in the story derive from interviews with conductors, service attendants, railroad historians, and former railroad employees.

695 AD. Naranjo is a mid-sized city in the Guatemalan jungle. Wakah Heron is unlike anyone in his family, a long line of warriors. When he was a child suffering from debilitating illnesses, he enjoyed the company of an itinerant storyteller who became his mentor. His dream is to follow him on that path. The ruler, Lady Six Sky, obliges Wakah to tell a story to captive families that she and his father, her supreme warlord, acquired through raids in order to bolster their regular warriors and provide labor in support of building projects. When Wakah realizes that the story she'd given him to present to the captives is deceptive, he resigns. Rejected by Lady Six Sky and his father, he joins a merchant expedition as a safe way to travel to Calakmul, the place where his mentor became authorized to tell god stories. Although a climate of fear has gripped the jungle cities, people gather around storytellers in great numbers, eager to hear about raids and valiant warriors. Seeing faces of misery and hopelessness in the places he visits, Wakah decides to tell stories that inspire hope, courage and self-determination, but he attracts very few listeners. Traveling from city to city, he confronts questions of identity and purpose. Can he tell god stories when they contain contradictions between cities? Is there a rightful place for a dedicated truth teller? Will he find success telling stories in the plazas of great cities, or must he be satisfied telling them in the marketplaces of small villages? To answer these and other questions, he must first discover who he is. Meanwhile, the Snake Lord, Claw Of Fire at Calakmul, together with his allied underlords are preparing in secret to defeat his bitter enemy, Lord Sky Rain at Tikal. What happens, changes the course of ancient Maya history in several ways. Wakah's journey of self-discovery and meaning immerses the reader in the life, times, customs, and environments that contributed to the uniqueness of ancient Maya civilization. Based on decades of archaeological, ethnographic and anthropological research, "Jaguar Sun" is not a fantasy novel about the "mysterious" Maya. Rather, it depicts real people facing universal human challenges at a time when their civilization was flourishing in the jungles of Central America. As such, it's an excellent book for those who have visited or plan to visit, archaeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala or Belize.

Approaching initiation into manhood, Fire Eyes Jaguar discovers that he has inherited royal blood and that the prophecy given at his birth requires him to prepare for a life of privilege, perhaps to rule. His mother and his spiritual guide urge him in this direction, as does his scheming father who berates him for wanting to follow the path of his uncles who are builders and artists. Must he choose the path of his blood or can he follow his heart? Set in Belize and Guatemala in 35 BCE, encounters with rulers, tradesmen, and potential marriage partners combine with shamanic rituals, difficult trials, and betrayals that challenge the young man to look within for answers. This coming-of-age story is an immersion in the life, times, customs, and environments-architectures and the natural world-that contributed to the uniqueness of ancient Maya civilization. Based on decades of archaeological, ethnographic and anthropological research, Jaguar Rising is not a fantasy novel about the "mysterious" Maya. Rather, it depicts real people facing universal human challenges at a time when their civilization was flourishing in the jungles of Central America. As such, it's an excellent book for those who have visited or plan to visit, archaeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala or Belize.

378 AD. Great Jaguar Paw, the Lord of Tikal, sent his third daughter to marry the son of one of the lords of Teotihuacan in Central Mexico in fulfillment of an alliance. Thirteen years later, Lady Jaguar Claw returns with her husband, Spearthrower Owl, who has been chartered to deliver a prophecy and establish a new order in the jungle cities. He orders Born of Fire, his warlord enforcer, to execute his wife's family and erase even the memory of her father and the former rulers. Battered by bouts of anger, bitterness, and guilt, Lady Claw descends into an abyss of depression and despair. Her birth prophecy said she would battle a mighty demon amidst "powerful winds and waves." This is the story of that battle and her triumphant rise from the abyss. This story of empowerment is an immersion in the life, times, customs, and environments that contributed to the uniqueness of ancient Maya civilization. Based on decades of archaeological, ethnographic and anthropological research, Jaguar Wind And Waves is not a fantasy novel about the "mysterious" Maya. Rather, it depicts real people facing universal human challenges at a time when their civilization was flourishing in the jungles of Central America. As such, it's an excellent book for those who have visited or plan to visit, archaeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala or Belize.

This volume examines the various theological aspects of divorce and remarriage--historical, contemporary, exegetical, and practical--recognizing that all are subject to the teaching of Scripture. This is done in such a way that readers may follow the author's thinking and so form their own practical theology of this difficult ethical issue. Even though broken marriages are rampant in North American culture, divorce and remarriage among Christians is still the source of shame and judgment for many because of rigid interpretations of Scripture and Christianity's suspicion of topics that infer human sexuality. In scholarly fashion, David L. Smith, seasoned pastor and theological educator, offers accessible and thoughtful guidance to this enduring challenge for humankind. God's intention for humans to live in faithful companionship is not abrogated by the many failures of sinful humans, clergy included. Rather, divine compassion, forgiveness, and the grace of new beginning is in keeping with God's redemptive project. Smith advises that churches must do a better job of educating about Christian marriage, yet realize that the ideal is often not realized by couples. Most helpful is the author's perceptive understanding of how pastors and churches can facilitate restoration of those rent with the pain of divorce. It is wise pastoral counsel drawn from a close reading of Scripture and keen observation of life. -Molly T. Marshall, President of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. David L. Smith is Executive Vice President and Seminary Dean of Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario, and has over two decades of pastoral experience. He is the author of A Handbook of Contemporary Theology, With Willful Intent: A Theology of Sin, and All God's People: A Theology of the Church.

The true nature of the age of Louis XIV is revealed through an extensive range of primary and secondary sources in this study of the Sun King whose regime was known as the ultimate example of absolutism.

Intended primarily for A-level students, this work draws on a wide variety of primary sources to examine what drove Cromwell as a soldier, politician, statesman and religious visionary. The book includes examination-based questions to stretch the student's skills in evaluating historical evidence.

In today's society, family is defined in so many ways. We could not address or define each variety of family in the world today. Only God can do that. We can't solve all of the problems in the world, only God can. Our job as a church and ministry is to somehow lead them to God, be the hands and feet of God to help, support and love the families that God places in our path. We pray that this book would help you in your everyday journeys of life. Our experiences have taught us that there are no shortcuts as it relates to building relationships in the family. As you read this book, our hope is that you trust in the Lord with all your heart lean not to your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path. Proverbs 3:5-6 A Family that Prays together stays together No matter what your family is facing always remember that "Family Matters."

Our ability to treat common bacterial infections with antibiotics goes back only 65 years. However, the authors of this report make it clear that sustaining a supply of effective and affordable antibiotics cannot be without changes to the incentives facing patients, physicians, hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. In fact, increasing resistance to these drugs is already exacting a terrible price. Every day in the United States, approximately 172 men, women, and children die from infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals alone. Beyond those deaths, antibiotic resistance is costing billions of dollars through prolonged hospital stays and the need for doctors to resort to ever more costly drugs to use as substitute treatments. Extending the Cure presents the problem of antibiotic resistance as a conflict between individual decision makers and their short-term interest and the interest of society as a whole, in both present and future: The effort that doctors make to please each patient by prescribing a drug when it might not be properly indicated, poor monitoring of discharged patients to ensure that they do not transmit drug-resistant pathogens to other persons, excesses in the marketing of new antibiotics, and the broad overuse of antibiotics all contribute to the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The book explores a range of policy options that would encourage patients, health care providers, and managed care organizations to serve as more responsible stewards of existing antibiotics as well as proposals that would give pharmaceutical firms greater incentives to develop new antibiotics and avoid overselling. If the problem continues unaddressed, antibiotic resistance has the potential to derail the health care system and return us to a world where people of all ages routinely die from simple infections. As a basis for future research and a spur to a critically important dialogue, Extending the Cure is a fundamental first step in addressing this public health crisis. The Extending the Cure project is funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through its Pioneer Portfolio.

In 1603 King James I ascended the throne to become the first King of a united England and Scotland. There followed a period of increasing religious and political discord, culminating in the English Civil War. The Early Stuart Kings, 1603-1642 explores these complex events and the roles of the key personalities of the time - James I and VI, Charles I, Buckingham, Stratford and Laud.