Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Of Gods and Games PDF full book. Access full book title Of Gods and Games by William J. Baker. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: William J. Baker Publisher: University of Georgia Press ISBN: 0820349860 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 96
Book Description
That Americans take to sports with a spiritual fervor is no secret. Athletics has even been called a civil religion for how it permeates our daily lives as we chase our own dreams of glory or watch others compete. Few would deny our national devotion to sports; however, many would gloss over it as all of a piece. To do that, as William J. Baker shows us, is to miss the fascinating variety of experiences at the intersection of sports and religion—and the ramifications of such on a national citizenry defined, as Baker writes, “by the team they cheer on Saturday and the church they attend on Sunday.” With nods to modern and ancient history, Baker looks at the ever-changing relationship between faith and sports through vignettes about devout athletes, coaches, and journalists. Of Gods and Games offers an accessible entrée into some of the larger issues embedded in American culture’s sports–religion connection. Baker first considers two Christian athletes who have engaged sports and religion on fundamentally different terms: Shelly Pennefather, one of the dominant women’s basketball players of the late 1980s, who left the sport for life as a cloistered nun; and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who has used his college and pro football careers as a platform for evangelizing. In discussing basketball coach Dean Smith (University of North Carolina) and football coaches Steve Spurrier (University of South Carolina) and Bill McCartney (University of Colorado) Baker looks at how each strove to honor faith amid sometimes complicated personal lives and ever-crushing professional demands. Finally, Baker looks at how faith inspired such sportswriters as Grantland Rice, who sprinkled his stories with religious allusions, and Watson Spoelstra, who struck a deal with God at his daughter’s deathbed (she recovered) and subsequently devoted his off-hours and retirement years to charity work.
Author: Kevin Schut Publisher: Baker Books ISBN: 1441240519 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 281
Book Description
Video games are big business, generating billions of dollars annually. The long-held stereotype of the gamer as a solitary teen hunched in front of his computer screen for hours is inconsistent with the current makeup of a diverse and vibrant gaming community. The rise of this cultural phenomenon raises a host of questions: Are some games too violent? Do they hurt or help our learning? Do they encourage escapism? How do games portray gender? Such questions have generated lots of talk, but missing from much of the discussion has been a Christian perspective. Kevin Schut, a communications expert and an enthusiastic gamer himself, offers a lively, balanced, and informed Christian evaluation of video games and video game culture. He expertly engages a variety of issues, encouraging readers to consider both the perils and the promise of this major cultural phenomenon. The book includes a foreword by Quentin J. Schultze.
Author: David L. Miller Publisher: Stillpoint/Athena ISBN: 1938808088 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 228
Book Description
A deeply thoughtful, deeply irreverent look at the mythology of play, Gods and Games ties together Joseph Campbell's approach to myth and religion with Johan Huizinga's view of our species as Homo ludens — "Man the Game-player" — which suggests that play is a central aspect of the human spirit and human culture. "A comprehensive and clear review.... loaded with quotations both pertinent and entertaining that may be eye-openers both to traditional religionists and readers who may never have thought about play in a philosophical or religious sense." —Publishers Weekly
Author: Jay Schiffman Publisher: Tor Books ISBN: 0765389541 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 336
Book Description
Newcomer Jay Schiffman adds his own spin to the science fiction genre in Game of the Gods, an epic debut of a man willing to tear a corrupt society apart in order to save his family.Despite his prowess as a military commander and judge, Max Cone longs for a life outside of the political spotlight. His wish turns to dust when the world descends into a cataclysmic global war. Every nation wants Cone on its side, but his only priority is rescuing his kidnapped wife and children. In order to find his family, free his friends, and save his people, Cone becomes a lethal killer willing to destroy anyone who stands in his way. He and his ragtag band of warriors--a thirteen-year old girl with special powers, a mathematical genius, a religious zealot blinded by faith, and a former revolutionary turned drug addict--are the only hope of saving the world.
Author: Joshua Kern Publisher: Game of Gods ISBN: 9781090320636 Category : Juvenile Fiction Languages : en Pages : 316
Book Description
The gods have gotten bored, and humanity is the answer. Charles earns the ultimate surprise one morning when he awakens to discover the world has ended, or rather the gods of old were bored and decided to redesign how it worked. Everyone else got a nice little message that showed up their vision, everyone else woke up when the gods decided to make their decision known. Only Charles gets cursed by the gods, and only Charles gets a visit from one as well. The Game of the Gods has begun and the monsters of old are returning to our world, and all it took was the death of half the worlds population and counting.
Author: Andrew Whyte Publisher: AuthorHouse ISBN: 166556072X Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 332
Book Description
THE LIFE OR DEATH GAME CONTINUES. Warterria is still in full effect. Many have passed away and new faces have taken center stage. But the suffering and struggles within the game has remained the same. However, the humans aren’t out of the fight yet. With a new fiery passion to avenge those that have been lost to Warterria so far, Rift tries to use the clues left behind by the fallen to find a way for the remaining players to survive. However, with the gods’ immense power looming over and the chances of death at an all-time high, humans uniting is proving to be more than difficult. Can the humans rally together to find a nearly impossible alternative way to survive or will Warterria continue to be played exactly how the gods designed?
Author: William J. Baker Publisher: University of Georgia Press ISBN: 0820349860 Category : Sports & Recreation Languages : en Pages : 96
Book Description
That Americans take to sports with a spiritual fervor is no secret. Athletics has even been called a civil religion for how it permeates our daily lives as we chase our own dreams of glory or watch others compete. Few would deny our national devotion to sports; however, many would gloss over it as all of a piece. To do that, as William J. Baker shows us, is to miss the fascinating variety of experiences at the intersection of sports and religion—and the ramifications of such on a national citizenry defined, as Baker writes, “by the team they cheer on Saturday and the church they attend on Sunday.” With nods to modern and ancient history, Baker looks at the ever-changing relationship between faith and sports through vignettes about devout athletes, coaches, and journalists. Of Gods and Games offers an accessible entrée into some of the larger issues embedded in American culture’s sports–religion connection. Baker first considers two Christian athletes who have engaged sports and religion on fundamentally different terms: Shelly Pennefather, one of the dominant women’s basketball players of the late 1980s, who left the sport for life as a cloistered nun; and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who has used his college and pro football careers as a platform for evangelizing. In discussing basketball coach Dean Smith (University of North Carolina) and football coaches Steve Spurrier (University of South Carolina) and Bill McCartney (University of Colorado) Baker looks at how each strove to honor faith amid sometimes complicated personal lives and ever-crushing professional demands. Finally, Baker looks at how faith inspired such sportswriters as Grantland Rice, who sprinkled his stories with religious allusions, and Watson Spoelstra, who struck a deal with God at his daughter’s deathbed (she recovered) and subsequently devoted his off-hours and retirement years to charity work.
Author: John Herrmann Publisher: MFA Publications ISBN: Category : Art Languages : en Pages : 224
Book Description
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, proudly presents the original Olympics in all their sweaty, heroic glory. Like today, sports were a vital part of daily life in ancient Greece. "Games for the Gods" unearths the original traditions of athletics, highlighting both the fascinating similarities and the jarring differences between the ancient ways and our own. We might not be used to such Classical customs as associating athletic festivals with certain gods, seeing our athletes compete in the nude, or having them indulge in dirty fighting as accepted practice (then again...), but the excitement of competition, admiration for athletic skill, and adoration of champions--as well as several of the sports--are just as familiar to fans today as they were to the ancients. The Greek Games here come to life in a series of texts that explore the Olympics then and now, the origins of the games and various athletic events, and the ways in which the contests were prepared for and the victors honoured. With stunning illustrations of over 140 sculptures, vases, and coins, as well as photographs of modern athletes, "Games for the Gods" is a unique celebration of the Olympic spirit through the ages.
Author: Staci Hart Publisher: ISBN: 9781482539707 Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 172
Book Description
What do the gods do when they're bored? Because they're always bored, and humans are the perfect players in their games.Aphrodite owns love; she hasn't lost a competition on her turf in over three millennia. Apollo is on a mission to win. He's counting on it to finally get the one woman he's never been able to have. The two gods will choose their human players, and if Dita can't get them together before the clock runs out, Apollo will get his way. And Dita couldn't have that.Lex and Dean are perfect for each other, they just don't know it yet. Dean is a perpetual bachelor, and a brooding, beautiful rock star. Lex is always with a man, but she'll never fully give herself up. Dita has her work cut out for her, but if she can't make it work, no one can.The gods have their own drama. Apollo killed Dita's mortal love - they've got beef that's been dragging on for thousands of years. Ares, the douchebag, is forever trying to pick a fight, and trying to get Dita into bed. And Persephone, Dita's best friend, is the one person who Dita shares everything with.Follow the gods as they fight, laugh, cry, lose love, gain power, and make a mess with humans.
Author: Neil Freer Publisher: Book Tree ISBN: 9781585095735 Category : Body, Mind & Spirit Languages : en Pages : 312
Book Description
"Then came Neil Freer (who) undertook a different kind of mind-boggling task. If all that I had concluded was true, he said, what does it all mean not to the human race and the planet in general -- what does it mean to the individuals, to each one of us? He titles his new book God Games. But, if all the above is the Truth, it is not a game." Zecharia Sitchin (From the Introduction). This new book by Neil Freer, author of Breaking the Godspell, outlines the human evolutionary scenario far into the future. We are a genetically-engineered race with a dual racial heritage. Our half-Terran, half-alien genes place us on an accelerated, unique evolutionary path, already eagerly emerging from racial adolescence. Freer describes what's in store for us as this dawning genetic enlightenment reveals the new human and the racial maturity of a new planetary civilization on the horizon. We all can contribute to our racial future as we evolve from a slave species to far beyond what we could previously even imagine. The godspell broken, we new humans will create our own realities and play our own "god games." Once we understand our true genetic history we will eventually move beyond the gods, religion, linear consciousness and even death. The subtitle. What do you do forever?, inspires us to contemplate how things like four-dimensional consciousness, the realization of a Law of Everything and the option of immortality will enable the new human to determine his own evolutionary path. It is quite possible that great thinkers in the future will look back on this book, in particular, as being the one which opened the door to our full evolutionary potential and a new paradigm. Neil Freer is a brilliantphilosopher focused on the freedom of the individual and what it means to be truly human. This book will make you think in new and different ways. Accept the challenge of God Games and you will be greatly rewarded.
Author: William J. Baker
Author: Kevin Schut
Author: David L. Miller
Author: Jay Schiffman
Author: Joshua Kern
Author: Andrew Whyte
Author: William J. Baker
Author: John Herrmann
Author: Staci Hart
Author: Florence Nightingale David
Author: Neil Freer