Archbishop Desmond Tutu of Cape Town once said with regard to South Africa's Apartheid policy, "One of the ways of helping to destroy a people is to tell them that they don't have a history, that they have no roots." He recently described homophobic discrimination "as totally unacceptable and unjust as Apartheid ever was." Unfortunately, it has been particularly difficult for some gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Christians to remain connected with and identified with their own faith traditions because some of these traditions not only treat them as people of secondary status but teach Christian history as though no people of same-gender attraction or opposite-gender identity had any noteworthy place in it and had made no significant contributions at all to Christian tradition.Passionate Holiness tries to remedy this situation by explaining why acquaintance with the stories of Sts. Polyeuct and Nearchus, Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, Christ/Holy Wisdom, Sts. Matrona, Perpetua and Felicity, Brigid and Darlughdach, and many others with whom gender minorities can identify can help them to connect with their own history and spiritual legacy and empower them to face a brighter future with a sense of optimism and inclusion. The story of the removal of the feast of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus from the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 - ironically, the very year New York's Stonewall Riots launched the gay liberation movement - is a particularly revealing example of how far some religious authorities will go to keep gender minorities distanced from their own history.

This is all explored in Passionate Holiness.

"It's a marvelous, beautiful book."
Ursula Vaughan Williams poet, novelist, and widow of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams

"It was a fascinating study. Congratulations on a job well done."
Andrew M. Greeley priest, sociologist, novelist

"Many thanks for sending me your book Passionate Holiness, which I enjoyed very much. It is a fascinating account of the cult of Holy Wisdom, mixed with stories of various 'distinctive people' and the roles they have played in the history of the Church. It is full of saints, sinners, heretics, martyrs, and those who persecuted them. Some of these people, and the ideas they believed in, have featured in my novels, though there was much that I was not aware of. The material in the Russian and Irish chapters were new to me. You say at the beginning of Chapter VII that the reader may cry out "Too much information". Not me! Passionate Holiness is a work of remarkable scholarship, and I wish it had been published before I wrote my Byzantine novels, rather than afterwards. If I ever return to Byzantium as a subject, I am sure I will find your book invaluable. The icons that illustrate the book are beautiful. You are lucky to have access to works by such gifted artists. If only my publisher had commissioned something similar for the cover of Theodore. Maybe next time!"
Christopher Harris English novelist, author of "Theodore," "Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch," and "False Ambassador"

"Here's something the antigay modern Roman Catholic Church would like to forget: In the early years of Christianity, homosexual saints were worshipped too, as Dennis O'Neill reminds us. O'Neill is a Chicago-based Catholic pastor who 11 years ago founded The Living Circle, a spirituality center devoted to GLBT people and their friends. In 1995 the Circle hosted an art exhibit entitled "Passionate Holiness" that displayed such holy icons as Saint Boris and George the Hungarian and Saints Brigid and Darlughdach of Kildare. O'Neill's retelling of such stories, plus striking color illustrations, will surprise and inspire any reader, gay or not."
Anne Stockwell Review from "The Advocate", May 24, 2005 issue, p. 82.

"Passionate Holiness is indeed a remarkable book, unlike any other that I know of. Its scope is amazing in its extent, both geographically and chronologically. Much of the subject matter is unfamiliar to theological historians, and it all needs to be generally known. The book gives historical meaning not only to numerous examples of all-male and all-female pairs of lovers, but also the details of the periods in which they lived and of their subsequent cults. In my own specialty, Russian literature and history, the book shows enormous erudition and a secure command of the material."
Simon Karlinsky Professor Emeritus of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of California, Berkeley

"I read Passionate Holiness with great interest. I am amazed by the scope and depth of the work, moved by the faith that motivates it. I am so thrilled to know more about The Living Circle (described in the book) as it seems a unique and effective ecumenical group."
Mary E. Hunt Ph.D. a feminist theologian and author of many books, who is co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Maryland. A Roman Catholic active in the women-church movement, she lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to liberation issues.

"Passionate Holiness is a feast for the mind, the eyes, and the soul. Dennis O'Neill reclaims the many queer treasures that lie buried in Christian history. With impressive depth of scholarship, he traces Christ's feminine incarnation as Holy Wisdom. He details the stories of a bisexual martyr, cross-dressing nuns, saints who ministered in same-sex pairs, and other people of faith who lived outside gender norms. As O'Neill writes in the text, "When history reads like this, who prefers soap operas?" Color illustrations of contemporary icons bring the text to life. This book makes an important contribution to expanding human understanding of Christ and the saints who follow Her/Him."
Rev. Kittredge Cherry author of "Hide and Speak", "Womansword", "Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, ceremonies, and Celebrations", "Jesus in Love", and "Art that Dares"

"Passionate Holiness is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen."
Thomas Moore a leading lecturer and writer in North America and Europe in the areas of archetypal psychology, mythology, and the imagination. He is the author of "Care of the Soul", "Soul Mates", Rituals of the Imagination", "The Planets Within", and "Dark Eros".

This informative book on the Old Testament practice of tithing will give the reader a clear understanding of exactly what tithing was to the Israelites. This book will answer questions about what items were tithed, how often tithes were collected, whether everyone was expected to tithe, if anyone was cursed for not tithing, and of course, whether tithing is for today's Christian. Tithing in the Age of Grace contains every pertinent scripture as it relates to tithing. This book will also explain why Christians aren't required to tithe, and indeed, why they shouldn't tithe. Tithing in the Age of Grace contains chapters entitled:

• Tithing prior to Old Testament Law
• The command to tithe in the Old Testament law
• Tithing throughout the Old Testament (especially in the Book of Malachi)
• Tithing in the Gospels and book of Acts
• Tithing for the New Testament Christian
• Guidelines for giving in the New Testament age

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of Cape Town once said with regard to South Africa's Apartheid policy, "One of the ways of helping to destroy a people is to tell them that they don't have a history, that they have no roots." He recently described homophobic discrimination "as totally unacceptable and unjust as Apartheid ever was." Unfortunately, it has been particularly difficult for some gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Christians to remain connected with and identified with their own faith traditions because some of these traditions not only treat them as people of secondary status but teach Christian history as though no people of same-gender attraction or opposite-gender identity had any noteworthy place in it and had made no significant contributions at all to Christian tradition.Passionate Holiness tries to remedy this situation by explaining why acquaintance with the stories of Sts. Polyeuct and Nearchus, Sts. Sergius and Bacchus, Christ/Holy Wisdom, Sts. Matrona, Perpetua and Felicity, Brigid and Darlughdach, and many others with whom gender minorities can identify can help them to connect with their own history and spiritual legacy and empower them to face a brighter future with a sense of optimism and inclusion. The story of the removal of the feast of Sts. Sergius and Bacchus from the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 - ironically, the very year New York's Stonewall Riots launched the gay liberation movement - is a particularly revealing example of how far some religious authorities will go to keep gender minorities distanced from their own history.

This is all explored in Passionate Holiness.

"It's a marvelous, beautiful book."
Ursula Vaughan Williams poet, novelist, and widow of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams

"It was a fascinating study. Congratulations on a job well done."
Andrew M. Greeley priest, sociologist, novelist

"Many thanks for sending me your book Passionate Holiness, which I enjoyed very much. It is a fascinating account of the cult of Holy Wisdom, mixed with stories of various 'distinctive people' and the roles they have played in the history of the Church. It is full of saints, sinners, heretics, martyrs, and those who persecuted them. Some of these people, and the ideas they believed in, have featured in my novels, though there was much that I was not aware of. The material in the Russian and Irish chapters were new to me. You say at the beginning of Chapter VII that the reader may cry out "Too much information". Not me! Passionate Holiness is a work of remarkable scholarship, and I wish it had been published before I wrote my Byzantine novels, rather than afterwards. If I ever return to Byzantium as a subject, I am sure I will find your book invaluable. The icons that illustrate the book are beautiful. You are lucky to have access to works by such gifted artists. If only my publisher had commissioned something similar for the cover of Theodore. Maybe next time!"
Christopher Harris English novelist, author of "Theodore," "Memoirs of a Byzantine Eunuch," and "False Ambassador"

"Here's something the antigay modern Roman Catholic Church would like to forget: In the early years of Christianity, homosexual saints were worshipped too, as Dennis O'Neill reminds us. O'Neill is a Chicago-based Catholic pastor who 11 years ago founded The Living Circle, a spirituality center devoted to GLBT people and their friends. In 1995 the Circle hosted an art exhibit entitled "Passionate Holiness" that displayed such holy icons as Saint Boris and George the Hungarian and Saints Brigid and Darlughdach of Kildare. O'Neill's retelling of such stories, plus striking color illustrations, will surprise and inspire any reader, gay or not."
Anne Stockwell Review from "The Advocate", May 24, 2005 issue, p. 82.

"Passionate Holiness is indeed a remarkable book, unlike any other that I know of. Its scope is amazing in its extent, both geographically and chronologically. Much of the subject matter is unfamiliar to theological historians, and it all needs to be generally known. The book gives historical meaning not only to numerous examples of all-male and all-female pairs of lovers, but also the details of the periods in which they lived and of their subsequent cults. In my own specialty, Russian literature and history, the book shows enormous erudition and a secure command of the material."
Simon Karlinsky Professor Emeritus of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of California, Berkeley

"I read Passionate Holiness with great interest. I am amazed by the scope and depth of the work, moved by the faith that motivates it. I am so thrilled to know more about The Living Circle (described in the book) as it seems a unique and effective ecumenical group."
Mary E. Hunt Ph.D. a feminist theologian and author of many books, who is co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Maryland. A Roman Catholic active in the women-church movement, she lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to liberation issues.

"Passionate Holiness is a feast for the mind, the eyes, and the soul. Dennis O'Neill reclaims the many queer treasures that lie buried in Christian history. With impressive depth of scholarship, he traces Christ's feminine incarnation as Holy Wisdom. He details the stories of a bisexual martyr, cross-dressing nuns, saints who ministered in same-sex pairs, and other people of faith who lived outside gender norms. As O'Neill writes in the text, "When history reads like this, who prefers soap operas?" Color illustrations of contemporary icons bring the text to life. This book makes an important contribution to expanding human understanding of Christ and the saints who follow Her/Him."
Rev. Kittredge Cherry author of "Hide and Speak", "Womansword", "Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, ceremonies, and Celebrations", "Jesus in Love", and "Art that Dares"

"Passionate Holiness is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen."
Thomas Moore a leading lecturer and writer in North America and Europe in the areas of archetypal psychology, mythology, and the imagination. He is the author of "Care of the Soul", "Soul Mates", Rituals of the Imagination", "The Planets Within", and "Dark Eros".

Do you really believe in the only true and living God? Are you tired of false religion and now hunger and thirst after righteousness? Are you deceived and not sure if you are a true Christian? Are you 100% sure that Jesus Christ is indeed alive? You may attend church or religious services but have you ever truly worshipped God? Do you know God for yourself? Did you know that you can be 100% sure you will spend eternity in Heaven the moment Christ enters your body? Is your fiancé or spouse a recipient of the 'Spirit of Truth' (in the Lord), so as to prevent you from ever being divorced biblically? Do you really know the truth and the whole truth about Homosexuality? Do you have divine permission to worship God? Did you know that even if you are confirmed or water baptized you cannot worship God in a church, in a cathedral, in a synagogue, in a mosque, in a temple or as you wish? He can only be worshipped in spirit and in truth with the 'Spirit of Truth', after being born of his Spirit through the atoning blood of Christ his Son.

This powerfully inspiring book answers all those crucial questions according to Christ that any sensible person should know before attempting to worship the one and only true God. It also addresses many controversial issues that confront the cutting edge of Christian living in this evolving, secular world, including solutions to spousal abuse. Before Christ revealed Himself to me, I did not know if Heaven was real and I thought hell was just an illusion. However, after Christ revealed Himself to me, I discovered Heaven is real and hell is no joke. This book expounds to the core, pure religion, salvation and the imperativeness of a totally surrendered heart in seeking God. It offers to every person (without Christ) an opportunity to know God supernaturally and diligently exploit his power and love.

Believing in God or Christ is not enough; you must also know them both supernaturally to make it into the kingdom of Heaven. These pages are filled with anointed, intricate, prolific, corrective, expository, edifying revelations (spiritual insights) and teachings that many Christian ministers have not had the courage, tenacity or conviction to address and discuss with clarity and implicit intrusiveness.

Virtually, combined with a passionate desire to speak the truth always, it is the equivalent of the best (simplified) Bible translation for the purpose of personal Bible study, soul winning and revival you have ever laid your hands on. Read and adhered to 'for such a time as this', it will set your mind, body, soul and spirit on divine fire. The teachings and insights will also profoundly permeate your conscience, heart, mind and soul as you ingest every word. Cutting like a two-edged sword, it compels a person to experience the divine presence of the true and living God.

This book is definitely the ultimate key to true worship and an urgent wake up call to all of humanity. Every person that believes in God ought to secure a copy of this book or present it as a gift to a non-Christian.

A gloomy second chapter does not have to follow a sad first one, though! A Seaside Saga chronicles that Second Chapter as that core group and its new pastor make some deliberate choices to move beyond the boundaries of the traditional church and try to discover what would actually happen if a church in America designed itself after actions and principles discovered in the book of Acts. The results were surprising, refreshing, and not a little bit frightening, as the small group of believers faced the reality that some long-held traditions seemed to be more American than biblical.

Into this mixture of stories, memories, histories, and discoveries Pastor Kelley Vaughan adds his personal recollections and opens a window into the deeply-felt frustrations and fears, as well as the simple joys that make up a pastor's day-to-day life. He tells of being surprised, challenged, depressed, and elated as he walked with the people of Seaside Church through the journey of developing a Book of Acts Church in post-modern America.

Joseph, Daniel, Ruth, and Esther depended on their relationships with God to help them overcome their struggles they faced. Joseph used contentment from God to help face the trials of slavery and jail. Daniel used assurance from God to help face the attempts on his life. Ruth used love from God to help face the death of her husband. Esther used morale from God to gain courage to save her people.

The C.A.L.M. Path will teach you to use their examples to help you grow your faith. Deep, enduring, God-given faith will prove God can give you confidence in all of His promises, peace that surpasses all your understandings of a life beyond yourself, and courage when there is no hope in your circumstances.

This informative book on the Old Testament practice of tithing will give the reader a clear understanding of exactly what tithing was to the Israelites. This book will answer questions about what items were tithed, how often tithes were collected, whether everyone was expected to tithe, if anyone was cursed for not tithing, and of course, whether tithing is for today's Christian. Tithing in the Age of Grace contains every pertinent scripture as it relates to tithing. This book will also explain why Christians aren't required to tithe, and indeed, why they shouldn't tithe. Tithing in the Age of Grace contains chapters entitled:

• Tithing prior to Old Testament Law
• The command to tithe in the Old Testament law
• Tithing throughout the Old Testament (especially in the Book of Malachi)
• Tithing in the Gospels and book of Acts
• Tithing for the New Testament Christian
• Guidelines for giving in the New Testament age