Australian Religions

*Read by the author. For believers and skeptics alike, A Doubter's Guide to World Religions introduces the five major world religions so that you can explore their similarities and differences in a fair and engaging way. The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are...

One of The New York Times 10 Best Thrillers of 2024 One of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2024 One of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2024 A “luminous, unusual, unexpected” (The New York Times) debut novel blending mystery, psychological suspense, astronomy, and romance, in which a young...

Set in the nineteenth century, The World Duology (World Odyssey / Fiji: A Novel) follows the fortunes of three young travelers. Their dramatic adventures span sixteen years and see them engage with Native American Indians, Barbary Coast pirates, Aborigines, Maoris and Pacific Islanders as they travel around the world - from America to Africa, from England to the Canary Islands, to Australia, New Zealand, Samoa and Fiji. In book one, World Odyssey, ambitious American adventurer Nathan Johnson, sheltered English missionary Susannah Drake and irrepressible Cockney Jack Halliday each follow ...

When my full-blooded Hawaiian mother was a very young girl, she was hanai adopted by her Aunty Ida. Being a personal friend of Queen Emma, Anty Ida lived in her summer palace in Nu'uanu. It was there that my mother lived and played. Many years later, my brother and I went to visit Queen Emma's summer palace with my mother. The palace was now a museum. I did not understand my mother's subdued spirit and silence. As we walked the palace, I could clearly see emotions welling up within her and then being suppressed.

Why would anyone join a cult? Maybe they're unhappy with their current religion, or they want to change the world, or they're disappointed with their lives and want to find something bigger or holier that makes sense of this confusing, chaotic and dangerous world. Or maybe they just want to give themselves the best possible chance of having sex with aliens. Whatever the reason, once people are in, it's usually very difficult for them to leave.

Once the sacred guardian of New Zealand's native forests, the huia was a symbol of the land's unique beauty and spirituality. The rare bird's tragic extinction in the early 1900s represents a shot to the heart of Aotearoa and is a potent metaphor for a country's conflicted history. Using the story of the untimely extinction of the huia, J. Ruka offers a fresh perspective on the narrative of New Zealand: a tale of two cultures, warring worldviews, and the things we lost in translation.

Set in the nineteenth century, World Odyssey (The World Duology, #1) follows the fortunes of three young travelers as each embarks on an epic journey. Their dramatic adventures span sixteen years and see them engage with Native American Indians, Barbary Coast pirates, Aborigines, Maoris and Pacific Islanders as they travel around the world - from America to Africa, from England to the Canary Islands, to Australia, New Zealand and Samoa. Ambitious American adventurer Nathan Johnson's journey begins when he runs away to sea to escape a violent father. After surviving a shipwreck and ...

Tribal chiefs living in remote villages high in the unreached mountains of Yemen. An ordinary Sydney doctor lacking confidence in his own abilities, yet with a message to share. What God does is exceptional. Michael Babbage’s story of being led, protected, and provided for, together with his family, in their missionary travels to Yemen and Pakistan makes gripping listening.

My Promised Homeland The story continues and Sarah is transported back in time as Katalin, a Hungarian nurse and healer who finds herself falling in love with Mehmed II during a battle. With the same mission as Sarah, Katalin makes a different choice, leading to a life brimming with love and mercy alongside Mehmet and his son Murat. Her decision alters Mehmet's destiny, transforming him into a more benevolent and peaceful ruler. After a fulfilling life, Katalin passes away only to find herself sentenced to an endless cycle of rebirth and death in her true home. Surprisingly, she is rewarded...

Just before Tatiana sets off to start a new life of deprivation, sacrifice, and sanctity, her insightful uncle helps her grapple with the meaning of life and come to terms with a world where people betray over a fickle, and where the quest for self-gratification supersedes the desire to live a divine purpose. “Hunger Fire” sequentially follows “The Grandmother': and Perfect Love” and precedes “The Fire and Ice Legend” in the short story collection entitled “Me Before Them”.

Geologists have amassed data that indicate that islands have disappeared in the Pacific, a phenomenon that oral traditions of many groups of Pacific Islanders also highlight. This book explores the issue of vanished islands in the Pacific by bringing together the geology and the myths.

Playing out as a scintillating story with unexpected twists, “The Girl on the Trail” explores the severe and overwhelming shock of discovering uncomfortable truths about those we look up to, the security of family, the joy and satisfaction of love, the devastation of betrayal and loss, and the comfort of loyalty in our lives. The teenage Tatiana is certain she has her future mapped out: She would find love when she becomes a young woman, she would live a loving life all through college, and she would marry the knight who would secure her heart. But then, her compromised mother shakes ...

Award-winning astrologer Natasha Weber (also known as AstroTash) is your guide to unravelling the secrets of your astrological blueprint. With her down-to-earth stellar insights, Natasha unpacks the Zodiac signs, explores the mysteries of the Moon, clarifies cusp signs, and demystifies those challenging celestial shifts (Mercury retrograde, anyone?) so you can harness the knowledge of the cosmos for greater personal growth and success.

The exciting adventure continues as Shaerlyn, Jael, Farida and other angels fight a renewed onslaught from the forces of Lucifer. Epic battles, high drama fill this fast paced book that also explores the growing pains of the young boy the angels are sworn to protect. Delve into the depths of Angelogy and be inspired by this tale of faith leading to action.

Wearing the colour red and having the patch with the emblem of the mighty bulldog on your back was what ex-Mongrel Mob leader Tuhoe 'Bruno' Isaac called being True Red. "Because all levels of society hated us we created a new society of hatred symbolised by the bulldog. Its ferocious habits were engraved on our hearts", Tuhoe says, "If you weren't a mobster you weren't worth knowing." He lived this way for 17 years. However, constantly living for the bash, beer, prison and the possibility of dying in a pool of blood eventually saw Tuhoe search for another way of doing life.

This book is written in two parts. Part one follows a personal journey into understanding God's desire for His church to become one, for the sake of their city, to the glory of God. It gives practical guidance on unity journeys - what they look like, how to move forward, and what are some of the learnings from the past to be used to inform this future. It invites the reader to personally seek God's direction and then invites them to pay the price of engagement. Part two looks at the elephant in the room - a practical theology of unity.

Spirit Sisters was inspired by the scores of women who would preface their stories with, 'I've hardly told anyone this, but...' The journalist would scratch the surface, and their stories would tumble out; they'd given up the ghost, so to speak. In Spirit Sisters you'll meet Australian women of all ages who share their very personal encounters with the supernatural.

South Australia, 1914 When war against Germany erupts on the other side of the earth, a huge wave of suspicion, prejudice and persecution floods the community. There’s even a harsh concentration camp built for men branded as enemy aliens. Here in Adelaide, five diverse people are made vulnerable by the war. Elsie, gifted and ambitious child pianist, with German ancestry. Oskar, famous sportsman and businessman, also with German origins. Wilfred, a caring Anglican parish priest, opposed to the war. Pansy, an outsider by her very nature, but a fighter for justice to others. Little Neddy, a ...

Overwhelmed with insomnia and an incurable autoimmune disease, Shannon Harvey needed to make a change. But while the award-winning health journalist found plenty of recommendations on diet, sleep and exercise, when she looked for the equivalent of a 30-minute workout for her mental well-being, there was nothing. Also worried for the future mental health of her kids, who were growing up amidst critical levels of stress, anxiety, depression and addiction, Shannon enlisted a team of scientists to put meditation to the test.

Jackie was aware of her psychic gift from a very young age, but her career began in banking, where she developed her business skills and entrepreneurial flair. A series of events in 2004 encouraged her to follow her intuition to her true life's purpose. Jackie believes your thoughts create your reality - and her positive energy and inspiring spiritual guidance have earned her the reputation as one of Australia's most sought-after psychic mediums.