MSI Press Blog

  Today's Publisher's Pride is When Liberty Enslaves by Jerry Aveta, which reached #284 in campaigns & elections and #318 in abolition history of the US. Book Description There is a common experience between our experiences today and those before the Civil War many years ago.  The effect of the intersection of faith and politics during these two experiences has had on our elections and our governance is uncanny in their similarities.  Both times an election insurrection was stopped by the sitting vice president.  Both times had people of the same faith on both sides of the social issues of the day claiming God’s favor and willing to divide the nation over those competing positions. Part 1 of this writing focuses on the Civil War era and how liberty centered around the issue of equality.  Some people of faith believed all men were equal, some did not. Part 2 focuses on our present times and how liberty centers on the sanctity of life concerning abortion and ...

  Religion is one of humanity’s oldest mirrors. It reflects both our longing for meaning and our fear of being wrong. That duality — comfort and burden — explains why faith can feel like liberation to one person and confinement to another. The Weight of Obligation For many, religion feels heavy because it is experienced primarily as duty . Rules, rituals, and expectations can become measures of worth rather than pathways to grace. When faith is taught as compliance — “do this or you fail” — it can turn spiritual practice into performance. The heart tightens under the pressure to be perfect. This heaviness often grows in communities where fear outweighs wonder. When divine love is framed as conditional, religion becomes a ledger — a system of debts and credits rather than a relationship. The result is guilt, anxiety, and the quiet exhaustion of trying to earn what was meant to be freely given. The Lightness of Connection Others experience religion as joy because they encounter it as...

  Today's Publisher's Pride is When Liberty Enslaves by Jerry Aveta, which reached #284 in campaigns & elections and #318 in abolition history of the US. Book Description There is a common experience between our experiences today and those before the Civil War many years ago.  The effect of the intersection of faith and politics during these two experiences has had on our elections and our governance is uncanny in their similarities.  Both times an election insurrection was stopped by the sitting vice president.  Both times had people of the same faith on both sides of the social issues of the day claiming God’s favor and willing to divide the nation over those competing positions. Part 1 of this writing focuses on the Civil War era and how liberty centered around the issue of equality.  Some people of faith believed all men were equal, some did not. Part 2 focuses on our present times and how liberty centers on the sanctity of life concerning abortion and ...

  Not everyone who steps away from organized religion is rejecting faith. Many are simply seeking a more direct, personal way to grow — one that doesn’t depend on institutions or rituals, but on attentiveness to the divine in daily life. Leaving church can feel like losing structure, community, and rhythm. Yet for many, it becomes an invitation to rediscover what spiritual growth really means: not belonging to a system, but belonging to God. 1. They Stay Open to Change Spiritual growth outside the church isn’t static. Some people eventually return to church, finding renewed meaning in its traditions. Others never want to. Still others discover new forms of community — small circles of friends, online gatherings, or quiet partnerships that don’t resemble church at all. The point is not the destination. The point is staying spiritually awake — alert to grace, receptive to transformation, willing to be changed by love. 2. They Practice Awareness in Ordinary Life Without formal liturgy...