Charles Stone Books

Does your life feel like a series of rushed moments? Do you wish to feel more present and connected to loved ones, listen without preoccupying thoughts, and experience less distraction? Many of us yearn for the next moment while neglecting the present, overwhelmed by social media, work demands, and family stress. This book teaches you to become aware of your thoughts, emotions, and surroundings, recognize Christ’s presence in each moment, and reduce stress by focusing on God and relationships instead of tasks. While some view mindfulness as unchristian or linked to Eastern religions, Dr. Charles Stone reveals that the practice of holy noticing—intentionally paying attention to God’s work in our lives—is a long-standing spiritual discipline within Christianity. The book delves into its biblical roots and introduces Dr. Stone’s BREATHe model, designed to help you engage more deeply with Christ in everyday moments that often pass unnoticed. Rediscover the spiritual discipline of holy noticing and learn to engage with the world in a Christ-like manner.

"This study examines the genre of tragedy through the lens of one of its most curious manifestations: the martyr play. The equation of Christianity with tragedy has often been seen by literary and theological scholars as specious at best, sacrilegious at worst. During the mid-seventeenth century, however, a group of French playwrights saw fit to produce tragedies that drew not on Roman or Greek mythology, as was the norm, but on stories of Christian heroism. The author examines a broad corpus of plays ranging from the famous works of Pierre Corneille to near-forgotten examples of female-authored tragedy. By setting the martyr plays in direct juxtaposition with contemporary Church practice and thought, the author unearths a network of interconnections that challenge the oft-cited secularization of the stage in seventeenth-century France. Drawing on the writings of Michel Foucault as well as a host of contemporary and modern-day theologians, the author shows the martyr to be a major figure in theatrical performance and religious thought alike, exposing the porosity of the boundary separating the spaces of theatrical performance and church worship. The martyr plays, whether they threaten to destabilize the genre or define it, are ultimately shown to be integral to our understanding of what constituted tragedy in early modern France"--