It's been called the most misunderstood book in history.

Wars have been fought in its name, scandals have been precipitated by it, politics shaped and reshaped at its word. Theologians have both defended and reviled it. Skeptics have done the same. If you are a typical member of the human race, you have often been perplexed by the Bible. The question remains, What does it really say?

Here is a book that explains the greatest of Bible themes clearly and logically. The author chronologically binds together the entire text into one great universal drama, looking at events from the perspective of those who experienced history in the making. The results are sometimes comical, sometimes frightening but always true to the intent of the text.

In Falling Upward, Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up."

Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as "falling upward." In fact, it is not a loss but somehow actually a gain, as we have all seen with elders who have come to their fullness.

• Explains why the second half of life can and should be full of spiritual richness
• Offers a new view of how spiritual growth happens?loss is gain

This important book explores the counterintuitive message that we grow spiritually much more by doing wrong than by doing right--a fresh way of thinking about spirituality that grows throughout life.

For too long, the history of Christianity has been told as the triumph of orthodox doctrine imposed through power. Now, historian Diana Butler Bass sheds new light on the surprising ways that many Christians have refused to conform to a rigid church hierarchy and sought to recapture the radical implications of Jesus's life and message.