Showing results by publisher "Learn25" in Europe

For centuries, the idea of witches living in our midst has enthralled us. How did this fascination develop? Why did it lead to the persecution of thousands of accused “witches”, most of them women? What does the history of witch hunts reveal about our identities and Western civilization at large? Thomas Fudge, PhD, an expert on heresy and the Middle Ages, helps you explore these questions.

Frequently depicted as “Scandinavian scavengers”, warlike pirates, raiders, and invaders, the Vikings have lately surfaced from the depths of history to become pop culture’s most adored ruffians. For Prof. Fee, this recent craze for all things Viking is a mixed blessing. The spike in popular fascination often occasions a need to separate the wheat from the chaff: fact from fiction, history from myth, literature from legend.

The chronicle of Catholicism can seem daunting: full of names, dates, places, and phrases. Getting ahold of such a rich and diverse history requires guidance and a skillful approach. In this brilliant survey course, you'll explore traditions of belief and innovate ways to describe, share, and live that faith. With Dr. Bellitto as your guide, you'll look at the major periods of church history: early, medieval, reformation, and modern. As you take this journey, you'll examine changes and continuities across the centuries.

The very word "reformation" is shrouded in conflict, bringing to mind new beginnings, partisan church politics, and the dawn of a modern world vision. Indeed, when you hear it, you probably think of a single event - Martin Luther posting The Ninety-Five Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg in 1517. The truth, however, is much more nuanced - and interesting - than that. Join award-winning historian, Prof. Christopher M. Bellitto, PhD, in The Reformations, a fascinating journey through Church history.

What can Galileo's extraordinary life and profound legacy teach us today? Galileo's story is a touchstone in debates about science and religion, but our preconceptions inevitably color the way we see the issues. To understand who Galileo was, what he accomplished, and what you can learn from his triumphs and failures, you need a great teacher to place him in context by exploring the cosmologies, political and religious and historical events, and famous people of his generation.

Alexander the Great (ca. 356-323 BCE) was a Macedonian general who brought Greek civilization to the edge of modern-day India. After studying the Iliad, he believed himself to be Achilles reincarnated, imitating the hero of the epic poem in his own military campaigns. Even before he died barely into his 30s, the legends surrounding him were larger than life. In this compelling new audio course, you’ll explore the history and lore surrounding this real man and mythic figure, often by consulting the ancient sources themselves.

You will love this fascinating and exceptionally well-taught course. What really happened at the Council of Trent? After Luther, Calvin, and Henry VIII, the Council of Trent is one of the most frequently invoked names regarding the Reformation. Even so, few know much about it. As renowned historian Fr. John O'Malley demonstrates, the reality of Trent differs radically from how you probably conceive of it.

In the medieval period, how did religious women and men put into words their intense - and intensely personal - devotional practices, visions, and experiences? And how did those efforts to articulate mystical experiences comport with church doctrine? You’ll rejoice in this fresh approach to the mystical tradition, grounded in history and letters but elevated by the mystery of the soul. A natural and energetic speaker, Prof. Fee sets every aspect of his subject ablaze. You’ll find his enthusiasm infectious.

Where did our modern notions about God, science, and humanity come from? Begin in the Mediterranean world of late antiquity, with the decline of Rome and the ascent of Christianity. Explore vigorous Christian debates over the appropriation of pagan thought along with the implications of these debates for medieval thinking. Follow the lively arguments over the origin of the cosmos, the laws of nature, and the extent of God's direct role in natural changes and miraculous events.

The relationship between church and state is a powerful thread stitching the medieval era to modern history. Through this captivating course on Charlemagne, you can follow it back to its inception in the Holy Roman Empire.

Although he remains the most famous, Luther was by no means the first or last Christian reformer. Understanding his unique importance means situating him in the context of the larger story of church reform. Why did indulgences become the defining issue of the Protestant Reformation? This masterful nine-lecture audio course introduces you to Luther’s life, late-medieval theology and politics, and the ideas that sparked a revolution.

This brilliantly taught audio course will ignite your imagination and enrich your mind. In 12 illuminating lectures, award-winning professor and acclaimed historian Prof. Christopher M. Bellitto (PhD, Fordham University) makes medieval history both engaging and enlightening. Throughout history, humans have conjured images to understand their relationships with other Christians, the wider world, and God. For medieval men and women, those images came from Christendom, which was the air they breathed.

St. Dominic's Order of Preachers has given the Catholic Church, and the world, some of humanity's greatest minds. Renowned saints, theologians, mystics, missionaries, artists, teachers, preachers, and a number of notable rascals have been part of the Order since its accidental beginnings in southern France nearly 800 years ago.

Take a journey through Christian history to discover the fascinating theology of the resurrection. Catholics believe that Christ died, was buried, and will come again. Through his own resurrection and the resurrection of all humans, Christ delivers us to grace and restoration. Now, in Resurrection Belief: The Theological Treasure of the Middle Ages, you will come to understand the history of the theology of the resurrection.

Few events have affected the course of civilization as profoundly as the Crusades, a centuries-long period of violent conflict and competition between Islam and Christianity. The Crusades brought destruction and violence to the third monotheistic faith of Judaism as well. Resurfacing frequently in present-day political conversations about clashes between faiths and cultures, the troubling legacy of the Crusades is undeniable.

Explore some of the most powerful theological ideas, economic tensions, and political struggles that shaped Western civilization. This series traces western European civilization - with detours to the East - from the transformation of the Roman Empire to a thousand-year medieval period that started slowly before 1000, flowered for 300 years, and then declined sharply with the Black Death and social revolts until Constantinople fell in 1453 and Columbus sailed in 1492.

From the age of the apostles to Vatican II, the Catholic Church has evolved and invigorated itself. Now, you can take a riveting journey through Church renewal and reform. When we first encounter the words reform and renewal in talking about the Catholic Church, we might think of Vatican II and the idea of aggiornamento - "updating". But the history of reform is nearly as old as the Church itself; indeed, one of the constants in Church history is change.