Showing titles in Religious Studies

Originally published in German in 1862 and then translated in 1912 by philosopher and rabbi Meyer Waxman, PhD, this work is considered to be one of the first, if not the first modern proposal for a Jewish homeland in Judea. Written in the form of 12 informal letters to a bereaved lady, the book summarizes arguments pro and against the proposal using quotes and anecdotes involving prominent European social leaders of the time, accompanied by brilliant insights into human nature.

In a carefully choreographed propaganda video released in February 2015, ISIS militants behead twenty-one orange-clad Christian men on a Libyan beach. In the West, daily reports of new atrocities may have displaced the memory of this particularly vile event. But not in the world from which the murdered came. All but one were young Coptic Christian migrant workers from Egypt. Acclaimed literary writer Martin Mosebach traveled to the Egyptian village of El-Aour to meet their families and better understand the faith and culture that shaped such conviction.

Die abenteuerliche Suche nach den 9 Prophezeiungen führt zu einem Quantensprung des Bewusstseins - ein bis heute einzigartiger Bestseller, der Millionen Leser auch jenseits der Esoterik-Szene begeistert hat. Mit Celestine schrieb James Redfield eines der größten Kult-Bücher der letzten 10 Jahre, das allein in Deutschland über 2 Millionen Leser gefunden hat und bis heute eine weiter wachsende Fan-Gemeinde begeistert.

In this groundbreaking new biography of Justinian, Peter Sarris gives us an intimate insight into both the Emperor and the man. We meet a man who from the humblest beginnings, rose to become ruler of much of the known world achieving an almost god-like status. An emperor who infused even the most mundane tasks with spiritual and religious significance. A gifted administrator obsessed with detail. A middle aged lover who fell for a dancing girl and changed the law so he could marry her, ruling with Empress Theodora by his side for over twenty years.

When Western Christians think about God, the default image that comes to mind is usually white and male. How did that happen? Christianity is rooted in the ancient Near East among people of darker skin. But over time, European Christians cast Jesus in their own image, with art that imagined a fair-skinned Savior in the style of imperial rulers. Grace Ji-Sun Kim explores the historical origins and theological implications of how Jesus became white and God became a white male.

Kahlil Gibran reveals his vision of the soul and understanding of the world - past, present, and future - in this rich sampling of more than 20 works. Prose tales, fables, and poems evoke the mystic East and form a world at once powerful, tender, joyous, and melancholy. This collection, penned when Gibran was still a young writer, reveals many of the themes and styles plumbed throughout his life.

How do you know if you're going to heaven? How do you avoid going to hell? Learn what its like in heaven and hell from Emanuel Swedenborg's conversations with angels and spirits as this eighteenth-century Christian mystic explains what happens when we die. A Swedish Enlightenment scientist of extraordinary accomplishment, Swedenborg underwent a spiritual awakening that led to almost daily experiences of heaven, hell, and what he called the world of spirits; a process that lasted twenty-seven years until his death at age 84.

Jesus declared war on an ancient enemy at the very beginning of His ministry. He hinted at the identity of this entity through the locations of His baptism, the Transfiguration, and the Olivet Discourse. This enemy was cast down from the mountain of God. He's deceived millions in sacrificing their children on his altars. And he returns from the bottomless pit at the end of the age—a prophecy encoded into the art and architecture of the United States Capitol. This entity may be more dangerous than Satan himself.

As an adult, Lauren Hough has had many identities: an airman in the U.S. Air Force, a cable guy, a bouncer at a gay club. As a child, however, she had none. Growing up as a member of the infamous cult The Children of God, Hough had her own self robbed from her. The cult took her all over the globe - to Germany, Japan, Texas, Chile - but it wasn't until she finally left for good that Lauren understood she could have a life beyond 'The Family'. Along the way, she's loaded up her car and started over, trading one life for the next.

Lynn Cohick provides an accurate and fulsome picture of the earliest Christian women by examining a wide variety of first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman documents that illuminate their lives. She organizes the book around three major spheres of life: family, religious community, and society in general.

Uncover the historical and social roots of caste discrimination in Who Were the Shudras? by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. This groundbreaking work challenges the traditional narratives of Hindu society, offering a meticulous examination of the origins and status of the Shudra caste. Ambedkar's critical analysis and visionary insights call for a re-evaluation of social hierarchies and advocate for equality and justice.

This book is for everyone who has a father. And for all those who know what it's like to long for a father's blessing: his approval, affection, and attention. It's for anyone who's ever longed to hear your dad say, "I love you. I'm so proud of you." You may already know what it's like to live in the rays of such a blessing, to flourish in the marvelous light of a father's love. Yet, in this "fatherless generation", it's also likely you've never known the blessing of your earthly dad.

Is there more about the story of Christmas you wish you understood or that you have specific questions about? In this storybook of biblical truth and history, Rick Renner takes you on the magical journey of Christ's coming to earth as a baby—and the purpose of his coming—in a way you’ve probably never heard it before.

‘In the beginning was the Word,’ says the Gospel of John. This sentence – and the words of all four gospels – is central to the teachings of the Christian church and has shaped Western art, literature and language, and the Western mind. Yet in the years after the death of Christ there was not merely one word, nor any consensus as to who Jesus was or why he had mattered.

In the 12 fascinating lectures of Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults, you will learn about some of the most widely known cults of modern times. But unlike any standard news reporting or documentary about the Peoples Temple, The Manson “Family,” The Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate, Children of God, the Unification Church, and NXIVM, your expert, Dr. Wind Goodfriend, will help you explore the psychology of these cults. How could these cult leaders have committed such heinous crimes under the guise of “helping” members in their development?

The Jesus Music explores the history, evolution, and redemptive thread of Contemporary Christian music over the last fifty years as it spans the convergence of rock and roll, country, and gospel music.

Often called the "Father of Church History", Eusebius was the first to trace the rise of Christianity during its crucial first three centuries from Christ to Constantine. Our principal resource for earliest Chrisitianity, The Church History presents a panorama of apostles, church fathers, emperors, bishops, heroes, heretics, confessors, and martyrs. This audiobook edition includes Paul L. Maier's clear and precise translation, historical commentary on each book in The Church History, and numerous maps, illustrations, and photographs.

This work explores the heavens and the earth through the eyes of Enoch. It chronicles the events as a group of holy angels called the Watchers fall from grace, desert their heavenly home and trade eternal life to taste the forbidden lust for earthly women. This work looks closely at the anguish and regret felt by the fallen ones as they realized what they had done and the consequences that followed. We explore how the Watchers felt about their offspring with the women, the Nephilim, the Eljo, and the Men of Renown.

A third-generation Jehovah's Witness, Amber Scorah had devoted her life to sounding God's warning of impending Armageddon. She volunteered to take the message to China, where the preaching she did was illegal and could result in her expulsion or worse. Here, she had some distance from her community for the first time. Immersion in a foreign language and culture - and a whole new way of thinking - turned her world upside down, and eventually led her to lose all that she had been sure was true.

The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom. The book was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased, and was part of a tradition of funerary texts which includes the earlier Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts, which were painted onto objects, not written on papyrus. A number of the spells which make up the Book continued to be separately inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi, as the spells from which they originated always had been.