Showing titles in Religious Studies

The first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on today's believers. Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. They practiced a whole new way of thinking about and doing religion that would have been seen as bizarre and dangerous when compared to Roman religion and most other religions of the ancient world.

For numerous centuries, the Talmud—an extraordinary work of Jewish ethics, law, and tradition—has compelled readers to grapple with how to live a good life. Full of folk legends, bawdy tales, and rabbinical repartee, it is inspiring, demanding, confounding, and thousands of pages long. As Liel Leibovitz enthusiastically explores the Talmud, what has sometimes been misunderstood as a dusty and arcane volume becomes humanity's first self-help book. How the Talmud Can Change Your Life contains sage advice on an unparalleled scope of topics.

Acclaimed author Karen Swallow Prior examines evangelical history, both good and bad. By analyzing the literature, art, and popular culture that has surrounded evangelicalism, she unpacks some of the movement's most deeply held concepts, ideas, values, and practices to consider what is Christian rather than merely cultural. The result is a clearer path forward for evangelicals amid their current identity crisis—and insight for others who want a deeper understanding of what the term "evangelical" means today.

For more than a century, archaeologists have been unearthing the tombs, temples, texts, and artifacts of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world. Using new approaches, contemporary scholars have begun to synthesize this material with the biblical traditions. The Oxford History of the Biblical World incorporates the best of this scholarship, and in chronologically ordered chapters presents the listener with an integrated study of the history, art, architecture, languages, literatures, and religion of biblical Israel and early Judaism and Christianity in their larger cultural contexts.

The work of psychotherapy and counseling is full of ethical challenges and dilemmas. Responding to these situations with wisdom is critical, not only for the professional's credibility, but also for good therapeutic relationships and positive treatment outcomes. Since its first publication, Christian Counseling Ethics has become a standard reference work for Christian psychologists, counselors, and pastors, and a key text at Christian universities and seminaries. This thoroughly revised edition retains core material on counseling ethics that has made it so valuable in a variety of settings.

Many people are curious about the second coming of Christ—what it will be like, when it will happen, and what signs will come first. In his latest book, Come, Lord Jesus, John Piper addresses all these issues, but stresses that those who love the second coming of Christ will receive a crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:6–8). Piper examines key biblical texts around the second coming while encouraging listeners toward a Spirit-awakened affection for Jesus's return.

In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called 'heresies' and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation.

Now a major new series on Disney+ starring Andrew Garfield A provocative look at the twisted roots of American fundamentalism.' Will Self, Evening Standard Books of the Year ‘Excellent . . . a lucid, judicious, even sympathetic account not just of Mormon Fundamentalism but of the seductive...

Discover a forgotten medieval empire of the Eurasian steppe, where nomadic warriors controlled the legendary Silk Road. Perfect for a captivating commute, this deep dive transports you to a mysterious intersection of the Byzantine, Islamic, and Slavic worlds. Immerse yourself in an epic...

An essential resource on the names of Jesus Christ This timeless volume originally published in 1988 includes eighty short studies on the names and titles of Christ. These simple and enduring messages continue to provide enlightening devotional studies for believers as well as outlines for...

The setting of 1st and 2nd Maccabees is about a century and a half after the conquest of Judea by the Greeks under Alexander the Great. It tells how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress the Jewish religion, resulting in the Maccabean Revolt from 175 to 134 BCE.

How did the movement founded by Jesus transform more in the first 75 years after his death than it has in the 2,000 years since? This book tells the story of how the Christian movement, which began as relatively informal, rural, Hebrew- and Aramaic-speaking, and closely anchored to the Jewish synagogue, became primarily urban, Greek-speaking, and gentile by the early second century, spreading through the Greco-Roman world with a mission agenda and church organization distinct from its roots in Jewish Galilee. 

Conceived over 30 years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura's broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of "making". What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise.

LIFE AFTER DEATH is one of a number of related works written by theosophy scholars during the early 20th century. In it, theosophist and clairvoyant C. W. Leadbeater sheds a comforting & clarifying light on what a soul is, as well as its journey after physical death of the body. Drawing upon...

While courses in Bible and theology typically require research papers, particularly at the graduate level, very few include training in research. Professors have two options: use valuable class time to teach students as much as they can, or lower their standards with the understanding that...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A major narrative history of Christianity's first thousand years by acclaimed educator and #1 New York Times bestselling author William J. Bennett. Full of larger-than-life characters, stunning acts of bravery, and heart-rending sacrifice, Tried by Fire narrates the...

What does it mean to heal from trauma caused by the people, beliefs, and practices of your faith? And to rebuild a sense of self, when high-control religion said you shouldn’t have one? This program is read by the author. "This gripping audiobook is a strong choice alongside books about...

Most of us grew up in a culture where school systems rewarded fast, correct answers to problems—not slow, deliberate questions about problems. But as we mature, we face more complicated matters—ideas with worldview implications—that aren’t tests of memorized facts. How can we confidently...

This new edition of Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem may be the most important resource you can own for helping you understand Scripture and grow as a Christian. The most widely used resource of the last 25 years in its area, Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem has been thoroughly revised and...

श्रीमद् भगवद् गीता (Hindi Audio) वह दिव्य ग्रंथ है जिसमें भगवान श्रीकृष्ण ने महाभारत के युद्धक्षेत्र में अर्जुन को जीवन...