Showing titles in History

Bestselling scholar Jonathan A. C. Brown examines Islamic scripture, law, Sufism, and history to comprehensively interrogate this claim and determine how and why it emerged. Locating its origins in conservative politics, modern Afrocentrism, and the old trope of Barbary enslavement, he explains how antiblackness arose in the Islamic world and became entangled with normative tradition.

You think you know about Islam. But, did you know that Islam teaches that Muslims must wage war to impose Islamic law on non-Muslim states, or that American Muslim groups are engaged in a huge cover-up of Islamic doctrine? These and other "politically incorrect" facts are revealed by Robert Spencer in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades).

In The Darkening Age, Catherine Nixey tells the little-known - and deeply shocking - story of how a militant religion deliberately tried to extinguish the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in unquestioning adherence to the 'one true faith'. The Roman Empire had been generous in embracing and absorbing new creeds. But with the coming of Christianity, everything changed. This new faith, despite preaching peace, was violent, ruthless and intolerant. And once it became the religion of empire, its zealous adherents set about the destruction of the old gods.

Best-selling author Neal Bascomb has garnered critical acclaim for such riveting nonfiction as Higher and Red Mutiny. Based on extensive interviews and previously classified details, Hunting Eichmann is a compelling account of the relentless hunt for the nefarious Adolf Eichmann.

This extraordinary document represents a new form of historical research and straightens out many open questions and misinterpretations. It takes the form of direct dialogues between a modern researcher and a member of the Qumran Essene community. Alive around the time of Christ, this community has become the focus of ideas about the connection of Jesus' teachings to earlier traditions.

When John Stoessinger was ten years old, Adolf Hitler annexed his homeland of Austria, ripping the boy from his home and his friends in Vienna. His grandparents encouraged his mother and stepfather to take young John somewhere safe. "You must have a future," his grandfather told him before he and his parents boarded the train and waved goodbye. As they trekked across the country, from Vienna to Prague and then finally settling in Shanghai, there was never a single moment Stoessinger was not afraid.

Are the illustrious clans of the Mahabharata from Surya Vansh or Chandra Vansh? Which yuga does the Ramayana occur in, and does it occur only once? What do haldi, kumkum, bhasm or chandan signify in a puja thali? After the sensational response to Season 1 of EPIC Channel’s Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik, Devdutt invited his viewers and fans to ask him questions about Hindu mythology, which he has answered over thirty thrilling episodes. Prepare to be educated, entertained and moved as Devdutt delves into the exhilarating variety of Hindu mythology.

Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) is one of the most beloved of the Catholic saints. In 1562, during the era of the Spanish Inquisition, Teresa sat down to write an account of the mystical experiences for which she had become famous. The result was this book, one of the great classics of spiritual autobiography. With this fresh translation of The Book of My Life, Mirabai Starr brings the inimitable Spanish mystic to life for a new generation, with contemporary English that mirrors Teresa's own earthy, vernacular Spanish, and that presents us with someone we feel we know.

Three thousand years ago, in the Southwest Asian lands we now call Israel and Palestine, a group of people worshipped a complex pantheon of deities, led by a father god called El. El had 70 children, who were gods in their own right. One of them was a minor storm deity, known as Yahweh. Yahweh had a body, a wife, offspring and colleagues. He fought monsters and mortals. He gorged on food and wine, wrote books and took walks and naps. But he would become something far larger and far more abstract: the God of the great monotheistic religions.

Fr. Robert Barron's comprehensive work goes straight to the core of the Catholic faith. He first examines the foundations of Christ's incarnation, life and ministry, and then works through the essentials of the Catholic tradition: from sacraments, worship and prayer, to Mary and the saints, and on to salvation, heaven and hell. Throughout this epic journey, Fr. Barron uses art, literature, personal stories, Scripture, theology, philosophy and history to present a complete picture of the Church to the world.

The past life memories of two women capture a true and compelling portrait of Jesus the man, from the healing miracles he performed to the gentle philosophy he preached. This is an insider view, direct from Jesus' time, deep in feeling tones and profound in implications, giving a sense of how things truly were.

The companion to the Oscar-nominated documentary, an unparalleled look inside Israel's security establishment. Imagine the following situation: You have just received a tip that six suicide bombers are making their way into the heart of Israel's major cities, each one to a different city, to set off explosions in the most crowded centers of population. How far would you go to stop the attacks?

The great Indian epic - the Ramayana - has been told and retold over thousands of years by poets, performers, and writers. It is a tale of courage and fear, love and hate, devotion and betrayal. The epic spans the three worlds of gods, humans, and demons. Here, the forces of good and evil collide, locked in a battle for the ultimate supremacy. Rama, the crown prince of Kosala, descendent of the timeless Surya dynasty, must face unimaginable danger, but what lies in his destiny?

One of the most inspirational and influential spiritual leaders of the 20th century, minister and best-selling author Norman Vincent Peale transformed the lives of millions worldwide with his groundbreaking book, The Power of Positive Thinking. In The Positive Power of Jesus Christ, the revered pastor of the world-famous Marble Collegiate Church proclaims his unshakable faith in Christ the Savior with inspiring stories of healing and hope, of the ways in which his life and the lives of others were profoundly touched by the holy hand of God's Son. 

In this, one of Martin Luther’s most impactful works, he brings together the similarities between the exile and captivity of the Israelites and the state of the Catholic church, in their destructive servitude to the papacy. He goes through each of the seven sacraments—questioning, analyzing, and applying the Biblical understandings he had reached. He rejects many of the practices, calling out the issues of control and misrepresentation of true Christian faith and repentance.

Acclaimed Israeli intelligence analyst Avi Melamed has spent more than 30 years interpreting Middle East affairs. His long-awaited Inside the Middle East challenges widely accepted perceptions and provides a gripping and uniquely enlightening guide to make sense of the events unfolding in the region. Melamed considers all the major power players in the Middle East, explains the underlying issues, and creates a three-dimensional picture, an illustration that connects the dots and provides a fascinating road map.

Waiting to be rediscovered in the British Library is an ancient manuscript of the early Church, copied by an anonymous monk. The manuscript is at least 1,450 years old, possibly dating to the first century, Jesus' lifetime. And now, The Lost Gospel provides the first-ever translation from Syriac into English of this unique document that tells the inside story of Jesus' social, family, and political life. The Lost Gospel takes listeners on an unparalleled historical adventure through a paradigm-shifting manuscript.

John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce suffered lifelong opposition and endured for the causes of gospel truth, missionary zeal, and political justice. They found, in solid doctrine and humble joy, the tough roots for habitual tenderness in response to their adversaries - without doctrinal or moral flinching. They are examples of remarkable grace. In the third book of the Swans Are Not Silent series, best-selling author John Piper looks at the lives of these three great men and how they not only endured great opposition but did so with joy and without bitterness.

Nimble and expertly researched, The Devil’s Best Trick brilliantly melds cultural and historical commentary and a suspenseful true-crime narrative. Randall Sullivan, whose reportage and narrative skill has been called “extraordinary” and “enthralling” by Rolling Stone, takes on a bold task in this book that is both biography of the Devil and a look at how evil manifests in the world.

Does your knowledge of the Old Testament feel like a grab bag of people, books, events, and ideas? How many times have you resolved to really understand the OT? To finally make sense of it? Perhaps you are suffering from what Sandra Richter calls the "dysfunctional closet syndrome". If so, she has a solution. Like a home-organizing expert, she comes in and helps you straighten up your cluttered closet. Whether you are a frustrated do-it-yourselfer or a beginning student enrolled in a course, The Epic of Eden will organize your understanding of the Old Testament.