Showing titles in History

Over 40,000 Frenchmen were executed for holding fast to the Catholic Faith and objecting to the worst excesses of the Committee of Public Safety. The bloodlust of the time staggers the imagination, and the campaign against the Church was as diabolical as it was cruel. Carroll captures the brutality of the period, but also the action of grace in the heroism of the Church, the saintliness of her martyrs and the dramatic conversion of Danton—an erstwhile leader of the uprising who landed in a death-battle with the forces he helped put in motion.

Late Revelations introduces a revolutionary model for understanding the creation of the gospels in the New Testament and beyond. Rather than viewing the gospels as static and finished works published at one time, this book proposes that the initial gospels were "waves" of rolling traditions—stories, teachings, and sayings that evolved within early Christian groups. These traditions were fluid and dynamic, initially lacking the apostolic authorship attributed to them by later generations.

In 1868, a French archaeologist and his team were excavating a cemetery in Egypt when they came upon a certain tomb from the eighth century. In the tomb was a monk, reclining peacefully with hands folded on his breast, clasping a small book which he believed to be sacred, holy, and inspired. This book contained the Gospel of Peter. A portion of The Gospel According to Peter had been restored to the Christian community after having been lost over a thousand years.

Evangelical Christianity is a paradox. Evangelicals are radically individualist, but devoted to community and family. They believe in the transformative power of a personal relationship with God, but are wary of religious enthusiasm. They are deeply skeptical of secular reason, but eager to find scientific proof that the Bible is true. In this groundbreaking history of modern American evangelicalism, Molly Worthen argues that these contradictions are the products of a crisis of authority that lies at the heart of the faith.

During its 2,500-year life, the book of Genesis has been the keystone to almost every important claim about reality, humanity, and God in Judaism and Christianity. And it continues to play a central role in debates about science, politics, and human rights. With clarity and skill, acclaimed biblical scholar Ronald Hendel provides a panoramic history of this iconic book, exploring its impact on Western religion, philosophy, science, politics, literature, and more.

Read by the authors. Does gaining power, possessions, and popularity lead to happiness and fulfillment? Or does inner transformation and self-sacrificial love bring the most joy and satisfaction? New York Times bestselling author Kathie Lee Gifford and scholar Bryan Litfin dive into these...

Over the last few decades, many dark secrets have been pouring out of Christian communities around the world. Most of them focus on some form of misuse of trust or abuse at the hands of church leaders. For centuries religious leaders have “circled the wagons” in an attempt to preserve the money-making institutions they lead. The result has been a continual cycle of abuse and the disillusioned leaving the institutional church world in droves. From 1982-1989, author Bob Scott founded and pastored the Kansas City Fellowship with his friend and then brother-in-law Mike Bickle.

The New Testament Apocrypha refers to texts written by early Christians that were not included in the Bible used by the main branches of Christianity today. These texts vary in subject matter, with some being accounts of Jesus, others being about the nature of God, and still others being accounts and teachings of Jesus' apostles. What makes them fascinating is not just the history behind why they are considered non-canonical, but what they tell us about the early Church and early Christianity. Moreover, they offer insight into what sources were used to write them, and whether they shared the same sources as the texts that comprise the Bible today. Given their historical and religious importance, there is still a fierce debate over the authenticity of many of these texts.

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is an apocryphal work containing the final speeches and dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob to their descendants. Each Testament consists of a brief overview of the patriarch’s life, admissions of sin, ethical teachings based on the patriarch’s experiences, and prophetic visions about the future of his descendants and the end of days.

In this magisterial work, leading cultural critic Mary Eberstadt delivers a powerful new theory about the decline of religion in the Western world. The conventional wisdom is that the West first experienced religious decline, followed by the decline of the family. Eberstadt turns this standard account on its head. Marshalling an impressive array of research, Eberstadt shows that the reverse has also been true: the undermining of the family has further undermined Christianity itself.  

Get to know the Knights Hospitaller. Lesser known than the Knights Templar, the Hospitaller were nevertheless heroic and among the bravest of all the knights orders that fought for their faith during the Crusades. And they still stand strong to this day, helping those in need. Many of us have grown up with tales of knights in shining armor who arrived just at the nick of time to save the day and of selfless warriors who would give their own lives in the service of others.

Even someone with a casual knowledge of the Bible will recognize the name Judas Iscariot. Well known as the disciple who betrayed Jesus, the Messiah, with a kiss, Judas has become synonymous with betrayal and deception. The most infamous of the apostles, Judas goes from true follower to a turncoat who seemingly sacrifices the cause for personal benefit. Not surprisingly, the names of the disciples will appear in birth registries around the world except for Judas, whose name is still associated with suspicion and even fear.

The shocking untold story of how the FBI partnered with white evangelicals to champion a vision of America as a white Christian nation.

Embark on a transformative journey from unwavering atheism to a deeply profound connection with 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.' Dive into this candid journey, where the author unravels the intricate tapestry of doubt, reflection, and eventual transformation, dismantling long-held convictions and sculpting a renewed worldview. As a rigorous to evidence-based logic, the author viewed the universe through a lens of scientific rationality, attributing occurrences that believers might label 'miracles' to mere statistical probabilities.

It takes no courage to sign up as a Protestant. These words begin this bold work - the culmination of David Wells' long-standing critique of the evangelical landscape. But to live as a true Protestant - that's another matter. This audiobook is a jeremiad against new versions of Evangelicalism - the Marketing and Emergent Churches - and a call to return to the historic faith, one defined by Reformation solas (grace, faith, and scripture alone) and to a reverence for doctrine.

The Apostolic Fathers is an important collection of writings revered by early Christians but not included in the final canon of the New Testament. Here a leading expert on these texts offers an authoritative contemporary translation, in the tradition of the magisterial Lightfoot version but...

Gospel unity creates racial harmony. However, Martin Luther King Jr. once said that the most segregated hour in America is 11 o’clock on Sunday morning. Equipped with the gospel, the church should be the catalyst for reconciliation, yet it continues to ignore immense pain and division.

Perhaps no declaration incites more theological and moral outrage than a human's claim to be divine. Those who make this claim in ancient Jewish and Christian mythology are typically represented as the most hubristic and dangerous tyrants. Their horrible punishments are predictable and still serve as morality tales in religious communities today. But not all self-deifiers are saddled with pride and fated to fall.

The Holy Grail is one of the most famous relics of Christianity, but also one of the least understood. Today, it is mostly associated with Christ's Last Supper, possibly used during the meal as a serving cup. The gospels in the New Testament specifically mention the Holy Chalice that Jesus used to serve wine, so it's no surprise that images of the Holy Grail depict a similar kind of cup.

You cannot discover lands already inhabited. Injustice has plagued American society for centuries. And we cannot move toward being a more just nation without understanding the root causes that have shaped our culture and institutions. In this prophetic blend of history, theology, and cultural commentary, Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah reveal the far-reaching, damaging effects of the "Doctrine of Discovery."