Is the world better off without Christianity?Combining narrative with keen critique of contemporary debates, author and historian John Dickson gives an honest account of 2,000 years of Christian history that helps us understand what Christianity is and what it's meant to be.To say that the Christian Church has an "image problem" doesn't quite capture it. From the Crusades and the Inquisition to the racism and abuse present in today's Church--both in Catholi...

What really happened back in the first century, in Jerusalem and around the Sea of Galilee, that changed the shape of world history? Who is this figure that emerges from history to have a profound impact on culture, ethics, politics, and philosophy? Join historian John Dickson on this journey through the life of Jesus. This book, which features a self-contained discussion guide for use with Life of Jesus DVD, will help you and your friends dig deeper into what is known about Jesus’ life an...

Who was Jesus?Historical sources portray a person who was complex, multi-layered, and often contradictory to the tidy portrait that much of modern Christianity paints him as. Even the gospel accounts render him as both judge and healer, teacher and temple, servant and savior.A Doubter's Guide to Jesus is a persuasive and often challenging investigation into the historical figure found in the earliest sources. These sources, which include references...

A concise account of the whole biblical narrative and what it means—as well as the beliefs and lifestyle it inspires—for those observing Christianity from the outside, especially those who think there are good reasons not to believe.A Doubter's Guide to the Bible charts a biblical roadmap from the story of creation to the fulfillment of creation, answering many of the most frequently asked questions along the way:How can we read the creation ...

A fresh approach to the hot-button topic of women in ministryBased on his study of a key word for “teaching” in the New Testament—an activity often thought to be prohibited to women—and on various other kinds of public speaking in which women in Scripture clearly participated, scholar John Dickson builds a case for women preachers.This expanded edition of Hearing Her Voice, published originally as a short ebook, presents an entirely new and convinc...

*Read by the author.For believers and skeptics alike, A Doubter's Guide to World Religions introduces the five major world religions so that you can explore their similarities and differences in a fair and engaging way.The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are worshipping, praying, believing, following, even dying for their faith. But what does it mean to be religious? Are all religions the same? Do they all call on the sam...

Uniquely among the world’s religions, the central claims of Christianity concern not just timeless spiritual truths, but tangible historical events. At the heart of the of the Christian faith are things that are meant to have happened in Palestine between 5 BC and AD 30. It’s as if Christianity happily places its head on the chopping block of public scrutiny and invites anyone who wants to come and take a swing. Some of Christianity’s claims are so spectacular that they provoke a firestorm...

The Ten Commandments have influenced non-religious Western culture more than it might imagine. This guide to the famous rules does more than explain what they are or what they say, but why we need them.This moral code in the Old Testament of the Bible—from which sprang ideas of justice, compassion, human rights, and freedom—has had such a strong impact on our society that it seems to represent what most of us think of as basic ethical reasoning. Even atheists like ...

Molti storici stanno mettendo in discussione l’affidabilità delle fonti bibliche sulla vita, la morte e la risurrezione di Gesù. Ha vissuto davvero nella Galilea e nella Giudea del primo secolo o è una figura leggendaria?In questo libro molto attuale, lo storico John Dickson spiega come funziona l’indagine storica, dando ai lettori gli strumenti per valutare da soli ciò che possiamo dire con certezza su figure come l’Imperatore Tiberio, Alessandro Magno, Ponzio Pila...

En Jesús ¿realidad o ficción? el historiador John Dickson expone cómo funciona la historia para que tengamos las herramientas para evaluar lo que podemos decir con confianza sobre figuras como el emperador Tiberio, Poncio Pilatos, el sumo sacerdote Caifás y, por supuesto, Jesús de Nazaret. John Dickson pregunta: ¿Qué podemos saber con certeza sobre el pasado? ¿Se puede considerar algo de la historia antigua como "hecho"? En particular, ¿con qué seriedad podemos t...

For believers and skeptics alike, A Doubter's Guide to World Religions introduces the five major world religions so that you can explore their similarities and differences in a fair and engaging way.The world is a very religious place. Wherever you look, people are worshipping, praying, believing, following, even dying for their faith. But what does it mean to be religious? Are all religions the same? Do they all call on the same God simply using different...

What can we really know for sure about the past? Can anything from ancient history be regarded as ‘fact’? In particular, how seriously can we take the historical sources for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth? Did he really even live in first-century Galilee and Judaea, or is he a figure of legend?In this timely book, historian Dr John Dickson unpacks how the field of history works, giving readers the tools to evaluate for themselves what we can confidently say ...