The narratives of the figures behind the ten statues of martyrs at the Westminster Abbey.In July 1998, ten statues of martyrs of the twentieth century were unveiled surmounting the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey. Ten figures were identified from different continents and different churches: victims of Nazi and Bolshevik oppression, state-sponsored violence, and religious hatred, these images stand as a testimony to the bloodshed of the twentieth century. Some,...

The New York Times bestseller and definitive history of Christianity for our time—from the award-winning author of The Reformation and SilenceA product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill, Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity goes back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and encompasses the globe. It captures the major turning points in Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox history and fills in often neglected ac...

Bestselling author Michael Coren explodes popular myths about the history, beliefs, and culture of Christianity.Michael Coren explores why and how Christians and Christian ideas are caricatured in popular media as well as in sophisticated society. He takes on, and debunks, ten great myths about Christianity: that it supports slavery, is racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-intellectual, anti-Semitic, provokes war, resists progress, and is repressive and irrelevant. In a climate that is...

The religious historian and author of God's Battalions delivers an accessible and illuminating account of Christianity's rise in the West.In The Triumph of Christianity, celebrated sociologist and religious historian Rodney Stark traces the extraordinary rise of Christianity through its most pivotal and controversial moments to offer fresh perspective on the history of the world's largest religion. Stark gathers and distills decades of authoritativ...

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...

At a time of crisis for Christianity in the West, God is Good for You shows just why we need faith in our world.Shortlisted for the Australian Christian Book of the YearThe Judeo-Christian tradition has created and underpinned the moral and legal fabric of Western civilisation for more than 2000 years, yet now we've reached a point in both Australia and many parts of the West where Christianity has become a minority faith rather th...

The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves 20 miles east of Jerusalem in 1947 and 1956. Now Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, co-authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, have succeeded in uncovering what has been described as 'the academic scandal par excellence of the twentieth century': the story of how and why up to 75 per cent of the eight hundred ancient Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts, hidden for some nineteen centuries, have, until very recently, remained concealed from ...

At a time when Christianity is flourishing in the Southern hemisphere but declining in much of the West, this Very Short Introduction offers an important overview of the world's largest religion. Exploring the cultural and institutional dimensions of Christianity, and tracing its course over two millennia, Linda Woodhead provides a fresh, lively, and candid portrait of Christianity's past and present. Addressing topics including the competition for power between different forms of...

They Paid the Ultimate PriceIn his sixth God's Generals volume, Roberts Liardon chronicles some of the great martyrs for the faith—and some of the lesser-known ones. Their inspirational testimony, acts of courage, and even seasons of doubt both encourage and point awareness toward the persecuted church of the twenty-first century.The book includes profiles on...Apostle Paul and Stephen the Faithful (c. 100 AD)Polyca...

A provocative meditation on the role of silence in Christian tradition by the New York Times bestselling author of ChristianityWe live in a world dominated by noise. Religion is, for many, a haven from the clamor of everyday life, allowing us to pause for silent contemplation. But as Diarmaid MacCulloch shows, there are many forms of religious silence, from contemplation and prayer to repression and evasion. In his latest work, MacCulloch considers Jesus’s...

From the author of The Real History Behind the Templars--the origins and stories behind end-of-the-world predictions throughout history, from Revelations to 2012.In entertaining and sharp prose, historian Sharan Newman explores theories of world destruction from ancient times up to the present day- theories which reveal as much about human nature as they do about the predominant historical, scientific, and religious beliefs of the time. Readers will find a...

Take the Plungeexplores baptism, showing how it touches the deepest dramas of human life.Cardinal Radcliffe argues that Christianity will only thrive today, overcoming the challenges of secularism and religious fundamentalism, if we rediscover the beauty of baptism. It touches the deepest dramas of human life: birth, growing up, falling in love, daring to give oneself to others, searching for meaning, coping with suffering and failure, and...