When the Gospel of Thomas was discovered in the sands of Egypt some sixty years ago, an earthquake hit New Testament scholarship. Evidence that Thomas might be earlier than the four gospels opened up some new doors. The author entered one of those doors in writing this book. He used Thomas's version of a parable whenever that existed. And the Jesus discovered through this method might surprise you.

Thousands of years ago, humans believed that Earth was the center of the universe, that the world they lived on was all there was. Truthfully, the solar system extends almost halfway to the nearest star. And it is composed of not only planets, asteroids, and comets, but also powerful forces and vast fields of energy. This is our solar system’s big backyard.The cold, dark world that lies at the farthest reaches of our solar system holds a vast collection of secrets,...

What kind of siding do you need to protect your house from werewolves?Would you kill someone to prevent them from committing suicide?What would you say to him if you met Dr. Frankenstein?Imagine building a clockwork god… that truly is God.How many times can you execute a mass murderer?What is a goddess to do when her worshippers abandon her for another?Could you carry out a death sentence yo...

Velda Bellinghausen is a tough, no-nonsense private investigator whose cases never seem to take her far from home. But when a murder happens two floors down from her apartment at the Zenobia Arms, she's reluctantly pulled into a twisted mystery. Lonnie Porff, a gambler with a shady reputation, is found shot in his bed, and his wife, Ethelreda, claims an unknown man did it. As Velda starts asking questions, she uncovers a tangled web of secrets involving three housewives, greed, and betraya...

Pyrotechnics are all around us—and they have been for generations.The science and craft of creating fireworks is called pyrotechnics. The word comes from two Greek words: pyro, meaning "fire," and techne, meaning "art." The art of fire. Have you ever seen or used a pyrotechnic device? Maybe you’ve held a sparkler at a wedding, attended a fireworks show to ring in the new year, or even simply struck a match. Fireworks in particular have long played an impor...

Private investigator Velda visits her cousin's farm, where she finds more than pigs, chickens, cows, and food. There's also a missing rich widow.

Burlesque Queen turned private eye Velda doesn't run away to join a circus, but after investigating a murder, feels like she might want to run away from the circus.

The Gospel of Thomas—a book of sayings and wisdom of Jesus compiled as early or earlier than the New Testament gospels—can transform your spiritual life.There are many academic commentaries on the Gospel of Thomas, but this book has a different aim. It is meant to be a guidebook, that is, a translation of the sayings into daily practice. The goal of such practice is to become Jesus’s twin. This does not, of course, mean becoming an olive-skinned, bearded Mediterran...

The previously untold story of Matthew’s Gospel—brought to life for today’s readers.Matthew’s Gospel stands as the first book of the Christian Testament, visible to all the world for almost two thousand years. But there is something hidden in Matthew’s Gospel. The document was not written at one time by one person—it is an edited document, bringing together different sources of tradition.The Hidden Gospel of Matthew: Annotated and Explained takes ...

Velda Bellinghausen is a down-on-her-luck private eye barely scraping by in her run-down apartment building. When her elderly neighbor, an antiquarian book dealer named Mr. Arkady, falls ill, Velda agrees to help with his errands in exchange for some much-needed cash. As she delivers rare books to Arkady's eccentric clients, Velda begins to suspect that someone may be deliberately trying to harm the old man in order to get their hands on one of his valuable tomes.With the arrival o...

Fresh insight into Christianity’s earliest teachings can be aguide for your own spiritual journey.The Apostle Paul, who wrote many of the books in the New Testament, was a fearless and revolutionary religious innovator. In a society where slaveholding was commonplace and women were little more than servants, he preached a groundbreaking equality founded on a new spiritual identity. In an imperial political system that demanded unquestioning allegiance, Paul ...

When it was first published in 1902, The Varieties of Religious Experience caused a revolution, a quantum leap, a paradigm shift. James opened the door to the scientific study of religious experience, probing the relationship between religion and psychology. It is obvious no one can have a religious experience without brain activity. The salient question is whether this brain activity is the mediator or creator of the experience. This classic text by William James should be required readin...