This book offers a revolutionary new synthesis of ancient history and religion by bridging the gap between the archaeology of Mesopotamia (now the country of Iraq) and the biblical account of Genesis. Professor Alan Dickin shows how the Sumerians, the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia, established the world's first organized religion, which was a direct fore-runner of the Judeo-Christian faith. He places the biblical accounts of the Creation, Fall, Flood, and Tower of Babel in their histo...

"[The Book of] Revelation has served as a "language arsenal" in a great many of the social, cultural, and political conflicts in Western history. Again and again, Revelation has stirred some dangerous men and women to act out their own private apocalypses. Above all, the moral calculus of Revelation—the demonization of one's enemies, the sanctification of revenge taking, and the notion that history must end in catastrophe—can be detected in some of the worst atrocities and excesses of ...

It is a little Bible that describes true Christian ideals loved by both Roman Catholics and Protestants. Kempis has commented on the worldly preoccupations i.e. lust ambition corruption and vanities that prevent us from the eternal truth of Heaven and Divine. It clearly renounces the worldly vanities and aspires for the eternal truth. Inspirational!

The Christian church hides a multitude of secrets; it is, after all, a mystery religion. For instance, what if Jesus did not start Christianity? What if Paul, who knew Jesus only through visions, created it? In Cover-Up, author and lay minister Lawrence Goudge disputes the Christian theology that has dominated the world for millennia.Goudge, who has spent more than twenty-four years researching the suppressed history of Jesuss Jewish followers, demonstrates how the church has corru...

An extensive examination of the history of gnosticism and how its philosophy has influenced the Western esoteric tradition• Explains how the Gnostic understanding of self-realization is embodied in the esoteric traditions of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons• Explores how gnosticism continues to influence contemporary spirituality• Shows gnosticism to be a philosophical key that helps spiritual seekers "remember" their higher selvesGnosticism was a contemporar...

ARE the narratives of Genesis history or legend? For the modern historian this is no longer an open question; nevertheless it is important to get a clear notion of the bases of this modern position.The writing of history is not an innate endowment of the human mind; it arose in the course of human history and at a definite stage of development. Uncivilised races do not write history; they are incapable of reproducing their experiences objectively, and have no interest in leaving to...

John Calvin (10 July 1509 27 May 1564) was one of the most influential Christians of the last millennium. An influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation, Calvin was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later named after him. Calvin broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530, and after religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Switzerland, where he published the first...

Caradoc of Llancarfan was a Welsh cleric and author who was associated with Llancarfan in Wales during the 12th century. He is generally accepted to be the author of a Life of Gildas and of a Life of Saint Cadog. Gildas (c. 500 570) was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens (Gildas the Wise). His work De Excidio...

Andrew Gant's compelling account traces English church music from Anglo-Saxon origins to the present. It is a history of the music and of the people who made, sang and listened to it. It shows the role church music has played in ordinary lives and how it reflects those lives back to us. The author considers why church music remains so popular and frequently tops the classical charts and why the BBC's Choral Evensong remains the longest-running radio series ever. He shows how Engla...

How the early Christians rewrote history, turning a Jewish teacher and messiah into a 'Christian' man-deity, bringing eternal life to all who believeWe often forget the undeniable fact that Jesus was Jewish. He lived and died a Jew, teaching the religion of his forbears and living by the Torah. After his death there was a 'Jesus movement' led by Jesus' brother James in Jerusalem and a 'Christ movement' led by Paul (who never met Jesus) in the Diaspora. The Christ m...

Simple Stories Packed with MeaningJesus, the Master Teacher, was a superb storyteller. Rather than abstract doctrinal teachings, he spoke to his followers in lively discourses full of illustrations, metaphors, and stories. Through the images of seeds and soils, sheep, coins, and weddings, Jesus introduces us to God's kingdom, its principles, and the people who live in it. As you work through these studies, listen for Christ's clear and authoritative voice, speaking...

"This first English translation of an important work of John Calvin is a welcome supplement to his teachings in his Institutes."--E. Earle Ellis, Southwestern Journal of TheologyThis volume provides Calvin's fullest treatment of the relationship between the grace of God and the free will of humans. It offers insight into Calvin's interpretations of the church fathers, especially Augustine, on the topics of grace and free will and contains Calvin's answer to Pighius's objec...