Is historical accuracy an indispensable part of the Bible's storyline, or is Scripture only concerned with theological truths? As progressive evangelicals threaten to reduce the Bible's jurisdiction by undermining its historical claims, every Christian who cares about the integrity of Scripture must be prepared to answer this question.Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? offers a firm defense of Scripture's legitimacy and the theological implications of modern and postmo...

Expanded and updated for the new millennium.Covering the life of Christ, the election of Pope Benedict XVI, and everything in between, A Concise History of the Catholic Church has been one of the bestselling religious histories of the past two decades and a mainstay for scholars, students, and others looking for a definitive, accessible history of Catholicism. With a clarity that will appeal to any reader, Thomas Bokenkotter divides his study into five parts that correspon...

Many books have been written about the success of the West, analyzing why Europe was able to pull ahead of the rest of the world by the end of the Middle Ages. The most common explanations cite the West’s superior geography, commerce, and technology. Completely overlooked is the fact that faith in reason, rooted in Christianity’s commitment to rational theology, made all these developments possible. Simply put, the conventional wisdom that Western success depended upon overcoming religious...

The people we’ve come to call gnostics were passionate advocates of the view that salvation comes through knowledge and personal experience, and their passion shines through in the remarkable body of writings they produced over a period of more than a millennium and a half. Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer have created a translation that brings the gnostic voices to us from across the centuries with remarkable power and beauty—beginning with texts from the earliest years of Christianity—i...

Know the Heretics provides an accessible travel guide to the most significant heresies throughout Christian history.There is a lot of talk about heresy these days. The frequency and volume of accusations suggest that some Christians have lost a sense of the gravity of the word, while others have little familiarity with orthodox doctrine or the historic distortions of it.This book has everything you need for a full video study experience.

When was Christmas first celebrated? How did December 25 become the date for the feast? How did the Bible’s “magi from the East” become three kings named Melchior, Caspar, and Balthasar who rode camels from three different continents to worship the newborn Christ? How did the Feast of the Nativity generate an entire liturgical season from Advent to Candlemas? Why did medieval and Renaissance artists portray Joseph as an old man? When did the first Christmas music appear? And who was the re...

Christianity Today Book of the Year AwardECPA Gold Medallion AwardHistory is made up of stories--narratives that recount the events, movements, ideas and lives that have shaped religions and nations. Theologian Roger Olson believes that the history of Christian theology should be told as such a story, one replete with thick plots, exciting twists, interesting people and fascinating ideas.In this panoramic work of historical theology Olson vi...

Joan of Arc... Witch? Saint? Agent of the devil? Holy warrior? Accused of being the devil’s pawn in 1430, Joan of Arc was eventually burned at the stake for witchcraft. But was she really a witch? At seventeen years of age, she remains the youngest supreme military commander (male or female) in history, and the most attested person up to the sixteenth century. Her well documented accomplishments are universally accepted. Her story attracts Protestants, Catholics, and non-believers alike. B...

Flannery O'Connor has been studied and lauded under many labels: the Southern author whose pen captured the soul of a proud region struggling to emerge out of racism and poverty, the female writer whose independent spirit and tragically short life inspired a generation of women, the Catholic artist whose fiction evokes themes of sin and damnation, mercy and redemption. Now, and for the first time, The Abbess of Andalusia affords us an in-depth look at Flannery O'Connor the believer. In the...

This historical review traces the stages of a return journey which began with the reformation and led, we believe, to an important recovery of New Testament church truth at the end of the 19th century.

“This edition of Bishop Padovese’s “Piccoli dialoghi fra santi di marmo” provides the Church an important resource for spiritual development. In the midst of time spent in Rome for meetings of Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals, I occasionally have the opportunity to walk through St. Peter’s Square. At those times I consider the depth and breadth of the contributions to the life of the Church made by the saints whose images stand guard over the square, each day overseeing all who come and ...

Here the great Belloc shows that ever since the disaster of the Protestant Reformation, Western civilization (which was formed by the Catholic Faith) has been coming apart--since Calvinism opened the door to usury, unbridled competition, the domination of the mind by money, and ultimately the return of slavery. Belloc says our 2 choices are a return to Catholicism or chaos! Essential for anyone who would understand our world today!