Religious Empires

In contrast to the oppressive Roman military occupation of the first century, Crossan examines the meaning of the non-violent Kingdom of God prophesized by Jesus and the equality advocated by Paul to the early Christian churches. Crossan contrasts these messages of peace with the misinterpreted apocalyptic vision from the Book of Revelation, which has been misrepresented by modern right-wing theologians and televangelists to justify US military actions in the Middle East.

Compared to the Puritans, Mormons have rarely gotten their due, often treated as fringe cultists or marginalized polygamists unworthy of serious examination. In Kingdom of Nauvoo, Benjamin E. Park excavates the brief, tragic life of a lost Mormon city, demonstrating that the Mormons are essential to understanding American history writ large. Using newly accessible sources, Park re-creates the Mormons' 1839 flight from Missouri to Illinois.

Iris is a frightened girl thrust into a foreign world by her own terrible mistake. Besaun is Crown Prince of the Fire Empire who would rather tinker than assume the throne. Both are fated to save the world. Iris knows little of her past and less of her heritage, but she knows Fire. It whispers to her, leaping at her urging, delighting her eyes. But then, fire takes everything from her, and she learns her bloodlines terrible secret.

In 1974, Jim and Tammy Bakker launched their television show, The PTL Club, from a former furniture store in Charlotte, North Carolina, with half a dozen friends. By 1987, they stood at the center of a ministry empire that included their own satellite network, a 2300-acre theme park visited by six million people a year, and millions of adoring fans.

In 722 BCE, the Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed the kingdom of Israel, and after a siege of three years, the city of Samaria fell to the troops of Sargon II. As was a common practice in the ancient world, the victor uprooted the inhabitants and forced them into exile, scattering the refugees throughout Asia Minor and possibly Africa to destroy them as a cohesive group and prevent them from possibly revolting. That exile brought about the end of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. Only the much smaller and less important kingdom of Judah, nestled in the arid lands of the south, survived....

The Owl war is over, but for Snark, normal isn’t what it used to be. He's on his way home from seeing Jane crowned Queen, and the Kingdom of Hunter's Run come into being. The war might be over, and the trade deal he made at the end of it might finally be enough for this wayward cat to be allowed back into cat society. The only thing faster than human ships, is the stories about their entry into sector ten, which ripple into the adjacent sectors. On the Cat Homeworld in sector eight, this triggers long awaited, and long stifled change. For a Warlord in sector nine, human tech would allow ...

The quest to find the Destiny Stone, is now a race to discover the Amulet of Truth. Snark might have bitten off more than he can chew, but Jane and her team of AIs step up to provide even more military protection, while Duke Fred and his team provide some unusual diplomacy, taking the once private quest to a whole new level. The Brotherhood’s web of corruption, deceit, and deception, spreads wider than anyone suspects, and the mysterious Brother Prime lies at the heart of the growing unrest and attacks across four sectors. While Jamie seeks to re-join his friends from a backward planet ...

The Chevalier Sanctorum have stood as humanity’s guardians for millennia, knights at the edge of the cosmos battling enemies born from nightmares. But when the relentless Syndroids—a race of synthetic horrors—push the galaxy to its breaking point, the powerful Federation of Humanities remains blind to the war’s true scale, ignoring warnings of annihilation while pursuing their own agendas. Meanwhile, Berto, a disillusioned engineer on Earth, finds himself inexplicably drawn into a conflict he’s woefully unprepared for. When two mysterious women crash into his life, they reveal ...

Leading Bible scholar John Dominic Crossan, the author of the pioneering work The Historical Jesus, provides new insight into the Christian culture wars which began in the New Testament and persist strongly today. For decades, Americans have been divided on how Christians should relate to government and lawmakers, a dispute that has impacted every area of society and grown more rancorous over the past forty years. But as Crossan makes clear, this debate isn’t new; it can be found in the New Testament itself, most notably in the tensions between Luke-Acts and Revelations.

In the best-selling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston Jr. limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.

When police raided the Short Creek compound of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1953, it soon became a political and publicity nightmare and eventually cost the governor of Arizona his job. From that point on, skittish public officials allowed the polygamist sect to practice its tenants unmolested for the next 50 years and turned a blind eye to child abandonment, kidnapping, statutory rape, incest, and massive tax and welfare fraud. But then Warren Jeffs, a new FLDS prophet, escalated the sect’s crimes to near madness.

Everyone wants something. Snark wants Seasprite, owned by Anna, who seeks the Destiny Stone. Jamie wants Anna, but she’s obsessed with the Stone, so he wants the Stone to give to her. Warspite wants to end the secrecy of his presence on Seasprite. The enigmatic and evil Brotherhood want the Stone, and don’t care how many die in the process. Jane cares how many die, but is busy building her Kingdom, making alliances across four sectors, ensuring Duke Fred sorts out Cat World issues, and enlisting her AI brethren to stave off boredom, and join in the quest for the Stone. The big news ...

The Portuguese Inquisition: The History of the Portuguese Empire’s Religious Persecution of Non-Christians in Portugal and Asia looks at how the Inquisition came to be and how people were persecuted by it over the course of several centuries. You will learn about the Portuguese Inquisition like never before.

In this powerful and prophetic audiobook, nationally syndicated columnist and trusted political commentator Cal Thomas offers a diagnosis of what exactly is wrong with the US by drawing parallels to once-great empires and nations that declined into oblivion. Citing the historically proven 250-year pattern of how superpowers rise and fall, he predicts America's expiration date is just around the corner and shows us how to escape their fate.

From the fall of Constantinople in 1453 until the 18th century, many Western European writers viewed the Ottoman Empire with almost obsessive interest. In this path-breaking audiobook, Noel Malcolm ranges through these vital centuries of East-West interaction, studying all the ways in which thinkers in the West interpreted the Ottoman Empire as a political phenomenon - and Islam as a political religion.

It was supposed to be a peace conference, designed to bring the galaxy back down from the brink of war. But why they picked Capt. Cain's Bar & Grill as the location of the high-level talks is anyone's guess. And now a deadly conspiracy reveals itself, leaving Adam, along with the other Humans on Liave-3, running for their lives, accused of a political assassination they didn't commit. Now a desperate race is underway to find the alien assassin so they can clear their names and bring the real leaders of the conspiracy to justice. Can they do it? Really? You have to ask.

All Six books set in the Space Empire Universe in one volume. Persecution of believers in Christ is already happening. Many of the details of "City on a Hill" are not Science Fiction but current events. One day soon the only refuge for the faithful may be space. Follow the founding of the once-godly Space Empire through its degeneration in "Sojourner," where a desperate couple fights loneliness and equipment malfunction to pioneer piloting a gas-collecting balloon ship to the outer planets. Their "rebellion" against the corrupt government opens the outer reaches of the Solar System to ...

The Minoan-Mycenaean Empire is one of the most compelling of the lost civilizations, so how does an advanced civilization vanish as if into thin air? This kingdom wasn’t limited to Greece and its Mediterranean tributaries, the Mycenaean Empire of Greek gods extended around the world, even into the Americas. Their technology included analog computers, humanoid robots, talking oracles, flying machines, transparent windows, hot and cold running water, flushing toilets, sewer systems, loose-stone pyramids that pulled water out of the air, and transcontinental ships with voice navigation.

David is every man’s man, an outlaw prophet, a man of war, and a man of God. He is a ruthless warrior, an ardent lover, skilled musician, and poet-philosopher. God sees in him the heart of a lion, the tenacity of a bear, and an ever-faithful man of action. God calls an unlikely and lowly shepherd boy to become the king of the Jews and fighting prince of Israel. David overcomes all odds in escaping every snare, evading every trap, and learns from every encounter, growing in understanding and effectiveness in the love of his Creator.

The Babylonian Empire, one of the greatest civilizations in human history, left an enduring legacy of cultural achievements, monumental architecture, and military conquests. But beyond its impressive power and influence, Babylon holds a pivotal place in the biblical narrative, serving both as a historical empire and a profound symbol of human defiance against Jehovah. In The Babylonian Empire, Edward D. Andrews offers a detailed exploration of Babylon’s rise to dominance, its lasting impact on the ancient world, and its role in Scripture. From the grandeur of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign to ...