Showing results by publisher "MuseumAudiobooks.com" in Religious Studies

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a South African writer, teacher, and Christian pastor. This Best Of collection comprises seven of his most trenchant books.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Leo Tolstoy is a philosophical treatise first published in Germany in 1894 after being banned in his home country of Russia. The work is the culmination of 30 years of Tolstoy's thinking, and sets out rules for a new organization of society, based on an interpretation of Christianity which focuses on universal love. In a bold and original way, Tolstoy shows his audiences why violence of any type - even that sanctioned by the state or the church - must be rejected.

Luther’s 95 Theses, written in Latin, were famously posted by Martin Luther on the door of the Castle Church, Wittenberg, on October 31, 1517, an event that came to be considered as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The Theses focus on three main issues: selling forgiveness through indulgences, the pope’s claimed power of forgiveness, and the damage indulgences caused to sinners. The first thesis states, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent," he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance."

John Chrysostom, the Archbishop of Constantinople, wrote a short treatise in dialogue form between his friend Basil and himself, about the dignity of the priesthood. The work includes sections on the importance of preaching, the call to the priesthood, the purity of the priest, and the exalted position of the priesthood.

The City of God is the usual English translation of the most influential work written in the fifth century. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, wrote it between 413 and 426. Augustine argued that Christianity was not the cause of the empire’s collapse. He turned the gaze from the city of Rome to the City of God, in the spiritual life of true believers.

Clarence Larkin was an important scholar of prophecy. In The Spirit World", published in 1921, he discusses the inhabitants of the spiritual world according to the Bible. Explaining the qualities of angels, he makes a distinction between the “fallen angels” and Satan’s demons and the realms which they inhabit. Larkin’s treatment of Satan and the Underworld, in the form of hell, Gehenna and Tartarus is thorough and vivid, and he explains issues like the state of the soul in death and the principles of resurrection.

Kierkegaard discusses Genesis 22:1-18, the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. He notes that Abraham was all willing to sacrifice his son in the name of god, without tears or complaint; he simply obeyed. He argues that faith requires passion - something that Abraham clearly had and that you must experience it yourself or you could never truly understand.

Signatura Rerum by the German Christian mystic Jacob Boehme examines the law of signatures, which is the notion that every object in the real world has a concealed meaning, and the way these signatures interact. He suggested that God marked objects with a sign or "signature" to indicate their purpose. Boehme’s concept of the creative vs the destructive principles became Hegel’s ‘dialected,’ while his influence is discernible in the thought of luminaries like Newton, William Blake and Alfred North Whitehead.

The Book of Jubilees was written in Hebrew by a Pharisee between 135 and 105 BC. The author interprets the history of events from the creation to the giving of the law on Sinai according to the Pharisaic standpoint of his time. His purpose was the defense of Judaism against the attacks of the Hellenistic spirit that had been in the ascendant one generation earlier and was still powerful, and to prove that the law was of everlasting validity.

The Two Babylons is a religious pamphlet published in 1853 by the Presbyterian Free Church of Scotland theologian Alexander Hislop. The author argues that the Catholic Church is the Babylon of the Apocalypse which is described in the Bible. The work examines the symbolism of the Book of Revelation in detail.

This landmark work by William James remains one of the most insightful books on psychology and spirituality. James considers the feelings, actions, and experiences of individuals, insofar as they understand themselves to be in a relationship with the divine. It examines the religion of everyday life and has nothing to do with doctrine or dogma.

Carter Woodson (1875-1950) was a prominent Black leader and intellectual who raised awareness of the Black historical experience by initiating the first Black History Week, which later became Black History Month. Published in 1921, The History of the Negro Church traces the development of the Black churches in the US from colonial times to the early years of the 20th century. The work includes a series of biographical sketches of church leaders through the decades, beginning with early church movements in the North and efforts to minister to slaves in the South.

Saint Athanasius (c. 296 - 298 - 2 May 373) was the 20th bishop of Alexandria. He was a fierce Trinitarian and a champion of orthodoxy who opposed four Roman emperors and many prominent churchmen of his time. This work begins with the creation, making it clear that the redeeming Word is also the Word which creates. Athanasius contends that the Godhead is present in every particle of creation, and especially in the person of Jesus Christ who is The Word. In his view of atonement, Jesus is the Christus Victor - the hero who defeats Satan and, thereby, destroys death.

George Smith (1840-1876) was an English archaeologist and Assyriologist who first discovered and translated the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the most ancient works of literature. The Babylonian account was similar to the biblical account of the Flood in Genesis. Smith discovered many more tablet fragments of the flood story, and published his work in "The Chaldean Account of Genesis".

Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will (1525) is a response to Desiderius Erasmus's "Diatribe on Free Will.’ The work is considered as one of the great masterpieces of the Reformation. Luther writes powerfully about man's depravity and God's sovereignty in his direct style, which combines spirituality and humor. For Luther, the crucial issue was the ability of free will, and the extent to which it is subject to God's sovereignty.

Hargrave Jennings (1817-1890) was a British author on esotericism and student of comparative religion. This 1870 work examines the relationships between science, religion, and the supernatural. This was his most popular book, which includes discussions of Gnosticism, the Kabbalah, the Druids, and ancient cultures.

The work comprises Villehardouin's "Conquest of Constantinople", which recounts the controversial Fourth Crusade, which descended into an attack on the Eastern Christians of Byzantium. In "Life of Saint Louis", Joinville draws on his friendship with King Louis IX of France to describe the campaigns in the Holy Land.

The author of The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, R. A. Torrey (1856-1928), was an evangelist and Bible scholar. Considered a Christian classic, this work is a methodical explanation of who the Holy Spirit is and how the Holy Spirit works in the world. Torrey discusses the gifts of the Spirit, the difference between baptism with the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit, and speaking in tongues. Much of the work involves key themes like the promise of the Spirit, and the importance of seeking the Spirit according to scripture.

The Seven Tablets of Creation is Leonard W. King's translation of the Babylonian creation myth. There is a resemblance to the Hebrew narrative of Genesis, which broadened the translation’s appeal to a large public. It also has the title, Enuma Elish, meaning "When on High".

The Art of Worldly Wisdom was written in 1647. It is a collection of 300 maxims on various topics, each elaborated with a commentary. The sayings offer advice and guidance on how to live well, advance socially, and be a better person.