First Religion

Once in a generation, a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read or heard - a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Breathtaking in ambition, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and covers the world, following the three main strands of the Christian faith.

The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one particular god come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In Ancient Christianities, Paula Fredriksen traces the evolution of early Christianity—or rather, of early Christianities—through five centuries of Empire, mapping its pathways from the hills of Judea to the halls of Rome and Constantinople.

Of the many recent books on the historical Jesus, none has explored what the latest biblical scholarship means for personal faith. Now, in Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg addresses the yearnings of those who want a fully contemporary faith that welcomes rather than oppresses our critical intelligence and openness to the best of historical scholarship. Borg shows how a rigorous examination of historical findings can lead to a new faith in Christ, one that is critical and, at the same time, sustaining.

Hundreds of details about the early history of mankind had become entirely lost until the restoration of the gospel. These details about the first 2,000 years of human history are all to be found in this groundbreaking volume. We now know that Adam and Eve had two generations of children before Cain and Abel were born. The exact year of the Great Flood can now be calculated. Details about the golden age of Enoch are now available so we can better understand how the law of consecration works and how it eliminates poverty and crime. Many difficult questions can now be answered.

May 1565. Suleiman the Magnificent, emperor of the Ottomans, has declared a jihad against the Knights of Saint John the Baptist. The largest armada of all time approaches the Knights' Christian stronghold on the island of Malta. The Turks know the Knights as the "The Hounds of Hell." The Knights call themselves "The Religion." In Messina, Sicily, a French countess, Carla la Penautier, seeks a passage to Malta in a quest to find the son taken from her at his birth twelve years ago. T

Moses is renowned as a great lawgiver, prophet, friend of God, and deliverer of his people. The events of his life, spanning four books of the Bible, resound throughout Scripture. In this epic undertaking, James M. Boice delves into the narrative to uncover its rich meaning and gospel application to our lives today. We can learn a lot from Moses about faithfulness, prayerfulness, meekness, and good leadership; we can even learn from his sins and failure! But Boice shows how we can also look beyond Moses and the Israelites to the awesome power of God.

First and Only is a guide for every woman who has found herself closing the cover on other leadership books that omit our true experiences and strengths. In this book, Jennifer R. Farmer helps listeners learn what is required for the long haul of liberation by providing a roadmap to on-the-job success, challenging systemic racism, and seeking inner healing through the power of faith.

Rev. Dr. Stephen De Young, creator of the popular The Whole Counsel of God blog and podcast, traces the lineage of Orthodox Christianity back to the faith and witness of the apostles, which was rooted in a first-century Jewish worldview. The Religion of the Apostles presents the Orthodox Christian Church of today as a continuation of the religious life of the apostles, which in turn was a continuation of the life of the people of God since the beginning of creation.

John W. O'Malley gives us the most comprehensive account ever written of the Society of Jesus in its founding years, one that heightens and transforms our understanding of the Jesuits in history and today. Following the Society from 1540 through 1565, O'Malley shows how this sense of mission evolved. He looks at everything—the Jesuits' teaching, their preaching, their casuistry, their work with orphans and prostitutes, their attitudes toward Jews and "New Christians," and their relationship to the Reformation.

First Principles and First Values is the tip of the spear in the fight for a humane future. Establishing frameworks for a new school of thought called CosmoErotic Humanism, the book is built around forty-two propositions that provide new source code for the future of planetary culture.

Only man bears His Image. History's Original Tragedy—The First Deception—began with Eve's neglect of this truth. By her willingness to engage in dialogue with a "Nonhuman Intelligence" (a fallen angel feigning benevolence and assuming the disguise of an incarnate rational creature), the Fall of Man was precipitated. Today, the Last Deception is arising in the same manner.

Read by the author. The only way to truly change the world is to truly love it, and the only way to truly love it is to go first and move toward it. Today, the cultural climate in the West is characterized by increasing amounts of mistrust and even hatred for others. We are fearful of other...

Dark. Damaged. Dangerous. He will ruin me. I should run. Blake Harrison is everything I've been taught is wrong. The handsome billionaire is hiding a dark secret and the longer I stay, the more I fall under his spell. We are both running from something, but our secrets threaten to tear us apart. The darkness is starting to feel more comfortable than the light. Can we find salvation in our ruin? Note: This is a standalone romance with a HEA and no cliffhanger. It was previously published under a different name.

Eliminate self-doubt, perfectionism, and anxiety and develop more confidence. Do you want to live your life without fear of other people’s disapproval? Do you wake up dreading the day feeling discouraged with what you've accomplished in life? Do you want to develop more confidence in yourself overcome low self-esteem, insecurity, and self-doubt? In this guide to self-love, international best-selling author Marc Reklau shows you how to boost your self-esteem with simple and practical exercises.

From the Encyclopedia Britannica: 1 John - The First Letter of John was apparently addressed to a group of churches where “false prophets", denounced as antichrist, denied the incarnation of Jesus and caused a secession so substantial that the orthodox remnant was sadly depleted. The faithful were deeply disturbed that the heresy found favour among pagans, and they apparently felt inferior because those who had left their midst claimed to have profound mystical experiences. The heretics asserted that they possessed perfection, were “born of God”, and were without sin.

Typical translations of the New Testament make the biblical text as accessible as possible by using the language of our own day. At times this masks the distance between the New Testament text and modern audiences. Scripture continues to speak to us but it speaks as an ancient text to the modern world. New Testament scholar Scot McKnight offers a translation of the New Testament with a daring approach to the ancient text. Clever in its expression and at times stunning in its boldness, The Second Testament will challenge listeners to experience God's Word anew.

Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression - condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: The later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's message.

Beginning with the life of Jesus, Robert Louis Wilken narrates the dramatic spread and development of Christianity over the first thousand years of its history. Moving through the formation of early institutions, practices, and beliefs to the transformations of the Roman world after the conversion of Constantine, he sheds new light on the subsequent stories of Christianity in the Latin West, the Byzantine and Slavic East, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

In a time of immense persecution and widespread misunderstanding, one man stood fearlessly to defend the truth of the Christian faith. "The First and Second Apologies" by St. Justin Martyr represents one of the most significant and courageous acts of Christian witness from the second century. Written as direct appeals to the Roman Emperor and the Senate, these powerful documents offer an unparalleled glimpse into the beliefs, practices, and intellectual arguments of the early Church.

In this modern-day collection of our enemy’s activities, learn to anticipate how Satan will attack and discern powerful techniques to preemptively fight against him.