Acclaimed sociologist Christian Smith argues that this approach is misguided and unable to live up to its own claims. If evangelical biblicism worked as its proponents say it should, there would not be the vast variety of interpretive differences that biblicists themselves reach when they actually read and interpret the Bible. Smith describes the assumptions, beliefs, and practices of evangelical biblicism and sets it in historical, sociological, and philosophical context. He explains why it is an impossible approach to the Bible as an authority and provides constructive alternative approaches to help evangelicals be more honest and faithful in reading the Bible. Far from challenging the inspiration and authority of Scripture, Smith critiques a particular rendering of it, encouraging evangelicals to seek a more responsible, coherent, and defensible approach to biblical authority.

    In The Sabbats, Edain McCoy reveals the eight major holidays of this faith and the many ways in which they are celebrated.There are two basic types of holidays. The first come at the Solstices and Equinoxes. The others divide the time between those dates in two, resulting in eight major holidays or Sabbats with approximately the same amount of days between them. The balance, here, gives the appearance of spokes in a wheel, so this cycle is commonly called the Wheel of the Year.The holidays represent two things. First, the harvest cycle. Each holiday represents a time in the growth of crops. From planting to growth, from harvesting to letting the lands lie fallow in the cold winter, the festivals follow the agricultural cycles of ancient times. However, they also represent the eternal love of the God and Goddess, following the God's birth from the Goddess and his death before she gives birth to him again. This also follows the pattern of the Sun which moves from warm and high in the sky to cold and low in the sky.The book is filled with ways you can follow the Wheel of the Year, whether you work with a coven, with your family, or by yourself. You will learn the secrets of ritual construction and handicrafts appropriate to each of the festivals. You will also learn recipes for traditional foods for each holiday and even songs appropriate to the Sabbats.This is a wonderful, joyous book filled with color, information, and wisdom. If you are involved with Paganism in any way, this book is a must for your studies and practices. This book functions as both a resource and as a practical manual for the celebration of the holidays. Get your copy today.

    Athanasius records Antony's extreme seclusion in the Egyptian desert, despite temptation by the devil and visits from his followers. Jerome also shows those who fled persecution or withdrew from society to pursue lives of chastity and asceticism in his accounts of Paul of Thebes, Hilarion and Malchus. In his Life of Martin, Sulpicius Severus describes the achievements of a man who combined the roles of monk, bishop and missionary, while Gregory the Great tells of Benedict, whose Rule became the template for monastic life. Full of vivid incidents and astonishing miracles, these Lives have provided inspiration as models for centuries of Christian worship.

    In the West particularly, sizable tomes have been composed speculating upon the nature and historical background of one of the main characters of Western religions, Jesus Christ. Many have tried to dig into the precious few clues as to Jesus's identity and come up with a biographical sketch that either bolsters faith or reveals a more human side of this godman to which we can all relate. Obviously, considering the time and energy spent on them, the subjects of Christianity and its legendary founder are very important to the Western mind and culture, and increasingly to the rest of the world as well.Despite all of this literature continuously being cranked out and the significance of the issue, in the public at large there remains a serious lack of formal and broad education regarding religion and mythology, and most individuals are highly uninformed in this area. Concerning the issue of Christianity, for example, the majority of people are taught in most schools and churches that Jesus Christ was an actual historical figure and that the only controversy regarding him is that some people accept him as the Son of God and the Messiah, while others do not. However, whereas this is the raging debate most evident in this field today, it is not the most important. Shocking as it may seem to the general populace, the most enduring and profound controversy in this subject is whether or not a person named Jesus Christ ever really existed.ContentsIntroductionThe ControversyHistory and Positions of the Debate"Pious Fraud"The ProofThe GnosticsBiblical SourcesNon-Biblical SourcesThe CharactersThe Major PlayersBuddhaBuddha's BirthBuddhist CrucifixionHorus of EgyptMithra, Sun God of PersiaMithra's "Virgin" Birth?Mithra and the TwelveKrishna of IndiaKrishna's "Virgin" Birth?The Names of Krishna and ChristKrishna's Solar NaturePrometheus of GreeceThe Creation of a MythThe "Son" of God is the "Sun" of GodEtymology Tells the StoryThe Book of Revelation is Egyptian and ZoroastrianThe "Patriarchs" and "Saints" are the Gods of Other CulturesThe "Disciples" are the Signs of the ZodiacWas Jesus an Essene Master?Qumran is Not an Essene CommunityWas the New Testament Composed by Therapeuts?ConclusionBibliographyEndnotes

    As she was ministering to one illness-ravaged man, a visitor overheard her whisper a few words to him. These few words embody some of Mother Teresa’s most wonderful wisdom. This is what she said: You say a prayer in your religion, and I will say a prayer as I know it. Together we will say this prayer and it will be something beautiful for God.

    The soul of Daniel - the author-psychiatrist who narrates this story - awakens in the afterlife infused with fear and excitement. Two spiritual "greeters" guide him as he begins to negotiate the "corridors" of this new environment, encountering welcome and unwelcome spirits. But ultimately only his own spiritual convictions and discoveries will lead him past seductive enchantment to the achievement of his destiny and an understanding of the fundamental moral principles that transcend mortality.Rich in lessons on finding a place and purpose in this life and beyond, Daniel's odyssey into eternity, like Dr. Peck's other inspirational classics, flows with nourishment for both the soul and the psyche.

    

    Real friendship always includes a third person, the Lord Jesus.

    The MOST IMPORTANT, INFORMATIVE AND EXPLOSIVE BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT THE ANUNNAKI, THEIR WORLD, THEIR RETURN TO EARTH, AND PLAN FOR HUMANITY in:• 2,034 A.D. • 2,031-2,033 A.D. • 2,029 A.D. • 2,028 A.D. • 2,027-2,026 A.D. • 2,026 A.D. • 2,025 A.D. • 2,024 A.D. • 2,022-2023 A.D. • The author, Maximillien de Lafayette, have been so fortunate as to study with the Anunnaki Ulema who are the guardians of this knowledge in Egypt, Iraq, the islands of Arwad and Cyprus. This is the first time he is making use of this depot of knowledge about the Return of the Anunnaki to Planet Earth, and we are very lucky to have access to it. The subjects introduced in this book are explosive. Most important is the fact that it reveals the potential return of the Anunnaki in 2022, and the most frightening transformation that it would bring to the earth. If this is going to happen, a huge number of the people on earth, those grossly contaminated by Grays’ DNA, will be annihilated. You know who they are – the child murderers, the rapists, those who torture, those who abuse, the vicious politicians, the slaves of money and power, etc. Yes, we all know who they are. But the Anunnaki, who have no false sentimentality at all, will not tolerate even a medium level contamination. Unless they do their best to clean themselves during the grace period of the next 9 years, those of mid level contamination will also be destroyed. Those who would manage to clean themselves to a certain degree may possibly (but without any guarantee) be able to escape the burning, smoking earth through special portals, called Ba’abs. For those of us interested in the use of esoteric codes, they are here for you to learn. Each term will teach you how to use it for your benefit, how to apply it not only to your spiritual growth, but to your business, relationships, and daily life. You will learn how to interpret the codes in many ancient languages, how to build a physical amulet/code that will protect certain aspects of your life, and how to develop your psychic and extrasensory powers by simply using these codes. You will learn how the Anunnaki, our original creators, and how God fit into all this. Religion, true and false, will be explored. Jesus, who never really died on the Cross, will be shown as a historical figure, with his wife, Mary Magdalene, with whom he escaped to ancient Marseille. Who were Adam and Eve? Who was the Serpent? How do the gods of Sumer signify to us? The book is arranged in the time-honoured tradition of questions and answers.The return of the Anunnaki is not a new idea. It has been already announced in sacred scriptures, but of course interpreted differently. Some said Jesus is an Anunnaki, and he will return as a cosmic Messiah. A new school of religious thought in Iran suggests that Mohammed will return as a celestial being. And we should not to forget the Rapture and the Gnostics as well. But all of them have their origin in the Anunnaki texts, because these texts were written thousands of years before the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran. The book will explore this topic and includes:• What Is Going To Happen To Organized Religions?• How Will The Human Mind Benefit From The Anunnaki Connection?.• What Will Happen To The Teachings Of Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, And Buddha, If The Anunnaki Demolish All Religions And Our Religious Beliefs Systems?• What Will Happen To The Vast Number

    S. Lewis’ works have become timeless classics for adults and children around the world. Here in one concise volume is the essence of his thought on subjects ranging from love and faith to ethics and morality and myth and literature that will throw open the windows of the soul and provide readers with bite-sized nuggets of wisdom and inspiration from one of the best-loved writers of the 20th century. This lovely little gift book will provide sustenance, wisdom, and hope for both believers and seekers. And, most importantly, it will provide an entry point for those unfamiliar with Lewis that will make them want to explore his fiction and nonfiction works. Selections from C.S. Lewis’ Little Book of Wisdom:“If God had granted all the silly prayers I’ve made in my life, where should I be now?” “Surely arrested development consists not in refusing to lose old things, but in failing to add new things…” “Do not dare not to dare.” “We are mirrors whose brightness is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us.” “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”

    Inwood and Gerson maintain the standard of consistency and accuracy that distinguished their translations in the first edition, while regrouping some material into larger, more thematically connected passages. This edition is further enhanced by a new, more spacious page design.

    Part of Shimoda's secret was a small book, bound in what looked like suede: Messiah's Handbook, Reminders for the Advanced Soul. "Open it," he said, "and whatever you need to know is there. "Lost for decades and rediscovered, here it is in print at last--reminders for those who have outgrown cynicism and doubt.

    

    A comprehensive description of the transformation of Christianity, by the bestselling theologian who has defined this spiritual renaissance.

    Francis. The book reconstructs in detail the life of the monks with their obsessive attention to temporal articulation and to the Rule, to ascetic techniques and to liturgy. But Agamben's thesis is that the true novelty of monasticism lies not in the confusion between life and norm, but in the discovery of a new dimension, in which "life" as such, perhaps for the first time, is affirmed in its autonomy, and in which the claim of the "highest poverty" and "use" challenges the law in ways that we must still grapple with today.How can we think a form-of-life, that is, a human life released from the grip of law, and a use of bodies and of the world that never becomes an appropriation? How can we think life as something not subject to ownership but only for common use?