The popes have played a central role in the history of Europe and the wider world, not only shouldering the spiritual burdens of their ancient office, but also in contending with - and sometimes precipitating - the cultural and political crises of their times. In an acclaimed series of BBC radio broadcasts Eamon Duffy explored the impact of ten popes he judged to be among 'the most influential in history'. With this book, readers may now also enjoy Duffy's portraits of ten exceptional men who shook the world.The book begins with St Peter, the Rock upon whom the Catholic Church was built, and follows with Leo the Great (fifth century), Gregory the Great (sixth century), Gregory VII (eleventh century), Innocent III (thirteenth century), Paul III (sixteenth century), and Pius IX (nineteenth century). Among twentieth-century popes, Duffy examines the lives and contributions of Pius XII, who was elected on the eve of the Second World War, the kindly John XXIII, who captured the world's imagination, and John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 450 years. Each of these ten extraordinary individuals, Duffy shows, shaped their own worlds, and in the process, helped to create ours.

    In 2007, two Israeli news publications, Israel Today and News First Class reported that the most famous Rabbi in Israel's modern history, 108-year-old Yitzhak Kaduri, had left a cryptic death note revealing the name of the long-awaited Messiah. Within a year after the rabbi's death, the note was reported to have been verified as authentic by some of Kaduri's closest followers and then placed on Kaduri's own website (Kaduri.net). The purported Kaduri message proclaimed that Messiah's name was Yehoshua, or Jesus.  Its significance shocked the religious world. Shortly thereafter the furor began. The note immediately disappeared from Kaduri's website. The media refused to report further upon the matter. The Kaduri family, and several others close to the Kaduri ministry, began to claim that the note was a forgery or a mere fabrication - a cruel joke. Now, author, senior pastor, radio talk show host, and former law enforcement officer Carl Gallups, uses his biblical knowledge and journalistic and investigative skills to explore the matter inside and out. His thorough and balanced reporting of the documented facts of the case will astound you. Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, author of The Harbinger, several renowned biblical experts, as well as former students of Kaduri's rabbinical training school weigh in on the case. Gallup's exciting detailed reporting reaches startling conclusions that will amaze you. Mystical death-curses, visions of Messiah, an important world political figure under threat, religious leaders in shock, a cryptic death note, and more, this story is shocking, it is true and it is still unfolding. Did Rabbi Kaduri actually see and identify the real Messiah? From the publishers and the movie studio that brought you the best-selling documentary The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment comes the story of The Rabbi Who Found Messiah.

    In the introduction portion of this two-part book, Geisler examines the realities of the Christian faith, including the existence of God, the reality of truth, the nature of revelation, and guidelines for interpretation. Part two presents the origin of Scripture, its inspiration, inerrancy, and much more. (July)

    Here is a great introduction to the greatest man who ever lived for those who donbt know much about Him, and a fascinating read for those who have grown up in the church and are very familiar with the Gospel accounts. Leith Anderson's conversational storytelling style makes the book appealing to a wide range of audiences and ages.

    Now these giants of Christian history are presented chronologically and in a format that helps readers get to know them. In addition to a biographical sketch, readers will discover each person's primary contributions to the Christian faith along with a brief quotation from their work. Students, history buffs, and curious readers will be fascinated as their faith is strengthened. Included are Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Karl Barth, Carl F. H. Henry, and more.

    Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

    The struggle for reconciliation between the contending forces is not an easy one. It cuts deep into the soul and usually leaves scars that ache while life endures. There are thousands of young people in the Church to-day, and hundreds of thousands throughout the world, who are struggling to set themselves right with the God above and the world about them. It is for these young people, primarily, that the following chapters have been written...

    There is sharing, suggesting, plenty of storytelling, and lots of preaching to "felt needs." But the authoritative, expositional opening of the Word of God is harder to find all the time. In the Old Testament God decried the fact that His people were perishing for lack of knowledge about Himself. Too often, those who have been called to feed Christ's sheep with the Word of God do little more than "pet" them. This book is a plea for preachers to "preach the Word." It will encourage pastors to strive to maintain their calling. However, it is not intended just for pastors; it will also be useful in guiding congregations to know what to look for in a pastor and in holding their preachers to this Biblical standard.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Charles RyrieDr. Charles Ryrie, author of the bestelling Ryrie Study Bible and one of America's greatest living theologians, offers an easy-to-understand overview of the various doctrines of the Bible. It is written especially for the layman who simply wants to understand what the Bible teaches. The topics covered include:The importance of doctrineWhat doctrine isWhat God is likeThe inspiration of the BibleThe person of ChristThe person of the Holy SpiritThe angelic worldThe nature and depravity of manSalvationThe churchWhat the future holds

    Five hundred years after Luther’s now famous Ninety-five Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas, acclaimed biographer of the bestselling Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future. Written in riveting prose and impeccably researched, Martin Luther tells the searing tale of a humble man who, by bringing ugly truths to the highest seats of power, caused the explosion whose sound is still ringing in our ears. Luther’s monumental faith and courage gave birth to the ideals of liberty, equality, and individualism that today lie at the heart of all modern life.

    Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.” The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured, and executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his shameful death, his followers would call him God. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs wandered through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God. This was the age of zealotry—a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews. And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction; a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves with swords; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity a secret; and ultimately the seditious “King of the Jews” whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his brief lifetime. Aslan explores the reasons why the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity. Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus of Nazareth’s life and mission. The result is a thought-provoking, elegantly written biography with the pulse of a fast-paced novel: a singularly brilliant portrait of a man, a time, and the birth of a religion.

    Lewis, always “Jack” to family and friends, never shied from intellectual debate, and through his written works encouraged others to wrestle with the difficult questions of faith. A master of visual illustration and allegory, Lewis wrote with the intuitive understanding that his readers wrestled with the same questions about the Christian story, about pain, suffering, and notions of Heaven and Hell, as he himself had wrestled. He also understood that others found reason and imagination to be incompatible aspects of an understanding of God and the universe.

    Endorsements: "The New Perspective on Paul has, sadly, been more controversial than illuminative of a neglected dimension of Paul's teaching on justification by faith. Professor Yinger most helpfully explains both aspects. . . . [T]his is as good an Introduction to the New Perspective and the related Pauline teaching as you will find." --James D. G. Dunn author of The New Perspective on Paul: Collected Essays "Kent Yinger has made a complex and often emotive debate about Paul and Justification accessible to a wider audience. This book isn't beating any drum, it's not an apology for the 'New Perspective' thing, nor is it a declaration of war on any party. Rather, this is a map of the key terrain, a list of who is who in the zoo of debate, and a flashlight on several dark alleys of contested interpretations. At the same time, Yinger gives us some good and sensible commentary along the way. If you're lost in the maelstrom of theological polemics and Pauline interpretation, this book is one of the ways to help you get your bearings." --Michael F. Bird Lecturer in Theology and Bible Crossway College, Brisbane, Australia "For those who want to know what all the fuss is about and whether and how it matters, this is just the book. Kent Yinger, while thoroughly conversant with the huge amount of discussion generated by the New Perspective on Paul, has the gift of making the key issues accessible to others. Here is a readable, succinct, clear, accurate, and fair-minded introduction to the ongoing debate. For both the academy and the church Yinger provides a much needed perspective on the New Perspective. --Andrew Lincoln Portland Professor of New Testament University of Gloucestershire "Kent Yinger set out to write a book that offers a fair-minded, easy-to-read explanation of the so-called New Perspective on Paul (NPP), which neither critiques nor defends it. His aim was to navigate between the faddish innovations of some biblical scholars and the deeper insights that come from a better understanding of Scripture. He sought to answer four basic questions regarding NPP: (1) What is it? (2) Where did it come from? (3) What are the potential dangers? and (4) What good is it? After reading this book, I have only one thing to say to Dr. Yinger: Bull's eye!" --Charles J. Conniry Jr. Vice President and Dean George Fox Seminary/George Fox University Author Biography: Kent L. Yinger is Professor of New Testament at George Fox Evangelical Seminary (George Fox University) in Portland Oregon. He is the author of Paul, Judaism, and Judgment According to Deeds (1999).