Ghost stories as we know them did not develop until the late nineteenth century, but the restless dead haunted the premodern imagination in many forms, as recorded in historical narratives, theological texts, and personal letters. The Penguin Book of the Undead teems with roving hordes of dead warriors, corpses trailed by packs of barking dogs, moaning phantoms haunting deserted ruins, evil spirits emerging from burning carcasses in the form of crows, and zombies with pestilential breath.Spanning from the Hebrew scriptures to the Roman Empire, the Scandinavian sagas to medieval Europe, the Protestant Reformation to the Renaissance, this beguiling array of accounts charts our relationship with spirits and apparitions, wraiths and demons over fifteen hundred years, showing the evolution in our thinking about the ability of dead souls to return to the realm of the living--and to warn us about what awaits us in the afterlife.

    Not only has its authorship been disputed, but also its claims about the imminent return of Christ. In this study, Peter Leithart offers a preterist reading of the epistle, arguing that it describes first-century events and not the end of the world. At the same time, he maintains orthodoxy, avoiding hyper-preterism and affirming the epistle's authenticity. Leithart's accessible style and convincing arguments make a valuable addition to the study of the Bible's apocalyptic prophecies.

    'On the outside, [the foreigners] seem intractable, but inside they are cowardly...Although there have been a few ups-and-downs, the situation as a whole is under control.' In October 1839, a few months after the Chinese Imperial Commissioner, Lin Zexu, dispatched these confident words to his emperor, a Cabinet meeting in Windsor voted to fight Britain's first Opium War (1839-42) with China. The conflict turned out to be rich in tragicomedy: in bureaucratic fumblings, military missteps, political opportunism and collaboration. Yet over the past hundred and seventy years, this strange tale of misunderstanding, incompetence and compromise has become the founding myth of modern Chinese nationalism: the start of China's heroic struggle against a Western conspiracy to destroy the country with opium and gunboat diplomacy. "The Opium War" is both the story of modern China - starting from this first conflict with the West - and an analysis of the country's contemporary self-image. It explores how China's national myths mould its interactions with the outside world, how public memory is spun to serve the present; and how delusion and prejudice have bedevilled its relationship with the modern West.

     Could an ancient prophecy and a mysterious ordinance given in a Middle Eastern desert over three thousand years ago be determining the events of our day? Could some of the most famous people of modern history and current events be secretly linked to this mystery-even a modern president of the United States? Could this ancient revelation pinpoint the events of our times down to the year, month, and day of their occurring? Could a mysterious phenomenon be manifesting on the world stage on an exact timetable determined from ancient times? Could these manifestations have altered-and now be altering-the course of world events? Jonathan Cahn takes the reader on a journey to find the man called the Oracle. One by one each of the Jubilean mysteries will be revealed through the giving of a vision. The Oracle will uncover the mysteries of The Stranger, The Lost City, The Man With the Measuring Line, The Land of Seven Wells, The Birds, The Number of the End, The Man in the Black Robe, The Prophet's Song, The Matrix of Years, The Day of the Lions, The Awakening of the Dragon, and much more. The reader will discover the ancient scrolls that contain the appointed words that have determined the course of world history from the onset of modern times up to our day. The revelation is so big that it will involve and open up the mysteries of everything and everyone from Mark Twain to Moses, from King Nebuchadnezzar to Donald Trump, from the fall of empires to the rise of America, from a mystery hidden in a desert cave to another in an ancient scroll, from the palace of the Persian Empire to the US Senate, from the Summer of Love to the Code of Babylon, and much, much more. Ultimately the Oracle will reveal the secret that lies behind end-time prophecy and the mystery of the end of the age. As with The Harbinger and The Book of Mysteries, Cahn reveals the mysteries through a narrative. A traveler is given seven keys; each will open up one of seven doors. Behind each door lies a stream of mysteries. The reader will be taken on a journey of angels and prophetic revelations waiting to be discovered behind each of the seven doors-the ancient secrets that lie behind the world-changing events of modern times-and revelations of what is yet to come. Hailed as a mind-blowing masterpiece, The Oracle will reveal mysteries that are absolutely real, amazing, stunning, mind-blowing, and life-changing.Prepare to be blown away.

    But today, much of the world is as religious as ever. This volume challenges the belief that the modern world is increasingly secular, showing instead that modernization more often strengthens religion. Seven leading cultural observers examine several regions and several religions and explain the resurgence of religion in world politics. Peter L. Berger opens with a global overview. The other six writers deal with particular aspects of the religious scene: George Weigel, with Roman Catholicism;David Martin, with the evangelical Protestant upsurge not only in the Western world but also in Latin America, Africa, the Pacific rim, China, and Eastern Europe; Jonathan Sacks, with Jews and politics in the modern world; Abdullahi A. An-Na'im, with political Islam in national politics and international relations; Grace Davie, with Europe as perhaps the exception to the desecularization thesis; and Tu Weiming, with religion in the People's Republic of China.

    In their groundbreaking new book, In the Beginning . . . We Misunderstood, authors Johnny V. Miller and John M. Soden say that all these arguments have missed the point. Rather, what Christians really need to know is how to interpret the Bible in its original context. Exposing the fallacies of trying to make the biblical text fit a specific scientific presupposition, Miller and Soden offer a new approach to interpreting Genesis 1 that explores the creation account based on how the original audience would have understood its teaching. First, the authors present a clear explanation of the past and present issues in interpreting the first chapter of the Bible. Second, Miller and Soden break down the creation account according to its historical and cultural context by comparing and distinguishing both the Egyptian and Mesopotamian settings. Finally, they explore common objections to help readers understand the significance that the creation account has for theology today.Christians need not look any further than Genesis 1 to find clues to its meaning. Both irenic and bathed in Scripture, In the Beginning . . . We Misunderstood will equip every believer to navigate the creation wars, armed with biblically sound explanations.

    A highly-readable, one-volume introduction placing the entire New Testament and early Christianity in its original context, it is the only such work by distinguished scholar and author N. T. (Tom) Wright.An ideal guide for students, The New Testament in Its World addresses the many difficult questions faced by those studying early Christianity. Both large and small, these questions include:What is the purpose of the New Testament?What was the first-century understanding of the kingdom?What is the real meaning of the resurrection in its original context?What really were the Gospels?Who was Paul and why are his letters so controversial?As twenty-first-century people, how do we recover the excitement of what it was like to live as Christians in the first or second centuries?In short, The New Testament in Its World brings together decades of ground-breaking research, writing, and teaching into one volume that will open readers' eyes to the larger world of the New Testament. It presents the New Testament books as historical, literary, and social phenomena located in the world of Second Temple Judaism, amidst Greco-Roman politics and culture, and within early Christianity. Written for both classroom and personal use, the benefits of The New Testament in Its World include:A distillation of the life work of N. T. Wright on the New Testament with input from Michael BirdHistorical context that situates Jesus and the early church within the history, culture, and religion of Second Temple Judaism and the Greco-Roman worldMajor sections on the historical Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and Paul's chronology and theologySurveys of each New Testament book that discuss their significance, critical topics like authorship and date, and that provide commentary on contents along with implications for the Christian lifeUp-to-date discussions of textual criticism and the canonization of the New TestamentA concluding chapter dedicated to living the story of the New TestamentAvailable Video and Workbook companion resources to enhance learning and experience the world of the New TestamentIllustrated with visually rich pictures, maps, charts, diagrams, and artwork; plentiful sidebars provide additional explanations and insights

    While Bruce's primary concern is to portray the life of the apostle Paul, he also examines the main themes of Paul's thought, set in their historical background and illustrated from his letters. Originally published in 1977, this new paperback edition of Paul will be used with profit by all who have an interest in the primitive church--from general readers to the most advanced biblical scholar.

    He presents a methodology for taking the literary characteristics of biblical texts into account in the text-to-sermon process and then applies that methodology in separate chapters on preaching on psalms, proverbs, narratives, parables, and epistles.

    This smart and funny book includes tales from many of these much-loved comics, and will appeal to their broad audience, while revealing the history, context and wider culture of Jewish joking.The Jewish joke is as old as Abraham, and like the Jews themselves it has wandered over the world, learned countless new languages, worked with a range of different materials, been performed in front of some pretty hostile crowds, and yet still retained its own distinctive identity. So what is it that animates the Jewish joke? Why are Jews so often thought of as ‘funny’? And how old can a joke get?The Jewish Joke is a brilliant—and laugh-out-loud funny—riff on about what marks Jewish jokes apart from other jokes, why they are important to Jewish identity and how they work. Ranging from self-deprecation to anti-Semitism, politics to sex, Devorah Baum looks at the history of Jewish joking and asks whether the Jewish joke has a future. With jokes from Lena Dunham to Woody Allen, as well as Freud and Marx (Groucho, mostly), Baum balances serious research with light-hearted humor and provides fascinating insight into this well-known and much loved cultural phenomenon.

    Now revised and updated to include all the book of the Old Testament.

    Regularly priced at $4.99. Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. So, you want to convert to Judaism? That’s great! You have to understand, though, that Judaism is not only a religion but is also a way of life. Jews consider themselves as one big family. Hence, to have a proper perspective about everything, you’ll have to mentally orient yourself that you’re trying to find a way in as a productive member of that Jewish family. You should also brace yourself for a long struggle ahead of you because converting to Judaism is not a walk in the park. This book will provide you with an excellent introduction to Judaism as well as what to expect during your conversion process, including lots of great tips and pointers that will help along the way. Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn... The Basic Beliefs of Judaism Important Practices of Judaism Celebrated Jewish Holidays Steps on How to Become a Jew Pointers for Converts Much, much more! Download your copy today! Tags: convert to Judaism, converting to Judaism, conversion to Judaism, how to become a jew, becoming a Jew, become a Jew, I want to become a Jew, I want to convert to Judaism, how to convert to Judaism, introduction to Judaism, being Jewish, how to be Jewish, Judaism beliefs, practice Judaism, practicing Judaism, how to become a Jew, Jewish convert, converting to Jew, convert to become a Jew, Jewish beliefs, Jewish customs, Jewish traditions, Jewish calendar, Jewish holidays, Jewish rituals, how to be Jewish, Jewish religious beliefs, becoming Jewish, Jewish celebrations, Jewish customs and traditions, Jewish baptism, Jewish practices, Jewish information, Jews religion, Jews, Jew, Judaism, Jew religion, becoming a Jew, Jews and Judaism, Jews culture, become a Jew, what is Judaism, Judaism beliefs, torah, Jewish commandments, introduction to Judaism, Jewish religion, Jewish religious beliefs, religion of Judaism, convert Judaism, converting questions, converting religion, converting religions, how to convert to Judaism, how to convert

    For good and for evil, religion is the single greatest influence in the world. We accept as self-evident that competing economic systems (capitalist or communist) or clashing political parties (Republican or Democratic) propose very different solutions to our planet's problems. So why do we pretend that the world's religious traditions are different paths to the same God? We blur the sharp distinctions between religions at our own peril, argues religion scholar Stephen Prothero, and it is time to replace naÏve hopes of interreligious unity with deeper knowledge of religious differences. In Religious Literacy, Prothero demonstrated how little Americans know about their own religious traditions and why the world's religions should be taught in public schools. Now, in God Is Not One, Prothero provides readers with this much-needed content about each of the eight great religions. To claim that all religions are the same is to misunderstand that each attempts to solve a different human problem. For example: –Islam: the problem is pride / the solution is submission –Christianity: the problem is sin / the solution is salvation –Confucianism: the problem is chaos / the solution is social order –Buddhism: the problem is suffering / the solution is awakening –Judaism: the problem is exile / the solution is to return to God Prothero reveals each of these traditions on its own terms to create an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to better understand the big questions human beings have asked for millennia—and the disparate paths we are taking to answer them today. A bold polemical response to a generation of misguided scholarship, God Is Not One creates a new context for understanding religion in the twenty-first century and disproves the assumptions most of us make about the way the world's religions work.

    Yet when we turn to Scripture for guidance, we often hear conflicting messages about its teachings. David Instone-Brewer shows how, when properly understood, the New Testament provides faithful, realistic and wise guidance of crucial importance and practical help for the church today.

     But God's Word says, "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near" (Revelation 1:3). Prepare to be blessed in an entertaining and meaningful way! The Non-Prophet's Guide to the End Times combines engaging illustrations with down-to-earth explanations to help you navigate the ins and outs of Bible prophecy. There's no better time to grasp God's plans for the future—and for you—than this very moment.