With warmth, humor, personal and rabbinic stories and down-to-earth explanations, Arthur Green presents the ideas in Judaism that kept him loyal to the tradition passed on to him. The result is an enticing look into timeless Jewish wisdom that will encourage you to explore further and search out the riches of Judaism for yourself.

    Second Hand Smoke is the story of Mila's sons, Issac and Duncan, the one secretly abandoned in Poland, and the other, American-born, raised as an avenging Nazi hunter, poisoned with rage.Told in bursts of fractured realism and dark comedy, Second Hand Smoke is a postmodern mystery of great lyrical power, deep insight, and emotional resonance.

    "Walzer knows his Bible. He stands in the growing ranks of contemporary academicians who are discovering in biblical and rabbinic sources a literature rich with significance for modern man".--Chaim Potok, "Philadelphia Inquirer".

    Illustrated with photos, charts, and maps, and written in an easy, informal style, this survey will be enjoyed by all who want to enrich their understanding of Old Testament people and events.

    In this profound and considered work, he offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today as he shows just how deeply Jewish the Christian Gospels are and how much they reflect the Jewish scriptures, history, and patterns of worship. Pulling back the layers of a long-standing Gentile ignorance, he reveals how the church’s literal reading of the Bible is so far removed from these original Jewish authors’ intent that it is an act of heresy.Using the Gospel of Matthew as a guide, Spong explores the Bible’s literary and liturgical roots—its grounding in Jewish culture, symbols, icons, and storytelling tradition—to explain how the events of Jesus’ life, including the virgin birth, the miracles, the details of the passion story, and the resurrection and ascension, would have been understood by both the Jewish authors of the various gospels and by the Jewish audiences for which they were originally written. Spong makes clear that it was only after the church became fully Gentile that readers of the Gospels took these stories to be factual, distorting their original meaning.In Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, Spong illuminates the gospels as never before and provides a better blueprint for the future than where the church’s leaden and heretical reading of the story of Jesus has led us—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story in the modern world.

    Unflinchingly honest yet unfailingly hopeful, Rev. Sarah is a genre unto herself. You've never had this much fun going to church

    We did our best to take advantage of all the features of the kindle to maximize your reading experience with this book.This book contains the following apocryphal books:The First Book of EsdrasThe Second Book of EsdrasThe Book of TobitThe Book of JudithThe rest of the chapters of the Book of EstherThe Book of the Wisdom of SolomonThe Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, or EcclesiasticusThe Book of BaruchEpistle of JeremyThe Song of the Three ChildrenThe History of SusannaBel and the DragonThe Prayer of ManassesThe First Book of the MaccabeesThe Second Book of the MaccabeesThe word Apocrypha comes from a Greek word meaning "those having been hidden away".Apocrypha generally means those sacred books of the Jewish people which were not included in the Hebrew canonized Bible.These books are valuable as forming a link connecting the Old and New Testaments, and are regarded as useful reading, although not all the books are of equal value.The apocryphal books in this Kindle book are considered of "special value" and are mostly correct, but with many interpolations by man.The Roman Church regards as part of the canon the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisd., Ecclus., Baruch, 1 and 2 Macc., and the additions to Daniel and Esther. Besides these books, there are other Jewish apocryphal writings. The chief are the Psalms of Solomon, the Book of Enoch, the apocalypse of Baruch, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Assumption of Moses, the Book of Jubilees, and the Sibylline Oracles

    And as Leon R. Kass shows in The Beginning of Wisdom, it’s also timeless. Examining Genesis in a philosophical light, Kass presents it not as a story of what happened long ago, but as the enduring story of humanity itself. He asserts that the first half of Genesis contains insights about human nature that “rival anything produced by the great philosophers.” Kass here reads these first stories—from Adam and Eve to the tower of Babel—as a mirror for self-discovery that reveals truths about human reason, speech, freedom, sexual desire, pride, shame, anger, and death. Taking a step further in the second half of his book, Kass explores the struggles in Genesis to launch a new way of life that addresses mankind’s morally ambiguous nature by promoting righteousness and holiness. Even readers who don’t agree with Kass’s interpretations will find The Beginning of Wisdom acompelling book—a masterful philosophical take on one of the world’s seminal religious texts. “Extraordinary. . . . Its analyses and hypotheses will leave no reader’s understanding of Genesis unchanged.” —New York Times“A learned and fluent, delightfully overstuffed stroll through the Gates of Eden. . . . Mix Harold Bloom with Stephen Jay Gould and you’ll get something like Kass. A wonderfully intelligent reading of Genesis.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Throughout his book, Kass uses fruitful, fascinating techniques for getting at the heart of Genesis. . . . Innumerable times [he] makes a reader sit back and rethink what has previously been tediously familiar or baffling.”—Washington Post “It is important to state that this is a book not merely rich, but prodigiously rich with insight. Kass is a marvelous reader, sensitive and careful. His interpretations surprise again and again with their cogency and poignancy.”—Jerusalem Post

    Disciplined, yet forgiving. Audaciously courageous, yet kind. Heroic in the heat of battle, yet humble in the aftermath.We see a few such men and women, but the list is tragically short. Rarely does someone model these invaluable traits more obviously than God's mighty prophet Elijah, whose calling was anything but calm and free from conflict. Nevertheless, as you are about to discover in this book. Elijah exemplified true heroism and genuine humility amid the relentless pressure of battle."Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility" is the fifth volume in the best-selling Great Lives from God's Word series by Charles Swindoll. The series also includes such powerful biographies as "Joseph, David, Esther, "and" Moses."Exploring the depths of Elijah's fascinating life as a prophet of God, Swindoll does not gloss over his human weaknesses; rather, he presents an honest picture of this ordinary man who God transformed into His personal spokesman to confront idolatry and evil in the ancient world. You will find that it's a life worth emulating.In a world that has lost its way, due in part to the lack of balanced, godly leadership, we are more than ever in need of a few Elijah-like men and women who are not afraid to live courageously among their peers as they walk humbly with their God."May this book establish deep within you a desire to stand strong for what is right as you bow low before Him who is worthy of your trust and obedience."-Charles Swindoll

    In doing so Asimov illuminates the Bible's many obscure and mysterious passages, producing a valuable text for anyone interested in religion and history.

    Explains how the Jews and the Church are God's people.

    It takes faith to be yourself and resist the forces that want to make you conform to the thoughtless crowd around us. In this study of Genesis 25-50, you will meet three unique men (and some unusual women) who dared to be authentic:• Isaac, whose quiet life made a difference in history.• Jacob, who had his ups and downs but ended up a prince.• Joseph, who suffered unjustly but was given a throne.These familiar Bible characters and their stories take on new meaning as you see God making them into authentic people who accomplish Hs will in this world. They will teach you:• How to live with people who make your life miserable • Why families fall apart • How to make new beginnings when you've failed • What to do when your dreams become nightmares • How to enrich the next generation with your faith

    In four short episodes we encounter refugees, undocumented immigrants, poverty, hunger, women's rights, male power and privilege, discrimination, and injustice.In Finding God in the Margins, Carolyn Custis James reveals how the book of Ruth is about God, the questions that surface when life falls apart, and how he reaches into the margins and chooses two totally marginalized women who in the eyes of the patriarchal culture are zeros.Against the backdrop of disturbing issues we are facing today, this bracing narrative puts on display a radical gospel way of living together as human beings that shouts the Kingdom of God, foreshadows Jesus' gospel, and raises the bar for women and for men then and now.

    We hide behind the hum of busyness to escape intimate friendships with the women God has placed in our lives. But we do want a seat at the table. We yearn for authentic relationships and the opportunity to be the opposite of "fine" with people who cheer for us. But comparison, envy, and entitlement often stop us from pulling out a chair at the table. Friendship can be hard, making new friends even harder, and maintaining genuine friendship the hardest of all. In this 7-session Bible study, Lisa-Jo Baker and friends from (in)courage explore our relationship with Jesus as the ultimate model for authentic friendship. Nothing shapes us like the impact of a friend--it's how Jesus radically and intimately connects with us. So instead of chasing perfection, overcome your fear of being known and find the courage to connect.Features: Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groupsPersonal study segments with homework to complete between 7 weeks of group sessionsBenefits: Explore your relationship with Jesus as a model for friendship.Debunk the myth of effortless friendship.Overcome the fear of knowing and being known.Stop running from friendship and find the courage to connect.

    This popular introduction to praying the rosary draws readers closer to Jesus and Mary by placing the mysteries-including the new mysteries of light-in the context of Scripture. The book addresses commonly asked questions about Mary and the rosary and provides the biblical background for all twenty mysteries. It also includes a scriptural rosary that offers ten Bible texts suitable for meditation on each mystery. An appendix offers the complete text of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae. A Servant Book.