Book picks similar to
The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop
history
non-fiction
religion
christian
Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews
James Carroll - 2001
“Fascinating, brave & sometimes infuriating” (Time), this dark history is more than a chronicle of religion. It's the central tragedy of Western civilization, its fault lines reaching deep into our culture to create “a deeply felt work” (San Francisco Chronicle) as Carroll wrangles with centuries of strife & tragedy to reach a courageous & affecting reckoning with difficult truths.
God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter
Stephen R. Prothero - 2010
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.
Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You
John F. MacArthur Jr. - 2005
It wasn't their natural qualities that made these women extraordinary but the power of the one true God whom they worshipped and served.In "Twelve Extraordinary Women," you'll learn more than fascinating information about these women, you'll discover-perhaps for the first time-the unmistakable chronology of God's redemptive work in history through their lives. These women were not ancillary to His plan, they were at the very heart of it.Some of the women you'll come to know include:Ruth (Ruth 1-4) Anna (Luke 2:36-38) Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42) Mary Magdalene (Matthew 27:56-61) Sarah (Genesis 11-25) Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2) The Samaritan woman (John 4 Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1-2)You will be challenged and motivated by this poignant and personal look into the lives of some of the Bible's most faithful women. Their struggles and temptations are the same trials faced by all believers in all ages. And the God to whom they were so committed is the same God who continues to mold and use ordinary people today.
The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?
Rick Warren - 2002
Rick Warren will guide you through a personal forty-day spiritual journey that will transform your answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for? Knowing God's purpose for creating you will reduce your stress, focus your energy, simplify your decisions, give meaning to your life, and most important, prepare you for eternity. Movie stars and political leaders aren't the only ones turning to Rick Warren for spiritual guidance. Millions of people from NBA and LPGA players to corporate executives to high school students to prison inmates meet regularly to discuss The Purpose Driven Life.
Ever Increasing Faith
Smith Wigglesworth - 1924
Always trusting God, even in the most hopeless situations, he had total confidence in the power of Christ. Join this late evangelist in the great adventure called “faith,” where miracles were daily events. Witness the many accounts of deliverance from diabetes, tuberculosis, demon possession, and even death. Prepare to be overwhelmed as the seed of faith begins to expand and grow in your heart. Watch as God moves, touching lives with healing and deliverance—miracles that follow as signs of the power of faith. Your faith, great or small, can multiply ever increasingly as it overflows into the lives around you, bringing glory to God and blessings to the world!
To Live Is Christ to Die Is Gain
Matt Chandler - 2013
While many give their lives to Jesus, few then go on to live a life of truly vibrant faith. In this disruptively inspiring book, Chandler offers tangible ways to develop a faith of pursuing, chasing, knowing, and loving Jesus. Because if we clean up our lives but don't get Jesus, we've lost! So let the goal be Him. To live is Christ, to die is gain—this is the message of the letter. Therefore, our lives should be lived to Him, through Him, for Him, with Him, about Him—everything should be about Jesus.
The Message Remix (Bible in Contemporary Language)
Eugene H. Peterson - 1997
Peterson. It features expanded introductions to each book of the Bible that explain the purpose of the book, who wrote it, and for whom it was written. The introductions help set the stage for the book and help you understand each book's unique message. A reading Bible in contemporary language, The Message//REMIX also has a unique verse-numbering system, charts and maps, and a topical guide for students. Trim size: 5 3/16 x 7 1/8
Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation
John F. Walvoord - 1970
Companion to The Revelation of Jesus Christ, this major contribution to prophetic research emphasizes the value and genuineness of Daniel. It considers alleged historical inaccuracies, difficult-to-interpret phrases, apocryphal additions, major textual problems, use of Persian and Greek words, historical background of Bible events, and past and future fulfillments of specific prophecies. Daniel goes beyond a mere presentation of the author's interpretation of Old Testament prophecy. It quotes Bible scholars from different corners of the theological ring to help the reader discover the meaning of Scripture for himself. Unusually thorough and well outlined, this commentary captures the heartbeat of a young prophet who spoke boldly for God.
Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies
David Bentley Hart - 2009
David Bentley Hart provides a bold correction of the New Atheists’ misrepresentations of the Christian past, countering their polemics with a brilliant account of Christianity and its message of human charity as the most revolutionary movement in all of Western history.Hart outlines how Christianity transformed the ancient world in ways we may have forgotten: bringing liberation from fatalism, conferring great dignity on human beings, subverting the cruelest aspects of pagan society, and elevating charity above all virtues. He then argues that what we term the “Age of Reason” was in fact the beginning of the eclipse of reason’s authority as a cultural value. Hart closes the book in the present, delineating the ominous consequences of the decline of Christendom in a culture that is built upon its moral and spiritual values.
Summa Theologica
Thomas Aquinas
St. Thomas Aquinas has much to teach us--most especially how to confront the classic questions that are still with us after centuries of thought.
My Utmost for His Highest
Oswald Chambers - 1926
You'll treasure their insight, still fresh and vital. And you'll discover what it means to offer God your very best for His greatest purpose--to truly offer Him your utmost for His highest. This edition includes Chambers's text, updated by editor James Reimann, along with helpful subject and scripture indexes.
We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation
Brian D. McLaren - 2014
It also puts tools in your hands to create a life-changing learning community in any home, restaurant, or other welcoming space. The fifty-two (plus a few) weekly readings can each be read aloud in 10 to 12 minutes and offer a simple curriculum of insightful reflections and transformative practices. Organized around the traditional church year, these readings give an overview of the whole Bible and guide an individual or a group of friends through a year of rich study, interactive learning, and personal growth. Perfect for home churches, congregations, classes, or individual study, each reading invites you to Cultivate an honest, intelligent understanding of the Bible and of Christian faith in 21st centuryEngage with discussion questions designed to challenge, stimulate, and encourageReimagine what it means to live joyfully and responsibly in today's world as agents of God's justice, creativity, and peaceIf you're seeking a fresh way to experience and practice your faith, if you're a long-term Christian seeking new vitality, or if you feel out of place in traditional church circles, this book will inspire and activate you in your spiritual journey.
Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics, and Devotion in the Book of Revelation
J. Nelson Kraybill - 2010
Nelson Kraybill shows how the book of Revelation was understood by its original readers and what it means for Christians today. Kraybill places Revelation in its first-century context, opening a window into the political, economic, and social realities of the early church. His fresh interpretation highlights Revelation's liturgical structure and directs readers' attentions to twenty-first-century issues of empire, worship, and allegiance, showing how John's apocalypse is relevant to the spiritual life of believers today. The book includes maps, timelines, photos, a glossary, discussion questions, and stories of modern Christians who live out John's vision of a New Jerusalem.
The Bible as History
Werner Keller - 1955
Readers all over the world have been captivated by the descriptions of excavations, the deciphering of ancient documents & the informed arguments concerning the reliability of the bible. Since the 1st revised edition in 1964, however, new techniques have brought much additional information to light, & fascinating parallels between the Ten Commandments & other ancient documents have been discovered. This 2nd revised edition, published in 1980, includes a new chapter on the Turin Shroud, a postscipt on the accuracy & interpretation of the bible by biblical scholar Joachim Rehork. "A lively blend of drama & reporting that reads like a detective story grafted on a history book."-- Time.Introduction to the New Revised EditionIntroduction to the First EditionDigging up the Old Testament. The coming of the patriarchs: from Abraham to Jacob; In the realm of the pharaohs: from Joseph to Moses; Forty years in the wilderness: from the Nile to the Jordan; The battle for the Promised Land: from Joshua to Saul; When Israel was an empire: from David to Solomon; Two kings--two kingdoms: from Rehoboam to Jehoiachin; From the Exile to the Maccabean Kingdom: from Ezekiel to John Hyrcanus--Digging up the New Testament. Jesus of Nazareth; In the days of the apostlesPostscriptBibliographyGeneral Index
Yawning at Tigers: You Can't Tame God, So Stop Trying
Drew Dyck - 2014
Yet we're restless. And our failed attempts to ease our unrest point to an ancient ache for an experience of the holy.Drew Dyck makes a compelling case that what we seek awaits us in the untamed God of Scripture--a God who is dangerous yet accessible, mysterious yet powerfully present. He is a God who beckons us to see him with a fresh, unfiltered gaze.Yawning at Tigers takes us past domesticated Christianity, into the wilds where God's raw majesty, love, and power become more real and transformative than we could ever imagine.