He was a below-average student with a lackluster work ethic and a bad attitude, who hung with the wrong crowd and made a lot of bad choices. He was a kid whose life was headed for disaster—until a local coach took interest in him, suggested that he take up amateur wrestling, and offered to work with him if he promised to stay out of trouble.It was in North Dakota that Bob Backlund had the first of several chance encounters that would shape his destiny. While working out at the YMCA gymnasium in Fargo, North Dakota, where he wrestled for North Dakota State, Backlund met a well-known professional wrestler, “Superstar” Billy Graham. The men talked, and at Graham’s suggestion, Backlund was inspired to pursue a career in professional wrestling.Less than five years from that day, on February 20, 1978, Backlund would find himself halfway across the country, standing in the middle of the ring at Madison Square Garden with his hand raised in victory as the newly crowned World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion. The man Backlund pinned for the championship that night was none other than Superstar Billy Graham.Featuring contributions from Bruno Sammartino, Harley Race, Terry Funk, Pat Patterson, Ken Patera, Sergeant Slaughter, The Magnificent Muraco, George “The Animal” Steele, “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas, The Iron Sheik, and many others, this book tells the incredible story of the life and nearly forty-year career of one of the most famous men to ever grace the squared circle.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    They have won 11 World Series titles and some of the most famousplayers in the history of the game have worn the storied “Birds on the Bat”uniform.While thaton-field success has been well documented, IntentionalWalk is the first book which goes beyond the story of what happens on thefield to take an in-depth look at the men inside the Cardinal uniforms, andexamine how their strong Christian faith is one of the driving forces behindtheir success.Intentional Walk features the stories of AdamWainwright, David Freese, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, JasonMotte and other members of the 2012 Cardinals, written as those players and therest of the team tried to repeat the 2011 world championship. The book talksabout how they became Christians and offers their testimony about what it meansfor them to have God play such a prominent role in their lives.Playing forfirst-year manager Mike Matheny, a strong Christian as well, these men talkabout their success and failure, about the challenges that come from playingbaseball at the highest level, and how thankful and blessed they are to havethat God-given ability. In the end, however, what is far more important to themis their life-long relationship they have established with Jesus Christ.

    One of the most inspirational and influential spiritual leaders of the 20th century, minister and bestselling author Norman Vincent Peale transformed the lives of millions worldwide with his groundbreaking book, The Power of Positive Thinking. In The Positive Power of Jesus Christ, the revered pastor of the world-famous Marble Collegiate Church proclaims his unshakable faith in Christ the Savior with inspiring stories of healing and hope, of the ways in which his life and the lives of others were profoundly touched by the holy hand of God’s Son.   In this beautiful, everlasting work, Dr. Peale contends that, “positive thinking really means a faith attitude . . . [and] only faith can turn the life around.” In sharing these thrilling true accounts of people from all walks of life who have experienced the positive saving power of Christ—including his own powerful witnessing of the Savior’s work—Peale offers a humble tribute to our blessed Lord, demonstrating the many ways in which His love can truly change the world.

    But exactly how do all the pieces fit together? In a single volume, The Promise and the Blessing connects the dots of the Old and New Testament books to reveal the big picture of salvation history. Organized chronologically rather than canonically, this book traces the flow of Israel’s history and shows how the New Testament proceeds out of the Old. It begins with God’s creation of the cosmos and the initial problem of the fall of man. Then it traces God’s solutions to that problem as he selects first one man, Abraham, then his line, and then the nation of Israel to provide the Messiah. Finally, it focuses on the Messiah himself and looks at how the gospel of Jesus was spread throughout the known world.The Promise and the Blessing is easy to use and ideal for anyone who wants to understand the grand narrative of the Bible. It features numerous beautiful, full-color photos, as well as sidebars and brief, fascinating “breakouts” of supplementary information. Maps, illustrations, summaries, and insightful notes help to illuminate the text. Field-tested in the classroom, The Promise and the Blessing is designed for Old and New Testament survey classes and will provide all readers of the Bible with a better understanding of how the drama that began in Eden winds through Israel’s history to its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

    The book includes discussion questions, an appendix for facilitating discussions, and a bibliography of additional resources.

    

    Between the two poles of uncritical embrace and outright rejection of these conclusions, is there a third way? Can evangelical believers incorporate the insights of biblical criticism while at the same time maintaining a high view of Scripture and a vital faith? In this provocative book, Kenton Sparks argues that the insights from historical and biblical criticism can indeed be valuable to evangelicals and may even yield solutions to difficult issues in biblical studies while avoiding pat answers. This constructive response to biblical criticism includes taking seriously both the divine and the human aspects of the Bible and acknowledging the diversity that exists in the biblical texts.

    

    Some didn’t make it out alive. After hearing whispers that seemed almost too awful to believe, BuzzFeed News investigative reporter Christine Kenneally embarked on a years-long journey to find out what really went on in these institutions. What she discovered was even more horrifying than the legend: the systematic abuse and even the alleged murder of children by nuns. Her searing report, which is part investigation, part true crime drama, part ghost story, cracks open a secret history of American life — and adds a vast new dimension to the Catholic church’s mistreatment of children. From a world shrouded in secrecy, Kenneally tells the story of St. Joseph’s Orphanage in Burlington, Vermont, and of Sally Dale, the plucky redhead who was the apple of the nuns’ eyes. Until they decided to make an example of her, administering daily torments, isolating her from the rest of the world, and convincing her that she would never escape. Of all the children who passed through St. Joseph’s, she may have been there the longest. The horrors she suffered and the deaths she said she witnessed did not come into full view until the day, decades later, when she attended a St Joseph’s reunion. Then the past came flooding back like a torrent. Along with scores of other survivors, and guided by an idealistic young lawyer, Sally somehow found the courage to come forward and tell the world what she had experienced. She wanted more than anything else to be heard and believed. But she was going up against one of the most powerful institutions in the world, and she was in for the fight of a lifetime. The legal battle that ensued upended every assumption that the people of Burlington had. Could memory be trusted? Could forgetting be forgotten? Could a pleasant community turn a blind eye to evil? And could nuns, the very women charged with protecting these most vulnerable members of society, have instead tortured or even killed them? The Catholic sex abuse scandal – which most recently yielded a grand jury report on how the church hid the crimes of hundreds of priests — shattered the silence that for so long had protected the church. But the truth about what went on inside its orphanages has somehow remained all but unspoken, even as other countries have undertaken huge national inquiries. In the US, there has been no reckoning. The orphanages’ dark secrets, like the dead children who haunt survivors’ dreams, still lay buried. Until now. Through painstaking reporting, based in thousands of pages of documents — many of them secret — and interviews with survivors, Kenneally connects what happened at St. Joseph’s to similar accounts that emerged from seven countries across three continents, revealing a terrible matrix of corroboration.

    World-hatred and asceticism, dreams and states of possession, and pagan and Christian mysticism are all discussed. Finally, Dodds considers both pagan views of Christianity and Christian views of paganism as they emerge in the literature of the time. Although primarily written for social and religious historians, this study will also appeal to all those interested in the ancient world and its thought.

    Who are the Waldensians? The Lollards? The Stundists? The Anabaptists? These were names given by to those who claimed only the name of Christ, and who were prepared to suffer for His cause rather than submit to those man-made traditions that they believed contradicted the Word of God.

    Chidester explores the emergence of the major streams of Christian thought and practice, distilling the cultural history of the Church and its impact on the world into this superbly readable book. Alongside this broad panorama is a richly human story that the author brilliantly encapsulates in incisive character sketches and historical vignettes.Christianity, in all its many facets, has been and continues to be one of the most influential forces in history. Chidester shows that this religion, with its roots deep in the ancient world, has always been in a constant state of evolution, affecting and affected by the religions and societies around it. At times Christianity has coexisted peacefully with other forms of belief, exchanging ideas and practices with them. At other times profound, even violent, conflict has arisen. In this book David Chidester intelligently and objectively portrays Christians in different times and places, as a minority and as the majority group, a religion both absorbing and resisting the world around it. Christianity reveals the religion as it was and is lived in the life of everyday people rather than focusing on the dry dogmas and beliefs that fill most histories. Chidester's accomplishment is to capture the complexity and grand sweep of this story in one remarkable volume that is destined to take its place as a classic of religious history.

    Keep in mind that because different versions of Hinduism inspire different people, many different versions of the stories float through the jungle and over the stones of temples and traditions. The stories in this volume are my version, though I’ve stuck as closely to the original myths and legends as imagination allows. At the end of this book, you’ll find a short bibliography for further research and reading. Within this book, you'll find the following Hindu myths covered Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and the Beginning of the World The Birth of Lord Shiva Saraswati & Brahma’s Fifth Head Shiva Tests Parvati Shiva Snares a Whale Ganesha Loses His Head Ganesha Spills a River Kubera’s Pride Ganesha Injures a Goddess Ganesha Wins a Race Shiva Skips Success Ravana’s Ten Heads The Birth of Rama Urmila’s Slumber Deer of Deception Hanuman’s Torch Suvannamachha Steals a Bridge Hanuman Moves a Mountain The Final Battle Sita’s Purity Krishna Steals Butter Krishna Trades for Jewels Krishna Swallows the Flames Agni Spreads a Curse Vayu Humbles the Silk Cotton Tree Savitri Chooses a Husband Savitri’s Fidelity And more! Download the book now and learn more about Hindu mythology

    Book showing how sin originated the plan of salvation and going through to the future of the world.

    The Practice of Saying No will appeal to anyone seeking more meaning and spirituality in their everyday lives. Barbara Brown Taylor, acclaimed author of Leaving Church and An Altar in the World (from which this eSelect is taken), writes with the honesty of Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) and the spiritual depth of Anne Lamott (Grace, Eventually) and reveals how to encounter the sacred as a natural part of everyday life.