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Showing 1 - 20 of 6163 items
By Edward Engelbrecht. 2014
Tap into the treasures of God's Word with the Lutheran Bible Companion, the first-ever comprehensive guide to the Bible featuring…
commentary that reflects Lutheran theology. Inside Volume 1, readers find new understanding for personal meditation or preaching in the expansive timeline of the Old Testament. Fascinating insights on the Bible's themes provide additional depth: Theological topics and literary features found in each book Significant events, people, and places found in detailed outlines and maps Biblical reflections from Martin Luther and Johann Gerhard Color photography and art illustrating stories, daily life, and landscapes (600+)By Martha Winona Travers. 2024
• Presents the teachings of revered Ecuadorian Kichwa elder Taita Alberto Taxo as vivid, experiential journeys• Details how to return…
to intimacy with Nature and the natural world through communicating with the elements• Shares Andean shamanic practices and ceremonies for opening the heart, expanding consciousness, and shamanic journeyingIn this deep dive into South American shamanism, Martha Winona Travers shares the teachings and practices she learned during her 22 years as an apprentice to revered Ecuadorian Kichwa elder, Taita Alberto Taxo.Presenting Taita Alberto&’s teachings as vivid, experiential journeys, Travers allows you to immerse yourself in his direct, heart-centered wisdom as if you, too, were one of his shamanic apprentices. You will learn the ancient mystical traditions of the Andes, traditions saved by the elders specifically for these times. These traditions of healing invite human beings to return to intimacy with Nature and the natural world, through initiating conversations with the elements including the fifth, spiritual element, the Ushai. You will learn about the delicate dance of the Eagle (the mind) and the Condor (the heart), including how to reestablish the path of the heart to help bring the overactive mind into balance, the key to embarking on powerful shamanic journeys. You will visit sacred waterfalls, travel high up the active volcano Cotopaxi to a mountain lake for ceremony, experience the sounds carried on the wind in the mountains, see the Condor flying, and sit at night around the fire, listening to stories and laughter.As you journey together with Taita Alberto, you will begin to sense the fifth element, Ushai, being activated as the potent energy of spiritual transformation awakens within you. By experiencing his profound mystical realizations through shamanic transmission, you will learn to express gratitude with each of the elements, leave behind those burdens you no longer need to carry, and discover how to fly higher in life.By Matt Miofsky. 2023
Daily prayer the Wesleyan wayPrayer is a spiritual practice, and daily prayer uses the repetition of forms and words to…
cultivate a deep, meaningful ritual, drawing the individual into an ever-closer relationship with God. This book is organized by liturgical season, but is undated, so the individual is free to begin using it at any point during the year. The book is concise and easy to use and includes the words of scripture and other necessary text. It is a simple, frictionless tool for spiritual health. The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer provides complete texts for Morning Prayers and Evening Prayers, with a new set of texts for each week of the year. Each week is anchored in its liturgical season: Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide, Pentecost, Sow & Rest (Ordinary Time), and Harvest & Create (Ordinary Time).Each set of prayers centers on a scripture passage, with an emphasis on the Psalms. The prayers draw from familiar historic, classic, and ancient Christian texts, and from Methodism’s rich hymnody. They also feature fresh, original words from new writers. This book facilitates deep daily connection with God--a method for spiritual sustenance.By Michael B. Shepherd. 2024
A comprehensive and orthodox guide to biblical origins and interpretation How did we get the Bible? How do we…
interpret it? And what does it mean for our lives today? Michael B. Shepherd introduces undergraduates and seminarians to these crucial questions in this reliable and thorough new textbook. Shepherd covers textual criticism, formation of the canon, and history of translation, all while remaining committed to Scripture&’s ultimate purpose—inviting us to salvation through Jesus Christ. Showing how the Bible directs its own interpretation, Shepherd encourages learners to listen to the Word of God, rather than twisting it to fit their own ends. His section-by-section treatment of the Bible encourages students to view the Bible as cohesive, while remaining sensitive to its diverse genres. Thorough and accessible, this textbook goes beyond typical historical introductions to spiritually form students learning to understand Scripture. An Introduction to the Making and Meaning of the Bible is the serious, evangelical introduction your students need and will reference for years to come.By Richard Elliott Friedman. 2001
In this groundbreaking and insightful new commentary, one of the world's leading biblical scholars unveils the unity and continuity of…
the Torah for the modern reader. Richard Elliott Friedman, the bestselling author of Who Wrote the Bible?, integrates the most recent discoveries in biblical archaeology and research with the fruits of years of experience studying and teaching the Bible to illuminate the straightforward meaning of the text -- "to shed new light on the Torah and, more important, to open windows through which it sheds its light on us."While other commentaries are generally collections of comments by a number of scholars, this is a unified commentary on the Torah by a single scholar, the most unified by a Jewish scholar in centuries. It includes the original Hebrew text, a new translation, and an authoritative, accessibly written interpretation and analysis of each passage that remains focused on the meaning of the Torah as a whole, showing how its separate books are united into one cohesive, all-encompassing sacred literary masterpiece. This landmark work is destined to take its place as a classic in the libraries of lay readers and scholars alike, as we seek to understand the significance of the scriptural texts for our lives today, and for years to come.By Suzannah Lipscomb. 2018
Part of the new Ladybird Expert series, Witchcraft is a clear, simple and entertaining introduction to the magical myths that…
have coloured the popular imagination for centuries. Written by celebrated historian and broadcaster Dr Suzannah Lipscomb, Witchcraft explores the moment in history when witches were perceived to be especially dangerous: the famous witch hunts between 1450 and 1750.Written by the leading lights and most outstanding communicators in their fields, the Ladybird Expert books provide clear, accessible and authoritative introductions to subjects drawn from science, history and culture.For an adult readership, the Ladybird Expert series is produced in the same iconic small hardback format pioneered by the original Ladybirds. Each beautifully illustrated book features the first new illustrations produced in the original Ladybird style for nearly forty years.By Joy A. Schroeder, Marion Ann Taylor. 2022
"An important, new contribution to biblical reception history that focuses on women's written words and calls on scholars and religious…
communities to recognize the contributions of women, past and present, who interpreted Scripture, preached, taught, and exercised a wide variety of ministries in churches and synagogues"-- Provided by publisher.By Dr Geza Vermes. 2005
The books of the New Testament are some of the most extraordinary documents ever created - brilliant, vivid works central…
to the lives of many millions of readers over the centuries. Yet, the picture they give of Jesus' world is a very partial one. Written thirty to eighty years after the events they describe and with very specific doctrinal aims they addressed a Greek-speaking audience when Christianity was at its most precarious. Geza Vermes, one of the world's foremost biblical scholars, is uniquely positioned to guide the reader through the many conundrums presented by the New Testament. Who's Who in the Age of Jesus is an ambitious and enjoyable attempt to sift through all the sources for the period to create biographies of the major (and some fascinating minor) figures from Jesus' era. The book allows readers to understand a Jewish, Roman and Hellenistic world crowded with explosive, mutually antagonistic groups - a world which would give rise both to a new Judaism and ultimately to Christianity. From detailed, convincing portraits of Jesus, John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, Herod and other key New Testament figures to the Jewish and Roman leaders like Hillel, Caiaphas, Augustus, Vespasian and Titus, hardly or not at all mentioned in the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles, Geza Vermes' illustrated Who's Who will throw much fresh light on the age of Jesus and provoke innumerable arguments and discussions.Thousands more people today are discovering how the nature-based beliefs of Wicca can help them to connect with the natural…
world and with a sense of their spiritual heritage. The eight Wiccan festivals mark the turning of the seasons. In The Wheel of the Wiccan Year, experienced Wiccan Gail Duff describes--The core beliefs of Wicca and the significance of the festivals--The eight festivals - what they mark; how they relate to traditional spiritual beliefs and to our lives today--How to celebrate the festivals through rituals, affirmations, meditations, activities and decorations, spells, songs and chants--How to create oils, candles, incense, food and wine for the celebrations--Rituals for the lone practitioner as well as for groupsThe Wheel of the Wiccan Year is the perfect reference book for the growing pagan market and for anyone who simply wishes to enrich their life by re-aligning it with the natural cycle of the year.By Richard B. Hays. 1996
A leading expert in New Testament ethics discovers in the biblical witness a unified ethical vision -- centered in the…
themes of community, cross and new creation -- that has profound relevance in today′s world. Richard Hays shows how the New Testament provides moral guidance on the most troubling ethical issues of our time, including violence, divorce, homosexuality and abortion.By Richard Elliott Friedman. 2003
One of the World's Foremost Bible Experts Offers a Groundbreaking Presentation of the Five Books of MosesIn The Bible with Sources…
Revealed, Richard Elliott Friedman offers a new, visual presentation of the Five Books of Moses -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy -- unlocking the complex and fascinating tapestry of their origins. Different colors and type styles allow readers to easily identify each of the distinct sources, showcasing Friedman's highly acclaimed and dynamic translation.NOTE: This book is meant to be experienced in color and the eBook is not compatible with black and white devices.L. Michael White, one of the world’s foremost scholars on the origins of Christianity, provides the complete, astonishing story of…
how Christianity grew from the personal vision of a humble Jewish peasant living in a remote province of the Roman Empire into the largest organized religion in the world.Rather than reading the New Testament straight through in its traditional, or “canonical” order, From Jesus to Christianity takes a historical approach. Looking at the individual books chronologically, in the sequence in which they were actually written, readers can see what they divulge about the disagreements, shared values, and unifying mission of the earliest Christian communities. White digs through layers of archaeological excavations, sifts through buried fragments of largely unknown texts, and examines historical sources to discover what we can know of Jesus.By Richard Elliott Friedman. 1998
Renowned biblical sleuth and scholar Richard Elliot Friedman reveals the first work of prose literature in the world-a 3000-year-old epic…
hidden within the books of the Hebrew Bible. Written by a single, masterful author but obscured by ancient editors and lost for millennia, this brilliant epic of love, deception, war, and redemption is a compelling account of humankind's complex relationship with God. Friedman boldly restores this prose masterpiece-the very heart of the Bible-to the extraordinary form in which it was originally written.The Fifth-Century Political Battles That Forever Changed the ChurchIn this fascinating account of the surprisingly violent fifth-century church, PhilipJenkins describes…
how political maneuvers by a handful of powerful charactersshaped Christian doctrine. Were it not for these battles, today’s church could beteaching something very different about the nature of Jesus, and the papacy as weknow it would never have come into existence. Jesus Wars reveals the profoundimplications of what amounts to an accident of history: that one faction ofRoman emperors and militia-wielding bishops defeated another.By Michael Haag. 2007
Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been…
shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades—sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church. A bestseller in the United Kingdom—the first history of the enigmatic warriors to include findings from the Chinon Parchment, the long-lost Vatican document absolving the Knights of heresy—The Templars by Michael Haagis fascinating reading.By Michael Haag. 2016
From the international bestselling author of The Templars and The Tragedy of the Templars comes a fascinating account of one…
of the most mysterious and controversial figures in religious history.Mary Magdalene is a larger figure than any text, larger than the Bible or the Church; she has taken on a life of her own. She has been portrayed as a penitent whore, a wealthy woman, Christ’s wife, an adulteress, a symbol of the frailty of women, and an object of veneration. And, to this day, she remains a potent and mysterious figure.In the manner of a quest, this book follows Mary Magdalene through the centuries, explores how she has been reinterpreted for every age, and examines what she herself reveals about woman and man and the divine. It seeks the real Mary Magdalene in the New Testament and in the gnostic gospels, where she is extolled as the chief disciple of Christ. It investigates how and why the Church recast her as a fallen woman, traces her story through the Renaissance when she became a goddess of beauty and love, and looks at Mary Magdalene as the feminist icon she has become today.By Richard Elliott Friedman. 2017
The Exodus has become a core tradition of Western civilization. Millions read it, retell it, and celebrate it. But did…
it happen?Biblical scholars, Egyptologists, archaeologists, historians, literary scholars, anthropologists, and filmmakers are drawn to it. Unable to find physical evidence until now, many archaeologists and scholars claim this mass migration is just a story, not history. Others oppose this conclusion, defending the biblical account.Like a detective on an intricate case no one has yet solved, pioneering Bible scholar and bestselling author of Who Wrote the Bible? Richard Elliott Friedman cuts through the noise — the serious studies and the wild theories — merging new findings with new insight. From a spectrum of disciplines, state-of-the-art archeological breakthroughs, and fresh discoveries within scripture, he brings real evidence of a historical basis for the exodus — the history behind the story. The biblical account of millions fleeing Egypt may be an exaggeration, but the exodus itself is not a myth.Friedman does not stop there. Known for his ability to make Bible scholarship accessible to readers, Friedman proceeds to reveal how much is at stake when we explore the historicity of the exodus. The implications, he writes, are monumental. We learn that it became the starting-point of the formation of monotheism, the defining concept of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Moreover, we learn that it precipitated the foundational ethic of loving one’s neighbors — including strangers — as oneself. He concludes, the actual exodus was the cradle of global values of compassion and equal rights today.By Sister Joan Chittister. 1990
By John Temple Bristow. 2011
John Temple Bristow’s What Paul Really Said About Women challenges the traditional understanding of St. Paul's epistles and sexism in…
the modern church.Attempting to reconcile the Apostle Paul’s scripture about women being submissive to men in Ephesians 5 with his words in Galatians 3 that there is no male or female and everyone is “one in Christ Jesus”, John Temple Bristow uncovered differences between Paul’s original Greek Ephesians writings and the English version translation that indicates a deliberate alteration of the text’s meaning in favor of men. Provocative and revelatory, Bristow’s book explores not only What Paul Really Said About Women, but the history and culture of the church that misinterpreted his message.“A convincing case for equality of the sexes based on the very passages that are all too often used as proof texts to uphold male dominance and female subordination. . . . For any person who reveres scripture but who struggles with traditional interpretations of passages concerning women and who fears that a desire for equality between the sexes is a violation of biblical principles, this book is a must.” —Letha Dawson Scanzoni, co-author of All We’re Meant to Be“Bristow acquits Paul of misogyny and restores him to his rightful stature as a great architect of human liberation. Even more importantly, Bristow urges contemporary churches . . . to follow the radically egalitarian vision of the apostle Paul.” —Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author of Women, Men, and the Bible“Cuts through much misguided rhetoric to display the actual enhancement of women’s status in early Christian culture.” —Timothy L. Smith, author of Called Unto HolinessBy Angeles Arrien. 1988
A leading expert on native spirituality and shamanism reveals the four archetypal principles of the Native American medicine wheel and…
how they can lead us to a higher spirituality and a better world.