Ancient Religion

Beginning with the life of Jesus, Robert Louis Wilken narrates the dramatic spread and development of Christianity over the first thousand years of its history. Moving through the formation of early institutions, practices, and beliefs to the transformations of the Roman world after the conversion of Constantine, he sheds new light on the subsequent stories of Christianity in the Latin West, the Byzantine and Slavic East, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

In this stunning novel of passion, power, and redemption, a forgotten princess in ancient Egypt must overcome her family’s past and remake history—from the internationally bestselling author of Nefertiti and Maria. “Moran’s careful attention to detail and her artful storytelling bring...

A concise and elegant treatise on occultism and high magic in Greece and Egypt, The Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece will introduce you to the seven hermetic principles, a foundation upon which one can build their own personal spiritual path.

Traditionally, the Orthodox Church has appointed forty days of rest and seclusion after childbirth for mothers to recover from the rigors of birth and get to know their new babies. In the modern world, it can be difficult to understand how to use this time to the fullest in the way it was intended. The authors of A Sacred Beginning—a therapist and a pediatrician who are both mothers themselves—come to the rescue with a resource that addresses the spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects of a mother's recovery from birth and embarkation on her new life.

From self-realization and self-promotion to self-help and the selfie, the modern world encourages us to be self-obsessed. We are even told that finding ourselves is the key to happiness. Better to lose yourself! More than 2,500 years ago, the Buddha argued that the self is an illusion—and that our belief in it is the cause of most, if not all, of our suffering. How to Lose Yourself presents lively, accessible, and expert new translations of ancient Buddhist writings about the central, unique, and powerful Buddhist teaching of "no-self."

Demons, jinn, possession, sinister artifacts, and gruesome archaeological discoveries haunt this new book by Dr. Heather Lynn. Evil Archaeology investigates the archaeological record for artifacts and evidence of evil entities, revealing how demons from the ancient world may be dwelling among us. It also looks at the history and lore behind real relics believed to be haunted and includes historical accounts of demonic possession that go as far back as King Solomon invoking demons to help him build his famed temple.

The ancient Hebrew prophet Daniel lived in the fifth century BC and accurately predicted the history of the nation of Israel from 536 BC to AD 1948. Commentary from the ancient rabbis and the first century church reveals how the messianic rabbis and the disciples of the apostles interpreted his prophecies.

The ancient historian Josephus is key to a proper understanding of the time of Christ and the early church era. This recording, an abridged paraphrase of two Josephus histories, will transport you back in time to the period 37 B.C. to A.D. 70, from the time Herod took Jerusalem to become "King of the Jews," to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

First published in 1909, this book consists of a series of lectures, first given in Pullman Memorial Church, Albion, New York. The purpose of these lectures is to consider the origin and nature of the Ancient Mysteries and Modern Masonry and to show the relation which they bear one to the other. Chapters include The Egyptian, Hindu and Persian Mysteries, The Christian Mysteries, The Meaning Of True Initiation, Masonic History, and The Origin and History of the Knights Templars.

Ásatrú is a spiritual belief system based around the pre-Christian folklore and mythology of Northern Europe. It gained popularity in the 1970s across Europe and North America and is still thriving today, sought out for its nondogmatic structure and emphasis on individuality, hospitality, and community-based values. Ásatrú for Beginners is a newcomer's guide to this spirituality.

For more than a century, archaeologists have been unearthing the tombs, temples, texts, and artifacts of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world. Using new approaches, contemporary scholars have begun to synthesize this material with the biblical traditions. The Oxford History of the Biblical World incorporates the best of this scholarship, and in chronologically ordered chapters presents the listener with an integrated study of the history, art, architecture, languages, literatures, and religion of biblical Israel and early Judaism and Christianity in their larger cultural contexts.

Ancient astrology offers individuals a new way of looking at the movement of the stars and celestial bodies and, through that, the world around them. It offers you the opportunity to add a unique level of depth to your astrological readings and allows you to make a more holistic analysis of a person’s natal chart, looking at both the positives and negatives.

Written by the medieval Indian Buddhist monk Shantideva, The Bodhicaryavatara is one of the most beloved and frequently taught works in Buddhism and a favorite of the Dalai Lama. An inspiring and powerful poem that uses a gripping, first-person, confessional voice, it is the most systematic work of ethical thought in the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition. And its invaluable insights, exhortations, and encouragements about how we can relieve suffering by becoming more caring and compassionate are universal.

"SPLENDID . . . Eminently sane and patient . . . Essential reading for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike." --The Washington Post Venerated for millennia by three faiths, torn by irreconcilable conflict, conquered, rebuilt, and mourned for again and again, Jerusalem is a sacred city whose very...

For us to perceive any of the worlds that exist beside our own, not only do we have to covet them but we need to have sufficient energy to seize them. In this revolutionary book, Carlos Castaneda offers listeners the key to this energetic conditioning for the first time, revealing a series of body positions and physical movements that enabled various sorcerers to navigate their own sorceric journeys. By sharing this wisdom, Carlos Castaneda makes it possible for listeners to travel to some of these other realms, which are as real, unique, absolute, and engulfing as our own world.

Surprised by Christ combines an engrossing memoir of one man's life in historic times and situations from the Six-Day War to the Civil Rights Movement to the Jesus Movement in Berkeley with an examination of the distinctives of Orthodox theology that make the Orthodox Church the true home not only for Christian Jews, but for all who seek to know God as fully as he may be known.

You've probably heard of St. Raphael Hawaweeny, St. Alexander Hotovitsky, liturgical translator Isabel Hapgood, and other righteous men and women who made their mark on the early development of Orthodoxy in America. But what about the notorious itinerant Bulgarian Monk? Or Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first black Orthodox priest in America? Or Vera Johnston, who served the Orthodox Church without renouncing her Theosophist roots?

A fresh reading of the Old Testament text in light of the ancient Near Eastern context can open new avenues of awareness. Walton provides a clear, helpful guide to the nature of biblical prophecy and apocalyptic literature that will help listeners avoid potential misuse and reclaim the message of the prophets for their lives.

The author of the international bestseller Shantaram takes us on a gripping personal journey of wonder and insight into science, belief, faith and devotion. Drawing on sacred traditions, rigorous logic and the six-year instruction of his spiritual teacher, Roberts describes the step-by-step...

What would you do for twenty-four hours if the only criteria were to pursue your deepest joy? Dan Allender's lyrical book about the Sabbath expels the myriad myths about this "day of rest," starting with the one that paints the Sabbath as a day of forced quiet, spiritual exercises, and religious...