Biblical Culture

In Holy Disunity: How What Separates Us Can Save Us, Layton E. Williams proposes that our primary calling as humans is not to create unity but rather to seek authentic relationship with God, ourselves, one another, and the world around us. And that means actively engaging those with whom we disagree. Our religious, political, social, and cultural differences can create doubt and tension, but disunity also provides surprising gifts of perspective and grace.

Who was Priscilla? Readers of the Bible may know her as the wife of Aquila, Paul's coworker, or someone who explained baptism to Apollos. Biblical references to Priscilla spark questions: Why is she mentioned before her husband? Does the mention of her instruction of Apollos mean that women taught in the church? What is her story?

The origin of Western Civilization is traced to its beginning 4,000 years ago. The culture and economic and political hegemony of Western Civilization today was planned by a mind that resides outside of time. In the process of that story, you will find answers to some interesting questions; you may also find your Christian faith strengthened or - if you're a non-believer - you may have new reasons for taking another look at that way of life.

From the earliest oral traditions to ink on parchment and ultimately the printing press, this is the story behind the best-selling book of all time. Original texts were captured and passed down from generation to generation by elders and leaders, many inked by hand in extreme conditions. Christians and Jews canonized the Christian, Catholic, and Hebrew Bibles over a period of thousands of years. Devoted people dedicated their lives throughout time to put this unique book into the hands of people worldwide.

This remarkable work paints a comprehensive and colorful picture of the world that Jesus knew. From detailed, convincing portraits of John the Baptist, Pontius Pilate, Herod, Jesus himself, and other key figures, to the Jewish and Hellenistic leaders often ignored in scripture, Who's Who in the Age of Jesus is a critical, in-depth look at one of the most tumultuous eras in human history.

1 Clement exhorts Christians to imitate the examples of Old Testament heroes like Moses and Elijah, to submit to godly leadership for the sake of harmony, and to pursue holiness in every aspect of life. Far more than a dry treatise, it pulses with the urgency of a faith tested by persecution and the hope of new life in Christ.

In this full-length audiobook of the Odes of Solomon, you'll experience 42 early Christian poems brought to life through clear, heartfelt narration. Composed between the first and third centuries CE by Jewish-Christian communities, these hymns lay hidden in Syriac manuscripts until their 19th-century rediscovery. As you listen, you'll follow their journey from dusty desert scrolls to today's speakers, feel their powerful messages of divine love and rebirth, and lose yourself in the vivid, poetic language that has inspired readers for generations.

Meet Daniel. A Transformed Man Who Transformed His World. What does an ancient Jewish prophet have to do with modern America? What, if anything, can we learn from a man who lived 2,400 years ago as a captive in the land we now call Iraq? As it turns out, quite a bit. David and Jason Benham are...

According to one song, “today is only yesterday’s tomorrow” - which means that tomorrow starts today! But we aren’t going to see our future by looking at the past. Yes, we need to celebrate and honor what has brought us to where we are. However, it will not be enough to get us to what God has in store. We need to let go of the old to receive the new.

Esaias is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew name, Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet. In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Isaiah is considered one of the major prophetic books, so named because of the size of the books. The books of the major prophets are made up of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. This is not to say the major prophets are any more important, but only that the books are larger than books written by other prophets, called the minor prophets.

Do we have anything in common with the bad guys of the Bible? The sins of wrath, idolatry, and abuse of power are closer to us than we think. How do we guard against them? We learn not only by following moral exemplars; we also need to look at the warnings of lives gone wrong. In this fictionalized narrative, JR. Forasteros reintroduces us to some of the most villainous characters of Scripture. He shows us what we can learn from their negative examples, with figures such as Cain, Jezebel, and even Satan serving as cautionary tales of sin and temptation.

The text known as "Second Enoch," was discovered in 1886 by Professor Sokolov in the archives of the Belgrade Public Library. The Second Book of Enoch, or 2 Enoch was written in the latter half of the first century A.D. but had gone through alterations and additions to make it more acceptable to the Christian community. It was written in Slavonic, but had evidence of being translated from another language.

In The Bible’s Cutting Room Floor, acclaimed author and translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman gives us the stories and other texts that didn’t make it into the Bible even though they offer penetrating insight into the Bible and its teachings. The Book of Genesis tells us about Adam and Eve’s time in the Garden of Eden, but not their saga after they get kicked out or the lessons they have for us about good and evil.

The Book of Job tells us of two wild and untamable creatures, Leviathan and Behemoth. Some believe they are literal animals, alive or extinct, some even believe they were dinosaurs. Others say they are only mythological or symbolic monsters. The truth will surprise everyone. Author Brian Godawa, respected Christian and best-selling author of When Giants Were Upon the Earth, expounds in biblical and historical detail the true theological meaning of these chaos monsters in the Bible.

If you are of Caucasian-European background, a magnificent bequest awaits you. It is a little known fact that Anglo-Saxon and related people of central and northwest Europe are direct genetic descendants of the ancient Israelites. Although this is not a new idea, it has been largely forgotten. This book presents powerful evidence from historical documentation, archaeology, linguistic analysis, as well as internal biblical evidence from both the Old and New Testament. The implications of this thesis will alter the way you view yourself, the Bible, and the world we live in.

After her brother died unexpectedly and her mother moved into a dementia-care facility, spiritual travel writer and Episcopal deacon Lori Erickson felt called to a new quest: to face death head-on, with the eye of a tourist and the heart of a pastor. Blending memoir, spirituality, and travel, Near the Exit examines how cultures confront and have confronted death by investigating Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Mayan temples, Colorado cremation pyres, Day of the Dead celebrations, Maori settlements, and tourist-destination graveyards.

Waiting for Our Souls to Catch Up invites listeners to begin a journey of the heart and mind in which a small effort of faith, guided by reason, can yield huge spiritual dividends. From the small rituals that enhance our daily lives to the study of the historical and scriptural legacy shared by the world's great religions, Waiting for Our Souls to Catch Up is an intelligent guide to the wisdom of the ages.

Die Geschichte von Evas Apfel, die Mauer von Jericho oder die heiligen drei Könige kennt jedes Kind. Aber wussten Sie, dass Eva gar keinen Apfel gegessen hat, die Mauern von Jericho nie tatsächlich einstürzten und von drei heiligen Königen in der Bibel gar nichts steht? Der Bibelwissenschaftler Simone Paganini räumt auf mit uralten Mythen rund um altbekannte Bibelgeschichten. Mit spannenden Erkenntnissen aus dem Bereich der Bibelwissenschaften, Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte nimmt er seine Leser mit in die Welt der Bibel und erzählt, was wirklich hinter den Bibelgeschichten steckt.

The Bible. God inspired it. But who wrote it? The Bible is called "the Word of God" because God inspired it, but that's not precisely the same as saying that He wrote it. In fact, the Bible itself contains dozens of statements showing who the human authors were. As with so many things in our world, God the Almighty did His work through human agents, agents that He moved to write down the words by which He has inspired, informed, and encouraged His people for thousands of years.

What do Christians believe about human sexuality? In Mere Sexuality, author and pastor Todd Wilson presents the historic Christian consensus about human sexuality, the Great Tradition of the church for centuries as taught in each of its major expressions - Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant...