Early Religions

In vivid detail, author Jay Lampart lays out several reasons why the Internet pornography crisis Christian males are facing today is so unique and dire. He then presents five very simple but highly effective weapons that are available to us as Christians to combat it.

Did the early Church expect to escape the final persecution—or to endure it? For more than a century, modern pre-tribulation rapture theology has promised believers a “Great Escape” from the rise of the Antichrist and the final tribulation. Yet this teaching did not originate with Jesus, the apostles, or the early Church. In The Great Escape Delusion, Bible teacher Glenn Langohr examines this doctrine in light of Scripture and the unified witness of early Christian writers.

In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors.

Ever wondered if there were more writings from the first few centuries by Christians? Well the answer is - yes! There is much that the early Christians left us and they are available in this day and time. The New Testament is our rock to stand upon, but there are other works that we can glean from that are filled with godly wisdom and virtue. The 1st Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians is just that kind of work that can further your walk with Christ in this present day.

The book not only provides a vivid window into the world of early Christianity but also offers spiritual encouragement and inspiration for Christian life today.

The idea of a distinctive Messiah, with a specific role, was not definitively established across all the Jewish movements of the Second Temple era. Some groups expected multiple messiahs, and some did not expect one at all. Our focus is on the topic of the Messiah and how different groups understood this office. We can draw some understanding regarding an expectation of a Messiah. The Messiah is generally understood to be a person who at the end of history or the present world order will bring salvation to Israel.

While many histories of Christian worship exist, this project undertakes a task both more focused and more urgent. Rather than survey the whole history of the Christian church, it focuses on the formative period between the first and fifth centuries CE, when so many of the understandings and patterns of Christian worship came to be. And rather than include such developments as the monastic hours of prayer and the history of ordination, the authors deal primarily with those aspects of worship that recur on a weekly or regular basis: preaching, Eucharist, and baptism.

Moms, get ready to reclaim your grace with this tender collection of stories, vibrantly recounted by two women working to embrace God's presence during their own parenting journeys. Each narrative reflection opens with scripture and concludes with a practice or questions to ponder, followed by a prayer. Spanning infancy to early childhood, The Beauty of Motherhood encourages mothers and caregivers to take a deep breath and find the holy in those everyday moments that inspire laughter, frustration, and awe.

Harry Houdini’s Miracle Mongers and Their Methods is an early investigation into scams, spiritual fraud, stage magic, and belief manipulation—documenting how miracle workers, psychic mediums, and faith healers exploited public fascination with the supernatural. Written before the age of social media and viral deception, the book reveals patterns of belief and persuasion that continue to shape modern conspiracy culture and online spectacle.

A central figure in Christian tradition, Mary of Nazareth is both pivotal in theologies of the incarnation and a source of theological controversy. In this volume, bible scholar and priest Christopher Bryan examines the role of Mary in the theology of the first generations of Christians. Considering every reference to Mary in the New Testament in the order that the biblical texts were written, Mary of Nazareth situates biblical texts' treatment of Mary within first-century culture and examines changing theologies of Mary and the incarnation among the earliest generations of Christians

Masonic scholar Manly P. Hall offers some well-researched insights into early human philosophy and history that helped solidify the basis of knowledge for what would eventually become Freemasonry, one day. He covers Freemasonry’s origins in biblical fables, the Dionysiac Architects, Solomon and the personification of Universal Wisdom, and lastly, Freemasonry’s priceless heritage.

In Detestable and Wicked Arts, Paul B. Moyer places early New England's battle against black magic in a transatlantic perspective. Moyer provides an accessible and comprehensive examination of witch prosecutions in the Puritan colonies that discusses how their English inhabitants understood the crime of witchcraft, why some people ran a greater risk of being accused of occult misdeeds, and how gender intersected with witch-hunting.

Through a close exegetical reading of Paul's letters, this volume shows how Paul prioritized moral formation and community-building in his pastoral ministry and placed the practice of communal discernment in churches at the heart of life in the Spirit. Applying these fundamental insights for today's churches, Lewis reclaims Paul's primary pastoral emphasis on moral discernment and community-building, showing how this practice can be used in a variety of local church communities.

In this brief yet penetrating book, Dr. James Papandrea reveals what the early Church Fathers actually taught and believed about the Holy Scriptures as well as how they read, understood, and interpreted the Word of God. He explains the process by which the books of the Bible were selected and demonstrates the harmoniousness and complementarity of the Gospels. With Dr. Papandrea’s guidance, you will see how Scripture attests to the truth of the sacraments, Catholic doctrines, and the hierarchy of the Church founded by Christ.

Few Biblical figures are as intriguing and mysterious as Enoch. He is mentioned only a few times in the canonical Hebrew Bible, but the impact of his story went on to affect the theology of many books written during the Second Temple Era. It also set the foundation for the development of many of the ideas found in the early Christian movement. Enoch’s importance continued beyond the destruction of the Temple and survived in a new form in later rabbinic tradition. Discover the mystery of Enoch, and the fascinating impact it had on the development of Judaism and Christianity.

For more than three decades, Dr. Thomas Horn was a proficient Bible scholar and pioneer who addressed with perceptive wisdom and discernment serious and controversial questions most religious scholars wouldn’t touch. Now back in circulation for the first time since 1998, this book is a republication of two of Tom's earliest works. In Spiritual Warfare: The Invisible Invasion and Gods Who Walk Among Us, Horn brings insight to our troubling times and assurance of God's eventual victory over darkness.

The Protestant conviction that believers would rise again, in bodily form, after death, shaped their attitudes towards personal and religious identity, community, empire, progress, race, and the environment. In To Walk the Earth Again, Christopher Trigg explores the political dimension of Anglo-American Protestant writing about the future resurrection of the dead, examining texts written between the seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries.

Every missionary matters to our heavenly father. After becoming ill with a life-threatening parasite and being sent home after serving for only six months, Kristen Danner Reber has experienced firsthand the struggles that come with being released from a mission early. Perfect for returned missionaries, their family, and their leaders, this audiobook will help you navigate through the mixed emotions of an early release for any reason and press forward with faith.

The Theragatha is one of the most striking texts in the Pali Canon. It is a collection of 264 poems or verses - some short, some long - by monks who, traditionally, lived at the time of the Buddha, and which expressed their experience of insight, the culmination of their spiritual path. In fact, it is generally recognised now that this collection was added to over the years, so that some of the verses date from a later time.

Studying the views and lifestyles of your forerunners in the faith can provide incredible guidance for how you live out your spiritual convictions today. In Wisdom from the Ancients, author and scholar Bryan Litfin paints a vivid portrait of the first five centuries of the Christian church, packed with fascinating history and applicable insights for modern believers.