Religion Religions Religious

Accounts of seemingly impossible phenomena abounded in the early modern era—tales of levitation, bilocation, and witchcraft—even as skepticism, atheism, and empirical science were starting to supplant religious belief in the paranormal. In this book, Carlos Eire explores how a culture increasingly devoted to scientific thinking grappled with events deemed impossible by its leading intellectuals.

Inspiring stalwarts like the Beatles, Steve Jobs and Ravi Shankar, Autobiography of a Yogi is an immensely gratifying spiritual work that has altered and enriched the lives of millions across the world since it was first published in 1946. An originative text that tells the story of Paramahansa Yogananda, this book has been revered for its memorable, incisive and instructive teachings. This spiritual autobiography will take you on an incredible journey of Indian mysticism and spirituality and deliver humbling, comforting truths about life and existence.

The lessons taught by ancient Chinese philosophers surprisingly still apply, and they challenge our fundamental assumptions about how to lead a fulfilled, happy, and successful life. Self-discovery, it turns out, comes through looking outward, not inward. Power comes from holding back. Good relationships come from small gestures. Spontaneity comes from practice. And excellence comes from what you choose to do, not your "natural" abilities.

You’ve felt the feeling before - the one where you feel lost in the world, where you believe that everyone else has a place but yourself. The truth is we all experience moments when we feel uncertain about the future, and uncertain about ourselves. To cope with this, ancient civilizations used specialized tools that are still present today. One of them is numerology, which has been around since the sixth century BC and has been used throughout the ages to reveal the secrets of your personality, purpose, and relationships.

In this “eloquent understanding of how death is viewed through many spiritual traditions” (Publishers Weekly, starred review), Bart Ehrman recounts the long history of the afterlife, ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell, in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for those who are damned.

Before his death in 1968, Padre Pio was known throughout the world as a very holy man—many even called him a living saint. This humble Italian priest who bore the wounds of Christ received thousands of letters and visitors each year, seeking his spiritual counsel, healing, and prayer. Padre Pio’s intense spirituality and holiness remain legendary and life-changing. This is the comprehensive life story of the priest who became world famous for his stigmata, miracles, and supernatural insights.

Both astonishing and prophetic, The Abolition of Man remains one of C. S. Lewis's most controversial works. Lewis sets out to persuade his audience of the ongoing importance and relevance of universal objective values, such as courage and honor, and the foundational necessity of natural law. He also makes a cogent case that a retreat from these pillars of our educational system, even if in the name of "scientism", would be catastrophic. National Review lists it as number seven on their "100 Best Nonfiction Books of the 20th Century".

This provocative book starts with an unlikely interview in which America's foremost skeptic builds a seemingly persuasive case against the miraculous. But then Strobel travels the country to quiz scholars to see whether they can offer solid answers to atheist objections. Along the way, he encounters astounding accounts of healings and other phenomena that simply cannot be explained away by naturalistic causes. The book features the results of exclusive new scientific polling that shows miracle accounts are much more common than people think.

America has a God-shaped hole in its heart, argues New York Times best-selling author Ben Shapiro, and we shouldn't fill it with politics and hate.

In the book of Genesis, God bestows a new name upon Abram - Abraham, a father of many nations. With this name and his covenant, Abraham would become the patriarch of three of the world's major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Connected by their mutual - if differentiated - veneration of the one God proclaimed by Abraham, these traditions share much beyond their origins in the ancient Israel of the Old Testament. This Very Short Introduction audiobook explores the intertwined histories of these monotheistic religions.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Leo Tolstoy is a philosophical treatise first published in Germany in 1894 after being banned in his home country of Russia. The work is the culmination of 30 years of Tolstoy's thinking, and sets out rules for a new organization of society, based on an interpretation of Christianity which focuses on universal love. In a bold and original way, Tolstoy shows his audiences why violence of any type - even that sanctioned by the state or the church - must be rejected.

Here is an impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. This important and timely work delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes.

Beginning with Jesus' birth, Ken Bailey leads you on a kaleidoscopic study of Jesus throughout the four Gospels. Bailey examines the life and ministry of Jesus with attention to the Lord's Prayer, the Beatitudes, Jesus' relationship to women, and especially Jesus' parables. Through it all, Bailey employs his trademark expertise as a master of Middle Eastern culture to lead you into a deeper understanding of the person and significance of Jesus within his own cultural context.

Tim Reiterman's Raven provides the seminal history of the Rev. Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple, and the murderous ordeal at Jonestown in 1978. This PEN Award-winning work explores the ideals gone wrong, the intrigue, and the grim realities behind the Peoples Temple and its implosion in the jungle of South America.

This rich and magisterial work traces Palestine's millennia-old heritage, uncovering cultures and societies of astounding depth and complexity that stretch back to the very beginnings of recorded history.

With great wit and stunning intellect - drawing on a diverse array of faiths, including Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christian mysticism, and Islam - Huxley examines the spiritual beliefs of various religious traditions and explains how they are united by a common human yearning to experience the divine. The Perennial Philosophy includes selections from Meister Eckhart, Rumi, and Lao Tzu, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Diamond Sutra, and Upanishads, among many others.

Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of the influential voices past and present that have shaped his side of the current (and raging) God/no-god debate. With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you'll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, and more.

A Silent Patriarch is the first scholarly biography of the desert hermit who became a most unlikely patriarch. Until now, the details of his life have remained hidden. As patriarch, Kyrillos inherited a bleeding church, one confronted by political Islamism, an indifferent Muslim president, and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In 2007, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett filmed a landmark discussion about modern atheism. The video went viral. Now, the transcript of their conversation is illuminated by new essays from three of the original participants and an introduction by Stephen Fry.

In this book of key spiritual teachings recorded by one his translators, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, teaches us that we’re not limited to the body. Because of our mistaken body identity, we feel separate from what we truly are. Our identification with the body and mind subjects us to endless cycles of pleasure and pain, desire and fear, which cause us to search beyond ourselves for that which we believe we lack.