Religious Biographies

Herman Bavinck looms large as one of the nineteenth century's greatest Christian thinkers, contributing much to modern Reformed theology. Yet, despite his theological prowess, Bavinck was first and foremost concerned with being “a worthy follower of Jesus.” In this book, John Bolt―editor of the English edition of Bavinck’s four-volume masterpiece, Reformed Dogmatics―brings the great Dutch theologian’s life and work to bear on following Jesus in the twenty-first century, helping us see the direct connection between robust theology, practical holiness, and personal joy.

At the age of 17, Spurgeon became pastor to a handful of believers at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire, meeting in what had been a dovecote. Within five years, he had become the best-known minister in London. Two years later, following the Sepoy Mutiny, he conducted a service of national humiliation in the Crystal Palace that was attended by 24,000 people. But this volume is far from being a record of human fame and success....

35 Wives opens with 37-year-old Mormon prophet Joseph Smith marrying 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball. Was it a sacred ceremony? Or was it the rape of a vulnerable girl by a predatory prophet under cover of religious sponsorship? For 120 years, Mormon apologists have argued it was holy matrimony. Telling Helen and her sisters’ stories, 35 Wives is the counter thrust to the Church’s sacred mendacity. Was Joseph a saint or a sinner? Written from an energetic outsider’s POV, 35 Wives is a naturalistic dissection of Joseph and the Church’s truth claims for a skeptical general audience.

When she arrived at a clinic, usually five hundred, sometimes a thousand people were there to greet her. Helen's reputation as the unstoppable Mama Luka had gone before her—she could do more to heal a sick child or baby than all the witch doctors in the area combined. This was the work God had called her to pioneer, and that belief encouraged her.

How is it possible that a chain-smoking socialist, a teenage video gamer, an opium addict, a satanic high priest, a disabled beggar, and a self-absorbed mean girl became saints? Popular itinerant missionary Meg Hunter-Kilmer will stretch your preconceived notions of holiness by exploring the lesser-known lives of seventy-five extraordinary people whose human struggles and limitations reveal the power of God's grace.

Neem Karoli Baba, known to his followers as Maharaj-ji, was a mystic saint and devotee of Hanuman. Maharaj-ji’s teachings were simple and universal. He often said, “Sub Ek”—All is One. He taught us to “love everyone, serve everyone, remember God, and tell the truth.” Strongly connected to Hanuman, God in the form of a monkey, Maharaj-ji taught in a highly personalized, non-traditional way that reflected the deep devotion of the bhakti path of the heart. Here is the essence of his remarkable life and teachings.

In the 1970s, against the backdrop of the explosive Watergate scandal, Charles Colson revealed the story of his own search for meaning during the tumultuous investigations that led to the collapse of the Nixon administration. A convicted former special counsel to the president, Colson paradoxically found new life - not with success and power, but while in national disgrace and serving a prison sentence.

Throughout the autobiography, Spurgeon records those aspects of life that only an autobiography can: his family circle, the daily labor behind his public works, and the feelings which led him to resist the reformation of the Faith of the Churches. Above all, he records his experiences of God's grace.

In this concise biography, best-selling author John Piper introduces listeners to this incredible Christian who - although he never served abroad himself - inspired the modern missionary movement that gave rise to such figures as William Carey and Hudson Taylor. Working tirelessly to raise funds for missionaries in the field and championing the importance of sound doctrine for fruitfulness in missions, Fuller stands as an example to all Christians eager to devote themselves to the true gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

In the first four decades of his life as a Trappist monk, Thomas Keating created a comprehensive, unified psychospiritual pathway leading from healing to holiness and from contemporary psychological wellness to classic mystical sanctity and beatitude. As one of the key innovators of the meditative practice of Centering Prayer, he fashioned a powerful on-ramp to the Christian contemplative tradition. Yet, as beloved author and Keating disciple Cynthia Bourgeault shows, that was not the end of Keating’s story.

Considerada una de las obras más relevantes del siglo XX, Autobiografía de un yogui es el relato en primera persona de una vida extraordinaria. Paramahansa Yogananda nos cuenta en ella cómo parte de su pueblo natal a la búsqueda de su gurú. El suyo será solamente el primer encuentro con sabios y místicos, que, a través de estas páginas, nos acercan su saber.

When Mark McDonough was a teen, a catastrophic fire claimed the lives of his mother and younger brother. It also left Mark with burns on over 65 percent of his body. During a long and painful recovery, his faltering faith in God was strengthened by a remarkable near-death experience. Inspired to pursue a career as a plastic surgeon to help those who suffer as he has, McDonough has overcome numerous other adversities on his journey, including addiction and a stroke.

One of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the history of Western thought, St Thomas Aquinas established the foundations for much of modern philosophy of religion, and is famous for his arguments for the existence of God. In this cogent and multifaceted introduction to the great saint's work, Edward Feser argues that you cannot fully understand Aquinas' philosophy without his theology, and vice-versa. He covers Aquinas' thoughts on the soul, natural law, metaphysics, and more.

In the wake of his deeply powerful viral videos ("Before You Call the Cops" and "Walking While Black"), Tyler Merritt shares his experiences as a black man in America with truth, humor, and poignancy. Tyler Merritt's video "Before You Call the Cops" has been viewed millions of times. He's...

Nearly a decade after Spain's conquest of Mexico, the future of Christianity on the American continent was very much in doubt. Confronted with a hostile colonial government and Native Americans wary of conversion, the newly-appointed bishop-elect of Mexico wrote to tell the King of Spain that, unless there was a miracle, the continent would be lost.

Alban Butler was born in England and worked for a time as a Roman Catholic missionary priest. He was later appointed president of an English seminary in France. His primary literary work, the Lives of the Saints, was published between 1756 and 1759.

Este libro ofrece un recorrido claro, profundo y humanizado por la vida y el pensamiento de Tomás de Aquino, una de las figuras más influyentes de la historia intelectual de Occidente. Desde sus orígenes nobles en el siglo XIII, su batalla interior por la vocación y sus años de estudio en París, hasta la construcción de sus grandes obras y el impacto de su legado, el lector descubre no sólo al teólogo y filósofo, sino también al hombre: el fraile corpulento y silencioso, el profesor paciente, el creyente que al final llamó “paja” a todo lo que había escrito ante el misterio de Dios.

This audiobook offers a vast look at the life of St. Teresa. Authored by her own hand, she details her life and experiences, along with her mystical encounters with God.

Father Ed is the first biography of Father Edward Dowling, SJ, whose guidance transformed Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson’s life and deepened the spirituality of the twelve-step movement.

Henry Bennion Eyring was born on May 31, 1933, in Princeton, New Jersey, bearing the first name of his father, who was fast building a reputation as a brilliant scientist, and the family name of his mother, who didn't care for the name "Henry" and insisted that he be called Hal. In 1970, Hal received an impression to make a daily record of his activities. Years of journals form the backbone of this personal biography, a candid look at his walk through life with his beloved companion, Kathy.