Religious Biographies

St. Ignatius, first-century Bishop of Antioch, called the “God-bearer”, is one of the earliest witnesses to the truth of Christ and the nature of the Christian life. Tradition tells us that as a small child, Ignatius was singled out by Jesus himself as an example of the childlike faith all Christians must possess. In Bearing God, Father Andrew Damick recounts the life of this great pastor, martyr, and saint, and interprets for the modern listener five major themes in the pastoral letters he wrote.

David, King of the Jews, possessed every flaw and failing of which a mortal is capable, yet men and women adored him, and God showered him with many blessings. A charismatic leader, exalted as "a man after God's own heart", he was also capable of deep cunning and bloodthirsty violence.

At age six, Katherine Spallino is separated from her parents and sent to train for her future in the Church of Scientology’s clergy—the Sea Organization. Naively happy at first, she thinks it’s a fun adventure to live in a Scientology-owned dorm room in Los Angeles with thirteen other girls, rarely seeing her parents and never going to a normal school. She’s committed to her Scientology studies and her life’s purpose of clearing the planet.

This book is an autobiography of my life growing up in a fundamentalist Mormon cult. The story details a life of living polygamy with three wives with struggles, triumphs, and family drama. After forty-five years I found my way out of the cult mentality and peace in a new life experience.

Can we bring back the simple rationality amongst ourselves? In this book, I share with you an 'inner channel' as I walked my religious journey. I answer the most deep-seated questions that I have had to address in my life, on these 2 hot modern subjects. This is, indeed, an exclusive interview about my life as both a Christian and a Scientologist. How do we end up with religious extremists amongst us? Whatever happened to understanding? Sincerity? Friendship. Where did the love go?

She has become a legend. Brilliant, personable, and passionate, she is arguably the most gifted of all Irish woman writers of Christian literature. Until her death in 1951, she devoted 50 years of her life to rescuing babies and children from dangerous backgrounds in India. As Bingham tried to uncover the heart and conscience of this extraordinarily self-effacing legend, he is on record as saying that it proved to be one of the greatest spiritual experiences of his life, and in this biography, listeners will find spiritual gold.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, commonly referred to as “the Doctor,” had a successful career in medicine before abandoning it all to become a preacher in London. His sermons—displaying the life-changing power of biblical truth—diagnosed the spiritual condition of his congregation and prescribed the gospel remedy. This study of Lloyd-Jones’s life will encourage and exhort listeners to consider the role of the knowledge of God, the power of the Spirit, and the fullness of Christ in their daily lives, allowing them to discover the inseparable union of doctrine and the Christian life.

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians provides access into an underrepresented and misunderstood community and will change the way listeners think about transgender people, faith, and the future of Christianity. By introducing transgender issues and language and providing stories of both biblical characters and real-life narratives from transgender Christians living today, Hartke helps listeners visualize a more inclusive Christianity, equipping them with the confidence and tools to change both the church and the world.

The Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures. Each saying was made on a different occasion in response to a unique situation that had arisen in the life of the Buddha and his monastic community. It is a good introductory primer on Buddhist thought.

In this honest appraisal of his journey from believer to atheist, the author carefully explains the experiences and the reasoning process that led him to reject religious belief. The original edition of this book was published in 2006 and reissued in 2008. Since that time, Loftus has received a good deal of critical feedback from Christians and skeptics alike. In this revised and expanded edition, the author addresses criticisms of the original, adds new argumentation and references, and refines his presentation.

Born and raised in a small Oregon town, all-American girl Rebecca Bender was a varsity athlete and honor-roll student with a promising future. Then a predator pretending to be her boyfriend lured her into a web of lies that sent her down a path she never imagined possible. For nearly six years, Rebecca was sold across the underground world of sex trafficking in Las Vegas. She was branded, beaten, told when to sleep and what to wear, and traded between traffickers. During that time, God began revealing himself to her.

To Love and Be Loved is a firsthand account of Mother Teresa’s last years, and the first book ever to detail her dealings with worldly matters. We see her gracefully navigate the opportunities and challenges of leadership, the perils of celebrity, and the humiliations and triumphs of aging. We also catch her indulging in chocolate ice cream, making jokes about mini-skirts, and telling the president of the United States he’s wrong. Above all, we see her extraordinary devotion to God and to the very poorest of His children.

When a health scare puts him in the hospital, Eric Weiner-an agnostic by default-finds himself tangling with an unexpected question, posed to him by a well-meaning nurse. "Have you found your God yet?" The thought of it nags him, and prods him-and ultimately launches him on a far-flung journey to do just that.

This audiobook consists of reminiscences by 22 individuals who met and knew Mary Baker Eddy—the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science. Listeners will find a more intimate portrait of Eddy than appears in a typical biography, including glimpses into her daily life, relationships, and the spiritual strength and personal sacrifice that underpinned her accomplishments. Each author in this volume shares unique and inspiring accounts that often reveal their commitment, dedication, and steadfast Christianity.

A Prophet with Honor is the biography Billy Graham himself invited and appreciated for its sympathetic but frank approach. Carefully documented, eminently fair, and gracefully written, it raises and answers key questions about Graham's character, contributions, and influence on the world religious scene. In this engaging and comprehensive book, William Martin gives readers a better understanding of the most successful evangelist in modern history, and the movement he led for over fifty years.

Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji was the founder of the Sikh faith. It has three main messages to spread: "Kirat Karni", (earning an honest living); "Vand Ke Shakna" (sharing with others); and "Naam Japna" (remembering and reciting the Lord's name). This book examines the life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, and looks at the importance of key events in his life devoted to Sikhi and to Sikhs today.

In Shadows of Sobriety, Keith Burton pulls back the curtain on his journey through a childhood marked by alcoholism, family dysfunction, and emotional scars that lasted a lifetime. Raised in a household where love was often confused with pain, Keith reflects on his relationships with an alcoholic father and a controlling mother, and how their struggles set the stage for his own battles with identity, faith, and a fractured family legacy.

Nicky Cruz's heart had turned to stone when he was only three. His mother nicknamed him the son of Satan, and he was severely abused, both physically and mentally. After moving from Puerto Rico to New York, Nicky became the leader of a notorious street gang the Mau Maus. He turned into a violent street criminal before he was eighteen. David Wilkerson, a skinny preacher from Pennsylvania, reached out to him with relentless love. He said, Nicky, Jesus loves you, and this simple message opened the door to a new life for Nicky Cruz.

As Anne Lamott knows, the world is a dangerous place. Terrorism and war have become the new normal. Environmental devastation looms even closer. And there are personal demands on her faith as well – getting older; her mother's Alzheimer's; her son's adolescence and the passing of friends and time. Fortunately for those of us who are anxious about the state of the world, whose parents are also aging and dying, whose children are growing harder to recognise as they become teenagers, Plan B offers hope that we're not alone in the midst of despair.

This unique biography, told in a lively manner through six 'voices', presents the Buddha's revolutionary solution for humanity that lends to the end of ill will, craving and delusion. It goes back to the earliest sources of the Buddha's life and teachings, drawing as it does from the Pali Canon which was said to record the words that the Buddha spoke, the events that happened, and his specific teachings on which the world-wide religion was based.