Western Religion

From National Book Award finalist David I. Kertzer comes the gripping story of Pope Pius XI’s secret relations with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. This groundbreaking work, based on seven years of research in the Vatican and Fascist archives, including reports from Mussolini’s spies inside the highest levels of the Church, will forever change our understanding of the Vatican’s role in the rise of Fascism in Europe.

Trading the popular but inaccurate Western perspective of the Bible for the context in which Jesus actually ministered 2,000 years ago, author Robby Gallaty reveals the fascinating Hebraic culture, customs, and nuances many Christians have never experienced or learned about. He works from the premise that we can't truly appreciate the New Testament unless we understand the Old Testament.

Holy Father Benedict, the father of monks in the West, is one of the greatest saints of the Church's illustrious halls of fame. His movement to become a hermit and found monasteries, writing the famous Rule of St. Benedict, was the decisive moment of monasticism's growth in the West, under the maxim of ora et labora, "prayer and work." His blessing caused a poisoned cup to shatter and a raven to swipe away poisoned bread; he miraculously saved someone from drowning, and he raised another from the dead. This is the story of the holiest monk of the West, the hero among religious founders.

From the fall of Constantinople in 1453 until the 18th century, many Western European writers viewed the Ottoman Empire with almost obsessive interest. In this path-breaking audiobook, Noel Malcolm ranges through these vital centuries of East-West interaction, studying all the ways in which thinkers in the West interpreted the Ottoman Empire as a political phenomenon - and Islam as a political religion.

G. K. Chesterton was a journalist, playwright, poet, biographer, novelist, essayist, literary commentator, editor, orator, artist, and theologian. Orthodoxy is his great apologia for the Christian faith, which was prompted by a serious attack in 1903 against Christianity by well-known newspaper editor Robert Blatchford.

Only two years after Pope Pius IX’s election in 1846 had triggered great popular enthusiasm across Italy, the pope found himself a virtual prisoner in his own palace. The revolutions that swept through Europe and shook Rome threatened to end the popes’ thousand-year reign over the Papal States, if not the papacy itself. The resulting drama was rife with treachery, tragedy, and international power politics. David Kertzer, one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of Italy and the Vatican, brings this pivotal moment vividly to life.

In today's Western world, plenty of shiny false gods still hold power - idols of prosperity, nationalism, and self-interest. Old Testament scholar Christopher J. H. Wright combines a biblical study of idolatry with practical discipleship. He calls listeners to consider connections between Old Testament patterns and today's culture, especially recurring temptations to trust in political power.

In this fascinating book, David Barash highlights an intriguing patch of common ground between scientific and religious thought, illuminating the many parallels between biology and Buddhism, allowing listeners to see both in a new way. Indeed, he shows that there are numerous places where the Buddhist and biological perspectives coincide. For instance, the cornerstone ecological concept - the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things - is remarkably similar to the fundamental insight of Buddhism.

Between 1942 and 1945, a group of ordinary citizens formed a network to smuggle Dutch Jews and others targeted by the Nazis south into France, via Paris, and then to Switzerland. This network became known as the Dutch-Paris Escape Line, eventually growing to include 300 people and expanding its reach into Spain. Led by Jean Weidner, a Dutchman living in France, many lacked any experience in clandestine operations or military tactics, and yet they became one of the most effective resistance groups of the Second World War.

Africa has played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture from its infancy. Some of the most decisive intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and understood in Africa before they were in Europe. If this is so, why is Christianity so often perceived in Africa as a Western colonial import? How can Christians in Northern and sub-Saharan Africa, indeed, how can Christians throughout the world, rediscover and learn from this ancient heritage?

This book was inspired by God. It brings God's activities on behalf of Earth's citizens from the shadows of history into illumination. God's mastery over the universe is brought to life from the Big Bang to modern times. A plausible theory is put forth regarding how God has employed his tools (only recently discovered but little understood by scientists), dark matter and dark energy, to create and sustain the universe as we know it.

The Mystic Heart chronicled Brother Wayne Teasdale's journey into a multifaceted spirituality blending his traditional Catholic training and the Eastern way of sannyasa (Indian monkhood). A Monk in the World tells what the journey has meant for him - living as a monk outside the monastery, integrating teachings from the world's religions with his own Catholic training, combining his vigorous spiritual practice with the necessities of making a living, and pursuing a course of social justice in a major American city.

The co-editors of Gnosis magazine explore the many esoteric traditions that Western culture has to offer. While terms from Eastern spiritual practices such as Zen, mantra, and karma have become part of our daily lexicon, the traditions of Western spirituality have been largely unexplored by people searching for non-mainstream routes to spiritual experience. But for those who identify with Western culture, Western religious traditions have their own wisdom teachings that are more suitable to their needs and expectations.

Throughout Teller County, history lovers can find abandoned towns and forgotten main streets that once bustled with life and commerce. Even before Teller was carved from surrounding counties, the scenic mountains and lucrative mines of the gold rush era brought thousands of settlers and attracted resort owners and tycoons eager to exploit the rich setting. Seemingly overnight, towns in the Cripple Creek District and other places popped up, flush with gold and people looking for opportunity. As the ore disappeared, the miners moved on in search of the next big lode.

Lou just knew that there was "something" calling her; experiences that defied logic led her to following her intuition and finding miracles that left her glimpsing into a truth she couldn’t ignore. Awakening of the Western Woman is the journey to soul's purpose. It shows us that everything is connected, there are no coincidences, and there is magic in every experience, even in pain. But when you say yes to your calling, the universe always provides.

How would you respond in the presence of someone who did something you had never seen done before, something you thought impossible, something that you never dreamed about? No doubt you would be awestruck. You might gasp and say, “Wow!” Perhaps no words would come at all. It would probably be etched into your memory forever. However many times you might speak about what you saw, you would relive that moment and still be greatly amazed.

For decades Americans were vaguely aware that Islamist barbarians were in the deserts of the Middle East and in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, executing "infidels" and raiding villages with unrecognizable names. The Muslim world seemed far away, remote, and irrelevant to our daily lives. Then came the terrorist attack of 9/11, followed by attacks at Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon, San Bernandino, Orlando, and more. Now terrorists seem to be emerging everywhere, unleashing senseless death and destruction on our nation.

In the inhospitable lands of the Utah Territory, during the winter of 1888, thirty-seven-year-old Deborah Tyler waits for her husband, Samuel, to return home from his travels as a wheelwright. It is now the depths of winter, Samuel is weeks overdue, and Deborah is getting worried. Deborah lives in Junction, a tiny town of seven Mormon families scattered along the floor of a canyon, and she earns her living by tending orchards and making work gloves. Isolated by the red-rock cliffs that surround the town, she and her neighbors live apart from the outside world.

Heading Towards A New Life Along The Oregon Trail, about a young woman with a baby and a somewhat checkered past who joins a wagon train and the only single women's wagon on it. There, she becomes friends with a female doctor and another woman as they struggle through the many trials of such a journey. Along the way a strong bond is formed between the women, two of the men on the train, and God.

Monasticism distills the essence of Catholic spirituality for all time and for all Christians. The Foundations of Western Monasticism concentrates on three of the finest Christian texts available and will provide both first-time and advanced listeners with an essential review of Christian monasticism and the foundational principles of Catholic prayer life, spiritual combat, contemplation, and communal living.