Ancient Religion History

Part history, part theology, part devotional, The Story of Jesus explores the complete life and teachings of our Lord from before his conception in the womb of Mary until his ascension. Revered 20th-century Egyptian elder and scholar Matthew the Poor wrote many volumes on the subject of Christ's significance, life, and teaching, which translator James Helmy has distilled into one book that will make an essential addition to every Christian's audiobook library.

Mystery cults are one of the most intriguing areas of Greek and Roman religion. In the nocturnal mysteries at Eleusis, participants dramatically reenacted the story of Demeter's loss and recovery of her daughter Persephone; in the Bacchic cult, bands of women ran wild in the Greek countryside to honor Dionysus; in the mysteries of Mithras, men came to understand the nature of the universe and their place within it through frightening initiation ceremonies and astrological teachings.

A giant of archaeology, Colin Renfrew has immeasurably improved our understanding of human history. In this passionately argued work, he offers a concise summary of prehistory - human existence that predates the development of written records - while challenging the very definition of prehistory itself.

The Ancient Church Fathers reveals the disciples of the 12 apostles and what they taught, from their own writings. It documents that the same doctrine was faithfully transmitted to their descendants in the first few centuries. It also describes where, when, and by whom, the doctrines began to change.

Rudolf Steiner uses the history of Atlantis and Lemuria to discuss the esoteric evolution of man. He covers in more detail what is suggested in An Outline of Occult Science. There was a time when a continent called Atlantis still lay between Europe and America. This portion of the worlds surface was at one time land; this land now forms the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Plato alluded to the last remaining remnant of that lost continent when he spoke of the Island of Poseidon.

Many Christians today divide ancient Jewish and Christian literature into two categories: what is in the Bible and what is not. The Christian East, however, has traditionally described a third category considered beneficial for Christians to listen to in the home: “apocrypha.” These texts, from the centuries before and after the Incarnation of Jesus Christ—beyond even the larger canons of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Old Testaments—reveal to us the religious world and theological framework of the apostles and early Church Fathers.

Two and a half decades ago, Ascended Master Teachers Arten and Pursah appeared to Gary Renard and held a series of conversations with him that elaborated on the teachings of two spiritual classics, The Gospel of Thomas and A Course in Miracles. Gary immortalized what he learned in the books of his best-selling series. This fourth book, a companion to the original trilogy, explores six of the lifetimes in which the incarnations of Jesus and Buddha lived together, beginning in 700 BC when they were known as Saka and Hiroji.

Mary is the flower of femininity to some, a woman of power to others. She has been seen as a paragon of obedience as well as an instrument of liberation. Some have piled her status so high that it rivals that of her Son. Other do their best to ignore her. Behind all of those images is a girl who grew up to be the mother of Christ.

Although all the titles of the Nag Hammadi library are not known, many people have heard about its most famous components: The Gospel of Thomas - at one time it was discussed whether it should be included in the New Testament - and The Gospel of Philip, which tried to revive the debate around the identity of Mary Magdalene: "Why do you love her more than all of us?" asks a disconcerted Peter to Jesus. Finally, the Nag Hammadi texts have led many scholars to reconsider the rigid canons imposed by the early Church, and the readers to find a more intimate religion that turned upside down many postulates of Christian orthodoxy.

In the best-selling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston Jr. limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.

In 2010, using a specialized robotic camera, authors Tabor and Jacobovici, working with archaeologists, geologists, and forensic anthropologists, explored a previously unexcavated tomb in Jerusalem from around the time of Jesus. They made a remarkable discovery. The tomb contained several ossuaries, or bone boxes, two of which were carved with an iconic image and a Greek inscription. Taken together, the image and the inscription constitute the earliest archaeological evidence of faith in Jesus’ resurrection.

A profound and moving journey into the heart of Christianity that explores the mysterious and often paradoxical lives and legacies of the Twelve Apostles—a book both for those of the faith and for others who seek to understand Christianity from the outside in.

The Stage of Time will bring you through an adventurous exploration into understanding the secrets of consciousness, ancient history, and the nature of reality. Be prepared to question the world you live in and everything you thought you knew about the universe, human origins, and the lost civilizations of antiquity. Discover thought-bending evidence from some of the oldest texts ever written and learn the reasons why their contents eventually became suppressed and hidden from most of society. Conspiracy theories or conspiracy facts, you decide what's real based on the evidence.

St. Paul is known throughout the world as the first Christian writer, authoring fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New Testament. But as Karen Armstrong demonstrates in St. Paul: The Apostle We Love to Hate, he also exerted a more significant influence on the spread of Christianity throughout the world than any other figure in history.

In his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus, Thomas Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled.

Why You Think the Way You Do traces the development of the worldviews that underpin the Western world. Professor and historian Glenn S. Sunshine demonstrates the decisive impact that the growth of Christianity had in transforming the outlook of pagan Roman culture into one that—based on biblical concepts of humanity and its relationship with God—established virtually all the positive aspects of Western civilization.

Tracing the migrations of the Denisovans and their interbreeding with Neanderthals and early human populations in Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas, Andrew Collins and Greg Little explore how the new mental capabilities of the Denisovan-Neanderthal and Denisovan-human hybrids greatly accelerated the flowering of human civilization over 40,000 years ago. They show how the Denisovans displayed sophisticated advances, including precision-machined stone tools and jewelry, tailored clothing, celestially-aligned architecture, and horse domestication.

Following up on the first volume, The Atheist Handbook to the Old Testament: Volume 2 takes up the challenge of providing a clear and useful guide to those wanting a better understanding of the Old Testament, including its cultural and historical background, as well as discussions on contentious topics like violence and genocide, and whether the Exodus was a real historical event. Volume two also covers the narrative of the Old Testament, from the conquest to the divided monarchy, and a brief history of Egypt to help situate the biblical text within agreed historical events.

There are few things more in common across cultures than the belief in ghosts. Ghosts inhabit something of the very essence of what it is to be human. Whether we personally 'believe' or not, we are all aware of ghosts and the rich mythologies and rituals surrounding them. They have inspired, fascinated and frightened us for centuries - yet most of us are only familiar with the vengeful apparitions of Shakespeare, or the ghastly spectres haunting the pages of 19th-century Gothic literature. But their origins are much, much older.

New York Times bestselling historian Gavin Menzies presents newly uncovered evidence revealing, conclusively, that “the lost city of Atlantis” was not only real but also at the heart of a highly advanced global empire that reached the shores of America before being violently wiped from the earth. For three millennia, the legend of Atlantis has gripped the imaginations of explorers, philosophers, occultists, treasure hunters, historians, and archaeologists. Until now, it has remained shrouded in myth. Yet, like ancient Troy, is it possible that this fabled city actually existed?