Religion

From award-winning author Ariel Sabar comes the gripping, true story of a sensational religious forgery and the scandal that engulfed Harvard University. In 2012, Dr Karen King, a star professor at Harvard Divinity School, announced a blockbuster discovery. She had found an ancient fragment of papyrus - 'The Gospel of Jesus's Wife', as she titled it - in which Jesus called Mary Magdalene 'my wife'. Her announcement made international headlines. If early Christians believed that Jesus was married, it would upend the 2,000-year history of the world's predominant faith, threatening not just the celibate, all-male priesthood but sacred teachings on marriage, sex, and women's leadership. As debates over the manuscript's authenticity raged, award-winning journalist Ariel Sabar set out to investigate a baffling mystery: where did this tiny scrap of papyrus come from? His indefatigable search for answers became an international true-crime story, in which, remarkably, he managed to solve the crime.

An approachable, uplifting guide to finding happiness and leading a fulfilling life through the wisdom of famous humanists from the past and present

CAN A NATION LOOK LIKE HEAVEN?As the daily news points to growing spiritual darkness over the nations, many Christians are tempted to believe that America is a lost cause. But is this true?Many Christian prophetic leaders agree: there is hope for America and the nations!Apostle John Benefiel has witnessed tremendous spiritual breakthrough, both in his home state of Oklahoma and across the nation. In Binding the Strongman Over America and the Nations, Benefiel outlines a prophetic strategy believers can employ to pray effectively against the darkness invading their homes, communities, and nation!Discover how to:Identity and overthrow ancient thrones of iniquity.Issue a divorce decree to the spirit of Baal.Unmask idolatry and repent on behalf of the nation.Contend for God's prophetic destiny for America to be fulfilled.So shake off discouragement and fear! Join the fight for your nation's destiny, and Bind the Strongman today!

The Spirit-Filled Life Bible offers a dynamic experience with the Holy Spirit through the study of Scripture. Now in a full-color third edition with new contributors, it continues to equip God's people to live in His kingdom, exercise gifts of the spirit, and lay hold of God's promises.

This first comprehensive study in English of the many and variegated ways the afterlife was envisioned in the Middle Ages presents exciting new interpretations that will interest literary scholars, (art) historians, and theologians.

A study on the nature and power of thoughts this is the most well-known book of the prominent Theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator.

Belief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was a deep and enduring presence in popular culture; people created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic. Detailed are the principal forms of magical house protection in Britain and beyond from the fourteenth century to the present day.

A new edition of The Jesus Creed, Scot McKnight's bestselling book, providing a remarkable summary of what biblical Christianity is at its core: Loving God and Loving Others. It fosters a practical understanding, appreciation of and application of Christian formation in grace and love toward God and Neighbor.

Notes on Love is a humorous and heart-felt look at being single and dating in the Church for a generation of Christians wrestling with what it means to love and be loved today.

Top scholars offer an up-to-date discussion of how to interpret Paul's writings and theology, especially the apostle's view of salvation.

This book is the first to explore and highlight the history of the plants mentioned in the Qur'?n, many of which are part of our everyday life, from pomegranates and grapes to ginger and garlic. Stunning botanical paintings bring the plants to life.

"When Christian singer and speaker Staci Frenes learned her teenage daughter was gay, she found her dreams for the future--along with her lifelong faith--collapsing around her. Coming to terms with a new reality was a challenge--and an invitation--to make room for many things along the way: the inevitability of uncertainty, hope in the midst of loss, awkward and tough conversations, an expanding faith, and a greater understanding of how people are more the same than different."--

Clear and illuminating commentary on one of Bodhidharma's most important texts, designed to help Chan practitioners apply timeless and essential advice to their practice.Legend has it that more than a thousand years ago an Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma arrived in China. His approach to teaching was unlike that of any of the Buddhist missionaries who had come to China before him. He confounded the emperor with cryptic dialogues, traveled the country, lived in a cave in the mountains, and eventually paved the way for a unique and illuminating approach to Buddhist teachings that would later spread across the whole of East Asia in the form of Chan--later to be known as Seon in Korean, Thien in Vietnamese, and Zen in Japanese.This book, a translation and commentary on one of Bodhidharma's most important texts, explores Bodhidharma's revolutionary teachings in English. Guo Gu weaves his commentary through modern and relatable contexts, showing that this centuries-old wisdom is just as crucial for life now as it was when it first came to be. Masterfully translated and accompanied by helpful insights to supplement daily practice, The Essence of Chan is the perfect guide for those new to Chan, those returning, or those who have been practicing for years.

Released in paperback for the first time, this new translation of the Tibetan master Longchenpa's famous work systematically presents the path of meditation according to the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition.Longchenpa's Finding Rest in Meditation is a classic Buddhist text outlining the main points of meditation, namely, where one should meditate, what qualities a practitioner should possess and develop, and what should be practiced. These instructions are a pithy distillation of the entirety of the Buddhist path designed to stabilize one's direct awareness of the nature of mind through meditative absorption. The Padmakara Translation Group has provided us with a clear and fluid translation to Finding Rest in Meditation, which will serve as a genuine aid to study and meditation. This text follows the first volume of Longchenpa's trilogy, Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind, which focuses on establishing the view and precedes the final volume, Finding Rest in Illusion, which focuses on post-meditation yogic conduct.

Meet the fire-breathing beasts of mythology in this beautifully illustrated ebook brimming with scaled behemoths. Lurking in every corner of the earth, from the deepest depths of the oceans, to the tips of the tallest mountains, even tucked beneath the very ground that you tread on, dragons watch and wait. They take many forms - sea monsters, serpents, wild cats, eagles, and they represent many different things; Gods to be revered, evil kings to be feared, wise friends and fierce foes.Dragons have breathed fire into our minds since we could first imagine, but why do they exist in stories from every land in the world? Come in and explore Dragon World. Look into their lairs while they make shape-shifting mischief, playing with the weather and protecting earthly treasures. Soar across continents into tales as old as time. Prowl through the pages to discover rare dragon species. Find clues to track them and master how to draw them. Behold the earthly dragons of today!

The second volume in a prominent new series on Buddhism and science, directed by the Dalai Lama and previously covered by the BBC.Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics compiles classical Buddhist explorations of the nature of our material world, the human mind, logic, and phenomenology and puts them into context for the modern reader. This ambitious four-volume series-a major resource for the history of ideas and especially the history of science and philosophy-has been conceived by and compiled under the visionary supervision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself. It is his view that the exploratory thinking of great Indian masters in the first millennium CE still has much that is of interest to us today, whether we are Buddhist or not. These volumes make those insights accessible. This, the second volume in the series, focuses on the science of the mind. Readers are first introduced to Buddhist conceptions of mind and consciousness and then led through traditional presentations of mental phenomena to reveal a Buddhist vision of the inner world with fascinating implications for the contemporary disciplines of cognitive science, psychology, emotion research, and philosophy of mind. Major topics include: -The distinction between sensory and conceptual processes and the pan-Indian notion of mental consciousness -Mental factors-specific mental states such as attention, mindfulness, and compassion-and how they relate to one another -The unique tantric theory of subtle levels of consciousness, their connection to the subtle energies, or "winds," that flow through channels in the human body, and what happens to each when the body and mind dissolve at the time of death -The seven types of mental states and how they impact the process of perception -Styles of reasoning, which Buddhists understand as a valid avenue for acquiring sound knowledge In the final section, the volume offers what might be called Buddhist contemplative science, a presentation of the classical Buddhist understanding of the psychology behind meditation and other forms of mental training. To present these specific ideas and their rationale, the volume weaves together passages from the works of great Buddhist thinkers like Asanga, Vasubandhu, Nagarjuna, Dignaga, and Dharmakirti. His Holiness the Dalai Lama's introduction outlines scientific and philosophical thinking in the history of the Buddhist tradition. To provide additional context for Western readers, each of the six major topics is introduced with an essay by John D. Dunne, distinguished professor of Buddhist philosophy and contemplative practice at the University of Wisconsin. These essays connect the traditional material to contemporary debates and Western parallels, and provide helpful suggestions for further reading.

Intellect and emotion both fail in seeking God, who can only be encountered by rejecting of all common earthly means in a "cloud of forgetting" and the discovery of Godself in the dark "cloud of unknowing" which can be pierced only with a "lance of longing love."

An extensive look at the cartography and folklore of the afterlife worlds as seen by our ancestors