Religion Theory

In 1765, 11 years before composing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson bought a Qur'an. This marked only the beginning of his lifelong interest in Islam, and he would go on to acquire numerous books on Middle Eastern languages, history, and travel, taking extensive notes on Islam as it relates to English common law. Jefferson sought to understand Islam notwithstanding his personal disdain for the faith, a sentiment prevalent among his Protestant contemporaries in England and America.

Michael O. Borthwick's -- A Mechanic's Handbook To The God Of The Bible: Why God Just Makes Sense is an intriguing title for an audio book referring to the God of the Bible and His relevance. An excellent listen for individuals who want to know more about God and the Christian faith. The book is written in such a way that both believers and those unsure of their beliefs can greatly benefit from it.

Dr. Glenn Borchardt has over sixty years of practical and theoretical experience in science and philosophy. He has produced over 500 scientific reports, including journal articles, books, chapters, abstracts, computer programs, and consulting reports. His most notable books are: “The Ten Assumptions of Science,” which opposes the foundations of science and religion, “The Scientific Worldview,” which proclaims the universal mechanism of evolution as the key to understanding the universe, and “Infinite Universe Theory,” as the ultimate replacement for the Big Bang Theory. ...

"Candy Jones" was the stage name of Jessica Wilcox who became famous as a model and "pinup girl" in the early 1940s. Her story seems too bizarre to be true. One of America's most famous models, brainwashed by the CIA? Yes, it is another example of truth being stranger than fiction. The story begins with Candy's wedding to Long John Nebel, New York's most successful radio talk-show host. During the wedding, and regularly thereafter, Candy's personality would seem to shift. She would suddenly change from her affable, self-effacing self to a brusque, aggressive "stranger".

In his first memoir, Richard Dawkins shares a rare view into his early life, his intellectual awakening at Oxford, and his path to writing The Selfish Gene. This is an intimate memoir of the childhood and intellectual development of the evolutionary biologist and world-famous atheist and how he came to write what is widely held to be one of the most important books of the 20th century.

Discover the fascinating history of demons and fallen angels from all over the world as well as the theories, controversies, and conspiracies explaining these dark and mysterious tales. All over the world and throughout the ages, there are tales of mysterious and often malevolent entities who live solely in the shadows of our perception. They have been referred to as demons, fallen angels, devils, evil spirits, and by other names. But what are we to make of these storied accounts of mystical mischief-makers that have incessantly plagued humanity?

With the same wit and insight that have characterized their previous devotionals such as Joy Breaks and OverJoyed!, Patsy Clairmont, Barbara Johnson, Marilyn Meberg, Luci Swindoll, Sheila Walsh, and Thelma Wells shine a spotlight for you on grace. Grace that cleanses your sin. Grace that guides your life. Grace that weathers life's fiercest storms and stamps every cloud with the rainbow of God's promise. Grace to grieve and laugh, give and gain, love and live. Extravagant Grace.

We humans are prone to failure. We’re experts at muddying, mixing, and messing up our lives. Who among us hasn’t looked up from the bottom of a pit and realized he dug it himself? Who hasn’t fallen so far, messed up so badly that she thought there was no hope? And it’s at these low points that we crave reminders that there’s hope for the broken. No reminder is quite as poignant as a story of second chances. A story of grace in action. Who couldn’t use more stories of grace like this? Second Chances includes tales of second chances for the rebellious and more.

Many of us believe that in order to please God, we have to be perfect. It’s an easy lie to buy into. In a culture that emphasizes accomplishment and ever-higher goals, we feel driven to do more, achieve more, be more. And we get caught up in the unforgiving treadmill of self-imposed rules, believing that we should, we need to, we must. The result? Anger, frustration, and anxiety that keep us far away from the life of peace that Jesus promised.

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States stood at a precipice. The forces of modernity unleashed by the war had led to astonishing advances in daily life, but technology and mass culture also threatened to erode the country's traditional moral character. As award-winning historian George M. Marsden explains in The Twilight of the American Enlightenment, postwar Americans looked to the country's secular liberalelites for guidance in this precarious time, but these intellectuals proved unable to articulate a coherent common cause by which America could chart its course.

What if Jesus didn't die to save us from God? The doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement is not the Gospel. It's a theory that originated in the 1500's under John Calvin. The damage done by this teaching is still being felt today. It's time to abandon this toxic theology in favor of a Christ-centered view of the cross that sets us free from sin and unveils a God of love who would rather die than live without us.

This substantive collection from noted scholar Serene Jones explores recent work in the field of trauma studies. Central to its overall theme is an investigation of how individual and collective violence affect one's capacity to remember, to act, and to love; how violence can challenge theological understandings of grace; and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus's death is remembered.

The Anthropic Simulation Hypothesis In this concise and thought-provoking thesis, Zito introduces a bold new thought experiment exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence, simulated realities, and intelligent design. The hypothesis asks: if humans create advanced, sentient AI civilizations within simulations, and those civilizations develop religious beliefs, would this provide not only empirical evidence of intelligent design within their reality—but also reinforce the plausibility of intelligent design in our own? By examining scenarios where these simulated beings create ...

In this candid book based on his own struggle with doubt, John Ortberg traces the line between belief and unbelief and finds that it's less a dividing line between hostile camps than a razor's edge that runs through every soul. His findings point toward the relief of being totally honest. Doubt … Questions … Honest faith … Outrageous hope … It's a chain reaction that can actually strengthen our relationship with God, and that, says Ortberg, is cause for celebration.

The September 11 assault on the World Trade Center was the most sophisticated and horrifying in a series of operations masterminded by Osama bin Laden and his Jihad group - an organization that CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen calls Holy War, Inc. One of only a handful of journalists to have interviewed the world's most wanted man face to face, Bergen explains the Jihadist network that operates globally and in secrecy.

Wounds Are Where Light Enters is a collection of stories that are warm, sometimes funny, sometimes not, but always taking unexpected turns to find the care of God in all the pathways of life. In them we find the grace that enables us to live with the answers we see and the answers we don't see. In this collection we meet Arthur Bias, the retired black police officer who loves those who hate; Agnes Brill, the shrill piano teacher of patience; Junie Piper, precious of the homeless; Melvin, who honors his aging mother by honoring the little girl she has become; Lucian; and more.

What sets the historic Christian faith apart from all other religions and worldviews? Nothing less than the good news of God’s saving grace in Jesus Christ. The Protestant Reformers boldly declared the marvelous message of the gospel: Salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. Together, these “alone” statements are called the five solas of the Reformation. In this book, Dr. Gabe Fluhrer explains how the five solas give us the heartbeat of the gospel and the road map for the Christian life.

The Founding of the American Republic is on trial. Critics say it was a poison pill with a time-release formula; we are its victims. Its principles are responsible for the country's moral and social disintegration because they were based on the Enlightenment falsehood of radical individual autonomy. In this well-researched book, Robert Reilly declares: not guilty. To prove his case, he traces the lineage of the ideas that made the United States, and its ordered liberty, possible. America's decline, he claims, is not to be discovered in the Founding principles, but in their disavowal.

UFOs. Aliens. Strange crop circles. Giant figures scratched in the desert surface along the coast of Peru. The amazing alignment of the pyramids. Strange lines of clouds in the sky. The paranormal is alive and well in the American cultural landscape.

Explore the world's most astonishing and mystifying forgotten conspiracy theories. Not only are these possible cover-ups and controversial conspiracy theories fascinating, they will surprise you. Find out for yourself where the truth lies. In this book, we will examine some of the forgotten theories. We will look closely at those theories that run closer to the reality of modern life. These will include some of the most important events of the last century and some seemingly more trivial theories.