Sacred Theology

How the Bible Actually Works makes clear that there is no one right way to read or listen to the Bible. Moving us beyond the damaging idea that “being right” is the most important measure of faith, Enns’ freeing approach to Bible study helps us to instead focus on pursuing enlightenment and building our relationship with God - which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.

Margaret Starbird's theological beliefs were profoundly shaken when she read Holy Blood, Holy Grail, a book that dared to suggest that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen and that their descendants carried on his holy bloodline in Western Europe. Shocked by such heresy, this Roman Catholic scholar set out to refute it but instead found new and compelling evidence for the existence of the bride of Jesus - the same enigmatic woman who anointed him with precious unguent from her "alabaster jar".

Hahn explores the "covenant love" God reveals to us through the Scriptures and explains how God patiently reaches out to us—despite our faults and shortcomings—to restore us into relationship with his divine family. Join Hahn as he follows the high adventure of God's plan for the ages, beginning with Adam and Eve and continuing down through the generations to the coming of Christ and the birth of the Church. You'll discover how the patient love of the Father revealed in the Bible is the same persistent love he has for you.

Despite the recent ferocious public debate about belief, the concept most central to the discussion "God" frequently remains vaguely and obscurely described. Are those engaged in these arguments even talking about the same thing? In a wide-ranging response to this confusion, esteemed scholar David Bentley Hart pursues a clarification of how the word "God” functions in the world’s great theistic faiths.

"There is a promise Holy Mother makes to us," explains Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, "that any soul needing comfort, vision, guidance or strength, can cry out to her, flee to her protection, and Blessed Mother will immediately arrive with veils flying. She will place us under her mantle for refuge, and give us the warmth of her most compassionate touch, and strong guidance about how to go by the soul's lights." Untie the Strong Woman is Dr. Estes' invitation to come together under the shelter of The Mother - whether she appears to us as the Madonna, Our Lady of Guadalupe....

Thinking all monasteries were like the ones he saw in the movies, Jesse Itzler arrived at the New Skete religious community in remote Cambridge, New York, with a shaved head and a suitcase filled with bananas. To his surprise, New Skete monks have most of their hair. They're Russian Orthodox, not Buddhist, and they're also world-renowned dog breeders and authors of dog-training books that have sold in the millions.

Though Christians affirm that the Old Testament bears witness to Christ, how the Old Testament writers did this is a matter of extensive debate. Furthermore, Christian biblical scholars also debate the degree to which contemporary interpreters of the Bible can follow the hermeneutics of the New Testament authors in using the Old Testament to point to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Five Views on Christ in the Old Testament is the first book to bring together in conversation the major views on how the Old Testament points to Christ.

The God Agni, the holy Fire, is the primary expression of consciousness. He is the ultimate, unchanging, and inextinguishable consciousness that endures through and beyond all changes, the flame that never dies, even in the deepest darkness; he is the force that moves everything, the fundamental light and energy that lies behind all transformations. In this book we introduce the reader to the spiritual and theological significance of Agni, and examine select verses from the Rig Veda dedicated to him.

Guiding us through a rich tapestry of new discoveries and ancient scriptures, The Jewish Gospels makes the powerful case that our conventional understandings of Jesus and of the origins of Christianity are wrong. In Boyarin's scrupulously detailed account, the coming of the messiah was fully imagined in the ancient Jewish texts. Jesus, moreover, was embraced by many Jews as this person, and his core teachings were not at all a break from Jewish beliefs and teachings. Jesus and his followers, Boyarin reveals, were simply Jewish.

Written in 516, The Rule of Saint Benedict for monastic living has been soul-inspiring for a countless number of people–not only monks, nuns and priests, but also a considerable number of lay people. It covers matters of doctrine, the structure of the monastery as the House of God, and observance of the Divine Office. The Rule gives a fascinating insight into the standards and behaviour expected of monks in their everyday lives. It remains notable for embodying the concept of a written constitution and influencing the shape of medieval Europe.

Divine Love and Wisdom has been called the most profound work of the Enlightenment scientist and seer Emanuel Swedenborg. It demonstrates how God's love, wisdom, and humanity are reflected in creation and in ourselves, and suggests that the act of creation is not a mystery of the past, but a miracle ongoing in every instant of the present. Like a blueprint of things unseen, Divine Love and Wisdom makes visible the hidden design of the universe, as well as the qualities of its architect.

Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) is one of the most beloved of the Catholic saints. In 1562, during the era of the Spanish Inquisition, Teresa sat down to write an account of the mystical experiences for which she had become famous. The result was this book, one of the great classics of spiritual autobiography. With this fresh translation of The Book of My Life, Mirabai Starr brings the inimitable Spanish mystic to life for a new generation, with contemporary English that mirrors Teresa's own earthy, vernacular Spanish, and that presents us with someone we feel we know.

The Works of Bonaventure is a collection of writings by the Middle Ages Cardinal and Saint Bonaventure. This particular compilation is a collection of five of Bonaventure's most respected works dealing with the individual's journey toward God, prayer, meditation, the life and Passion of Christ, and the life of piety and faith. Among his many writings include the five works published here: The Journey of the Mind to God; The Triple Way, or Love Enkindled; The Tree of Life; The Mystical Vine; and On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters.

In his number-one New York Times best seller Agents of the Apocalypse, noted prophecy expert Dr. David Jeremiah explored the book of Revelation through the lens of its major players. Now, in the much-anticipated follow-up, Agents of Babylon, Dr. Jeremiah examines prophecy through the eyes of the characters in the book of Daniel, explains what the prophecies mean, and helps us understand how these prophetic visions and dreams apply to our lives today.

Understanding the Pentateuch: Foundations of Biblical Theology “A Comprehensive Guide to the First Five Books of the Bible” Are you ready to embark on an enlightening journey through the foundational texts of the Bible? "Understanding the Pentateuch: Foundations of Biblical Theology" is your ultimate guide to unlocking the profound mysteries and timeless teachings of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This indispensable resource delves into the heart of biblical theology, offering fresh insights and academic rigor that will captivate scholars, students, and curious ...

The New York Times best-selling author and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute blends science and religion in this thoughtful guide that teaches modern believes how to use the leading wellness trend today - intermittent fasting - as a means of spiritual awakening, adopting the traditions our Christians ancestors practiced for centuries into daily life.

Are you tired of hearing that saving the planet is all about sacrifice? What if the real solution isn’t austerity—but awe? Eco-Spirituality for Beginners: Connecting the Sacred and the Natural World is a beautifully written invitation to see the Earth not as a resource to be managed, but as something sacred to be honored. This isn’t another book filled with guilt, graphs, or gloom. It’s a guide for anyone who feels that spiritual longing and environmental concern aren’t separate paths—they’re the same road. You’ll learn how to: Reconnect with nature through simple, ...

Ronald Hutton is known for his colorful, provocative, and always exhaustively researched studies on original subjects. This work is no exception: the first full-scale scholarly study of the only religion England has ever given the world, that of modern pagan witchcraft, which has now spread from English shores across four continents. Hutton examines the nature of that religion and its development, and offers a microhistory of attitudes to paganism, witchcraft, and magic in British society since 1800.

Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of Jesus for the Non-Religious, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Sins of Scripture, and many other books, is known for his controversial ideas and fighting for minority rights. In Eternal Life: A New Vision, a remarkable spiritual journey about his lifelong struggle with the questions of God and death, he reveals how he came to a new conviction about eternal life.

Dig deep into the plain meaning of the Bible’s stories and commandments Would you like to know what the Old Testament (Pentateuch) is all about from a Jewish point of view? This book reveals the morals, ethics, and ideas behind the stories and commandments of one of the oldest books in the history of mankind – a book that serves as the foundation of Jewish and Christian religion. Given the difficult Hebrew in which the Old Testament was written and how challenging it is to translate and to explain, the author wanted to offer to the reader the simple meaning of the text (p’shat) in ...