Early Religions

Cultural Christians in the Early Church, which aims to be both historical and practical, argues that cultural Christians were the rule, rather than the exception, in the early church. Using different categories of sins as its organizing principle, the book considers the challenge of culture to the earliest converts to Christianity, as they struggled to live on mission in the Greco-Roman cultural milieu of the Roman Empire.

Ancient Faith has produced a fresh update and redesign of a book cherished by a generation of seekers. Written in an accessible manner for the average lay person, Orthodox Worship offers insights into the Orthodox liturgy. Early Christians preserved a continuity of worship from the Old Covenant to the New, employing elements from the Jewish Temple liturgy, the synagogue liturgy, and the rituals of the Jewish home.

Carlos Eire, popular professor and gifted writer, chronicles the 200-year era of the Renaissance and Reformation with particular attention to issues that persist as concerns in the present day. Eire connects the Protestant and Catholic Reformations in new and profound ways, and he demonstrates convincingly that this crucial turning point in history not only affected people long gone but continues to shape our world and define who we are today.

While many histories of Christian worship exist, this project undertakes a task both more focused and more urgent. Rather than survey the whole history of the Christian church, it focuses on the formative period between the first and fifth centuries CE, when so many of the understandings and patterns of Christian worship came to be. And rather than include such developments as the monastic hours of prayer and the history of ordination, the authors deal primarily with those aspects of worship that recur on a weekly or regular basis: preaching, Eucharist, and baptism.

Alexandria was the epicenter of Hellenic learning in the ancient Mediterranean world, yet little is known about how Christianity arrived and developed in the city during the late first and early second century CE. In this volume, M. David Litwa employs underused data from the Nag Hammadi codices and early Christian writings to open up new vistas on the creative theologians who invented Christianities in Alexandria prior to Origen and the catechetical school of the third century.

What was the starting point of Christianity? Was it in a little town in Bethlehem, just as the lyrics of our favorite Christmas songs contend? In truth, in the earliest days of Christianity, when Peter and Paul first set out to preach the gospel, the belief systems of early Christians were viewed as merely a new sect of Judaism.

An excellent, comprehensive introduction to Early Buddhism. It covers both theory and practice. This is a great audiobook for anyone - from beginner to teacher - who wants to learn or teach Early Buddhism.

Did you know that Christianity has gone through many changes since its origin? Over two thousand years ago, a Jewish man was born into a society in turmoil. It is impossible to tell the story of Christianity without understanding the man behind it. What were the lives of Jesus and his followers like? How were their words so impactful that they changed history and affected the lives of billions of people over the course of two thousand years?

In the first book of the series, listeners will embark on a captivating journey through Jesus' formative years, from his humble birth in Bethlehem to his upbringing in Nazareth. Through vivid storytelling and historical context, this book immerses listeners in the cultural backdrop of Jesus' early life, shedding light on his family and the events that helped to shape his extraordinary character. Uncover the mysteries. Embrace the revelations. Discover Jesus in a way you've never imagined.

Who would have thought that from its humble beginnings as a small group of followers of a Jewish man called Jesus that Christianity would become, less than 2,000 years later, the most widespread religion on Earth? Christianity’s birth and development is a vast, complex story filled with setbacks and contradictions but also with triumphs.

For many Christians, our understanding of the history of the church universal jumps straight from what we read in the New Testament to a basic understanding of the Reformation. We're missing more than a millennium! And it was a busy, fascinating, tumultuous thousand-or-so years during which Christianity spread across three continents. In places as distant and different from each other as China, Sudan, and Britain, the gospel was spreading, the church was growing, and believers were expressing their faith in myriad ways.

Lost Apocrypha invites you to explore the sacred texts that were excluded, silenced, or forgotten—yet never truly lost. From the mystical Gospels of Thomas and Mary Magdalene to the powerful Books of Enoch and Meqabyan preserved in Ethiopia, this collection restores voices that once shaped the soul of the early Church.

In this brief yet penetrating book, Dr. James Papandrea reveals what the early Church Fathers actually taught and believed about the Holy Scriptures as well as how they read, understood, and interpreted the Word of God. He explains the process by which the books of the Bible were selected and demonstrates the harmoniousness and complementarity of the Gospels. With Dr. Papandrea’s guidance, you will see how Scripture attests to the truth of the sacraments, Catholic doctrines, and the hierarchy of the Church founded by Christ.

Masonic scholar Manly P. Hall offers some well-researched insights into early human philosophy and history that helped solidify the basis of knowledge for what would eventually become Freemasonry, one day. He covers Freemasonry’s origins in biblical fables, the Dionysiac Architects, Solomon and the personification of Universal Wisdom, and lastly, Freemasonry’s priceless heritage.

Practice important early learning skills while listening to eight favorite Bible stories in the Adventure Bible Read Through the Bible. Combining the beloved Adventure Bible with the proven I Can Read format, this Level 2 I Can Read collection combines engaging stories and longer sentences, perfect for building confidence and developing early reading and listening comprehension skills.

This audiobook is the first audiobook in the new academic book series, Hermit Kingdom Studies in Christianity and Judaism, which seeks to encourage advancement of knowledge in the area of Hebrew language studies, Jewish historical studies, and Early Christianity/New Testament studies. The academic series particularly encourages the use of interdisciplinary approaches and creative thinking.

En realidad, en los primeros tiempos del cristianismo, cuando Pedro y Pablo salieron por primera vez a predicar el Evangelio, el sistema de creencias de los primeros cristianos se consideraba simplemente una nueva secta del judaísmo. El apelativo de «cristiano» era un término desarrollado por antagonistas externos, que los llamados cristianos llevaban con orgullo. El cristianismo tardó en separarse completamente de su religión madre, el judaísmo.

Starting with the birth of Jesus Christ and ending with the Eastern Orthodox/Roman Catholic split, Catholicism: Nine Events That Shaped the Early Catholic Church takes a vast subject and breaks it down into easy-to-understand pieces that form a whole. By focusing on just nine events, we are able to dive deeply into relevant history and politics while still bringing you a short history that covers the major occurrences in the early period of an important institution.