Showing titles in Religious

Agape Leadership promises to be one of the most spiritually inspiring books you have ever listened to. As we start the 21st century, we desperately need examples of what Christian leaders are to be like. Robert Cleaver Chapman (1803-1902) provides an extraordinary example of Christ-like, agape leadership. Although little known today, he was a widely respected Christian leader in England during the 19th century.

As a beloved evangelist and a respected man of God, Billy Graham’s stated purpose in life never wavered: to help people find a personal relationship with God through a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. This was a calling that only increased over time, and Billy embraced it fully throughout his active ministry and beyond. Yet Billy pursued his life’s work, as many men do, amid a similarly significant calling to be a loving husband and father.

"I was one of 28 children born to my dad and his three wives. Indoctrinated to believe that the outside world was evil, and that I resided among the righteous, I was destined to marry a man chosen for me by the Prophet. I would then live in harmony with my sister-wives, bear many children, and obey and serve my future husband in this life and throughout eternity. But my innocence didn't last long." Flora goes on from there to tell the dramatic true story of how she ultimately escaped and has been rescuing women and children from the FLDS.

At the end of World War I, young C. S. Lewis was a devout atheist about to begin his studies at Oxford. In the three decades that followed, he would establish himself as one of the most influential writers and scholars of modern times, undergoing a radical conversion to Christianity that would transform his life and his work. Harry Lee Poe unfolds these watershed years in Lewis’s life, offering a unique perspective on his conversion, his friendships with Christians such as J. R. R. Tolkien, and his development from an opponent of Christianity to one of its most ardent defenders.

Julian of Norwich was a 14th-century Christian mystic, important English theologian, and visionary writer. Indeed, her masterpiece, A Revelation of Divine Love (or Showings), is the first book written by a woman in English. Six centuries after her death, she continues to inspire with her pious and moving words. Now you can enjoy this brilliant course on Julian. In nine lectures you'll consider what we know (and don't know) about her life and the larger historical context into which she fits.

The Apostle Paul was kind of a jerk. He was arrogant and stubborn. He called his opponents derogatory, racist names. He legitimized slavery and silenced women. He was a moralistic, homophobic killjoy who imposed his narrow religious views on others. Or was he? Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien explore the complicated persona and teachings of the Apostle Paul. Unpacking his personal history and cultural context, they show how Paul both offended Roman perspectives and scandalized Jewish sensibilities.

These hilarious essays on life inside and outside a Zen monastery make up the spiritual memoir of Shozan Jack Haubner, a Zen monk who didn’t really start out to be one. Raised in a conservative Catholic family, Shozan went on to study philosophy (becoming de-Catholicized in the process) and to pursue a career as a screenwriter and stand-up comic in the clubs of L.A. How he went from life in the fast lane to life on the stationary meditation cushion is the subject of this laugh-out-loud funny account of his experiences.

As a student of Woodrow Wilson at Princeton, Howard Baskerville was aflame not only with the gospel of Jesus, but with the Wilsonian gospel that constitutional democracy is the birthright of all nations. Rather than become a small-town minister like his father in South Dakota, he volunteered for missionary service in Persia. Tabriz in 1907 was a hotbed of democratic revolution. Brilliant young firebrands were among Baskerville’s students at the Presbyterian school—and became his devoted friends. He lectured on freedom; they dedicated their lives to it.

The story of Muhammad is extremely fascinating, and leaves us wondering where the boundaries exist between reality and myth. All of the world's great religions have this trait in common, without exception. But Muhammad's life has a whiff of the fabulist about it that reminds us of the great literary traditions of Islam, more especially of the style of the tales in the Arabian Nights. Everything about Muhammad, from his birth to his death, displays an aura of inevitability and dramatic tension.

More than 500 years ago, 16th-century Reformer John Calvin was born—a theologian whose teachings set the stage for reformation of the church around the world. The modern world is in continual need of his Christ-exalting doctrine and vision of the Christian life. In 20 essays by leading Reformed pastors and scholars, this primer explores Calvin’s life, teaching, and legacy for a new generation. This book is a clarion call to Christians everywhere to take seriously the ongoing need of theological reformation across the globe.

Over 1600 years ago, God raised up a man named Patrick to take the Gospel of Christ to the people of Ireland. Seldom in church history has any missionary been blessed with a more fruitful ministry. The preaching of Patrick was used by God to transform many of the Irish people from idol-worshiping pagans into servants of the one true God of Scripture.

This in-depth work by historian Cheryl C. D. Hughes lets listeners inhabit the postwar America where Bishop Fulton Sheen thrived, in order to reveal what made him such a magnetic figure in his own era. It peers into the complex lives of the celebrities and fallen stars who saw in the warm, brilliant bishop a sign of God’s grace, and it offers a study in the inner dynamics of conversion.

In An Honorable Heritage, Pandita Ramabai tells her story of being born into the privileged Brahman caste and leaving tradition behind for something far better—the light and hope she found in Christ. After years of searching for something more than the hopeless existence her religion offered to those not born into a high caste, Pandita had at last discovered someone who could uplift the downtrodden women of India—and every land.

Why is religion still around in the 21st century? Why do so many still believe? And how do various traditions still shape the way people experience everything from sexuality to politics, whether they are religious or not? In Why Religion? Elaine Pagels looks to her own life to help address these questions. Drawing upon the perspectives of neurologists, anthropologists, and historians, as well as her own research, Pagels opens unexpected ways of understanding persistent religious aspects of our culture.

Unwilling to return to the darkness of her former life, Sherry Gore attacks her faith head on. Soon the life she remakes for herself and her children as she seeks to follow the teachings of the Bible features head coverings, simple dress, and a focus on Jesus Christ. Only then does she realize, in a fit of excitement, that there are others like her. They are called Amish and Mennonite, and she realizes she has found her people.

This course will have a profound impact on your faith and thinking. Thomas Aquinas, OP (1225-1274), is one of world history's most influential thinkers. His works indelibly shaped Western thought and Christian belief, and his brilliant ideas continue to resonate in universities and churches everywhere. But his complex thought can often seem inaccessible to most of us. In this superb course, taught by an internationally known Aquinas expert, you will tour his towering thought while gaining powerful insights into your faith.

When Jack and Denny Smith decided to build a vacation dream house in Baja, California, they had no idea they were entering a phase of their lives "that would capture the fancy of readers throughout the United States". Through a series of strange and whimsical adventures, they would find that building a house takes God and Mr. Gomez.

Too many people stumble through life with an inaccurate view of who God is. They believe in His existence, but don't know how to relate to Him in a practical and meaningful way. As a result, they fail to achieve anything beyond a superficial relationship with their Creator, and live less-than-fulfilling lives. In Whatever, God, Fr. Anthony Messeh shares his unique story and the lessons he's learned that helped him go from a "don't get too close to God because He might ruin your life" Christian, to a fully devoted "I can't get enough of God in my life" believer.

Meb Keflezighi is all about hope and second chances—starting with his very survival. The child of a small African country ravaged by a brutal war, Meb arrived in America with nothing but the clothes on his back, speaking no English and never having raced a mile. So how did he end up an A student, one of the most celebrated and respected athletes of his generation, and winner of the 2009 New York City Marathon?

Al Fox Carraway has spent the last four years inspiring the world with her story of conversion, redemption, and finding faith. As a blogger, social media personality, and award-winning public speaker, her message has reached millions. This moving biography and up-close account of her life and membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the "LDS" or "Mormon" church) will show you what it means to truly trust in the Lord.