Ancient Religion History

In A.D. 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, issued a decree in which all his subjects were required to subscribe to a belief in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This edict defined Christian orthodoxy and brought to an end a lively and wide-ranging debate about the nature of God; all other interpretations were now declared heretical.

Based on decades of research and the aid of scholars from around the world, God Kings brings a scholarly and educated look into the world of Royal bloodlines. The implications of this work are enormous as they involve a lineage traced back to Odin, once believed to be a Norse god, whose lineage then merged with the bloodline of Jesus Christ himself.

For more than a century, archaeologists have been unearthing the tombs, temples, texts, and artifacts of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean world. Using new approaches, contemporary scholars have begun to synthesize this material with the biblical traditions. The Oxford History of the Biblical World incorporates the best of this scholarship, and in chronologically ordered chapters presents the listener with an integrated study of the history, art, architecture, languages, literatures, and religion of biblical Israel and early Judaism and Christianity in their larger cultural contexts.

Christ in the Psalms takes the listener on a thought-provoking and enlightening pilgrimage through this beloved prayer book of the Church. Lively and highly devotional, this audiobook holds a wealth of insight into the beloved Scriptures, the world of the Early Church, and the Apostles themselves.

The Shepherd of Hermas is an astounding piece of ancient Christian writing. Traditionally ascribed to Hermas, the brother of Pope Pius I of Rome, it is usually dated at between AD 120 and AD 150. This means that the author may have been in contact with an Apostle such as John who died around AD 98. And he was most certainly contemporaneous with those who knew some of the Apostle such as Ignatius and Polycarp.

Since the late 1940s, a growing number of individuals and groups have urged the authorities to public disclose what they know about interaction between humans and non-human intelligences. But for 70 years, those authorities have employed various tactics to keep the subject secret, and to confuse perceptions of any information that does reach the public. But as people worldwide continue to experience various contact phenomena, the responsibility of researching and reporting this has fallen to those called in various ways to participate.

Legendary UFO expert Erich von Daniken stirs up another controversy with an imaginative supposition: What if the myths of ancient Greece were attempts to describe events that really happened? What if ancient peoples were visited, not by imaginary gods and goddesses, but by extraterrestrial beings who arrived on earth thousands of years ago? The author's research into both ancient mythology and current archaeological discoveries leads him to some explosive hypotheses.

People need stories to make sense of the world - to hold their lives together, and to fasten on to those values that last. The greatest stories are found in the Bible, enduring through the centuries. In Genesis, acclaimed television journalist Bill Moyers brings together some of the world's liveliest minds for spirited round-table discussions of the ageless stories from the Bible's first, towering book.

In his subtle and engaging investigation into the life and times of Jesus, Thomas Cahill shows us Jesus from his birth to his execution through the eyes of those who knew him and in the context of his time—a time when the Jews were struggling to maintain their beliefs under overlords who imposed their worldview on their subjects. Here is Jesus the loving friend, itinerate preacher, and quiet revolutionary, whose words and actions inspired his followers to journey throughout the Roman world and speak the truth he instilled.

Stonehenge is just one of thousands of stone circles erected throughout Britain and Ireland for over three millennia from 3,000 BC on. How did this building tradition survive for so long, over such a large area and with such complexity and uniformity, when the people of the British Isles lived in separate, isolated communities? Graham Phillips argues that these stone circles are evidence of an astonishing system of healthcare and preservation of ancient medical knowledge that held together a society scattered across the British Isles.

Belief and Cult argues that belief isn't uniquely Christian but was central to ancient Roman religion. Drawing on cognitive theory, Jacob Mackey shows that despite having nothing to do with salvation or faith, belief underlay every aspect of Roman religious practices—emotions, individual and collective cult action, ritual norms, social reality, and social power. In doing so, he also offers a thorough argument for the importance of belief to other non-Christian religions.

This volume contains a complete English translation of the famous Ethiopian work, The Kebra Nagast, i.e. the Glory of the Kings [of Ethiopia]. This work has been held in peculiar honour in Abyssinia for several centuries, and throughout that country it has been, and still is, venerated by the people as containing the final proof of their descent from the Hebrew Patriarchs, and of the kinship of their kings of the Solomonic line with Christ, the Son of God.

New York Times bestselling historian Gavin Menzies presents newly uncovered evidence revealing, conclusively, that “the lost city of Atlantis” was not only real but also at the heart of a highly advanced global empire that reached the shores of America before being violently wiped from the earth. For three millennia, the legend of Atlantis has gripped the imaginations of explorers, philosophers, occultists, treasure hunters, historians, and archaeologists. Until now, it has remained shrouded in myth. Yet, like ancient Troy, is it possible that this fabled city actually existed?

Modern Physics and Ancient Faith argues that the great discoveries of modern physics are more compatible with the central teachings of Christianity and Judaism about God, the cosmos, and the human soul than with the atheistic viewpoint of scientific materialism.

In November 2017, an international team of more than 30 scientists published the results of their two-year-long Great Pyramid research project in the journal Nature. Using an advanced imaging technique known as muon radiography, three groups working independently from each other discovered a massive, previously unknown space within the Great Pyramid of Giza. Mainstream Egyptologists suggest that the “Big Void” is simply a stress-relieving device for the Grand Gallery. But, as Scott Creighton reveals, ancient Coptic Egyptian texts describe exactly what the Big Void is.

A true-life thriller about the journey of one of the world's most precious manuscripts - the 10th-century annotated Hebrew Bible known as the Aleppo Codex - from its hiding place in an ancient Syrian synagogue to the newly founded Israel. Using his research, including documents that have been secret for 50 years and interviews with key players, AP correspondent Friedman tells a story of political upheaval, international intrigue, charged courtroom battles, obsession, and subterfuge.

This comprehensive history sets yoga in its global cultural context for the first time. It leads us on a fascinating journey across the world, from arcane religious rituals and medieval body-magic, through muscular Christianity and the British Raj, to the Indian nationalist movement and the arrival of yoga in the 20th-century West. We discover how the practice reached its present-day ubiquity and how it became embedded in powerful social currents shaping the world's future.

Mary is the flower of femininity to some, a woman of power to others. She has been seen as a paragon of obedience as well as an instrument of liberation. Some have piled her status so high that it rivals that of her Son. Other do their best to ignore her. Behind all of those images is a girl who grew up to be the mother of Christ.

Finding Jesus explores six major artifacts, including the Shroud of Turin, the True Cross, and John the Baptist, that give us the most direct evidence about the life and world of Jesus. The book and attendant CNN series provide a dramatic way to retell "the greatest story ever told" while introducing a broad audience to the history, the latest controversies, and newest forensic science involved in sorting out facts from the fiction of would-be forgers and deceivers. The book and the show draw on experts from all over the world. Beyond the faithful, the book will also appeal to the skeptical and to curious readers of history and archaeology, while it takes viewers of the primetime TV series deeper into the story.

In the autumn of 1834, New York City was awash with rumors of a strange religious cult operating nearby, centered around a mysterious, self-styled prophet named Matthias. It was said that Matthias the Prophet was stealing money from one of his followers; then came reports of lascivious sexual relations, based on odd teachings of matched spirits, apostolic priesthoods, and the inferiority of women. At its climax, the rumors transformed into legal charges, as the Prophet was arrested for the murder of a once highly regarded Christian gentleman who had fallen under his sway.