Ancient Religion

In a time of loneliness and isolation, social rupture and alienation, what will it take to mend our broken hearts and rebuild our society? Sharon Brous—a leading American rabbi—makes the case that the spiritual work of our time, as instinctual as it is counter-cultural, is to find our way to one other in celebration, in sorrow, and in solidarity. To show up for each other in moments of joy and pain, vulnerability and possibility, to invest in relationships of shared purpose and build communities of care.

Who was the Melchizedek the apostle Paul spoke of in the book of Hebrews? How is his priesthood different than the priesthood of Levi? Why was the Messiah ordained after the order of Melchizedek and not after the order of Levi? For the first time, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the ancient church fathers, and other rare history books reveal the mystery of the Ancient Order of Melchizedek.

In 2010, using a specialized robotic camera, authors Tabor and Jacobovici, working with archaeologists, geologists, and forensic anthropologists, explored a previously unexcavated tomb in Jerusalem from around the time of Jesus. They made a remarkable discovery. The tomb contained several ossuaries, or bone boxes, two of which were carved with an iconic image and a Greek inscription. Taken together, the image and the inscription constitute the earliest archaeological evidence of faith in Jesus’ resurrection.

Written by Gad, seer of King David, about 1000 BC, this book of prophecy is recommended reading by the Bible, but was never included in the Canon. It was thought to have been lost over three millennia ago. The books of Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Shemaiah and Iddo are referred to as “The Lost Five.” This long-lost book includes two revealing sermons given by King David. We have a prophecy that outlines the end times beginning with the Rapture, the seven-year tribulation and the establishment of Christ’s millennial reign.

Our greatest need is to be recognized—to be seen, loved, and embedded in rich relationships with those around us. But for the last century, we’ve displaced that need with the ease of technology. We’ve dreamed of mastery without relationship (what the premodern world called magic) and abundance without dependence (what Jesus called Mammon). Yet even before a pandemic disrupted that quest, we felt threatened and strangely out of place: lonely, anxious, bored amid endless options, oddly disconnected amid infinite connections.

"Drawing on resources as diverse as Sufism, Benedictine Monasticism, the Gurdjieff Work, and the string theory of modern physics, Cynthia Bourgeault has crafted her own unique vision of the Wisdom way in this very accessible book, nicely balanced between concept and practice." (Gerald May, senior fellow, Shalem Institute, and author, Addiction and Grace and Will and Spirit)

This book begins with King Solomon's reign and ends just before Jesus' birth, but don't expect to hear an historical record as in a textbook. This is history read as God's master plan, and He knows exactly what He's doing.

Prophets and Kings is volume two of a five-volume set that covers human history from the beginning of our time and on into the future.

Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) is generally regarded as the greatest intellectual ever to have appeared in the Arab world - a genius who ranks as one of the world's great minds. Yet the author of the Muqaddima, the most important study of history ever produced in the Islamic world, is not as well known as he should be, and his ideas are widely misunderstood. In this groundbreaking intellectual biography, Robert Irwin provides an engaging and authoritative account of Ibn Khaldun's extraordinary life, times, writings, and ideas.

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.

In this step-by-step guide to kabbalistic practices to connect with your natural inner genius and liberate the light within you, Catherine Shainberg reveals how to tap instantly into the subconscious and receive answers to urgent questions. This method, called the Kabbalah of Light, originated with Rabbi Isaac the Blind of Posquieres (1160-1235) and has been passed down by an ancient kabbalistic family, the Sheshet of Gerona, in an unbroken transmission spanning more than 800 years.

Popular author and speaker Fr. Stephen Freeman explores the roots and meaning of both toxic and healthy shame, revealing the crucial importance of this understanding for our relationship with God.

Written between A.D. 413 and 426, The City of God is one of the great cornerstones in the history of Christian thought, a book which is vital to the understanding of modern Western society. Augustine originally intended it to be an apology for Christianity against the accusation that the Church was responsible for the decline of the Roman Empire, which had occurred just three years earlier. Indeed, Augustine produced a great amount of evidence to prove that paganism was responsible for this event. However, by the time the work was finished, the book had taken on a larger theme.

This is a history of the King James Version of the Bible over the 400 years from its remote beginnings to the present day and helps to explain the enduring popularity of the King James Version throughout the world today. Gordon Campbell, expert in Renaissance literatures, tells the fascinating and complex story of how this translation came to be commissioned, of who the translators were, and of how the translation was accomplished. The story does not end with the printing of that first edition, but introduces the subsequent generations who edited and interacted with the text.

At a time when so many disaffected Christians are trying to recreate the church from scratch, Fr. James offers a clear and accessible apology for simply returning to what Christ’s church was always meant to be.

Although all the titles of the Nag Hammadi library are not known, many people have heard about its most famous components: The Gospel of Thomas - at one time it was discussed whether it should be included in the New Testament - and The Gospel of Philip, which tried to revive the debate around the identity of Mary Magdalene: "Why do you love her more than all of us?" asks a disconcerted Peter to Jesus. Finally, the Nag Hammadi texts have led many scholars to reconsider the rigid canons imposed by the early Church, and the readers to find a more intimate religion that turned upside down many postulates of Christian orthodoxy.

The history of the Emerald Tablets is strange and beyond the belief of modern scientists. Their antiquity is stupendous, dating back some 36,000 years B.C. The author is Thoth, an Atlantean Priest-King who founded a colony in ancient Egypt, wrote the Emerald Tablets in his native Atlantean language which was translated by Dr. Michael Doreal.

Current Western society would lead us to believe that acquiring financial wealth would be the answer to all of our problems. Or would it? In this thought-provoking program, author and Eastern philosopher Laurence Boldt takes you on a journey to uncover what your belief system is and just how much your life is being dictated by a misdirected desire to gain peace of mind through acquiring material wealth.

In The Power of Ho'oponopono, new thought author Craig Beck gives you a brief introduction and grounding in this life changing style of meditation. By implementing the easy to follow steps in this book you can affect positive change in your own life and also in the lives of all those that you love.

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?

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not about what Jesus can do for your life. It is not even the answer to the question, “How can I be saved?” It is the declaration of a victory. In his coming to earth, his suffering, and his Resurrection, Christ conquered demons, sin, and death. In Arise, O God, author and podcaster Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick introduces us to the spiritual war that Christ won by his victory, how we are caught in that war’s cosmic crossfire, what the true content of the gospel is—and how we are to respond.