Early Religions

From classics such as the Odyssey and the Aeneid to fifth-century Christian apocrypha, narratives that described guided tours of the afterlife played a major role in shaping ancient notions of morality and ethics. In this new account, acclaimed author Bart Ehrman contextualizes early Christian narratives of heaven and hell within the broader intellectual and cultural worlds from which they emerged.

For the hermits and communal monks of antiquity, the desert was a place to flee the cacophony of ordinary life in order to hear and contemplate the voice of God. But these monks discovered something surprising in their harsh desert surroundings: far from empty and silent, the desert is richly reverberant. Sonorous Desert shares the stories and sayings of these ancient spiritual seekers, tracing how the ambient sounds of wind, thunder, water, and animals shaped the emergence and development of early Christian monasticism.

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.

The pope, the bishop of Rome, claims spiritual authority over more than a billion Catholics worldwide. He also exercises temporal authority over a tiny enclave of Rome consisting of the Vatican Palace, Saint Peter’s Basilica, and 44 hectares with the ancient Leonine Walls. As sovereign of the Vatican City States, he has around 1,000 subjects, mostly clerics.

Many pastors feel isolated and helpless, especially those beginning pastoral ministry. Phil Newton and Rich Shadden know what this road is like, and they want to share what they have gained from pastoral mentoring—Rich, a young pastor receiving support and guidance from Phil, an older, more experienced shepherd.

Many years ago, in a lecture on the creation of the Mishnah, the Orthodox Jewish historian, Rabbi Berel Wein discussed the rise of early Christianity as a historical and theological backdrop. He mentioned that this era is of particular importance to Jews because of the complicated and tragic relationship between Jews and Christians over the centuries. He referred to Joseph Klausner, the famed Jewish professor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who in the earlier part of the 20th century, had authored several works on early Christianity from a Jewish standpoint.

One of the great early Christian writings of the second century, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching is a book all true believers can learn from. In writing to his friend, Irenaeus unfolds the Christian faith by quoting extensively from the Old Testament.

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.

This book welcomes listeners to appreciate the origins of Christianity within the Roman world in which early Christianity got its first foothold. It does that by immersing listeners in the life and culture of two thriving first-century towns—Pompeii and Herculaneum. Those towns (destroyed in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE) act as showpieces of the world into which the early Christian movement was spreading.

The Shepherd of Hermas, composed in the late 1st or mid-2nd century AD, is an intriguing early Christian work filled with vivid visions, parables, and teachings. It follows the journey of Hermas, a former slave, who receives divine revelations through a figure known as the Shepherd. The text explores themes of repentance, moral integrity, and the necessity of maintaining a pure and faithful Christian community.

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.

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is an apocryphal work containing the final speeches and dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob to their descendants. Each Testament consists of a brief overview of the patriarch’s life, admissions of sin, ethical teachings based on the patriarch’s experiences, and prophetic visions about the future of his descendants and the end of days.

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.

Marcus J. Borg, esteemed Bible scholar and best-selling author, shakes up the order of the New Testament as we know it by putting the books in a completely new order - the order in which they were written. By doing so, Evolution of the Word allows us to experience these documents in their historical context. For the first time, see how the core ideas of Christianity took shape and developed over time.

This remarkable collection of 73 verses contained in the 'Khuddaka Nikaya' section of the Pali Canon dates from the BC 6th century. It is said to be the earliest voices of women in recorded history. The verses, some brief, some more extended, are the utterances of the bhikkhunis, the nuns at the time of the Buddha, concerning their life and their ‘awakening’.

The Dīghanikāya or Long Discourses of the Buddha is one of the four major collections of teachings from the early period of Buddhism. Its 34 suttas (in Sanskrit, sutras) demonstrate remarkable breadth in both content and style, forming a comprehensive collection. The Art of Listening gives an introduction to the Dīghanikāya and demonstrates the historical, cultural, and spiritual insights that emerge when we view the Buddhist suttas as oral literature.

Perhaps no declaration incites more theological and moral outrage than a human's claim to be divine. Those who make this claim in ancient Jewish and Christian mythology are typically represented as the most hubristic and dangerous tyrants. Their horrible punishments are predictable and still serve as morality tales in religious communities today. But not all self-deifiers are saddled with pride and fated to fall.

Is there, or was there ever, such a thing as a "Christian" Canada? Contrary to what historical revisionists might claim, Canada has a rich and deep Catholic and Protestant heritage.

Getting to know the Church Fathers means getting to know our own roots. It means knowing more deeply who we are as we learn more and more about who they are. The early Christians are our ancestors, our common genealogy, our family. When we look to our roots, what do we see?

Carpocrates, Marcellina, and Epiphanes is the definitive study of the early Christian theologian Carpocrates, his son Epiphanes, and the leader of the Carpocratian movement in Rome, Marcellina. It contains the first full-length study of and commentary on the fragments of Epiphanes, the earliest reports on Carpocrates and Marcellina, as well as the Epistle to Theodore (containing the so-called Secret Gospel of Mark). Listeners also encounter an up-to-date history of research on the Carpocratian movement, and three full profiles of all we can know from the earliest Carpocratian leaders.