English Church History

This among Christians is a season of persecution. When, therefore, faith is greatly agitated, and the Church burning, as represented by the bush, then the Gnostics break out, then the Valentinians creep forth, then all the opponents of martyrdom bubble up, being themselves also hot to strike, penetrate, kill.

We no longer need to be confused. We know what 666 is! We know what the Beast is! We know what the second Beast is! We know which countries will rise and which countries will fall! With knowledge of this information in hand, we can sit back and watch as everything unfolds. We can know that there is really no reason for us to fear anything. God's plan is beautiful! And the end is good!

Has God abandoned Israel? Has the Church “replaced” Israel? What does the Bible say? As we watch the world events, it is clear that Israel is following her prophetic scenario, and a new chapter is about to be written - and there may be a big surprise on our near horizon!

The Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second-largest Christian church, with more than 260 million members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by bishops in local synods. In this classic work Prof. Adrian Fortescue describes in detail the history, structure, and current state of the Orthodox Church. An excellent introduction for those seeking to better understand this historic apostolic church. 

William Henry (Harrison) Heard (1850-1937) was born into slavery and became a clergyman of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He served as United States Ambassador to Liberia from 1895 through 1898. His autobiography contains a chapter on men who had influenced his life, and a poem on his life by Ephraim Tyler.

The early Church faced its share of villains - persecutors like Nero and Julian, heretics like Marcion and Arius. And what good were they? Plenty, say the Church fathers. The threat of persecution made Christians strong and bold. As noted author Mike Aquilina demonstrates in Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians, the menace of heresy made Christians smarter - and deepened their knowledge of the divine mysteries. The villains of the ancient world proved the mettle of heroes like Peter and Paul, Irenaeus and Athanasius.

Most would agree that the modern church has become a disgraceful place, which still houses an eternal truth. Even when faced with this knowledge it is difficult to break away from our traditions. How do we rescue our own spirituality from the church? We shall cut tradition away from truth and let truth stand on its own. Tradition is a prison housing truth and religion is the hangman of spirituality. Both truth and spirit can be rescued with the courage to question and still believe.

John Calvin describes the Catholic Church as “very miserable, and almost desperate” in this 1543 work. He appeals directly to Holy Roman Emperor King Charles V, pointing out the failures of the church and demanding change. On behalf of the reformers, Calvin details his proposed solution.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

The struggle for human rights, emancipation, civil rights, social justice, voting rights, and freedom from discrimination and tyranny is captured here in this volume of speeches by some of the most influential and brilliant Black orators in history.

This book explores how God has used small groups throughout church history, specifically focusing on the early church to the present time. God not only established the early church as a house to house movement, but he also has used small groups throughout church history. This book chronicles the small group or cell movement from Jesus all the way to the modern day cell explosion.

Many starstruck believers raise their hands, their eyes welling with genuine tears, towards a statue of whom the locals hail "Our Lady of Lourdes", housed in the mystifyingly magnetic grotto on the northern neck of the Massabielle (“Old Mass”) in the quaint town of Lourdes. Given the promises of inner peace and spiritual awakenings, it comes as no surprise that this once unassuming town has now become the second most popular tourist destination in France. This audiobook chronicles the remarkable history of the site and how it became one of the religion’s most influential spots.

Thanks to Dan Brown's best-selling novel turned blockbuster mega-hit, The Da Vinci Code, in which audiences were introduced to Silas, the villainous, self-whipping monk, corporal mortification is now a term most often associated with Opus Dei. A creepy, deranged, and blood-thirsty albino monk, Silas is most remembered for viciously whipping himself with a nail-embedded cilice. For added suspense, various falsehoods of the real-life order have been propagated by the literary masterpiece; in fact, the character of Silas contains one of the foremost bloopers, as there were never any monks in the order.

Every year, millions visit a stunning circuit board city starring gorgeous collections of interconnected rectangular buildings and charming houses in shades of beige, sandy-brown, and other earthy tones. Zoom in a little closer, and one can see the Renaissance-style exterior of its buildings and the exquisite detail captured in the statues mounted on the tops of its palaces and cathedrals.

No other artwork in the world is comparable to the Virgin of Guadalupe. What makes this painting unique - located in the Basilica of Guadalupe, north of Mexico City - is not precisely its artistic quality, as is the case with the Mona Lisa by Leonardo or The Kiss by Gustav Klimt, nor its place in the evolution of painting.

As a born and raised Mormon I was taught over and over to study the Book of Mormon in order to get a testimony. I've done just that and what I've replicated is not what members will be happy with and will surprise those of you not of the Church despite what you may have already learned. The establishment of the LDS Church is directly linked with the establishment of this nation and explains the chaos we are going through this year, 2017.

Fought on July 28, 1864, the Battle of Ezra Church was a dramatic engagement during the Civil War's Atlanta campaign. Confederate forces under John Bell Hood desperately fought to stop William T. Sherman's advancing armies as they tried to cut the last Confederate supply line into the city. Confederates under General Stephen D. Lee nearly overwhelmed the Union right flank, but Federals under General Oliver O. Howard decisively repelled every attack.

In this biography of a key figure in Korean Church history, Rev. Sang-Dong Han (the founder of the Korean Presbyterian Church in Korea, Koshin, denomination), Rev. Koon Sik Shim, a personal friend of Rev. Sang-Dong Han and person who also experienced various stages of Korean history as "a living witness", recounts the life and work of Rev. Sang-Dong Han. This book is a "must have" for all those who are interested in Korean history and learning how it relates to American and world church history.

In 1975, The US Senate's "Church Committee", officially known as The United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, launched a series of investigations into the abuses by US government agencies such as the FBI, CIA, NSA, IRS and others. Part of the committee's investigation examined the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "war" against Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

In Dialogue on Orators, Tacitus presents a conversation about the art and philosophy of rhetoric. Four characters discuss the merits and pitfalls of oration and poetry, debating one another’s point of view. With this text, Tacitus follows in the tradition and structure of Cicero, the great orator. It marks a distinct change in style from Tacitus’ longform historical works, Germania and Agricola.