Religious Biographies

Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born Indian mystic and tantric master, is second only to Skakyamuni as the most famous figure in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In the ninth century, he journeyed across the Himalayan Mountains to establish Buddhism for the people of Tibet. This legendary tale interweaves narration with timeless advice to all spiritual practitioners. Here, in English for the first time, is the complete story of how Buddhism was planted in Tibet.

This is the story of a Canadian woman who was in the Advanced Training Institute, run by Bill Gothard, for fourteen years. The amazing thing is that she never knew she was in a cult until several years after she was out. That's what happened to Christine in 2014. She has spent the past nine years trying to deprogram and change the way she sees the world. Join her as she navigates the cult, goes through a divorce, finds out she was in a cult and subsequently has to unlearn all she believed to be true.

The great goddess Devi comes in many forms and many moods. She is the kind and gentle Parvati, the scholarly Saraswati and also the invincible warrior Durga, who rides out on a lion to fight the evil asuras. In this book, listen to three exciting tales about the Devi. Discover how Parvati made Shiva fall in love with her; join the gods as they create the mighty warrior goddess Durga to defeat an asura called Mahisha and find out what happened when Saraswati lost her temper and cursed Lord Brahma!

Benedict XVI: A Life offers insight into the young life and rise through the Church’s ranks of a man who would become a hero and a lightning rod for Catholics the world over. Based on countless hours of interviews in Rome with Benedict himself, this two-volume biography is the definitive record of the life of Joseph Ratzinger and the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI. This first volume follows his early life, from his days growing up in Germany and his conscription into the Hitler Youth during WWII to his career as an academic theologian and eventual archbishop of Munich.

The dramatic autobiography of one of China's dedicated, courageous, and intensely persecuted house church leaders. This is the gripping story of how God took a young, half-starved boy from a poor village in Henan province and placed him on the front line for Jesus, in the face of impossible odds. Instead of focusing on the many miracles or experiences of suffering, however, Yun prefers to focus on the character and beauty of Jesus.

The circumstances of the death of these men are by now known throughout the world in one of the great missionary adventure stories of modern times. But this is the first account of the whole life of one of them, a life that, though "hid with Christ in God", was in part revealed in some of the most poignant and moving spiritual writings of our time.

Considered one of the greatest novels of simple and triumphant religious faith to be published in the 20th century, how the The Song of Bernadette came to be written is an inspirational - even miraculous - story in its own right. In June 1940, famed Austrian author Franz Werfel and his beautiful wife, Alma Mahler, were on a desperate flight across France, seeking to escape certain death at the hands of the Nazi invaders. Franz had written many articles and given many radio speeches denouncing their tyranny.

To Love and Be Loved is a firsthand account of Mother Teresa’s last years, and the first book ever to detail her dealings with worldly matters. We see her gracefully navigate the opportunities and challenges of leadership, the perils of celebrity, and the humiliations and triumphs of aging. We also catch her indulging in chocolate ice cream, making jokes about mini-skirts, and telling the president of the United States he’s wrong. Above all, we see her extraordinary devotion to God and to the very poorest of His children.

In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel in Rome. During the four extraordinary years that Michelangelo spent laboring over the ceiling, power politics and personal rivalries swirled around him. He battled ill health, financial and family difficulties, inadequate knowledge of the art of fresco, and the Pope's impatience - a history that is more compelling than most novels.

In his eagerly anticipated follow-up to the enormously successful Seven Men, New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas gives us seven captivating portraits of some of history's greatest women, all of whom changed the course of history by following God's call upon their lives - as women.

She lost her arm in a shark attack and nearly died, but she never lost her faith. Now a major motion picture, Soul Surfer is the moving story of Bethany Hamilton’s triumphant return to competitive surfing and has continued to be a beacon of inspiration to all who hear it. They say Bethany Hamilton has saltwater in her veins. How else could one explain the passion that drives her to surf? Or that nothing - not even the loss of her arm - could come between her and the waves?

As the adopted son of two cult leaders, Benjamin Risha was raised to someday assume a place of leadership in the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation with the Bible, and his parents’ interpretation of it, as his guide. He believed the prophecies of his adoptive mother and father. However, when none of it happened, and the foundation slid from bucolic communal lifestyle to insufferable criminality that included absolute obedience to the Alamos, Benjamin knew he had to escape.

Discover the extraordinary journey of Amanda Van Lagen, a woman from a small town in Ontario, Canada, who embarks on a path of profound self-discovery and transformation. Growing up within the confines of a strict religious background, Amanda finds her true calling and inner peace through the enlightening teachings of the Tao Te Ching. This ancient Chinese philosophy unravels the mysteries of life, manifestation, and the remarkable power of our thoughts in shaping reality.

The collection of quotes, stories, and prayers in this book are all her own words and experiences. They were compiled from various sources. Her undying faith and concern of the human spirit is reflected in these passages. In her years of work, Mother Teresa has brought God to millions in places of darkness. Let her share her hope, faith, and love with you.

Leaving the Saints is an unforgettable memoir about one woman's spiritual quest and journey toward faith. As "Mormon royalty" within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Martha Beck was raised in a home frequented by the Church's high elders, known as the apostles, and her existence was framed by their strict code of conduct.

In this bold, momentous work, the pope, in his first book written as Benedict XVI, seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent "popular" depictions and to restore Jesus' true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and incites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.

Ed and Lorraine Warren have devoted decades to exploring, authenticating, and conclusively documenting countless cases of otherworldly phenomena. Here are the accounts of teenage girls who trifled with Satanism and séances, only to fall victim to the most horrifying of spirits. A village terrorized by a murderous, unstoppable force too evil to be anything but Hell-born. A family's home besieged by the relentless, destructive fury of poltergeists. In all, 14 terrifying tales, all the more spine-tingling because they're true!

Offering rare insights into this iconic and enduring book, Larrimore reveals how Job has come to be viewed as the Bible's answer to the problem of evil and the perennial question of why a God who supposedly loves justice permits bad things to happen to good people.

Origen (c. 185-c. 253) was the most influential Christian theologian before Augustine, the founder of Biblical study as a serious discipline in the Christian tradition, and a figure with immense influence on the development of Christian spirituality. This volume presents a comprehensive and accessible insight into Origen's life and writings, written and compiled by Joseph W. Trigg, a leading Origen authority. An introduction analyzes the principal influences that formed him as a Christian and as a thinker.

En este clásico de la literatura espiritual, Paramahansa Yogananda narra la inspirativa historia de su vida, que incluye los encuentros que mantuvo con numerosos santos y sabios, los diez años de entrenamiento espiritual que recibió en la ermita de un maestro iluminado, y los más de treinta años en los que vivió en Estados Unidos difundiendo las liberadoras enseñanzas del Kriya Yoga. Esta obra, que es una profunda exposición de la ciencia y la filosofía Yoga, revela la unidad básica existente entre las grandes religiones de Oriente y Occidente.