Urban Religion

The monsters of ancient mythology, folklore, and more contemporary urban legend have long captured the popular imagination. While most people in America today relegate monsters to just that - our imaginations - we continue to be fascinated by the unknown. Linda Godfrey is one of the country's leading authorities on modern-day monsters and has interviewed countless eyewitnesses to strange phenomena.

How did the preaching of a peasant carpenter from Galilee spark a movement that would grow to include over two billion followers? Who listened to this "good news," and who ignored it? Where did Christianity spread, and how? Based on quantitative data and the latest scholarship, preeminent scholar and journalist Rodney Stark presents new and startling information about the rise of the early church, overturning many prevailing views of how Christianity grew through time to become the largest religion in the world.

From the rolling hills of the Pocono Mountains to the eerie depths of abandoned coal mines, this gripping collection of true stories of encounters with the supernatural will leave you questioning the boundaries of reality itself. Delve into the chilling specters that roam historic Gettysburg, read first hand accounts of extraterrestrial encounters in the mysterious Allegheny National Forest, and travel to the heart of Amish country, where even the most devout are not immune to the inexplicable.

Ghosts, ghouls, witches, spectres, demons, the Grim Reaper, vampires, leprechauns, the Devil, as well as a host of other supernatural beings - along with the odd unsolved murder thrown in for good measure – all to be found within the pages of this unique first volume of Tom Slemen's work. Thirty-six stories that will haunt your mind and delight your dark side, all from the pen of one of England's greatest writers on the supernatural – Tom Slemen.

Are you ready to be scared? Pennsylvania is filled with phenomena science cannot explain. Houses in which the floorboards creak and door open on their own, battlefields where fallen soldiers walk again, strange sounds coming from the forest, spooky lights in the sky, and much more. Renowned paranormalist Tony Urban has collected over 25 tales of the unexplained from one end of PA to the other.

Why is the city a battleground of hostile principalities and powers? What is the mission of the church in the city? How can the church be supported in accomplishing that mission? These are the questions that Robert Linthicum treats in his comprehensive and probing biblical theology of the city. In the Bible the city is depicted both as a dwelling place of God and his people and as a center of power for Satan and his minions. The city is one primary stage on which the drama of salvation is played out.

Pastor Tommy walks us through Nehemiah’s story of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls as he shares the seemingly impossible journey of his church rebuilding an abandoned Toys R’ Us building in a crumbling community. In every crisis, there are rebuilding opportunities! This story will encourage and inspire you to pursue God’s rebuilding work in your life, your church, and our post-pandemic world.

Like every other being in our world, fantastical creatures have been forced to adapt to the climate, industrial, and cultural changes of the modern era. Countless formerly common creatures including akeki and cave trolls have been driven out by urban sprawl and climate change while others, like ether sprites and brownies, have been able to thrive in abundance, creating homes in city environments.

On a dig in an Egyptian tomb, graduate intern Nathan Eckhoff finds the ancient cloak of Joseph, the dream interpreter who became the Grand Vizier of all Egypt. Upon donning the ancient, extraordinary cloak, visions and perceptions assault Nathan. At the same time, a mysterious being of strange power enters Nathan's life with words and warnings that terrify Nathan. Now Nathan must decide, is he the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Lamed Vovniks, also known as the Thirty-Six righteous people upon whom the fate of the world rests?

A progressive society needs a progressive religion and the teachings of Joshua can be shown to be the ideal way of life for our urban society. Joshua’s religion is evolutionary to the individual, liberating to the citizen, motivating to the activist, and transforming to the sincere seeker who is pursuing God with all his heart and soul and mind.

For fifty years “Detroit” has been shorthand for all that's wrong with urban America: crime, corruption, decay, racial tension, struggling businesses, failing schools, a declining tax base, and more. Since 1950 Detroit has lost two-thirds of its population, falling from fifth place in the U.S. (just behind Los Angeles) to twenty-fourth (just behind Nashville). Between 2000 and 2017 alone, its population fell 28%, a steeper drop than any other major American city.

In The Rise and Fall of Protestant Brooklyn, Stuart M. Blumin and Glenn C. Altschuler tell the story of 19th-century Brooklyn's domination by upper- and middle-class Protestants with roots in Puritan New England. This lively history describes the unraveling of the control they wielded as more ethnically diverse groups moved into the "City of Churches" during the 20th century.

A series of savage and brutal murders is taking place by a killer that might not be human. A secret brotherhood first discovered this baffling mix of man and God in 1970. Now, this Son of God, or Satan, is about to proclaim its divinity, through a ritualistic series of slayings. Can Luke Starr, aka DragonMan, a new superhero for our times, stop its relentless threat to mankind? Only time will tell...

A novel inspired by the movie Clergy. Piotr Głuchowski not only develops the movie's threads and unveils the resumes of the characters, but also draws from real-life stories to create a new, shocking narrative about the sins of the Church. These are discovered by a journalist, Ludmiła Zakrzewska, the main character of the novel. While conducting her investigation into the ecclesial pedophilia, she has to make a fundamental choice between love and dignity.

Tales of the Talking Picture is a fabulous science-fiction fantasy novel about a boy who comes into possession of an old oval portrait of a woman named Rhiannon Tanglewyst, who happens to be a witch who has been trapped within the picture for centuries. Rhiannon tells Matthew and his troublesome girlfriend, a Goth named Christina, fantastical tales from the future and the past....

Told with equal parts raw honesty and unbridled compassion, All Day recounts a year in Liza Jessie Peterson's classroom at Island Academy, the high school for inmates detained at New York City's Rikers Island. A poet and an actress who had done occasional workshops at the correctional facility, Peterson was ill prepared for a full-time stint teaching in the GED program for the incarcerated youths.

Jealousy, envy, and pure hateration. Maybe you've been there? Maybe you know someone that's going through it? Whatever the case you know when things get rough you can always count on your Sister Girls to be there for you. Take a look inside the lives of Crystal, Susan, Jewell, and Elsie. Their lives are laced with love, lust, and loyalty. Crystal must deal with a past she can't escape. Susan is in denial and needs to get real. Jewell is looking for a "good man." And Elsie is confused about her sexuality. When their issues explode, each woman is forced to confront her life and herself.

When Caylin Louis Moore was a young child, his mother gathered her three young children and fled an abusive husband, landing in poverty in a heavily policed, gang-ridden community. When Moore’s father was convicted of murder and his mother was sexually assaulted in the hospital while recovering from open-heart surgery, Moore was forced to enter adulthood prematurely.

The Red Fiend of Bold Street, The Black Elves of Bloody Acre, The Old Man in the Carpet, Strange Creatures from the Bootle Caverns, and the sinister legend of the Devil's Bridge in Mossley Hill where, it is alleged, John Lennon sold his soul in return for 20 years of global fame and undreamt-of fortune...just some of the tales in this phenomenal book by Liverpool's most popular writer - Tom Slemen. Beasts, Banshees, and Bogeymen is just further proof that Tom Slemen is the unrivalled master storyteller of the supernatural.

Who has not been thrilled and not a little frightened by tales of ghosts, spirits, hauntings, and monsters? Some of the most fascinating accounts come from the dark hollows of the Ozark Mountains. For generations, these scary, mystifying legends have been told around campfires and family gatherings and handed down through the generations. Now, for the first time, the best of these tales have been gathered together and presented in this volume.