Showing results by author "Joseph B. Lumpkin" in All Categories

Using texts from ancient and controversial discoveries, the missing years of Jesus are uncovered, revealing a young man's struggle between childhood and godhood. Jesus the child, the boy, the man, and the messiah are all seen in documents spanning from the time of his birth to his crucifixion. Now, the missing years in the life of Jesus are told through these hotly contested books and letters.

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.

By examining the earliest and most ancient texts of the faith, the original and unaltered words and intentions of Jesus may be heard in a brighter light. With fresh insight, we may better understand the evolution and journey of a new movement from a small Jewish sect to a world religion.

The extremes to which the church and its leaders have gone in order to protect and justify various decisions regarding points of faith is fascinating, but tends to obscure the truth. Revisionist history, coercion, greed, lust, and propaganda were the order of the day when the major items of doctrine were being decided. In fact, many of those truths that we hold so dear in our Christian faith were decided, if not invented, through or because of political and financial aims, and not by theological insight. Many doctrines went well beyond what the early church held as truth.

The value of The Book of Jasher is seen in the large quantity of additional detail revealed from the period between divine creation and the time of Joshua's leadership over Israel when the Israelites enter into the land of Canaan. The Book of Jasher includes details about the antediluvian patriarchs, angels, watchers, the flood, the tower of Babel, and many other events mentioned in the Bible. The tales are expanded and infused with detail not previously available. This means we receive insight into the lives of Abraham, Noah, Enoch, Joseph, and many others.

It is the solitary purpose of this work to place back on this beautiful text flesh and blood so readers of today may feel and see and touch and know the wisdom and peace expressed so very long ago. The world of the twenty-first century is not the same as China in 300 BCE, but there remain common threads connecting mankind throughout the ages. In these threads we find a way to fully express and connect the depth of the Tao Te Ching to a modern age without compromising its ancient meaning.

The Gospel of Thomas has been a flame of enlightenment in the world for almost 2,000 years. Once, almost extinguished, it has returned to us in ways most have never imagined. Today, the Gospel of Thomas leads us both spiritually and psychologically. In this work we will delve deeply into the spiritual and psychological meaning and application of each verse. We will gain a profound understanding of our nature and we will see how Gnosticism has influenced the development of modern psychology, under the hand of Carl G. Jung.

Jesus was a man of few words, simple words, and a deeply challenging message. However, through the years his words and message have been clouded with additions and retractions. How can we possibly know the words he spoke? What were his original teachings? Where did his message stop and the many changes begin? Hidden in the gospels themselves are the source materials containing the original message preached by Jesus. Before the gospels were written, there were proto-gospels, notes, lists, and collections of sayings used to construct the gospels we have today.

The text known as "Second Enoch," was discovered in 1886 by Professor Sokolov in the archives of the Belgrade Public Library. The Second Book of Enoch, or 2 Enoch was written in the latter half of the first century A.D. but had gone through alterations and additions to make it more acceptable to the Christian community. It was written in Slavonic, but had evidence of being translated from another language.

Although the book presents the Jewish leaders Judas, Jonathan, and Simon as devout people and has little sympathy for people who favor Hellenization, it must be noted that he nowhere mentions divine intervention. The author must have been a cultivated Jew living in Judah, and can be dated to c.100 B.C.E.

Are angels, seraphim, and cherubim exactly as the scriptures describe them - spiritual beings made by God for his service? Are demons those same beings acting contrary to their natural purpose? This audiobook draws no conclusions but only asks those questions shouting to us from recently unearthed scrolls, which are thousands of years old.

The Book of Gad the Seer, also called The Word of Gad the Seer, is said to have been written by the Prophet mentioned in 1 Chronicles 29:29. The passage reads: "Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in The Book of Gad the Seer."

Embark on a transformative journey as you dive into the depths of the origins of sin through this amazing audio version narrated by Steve Cook. A free PDF of the ancient text is provided, which will fire the imagination with its captivating illustrations. Our illustrated edition of the Book of Enoch provides an extraordinary opportunity to explore profound insights with clarity and visual aids that enhance your comprehension of this amazing audio production.

The search for wisdom has been the pole-star of humanity for 6,000 years. Religions have come and gone, philosophies have failed, but those surviving wells of wisdom go deep and yield sweet refreshment for the soul. Now, the greatest books of Eastern wisdom are brought together for the sake of those seeking the path of enlightenment and liberation.

Before you are the books referred to as the Minor Prophets. This portion of the Septuagint contains the books of Osee, Joel, Amos, Obdias, Jonas, Michaeas, Naum, Ambacum, Sophonias, Aggaeus, Zacharias, and Malachias. As the known world became Hellenized, the Jews began to lose their ability to read and write Hebrew. Jewish leaders were alarmed that soon no one would be able to read and teach the Torah. Owing to this, a Greek version was commissioned. The earliest writer who gives an account of the Septuagint version is Aristobulus, a Jew who lived in the second century BC.

We will examine the true place of women in the Bible and how translators diminished the place and accomplishments of women by mistranslating words and phrases. We will look at the true meaning of many Bible verses, as well as the complete text of Paul and Thecla, with an eye toward how women were a driving force in religion and family in the early church.

This audiobook reflects upon the martial arts as it was hundreds of years ago, before it became popular in the West and people were awarded ranks in astonishingly short periods of time. This audiobook speaks about the true spirit of the martial arts...when it should be used and when it shouldn't; it accurately recounts the history of a number of mainstream martial arts and then goes on to put forth the philosophy of "Christians in the Martial Arts".

The newly discovered Gospel of Jesus' Wife was revealed to the public in September of 2012. The small scrap of codex is the size of a credit card, but it has reignited controversy over what is now mounting evidence that Jesus may have been married. Gospels and letters, some hidden by the church and some lost until recently, tell the story of who Jesus was, what he looked like, and hint at who he may have married. Were Jesus of Nazareth and Mary of Magdala husband and wife? The evidence is piling up.

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and secular mystics all search for a deeper and personal connection with life and spirit. In this audiobook, we will look at all major paths of mysticism and see what marvelous truth and beauty is held within the heart of the mystic. This amazing journey may have a thousand paths, but all will end at the door of the infinite. The mystical experience is an encounter with the deepest truth and ultimate reality in which there is a sense of sacredness so rich and beautiful it cannot be adequately described.

This audiobook will reach down into your soul and force contemplation. It will make you search the length and breadth of the consequences of your beliefs and faith and it will make you want to seek the very heart of God and His grace in your life through the words you hear. Take your time. God will be there, waiting. The journey is not an easy one. It takes heart-wrenching emptiness to be filled with only Him.