Abbot Timothy Wright proposes sowing a small seed from which might grow a greater respect between the world's two largest religions, Christianity and Islam. Indeed, he believes that the seed has already been planted. Christians give unique value to their revealed Scriptures as the "Word of God." Muslims speak of the Qur'an as God speaking to them.In No Peace without Prayer, Wright presents the case for developing this faith in the Word of God to establish groups of Christi...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this “brilliantly lucid, splendidly readable book” (The Sunday Times), one of Britain’s foremost commentators on religion explores how people have perceived and experienced God throughout history, from the time of Abraham to the present.“An admirable and impressive work of synthesis that will give insight and satisfaction to thousands of lay readers.”—The Washington Post Book WorldWh...

A shocking, riveting, intriguing re-discovery of history, culture, philosophy and the emerging of a key individual that became the instrument to catapult the Islamic religion. The impact of ancient Arabian folklore with its stone and astral cults, shamanism, various Judaic traditions, heretical sects within Christianity, and prevalent moon-god veneration, all rolled together in the mind of Muhammad, who carved out a kind of salad religion, taking bits and pieces and countering with his own...

From Miroslav Volf, one of the world's foremost Christian theologians—and co-teacher, along with Tony Blair, of a groundbreaking Yale University course on faith and globalization—comes Allah, a timely and provocative argument for a new pluralism between Muslims and Christians.In a penetrating exploration of every side of the issue, from New York Times headlines on terrorism to passages in the Koran and excerpts from the Gospels, Volf makes an unprecedented argument...

William Hopper's best-selling history of the world's religions, now available in all e-formats!"Hopper represents the most lethal of organized religions many opponents: a curious, well-educated individual with a sharp wit." ~Queen's University Journal Review"Wickedly fun and informative."~Toronto Star"The Heathen's Guide To World Religions has taken up permanent residence on my bookshelves... a masterfully written, wonderfully funny, and deliciously snarky trip down...

A collection of Gnostic texts spanning centuries, geographical locations, and cultural traditions—“a wonderful achievement” (Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels)Gnosticism was a wide-ranging religious movement of the first millennium CE—with earlier antecedents and later flourishings—whose adherents sought salvation through knowledge and personal religious experience. Gnostic writings offer striking perspectives on both early Christian and non-Chr...

This compendium of World Religions serves as a valuable reference work for layman and scholar. The authors devoted several years in researching, analyzing and organizing this work. Their research involved extensive travel and combing through volumes of manuscripts and conversations with the converts of various religions. The material is presented in an unbiased and objective manner that allows the reader to easily compare the teachings of a particular religion with their faith. Furthermore...

Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, authors of The Jesus Mysteries and Jesus and the Lost Goddess, return with a powerful indictment of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic fundamentalism and a passionate reinterpretation of Gnostic spirituality. According to Freke and Gandy, religiously inspired acts of violence, such as the attacks on 9/11, are nothing new. They are the continuation of a long and bloody history of brutality caused by mistaking bizarre old books for the Word of God...

Thinking more globally about the formation of theology enriches our understanding of what it means to be a Christian.It's no secret that the center of Christianity has shifted from the West to the global South and East. While the truths of the Christian faith are universal, different contexts and cultures illuminate new questions, understandings, and expressions. What does this mean for theology, as Western theologians understand it?Timothy Tennent argues t...

This book is about consequences of religion more than whether Christ rose from the dead (Krishna, Osiris, Attis of Phrygia, Dionysus, all of whom besides being born on December 25th from a virgin mother did "Resurrect"), or whether the verses of the Qur'an are exactly the words of Allah. It is more focused on how scriptures and writings have been used to harm, torture, fight or kill unbelievers.

Venerated for millennia by three faiths, torn by irreconcilable conflict, conquered, rebuilt, and mourned for again and again, Jerusalem is a sacred city whose very sacredness has engendered terrible tragedy. In this fascinating volume, Karen Armstrong, author of the highly praised A History of God, traces the history of how Jews, Christians, and Muslims have all laid claim to Jerusalem as their holy place, and how three radically different concepts of holiness have shaped and scarred the ...

The people we’ve come to call gnostics were passionate advocates of the view that salvation comes through knowledge and personal experience, and their passion shines through in the remarkable body of writings they produced over a period of more than a millennium and a half. Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer have created a translation that brings the gnostic voices to us from across the centuries with remarkable power and beauty—beginning with texts from the earliest years of Christianity—i...