Swami Abhedananda"Vedanta Philosophy : Five Lectures On Reincarnation"
PDF | ISBN not applicable | Year 1902| 57 pages | English | 1.2 MB
Vedanta is one of the world's most ancient religious philosophies and one of its broadest. Based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India, Vedanta affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of religions. Vedanta is the philosophical foundation of Hinduism; but while Hinduism includes aspects of Indian culture, Vedanta is universal in its application and is equally relevant to all countries, all cultures, and all religious backgrounds. The unity of existence is one of the great themes of Vedanta and an essential pillar of its philosophy. Unity is the song of life; it is the grand theme underlying the rich variations that exist throughout the cosmos. Whatever we see, whatever we experience, is only a manifestation of this eternal oneness. The divinity at the core of our being is the same divinity that illumines the sun, the moon, and the stars. There is no place where we, infinite in nature, do not exist.
Jesus Rode A Donkey: Why Republicans Don't Have the Corner on Christ
Adams Media | Pages: 288 | 2006-07-24 | ISBN: 1593376197 | 3 MB
If Jesus were alive today, would he:
# Feed the poor-or cut free school lunch programs?
# Comfort the old and infirm-or eliminate Social Security?
# Turn the other cheek-or invade Iraq?
In this groundbreaking book, noted author and theologian Linda Seger, Th.D., explores what it means to be a Christian and a Democrat-and shows how the two are not mutually exclusive (as many Republicans claim), but rather inclusive. She reveals the close relationship between Democratic policy and Jesus's teachings-and the many ways in which the values Jesus espouses in the Bible correspond to the values Democrats call their own.
The idea that America's real Christians are all Republicans is just that-an idea, and an indefensible, divisive one at that. Jesus Rode a Donkey is a call to Christians everywhere to remember that Jesus was a liberal, who rode a donkey through the streets of Jerusalem-not an elephant.
Encyclopedia Britannica “Encyclopedia of World Religions"
Encyclopedia Britannica | 2006-03-01 | ISBN: 1593392664 | 1200 pages | PDF | 70,7 MB
Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor
Riverhead Trade | Pages: 528 | 1995-12-01 | ISBN: 1573225096 | 2 MB | PDF
It was Pope Gregory who began the notion that Mary Magdalene was a fallen woman and the story stuck even after Vatican 2 in 1969. This is a pre-Da Vinci code take on the historical Mary Magdalene. There have been many edits to the Bible, to church history, to the lives of key figures from the earliest origins of Christianity ... and in sorting out fact from fiction ... one must seek to understand the context of teachings first before just blindly believing anything presented to them. Mary Magdalene became an icon of the fallen dangerous women and was used to subjugate women in many levels of church politics. Her history is one of the most controversial topics in the church .... and well worth exploring to understand the intention behind her image.
Secret Origins of the Bible
Millennium Press | Pages: 468 | 2002-06-01 | ISBN: 0965504786 | 20 MB | PDF
• Clearly written and easily understandable by the lay reader.
• Thoroughly researched: author's points are backed by references in the writings of acknowledged scholars.
• Special features of the book: lavishly illustrated with multiple images in each illustration that show at a glance the mythic themes paralleling the bible.
By Clifford Mills"Pope Benedict 16th (Modern World Leaders)"
Chelsea House Publications | Pages: 112 | 2004-08 | ISBN: 0791092283 | 1 MB
Complete Who's Who in the Bible, The
Zondervan | Pages: 704 | 1996-05| ISBN: 0310211220 | 2 MB | PDF
This valuable, exhaustive resource deepens readers' understanding of God's Word by probing the lives and theological significance of Bible characters.
By Edward Renehan"Pope John Paul II (Modern World Leaders)"
Chelsea House Publications| Pages: 112 | 2006-09-30 | ISBN: 0791092275 | 4 MB
Shelley M. Buxbaum, Sara E. Karesh, "Jewish Faith in America"
Facts on File | Pages: 128 | 2002-12 | ISBN: 0816049866 | 3 MB
DownloadNils Arne Pedersen, "Demonstrative Proof in Defence of God: A Study of Titus of Bostra's Contra Manichaeos" (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies)
Brill (2004) | English | ISBN 9004138838 | 595 pages | PDF | 1.83 MB
Brill (2004) | English | ISBN 9004138838 | 595 pages | PDF | 1.83 MB
This volume is the first extensive study of a Christian work from the 4th century, Titus of Bostra's "Contra Manichaeos, which is the only text from the early Greek Church setting out a comprehensive theodicy.The study illuminates the text's relation to contemporary theology and philosophy and interprets it in the light of the ideological conflicts between pagans, Catholic Christians and Manichaeans in the 4th century. It includes an examination of the possible Manichaean sources used by Titus, and, furthermore, a critical text study and translation of central passages in "Contra Manichaeos, based both on the Greek text and the Syriac version of it.
Jonathan G. Campbell, "Deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls"
Blackwell Publishing | 2nd edition (2002) | English | ISBN 0631229930 | 245 pages | PDF | 1.66 MB
Between 1947 and 1956, nearly 900 ancient Jewish manuscripts were found in remote caves near Khirbet Qumran on the edge of the Dead Sea. This authoritative and accessible book explains the nature and significance of these amazing manuscripts and the dramatic impact they have had on our understanding of religion in ancient Palestine. Cutting through scholarly controversies and conspiracy theories, it demonstrates how the Dead Sea Scrolls have transformed our comprehension of the Bible, Judaism in the time of Jesus, and the rise of Christianity. In the second edition the main text, footnotes and bibliographies have all been thoroughly updated, and a new chapter added that expands the material on the identity of the community behind the scrolls and provides a helpful survey of the manuscripts. The book is an ideal introduction for anyone interested in either the Scrolls themselves, Jewish history and religion in the Second Temple period or the early Christian movement.
Arthur E. Palumbo, Jr., "The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Personages of Earliest Christianity"
Algora Publishing (2004) | English | ISBN 0875862969 | 317 pages | PDF | 1.83 MB
Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? Paleographical dating has tended to downplay the Scrolls' importance and to distance them from the personages of earliest Christianity, but a carefully worked out theory based on radiocarbon dating and other tests connects Scroll allusions to personages and events in a specific time period and suggests a new view on how and why the Romans crucified Jesus. Part I of this study is an attempt to deal more realistically with the evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls; very few scholars have ever examined the period from 37 BC to AD 71 as the possible setting for the scrolls. Nevertheless, everyone would admit the existence of scroll allusions that only have real relevance in this time period. Part II takes up Jesus and the beginnings of Christianity.
Why the Christian Right Is Wrong: A Minister's Manifesto for Taking Back Your Faith, Your Flag, Your Future
Jossey-Bass | Pages: 224 | 2006-05-19 | ISBN: 0787984469 | 2 MB | PDF
"I join the ranks of those who are angry, because I have watched as the faith I love has been taken over by fundamentalists who claim to speak for Jesus but whose actions are anything but Christian."
—Robin Meyers, from his "Speech Heard Round the World"
Millions of Americans are outraged at the Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies and even angrier that the nation's religious conservatives have touted these policies as representative of moral values. Why the Christian Right Is Wrong is a rousing manifesto that will ignite the collective conscience of all whose faith and values have been misrepresented by the Christian Right.
Jörg Rüpke, "A Companion to Roman Religion" (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World)
Blackwell Publishing (2007) | English | ISBN 1405129433 | 565 pages | PDF | 3.14 MB
This Companion provides a comprehensive treatment of Roman religion within its cultural, social, and historical contexts.Written by international experts, this volume offers a new approach, directing its focus away from the gods and concentrating on the human-figures of Roman religion. The book addresses the media through which religion was experienced and shared, including epigraphy, mosaics, wall-paintings, drama, and poetry, and provides, for example, the first ever history of religious motifs on coins. Placing the various discourses and practices into a larger geographical and cultural framework, this volume also considers the cults, gods, iconography, rituals, and texts that were exported widely throughout the empire, revealing the sprawling landscape of Roman religion. Judaism and Christianity are firmly placed within a strongly historical approach, covering the period from the eighth century BC to the fourth century AD.
Steve Hassan - "Combating Cult Mind Control"
Park Street Press | ISBN: 0892813113 | 1990 | Zipped GIFs | 256 pages | 66,2 MB
The author describes theories of mind control and cults based on the research of Margaret Singer and Robert Lifton as well as the cognitive dissonance theory of Leon Festinger. The book was published by Park Street Press, in 1988. Hassan is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is a former member of the Unification Church.
Olav Hammer, "Claiming Knowledge: Strategies of Epistemology from Theosophy to the New Age" (Numen Book Series)
Brill (2004) | English | ISBN 900413638X | 573 pages | PDF | 1.65 MB
This volume deals with the transformation of religious creativity in the late modern West. Its point of departure is a set of esoteric beliefs, from Theosophy to the New Age. It shows how these traditions have adapted to the cultural givens of each successive epoch. The claims of each movement have been buttressed by drawing on various structural characteristics of late modernity. The advance of science has resulted in attempts to claim scientific status for religious beliefs. Globalization has given rise to massive loans from other cultures, but also to various strategies to radically reinterpret foreign elements. Individualism has led to an increasing reliance on experience as a source of legitimacy. The analytical tools applied to understanding religious modernization shed light on changes that are fundamentally reshaping many religious traditions.
Justo L. González & Ondina E. González, "Christianity in Latin America: A History"
Cambridge University Press (2008) | English | eISBN 0511367503 | 347 pages | PDF | 1.43 MB
From the arrival of the conquistadores in the fifteenth century to the spread of the Pentecostal movement today, Christianity has moulded, coerced, refashioned, and enriched Latin America. Likewise, Christianity has been changed, criticized, and renewed as it crossed the Atlantic. These changes now affect its practice and understanding, not only in South and Central America and the Caribbean, but also - through immigration and global communication - around the world. Focusing on this mutually constitutive relationship, Christianity in Latin America presents the important encounters between people, ideas, and events of this large, heterogeneous subject. In doing so, it takes readers on a fascinating journey of explorers, missionaries, farmers, mystics, charlatans, evangelists, dictators, and martyrs. This book offers an accessible and engaging review of the history of Christianity in Latin America with a widely ecumenical focus to foster understanding of the various forces shaping both Christianity and the region.
Lamin Sanneh & Joel A. Carpenter, "The Changing Face of Christianity: Africa, the West, and the World"
Oxford University Press (2005) | English | ISBN: 0195177282 | 251 pages | PDF | 1.43 MB
Over the past century, Christianity's place and role in the world have changed dramatically. In 1900, 80 percent of the world's Christians lived in Europe and North America. Today, more than 60 percent of the world's Christians live outside of that region. This change calls for a reexamination of the way the story of Christianity is told, the methodological tools for its analysis, and its modes of expression. Perhaps most significant is the role of Africa as the new Christian heartland. The questions and answers about Christianity and its contemporary mission now being developed in the African churches will have enormous influence in the years to come.
Stages of Meditation
Snow Lion Publications | Pages: 210 | 2003-09-25 | ISBN: 1559391979 | 2 MB
The Dalai Lama explains the principles of meditation in a practice-oriented format especially suited for Westerners.
Kelton Cobb, "The Blackwell Guide to Theology and Popular Culture" (Blackwell Guides to Theology)
Blackwell Publishing (2005) | English | ISBN 1405106980 | 366 pages | PDF | 1.87 MB
The Blackwell Guide to Theology of Popular Culture is a timely examination of the rapidly expanding field of theology and popular culture. It shows how the theological analysis of popular culture is undertaken, discusses the writers who are doing it, and outlines various general theories of popular culture. Using illustrations from the pop culture scene, ranging from the fiction of Nick Hornby and Chuck Palahniuk to novels about God, Disney fairytales, and the macabre television series Six Feet Under, the guide identifies and discusses religious themes in popular culture. The author probes popular movies, novels, music, architectural design, television shows, and advertising for what they are saying about God, human nature, sin, salvation, and final redemption. An appendix provides an annotated list of books that offer theological readings of popular culture, and offers suggested readings on various 'zones' of popular culture that lend themselves to theological analysis.
Andrew Rippin, "The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an" (Blackwell Companions to Religion)
Blackwell Publishing (2006) | English | ISBN: 1405117524 | 572 pages | PDF | 2.18 MB
The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an is the ideal resource for anyone who wishes to read and understand the Qur'an as a text and as a vital piece of Muslim life. The volume is divided into accessible sections, including an initial orientation to the text for the first-time reader.
Richard K. Fenn, "The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion" (Blackwell Companions to Religion)
Blackwell Publishing (2003) | English | ISBN 0631212418 | 506 pages | PDF | 1.72 MB
This Companion, edited by one of the best known and most widely respected sociologists of religion, provides essential reading for sociologists and religion scholars. The Blackwell Companion to Sociology of Religion is presented in three comprehensive parts. Written by a range of outstanding academics, the volume explores the current status of the sociology of religion, and how it might look in future. Contributors discuss the major social trends which will affect, or be affected by, religion in the near future, encompassing all aspects of the sociology of religion. Expertly edited by Richard Fenn, the Companion concludes with a section affirming statements and connections made previously in the book, and tracing the boundaries between sociology and other closely related disciplines, such as theology and social anthropology.
Alister E. McGrath & Darren C. Marks, "The Blackwell Companion to Protestantism" (Blackwell Companions to Religion)
Blackwell Publishing (2004) | English | ISBN 0631232788 | 531 pages | PDF | 1.90 MB
This Companion brings together new contributions from internationally renowned scholars in order to examine the past, present, and future of Protestantism. The volume opens with an investigation into the formation of Protestant identity, looking at its historical development across Europe, North America, Asia, Australasia, and Africa. This section includes coverage of leading Protestant thinkers, such as Luther, Calvin, Schleiermacher, and Barth. The Companion
then goes on to consider the interaction of Protestantism with different areas of modern life, including the arts, politics, the law, and science. The editors and contributors take seriously the shift in Protestantism from a predominantly North Atlantic perspective to a more global reality. A final section looks to the future of Protestantism, debating what will happen to both Western and non-Western Protestant movements.
Gareth Jones, "The Blackwell Companion to Modern Theology" (Blackwell Companions to Religion)
Blackwell Publishing (2004) | English | ISBN 063120685X | 602 pages | PDF | 1.77 MB
In this volume, a team of the world's leading theologians provides a powerful overview of modern theology. The volume begins with an outline of modern theology by the editor, including an analysis of the contemporary situation. The 32 contributions are then divided into four sections, covering: Theology's relation to other allied disciplines and to the practice of faith; The history of theology and major themes such as the Trinity, incarnation and redemption; Key figures in modern theology; Theology's relation to contemporary issues such as sexuality, race, mysticism, ecology and science. Each chapter features boxed highlights, annotated suggestions for further reading, extensive bibliographic references and cross-referencing. Students will also welcome the inclusion of a glossary and author and subject indexes. The Companion can be used as the basis for an introductory course or as an essential reference for students throughout their studies.
Jacob Neusner & Alan J. Avery-Peck, "The Blackwell Companion to Judaism" (Blackwell Companions to Religion)
Blackwell Publishing (2003) | English | ISBN: 1577180593 | 567 pages | PDF | 1.72 MB
This Companion explores the history, doctrines, divisions, and contemporary condition of Judaism. It organizes and places into context the history of Judaism from ancient through modern times, identifies and expounds some of Judaism's principal doctrines, introduces the more important forms of modern and contemporary Judaism, and takes up topics of special interest in contemporary Judaic life. The 27 contributions to this Companion and the selections in the associated Blackwell Reader in Judaism illustrate important points, with primary sources complementing the exposition. In this way, the editors talk about Judaism and let Judaism speak for itself. All the contributors, experts in their field, address a broad audience, assuming an interest in the subject but no prior knowledge. They present introductions for any reader interested in the subject, and do not take partisan or sectarian positions. This volume will guide those curious about the past and present of a vital religious tradition that has exercised influence far beyond its own community.
Gavin Flood, "The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism" (Blackwell Companions to Religion)
Blackwell Publishing | New edition (2003) | English | ISBN 0631215352 | 608 pages | PDF | 2.98 MB
This volume presents the most recent scholarly thinking about Hinduism in an accessible way. It provides a forum for the best scholars in the world to make their views and research available to a wider audience. While comprehensively covering the textual traditions of Hinduism, the volume also includes material on Hindu folk religions and stresses the importance of region in analyzing Hinduism. In doing so, it reflects the current move away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism and towards traditionally and regionally specific studies. The Companion as a whole spans the entire field of Hindu studies and is divided into four coherent sections: theoretical issues, textual traditions, theologies, and Hindu society and politics.
Ken Parry, "The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity" (Blackwell Companion to Religion)
Blackwell Publishing (2007) | English | ISBN: 0631234233 | 554 pages | PDF | 3.90 MB
This Companion offers an unparalleled survey of the history, theology, doctrine, worship, art, culture and politics that make up the churches of eastern Christianity. Covers both Byzantine traditions (such as the Greek, Russian and Georgian churches) and Oriental traditions (such as the Armenian, Coptic and Syrian churches). The volume’s in-depth articles are written by an international team of experts Contributes to our understanding of recent political events in the Middle East and Eastern Europe by providing much needed background information. The Companion is designed to stand alongside The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christanity (Blackwell, 1999). Taken together, these volumes offer an unparalleled survey of the history, theology, doctrine, worship, art, culture and politics that make up Eastern Christianity.
John Knasas “Being and Some 20th Century Thomists"
Fordham University Press | 2003-01-01 | ISBN: 0823222489 | 340 pages | PDF | 2,2 Mb
In this powerfully argued book, Knasas engages a debate at the heart of the revival of Thomistic thought in the twentieth century. Richly detailed and illuminating, his book calls on the tradition established by Gilson, Maritain, and Owen, to build a case for Existential Thomism as a valid metaphysics.Being and Some Twentieth-Century Thomists is a comprehensive discussion of the major issues and controversies in neo-Thomism, including issues of mind, knowledge, the human subject, free will, nature, grace, and the act of being. Knasas also discusses the Transcendental Thomism of Maréchal, Rahner, Lonergan, and others as he builds a carefully articulated case for completing the Thomist revival.
Thomas Hibbs, "Aquinas, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion: Metaphysics and Practice" (Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion)
Indiana University Press (2007) | English | ISBN 0253348811 | 261 pages | PDF | 5.81 MB
In Aquinas, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion, Thomas Hibbs recovers the notion of practice to develop a more descriptive account of human action and knowing, grounded in the venerable vocabulary of virtue and vice. Drawing on Aquinas, who believed that all good works originate from virtue, Hibbs postulates how epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, and theology combine into a set of contemporary philosophical practices that remain open to metaphysics. Hibbs brings Aquinas into conversation with analytic and Continental philosophy and suggests how a more nuanced appreciation of his thought enriches contemporary debates. This book offers readers a new appreciation of Aquinas and articulates a metaphysics integrally related to ethical practice.
When Jesus Became God: The Epic Fight over Christ's Divinity in the Last Days of Rome
Harcourt | Pages: 267 | 1999-08-26 | ISBN: 0151003688 | 6 MB
We all know the story of Jesus' life, his death, his resurrection, and the persecution of his early followers. Less well known is the struggle the early Christians had in deciding whether Jesus was God Himself or the holiest of men, adopted by God and raised to divine rank. This controversy was at the heart of the most fateful conflict in Christendom until the Reformation. It was characterized by fervent debate, riots, a series of ecumenical councils, and civil strife. The key players were two priests, Arius and Athanasius, brothers in Christ, ideological opponents, and mortal enemies. Arius, a firebrand bishop, intelligent and eloquent, preached that Jesus was less than God. Athanasius, a brilliant and violent deacon, ardently opposed Arius's subversive preaching. Between them stood Alexander, the powerful bishop of Alexandria, the man on whose shoulders lay the need for a speedy resolution, which was essential both to keeping the empire united and to the continuation of the Church. Richard Rubenstein presents a vibrant portrait of the thriving Roman Empire in the centuries after the birth of Jesus Christ, as he brings to life the ideas of the most influential leaders and shows us a major religion at the crossroads of its faith.
