Showing titles in History

The Zondervan Biblical and Theological Lectures series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook’s direct narration of a book’s text, Zondervan Essential Companion to Christian History: Audio Lectures include high quality live-recordings of college-level...

Randall Balmer's Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory is an insightful and engaging journey into the world of conservative Christians in America. Originally published 25 years ago and the basis for an award-winning PBS documentary, this timely new edition arrives just as recent elections have left an ever-growing number of secular Americans wondering exactly how the other half thinks.

The life and times of John Wickliffe, and his battle for the liberties of England from the fetters of political and religious tyranny. A History.

A rip roaring, hair raising, edge-of-your-chair saga of the first-century believers. From the day of Pentecost, on through the first seventeen years, every historical figure of that age is there: alive, vivid, believable.

In the early 19th century, two literary works appeared and helped shape Christmas. The first was a collection of stories by Washington Irving, entitled Sketch Book, from 1819. Next came "A Visit from St. Nicholas", a children's poem better known as “The Night Before Christmas”, which was published anonymously in 1823. The poem spread quickly and helped install a definitive image of Santa Claus in the popular imagination, with his sleigh, his eight reindeer (each one with a name), his red nose, and his journeys down chimneys to fill children's stockings with toys.

Critics call it one of the greatest pieces of fraud in religious history. Believers call it one of the most important artifacts in Christianity. Everyone agrees that it's mysterious, interesting, and controversial. The Shroud of Turin has been a controversial relic from the time it was first publicly displayed in Northern France in the 14th century until the much-awaited carbon 14 tests were performed on the cloth in 1988.

Do we have anything in common with the bad guys of the Bible? The sins of wrath, idolatry, and abuse of power are closer to us than we think. How do we guard against them? We learn not only by following moral exemplars; we also need to look at the warnings of lives gone wrong. In this fictionalized narrative, JR. Forasteros reintroduces us to some of the most villainous characters of Scripture. He shows us what we can learn from their negative examples, with figures such as Cain, Jezebel, and even Satan serving as cautionary tales of sin and temptation.

“A spiritual defense of the proposition that faith and reason are not contradictory.” —Peter L. Berger, Director, Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, Boston University Addressing the central question facing the church today—Is the Gospel true?— Dallas Willard offers an...

Modern Christianity is in the midst of a veritable schism along the fault lines of society's culture wars. Only if we understand the origins of this split can we find our way to unity. Though few may realize it today, Jesus's ministry unfolded in a crisis very similar to the one society is now battling. In fact, were it not for the truly catastrophic conditions in early first-century Galilee, his reimagining of the three quintessential virtues of the Torah—social justice; compassion toward one another; and an abiding love of God—would have likely failed to attract a wide following.

FormerUniversity of Florida star quarterback, 2010 first-round draft pick for theDenver Broncos, and devout Christian Tim Tebow tellsthe story of his faith, his life, and his career in football in Through MyEyes. Written with Nathan Whitaker, the New York Times bestsellingcoauthor of Quiet...

In The American Puritans, Dustin Benge and Nate Pickowicz tell the story of the first hundred years of Reformed Protestantism in New England through the lives of nine key figures: William Bradford, John Winthrop, John Cotton, Thomas Hooker, Thomas Shepard, Anne Bradstreet, John Eliot, Samuel Willard, and Cotton Mather. Here is sympathetic yet informed history, a book that corrects many myths and half-truths told about the American Puritans while inspiring a current generation of Christians to let their light shine before men.

Among Christian devotional works, My Utmost for His Highest stands head and shoulders above the rest, with more than 13 million copies sold. But most listeners have no idea that Oswald Chambers' most famous work was not published until 10 years after his death. The remarkable person behind its compilation and publication was his wife, Biddy. And her story of living her utmost for God's highest is one without parallel.

Nephi's small plates are a time capsule from the sixth century B.C., containing a "loser's eye view" of religion that strongly contrasts with the ideology of the Jerusalem establishment of the time. Lehi's dream and Nephi's interpretive vision are visionary-literary accounts of the two temple ordinances at the heart of the worship of Lehi's "visionary men" -- the Peace Offerings and the Day of Atonement. Learning to understand those visions opens up the rest of the Book of Mormon, and ancient scripture in general.

Many historians in the past have seen Constantine as a secret pagan who used Christianity as a political device or a God-sent Emperor who converted a whole nation to Christianity. Since Constantine's personal beliefs allowed for both paganism and Christianity, he created an Empire of tolerance or a religiously neutral realm (as far as what you wanted to believe).

This introduction to Christian theology explores the whole Christian tradition in a simple and straightforward way. Leading Wesleyan theologian Don Thorsen surveys the theological views represented within historic Christianity and discusses the variety of positions held without favoring one over another. The audiobook includes helpful end-of-chapter questions for further reflection and discussion, a convenient glossary of theological terms, and sidebars.

In Flee from Heresy, Bishop Athanasius Schneider — raised among persecuted Catholics in the Soviet Union — offers a systematic treatment of more than 130 doctrinal errors, from ancient times down to our own day, along with English translations of the Church’s major anti-heresy documents of the past two centuries.

The latest book from the author of Evangelism: For the Care of Souls.

In this, one of Martin Luther’s most impactful works, he brings together the similarities between the exile and captivity of the Israelites and the state of the Catholic church, in their destructive servitude to the papacy. He goes through each of the seven sacraments—questioning, analyzing, and applying the Biblical understandings he had reached. He rejects many of the practices, calling out the issues of control and misrepresentation of true Christian faith and repentance.

Marshall McLuhan was the greatest prophet of the digital age. In the 1960s, McLuhan, a Canadian literary theorist, turned his attention toward the budding and befuddling electronic age. Like most prophets, McLuhan became one through a fascination with God. Prophets divine their wisdom from a source, and Digital Communion shows that McLuhan's was his own Catholic faith. In other words, the greatest prophet of the digital age was an ardent Christian. A reconsideration of his vision can change the way we view the online world.

The great series The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant is one of the most monumental achievements in historical writing. In its eleven massive volumes, it tells the story of Western civilization from its origins to the age of Napoleon. This volume, The Climax of Christianity, is taken from The Age of Faith, the fourth in the series. It covers the years between 1095—the launching of the First Crusade—and 1300: the age of Dante Alighieri, whose epic poem Divine Comedy is one of the greatest treasures of our civilization.