Ocean State Libraries

"A Voice in the Wind transports readers back to Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman War. Following the prides and passions of a group of Jews, Romans and Barbarians, the story centers on an ill-fated romance between a steadfast slave girl, Hadassah, and Marcus, the brother of her owner. Is it possible for their love to flourish considering not only their different stations in life, but also Hadassah's unrelenting faith and Marcus's lack of belief?"...

"In this final installment of the trilogy, the Germanic warrior Atretes vows to move heaven and earth to find his son -- the baby he thought was dead --and take him back to Germania. Only one thing stands in his way: Rizaph, a Christian widow who has cared for the child since his birth. Atretes hadn't counted on Rizaph's fiery resistance to "her son" being taken away, nor is he prepared for the woman's strength and beauty. The two are caught in a...

A landmark reinterpretation of why Christianity became the dominant faith of the West The idea that Christianity started as a clandestine movement among the poor is a widely accepted notion. Yet it is one of many myths that must be discarded if we are to understand just how a tiny messianic movement on the edge of the Roman Empire became the dominant faith of Western civilization. In a fast-paced, highly readable book that addresses beliefs as well...

"Religion and the religious life from the second to the fourth century A.D. when the gods of Olympus lost their dominion and Christianity, with the conversion of Constantine, triumphed in the Mediterranean world"--Jacket subtitle.

Early Christianity faced powerful obstacles. The might of the Roman Empire and the power-politics of ancient Jerusalem laid a heavy burden on those who believed Jesus was "the Messiah." But this new faith would not die. In a brief span of time, the fledgling religion would transcend its origins in the provinces of Rome and absorb the capital of the empire itself. With the words of Paul and other ancient writers, interviews with contemporary scholars...

"A profound and moving journey into the heart of Christianity that explores the mysterious and often paradoxical lives and legacies of the Twelve Apostles--a book both for those of the faith and for others who seek to understand Christianity from the outside in. Peter, Matthew, Thomas, John: Who were these men? What was their relationship to Jesus? Tom Bissell provides rich and surprising answers to these ancient, elusive questions. He examines not...