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Explores the New Testament book of Revelation in a historical first-century context, reinterpreting the book as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome that was subsequently adopted by early Christians as a weapon against heresy.

Raised in a secular family but interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound,...

From the author of the best-selling When Bad Things Happen to Good People and Living a Life That Matters–a new book of practical spirituality, of inspiration and encouragement gleaned from what may be the best-known and best-loved chapter in the Bible: the Twenty-third Psalm.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” So begins the psalm that, for millennia, has been a source of comfort in grief and of...

"A Prophet Has Appeared will be the first anthology of the most significant sources for understanding the rise of Islam. This book will provide instructors with a collection of carefully selected, introduced, and annotated materials from contemporary non-Islamic records that can be set alongside of the Qur'an and later Islamic materials. Written in many languages-not just Greek and Latin, but Syriac, Georgian, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and...

"I write," the author says, "as one amateur to another, talking about the difficulties I have met, or lights I have gained, with the hope that this might at any rate interest, and sometimes even help, other inexpert readers." He relates the Psalms to their tripel background: to the ancient Judaic religion which produced them, to the age of Christ when they took on new meanings, and to our daily experience in the modern world.

"Cox explores three different lenses commonly used to bring the Bible into focus: literary--as narrative stories of family conflict, stirring heroism, and moral dilemmas; history--as classic texts with academic and theological applications; activism--as a source of dialogue and engagement to be shared and applied to our lives. By bringing these together, Cox shows the Bible in all its rich diversity and meaning and offers us a contemporary activist...

Includes summaries of the Bible's most famous stories, detailed maps of its major figures' journeys, and descriptions of everyday life as depicted in the Bible.

The Koran has constituted a remarkably resilient core of identity and continuity for a religious tradition that is now in its fifteenth century. In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Cook provides a lucid and direct account of the significance of the Koran both in the modern world and in that of traditional Islam. He gives vivid accounts of its role in Muslim civilization, illustrates the diversity of interpretations championed by traditional and...

The enduring masterpiece on the Old Testament prophets from the legendary twentieth-century Jewish theologian and author of the classics works Man Is Not Alone and God in Search of Man. When it was first published in 1962, The Prophets was hailed as a masterpiece. Since then, Heschel's classic work has stood the test of time. The Prophets provides a unique opportunity for readers of all faiths to gain a fresh perspective and deep knowledge of the...

Across the Western world, the Ten Commandments have become a source of inspiration and controversy, whether in court rulings, in film and literature, or as a religious icon gracing houses of worship of every denomination. But what do they really mean? According to polls, less than half of all Americans can even name more than four of them. For most of us, agnostics and faithful alike, they have been relegated to the level of a symbol, their teachings...