It all began with Abraham, and with his son Isaac and his older brother Ishmael. The question in dispute today is where it all ends - or should end. Does history lead us to a particular descendent of Ishmael, Mohammed of Mecca and the religion he founded? Or does it lead instead to a descendent of Isaac, Jesus of Nazareth and a competing religion - Christianity? Is there any hope of discovering which of the alternatives is the true path that we should embrace and follow? There is! For the Holy Book of one religion sets out a test - consistency - and then fails to pass it in a spectacular fashion. The Scriptures of the other religion, however, sets out a different test - meeting prophecy - and then stuns us by flawlessly passing not only it, but other book's test as well. Step inside this short manuscript and we will journey through history, examining the lives of Abraham, Mohammed, and Jesus, and the religion each was intimately associated with. As we do so, we will make some amazing discoveries that may perhaps change forever your ideas about who Jesus and Mohammed were and what Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all about.
Ancient stories from the Bible offer lessons for today's world "Little has changed over the millennia. Our existence remains suspended between the realm of the eternal and the elemental plane of the material world. This tension pulls at our hearts and minds as we attempt to find our true selves in relationship to each other and to God. This is the crucible of our lives: the true test of our powers of strength and conviction in the face of adversity, our wrestling with the range of human emotion, from jealousy and rage to kindness, sacrifice, and generosity toward the ones we love." --from the Introduction With insight, thoughtfulness and wit, these provocative and entertaining re-imaginings of stories from the Bible highlight the ways God can work for and through us, even today: Barren and despairing Sarah becomes pregnant--learning that nothing is impossible. Jacob the trickster is, in turn, tricked into marrying the wrong wife--learning that what goes around comes around. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, only to rise to wield power of life and death over them--learning that patience and integrity will win out in the end. Through multifaceted characters, original stories and vivid natural imagery, Caduto brings this ancient world to life. He immerses you in a richly-textured experience of another time and place. Within these pages you will come to see these familiar tales through new eyes.
Based primarily on long-neglected manuscript and newspaper sources--and especially on reminiscences of people who knew him--this psychobiography casts new light on Lincoln. Burlingame uses a blend of Freudian and Jungian theory to interpret the psyche of the 16th president.
When God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, Abraham was childless. Yet through many obstacles, temptations, and even failures, Abraham became an example of faith as he learned to trust God's promises regardless of circumstances. In this faith-filled book, Michael Youssef takes you through Abraham's incredible journey of faith, encouraging you to trust God's timing and plan when the road gets difficult. He also shares his own experiences of trusting God in a foreign land and includes reflection questions for you and your small group to pinpoint the ways in which you're trusting--or need to trust--God to keep his promises, even when the way forward seems impossible--even when you can't see the stars.
Ancient stories from the Bible offer lessons for today's world "Little has changed over the millennia. Our existence remains suspended between the realm of the eternal and the elemental plane of the material world. This tension pulls at our hearts and minds as we attempt to find our true selves in relationship to each other and to God. This is the crucible of our lives: the true test of our powers of strength and conviction in the face of adversity, our wrestling with the range of human emotion, from jealousy and rage to kindness, sacrifice, and generosity toward the ones we love." --from the Introduction With insight, thoughtfulness and wit, these provocative and entertaining re-imaginings of stories from the Bible highlight the ways God can work for and through us, even today: Barren and despairing Sarah becomes pregnant--learning that nothing is impossible. Jacob the trickster is, in turn, tricked into marrying the wrong wife--learning that what goes around comes around. Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, only to rise to wield power of life and death over them--learning that patience and integrity will win out in the end. Through multifaceted characters, original stories and vivid natural imagery, Caduto brings this ancient world to life. He immerses you in a richly-textured experience of another time and place. Within these pages you will come to see these familiar tales through new eyes.
Along with the Dodgers and Prospect Park, the Abraham & Straus department store was a legendary piece of Brooklyn's history and identity. From Abraham Abraham's modest store of 1865, A&S developed into one of America's largest department stores, eventually becoming a charter member of the powerful Federated Department Stores Corporation in 1929. Known for unparalleled customer and employee loyalty, the stores rode a wave of demographic and economic changes. Today, the former Fulton Street Abraham & Straus operates as a Macy's and remains one of America's last downtown department stores. Author, historian and lecturer Michael J. Lisicky chronicles the rise and fall of Brooklyn's iconic store.
Hailed as the definitive portrait of the sixteenth president, Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame's impressive two-volume biography has been masterfully abridged and revised. Sixteenth president of the United States, the Great Emancipator, and a surpassingly eloquent champion of national unity, freedom, and democracy, Abraham Lincoln is arguably the most studied and admired of all Americans. Michael Burlingame's astonishing Abraham Lincoln: A Life, an updated, condensed version of the 2,000-page two-volume set that The Atlantic hailed as one of the five best books of 2009, offers fresh interpretations of this endlessly fascinating American leader. Based on deep research in unpublished sources as well as newly digitized sources, this work reveals how Lincoln's character and personality were the North's secret weapon in the Civil War, the key variables that spelled the difference between victory and defeat. He was a model of psychological maturity and a fully individuated man whose influence remains unrivaled in the history of American public life. Burlingame chronicles Lincoln's childhood and early development, romantic attachments and losses, his love of learning, legal training, and courtroom career as well as his political ambition, his term as congressman in the late 1840s, and his serious bouts of depression in early adulthood. Burlingame recounts, in fresh detail, the Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln marriage and traces the mounting moral criticism of slavery that revived his political career and won this Springfield lawyer the presidency in 1860. This abridgement delivers Burlingame's signature insight into Lincoln as a young man, a father, and a politician. Lincoln speaks to us not only as a champion of freedom, democracy, and national unity but also as a source of inspiration. Few have achieved his historical importance, but many can profit from his personal example, encouraged by the knowledge that despite a lifetime of troubles, he became a model of psychological maturity, moral clarity, and unimpeachable integrity. His presence and his leadership inspired his contemporaries; his life story will do the same for generations to come.
An enlightening narrative exploring an oft-overlooked aspect of the sixteenth president's life, An American Marriage reveals the tragic story of Abraham Lincoln’s marriage to Mary Todd. Abraham Lincoln was apparently one of those men who regarded “connubial bliss” as an untenable fantasy. During the Civil War, he pardoned a Union soldier who had deserted the army to return home to wed his sweetheart. As the president signed a document sparing the soldier's life, Lincoln said: “I want to punish the young man—probably in less than a year he will wish I had withheld the pardon.” Based on thirty years of research, An American Marriage describes and analyzes why Lincoln had good reason to regret his marriage to Mary Todd. This revealing narrative shows that, as First Lady, Mary Lincoln accepted bribes and kickbacks, sold permits and pardons, engaged in extortion, and peddled influence. The reader comes to learn that Lincoln wed Mary Todd because, in all likelihood, she seduced him and then insisted that he protect her honor. Perhaps surprisingly, the 5’2” Mrs. Lincoln often physically abused her 6’4” husband, as well as her children and servants; she humiliated her husband in public; she caused him, as president, to fear that she would disgrace him publicly. Unlike her husband, she was not profoundly opposed to slavery and hardly qualifies as the “ardent abolitionist” that some historians have portrayed. While she providid a useful stimulus to his ambition, she often “crushed his spirit,” as his law partner put it. In the end, Lincoln may not have had as successful a presidency as he did—where he showed a preternatural ability to deal with difficult people—if he had not had so much practice at home.
Abraham's Promise presents a selection of important writings by noted Jewish philosopher-theologian Michael Wyschogrod, who is widely admired for his singular contributions to Jewish-Christian relations. Including several pieces never published before, this reader aptly captures the broad scope of Wyschogrod's work on Judaism and the Jewish-Christian encounter, collecting seminal essays, articles, and reviews that address such topics as the God of Abraham and the God of philosophy, sin and atonement, Judaism and the land, the Six Day War, Paul on Jews and Gentiles, and the theology of Karl Barth. An introductory essay by editor R. Kendall Soulen sets Wyschogrod's career and writings in context.
This volume introduces a cycle of stories about Abraham as preserved in fifteen unpublished, late medieval manuscripts in Armenian, published here in English for the first time with commentaries, annotations, and critical apparatus. The texts present embroidered Abraham stories dealing with his youth, his life in Egypt, the binding of Isaac, the story of Melchizedek, and other tales. Embedding Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and other ancient traditions, these texts demonstrate mutual borrowing and influence over centuries.
Navigating through life can be easier when the right One is leading the way. Exploring the relationship expressed throughout Scripture between the Shepherd and the sheep, this 6-lesson Discovery Series Bible Study examines Psalm 23. Readers can gain a better understanding of God as a trusted caregiver for those who follow Him. Offering insights from the lives of biblical characters such as David, Jacob, and Isaiah, this easy-to-use study guide encourages readers to spend time alone with God, listen to Him through His Word, and respond to Him in prayer. The Lord Is My Shepherd is an excellent resource for individual or small group study.
This work is a study in the attribution, aesthetics and representations of Yahweh’s speeches in the Hebrew Bible. It describes the literary elegance and beauty of the speeches of Yahweh in the Abrahamic narratives. Employing a synchronic reading of the Abrahamic cycle, it underscores the presence of various literary devices in the divine speeches (12:1-9, 13:1-18, 15:1-21, 17:1-27, 18:1-33, and 22: 1-19). Specifically, it engages the high concentration, literary effects and use of metaphors/metaphoric language, similes, alliterations, wordplays, euphemisms, hyperboles, repetitions, allusions and other distinctive literary features in the speeches of Yahweh which are deliberately denied, and glaringly absent in the speeches of the other main characters of the Abrahamic narratives (e.g. Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar). Similarly, it demonstrates the importance of these elevated speeches in the narrative world of Abrahamic epic. Most importantly, it also highlights the ideological significance of these decorated speeches of Yahweh to the original audience of the narrator who presumably identified with their excessive optimism and rhetoric. Consequently, this book is a pioneering work in the contemporary study of stylistics, characterizations and functions of attributed speeches in the Hebrew narratives.
When Abraham Flexner died in 1959 at age 92, a New York Times obituary declared, "no other American of his time contributed more to the welfare of his country and of humanity in general." Flexner's famous Report in 1910 and his subsequent work at the Rockefeller Foundation helped transform American medical education from crude to world leader. Later, as founding director of the Institute for Advanced Study he attracted Albert Einstein and other luminaries to Princeton. Notwithstanding these achievements, Flexner was hypercritical of others, often abrasive, and his self-assurance irritated many of his colleagues to his detriment. Moreover, he was an intellectual elitist who, like many of his generation, either denied or ignored certain moral hazards prevalent in America during his lifetime, including eugenics theory and institutional anti-Semitism. In this critical analysis, Dr. Nevins distinguishes between Flexner the progressive reformer and the humanly-flawed man himself.
Christ declares "Mine!" over every square inch of creation. In his well--known quote, Abraham Kuyper expressed the defining characteristic of his public theology: Jesus' sovereignty extends over all things. He believed Christians should engage the whole world in all of its various spheres. But what does that comprehensive calling practically look like for us today? In Engaging the World with Abraham Kuyper, Michael Wagenman explores the practical application of Kuyper's public theology. Using Kuyper's own life as an example, he shows us how the gospel can permeate all aspects of society: our identity, public discourse, education, the church, politics. Ultimately, this means engaging the world with perceptive truth that's mindful of the dynamics at work in our time and place.
Chasing the Powhatan Arrow is an informative, humorous look at the history, places, people and culture along the corridor of the former Norfolk & Western rail line, traversed by the Powhatan Arrow through Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio.
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) was one of the twentieth century’s most influential Jewish thinkers, a respected theologian and enthusiastic civil rights activist who marched to Selma with Martin Luther King, Jr. His theology emphasized the immediacy of wonder and awe, yet his writing was studded with signs of his vast knowledge of traditional scholarship. No other Jewish thinker of note in the twentieth century used such a wide range of texts so extensively. Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Sources of Wonder is the first book to demonstrate how Heschel’s political, intellectual, and spiritual commitments were embedded in his reading of Jewish tradition. By shedding new light on how Heschel’s theological project reconciled the demands of tradition and the modern world, Michael Marmur offers an inspirational lesson in how contemporary Jewish thought can embrace both the texts of the past and the challenges of the present.
Examines the circumstantial evidence of a plot to kill President-elect Lincoln in Baltimore, including the plot's discovery, possible conspirators, and how the incident tarnished Lincoln's reputation and ultimately led to his death.
Waiting on the Spirit of Promise' is a study of the life and ministry of Abraham Cheare (1626-1668), containing selections from Cheare's works, and rescuing an important seventeenth-century English Baptist from obscurity. Cheare has been overshadowed byother more celebrated Baptist contemporaries, but as the pastor of the Particular Baptist work in Plymouth, Devon, Cheare played a key role in the advance of the Baptist cause in the West Country in the 1650s. His 'Sighs for Sion' is an excellent illustration of early Baptist piety. With the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Cheare, like many other Dissenters, suffered arrest for his refusal to give up preaching. Cheare's prison writings reveal both a sturdy faith in God and a deep-seated piety. Despite the fact that he was incarcerated in a series of
The Testament of Abraham is a great read, however written most likely by at least three different unknown persons; due to the fact that chapters tend to repeat the story over two to three times, however each chapter version seems to of have been written from a different point of view, one chapter reads as a narrative, another in second and third person view as if the onlooker. It is generally believed that this is most likely a Jewish composition from the early first century, although the actual date and original language are debatable and unprovable. Probably composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, it is defiantly of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the apocalyptic literature. E. P. Sanders writes: "The Testament of Abraham is a Jewish work, probably of Egyptian origin, which is generally dated to the latter part of the first century AD. The Testament of Abraham is generally considered a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. It is regarded as scripture by Beta Israel Ethiopian Jews and the Mormon Church, but not by any other Jewish or Christian groups. It is often treated as one of a trio of very similar works, the other two of which are the Testament of Isaac and Testament of Jacob, though there is no reason to assume that they were originally a single work. All three works are based on the Blessing of Jacob, found in the Bible, in their style. The Greek Text was first edited, with an English translation and introduction, by M. R. James in 1892. The Greek text was also early edited by Vassiliev in 1893 and retranslated again in 2014, by Pastor Michael Gore. In the first nine chapters the archangel Michael vainly seeks to obtain the soul of Abraham, who refuses to die. A deal is arranged by which Abraham agrees to come with Michael if he can first see the created world, a wish that is granted and described in an apocalyptic section that covers chapters 10-14. Upon returning home Abraham refuses to die, but is eventually tricked by the angel of Death.
Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt are widely considered the two greatest presidents of the past two centuries. How did these two very different men rise to power, run their administrations, and achieve greatness? How did they set their policies, rally public opinion, and transform the nation? Were they ultimately more different or alike? This anthology compares these two presidents and presidencies, examining their legacies, leadership styles, and places in history.
A great deal of biblical scholarship is written for academics and fails to edify readers or strengthen their Christian ministry. Yet, Christians need to be nourished by the word of God so they can mature in faith and righteousness. Filling this gap, The Branch Exposition of the Bible is a resource for preachers, scholars and ordinary Christians alike, to help open God’s word and shed its light into life, ministry and teaching. Inspired by the words of the great reformer Martin Luther about shaking every branch of Scripture, and with experience in ministering across Africa, India and the West, Michael A. Eaton helps us understand the meaning of the Bible and taste its fruit. Together with the New Testament volume, this exposition of the Old Testament accessibly engages with the biblical languages, gives application for our lives and leads us through each book of the Old Testament so that we can meet the resurrected Jesus Christ in the pages of Scripture.
Bible for Adults and Students is an excellent resource to get a complete overview of all the major events and teaching of the Bible in a connected chronological format. The majority of the scripture in the Bible is stories of the lives of its main characters: the story of Adam and Eve, the story of Abraham and his descendants, the story of Moses, the story of Jesus, etc. Bible for Adults and Students presents most of its information just as the Bible presents most of its information, which is story after story of the lives and events of every major character in the Bible, but in summarized form. Almost all the characters in the Bible are chronologically connected, and Bible for Adults and Students takes its reader on a connected journey from the events of Adam and Eve all the way through to the return of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation. When the reader finishes Bible for Adults and Students, he or she will have a comprehensive knowledge of all the major events and teachings of the Bible, an understanding of how all the characters chronologically form a connected storyline of events from Adam and Eve to the Second Coming of Jesus and an understanding of how everyone and everything in the Bible points to the need of Jesus as our Savior. Bible for Adults and Students is fantastic textbook to teach high school students a comprehensive overview of the Bible, and it is a great tool for any adult to learn about all the connected events in the Bible in a clear and easy-to-understand format.
A mere 73 days after a ragtag South Carolina militia attacked Fort Sumter launching the War Between the States, a band of railroad executives and politicians from 27 Virginia counties met in Wheeling, then Virginia's third largest city, and laid the foundation for our nation's 35th state, West Virginia. Born amidst the Sturm und Drang of our nation's most tragic and disruptive event, West Virginia is the first and only state created from another state without the parent state's consent. The lore which emerged was purposefully designed to imbue its citizens with pride and righteous purpose. The border is as craggy and haphazard as the topography upon which it was superimposed, a beautiful, tragic, and widely misunderstood swath of the central Appalachia. Michael Abraham was raised as a member of an ethnic minority by a Northern father and a Southern mother in a small southwest Virginia town. With Blue Bloods to the east, hillbillies to the west, and evangelical Christians everywhere, he forged an egalitarian ethos and a kinship with those who tied their fortunes, sensibilities, and affections to rugged, isolated areas. In The Spine of the Virginias, Abraham chips away at the West Virginia formation myth. He follows with a collection of contemporary vignettes of people and places on both sides of the border of Virginia and West Virginia, in revealing looks at the interaction between a landscape and its people. Inspired by the quote, "Culture is something we think other people have," Abraham profiles doctors, lawyers, journalists, miners, and businesspeople; senators, mayors, and gubernatorial candidates; filmmakers, musicians, and artists; beekeepers, maple syrup producers, brick sculptors, and barbarians. This palette is infused with green and brown earthtones, the canvas is a richly corrugated and rugged parchment, and the patina is a pall of resentment, resignation, affection, divided loyalties, and constitutional ambiguities.
A fresh interpretation of the nature, purpose, and date of Jerome’s Epistle 106 In this volume of the Writings from the Greco-Roman World series, Michael Graves offers the first accessible English translation and commentary on Jerome’s Epistle 106, an important work of patristic biblical interpretation. In his treatise Jerome discusses different textual and exegetical options according to various Greek and Latin copies of the Psalms with input from the Hebrew. Epistle 106 provides insightful commentary on the Gallican Psalter, Jerome’s translation of Origen’s hexaplaric edition. Jerome’s work offers a unique window into the complex textual state of the Psalter in the late fourth century and serves as an outstanding example of ancient philological scholarship on the Bible. Graves’s translation and commentary is an essential resource for scholars and students of patristic exegesis, biblical textual criticism, and late antique Christianity.
Millions of people appear to be living normal lives, yet they are secretly numbing their emotional pain with alcohol, drugs, food, and many other lifestyle addictions. The good news is that there is hope, and author Michael Cartwright know this firsthand, both personally and professionally. Addicted to drugs and alcohol as a teenager, he landed in a mental institution in a catatonic state. Using many of the methods he shares in this book, he transformed his life: becoming sober and successful and a respected pioneer in the recovery field. This book offers a real source of hope that will save your life or the life of your loved one. Believable Hope is a proven methodology with a five-pronged approach that has helped tens of thousands of people over the years. With personal accounts and application principles that will help anyone put an end to addictive behavior, Michael Cartwright reveals why lasting change is usually more about mindset and emotions than clinical factors. This book is a lifeline for people battling addiction and provides a fresh sense of hope for those who love them. Michael Cartwright is considered a pillar in the dual diagnosis addiction treatment industry His 5-step approach has been in use for over 17 years More than 20,000 Americans are successfully in recovery by applying Michael's approach Hundreds of thousands of people reach out to American Addiction Centers each year to learn how they too can benefit from Michael's philosophy Michael has created a practical program that works, and now his philosophy available to you in this book!
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