Vivid style and keen insights make this book a delight and a genuine educational experience." —Moody Magazine In this richly illustrated volume--formerly titled In the Fullness of Time--Paul Maier visits the origins of Christianity, taking the reader back to the first Christmas, the first Easter, and the first Christians. His impressive research and brilliant insights correlate history, archaeology, and the New Testament to bring alive the true drama of earliest Christianity. This skillful narrative sheds a brilliant new light on the life of Jesus and the adventures of the courageous men and women who carried His message throughout a hostile empire. A host of magnificent color and black-and-white photographs recreate the world, the mood, the people, and the events with an immediacy that sweeps readers into the exciting first years of Christianity. "The author is at home in the vast literature of his subject." —The New York Times Book Review "For the supremely pivotal event of the Resurrections, Paul Maier's book lends fresh and scholarly support." —Billy Graham "Fascinating. . . . Brings a new perspective to a story we have known all our lives." —Redbook "Fact-filled, interesting, and successful . . . splendid research. This is a beautiful book." —Christian Century
The splendor and pagan excesses of Roman society are confronted by the life-changing faith of Christianity in this historically accurate fiction work. Guaranteed fiction!
A madman who murders his way into power lusts for ever-greater glory and domination. A capital city awash with corruption, sensuality, and political intrigue is at the flash point. And caught between the crushing currents of history are a new but growing religious group known as the followers of The Way. Award-winning historian and best-selling author Paul L. Maier has created a compelling style of documentary fiction, using only known historical events and persons to bring to life first-century Rome in all its excess, treachery, and insanity. This is the Rome that the apostle Paul visits, where he’s placed on trial, and which is forever changed by his testimony and witness. Maier takes readers into the courtroom of imperial justice and into the homes of the people struggling with the new faith they’ve encountered to answers questions such as: How did Christianity first reach Rome? Why did Paul have to wait two years for trial and was he condemned or set free? Why does the New Testament account in Acts end so abruptly? Who set fire to Rome and why did Nero persecute Christians so horribly? Following the the family of Flavius Sabinus, mayor of Rome under Nero Maier captures all the drama and tension of the political conflicts that precede and follow the Great Fire of Rome, and the epic political and religious clashes of the world’s capital. This is the sensational story of pagans at their worst—and Christians at their best. Readers won’t want to put it down.
Will the real Martin Luther please stand up? After five hundred years of examining the life of the “father of the Reformation,” we must surely know all there is to know about Martin Luther. But is that true? Did he really nail his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door? Did he throw an inkpot at the devil? Did he plant an apple tree? Did his wife escape her convent in a herring barrel? German radio and television journalist Andreas Malessa looks at the actual history of Luther and concludes that many of the tales we know best are nothing but nonsense. Diving gleefully into the research, Malessa investigates many of the falsehoods and fallacies surrounding the reformer, rejecting them in favor of equally incredible facts. Full of humor and irony, this book educates and entertains while demonstrating a profound respect for Luther's life and mission.If you're looking for the truth of the man behind the theses, come discover his faith and influence--with the myths stripped away.
Jonathan Weber was at the helm of an action-packed archaeological dig in "A Skeleton in God's Closet." Now, Dr. Weber plays an integral part in the investigation of what is either a convincing, dangerous hoax or the return of Christ.
When an ancient manuscript that seems to undermine the story of the Resurrection is followed by an archaeological discovery that seems to support it, Dr. Jonathan Weber, a Harvard biblical scholar, is determined to find out whether they are part of an elaborate hoax.
When an ancient skeleton is discovered in Israel, will it shed new light on the life of Jesus or plunge the world into chaos? Dr. Jonathan Weber, Harvard professor and biblical scholar, is looking forward to his sabbatical year on an archaeological dig in Israel. But a spectacular find that seems to be an archaeologist's dream-come-true becomes a nightmare that many fear will be the death rattle of Christianity. Carefully researched and compellingly written, A Skeleton in God's Closet explores the tension between faith and doubt when science and religion collide. In the end, it's a thought provoking page turner driven by one man's determination to find the truth--no matter what the cost.
The Protestant Reformation was hardly a unified protest against the doctrines and practices of the Medieval church. Aside from the mainstream Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed divisions, a variety of eddies and side currents also flowed through reform in the sixteenth century. There were Anabaptists, of course, as well as Spiritualists, Mystics, Pantheists, Anti-Trinitarians, and others in the so-called Radical Reformation. One of the most intriguing of these smaller, too-marginalized movements were the Schwenkfelders, named for the Silesian lay theologian, Casper Schwenckfeld von Ossig (1489-1561). An irenic voice in the raucous controversies of the sixteenth century, Schwenckfeld pioneered a Reformation of the Middle Way that sought to avoid the extremes of the day. He started as an admirer of Luther, but developed a more spiritual interpretation of Christ's presence in the Sacrament. Venturing further along this vector, he emphasized the spiritual dimension in all ecclesiastical externals, including preaching, the ministry, baptism, and church. Themes involving Christology and Soteriology, however, fill all 19 volumes of the Schwenckfeld's writings - the 'Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum - and form the very center of Schwenckfeldian theology, still espoused by the Schwenkfelders of eastern Pennsylvania. In brilliant fashion, this study illumines that core.
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When an ancient skeleton is discovered in Israel, will it shed new light on the life of Jesus or plunge the world into chaos? Dr. Jonathan Weber, Harvard professor and biblical scholar, is looking forward to his sabbatical year on an archaeological dig in Israel. But a spectacular find that seems to be an archaeologist’s dream-come-true becomes a nightmare that many fear will be the death rattle of Christianity. Carefully researched and compellingly written, A Skeleton in God’s Closet explores the tension between faith and doubt when science and religion collide. In the end, it’s a thought-provoking page-turner, driven by one man’s determination to find the truth—no matter the cost.
Subversive Spirituality links the practice and study of Christian spirituality with Christian mission. It develops a twofold thesis: grace, spiritual disciplines, and mission practices are inseparably linked in the mission of Jesus, of the early church, and of several historical renewal movements, as well as in a contemporary field research sample; and amidst the collapse of space and time evidenced by our culture's increasingly hurried pace of life, more time and space are needed for regular solitary and communal spiritual practices in church, mission, and leadership structures if Christian mission is to transform people and culture in our time. This requires a subversion of the collapsed spatial and temporal codes that have infected our Christian institutions. Jensen employs methods and approaches from a variety of academic disciplines to explore both spirituality in terms of space and time and mission in terms of deed and word. Specifically, Jensen examines the spirituality and mission of Jesus, the early church, the apostolic fathers, Origen, the Devotio Moderna, the early Jesuits, David Brainerd, and several women in 19th century Protestant missions. He considers the spirituality and mission that have arisen within the postmodern generations born after 1960. Based on the theological, historical, cultural, and field analyses of this study, a model for spirituality and mission is proposed. The model addresses the contemporary collapse of space and time and appears to havewidespread applicability to diverse cultures and eras. Jensen's model is applied to the pluralistic and postmodern milieu of North America with recommendations for spirituality and mission in church, mission, and educational structures. A derivativemodel for teaching and practicing spirituality and mission in the academy, which also has application for non-formal leadership development structures, is also proposed.
The Protestant Reformation was hardly a unified protest against the doctrines and practices of the Medieval church. Aside from the mainstream Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed divisions, a variety of eddies and side currents also flowed through reform in the sixteenth century. There were Anabaptists, of course, as well as Spiritualists, Mystics, Pantheists, Anti-Trinitarians, and others in the so-called Radical Reformation. One of the most intriguing of these smaller, too-marginalized movements were the Schwenkfelders, named for the Silesian lay theologian, Casper Schwenckfeld von Ossig (1489-1561). An irenic voice in the raucous controversies of the sixteenth century, Schwenckfeld pioneered a Reformation of the Middle Way that sought to avoid the extremes of the day. He started as an admirer of Luther, but developed a more spiritual interpretation of Christ's presence in the Sacrament. Venturing further along this vector, he emphasized the spiritual dimension in all ecclesiastical externals, including preaching, the ministry, baptism, and church. Themes involving Christology and Soteriology, however, fill all 19 volumes of the Schwenckfeld's writings - the 'Corpus Schwenckfeldianorum - and form the very center of Schwenckfeldian theology, still espoused by the Schwenkfelders of eastern Pennsylvania. In brilliant fashion, this study illumines that core.
Paul Barnett not only places the New Testament within the world of caesars and Herods, proconsuls and Pharisees, Sadducee and revolutionaries, but argues that the mainspring and driving force of early Christian history is the historical Jesus.
Vivid style and keen insights make this book a delight and a genuine educational experience." —Moody Magazine In this richly illustrated volume--formerly titled In the Fullness of Time--Paul Maier visits the origins of Christianity, taking the reader back to the first Christmas, the first Easter, and the first Christians. His impressive research and brilliant insights correlate history, archaeology, and the New Testament to bring alive the true drama of earliest Christianity. This skillful narrative sheds a brilliant new light on the life of Jesus and the adventures of the courageous men and women who carried His message throughout a hostile empire. A host of magnificent color and black-and-white photographs recreate the world, the mood, the people, and the events with an immediacy that sweeps readers into the exciting first years of Christianity. "The author is at home in the vast literature of his subject." —The New York Times Book Review "For the supremely pivotal event of the Resurrections, Paul Maier's book lends fresh and scholarly support." —Billy Graham "Fascinating. . . . Brings a new perspective to a story we have known all our lives." —Redbook "Fact-filled, interesting, and successful . . . splendid research. This is a beautiful book." —Christian Century
A madman who murders his way into power lusts for ever-greater glory and domination. A capital city awash with corruption, sensuality, and political intrigue is at the flash point. And caught between the crushing currents of history are a new but growing religious group known as the followers of The Way. Award-winning historian and best-selling author Paul L. Maier has created a compelling style of documentary fiction, using only known historical events and persons to bring to life first-century Rome in all its excess, treachery, and insanity. This is the Rome that the apostle Paul visits, where he’s placed on trial, and which is forever changed by his testimony and witness. Maier takes readers into the courtroom of imperial justice and into the homes of the people struggling with the new faith they’ve encountered to answers questions such as: How did Christianity first reach Rome? Why did Paul have to wait two years for trial and was he condemned or set free? Why does the New Testament account in Acts end so abruptly? Who set fire to Rome and why did Nero persecute Christians so horribly? Following the the family of Flavius Sabinus, mayor of Rome under Nero Maier captures all the drama and tension of the political conflicts that precede and follow the Great Fire of Rome, and the epic political and religious clashes of the world’s capital. This is the sensational story of pagans at their worst—and Christians at their best. Readers won’t want to put it down.
Jonathan Weber was at the helm of an action-packed archaeological dig in "A Skeleton in God's Closet." Now, Dr. Weber plays an integral part in the investigation of what is either a convincing, dangerous hoax or the return of Christ.
The splendor and pagan excesses of Roman society are confronted by the life-changing faith of Christianity in this historically accurate fiction work. Guaranteed fiction!
Harvard Professor Jonathan Weber is finally enjoying a season of peace when a shocking discovery thrusts him into the national spotlight once again. While touring monasteries in Greece, Jon and his wife Shannon—a seasoned archaeologist—uncover an ancient biblical manuscript containing the lost ending of Mark and an additional book of the Bible. If proven authentic, the codex could forever change the way the world views the holy Word of God. As Jon and Shannon work to validate their find, it soon becomes clear that there are powerful forces who don’t want the codex to go public. When it’s stolen en route to America, Jon and Shannon are swept into a deadly race to find the manuscript and confirm its authenticity before it’s lost forever.
This engaging and beautifully written narrative sheds a brilliant new light on the life of Jesus and the courageous men and women who carried His message throughout a hostile empire. Full-color photos and illustrations.
From the author of Pontius Pilate comes a fascinating novel of archaeological adventure. The evidence seems incontestable: bones unearthed in an Israeli tomb are those of Jesus of Nazareth. But which is the hoax . . . the archaeological find or the Resurrection itself?
Offers historical background on the Bible, the life of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, secret societies, and other elements in The Da Vinci Code to refute many of the novel's claims about the history of Christianity.
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