Showing titles in Bible Study

Ninety percent of Americans own a copy of the Bible, and while it's the most widely read book, it's also the least understood. Regardless of your religion, understanding the Bible brings much of Western art, literature, and public discourse into greater focus. The Bible for Dummies appeals to people of all faiths, as well as those who don't practice any particular religion, by providing interfaith coverage of the entire Bible and the often fascinating background information that makes the Bible come alive.

In this highly accessible discussion, Bart Ehrman examines the most recent textual and archaeological sources for the life of Jesus, along with the history of first-century Palestine, drawing a fascinating portrait of the man and his teachings. Ehrman shows us what historians have long known about the Gospels and the man who stands behind them. Through a careful evaluation of the New Testament (and other surviving sources, including the more recently discovered Gospels of Thomas and Peter), Ehrman proposes that Jesus can be best understood as an apocalyptic prophet.

In as little as 15 minutes a day, you can hear the entire Bible in one unforgettable year, expertly narrated by Todd Busteed. This Bible audio is unique in that you can listen to the Bible text in the order that the biblical events unfolded. The New Living Translation is an authoritative Bible translation, rendered faithfully into today's English from the ancient texts by 90 leading Bible scholars.

This fundamental historical question and its complex answer speak penetratingly to the spiritual impulses, concerns, and beliefs that have played a seminal role in our world, even as they reveal the foundation of history’s most global religious movement, and fresh insights into the Western world's single most influential human being. Tackling all of these matters and more, Great Courses favorite Professor Ehrman returns with the unprecedented historical inquiry of How Jesus Became God.

This collection brings together for the first time Ajahn Chah's most powerful teachings, including those on meditation, liberation from suffering, calming the mind, enlightenment and the "living dhamma". Most of these talks have previously only been available in limited, private editions and the publication of Food for the Heart, therefore, represents a momentous occasion: the hugely increased accessibility of his words and wisdom.

The best-selling 365-day devotional Jesus Calling is written as if Jesus himself is speaking directly to you—words of encouragement, comfort, and reassurance of his unending love. These writings are based on Jesus' own words of hope, guidance, and peace within Scripture—penned by one who loves him and reveres his word. These much-loved devotions will help you look forward to your time with the lord and experience a deeper relationship with Jesus as you savor the presence of the one who understands you perfectly and loves you forever.

The much-anticipated daily "reading" version of The Message in audio format is finally here. Designed for individuals as well as small groups, The Daily Message combines Discipleship Journal's renowned book-at-a-time reading plan with a flexible format that allows the listener go through the Bible in one year or spread out the listening with an alternate two-year plan. This version provides monthly plans for 26 readings, and allows for reflection time, minimizing frustration.

If you put aside what you think you know about Jesus and approach the Gospels as though for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. Cynthia Bourgeault is a masterful guide to Jesus' vision and to the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.

Is God a sadistic torturer? Coldhearted judge? Genocidal maniac? Unfortunately, our popular caricatures often make him out to be. God has some skeletons in the closet. At least, that's what many of us fear. "How can a loving God send people to hell?" "Isn't it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God?" "What is up with holy war in the Old Testament?" These are difficult questions that our family, our friends, our culture - even we ourselves - are asking.

Discussions of the Bible and human sexuality often focus on a scattered handful of specific passages. But arguments about this same set of verses have reached an impasse, two leading biblical scholars believe; these debates are missing the forest for the trees. In this learned and beautifully written book, Richard and Christopher Hays explore a more expansive way of listening to the overarching story that scripture tells. They remind us of a dynamic and gracious God who is willing to change his mind, consistently broadening his grace to include more and more people.

Esteemed Bible scholars and teachers Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Z. Brettler take readers on a guided tour of the most popular Hebrew Bible passages quoted in the New Testament to show what the texts meant in their original contexts and then how Jews and Christians, over time, understood those same texts. By understanding the depth and variety by which these passages have been, and can be, understood, The Bible With and Without Jesus does more than enhance our religious understandings, it helps us to see the Bible as a source of inspiration for any and all listeners.

Join Dr Timothy Keller as he opens up the first half of the book of Romans, helping you to get to grips with its meaning and showing how it transforms our hearts and lives today.

In Life-Study of Romans, Witness Lee opens up the gospel of God according to the apostle Paul. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John reveal Christ in the flesh as he lived among us and carried out God's judicial redemption through his death on the cross. The gospel in Romans concerns Christ in resurrection indwelling us as the Spirit to carry out God’s organic salvation.

The question of the historicity of Jesus' resurrection has been repeatedly probed, investigated, and debated. And the results have varied widely. Perhaps some now regard this issue as the burned-over district of New Testament scholarship. Could there be any new and promising approach to this problem? Yes, answers Michael Licona. And he convincingly points us to a significant deficiency in approaching this question: our historiographical orientation and practice.

I nostri padri erano convinti di vivere sotto l’occhio di Dio: la sua esistenza era certa come quella del sole che sorge e tramonta. Oggi abbiamo smesso di crederci, o anche solo di pensarci. E la Bibbia nessuno la legge più. Invece la Bibbia è un libro meraviglioso. Che si può leggere anche come un grande romanzo. L’autobiografia di Dio. Aldo Cazzullo fa con la Bibbia quel che aveva fatto con Dante: ci racconta la storia, in modo chiaro e comprensibile a tutti, con continui riferimenti all’attualità, alla nostra vita, passando attraverso le vicende storiche e i capolavori dell’arte.

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris' The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos.

In this book of pastoral reflections, N. T. Wright explores how the Lord's Prayer sums up what Jesus was all about in his first-century setting. Wright locates the Lord's Prayer, clause by clause, within the historical life and work of Jesus and allows the prayer's devotional application to grow out of its historical context. The result is a fresh understanding of Christian spirituality and the life of prayer. This deeply devotional book will refresh and stimulate the heart and mind of any listener.

The Bible is the world’s most influential book, but do we really know what it says? Every day across social media and in homes, businesses, and public spaces, people try to cut debate short by claiming that "the Bible says so!" However, they commonly disagree about what it actually does and doesn't say, particularly when it comes to socially significant issues. For instance, does the Bible say we should be on the lookout for an antichrist associated with the number 666? Does it say women shouldn’t wear revealing clothing? Does it say it’s okay to hit your kids?

Women were there. For centuries, discussions of early Christianity have focused on male leaders in the church. But there is ample evidence right in the New Testament that women were actively involved in ministry, at the frontier of the gospel mission, and as respected leaders. Nijay Gupta calls us to bring these women out of the shadows by shining light on their many inspiring contributions to the planting, growth, and health of the first Christian churches.

The universal symbol of the Christian faith is neither a crib nor a manger, but a gruesome cross. Yet many people are unclear about its meaning, and cannot understand why Christ had to die. In this magisterial and best-selling book, John Stott explains the significance of Christ's cross and answers the objections commonly brought against biblical teaching on the atonement.