Lost Christianity

Lost Christianity PDF Author: Jacob Needleman
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1585422533
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Unavailable for several years, Lost Christianity is a profound reexamination of the essence of Christian thought and faith. Philosopher and bestselling author Jacob Needleman has sought out the ancient texts and modern practitioners of essential Christianity, whose message speaks directly to contemporary seekers.

Lost Christianity

Lost Christianity PDF Author: Jacob Needleman
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1585422533
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Unavailable for several years, Lost Christianity is a profound reexamination of the essence of Christian thought and faith. Philosopher and bestselling author Jacob Needleman has sought out the ancient texts and modern practitioners of essential Christianity, whose message speaks directly to contemporary seekers.

Lost Christianities

Lost Christianities PDF Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780195182491
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
The early Christian Church was a chaos of contending beliefs. In Lost Christianities, Bart D. Ehrman offers a fascinating look at these early forms of Christianity and shows how they came to be suppressed, reformed, or forgotten. All of these groups insisted that they upheld the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and they all possessed writings that bore out their claims, books reputedly produced by Jesus' own followers. Scrupulously researched and lucidly written, Lost Christianities is an eye-opening account of politics, power, and the clash of ideas among Christians in the decades before one group came to see its views prevail.

The Lost History of Christianity

The Lost History of Christianity PDF Author: John Philip Jenkins
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061980595
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 443

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Book Description
The New York Times bestselling history of early Christianity in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—from “one of America’s best scholars of religion” (The Economist). In this groundbreaking book, renowned scholar Philip Jenkins explores a vast and forgotten network of the world’s largest and most influential Christian churches that existed to the east of the Roman Empire. These churches and their leaders ruled the Middle East for centuries and became the chief administrators and academics in the new Muslim empire. The author recounts the shocking history of how these churches—those that had the closest link to Jesus and the early church—eventually died. Jenkins offers a new lens through which to view our world today, including the current conflicts in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Without this lost history, we lack an important element for understanding our collective religious past. By understanding the forgotten catastrophe that befell Christianity, we can appreciate the surprising new births that are occurring in our own time, once again making Christianity a true world religion.

The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity

The Brother of Jesus and the Lost Teachings of Christianity PDF Author: Jeffrey J. Bütz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594778795
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
Reveals the true role of James, the brother of Jesus, in early Christianity • Uses evidence from the canonical Gospels, apocryphal texts, and the writings of the Church Fathers to reveal the teachings of Jesus as transmitted to his chosen successor: James • Demonstrates how the core message in the teachings of Jesus is an expansion not a repudiation of the Jewish religion • Shows how James can serve as a bridge between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam James has been a subject of controversy since the founding of the Church. Evidence that Jesus had siblings contradicts Church dogma on the virgin birth, and James is also a symbol of Christian teachings that have been obscured. While Peter is traditionally thought of as the leader of the apostles and the “rock” on which Jesus built his church, Jeffrey Bütz shows that it was James who led the disciples after the crucifixion. It was James, not Peter, who guided them through the Church's first major theological crisis--Paul's interpretation of the teachings of Jesus. Using the canonical Gospels, writings of the Church Fathers, and apocryphal texts, Bütz argues that James is the most overlooked figure in the history of the Church. He shows how the core teachings of Jesus are firmly rooted in Hebraic tradition; reveals the bitter battles between James and Paul for ideological supremacy in the early Church; and explains how Paul's interpretations, which became the foundation of the Church, are in many ways its betrayal. Bütz reveals a picture of Christianity and the true meaning of Christ's message that are sometimes at odds with established Christian doctrine and concludes that James can serve as a desperately needed missing link between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam to heal the wounds of centuries of enmity.

Original Christianity

Original Christianity PDF Author: Peter Novak
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing
ISBN: 1612832350
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
“Offers more information about the first-century world of early Christians, asking, ‘Could Christ’s original teachings have truly been lost?’” —Foreword Reviews “Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death.” —from the Gospel of Thomas The work of scholars such as Elaine Pagels and Marvin Meyer have captured the imagination of the public by setting forth the Gospel of Thomas and other lost teachings of Jesus. Now Peter Novak, in Original Christianity, brings forth a critical element essential for fully understanding these scriptures. Novak argues that the authors of these early texts subscribed to the Binary Soul Doctrine—an ancient belief system that allows for both reincarnation and an eternal afterlife. Novak’s interdisciplinary approach offers fresh insights on the beliefs and politics of the early church founders. He points out that reincarnation was a commonly held Christian belief until it was voted out of “official” Christianity and the record expunged. This newfound key reveals the true identities of many mysterious Biblical figures, such as Lazarus, Barabbas, Judas, and especially the Apostle Thomas, who may not only have been Jesus’ identical twin brother, but indeed a second Christ in his own right, who lived to produce a genetically identical bloodline. More important still, the rediscovery of the lost theology of Original Christianity means Christ’s central message of personal integrity can again take center stage.

The Lost Religion of Jesus

The Lost Religion of Jesus PDF Author: Keith Akers
Publisher: Lantern Books
ISBN: 9781930051263
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Jesus' preaching was first and foremost about simple living, pacifism, and vegetarianism; he never intended to create a new religion separate from Judaism. Moreover, Jesus' radical Jewish ethics, rather than a new theology, distinguished him and his followers from other Jews. It was the earliest followers of Jesus, the Jewish Christians, who understood Jesus better than any of the gentile Christian groups, which are the spiritual ancestors of modern Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. In this detailed and accessible study, Keith Akers uncovers the history of Jewish Christianity from its origins in the Essenes and John the Baptist, through Jesus, until its disappearance into Islamic mysticism sometime in the seventh or eighth century. Akers argues that only by really understanding this mysterious and much misunderstood strand of early Christianity can we get to the heart of the radical message of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Lost Gospel

The Lost Gospel PDF Author: Burton L. Mack
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0060653752
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The first book to give the full account of the lost gospel of Jesus' original followers, revealing him to be a Jewish Socrates who was mythologized into the New Testament Christ.

The Unsaved Christian

The Unsaved Christian PDF Author: Dean Inserra
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0802497527
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
What to do when they say they’re Christian but don’t know Jesus Whether it’s the Christmas and Easter Christians or the faithful church attenders whose hearts are cold toward the Lord, we’ve all encountered cultural Christians. They’d check the Christian box on a survey, they’re fine with church, but the truth is, they’re far from God. So how do we bring Jesus to this overlooked mission field? The Unsaved Christian equips you to confront cultural Christianity with honesty, compassion, and grace, whether you’re doing it from the pulpit or the pews. This practical guide will: show you how to recognize cultural Christianity teach you how to overcome the barriers that get in the way give you easy-to-understand advice about VBS, holiday services, reaching “good people,” and more! If you’ve ever felt stuck or unsure how to minister to someone who identifies as Christian but still needs Jesus, this book is for you.

The Lost Gospel Q

The Lost Gospel Q PDF Author: Marcus Borg
Publisher: Ulysses Press
ISBN: 1569751897
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Presents the original teachings of Jesus written by his contemporaries and early followers

The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture

The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture PDF Author: Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199746281
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Victors not only write history: they also reproduce the texts. Bart Ehrman explores the close relationship between the social history of early Christianity and the textual tradition of the emerging New Testament, examining how early struggles between Christian "heresy" and "orthodoxy" affected the transmission of the documents over which many of the debates were waged. He makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of the social and intellectual history of early Christianity and raises intriguing questions about the relationship of readers to their texts, especially in an age when scribes could transform the documents they reproduced. This edition includes a new afterword surveying research in biblical interpretation over the past twenty years.