What motivated Jesus to pursue the cross? What inner strength kept His feet on the path before him? Time and tradition muted the Church's knowledge of the passions that burned in Jesus' heart, but if we want to-if we dare to-we can still seek those same passions that enflamed the Son of God and changed the world forever

Bruce Barton's 1925 effort to reconfigure Jesus for the Roaring Twenties turned into one of the great best-sellers of the century. In The Man Nobody Knows, Barton depicted Christ as a man's man, not the meek, effeminate figure he had encountered in Sunday School. No Puritan or Prohibitionist, this Jesus turned water into wine and was "the most popular dinner guest in Jerusalem." Here was the world's first advertising man, whose parables sparkled as models for modern jingle writers. (Barton had co-founded the celebrated advertising firm of Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborne.) Here was Christ, the world's greatest business executive, who "picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world." When in the 1950s Barton felt compelled to revise his often-reprinted book for a new generation, he blurred its focus. In this new edition, the historian Richard Fried revives the primary source in Barton's original language. Mr. Fried explores the book's rich insights into the culture of the 1920s, revealing not only the union of religion and business but changing attitudes toward consumption and leisure, sexuality and the roles of men and women.

This work is a presentation of the truth of Jesus Christ from the viewpoint of liberation - from Jesus's options for the poor, his confrontation with the powerful and the persecution and death this brought him. Building and expanding on his previous works, Jon Sobrino develops a Christology that shows how to meet the mystery of God, all God "Father" and call this Jesus "the Christ".

This is the extraordinary story of Knight and Lomas's fourteen year quest to uncover the secret teachings buried beneath Roslin Chapel near Edinburgh. Their quest ends with extraordinary revelations about early human history - the origins of Christianity, of Freemasonry and of science. They show that all were charged with a belief in a secret cosmic code, linking, for example, the Exodus from Egypt, the founding of Solomon's Temple and the Star of Bethlehem. This book reveals for the first time why there were such high expectations of a Messiah at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Book of Hiram will change everything you thought you knew about both the Bible and Freemasonry.

* What is the standard view of history is completely wrong? * What if science and writing developed from an advanced prehistoric civilisation in the British Isles? * What is written evidence in the Dead Sea Scrolls records megalithic history and provides the plans for a machine that could rebuild civilisation following a global catastrophe? * And what if Jesus and his brother James were practitioners of megalithic astronomy? In URIEL'S MACHINE Knight & Lomas offer powerful new evidence that our planet was hit by seven mountain-sized lumps of comet, creating a series of giant waves that ripped across the globe. Putting together the latest findings of leading geologists with their own sensational new archaeological discoveries, they show how a civilisation emerged and was able to build an international network of sophisticated astronomical observatories which provided accurate calendars, could measure the diameter of the planet and accurately predict comet impact years in advance.

The revelation that this is the true purpose of the great megalithic sites in Western Europe, built long before the Egyptian pyramids.

The Son of Man sayings are some of the most contested sayings in the Gospels. They preserve a phrase employed by Jesus to refer to himself, yet the meaning of the saying in its various contexts has been hotly debated for centuries. Some identify allusions to other literature in the bible, including the book of Daniel. Others see it as simply being a strange rendering in Greek of an Aramaic phrase that was relatively commonplace. The history of research on these sayings is here presented by Benjamin E. Reynolds in a volume of critical readings, which provides access to over 50 years of scholarly research. These essays and articles include the most often cited articles that address the various aspects of the Son of Man debate. In addition to these most well-known pieces Reynolds includes carefully selected additional essays that allow readers to trace different developments in the debate and to provide an entry into the waters of 'the Son of Man Problem' and the numerous solutions that have been offered. Each section features an introduction and a section of annotated further readings.

The four Gospels unanimously present Jesus as someone who quoted from, commented on, and engaged with the Scriptures of Israel. Whether this portrayal goes back to the historical Jesus has been a hotly debated issue among scholars. In this book, eleven expert researchers from four different continents tackle the question anew. This is done through detailed study of specific themes and passages from the Scriptures which Jesus, according to the Gospels, quoted or alluded to. Among the various topics investigated are Jesus' use of Genesis 2 to bolster his teaching on divorce, his reference to the Queen of Sheba story in 1 Kings, the significance of the Book of Zechariah for Jesus' self-understanding, and his enigmatic quotation of Psalm 22 on the cross. These and other contributions result in a common understanding of Jesus' use of the Scriptures. Not only did Jesus engage with the Scriptures, according to these scholars, but his mode of engagement has to be placed within the early Jewish interpretative framework within which he lived.

The Story of Jesus small group video Bible study is a seven-week exploration into the life and ministry of Jesus that is adapted from the original The Story Adult Curriculum. Pulled straight from the pages of the Bible, this study provides individuals and groups of all sizes the opportunity to learn, discuss, and apply Jesus life, work, and teaching to their everyday lives. Pastor and author Randy Frazee presents seven ten-minute teachings on how the story of Jesus intersects with the story of our modern day lives. To understand the Bible, says author and pastor Randy Frazee, you need bifocal lenses, because two perspectives are involved. The Lower Story, our story, is actually many stories of men and women interacting with God in the daily course of life. The Upper Story is God's story, the tale of his great, overarching purpose that fits all the individual stories together like panels in one unified mural. Bestselling author Max Lucado also adds some introductory insights. The Story of Jesus DVD (sold separately) and Participant's Guide are designed for use by individuals as well as groups of all sizes, including small groups and Sunday school and adult education classes. The Story of Jesus Participant s Guide includes DVD teaching notes, discussion questions, between session personal experiences, and also includes seven chapters of the full text of The Story hardcover book as it relates to Jesus, from his birth to the beginning of the church."

The definitive life of Jesus from the bestselling author of "A History of Christianity."
Few figures have had such an influence on the world as Jesus of Nazareth. Paul Johnson's brilliant and powerful reading of Jesus' life at once captures his transfiguring message and his historical complexity. With a superb historian's command of his subject, a masterly writer's love of language, and a believer's passion, Johnson presents a lucid and deeply moving biography of a man whose life changed the course of history. Jesus offers readers a succinct yet lively account of the man who inspired one of the world's great religions and whose lessons still guide us today.

America's best preacher, according to Time magazine, presents the perfect book for the holidays - a heart-warming and life-affirming collection of stories and reminiscences that will bring readers a deeper understanding of the true meaning of Christmas. In Follow The Star, Jakes leads a journey that makes Christmas, past and present, come alive through deeply personal experiences that have shaped his life: family stories about finding the Christmas spirit during the worst hardships, and the need to appreciate fellowship, love and God. With his unique insight, warmth and wisdom Bishop Jakes fully embraces the magnificence miracle of the birth of Christ.

This book reconstructs first-century Galilee from archaeological surveys, excavations, and artifacts, and provides descriptions of the material remains relevant to historical Jesus research and New Testament studies. Drawing on his years of field experience in Galilee, Reed illustrates how the archaeological record has been misused by New Testament scholars, and how synthesis of the material culture is foundational for understanding Christian origins in Galilee and the Jewish culture out of which they arose.

Part One shows how settlement patterns and artifacts from Galilee point to close ties between Judean and Galilean Jews at the time of Jesus, and how Herod Antipas' urbanization projects at Sepphoris and Tiberias commercialized and aggravated peasant life in agrarian Galilean society. Part Two focuses on the archaeology of two Galilean sites and their import for historical Jesus research: Sepphoris, Antipas' capital and the largest city in Galilee just north of Nazareth, and Capernaum, Jesus' base of operations on the periphery of Antipas' power. Part Three concludes with studies illustrating the necessity of considering the specifically Galilean local conditions when interpreting New Testament texts.

When Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, there began a new way of the cross, traced for five hundred years in the lives of the poor and oppressed peoples of the Americas. These short meditations on the stations--by such figures as Gustavo Guiterrez, Enrique Dussel, Leonardo Boff, Helder Camara, Elsa Tamez, and Jon Sobrino--reflect on the passion of Christ against the background of conquest. They write, as Virgil Elizondo says in his preface, to "invite our readers to take this journey with us, to share our suffering, to experience our crucifixion, and to taste in anticipation our Easter joy. We invite all--rich and poor, black and brown and white, clerics and lay people--to a profound conversion that will stimulate us to build a better world in the Americas, a world of the new humanity enjoying justice, freedom, and love."

Jesus the Rebel explores the radical life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and shows how his witness speaks directly to our contemporary world of violence, war, poverty, and nuclear weaponry. As John Dear ponders Jesus call to discipleship, he shares his own journey of Gospel peacemaking. In jails, soup kitchens, shelters, and war zones, Jesus the bearer of God 's Peace and Justice is reborn and invites us to be transformed in our homes, workplaces, churches, communities, and hearts.

"A rich and expansive description of Jesus' impact on the general history of culture. . . . Believers and skeptics alike will find it a sweeping visual and conceptual panorama."-John Koenig, front page, New York Times Book Review Called "a book of uncommon brilliance" by Commonweal, Jesus Through the Centuries is an original and compelling study of the impact of Jesus on cultural, political, social, and economic history. Noted historian and theologian Jaroslav Pelikan reveals how the image of Jesus created by each successive epoch-from rabbi in the first century to liberator in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries-is a key to understanding the temper and values of that age. "An enlightening and often dramatic story . . . as stimulating as it is informative."-John Gross, New York Times "A gracious little masterpiece."-Thomas D'Evelyn, Christian Science Monitor

The fourth installment in the Jesus Chronicles, from the bestselling author of the Left Behind series.
This story in the Jesus Chronicles depicts the life of the most unlikely of apostles-a sinner turned saint-and his time with the Lord. With Matthew, readers walk alongside Jesus as He gives the Sermon on the Mount, performs the miracles of healing the sick and raising the dead, contemplates His fate at the Last Supper and in the Garden of Gethsemane, is crucified, and most important, resurrected. Thrilling and uplifting, "Matthew's Story" shows how the true Messiah changed the life of one man, and forever altered the course of history.

Known throughout the world as masters of Gregorian chant, the Benedictine monks of Solesmes, under the direction of Dom Jean Claire, have recorded the antiphons and responsories for the Great Offices of Vigils, Lauds, and Vespers for Holy Saturday.

Primary motifs in the New Testament, the person of Jesus and the future kingdom of God, resurrection and hell, are examined within their historical and hermeneutical context. New interpretations are offered in the light of contemporary scholarly discussion and debate. This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details.

Some two thousand years ago, in a small province of the Roman Empire, an obscure Roman governor ordered the execution of a peasant leader. It went virtually unnoticed at the time. No official report of the event has survived, and we would have no memory at all of it except for the efforts of a handful of followers of the condemned man. Those followers who kept that memory alive changed the course of history, and the results of their efforts continue to reverberate to this day. Conventional interpretation says that the execution of Jesus of Nazareth came on the heels of a series illegal trials before a number of different tribunals, and at the culmination of that series of trials a moral coward by the name of Pontius Pilate ordered Jesus' execution despite being satisfied that he was innocent. Revisionist interpretation says that there was no trial at all, that Pilate simply executed Jesus because he was a nuisance, and that Jesus' followers invented the story of his execution as a means of shifting the blame from the Roman government to a group of people whom they despised - the Jews. Are the Gospels good history or bad propaganda? Does a fair reading of the Gospel accounts support either the conventional or the revisionist interpretation of the trial of Jesus? Who, if anyone, should shoulder the blame for the crucifixion of Jesus? The Case against Christ seeks to answer these questions by treating the matter as a forensic death investigation and answering the questions as they might be answered by a prosecutor attempting to determine who should be held criminally responsible for the death of Jesus.

This insightful volume represents the "hands-on" experience in the world of academia of two Jewish scholars, one of Orthodox background and the other a convert to the Jewish faith. As a series of separate but interrelated essays, it approaches multiple issues touching both the historical Jesus (himself a pious Jew) and the modern phenomenon of Messianic Judaism. It bridges the gap between the typically isolated disciplines of Jewish and Christian scholarship and forges a fresh level of understanding across religious boundaries. It delves into such issues as the nature and essence of Jesus' message (pietistic, militant or something of a hybrid), and whether Messianic Jews should be welcome in the larger Jewish community. Its ultimate challenge is to view sound scholarship as a means of bringing together disparate faith traditions around a common academic table. Serious research of the "great Nazarene" becomes interfaith discourse.

This insightful volume represents the "hands-on" experience in the world of academia of two Jewish scholars, one of Orthodox background and the other a convert to the Jewish faith. As a series of separate but interrelated essays, it approaches multiple issues touching both the historical Jesus (himself a pious Jew) and the modern phenomenon of Messianic Judaism. It bridges the gap between the typically isolated disciplines of Jewish and Christian scholarship and forges a fresh level of understanding across religious boundaries. It delves into such issues as the nature and essence of Jesus' message (pietistic, militant or something of a hybrid), and whether Messianic Jews should be welcome in the larger Jewish community. Its ultimate challenge is to view sound scholarship as a means of bringing together disparate faith traditions around a common academic table. Serious research of the "great Nazarene" becomes interfaith discourse.