Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

How should we read the book of Revelation? Interpreting Scripture faithfully is a challenge with regard to any text and for any reader of the Bible. But perhaps no text confronts and confuses readers as much as the book of Revelation. With its vivid imagery and rich prophetic language, John's Apocalypse provokes and stirs our imaginations. Some have viewed it primarily as a first-century anti-imperial document. Others have read it as a book of prophecies or eschatological promises. Still others wonder why it is in the biblical canon at all. Theologian and biblical scholar Brandon Smith brings clarity to this question by reading the book of Revelation primarily as John's vision of the triune God. In conversation with early church theologians, including Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, and the Cappadocians, as well as modern biblical scholarship, Smith shows how John's vision can help us worship the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture, edited by Daniel J. Treier and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, promotes evangelical contributions to systematic theology, seeking fresh understanding of Christian doctrine through creatively faithful engagement with Scripture in dialogue with church tradition.

James M. Dean was just a normal American citizen until the outbreak of the Civil War. He is then thrown into the unfamiliar world of battle and must defend his honor and his country. James spends four years battling other soldiers and his own demons, but he soon finds that nothing is clear in a battle between brother and brother. Young James finds himself in the midst of the most tumultuous time in American history. He grows to become a man on the battlefield, schooled by older soldiers who teach him compassion along with cynicism. In the midst of the bloodshed, James finds romance but also death and the daily struggle to stay alive. Rich with accurate historical detail, Hidden Memories is one man's journey to find his purpose and discover how much he can endure. There is more to James's war than north versus south; there is bravery versus cowardice and honor versus deprivation. In the end, James must question his place in society. Can he rejoin a world at peace after the horrors he has seen?

In writing my book I tried, to the best of my memory (and with the help of a lot of people), to relate and have a true story about the things that we did as children and adults... about growing up and living in a small town in Alabama. Even though times were hard then, I feel very fortunate to have grown up during that time and in that place. I believe that my life has been guided and protected by a "Higher Being" and I thank God for looking after me and guiding my life. I also had some great teachers which I am thankful for knowing. Most of our teachers loved us and tried to help, when they could, to prepare for our future. All this gave me confidence to go into adult life and knew that I had my future in my hand and could make my life and that I alone am responsible for my actions. I believe that growing up in Roanoke gave me the knowledge and background to have a great life, for which I am thankful, and I hope for many more good years.

The main character Clay Dawson is an all American boy who had a disappointment in not getting a scholarship to play football at a big university. Clay studies martial arts, he uses this training to protect June the girl of his dreams. They fall in love but she betrays him and breaks his heart. He joins the Marines Corps and shortly after boot camp he is thrown into combat. He has a run in with a CIA agent. Clay is thrust into the leadership roll while a low ranking Marine. Every time there is a battle he has a confrontation with this same agent. Clay does not approve of the way the agent does his job. While home recovering from a wound, he marries June who has divorced her husband. His unit is in trouble and Clay returns to Korea and has to call on the agent for help. Clay and his boot camp DI is assigned to the Agent on "temporary attached duty" (TAD). Clay receives a battle field commission. He is permanently assigned duty via TAD to the Agency. His heart is always with the Marines but gives the Agency his loyalty. His time is about equally divided between the Agency and the Marine Corps. Clay is looking for the perfect marriage. June had a child with her first husband and one child who she does not know if the father is Clay or her first husband. She then divorces Clay. Clay marries Amy, his partner in the Agency. Amy is identical to June and they find out she is June's twin sister, they were separated at birth. Marrying Amy he finds the perfect marriage. Clay and Amy have an exciting career in the Shadows of espionage, and his association with the Marine Corps.

"SOMEBODY HELP I'M STUCK"; Everyday people wake up feeling stuck in life, work, relationships, marriage, and have no clue how to change their situation Now there is a solution, to feeling Stuck in life. This book will change your life in way's you never thought possible.

"Rev. Smith has provided us with probing insights and practical realism. He takes an honest look in to the mind and spirit to lay out strategically ways to find success and achieve anything in life. This book is a self-help manual to guide us in facing challenges with the proper application and successfully achieve our desired goals. I commend this book to you--be prepared for the change and success God will bring to your life."
-Reverend Dr. Lee. P. Washington Pastor, Reid Temple AME Church Glenn Dale, MD
www.reidtemple.org

Rooted in faith and written with love, Rodney D. Smith has created the blueprint for helping others pull themselves out of a rut and into a more fulfilling life. "Somebody, Help I'm Stuck" is a step-by-step guide to success for anyone looking to go a little bit further, see a little more clearly, or reach a little bit higher. There is power within the lessons of this book. All you have to do is grab it A must read
-Shalisa Powell, MEdCollege President, Chicago, IL
www.shalisapowell.com

This is a story of love and struggle in 1876 America about a family nearly penniless traveling west on the Oregon trail in search of a better life like countless thousands of families who went before them. This is a story about the Leland family and how they interact with their fellow travelers and how they deal with and overcome the harsh realities of the Trail. The arguments and violent tempers within their group, the violence they are subjected to by others, and the insecurity they must live with after the massacre of the 7th Cavalry.

How can one escape God's wrath and gain eternal life? On this crucial theological question, Paul differs from other members of the second-Temple Jewish community. Their soteriology is synergistic: for them, though eschatological salvation is due to God's merciful removal of human guilt, obedience to the Law is also indispensable. The divine and the human co-operate. Paul however believes that under such a scheme anything less than perfect obedience to the Law is futile. In consequence, if there is to be salvation for sinful humans, it must be a salvation independent of all human effort and achievement, and thus solely through faith. Contrary to the recent consensus, Paul's concern was not primarily the inclusion of gentiles into the church. This non-synergistic soteriology of Paul's may seem undermined by some of his own statements, that believers must submit to eschatological judgment and that the person without good works will be disqualified from eschatological salvation. But this conclusion is incorrect. For what he holds is that the good works indispensable for salvation are necessarily performed by the believer as manifestations of the indwelling Spirit present in those who have faith in Christ.

Rape has been perpetrated throughout history and worldwide, and today ours has been called a rape culture, because sexual violence, mainly against women and children, is prevalent and tolerated to some extent. The Encyclopedia of Rape offers 185 entries in an A-to-Z essay format covering the historical scope and magnitude of the issue in the United States and globally. Written by a host of scholars from diverse fields, it provides informed perspectives on the key dimensions of the topic, from concepts, social movements, offenders, high-profile cases, legislation, influential activists, landmark texts, and victimology to representations in literature and art. This solid, accessible ready-reference will allow students and the general reader to contextualize current events and reading and viewing in history, literature and the Bible, film, art history, gender studies, psychology, criminology, popular culture, and more. Rape is a topic of perpetual relevance and remains deeply controversial, as it involves the sexual act. Although women are the primary targets of rape and thus the focus of discussion of it, the rape of men, children, and animals is also considered in the encyclopedia. Up to date, it contains insight on the manifestations of rape today, including as a tool of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and genocide in Rwanda, the Catholic Church priest scandals, and drug-facilitated date rape. Added value comes from an abundance of statistics, suggested reading for further research per entry, chronology, resource guide, and appendix listing entries by topic.

"Ambitious in scope, yet full of detailed and incisive criticisms of specific cases and theological principles, "Getting Over Equality" is an uncommon work of truly interdisciplinary scholarship. The provocative legal and theological theses make it a welcome addition to contemporary scholarship in both fields and a recommended text from any course that considers law and religion in the American context."--"The Journal of Religion"

Questions of religious freedom continue to excite passionate public debate. Proposals involving school prayer and the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools and courtrooms perennially spur controversy. But there is also a sense that the prevailing discourse is exhausted, that no one seems to know how to think about religious freedom in a way that moves beyond our stale, counterproductive thinking on this issue.

In Getting over Equality, Steven D. Smith, one of the most important voices now writing about religious liberty, provocatively contends that we must get over our presumptionmistakenly believed to be rooted in the Constitutionthat all religions are equally true and virtuous and "authentically American." Smith puts forth an alternative view, that the courts should promote an ideal of tolerance rather than equality and neutrality. Examining such controversial examples as the animal sacrifice case, the peyote case, and the problem of aid to parochial schools, Smith delineates a way for us to tolerate and respect contrary creeds without sacrificing or diluting our own beliefsand without pretending to believe in a spurious "equality" among the variety of diverse faiths.

In Colonial America, the lives of white immigrant, black slave, and American Indian women intersected. Economic, religious, social, and political forces all combined to induce and promote European colonization and the growth of slavery and the slave trade during this period. This volume provides the essential overview of American women's lives in the seventeenth century, as the dominant European settlers established their patriarchy. Women were essential to the existence of a new patriarchal society, most importantly because they were necessary for its reproduction. In addition to their roles as wives and mothers, Colonial women took care of the house and household by cooking, preserving food, sewing, spinning, tending gardens, taking care of sick or injured members of the household, and many other tasks. Students and general readers will learn about women's roles in the family, women and the law, women and immigration, women's work, women and religion, women and war, and women and education, literature, and recreation. The narrative chapters in this volume focus on women, particularly white women, within the eastern region of the current United States, the site of the first colonies. Chapter 1 discusses women's roles within the family and household and how women's experiences in the various colonies differed. Chapter 2 considers women and the law and roles in courts and as victims of crime. Chapter 3 looks at women and immigration--those who came with families or as servants or slaves. Women's work is the subject of Chapter 4. The focus is work within the home, preparing food, sewing, taking care of children, and making household goods, or as businesswomen or midwives. Women andreligion are discussed in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 examines women's role in war. Women's education is one focus of Chapter 7. Few Colonial women could read but most women did receive an education in the arts of housewifery. Chapter 7 also looks at women's contributions to literature and their leisure time. Few women were free to pursue literary endeavors, but many expressed their creativity through handiwork. A chronology, selected bibliography, and historical illustrations accompany the text.