The story of Mary empowers us. To many, she is the captive, possessed, enslaved, caught in the midst of crime and tragedy, but at once redeemed, set free, and loved by God himself. She is hope and triumph. She represents the power of truth and love to change the life of the lowest and most powerless of us. She is you and me in search of God. The Gospel of mary Magdalene serves to shake our concepts and assumptions of early Christianity. Did Jesus give Mary special and personal knowledge and teaching? Did he take Mary to be his wife? Could the couple have produced children? Gnostic theology leaves open the possibility. Peter said to Mary; "Sister we know that the Savior loved you more than all other women. Tell us the words of the Savior that you remember and know, but we have not heard and do not know. Mary answered him and said; "I will tell you what He hid from you." The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

Jesus was a man of few words, simple words, and a deeply challenging message. However, through the years his words and message have been clouded with additions and redactions. How can we possibly know the words he spoke? What were his original teachings? Where did his message stop and the many changes begin? Hidden in the gospels themselves are the source materials containing the original message preached by Jesus. Before the gospels were written, there were proto-gospels, notes, lists and collections of sayings used to construct the gospels we have today. By examining history, language, and content we can cut through additions and redactions to extract the earliest source materials and examine the true words and teachings of Jesus.

The first fifty years of the faith were tumultuous and politically charged, not because of Roman influence, but due to disagreements within the new Jesus sect. Fundamental doctrines were forming within the fires of personal conflict among the first elders. Did Jesus set out to start a new religion or simply correct the spiritual course of Judaism? What were his intentions? What did he wish to accomplish? After his death who should best direct the new sect? Was James, the brother of Jesus, correct in wishing to keep the new sect Jewish, or was Paul sent by God to guide the new movement? James and the other elders lived with Jesus for three years. Did they understand his mission and message or did Paul, who never met Jesus in the flesh, interpret his intentions more accurately? Did Paul champion the cause, or did Paul hijack the sect and usurp authority from the pillars of the faith? By examining the earliest and most ancient texts of the faith, the original and unaltered words and intentions of Jesus may be seen in a brighter light. With fresh insight we may better understand the evolution and journey of a new movement from a small Jewish sect to a world religion.

Three of the most popular and sought after apocryphal books are now presented in a single volume. - The Book of Enoch is quoted by Jude, cited by Peter, and read by the apostles, Enoch (1 Enoch) informs our ideas of angels and demons. The book describes the fall of a group of angels called, the Watchers, who took the daughters of men as wives and fathered the Nephilim (Genesis 6: 1-2). Enoch goes on to record amazing visions of heaven and the workings thereof. Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is regarded as canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. - The Book of Jubilees, also known as The Little Genesis and The Apocalypse of Moses, opens with an extraordinary claim of authorship. It is attributed to the very hand of Moses; penned while he was on Mount Sinai, as an angel of God dictated to him regarding those events that transpired from the beginning of the world. The story is written from the viewpoint of the angel. The angelic monolog takes place after the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt. The setting is atop Mount Sinai, where Moses was summoned by God. The text then unfolds as the angel reveals heaven's viewpoint of history. We are lead through the creation of man, Adam's fall from grace, the union of fallen angels and earthly women, the birth of demonic offspring, the cleansing of the earth by flood, and the astonishing claim that man's very nature was somehow changed, bringing about a man with less sinful qualities than his antediluvian counterpart. The story goes on to fill in many details in Israel's history, ending at the point in time when the dictation began on the mount. - The Book of Jasher reveals a large quantity of additional information about the period between divine creation and the time of Joshua's leadership over Israel when the Israelites enter into the land of Canaan. The Book of Jasher includes details about the antediluvian patriarchs, angels, watchers, the flood, the tower of Babel, and many other events mentioned in the Bible. The tales are expanded and infused with detail not previously available. This means we receive insight into the lives of Abraham, Noah, Enoch, Joseph, and many other biblical figures. We come to understand how they became great and why they acted as they did. We are also given hitherto unknown knowledge of historical events. We are shown how God's hand shaped history through his love and anger. We see how his disappointment with men and angels ended in earth's near total destruction.

The extreme to which the church has gone in order to protect and justify its various decisions regarding points of faith is fascinating, but tends to obscure the truth. Revisionist history, coercion, and propaganda were the order of the day when the major items of doctrine were being decided. In fact, many of those truths that we hold so dear in our Christian faith were decided, if not invented, through or because of political means, and not by theological insight. Many doctrines went well beyond what the early church held as truth. To look behind the curtain of church history, information should be viewed with a political as well as scientific bias, and compared to other historical documents of the time. The reader is invited to consider the history and virtue of the doctrines of his church based on this new insight and to make a more educated personal stand. In the end, one must ask, Where is God amidst all of these rules, political maneuverings, and doctrines? First, we will discover how our faith was changed. Then we will discover where we left God. Items discussed include: Theology, Framework Of Christianity, The Bible, The Canon of the Bible, Inerrant Scripture, The Trinity, Virgin Birth, Polygamy, Celibacy, Transubstantiation, Rapture, Apocalypse and the End of Days, Sabbath verses Sunday, Tithes and Offerings, Prayer and Faith, Magical Thinking, Original Sin, Mary: Immaculate Conception, Baptism, Predestination and Foreknowledge, The Mark of Cain, Job and the Petty God, The Schizophrenic God of the Old and New Testaments, The Development of Satan, The Axial Age, The Pinnacle of the Axial Age, Religion Addiction, Conclusion of Religion and the Beginning of Spirituality.

Since the dawn of his existence, this creature, this fierce and violent beast has been obsessed with conflict. Like an incurable disease - an addictive drug, war has terrified, teased and taunted, repelled, and fascinated. The power of conquest, the lure and craving for wealth have fashioned the ultimate Beast of War - Man. In his own words throughout the centuries, Man speaks to us of War - its art, its poetic strategy, its allure and its tragedy. Come with us now and listen to the words of our own kind as they teach us how to be warriors. The Warrior's Handbook - A Volume Containing: Warrior's Heart Revealed, The Art of War, The Sayings of Wutzu, Tao Te Ching, The Book of Five Rings, Behold, The Second Horseman: Quotes on War -

Containing the Didache in English and Greek, The "Q" (Source) Document, and the Book of James. What form did Christianity take in the first thirty years? Before the Jewish Christians were slaughtered by Rome and before the emergence of the Pauline sect, while the faith was still under the guiding hand of James, the brother of Jesus, what did the pure and unaltered church look like? By examining the Didache, the "Q" document, and the book of James we will look back into the first years of the faith. The difference between the beliefs of the apostles and modern Christianity will astonish you. The Didache is a manual written by the early Christians, a break away sect of Judaism, instructing converts on how to be Christians and how to conduct themselves in daily life. It is a magnificent view of the beliefs and rituals of the earliest form of Christianity as propagated by those who knew Jesus best; his brother and the original apostles. By the time of the Roman massacre of the Jews (66 C.E. - 70 C.E.) there were three major division in early Christianity: the original Jewish Christians, the gnostic Christians, and the quickly growing Pauline sect that was breaking away from its more formal Jewish roots. There was a one in three chance of the Pauline sect becoming the template of the Christianity of today. Had the war between the Romans and Jews not happened or had Paul failed to convert enough gentiles to his sect to outnumber those who followed James we could have a Messianic-Jewish based Christianity today. Our canon and our worship would be different, but because it would have been accepted, orthodox, and traditional, Christians would follow it as they follow the Pauline sect now. It is only by chance, or by the hand of god that the Didache is not the main document of catechism in the church today.

"Behold it is written in the Book of Jasher."--II Samuel, i. 18 --- "Is not this written in the Book of Jasher?"--Joshua, x. 13 --- History has given us two separate and very different books by the same title. One of these may be the book mentioned in the Holy Bible. If so, it would reveal history and information which would augment and supplement our knowledge of the events from creation to the conquering of the Promised Land.The Books of Jasher: The Book of Jasher, The J. H. Parry Text And The Book of Jasher, also called Pseudo-Jasher, The Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus Text

The search for wisdom has been the pole-star of humanity for six thousand years. Religions have come and gone, philosophies have failed, but those surviving wells of wisdom go deep and yield sweet refreshment for the soul. Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Zen, and Eastern Christian writings have served as pathways to peace and enlightenment, but the path is not easily traveled. Wisdom is a harsh master, demanding authenticity and truth. No self-delusion or protection will be tolerated. The seeker must be eviscerated and lay open mind and soul. Now, the greatest books of Eastern wisdom are brought together for the sake of those seeking the path of enlightenment and liberation. The Dhammapada - Buddhism's path of dharma. The Gateless Gate - Sacred writings of Zen Buddhism The Upanishads - The Vedas of Hinduism The Gospel of Thomas - A Book of Eastern Christian Wisdom The Tao Te Ching - The Taoist Holy Book

The ultimate reference and guide to the book of 1 Enoch (The Ethiopic Book of Enoch) containing the author's notes and insights on the ancient text, commentary, parallel Bible verses, history, prophecy, and the Calendar of Enoch. The author has included an amazing section on the application of the Calendar of Enoch to the prophecy of Daniel and "Daniel's Week of Years." Joseph Lumpkin is the author of the best selling books, "The Lost Book of Enoch - A Comprehensive Transliteration," "The Second Book of Enoch," and "The Third Book of Enoch." Now he brings us his extensive knowledge in Enochian literature in this single-source reference for those seeking more information on the Book of Enoch and its contribution to the Christian and Jewish faiths.

In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise. -- Richard Halverson Most would agree that the modern church has become a disgraceful place, which still houses an eternal truth. Even when faced with this knowledge it is difficult to break away from our traditions. How do we rescue our own spirituality from the church? We shall cut tradition away from truth and let truth stand on its own. Tradition is a prison housing truth and religion is the hangman of spirituality. Both truth and spirit can be rescued with the courage to question and still believe. We will attempt to use the "double-edged approach" of faith in God and historical - political scrutiny of the church. The errors of religion are placed along side the beauty of the spiritual view of the mystical church. It is hoped that such a dual approach may lend itself to a more balanced view while mimicking the feelings many of us now harbor for the modern church. We come to the church with fear and disdain of its judgment and greed, all the while seeking God's love and mercy. When the truth is revealed God can still be seen in the rumble of what has become the church. He is beckoning the individual soul. The personal path is made clear in these pages.