Voltaire (1694-1778), novelist, dramatist, poet, philosopher, historian, and satirist, was one of the most renowned figures of the Age of Enlightenment. In this collection of anti-clerical works from the last twenty-five years of Voltaire's life, he roundly attacks the philosophical optimism of the deists, the so-called inspiration of the Bible, the papacy, and vulgar superstition. These great works reveal Voltaire not only as a polemicist but also as a profound humanitarian. The selections include "Poem on the Lisbon Disaster", "We Must Take Sides", "The Questions of Zapate" and "The Sermon of the Fifty," homilies on superstition and the interpretation of the Old and New Testaments, and his famous "Treatise on Toleration".

Most Batman fans have enjoyed the Dark Knight in comics or on the big screen and are eagerly anticipating the release of the new Justice League movie. But only real fans know the other characters who have donned the cowl in place of Bruce Wayne, or know the full origin stories of those who make up the rogues gallery. 100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die is the ultimate resource for true fans, whether you're a comic book collector, an aficionado of Christopher Nolan's films, or both! Joseph McCabe of Nerdist.com has collected every essential piece of Dark Knight knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them all from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist as you progress on your way to fan superstardom. Contains exclusive interviews with Batman creators!

Probably no religious institution in the world has had so remarkable a history, and assuredly none has attracted so large and varied a literature, as the Papacy. This book contains a study of twenty famous popes whose careers and whose influence were important in the development of the church and in the history of the world. It provides a view of the Papacy from the early 3rd to the early 20th century.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Did Jesus ever live? Was he the Messiah as Christianity has claimed? And what are the true foundations of the Christian religion? These are the fundamental questions posed by ex-priest Joseph McCabe (1867-1955), a prodigious scholar, translator, and lecturer, who tirelessly promoted scientific inquiry, skepticism, and anticlericalism in works that were exhaustively researched yet accessible to the general reader. In these three lively, informative, and combative essays, McCabe takes us through the ancient Mediterranean world to show how Christianity appropriated the ceremonies and myths of paganism to elaborate the Resurrection story.McCabe cogently demonstrates that the Jesus of the gospels is not historical at all but a curious amalgam built up after his death. The gospels themselves are completely unreliable as biographies of Jesus. Critically examining all the ancient sources, McCabe reveals a series of shameless distortions by Christian apologists who, he argues, destroyed classical civilization and inaugurated the Dark Ages.