Best History of Religions Books
Here you will get Best History of Religions Books For you.This is an up-to-date list of recommended books.
1. Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
Author: by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Liveright (June 8, 2021)
English
384 pages
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERThe paradigm-influencing book (Christianity Today) that is fundamentally transforming our understanding of white evangelicalism in America. Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping, revisionist history of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, revealing how evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalismor in the words of one modern chaplain, with a spiritual badass.
As acclaimed scholar Kristin Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the centrality of popular culture in contemporary American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals might not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sexand they have a silver ring to prove it.
Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical culture is teeming with muscular heroesmythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of Christian America.
2. The Book of Enoch
Author: by Enoch
English
115 pages
099814262X
The Bible, as we hold it today, is esteemed by many religious institutions and especially Conservative Christians to be the inspired, inerrant Word of God. This doctrinal position affirms that the Bible is unlike all other books or collections of works in that it is free of error due to having been given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim.3:16, 17).
While no other text can claim this same unique authority, the Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, ascribed by tradition to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, which played a crucial role in forming the worldview of the authors of the New Testament, who were not only familiar with it but quoted it in the New Testament, Epistle of Jude, Jude 1:14 15, and is attributed there to “Enoch the Seventh from Adam” (1 En 60:8).
The text was also utilized by the community that originally collected and studied the Dead Sea Scrolls. While some churches today include Enoch as part of the biblical canon (for example the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church), other Christian denominations and scholars accept it only as having historical or theological non-canonical interest and frequently use or assigned it as supplemental materials within academic settings to help students and scholars discover or better understand cultural and historical context of the early Christian Church.
3. The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name
Author: by Brian C. Muraresku
English
480 pages
1250207142
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER As seen on The Joe Rogan Experience! A groundbreaking dive into the role psychedelics have played in the origins of Western civilization, and the real-life quest for the Holy Grail that could shake the Church to its foundations.
The most influential religious historian of the 20th century, Huston Smith, once referred to it as the “best-kept secret” in history. Did the Ancient Greeks use drugs to find God? And did the earliest Christians inherit the same, secret tradition?
A profound knowledge of visionary plants, herbs and fungi passed from one generation to the next, ever since the Stone Age? There is zero archaeological evidence for the original Eucharist the sacred wine said to guarantee life after death for those who drink the blood of Jesus.
The Holy Grail and its miraculous contents have never been found. In the absence of any hard data, whatever happened at the Last Supper remains an article of faith for today’s 2. 5 billion Christians. In an unprecedented search for real answers, The Immortality Key examines the archaic roots of the ritual that is performed every Sunday for nearly one third of the planet.
4. The Nag Hammadi Scriptures: The Revised and Updated Translation of Sacred Gnostic Texts Complete in One Volume
Author: by Marvin W. Meyer
0061626007
HarperOne
English
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, edited by Marvin Meyer, is the most complete, up-to-date, one-volume, English-language edition of the renowned library of Gnostic manuscripts discovered in Egypt in 1945, which rivaled the Dead Sea Scrolls find in significance. It includes the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the recently discovered Gospel of Judas, as well as other Gnostic gospels and sacred texts.
This volume also includes introductory essays, notes, tables, glossary, index, etc. To help the reader understand the context and contemporary significance of these texts which have shed new light on early Christianity and ancient thought. The compilation of ancient manuscripts that constitute The Nag Hammadi Scriptures is a discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about the early Christian church, ancient Judaism, and Greco-Roman religions.
5. Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Featuring Integrated Text and Full-Color Images
Author: by Ogden Goelet
Chronicle Books
English
192 pages
For the first time in 3,300 years, The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day: The Papyrus of Ani is showcased in its entirety in seventy four magnificent color pages. Maybe the most stunning presentation of this book in 3300 years: Upon death, it was the practice for some Egyptians to produce a papyrus manuscript called the Book of Going Forth by Day or the Book of the Dead.
A Book of the Dead included declarations and spells to help the deceased in the afterlife. The Papyrus of Ani is the manuscript compiled for Ani, the royal scribe of Thebes. Written and illustrated almost 3,300 years ago, The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript with cursive hieroglyphs and color illustrations.
It is the most beautiful, best preserved, and complete example of ancient Egyptian philosophical and religious thought known to exist. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is an integral part of the world’s spiritual heritage. It is an artistic rendering of the mysteries of life and death.
6. Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within
Author: by Taylor Marshall
Sophia Institute Press
English
224 pages
Rob Morgan’s inimitable style will help people reacquaint themselves with the hymns of the faithful. His goal is to keep these traditional hymns vital and meaningful to all generations. Don’t look for a dry recounting of boring stories. These devotional-style stories show the emotion and drama behind the hymns of faith that have changed many lives throughout history – the people whose faith led them to write these wonderful hymns and the people whose faith was affected by reading, hearing, and singing the songs.
Designed to be personally reflective, these stories speak to your soul and add depth and meaning as you worship God through song. FEATURES:Includes words and music to each hymnSpecial softcover, french flap cover designIvory paper with brown inkJagged-edge paper, giving it a classic feelComplete with hymn indexUse for devotionals, teaching illustrations, introductory remarks for song leaders and music ministers
8. The Viking Spirit: An Introduction to Norse Mythology and Religion
Author: by Daniel McCoy
English
317 pages
1533393036
The Viking Spirit is an introduction to Norse mythology like no other. As you’d expect from Daniel McCoy, the creator of the enduringly popular website Norse Mythology for Smart People, it’s written to scholarly standards, but in a simple, clear, and entertaining style that’s easy to understand and a pleasure to read.
It includes gripping retellings of no less than 34 epic Norse myths more than any other book in the field while also providing an equally comprehensive overview of the fascinating Viking religion of which Norse mythology was a part. You’ll learn about the Vikings’ gods and goddesses, their concept of fate, their views on the afterlife, their moral code, how they thought the universe was structured, how they practiced their religion, the role that magic played in their lives, and much more.
With its inclusion of the latest groundbreaking research in the field, The Viking Spirit is the ultimate introduction to the timeless splendor of Norse mythology and religion for the 21st Century.
9. The Cross and the Lynching Tree
Author: by James H. Cone
Orbis
English
224 pages
The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk.
Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life God overcoming the power of sin and death.
For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era.
10. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Author: by Eric Metaxas
B003GY0K48
August 29, 2011
English
WHO BETTER TO FACE THE GREATEST EVIL OF THE 20TH CENTURY THAN A HUMBLE MAN OF FAITH? As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside.
One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffera pastor and author. In this New York Times best-selling biography, Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer’s lifethe theologian and the spyand draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil.
Metaxas presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer’s heart-wrenching decision to leave the safe haven of America to return to Hitler’s Germany, and sheds new light on Bonhoeffer’s involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in Operation 7, the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland.
In a deeply moving narrative, Metaxas uses previously unavailable documents? Including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts? To reveal dimensions of Bonhoeffer’s life and theology never before seen.”Bonhoeffer is the story of a life framed by a passion for truth and a commitment to justice on behalf of those who face implacable evil.
11. The Gnostic Gospels: Including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Sacred Texts)
Author: by Alan Jacobs
English
256 pages
1780289707
This eye-opening collection of texts sheds light on the esoteric knowledge of Gnosticism, revealing intimate conversations between Jesus and his Disciples In 1945, several gospels, hidden since the first century, were found in the Egyptian Desert at Nag Hammadi. This discovery caused a sensation as the scrolls revealed the mysteries of the Gnosticsa movement which emerged during the formative period of Christianity.
‘Gnosis’, from the Greek, broadly meaning ‘hidden spiritual knowledge’, was associated with renouncing the material world, and focusing on attaining the life of the Holy Spirit. Many Christian sects are derived from the esoteric knowledge of Gnosticism. The gospels selected here by Alan Jacobs reveal intimate conversations between Jesus and his Disciples.
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene sheds new light on his relationship with his favorite follower, while the Gospel of Thomas consists of mini-parables of deep inward and symbolic meaningmany of which are not found in the New Testament. The wisdom in this inspiring collection of texts is wholly relevant to our lives today, addressing the questions of good and evil, sin and suffering, and the path to salvation.
12. A History of Magic, Witchcraft, and the Occult
Author: by DK
DK
English
320 pages
Discover the beguiling history of witchcraft, magic, and superstition through the centuries in this stunningly illustrated title. A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult charts the extraordinary narrative of one of the most interesting and often controversial subjects in the world, covering everything from ancient animal worship and shamanism, through alchemy and divination to modern Wicca and the resurgence of the occult in 21st-century literature, cinema, and television.
Providing readers with a balanced, and unbiased account of everything from Japanese folklore and Indian witchcraft to the differences between black and white magic, and dispelling myths such as those surrounding the voodoo doll and Ouija, the book explores the common human fear of, and fascination with spells, superstition, and the supernatural.
The perfect introduction to magic and the occult, this wide-ranging volume explores forms of divination from astrology and palmistry to the Tarot and runestones, mystical plants and potions such as mandrake, the presence of witchcraft in literature from Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the Harry Potter series, and the ways in which magic has interacted with religion.
13. Seven Men and Seven Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness
Author: by Eric Metaxas
English
496 pages
0718088913
Two beloved Metaxas classics in a single, compact edition. In this new, one-volume edition that brings together two of his most popular works, #1 New York Times bestselling author Eric Metaxas explores the question of what makes a great person great?
Seven Men and Seven Women tells the captivating stories of fourteen heroic individuals who changed the course of history and shaped the world in astonishing ways. George Washington led his country to independence yet resisted the temptation to become America’s king.
William Wilberforce led the fight to end the slave trade, giving up his chance to be England’s prime minister. Susanna Wesley, the mother of nineteen children, gave the world its most significant evangelist and its greatest hymn-writer, her sons John and Charles.
Jackie Robison endured the threats and abuse of racists with unimaginable dignity and strength. Corrie ten Boom risked her life to hide Dutch Jews from the Nazis in World War II and survived the horrors of a concentration camp-and forgave her tormentors years later.
14. Killing Jesus (Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series)
Author: by Bill O'Reilly
0805098542
Henry Holt and Co.
English
Millions of readers have thrilled by bestselling authors Bill O’Reilly and historian Martin Dugard’s Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln, page-turning works of nonfiction that have changed the way we read history. Now the anchor of The O’Reilly Factor details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth.
Nearly two thousand years after this beloved and controversial young revolutionary was brutally killed by Roman soldiers, more than 2. 2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is God. Killing Jesus will take readers inside Jesus’s life, recounting the seismic political and historical events that made his death inevitable and changed the world forever.
15. Forged in Faith: How Faith Shaped the Birth of the Nation 1607-1776
Author: by Rod Gragg
Howard Books (May 3, 2011)
English
272 pages
The true drama of how faith motivated America’s Founding Fathers, influenced the Declaration of Independence and inspired the birth of the nation. This fascinating history, based on meticulous research into the correspondence and documentation of the founding fathers leading up to and encompassing the crafting of the Declaration of Independence, sheds light on how the Judeo-Christian worldview motivated America’s founding fathers, influenced national independence, inspired our foundational documents, and established the American nation.
Written with the pacing and drama of an enticing drama, Forged in Faith is crafted for popular appeal with a compelling mix of dramatized story and action-driven narrative, yet with the authenticity and academic verity of historian Rod Gragg.
16. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English: Seventh Edition (Penguin Classics)
Author: by Geza Vermes
Penguin Classics
English
698 pages
A newly updated edition of the landmark translation by one of our greatest religious scholarsSince its publication in 1962, esteemed biblical expert Gza Vermes’s translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls has established itself as the authoritative standard. The original manuscripts, discovered in the Judean Desert between 1947 and 1956, completely transformed our understanding of the Hebrew Bible, early Judaism, and the origin of Christianity.
Now in its seventh edition, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English has been updated with a number of previously unpublished texts, as well as extensive new introductory material and notes. Some sixty years after the Scrolls’ discovery, this revised and expanded volume crowns a lifetime of research by Vermes.
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
