Designed to introduce general readers to the great diversity of religion that exists today, this fascinating and very useful book provides short descriptions of the beliefs and practices of the world religions and the denominational branches, of Christianity. Now in paperback.

"In The Many Faces of Christ religious historian Philip Jenkins refutes our most basic assumptions about the Lost Gospels and the history of Christianity. He reveals that hundreds of alternative gospels were never lost, but survived and in many cases remained influential texts, both outside and within the official Church. We are taught that these alternative scriptures--such as the Gospels of Thomas, Mary, or Judas--represented intoxicating, daring and often bizarre ideas that were wholly suppressed by the Church in the fourth and fifth centuries. In bringing order to the tumult, the Church canonized only four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The rest, according to this standard account, were lost, destroyed, or hidden. But more than a thousand years after Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made his Roman Empire do the same, the Christian world retained a much broader range of scriptures than would be imaginable today"--

Faith is one of the most critical aspects of the Christian life, because it is the means by which we receive all that God has secured for us; yet the nature of faith is one of the most misunderstood concepts of Christianity. Some conceptualize faith as some mental state that one must reach before they are able to “tap into” God’s “resources.” Others view faith as some sort of incorporeal substance that is “out there” for which we must reach. All of these concepts of faith are deficient, if not heretical, and yet all of them are found in the church. Others view faith as a mere fantasy or hope with no basis in reality, and thus religious claims are excluded from the arena of knowledge. “For a number of years my heart has been trilled over the doctrine of faith as it is received and taught among evangelical Christians everywhere. Great emphasis is laid upon faith in orthodox circles, and that is good, but still I am troubled. Specifically, my fear is that the modern conception of faith is not the biblical one; that when the teachers of our day use the word, they do no mean what Bible meant when they used it”. I also share the same concerns with A.W.Tozer, when he said; “the cause of my uneasiness are these”: 1. The lack of spiritual fruits in the lives of so many who claim to have faith. 2. The rarity of a radical change in the conduct and general outlook of persons professing their new faith in Christ as their personal Savior. 3. The failure of our teachers to define or even describe the thing to which the word faith is supposed to refer. 4. The heartbreaking failure of multitudes of seekers is they are even so earnest to make anything out of the doctrine or to receive any satisfying experience through it. 5. The real danger that a doctrine that is parroted so widely and received so uncritically by so many is false as understood by them. 6. I have seen faith put forward as an escape from reality, a refuge from the necessity of hard thinking, a hiding place for weak character, natural optimism, emotional thrills and nervous tics. Therefore, in the pages of this book, I will endeavor to outline for your benefit the dynamics of faith. What is faith? How does faith works? How to grow in faith? The power of faith; the Excellency of faith; the demand of faith; the perseverance of faith; the challenges of faith; the object of faith, the effect of faith; the response of faith; the discipline of faith; the necessity of faith and many more are discussed.

In this grand work of philosophy and history, Campbell shows how religious conceptions have been shaped by advances in technology and science over a 400-year period.

This work offers a compendium of different christologies from Africa, Asia and Latin America, and in so doing provides a good introduction to the theologies of the Third World generally. But it is more than an encyclopaedic account; it asks what these christologies have in commone and where they differ, and what they mean for ecumenism. Some of the figures discussed here, like M.M. Thomas and Stanley Samartha from India or C.S. Song from Taiwan and Kosuke Koyama from Japan, Leonardo Boff and Jon Sobrino from Latin America, James Cone from the USA and Alan Boesak from South Africa, may be familiar. But there are also many new and significant names, particularly from Africa, where new titles for Christ are being created which seek to express the significance of Jesus in the categories of African thought. There are also accounts of Korean Minjung theology, Indian Dalit theology and Japanese Burakumin theology, expressing the pictures of a suffering Christ created by a suffering people.

Bob and Penny Lord write about the apparitions of Mary, contending that each of them has significance for larger numbers than the fortunate few to whom she has appeared.

Carrol Shewmake couldn't understand the Bible, with all its confusing symbols, wars, and diversity. Where was the missing clue? Then one day she stumbled upon the golden thread, running from Genesis to Revelation, that revealed the heart of the Author and His longing for intimacy with His children. Since then she has never been the same. The Bible is a new book. And God is her closest friend. Now you can share her discovery and behold the Invisible with new eyes. See how the many snapshots of God in Scripture form a majestic panorama of grace. Understand your status as the child of the Father, the wife of the Husband, the clay of the Potter, the sheep of the Shepherd, and the branch of the Vine. Feel His longing for intimacy reaching out to you in every passage. Book jacket.

Written by noted author and preacher Rev. John Hampsch, this series presents some of the most important and popular topics in Catholic life. All of Father Hampsch's booklets are Scripture-based answers to frequently asked questions about living the Catholic Faith. These booklets are perfect when you need to hear the world of God in your busy schedule.