In this unique Armchair volume, noted church historians Justo and Catherine Gonzalez introduce readers to important early church figures whose teachings were denounced by the church as heresies. Instructional for what they taught and for revealing what the church wished to safeguard and uphold, these "heretics," including Marcion, Arius, Nestorius, and Pelagius, are engagingly presented in their contexts through a clear and accessible text that is...

In this moving and accessible narrative, Tried by Fire speaks across centuries to offer insight into the people and events that shaped the faith that continues to shape our lives today.

In The Triumph of Christianity, Bart Ehrman, a master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, shows how a religion whose first believers were twenty or so illiterate day laborers in a remote part of the empire became the official religion of Rome, converting some thirty million people in just four centuries. The Triumph of Christianity combines deep knowledge and meticulous research in an eye-opening, immensely readable narrative that...

"A profound and moving journey into the heart of Christianity that explores the mysterious and often paradoxical lives and legacies of the Twelve Apostles -- a book both for those of the faith and for others who seek to understand Christianity from the outside in. Peter, Matthew, Thomas, John: Who were these men? What was their relationship to Jesus? Tom Bissell provides rich and surprising answers to these ancient, elusive questions. He examines...

Jesus Wars reveals how official, orthodox teaching about Jesus was the product of political maneuvers by a handful of key characters in the fifth century. Jenkins argues that were it not for these controversies, the papacy as we know it would never have come into existence and that today's church could be teaching some-thing very different about Jesus. It is only an accident of history that one group of Roman emperors and militia-wielding bishops...

"In Jesus Is Risen, #1 bestselling author David Limbaugh provides a riveting account of the birth of Christianity. Using the Book of Acts and six New Testament epistles as his guide, Limbaugh takes readers on an exhilarating journey through the sorrow and suffering, as well as the joys and triumphs, of the apostles and other key figures as Christianity bursts through the borders of Judea following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ....

At the time of Jesus' birth, thousands of people were leaving their families and tribes behind and flocking into brand new multi-ethnic cities. The world was undergoing the first phase of globalization, and in this ferment rulers and ruled turned to religion as a source of order and stability. The world was full of gods, competing and merging with one another. Selina O'Grady takes the reader on a journey across the empires of the ancient world and...