First Religion

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job. Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job isn't like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes—especially after what happened last time.

First Principles and First Values is the tip of the spear in the fight for a humane future. Establishing frameworks for a new school of thought called CosmoErotic Humanism, the book is built around forty-two propositions that provide new source code for the future of planetary culture.

Beginning with the life of Jesus, Robert Louis Wilken narrates the dramatic spread and development of Christianity over the first thousand years of its history. Moving through the formation of early institutions, practices, and beliefs to the transformations of the Roman world after the conversion of Constantine, he sheds new light on the subsequent stories of Christianity in the Latin West, the Byzantine and Slavic East, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

The first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on today's believers. Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. They practiced a whole new way of thinking about and doing religion that would have been seen as bizarre and dangerous when compared to Roman religion and most other religions of the ancient world.

Do you hate sleep and love real ghost stories? Then this 50-story collection is exactly what you’re looking for! These stories are unexplainable true accounts from first responders, police officers, firemen, and 911 operators, told from the perspective of everyday people. Every single tale between these covers is 100 percent true.

The 1961 abduction of the Hills stirred worldwide interest and enthralled the public and media for decades. It also became a target for debunkers, who still attack it today. But the complete story of what really happened that day, its effect on the participants, and the findings of investigators has never been told - until now. In Captured!, you'll get an insider's look at the alien abduction.

The First Will Be Last: A Biblical Perspective on Narcissism is just what the title says - an A-Z look at the Biblical perspective on these toxic people; including who they are, how they got that way, and how to deal with them. From key words to Biblical case studies, it will unlock a new perspective and provide a framework in your search for truth.

Once in a generation, a historian will redefine his field, producing a book that demands to be read or heard - a product of electrifying scholarship conveyed with commanding skill. Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity is such a book. Breathtaking in ambition, it ranges back to the origins of the Hebrew Bible and covers the world, following the three main strands of the Christian faith.

Does extraterrestrial life exist? Have alien beings actually visited Earth and, indeed, left clear traces of their visits? One man has the answer...and his son can now break the silence. The Roswell Legacy is the story of Major Jesse Marcel, the intelligence officer for the 509th Bomber Group (famous for dropping the atomic bomb on Japan), and the first military officer to reach the scene of one of the most famous and enduring UFO events in the recorded history of mankind.

Many Christians mistakenly believe that their only choice is either to reconcile themselves to a fundamentalist reading of scripture (a "literal-factual" approach) or to simply reject the Bible as something that could bring meaning and value into their lives. In Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg shows how instead we can freshly appreciate all the essential elements of the Old and New Testaments - from Genesis to Revelation - in a way that can open up a new world of intelligent faith.

Rev. Dr. Stephen De Young, creator of the popular The Whole Counsel of God blog and podcast, traces the lineage of Orthodox Christianity back to the faith and witness of the apostles, which was rooted in a first-century Jewish worldview. The Religion of the Apostles presents the Orthodox Christian Church of today as a continuation of the religious life of the apostles, which in turn was a continuation of the life of the people of God since the beginning of creation.

The First 90 Days of Marriage will help couples lay the foundation for a God-scripted, happily-ever-after relationship that only gets better with time. Whether you are soon to be married, have been married many years, or simply want to gain God’s perspective for marriage in your single years, you’ll greatly benefit from this book.

One of the greatest works created by any culture and overwhelmingly the most significant of all Tibetan Buddhist texts in the West, The Tibetan Book of the Dead has had a number of distinguished translations, but none encompassed the work in its entirety. Now, in one of the year's most important publishing events, the entire text has not only been made available in English but in a translation of quite remarkable clarity and beauty.

Muhammad's was a life of almost unparalleled historical importance, yet for all the iconic power of his name, the intensely dramatic story of the prophet of Islam is not well known. In The First Muslim, Lesley Hazleton brings him vibrantly to life. Drawing on early eyewitness sources and on history, politics, religion, and psychology, she renders him as a man in full, in all his complexity and vitality. Hazleton's account follows the arc of Muhammad's rise from powerlessness to power, from anonymity to renown.

The Bible as we know it today is best understood as a process, one that begins in the tenth century BCE. In this revelatory account, a world-renowned scholar of Hebrew scripture joins a foremost authority on the New Testament to write a new biography of the Book of Books, reconstructing Jewish and Christian scriptural histories, as well as the underappreciated contest between them, from which the Bible arose. The Making of the Bible is the most comprehensive history yet told of the world's best-known literature, revealing its buried lessons and secrets.

Paul’s 13 letters are a radical departure from the rest of Scripture, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The only place in the Bible where you will find details concerning God’s remedy for restoring the heavens is in the 13 letters of Paul. The only place in Scripture where you will find law tossed out the window is in the 13 letters of Paul. The only books in the entire Bible dealing with the special salvation of gentiles (non-Israelites), who sin as a vocation and have never even heard of Moses, are the 13 letters of Paul.

The Pilgrims' celebration of the first Thanksgiving is a keystone of America's national and spiritual identity. But is what we've been taught about them or their harvest feast what actually happened? And if not, what difference does it make? Through the captivating story of the birth of this quintessentially American holiday, veteran historian Tracy McKenzie helps us to better understand the tale of America's origins—and for Christians, to grasp the significance of this story and those like it.

Prayer is the lifeblood of the Christian faith—but many followers of Jesus still struggle to make prayer part of their daily lives. Why is it that so many Christians find it difficult to develop a vibrant and exciting prayer life? Pastor Chris Hodges has spent years studying the prayers of the Bible and the models of prayer that the scriptures provide for Christians. Now, he shares the teachings and methods he's used to successfully help hundreds of thousands of people understand how to spend time in conversation with God—and enjoy every minute.

The Changed Life was originally intended to be given as a spoken address by the renowned 19-century Scottish evangelist Henry Drummond.

Fervent passion for Jesus is often one of the first things to fade as we struggle through the daily grind of life, especially after grappling with disappointments and pain. Yet inherent in Jesus's call to return to our first love is his promise to help us never to lose it—to have a heart sustained in joy, delight, and passion for him all of our days. Dana Candler shares her own wrestle with weariness and unbelief, and reveals that a heart fully alive in Jesus is not only possible but is the promise and invitation of God's infinite grace.