The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins

The Religion of the Ancient Celts

John Arnott MacCulloch · 338 pages

To summon a dead religion from its forgotten grave and to make it tell its story, would require an enchanter's wand. Other old faiths, of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome, are known to us. But in their case liturgies, myths, theogonies, theologies, and the accessories of cult, remain to yield their report of the outward form of human belief and aspiration. How scanty, on the other hand, are the record

The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God?

Tim Freke, Peter Gandy · 360 pages

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography

John Dominic Crossan · 209 pages

"Crossan paints his Jesus with great warmth and power."-New York Times Book ReviewJohn Dominic Crossan is widely regarded as the leading authority on the words and life of Jesus Christ. His classic national bestseller, Jesus, is a powerful and controversial portrait of a courageous revolutionary, philosopher, and political agitator who challenged the prevailing rules of the social order. Bold, mov

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

Elaine Pagels, Karen L. King · 224 pages

The instant New York Times bestseller interpreting the controversial long-lost gospelThe recently unearthed Gospel of Judas is a source of fascination for biblical scholars and lay Christians alike. Now two leading experts on the Gnostic gospels tackle the important questions posed by its discovery, including: How could any Christian imagine Judas to be Jesus' favorite? And what kind of vision of

Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions

Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson · 268 pages

Most people know of Valhalla, the World-Tree and the gods of Norse mythology, or of the strange hunts and voyages of the ancient Irish tales. Yet few people realise the significance of the similarities and contrasts between the religions of the pre-Christian people of north-western Europe. The Celts and Germans and Scandinavians had much in common in their religious practices and beliefs.... There

Peter, Paul & Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History & Legend

Bart D. Ehrman · 294 pages

Stories Of The Prophets

bn kthyr, Ibn Kathir · 246 pages

Occidental Mythology

Joseph Campbell · 576 pages

Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses

Bruce Feiler · 488 pages

The author recounts his ten-thousand-mile journey across the Middle East in search of the roots of the Bible to discover whether it was an abstraction or a living, breathing entity.

The First 2,000 Years: From Adam To Abraham

W. Cleon Skousen

The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem

Marcus J. Borg, John Dominic Crossan · 256 pages

As scholars Borg and Crossan reacted to questions about the blockbuster film The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events leading up to the Crucifixion. Here they present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life. They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem. The first, that of Roman governor Pontiu

Jesus and the Victory of God

N.T. Wright · 741 pages

Early Christian Doctrines

J.N.D. Kelly · 506 pages

The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation & the Evidence That Could Change History

Simcha Jacobovici, Charles Pellegrino · 240 pages

In 1980, workers at a Jerusalem construction site accidentally uncovered a cache of bone boxes from early Christian times. When reports about the crypt discovery leaked out 16 years later, the London Sunday Times headlined the story as "The Tomb That Dare Not Speak Its Name." Now the full story will be told. In 2005, documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici obtained permission to break through the

Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson

Jennifer Michael Hecht · 551 pages

Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years

Philip Jenkins · 328 pages

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 gr

The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity

Peter R.L. Brown · 204 pages

Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation

Elaine Pagels · 245 pages

Explores the New Testament book of Revelation in a historical first-century context, reinterpreting the book as a scathing attack on the decadence of Rome that was subsequently adopted by early Christians as a weapon against heresy.

The Gospel of Judas

Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin W. Meyer, Gregor Wurst, Francois Gaudard · 192 pages

For 1,600 years its message lay hidden. When the bound papyrus pages of this lost gospel finally reached scholars who could unlock its meaning, they were astounded. Here was a gospel that had not been seen since the early days of Christianity, and which few experts had even thought existed--a gospel told from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, history's ultimate traitor. And far from being a villa

Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers

Andrew Louth · 208 pages

The writings in this volume shed a glimmer of light, in an otherwise dark period, on the emerging traditions and organizations of the infant Church. They are a selection from a group known as the Apostolic Fathers, so-called because several of the authors were most likely disciples of the Apostles themselves. Like much of the New Testament, their writings take the form of letters, and for the most

Codex Judas papers

International Congress on the Tchacos Codex (2008 Houston, Tex.) · 637 pages

The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries

Rodney Stark · 246 pages

The idea that Christianity started as a clandestine movement among the poor is a widely accepted notion. Yet it is one of many myths that must be discarded if we are to understand just how a tiny messianic movement on the edge of the Roman Empire became the dominant faith of Western civilization. In a fast-paced, highly readable book that addresses beliefs as well as historical facts, Rodney Stark

Asimov's Guide to the Bible: The Old and New Testaments, 2 Vols

Isaac Asimov · 1,295 pages

A fantastic read for anyone interested in organised religion and history. He takes the reader on a journey of the bible through the eyes of the authors and readers. By providing historical backgrounds to the times and the peoples for whom the bible was writtten, he helps explain why this book should NEVER be taken literally. I'm sure parts are outdated by new research by now but it is still a legi

The Historical Figure of Jesus

E.P. Sanders · 337 pages

In this influential historical study, E.P Sanders examines Jesus of Nazareth within the social, political, and religious world of first-century Judaism. Drawing on biblical scholarship, historical sources, and the latest academic research, reconstructs what can be reliably known about Jesus' life, teachings, actions, and the movement that formed around him. Rather than focusing on doctrine or late