A former Roman Catholic, Frank Bolger Kelly has long wondered why thinking humans as a whole in the 21st century have not yet been able to disenthrall themselves from the demonstrable falsehoods and sectarian nonsense of organized religion. A few years ago, Kelly decided to sit down with the "sacred" scriptures of several of the world's major religions, the alleged bedrocks of these various creeds, in a last-ditch effort to achieve holy inspiration. Instead, he became wholly disenchanted, and Scoffing at Scripture: A Commoner Reads the World's Holy Writ and Rejects Traditional Religion is the result. Far from representing that all-elusive "Word of God," creedal scripture the world over, it seems to Kelly, merely cloaks the tribal agendas and cultural designs of the world's priestly (and virtually allmale) elites. With the general reader in mind, the author has grouped together a series of compact discussions of religion and scripture for cross-cultural comparative reference. Kelly's intent is to facilitate critical analysis of the world's holy writ and, in particular, to encourage younger, skeptical readers of a secular mind to confront the doctrinal, scriptural, and ritual absurdities of those faiths into which they were born and continue to be indoctrinated. Frank Bolger Kelly grew up in an Irish Catholic family in the Bronx, New York, matriculated to a noted Jesuit college in New England, and subsequently did time at a prestigious non-sectarian institution of higher learning in the Midwest. It was during his enlightening time at the latter that Kelly first began seriously to question not only his own religious upbringing but the scriptural bases of all the world's major religions. Kelly was quickly convinced that the vast majority of "the faithful" the world over, commoners like himself, just might reconsider their religious roots and motivations in a new light if they actually bothered to immerse themselves for a time in their own "sacred scriptures," rather than merely fake familiarity with them. Actually to read scripture in all its antiquated, tendentious, sectarian absurdity, Kelly reasoned, is to take a first, giant step in renouncing irrational creeds of all kinds. Thus was born Scoffing at Scripture: A Commoner Reads the World's Holy Writ and Rejects Traditional Religion, a book from which the author hopes the open-minded reader will draw a secularly pure, spiritual sustenance.

Many Christians think of end times prophecy as a gigantic, intimidating puzzle -- difficult to piece together and impossible to figure out. But every puzzle can be solved if you approach it the right way. Paul Benware compares prophecy to a picture puzzle. Putting the edge pieces together first builds the 'framework' that makes it easier to fit the other pieces in their place. According to Benware, the framework for eschatology is the biblical covenants. He begins his comprehensive survey by explaining the major covenants. Then he discusses several different interpretations of end times prophecy. Benware digs into the details of the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, the judgements and resurrections, and the millennial kingdom. But he also adds a unique, personal element to the study, answering questions as: -Why study bible prophecy? -What difference does it make if I'm premillenial or amillenial? If what the Bible says about the future puzzles you, Understanding End Times Prophecy will help you put together the pieces and see the big picture.

To some, the concept of having faith in a higher power or a set of religious beliefs is nonsensical. Indeed, many view religion in general, and Christianity in particular, as unfounded and unreasonable. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek argue, however, that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems, but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself. With conviction and clear thinking, Geisler and Turek guide readers through some of the traditional, tested arguments for the existence of a creator God. They move into an examination of the source of morality and the reliability of the New Testament accounts concerning Jesus. The final section of the book deals with a detailed investigation of the claims of Christ. This volume will be an interesting read for those skeptical about Christianity, as well as a helpful resource for Christians seeking to articulate a more sophisticated defense of their faith.

If You Love God's Word You Will Love This New Testament! The Disciples' Literal New Testament sets you free from our artificial 460 year old chapter and verse structure, replacing it with paragraphing that reflects the flow of thought in the original Greek writings. Paragraph headings make that flow of thought explicit to you, speeding your understanding of the NT books. This translation retains the writing style of the apostles themselves, rather than transforming their Greek ways of writing into an elegant or contemporary English writing style, as has been beautifully done so many times. It is the same translation as the author's New Testament TransLine, first published by Zondervan in 2002. Now you can read the New Testament as the original writers intended it, and see it with a clarity formerly available only to those who could carefully study their Greek New Testament. You can even see the difference in writing style between Matthew, Mark and Luke! Used along with your standard Bible version, you will profit from both methods of translation. *Easily grasp the relationship of the whole and the parts of each book with the big-picture overview outlines that use the words of the original author. *Gain quick insight into the flow of thought from descriptive paragraph headings that summarize the main point of each paragraph in its context. *You can visually follow the apostles' thinking because the 'Intelligent Paragraphing' visually displays their main and subordinate thoughts. *The hindrance to your understanding caused by our artificial chapter and verse structure is eliminated by paragraphing based on the Greek writings. *You will more fully appreciate the minds and thinking patterns and intent of the original writers because the translation corresponds more closely to their words and their grammar and their sentence structure. *Deepen and expand your understanding of the New Testament by meditating on the notes containing alternative renderings, explanations of what is being said, and different views of the meaning.

The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.

Edited by J.B. Phillips Chapters indicated but no verse numbers Introduction to each book Index 5 1/2 X 8 1/4 % Font size: 10

Strictly alphabetical listing of words written in Hebrew letters, followed by some inflectional forms of the word, its English meaning, and relevant chapter and verse citations from the Bible.