Brings together some of the fragmented texts of Manicheism, one of the major religions for over 1000 years, and uncovers its links to Christianity.

There is a lot of talk about heresy these days. The frequency and volume of accusations suggest that some Christians have lost a sense of the gravity of the word. On the other hand, many believers have little to no familiarity with orthodox doctrine or the historic distortions of it. What’s needed is a strong dose of humility and restraint, and also a clear and informed definition of orthodoxy and heresy. Know the Heretics provides an accessible “travel guide” to the most significant heresies throughout Christian history. As a part of the KNOW series, it is designed for personal study or classroom use, but also for small groups and Sunday schools wanting to more deeply understand the foundations of the faith. Each chapter covers a key statement of faith and includes a discussion of its historical context; a simple explanation of the unorthodox teaching, the orthodox response and a key defender; reflections of contemporary relevance; and discussion questions.

For many centuries, the teaching of Mani was hidden behind the distorted picture that had been created by the adversaries of Manichaeism in East and West. In the course of the twentieth century, new light was shed on Manichaeism by the discovery of several Manichaean scriptures. These have shown that Manichaeism was a true, distinct world religion that, in the question of good and evil, for instance, offers insights that complement and deepen Christianity. Also in the twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner brought Anthro­posophy, Spiritual Science, which is a continuation of a stream of esoteric Christianity that has run through human history ever since the resurrection of Christ. Anthroposophy is centered on a new, deepened idea of Christianity that, as indicated by Rudolf Steiner, is so great and all-encompassing that it can be understood in its full depth only gradually. In this book, Christine Gruwez explores the essence of Mani’s revelation and then shows what Rudolf Steiner has communicated regarding Mani and his teaching. This generates an image of two spiritual streams that, each from its own beginning, are moving toward a future when a Christianity of the deed shall become reality.

The Summa Contra Gentiles, one of Aquinas's best known works after the Summa Theologiae, is a philosophical and theological synthesis that examines what can be known of God both by reason and by divine revelation. A detailed expository account of and commentary on this famous work, Davies's book aims to help readers think about the value of the Summa Contra Gentiles (SCG) for themselves, relating the contents and teachings found in the SCG to those of other works and other thinkers both theological and philosophical. Following a scholarly account of Aquinas's life and his likely intentions in writing the SCG, the volume works systematically through all four books of the text.

Over 75% of the people who live on this planet are followers of one of the three major monotheistic religions. They all consider Abraham as the father of their race and religion. They all believe in one singular, all powerful, all knowing benevolent god. The Hebrew call him Yahweh, the Christians refer to him as Father or Lord and Muslims call him Allah, and yet millions and millions of people have been murdered, maimed and tortured by the followers of this single entity to prove that their version of this single god is better than the other two versions. Sounds ridiculous, and yet sadly enough, more people have died in the name of religion than any other cause in the history of humanity. Each and every one of us at one time or another has asked or thought about such fundamental questions as, Is there a God?' Where did humans come from?' Why out of millions of species on earth, only humans reached this level of sophistication?' Is there a life after death?' Is there a purpose to life?' Why are we here?' Are the scriptures truly the words of god?' More importantly, is there any way we could find answers to such questions? The fact is, the answer to most of these questions, and many more, that we thought unanswerable, have been written down on clay tablets by our ancient ancestors who lived in Mesopotamia over 7000 years ago. These records are readily available to those who are willing to step outside the dogmatic belief system of the establishment, and are prepared, mentally and spiritually, to tolerate a totally different rendering of the oldest written historical records about mankind's origin, purpose and the truth about god, our maker. The subject matter of this book is an attempt to investigate the circumstances under which Mankind was made, and to trace the beginning and development of such concerns as the emergence of the concept of god and the formation of what later became known as religion. This is done primarily by relying on our scriptural texts, particularly the Old Testament, as well as other ancient manuscripts such as Sumerian, Akkadian and Babylonian Creation and Genesis epics. The first chapter begins by examining the behaviour, commands and instructions given by Yahweh to his chosen people. These commands and instructions are then evaluated and compared with basic accepted human rights standards practised and observed by almost all communities and societies, past and present. The question is then asked, "How could an entity, powerful enough to have created the entire universe, issue such cruel and sadistic commands against some of his own creations?" Furthermore, Yahweh's behaviour is decidedly pro Hebrew, and shows no regards or thought about non Hebrew masses. How could the universal god show such bias towards a tiny fraction of his creatures, with total disregard for the rest? Finally the characteristics and personalities of Yahweh is analysed by scrutinising his behaviour, actions and directives as stated in the Old Testament, before examining the god of Christianity. In investigating the role and characteristics of God in Christianity, the first thing that immediately becomes apparent is the absence of a prominent role for God the Father, as we had witnessed in Judaism. The Christians, or more specifically Saint Paul, who was the founder and designer of Christianity as we know it today, in order to distance his creation from the Hebrews and religion of Yahweh, invented a new Godhead and named him Jesus Christ (Ancient Greek: Ἰησοῦς Içsous). Born of a virgin, with powers to heal the sick, give sight to the blind and even raise the dead, who was crucified but resurrected three days later. These were all characteristics borrowed from various religions and cults prevalent at the time in the Levant, from Mithraism to the cult of Apoll

Michael is considered the greatest angel in the Christian, Judaic, and Islamic traditions. Throughout the ages, he has appeared as a protector, a messenger, a guide, a warrior, and a healer. In Michael, Richard Webster presents a thorough history of this famous archangel and offers simple techniques for contacting him. Readers are treated to a detailed introduction to Michael and his many appearances. The rest of this practical guide provides a variety of methods for connecting with Michael, petitioning his help, and creating a lasting bond. Through easy-to-perform rituals and meditations-some involving candle magic, crystals, and dreamwork-readers will learn how to get in touch with the Prince of Light for courage, protection, strength, and spiritual guidance.

Mani and Augustine: collected essays on Mani, Manichaeism and Augustine gathers in one volume contributions on Manichaean scholarship made by the internationally renowned scholar Johannes van Oort. The first part of the book focuses on the Babylonian prophet Mani (216-277) who styled himself an ‘apostle of Jesus Christ’, on Jewish elements in Manichaeism and on ‘human semen eucharist’, eschatology and imagery of Christ as ‘God’s Right Hand’. The second part of the book concentrates on the question to what extent the former ‘auditor’ Augustine became acquainted with Mani’s gnostic world religion and his canonical writings, and explores to what extent Manichaeism had a lasting impact on the most influential church father of the West.