The Religious Studies category has 710 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 3,555 ratings. The most-rated is Mere Christianity.
Moving in the Apostolic
Summary
Why is God restoring apostles to his church? Because restoration of the apostolic ministry is necessary for the church to complete its mission on earth. We are now experiencing the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit the world has ever known, and we should expect to see multitudes swept into the kingdom as a result. In this book, John Eckhardt reveals how the apostolic dimension affects the preaching, teaching, worship, prayer, and giving of the local church. And how apostolic leadership will point the way toward fulfillment of the great commission.
©2017 eChristian (P)2017 eChristian
A Little Exercise for Young Theologians
Summary
This classic little book for new and experienced theologians alike offers wise counsel on the difficulties - and vital importance - of maintaining one's spiritual health in the course of academic theological study. Since the book's first appearance in English translation in 1962, thousands of beginning theological students have had the opportunity to eavesdrop, as it were, on the opening lecture of a theological seminar by one of the 20th century's leading Christian thinkers, Helmut Thielicke. More experienced pastors and theologians have also returned to it again and again for the valuable insights that Thielicke brings to bear on their vocation.
©2016 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (P)2016 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
A Plea for the Animals
Summary
A powerful and wide-ranging indictment of the treatment of animals by humans - and an eloquent plea for animal rights Every cow just wants to be happy. Every chicken just wants to be free. Every bear, dog, or mouse experiences sorrow and feels pain as intensely as any of us humans do. In a compelling appeal to reason and human kindness, Matthieu Ricard here takes the arguments from his best sellers Altruism and Happiness to their logical conclusion: Compassion toward all beings, including our fellow animals, is a moral obligation and the direction toward which any enlightened society must aspire. He chronicles the appalling sufferings of the animals we eat, wear, and use for adornment or "entertainment" and submits every traditional justification for their exploitation to scientific evidence and moral scrutiny. What arises is an unambiguous and powerful ethical imperative for treating all of the animals with whom we share this planet with respect and compassion.
©2014 Matthieu Ricard; Translation Copyright 2016 by Shambhala Publications, Inc. (P)2018 Tantor
The End of America?
Summary
Will God's wrath fall on America? What happens when a country glories in its immorality, turning away from faith in God and obedience to him? Jeff Kinley, author of As It Was in the Days of Noah, explores historical and biblical precedents for the demise of a nation and addresses pressing questions such as... How did we get to this point? Is America in Bible prophecy? Will Christians face widespread persecution here? What effect will the rapture have on America? How should I respond to the moral decline? This forthright survey of current events and trends offers valuable perspective on the future of America - along with powerful motivation to embrace the only source of lasting hope.
©2017 eChristian (P)2017 eChristian
The Jefferson Bible
Summary
Here is Thomas Jefferson's classic abridgment of the Bible, in which Jefferson sculpted the words and ideas of Christ into a resounding moral philosophy. "To the corruptions of Christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself." Thomas Jefferson, 1803 With these words, written to a personal friend, Thomas Jefferson began one of the most audacious religious experiments in American history. On and off for the next 17 years (including his term in the White House), Jefferson cut and pasted the philosophy of Jesus Christ, as recorded in Scripture, into one compact statement. He purposefully omitted any references to the virgin birth, miraculous healings, demonic possession, or supernatural events of any kind. His aim was to distinguish the moral philosophy of Christ from the religion that was later created around Christ. This volume includes the original 1940 foreword by editor Douglas E. Lurton, which provides an engaging introduction to the history behind Jefferson's effort. Jefferson's selections are beautifully recomposed in a dignified yet pleasing style for a gem of compactness and clarity.
Public Domain (P)2012 Penguin Audio
How to Study the Sacred
Summary
This is an informative and easy to understand introduction to the academic study of religion. Touches upon such topics as "Where did religion come from?" to "What is the social function of religion?" Covers such notable theorists as Ninian Smart, Peter Berger, and Mark Juergensmeyer. Excellent for the general listener as well as the scholar. Also useful as an introductory text for both high school and college courses.
©2008, 2014 Andrea Diem-Lane (P)2016 Andrea Diem-Lane
The Democratization of American Christianity
Summary
The half century following the American Revolution witnessed the transformation of American Christianity. The passion for equality, says Hatch, brought about a crisis of religious authority in popular culture, introduced new and popular forms of theology, witnessed the rise of minority religious movements, reshaped preaching, singing, and publishing, and became a scriptural foundation for 19th-century American individualism. Hatch examines five distinct traditions or mass movements that emerged early in the 19th century: the Christian movement, the Methodists, the Baptists, the black churches, and the Mormons. Each was led by young men of relentless energy who went about movement building as self-conscious outsiders, however diverse their theologies and church organizations. Hatch points out, they all offered the unschooled and unsophisticated compelling visions of individual potential and collective aspiration. More effectively than religious movements in other modern industrial societies, these denominations embraced people without regard to social standing and challenged them to think, interpret Scripture, and organize the church for themselves. The religious populism that resulted remains among the oldest and deepest impulse in American life.
©1989 Yale University (P)2020 Tantor
Recovering Agency
Summary
In 2012, Mormon General Authority Marlin K. Jensen acknowledged that members are leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints "in droves". Access to the internet is often credited and blamed for this mass exodus, where members learn about problematic doctrines and cover-ups of LDS history. Many are happy as Mormons. And many are not. Those who leave, and those doubters who stay face struggles that few others can understand. Much of this suffering is caused by manipulative and controlling techniques pervasive throughout LDS doctrines and culture. Understanding these techniques will help recovering Mormons overcome the effects of belonging to a high-demand group. As a former Mormon, Luna Lindsey experienced this coercive persuasion firsthand. Recovering Agency presents years of research into social psychology and the science of cult dynamics, to describe 31 mind-control techniques alongside examples of their use in Mormon scripture, lessons, and from the pulpit. Even if you have never been Mormon, chances are that coercive influence techniques have been used to manipulate you at some point. Listen on and learn the answers to longstanding questions about this unique American religion and about the human mind.
©2013-2014 Luna Flesher Lindsey (P)2016 Luna Flesher Lindsey
A Generous Orthodoxy
Summary
A confession and manifesto from a senior leader in the emerging church movement, A Generous Orthodoxy calls for a radical, Christ-centered orthodoxy of faith and practice in a missional, generous spirit. Brian McLaren argues for a post-liberal, post-conservative, post-protestant convergence, which will stimulate lively interest and global conversation among thoughtful Christians from all traditions. In a sweeping exploration of belief, McLaren takes us across the landscape of faith, envisioning an orthodoxy that aims for Jesus, is driven by love, and is defined by missional intent. A Generous Orthodoxy rediscovers the mysterious and compelling ways that Jesus can be embraced across the entire Christian horizon. Rather than establishing what is and is not “orthodox,” McLaren walks through the many traditions of faith, bringing to the center a way of life that draws us closer to Christ and to each other. Whether you find yourself inside, outside, or somewhere on the fringe of Christianity, A Generous Orthodoxy draws you toward a way of living that looks beyond the “us/them” paradigm to the blessed and ancient paradox of “we".
©2006 Brian D. McLaren (P)2009 Zondervan
Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul
Summary
This is a story of power, set against Puritan America and the English Civil War. Williams's interactions with King James, Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell, and his mentor Edward Coke set his course, but his fundamental ideas came to fruition in America, as Williams, though a Puritan, collided with John Winthrop's vision of his "City upon a Hill.
©2012 John M. Barry (P)2012 Recorded Books, LLC
Keeping Faith
Summary
Observing an encounter between Catholic and Buddhist monks in 1996 at the Abbey of Gethsemani, near where he grew up in rural Kentucky, Fenton Johnson found himself unable to make the sign of the cross. His distance from his childhood faith had become so great - he considered himself a rational, skeptical man - that he could not participate in this most basic ritual. Impelled by this troubling experience, Johnson began a search for the meaning of the spiritual life, a journey that took him from Gethsemani to the San Francisco Zen Center, through Buddhism and back to Christianity, from paralyzing doubt to a life-enriching faith. Keeping Faith explores the depths of what it means for a skeptic to have and to keep faith. Johnson grew up with the Trappist monks, but rejected institutionalized religion as an adult. While living as a member of the Gethsemani community and the Zen Center, however, he learned to practice Christian rituals with a new discipline and studied Buddhist meditation, which brought him a new understanding of the deep relationship between sexuality and faith, body and spirit. Changed in profound ways, Johnson ultimately turned back to his childhood faith, now inflected with the accumulated wisdom of his journey. Johnson interweaves memoir, the personal and often shocking stories of Buddhist and Christian monks, and a revealing history of the contemplative life in the West. He offers lay Christians an understanding of the origins and history of their contemplative traditions and provides the groundwork needed to challenge orthodox understandings of spirituality. No matter their backgrounds, listeners will find Keeping Faith a work of great power and immediacy.
©2004 Fenton Johnson (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
A.D. 381
Summary
In A.D. 381, Theodosius, emperor of the eastern Roman empire, issued a decree in which all his subjects were required to subscribe to a belief in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This edict defined Christian orthodoxy and brought to an end a lively and wide-ranging debate about the nature of God; all other interpretations were now declared heretical. It was the first time in a thousand years of Greco-Roman civilization free thought was unambiguously suppressed.
©2010 Charles Freeman (P)2010 Audible, Inc.
The Miracles of Exodus
Summary
The Real Story of the Exodus Colin Humphreys, a world-renowned Cambridge University scientist, reveals for the first time the concrete, scientific truth behind the Exodus miracles. The Burning Bush: Caused by a volcanic vent that opened up under the bush. Crossing the Red Sea: The water was pushed back by a very strong wind blowing all night. This is a known physical phenomenon called wind set down. The details given in the Bible mean we can pinpoint where the Red Sea crossing occurred. Drowning Pharaoh's Army: When the very strong wind suddenly stopped blowing, the water rushed back in the form of a rapidly returning "bore" wave, sweeping Pharaoh's army into the sea. Mount Sinai: The real Mount Sinai is in present-day Saudi Arabia, not the Sinai Desert as is generally assumed.
©2003 Colin J. Humphreys (P)2014 Audible Inc.
A Sense of the Cosmos
Summary
Western science has operated for centuries on the assumption that we can understand the universe without understanding ourselves. We are just now seeking to make the necessary connection between the general laws of nature and those of our own (inner) nature. But the job won't be done with "massive injections of the new consciousness"; we cannot democratize the sacred by cheapening its demands. "My aim in this book, therefore", says Needleman, "has not been to speak of the convergence of science and spirituality but of their separation. As in nature itself, organic unity is a reciprocal relationship between separate but interdependent entities. In human life as well, there can be no real unity except through the awareness of real divisions. One may then hope to experience the magic power of sustained awareness by itself to bring the harmony that we have until now fruitlessly attempted to impose on ourselves and on our endangered civilization." Jacob Needleman is a professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University and the author of many books, including Money and the Meaning of Life and The American Soul. In addition to his teaching and writing, he serves as a consultant in the fields of psychology, education, medical ethics, philanthropy, and business and has been featured on Bill Moyers' acclaimed PBS series A World of Ideas.
©1975 Jacob Needleman (P)2016 Wetware Media
The Closing of the Western Mind
Summary
A radical and powerful reappraisal of the impact of Constantine's adoption of Christianity on the later Roman world, and on the subsequent development both of Christianity and of Western civilization. When the Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in 368 AD, he changed the course of European history in ways that continue to have repercussions to the present day. Adopting those aspects of the religion that suited his purposes, he turned Rome on a course from the relatively open, tolerant, and pluralistic civilization of the Hellenistic world, towards a culture that was based on the rule of fixed authority, whether that of the Bible, or the writings of Ptolemy in astronomy and of Galen and Hippocrates in medicine. Only a thousand years later, with the advent of the Renaissance and the emergence of modern science, did Europe begin to free itself from the effects of Constantine's decision, yet the effects of his establishment of Christianity as a state religion remain with us, in many respects, today. Brilliantly wide-ranging and ambitious, this is a major work of history.
©2002 Charles Freeman (P)2021 Tantor
On Christian Doctrine
Summary
The four books of Saint Augustine are a compilation of exegetical theology to guide the reader and listener in the understanding and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures, according to the analogy of the faith. The first three books were written A.D. 397 and the fourth was added A.D. 426.
Public Domain (P)2009 christianaudio.com
Transcendental Meditation: Hollywood's Path Towards Happiness, Contentment and Tranquility
Summary
“It’s like taking your vitamins, so you don’t get sick.” (Barry Zito, baseball player) No truer words have ever been spoken than the words above by Barry Zito. Transcendental meditation is like taking vitamins so you don’t get sick. Transcendental meditation is the equivalent of eating healthy so you don’t get cancer. Like most people in the world, we are living fast-paced and eating crap. This can cause us to have higher stress levels. But by practicing transcendental meditation, we are cleansing our mind and body of all that toxic energy and replacing it with positive energy. Have you ever wondered what transcendental meditation is? Well, in this audiobook, you will learn the history of transcendental meditation and how it works in your brain. You will also learn how it can work in your life and how it is affecting the lives of so many celebrities. Celebrities are preaching about the effectiveness of transcendental meditation and how it is therapeutic in nature. “Meditation erases the stress before it can take hold,” said Barry Zito. You will also be given detailed instructions on how to use three different types of transcendental meditation.
©2018 Candere Publishing Company (P)2018 Candere Publishing Company
If God Were Your Therapist
Summary
How to stay sane in an insane world.... Given the high level of both opportunity and comfort, we would expect people to be happier than ever, and even more satisfied with their lives. The reality, though, is startlingly different. Instead of thriving and feeling empowered as a result of greater choices, we are deteriorating. Drawing on timeless wisdom and fundamental principles in psychology, Dr. David Leiberman, offers insights into the human condition, and reveals how, regardless of the opportunities available to us today, a lack of self-control results in poor choices and ultimately leads to negative emotions and destructive habits. If God Were Your Therapist offers neither exercises or affirmations, nor meditations or motivating mantras. There is no homework to do or journals to fill out. Rather, listeners learn how to regain self-control and move their thoughts, choices, and lives in a purposeful, powerful direction, free from the shackles of anxiety and stress. Experience a new kind of freedom and power when you discover how to permanently rise above your nature and move confidently through life on ordinary days, and in extraordinary times.
©2010 David J. Lieberman, Ph.D. (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp
A Death on Diamond Mountain
Summary
An investigative reporter explores an infamous case where an obsessive and unorthodox search for enlightenment went terribly wrong.
When thirty-eight-year-old Ian Thorson died from dehydration and dysentery on a remote Arizona mountaintop in 2012, the New York Times reported the story under the headline "Mysterious Buddhist Retreat in the Desert Ends in a Grisly Death." Scott Carney, a journalist and anthropologist who lived in India for six years, was struck by how Thorson's death echoed other incidents that reflected the little-talked-about connection between intensive meditation and mental instability.
Using these tragedies as a springboard, Carney explores how those who go to extremes to achieve divine revelations - and undertake it in illusory ways - can tangle with madness. He also delves into the unorthodox interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism that attracted Thorson and the bizarre teachings of its chief evangelists: Thorson's wife, Lama Christie McNally, and her previous husband, Geshe Michael Roach, the supreme spiritual leader of Diamond Mountain University, where Thorson died.
Carney unravels how the cultlike practices of McNally and Roach and the questionable circumstances surrounding Thorson's death illuminate a uniquely American tendency to mix and match Eastern religious traditions like LEGO pieces in a quest to reach an enlightened, perfected state, no matter the cost.
Aided by Thorson's private papers along with cutting-edge neurological research that reveals the profound impact of intensive meditation on the brain and stories of miracles and black magic, sexualized rituals, and tantric rites from former Diamond Mountain acolytes, A Death on Diamond Mountain is a gripping work of investigative journalism that reveals how the path to enlightenment can be riddled with danger.
©2015 Scott Carney (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Recorded by arrangement with Gotham Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, a Penguin Random House Company.
The Liturgy of Politics
Summary
A generation of young Christians are weary of the political legacy they've inherited and are hungry for a better approach. They're tired of seeing their faith tied to political battles they didn't start, and they're frustrated with leaders they thought they could trust. Kaitlyn Schiess grew up in this landscape and understands it from the inside. In The Liturgy of Politics, Schiess shows that the church's politics are shaped by its habits and practices, even when it's unaware of them. Spiritual formation, and particularly a focus on formative practices, are experiencing a renaissance in Christian thinking - but these ideas are not often applied to the political sphere. Schiess insists that the way out of our political morass is first to recognize the formative power of the political forces all around us and then to recover historic Christian practices that shape us according to the truth of the gospel.
©2020 Kaitlyn Schiess (P)2020 eChristian