Dating to the late ninth century B.C., the “I Ching, or, Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the Chinese classics. What began as a manual for divination, the “I Ching” has been transformed through thousands of years of commentary and interpretation into one of the principal works of eastern cosmology. The central part of the work is the divination text, an explanation of hexagrams which may be produced through a process of cleromancy, a met ...
This collection of 16th and 17th century English translations of Apocryphal biblical texts by William Wake and Jeremiah Jones was first gathered together by William Hone and published collectively in 1820. Supposedly these texts were excised from the official biblical canon over the first few centuries of Christianity. Included in this collection are various accounts of Jesus, his birth and infant life, and epistles of various disciples and othe ...
“The Practice of the Presence of God” is a compilation of letters and records of conversations with 17th-century Carmelite monk Brother Lawrence compiled by his contemporary, Father Joseph de Beaufort. An influential work of Christian spirituality “The Practice” describes Brother Lawrence’s philosophy that a relationship with God is more important than the service and work done in God’s name. Brother Lawrence focuses on seeing the love of God, h ...
It is estimated that the origins of the “Bhagavad Gita”, a 700 verse Hindu scripture which is part of the larger “Mahabharata” was originally composed as early as the 9th century BC. Ascribed to the Sage Vyasa, the “Bhagavad Gita” is a classic work of Hindu scripture which relates the story of Prince Arjuna who is faced with a decision with serious moral consequence, whether or not to go to war. With the armies arrayed on the battlefield, Arjuna ...
South African pastor Andrew Murray and his elder brother, John, studied theology at the University of Utrecht. Both were members of the Het Reveil, a religious revival movement that arose in opposition to theistic rationalism. Murray believed that missionary work was “the chief end of the church”. Important to this end is the concept of humility, which he discusses in this work. In his preface he writes “In these meditations I have, for more tha ...
15th-century Dutch priest Thomas a Kempis is best known for his famous Christian devotional book, “The Imitation of Christ.” Influenced by the era of Devotio Moderna, or Modern Devotion, a movement of religious reform which called for a return to the Christian principles of humility, obedience, and simplicity of life, Kempis intended his work to help further this reform. Arguably the most famous of all Christian devotional works next to the Bibl ...
Confucius was a Chinese teacher, statesman, and philosopher who lived in the 5th and 6th century BC. One of the most influential philosophers of all time, and still deeply regarded amongst the Chinese people, his ideology is one which emphasizes the importance of the family, as well as justice, sincerity, and morality in both personal and political matters. Confucius did not regard himself as an innovator, but as the conservator of ancient truth ...
American Christian Pastor A. W. Tozer hailed from the Midwest where as a teenager he overheard a street preacher say, “If you don't know how to be saved … just call on God, saying, ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.’” It was in this moment that he converted to Christianity and began his own pursuit of a more pious life. Of Tozer’s “The Pursuit of God” Samuel M. Zwemer remarks in his introduction that it “is the result of long meditation and ...
