This short work is the result of Thomas Jefferson's attempt to extract from the gospels the true essence of religion. While not an ardent Christian, Jefferson did find insight in the words of Christ and in this volume he laid forth the words that he thought to be most important. Presented here is the original 1904 Government Printing Office edition presented to members of Congress with the original introduction by Cyrus Adler. ...
"The Bible is the Book of Emancipation of Man. The emancipation of man means his delivery from sorrow and sickness, from poverty, struggle and uncertainty, from ignorance and limitation, and finally from death itself. This may appear to be what the colloquialism of the day would call «a tall order», but nevertheless it is impossible to read the Bible with a mind unwarped by antecedent conceptions derived from traditional interpretation with ...
"Stepping Heavenward" is the fictional coming of age story of a young Christian girl named Katherine. The story follows her life from when she is sixteen, though courtship, engagement, marriage, having children, and the many challenges that she confronts in her adult life. This classic Christian story is told through a series of journal entries by Katherine and is an inspirational tale for young girls who themselves are facing the very same ...
Confucius did not regard himself as an innovator, but as the conservator of ancient truth and ceremonial propriety. He dealt with neither theology nor metaphysics, but with moral and political conduct. The Lun Yu, Analects or Sayings of Confucius, were probably compiled, says Legge, «by the disciples of the disciples of the sage, making free use of the written memorials concerning him which they had received, and the oral statements which they h ...
Written in the 12th century in Arabic by a faithful Jewish man, «The Guide» is a work that explores the contradiction a very intelligent mind clearly saw between the tradition he was raised to believe inherently and the growing philosophy of Arabian and Western culture. In Maimonides' time, there was an emerging disparity between the Law and a new level of philosophical sophistication, which he attempts to bridge in this work, primarily thr ...
"Nothing more strangely indicates an enormous and silent evil of modern society than the extraordinary use which is made nowadays of the word «orthodox.» In former days the heretic was proud of not being a heretic. It was the kingdoms of the world and the police and the judges who were heretics. He was orthodox." So begins «Heretics» by Gilbet K. Chesterton. «Heretics» is a classic piece of religious exposition. ...
Philo, known also as Philo of Alexandria, Philo Judaeus, and Philo the Jew, among other names, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria from 20 BC to 50 CE. Philo's works are most known for being allegorical interpretations of the Scriptures, fusing Jewish thought to Stoic philosophy. Although not widely accepted in his time, his vast collection of works had a powerful influence on early Christian theology and especially ...
William Langland's «The Vision of Piers the Plowman» has been described as one of the most analytically challenging texts in Middle English textual criticism. Of the fifty plus surviving manuscripts, of which some are only fragments, from this 14th century allegorical narrative poem none of these seem to be in the author's own hand or can clearly be linked to each other. The current scholarship on the work suggests that ultimately ther ...
John Henry Newman was a very prominent religious figure throughout his life (1801-1890). As such, he came under fire for his staunchly traditional beliefs. «Apologia Pro Vita Sua» is an articulation and defense of the stance he took regarding the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. Once a clergyman in the Church of England, Newman believed that the church had regressed and strayed from certain Catholic tenets, regarding dogma and worship. Even ...
