The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha

The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha, by Ravi Zacharias. Have you ever wondered what Jesus would say to Mohammed? Or Buddha? Or Oscar Wilde? Maybe you have a friend who practices another religion or admires a more contemporary figure. Drop in on a conversation between Jesus and some well-known individuals whose search for the meaning of life took them in many directions -- and influenced millions. Popular scholar Ravi Zacharias sets a captivating scene in this first in the intriguing Conversations with Jesus books. Through dialogue between Christ and Gautama Buddha that reveals Jesus' warm, impassioned concern for all people, God's true nature is explored. It's a well-priced, hard cover volume readers will want to own, and also share with others.

Ravi Zacharias was born in India, immigrating to Canada at age twenty. After earning a Masters of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he began a speaking ministry that has taken him worldwide (including the campuses of Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford University) as a recognized authority on comparative religions, cults, and philosophy. Zacharias' holds three doctorate degrees, and his books include the Gold Medallion winner Can Man Live without God, Deliver Us from Evil, Cries of the Heart, Jesus Among Other Gods, and two children's titles. He teaches a weekly, international radio program entitled Let My People Think. Ravi lives with his wife, Margaret, in Atlanta. They have three grown children.

---

Sprouts Nutrition: The Health Benefits of Eating Sprouts

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love

Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love, by Carl Anderson and Eduardo Chavez. Nearly a decade after Spain's conquest of Mexico, the future of Christianity on the American continent was very much in doubt. Confronted with a hostile colonial government and Native Americans wary of conversion, the newly-appointed bishop-elect of Mexico wrote to tell the King of Spain that, unless there was a miracle, the continent would be lost. Between December 9 and December 12, 1531, that miracle happened, and it forever changed the future of the continent. It was then that the Virgin Mary famously appeared to a Native American Christian convert on a hilltop outside of what is now Mexico City. The image she left imprinted on his cloak or tilma has puzzled scientists for centuries, and yet Our Lady of Gudalupe’s place in history is profound. A continent that just months before the apparitions seemed completely lost to Christianity suddenly and inexplicably embraced it by the millions. Our Lady of Guadalupe's message of love replaced the institutionalized violence of the Aztec culture, and built a bridge between two worlds — the old and the new — that were just ten years earlier engaged in brutal warfare.

Today, Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to inspire the devotion of millions.
From Canada to Argentina — and even beyond the Americas — one finds great devotion to her, and great appreciation for her message of love, unity and hope. Today reproductions of the Virgin’s miraculous image can be seen throughout North and South America, in churches and homes, on billboards and even clothing apparel. Her shrine in Mexico City, where the miraculous image is housed to this day, is one of the most visited in the world.

In Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love, Anderson & Chavez trace the history of Our Lady of Guadalupe from the sixteenth century to the present discuss of how her message was and continues to be an important catalyst for religious and cultural transformation. Looking at Our Lady of Guadalupe as a model of the Church and Juan Diego as a model for all Christians who seek to answer Christ's call of conversion and witness, the authors explore the changing face of the Catholic Church in North, Central, and South America, and they show how Our Lady of Guadalupe's message was not only historically significant, but how it speaks to contemporary issues confronting the American continents and people today.

Carl Anderson, New York Times bestselling author, is the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of the Knights of Columbus. He held various positions of the Executive Office of the President from 1983 to 1987, was a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and has taught at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. Father Eduardo Chavez is one of the most renowned experts on the Guadalupe apparitions and the postulator of St. Juan Diego’s cause for sainthood. He is the first Dean of the Catholic University Lumen Gentium of the Archdiocese of Mexico, co-founder and Dean of the Higher Institute for Guadalupan Studies and honorary Canon of the Guadalupe Basilica.

Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment

Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment, by Deepak Chopra. The New York Times bestselling author of Buddha captures the extraordinary life of Jesus in this surprising, soul-stirring, and page-turning novel. Uncovering the transformational "lost years" that are not recounted in the New Testament, Deepak Chopra has imagined Jesus's path to enlightenment moving from obscurity to revolutionary, from doubt to miracles, and then beyond as the role of the long-awaited Messiah. As a teenager, Jesus has premonitions of his destiny, and by the end, as he arrives to be baptized in the River Jordan, he has accepted his fate, which combines extremes of light and darkness. With his characteristic ability for imparting profound spiritual insights through the power of storytelling, Deepak Chopra's Jesus portrays the life of Christ as never before, ultimately leading us closer to understanding the nature of God and the soul. As the author shares, "I don't want the Jesus in this book to be worshiped, much less to push him forward as definitive. The events of the tale are pure fiction. But at a deeper level, the Jesus in this book feels real because we've gotten a glimpse into his mind. One flash of insight answers many prayers." Deepak Chopra, the founder of The Chopra Center, is the preeminent teacher of Eastern philosophy to the Western World. He has been a bestselling author for decades, his books have appeared on every bestseller list in America, and his writings have sold millions of copies. His New York Times bestsellers include, Buddha and The Third Jesus.

The Two Marys: The Hidden History of the Mother and Wife of Jesus

The Two Marys: The Hidden History of the Mother and Wife of Jesus, by Sylvia Browne. Many controversies have remained unanswered in Christianity for centuries. Some of these controversies have recently drawn increased attention due to new discoveries in archaeology as well as bestsellers and movies such as The Jesus Tomb and The Da Vinci Code. With the unique perspective only Sylvia Browne could bring, The Two Marys focuses on one of the greatest unknowns: the lives of the two most important women in the life of Jesus. Jesus' mother had an enormous influence on him, which has mostly been marginalized by the Christian churches. Contrary to the beliefs of all the Christian religions, Jesus did marry Mary Magdalene, and she too influenced his teaching. In The Two Marys, New York Times bestselling author Sylvia Browne uncovers the hidden history of these two women in a remarkable book that will be the perfect gift this Christmas season.

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity, by Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King. The two leading, bestselling experts on the Gnostic Gospels weigh in on the meaning of the controversial newly discovered Gospel of Judas. When the Gospel of Judas was published by the National Geographic Society in April 2006, it received extraordinary media attention and was immediately heralded as a major biblical discovery that rocked the world of scholars and laypeople alike. Elaine Pagels and Karen King are the first to reflect on this newfound text and its ramifications for telling the story of early Christianity. In Reading Judas, the two celebrated scholars illustrate how the newly discovered text provides a window onto understanding how Jesus’ followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it.

Most contemporary readers will find passages in the ancient Gospel of Judas difficult to comprehend outside of its context in the ancient world. Reading Judas illuminates the intellectual assumptions behind Jesus’ teaching to Judas and shows how conflict among the disciples was a tool frequently used by early Christian authors to explore matters of doubt and disagreement. Presented with the elegance, insight, and accessibility that has made Pagels and King the leading voices in this field, this is a book for academics and popular audience both. Pagels’s five previous books, including The New York Times bestseller Beyond Belief, and King’s The Gospel of Mary of Magdala prove that there is a considerable audience eager for this kind of informed and engaging writing.

The Jesus Family Tomb

The Jesus Family Tomb: The Discovery, the Investigation, and the Evidence That Could Change History, by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino. In 1980, workers at a Jerusalem construction site accidentally uncovered a cache of bone boxes from early Christian times. When reports about the crypt discovery leaked out 16 years later, the London Sunday Times headlined the story as "The Tomb That Dare Not Speak Its Name." Now the full story will be told. In 2005, documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici obtained permission to break through the apartment floor and reenter the tomb. Part archaeological detective story and part early Christian history, The Jesus Family Tomb is a narrative as riveting as any novel. Simcha Jacobovici is an Emmy-winning documentary director and producer and a widely published writer and lecturer. His articles have appeared around the globe in publications such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Currently the host of The Naked Archaeologist on the History Channel, Simcha Jacobovici lives in Toronto.

The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot

The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot , by Herbert Krosney. He’s been hated and reviled through the ages as Jesus Christ’s betrayer–the close friend who sells him out for 30 pieces of silver. But history also records other information about Judas Iscariot. One such reference was written in 180 by an influential Church Father named St. Irenaeus who railed against the Gospel of Judas for depicting the last days of Jesus from the perspective of the disgraced apostle. In its pages, Judas is Christ’s favorite. It’s a startlingly different story than the one handed down through the ages. Once it was denounced as heresy, the Gospel of Judas faded from sight. It became one of history’s forgotten manuscripts.

Until now.

In this compelling and exhaustively researched account, Herbert Krosney unravels how the Gospel of Judas was found and its meaning painstakingly teased from the ancient Coptic script that had hid its message for centuries. With all the skills of an investigative journalist and master storyteller, Krosney traces the forgotten gospel’s improbable journey across three continents, a trek that would take it through the netherworld of the international antiquities trade, until the crumbling papyrus is finally made to give up its secrets. The race to discover the Gospel of Judas will go down as one of the great detective stories of biblical archaeology.

The Secret Teachings of Mary Magdalene

The Secret Teachings of Mary Magdalene, by Claire Nahmad and Margaret Bailey. Discovered in fragments in Egypt in 1945, the Gospel of Mary remains one of the most controversial, misunderstood texts from early Christianity. Mary’s teachings are presented in this translation from the original Greek and Coptic for which the authors utilized "inner listening" to uncover lost material; the teachings appear as a dialogue between the (risen) Savior and his disciples, and — most importantly — a description by Mary of special revelations given to her by Jesus. The book argues that Mary was not just the consort of Christ but the feminine Christ herself, the sacred female expression of the Godhead, purposely made into a harlot by the orthodox Church for centuries. In the authors' view, the partnership between Jesus and Mary exemplifies the crucial balance of male and female in spiritual and corporeal life. The Secret Teachings of Mary Magdalene uncovers a rich subtext in Mary's words that offers wisdom on an extraordinary range of concerns, from the origins of the human race to the pathway to Christ like consciousness for contemporary readers.

Mary Magdalene, Lost Goddess, Lost Gospels

Mary Magdalene, Lost Goddess, Lost Gospels, by Jan McDonald. From the day she landed in Provence, Mary Magdalene became beloved by the people of the Languedoc area. Later, churches, cathedrals and shrines were built all over France. What is happening to make her equally popular now, 2,000 years later, throughout the world? In an early translation and commentary on the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, she shows the way for the soul's ascension. Her current significance marks the return of the Goddess to her rightful place in Christianity in the New Age.

The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History

The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History, by Michael Baigent. What if everything you think you know about Jesus is wrong? In The Jesus Papers, Michael Baigent reveals the truth about Jesus's life and crucifixion. Despite -- or rather because of -- all the celebration and veneration that have surrounded the figure of Jesus for centuries, Baigent asserts that Jesus and the circumstances leading to his death have been heavily mythologized. As a religious historian and a leading expert in the field of arcane knowledge, Baigent has unequaled access to hidden archives, secret societies, Masonic records, and the private collections of antiquities traders and their moneyed clients. Using that access to full advantage, Baigent explores the religious and political climate in which Jesus was born and raised, examining not only the conflicts between the Romans and the Jews, but the strife within the different factions of the Jewish Zealot movement. He chronicles the migrations of Jesus's family, his subsequent exposure to other cultures, and the events, teachings, and influences that were most likely to have shaped his early years. Baigent also uncovers the inconsistencies and biases in the accounts of the major historians of Jesus's time, including Josephus, Pliny, and Tacitus. The enduring influence of these accounts in forming our most common conceptions of Jesus reveals that spin is not a new phenomenon.

Taking us back to sites that over the last twenty years he has meticulously explored, studied, and in some instances excavated for the first time, Baigent provides a detailed account of his groundbreaking discoveries, including many never-before-seen photos. The evidence he has uncovered has lead him to make shocking new assertions that threaten the conventional account of Jesus's life and death and shake the very foundation of Western thought, based as it is upon the assumption of Jesus's divinity. Ultimately, his investigation raises the hope that we may gain a new understanding of Jesus.

Shamanic Christianity: The Direct Experience of Mystical Communion

Shamanic Christianity: The Direct Experience of Mystical Communion, by Bradford Keeney. When the missionaries came to North America to “save” the American Indians, they were perplexed to discover that while they talked about Jesus, some of the Indians claimed to talk directly with him. Among Christians there is almost complete silence on the subject of the place of shamanism in experiencing the divine, yet shamanic experience is at the root of all mystical communion. Shamanic Christianity offers a chance to rekindle the shamanic practices of Christianity to those who wish to restore their direct connection to the spirit world. In the tradition of contemplative practice, this reconnection takes the form of devotions. Presented in four forms, these devotions begin with a specific contemplation, followed by a meditative focus, then a parable from the author’s own visionary experiences, and finally an active mystical practice to help ground the meditations and contemplations in a ritual or ceremony that involves active participation. These four forms serve to reintroduce Jesus, Mary, and the historically renowned saints as shamanic teachers of divine mysteries whose spiritual presence is readily available to contemporary lives. The author also presents specific directives for handling everyday challenges in a shamanic-inspired manner, drawing upon creative activities and resources that encourage approaching the world with the imaginative and playful spirit of a child, whose personal freedom and creative expression is always wide open to possibilities. Bradford Keeney, Ph.D. is president of Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Jesus, Last King of Kashmir: Life After the Crucifixion

Jesus, Last King of Kashmir: Life After the Crucifixion, by Suzanne Olsson. This book will shock you, amaze you, anger you, and help you to see clearly the ancestry and life of a man named Jesus, how he survived the crucifixion, and has a tomb in Kashmir. If he survived the crucifixion, he certainly became one of history's most elusive men to track down, but why? The author spent many years following the same steps Jesus walked on the Old Silk Road. In ten countries, and at the height of wars and conflicts, she survived and returned with amazing new information, artifacts, and proofs about the ancient ties between religions east and west. She establishes new links between Abraham, Sarah, and Brahma, Sarasvati, and between Abraham, Ishmael, the Arabs, and Isaac. She even located the real geneology of the Buddha, who had Hebrew grandparents, which explains the profound similarities between Christianity and Buddhism.

She provides pictures, and maps to show the locations of the graves, and begs scholars to urgently continue the research. But the true story of Jesus' kingship,' and events that led to his crucifixion, evolved around a certain 'Rod of Moses' that Joseph carried into Egypt. This rod was described in the "Book of the Bee" as stolen from James by Judas Iscariot, an event that probably led directly to the crucifixion..Olsson actually found this Rod in Kashmir, complete with a document describing its history. Such new information will put this book high on scholars' lists of research data for years to come.

She was on the very eve of collecting the DNA from these tombs, DNA that could then be compared with the Shroud of Turin, or with you or me. She received worldwide recognition for her efforts, but the project broke down at the very last minute. Her adventures are a mixture of fun, and sheer terror, as she hid in the mountains from Taliban, or crossed blood-filled streets after bombing, or hid in tombs guarded by misled and misinformed militants. In Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, India, Ethiopia, Egypt, Israel, and back to the Himalayas, she followed every lead, trekked to every remote and dangerous outpost, to find obscure and nearly lost information. Every page is a goldmine of new information , presented in bold new ways you could never have imagined before.

The Magdalen Manuscript

The Magdalen Manuscript, by Tom Kenyon. This is Mary Magdalen’s personal story of her tantric relationship with Yeshua ben Joseph, known today as Jesus Christ. A love so deep it has survived over 2000 years of lies, to be finally told now, in this, "the beginning of the ending of time." A High Initiate of the Temple of Isis, Mary Magdalen was the Holy Grail, the cup that carried the blood of Christ. And the long-prophesied "sun" that was born to her was a girl named Sar’h. In the Magdalen Manuscript, given by her and reprinted here, word-for-word as she gave it, she describes the alchemy that she and Yeshua practiced. This is the alchemy that prepared him to sustain life after death, so that he could meet his destiny and lay a trail of light through the death realms, a light path each of us can follow. This is Her Story, revealing some of the deepest secrets of the Temples, as requested by Isis. To this remarkable test, Tom Kenyon has added a comparison of the major streams of internal alchemy, plus an in-depth look at Egyptian High Alchemy and a clarification of the Alchemies of Horus. Judi Sion, at the request of Mary Magdalen, has added One Woman’s Story, which is every woman’s story.

Tom Kenyon holds a Master's degree in Psychological Counseling with over 19 years in private practice. He founded Acoustic Brain Research in 1983 to scientifically document the effects of sound and music on consciousness. He transforms consciousness through his almost four octave voice and presents the energy of Mary Magdalen through catalytic sounds.

St. Mary Magdalene

St. Mary Magdalene, by Tau Malachi. In the Gospels of the Bible there are a few comments about Mary Magdalene here and there. But in the Gnostic scriptures that have been discovered, there are tantalizing hints that both her relationship to Jesus and her role among Jesus' disciples may have been profoundly important. Among several schools of Gnostic Christianity, Mary plays an essential role in the revelation of the gospel. Here, for the first time in print, is a Sophian Gospel of St. Mary Magdalene. No secret oral tradition as extensive as this has ever been recorded, and none has ever presented a Gnostic view of Mary Magdalene as she is portrayed in this groundbreaking work-as a powerful holy woman, the innermost disciple and beloved wife of Jesus, and a Christed woman who is coequal with Jesus in the Christ revelation.

Malachi eben Ha-Elijah's spiritual journey began when he met the acquaintance of a Tau of the Sophian Tradition of Gnostic Christianity, Tau Elijah ben Miriam. He received the oral tradition of Sophian Gnosticism from Tau Elijah, and has been a student and practitioner of Gnostic Christianity for over thirty-five years. In 1983 he founded Sophia Fellowship as an expression of the tradition, and has been teaching and initiating others into Christian Gnosticism, Rosicrucian Philosophy and Christian Kabbalah since that time. He is an initiate of Ordo Sanctus Gnosis and serves as an Elder and Tau within the Sophian lineage. Tau Malachi is also a Chevalier (a dubbed Knight) in the International Order of Chivalric Companions, a Martinist, and is an ordained and consecrated Independent Bishop. He is co-founder of The Gnostic Apostolic Church of Sophia and is among the leading exponents of Christian Gnosticism and Kabbalah in our times. Along with his exploration of the Western Mystery Tradition, he has studied extensively in several Eastern Traditions, such as Vajrayana Buddhism and Vedanta, and he also studied within a Middle Eastern Tradition of Sufism, as well as becoming involved in Native American Shamanism.

Magdalene Legacy: The Jesus & Mary Bloodline Conspiracy

Magdalene Legacy: The Jesus & Mary Bloodline Conspiracy, by Laurence Gardner, from ThorsonsElement, ISBN 0007201869. Mary Magdalene is described in the New Testament as a woman that Jesus loved, and his financial sponsor. Yet the Church teaches that she was a prostitute who became repentant. Why the discrepancy between scripture and dogma? Were Mary and Jesus married? Did they have children, and if so, who makes up the messianic lineage? Laurence Gardner takes us on a detective hunt to piece together the true controversial significance of the Magdalene and its astonishing implications.

Complete Idiot's Guide to Mary Magdelene

Complete Idiot's Guide to Mary Magdelene, by Lesa Bellevie, from Alpha Books, ISBN 1592573452. Mary Magdalene plays a prominent role in the New Testament, but who was she, really? Offering a balanced, easy-to-follow look at a very controversial subject, this book explores the woman she was, who she might have been, what we know for a fact, and how the persona of Mary of Magdalene has been interpreted and reinterpreted over the last 2,000 years. It includes scriptural references throughout and a quick look-up appendix, as well as resources and a chronology.

Gnostic Gospels of Jesus

Gnostic Gospels of Jesus: According to Thomas, Mary of Magdala, Philip . . . & Others by Marvin Meyer, from HarperCollins, ISBN 006076208X. A foremost scholar of gnosticism and Christian origins presents fresh English translations of some of the earliest and most reliable texts that shed light on the Christian messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Painstakingly restored and translated, with helpful introductory essays and extensive notes, these fragments from the Nag Hammadi library—a jar of ancient papyrus manuscripts discovered 60 years ago by an Egyptian camel driver—reveal a fascinating alternative perspective on Jesus and the beliefs of his earliest followers.

The Cave of John the Baptist

The Cave of John the Baptist : The Stunning Archaeological Discovery that has Redefined Christian History, by Shimon Gibson, from Doubleday, ISBN 0385503474. Near the home village of John the Baptist, archeologist Shimon Gibson unearthed a cave that showed unmistakable signs of ritual use during the time of Jesus. It contained the earliest examples of Christian art ever found, including drawings of John the Baptist and the three crosses of Calvary. This is the story of an archeological find as momentous as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the first direct evidence of a major figure in the birth of Christianity.