Religion : History

In its analysis of the Zurich conflict, Liturgy Wars offers a strategy for understanding the links between theology, ritual and socio-politics. more...

Price: $90.00

The Lost Ark of the Covenant is the real-life account of an astounding quest—professor Tudor Parfitt's effort to recover the revered artifact that contained the Ten Commandments, sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This holy object disappeared from the Temple when the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem in 586 BC and was lost—apparently forever. According to the biblical account, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accord with Moses's prophetic vision on Mount Sinai. The Ark, believed to be the throne of God, was carried by the Israelite high priests in the wilderness during their harrowing search for a homeland. When the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, the Ark entered the domain of legend. The mysterious disappearance of arguably the most important religious artifact in history led to a plethora of theories about the location of the Ark. Its whereabouts unknown, adventurers risked their lives and fortunes for over two millennia in attempts to discover this sacred treasure. With painstaking historical scholarship, groundbreaking genetic science, and hair-raising fieldwork, Parfitt, who the Wall Street Journal calls "a British Indiana Jones," debunks the previous myths and reveals the shocking history of the Ark and its keepers. From Israel to Egypt, Ethiopia, and the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, the journey leads to places Parfitt could never have imagined. He encounters a cannibalistic tribe in Papua, New Guinea. He is ambushed and shot at in Africa. And he narrowly escapes being kidnapped by Islamist outlaws in the wilder reaches of Yemen.Throughout his search, he is aided by a motley crew of kabbalistic mystics, Muslim holy men, charlatans and crooks, tribal elders, and scheming politicians. The Lost Ark of the Covenant is a vivid and page-turning account of the culmination of two decades of research by an acclaimed scholar and adventurer. In the end, legend becomes reality as an unknown history comes to light, and with it our more...

Price: $19.95

Gratian's Decretum was a key text in the legal and intellectual developments of the twelfth century, and long remained a fundamental work. Professor Winroth has now discovered the shorter, original version of the Decretum, which invites a reconsideration of the resurgence of law in the twelfth century. more...

Price: $72.00

The Mandaeans were a gnostic sect that arose in the Middle East around the same time as Christianity. This text examines the lives and religion of contemporary Mandaeans and provides an introduction to the religion, showing how its ancient texts inform the living religion, and vice versa. more...

Price: $75.00

Annabel Brett's authoritative rendition of the Defensor Pacis is the first new translation in English for fifty years of this classic of western political thought, and includes a chronology, notes for further reading, and up-to-date annotation aimed at the student reader encountering this major text for the first time. more...

Price: $24.00