Showing titles in Biographies

Experience the power of the Spiritual Exercises through this inspiring retreat. The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits (Society of Jesus), are a tried and true method for growth in the spiritual life. Countless men and women have found inspiration in the exercises throughout the centuries. Simply reading the exercises, however, is of little benefit. They are like a manual or how-to book - they are not meant to be read but made.

This course will have a profound impact on your faith and thinking. Thomas Aquinas, OP (1225-1274), is one of world history's most influential thinkers. His works indelibly shaped Western thought and Christian belief, and his brilliant ideas continue to resonate in universities and churches everywhere. But his complex thought can often seem inaccessible to most of us. In this superb course, taught by an internationally known Aquinas expert, you will tour his towering thought while gaining powerful insights into your faith.

When Thomas Merton published The Seven Storey Mountain in 1948, no one could have expected it to become an international sensation. An autobiography of his conversion to Catholicism, it became a wildly popular best seller, propelling this humble Trappist monk to literary fame. Today, it is widely regarded as a spiritual classic. While it remains his most famous work, The Seven Storey Mountain is only the tip of the iceberg in Merton's rich, multi-layered oeuvre.

In this book, C.S. Lewis tells of his search for joy, a spiritual journey that led him from the Christianity of his early youth into atheism and then back to Christianity.

John Paul II: How to Understand His Life, Faith and Legacy takes you on a behind-the-scenes look at the pope's life, powerful writings, and ideas of faith, both specifically for Roman Catholicism and the world at large. The first non-Italian pope in hundreds of years, John Paul II was also the first truly global pope, capturing the hearts of the faithful worldwide during his long reign.

A dazzling and uplifting biography of the great Saint Francis of Assisi who gained the world by giving up worldly goods to be be independent of all. Less is more at the highest level. Told in a remarkably astute, nuanced, optimistic, uplifting biography by G. K. Chesterton, known as the Prince of Paradox.

What does it mean to be an imitator of Christ? Find out by exploring the life and legacy of Saint Francis of Assisi and the movements he inspired with one of the world's leading Franciscan experts as your guide.

In this fascinating series, the saints you’ll meet include a woman who didn't discover her true vocation until she was past sixty, a man who lived for years with a concubine and fathered an illegitimate son, a religious teacher and reformer who was repeatedly charged with heresy, three women who were wives and mothers before they became Sisters, and many more. The words of these great men and women may move you, but their actions will absolutely take your breath away.

With fascinating insight into the traditions of China's martial arts, it documents the abusive upbringing that turned a four-old child into a hardened, professional killer. From China to Europe and across the Mediterranean, we follow Tony as he becomes an elite bodyguard, protecting some of the world's most powerful people. Following personal tragedy, Tony's extreme discipline and the philosophy of his art is quickly turned. He begins to use his skills for illegal means and highly destructive, bloodthirsty pleasure.

When Winston Churchill was a boy of 16, he already had a vision for his purpose in life. "This country will be subjected somehow to a tremendous invasion...I shall be in command of the defenses of London...it will fall to me to save the Capital, to save the Empire." It was a most unlikely prediction. Perceived as a failure for much of his life, Churchill was the last person anyone would have expected to rise to national prominence as prime minister and influence the fate of the world during World War II.

His books have sold millions and include classics like Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Yet C. S. Lewis was not always a literary giant of Christian faith. How did he evolve from staunch atheism to become one of the most beloved and renowned Christian authors of our time?

The Mystical Life of Jesus. This fascinating, non-sectarian treatment of the unknown life of Jesus is based on records preserved in the archives of ancient monasteries of the Essenes and the Rosicrucian Order. It is a full account of the birth, youth, early manhood, and later periods of Jesus’ life, containing the story of his activities in the times not mentioned in the Gospel’s accounts.

G. K. Chesterton was a journalist, playwright, poet, biographer, novelist, essayist, literary commentator, editor, orator, artist, and theologian. Orthodoxy is his great apologia for the Christian faith, which was prompted by a serious attack in 1903 against Christianity by well-known newspaper editor Robert Blatchford.

On December 14, 1997, Marine Corps Captain Danny White thought he had it all. He had married his high school sweetheart and they had three children and another on the way, when an accident on an Arizona highway shattered his life and left him and two of his children stranded in a desert of the soul. Through his faith in God, Danny eventually found his life and a new love to lead him to his destiny.

John Wesley was an 18th-century preacher, theologian, and cleric who helped found the Methodist movement with his brother, Charles. Arguably one of the most important Christian voices of his day, Wesley wrote in his journal on a daily basis, capturing his views, thoughts, feelings, and prayers on paper to share with the world. The journal contains 50 years' worth of this great man's reflections and experiences and is widely considered one of the great spiritual classics.

Saint Augustine's contributions to Christian theology are second to no other post-apostolic author in the whole sweep of church history. Yet along side his doctrinal treatises, Augustine tells a story of his life devoted to Christ as his only satisfaction. The Confessions is at once the autobiographical account of Augustine's life of Christian faith and at the same time a compelling theology of Christian spirituality for everyone.

George Marsden describes how Lewis gradually went from being an atheist to a committed Anglican - famously converting to Christianity in 1931 after conversing into the night with his friends, J. R. R. Tolkien and Hugh Dyson - and how Lewis delivered his wartime talks to a traumatized British nation in the midst of an all-out war for survival.

In Killing Jesus, New York Times best-selling author Stephen Mansfield masterfully recounts the corrupt trial and grisly execution of Jesus more than 2,000 years ago. Approaching the story at its most human level, Mansfield uses both secular sources and biblical accounts to bring fresh perspective to the human drama, political intrigue, and criminal network behind the killing of the world's most famous man.

Jonathan Edwards is perhaps best known for his "fire and brimstone" approach to preaching which emphasized the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humankind, the reality of hell, and the necessity of a conversion experience. Experience the reasoning of the great Puritan philosopher in his sermons, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," the most famous sermon in American history, and "Pardon for the Greatest of Sinners."

The engrossing, moving biography of one of China's better-known Christians, the dedicated evangelist and gifted Bible teacher Watchman Nee.