In this sensitive, imaginative, and original work, Gary Anderson shows how changing conceptions of sin and forgiveness lay at the very heart of the biblical tradition.

Combining historical and theological analysis, Christopher Beeley offers a new contextualized reading of early church fathers—among them Origen of Alexandria, Gregory of Nazianzus, Augustine of Hippo, and Cyril of Alexandria—and reexamines their ultimate contribution to the development of Christianity.

In this unique book, one of the most original voices in biblical studies today focuses on the themes of marriage, sexuality, fertility, impurity, creation, and love in the Bible to illuminate the remarkable subtlety and sophistication of biblical views about sex and religion.

Which Catholic popes have had the greatest impact on history? Eamon Duffy selects ten profoundly influential popes, from St. Peter to John Paul II, and explores their amazing lives and accomplishments.

This pathbreaking book explores in plentiful detail the symbolic meanings of the serpent from 40,000 BCE to the present, and from diverse regions in the world. In doing so it emphasizes the utter creativity of the biblical authors’ use of symbols and argues that we must, today, reexamine our own archetypal conceptions with comparable creativity.

Fredriksen’s provocative book traces the social and intellectual forces that led to the development of Christian anti-Judaism and shows how and why Augustine challenged this toxic tradition.

This intriguing, beautifully illustrated book encompasses 1,000 years of holy relics across Europe, deepening our understanding of the medieval world by revealing how they were used in religion and also in business, politics, and warfare.

This stimulating history of early Christianity, the first full account for over forty years, revisits the extraordinary birth of a world religion, and gives a new slant on a familiar story.

This sweeping survey of the history of Kabbalah in Italy represents a major contribution from one of the world's foremost Kabbalah scholars. The first to focus attention on a specific center of Kabbalah, Moshe Idel charts the ways that Kabbalistic thought and literature developed in Italy and how its unique geographical situation facilitated the arrival of both Spanish and Byzantine Kabbalah.

This powerful work explores the parallel disruption of two families—one in seventeenth-century Holland, the other in America today—when a beloved family member converts to another religion.

This powerful work explores the parallel disruption of two families—one in seventeenth-century Holland, the other in America today—when a beloved family member converts to another religion.

In the musty archive of a Belgian abbey, historian Craig Harline happened upon a vast collection of documents written in the seventeenth century by people who claimed to have experienced miracles and wonders. Craig Harline recasts these testimonies into engaging vignettes that open a window onto the believers, unbelievers, and religious movements of the Age of Reformation.

Through a fascinating blend of stories and analysis, historian Craig Harline examines Sunday—from its ancient beginnings among the early Christians to brunch and football in America today.  

In this innovative study, Candida Moss offers a radically new history of martyrdom in the first and second centuries that challenges traditional understandings of the spread of Christianity and rethinks the nature of Christian martyrdom itself.

This book uncovers the little-known story of the Panacea Society, a post-World War I utopian community of remarkable English women led by Octavia, whom they believed was the daughter of God.

By analyzing the parallel battles over faith and reason in the nineteenth century and ours, scholar Christopher Lane makes a case for the benefits of religious uncertainty.

By analyzing the parallel battles over faith and reason in the nineteenth century and ours, scholar Christopher Lane makes a case for the benefits of religious uncertainty.

This first English translation of the earliest complete Life of the Virgin provides a rich and crucial source for understanding the history of Marian piety.

One of the most controversial religious figures of his time, John Henry Newman (1801-1890) split rancorously from the Church of England and converted to Roman Catholicism. In this provocative reappraisal of Newman and the Tractarian movement that he led, Frank Turner challenges previous understandings not only of the man but also of the religious and intellectual life in Victorian England. 

This provocative book casts Julian of Norwich in a new light, revealing for the first time the subtlety, consistency, and originality of her theological thought. Julian stands among the medieval era's foremost thinkers, the author contends.

This provocative book casts Julian of Norwich in a new light, revealing for the first time the subtlety, consistency, and originality of her theological thought. Julian stands among the medieval era's foremost thinkers, the author contends.

OTHER SECTIONS IN OUR HISTORY 2012 CATALOG: