The Bookshelf
The works and references cited, quoted and utilized throughout the extensive collection of scriptures, writings, articles, essays, and treatise represented on RealityRoars.com
The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition
While it would not be correct to say that Philo's works have been "lost"--scholars have always known and used Philo--they have essentially been "misplaced" as far as the average student of the Bible is concerned. Now the translation of the eminent classicist C. D. Yonge is available in an affordable, easy-to-read edition, with a new foreword and newly translated passages, and containing supposed fragments of Philo's writings from ancient authors such as John of Damascus. The title and arrangement of the writings have been standardized according to scholarly conventions.
A contemporary of Paul and Jesus, Philo Judaeus, of Alexandria, Egypt, is unquestionably among the most important writers for historians and students of Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity. Although Philo does not explicitly mention Jesus, or Paul, or any of the followers of Jesus, Philo lived in their world. It is from Philo, for example, that we learn about how, like the Gospel of John, Jews (and Greeks) in the Greco-Roman world spoke of the creative force of God as God's "Logos." Philo, too, employs interpretive strategies that parallel those of the author of Hebrews. Most scholars would agree that Philo and the author of Hebrews are drawing from the same, or at least similar, traditions of Hellenistic Judaism. With these kind of connections to the world of Judaism and early Christianity, Philo cannot be ignored.
From the Back Cover
The cover illustration depicts a piece of "gold glass" found near Rome. The menorah, or seven-branched lamp stand, was a popular symbol of Judaism and can be found on such famous architectural monuments as the Arch of Titus. The scene on this "gold glass" also shows other items of Jewish ritual significance, including the Ark of the Covenant flanked by two Lions, a "shofar" or trumpet, a palm branch, and an oil jar. Many of these items held strong messianic significance and figured prominently in the life of Israel, such as in the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths). The photo appears courtesy of the Vatican Library and is used with permission.
About the Author
C. D. Yonge (1812-1892), a noted classicist and author of more than thirty-five works, studied classics at St. Mary Hall, Oxford. A professor of modern history and English literature at Queen's College, Belfast, from 1866 until the time of his death, Yonge also compiled a Greek-English lexicon. The present translation of the works of Philo first appeared in 1854-1855 in 4 volumes in Bohn's Ecclesiastical Library.
Hardcover: 944 pages
Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers (August 1, 1993)
The Two Babylons: The Only Fully Complete 7th Edition!
Fully Illustrated High Res. Images. Complete and Unabridged. Expanded Seventh Edition.
This is the first and only seventh edition available in a modern digital edition. NOTHING is left out! New material not found in the first six editions!!! Available in eBook and paperback edition exclusively from CrossReach Publications. See below for A. W. Pink's glowing review and an intro by Alexander Hislop.
"In his work on “The Two Babylons” Dr. Hislop has proven conclusively that all the idolatrous systems of the nations had their origin in what was founded by that mighty Rebel, the beginning of whose kingdom was Babel (Gen. 10:10)."--A. W. Pink, The Antichrist (1923)
There is this great difference between the works of men and the works of God, that the same minute and searching investigation, which displays the defects and imperfections of the one, brings out also the beauties of the other. If the most finely polished needle on which the art of man has been expended be subjected to a microscope, many inequalities, much roughness and clumsiness, will be seen. But if the microscope be brought to bear on the flowers of the field, no such result appears. Instead of their beauty diminishing, new beauties and still more delicate, that have escaped the naked eye, are forthwith discovered; beauties that make us appreciate, in a way which otherwise we could have had little conception of, the full force of the Lord's saying, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these."
The same law appears also in comparing the Word of God and the most finished productions of men. There are spots and blemishes in the most admired productions of human genius. But the more the Scriptures are searched, the more minutely they are studied, the more their perfection appears; new beauties are brought into light every day; and the discoveries of science, the researches of the learned, and the labours of infidels, all alike conspire to illustrate the wonderful harmony of all the parts, and the Divine beauty that clothes the whole. If this be the case with Scripture in general, it is especially the case with prophetic Scripture. As every spoke in the wheel of Providence revolves, the prophetic symbols start into still more bold and beautiful relief. This is very strikingly the case with the prophetic language that forms the groundwork and corner-stone of the present work. There never has been any difficulty in the mind of any enlightened Protestant in identifying the woman "sitting on seven mountains," and having on her forehead the name written, "Mystery, Babylon the Great," with the Roman apostacy.
About the Author
Alexander Hislop (1807 - 1865) was a Free Church of Scotland minister famous for his outspoken criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church. Alexander's brother, Stephen Hislop became well known in his time as a missionary to India and a naturalist.
Alexander was for a time parish schoolmaster of Wick, Caithness. Also editor of the Scottish Guardian newspaper. He was ordained in 1844 at the East Free Church, Arbroath, where he became senior minister in 1864. He wrote several books, his most famous being The Two Babylons: Papal worship Revealed to be the worship of Nimrod and His wife.
Paperback: 143 pages
Publisher: Independently published (September 18, 2017)
The New English Bible: With the Apocrypha (Oxford Study Edition)
No details.
Paperback: 1688 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (June 24, 1976)
The Egyptian Book of the Dead: Papyrus of Ani (The Great Awakening)
The history of the great body of religious compositions which form the Book of the Dead, translated by Wallis Budge.
About the Author
Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (July 27, 1857 November 23, 1934) was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East. Budge was was a strong proponent of liberal Christianity and was devoted to comparative religions. He is well known for translating The Egyptian Book of The Dead and analyzing many of the practices of Egyptian religion and language. Budge's works were widely read by the educated public and among those seeking comparative ethnological data, including James Frazer.
Under Budge's directorship, the British Museum came to hold arguably the best collection of Ancient Near East artifacts in the world, allowing the British and other Western publics to enjoy and learn from these significant civilizations that were distant in both time and space from their own lives, broadening their horizons and advancing our understanding that humankind can unite as one extended human family throughout the world. Cite from the New World Encyclopedia
Series: The Great Awakening
Paperback: 544 pages
Publisher: EWorld Inc.; Reprint edition (February 12, 2016)
The Emerald Tablets of Thoth-The-Atlantean
The history of the Emerald Tablets is strange and beyond the belief of modern scientists. Their antiquity is stupendous, dating back some 36,000 years B.C. The author is Thoth, an Atlantean Priest-King who founded a colony in ancient Egypt, wrote the Emerald Tablets in his native Atlantean language which was translated by Dr. Michael Doreal. This edition of the Emerald Tablets is unique in that it includes both the translation and interpretation by Dr. Doreal. Because of the tablet's reference to the Egypt and sacred geometry they became a priority reference for those studying the Flower of Life and the Merkaba meditation. As requested by the Flower of Life Organization, this edition offers Dr. Doreal's translation and interpretation in a side-by-side study format
About the Author
Michael Doreal, MsD, PsyD, was a spirital teacher and founder of the Brotherhood of the White Temple, Inc., located in Colorado. He has written volumes of papers and books.
Paperback: 86 pages
Publisher: Source Books; Second edition (January 1, 1996)
A New Approach to Studying the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared a person would get nearer to God by abiding by the precepts of the Book of Mormon than by any other book. While considering ways of making the precepts of this divine book more readily available to the reader, a distinguishing format was devised to isolate the doctrinal precepts and at the same time render this rather complex volume of scripture more comprehensible for reading and pondering. Not one word, letter or even a punctuation mark of the actual text has been deleted or altered in the process. Only the formatting has been enhanced by adding wider margins for notes, two type sizes, and spaces between textual subdivisions. These contextual enhancements are designed to help the reader more readily visualize the context, speaker and doctrine of the Book of Mormon narrative.
This edition of the Book of Mormon divides the text into 214 events or episodes. An event-based approach provides an alternate way to read the scripture text without the obvious intrusion of verse and chapter breaks which can obscure the narrative as it was originally written or even the continuity of doctrinal discourses. Short text headings in the margins indicate names of speakers, chronological dates, locational information and other scriptural references. These marginal annotations allow the reader to quickly and consistently place the Book of Mormon historical narrative within space and time.
About the Author
Starting in the 1980s as a father and son team we developed and helped the Church publish the first online edition of the scriptures. Parallel to that project we considered ways to isolate the doctrinal precepts by reformatting the scriptures for easier reading and pondering. We also investigated ways to go beyond merely searching electronically for words in the text. We quickly discovered this reformatted edition emphasizing events rather than chapters was our preferred way to study.
More than a decade in the making, A New Approach to Studying the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ has been our labor of love. We are ever mindful of the long line of record keepers from Ether to Nephi to Mormon to Joseph Smith who have made this edition possible. We express appreciation to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for providing a license to publish the text of the 2013 edition of the scriptures.
We add our testimony to the millions before us that The Book of Mormon is a true account of the Nephite, Lamanite and Jaredite people, and its translation came by gift and power of God. We also testify The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and contains the gospel doctrines of salvation that lead to joy and happiness.
Lynn A. Rosenvall
David L Rosenvall
Paperback: 720 pages
Publisher: Olive Leaf Foundation (August 1, 2017)
Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text. It relates the Gnostic teachings of the transfigured Jesus to the assembled disciples including his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Martha. Pisti Sophia recounts that Jesus remained on earth after the resurrection for 11 years. In it the complex structures and hierarchies of heaven familiar in Gnostic teachings are revealed.
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Wilder Publications (March 26, 2009)
This anthology of gospel literature contains texts that are not a part of the New Testament but are of great importance for the study of Christian origins. Containing some of the writings from the Nag Hammadi library, these sixteen texts constitute what remains of the non-canonical Gospels from the first and second centuries. They transmit sayings of Jesus and relate stories about Jesus.
About the Author
Ron Cameron is Professor of Religion at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
Paperback: 191 pages
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (January 1, 1982)
From the editors of the bestselling The Five Gospels, The Complete Gospels presents for the first time anywhere all twenty of the known gospels from the early Christian era, offering a fuller and more fascinating picture of early Christian origins than found in the four canonical gospels alone -- or in any other source. Each of these gospels records offers fresh glimpses into the world of Jesus and his followers, including:
- Gospel of Thomas reveals that Jesus, contrary to the popular image of him as an apocalyptic preacher of damnation and salvation, was actually a wisdom teacher who taught about the true origins of humankind.
- Gospels of Mary suggests that women held prominent role in early church, and provides a startling look at what may have been the first attempts to supress their leadership.
- Sayings Gospels Q, the controversial reconstruction of the first gospel used by Jesus' original followers, contains only Jesus' sayings and none of the dramatic stories about his life later told in the New Testament gospels.
- Signs Gospel is almost entirely a catalog of Jesus' miracles, intended to demonstrate that he was the Jewish Messiah, the Anointed.
- Secret Book of James relates that immediately prior to his ascension, Jesus imparted a private revelation to James and Peter, which James presents here as a letter.
- Gospel of Peter contains what may have been the original passion narrative later adapted in the New Testament synoptic gospels' accounts.
Four new pieces have been added to this third expanded edition: the three Jewish-Christian gospels and the Greek fragment of the Gospels of Thomas.
Each gospel is translated into lively, contemporary English, recapturing the spirit of the original. Exciting both to read and to hear, this Scholars Version (SV) translation has -- as one reader put it -- "a vitality that jumps off the page."
The editor and contributors to this volume are members of the Jesus Seminar founded by Robert W. Funk, based at the Westar Institute in Sonama, California.
Paperback: 480 pages
Publisher: HarperOne; Revised, Expanded edition (November 4, 1994)
In December 1945, at the base of cliffs that run along the Nile River near the modern-day town of Nag Hammadi, an Egyptian farmer discovered a sealed jar containing thirteen ancient Coptic codices. This discovery represented arguably the most significant manuscript discovery of the twentieth century for the study of the New Testament and Christian origins. Of all the texts found none has been more important than the Gospel of Thomas for our understanding of early Christianity. This classic book presents the best text and the best translation of Thomas in user-friendly form. Additional chapters provide a general introduction to the Gospel of Thomas and tell the fascinating story of that discovery itself by one who was directly involved in bringing this new Gospel to light. An annotated list "for further reading" completes the volume. This new edition features updated material which takes account of recent research on the gospel of Thomas. The translation has been refined at points, and the bibliographical material updated.
About the Author
Stephen J. Patterson is Associate Professor of New Testament at Eden Theological Seminary and author of The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus and the Search for Meaning (Trinity Press).
Hans-Gebhard Bethge is Professor of New Testament at the Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: T&T Clark; New Edition edition (December 29, 2011)
No details.
Paperback: ? pages
Publisher: Harper; 1St Edition edition (1961)
This collection of translations of the more important non-canonical Old Testament books is designed for popular rather than strictly academic use. The translations are accompanied by introductions and brief bibliographies.
About the Author
H. F. D. Sparks is at Oxford University.
Paperback: 1012 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (February 21, 1985)
Oahspe: A New Bible in the Words of Jehovih and his Angel Ambassadors
Oahspe: New York & London: Oahspe Publishing Association, 1882, executed here in 1960 by Ray Palmer in facsimile of the 1882 edition. First Edition Thus (of Palmer's facsimile). Quarto, 910 pp., green leatherette covered boards. Laid in is an apparently quite scarce "Dictionary of Words and Terms Used in OAHSPE The New Bible" (see scan), itself published by the Essenes of Kosmon, Montrose, CO. The book itself shows previous owner's sticker on front pastedown, large adhesive stain on back cover which has bits of paper still attached; probably cleanable (see scan). Slight spine lean. Otherwise very good or better, contents near fine. American dentist John Ballou Newbrough's "New Bible", purported by him to have been produced through "automatic writing", is at the very least a significant example of neo-revelationist scripture in the latter part of the 19th century. Fascinating in its complexity even if seen as a fabrication; if it was more...? A singular piece of Americana. Scarce. L 5000-5
Hardcover: 991 pages
Publisher: Oashpe Publishing Association (1960 Ray Palmer Facsimile); First Edition edition (1960)
Who are the ancient astronauts? Why did they first come to Earth? Why are they returning now? What part did they play in building the great monuments of antiquity? What part did they play in the formation of present and earlier civilizations? With what other beings do we share our universe? And where does the Earth fit into the cosmic scheme of things? Almost twenty years of experimental work with telepathy led to the "breakthrough" contact recorded in this book. The Ra Material is an account not only of the events leading up to this contact, but of over 200 pages of verbatim transcripts of each and every conversation!
About the Author
Don Elkins was born in Louisville, KY, in 1930. He holds 4 university degrees. He has taught Mechanical Engineering and Physics. In 1965 he left his teaching in ordeer to give himself more time for the research that he pursued all of his adult life, one result of which is this book. He became a 727 Captain for a major airline. DOn ELkins died on November 7, 1984.
Series: Law of One (Book 1)
Paperback: 229 pages
Publisher: Whitford Press (May 1, 1984)
A Course in Miracles - Original Edition
The great classic work, A Course in Miracles, is devoted to teachings about who we are, our relationships to God and with each other, and the actually mental nature of our bodies and the world. There are three constituent parts to the Course: The Text, a Workbook for Students, and the Manual for Teachers. The Text lays out the theoretical foundation for the metaphysical system of the Course. The Workbook contains a series of 365 Lessons to be practiced daily for the purpose of retraining the mind and healing our perception. Finally, the Manual contains information for and about advanced teachers of God. The Course is also about miracles, which students understand to be, in part, a shift in perception to healed vision. But miracles are more than a shift in perception, because the shift has consequences in the world as we see it. The Course is a self study educational program for retraining the mind that is spiritual, rather than religious, in its perspective. Although the Course uses Christian terminology, it expresses a universal experience, and its underlying ontology is reminiscent of ancient refrains, echoing the world's most hallowed traditions.
About the Author
The story of the Course began when Columbia University research psychologist Dr. William T. Thetford decided he had had enough of the the intensely competitive and negative climate he was experiencing and declared to his colleague, Dr. Helen Shucman, "There must be another way, and I am determined to find it. She agreed to help. What ensued was a dramatic progression of waking dreams for Shucman, which culminated in October of 1965 with her experience of a voice which spoke clearly in her mind, saying, "This is a course in miracles. Please take notes."
Hardcover: 1154 pages
Publisher: Course in Miracles Society; Original Edition-1972 edition (November 30, 2006)
