From Genesis To Apocalypse

Thomas Altizer's Genesis and Apocalypse" engages a theological history of Western culture through the works of Augustine, Luther, Barth, and other important figures in theology, as well as critical theorists such as Hegel and Nietzsche, to ultimately offer a Christology for our modern times.

A complete introduction to the Bible aimed at high school and college students, as well as Bible study groups.

That the Apocalypse of John is a “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1) is a fact too often overlooked by interpreters of this last book of the Bible. As Msgr. A. Robert Nusca’s The Christ of the Apocalypse: Contemplating the Faces of Jesus in the Book of Revelation proposes, beyond predictions of earthquakes and falling stars, St. John articulates from start to finish a multifaceted and compelling portrait of Jesus Christ. Nusca offers an exegetical reading of selected verses of the Book of Revelation, incorporating rich spiritual and pastoral reflections. The Christ of the Apocalypse above all affirms that St. John’s God- and Christ-centered, symbolic universe offers our contemporary world a spiritual place to stand amid the shifting sands of postmodernity. As Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, writes in his Foreword, “Now, as in the first century, Christians face martyrdom, and those who are not called to die for Christ are called to live for Christ in a world which in many ways rejects the Gospel. More than ever, we need the apocalyptic vision, to have our own vision of reality clarified, and to be strengthened in our evangelical witness.”

He re-woke with a start, still carrying the world on his head. It was hard to believe it was an ordinary book that covered his face. Frank stared from the bible lying beside him to the man's face. With reassuring voice he said. "I promise you," as if reading his thoughts, "Before you read from Genesis to Apocalypse I will be back to take you with me, so that wherever am I, there you will be!" So began the story of Ibobi in a refugee camp in a remote village in Europe, where they have nothing to do but sleep and eat. He devotes his hours to reading the scriptures; soon he began dreaming them, and believing he had a higher calling than washing dishes at a refugee camp. His forerunner was Frank, who would go and find a home for them in one of the big cities. Unfortunately, Frank never returned from that journey, and Ibobi has no alternative than to go himself in search of his friend and a new home. He too would never return from the journey – A new door was opened, a new life that that does not compromise well with his beliefs as a Christian. He decides to face the devil in his own arena – flashy cars, sexy women, drugs, and fast money – and things that were once believed to happen only in the mind began to take form. How much could an angel endure before he becomes a demon?

In this important new book, social ethicist Larry Rasmussen lays the foundations for an approach to faith and ethics appropriate to a community of the earth, in all its peril and promise. Earth Community, Earth Ethics is a comprehensive treatment that synthesizes insights from religion, ethics, and environmentalism in a single vision for creating a sustainable community. Earth Community, Earth Ethics is arranged in three parts. In the first Rasmussen scans our global situation and brings into relief the extraordinary range of dangers threatening all life on our planet. In part two he explores worlds of religion, ethics, and human symbolism to glean from them the resources for a necessary "conversion to earth". Finally, he sketches a constructive ethic that can guide us out of our present situation. While its principle focus is environmental ethics Earth Community, Earth Ethics builds on the foundations of international discussions of sustainable development, and such books as The Ecology of Commerce and Envisioning a Sustainable Society. Rasmussen shows how the environmental predicament underscores a variety of crises afflicting modern industrial society: in economics, in politics, in gender and reproductive relations, as well as the debates on the very meaning of life itself.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

The Book of Jubilees, also known as The Little Genesis and The Apocalypse of Moses, opens with an extraordinary claim of authorship. It is attributed to the very hand of Moses; penned while he was on Mount Sinai, as an angel of God dictated to him regarding those events that transpired from the beginning of the world. The story is written from the viewpoint of the angel. The angelic monolog takes place after the exodus of the children of Israel out of Egypt. The setting is atop Mount Sinai, where Moses was summoned by God. The text then unfolds as the angel reveals heavens viewpoint of history. We are lead through the creation of man, Adams fall from grace, the union of fallen angles and earthly women, the birth of demonic offspring, the cleansing of the earth by flood, and the astonishing claim that mans very nature was somehow changed, bringing about a man with less sinful qualities than his antediluvian counterpart. The story goes on to fill in many details in Israels history, ending at the point in time when the narrative itself takes place, after the exodus.