The Lost Truths Of Christianity

What books were left out of the Bible and why? First issued in 1926, this is the most popular collection of apocryphal and pseudepigraphal literature ever published. Here, in one place, are the infancy gospels, the letter of Jesus to Abgarus, the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Legends of Paul and Thecla, the Epistles of Clement and Barnabus, the Shepherd of Hermas, the Books of Adam and Eve, the Secrets of Enoch, the Psalms and Odes of Solomon, the many Testaments of the Patriarchs, and many more ancient books which were highly revered, but ultimately left out of the Bible.

After teaching new believers the basic truths of Christianity for more than 35 years, Larry Kreider shares the down-to-earth reality of Christ. Filled with hundreds of real-life stories spanning the globe, denominations, and cultures, you will be amazed at how real the Gospel is. God loved the people of the world so much that He gave up His one and only Son (John 3:16 The Great Book). This easy-to-read and easy-to-understand two-book series in basic Christian doctrine can be used in a variety of ways including as a: Personal daily devotional. Tool for mentoring relationships. Small-group study. Biblical foundation course for Sunday school classes. Discovering the Basic Truths of Christianity covers the major biblical tenets, including faith, baptism, knowing Jesus as Savior, forgiveness, repentance from sin, the resurrection, and many others. Laying a solid foundation with contemporary examples brings focus to the timelessness and practicality of the Word of God.

Since the 'Christian Church' has abandoned its' Hebrew Roots, many false teachings are in our mainstream churches today and they are destroying the faith given to us by Jesus and carried on by His apostles. Over the centuries precious Biblical truths have been replaced by non-biblical church tradition, doctrine and creeds. Jesus warned us over and over again about deception, but deception were so well disguised in Biblical garb that seemingly no one saw it coming, until it was entrenched in Church Doctrine. And no one expected deception coming from the Church itself. And now, just as it said in the Book of the Revelation, all the world is deceived and following after the beast. You will be amazed, shocked and astonished as I was, to see what the scriptures call the great apostasy happening before your very eyes...The main stream churches are following the teachings of the lawlessness Beast, they are worshiping a god unknown before the 4th Century, just as we read in the Book of the Revelation.

The latest clarion call in the never-ending cavalcade of "what's new" in the evangelical world is the confident assertion from some quarters that the church needs to embrace "postmodernism" if it is going to engage postmoderns effectively. Pastors trying to break down the often indigestible subject matter of postmodernism into bite-size chunks in order to equip their people to engage it, and teachers who are aiming at giving their students a working knowledge of the way postmodernism is impacting the church will find a good deal of help from Smith. -J. Ligon Duncan III, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi Scott Smith and I agree on a lot. We share a deep commitment to Jesus Christ, a love of the Bible, and a passion for the church. We also agree that we're currently living in a liminal time, and it's those "boundary times" when people look most closely at the beliefs that underlie their practices. So, we've all got some things to figure out right now, including what we can really know and the certainty with which we can state our claims in a pluralistic society. I appreciate Scott's voice in this conversation. He is a careful reader of my work, and he writes with a gracious and generous tone. Interlocutors like Scott will be a helpful challenge to all of us in the "emerging church." I consider him a friendly critic and a brother in Christ. -Tony Jones, author of Postmodern Youth Ministry and National Director, Emergent Scott Smith is uniquely suited to enter the Emergent conversation with this helpful volume. Not only is he an analytic philosopher with a razor-sharp mind who has specialized in analyzing postmodernistic views on the relationship between language and the world, but he is also a man who cares for the lost, loves the church, and has an ability to communicate complex truths to people in the pew. -Justin Taylor, Executive Editor, Desiring God Every leader in the new Emergent Movement will want to read this fascinating book. They simply will not find a more engaging, knowledgeable, balanced, and kind treatment of their concerns, ideas, and practices. -Craig J. Hazen, Professor of Comparative Religion, Biola University Scott Smith's study challenges us to take seriously the truth claim of the gospel both in how we proclaim it in words and in how we manifest it in our personal and community lives. -Gary Inrig, Senior Pastor, Trinity Church, Redlands, California

How does a boy learn to be a man? A man learns masculinity primarily from his father. But generations of boys who grow up without caring fathers or male mentors to emulate are left to guess what "men" are really like. They rely on cultural icons--larger-than-life images--as models of masculinity. As a result, they grow up mirroring overblown myths of manhood. Obsessed with being "man enough," they become philanderers, controllers, and competitors--constantly overcompensating for their loss of a true role model, yet sorely unprepared for family life. In Man Enough, psychiatrist and family therapist Frank Pittman explores what it is like to grow up male today. With great poignancy, humor, and candor, he weaves together case studies from his practice, examples from literature and films, plus personal vignettes from his own experiences as a father to examine these hyper-masculine men and to illustrate how they developed and how they can change. Dr. Pittman asserts that men can move past proving their masculinity and start practicing it by striving with the other guys rather than against them, achieving equality and intimacy with their mates--and by fathering. A man raises himself as he raises children and learns to understand and forgive his parents as he becomes one. An important book for men and women, Man Enough offers a new approach to issues of commitment, caring and control and creates a positive model for the fathers of tomorrow's men.

Recent headlines, bestselling books, and even a blockbuster movie have called a lot of attention to the "Lost Gospels"-ancient documents that portray a Jesus far different from the one found in the Bible. What are the "Lost Gospels," and where did they come from? Are these writings trustworthy? Are they on par with the Bible? Have we had wrong perceptions about Jesus all along? A careful comparison of the "Lost Gospels" to the Bible reveals a number of alarming discrepancies that are cause for concern. This eye-opening resource will enable you to take a well-informed and well-reasoned stand on a controversy now sweeping the world. Book jacket.