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These are some of the titles we have available in our store. To order these or other titles, please contact us at gtreusch@saintmarks.org or (206) 323-1040.
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Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths
In this work, Bruce Feiler, bestselling author of Walking the Bible, searches for the man at the heart of the world's three monotheistic religions — and today's deadliest conflicts. Uncovering fascinating, little-known details of the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, Feiler offers the first ever interfaith portrait of the one man who holds the key to our deepest fears — and our possible reconciliation: Abraham. |
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Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of John
For contemporary Christians, John's Gospel is a paradox. On the one hand, it stresses boundaries: No one comes to the Father except through me, while on the other it stresses community: I have no longer called you servants, but friends. Here, readers are encouraged to draw out the tensions between these two perspectives to make the gospel more meaningful to their lives |
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Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of Mark
Most Christians are familiar with the story told in Mark’s gospel – from the fishermen leaving their nets, to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, to the political rumblings and the crucifixion. But no one knows who “Mark” really was, why this gospel was written or why it’s charged with such a sense of immediacy. For noted Jesus scholar Marcus Borg, reading Mark is like “meeting Jesus again for the first time.” Individual readers and parish study groups will learn about this earliest gospel from the perspective of an important Anglican theologian. From the Introduction: “In thousands of congregations…this emerging way has been a means of revitalizing and deepening Christian understanding and commitment. It is a way that integrates faith and reason, head and heart, intellect, experience, and yearning. For me, it has made all the difference. This book is a small contribution to this process of adult theological re-education.” |
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Conversations with Scripture: The Law
Although the Ten Commandments have been the center of much recent controversy in American politics, scripture contains many laws about which Christians are perplexed. In this addition to the Conversations with Scripture series Kevin Wilson explores the Law in Exodus and Leviticus, examining the historical and cultural contexts of these legal codes and offering fresh insights into the meaning of the Law for today. |
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Conversations with Scripture: The Parables
From the very beginning, human beings have loved to listen to stories. And Jesus loved to tell them. The parables are vivid, rich, arresting stories that make us think and teach us lessons about our relationship with God and others. From talents to mustard seeds, from shepherds to Samaritans, Jesus used common reference points to teach important truths. But the parables are filled with ambiguity and room for interpretation. With historical and cultural background, and careful scholarly detail, this book helps readers explore their beauty, richness, and joy. Chapters are organized by parable types such as seeking and growth. Includes discussion questions and activities. |
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The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel
The story of David is the narrative of a human life evolving by slow stages through time, shaped by the pressures of political life, family, the impulses of body and spirit, and the eventual sad decay of the flesh. The beautiful, musical David, loved by all, resourceful slayer of Goliath, is revealed through his life to be a calculating political animal. But through the author's empathy and skill, David also emerges as a fully realized character, a man of passion and intelligence who navigates the ambiguities of belief, loyalty, ambition, temptation, and circumstance with uneven success. |
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Encountering Ecclesiastes: A Book for Our Time
Ecclesiastes speaks eloquently to the uncertainties and anxieties that people have experienced through the centuries. James Limburg illuminates the book’s contemporary themes — the quest for meaning in life, the incompleteness of our knowledge, the place of work in human lives, and the need to discover God amid life’s uncertainties. A fresh, relevant discussion, Encountering Ecclesiastes is ideal for readers seeking to understand the timeless wisdom of Ecclesiastes. |
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The Faith of the Outsider: Exclusion and Inclusion in the Biblical Story
The biblical story about God’s covenant with “insiders” — with Israel as the chosen people — is scandalous in today’s cultural climate of inclusivity. But, as The Faith of the Outsider shows, God’s exclusive election actually has an inclusive purpose. In his newly published book, Frank Spina brings the stories of Esau, Tamar, Rahab, Naaman, Jonah, Ruth, and the woman at the well alive in new ways to show how nonelect people became strategically important participants in God’s plan of salvation. |
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In Search of Paul: How Jesus' Apostle Opposed Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom
John Dominic Crossan, the eminent historical Jesus scholar, and Jonathan Reed, the rising star of Biblical archaeology, take the reader in Paul’s footsteps, showing that the whole Jesus vs. Paul debate is misguided. They use new historical analysis and archaeological discoveries to answer many of the vital questions about Paul and the first Christians; they also demonstrate that Paul was a true hero for Jesus in carrying to the outside world Jesus’s messianic dedication to transforming the hierarchical, abusive, immoral reign of Rome into the egalitarian and virtuous Kingdom of God on earth. |
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The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity
Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity — yet, if you look in the Bible, you’ll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what’s there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus’s original teachings and apply them to their modern lives. |
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Where God Was Born: A Journey by Land to the Roots of Religion
Where God Was Born combines the adventure of a wartime chronicle, the excitement of an archaeological detective story, and the insight of personal spiritual exploration. Taking readers to biblical sites not seen by Westerners for decades, Bruce Feiler's journey uncovers little-known details about the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and affirms the importance of the Bible in today's world. Where God Was Born is a daring quest that offers a rare, universal vision of God that can inspire different faiths to an allegiance of hope. We also carry these other Feiler titles: Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths / Walking the Bible: A Journey by land through the five books of Moses |
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The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail
by Margaret Starbird
Setting out to refute the theory that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalen, Roman Catholic scholar (and Puget Sound resident) Margaret Starbird, found new and compelling evidence for the existence of the bride of Jesus – the same enigmatic woman who anointed him with precious unguent from her "alabaster jar." In this provocative book, Starbird draws her conclusions from an extensive study of history, heraldry, symbolism, medieval art, mythology, psychology, and the Bible itself. The Woman with the Alabaster Jar is a quest for the forgotten feminine – in the hope that its return will help restore a healthy balance to planet Earth. |