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 Free Download Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church By H.W. Crocker III 2003 | 512 Pages | ISBN: 0761516042 | EPUB | 1 MB For 2,000 years, Catholicism-the largest religion in the world and in the United States-has shaped global history on a scale unequaled by any other institution. But until now, Catholics interested in their faith have been hard-pressed to find an accessible, affirmative, and exciting history of the Church.Triumphis that history. Inside, you'll discover the spectacular story of the Church from Biblical times and the early days of St. Peter-the first pope-to the twilight years of John Paul II. It is a sweeping drama of Roman legions, great crusades, epic battles, toppled empires, heroic saints, and enduring faith. And, there are stormy controversies: Dark Age skullduggery, the Inquistition, the Renaissance popes, the Reformation, the Church's refusal to accept sexual liberation and contemporary allegations like those made inHitler's PopeandPapal Sin.A brawling, colorful history full of inspiring pageantry and spirited polemic,Triumphwill exhilarate, amuse, and infuriate as it extols the glories of Catholic history and the gripping stories of its greatest men and women.From the Hardcover edition.  Free Download Trent: What Happened at the Council By John W. O'Malley 2013 | 335 Pages | ISBN: 0674066979 | EPUB | 1 MB The Council of Trent (1545-1563), the Catholic Church's attempt to put its house in order in response to the Protestant Reformation, has long been praised and blamed for things it never did. Now, in this first full one-volume history in modern times, John W. O'Malley brings to life the volatile issues that pushed several Holy Roman emperors, kings and queens of France, and five popes--and all of Europe with them--repeatedly to the brink of disaster.During the council's eighteen years, war and threat of war among the key players, as well as the Ottoman Turks' onslaught against Christendom, turned the council into a perilous enterprise. Its leaders declined to make a pronouncement on war against infidels, but Trent's most glaring and ironic silence was on the authority of the papacy itself. The popes, who reigned as Italian monarchs while serving as pastors, did everything in their power to keep papal reform out of the council's hands--and their power was considerable. O'Malley shows how the council pursued its contentious parallel agenda of reforming the Church while simultaneously asserting Catholic doctrine.LikeWhat Happened at Vatican II, O'Malley'sTrent: What Happened at the Councilstrips mythology from historical truth while providing a clear, concise, and fascinating account of a pivotal episode in Church history. In celebration of the 450th anniversary of the council's closing, it sets the record straight about the much misunderstood failures and achievements of this critical moment in European history.  Free Download Travellers Through Time by Harte, Jeremy; English | 2023 | ISBN: 1789147166 | 318 pages | True PDF | 12.18 MB  Free Download Think and Believe By Frederick W. Marks 2012 | 242 Pages | ISBN: 1937155374 | EPUB | 1 MB coherent, forceful, and compelling case for God and the Church founded by Jesus of Nazareth. This is a remarkable achievement of solid, factual, information that is loaded with ammunition for the new evangelization. Contains colorful vignettes of historic moments alternating with sustained argument. Marks challenges the reader to set aside long-held assumptions and prejudices. Jesus is the only one who proclaimed himself sinless and the only one who ever claimed to be God. His followers converted an entire empire without resort to violence, and after winning Rome they not only gave the world its calendar but transformed pagan culture beyond recognition. These hard, cold facts are presented here with copious notes for easy identification of persons, events, or doctrines that may be unfamiliar. The reader will also find a detailed index and useful appendices.  Free Download There Are (No) Stupid Questions ... in Science by Leah Elson English | June 27th, 2023 | ISBN: 9798200864942 | 238 pages | True EPUB | 19.68 MB Leah Elson draws upon her wildly popular web series, 60 Seconds of Science, for an irreverent debut that answers all sorts of scientific questions-from the age-old to the ridiculous to the sublime-posed by her fans around the world.  Free Download The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church By Mike Aquilina 2014 | 160 Pages | ISBN: 1612788025 | EPUB | 1 MB Explore the impact of each of the early Christian women on the Church, then and now. Their stories will enthrall you. Their writings will inspire you. Their witness will empower you.
 Free Download The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success By Rodney Stark 2007 | 304 Pages | ISBN: 1400062284 | EPUB | 1 MB Many books have been written about the success of the West, analyzing why Europe was able to pull ahead of the rest of the world by the end of the Middle Ages. The most common explanations cite the West's superior geography, commerce, and technology. Completely overlooked is the fact that faith in reason, rooted in Christianity's commitment to rational theology, made all these developments possible. Simply put, the conventional wisdom that Western success depended upon overcoming religious barriers to progress is utter nonsense.InThe Victory of Reason,Rodney Stark advances a revolutionary, controversial, and long overdue idea: that Christianity and its related institutions are, in fact, directly responsible for the most significant intellectual, political, scientific, and economic breakthroughs of the past millennium.In Stark's view, what has propelled the West is not the tension between secular and nonsecular society, nor the pitting of science and the humanities against religious belief. Christian theology, Stark asserts, is the very font of reason: While the world's other great belief systems emphasized mystery, obedience, or introspection, Christianity alone embraced logic and reason as the path toward enlightenment, freedom, and progress. That is what made all the difference.In explaining the West's dominance, Stark convincingly debunks long-accepted "truths." For instance, by contending that capitalism thrived centuries before there was a Protestant work ethic-or even Protestants-he counters the notion that the Protestant work ethic was responsible for kicking capitalism into overdrive. In the fifth century, Stark notes, Saint Augustine celebrated theological and material progress and the institution of "exuberant invention." By contrast, long before Augustine, Aristotle had condemned commercial trade as "inconsistent with human virtue"-which helps further underscore that Augustine's times were not the Dark Ages but the incubator for the West's future glories.This is a sweeping, multifaceted survey that takes readers from the Old World to the New, from the past to the present, overturning along the way not only centuries of prejudiced scholarship but the antireligious bias of our own time.The Victory of Reasonproves that what we most admire about our world-scientific progress, democratic rule, free commerce-is largely due to Christianity, through which we are all inheritors of this grand tradition.
 Free Download The Unknowable in Early Modern Thought: Natural Philosophy and the Poetics of the Ineffable by Kevin Killeen 2023 | ISBN: 1503635856 | English | 274 pages | EPUB/PDF (True) | 2 + 2 MB Early modern thought was haunted by the unknowable character of the fallen world. The sometimes brilliant and sometimes baffling fusion of theological and scientific ideas in the era, as well as some of its greatest literature, responds to this sense that humans encountered only an incomplete reality. Ranging from Paradise Lost to thinkers in and around the Royal Society and commentary on the Book of Job, The Unknowable in Early Modern Thought explores how the era of the scientific revolution was in part paralyzed by and in part energized by the paradox it encountered in thinking about the elusive nature of God and the unfathomable nature of the natural world. Looking at writers with scientific, literary and theological interests, from the shoemaker mystic, Jacob Boehme to John Milton, from Robert Boyle to Margaret Cavendish, and from Thomas Browne to the fiery prophet, Anna Trapnel, Kevin Killeen shows how seventeenth-century writings redeployed the rich resources of the ineffable and the apophatic-what cannot be said, except in negative terms-to think about natural philosophy and the enigmas of the natural world.
 Free Download The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World's Largest Religion By Rodney Stark 2011 | 512 Pages | ISBN: 0062007688 | EPUB | 1 MB Over 40% of people today are Xians. Their number grows more rapidly than that of any other major faith. InThe Triumph of Xianity, religious & social historian Stark explains how an obscure Jewish sect became the largest, most thriving religion in the world. In hisThe Rise of Xianity, he examined the early success of Xianity & how it conquered Rome. Now he tells a more extensive story, beginning with the religious & social situation prior to Jesus' birth & continuing to the present. As it moves thru six historical eras,The Triumph of Xianitygets right to Xianity's most pivotal & controversial moments-often turning them on their heads:-Xmas Eve surveys the religious situation within which Xianity began.-Xianizing the Empire looks at Jesus' life & the formative days of the movement he inspired, explaining why Xianity was a reprieve from the miseries of daily life for many.-Consolidating Xian Europe argues that Constantine's conversion did the church great harm, examines the gradual demise of paganism & clarifies the motives behind the Crusades.-Medieval Currents sheds light on the misleadingly named "Dark Ages" & the vital role faith played in the scientific revolution.-Xianity Divided examines two Roman Catholic "Churches"-a Church of Piety & a Church of Power-as they respond to heretical challenges, Luther's Reformation & the Spanish Inquisition.-New Worlds & Xian Growth considers the development of religious pluralism in the USA & the continuing vigor of Xianity worldwide, disproving the popular notion that religion must disappear to make room for modernity.With his knack for making bold, original scholarship accessible to all, Stark presents the story behind the tragedies & triumphs that have shaped the trajectory of the Xian faith & much of global history. For scholars & laity alike, this is a journey thru events we think we know & need to reconsider.IntroductionThe religious contextMany JudaismsJesus & the Jesus movementMissionizing the Jews & the GentilesChristianity & privilegeMisery & mercyAppeals to womenPersecution & commitmentAssessing Christian growthConstantine's very mixed blessingsThe demise of paganismIslam & the destruction of Eastern & North African ChristianityEurope responds: the case for the CrusadesThe "Dark Ages" & other mythical erasThe people's religionFaith & the scientific "Revolution"Two "churches" & the challenge of heresyLuther's reformationThe shocking truth about the Spanish InquisitionPluralism & American pietySecularization: facts & fantasiesGlobalizationConclusionBibliographyNotesIndex  Free Download The Threesome Handbook - A Practical Guide to Sleeping with Three By Vicki Vantoch 2007 | 384 Pages | ISBN: 1568583338 | PDF | 19 MB A step-by-step guide to realizing the American dream, The Threesome Handbook: A Practical Guide to Sleeping with Three is the first book to give tri-curious men and women the inside scoop on threesomes. Having finally slipped into the mainstream , on MTV, Boston Legal, Entourage, magazines, movies, and just about every respectable blog , sexuality historian and threesome dabbler Victoria Vantoch offers practical and humorous advice on our most popular fantasy. Featured in The Threesome Handbook: - The perks of three: hotter sex, more love - Strategies to prevent freak-outs, jealousy, and general messiness - How to find the perfect third - Discovering your inner queer - When a ménage turns into love,how to create a successful triad relationship - Communication skills for couples - Knowing when to break it off - And much, much more. Drawing on personal experience, historical research, advice from pros, and hundreds of interviews with veteran and novice threesome adventurers, Vantoch covers the gamut of possibilities in threesome sex and triad relationships. The Threesome Handbook is the essential road map for couples and singles to explore new territory or just spice things up in the sack. |
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