Luther and the stories of God

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Burton L. Mack

"This is the first full account of the lost gospel of Jesus' original followers, revealing him to be a Jewish Socrates who was mythologized into the New Testament Christ. Compiled by his followers during his lifetime, the Book of Q (from Quelle, German for source) became the prime foundation for the New Testament gospels. Once lost, it has been reconstructed through a century of scholarship. In presenting his own translation, Burton Mack explains how the text of Q was determined and explores the implications of the discovery that Jesus was transformed into the dying and rising messianic savior of Christianity by the New Testament gospels." "Instead of telling a dramatic story about Jesus' life as the Christian gospels do, the Book of Q contained only his sayings. The first followers of Jesus focused not upon his life and destiny, but on the social experiment called for by his teachings. Their book collected his proverbs, aphorisms, and parables to offer instruction in living authentically in the midst of a most confusing time." "In The Lost Gospel, Burton Mack puts forth the first popular translation of Q as scholarly consensus has reconstructed it; shows that Jesus' life story as presented in the New Testament gospels was fictionalized for theological purposes; reveals Jesus to be a countercultural teacher and leader - subsequently mythologized into the Christ of the New Testament; depicts Jesus' followers not as Christians, but as disciples of a wise, antiestablishment teacher; they did not believe him to be the son of God, believe that he rose from the dead, or gather to worship in his name and concludes that Christianity is a mythologized religion (like Buddhism and other religions) rooted in a historical figure and teachings that in reality are quite remote from conventional beliefs."--Jacket.

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Paco Roca

"Francisco, a wounded, despairing sixteen-year-old Republican guard in the Spanish Civil War, is trying to flee to freedom by crossing the French border. In his escape, he encounters an old remote lighthouse, far from the warring factions. He is granted shelter by Telmo, the aging operator of the lighthouse. As Francisco recuperates, Telmo's tales of epic adventurers who sailed the lost seas and discovered worlds unknown reignite the spark of life in the young soldier. By one of the most brilliant new talents in comic art in Spain, author of the world-wide bestseller Wrinkles."

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M.Z. Fairtlough

A vivid portrait of two very different families, revealing the triumphs, tragedies and twists that ultimately bring them together. Harry's family was overwhelmed by the enormous social changes that occurred after the Great War, dismayed as they were by the sudden disappearance of their way of life. Marina came from a family of resourceful people, willing and able to work hard for a better life. As war simmered, they emigrated from Italy to Spain, where they sold delicious ice cream. Then Harry met Marina. This engrossing saga blends the personal and the historical into an epic about love and duty, about family, and about growing up in different times.

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David Prior

"Living like a Corinthian." In ancient Greece this phrase was an insult cast at vagrants, drunkards and sexual deviates. The city of Corinth was infamous as a center for intellectual pride and moral laxity. Any church planted there was bound to have problems. The Corinthian church was no exception. Snobbishness, factionalism, insensitivity to other believers, doctrinal looseness and overexuberance all flourished in the Corinthian church. When the apostle Paul heard about the difficulties, he was grieved because he had founded the church and felt closely tied to it. He therefore wrote an intense and pointed letter. In this fresh and gripping exposition of 1 Corinthians, David Prior plainly shows the relevance of Paul's letter for our times. His hope is that all churches may better live out the lordship of Christ in today's cosmopolitan world. - Back cover.