Leo Tolstoy's "A Confession," written in 1882 shortly after a life-altering spiritual crisis, is a brutally sincere reflection on life, morality, and the nature of faith. Tolstoy describes in great detail the process by which he lost his faith in established Christian churches, the meaninglessness of wealth and fame, the agony of acute depression, and how he overcame misery and dread through personal study of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Along the way, he contrasts the artificial faith and arrogance of educated people with the genuine faith and humility of the Russian peasant...

According to Jewish tradition the 5 books of Moses are read and studied each year. In order to complete the study, the 5 books are separated into sections . The last book of the Pentateuch - Deuteronomy is presented according to weekly parshah. Praised are You, Adonai, Our G_d, ruler of the Universe, who has made us holy with commandments and commanded us to engage in the study of Torah. Parshat descriptions provided by Wikipedia.

James Allen was a British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement. Allen wrote about complex subjects such as faith, destiny, love, patience, and religion but had the unique ability of explaining these subjects clearly and in a way that is easy to understand.His best known work, As a Man Thinketh, has been mass-produced since its publication in 1903. Morning and Evening Thoughts was published in 1909 and it provides a thought for each morning and evening of the day for a month. This book, compiled by his wife, Lily Allen, draws on quotes and sayings from Allen’s other works.

This is the first story in the Woodville collection of tales about the interesting people in Woodville. As the characters grow, they learn many lessons. This is the story of Bertha Grant and her brother, Richard Grant. One of these siblings is good and wise living their life for a higher purpose. The other has to overcome many trials to learn what is truly important in life. The second story in the series is entitled In School and Out; The Conquest of Richard Grant. Summary by Scarlett Martin Woodville...

The trees, flowers, and animals of a peaceful pasture meet together to discuss and learn of theology. Summary by Scarlett Martin.

recording of Bible Passages Collection 002 with selections from the American Standard Version; King James Version ; World English Bible; Open English Bible; and Updated King James Version .

recording of Bible Passages Collection 003 with selections from the American Standard Version, King James Version, World English Bible, Emphasized, Bible, Catholic Public Domain Bible, Morgan New Testament, and Updated King James Version.

God has made prayer possible to us through Jesus. We can pray prevailingly only as we respond to the truths which create the possibility. The sphere of prayer includes the coming of the Kingdom of God and the provision of all the need of the saints. Thus all these constitute an integral part of the subject of the practice of prayer. Prayer is only possible to the revealed Father through the mediating Son by the inspiring Spirit. Prayer is only a prevailing power as, in the life, the child of God is loyal to His Kingship, satisfied with His provision, conformed to His likeness. Moreover, it can only be operative within the sphere revealed in the pattern of prayer.

This is one of the first comprehensive books about the Sikh religion in the English language. MacAuliffe had extensive access to manuscripts of the Sikh sacred writings , as well as support from Sikh scholars and leaders of the time. This volume covers the life and hymns of the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Gurus being Guru Har Gorind, Guru Har Rai, Guru Har Krishan, Guru Teg Bahadur respectively. This is volume 4 of 6.

The idea, so common in the ancient writers, is not all a poetic conceit, that the soul of a man is only a fragment of a larger whole, and goes out in search of other souls in which it will find its true completion. We walk among worlds unrealized, until we have learned the secret of love. We know this, and in our sincerest moments admit this, even though we are seeking to fill up our lives with other ambitions and other hopes. In spite of the vulgar materialism of our day, we do feel that the spiritual side of life is the most important, and brings the only true joy...

The History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century, by Jean-Henri Merle d’Aubigné, is a classic work on the great events that re-opened the Christian gospel to a needy world. It tells of how the twenty-year-old Martin Luther, browsing through books in the library at the University of Erfurt, takes down from the shelf a particular volume that has caught his interest. He has never seen anything like it. It is a Bible! He is astonished to find in this volume so much more than the fragments of gospels and epistles that were selected for public reading in churches...

The present volume contains a series of papers about "practical religion," and treats of the daily duties, dangers, experience, and privileges of all who profess and call themselves true Christians.

First published in the early 17th century, it has proven its value as a daily spiritual guide and helpful reference for living an authentic Christian life. Written specifically for laymen, it began as letters from Saint Francis to a married woman who was seeking holiness amidst the distractions of her life of wealth and status. It contains treasures of wisdom for every reader, from eager beginner to lifelong Christian. Summary by Wikipedia and Phil Chenevert.

The Obscure Night of the Soul, better know today as The Dark Night of the Soul, is the distilled teaching of St John of the Cross, who reintroduced and revolutionized Christian Contemplation in the 16th Century. The text remains in print until this day, and has been an inspiration to seekers for centuries. St John's method is known as the Via Negativa, defined in Wikipedia as "a type of theological thinking that attempts to describe God, the Divine Good, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God...

The Darby Bible consists of a translation of the New Testament by John Nelson Darby, originally published in 1867, and a translation of the Old Testament, included in later editions of the text, completed by Darby's students after his death. - Summary by Aaron Hultstrand

Work on the translation began in 1853 by a London businessman named Ferrar Fenton . The complete Bible was first published in 1903, though parts were published as separate volumes during the preceding 11 years. The translation is noted for a rearranging of the books of the Bible into what the author believed was the correct chronological order. In the Old Testament, this order follows that of the Hebrew Bible. The name of God was translated throughout the Old Testament as "The Ever-Living". The Bible is described as "translated into English direct from the original Hebrew, Chaldee, and Greek languages...

One soft summer evening, when Woodville was crowned with the glory and beauty of the joyous season, three strangers presented themselves before the Grant family, and asked for counsel and assistance. The party consisted of two boys and a girl, and they belonged to that people which the traditions of the past have made the "despised race;" but the girl was whiter and fairer than many a proud belle who would have scorned her in any other capacity than that of a servant; and one of the boys was very nearly white, while the other was as black as ebony undefiled...

The Holy Bible derived from the American Standard Bible of 1901. - Summary by Winfred Wardell Henson

Book 2 of Commentary on St John's Gospel covers John 1:29 - 5:34.

This short, anonymous work is thought to have been written in the 1300s by a member of the lay-religious group called ‘The Friends of God.’ Its central teaching is that humans can become one with God by living a holy, selfless life in which our will is subsumed into God’s, of which Christ is the ultimate example. Martin Luther discovered, named, and published Theologia Germanica in 1516, declaring that, "Next to the Bible and St. Augustine, no book has ever come into my hands from which I have learnt more of God and Christ, and man and all things that are."

The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible, was a book constructed by Thomas Jefferson in the later years of his life by cutting and pasting with a razor and glue numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson's condensed composition is especially notable for its exclusion of all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural, including sections of the four gospels that contain the Resurrection and most other miracles, and passages that portray Jesus as divine. - Summary by Wikipedia

The First Book of Samuel ushers in the era of kings, notably Saul and David, who represent the battle between the kingdoms of law and grace, between flesh and spirit, between disingenuous apology for sins and Godly repentence. The imperfect, but Godly, King David is seen in stark contrast to the bragging, self-exalting, and carnal rule of King Saul. This book is a drama fit for the theater, a story of love and devotion, of courage and cowardice, war and peace. But, most of all, this book and its companion second book are metaphors for the Kingdom of God and the coming of Him who is to sit on David's throne...

Baron Friedrich von Hugel was a lay Catholic theologian whose work was influential during the rise of modernist thought. His Essays and Addresses on the Philosophy of Religion became a favorite work of later Christian writers C.S. Lewis and Flannery O'Connor. The book compiled previously written material into a single collection, divided into three parts: the first, on religion and theism in general; the second, on Christ's teachings and Christianity in general; the third, on the Catholic Church. - Summary by Dylan P. Straub

Book 3 of Commentary on St John's Gospel covers John 5:35- 6:37, as well as a look at the prophecy contained in Deut. 18:15-19.

The Mystical City of God is a book written in the 17th-century by the Franciscan nun, Venerable Mary of Jesus of Ágreda. According to María de Ágreda, the book was to a considerable extent dictated to her by the Blessed Virgin Mary and regarded the life of the Virgin Mary and the divine plan for creation and the salvation of souls. The work alternates between descriptions of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary's life, and the spiritual guidance she provides to the author, by whom her words were reproduced for the spiritual benefit and growth of the reader...

This is one of the first comprehensive books about the Sikh religion in the English language. MacAuliffe had extensive access to manuscripts of the Sikh sacred writings , as well as support from Sikh scholars and leaders of the time. This volume covers the life and writings of Guru Gorbind Singh, the 10th Guru. This is volume 5 of 6. Summary by Kim.

More systematic, but no less sincere than A Confession , The Critique of Dogmatic Theology is an early attempt on the part of Tolstoy to impart the results of his meticulous study and fearless inquiry into the beliefs and traditions of Orthodox Christianity following his renewed interest in spirituality. - Summary by Paul Rizik

The Egyptian Book of the Dead, or the Book of Coming Forth by Day, is an Ancient Egyptian funerary text consisting of spells to protect the soul on its journey to Duat, or Afterlife.

A short series of Christian sermons covering a range of topics, with the common thread throughout being the relationship between what we do know, what we may know, and what we cannot yet know about our lives, our world, and our faith. - Summary by Devorah Allen

Book 4 of Commentary on St John's Gospel covers John 6:38 - 7:24.

Thirty-seven short articles discussing "What is Christ?"

As one of the first two bishops of the Methodist church in America and one of the most well-known circuit riders during the spread of Methodism, Francis Asbury kept a journal of his travels and activities. His journal begins with his prayerful decision to come to America in 1771 and continues to December of 1815, a few months before his death. In the meantime, we travel with Rev. Asbury across the ocean, over mountains, through rivers, and up and down the whole length of the fledgling United States of America. - Summary by Devorah Allen