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H Επιστολή αυτή γράφτηκε στην Ρώμη το 50-56 μ.χ Ο Άγιος Παύλος προτρέπει τους Χριστιανούς να χαίρονται στις θλίψεις. Θα πρέπει να δέχονται τις αδικίες που προκαλούν θλίψη με την συναίσθηση και πίστη ότι μέσα από αυτές θα οδηγηθούν και θα ζήσουν τον θάνατο και την ανάσταση. Με αυτό τον τρόπο γίνονται μέτοχοι στον θάνατο του Ιησού Χριστού και στην ανάσταση του. Η Ημερομηνία της δεύτερης επιστολής βρίσκεται πιθανότατα ανάμεσα στο 63-67 μετά Χριστό , ενώ βρισκόταν στην φυλακή της Ρώμης ο Απόστολος Παύλος. Ο κόσμος απιστεί , εξαπατά και χλευάζει, όμως οι χριστιανοί θα πρέπει να διατηρούν το χριστιανικό τρόπο ζωής , συνεχώς αυξανόμενοι σε αγιότητα και σε αρετές και ποτέ δεν θα πρέπει να στραφούν πίσω στον παλιό τρόπο ζωής. The first epistle of Saint Peter was written in Rome 50-67 A.D. Saint Peter exhorts Christians to rejoice in suffering. They should enter into unjust suffering with a spirit of death and resurrection. Thus they partake in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The date of the second epistle is most likely A.D 63-67. Saint Peter has probably written this letter while he was kept in prison in Rome. The people to whom he w...

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Paul, who is apparently in prison (probably in either Rome or Ephesus), writes to a fellow-Christian Philemon and two of his associates. Paul writes on behalf of Philemon's slave, Onesimus. Beyond that, it is not self-evident as to what has transpired. Onesimus is described as having been 'separated' from Philemon, once having been 'useless' to him (a pun on Onesimus' name, which means 'useful'), and having done him wrong. (Wikipedia)...

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The book commences with a feast organized by Ahasuerus, initially for his court and dignitaries and afterwards for all inhabitants of Shushan. Ahasuerus orders his wife Vashti to display her beauty before the guests. She refuses, and the King's advisors warn that, if unpunished, her actions would inspire other wives to disobey their husbands. Ahasuerus removes her as queen. (Jews believe that she was executed, He then orders all young women to be presented to him, so he can choose a new queen to replace Vashti. One of these is Esther, who was orphaned at a young age and is being fostered by her uncle Mordechai. (Summary by Wikipedia)...

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This Revised Testament has been prepared under the auspices of the American Bible Union, by the most competent scholars of the day. No expense has been spared to obtain the oldest translations of the Bible, copies of the ancient manuscripts, and other facilities to make the revision as perfect as possible. The paragraph form has been adopted in preference to the division by verse, which is a modern mode of division, never used in the ancient scriptures. But, for convenience of reference, the numbers of the verses are retained. All quotations from the Old Testament are distinctly indicated, and the poetic form is restored to those which appear as poetry in the original. The revisers have been guided in their labors by the following rules prescribed by the Union: RULES FOR THE REVISION OF THE ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT. The received Greek text, critically edited, with known errors corrected, must be followed. The common English version must be the basis of revision, and only such alterations must be made as the exact meaning of the text and the existing state of the language may require. The exact meaning of the inspired text, as that text...

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The Book of Nehemiah, sometimes called the Second Book of Ezra, is a book of the Hebrew Bible. It is historically regarded as a continuation of the Book of Ezra, and the two are frequently taken together as Ezra-Nehemiah. Traditionally, the author of this book is believed to be Nehemiah himself. The date at which the book was written was probably about 431 - 430 BC, when Nehemiah had returned the second time to Jerusalem after his visit to Persia. The book consists of four parts: (1) An account of the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, and of the register Nehemiah had found of those who had returned from Babylon. Details describe how Nehemiah became governor of Judah; various forms of opposition generated by Sanballat and others; describes earlier return under Zerubbabel (ch. 1-7). (2) An account of the state of religion among the Jews during this time (8-10). (3) Increase of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the census of the adult male population, and names of the chiefs, together with lists of priests and Levites (11-12:1-26). 4) Dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the arrangement of the temple officers, and the reforms carried ou...

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The Book of Daniel (דניאל), originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, is a book in both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament. The book is set during the Babylonian Captivity, a period when Jews were deported and exiled to Babylon following the Siege of Jerusalem of 597 BC. The book revolves around the figure of Daniel, an Israelite who becomes an adviser to Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of Babylon from 605 BC - 562 BC. The book has two distinct parts: a series of six narratives (chapters one to six) and four apocalyptic visions (chapters seven to twelve). The narratives take the form of court stories which focus on tests of religious fidelity involving Daniel and his friends (chapters one, three and six), and Daniel's interpretation of royal dreams and visions (chapters two, four and five). In the second part of the book, Daniel recounts his reception of dreams, visions and angelic interpretations in the first person. (Summary by Wikipedia)...

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The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three Pastoral Epistles, written by Paul, and is part of the canonical New Testament. It may have been written sometime in 67 A.D. during Paul's second Roman imprisonment. In his letter, the writer urges Timothy to not have a spirit of timidity and to not be ashamed to testify about our Lord (1:7-8). The writer also entreats Timothy to come to him before winter, and to bring Mark with him (cf. Philippians 2:22). He was anticipating that the time of his departure was at hand (4:6), and he exhorts his son Timothy to all diligence and steadfastness in the face of false teachings, with advice about combatting them with reference to the teachings of the past, and to patience under persecution (1:6–15), and to a faithful discharge of all the duties of his office (4:1–5), with all the solemnity of one who was about to appear before the Judge of the quick and the dead. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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Seventh book in the Chautauqua Girls series. Written by Isabella Alden under the pseudonym “Pansy.” Erskine, Ruth's son (a 5-year-old at the end of Judge Burnham’s Daughters ) is now a grown man, and Ruth is 50-something. He brings home an American wife from Paris, a woman who seems to want to tear apart mother and son. But Irene has some big secrets to hide. (Summary by TriciaG)...

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Fiction, Religion

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Fifth in the Chautauqua Girls series. Ruth Erskine Burnham has helped raise her husband's two daughters, but all have rejected her faith and values. The constant pressure to compromise has weakened her walk and made her life miserable. Her one comfort is her sickly 5 year old son. Will she return to the strong faith of her young womanhood, and will her family finally follow? (Summary by Tricia G)...

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Described by William Barclay as the Queen of the Epistles, the Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New Testament. Paul is traditionally said to have written the letter while he was in prison in Rome (around 63 A.D.). This would be about the same time as the Epistle to the Colossians (which in many points it resembles) and the Epistle to Philemon. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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The Epistle of James is a book in the Christian New Testament. The author identifies himself as James (James 1:1), traditionally understood as James the Just, the brother of Jesus, first of the Seventy Disciples and first Bishop of Jerusalem. With no overriding theme, the text condemns various sins and calls on Christians to be patient while awaiting the imminent Second Coming. The epistle has caused controversy: Protestant reformer Martin Luther argued that it was not the work of an apostle. Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Mormonism claim it contradicts Luther's doctrine of justification through faith alone (Sola fide) derived from his translation of Romans 3:28. The Christian debate over Justification is still unsettled, see also Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and Christian view of the Law. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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The Epistle to Galatians is a book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. It is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. Along with the Epistle to the Romans, it is the most theologically significant of the Pauline epistles, and has been particularly influential in Protestant thought....

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The Epistle to the Galatians is a book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. It is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. Along with the Epistle to the Romans, it is the most theologically significant of the Pauline epistles, and has been particularly influential in Protestant thought. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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William Law (1686-1761) was an Anglican priest, Christian mystic, and one of the most prominent, popular, and controversial theological writers of his time. Law revolutionized the way in which 18th century Anglicans engaged the spiritual aspect of their faith, and his popularity rivaled that of John and Charles Wesley. Law adapted mystical practices from early church writings to the practice and doctrine of the modern British church, with the intention of equipping the Anglican layman to pursue intimacy with Christ. Dialogue Between a Methodist and a Churchman is one of Law's purely theological works. In it, Law engages what he sees as the most dangerous doctrines of Methodism using a dialectic format. The dialogue focuses especially on the Calvinistic doctrines of predestination and absolute depravity, and is remarkable for its extrapolation of Calvinist proof texts to refute the doctrines they allegedly prove. (Summary by Kirsten Ferreri)...

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Galatians is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of Early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. Paul is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. The main theme of Ephesians is “the Church, the Body of Christ.” The Church is to maintain the unity in practice which Christ has brought about positionally. Another major theme in Ephesians is the keeping of Christ's body (that is, the Church) pure and holy. Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul circa 62 while Paul was in prison. The letter was written to the church at Philippi, one of the earliest churches to be founded in Europe. They were very attached to Paul, just as he was very fond of them. The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus, their messenger, with contributions to meet the needs of Paul; and on his return Paul sent this letter with him. Written in the 50s while Paul was in prison, Colossians is similar to Ephesians, also written at this time. Colossians declares Christ's supremacy over the entire created universe and exhorts Christians to lead godly live...

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During the time of the Judges when there was a famine, an Israelite family from Bethlehem - Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion - emigrate to the nearby country of Moab. Elimelech dies, and the sons marry two Moabite women: Mahlon marries Ruth and Chilion marries Orpah. Then Mahlon and Chilion also die. Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem. She tells her daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers, and remarry. Orpah reluctantly leaves; however, Ruth says, Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me. (Ruth 1:16-17 NIV) The two women return to Bethlehem. It is the time of the barley harvest, and in order to support her mother-in-law and herself, Ruth goes to the fields to glean. The field she goes to belongs to a man named Boaz, who is kind to her because he has heard of her loyalty to her mother-in-law. Ruth tells her mother-in-law of Boaz's kin...

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After the parishes of Saxony were visited in 1528 and found to be in a terribly dismal state, Martin Luther penned the Large Catechism as an aid to the clergy in teaching Christian doctrine. It consists of sermons on each of the Ten Commandments, each article of the Apostles' Creed and each petition of the Lord's Prayer, together with a treatment of Baptism and of the Sacrament of the Altar. This recording also includes the Brief Exhortation to Confession which Luther appended early on. This last piece was translated by Ambrose and Socrates Henkel in 1851 while all the rest follows the translation of F. Bente and W. H. T. Dau from the Concordia Triglotta of 1921. (Introduction by Jonathan Lange)...

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God permits Satan, or in some translations the adversary or the accuser, to put the virtue of Job to the test, at first by giving him power over his property, but forbidding him to touch his person. Satan begins by taking away all of Job's riches, his livestock, his house, his servants, and his children; a series of four messengers informs him that they have perished in various tragedies. In the meantime, only three of Job's friends come to visit him in his misfortune — Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. A fourth, Elihu the Buzite, first begins talking in chapter 32 and bears a distinguished part in the dialogue; his arrival is not noted. The friends spend a week sitting on the ground with Job, without speaking, until Job at last breaks his silence and complains of his misery....

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1 Maccabees is an apocryphal/deuterocanonical book written by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom, probably about 100 BC. It is included in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons. Protestants, Jews, and some others regard it as generally reliable historically, but not a part of Scripture. The setting of the book is about a century after the conquest of Judea by the Greeks under Alexander the Great, after Alexander's empire has been divided so that Judea was part of the Greek Seleucid Empire. It tells how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress the practice of basic Jewish religious law, resulting in a Jewish revolt against Seleucid rule. The book covers the whole of the revolt, from 175 to 134 BC, highlighting how the salvation of the Jewish people in this crisis came from God through Mattathias' family, particularly his sons, Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Maccabaeus, and Simon Maccabaeus, and his grandson, John Hyrcanus. The doctrine expressed in the book reflects traditional Jewish teaching, without later doctrines found, for example, in 2 Maccabees. (Summary by Wikipedia, modi...

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The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws (torah). The events take place in the second half of the 5th century BCE, and together with the Book of Ezra, it represents the final chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible. The book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in Susa, is informed that Jerusalem is without walls and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of Judah and he travels to Jerusalem. There he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israel's enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the law of Moses. After an absence in Susa he returns to find that the Israelites have been backsliding, taking non-Jewish wives, and stays to enforce the Law....

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History, Religion