Welcome to Sanctuary Publications and
The Sedona Institute for Comparative Theology

Over the past decade, many New Testament scholars and historians of early Christianity—who both publish their research and teach at major universities and seminaries—have pointed out how woefully uninformed and undereducated many Americans are when it comes to understanding the history of their faith and the contents of their own scriptures.

Christian fundamentalists promote the idea that the Bible is the inspired, and literal, Word of God, while scholars know that scripture is very much the work of men—men of faith who were responding to the times in which they lived, and the specific concerns of their own religious communities.

Until recently, however, most scholars, and even most seminary graduates, did not “go public” with what they knew about the Bible. Over the past decade, however, attitudes in academia have changed, and many scholars today are writing for the general public.

The work of scholars like Elaine Pagels of Princeton, Karen King of Harvard, and Marcus Borg of Oregon State University have become readily available in bookstores across America.

Groups of scholars, such as the famous/infamous Jesus Seminar, are going one step further in promoting “religious literacy” by offering regular seminars and workshops that are open to the general public.

The Sedona Institute for Comparative Theology and its publishing arm, Sanctuary Publications, Inc., was founded in 2005 for the purpose of furthering this mission. By offering books, commentary and classes that illuminate, interpret and condense the work of contemporary scholars, we hope to inspire more and more people to make religion the fourth “R” in their basic education.

While our ultimate purpose is to promote the integration of body, mind and spirit, we put a special emphasis on “mind” in order to encourage people to learn more about their own faith, as well as the faiths of others.