Ancient Wisdom Revived

Ancient Wisdom Revived
Author: Bruce F. Campbell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 249
Release: 1980
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780520039681

Recounts how Madame Helena Blavatsky revived the ancient Western tradition of Gnosticism to begin the Theosophical movement in the U.S

Mystics and Messiahs

Mystics and Messiahs
Author: Philip Jenkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2000-04-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0198029330

In Mystics and Messiahs--the first full account of cults and anti-cult scares in American history--Philip Jenkins shows that, contrary to popular belief, cults were by no means an invention of the 1960s. In fact, most of the frightening images and stereotypes surrounding fringe religious movements are traceable to the mid-nineteenth century when Mormons, Freemasons, and even Catholics were denounced for supposed ritualistic violence, fraud, and sexual depravity. But America has also been the home of an often hysterical anti-cult backlash. Jenkins offers an insightful new analysis of why cults arouse such fear and hatred both in the secular world and in mainstream churches, many of which were themselves originally regarded as cults. He argues that an accurate historical perspective is urgently needed if we are to avoid the kind of catastrophic confrontation that occurred in Waco or the ruinous prosecution of imagined Satanic cults that swept the country in the 1980s. Without ignoring genuine instances of aberrant behavior, Mystics and Messiahs goes beyond the vast edifice of myth, distortion, and hype to reveal the true characteristics of religious fringe movements and why they inspire such fierce antagonism.

Invented Knowledge

Invented Knowledge
Author: Ronald H. Fritze
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2009-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1861896743

Were the Chinese the first to discover America in 1421? Did Jesus and Mary Magdalene have children together? Did extraterrestrials visit the earth during prehistory and teach humans how to build pyramids and stone structures? These are only a few of the controversial and intriguing questions that Ronald H. Fritze investigates in Invented Knowledge. This incredible exploration of the murky world of pseudo-history reveals the proven fact, the informed speculation, and the pure fiction behind lost continents, ancient super-civilizations, and conspiratorial cover-ups—as well as the revisionist historical foundations behind religions such as the Nation of Islam and the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. Drawing on the best scholarship available, Fritze shows that in spite of strong, mainstream historical evidence to the contrary, many of these ideas have proved durable and gained widespread acceptance. As the examples in Invented Knowledge reveal, pseudo-historians capitalize on and exploit anomalies in evidence to support their claims, rather than examining the preponderance of research as a whole. From Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to 10,000 B.C., the sensationalist topics of pseudo-history captivate audiences and permeate popular culture. Invented Knowledge offers many entertaining and enthralling examples of spurious narratives, artificial chronologies, and ersatz theories in a book guaranteed to intrigue, open eyes, and spark conversation among readers—skeptics and believers alike.

Isis Unveiled

Isis Unveiled
Author: H. P. Blavatsky
Publisher: Quest Books
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2015-06-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0835631753

Creating a sensation when it was first published in 1877, the first major work by the young Russian noblewoman who would found the Theosophical Society devoted 1200 pages to the mysteries of ancient and modern science and theology. This new edition abridged by Theosophical scholar Michael Gomes breathes fresh life into this classic of Western esoteric thinking. Stripped of its lengthy quotations from other writers and its repetitious commentary, Isis Unveiled is revealed to be a clear and readable exploration of the universal truths of the Ancient Wisdom Tradition by one of the most remarkable women of modern times.

The Ancient Wisdom

The Ancient Wisdom
Author: Annie Besant
Publisher: Elibron.com
Total Pages: 508
Release: 1999-01-01
Genre: Theosophy
ISBN: 9780543938800

This Elibron Classics title is a reprint of the original edition published by the Theosophical Publishing Society in London, 1899.

The Dawn of the New Cycle

The Dawn of the New Cycle
Author: W. Michael Ashcraft
Publisher: Univ. of Tennessee Press
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781572332003

In considering a group that identified with Victorian American culture and its anxieties while adhering to an occult worldview that most of their contemporaries found strange, if not dangerous, the book explains why these middle-class Americans found Theosophy so persuasive and why they left family and friends behind to take up residence at this California settlement."--BOOK JACKET.

Impossible Heights

Impossible Heights
Author: Adnan Morshed
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2015-01-15
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 145294296X

The advent of the airplane and skyscraper in 1920s and ‘30s America offered the population an entirely new way to look at the world: from above. The captivating image of an airplane flying over the rising metropolis led many Americans to believe a new civilization had dawned. In Impossible Heights, Adnan Morshed examines the aesthetics that emerged from this valorization of heights and their impact on the built environment. The lofty vantage point from the sky ushered in a modernist impulse to cleanse crowded twentieth-century cities in anticipation of an ideal world of tomorrow. Inspired by great new heights, American architects became central to this endeavor and were regarded as heroic aviators. Combining close readings of a broad range of archival sources, Morshed offers new interpretations of works such as Hugh Ferriss’s Metropolis drawings, Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion houses, and Norman Bel Geddes’s Futurama exhibit at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Transformed by the populist imagination into “master builders,” these designers helped produce a new form of visuality: the aesthetics of ascension. By demonstrating how aerial movement and height intersect with popular “superman” discourses of the time, Morshed reveals the relationship between architecture, art, science, and interwar pop culture. Featuring a marvelous array of never before published illustrations, this richly textured study of utopian imaginings illustrates America’s propulsion into a new cultural consciousness.

Aristotle's Children

Aristotle's Children
Author: Richard E. Rubenstein
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2004-09-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 054735097X

A true account of a turning point in medieval history that shaped the modern world, from “a superb storyteller” and the author of When Jesus Became God (Los Angeles Times). Europe was in the long slumber of the Middle Ages, the Roman Empire was in tatters, and the Greek language was all but forgotten—until a group of twelfth-century scholars rediscovered and translated the works of Aristotle. The philosopher’s ideas spread like wildfire across Europe, offering the scientific view that the natural world, including the soul of man, was a proper subject of study. The rediscovery of these ancient ideas would spark riots and heresy trials, cause major upheavals in the Catholic Church—and also set the stage for today’s rift between reason and religion. Aristotle’s Children transports us back to this pivotal moment in world history, rendering the controversies of the Middle Ages lively and accessible, and allowing us to understand the philosophical ideas that are fundamental to modern thought. “A superb storyteller who breathes new life into such fascinating figures as Peter Abelard, Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas Aquinas, Roger Bacon, William of Ockham and Aristotle himself.” —Los Angeles Times “Rubenstein’s lively prose, his lucid insights and his crystal-clear historical analyses make this a first-rate study in the history of ideas.” —Publishers Weekly

Undead

Undead
Author: Clay Morgan
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2012-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1426759479

The New Testament records seven separate incidents of dead people returning to life through the power of God. In the midst of the current cultural fascination with undead creatures, many believers in the church are more familiar with zombies in entertainment than with the amazing stories of new life recorded in the Bible. Undead: Revived, Resuscitated, and Reborn retells these stories in a unique style that will reach a new generation of readers and challenge them to come back from the spiritual dead. Few believers realize that many people - including six specific individuals - are raised from the dead between the Gospels and book of Acts. Undead applies those stories to revitalize the faith of believers while leading seekers to discover the spiritual resuscitation that only comes from God through His Son. By examining each story of resuscitation, readers discover gospel truths that they can apply to their own lies in ways that will elevate hope and challenge faith. Relating to the characters in these accounts helps bring to light areas in our lives that may need revitalization and challenge us to decide whether we will allow God to transform us. Click here to download the FREE Study Guide.

Contemporary Yoga and Sacred Texts

Contemporary Yoga and Sacred Texts
Author: Susanne Scholz
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2024-09-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0429589581

This book explores the textual traditions that authorize the history, legitimacy, and authenticity of today’s physical posture practice. The volume focuses on why and how yoga communities have adopted various texts that they consider sacred or spiritually meaningful. Among the texts discussed are Yogananda‘s Autobiography, Sri Aurobindo's Savitri, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Upanishads, the Vedas, and the Yoginī Tantra. Famous thinkers included are Aurobindo, Yogananda, Osho-Rajneesh, Sogyal Rimpoche, Charles Johnston, and Howard Thurman. Offering a starting point, the ten chapters address the nature, selection, and function of various ancient and contemporary texts read in contemporary yoga settings. The attention centers on how and why texts are read and for whom they are read. As yoga is practiced in ashrams, yoga studios, gyms, meeting rooms, and even private living rooms, scholarly approaches to investigate the connections between yoga and texts are necessarily diverse. This volume aims to inspire further scholarship on the reading of texts in past and present yoga communities. The collection demonstrates that textual tradions deserve to be an important part of contemporary yoga scholarship. The volume will, therefore, be of great interest to scholars of religious studies, yoga studies, and Asian studies, as well as those studying sacred texts.