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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems
This book focuses on Abraham Abulafia's esoteric thought in
relation to Maimonides, Maimonideans, and Islamic thought in the
line of Leo Strauss' theory of the history of philosophy. A survey
of Abulafia's sources leads into an analysis of the esoteric
meaning on the famous parable of the three rings, considering also
the possible connection between this parable, which Abdulafia
inserted into a book dedicated to his student, the 13th century
rabbi Nathan the wise, and the Lessing's Play "Nathan the Wise."
The book also examines Abulafia's universalistic understanding of
the nature of the Bible, the Hebrew language, and the people of
Israel (or the Sinaic revelation). The universal aspects of
Abulafia's thought have been put in relief against the more
widespread Kabbalistic views which are predominantly
particularistic. A number of texts have also been identified here
for the first time as authored by Abulafia.
For some eighty-five years--between, roughly, 1725 and 1810--the
American colonies were agitated by what can only be described as a
revolutionary movement. This was not the well-known political
revolution that culminated in the War of Independence, but a
revolution in religious and ethical thought. Its proponents called
their radical viewpoint "deism." They challenged Christian
orthodoxy and instead endorsed a belief system that celebrated the
power of human reason and saw nature as God's handiwork and the
only revelation of divine will. This illuminating discussion of
American deism presents an overview of the main tenets of deism,
showing how its influence rose swiftly and for a time became a
highly controversial subject of debate in the colonies. The deists
were students of the Enlightenment and took a keen interest in the
scientific study of nature. They were thus critical of orthodox
Christianity for its superstitious belief in miracles, persecution
of dissent, and suppression of independent thought and expression.
At the heart of his book are profiles of six "rational infidels,"
most of whom are quite familiar to Americans as founding fathers or
colonial patriots: Benjamin Franklin (the ambivalent deist), Thomas
Jefferson (a critic of Christian supernaturalism but an admirer of
its ethics), Ethan Allen (the rough-edged "frontier deist"), Thomas
Paine (the arch iconoclast and author of The Age of Reason), Elihu
Palmer (the tireless crusader for deism and perhaps its most
influential proponent), and Philip Freneau (a poet whose popular
verses combined deism with early romanticism). This is a
fascinating study of America's first culture war, one that in many
ways has continued to this day.
In the beginning, darkness caused itself to explode, causing the
event science calls the big bang and Christianity refers to as
creation. Many have associated darkness with nothing, but author
Hyginus Mathurin describes darkness as the actual primitive state
of the Creator. "Evolution of Darkness" presents a revolutionary
perspective on the physical development of Darkness as it creates
its physical kingdom in the universe.
Mathurin is concerned with the nature of Darkness, not as the
dwelling place of the Creator, but as the actual Creator. He takes
a bold step to declare that the universe is the actual Evolution of
Darkness.
"Evolution of Darkness" is a declaration that the universe is
perfect and could not have existed any other way. Every act and
every thought is necessary for its effective operation.
Dream Walker is a novel based upon truth. What is truth and what is
fiction for each reader will depend on how the information
resonates with his or her emotional circuitry. The characters
depicted and the situations described are a montage drawn from
actual and fictional accounts. The story is not told
chronologically; instead, it moves back and forth to different
times in the life of Roger, the main character, as a part of this
montage. It is through the description of his reactions to those
experiences that the book attempts to show how it is possible to
arrive at spiritual awareness through difficult, and sometimes even
preposterous, circumstances. This is the story of a lifetime
journey through our third dimensional physical reality on the
planet Earth. It is all part of what is called the Grand Experiment
of free choice on this beautiful blue sphere floating on the edge
of this universe. The ultimate challenge is for us to find our way
back through it all to our own spiritual selves, and who we are on
the other side of the veil. This is one person's story about his
dreams of romance and adventure through this earthly experience
that somehow leads him to his own spiritual awareness.
Hundreds of millions of people believe that Jesus came back from
the dead. This cogent, forcefully argued book presents a decidedly
unpopular view --namely, that the central tenet of Christianity,
the resurrection of Jesus, is false. The author asks a number of
probing questions:
Is the evidence about Jesus as it has been relayed to us over the
centuries of sufficient quantity and quality to justify belief in
the resurrection? How can we accept the resurrection but reject
magic at the Salem witch trials? What light does contemporary
research about human rationality from the fields of behavioral
economics, empirical psychology, cognitive science, and philosophy
shed on the resurrection and religious belief? Can we use
contemporary research about the reliability of people's beliefs in
the supernatural, miracles, and the paranormal to shed light on the
origins of Christianity and other religions? Does it make sense
that the all-powerful creator of the universe would employ miracles
to achieve his ends? Can a Christian believe by faith alone and yet
reasonably deny the supernatural claims of other religions? Do the
arguments against Christianity support atheism?
By carefully answering each of these questions, this book
undermines Christianity and theism at their foundations; it gives
us a powerful model for better critical reasoning; and it builds a
compelling case for atheism. Without stooping to condescension or
arrogance, the author offers persuasive arguments that are
accessible, thoughtful, and new.
This new edition of Magick from Aiwass Books includes annotations
shedding light on this challenging text. First published in Liber
ABA (Part II), Aleister Crowley's dark masterpiece Magick is
essential reading for students of Thelema and the occult. This
guide to the principle tenets of black magic is a concise version
of the more dense four-book magnum opus Liber ABA or 'Book 4' and
is recommended to initiates.
Today atheists, it seems, are everywhere. Nonbelievers write
best-selling books and proudly defend their views in public; they
have even hired a lobbyist. But, as political scientist Richard J.
Meagher shows, atheist political activism is not a new phenomenon.
From the "Freethought" movement of the late 1800s, to postwar
"rationalists" and "humanists," to today's proud atheists,
nonbelievers have called for change within a resistant political
culture. While atheist organizing typically has been a relatively
lonely and sad affair, advances in technology and new political
opportunities have helped atheists to finally gain at least some
measure of legitimacy in American politics. In Atheists in American
Politics, one of the first works to take atheism seriously as a
social movement, Meagher highlights key moments within the
political history of atheism and freethought, and examines how the
changing circumstances that surround the movement help explain
political mobilization. In doing so, this book also highlights the
ways that social movements in general gain momentum, and how a
number of interlocking factors are often necessary to enable a
movement to "take off" in American politics.
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