Science and Catholicism in Argentina (1750-1960) is the first comprehensive study on the relationship between science and religion in a Spanish-speaking country with a Catholic majority and a "Latin" pattern of secularisation. The text takes the reader from Jesuit missionary science in colonial times, through the conflict-ridden 19th century, to the Catholic revival of the 1930s in Argentina. The diverse interactions between science and religion revealed in this analysis can be organised in terms of their dynamic of secularisation. The indissoluble identification of science and the secular, which operated at rhetorical and institutional levels among the liberal elite and the socialists in the 19th century, lost part of its force with the emergence of Catholic scientists in the course of the 20th century. In agreement with current views that deny science the role as the driving force of secularisation, this historical study concludes that it was the process of secularisation that shaped the interplay between religion and science, not the other way around.

There is more folklore, mythology and magic associated with our trees and forests than with any other living things. Known throughout the world as dark and wild places where witches make mischief and eerie creatures dwell, forests are also places of sanctuary for the ancient magic and the most enchanting species of trees. Kew: Witch's Forest is a beautifully illustrated, captivating journey through the magical woodland and its stories, from birch broomsticks and the sacred olive, to alder doorways and the Tree of Life.

Many people believe they have seen ghosts, many others are doubtful, but despite the rationalism of the present day, there has been no decrease in the number of sightings: old ghosts have survived for centuries and have been joined by modern ones, haunted houses retain their eerie reputations, apparitions are studied by parapsychologists, poltergeists still wreak havoc in homes. Ghost Sightings is a wide-ranging guide to ghostly phenomena from all parts of the globe up to 2015. It covers cases throughout history: many of them famous, others less well known. It examines malign spirits and gentle ghosts, apparitions, wraiths, haunted houses and spooky urban myths. Each entry gives details of the date, location and course of events, as well as providing a historical context and analytical assessment of the phenomenon. The book's extensive appendices provide fascinating additional information, including the differing roles of ghosts in the world's religions, an exploration of out-of-body and near-death experiences, and modern theories offered to explain ghosts by figures such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Ghost Sightings is a thorough study of a subject that has intrigued, amazed and terrified mankind throughout history.

The southwest Virginia murder trials of a young schoolteacher named Edith Maxwell made her a cause celebre of the 1930s. No newspaper reader or radio listener could avoid hearing of her case in 1935 or 1936, and few magazines neglected to run at least one story on the case. In the media attention that it received, the Maxwell case rivaled the Scopes monkey trial of the 1920s, and for some it seemed to involve many of the same sociological issues--the conflict between modernism and tradition, between urban and rural values, between the sexes, and between generations. Feminist organizations like the National Women's Party and other women's business and professional organizations rallied to Edith's defense because women were not allowed on criminal juries in Virginia in the 1930s.

'It is a Lord of the Flies parable with Bhagwan as lord. The book is a fascinating social history, with many celebrities, from Diana Ross to Prince Charles. - Helen Rumbelow, The Times This is the story of a Englishman who gave up a job in journalism to spend fourteen years with the controversial Indian mystic Osho, also known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and frequently referred to as 'the sex guru'. His guru was always controversial with his teachings on sex and spirituality, rumours of orgies and because he owned ninety-three Rolls Royces. Early in 1976, Subhuti travelled to India to meet Rajneesh in his ashram in Pune, became initiated as his disciple and immediately began to have mystical experiences, which he attributed to the powerful energy field surrounding the guru. He stayed for six months, participating in the ashram's notorious Encounter Group and other therapies designed to release suppressed emotions and awaken sexual energy Subhuti would stay to live and work on his master's ashrams for fourteen years, first as his press officer in Pune, India, then as editor of the community's weekly newspaper when Bhagwan and his followers shifted to Oregon, USA, and built a whole new town on the massive Big Muddy Ranch. There Subhuti was a first-hand witness to the scandals and hullabaloo that accompanied the guru, including tales of broken bones in no-holds-barred therapy groups and Tantra groups that encouraged total sexual freedom, and the increasing hostility with the locals which would lead to Bhagwan's attempt to flee America, his arrest and imprisonment. . He was on the Oregon Ranch when Rajneesh's secretary, Ma Anand Sheela, plotted against rival cliques within the ashram as well as a range of murderous crimes against state and federal officials which feature in hit Netflix series Wild Wild Country. Yet, amidst it all, Subhuti could see the profound revolution in spirituality that Bhagwan was creating, leaving a lasting impact on our ideas about society, religion, meditation and personal transformation. According to the author's understanding, it was the controversy itself, plus Bhagwan's refusal to tread the path of a spiritual saint, that became the stepping stone to a new vision of what it means to be a spiritual seeker.

Welcome to a world of subversive literature filled with magical wisdom and the decoding of the occult. In this volume, author Azazel Rama explores the ancient secrets of astral travel and reveals a doorway to the multiverse of endless potential. He then reveals how the heretical views of science and nature can slay the dragon of religion with common sense. This is not a self-help seminar filled with happy sunshine, nonsense codes, and false rainbows; this is a journey into the forbidden. "The Church of the Free Mind" has opened its gates, and within this Holy Temple no messiah shall be said to exist.

Written as a diatribe against words, this is the true philosophy of a snake swallowing its own tail. Behold the self-consuming god that exists within the flesh and souls of all living beings. Embark upon a spiritual exploration of a higher order of freedom as it relates to an unconsciously connected society of human animals, and learn the moral codes of Mother Nature as she echoes a sense of natural law through the depths of our collective being. This collection of essays proposes a way to enter a new cycle of human understanding.

Millennialists through the ages have looked forward to the apocalyptic moment that will radically transform society into heaven on earth. They have delivered withering critiques of their own civilizations and promised both the impending annihilation of the forces of evil and the advent of a perfect society. And all their promises have invariably failed. We tend, therefore, to dismiss these prophets of doom and salvation as crackpots and madmen, and not surprisingly historians of our secular era have tended to underestimate their impact on our modern world. Now, Richard Landes offers a lucid and ground-breaking analysis of this widely misunderstood phenomenon.
This long-awaited study shows that many events typically regarded as secular--including the French Revolution, Marxism, Bolshevism, Nazism-not only contain key millennialist elements, but follow the apocalyptic curve of enthusiastic launch, disappointment and (often catastrophic) re-entry into "normal time." Indeed, as Landes examines the explicit millennialism behind such recent events as the emergence of Global Jihad since 1979, he challenges the common notion that modern history is largely driven by secular interests. By focusing on ten widely different case studies, none of which come from Judaism or Christianity, he shows that millennialism is not only a cultural universal, but also an extremely adaptive social phenomenon that persists across the modern and post-modern divides. At the same time, he also offers valuable insight into the social and psychological factors that drive such beliefs.
Ranging from ancient Egypt to modern-day UFO cults and global Jihad, Heaven on Earth both delivers an eye-opening revisionist argument for the significance of millennialism throughout history and alerts the reader to the alarming spread of these ideologies in our world today.

The Writings of Aleister Crowley 2 presents three essential texts by the black magick master: White Stains, The Psychology of Hashish and The Blue Equinox. Each work has been updated for the digital age with new formatting and punctuation, along with original footnotes and illustrations.

This book offers an in-depth description and analysis of Chinese coin-like charms, which date back to the second century CE and which continued to be used until mid 20th century. This work is unique in that it provides an archaeological and analytical interpretation of the content of these metallic objects: inscriptive, pictorial or both. As the component chapters show, these coin-like objects represent a wealth of Chinese traditional folk beliefs, including but not limited to family values, social obligations and religious desires. The book presents a collection of contributed chapters, gathering a diverse range of perspectives and expertise from some of the world's leading scholars in the fields of archaeology, religious studies, art history, language and museology. The background of the cover image is a page from Guang jin shi yun fu , a rhyming dictionary first published in the ninth year of the Kangxi Reign (1652 CE). The metal charm dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE), depicting two deities traditionally believed to possess the majic power of suppressing evil spirits. The stich-bound book in the foreground is a collection of seal impressions from the beginning of the 20th century. Its wooden press board is inscribed da ji xiang by Fang Zhi-bin in the year of bing yin (1926 CE).

Since the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), the Catholic Church has formally declared the possibility of salvation for atheists: 'those who, without fault, have not yet arrived at an express recognition of God' (Lumen Gentium 16). However, in the very same document, the Council also reiterates the traditional doctrine of the necessity of faith, baptism, and the mediation of Church in order for someone to be saved (Lumen Gentium 14). This monograph explores how these two seemingly contradictory claims may satisfactorily be reconciled. Specifically, it asks - and ultimately answers - the question: How, within the parameters of Catholic dogmatic theology, is it possible for an atheist to be saved? As the first full-length study of this topic since Vatican II, the book discusses crucial foundational issues - the understanding of 'atheist' in Catholic theology; the developing views on both unbelief, and the salvation of non-Christians, in the decades preceding the Council - before tackling the conciliar teaching itself. Considerable attention is then given to the classic solution of imputing an 'implicit' faith to righteous atheists, best known from Karl Rahner's theory of 'anonymous Christians' (though the basic idea was advocated by many other major figures, including Ratzinger, Schillebeeckx, de Lubac, Balthasar, and Kung). After discussing Rahner's specific proposals in detail, this kind of approach is however shown to be untenable. In its place, a new way of understanding Vatican II's optimism for atheists is developed in detail, in light of scripture, tradition, and magisterium. This draws principally on Christ's descent into Hell, a renewed understanding of invincible ignorance, and a literal interpretation of Matthew 25.