This book presents writings produced by the Muggletonians---an unusual seventeenth-century English sect founded in 1652 by John Reeve and Lodowick Muggleton. The volume draws on documents from a recently discovered Muggleton archive and rare seventeenth-century tracts. Among those included are Muggleton's autobiography, excerpts from works co-written by Muggleton and Reeve, letters, songs (including ones composed to celebrate Muggleton's release from prison), and miscellany.

Chosen by Yahweh, saved by Jesus, Messianic Jews identify themselves as both Christian and Jewish and yet neither. Passing Over Easter brings this peculiar movement to life with an ethnographic look at Adat HaRauch, a Messianic Jewish congregation in Southern California. The ethnic Jews who have "found the Lord," the Gentiles with a "heart for Israel" that make up Adat HaRauch negotiate their identity borrowing from both traditions. The congregants see Yshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) as the Jewish Messiah, the passover matzoh as symbolic of Yshua's body being broken for sinners, the New Testament as a fulfillment of the Old. Through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and reflections on her own beliefs and role as researcher, Feher paints a fascinating picture of this fluctuating religious group. Passing Over Easter makes a compelling read for sociologists concerned with new religious movements and group formation, students of Jewish identity and Jewish-Christian relations and anyone interested in the contemporary American religious scene.

This book is the first comprehensive study of Mormon architecture. It centers on the doctrine of Zion which led to over 500 planned settlements in Missouri, Illinois, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Canada, and Mexico. This doctrine also led to a hierarchy of building types from temples and tabernacles to meetinghouses and tithing offices. Their built environment stands as a monument to a unique utopian society that not only survived but continues to flourish where others have become historical or cultural curiosities. Hamilton's account, augmented by 135 original and historical photographs, provides a fascinating example of how religious teachings and practices are expressed in planned communities and architecture types.

In 45 short essays aimed at a broad audience, the contributors to From the Ashes place the Branch Davidians in historical and comparative perspective with nontraditional religions, analyze the government's handling of the Waco confrontation, assess the media's coverage and public response, and provide an overview of responses from the academic and religious community. Although the contributors represent a wide variety of viewpoints, they are united in the belief that the 89 deaths could have been avoided and that the popular demonization of nontraditional religious movements in the aftermath of Waco represents a continuing threat to freedom of religion. Contributors include: Dick Anthony, Michael Barkun, James Beckford, Col. Charlie Beckwith, Eldridge Cleaver, Dean M. Kelly, Franklin H. Littell, and Thomas Robbins.

The Doukhobors emerged in Russia as a sect of dissident peasants separating themselves during the 18th century from the Orthodox Church. The first groups of Doukhobors arrived in Canada in 1899 seeking land and freedom from the control of any government. The intensity of the problem of Doukhobor adjustment to life in British Columbia led to the formation of the Doukhobor Research Committee upon whose final report this book is based.

Break free from spiritual bondsIf you've ever ended a relationship you knew wasnt Gods will for your life, but you can't seem to stop thinking about that person-If your behavior is being influenced in a negative way by people you come in contact with-If you're cursing yourself through forbidden statues, jewelry, and practices-It's time for you to break free from the ties on your soul!Dr. Gary Greenwald will explain how the transference of spirits and soul ties can create dominion over your life. Learn how to defeat the deceiving spirits that control many of the things you come in contact with every day.You can be delivered into a life ruled only by the holy spirit!

Although the demographics of World Christianity demonstrate a population shift to the Global South, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, the preponderance of biblical scholarship continues to be dominated by Western scholars in pursuit of their contextual questions that are influenced by an Enlightenment-oriented worldview. Unfortunately, nascent methodologies used to bridge this chasm often continue to marginalize indigenous voices. In contradistinction, Beth E. Elness-Hanson's research challenges biblical scholars to engage stronger methods for dialogue with global voices, as well as encourages Majority World scholars to share their perspectives with the West. Elness-Hanson's fundamental question is: How do we more fully understand the "generational curses" in the Pentateuch? The phrase, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation," appears four times in the Pentateuch: Exod 20:4-6; Exod 34:6-7; Num 14:18; and Deut 5:8-10. While generational curses remain prevalent within the Maasai worldview in East Africa, an Enlightenment-influenced worldview diminishes curses as a phenomenon. However, fuller understandings develop as we listen and learn from each other. This research develops a theoretical framework from Hans-Georg Gadamer's "fusion of horizons" and applies it through Ellen Herda's anthropological protocol of "participatory inquiry." The resulting dialogue with Maasai theologians in Tanzania, builds bridges of understanding across cultures. Elness-Hanson's intercultural analysis of American and Maasai interpretations of the Pentateuchal texts on the generational curses demonstrates that intercultural dialogues increase understandings, which otherwise are limited by one worldview.

Many Americans associate the House of David with its bearded barnstorming baseball teams of the 1920s and '30s. Others may recall the sex scandal associated with the group, a scandal that gave newspapers during the first years after World War I some added spice. Still, others may know it as a religious communal society founded in 1903, which has a few adherents today. What is this strange group and how can these diverse images be reconciled? In the first in-depth study of the House of David, originally published in 1981, Robert S. Fogarty places the sect in the Anglo-Israelite millennial tradition that goes back to seventeenth-century England, which produced prophets like the mystic Joanna Southcott and from which arose sects in England, Australia, and the United States. Their reading of the Book of Revelation promised the saving of a "righteous remnant" of humanity who would gather in one place to await the millennium. Evangelist Benjamin Purnell became the seventh prophet in the line of this tradition and, with his bigamous wife, Mary, established a community for its followers in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The House of David was a celibate communal society controlled by the Purnells, and it attracted members who exchanged their worldly goods for the security of salvation. At its height, the community had more than 700 members and prospered by running farms, a canning company, and an amusement park and hosting popular touring bands and the traveling baseball teams. But there were defectors, and from them emerged rumors of oppressive conditions, sexual misconduct on the part of the prophet himself, hastily arranged group marriages, and financial wrongdoing that led to a series of civil suits. The allegations drove Purnell into hiding, and the State of Michigan launched an elaborate trial against the colony. The Righteous Remnant is more than the story of the rise and fall of a religious community. By examining its religious roots, the staunch testimony of its members in the face of demonstrated charges, and the social relations within the colony itself, we can begin to understand the attraction that such "social contracts" can exert. The House of David is now a remnant itself, but other religious groups continue to grow and bind members to them in the same ways.

Since the early 1980s, approximately ten million people have turned to charismatic businessman-turned-preacher ""Brother Mike"" and his Catholic ""prosperity"" movement, El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Foundation International, Inc. Investing in Miracles offers an in-depth look at this unique indigenous movement, characterized by its effective use of mass media and its huge, emotion-filled outdoor rallies. The book investigates the sociocultural, political, and economic contexts of El Shaddai's popularity among the Filipino urban poor and aspiring middle classes and explores its significance for its followers, which reaches well beyond promises of appliances, salary raises, jobs abroad, and healing. Katharine Wiegele argues that Shaddai's theology directly engages and affirms desires for the material signs of modernity in ways that the mainstream Philippine Roman Catholic Church and Filipino leftist movements do not. At stake for its many adherents are their place and identity within the broader society; the meaning of their experiences of poverty, suffering, and oppression; and the relevance of their very notions of God, Christian community, and Christian life. Wiegele evocatively captures the religious and everyday experiences of her informants' lives in poor squatter neighborhoods of Manila. She is particularly sensitive to El Shaddai's delicate and often contorted relationship with the Catholic Church, which accepts the movement reluctantly, fearful of losing the loyalty of millions of faithful Catholics. While anchored in the local realities of the Philippines, Investing in Miracles will be of great interest to readers elsewhere for its exploration of religious seduction and interpretation, the interface between religion and politics, and the relevance of religion for the urban disenfranchised.

A rigorously researched and intimate account of one of the most provocative American new religious movements, and its charismatic leader Elizabeth Clare Prophet. Bradley Whitsel's vivid account of the Church Universal Triumphant (CUT), from its modest origin as a tiny fragment of the esoteric community to its growth into a wealthy and formidable organization in the 1960s and early 1970s, constitutes one of the most compelling stories to emerge from the larger movement of American religion. Founded in 1958 by the charismatic Mark Prophet--and subsequently headed by his wife, Elizabeth Clare Prophet--the Church combines New Age beliefs with an anti-Communist mindset based on the conviction that America was imperiled by left-wing enemies. In his deft examination of the group's evolution, Whitsel uses internal church documents as well as other resources to trace CUT's development of a dark apocalyptic vision. He places the Church Universal and Triumphant within the context of other millennial groups sharing a similar psychology of crisis and disaster, and analyze the church's interactions with its political environment. This book will appeal to general readers as well as political scientists and sociologists specializing in the fields of political sociology, millennialism, and radical religio-political movements.

The African Christian Roho religion, or Holy Spirit movement, is a charismatic and prophetic movement that arose in the Luo region of western Kenya. This movement has fascinated students of history and religion for more than sixty years, but surprisingly has not been extensively studied. This book fills that lacuna.
In Women of Fire and Spirit, Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton uses the extensive oral histories and life narratives of active participants in the faith, giving them full voice in constructing the history of their Church. In doing so, she counter-balances the existing historical literature, which draws heavily on colonial records. Hoehler-Fatton's sources call into question the paradigm of "schism" that has dominated the discussion of African independent Christianity. Faith, rather than schism or politics, emerges here as the hallmark of Roho religion.
Hoehler-Fatton's book is doubly unusual in foregrounding the role of women in the evolution and expansion of their Church. She traces the gradual transformation of women's involvement from the early years when--drawing on indigenous models of female spirit possession--women acted as soldiers, headed congregations, and served as pastors, to the present condition of Western-style institutionalization and exclusion for women. Despite this marginalization, women members continue to be inspired by the defiance of past heroines.

The African Christian Roho religion, or Holy Spirit movement, is a charismatic and prophetic movement that arose in the Luo region of western Kenya. This movement has fascinated students of history and religion for more than sixty years, but surprisingly has not been extensively studied. This book fills that lacuna.
In Women of Fire and Spirit, Cynthia Hoehler-Fatton uses the extensive oral histories and life narratives of active participants in the faith, giving them full voice in constructing the history of their Church. In doing so, she counter-balances the existing historical literature, which draws heavily on colonial records. Hoehler-Fatton's sources call into question the paradigm of "schism" that has dominated the discussion of African independent Christianity. Faith, rather than schism or politics, emerges here as the hallmark of Roho religion.
Hoehler-Fatton's book is doubly unusual in foregrounding the role of women in the evolution and expansion of their Church. She traces the gradual transformation of women's involvement from the early years when--drawing on indigenous models of female spirit possession--women acted as soldiers, headed congregations, and served as pastors, to the present condition of Western-style institutionalization and exclusion for women. Despite this marginalization, women members continue to be inspired by the defiance of past heroines.

We call ourselves the Fellowship, or sometimes the Church of God, but the world knew us as the Plymouth Brethren - Ken Follett These Mennonite colonies are self-policed, except in cases of murder. The bishop and the elders came up with a solution to the problem of how to punish the offenders: they would lock all nine men into sheds and basements for three or four decades - Miriam Toews Ivan Chistyakov: diary of a Gulag prison guard Sarah Gerard: going 'Diamond' with Amway Matilda Gustavsson: a false religious miracle Lauren Hough: growing up in the Family Aatish Taseer: with the Brahmins of Benares New fiction by Luke Kennard, Lara Vapnyar and Adam Thorpe Poetry: Will Alexander, Fen Sun Chen, Kelly Schirmann and Javier Zamora Plus, Emmanuel Carrere on photographer Darcy Padilla, and the relationship with her subject, Julie Baird Photography by Tomas van Houtryve and Francoise Huguier, introduced by Eliza Griswold and A.M. Homes

In Mormon Christianity Stephen H. Webb becomes the first respected non-Mormon theologian to explore in depth what traditional Christians can learn from the Latter-Day Saints. Richard Mouw's recent work, Talking with Mormons, focuses on making the case that Mormons are not a cult and that Christians should tolerate them. But even Mouw, sympathetic as he is, follows all other non-Mormon theologians in declining to accept Mormons as members of the Christian family. They are not a cult, Mouw writes, but rather a religion related to be set apart from traditional Christianity. Mormons themselves are adamant that they are Christian, and eloquent writers within their own faith have tried to make this case, but no theologian outside the LDS church has ever tried to demonstrate just how Christian they are. Webb writes neither as a critic nor a defender of Mormonism but as a sympathetic observer who is deeply committed to engaging with Mormon ideas. His book is unique in taking Mormon theology seriously and providing plausible and in some instances even persuasive alternatives to many traditional Christian doctrines. It can serve as an introduction to Mormonism, but it goes far beyond that. Webb shows that Mormons are indeed part of the Christian family tree, but that they are a branch that extends well beyond what most Christians have ever imagined. Rather than accusing Mormons of heresy, Webb shows how they are innovative. His account of their creative appropriation of the Christian tradition is meant to inspire more traditional Christians to reconsider the shape of many basic Christian beliefs. At the same time, he also holds up a friendly mirror to Mormons themselves as they become more public and prominent in American religious debates. Yet Webb's book is not all affirming and celebratory. It ends with a call to Mormons to be more focused on Christian essentials and an invitation to other Christians to be more imaginative in considering Mormon alternatives to traditional doctrines.

Since the early 1980s, approximately ten million people have turned to charismatic businessman-turned-preacher ""Brother Mike"" and his Catholic ""prosperity"" movement, El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Foundation International, Inc. Investing in Miracles offers an in-depth look at this unique indigenous movement, characterized by its effective use of mass media and its huge, emotion-filled outdoor rallies. The book investigates the sociocultural, political, and economic contexts of El Shaddai's popularity among the Filipino urban poor and aspiring middle classes and explores its significance for its followers, which reaches well beyond promises of appliances, salary raises, jobs abroad, and healing. Katharine Wiegele argues that Shaddai's theology directly engages and affirms desires for the material signs of modernity in ways that the mainstream Philippine Roman Catholic Church and Filipino leftist movements do not. At stake for its many adherents are their place and identity within the broader society; the meaning of their experiences of poverty, suffering, and oppression; and the relevance of their very notions of God, Christian community, and Christian life. Wiegele evocatively captures the religious and everyday experiences of her informants' lives in poor squatter neighborhoods of Manila. She is particularly sensitive to El Shaddai's delicate and often contorted relationship with the Catholic Church, which accepts the movement reluctantly, fearful of losing the loyalty of millions of faithful Catholics. While anchored in the local realities of the Philippines, Investing in Miracles will be of great interest to readers elsewhere for its exploration of religious seduction and interpretation, the interface between religion and politics, and the relevance of religion for the urban disenfranchised.

The process of 'debranding' God s to remove all the labels and fads that prompt us to understand him as a supplier and ourselves as the most demanding of clients. Changing our perception of God also changes our perception of ourselves. He calls us his Am Segulah his special people.

Being special means:

-Believing that all of God's instruction allows us to penetrate the borders of the impossible

-Learning to value ourselves as a work of art signed by God

-Wanting to change by becoming attached to promises rather than problems

In knowing who we are in relationship to God, we discover his, and our, true essence.

You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength

and You are to love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:37-39

To truly love as God loves is to see the wonder and richness of the distinct differences in all of creation and his natural order of interdependence. This is the way to mutual blessing and the discovery of the ultimate destiny of creation. Learn how to become enriched and blessed as you enrich and bless others and all that is around you