As soon as man becomes conscious of his existence, as soon as he was able to reason, he was bound to ask himself the questions: "From whence did I come? And "Whither do I go?" It was very natural that he should wonder how he came to be here on earth and what would become of him after death. He saw his fellow man fall asleep, never to awaken. He saw others killed, life extinguished. It was his efforts to solve these problems that caused primitive man to create beliefs in life after death and in the power of super-human beings. When we look back over the experiences of the race, the history of mankind, we find that man has found three different ways of explaining his activities. In other words, there have been but three conceptions of history, three basic explanations by man of his doings on this planet. It is true that more than three names have been given to these conceptions of history, but they will all fall within the following: First, in order of time, is the Theological Conception of History; Second, is the Idealist Conception of History, and, third, is the Materialist Conception of History.

Writers know how a book can take on a new direction, a life of its own as s/he gets deeply into it. GODLESS has done this many times since I began it in 1987. I explain some of these changes within, but I want to share where I am in my atheism. Cynthia Sue Larson and Patricia Zerman "got it' when they read the book. I am no longer defensive about atheism as I realized how deeply rooted it is in my emotional life and my limbic brain. I no longer have to be offensive about it and my responses to attacks on the radio resulted in me being identified as "atheist lite." I don't think they meant I was a lightweight thinker (some may disagree), but that I was refreshingly honest, funny, and fair. Further, I didn't attack others' religious beliefs, but only explained why I felt my beliefs were based on many powerful emotional experiences and then later came my intellectual defenses or (to me) logical, rational explanations of my beliefs. I have observed that this is what everyone does. We are not basically logical, rational beings, but are ruled more by what we "feel" in our bodies. From childish arguments that sound like this - "You're stupid " - "No, You're stupid" - which continues with no additional changes until one gives up - to arguments between loved ones and the devastating "discussions" between representatives of nations or political or religious leaders that are emotionally based so NO compromises are possible. I love my wife, children, and grandchildren more than anyone or anything. Yet, they are all believers in God and some religion. At times, it has left me somewhat lonely as I have tread lightly on what I felt were the fallacies in their thinking and beliefs. I knew their beliefs were based on their need for some security, some protection from life's uncertainties, its unavoidable pains and lack of justice. What kind of husband and father would I be if I tried to take what religion was giving them and replace it with GOD lessness? I finally found what I now believe is a compromise that they and I can live with. This, the latest incarnation of this book, is an explanation of why, one atheist, emotionally believes what he does. Instead of attacking religion and religious believers like most of the recent popular atheist writers have done (and I respect and applaud them as they have awakened the world to another way of looking at reality) I have tried to take you on a journey through my mind and my emotional experiences. My book GOD-INTOXICATED: Becoming Paranoid (2007) much more deeply delves into my specific experiences and you can take whatever I offer - or not. My hope (faith) is that it will help you become a person that can live life that meets all your needs to become the most honest, less fearful, and completely human being that can allow, even encourage all others to live their lives as freely and fearlessly.I wrote in CAREGIVING: The ANSWERS ARE...(2012) that LOVE is the ultimate answer. The same is true for a life worth living. I think you'll be surprised that an atheist can help you live a loving, purposeful life. Read how Thinking the UNthinkable is seeing endless possibilities based on MUTUAL RESPECT and openness to others' experience of OUR world.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1878 Edition.

It is the objective of every functional, ministry-oriented church, to have leaders in place who are ready, willing, and able to direct new Christians and new members into ministry. That is always a beautiful thing, yet, there are many issues to be considered. Far too often, church leaders put people in ministry positions when: people are not certain where they should be working in ministry; people are still healing from emotional injury in their past which would affect their service in the position; people have not developed the proper attitude or temperament for the position; people are not willing to make the necessary sacrifice to be effective in the ministry position; people do not have the necessary experience for the particular ministry position; people do not want to be in the position. The results of a poor ministry placement is that, over time, church leaders become frustrated, the church worker becomes frustrated and church members receiving the ministry services become frustrated. As a result, the work does not get accomplished with maximum effectiveness, and the entire experience leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. As church leaders, we are certain to increase the chances of making a successful ministry placement by putting the right person, with the right skills set and temperament, in the right place, at the right time. "So You Want To Be A Mentor...Here's What You Should Be Asking Yourself" is the title of Chapter Four in this book. In this chapter, I've attempted to bring clarity to the essential role of mentoring. In this chapter I share, "No one arrives at the place they are in life without the influence of someone else, especially if they are blessed with success." That principle is true with positive or negative influences. Note the powerful principle in the final point of this chapter, "Be Sympathetic to the Growing Process" 10). Be Sympathetic to the Growing Process - Your protege will drop the ball and make mistakes. You can co"

Have you ever searched for a scripture when you, or someone you knew, were in need of healing, protection, or financial provision? For over seventeen years, Jacqueline Mortenson volunteered at a scriptural prayer line at her church. She received daily telephone calls and prayer requests from parishioners and others who knew about the line, and she or one of the core group would find the right scripture to meet each request. The following morning, forty-plus prayer line members would pray these scriptures for the people who had called for them. Realizing that a simple handbook of scriptures for specific needs, particularly for Catholics, would be useful, Jacqueline spent the next few years gathering and categorizing scriptures to address particular concerns. Using the Sword of the Spirit is the result of this work. Whatever your own needs might be, God's Word has the answer-and this little book will help you find it

This book (hardcover) is part of the TREDITION CLASSICS. It contains classical literature works from over two thousand years. Most of these titles have been out of print and off the bookstore shelves for decades. The book series is intended to preserve the cultural legacy and to promote the timeless works of classical literature. Readers of a TREDITION CLASSICS book support the mission to save many of the amazing works of world literature from oblivion. With this series, tredition intends to make thousands of international literature classics available in printed format again - worldwide.

Faunalia is a controversial Pagan festival with a reputation for being wild and emotionally intense. It lasts five days, 80 people attend, and the two main rituals run most of the night. In the tantalisingly erotic Baphomet rite, participants encounter a hermaphroditic deity, enter a state of trance and dance naked around a bonfire. In the Underworld rite participants role play their own death, confronting grief and suffering. These rituals are understood as "shadow work" - a Jungian term that refers to practices that creatively engage repressed or hidden aspects of the self. Sex, Death and Witchcraft is a powerful application of relational theory to the study of religion and contemporary culture. It analyses Faunalia's rituals in terms of recent innovations in the sociology of religion and religious studies that focus on relational etiquette, lived religion, embodiment and performance. The sensuous and emotionally intense ritual performances at Faunalia transform both moral orientations and self-understandings. Participants develop an ethical practice that is individualistic, but also relational, and aesthetically mediated. Extensive extracts from interviews describe the rituals in participants' own words. The book combines rich and evocative description of the rituals with careful analysis of the social processes that shape people's experiences at this controversial Pagan festival.

"God Seeks Us" Is a book written by God to get the attention of the 200 million people in the U.S who do not attend Synagogue, Church, Mosque or whatever. God reintroduces Himself and gently urges the reader to turn back to God and their own religion. This is an interfaith book and does not call for conversion to a new religion. There is a DVD cantaining three films about God that complements this book. Rabbi Steven Pinsky says this book is a genuine guide for Jews, Christians, Muslims and others who want to find their individual ways back to a meaningful and fulfilling spiritual path. Rev.James B. Cook, Episcopal Chruch Rector, says "this book is for anyone who has kind of given up on God and is a perfect guide for individual or group study." Imam Yahya Hendi, PHD calls the book "amazing, because of its many thought provoking ideas and passages." There is a special section for "Corporations, Business and Local Governments" which shows how these oganizations can gain financially. They would help God reach out to 60 percent of their employees who do not attend Synagogue, Church, Mosque or wherever. The reader is encouraged to view www.trygod2.com, for more information.

The book is designed to assist the believer with removing excuses out of their lives so they can continue to progress. It is essential for every person to understand that they can live life to the fullest without relying on excuses. Every person on the planet faces issues and struggles. It is important to remove the excuses in order to break the grips of the problem.

Living Theurgy is a masterpiece combining scholarly excellence with lucid practicality. Theurgy ('god-working') is a combination of ritual mystical practices interwoven with philosophy and theology. It was developed by Iamblichus and other Neoplatonists inspired by the works of philosophers including Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras, and Julian the Chaldean. Author and scholar Jeffrey Kupperman elucidates and makes accessible the core ideologies and practices of Theurgy, which evolved through more than 1000 years of Platonic philosophy and cultural transformations. Kupperman guides the reader through the contemplative and theurgical practices used by the Neoplatonists to create effective spiritual transformation in the practitioner. Philosophia (Philosophy) as the foundation of Theurgy is explored through techniques such as lectio divina ('divine reading') contemplation and visualisation. It focuses on discussion of key concepts including virtue, wisdom, bravery, temperance, justice, evil, political philosophy, beauty and love. Theologia (Theology) considers the One, also known as the Good, which is the source of all, through the spectrum of monotheism, polytheism and panentheism. It also explores different views regarding the nature and functions of the Demiurge, angels and daimons, and the human soul, and the practices of Theurgy, including the use of hymns and prayers. Theourgia (Theurgy) focuses on the practices, from purification and the use of signs, symbols and tokens to talismancy and the ensouling of eikons (divine images). The work concludes with a complete guide to the Invocation of the Personal Daimon, an essential step in the theurgic process of purification and illumination in seeking the Divine. Living Theurgy is a literary psychopomp for practitioners seeking effective methods of developing their knowledge and relationship with the divine through Neoplatonic praxis. It is essential reading for all those interested in traditional forms of magical, philosophical, and religious practice, and the history of the western mysteries. "Philosophy is purifying, religion illuminating, but theurgy is uplifting." Introduction, Jeffrey Kupperman

If you've considered leaving your religion, you are not alone. Each year over two million adults in the United States decide to no longer identify themselves with a specific religion. In 2012, according to the annual Pew Forum American Religious Identity Survey, over 45 million (20%) of the adults in the United States no longer claimed a religious tradition. For a variety of reasons, many are discovering religion doesn't work for them any longer. Unfortunately, for those becoming post-religious, there is very little being written by them or for them. In this book, James Mulholland - a former Christian minister and author of several best-selling religious books - offers practical advice to those struggling to make the shift from a religious to a non-religious life. Regardless of your religious background, there are common challenges in this transition. Understanding your losses, obstacles and opportunities can ease your pain and speed your development as a post-religious person. Leaving Your Religion guides those leaving a religious tradition through the process of leaving home, walking away and moving forward. When you think about your religious life or your understanding of God, if you struggle with persistent doubts, growing discomfort and feelings of sadness or anger, Leaving Your Religion may be for you. If you're already journeying away from religion, it may be a helpful travel guide. The book provides direction for those on the cusp of leaving, those who've walked away and those who - though they've left their religion - still struggle with sadness or anger. There are questionnaires, reflection questions, exercises, quotes and advice for the journey away from religion. Leaving Your Religion offers a gentle word of encouragement and hope for those seeking to create a non-religious life.

This book aims to help poor downtrodden atheists and agnostics understand, if not appreciate, religion. Explains why it's got such a grip on us all, and what you can do about it From creation to civilisation: the longest story ever told. It's all here- including the funny bits, because what could be funnier than religion?

This work, "Christianity and Black Oppression: Duppy Know Who Fe Frighten" asks: How is it that blacks have been Christianized for more than four hundred years, and in some cases more than five hundred years, and yet blacks are stereotyped as morally and mentally inferior? At the very first encounter between Europeans and Africans, Africans were perceived as "pagan," "heathen," and "devil worshippers." The tool that would transform Africans, it was postulated, would be the Christian religion. In spite of over four centuries of Christianity, the perception of blacks as morally and mentally inferior has not changed. Blacks, it would appear, carry a stigma that is genetic and can be transmitted. "Christianity and Black Oppression: Duppy Know Who Fe Frighten" also addresses the issue as to why there has not been a radical change in the perception of blacks in spite of centuries of blacks' investment of an inordinate amount of time, energy and money in the Christian religion. Green argues that Blacks were forced to surrender their African world view and adopt a European Christian world view. Black history and culture are marginalized, and at times demonized, within Christianity, and this is transferred to other areas of the lives of blacks. Indeed in this work, a comparison is made between the Dalits of India who are ostracized within the Hindu religion and blacks who share the commonality of oppression that is based on a stigma that is supposedly genetic and therefore can be transmitted. In the light of the fact that Christianity is considered to be an egalitarian religion with a God who is benevolent and who intervenes in peoples' lives, and the reality of black oppression, the question then arises as to whether blacks are subjected to "divine racism."

Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins give voice to the aspirations of hundreds of millions of atheists and secular humanists around the world. The duo are the most influential activists for a generation, energizing secular humanists and non-believers through their landmark and best selling books The God Delusion (2006) by Dawkins and Hitchens God is Not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything (2007). Promoting rational principles and common sense logic, Hitchens and Dawkins argue for the advancement of reason, science and secularism over blind obedience to religious dogma and worn out, stagnant mythologies. In Religion Free, Keith Howard assembles an anthology of the two intellectuals very finest thoughts selected from their essays, debates, lectures, and media interviews, supplemented with correlated news stories and excerpts from other prominent atheists and activists. The result is a comprehensive collection of the most compelling opinions and ideas of the modern day humanist and religion free communities.