Based on personal knowledge and intimate interviews with his subject, as well as access to W.J. Stein's archive of letters and documents, Tautz's biography is a thoroughly-researched and lovingly-detailed study of an exceptional life. Walter Johannes Stein (1891-1957) was one of the original pioneers of anthroposophy. A student of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, Stein met his spiritual teacher whilst studying at Vienna University. After serving in the First World War, Stein was invited by Rudolf Steiner to teach History and Literature at the fledgling Waldorf school in Stuttgart, despite the fact that Stein's doctorate was in Philosophy and his training in Mathematics and Physics. Through his efforts to master the new disciplines, and with the aid of unconventional methods of research, Stein developed groundbreaking new insights into the story of Parzival and the mystery of the Holy Grail, which led to his seminal book The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail. Tautz describes Stein's close friendship with Eugen Kolisko, his struggles to help establish the threefold social order, his work as a Goetheanum lecturer, and his eventual estrangement from the Anthroposophical Society following Rudolf Steiner's death. After journeys of discovery across Europe, Stein landed in London in 1933 - a refugee from the Nazi aggression in Central Europe - where he met his mentor D.N. Dunlop. Dunlop employed him to help establish the first World Power Conference. Based in England for the last 24 years of his life, Stein became a prolific and popular lecturer and the editor of the important anthroposophical journal The Present Age. Long out-of-print, the new edition of this important work is a welcome addition to the growing number of biographies on the founders of anthroposophy.

Uno de los filosofos mas influyentes durante el periodo de la Ilustracion y un fundador de ateismo moderno. Edicion, prologo, epilogo y notas del celebre critico literario Juan Bautista Bergua. Paul Henri Thiry, nacido como Paul Heinrich Dietrich von Holbach (1723-1789), Baron de Holbach, fue un filosofo frances de origen aleman que abogo por el ateismo y el materialismo. Apasionado de la libertad, creia que la religion es una consecuencia de la ignorancia explotada por el despotismo y que las doctrinas religiosas son instrumentos del absolutismo. Fue colaborador de la Encyclopedie, lo cual le puso en condiciones de poder juzgar las teorias expuestas en los sagrados libros. Su Christianisme Devoile (1767) es una de las mas violentas requisitorias que jamas se han hecho contra la religion cristiana y la religion en general. Publico, pero de forma anonima y bajo seudonimo por temor a represalias, Esprit du Clerge, La Contagion Sacree, Bon Sens y Le Systeme de la Nature, incluida en el indice de libros prohibidos. Vio las instituciones del cristianismo como un obstaculo para la mejora de la sociedad. El fundamento de la moral no deberia ser buscado en las Escrituras, sino en la felicidad. Moises, Jesus y Mahoma son "tres impostores" segun Holbach, declaraciones arriesgadas durante este periodo de la Ilustracion anterior a la Revolucion francesa.

Un estudio de ateismo tolerante por el Conde de Volney. Edicion, prologo y notas por el celebre critico literario Juan Bautista Bergua. Constantin-Francois Chasseb uf de La Giraudais (1757-1820), conde de Volney, conocido simplemente como Volney, fue un filosofo, politico frances y uno de los mas ilustres sabios y escritores franceses del siglo XVIII. Es autor de Viaje por Egipto y Siria (1788) y Meditaciones Sobre Las Revoluciones de los Imperios (1791), tambien conocido como Las Ruinas de Palmira, su obra mas famosa y notoria de su tiempo en la que proclama un ateismo tolerante, la libertad y la igualdad. Las Ruinas de Palmira fue traducido a numerosos idiomas tanto que el Vaticano la incluyo en el Indice de Libros prohibidos en 1846. La obra ponia en un mismo plano a la religion catolica y a las demas religiones, sirviendo de escenario las ruinas del poderoso imperio de Palmira, cuyos dioses tuvieron tanto poder...pero cayeron. Un oasis de palmeras en el desierto sirio, Palmira fue un simbolo de la fugacidad del poder y la riqueza de la reina Zenobia, hasta su destruccion por el emperador romano Aureliano en el ano 272. En las palabras de Volney: " Ah Como esta eclipsada tanta gloria ... Como perecen las obras de los hombres ... Asi los imperios y las naciones desaparecen ."

Das gro e Tier 666," Aleister Crowley, ist heute, wie zu seinen Lebzeiten, immer noch die schillerndste Figur innerhalb des Okkultismus. Seine exzentrische Pers nlichkeit, bizarre Rituale und starker Drogenkonsum bilden die Grundlage f r eine abenteuerliche Legendenbildung um einen der kreativsten und intelligentesten Protagonisten der okkultistischen Subkultur des 20. Jahrhunderts. Allerdings hat diese Entwicklung dazu gef hrt, da Crowley au erhalb von esoterischen Zirkeln kaum bekannt ist oder aber durch Unkenntnis seiner tats chlichen Lehre einer oftmals sehr verzerrten Darstellung unterliegt. Die vorliegende religionswissenschaftliche Studie liefert erstmals eine grundlegende Systematik sowohl der Doktrin als auch der Methodik des letzten gro en Magiers" und versucht dem Leser die oftmals komplexe spirituelle Lehre des selbsternannten Antichristen" zu erl utern. Gest tzt auf ausgiebige Zitate aus dem umfangreichen literarischen Werk Crowleys, werden die Kernelemente seines wissenschaftlichen Erleuchtungsweges" sorgf ltig herausgearbeitet und jenseits konfessioneller Stigmatisierung einer objektiven Beurteilung zug nglich gemacht.

Rudolf Steiner's beautiful meditative verses for the yearly cycle have been used by countless people over the years. Their purpose is to awaken a feeling of unity with nature, and at the same time to stimulate a discovery of self. In listening to the changing language of the year and awakening a profound sympathy for it, we can in turn discover our own individual nature. Steiner's original and unique meditations facilitate this process, leading to a healthy feeling of being at one with the natural world. This edition features Anne Stockton's 52 celebrated and evocative paintings, which are a wonderful complement to Steiner's text. Steiner's words are newly translated for this edition by John Thomson.

Although Western humanity has conquered the outer world with the aid of technology and science, death remains an unsolved and largely unexplored mystery. Rudolf Steiner, as an exceptional seer, was able to research spiritually the question of what happens to human consciousness after the physical body passes away. In these remarkably matter-of-fact lectures, he affirms that life continues beyond death. Far from being dissipated, the individual's consciousness awakens to a new reality, beginning a great journey to the farthest expanses of the cosmos. One's consciousness embarks on a journey and process of purification and preparation. Steiner indicates that one of the most important tasks for our present civilization is to reestablish living connections with those who have died. He gives suggestions as to how this can be done safely and describes how the dead can be of help to those on Earth. Life Beyond Death is an ideal introduction to the spiritual scientific views of our continuing journey.

Born in Holland in 1893, Zeylmans van Emmichoven was one of the original pioneers of anthroposophy, the science of spirit established by Rudolf Steiner. As General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in the Netherlands, he worked closely with Steiner. A medical doctor and founder of the Rudolf Steiner Clinic in Scheveningen, he also conducted important research into the influence of colours, the psychology of peoples and nations, and individual human psychology. Emanuel Zeylmans' biography of his father draws on some beautifully written and moving autobiographical extracts as well as numerous other first-hand source materials. He traces Zeylmans' remarkable life from his upbringing in Holland and his first contact with Rudolf Steiner to his later attendance at the momentous Christmas Foundation Meeting and his many travels around the world to further anthroposophy. He examines the spiritual conflicts in which Zeylmans became embroiled, his life during the war years, and his innovative work in many fields. The author also catalogues Zeylmans' written works, and gives a full chronology of his life. Willem Zeylmans van Emmichoven is a compelling documentation of a leading figure connected with Rudolf Steiner. It brings to life the context of his biography - an exciting and yet difficult time in the development of new spiritual ideas - and the vibrant individuals around him. Zeylmans is portrayed as a warm, dynamic and fascinating individual, with enormous interest in people from widely differing cultures and backgrounds. A real 'world citizen', he recognized that every nation has its own particular task and importance.

"Anthroposophy can become fruitful in the world when a community of people is actively working with the Foundation Stone Meditation. When Zeylmans van Emmichoven revived this Meditation around the whole world, a process began though which the Anthroposophical Society itself, which has been through many conflicts and battles, could be healed again" (Joop van Dam). During the Christmas Conference of 1923-24 when the Anthroposophical Society was refounded, Rudolf Steiner presented to its members for the first time the Foundation Stone Meditation. On consecutive days during that week, Steiner showed how elements of the Meditation could be rebuilt into new meditations (sometimes referred to as "rhythms"), which could be inwardly practiced. Zeylmans van Emmichoven was present at that formative meeting and lived intensively with these "rhythms" for more than thirty years. Initially in the Netherlands, and later during his many journeys around the world, Zeylmans began to make people aware of the germinating forces contained within the Meditation. This volume remains a seminal book that has inspired generations of students of Anthroposophy. C O N T E N T S Translator's Note The Foundation Stone Meditation (Jan. 13, 1924) Introduction The 1913 Foundation Stone The Goetheanum as Revelation of the Cosmic World The Fire The Laying of the Foundation Stone, 1923 From the Philosophers' Stone to the Stone of Love The Seven Rhythms The Lord's Prayer Concerning the Nature of the Foundation Stone Man and Humanity The Pentagram and the Sun of Christ The New Isis The Foundation Stone Meditation (Jan. 1, 1924)

This collection of essays explores the rhetoric and practices surrounding views on life after death and the end of the world, including the fate of the individual, apocalyptic speculation and hope for cosmological renewal, in a wide range of societies from Ancient Mesopotamia to the Byzantine era. The 42 essays by leading scholars in each field explore the rich spectrum of ways in which eschatological understanding can be expressed, and for which purposes it can be used. Readers will gain new insight into the historical contexts, details, functions and impact of eschatological ideas and imagery in ancient texts and material culture from the twenty-fifth century BCE to the ninth century CE. Traditionally, the study of "eschatology" (and related concepts) has been pursued mainly by scholars of Jewish and Christian scripture. By broadening the disciplinary scope but remaining within the clearly defined geographical milieu of the Mediterranean, this volume enables its readers to note comparisons and contrasts, as well as exchanges of thought and transmission of eschatological ideas across Antiquity. Cross-referencing, high quality illustrations and extensive indexing contribute to a rich resource on a topic of contemporary interest and relevance. Eschatology in Antiquity is aimed at readers from a wide range of academic disciplines, as well as non-specialists including seminary students and religious leaders. The primary audience will comprise researchers in relevant fields including Biblical Studies, Classics and Ancient History, Ancient Philosophy, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Art History, Late Antiquity, Byzantine Studies and Cultural Studies. Care has been taken to ensure that the essays are accessible to undergraduates and those without specialist knowledge of particular subject areas.

'Barfield towers above us all... the wisest and best of my unofficial teachers.' - C.S. Lewis --- 'We are well supplied with interesting writers, but Owen Barfield is not content to be merely interesting. His ambition is to set us free from the prison we have made for ourselves by our ways of knowing, our limited and false habits of thought, our "common sense".' - Saul Bellow --- Owen Barfield - philosopher, author, poet and critic - was a founding member of the Inklings, the private Oxford society that included the leading literary figures C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams. C.S. Lewis, who was greatly affected by Barfield during their long friendship, wrote of their many heated debates: 'I think he changed me a good deal more than I him.' Simon Blaxland-de Lange's biography - the first on Owen Barfield to be published - was written with the active cooperation of Barfield himself who, before his death in 1997, gave numerous interviews to the author and shared a large quantity of his papers and manuscripts. The fruit of this collaboration is a book that penetrates deeply into the life and thought of one of the most important figures of the twentieth century. It studies the influences on Barfield by the Romantic poet Coleridge and the philosopher Rudolf Steiner (founder of anthroposophy), and elaborates on Barfield's profound personal connection with C.S. Lewis. The book also features a biographical sketch in his own words (based on personally conducted interviews), and describes Barfield's strong relationship with North America and his dual profession as a lawyer and writer. This updated edition features vital new material including Barfield's own 'Psychography' from 1948 and an illustrative plate section.

Food, Festival and Religion explores how communities in northern Italy find a restorative sense of place through foodways, costuming and other forms of materiality. Festivals examined by the author vary geographically from the northern rural corners of Italy to the fashionable heart of urban Milan. The origins of these lived religious events range from Christian to vernacular Italian witchcraft and contemporary Paganism, which is rapidly growing in Italy. Francesca Ciancimino Howell demonstrates that during ritualized occasions the sacred is located within the mundane. She argues that communal feasting, pilgrimage, rituals and costumed events can represent forms of lived religious materiality. Building on the work of scholars including Foucault, Grimes and Ingold, Howell offers a theoretical "Scale of Engagement" which further tests the interfaces between and among the materialities of place, food, ritual and festivals and provides a widely-applicable model for analyzing grassroots events and community initiatives. Through extensive ethnographic research and fieldwork data, this book demonstrates that popular Italian festivals can be ritualized, liminal spaces, contributing greatly to the fields of religious, performance and ritual studies.

Religion and religious diversity now occupy a central place in several prominent debates in contemporary political theory, such as those concerning the meaning(s) and relevance of secularism, the place of religious reasons in political deliberation, and whether religious beliefs and practices deserve special treatment by laws and public institutions. That religion has once again become a divisive topic amongst political theorists is perhaps surprising, given the widespread consensus about such staples of liberal political morality as the separation of church and state and the principle of religious freedom. Featuring the work of both established and up-and-coming scholars, this collection will take stock of the recent turn towards religion in political theory, identify some of the major unresolved challenges and issues, and suggest new avenues for theoretical inquiry. Taken as a whole, the collection showcases some cutting-edge work by leading scholars of religion and political theory and demonstrates the vitality of religion and political theory as a research agenda.

In this controversial New York Times bestseller, Vincent Bugliosi, the fearless attorney who prosecuted Charles Manson, turns his critical eye on both religious believers and the atheists, indicting both camps for the intellectual shortcuts each takes to arrive at their conclusions. He argues lucidly and persuasively why agnosticism-and a healthy skepticism toward certainty of all kinds-is the most responsible position to take with regard to the existence of God. Divinity of Doubt sets a new course amid the explosion of bestselling books on religion, urging us to recognize the limits of what we know, and what we cannot know, about the ineffable mysteries of existence.

2008 Christian Bookseller's Covention Book of the Year Award winner World-renowned scientist Richard Dawkins writes in The God Delusion: "If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down." The volume has received wide coverage, fueled much passionate debate and caused not a little confusion. Alister McGrath, along with his wife, Joanna, are ideal to evaluate Dawkins's ideas. Once an atheist himself, he gained a doctorate in molecular biophysics before going on to become a leading Christian theologian. He wonders how two people, who have reflected at length on substantially the same world, could possibly have come to such different conclusions about God. McGrath subjects Dawkins's critique of faith to rigorous scrutiny. His exhilarating, meticulously argued response deals with questions such as Is faith intellectual nonsense? Are science and religion locked in a battle to the death? Can the roots of Christianity be explained away scientifically? Is Christianity simply a force for evil? This book will be warmly received by those looking for a reliable assessment ofThe God Delusion and the many questions it raises--including, above all, the relevance of faith and the quest for meaning.

The perfect antidote to the fiery rhetoric that dominates our current national debate over religion, "The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality" is the ideal companion to such bestsellers as "The God Delusion" and "God Is Not Great." I n this inspiring book, bestselling author and philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville offers a new perspective on the question of God's existence, acknowledging the good that has come of religion while advocating tolerance from both believers and non-believers. Through clear, concise, and often humorous prose, Comte-Sponville offers a convincing appeal for a new form of spiritual life?one that at its heart celebrates the human need to connect to one another and the universe.

How did an African-American man born in a ghetto in 1879 rise to such religious prominence that his followers addressed letters to him simply "God, Harlem U.S.A."?
Using hitherto unknown materials, Jill Watts portrays the life and career of one of the twentieth century's most intriguing religious leaders, Father Divine. Starting as an itinerant preacher, Father Divine built an unprecedented movement that by the 1930s had attracted followers across the nation and around the world. As his ministry grew, so did the controversy surrounding his enormous wealth, flamboyant style, and committed "angels"--black and white, rich and poor alike.
Here for the first time a full account of Father Divine's childhood and early years challenges previous contentions that he was born into a sharecropping family in the deep South. While earlier biographers have concentrated on Father Divine's social and economic programs, Watts focuses on his theology, which gives new meaning to secular activities that often appeared contradictory. Although much has been written about Father Divine, "God, Harlem U.S.A." finally provides a balanced and intimate account of his life's work.

Focusing on the contemporary experience of cultural and religious pluralism, the authors in this volume work toward a reconception of the basic concepts in philosophy of religion—the idea of God and the religious ways of knowing that idea—as historically dynamic. Eliot Deutsch argues that aesthetic and religious considerations are not peripheral to philosophy but are at the heart of the philosophic enterprise. Cornel West shows how recent developments in American philosophy, particularly in the work of Quine, Goodman, and Sellars, have opened up the possibility of a historicist philosophy of religion. After reviewing some of the fundamental defenses for belief in God in his neoclassical theism, Charles Hartshorne elaborates the argument from order and the argument from the rational aim. J.N. Findlay insists that the philosophy of religion is itself part of religious knowing, and so, that there can be no radical distinction between philosophic method and personal religious belief. Ninian Smart proposes a “soft epistemology” in dealing with religious matters. Anthony Flew and Kai Nielsen represent longstanding criticism of the philosophy of religion. Naomi R. Goldenberg looks for a salvific religious message in psychoanalysis and feminism. Gordon D. Kaufman’s “Reconceiving God for a Nuclear Age” criticizes traditional conceptions of God from within the Christian tradition. In a study of meaninglessness in the modern world, Wolfhart Pannenberg argues that religious consciousness deals explicitly with the totality of meaning implicit in all everyday experience. Langdon Gilkey considers the creationist controversy as it was argued in the Arkansas courts in 1981. Leroy S. Rouner examines the significance of Tillich’s doctrine of the Fall as a contribution to interreligious understanding. Jurgen Moltmann finds in Ernst Bloch’s atheism a particular challenge to Jewish and Christian theology.

Will homemaking ever again be seen as an important role in modern society? Can it become a real career? In recent years the role of homemaking has been somewhat derided and diminished in relation to careers outside the home. Furthermore, women are urged to return to the workplace as quickly as possible following childbirth. Homemaking is not generally viewed as real work, while daycare centers and childcare workers fill the gap. The author maintains that the old understanding of the homemaking role needs to be reenlivened with spiritual knowledge. We can, for example, begin to work with the suprasensory aspects of the household, the etheric and astral qualities there, as well as the various spiritual beings that are connected with the home. This book provides a generous helping of advice and ideas to help all those whose destiny is to develop a career that involves caring for home and family. It offers recognition of the dignity and importance of creating an environment that protects and nurtures children, preparing them for the larger world. C O N T E N T S 1. A New Vocation: Homemaker Individuality and Role Expectations Strength and Insight The New Mysteries 2. The Life-organism of the Household Aspects of the Household Etheric Body Astral Body Spirituality Matter Living in the Home 3. Seed of the New Mystery Society Forming the Household Individuality Rhythm Cultural Life The Path of Development of the Homemaker Sacramentalism 4 Questions