Peter B. Clarke's in-depth account explores the innovative character of new religious movements and new forms of spirituality from a global vantage point. Ranging from North America and Europe to Japan, Latin America, South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, it is the perfect introduction to NRMs such as Falun Gong, Aum Shirikyo, the Brahma Kumaris, the Ikhwan or Muslim Brotherhood, Sufism, the Engaged Buddhist and Engaged Hindi movements, Messianic Judaism and Rastafarianism. Charting the cultural significance and global impact of NRMs, he discusses the ways in which various religious traditions are shaping, rather than displacing, each other's understanding of notions such as transcendence and faith, good and evil, of the meaning, purpose and function of religion, and of religious belonging. He then examines the responses of governments, churches, the media and general public to new religious movements, as well as the reaction to older, increasingly influential religions, such as Buddhism and Islam, in new geographical and cultural contexts. Taking into account the degree of continuity between old and new religions, each chapter contains not only an account of the rise of the NRMs and new forms of spirituality in a particular region, but also an overview of change in the regions' mainstream religions.

The Witchcraft Reader offers a wide range of historical perspectives on the subject of witchcraft in a single, accessible volume, exploring the enduring hold that it has on human imagination. The witch trials of the late Middle Ages and the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries have inspired a huge and expanding scholarly literature, as well as an outpouring of popular representations. This fully revised and enlarged third edition brings together many of the best and most important works in the field. It explores the origins of witchcraft prosecutions in learned and popular culture, fears of an imaginary witch cult, the role of religious division and ideas about the Devil, the gendering of suspects, the making of confessions and the decline of witch beliefs. An expanded final section explores the various "revivals" and images of witchcraft that continue to flourish in contemporary Western culture. Equipped with an extensive introduction that foregrounds significant debates and themes in the study of witchcraft, providing the extracts with a critical context, The Witchcraft Reader is essential reading for anyone with an interest in this fascinating subject.

In the popular imagination, the Holy Grail - part of the legendary romance of King Arthur - belongs to the realm of myth. The Knights Templar also have a legendary, enigmatic aspect. Despite the immense volume of historical research available, plausible explanations to the 'mystery' at the core of their practices have yet to be revealed. By studying these two themes side-by-side and showing their inner relationship, Veltman reveals valuable new perspectives. On the one hand he demonstrates that the 'poetic imagination' of the Grail mystery has its origin in concrete historical events; and on the other hand, that the true history of the Knights Templar is, essentially, esoteric. Combining historical research with insights gained from the work of Rudolf Steiner, Veltman presents an impressive survey of the subject, beginning with the pre-Christian Mysteries and ending with a vision of Michaelic Christianity. He analyses the significance of the holy city of Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon, the Temple Legend, the Grail Temple, the Rosicrucians, the Templars' gold, and the fraught question of evil. In addition, he sketches the continuation or metamorphosis of the Grail and Temple impulses into the future, including the critical 'balancing' role of Europe between East and West. To become effective, this important European task - which, he says, is continually being thwarted - must be properly understood within the realm of human consciousness.

This book examines the shifting moral and spiritual lives of white Afrikaners in South Africa after apartheid. The end of South Africa's apartheid system of racial and spatial segregation sparked wide-reaching social change as social, cultural, spatial and racial boundaries were transgressed and transformed. This book investigates how Afrikaners have mediated the country's shifting boundaries within the realm of religion. For instance, one in every three Afrikaners used these new freedoms to leave the traditional Dutch Reformed Church (NGK), often for an entirely new religious affiliation within the Pentecostal or Charismatic churches, or New Religious Movements such as Wiccan neopaganism. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in the Western Cape area, the book investigates what spiritual life after racial totalitarianism means for the members of the ethnic group that constructed and maintained that very totalitarianism. Ultimately, the book asks how these new Afrikaner religious practices contribute to social solidarity and integration in a persistently segregated society, and what they can tell us about racial relations in the country today. This book will be of interest to scholars of religious studies, social and cultural anthropology and African studies.

Many will be familiar with the notion that a person at the point of death sees their life flash before them. Rudolf Steiner describes that when the spiritual bodies separate from the physical body, the etheric body of the dying person is revealed, giving a panoramic overview of their earthly life. This etheric body contains everything we have experienced in our consciousness and kept in memory. The etheric not only generates and sustains all life, but encompasses the life forces out of which we shape our existence. Although the revelation of the life tableau belongs to the early period after death, it can also emerge as a result of meditation. Rudolf Steiner speaks of this – through the first level of spiritual experience known as ‘imagination’ – as a conscious self-perception of the soul, taking place in the world of images. Here we are confronted with the harrowing knowledge of our doppelgänger – but we also experience the cosmic forces of childhood that are present in all our life processes. These same forces are described in psychology as the ‘inner child’. In this highly-original anthology of Steiner’s work we are led to a therapeutic, meditative approach that – through working with the imaginative life tableau – can strengthen and heal body, soul and spirit. Chapters include: ‘Experiencing the Inner Child as the Starting Point for a New Philosophy’; ‘Experiencing Life before Birth’; ‘Pain and Sadness When Reliving the Life Tableau’; ‘Intensive Backward Thinking’; ‘Feelings of Happiness When Experiencing the Life Tableau’; ‘Re-experiencing the Inner Child’; ‘Through the Forces of Childhood to the Higher Self and the Christ Experience’.

'He [Harwood] is the sole Horatio known to me in this age of Hamlets...' - C. S. Lewis, from Surprised by Joy --- Cecil Harwood (1898-1975) - lecturer, Waldorf teacher, writer, editor and anthroposophist - pioneered and developed the first Rudolf Steiner (Waldorf) school in the United Kingdom (the New School in London, now Michael Hall School in Sussex). He also led the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain for some 37 years. In 1922, at the age of 24, Harwood attended a festival of English folk song and dance in Cornwall, alongside his life-long friend Owen Barfield. It was here - and not in the academic citadel of Oxford University, where they were both part of the literary circle known as the Inklings - that Harwood and Barfield were to encounter the work of Rudolf Steiner through meeting Daphne Olivier. Sun King's Counsellor provides an intricate picture of the human connections, cultural movements and spiritual background that contributed to what came together in Cornwall in 1922, leading to Harwood's life's work. Featuring a colour plate section and full index, it documents Harwood's early years and antecedents, marriages to Daphne Olivier and Margaret Lundgren, friendships with Barfield and C.S. Lewis, his life-changing meeting with anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner, teaching and educational work, and Harwood's critical role in healing divisions within the Anthroposophical Society. Based on extensive research of primary sources, Blaxland-de Lange's biography reveals the multi-faceted, flexible and sacrificial nature of this unique personality. Alfred Cecil Harwood - he preferred 'Cecil' instead of Alfred, with its meaning of 'wise counsellor' - began his career with the hope of becoming a writer, and had neither the intention nor ambition to become a teacher or the head of a national organization. Yet he became both an exemplary teacher and leader, as well as a celebrated author, editor, translator and lecturer.

This volume contains Rudolf Steiner''s leadin g thoughts and letters written for the Anthroposophical Soci ety. In brief paragraphs they succinctly present Steiner''s s cience of the spirit '

This collection of 14 articles, condensed and edited from theosophical publications, is an invitation to inquirers to explore and enjoy the depth and beauty of theosophy. The Theosophical Society is dedicated to making universal brotherhood better understood and more deeply felt in human hearts. Its philosophy, drawn from the universal wisdom tradition of mankind, offers timeless principles that stimulate intuitive knowing and cast light on any question. These principles provide tools that can help students discover truth within themselves and unlock the mysteries of nature, fostering altruism and compassion for all beings.

Theology has a rich tradition across the African continent, and has taken myriad directions since Christianity first arrived on its shores. This handbook charts both historical developments and contemporary issues in the formation and application of theologies across the member countries of the African Union. Written by a panel of expert international contributors, chapters firstly cover the various methodologies needed to carry out such a survey. Various theological movements and themes are then discussed, as well as biblical and doctrinal issues pertinent to African theology. Subjects addressed include: * Orality and theology * Indigenous religions and theology * Patristics * Pentecostalism * Liberation theology * Black theology * Social justice * Sexuality and theology * Environmental theology * Christology * Eschatology * The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament The Routledge Handbook of African Theology is an authoritative and comprehensive survey of the theological landscape of Africa. As such, it will be a hugely useful volume to any scholar interested in African religious dynamics, as well as academics of Theology or Biblical Studies in an African context.

In this book, Henrik Lagerlund offers students, researchers, and advanced general readers the first complete history of what is perhaps the most famous of all philosophical problems: skepticism. As the first of its kind, the book traces the influence of philosophical skepticism from its roots in the Hellenistic schools of Pyrrhonism and the Middle Academy up to its impact inside and outside of philosophy today. Along the way, the book covers skepticism during the Latin, Arabic, and Greek Middle Ages and during the Renaissance before moving on to cover Descartes' methodological skepticism and Pierre Bayle's super-skepticism in the seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century, it deals with Humean skepticism and the anti-skepticism of Reid, Shepherd, and Kant, taking care to also include reflections on the connections between idealism and skepticism (including skepticism in German idealism after Kant). The book covers similar themes in a chapter on G.E. Moore and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and then ends its historical overview with a chapter on skepticism in contemporary philosophy. In the final chapter, Lagerlund captures some of skepticism's impact outside of philosophy, highlighting its relation to issues like the replication crisis in science and knowledge resistance.

Witches, ghosts, fairies. Premodern Europe was filled with strange creatures, with the devil lurking behind them all. But were his powers real? Did his powers have limits? Or were tales of the demonic all one grand illusion? Physicians, lawyers, and theologians at different times and places answered these questions differently and disagreed bitterly. The demonic took many forms in medieval and early modern Europe. By examining individual authors from across the continent, this book reveals the many purposes to which the devil could be put, both during the late medieval fight against heresy and during the age of Reformations. It explores what it was like to live with demons, and how careers and identities were constructed out of battles against them - or against those who granted them too much power. Together, contributors chart the history of the devil from his emergence during the 1300s as a threatening figure - who made pacts with human allies and appeared bodily - through to the comprehensive but controversial demonologies of the turn of the seventeenth century, when European witch-hunting entered its deadliest phase. This book is essential reading for all students and researchers of the history of the supernatural in medieval and early modern Europe.

Witches, ghosts, fairies. Premodern Europe was filled with strange creatures, with the devil lurking behind them all. But were his powers real? Did his powers have limits? Or were tales of the demonic all one grand illusion? Physicians, lawyers, and theologians at different times and places answered these questions differently and disagreed bitterly. The demonic took many forms in medieval and early modern Europe. By examining individual authors from across the continent, this book reveals the many purposes to which the devil could be put, both during the late medieval fight against heresy and during the age of Reformations. It explores what it was like to live with demons, and how careers and identities were constructed out of battles against them - or against those who granted them too much power. Together, contributors chart the history of the devil from his emergence during the 1300s as a threatening figure - who made pacts with human allies and appeared bodily - through to the comprehensive but controversial demonologies of the turn of the seventeenth century, when European witch-hunting entered its deadliest phase. This book is essential reading for all students and researchers of the history of the supernatural in medieval and early modern Europe.

The Silencing of Slaves in Early Jewish and Christian Texts analyzes a large corpus of early Christian texts and Pseudepigraphic materials to understand how the authors of these texts used, abused and silenced enslaved characters to articulate their own social, political, and theological visions. The focus is on excavating the texts "from below" or "against the grain" in order to notice the slaves, and in so doing, to problematize and (re)imagine the narratives. Noticing the slaves as literary iterations means paying attention to broader theological, ideological, and rhetorical aims of the texts within which enslaved bodies are constructed. The analysis demonstrates that by silencing slaves and using a rhetoric of violence, the authors of these texts contributed to the construction of myths in which slaves functioned as a useful trope to support the combined power of religion and empire. Thus was created not only the perfect template for the rise and development of a Christian discourse of slavery, but also a rationale for subsequent violence exercised against slave bodies within the Christian Empire. The study demonstrates the value of using the tools and applying the insights of subaltern studies to the study of the Pseudepigrapha and in early Christian texts. This volume will be of interest not only to scholars of early Christianity, but also to those working on the history of slavery and subaltern studies in antiquity.

First English translation of the book that introduced the realm of Hollow Earth
- Explores the underground world of Agarttha, sometimes known as Shambhala, a realm that is spiritually and technologically advanced beyond our modern culture
- One of the most influential works of 19th-century occultism
- Written by the philosopher who influenced Papus, Rene Guenon, and Rudolf Steiner
The underground realm of Agarttha was first introduced to the Western world in 1886 by the French esoteric philosopher Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre with his book "Mission de l'Inde," translated here for the first time into English. Saint-Yves's book maintained that deep below the Himalayas were enormous underground cities, which were under the rule of a sovereign pontiff known as the Brahatma. Throughout history, the "unknown superiors" cited by secret societies were believed to be emissaries from this realm who had moved underground at the onset of the Kali-Yuga, the Iron Age.
Ruled in accordance with the highest principles, the kingdom of Agarttha, sometimes known as Shambhala, represents a world that is far advanced beyond our modern culture, both technologically and spiritually. The inhabitants possess amazing skills their above ground counterparts have long since forgotten. In addition, Agarttha is home to huge libraries of books engraved in stone, enshrining the collective knowledge of humanity from its remotest origins. Saint-Yves explained that the secret world of Agarttha, and all its wisdom and wealth, would be made available for humanity when Christianity and all other known religions of the world began truly honoring their own sacred teachings.

In studies of early Christian thought, 'philosophy' is often a synonym for 'Platonism', or at most for 'Platonism and Stoicism'. Nevertheless, it was Aristotle who, from the sixth century AD to the Italian Renaissance, was the dominant Greek voice in Christian, Muslim and Jewish philosophy. Aristotle and Early Christian Thought is the first book in English to give a synoptic account of the slow appropriation of Aristotelian thought in the Christian world from the second to the sixth century. Concentrating on the great theological topics - creation, the soul, the Trinity, and Christology - it makes full use of modern scholarship on the Peripatetic tradition after Aristotle, explaining the significance of Neoplatonism as a mediator of Aristotelian logic. While stressing the fidelity of Christian thinkers to biblical presuppositions which were not shared by the Greek schools, it also describes their attempts to overcome the pagan objections to biblical teachings by a consistent use of Aristotelian principles, and it follows their application of these principles to matters which lay outside the purview of Aristotle himself. This volume offers a valuable study not only for students of Christian theology in its formative years, but also for anyone seeking an introduction to the thought of Aristotle and its developments in Late Antiquity.

Interest in preternatural and supernatural themes has revitalized the Gothic tale, renewed explorations of psychic powers and given rise to a host of social and religious movements based upon claims of the fantastical. And yet, in spite of this widespread enthusiasm, the academic world has been slow to study this development. This volume rectifies this gap in current scholarship by serving as an interdisciplinary overview of the relationship of the paranormal to the artefacts of mass media (e.g. novels, comic books, and films) as well as the cultural practices they inspire. After an introduction analyzing the paranormal's relationship to religion and entertainment, the book presents essays exploring its spiritual significance in a postmodern society; its (post)modern representation in literature and film; and its embodiment in a number of contemporary cultural practices. Contributors from a number of discplines and cultural contexts address issues such as the shamanistic aspects of Batman and lesbianism in vampire mythology. Covering many aspects of the paranormal and its effect on popular culture, this book is an important statement in the field. As such, it will be of utmost interest to scholars of religious studies as well as media, communication, and cultural studies.

In Freud's Early Psychoanalysis, Witch Trials and the Inquisitorial Method: The Harsh Therapy, author Kathleen Duffy asks why Freud compared his 'hysterical' patients to the accused women in the witch trials, and his 'psychoanalytical' treatment to the inquisitorial method of their judges. He wrote in 1897 to Wilhelm Fliess: 'I ... understand the harsh therapy of the witches' judges'. This book proves that Freud's view of his method as inquisitorial was both serious and accurate. In this multidisciplinary and in-depth examination, Duffy demonstrates that Freud carefully studied the witch trial literature to develop the supposed parallels between his patients and the witches and between his own psychoanalytic method and the judges' inquisitorial extraction of 'confessions', by torture if necessary. She examines in meticulous detail both the witch trial literature that Freud studied and his own case studies, papers, letters and other writings. She shows that the various stages of his developing early psychoanalytic method, from the 'Katharina' case of 1893, through the so-called seduction theory of 1896 and its retraction, to the 'Dora' case of 1900, were indeed in many respects inquisitorial and invalidated his patients' experience. This book demonstrates with devastating effect the destructive consequences of Freud's nineteenth-century inquisitorial practice. This raises the question about the extent to which his mature practice and psychoanalysis and psychotherapy today, despite great achievements, remain at times inquisitorial and consequently untrustworthy. This book will therefore be invaluable not only to academics, practitioners and students of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, literature, history and cultural studies, but also to those seeking professional psychoanalytic or psychotherapeutic help.

The historian's task involves unmasking the systems of power that underlie our sources. A historian must not only analyze the content and context of ancient sources, but also the structures of power, authority, and political contingency that account for their transmission, preservation, and survival. But as a tool for interpreting antiquity, "authority" has a history of its own. As authority gained pride of place in the historiographical order of knowledge, other types of contingency have faded into the background. This book's introduction traces the genesis and growth of the category, describing the lacuna that scholars seek to fill by framing texts through its lens. The subsequent chapters comprise case studies from late ancient Christian and Jewish sources, asking what lies "beyond authority" as a primary tool of analysis. Each uncovers facets of textual and social history that have been obscured by overreliance on authority as historical explanation. While chapters focus on late ancient topics, the methodological intervention speaks to the discipline of history as a whole. Scholars of classical antiquity and the early medieval world will find immediately analogous cases and applications. Furthermore, the critique of the place of authority as used by historians will find wider resonance across the academic study of history.

This unique volume examines the life and thought of Basil of Caesarea. Stephen M. Hildebrand brings together a lengthy introduction to his life and thought with a selection of extracts from his diverse works in new translations, with each extract accompanied by an introduction and notes. This format allows students to better understand this significant figure in the Early Church by providing an accessible representative selection of his works in one concise volume, making this an invaluable resource for students of Early Christianity.

Reconceiving Religious Conflict deconstructs instances of religious conflict within the formative centuries of Christianity, the first six centuries CE. It explores the theoretical foundations of religious conflict; the dynamics of religious conflict within the context of persecution and martyrdom; the social and moral intersections that undergird the phenomenon of religious conflict; and the relationship between religious conflict and religious identity. It is unique in that it does not solely focus on religious violence as it is physically manifested, but on religious conflict (and tolerance), looking too at dynamics of religious discourse and practice that often precede and accompany overt religious violence.

Hermann Beckh (1875-1937) was one of the co-founders of The Christian Community. A remarkable linguist and universal scholar, he mastered six European and six Oriental languages and published more than twenty works on the humanities, dealing with Christology, Cosmology and Musicology. Having first studied Law, he later channeled his extensive research of Hinduism and Buddhism into a renewal of sacramental Christianity. 'Without the Professor', wrote his colleague Rudolf Meyer, the beginnings of the new religious movement were 'unthinkable'. Gundhild Kacer-Bock - daughter of Beckh's priest-colleague and fellow author Emil Bock - creates a lively picture of a unique personality. Beginning with his birth in Nuremberg and education in Munich, she reviews Beckh's manifold studies and writings, his meeting with Rudolf Steiner in 1911, the founding of the Movement for Religious Renewal in Stuttgart in 1922, and the seminal Christmas Conference in Dornach in 1923. Having known Beckh personally, she builds on her own memories as well as Beckh's recorded memoirs, and utilizes newly-discovered letters and documents. This new edition contains Beckh's fairy-tale 'The Story of the Little Squirrel, the Moonlight Princess and the Little Rose' (with colour illustrations by Tatjana Schellhase), with additional appreciations of the author and an illustrative plate section. --- 'A University Professor, who had been a Judge and Orientalist, now became a priest with us. He actively took part in carrying the birth of the new ritual words; he was an expert in the mysteries of language... An abundance of books came into existence whose significance perhaps will only be properly appreciated in the future.' - Emil Bock (1959)