What do divorce, alcoholism, kidnapping, radio evangelism, ancient prophecies, the collapse of the Soviet Union, church schism and the Stockholm Syndrome have in common with the music of the Beatles? The People of he Sign effortlessly weaves these together, proving once and for all that truth really is far, far stranger than fiction.

VectorsBackCover French philosopher Rene Guenon (1886-1951), who spent many years searching for a true esoteric Way, crossed paths with many false and subversive spiritualities before arriving at the threshold of Islamic Sufism. In his prophetic masterpiece The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times he classed the worst of these spiritualities as examples of the Counter-Initiation. Anti-Tradition-secularism and materialism-opposes religion; Counter-Tradition inverts it; and the esoteric essence of Counter-Tradition is the Counter-Initiation. The author expands on this concept, recognizing the action of the Counter-Initiation in such areas as the politicizing of the interfaith movement, the anti-human tendencies in the environmental movement, the growing interest in magic and sorcery, the involvement of the intelligence communities in the fields of UFO investigation and psychedelic research, the history of Templarism and Freemasonry, and the de-Islamicization of the famous Sufi poet, Jalaluddin Rumi. Vectors of the Counter-Initiation is conceived of as a sequel to The System of Antichrist: Truth and Falsehood in Postmodernism and the New Age Sophia Perennis, 2001]. The Counter-Initiation has six main features: syncretism; inverted hierarchy; deviated esoterism; the granting of the temporal transmission of spiritual lore precedence over the vertical descent of Revelation; the reduction of religion to utilitarianism (magic) and esoterism to a purely technical knowledge (Promethean spirituality); and the mis-application of the norms of the individual spiritual Path to the supposed spiritual evolution of the collective. The Counter-Initiation is the ego's idea of spirituality. It appears in the Old Testament as the Serpent in the garden, Cain's murder of Abel, the "sons of God who looked upon the daughters of men and found them fair," the Tower of Babel, the degeneration of Sodom, and the magicians of Pharaoh whom Moses defeated. In the New Testament it is personified by Judas, and in the Qur'an by the figure of as-Samiri, who forged the Golden Calf, and the angels Harut and Marut-testers of man by God's design-who taught magic to the human race in Babylon. For both traditions, it is destined to culminate in Antichrist. This book brings together two schools of thought: the Traditionalists or Perennialists (writers on comparative religion and traditional metaphysics) and the conspiracy theorists who are investigating the origin, nature, and plans of the New World Order. The NWO researchers can throw a penetrating light on the social and political dangers presently threatening the Perennialists, while the Perennialists can provide these researchers with a deeper and wider spiritual context for their vision of human evil. In Guenon's time the Counter-Initiation appeared in terms of this or that secret society operating in the shadowy underworld of European occultism; it has now come up into the open, and moved inexorably toward the centers of global power. In the words of American Eastern Orthodox priest Seraphim Rose, "in our time Satan has walked naked into human history."

2012 Reprint of 1954 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life" analyzes religion as a social phenomenon. Durkheim attributes the development of religion to the emotional security attained through communal living. According to Durkheim, early humans associated such feelings not only with one another, but with objects in their environment. This, Durkheim believed, led to the ascription of human sentiments and superhuman powers to these objects, in turn leading to totemism. The essence of religion, Durkheim finds, is the concept of the sacred, that being the only phenomenon which unites all religions. "A religion," writes Durkheim, "is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden - beliefs and practices which unite into a single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them." In modern societies, the individual and individual rights evolve to become the new sacred phenomena, and hence these may be called "religious" for Durkheim. Durkheim examined religion using such examples as Pueblo Indian rain dances, the religions of aboriginal tribes in Australia, and alcoholic hallucinations.

To a Mormon, happiness may be Family Home Evening, and families may be forever, but becoming an actual god is the ultimate goal of every member of the church. Mormons believe the reason for coming to earth from the planet near the great star Kolob is to gain bodies for our spirit beings and to be tested. To become gods, they need to be Mormons, to go through the temple to learn the signs and tokens for entry to the celestial glory and to be obedient unto death to the holy prophet. Everything else is tied to, and wraps around, this one goal. Today, Mormon Mitt Romney is a major candidate for the White House. A man who would be god. An entire chapter is devoted to the Mormon Plan for America and the rise of Mitt Romney. It is a warning and a must read for every Christian. Ed Decker is the International Director of Saints Alive in Jesus, a ministry that actively brings the gospel of grace to those lost in the darkness of cultic bondage. He is a former Mormon who spent twenty years of his adult life as a member of the LDS church before becoming a Christian. He was a member of the "Holy Melchizedek" priesthood, a "Temple Mormon" and active in leadership in local LDS churches. Ed has spent the next 30 years researching and writing about Mormonism.

It is God who sets apart and sanctifies the Sabbath day. He determines when it is. Today there is a group of believers targeting Messianics called "Lunar Sabbatarians" who teach that the weekly Sabbaths are "reset" every month to coincide with the new moons. We shall explore this issue in this book.

"Unless we cannot see religion as a form of government, then we cannot see the science in it." This book involves a formula for constructing a universal form of government. The formula generates a system of government that even the government of the kingdom of God can be patterned to it. Consequently, it leads to answer various mysteries of God's kingdom.

This series tells the stories of generations who found their lives changed by contact with the Lord. Some are the subject of pages of Biblical text. Some are only mentioned in passing. However, all these persons are mentioned directly or indirectly in the Bible.

Franz-Valery-Marie Cumont (Aalst, Belgium, 3 January 1868 - Brussels, 25 August 1947) was a Belgian archaeologist and historian, a philologist and student of epigraphy, who brought these often isolated specialties to bear on the syncretic mystery religions of Late Antiquity, notably Mithraism. Cumont was a graduate of the University of Ghent (PhD, 1887). After receiving royal travelling fellowships, he undertook archaeology in Pontus and Armenia (published in 1906) and in Syria, but he is best known for his studies on the impact of Eastern mystery religions, particularly Mithraism, on the Roman Empire. Cumont's international credentials were brilliant, but his public circumspection was not enough. In 1910, Baron Edouard Descamps, the Catholic Minister of Sciences and Arts at the University of Ghent, refused to approve the faculty's unanimous recommendation of Cumont for the chair in Roman History, Cumont having been a professor there since 1906. There was a vigorous press campaign and student agitation in Cumont's favor, because the refusal was seen as blatant religious interference in the University's life. When another candidate was named, in 1912, Cumont resigned his positions at the University and at the Royal Museum in Brussels, left Belgium and henceforth divided his time between Paris and Rome. He contributed to many standard encyclopedias, published voluminously and in 1922, under stressful political conditions, conducted digs on the shore of the Euphrates at the previously unknown site of Dura-Europos; he published his research there in 1926. He was a member of most of the European academies. In 1936 Franz Cumont was awarded the Francqui Prize on Human Sciences. In 1947, Franz Cumont donated his library and papers to the Academia Belgica in Rome, where they are accessible to researchers. His works include * Texts and Illustrated Monuments Relating to the Mysteries of Mithra (1894-1900, with an English translation in 1903) is the study that made his international reputation, by its originality and massive documentation. * Les religions orientales dans le paganisme romain (1906, widely translated) * After-Life in Roman Paganism, lectures delivered at Yale University, published in 1922, was cautiously expressed, but it corrected many false impressions of pagan rite that Christian apologists had made. * Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans After his death, critics of his interpretation of Mithras as the descendant of the Iranian deity Mithra began to be heard, and surfaced at the First International Congress of Mithraic Studies in Manchester England, 1971. Modern interpretation of Mithras as the astronomical bull-slayer have continued to move away from Cumont's interpretations, though his documentation remains valuable. In 1997 the Royal Library, Brussels, observed the fiftieth anniversary of Cumont's death appropriately, with a colloquium on syncretism in the Mediterranean world of Antiquity.

One of the great books of our time, Principia Discordia is the official bible of the most relevant religion ever conceived, Discordianism. This legendary underground classic contains absolutely everything worth knowing about absolutely anything. Discordianism is the religion for these screwed-up times, and Principia Discordia reveals it here for your enlightenment, confusion and entertainment. --(Text refers to a previous edition)

How is it possible for Scientology to continue growing and recruiting celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley, Tom Cruise, Kirstie Allie, and John Travolta when the truth about this cult is so widely available via the Internet? Supporters of Scientology claim that it is compatible with all world religions. The published findings of numerous government inquiries, the affidavits and court testimony of former high-level members, and the expert analysis of Scientology practices, however, paint a much different picture. This book is a must read for anyone considering Scientology as a viable spiritual pathway.

SOULS OF TERROR is a fast-paced, well-researched thriller with fascinating characters whose lives become strangely entwined as they unravel a frightening mystery. The surprising climax will leave you forever questioning the thin line between fact and fiction. In the beginning . . .

A brilliant university student is brutally killed in New York as a young boy from an Oregon private school is whisked off to Switzerland. What is the connection and why is it so important to millions of people? Chris Thompson is ridden with guilt while searching for his son. Is young Michael the key to a deeply spiritual and terrifying mission?

Michael's attractive aunt Kate has a penchant for profanity and martial arts . . . and carries a heavy secret from her past. Dr. Paul Sung is an atheist and authority on the history of the New Age movement. His unfulfilling life in academia is about to change. Detective Mark Julian needs to solve a string of gruesome New York murders, so why was he sent to Europe?

Karl Heisman and his Group of Forty-Eight are a covert sub-group of a spiritual movement known as Anthroposophy. Does their strange karma include links to Freemasonry and the dawning of a New Age? Are they racist terrorists or is there a method to their madness? And who was Rudolf Steiner?

1930. Among primitive races, in antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. This volume is a survey of the history of possession from the most ancient times down to the present day and in all countries of the inhabited globe, together with an analysis of its nature and relationship to other phenomena, such as hysteria and the manifestations of spiritualism. The subject treated is a very fascinating one, to the general reader as well as to the student of psychology and ethnology. It would be difficult to see the human race in a more fantastic light than that cast by these stories of possession.

Laura Johnston Kohl was a teen activist working to integrate public facilities in the Washington, D.C., area. She actively fought for civil rights and free speech, and against the Vietnam War throughout the 1960s. After trying to effect change single-handedly, she found she needed more hands. She joined Peoples Temple in 1970, living and working in the progressive religious movement in both California and Guyana. A fluke saved her from the mass murders and suicides on November 18, 1978, when 913 of her beloved friends died in Jonestown.

Soon after this, Synanon, a residential community, helped her gradually affirm life. In 1991, she got to work, finished her studies, and became a public school teacher. On the 20th anniversary of the deaths in Jonestown, she looked up fellow survivors of the Jonestown tragedy and they have worked to put the jigsaw puzzle together that was Peoples Temple. Her perspective has evolved as new facts have cleared up mysteries and she has had time to reflect. Her mission continues to be to acknowledge, write about, and speak about why the members joined Peoples Temple, why they went to Guyana, and who they were. She lives with her family in San Diego.

A fast-paced, highly informative, no-holds-barred look at the world of modern anti-Masonry. In an ongoing confrontation with what he calls the "cottage industry of anti-Masonry" by "businesses masquerading as ministries," V. W. David S. Julian, Grand Musician, Past Master, Past Grand Organist, Past Grand Bible Bearer, and Past District Deputy of the Grand Master in District 5 of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Washington gives the definitive answer to the question: Can a Christian be a Freemason?

The Ancient and Mystic Order of Rosae Crucis bills itself as a nonsectarian group whose members study the mysteries of the universe. Through weekly monographs, AMORC dispenses lessons in telepathy, telekinesis, and other supernatural activities.

Spiritual seekers might believe that AMORC can deliver on its promise to help them achieve cosmic consciousness. Skeptics might dismiss it as harmless nonsense.

Both would be wrong.

A former AMORC member, Pierre S. Freeman reveals the cult's hidden agenda, along with the advanced hypnotic techniques it employs to slowly gain control over the people who join. If you are thinking about becoming involved with the order, or you want to free yourself from its grasp, you will find the insider knowledge within "AMORC Unmasked" invaluable.

About the Author

Pierre S. Freeman was exposed to AMORC's mind-control techniques for twenty-four years. In his first book, "The Prisoner of San Jose," he describes his experiences with the order, and how he finally deprogrammed himself. Freeman is currently a successful analyst for several large financial institutions in the Minneapolis area.

Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, has declared himself as the Messiah and Lord of the Second Advent. He claims he has come as the Messiah at the end of the world as the Bible prophesied. He saves fallen satanic people by removing the original sin from them through The Blessing of Marriage ceremony. The Blessing of Marriage ceremony of the Unification Church is directly derivative from the pigarum or yongch'e ceremony of Korean messianic groups from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. A pigarum ceremony means 'change of blood lineage' and a yongch'e ceremony means 'receiving a new spiritual body'. A male spiritual leader united sexually with his female disciples and a female spiritual leader had ritual sex with her male followers. The Unification Church practiced the pigarum or yongch'e ceremony from the 1940s until 1962 when The Holy Wine Ceremony and The Three Day Ceremony replaced this original sexual ritual. Both of these ceremonies are integral parts of The Blessing of Marriage.

Life inside the Osho International Ashram in Pune, India. Remember Bhagwan Rajneesh, the infamous guru with sixteen Rolls Royces, who set up camp in Oregon, USA? Although he died many years ago, his cockeyed philosophies live on at his "International Meditation Resort" in India. Read about a much different ashram experience than you read about in Eat, Pray, Love (by Elizabeth Gilbert).

Churches in North America are bigger than ever, but their slow rate of growth cannot keep up with population increases. Existing churches simply cannot add enough new believers! The good news is that by multiplying--steadily and strategically planting new churches that, in turn, plant new churches--the global Church creates more of what Ralph Moore calls harvest points. In How to Multiply Your Church, Pastor Moore shows church leaders and pastors why multiplication is the key to growing God's global kingdom in their communities, and he offers them proven methods for implementing multiplication in their existing churches. Countless leaders have found an indispensable resource in starting a new church because of Pastor Moore's vast firsthand experience and practical wisdom. How to Multiply Your Church is the next leap forward for those who long to see God's kingdom increase.

Ken Wilber is the "long-sought Einstein of consciousness research," having been generously regarded as such since the late 1970s. Ken Wilber is "a genius of our times." Ken Wilber is "the world's most intriguing and foremost philosopher." Ken Wilber's celebrated ideas have influenced Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Jeb Bush, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, and a host of other luminaries, spiritual and otherwise. Writer Michael Crichton, leadership guru Warren Bennis, playwright Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), alternative-therapist Larry Dossey, the Wachowski Brothers (directors of The Matrix), and a handful of rock stars have all lent their voices in support of the "integral" community. Yet Ken Wilber, his seemingly valid theories of consciousness, and the increasingly unquestioning community of "second-tier" spiritual aspirants surrounding him and participating in his Integral University, are not what they appear to be. "NORMAN EINSTEIN": THE DIS-INTEGRATION OF KEN WILBER will show you why the community around Wilber is being increasingly called a "cult," even by former members who have seen it first-hand.