Did you know that: The name of Jesus is removed from Masonic rituals to avoid offending anyone? The "secret" name of Masonry's god specifically includes Jehovah, Baal, and Osiris? Many people are unaware of the far-reaching impact the Masonic Lodge has today. Ron provides accurate information on the structure and beliefs of Masonry, then carefully contrasts its practices with Scripture. Continuing the easy-to-follow question-and-answer format of the Reasoning from the Scriptures series, this informative guide reveals the occultic symbolism, secret oaths, and hidden rituals that are an integral part of Masonic tradition. Readers will discover honest, fact-based insights on the dangers of this fraternal order and specific suggestions for sharing biblical truth with Masons.

National Book Award winner and renowned psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton reveals a world at risk from millennial cults intent on ending it all.
Since the earliest moments of recorded history, prophets and gurus have foretold the world's end, but only in the nuclear age has it been possible for a megalomaniac guru with a world-ending vision to bring his prophecy to pass. Now Robert Jay Lifton offers a vivid and disturbing case in point in this chilling exploration of Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese cult that released sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo subways.
With unprecedented access to former Aum members, Lifton has produced a pathbreaking study of the inner life of a modern millennial cult. He shows how Aum's guru Shoko Asahara (charismatic spiritual leader, con man, madman) created a religion from a global stew of New Age thinking, ancient rituals, and apocalyptic science fiction, then recruited scientists as disciples and set them to producing weapons of mass destruction. Taking stock as well of Charles Manson, Heaven's Gate, and the Oklahoma City bombers, Lifton confronts the frightening possibility of a twenty-first century in which cults and terrorists may be able to bring about their own holocausts.
Bold and compelling, Destroying the World to Save It charts the emergence of a new global threat of urgent concern to us all.

New religious movements - popularly know as 'cults'- arouse strong public opinion and most books on the subject are polemical, giving hostile reaction rather than informed exploration. Exploring New Religions provides an account of a wide variety of new religions, focusing on their origins, beliefs and practices, which are set out in a compelling but dispassionate way, leaving readers to form their own judgements. Chryssides provides important analysis of the 'killer cults' - the Jonestown Peoples Temple, Waco, the Solar Temple and Heaven's Gate - and examines the factors that made their followers willing to die for their cause. Older groups like Jehovah's Witnesses and the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) are discussed, and the author traces the development of a variety of strands of spirituality, ranging from New Thought to Transcendentalism and Theosophy. Subsequent chapters include: the Baha'i, The Family (formerly Children of God), the Hare Krishna Movement (ISKCON), The jesus Army, the Rastafarians, the Church of Scientology , Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the Unification Church ('the Moonies').Some less well-known groups are also featured: est (Erhard Seminar Training), the new Kadampa Tradition, Brahma Kumaris, Sai Baba, Subud and the Western Buddhist Order. Also included is a study of the New Age phenomenon, and an account of responses to new religions, at religious, societal and political levels. This is an important new study of new religious movements, which should prove invaluable to scholars,students and clergy as well ak to those whose lives have been affected by new religions. George D. Chryssides is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton. He has had many years of direct acquaintance with new religions, and has written extensively on the subject. His definitive work on the Unification Church, The Advent of Sun Myung Moon, was published in 1991.

American society is culturally diverse with a variety of religious denominations, sects, cults, and self-help groups vying for members. This volume analyzes nine of these groups, chosen both for their intrinsic interest and because they illustrate a variety of sociological concepts. The groups included in this study are: Heaven's Gate, Jesus People USA, the Love Family, The Farm, Amish Women, Scientology, El Nino Fidencio, Santeria, and Freedom Park. The contributors are social scientists with first-hand knowledge of the groups they examine.

New religious movements-or so-called "cults"-continue to attract and mystify us. While mainstream America views cults as an insidious mix of apocalyptic beliefs, science fiction, and paranoia, with new vehicles such as the World Wide Web, they are becoming even more influential as the millennium approaches. Len Oakes-a former member of such a movement-explores the phenomenon of cult leaders. He examines the psychology of charisma and proposes his own theory of the five-stage life cycle of the two types of prophets: the messianic and the charismatic.

The postmodern claim that secular science, materialism, and traditional Christianity are defunct has produced a worldview crisis for contemporary society. Into the void has stepped the New Age movement to offer a widely held and growing alternative. According to John Newport, the influence of New Age beliefs on our culture -- and even the dilution of Christianity itself -- demands that they be scrutinized in the light of the Bible.

In this urgently needed work, Newport delivers a comprehensive presentation of the New Age movement and the impact of its beliefs on contemporary culture and Christianity, while also offering an effective, biblical antidote for today's worldview crisis. Newport first surveys the historical development of the New Age worldview, from ancient times through important tendencies in nineteenth-century America to its recent Far Eastern influences. He then explores eleven key areas of the New Age worldview and contrasts each area of belief with the traditional biblical worldview.

Thoroughly discussed are New Age consciousness, spiritism and channeling, magic and witchcraft, neopaganism and Satanism, New Age ecology, the New Age movement's influence on personal healthcare, New Age teachings on business and prosperity consciousness, New Age perspectives on education and science, and much more. Throughout, Newport maintains a fair dialogue with his subject matter while showing why this dialogue ought to bring renewed commitment to what the traditional biblical worldview has to say about each of these areas.

In this third volume of the Aghora trilogy the Aghori Vimalananda uses the Bombay racetrack as a metaphor for the ultimate game of life.

Drawing upon the clinical expertise of professionals and the personalexperiences of those formerly involved in high-intensity mind-controlgroups, this book is a comprehensive guide to the cult experience.

"This important book fills a gap in our knowledge.... Highlyrecommended." -- Library Journal

..". highlyrecommended... " -- Choice

"With admirable clarity andremarkable brevity, Jackson surveys the history of the movement and raises...important issues... " -- The Journal of American History

Animportant history of the Ramakrishna movement, the very first and in many ways themost important Asian religious group to appear in the United States.

In this book, Duncan Ferguson and contributors describe the range of thought and practice within the New Age and offer balanced judgments regarding its value for societies and individuals undergoing unprecedented change. Assessing its weakness and strengths, the authors and editor say the New Age is not all good or all bad and that some of its holistic and ecological tenets may be useful in formulating a spirituality in our confusing time.

An extensively researched guide to understanding the teachings of major cults and how they deviate from Christianity. Especially helpful in grasping the challenge of the unorganized but pervasive New Age movement. Table of Contents 1. Mormonism 2. Jehovah's Witnesses 3. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church 4. Herbert w. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God 5. The Way International 6. Some Hinduism-based Movements 7. The New Age Movement 8. Scientology 9. Christian Science 10. Spiritualism 11. Other Current Movements

Evil? In everyday life?

When most people talk about evil, they mean "bad people," as if evil were a psychological affliction. Yet evil is a force that mankind has reckoned with since the dawn of civilization, "Shouting at the Wolf" is a revelatory work about the existence of evil and the dark side of the occult.

Author Anderson Reed says, "With the burgeoning interest in the occult, there is a tendency towards a dangerous pollyanna attitude about its reality. New Agers like to think that they may pick and choose which elements of the occult they will deal with and leave the rest alone. This is folly. When the door to the occult is opened, light and darkness spill out together. The idea that as long as we don't believe in evil it cannot harm us is disastrously wrong."

"Shouting at the Wolf" is a uniquely practical guide to:

The Varieties of Evil

How Evil Thrives

The Dangers of "Satan" Worship

Possession and Sorcery

Why Evil Provoked the Inquisition and Witch Trials

The Death Passage and Death-illnesses

Accidental Possession by the Dead

Living Sanely in the Presence of Evil

The Occultist's View of Substance Abuse

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder as an Occult Phenomenon

Using Crystals for Divination

Journeys in the Spirit World

Purifying and Protecting Your Home

Understanding Exorcism

Helping Our Loved Ones to Die Well

"Shouting at the Wolf" brings the study of evil and spiritual invasion up-to-date and makes the subject clear to everyone.

The Vaisnava-sahajiya cult that arose in Bengal in the sixteenth century was an intensely emotional attempt to reconcile the sensual and the ascetic. Exploring the history and doctrine of this cult, Edward C. Dimock, Jr., examines the works of numerous poets who are the source of knowledge about this sect. Dimock examines the life of the saint Caitanya, the mad Baul singers, the doctrines of Tantrism, the origins of the figure of Radha, and the worship of Krishna. His study will appeal to students of the history of religion as well as of Indian culture. This edition includes a new Foreword by Wendy Doniger.
"This is a magnificent book--painstakingly researched and gracefully written. . . . Professor Dimock's book is one of the most rewarding and stimulating studies to appear in recent years."--G. Richard Weldon, "Journal of Asian Studies "

Advocating nuclear war, attempting communication with dolphins and taking an interest in the paranormal and UFOs, there is perhaps no greater (or stranger) cautionary tale for the Left than that of Posadism. Named after the Argentine Trotskyist J. Posadas, the movement's journey through the fractious and sectarian world of mid-20th century revolutionary socialism was unique. Although at times significant, Posadas' movement was ultimately a failure. As it disintegrated, it increasingly grew to resemble a bizarre cult, detached from the working class it sought to liberate. The renewed interest in Posadism today - especially for its more outlandish fixations - speaks to both a cynicism towards the past and nostalgia for the earnest belief that a better world is possible. Drawing on considerable archival research, and numerous interviews with ex- and current Posadists, I Want to Believe tells the fascinating story of this most unusual socialist movement and considers why it continues to capture the imaginations of leftists today.

Essays In Occultism, Spiritism, And Demonology by Dean W. R. Harris 1919

The Sathya Sai global civil religious movement incorporates Hindu and Muslim practices, Buddhist, Christian, and Zoroastrian influences, and "New Age"-style rituals and beliefs. Shri Sathya Sai Baba, its charismatic and controversial leader, attracts several million adherents from various national, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. In a dynamic account of the Sathya Sai movement's explosive growth, "Winged Faith" argues for a rethinking of globalization and the politics of identity in a religiously plural world.

This study considers a new kind of cosmopolitanism located in an alternate understanding of difference and contestation. It considers how acts of "sacred spectating" and illusion, "moral stakeholding" and the problems of community are debated and experienced. A thrilling study of a transcultural and transurban phenomenon that questions narratives of self and being, circuits of sacred mobility, and the politics of affect, "Winged Faith" suggests new methods for discussing religion in a globalizing world and introduces readers to an easily critiqued yet not fully understood community.

An exploration of the shock tactics and radical teachings of "crazy-wise adepts, holy fools and rascal gurus" - the cult religious leaders who challenge our commonsense views of reality and norms of conduct. This book explores this universal dimension of spirituality in a blend of history, philosophy, theology and first-person accounts. Here are Fools for Christ, sitting naked on garbage heaps, eccentric Zen masters baffling their students with beatings and belly laughs and enigmatic spritual clowns like Gurdjieff and Aleister Crowley.

Based on media reports, it appears that there has been an exponential gain in religious cults throughout the world. But who are these ersatz religions and what are they up to. This important book illuminates their activities, backgrounds and aims. This work is most informative about cults, particularly about cult intrusions on the religious scene. The infiltrations are revealed in this book through an in-depth look at major areas of religious concern (i.e. fundamentalism, fanaticism). Many procedures seen in conventional religions have been adopted by cults. The search for remedies to the cult problem finds scarce resources available. Individual case histories are presented and offer a measure of hope in breaking free from a cult. Among a number of disturbing issues the disruption engineered between the recruits and their families continues to be of paramount concern.

This collection of interdisciplinary essays explores the prime concern of Mormon Studies - the relationship between knowledge and spirituality - and how that relationship has been defined and reinterpreted over time. Beginning with an examination of the international prospects for Mormonism at the turn of the century, the volume's overarching theme, from sociological, anthropological and theological approaches, is the examination of changing Mormon identities. The contributors review the expansion of Mormonism, the emotional and social contexts of its historic and contemporary manifestations, the distinction between 'Utah' Mormons and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and issues in Mormon feminism, concluding with a valuable review of the sources and documents available for studying Mormonism.

When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide tells the story of Brandon Davies' dismissal from Brigham Young University's NCAA playoff basketball team to illustrate the thorny intersection of religion, race, and sport at BYU and beyond. Author Darron T. Smith analyzes the athletes dismissed through BYU's honor code violations and suggests that they are disproportionately African American, which has troubling implications. He ties these dismissals to the complicated history of negative views towards African Americans in the LDS faith. These honor code dismissals elucidate the challenges facing black athletes at predominantly white institutions. Weaving together the history of the black athlete in America and the experience of blackness in Mormon theology, When Race, Religion, and Sport Collide offers a timely and powerful analysis of the challenges facing African American athletes in the NCAA today.