In 2009 the Seventh International Conference of Manichaean Studies was held at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin. The 22 selected papers of this volume offer a deep insight into the faith of Manichaean communities ranging from the very beginning of the 3rd century up to the last traces of worship today. Among others the authors deal with sources from Augustin, John the Grammarian, Ephrem the Syrian and further sources written in Coptic, Sogdian, Middle Persian, Parthian and Chinese. Several studies about Manichaean art and iconography offer a visual impression, which gives a new opportunity for understanding the religion of Light.

For some eighty-five years--between, roughly, 1725 and 1810--the American colonies were agitated by what can only be described as a revolutionary movement. This was not the well-known political revolution that culminated in the War of Independence, but a revolution in religious and ethical thought. Its proponents called their radical viewpoint "deism." They challenged Christian orthodoxy and instead endorsed a belief system that celebrated the power of human reason and saw nature as God's handiwork and the only revelation of divine will. This illuminating discussion of American deism presents an overview of the main tenets of deism, showing how its influence rose swiftly and for a time became a highly controversial subject of debate in the colonies. The deists were students of the Enlightenment and took a keen interest in the scientific study of nature. They were thus critical of orthodox Christianity for its superstitious belief in miracles, persecution of dissent, and suppression of independent thought and expression. At the heart of his book are profiles of six "rational infidels," most of whom are quite familiar to Americans as founding fathers or colonial patriots: Benjamin Franklin (the ambivalent deist), Thomas Jefferson (a critic of Christian supernaturalism but an admirer of its ethics), Ethan Allen (the rough-edged "frontier deist"), Thomas Paine (the arch iconoclast and author of The Age of Reason), Elihu Palmer (the tireless crusader for deism and perhaps its most influential proponent), and Philip Freneau (a poet whose popular verses combined deism with early romanticism). This is a fascinating study of America's first culture war, one that in many ways has continued to this day.

Global Secularisms addresses the state of and prospects for secularism globally. Drawing from multiple fields, it brings together theoretical discussion and empirical case studies that illustrate "on-the-ground," extant secularisms as they interact with various religious, political, social, and economic contexts. Its point of departure is the fact that secularism is plural and that various secularisms have developed in various contexts and from various traditions around the world. Secularism takes on different social meanings and political valences wherever it is expressed. The essays collected here provide numerous points of contact between empirical case studies and theoretical reflection. This multiplicity informs and challenges the conceptual theorization of secularism as a universal doctrine. Analyses of different regions enrich our understanding of the meanings of secularism, providing comparative range to our notions of secularity. Theoretical treatments help to inform our understanding of secularism in context, enabling readers to discern what is at stake in the various regional expressions of secularity globally. While the bulk of the essays are case-based research, the current thinking of leading theorists and scholars is also included.

"Come to us you who thirst for the nature of reality. Come you who yearn for yourself. Come brothers of the breach and broken sisters. Come you who cannot find rest, and who can have no peace." -The Book of Specularis. This is the second book in a trilogy on the Sethian Gnostic tradition of today, and it contains a selection of texts from the Charaxio, the holy book of the organization Sodalitas Sanctum Seth. This collection of modern Sethian writings intends to give new perspectives to those who have stumbled upon an encounter with Metanoia, Our Lady of Unexpected Insight and Perplexity, and thus perceived the shape of the Mystery. Consider this entire book as a projective test. As in the field of psychology, such a test has no meaning in itself: It is you; with your background, opinions, cultural frame of mind and self-understanding that determine what you see, or are shown. As in the previous volume, The Key, it is important to remember that as you read this book, the book is also reading you.

Product information not available.

Modern interpretation of the Manichaean religious tradition requires a firm foundation in the sober and meticulous reconstruction of highly fragmentary sources. The studies collected in this volume contribute to such a foundation by bringing new primary texts to the public for the first time, extracting new data from previously known sources, and defining and delimiting important but previously neglected sets of material. The studies are authored by an international group of leading scholars in the fields of ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern studies, comparative religion, early Christianity, patristics, art history, Turkic studies and Coptology. The textual and art historical materials examined possess distinctive histories, character and significance representing the broad geographical range of Manichaeism from Algeria to China. By elucidating these essential remains of the Manichaean religion, the comprehensive treatments contained in "Emerging from Darkness" provide a provocative picture of Manichaeism as a diverse and productive tradition in a variety of settings and media. The volume will be foundational for future scholarly studies on the sources presented and for studies in Manichaeism and late antique religions in general.

About the Book The Diagram Star is explaining the whole mystery of religious belief. The book is revealing a reconstruction of the world history based on the formula used by the Masters of the past. The main character in this historical and highly political novel, Oskar Karlsen, is in his real life an invalid. He is creating a role play on Internet were he gives him self the title Master and states that his aim is to flood the whole world with knowledge and drown the religious belief. Flooding the world with knowledge will be done by the use of Internet. Oskar conclude that when the formula is used on all the gospel stories in the Bible, they become a total different story. The formula can be used on all the dominating religions and sects in the world. His message to the world is that all the gospel stories are a camouflage over knowledge, and they were the work of the Masters of the past. Oskar Karlsens role play on Internet is threatening the way of life for the richest of the rich people in the world. They depend on the religions, the national borders and the dictating economy to get even richer, while an increasing number of humans dies daily of causes caused by poverty. In order to make the world a better place for all humans, knowledge of the Diagram Star have to return to all people. Then the religious belief will vanish into thin air. Some rich sponsors are giving the invalid Oskar an expensive operation that most likely can cure his disability. Even if he is warned that the sponsors will use the operation to kill him, he is determent to do it and use the interest of the world press to advertise his role play all over the world. Will he succeed? With the use of Internet and your help, he certainly will succeed.

"It is not the time of the creation in itself that disturbs us, nor is it the so-called fall or the time when mankind wandered the world between light and darkness. What disturbs us is what we suspect transpired in the time before time." Magister Amarantus Sodalitas Sanctum Seth Classical Gnosticism points to a path, which is not a path, but rather a path between the paths. It is a story told at the strike of the thirteenth hour on the mystical dial of the wise; from a mental position between truth and falsehood, reality and dream, in a spiritual place that unites all things in a point without a centre. The tradition, to which this book refers is based on Biblical stories of creation, the nature of God, how man came to live on earth, and how we may recapture what humanity lost. This tradition has a systematic enquiring approach to redemption. It thus relies on our own understanding and our own experiences to grasp it. This is the path called Gnosticism; Sethian Gnosticism.

There has been a dramatic increase in the percentage of the US population that is not religious. However, there is, to date, very little research on the social movement that is organizing to serve the needs of and advocate for the nonreligious in the US. This is a book about the rise and structure of organized secularism in the United States. By organized secularism we mean the efforts of nonreligious individuals to build institutions, networks, and ultimately a movement that serves their interests in a predominantly religious society. Researchers from various fields address questions such as: What secularist organizations exist? Who are the members of these organizations? What kinds of organizations do they create? What functions do these organizations provide for their members? How do the secularist organizations of today compare to those of the past? And what is their likely impact on the future of secularism? For anyone trying to understand the rise of the nonreligious in the US, this book will provide valuable insights into organized efforts to normalize their worldview and advocate for their equal treatment in society.

The volumes in this set, originally published between 1978 and 1992, draw together research by leading academics in the area of the occult and provide a rigorous examination of related key issues. The collection examines occultism from a broad range of disciplines, from shamanism and the occult tarot, to the esoteric and spiritualism. It includes volumes across the disciplines of religion, covering new religious movements, spiritualism, ritual and magic practices. The three books that comprise this set include investigations into the evolution of occultism, as well as the history and practices of the occult as a religious movement. This collection brings back into print insightful and detailed books and will be a must-have resource for academics and students, not only of religion and anthropology, but also of history and psychology.