Why isn't the Book of Enoch in the Holy Bible, even though Enoch is referenced multiple times? Why were texts considered sacred by many, excluded by others? Who made the decisions and why? Ordained minister and theologian Jim Willis examines the historical, political, and social climates that influenced the redactors and editors of the Bible and other sacred texts in Censoring God: The History of the Lost Books (and other Excluded Scriptures).

Do we, the human species, really know who we are or where we came from or how we originated or our place in the cosmos? Or is much of what we have been taught wrong or misguided or possibly even blatant lies intended to keep people in power and everyone else in line? Exploring alternative theories on the establishment of society and civilisation, Hidden History: Ancient Aliens and the Suppressed Origins of Civilization looks at a variety of dissenting, suppressed, and forbidden accounts of history and the origins of humanity.

This concise and accessible encyclopedia contains nearly 300 entries on the world's major religions, as well as important articles on important holy places...prophets and historical figures...and spiritual practices and religions that predate organized religion... - Library Journal. From Aaron (the first high priest of Israel) to Zoroastrianism (once the dominant religion in Persia), The Religion Book provides an encyclopedic look at the practices of yesterday and today. Christians, Buddhists, Wiccans and the rest may have questions about others' belief or even their own, and The Religion Book expertly explains the similarities, differences, and original ideologies of believers and skeptics around the world. Are Nirvana and Heaven the same? Who are the Raelians, and why are they cloning people? What's the difference between Christian Scientists and Jehovah's Witnesses? Dogma? Karma? Feng Shui? What do they all mean? Devils, ghosts, the afterlife--do they really exist? If killing's a sin, why are there jihads? From the prominence of Catholics to the head scratching of the Red Paint People, The Religion Book is the go-to resource for all ages--and it doesn't require dressing in go-to-meeting clothes. The Religion Book: Places, Prophets, Saints, and Seers is a reader's convenient parchment pulpit of easy understanding to some of the most asked-about religious topics. Five hundred-plus pages explore 300 key religious figures, prophets, deities, places, and scriptures that play important roles in the major religions of the world. Willis respectfully explains terms and concepts as they relate to their respective belief systems, whether mainstream, pagan, or cultish.

Willis examines the many orientations and perspectives of reporters that gather and present the news of the day. Debunking the notion that there are limited perspectives journalists may use, Willis examines up to 15 different orientations that reporters bring to their work. These perspectives run the gamut, from the traditional approach of distancing oneself completely from events and people involved to becoming part of the story's fabric to ascertain the story's true essence. Willis also suggests that, for many stories, it is wholly appropriate for journalists to feel what a non-professional would experience at such an event, and to allow those emotions to fuel the reporting and writing of the story. Several examples are discussed in detail, including the coverage of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Authors Jim and Barbara Willis mine the religious and secular divide as they examine the history of apocalyptic beliefs in Armageddon Now. The authors explain the various omens and prophecies as well as the actual events that may trigger the end, such as collisions with asteroids, nuclear war, the oil crisis, global warming, and famine. From alpha to omega, it is packed with 200 entries and 100 illustrations. In the end, the end has never been so thoroughly covered as in Armageddon Now: The End of the World A to Z. It's the last word for the end user.

A first-hand exploration of how to consciously step out of your body and navigate the Quantum Akashic Field * Details a step-by-step process of engaging extrasensory, out-of-body travel * Examines the quantum landscape of the Akashic Field, meetings with spirit guides, and descriptions of out-of-body experiences from the author's personal journal and from world spiritual traditions, including the Bible and the Baghavad Purana * Explores current theories about the science of consciousness and sensory perception, including discoveries from quantum physics, and how these discoveries align with the traditional wisdom of shamans, dowsers, and mystics Physicists have recently discovered a whole quantum-based reality, a multidimensional world where all potentials simultaneously exist. Called the Akashic Field by systems scientist Ervin Laszlo, it is the same quantum reality that mystics, shamans, and dowsers have been exploring for thousands of years through astral travel, spirit journeying, and energy work. Revealing how to gain awareness of the Quantum Akashic Field through conscious out-of-body experiences (OBEs), Jim Willis shares fascinating firsthand accounts taken from the detailed OBE journals he has kept for nearly 10 years, alongside analysis of recent discoveries in quantum physics and wisdom from the world's spiritual traditions. He details his own experiences with a wide variety of astral beings, spirit guides, landscapes, laws, and activities that he encountered in the Quantum Akashic Field. Drawing on scientifically-based principles that underlie the very nature of biological life, he explains how the brain is an organizer, not a producer, of consciousness. He explores the difference between dreams, visions, and OBEs and powerful ways to harness the imagination. Detailing a step-by-step process centered on safe, simple meditative techniques, Willis shows how to bypass the filters of your five senses while still fully awake and aware and engage in extrasensory, out-of-body travel. Sharing his journey to connect with universal consciousness and navigate the quantum landscape of the Akashic Field, he reveals how conscious OBEs allow you to penetrate beyond normal waking perception into the realm of quantum perception.

Sifting through the historical and archaeological evidence, Ancient Gods: Lost Histories, Hidden Truths, and the Conspiracy of Silence by Jim Wills probes the myths, stories, history and facts of ancient civilisations, lost technologies, past catastrophes, archetypical astronauts and bygone religions to tease out the truth of our distant past and modern existence.

An era that changed America forever is analyzed through the words of those who led, participated in, and opposed the protest movements that made the 1960s a signature epoch in U.S. culture. There is no better way to understand the 1960s than to read key speeches and texts from the decade, experiencing firsthand writings that capture a signature sense of passion and conviction. That is exactly the approach taken by this book as it analyzes major protest movements of the era, including the Vietnam War protests, the Civil Rights Movement, Women's Lib, the hippie movement, and the nascent GLBQT movement. Organized by movement, the work presents speeches, testimonies, and other important documents side-by-side with accessibly written, expert commentary. The documents and the themes they represent are linked to each other and to events during the decade to put the passionate thinking of the time in context and demonstrate its importance and legacy. By allowing readers to explore the 1960s in this visceral way, the book will provide an engaging learning experience for secondary school and university students, who will also gain helpful insights on how to evaluate historical documents. For the same reason, the volume will be a welcome resource for the general reader interested in understanding-or recalling-why the 1960s produced so many lasting changes in the American psyche. Opens a window on a revolutionary time when Americans stood up and demanded peace and tolerance Highlights the expectations of free speech and equal treatment for all Americans and shows how those expectations were translated into actions Includes background discussion of the 1960s and background discussion of each document Compares and contrasts key passages, encouraging the reader to cross-reference documents within the volume and connect the dots between them Examines exhibits as varied as Abbie Hoffman's testimony at the trial of the Chicago 7, Noam Chomsky's essay "The Function of a University in Time of Crisis," the Port Huron speech of the Students for a Democratic Society, Richard Nixon's Silent Majority speech, and Shirley Chisholm's Equal Rights for Women speech

This compelling book describes how everyday people courageously survived under repressive Communist regimes until the voices and actions of rebellious individuals resulted in the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe. Part of Greenwood's Daily Life through History series, Daily Life behind the Iron Curtain enables today's generations to understand what it was like for those living in Eastern Europe during the Cold War, particularly the period from 1961 to 1989, the era during which these people-East Germans in particular-lived in the imposing shadow of the Berlin Wall. An introductory chapter discusses the Russian Revolution, the end of World War II, and the establishment of the Socialist state, clarifying the reasons for the construction of the Berlin Wall. Many historical anecdotes bring these past experiences to life, covering all aspects of life behind the Iron Curtain, including separation of families and the effects on family life, diet, rationing, media, clothing and trends, strict travel restrictions, defection attempts, and the evolving political climate. The final chapter describes Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin wall and the slow assimilation of East into West, and examines Europe after Communism.

You have the power to reinvent yourself The power lies not in your mind alone. It's also in your genes and DNA. It's what makes us human. Humans change - that's the essence of life. Everything, from the smallest plant to the largest mountain, is in the process of change. And that's especially true with human beings. We can't always recognize it when it happens slowly and we learn to adjust to the differences. But when a living organism stops changing, it dies. I'm not just talking about simple physical changes, here. Those changes are not that important, really. They're going to happen, one way or another, whether we are conscious of them or not. I'm talking about psychological, emotional and spiritual changes - the kinds of changes, for instance, that mold children into mature, emotionally balanced adults. Each of us, by the time we hit senior citizenship, will have made countless choices and agonized over millions of decisions. We tend to think of them as either good or bad. Some of them led to happy, productive, constructive events. Others got us into a world of trouble. But from the perspective of age, every choice was good in this sense: it offered the opportunity to learn something. Right or wrong, good or bad, whatever the consequences that followed our decision, we learned from what we have done. That kind of learning is called experience. That's all experience is - living through the consequences of choices and remembering what happened.

You have the power to reinvent yourself The power lies not in your mind alone. It's also in your genes and DNA. It's what makes us human. Humans change - that's the essence of life. Everything, from the smallest plant to the largest mountain, is in the process of change. And that's especially true with human beings. We can't always recognize it when it happens slowly and we learn to adjust to the differences. But when a living organism stops changing, it dies. I'm not just talking about simple physical changes, here. Those changes are not that important, really. They're going to happen, one way or another, whether we are conscious of them or not. I'm talking about psychological, emotional and spiritual changes - the kinds of changes, for instance, that mold children into mature, emotionally balanced adults. Each of us, by the time we hit senior citizenship, will have made countless choices and agonized over millions of decisions. We tend to think of them as either good or bad. Some of them led to happy, productive, constructive events. Others got us into a world of trouble. But from the perspective of age, every choice was good in this sense: it offered the opportunity to learn something. Right or wrong, good or bad, whatever the consequences that followed our decision, we learned from what we have done. That kind of learning is called experience. That's all experience is - living through the consequences of choices and remembering what happened.

With the world changing so rapidly in the 21st century, what is there left to believe in? Do traditional religions, science and philosophy still have anything left to offer - something that promises measurable hope? Are the words "faith," "trust" and "belief" still meaningful? Rev. Jim Willis believes that the next thrust of human evolution needs to be in the realm of the spirit; the human heart. He puts forth the argument that this step is natural and to be expected, because humankind is growing into a potential inherent since the beginnings of consciousness.

In a postmodern age where the media's depictions of reality serve as stand-ins for the real thing for so many Americans, how much government policy is being made on the basis of those mediated realities and on the public reaction to them? When those mediated depictions deviate from the truth of the actual situation, how serious a situation is that? Time and again, both anecdotal evidence and scientific research seem to confirm that the news media often influence government action. At the least, they speed up policy making that would otherwise take a slower, more reasoned course. Sometimes the media serve as the communication link among world leaders who may be ideological enemies. Because of the enduring popularity of television news, government leaders monitor the networks' story selections and track public opinion trends generated by interviews done in these stories. These then become the substance of proposed legislation and/or executive action, as politicians strive to prove themselves able listeners to the heartland of America and also prove themselves worthy of re-election. This book examines many specific events that show how major news operations either painted a truthful or distorted picture of national and international events, and how governmental leaders responded following those representations.

What remains of past inhabitants of the jungles, lost cities, underground and underwater structures and their civilizations? The reminders of the Ancients are everywhere. They are preserved in remnants in archaeology. They are found in stories from mythology. Who were these people? Aliens, humans, or myths? How did they rise, fall, and will they rise again? From pyramids and underground bunkers to watery graves and ancient astronauts, Lost Civilizations explores the archaeological evidence left behind by more than 70 of these ancient civilizations.