A series of 24 lectures comprising a course on comparative religion presented by Charles Kimball, director of the Religious Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma.

    Unique among textbooks on this topic, our book approaches the study of myth through complete works of Greco-Roman literature, including six complete Greek dramas and generous excerpts from the narratives of Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, and Ovid, and through carefully-chosen examples of Classical works of art, both painting and sculpture. Combining literary masterpieces with the visual arts, this integrative approach offers readers a comprehensive experience with both cognitive and aesthetic appeal.

    It considers first the views of E.B. Tylor and James Frazer, two Victorian pioneers in anthropology and the comparative study of religion. It explores the controversial reductionist approaches of Freud, Marx, and Emile Durkheim, then explains the program of their most outspoken opponent, the Romanian-American scholar Mircea Eliade. Further on, it examines certain newer methods and ideas advanced by the English ethnographer E.E. Evans-Pritchard and by the American Clifford Geertz, two of the present century's most celebrated names in fieldwork anthropology. Each chapter offers biographical background, exposition of the theory, comparative analysis, and critical assessment. Easily accessible to students in introductory religion courses, Seven Theories of Religion is an enlightening treatment of this controversial and fascinating subject.

    

    It is an invitation to the reader to put aside their traditional understanding of the Gospel of John and to replace it with another one more faithful to the original text perspective. The Jesus that will emerge will provoke to rethink most of what you knew about this gospel. The book is a well-rounded verse-by-verse illustrated rethinking of the fourth gospel. Here is the catch: instead of reading it, as if it was written for 21 century Gentile Christians, the book interprets it as if it was written for the first-century peoples of ancient Israel. The book proves what Krister Stendahl stated long time ago: “Our vision is often more abstracted by what we think we know than by our lack of knowledge.” Other than challenging the long-held interpretations of well-known stories, the author with the skill of an experienced tour guide, takes us to a seat within those who most probably heard this gospel read in the late first century. Such exploration of variety of important contexts allows us to recover for our generation the true riches of this marvelous Judean gospel. “A genuine apologetic is one that is true to the texts and the history, akin to the speeches of a defense attorney with integrity. Using the best of contemporary scholarship in first-century Judaic history and contributing much of his own, Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg has demonstrated that the Gospel of John is not an anti-Jewish, but a thoroughly Jewish book.” Daniel Boyarin, Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture, University of California, Berkeley “Dr. Lizorkin-Eyzenberg places the text of John’s Gospel in its authentic context by examining the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, rabbinic literature, and suggesting innovative explanations for the nomenclature, ‘the Jews.’ His fresh analysis is sure to stir meaningful debate. His creative approach will make an enduring contribution to the discipline of New Testament studies.” Brad Young, Professor of Biblical Literature in Judeao-Christian Studies, Oral Roberts University “For some time, research on the Gospels has suffered from stagnation, and there is a feeling that there is not much new that one can say. In light of this, Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg’s new commentary on the Gospel of John, with its original outlook on the identity of the original audience and the issues at stake, is extremely refreshing.” Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Head of the Talmud and Late Antiquity Department, Tel-Aviv University.

    (Except secretly you really do you masochistic, beastly person you.) Illustrated, painfully funny and drop-your-jaw ridiculous, this is trivia from the cesspit of time that you won't be able to stop reading once you start.*To aid childbirth.**They exploded it with 100 times too much dynamite and rained blubber down on unsuspecting people and buildings.***Decency prevents us from answering this one here. You'll have to buy the book to find out.

    The explanation for this is quite simple: the elite perceived majority power as tantamount to a dictatorship of the proletariat.In ancient Greece there can be traced not only the rudiments of modern democratic society but the entire Western tradition of anti-democratic thought. In Democracy, Paul Cartledge provides a detailed history of this ancient political system. In addition, by drawing out the salient differences between ancient and modern forms of democracy he enables a richer understanding of both.Cartledge contends that there is no one "ancient Greek democracy" as pure and simple as is often believed. Democracy surveys the emergence and development of Greek politics, the invention of political theory, and-intimately connected to the latter- the birth of democracy, first at Athens in c. 500 BCE and then at its greatest flourishing in the Greek world 150 years later. Cartledge then traces the decline of genuinely democratic Greek institutions at the hands of the Macedonians and-subsequently and decisively-the Romans. Throughout, he sheds light on the variety of democratic practices in the classical world as well as on their similarities to and dissimilarities from modern democratic forms, from the American and French revolutions to contemporary political thought. Authoritative and accessible, Cartledge's book will be regarded as the best account of ancient democracy and its long afterlife for many years to come.

    When Mithra and Early Christianity met, the result was a ferocious implacable duel, the marks of which still can be detected on the body of present-day Christian doctrine.This definitive treatment of Mithrais religion by the recognized authority on classical religions pieces together information from the fragments of texts, bas-reliefs, statuary, etc., remaining from the almost total destruction of the religion centuries ago. In a work of masterful scholarship, Dr. Cumont reconstructs the charateristics of the principle divinities, the rituals, the mystery teachings, the liturgy and clergy, the attitude towards Mithra of the typical Roman soldier, the rapid dissemination of the religion in the early years of the Christian era. 70 illustrations—photographs and drawings of Mithraic art—are included.Preface to the French EditionTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsThe Origins of MithraismThe Dissemination of Mithraism in the Roman EmpireMithra & the Imperial Power of RomeThe Doctrine of the Mithraic MysteriesThe Mithraic Liturgy, Clergy & DevoteesMithraism & the Religions of the EmpireMithraic ArtIndex

    A classic survey of Roman history, art, economic life, and religion through Constantine's rise to power.

    

    Seer and prophet. The only human permitted to converse with God "face-to-face." Moses is the most commanding presence in the Old Testament. Yet as Jonathan Kirsch shows in this brilliant, stunningly original volume, Moses was also an enigmatic and mysterious figure--at once a good shepherd and a ruthless warrior, a spiritual leader and a magician, a lawgiver who broke his own laws, God's chosen friend and hounded victim. Now, in Moses: A Life, Kirsch accomplishes the wondrous feat of revealing the real Moses, a strikingly modern figure who steps out from behind the facade of Sunday school lessons and movie matinees.Drawing on the biblical text and a treasury of both scholarship and storytelling, Kirsch examines all that is known and all that has been imagined of Moses. In these vivid pages, we see the marvels and mysteries of Moses's life in a new light--his rescue in infancy and adoption by an Egyptian princess; his reluctant assumption of the role of liberator; his struggles to wrest his people from the pharaoh's dominion; his desperate vigil on Mount Sinai. Here too is the darker, more ominous Moses--the sorcerer, the husband of a pagan woman, the military commander who cold-bloodedly ordered the slaying of innocent people; the beloved of God whom God sought twice to murder.Jonathan Kirsch brings both prodigious knowledge and a keen imagination to one of the most compelling stories of the Bible, and the results are fascinating. A figure of mystery, passion, and contradiction, Moses emerges from this book very much a hero for our time.From the Hardcover edition.

    Sticking out the tongue is still a polite sign of greeting in northern India and Tibet (see Body Parts).Cosmic Egg In ancient times the primeval universe-or the Great Mother-took the form of an egg. It carried all numbers and letters within an ellipse, to show that everything is contained within one form at the beginning (see Round and Oval Motifs).

    This spirit-nourishing collection of 366 authentic goddess prayers, invocations, chants, and songs was culled from dozens of diverse eras and cultures. Each ancient prayer rings out in clear language that maintains the sacred spirit of the originals.-A different traditional prayer, invocation, or chant to the goddess for each day of the year -Each is illuminated by readings about the ancient quote that offer rich material for reflection, inspiration, and bliss -Multiple indices allow you to find information by goddess name, subject, or cultural origin -Explore the goddess as envisioned by 68 different cultures throughout the ages--including the Americas, classical Greece and Rome, Asia, ancient Sumeria and Babylonia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa -Find prayers that encompass nearly 130 aspects of the goddess, from Aida Weydo and Amaterasu to White Buffalo Calf Woman and Zemyna -Use the perpetual calendar to meditate upon one goddess prayer each dayThe Goddess Companion does far more than simply give you meditations and prayers. The readings associated with each will give you incredible insights into a wide variety of cultures and, just as importantly, into your very nature. Written by one of the leaders of the contemporary goddess movement, The Goddess Companion will help you on your spiritual path to self-understanding.

    In this Octavo we have assembled scattered secrets for a Supreme Grimoire forRoundworld, the universe in which you're standing. To this end we have taken some inspiration from Pratchett's Discworld, and a lot from Theoretical Physics and Practical Chaos Magic. "The most original, and probably the most important, writer on Magick since Aleister Crowley." -Robert Anton Wilson, author of the Cosmic Trigger trilogy. Peter J. Carroll is one of the founders of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros (IOT) which he led for a decade. He has spent thirty-seven years in research and experiment and is the author of three other books Liber Null & Psychonaut, Liber Kaos: the Psychonomicon, and Psybermagic, and The Apophenion.

    Consequently, his view of history is confused. For centuries, the history of the Western world has been viewed from the Christian or classical standpoint—from a deep faith in the Kingdom of God or a belief in recurrent and eternal life-cycles. The modern mind, however, is neither Christian nor pagan—and its interpretations of history are Christian in derivation and anti-Christian in result. To develop this theory, Karl Löwith—beginning with the more accessible philosophies of history in the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries and working back to the Bible—analyzes the writings of outstanding historians both in antiquity and in Christian times. "A book of distinction and great importance. . . . The author is a master of philosophical interpretation, and each of his terse and substantial chapters has the balance of a work of art."—Helmut Kuhn, Journal of Philosophy