His journey into the past follows the clues left by Plato, and they take him far beyond Crete and the Mediterranean, where scholars in recent times have located Atlantis. So do mummies in Egypt, Roman wreckage in the West Atlantic, the African features of great stone heads in Mexico, and the explosion of a comet 10,500 years ago. For two millennia the fate of Atlantis has fascinated historians, philosophers, and explorers who have debated its reality and searched in vain for a kingdom shrouded in myth and legend. Collins's final destination will shock the experts and amaze all readers. "A bold and imaginative attempt to understand the destruction of the legendary city of Atlantis."—Kirkus Reviews "Probably the most substantial and well researched book on Atlantis since Ignatius Donnelly."—Colin Wilson, author of From Atlantis to the Sphinx

    With stories and personal anecdotes, Smith not only presents the basic beliefs and essential teachings of Christianity, but argues why religious belief matters in today's secular world.Though there is a wide variety of contemporary interpretations of Christianity—some of them conflicting—Smith cuts through these to describe Christianity's "Great Tradition," the common faith of the first millennium of believers, which is the trunk of the tree from which Christianity's many branches, twigs, and leaves have grown. This is not the exclusivist Christianity of strict fundamentalists, nor the liberal, watered-down Christianity practiced by many contemporary churchgoers. In exposing biblical literalism as unworkable as well as enumerating the mistakes of modern secularists, Smith presents the very soul of a real and substantive faith, one still relevant and worth believing in.Smith rails against the hijacked Christianity of politicians who exploit it for their own needs. He decries the exercise of business that widens the gap between rich and poor, and fears education has lost its sense of direction. For Smith, the media has become a business that sensationalizes news rather than broadening our understanding, and art and music have become commercial and shocking rather than enlightening. Smith reserves his harshest condemnation, however, for secular modernity, which has stemmed from the misreading of science—the mistake of assuming that "absence of evidence" of a scientific nature is "evidence of absence." These mistakes have all but banished faith in transcendence and the Divine from mainstream culture and pushed it to the margins.Though the situation is grave, these modern misapprehensions can be corrected, says Smith, by reexamining the great tradition of Christianity's first millennium and reaping the lessons it holds for us today. This fresh examination of the Christian worldview, its history, and its major branches provides the deepest, most authentic vision of Christianity—one that is both tolerant and substantial, traditional and relevant.

    In the inner room, the silent space in which God unloads the burdens and false selves that govern our individuality and our daily lives, God acts as a divine therapist, healing us and forcing us to recognize how many barriers we put up between ourselves and an authentic relationship with God. The process whereby this happens is the foundation of centering prayer—a technique of prayer that Keating and other contemporary mystics have revived out of the ancient mystical traditions of the Desert Fathers and the medieval mystics.Abbot Keating explores in this book what it means to enter the inner room and the transformation that takes place there. It explains the guidelines of centering prayer and offers advice on how to develop the relationship more deeply.

    It focuses squarely on the inherent irrationality of religion, and reveals its utter irreconcilability with science. Offering several "reconciliation theories" to people of faith, it forces every reader to make a choice.Contents The Reason Revolution in historical context Questioning belief Reasons for skepticism Secular humanism as an alternative worldview Political implications of atheism The collapse of religion Hopeful predictions Reconciliation theories Comments by clergyCall to action

    From its apt title, to its generous use of many famous chart examples, to Arroyo's trademark insight and wisdom on every page, "Exploring Jupiter" is positively a winner! The presentation of the astrology is clear, practical and intelligent, making it a must for both newer students and more experienced practising astrologers. Unlike the majority of modern astrologers, Arroyo refers to Jupiter's ancient rulership of Pisces as being significant. The book includes: Jupiter through the signs, Jupiter through the houses (arranged by element), Jupiter aspects in the birth chart and so on. As always with Stephen Arroyo, it is the clarity and profound depth of these guidelines for interpretation that is so striking. The chapter on transits involving Jupiter is particularly good, building on ideas he has expressed in earlier writings.

    Did you ever ask yourself: “Who am I? What am I? Why am I?”You are a mystery.The world about you is a mystery.Now, you can understand!

    It is a collection of religious and philosophic texts gathered and translated into Coptic by fourth-century Gnostic Christians and translated into English by dozens of highly reputable experts. First published in 1978, this is the revised 1988 edition supported by illuminating introductions to each document. The library itself is a diverse collection of texts that the Gnostics considered to be related to their heretical philosophy in some way. There are 45 separate titles, including a Coptic translation from the Greek of two well-known works: the Gospel of Thomas, attributed to Jesus' brother Judas, and Plato's Republic. The word gnosis is defined as "the immediate knowledge of spiritual truth." This doomed radical sect believed in being here now--withdrawing from the contamination of society and materiality--and that heaven is an internal state, not some place above the clouds. That this collection has resurfaced at this historical juncture is more than likely no coincidence.--P. Randall Cohan

    Book by Green, Ruth Hurmence

    Some develop very quickly, but do not achieve significant depth; while others develop quite slowly, but seem to be almost unending in the depth of wisdom, trust, hope, virtue, and love they engender. The best way of explaining this is to look at each of the pillars individually.Before doing this, however, it is indispensable for each of us to acknowledge (at least intellectually) the fundamental basis for Christian contemplation, namely, the unconditional Love of God. Jesus taught us to address God as Abba. If God really is Abba; if His love is like the father of the prodigal son; if Jesus' passion and Eucharist are confirmations of that unconditional Love; if God really did so love the world that He sent His only begotten Son into the world not to condemn us, but to save us and bring us to eternal life (Jn 3:16-19); if nothing really can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rm 8:31-39); and if God really has prepared us "to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love which surpasses all understanding, so that we may attain to the fullness of God Himself" (Eph 3:18-20), then God's love is unconditional, and it is, therefore, the foundation for unconditional trust and unconditional hope. There can be nothing more important than contemplating, affirming, appropriating, and living in this Unconditional Love. This is the purpose of contemplation; indeed, the purpose of the spiritual life itself.

    This is the source of the secret teachings of Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Alchemy, Tantra, Kabbalah, and the mysteries of the Mayans, Aztecs, Egyptians, Tibetans, Eleusians, Essenes, and hundreds more. Everything that lives was created through sex. Just the same, the soul is created through sex, but not the sex of the common person. To create divinity, one must understand divine sexuality. This knowledge has always been preserved in secret, held safely for those who demonstrated their ability to use it properly. Now, for the first time in history, that knowledge is publicly available in this book.With the explanations in this book, you will understand not only many seemingly vague and incomprehensible scriptures, but also how all spiritual practices work. After reading this book, religion and sex make sense.• Useful for followers of any spiritual tradition• Gives practical methods to change our lives today• Supported by solid science and authentic spiritual traditions

    Through the prisms of archaeology, theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright's findings overturn basic assumptions about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and are sure to cause controversy. He explains why spirituality has a role today, and why science, contrary to conventional wisdom, affirms the validity of the religious quest. And this previously unrecognized evolutionary logic points not toward continued religious extremism, but future harmony. Nearly a decade in the making, The Evolution of God is a breathtaking re-examination of the past, and a visionary look forward.

    Jacques Philippe develops themes relating to prayer, freedom, the Holy Eucharist, and man’s constant struggle for contentment amid the stresses of everyday life. Through spiritual insights of amazing women of the Church—Etty Hillesum, Thérèse of Lisieux, and Teresa of Avila—Fr. Jacque’s essays examine topics such as:Why look for interior peace?Knowing God through MaryTouching God through prayerThe theological virtues and the Eucharist

    It has many illustrations.

    Eliade traces manifestations of the sacred from primitive to modern times in terms of space, time, nature, and the cosmos. In doing so he shows how the total human experience of the religious man compares with that of the nonreligious. This book of great originality and scholarship serves as an excellent introduction to the history of religion, but its perspective also encompasses philosophical anthropology, phenomenology, and psychology. It will appeal to anyone seeking to discover the potential dimensions of human existence.

    Why am I here? Is there a purpose to my life? What happens when I die? These deep questions are addressed with clear wisdom, vivid images and memorable stories.