Legends Religion Spirituality

The US Census Bureau defines the Midwest as consisting of a dozen states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Outsiders often deride the region, and for many who have never been there, America's heartland is just a bunch of "flyover states" with little influence, little history, and little interest.

The present volume, contains translations of all the important Ethiopic Legends of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Miracles of our Lady. This rich treasure trove of stories about Mary, her mother Hanna, and the Holy Family has long been preserved by the Ethiopian Orthodox church, and was discovered by British Explorers. This translation by Sir. E.A. Wallis Budge is sure to delight all those who are interested in the Ethiopian church and Marian folklore.

Today, the Salem Witch Trials are often remembered as being a relic of a superstitious past. Salem has transformed itself into a tourist haven and Halloween destination by capitalizing off the Salem Witch trials. But it was deadly serious in 1692, when 19 men and women found themselves taken to "Gallows Hill" and hanged for being witches.

They told you the suburbs were a great place to live. They said nothing bad could ever happen here. But they were wrong. This collection of terrifying true stories exposes the dark side of life in the 'burbs—from corpses buried in backyards and ghosts lurking in fast food restaurants to UFOs, vanishing persons, bizarre apparitions, and worse.

Shrouded in myth and conspiracy, the history of the Knights Templar is little understood. Geordie Torr pulls fact from fiction, revealing the astonishing tale of this military-religious order that dominated the politics of the medieval Middle East.

The oceans of the world have always had an air of mystery. About 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, and until the 20th century no one had plumbed its depths. Even today the bigger seas and oceans remain a largely unexplored frontier, with new species being discovered every year. Thus it comes as no surprise that countless legends have arisen of strange creatures lurking in the depths.

I was curious about the reality of many claims over the centuries of sea serpents or large ocean monsters, so I thought I’d research this subject myself. There were many amazing stories, such as the giant whale which attacked a ship in the 19th century. This event was the reason Herman Melville wrote the book Moby Dick. There are many records of giant fish and serpents in the water. The question is which of these have some basis in reality. In this book, I tried to do some comprehensive research on the giants of the deep. I hope you find this interesting.

Arthur Edward Waite examines the classic Legend of San Graal (or the Holy Grail), as it was known in both Great Britain and France. He looks at similarities, writes about Percival, and quotes from Tennyson. He discusses the suppression of the Knights Templar by Pope Clement in 1307. He also looks at what role Christianity plays in all of this. During the course of his exploration, Waite likens the knights' quest for the Holy Grail to the candidate's journey through the initiatory degrees in Freemasonry.

For the last few decades of the 20th century, the Catholic Church was blessed to have two of its most influential leaders guiding the Church and spreading its faith and message at the same time. Pope John Paul II made history by becoming the first non-Italian pope in several centuries, guiding the church for over 25 years. But while he led the Church, a remarkable woman born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (1910-1997) became one of the Church's greatest missionaries and humanitarians. She would come to be known to the world as Mother Teresa.

Angels have been a critical part of humanity for as long as we can imagine. Often depicted as benevolent beings, they have been at the center of many religious texts, especially in Abrahamic religions, Christianity especially.

Brother Mackey discusses this rich and elaborate mythology within masonry, the inclusion into our mysteries of which is based off of a single mention in the Book of Kings. The explores the symbolism of advancement from a lower to a higher place, the movement from darkness to light and other such masonic allegories associated with the winding staircase. He also discusses the porch, the number of steps, Pythagoras, and more.

The Hindu epic poem Mahabharata by itself is 10 times longer than both the Iliad and Odyssey combined. In this volume, you will discover how the storm god Indra defeated the demon Vritrasura, and how Indra came to respect Vritrasura even though he had to kill him; how King Yayati had to choose between honoring his oath to his father-in-law on the one hand and the Dharma on the other, and what consequences came of his decision; and more.

Bob Cornuke is a real-life Indiana Jones, searching for evidence of biblical events and artifacts. In this book, he tells the story of his search for the remains of Noah's ark. Using investigative skills learned during his years as a police officer, Bob investigates all the clues, from ancient Scriptures to modern day eyewitness accounts. His quest to learn the truth about Noah's ark leads him from his safe home in the foothills of Colorado to the dangerous mountain ranges in Turkey and Iran.

Urban legends are thought by most to be tall tales passed down through the ages. Some of the stories are obviously make believe, while others, as strange as they may seem, have their origins in actual events. Do alligators roam the dark tunnels deep beneath New York City? Do boogeymen who terrorize those afraid of the night really exist? Are killer clowns a myth born from our fear of the unknown or could such evil truly walk among us? These are just a few of the urban legends that are explored in this book.

The Holy Grail is one of the most famous relics of Christianity, but also one of the least understood. Today, it is mostly associated with Christ's Last Supper, possibly used during the meal as a serving cup. The gospels in the New Testament specifically mention the Holy Chalice that Jesus used to serve wine, so it's no surprise that images of the Holy Grail depict a similar kind of cup.

Find solace in the comforting glow of the crackling fire as you draw nearer, for it is here that MAJ Logan Phillips awaits to captivate your imagination. With his incredible ability to weave thought-provoking tales, infused with the guiding light of faith, he invites you into a world of inspiration and introspection. As an esteemed Army officer, former Basic Training Commander, and Assistant Professor at USMA, his wealth of experience shines through in every word he shares.

The Middle Ages in Europe were some of the most precarious centuries in recorded history, bristling with war, excitement, and chaos. The Western Roman Empire had crumbled, territories were rapidly expanding, and heavy ploughs, hourglasses, spectacles, tidal mills, and more pioneering inventions were popping up across the continent. It was also a time of extreme prejudice, when women were treated as second-class citizens. Their only purpose in life was to procreate by the dozen.

Through passages of narrative, deeply researched explanation and beautifully illustrated by the author with thirty paper-cutouts, Saints retells stories that enjoyed centuries of popular appeal among medieval Christians but were suppressed when their shrines were destroyed. These stories embraced the darkness of their heroes: sinister saints who sacrificed their followers and women who communed with geese, saints whose decapitated heads spoke to wolves.

In this work, the British Orientalist Sir Ernest Alfred Wallis Budge discusses the seven Babylonian tablets discovered in Nineveh by Sir A.H. Layard, Mormuzd Rassam, and George Smith. These tablets contain the Babylonian beliefs regarding the creation of the world. It includes the myth of the primordial Abzu and Mother Tiamat.

Next to Joseph Smith, Brigham Young is one of the best known Mormon leaders and perhaps the most important. After Smith's death, it was Young who led Mormon pioneers westward in a journey that the Latter Day Saints often likened to the Exodus, and Young became popular as "American Moses". At the same time, Young and his group were involved in a seemingly never ending list of controversies, both of their own making and the misconceptions of so many Americans who were unfamiliar with the religion.