Spirituality Myth

The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and the yeti have long held a fascination for people the world over. Debates about their actual existence or what they might really be have continued for decades, if not centuries. Known also as cryptids, they have spawned a body of research known as cryptozoology.

Did the early Christians believe their myths? Like most ancient—and modern—people, early Christians made efforts to present their myths in the most believable ways.

There’s a lie masquerading as truth that’s running rampant in our culture. It goes something like this: you are powerful enough to control your circumstances and create the life you want through positive thinking, solid planning, and dreaming big enough. But if you’ve ever tried to control your life or to strive your way to self-fulfillment, you’ve discovered what lies on the other side of this supposedly empowering message. Tara Sun explores why the quest for control is overrated—not to mention downright dangerous—and reveals the surprising, lifegiving alternative: radical surrender to God.

Two thousand years ago, 967 Jewish men, women, and children reportedly took their own lives rather than surrender to the Roman army. This dramatic event, which took place on top of Masada, a barren and windswept mountain overlooking the Dead Sea, spawned a powerful story of Jewish resistance that came to symbolize the embattled modern State of Israel. Jodi Magness, an archaeologist who has excavated at Masada, explains what happened there, how we know it, and how recent developments might change understandings of the story.

The primary mission of the church is to glorify God by blessing all peoples of the world through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Great Commission’s task of global disciple-making is the most ambitious project ever undertaken. Given the scale and complexity of global missions, it’s no wonder that misconceptions abound, even among invested, godly people.

Explore the world of Hungarian Paganism with this book's impressive collection of history, lore, and traditions from the Carpathian basin. The Hungarian people, also known as the Magyars, fused pre-Christian and Christian beliefs into their identity, and that fusion remains today. Exploring mythology, daily life, magic, and life passages, this book reveals the old ways of Hungarian practitioners.

You’ve been sold a story: That if you meditate hard enough, chant the right mantras, or follow the right guru, you’ll finally arrive — at peace, at bliss, at some glittering finish line called “enlightenment.” You’ve been told that ego is the enemy, that suffering can be transcended, that awakening is just a retreat, a breathwork session, or a plant medicine ceremony away. This book calls bullshit. I call bullshit. The Lie of Enlightenment: The Myth of Modern Spirituality is not another self-help guide wrapped in Sanskrit. It’s not here to comfort you with platitudes or tell ...

Exploring history, folklore, mythology, and science, this book gives you a unique look at two of the most popular magical creatures of all time. The crow and his cousin, the raven, are featured players in many cultures throughout the world, including Norse, Celtic, Jewish, and Indigenous traditions. This guide teaches you how to welcome these highly intelligent birds into your own spiritual practice, whether you follow Wicca, Heathenry, Druidry, or any other path.

A big part of Hindu and Indian mythology is the lengthy Mahabharata, with stories about princes, princesses, monsters, and many mysterious creatures. Krishna is one of the prominent figures in many ancient mythology writings from this region, and his victories over evil have been applauded and believed by many.

Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades - sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church.

In this new book, you will find all the best-kept secrets by the Sumerians. You will be able to discover what lies beyond what you already know about the Anunnaki. Most of the stories you have heard about these reptilian beings are mere fiction. Here, you will find everything you need to know straight from the Sumerian tablets. This is not fiction—do not expect that in this book. You will learn the real secrets, translated by researchers who dedicated their lives to the translation of these Sumerian texts.

One of the most recognizable but misunderstood Greek gods, Hades plays a valuable role that has not garnered much adoration. Using myth, storytelling, and practical exercises, author Jamie Waggoner shows how Hades is more than the keeper of souls and the land of the dead. She reveals his true nature and provides everything you need to build your own rich devotional practice.

Ever wonder why much of American Christianity is pro-spanking, pro-tough-on-crime, anti-gun control, pro-war, and hell-affirming, even though Jesus taught mercy, non-violence and enemy love? When Michael Camp started deconstructing his evangelical faith, he noticed a pattern. The doctrines he questioned—original depravity, substitutionary atonement, God-ordained genocide in the Old Testament, the doctrine of hell, etc.—were all tied to retribution and violence.

Did Joseph Smith really say that? Does the Church have that artifact? How accurate was that story told in Sunday School? Should I trust the information on this website? Can I draw closer to God by learning about history? Real vs. Rumor explores Church history myths, rumors, and false quotes to demonstrate how to think effectively about the information that swirls around us in our day. Each chapter brims with illuminating examples from scripture, history, and popular culture.

In this study, Fromm argues that man needs to analyze his unconscious thoughts, his dreams, and his conscious fantasies, as they reflect a universal and symbolic representation of himself.

The Aztecs believed offerings of human blood and human lives were necessary to the continued running of the universe. Indeed, in Aztec myths, the gods themselves make sacrifices of their own blood and even of their entire bodies in order to create a universe humans can live in and, in one story, to create humans themselves. To the ancient Aztecs, these practices seemed fitting, necessary, and honorable, helping to connect the world of humans to the divine world of the gods, a universe that in Aztec myth took shape in cycles of creation, destruction, and rebirth.

Did Jesus Christ really exist? A rationalist answer to the question is given here by an ordained minister, independent preacher, and lecturer on "independent religion", M. M. Mangasarian. Though the full work was a series of studies from several additional authors from the Independent Religious Society in Chicago, this production highlights Mangasarian's contribution.

The stories in Hindu myth stem from traditions within Hinduism, drawing on stories from ancient texts, like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Keep in mind that because different versions of Hinduism inspire different people, many different versions of the stories float through the jungle and over the stones of temples and traditions. The stories in this volume are my version, though I’ve stuck as closely to the original myths and legends as imagination allows.

Iceland, AD 935. Einar Unnsson is destined to be great. When he fights, a frenzy comes upon him. It makes him lethal in battle – so lethal he just defeated the man his own father sent to kill him. Now, with Einar exiled from his kingdom, his father turns his vengeance on Einar's mother – his escaped former bedslave. Yet Einar is in no position to protect her. He's made an enemy of the powerful King Eirik and must fight for his own life before he can save her. Einar depends on the Wolf Coats, a band of fearsome, bloodthirsty warriors, but they're convinced the fates have cursed them.

While belief in religious supernatural claims is waning throughout the West, evidence suggests belief in nonreligious supernatural claims is on the rise. What explains this contradiction? How can a society with a falling belief in God have a rising belief in ghosts, psychic powers, ancient astronauts, and other supernatural or pseudo-scientific phenomena? Taking the same anthropological approach he employed in his notable studies of religion, atheist author and activist David G. McAfee turns his attention to nonreligious faith-based claims.