A Prophet Of Modern Delusions

Throughout his major works, Leo Tolstoy argues that the central problem of the modern world is its delusional character. We have become delusional about the utility of science, the effects of music, the nature of love and the divine, and the inescapable reality of death. A Prophet of Modern Delusions: Tolstoy’s Critique of Modernity explores Tolstoy’s arguments regarding these delusions. In so doing, it illustrates the continuing relevance of Tolstoy’s writings to those who desire to understand the complexities of modernity and who wish to be roused from deeply entrenched ways of thinking that may be delusional.

This is the third in a series of books exposing the truth behind Mormonism. In this volume, we review doctrines that have been discarded. To early Mormons, Adam was God and blood atonement was a stark reality. These were accepted doctrines which survived for several decades throughout the leadership of several successive prophets. Today, the Church denies they even existed. The origin of the Mormon temple ceremony is established and explained. An analysis of changes over the years shows that the rites now enacted bear no resemblance to the original ceremonies Joseph Smith lifted from late eighteenth century Masonic ritual, claiming they were restored from the time of Solomon. The psychology of a Mormon testimony is explored and explained. Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are exposed as completely unfulfilled nonsense that Mormons simply cannot see through as long as blind faith precludes rational thinking. Visit www.themormondelusion.com for further information on this and other volumes.

This is the third in a series of books exposing the truth behind Mormonism. In this volume, we review doctrines that have been discarded. To early Mormons, Adam was God and blood atonement was a stark reality. These were accepted doctrines which survived for several decades throughout the leadership of several successive prophets. Today, the Church denies they even existed. The origin of the Mormon temple ceremony is established and explained. An analysis of changes over the years shows that the rites now enacted bear no resemblance to the original ceremonies Joseph Smith lifted from late eighteenth century Masonic ritual, claiming they were restored from the time of Solomon. The psychology of a Mormon testimony is explored and explained. Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants are exposed as completely unfulfilled nonsense that Mormons simply cannot see through as long as blind faith precludes rational thinking. Visit www.themormondelusion.com for further information on this and other volumes.

The science delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality. The fundamental questions are answered, leaving only the details to be filled in. In this book, Dr Rupert Sheldrake, one of the world's most innovative scientists, shows that science is being constricted by assumptions that have hardened into dogmas. The sciences would be better off without them: freer, more interesting, and more fun. According to the dogmas of science, all reality is material or physical. The world is a machine, made up of dead matter. Nature is purposeless. Consciousness is nothing but the physical activity of the brain. Free will is an illusion. God exists only as an idea in human minds, imprisoned within our skulls. But should science be a belief-system, or a method of enquiry? Sheldrake shows that the materialist ideology is moribund; under its sway, increasingly expensive research is reaping diminishing returns. In the skeptical spirit of true science, Sheldrake turns the ten fundamental dogmas of materialism into exciting questions, and shows how all of them open up startling new possibilities. The Science Delusion will radically change your view of what is possible. and give you new hope for the world.

The fourth in 'The Mormon Delusion' series tracks the Mormon 'Missionary Lesson Manual' as taught to investigators, and lesson by lesson, exposes and explains the truth behind the false teachings. At every stage, unsuspecting investigators are taught a fictional account of Mormon history and teachings by faithful missionaries who themselves have no idea they are teaching provable fiction. This book exposes the underlying truth behind Joseph Smith's original fraudulent claims and modern-day fictional Mormon teachings. Evidence from within Mormon Church history and Mormon so-called scripture proves conclusively that the Mormon Church continues in a conspiracy to deceive its own members, missionaries and their investigators alike. At the end of a journey through this book there will be nothing left for an investigator to take to the Lord in prayer in order to obtain an answer as to whether what the Mormon Church teaches is true. Common sense and reason alone will be enough to determine the truth of the matter.

The four last plays of Shakespeare’s First Folio—Cymbeline, The Tempest, Henry VIII, and The Winter’s Tale—provide underappreciated resources for political thought and reflection. Political Wisdom in Late Shakespeare: A Way Out of the Wreck examines the ruling communities in each of these plays, exploring what virtues are dramatized as necessary in a courtier’s fulfillment of his or her political obligations. By lending courtly virtues their close attention, Shakespearean audiences can better appreciate how much a given court has been reformed or could be further reformed in the future. Indeed, these four late plays prove remarkably united in their presentation of five virtues—patience, piety, fidelity, clemency, and diligence—which consistently appear desirable for rulers to have and regimes to encourage. Moreover, the visions of tyranny offered in these plays remind readers how much is at stake should these courtly virtues decay or collapse. Their presence or absence signals whether any political community will, to borrow the language of Henry VIII, chart for themselves “a way out of the wreck.”

Wicked Leadership in Film offers a novel theory of how leaders can contend with so-called “wicked problems,” a class of important, entrenched, and far-reaching political and social challenges (such as climate change or mental illness) that resist ordinary policies and problem solving. Bruce Peabody’s relational theory is built on two central claims. First, it holds that we cannot confront wicked problems without understanding how they relate to other leadership challenges such as confronting crises or managing relatively routine decisions. Second, the model contends that our leaders’ approach to wicked problems must be understood through their ongoing cooperative or antagonistic relationship with the existing political order—a status that shapes their authority and overall, the potential for success. Besides its original argument about wicked leadership, this book provides a distinct method for testing this theory: by studying a series of cinematic case studies ranging from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.