National Geographic Concise History Of World Religions

Presented in a time line format, the book offers a survey of world religions. It examines global perspectives on the history of faith in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.

Connect with Spiritual Energy in the Natural World Deepen your connection to the world around you, expand your consciousness, and grow spiritually by actively engaging with the earth's energy. This groundbreaking book presents the various forms of earth frequency and how working with this energy leads to amazing improvements in your happiness, self-confidence, and spirituality. Melissa Alvarez becomes your personal tour guide to 250 power places and sacred sites all over the world, from Antelope Canyon in Arizona to Mount Olympus in Greece. Earth Frequency lets you explore many unique and interesting locations that are overflowing with the positivity of the planet's energy. You'll also discover visualizations and exercises designed to increase your intuition and open you to the dynamic power of a place. Featuring nine maps and location keys for major geographical areas as well as detailed information on the earth's chakra system, this book will broaden your horizons and transform your nature-based practice.

Current students of philosophy or armchair philosophers... Want the answer to the Primordial Existential Question: Why is there something rather than nothing? While history has produced no shortage of attempted answers, clearly none is the answer. Now comes the unique perspective of acosmism to provide a complete and plausible answer. After a lifetime of reflection, acosmist Sherman O'Brien offers this analysis of the issues and a thoughtful, reasoned answer to philosophy's most vexing question. The acosmic answer requires no faith whatsoever, either in supernatural or unexplained causes; in fact, it discourages it. Acosmism rejects both traditional religion and philosophically neglectful science. As a metaphysical system, it is based on an epistemological insight, with implications for immortality, determinism, ethics, and ultimate purpose. Reasoned wholly from the ground up, its conclusion is the very meaning of existence. The solution to the Omniscience Riddle becomes the key to understanding how the question is best stated and understood. This book represents one person's effort to make sense of what is true and what only seems to be so. Why is there something rather than nothing? What is your potential role in the entirety of experience? This foray into acosmism offers a path to the genuine understanding of both existence and reality. Note: the main text constitutes roughly two-thirds of the total pages, the remainder being mostly endnotes.

This book, ”A COLLECTION OF EXCERPTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES OF MAJOR WORLD RELIGIONS,” consists of three major Parts. PART I (adopted from an earlier book by the author) pertains to major religions that originated in INDIA at different epochs of history; namely, HINDUISM, BUDDHISM, JAINISM, and SIKHISM. PART I I contains excerpts from the main scriptures of the three religions that originated in European and the Middle Eastern regions with their original roots in Prophet Abraham, namely, JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, And ISLAM. Thus, PART I contains excerpts from the Vedas and the Upanishads (Hinduism); the Dhammapad (Buddhism); the Agam (Jainism); and the Guru Granth Saheb (Sikhism.) A number of essays on the historical backgrounds, the leading figures and events, and their interrelations are also included for a deeper appreciation of the pertinent philosophies. PART II, similarly, contains excerpts from The Old Testament (Judaism) and The New Testament (Christianity) of the Bible, and the Koran (Islam), with a brief Introduction in each case. The main purpose of presenting this book is to illustrate the commonality of the Indian religions due to their common root – Hinduism -- that came into being in India some 10-15 millennia ago, and was modified from time to time. These religions have coexisted peacefully and harmoniously for centuries and millennia, and have contributed much in the global spiritual development. In particular, Buddhism has been adopted in a significant portion of Asia (China, Japan, South-East Asia), and has been also attracting the intellectuals in the West in recent years. Interrelations among the other three religions are also evident due to their common root; though significant historical schisms and ideological differences among them are also well-known. As the world enters the Twentieth Century, it is imperative for world-peace that people across the globe try to understand one another better, in terms of the spiritual and religious beliefs, philosophies, mentalities, and traditional tendencies that shape their individual lives as well as their mutual interaction patterns. It is hoped that this book makes a small contribution in that direction.

Over 7 billion people live on the earth, and 84 percent of them describe themselves as being religious. Few topics incite such passion as religion. What does that mean? Why are humans invested in ideas that may never be proved? Why has religion played such an important role in history? In Comparative Religion: Investigate the World through Religious Tradition, readers seek answers to these questions by comparing and contrasting the cultural, spiritual, and geographical underpinnings of five different religions. By developing a better understanding of the similarities and differences among religions of the world, readers gain a strong foothold in a dialogue that has continued for thousands of years. Combining hands-on activities with theology, history, geography, world cultures, art, and architecture, Comparative Religions encourages deeper understanding of the world’s religions. Entertaining graphic art, fascinating sidebars, and links to primary sources bring the topic to life, while key questions reaffirm foundational concepts. Activities include conducting an interview with a rabbi, comparing the story of Abraham and Isaac in three sacred texts, studying the architecture of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, studying the Hindu practice of yoga and meditation, and examining how religious doctrines shape the behavior of believers.

Read the story of two worlds that converge: one of Hindu immigrants to America who want to preserve their traditions and pass them on to their children in a new and foreign land, and one of American spiritual seekers who find that the traditions of India fulfil their most deeply held aspirations. Learn about the theoretical approaches to Hinduism in America, the question of orientalism and 'the invention of Hinduism'. Read about: · how concepts like karma, rebirth, meditation and yoga have infiltrated and influenced the American consciousness · Hindu temples in the United States and Canada · how Hinduism has influenced vegetarianism · the emergence of an increasingly assertive socially and politically active American Hinduism. The book contains 30 images, chapter summaries, a glossary, study questions and suggestions for further reading.