Paradise Incorporated Synanon

Each of these three books (Developing a Christian Worldview of Science and Evolution, Developing a Christian Worldview of the Problem of Evil, and Developing a Christian Worldview of the Christian in Today's Culture) is drawn from Colson's highly successful How Now Shall We Live? Shorter in length and accessible to readers, the Developing a Christian Worldview series is ideal for small-group study and classroom use. Each chapter begins with pre-reading questions, and each study session is made up of newly written discussion questions, role-playing activities, and challenges to implement key insights. All are designed to help readers grasp Colson's arguments and learn how to use the points effectively with non-Christians.

The definitive account of Synanon. On a fall day in 1978, Los Angeles attorney Paul Morantz reached into his mailbox to collect his mail and was nearly killed. He was bitten by the four-foot-long rattlesnake that had been put there by members of a cultlike group called Synanon. Chuck Dederich—a former Alcoholics Anonymous member who coined the phrase "Today is the first day of the rest of your life"—established Synanon as an innovative drug rehabilitation center near the Santa Monica beach in 1958. Synanon quickly evolved into an experimental commune and religion that attracted thousands of members and was strongly committed to social justice and progressive education. Twenty years later, when Dederich was arrested for the Morantz attack, Synanon had devolved into a paranoid community that followed its egomaniacal leader in whatever direction he chose to take. Based on extensive primary sources and interviews with former members, The Rise and Fall of Synanon explores how the group arose in the context of American social, political, and economic trends. Historian Rod Janzen argues that Synanon's downfall resulted from members giving too much power to Synanon's charismatic founder. The subject of a new documentary and podcast, this community serves as a mesmerizing case study of how alternative societies can change over time and how the general public's reactions to such societies can shift from tolerance to fear and opposition.

This collection bundles two of popular author Chuck Colson’s classics into one volume for a great value! The Good Life What constitutes “the good life?” Chuck Colson explores the ways in which people define and live “the pursuit of happiness.” Colson uses fascinating real-life stories to illustrate the philosophies and worldviews by which individuals seek the good life. Colson speaks directly and revealingly about his Watergate years, and he examines the beliefs and assumptions that make up the fabric of our lives. The Good Life searches for answers to the questions we all ask: Who am I? Why am I here? How can I make my life count? How Now Shall We Live? True Christianity goes far beyond John 3:16—beyond private faith and personal salvation. It is nothing less than a framework for understanding all of reality. It is a worldview. In How Now Shall We Live?, the 2000 Gold Medallion winner for best book about Christianity and society, Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey show that the great spiritual battle today is a cosmic struggle between competing worldviews. Through inspiring true stories and compelling teaching, they demonstrate how to Expose the false views and values of modern culture Live a more fulfilling life the way God created us to live Contend for the faith by understanding how nonbelievers think Build a society that reflects biblical principles In short, How Now Shall We Live? will give you the confidence you need to make a difference in the world today and most of all in the lives of people around you.

2000 Gold Medallion Award winner! Christianity is more than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is also a worldview that not only answers life's basic questions—Where did we come from, and who are we? What has gone wrong with the world? What can we do to fix it?—but also shows us how we should live as a result of those answers. How Now Shall We Live? gives Christians the understanding, the confidence, and the tools to confront the world's bankrupt worldviews and to restore and redeem every aspect of contemporary culture: family, education, ethics, work, law, politics, science, art, music. This book will change every Christian who reads it. It will change the church in the new millennium.

Cults today are bigger than ever, with broad ramifications for national and international terrorism. In this newly revised edition of her definitive work on cults, Singer reveals what cults really are and how they work, focusing specifically on the coercive persuasion techniques of charismatic leaders seeking money and power. The book contains fascinating updates on Heaven's Gate, Falun Gong, Aum Shinrikyo, Hare Krishna, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and the connection between cults and terrorism in Al Queda and the PLO.

This is the first book to document the extent of political cults on both the right and left and explain their significance for mainstream political organizations. The authors outline the defining characteristics of cults in general, and analyze the degree to which a variety of well-known movements fall within the spectrum of cultic organizations. The book covers such individuals and groups as Lyndon LaRouche, Fred Newman, Ted Grant, Marlene Dixon, the Christian Identity movement, Posse Commitatus, Aryan Nation, militias, and the Freemen. It explores the ideological underpinnings that predispose cult followers to cultic practices, along with the measures cults use to suppress dissent, achieve intense conformity, and extract extraordinary levels of commitment.

An insightful look at the long tradition of communal societies in the United States from colonial times to the present, examining their ideological foundations, daily life, and relationships to mainstream American society. With this volume, a fascinating, yet often overlooked, part of the American story is brought to the forefront. In Utopias in American History, independent scholar Jyotsna Sreenivasan makes the case that from the founding of the American colonies to the hippie communes of the 1960s to the cohousing movement, which started in the 1990s, the United States has the most sustained tradition of utopianism of any modern country. Accessible yet authoritative and highly informative, Utopias in American History offers dozens of alphabetically organized entries covering all aspects of communal societies from colonial times to the present. Featured are descriptions of over 40 major utopian communities, both religious and secular. Entries are organized in terms of their histories, belief systems, leadership, economics, daily life, and the reactions they drew from mainstream society.