Exploring New ReligionsBloomsbury Publishing, 1999 M12 1 - 416 pages An objective, well-researched history of contemporary new religions and cults.New religious movements - popularly known as cults - arouse strong public opinion and most books on the subject are polemical, giving hostile reaction rather than informed exploration. Exploring New Religions provides an account of a wide variety of new religions, focusing on their origins, beliefs and practices, which are set out in a dispassionate way, leaving readers to form their own value judgements. George Chryssides provides important analysis of the killer cults-the Jonestown People's Temple, Waco, the Solar Temple and Heaven's Gate-examining the factors that made their followers willing to die for their cause. Older groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses and Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are discussed, and Chryssides traces the development of a variety of strands of spirituality, ranging from New Thought, Spiritualism and Theosophy. Subsequent chapters include the Baha'i, the Family (formerly Children of God), the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON), the Jesus Army, the Rastafarians, the Church of Scientology, Transcendental Meditation (TM) and the Unification Church ('the Moonies'). Lower profile groups are also discussed including: EST (Erhard Seminar Training), the New Kadampa Tradition, Brahma Kumaris, Sai Baba, Subud and the Western Buddhist Order. A study of the New Age phenomenon, and an account of societal responses to new religions at religious, societal and political levels is also included. |
From inside the book
Results 6-10 of 57
Page 29
... called ' ancestor worship ' by missionaries . Was ancestor veneration a violation of the first of the ten Mosaic commandments , which proscribes worship of any being other than Yahweh , or was it merely an innocuous folk practice ...
... called ' ancestor worship ' by missionaries . Was ancestor veneration a violation of the first of the ten Mosaic commandments , which proscribes worship of any being other than Yahweh , or was it merely an innocuous folk practice ...
Page 32
... called a new religion : it is certainly a recent form of alternative spirituality , and its very pervasiveness merits inclusion in this volume . It may be better to view my attempt at taxonomy , not so much as an attempt to find neat ...
... called a new religion : it is certainly a recent form of alternative spirituality , and its very pervasiveness merits inclusion in this volume . It may be better to view my attempt at taxonomy , not so much as an attempt to find neat ...
Page 36
... called people out from the congregation and began to administer spiritual healing : this marked the beginning of his ministry as a revivalist preacher and healer . In 1954 Jones founded his own religious community , called ' Community ...
... called people out from the congregation and began to administer spiritual healing : this marked the beginning of his ministry as a revivalist preacher and healer . In 1954 Jones founded his own religious community , called ' Community ...
Page 37
... called him , who hovered over humanity , swooping down occasionally to mete out punishment or misfortune to unlucky victims . If it seems strange for a Christian minister apparently to deny the existence of the God of theism , it should ...
... called him , who hovered over humanity , swooping down occasionally to mete out punishment or misfortune to unlucky victims . If it seems strange for a Christian minister apparently to deny the existence of the God of theism , it should ...
Page 40
... called ' Concerned Relatives ' was formed in opposition to Jones , and with the aim of enabling members to disengage . The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service both began investigations into the Temple , which Jones and ...
... called ' Concerned Relatives ' was formed in opposition to Jones , and with the aim of enabling members to disengage . The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service both began investigations into the Temple , which Jones and ...
Contents
1 | |
33 | |
3 The old new religions | 77 |
4 The New Christian movements | 120 |
5 New religions in the Hindu tradition | 164 |
6 New forms of Buddhism | 204 |
7 Independent new religions | 244 |
8 The Human Potential Movement | 278 |
9 New Age witchcraft and Paganism | 315 |
10 The countercult movement | 342 |
Statistical data | 366 |
Compendium | 370 |
Bibliography | 377 |
Index | 392 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
anti-cult Applewhite avatar Baba Baba's Baha'i Baha'u'llah baptism became become believed Bible body Brahma Kumaris Britain Buddha Buddhism ceremony Christ Chryssides Church of Scientology claim counter-cult cult Dalai Lama death devotees Dianetics disciples divine doctrines Dorje Shugden Erhard evangelical example existence faith Family Findhorn followers founder-leader Glastonbury God's gohonzons groups Hindu Hinduism Holy human important ISKCON Jehovah's Witnesses Jesus Army Jesus Fellowship Church Jones Jonestown Jouret known Krishna latihan Latter-day Saints leader lifestyle living Maharishi mainstream Christianity Mambro mantra marriage means meditation membership messiah mind mission Mormon Nichiren Nichiren Shoshu NRMs offer one's organization original Osho physical powers Prabhupada practice priesthood problems prophet Rajneesh Rastafarians regarded relationship religion religious movements Revelation Sangharakshita sannyasins scripture sect seminars sexual Society Soka Gakkai Solar Temple soul spiritual Subud Subuh taught teachings Tibetan tradition truth Unification Church Wicca worship