Reiki is an emerging adjunctive therapy that claims to provide physical and psychological healing as well as an experience of spiritual connection. It is increasingly employed in counseling centers, hospitals, and even churches. Reiki is believed by many to be a safe, non-invasive healing intervention that draws individuals towards God. Reiki practitioners maintain that they imitate Jesus' laying on of hands and claim that their praxis is essentially the same as the healing used by Jesus as well as by Buddha. An ethnographic multi-case study was performed comparing the experiences of nine individuals, four who received Reiki therapy and five who received Christ-based hands-on healing. The long interview format was employed. The transcribed data were coded and analyzed for similar and distinct themes. In addition, a brief survey was utilized to determine the spiritual interests and involvement of each participant and the spiritual consequences of their healing experiences. The findings indicate that Reiki healing is distinct from that which is depicted in the Bible. Reiki appears to open up individuals to an "energy-based" healing modality that is spiritual in nature but is not specifically Christian. As reported by Reiki practitioners, it is a spirituality which welcomes shamanism, psychic healing, clairvoyance, spirit guides, and a host of other metaphysical practices as individuals become more intimately involved. In addition, the research demonstrates that Reiki therapy, over time, can cause physical, emotional, and spiritual harm. The writer contends that biblical healing, which at its core is soteriological and dependent upon the ministry of the Holy Spirit, heals mind, body, and spirit without harmful consequences.

Analytic philosophy of religion and philosophical theology are known for being focused on issues pertaining specifically to Judeo-Christian theism. This volume answers the call for novel work on a broader range of ideas about the spiritual, engaging with key concepts and neglected recent literature from other traditions. Alternative Conceptions of the Spiritual engages with polytheism, animism, panspiritism and theophanism as propounded by recent philosophers and members of lesser-known spiritual traditions and new religious movements. Summarizing and assessing their core ideas and arguments with both clarity and sympathy, Dumsday combines respectful dialogue with logical rigour. Providing an accessible introduction to a rich and nuanced set of traditions largely overlooked in contemporary philosophical scholarship, the work will be welcomed by philosophers, theologians and students of new religious movements.

In this thought-provoking new book, Bruce Lerro offers a speculative reconstruction of the sacred beliefs and practices of cultures existing between 30,000 and 500 B.C.E. Lerro describes how material changes in various social formations--including hunting-gathering bands and horticulturalists in villages--were responsible for the shift from magic to realism, from the belief in earth spirits to faith in sky gods. Drawing from such diverse theorists as Marx and Engels, Vygotsky, Piaget, and George Herbert Mead, Lerro critiques and transforms mechanical, humanistic, new age, and countercultural perspectives on the history of sacred traditions. This study of comparative religion and mythology has important applications for the fields of archaeology, evolutionary anthropology, sociology, political science, and comparative psychology.

Whether in New Age mysticism, occultism, Haitian voodooism, Chinese ancestor veneration, or Japanese Shintoism, animistic beliefs are widespread, even today. Gailyn Van Rheenen presents a rigorous, biblical, theological, and anthropological foundation for ministering in animistic contexts.

Africa: An Introduction invites you into Africa: a continent rich with culture and history, with diverse populations stretching from the dense tropical rain forest of the Congo basin, right up to the Sahara Desert in the north, and down to the Mediterranean climates of the far south. Containing fifty-five countries, and covering over 20 percent of the world’s landmass, Africa is the birthplace of humanity, yet the image of Africa in the West is often negative, that of a continent riddled with endemic problems. This accessible and engaging guide to the African continent guides the reader through the history, geography, and politics of Africa. It ranges from the impact of slavery and imperialism through to the rise of African nationalism and the achievement of independence, and up to the present moment. Key topics covered include literature, art, technology, religion, the condition of African women, health, education, and the mounting environmental concerns faced by African people. As Africa moves beyond the painful legacies of slavery and imperialism, this book provides an engaging, uplifting, and accessible introduction to a rapidly modernizing and diverse continent. Suitable for high school and undergraduate students studying Africa, this book will also serve as the perfect introduction for anyone looking to understand the history of Africa and the Africa of today.

Spear Masters contends that in Africa there exists only one religion with a vast array of "denominations." African religion is expressed in a different way by each of the denominations, which creates confusion for those who believe that there are more than one African religion. Spear Masters presents information about some of the larger and most significant expressions of the sole African religion, so that the reader will understand the relationship between God the creator and the notions of the relationship with the family and community. The term "spear master" relates to the integrity and ethics that had to accompany the maker and user of the spear in ancient African societies. The essence of religion presented in Spear Masters is the deification of one's society and nation, and making sacred the traditions and rituals of the ordinary lives of the people.

Human beings have inhabited the world for millions of years, and the oldest religious art found in caves and on bones dates as far back as 30,000 years. From earliest times, and still today, people share their ideas and form a group with others who have drawn similar conclusions about the meaning of life and the ultimate reality. They might call their group a religion; others might call it a cult. But the name they give to their concept of God does not mean that they worship a different god, only that they hold a different concept of the Source and Power of that which was, is and always will be. Every religion serves as a way of life, an opportunity to practice ones accepted beliefs, and a way to socialize with those who hold similar views. Religions can be dictated, but beliefs cannot. They are private and unique to the individual. It is ones own experience with that which he or she perceives as God that prompts the acceptance of a belief system, quiet endurance when there seems to be no choice, or the withdrawal from religion altogether. Public and personal wars have been fought in the name of righteous indignation in support of different belief systems that came from efforts to answer the questions of life. Many individuals have lived lives of frustration and confusion as a result of the commonly accepted belief system of the culture into which they were born. In this study we look briefly at the historical and geographical conditions related to the emergence of specific religious views, and the situation of the people whose lives are influenced by them. Our intent is not to determine which religion is right or wrong. Using a comparison point chart, we examine the basic premises of each belief system and how the holding of a premise impacts the lives of those who live it as if it were true.

Social Globalization held on from the beginning of Human Evolution and thereafter when Society formed which turned to civilization in the route of Settlement lifestyle under leaders where they were kings and remained as tribal leaders . Societal Collapse was held on and racism formed to different groups of people. Slavery system is implemented by the winner in battle or in war. White Racism held on with people in India during the prehistoric period which was called Sarna Varnaism/ Brilliant colour people racism. Sarna Varnaism called the caste system where Sudra remained black Colour / Shyam Verna. At Colonial Ruled White racism held on at the American Continent where Black innocent people were caught and shelling by explorers and slavery system executed where Black people had not any human right. Some people abolished and demolished the past history and executed a non-formal religious system and racism executed to societal collapse the traditionalism totally and executing self philosophy. Conflict continued and war held around the world. Social Liberalism requires making world peace and harmony as we are civilized and most intelligent terrestrial mammalian omnivorous animals. We require creating a social environment for our next generation as a realistic naturalistic and scientific route of society. Divination gives us peace of mind as we worship and meditate on our ancestors as we believe. Different groups of people’s different systems remained. But criticism discrimination and partiality are divided to rule by selfish people who create conflict and misguide society. Hence come together in the Social liberalism route.

Ex Auditu began as the journal incorporating the papers of the Fredrick Neumann Symposium of Princeton Theological Seminary. After the first four volumes the journal began publishing the papers from the North Park Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture. The intent from the first has been to provide a forum for doing interdisciplinary theology from a biblical perspective for the benefit of the Church. Each annual publication focuses on a topic crucial to the life of today's Church. Additionally, each issue contains an annotated bibliography and a sermon, which makes it a practical guide for pastors. EDITOR: Dr. Stephen Chester, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary EDITOR EMERITUS: Dr. Klyne R. Snodgrass, Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies at North Park Theological Seminary ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dr. D. Christopher Spinks, Acquisitions Editor at Wipf and Stock Publishers. EDITORIAL BOARD: Terence E. Fretheim, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN; Richard B. Hays, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC; Jon R. Stock, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR; Miroslav Volf, Yale Divinity School, New Haven, CT; John Wipf, Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, OR SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Individuals: U.S.A. and all other countries (in U.S. funds)-$20.00 / Students-$12.00 Institutions: $30 in the U.S., and $40 for international shipments (in U.S. funds) To subscribe: Send pertinent information to Wipf and Stock Publishers at orders@wipfandstock.com and indicate your preferred method of payment. Back issues are available through Wipf and Stock Publishers. Symposium on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture at North Park DETAILS: For more information about the symposium click here. INQUIRIES: Other inquiries should be addressed to one of the following: Dr. Dennis Edwards, Associate Professor of New Testament North Park Theological Seminary 3225 W. Foster Ave. Chicago, IL 60625 Telephone: (773) 244-6238 / Email sdredwareds@northpark.edu Chris Spinks, Acquisitions Editor Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 W. 8th Ave., Ste. 3 Eugene, OR 97401 Telephone: (541) 344-1528 / Fax: (541) 344-1506 / Email: chris@wipfandstock.com

This masterful six-volume encyclopedia provides comprehensive, global coverage of religion, emphasizing larger religious communities without neglecting the world's smaller religious outposts. Religions of the World, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices is an extraordinary work, bringing together the scholarship of some 225 experts from around the globe. The encyclopedia's six volumes offer entries on every country of the world, with particular emphasis on the larger nations, as well as Indonesia and the Latin American countries that are traditionally given little attention in English-language reference works. Entries include profiles on religion in the world's smallest countries (the Vatican and San Marino), profiles on religion in recently established or disputed countries (Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh), as well as profiles on religion in some of the world's most remote places (Antarctica and Easter Island). Religions of the World is unique in that it is based in religion "on the ground," tracing the development of each of the 16 major world religious traditions through its institutional expressions in the modern world, its major geographical sites, and its major celebrations. Unlike other works, the encyclopedia also covers the world of religious unbelief as expressed in atheism, humanism, and other traditions.