This book tells the fascinating, millennia-long story of peoples around the world who have claimed an Israelite identity and history.

Long ago the ancestors of the Greeks, Romans, and Hindus were one people living on the Eurasian steppes. At the core of their religion was the "shamanic trance," a natural state but one in which consciousness achieves a profound level of inner awareness. Over the course of millennia, the Indo-Europeans divided and migrated into Europe and the Indian subcontinent. The knowledge of shamanic trance retreated from everyday awareness and was carried on in the form of myths and distilled into spiritual practices--most notably in the Indian tradition of yoga. J. Nigro Sansonese compares the myths of Greece as well as those of the Judeo-Christian tradition with the yogic practices of India and concludes that myths are esoteric descriptions of what occurs within the human body, especially the human nervous system, during trance. In this light, the myths provide a detailed map of the shamanic state of consciousness that is our natural heritage. This book carries on from the works of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell to show how the portrayal of consciousness embodied in myth can be extended to a reappraisal of the laws of physics; before they are descriptions of the world, these laws--like myths--are descriptions of the human nervous system.

In this refreshing exploration of Judah’s identity formation, the emphasis is placed on the psychological underpinnings of Judah’s sentiments towards Israel, aiming to illuminate the significance of Judah's appropriation of Israel. Richly contextual, this book draws parallels observed in Asian contexts, notably those of North and South Korea, and China with its marginal Others. Central to the thesis is that Judah’s perceived inferiority to Israel played a crucial role in its quest to appropriate Israel’s legacy and identity. Adopting a functionalist lens, Judah’s rewriting of Israel’s ancestral past is examined. The Abraham and Jacob traditions are understood as competing "identity narratives," serving as critical discursive tools to construct their pasts. The study scrutinizes how the southern Abraham tradition fundamentally reoriented the Jacob tradition, North Israel’s standalone ancestral myth. Set against the broader canvas of continued efforts to redefine and embody "Israel" within the history of Judeo-Christian religions, this exploration underscores how Judah's pivotal appropriation of Israel has established a paradigm for all future endeavors of "becoming Israel."

In his startling book, Gary Greenberg exposes the reality behind the greatest story ever told. Learn about the Egyptian myths and ancient folklore that survive in one of history's most sacred texts, and discover how: King David's bodyguard, not David, killed Goliath Noah's Ark did not land on Mount Ararat Samson did not pull down a Philistine temple There are at least two versions of the Ten Commandments The walls of Jericho were destroyed 300 years before Joshua arrived there Sodom and Gomorrah were mythical cities that never existed The story of Esther had nothing to do with the Jews of Persia And much, much more 101 Myths of the Bible provides a new dimension of biblical studies for believers, historians and anyone who has ever wondered about the facts behind the legends. By looking deeper into history, Greenberg shows that the true story makes the Bible more interesting than ever imagined!

"The Joshua Generation examines the book of Joshua's many lives, from its relationship to ancient political forms to the present Israeli Occupation. Its scope encompasses the nationalist celebrations and the stringent critiques of the biblical volume along with their impacts on political discourse and lived space"--

The essays presented here intend to open afresh the complexity of the question of Paul’s dependence upon and continuity with Jesus. So much attention has been given in the past to this very difficult problem that new solutions are hard to find and suspect when offered. This collection, however, demonstrates diversity in approach, stance, and conclusion. The essays often take issue with the results of current research—including that of Francis Wright Beare, in whose honour they have been produced. They consider a broad range of the recent literature and show that no satisfactory solution has yet been found to the Jesus-Paul quesiton. Indeed, the debate may never be terminated. This collection, however, thoroughly illustrates the debate as it stands now. Of consuming importance to scholars of New Testament theology and text, the volume also admirably depicts the critical approaches that live today within the study of Christianity’s roots.

Collection of texts published previously.

This book unpacks the history of British-Israelism in the UK. Remarkably, this subject has had very little attention: remarkable, because at its height in the post-war era, the British-Israelist movement could claim to have tens of thousands of card-carrying adherents and counted amongst its membership admirals, peers, television personalities, MPs and members of the royal family including the King of England. British-Israelism is the belief that the people of Britain are the descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. It originated in the writing of a Scottish historian named John Wilson, who toured the country in the mid-Nineteenth Century. Providing a guide to the history of British-Israelism as a movement, including the formation of the British-Israel World Federation, Covenant Publishing, and other institutions, the book explores the complex ways in which British-Israelist thought mirrored developments in ethnic British nationalism during the Twentieth Century. A detailed study on the subject of British-Israelism is necessary, because British-Israelists constitute an essential element of British life during the most violent and consequential century of its history. As such, this will be a vital resource for any scholar of Minority Religions, New Religious Movements, Nationalism and British Religious History.

A myth-busting journey through the twilight world of fringe ideas and alternative facts. Is a secret and corrupt Illuminati conspiring to control world affairs and bring about a New World Order? Was Donald Trump a victim of massive voter fraud? Is Elizabeth II a shapeshifting reptilian alien? Who is doing all this plotting? In Hope and Fear, Ronald H. Fritze explores the fringe ideas and conspiracy theories people have turned to in order to make sense of the world around them, from myths about the Knights Templar and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, to Nazis and the occult, the Protocols of Zion and UFOs. As Fritze reveals, when conspiracy theories, myths, and pseudo-history dominate a society’s thinking, facts, reality, and truth fall by the wayside.