History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel-On Prayer

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Wonderful Book
Excellent and compelling
An excellent introduction into the thought of two Carmelite saints
Carmelite Spirituality
The universal call

Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel-On Prayer
Thomas Dubay
Manufacturer: Ignatius Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0898702631

Book Description

This book is the fruit of Fr. Dubay's many years of study and experience in spiritual direction and in it he synthesizes the teachings on prayer of the two great doctors of the Church on prayer--St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila--and the teaching of Sacred Scripture.

But the teaching that Fr. Dubay synthesized is not collected from Teresa and John for contemplatives alone. It is meant for every Christian and is based on the Gospel imperative of personal prayer and the call to holiness. All the major elements of these great teachers are ordered, commented on and put in the context of their scriptural foundations. Here is an outstanding book on prayer and the spiritual life written by one of the best spiritual directors and retreat masters of our time, and based on the writings of the Church's two greatest mystical doctors.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Book.......2007-06-01

This book combines readings from the saints and makes it easy to follow. Wonderful insight into how we are to act as christians and the goals each of us could aspire to. For Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Excellent and compelling.......2007-04-23

This book is a superior examination of prayer, the spiritual life, as discussed by Saint Teresa of Jesus, Saint John of the Cross and the holy Gospels. The author examines almost every aspect of prayer life. I must say this is not a book one would choose for light reading. It is well written, and Fr. Dubay has a no-nonsense type of writing style which is easy to digest. This book can transform one's prayer life if read in the proper light.

An excellent introduction into the thought of two Carmelite saints.......2006-12-18

I have to frankly admit that I was deeply attracted to this book for two reasons. First, I really like the presentations that Fr. Dubay gives on EWTN and Second, the revies here on Amazon were really high. Also Ignatius press prints good solid orthodox books on doctrine and spirituality. What I got out this book is the Eastern Orthodox concept of theosis (or santification in the Western sense); God became man so man can become god; as St. Athanatius would say. Here we encounter Sts. Teresa and John's well proven path to holiness and as the author makes it quite clear this path is what God askes of us all. The chapter on growth really is practical in saying what you must do in order to gain infused contemplation and by gain, I mean receive as a free gift of God, because infused contemplation is not gained by any techniques. Only avoidance of sins, humility, charity and love to our neighbors, gentleness to ourselves, avoidance of idle talk and too much TV and a great love for God can prepare us to recieve the gift of infused prayer. Sin and "un-love" darkens the mirror on our souls that must reflect the light of God.I also loved the humainty of St. Teresa and how she was loved and deeply loved her friends, something some people do not expect of saints. Overall a book that I will come back to again and again. The only thing I didn't like to much was that I wish the author would have spent more time on explaining to beginners (like myself) what to do. For this reason I bought and plan to read his Prayer Primer by Charis Press. Other recommendations on prayer that I found useful: "God and You" by William Barry SJ, "Opening to God" and "When the Well Runs Dry" by Thomas Green SJ, "Arise From Darkness" by Fr. Benedict Groeschel,
"The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology", "Beginning to Pray" by Anthony Bloom, and "The Art of Prayer" by Fr. Romano Guardini.

Carmelite Spirituality.......2005-10-22

This is probably the best overall introduction to Carmelite spirituality available in English. Fr. Dubay presents the essential teachings of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila in easy to understand language.

This is not a book one can or should read in a day or two. It is one of those rare books that you must live with for quite a while. It is challenging and comforting in it's presentation of the christian's call to total discipleship. My copy is all marked up and underlined.

His treatment of the Mansions (Teresa's analogy of the soul's journey to Divine union) is wonderful. Fr. Dubay shows the ways we can get off track and the subtle temptations that would divert us from following Jesus with courage and determination.

This book is not only for the beginner, though it is certainly that, but the best summary of Carmelite spirituality one can read. After going through this book the reader will have a very good and usable knowledge of the Carmelite way to God.
Highly Recommended.

The universal call.......2005-10-19

Thomas Dubay has given us a masterful overview in well organized, lucid style, on the works of the towering mystical doctors of the church. His book, steeped in the peerless wisdom of Teresa and John of the Cross, requires careful, attentive reading on every page. The reader will be rewarded with an increased understanding of these two saints whose hearts were enkindled with divine love, and whose lives were incandescent with joy.

A central theme of the book is that God's call to contemplative prayer and, in its highest form, transforming union with Himself, is for every believer, not just for a "fortunate few" enclosed within monasteries. "Scripture knows nothing," Dubay writes, "of two ways to God and two differing prayer paths, one for the many, the other for the few."

Many readers will be surprised to learn that contemplative prayer is "infused," a grace coming directly from God, and not something they can laboriously acquire through techniques or discipline. Every believer is called by "the still, small voice within," as Elijah was. At the beginning of this ancient spiritual journey, we use discursive and vocal prayer, and our own meditations on scripture. We do our part, as much as we can; seeking God's presence, avoiding sin, practicing faith, hope, and charity, striving to bring our own wills in accordance with God's. In His time, and subtly at first, the wonderful-beyond-words grace from the Lord begins to flow.

Dubay clearly, matter-of-factly details, from the writings and the lives of Teresa and John, what to expect as we enter this most holy, most challenging of all human endeavors. His book is an invaluable aid to all Christians, from those on the first steps of the age-old path, to those traveling on its higher reaches.

A Day In Your Presence: A 40-Day Journey in the Company of Francis of Assisi (Rekindling Inner Fire)

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favorite book
Praying with St. Francis
Great Resource

A Day In Your Presence: A 40-Day Journey in the Company of Francis of Assisi (Rekindling Inner Fire)
Saint Francis of Assisi
Manufacturer: Bethany House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1556612060
Release Date: 1992-01-01

Book Description

Excellent devotional on catching a vision of God's kingdom that frees from the world's cares.

Customer Reviews:

favorite book.......2007-09-03

This is a wonderful book that will give you the joy of our Creator through the eyes of Francis of Assissi.

Praying with St. Francis.......2004-02-29

This book is probably best for some one who is being introduced to St. Francis of Assisi. As I have read much on his life, and his writings, this book didn't inspire me much.

Great Resource.......2000-05-12

This book will lead the reader through an inspiring forty days in the company of St. Francis, one of the most popular Saints. There are forty daily devotions that average 2-3 pages each. They consist of a selected Scripture verse (or verses), a passage from the writings of St. Francis (prayers, excerpts from his letters, etc.) and a final prayer by the editor that is related to the passage from Francis. The devotions include such topics as loving your enemies, God's transforming power, joy, and praise to the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. I wish the book were longer, but overall it is an excellent devotional resource.

The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 16441844

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The Fascinating Context for Joseph Smith's Claims--10 stars!
A Leap Beyond
More of a fantasia played on the idea of Mormonism than the religion itself.
Garbage
A Powerful Statement of the Origins of Mormonism

The Refiner's Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology, 16441844
John L. Brooke
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521345456

Book Description

Mormon religious belief has long been a mystery to outsiders, either dismissed as anomalous to the American religious tradition or extolled as the most genuine creation of the American imagination. The Refiner's Fire presents a new and comprehensive understanding of the roots of Mormon religion, whose theology promises the faithful that they will become "gods" through the restoration of ancient mysteries and regain the divine powers of Adam lost in the fall from Paradise. Professor Brooke contends that the origins of Mormonism lie in the fusion of radical religion with occult ideas, and organizes his book around the two problems of demonstrating the survival of these ideas into the nineteenth century and explaining how they were manifested in Mormon doctrine. In the concluding chapter, the author provides an outline of how Mormonism since the 1850s gradually moved toward traditional Protestant Christianity. As well as religion, the book explores magic, witchcraft, alchemy, Freemasonry, counterfeiting, and state-formation. John L. Brooke is professor of history at Tufts University and the acclaimed author of The Heart of the Commonwealth: Society and Political Culture in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 1713-1861 (CUP, 1989), which has won, among other prizes, the Organization of American Historians' Merle Curti Award for Intellectual History and the National Historical Society Book Prize for American History.

Customer Reviews:

The Fascinating Context for Joseph Smith's Claims--10 stars!.......2007-09-08

Note: I made some Mormon reader angry over my reviews of books written by Mormons out to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews.

Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks.

Anyone interested in how Joseph Smith could have become a prophet should first read about the life of Joanna Southcott. Her story proves that believers will continue to believe regardless of contrary evidence; in fact, for the believer, the contrary evidence will be seen as the greatest evidence of all.

The following is quoted from Brook's well-researched history (the first part a summary on the back cover). It's a real eye opener, and in many aspects, Southcott's claims are mockingly similar to those of Joseph Smith. Southcott's "sealings" will leap from the page for anyone familiar with Mormonism (also her testimonies).

"Born in 1750 to a Devon farmer, and growing in a typical rural environment of the time, Joanna Southcott's life was changed in 1792 when she heard the `still, small voice' that would inform and guide her for the next two decades. Her claims that it was the word of God speaking through her were rejected by church leaders, yet her prophecies of the Second Coming and her `sealing' of believers against harm brought her tens of thousands of followers. Some of her writings, she was told by her inner voice, were to be kept secret and revealed only when requested by the twenty-four Church of England Bishops at a time of great danger--hence the existence of her famous Box." (A box of "sealed" prophecies!)

"Central to Joanna's Southcott's writings is the fight between good and evil in the world, which, as in the Revelation of St. John, is to culminate in a terrible battle leading to a great victory for Christ of the Devil."

"The whole nation looked on in 1814 when Joanna--at age of sixty--announced the forthcoming birth of `Shiloh,' which she saw as the second coming of Jesus. The pregnancy was affirmed by leading doctors, but Joanna died and no trace of Shiloh could be found."

Her writing career began this way: She went out and bought "pens, ink and paper and made a start. Writing had never come easy to her. There had always been complaints about its illegibility, but she would not let that put her off" (p. 53).

She wrote 65 books and pamphlets, including "A True Picture of the World."

She even had an "Affidavit signed by the Seven Stars in 1802, confirming that they had found Joanna Southcott's powers of prophecy to be genuine" (p. 110).

One of her followers was Robert Dowland. Dowland went to her meeting and, "Soon afterward he began to communicate with a spirit who confirmed his new faith in verse and, despite the fact that Dowland was barely literate, the words were dictated as fast as he could write them down" (p. 182):

`Come, see Joanna, see the saint arise!
Burst earthly prison, soar about the skies,
To that bright world where joys immortal grow,
And life's unfathom'd pleasures ever flow;
There rob'd in white, she'll join the heav'nly train:
She'll share the glory of the sealed race,
And bask, and triumph, in the God of Grace.'

And guess what? Southcott still has followers today.

A Leap Beyond.......2006-07-13

Leaping way beyond Quinn's, Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (1987), Brooke finds striking parallels between Mormon theology and teachings (such as temple ritual, polygamous marriage, deification, a salvifical priesthood and the coequality of spirit and matter), with those of ancient traditions of alchemy and hermeticism. Disagreeing with Davis, Shipp and many others, Brooke does not see Mormonism as an American institution, with its inherent baggage (racism, anti-Catholic sentiment, etc.); but as a restoration of the ideas of the Radical Reformation. Brooke is not alone nor the first to notice hermetic parallels (see Bloom's, The American Religion (1992) and Owens, "Joseph Smith and Kabbalah" (Dialogue, 1994) for recent studies); but he carries it much further by the study of 53 families involved with the founding of Mormonism, showing these family histories to have strong ties with hermetic ideas rather than with Puritanism (see Davis', "The New England Origins of Mormonism" (1953)) thus, making those new converts a peculiarly prepared people for Mormon conversion. Although an ambitious, important (it won the Bancroft and other awards) and erudite cultural study that provides a wealth of background information on hermeticism and its crossing the Atlantic to Early America, it completely falls short in connecting any of those teachings or practices to Smith or Young. The volume is interesting and significant for the parallels and history that it illuminates, but cannot be recommended as a history or an accurate interpretation of the roots of Mormon doctrine.

More of a fantasia played on the idea of Mormonism than the religion itself........2006-03-05

One of the things that continually interests me about scholarly reviews of my faith is how differently they see what I live. This book admits that it is inspired by Mark Hoffman's forgeries and sees the faith through a filter of Hermetic Gnosticism. The Gnostic idea of Mormonism is also a theme that others, including the noted critic Harold Bloom, have played on. This book does have its interesting moments, but for me it tries too hard to be clever. I wonder why displaying one's erudition is taken as scholarship and why talking about a subject for a couple of hundred pages counts as an explanation of anything.

In music we have an improvised form called a fantasia. A musician will improvise over an idea, maybe a theme from another piece or a couple of pieces and bring them together into his piece. Here Brooke has woven together the ever popular Mormon idea (a strange version of it to be sure) with his permeating idea of whatever Hermetic Gnosticism is (I fear it can mean largely whatever an author wants it mean as long as it is pagan and involves secret knowledge of some sort), and tops it off with the popular notion that Joseph Smith's vision died out after 1860 and that somehow the faith I live every day is not REAL Mormonism. While this might make for an interesting piece, one should not mistake it for the real musical work or the actual religion.

Another of his indulgences is his prediction of the end of Mormon growth and dynamism. He thinks the Hoffman Salamander has done us in. Well, many other critics have predicted that one event or another demonstrates that our growth is finished. We shall see, but I think he is as wrong as all the others.

If you are not a believer, you might find these notions interesting and might even fancy them explanatory. If you are a believer, you will probably find this book at least as oddly irrelevant as I found it.

Garbage.......2004-12-26

This book is so full of errors; some are intentional "errors", that it would take pages to elucidate. Rather than that, I refer you to the "Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies" (FARMS) review. Simply run "The Refiner's Fire" in their "search" box and read the list of reviews of this incredibly WRONG book. I'll give just a few examples of the ignorance:

The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants contain several explicit condemnations of sorcery, witchcraft, and magic. While admitting that there are only "rare references to magic or witchcraft in the Book of Mormon" (p. 176, 177), Brooke nonetheless insists that the "categories of treasure, magic, and sorcery . . . fascinated Joseph Smith" (p. 168). The Book of Mormon maintains that Christ will "cut off witchcrafts out of thy land" (3 Nephi 21:16), and sorcery, witchcraft, and "the magic art" are mentioned in lists of sins (Alma 1:32, Mormon 2:10). "Sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics" are also attributed to "the power of the evil one" (Mormon 1:19). In the Doctrine and Covenants, sorcerers are among those who are "cast down to hell" (D&C 76:103, 106), who "shall have their part in . . . the second death" (D&C 63:17).37 These are the only references to magical or occult powers in LDS scripture, and they are uniformly and emphatically negative. Brooke's key terms, such as "alchemy," "astrology," "hermeticism," "androgyny," and "cabala," are never mentioned in LDS scripture.

Even careful readers of the Book of Mormon will appreciate the previously unrecognized "insights" Brooke brings to the text. For example, Asael Smith's writings on Daniel 2 (rather than the book of Daniel itself) are said to have "anticipated [the language] of the Book of Mormon" (p. 78). This unfortunately disregards the uncongenial fact that Nebuchadnezzer's dream is nowhere alluded to in the book.62 Brooke teaches us several new things about the prophet Mormon, too: His erroneous notion that the "lone Nephite survivor [was] Mormon" (p. 159) is, for instance, employed as evidence for the equally false assertion that "the [golden] plates were hidden by the hero Mormon for Joseph Smith to recover" (p. 156).63

Brooke insists on arguing for Masonic influence on Joseph during the writing of the Book of Mormon, nearly fifteen years before he became a Mason

While it is quite true that Rigdon became a Mason, he became such in the 1840s, a bit late to have passed any esoteric lore on to Joseph in the 1830s.89 Professor Brooke also notes that a John Rigdon and a Thomas Rigdon were Masons in 1829, but fails to demonstrate that these Rigdons had any relationship, beyond name, to Sidney. And Brooke indulges in another ante hoc fallacy by claiming that the Mormon temple ceremony could have been influenced at its origin by "the European Lodges of Adoption" (p. 250), despite the fact that "the Rite of Adoption . . . has never been introduced into America

The book is fatally wounded by its methodological leaps, by factual errors far beyond those we have been able to indicate here, by the forcing of evidence, and by its often remarkable misreading of texts. Its publication does no credit to Professor Brooke, to Cambridge University Press, or, for that matter, to the scholars who endorse it on its jacket cover. If the Mormon History Association still awards its prize for the worst book of the year, we enthusiastically nominate The Refiner's Fire as the best candidate in quite some time.

Before you Mormon bashers check "NO" this review was not helpful to you, go to FARMS and read all the errors in this book. It is a travesty of ignorant "scholarship", and is very easly proven so. Those that have already marked "NO" and given it superlatives in their review demonstrate an enormous ignorance of true Mormon, thought, history, and doctrine.

A Powerful Statement of the Origins of Mormonism.......2004-04-11

Although it is a rare experience, every decade or so a book is published in Mormon history that stretches the bounds of imagination and understanding, and recasts the field of study in a different context. Fawn Brodie's 1945 biography, "No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith," Leonard Arrington's 1958 "Great Basin Kingdom: An Economic History of the Latter-day Saints," Robert Flanders's 1965 "Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi," Leonard Arrington's and Davis Bitton's 1979 "The Mormon Experience: A History of the Latter-day Saints," and D. Michael Quinn's 1987, "Early Mormonism and the Magic World View," are all in this category. They have become classics of Mormon studies, creatively reevaluating historical perceptions and affecting in a unique way the studies that followed. "The Refiner's Fire" may be in the same category.

"The Refiner's Fire" ranges broadly to place Joseph Smith and the rise of a new religious tradition squarely within a fresh context that incorporates many of the elements explored by students of Mormonism for the last four decades into a new historical synthesis. Brooke is concerned with Mormon origins, especially the elements that came together to make the Restoration movement such a powerful and compelling force in the 1830s and 1840s.

In a narrative that is much more persuasive than most when approached with an inquiring mind, Brooke argues that Mormon doctrine and cosmology originated neither in Puritan New England nor as a result of the Second Great Awakening that took place largely on the American frontier of the early nineteenth century. Instead, he places the church's ideological roots in Europe in the period of the sixteenth century Reformation, where a core element of religious dissenters questioned traditional Christian concepts and found solace in the hermetic occult.

The author contends that the connections between the occult and the sectarian ideal of restoration with Mormonism helped to forge an exceptionally attractive religious movement throughout the Western world. Integral to this was hermeticism, which claims that humanity could regain the lost and pure world of Adam through the development of a special relationship to God based on religious ritual and sacrifice. The belief in the occult, which had been exceptionally powerful in Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, had been manifested especially in non-Catholic religions, magic, witchcraft beliefs, Freemasonry, and a host of everyday activities that were accepted as part of the human experience. They ranged from a belief in the visitation of angels to the far more sinister casting of spells on enemies.

Much of this acceptance of the supernatural as an everyday occurrence was lost in the rationality of the "Enlightenment" of the seventeenth century, and our present secular belief system is largely predicated on those ideas. It did not have to be that way, as this book makes clear. Joseph Smith challenged that rational system in fundamental ways when he contended that God was not "knowable" through reason, but only through the supernatural. His "First Vision" was central to that challenge--as was his translation of the Book of Mormon--and his continued reliance on nonrational knowledge thereafter incorporated a fundamental occult tradition into the movement he founded. Brooke brings together an analysis of Mormonism's occult origins in folk magic with its later expression in unique theological ideals.

"The Refiner's Fire" is an important study that will not be comfortable reading for some within the Latter-day Saint tradition. But it should be read, even though its celebration of a radical, supernatural, nonrational, religious tradition of European hermetic purity and danger will be discomforting to those who wish the modern Latter-day Saint church to be a mainstream religious institution. Joseph Smith's assertions more than 170 years ago about angelic visitations, prophetic ministry, Zionic community-building, and a restoration of the gospel in its ancient purity was a unique and powerful message in the emergent United States. "The Refiner's Fire" helps to explain some of that power, for Smith's efforts hit at the center of humanity's desire to know something that is ultimately unknowable through secular rationality.

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CCEL Classics CD: works by Saint Augustine, John Calvin, John Donne, Julian of Norwich, Brother Lawrence, Martin Luther, Saint Teresa of Avila, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, John Wesley, and more!
Dr. W. Harry Plantinga
Manufacturer: Christian Classics Ethereal Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM

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ASIN: 1931848076
Release Date: 2006-12-15

Product Description

The most important spiritual writings of Christian history are available on this Classics CD by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at Calvin College. It contains 118 Christian classics, including three versions of the Bible, several commentaries, Bible dictionaries, readings, spiritual guides, sermons, poems and journals -- all in a convenient, searchable form. Books are available in HTML and PDF formats. The easy-to-use CCEL Desktop software powering the CD enables users to browse and print books and install additional books from the Web. The top-of-class search engine can search for words or phrases in books, in authors works or in the whole library. In addition, it can search for dictionary definitions of words and commentary or references to scripture passages. The interface is a Web browser. The CD is compatible with Windows 2000+, Macintosh 10.3+, and most Linux versions.

Descending Fire: The Journal of a Soul Aflame

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Descending Fire: The Journal of a Soul Aflame
Jean Petit
Manufacturer: Sophia Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Mysticism | Other Practices | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Devotionals | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Jesus of Nazareth

ASIN: 1928832237

Book Description

Jean Petit expands with lyrical intensity on the spiritual teachings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, delivering a series of startlingly personal and yet superbly universal meditations on Divine Providence, love, death, suffering, and much, much more.

God's ineffable light illumines every page of Descending Fire. It's the work of a true mystic - and a powerfully lyrical, spiritually charged set of holy reflections.

It will show you, too, how to burn with the same holy flame of God's Spirit!

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I allways wanted such commentary

cordial reading

Awesome.

Superb blend of both critical and faith-filled insight.
Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew (Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word)
Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis
Manufacturer: Ignatius Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Meditations | Reference | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
New Testament | Bibles | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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Love's Sacred Order: Four Meditations

Jesus of Nazareth

The Way of the Disciple

What Happens At Mass

Philippians, Colossians and Philemon: Ignatius Study Bible

ASIN: 0898709768

Book Description

To the unstudied eye, Matthew's gospel can seem a terse narrative, almost a historical document and not the tremendously spiritual (and doctrinal) storehouse that it is. Erasmo Leiva here acts as our guide, showing Matthew's prose to be not terse so much as economical--astoundingly so given its depth. The lay reader can derive great profit from reading this. Each short meditation comments on a verse or two, pointing to some facet of the text not immediately apparent.

Leiva's work is scholarly but eminently approachable by the non-technical reader. The tone is very much gustate et videte, quoniam suavis est Dominus [taste and see how good the Lord is]-as it is "friend, come up higher!". The goal of the book is to help the reader experience the heat of the divine heart/the light of the divine Word.

Leiva points to Matthew's gospel as being deeply ecclesial because it is first Christological. He comments on the Greek text, demonstrating to the reader nuances in the text that defy translation into English without serious revision of the text. Leiva uses linguistic analysis to aid the non-Greek reader with the literal meaning of the text; numerous quotes from the Fathers and the liturgy of the church demonstrate the way the Tradition has lived and read the Word of God. His theological reflection vivifies doctrine by seeking its roots in the words and actions of Jesus.

Customer Reviews:

I allways wanted such commentary .......2007-01-04

This commentary - or meditation how the author calls it is great help in reading the Gospel - either for myself or for preparing the homily. Although not every comment is useful for the homily yet almost on every page I find for myself a new insight in the scripture. Sometimes author gives more than one page comments on only two words of the verse - yet without much scholarly unnecessary details - All the comments are made referring to the original Greek text but the author does not enter in long discussion about possible translations.

cordial reading.......2004-12-10

Be prepared to embark on a cordial reading of the Gospel of Matthew: a reading with the heart!

Awesome........2004-02-02

Volume 2 of this inspirational trilogy was published in January 2004 and it's equally dynamic. Volume 3 is is eagerly awaited.

Although this highly readable book is quite scholarly, it's a welcome relief from contemporary Catholic theology which tends to be little more than hot air and/or poorly researched dissent.

Superb blend of both critical and faith-filled insight........1999-07-22

Merikakis does something not many modern scipture scholars do - he is able to present a solidly critical interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel and inspire the reader towards greater faith. So often commentaries get caught up in the minutiae and seem to be full of doubt and lacking in faith. The author begins with the orginal greek (always translated for his readers)and presents a wonderfully rich series of meditations which take into account the whole and the parts of this Gospel. This book is great for ordained clergy and non-ordained clergy alike.

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Where in the sam hell is Forge of Virgins?
A little hard to get into...but it gets there.
Heartwrenching & Rewarding
What a fantastic story!
SEVEN STARS, or OFF THE FRIGGIN' CHART

Seeds of Fire
Karin Kallmaker , and Laura Adams
Manufacturer: Bella Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1931513198

Book Description

THEY FOUND EACH OTHER in their dreams. Autumn Bradley used the magic in her hands to save Ursula Columbine from the darkness that hunts for her. They have only met in dreams of a dark turbulent past, and the Ursula in Autumn's arms doesn't recognize her. Autumn only knows that it is up to her to hide the defenseless Ursula. Darkness searches for them. Light hunts for them as well. Their nightmares are only beginning.

HER HEART KNOWS only a curse.

Darkness has spilled into Kelly Dove's life. She will use all her strength, no matter the cost to anyone, for what her dreams seem to promise: Ursula hers again. Her dreams demand secrets she scarcely knows she possesses, but she will give them up and all she can learn -- past and future -- for love and vengeance.

THE BATTLE LINES are drawn among themselves.

Taylor St. Claire risked faith and spirit to save Ursula but failed. No longer cleric, no longer priestess, Taylor's bitterness threatens to consume her completely. From the ancient music that haunts them all comes a clue in the search for Ursula, and Kelly seems only too eager to help. But the face of Ursula's captor is not the woman Taylor expects.

IN THEIR DREAMS, no one is who they seem.

Customer Reviews:

Where in the sam hell is Forge of Virgins?.......2005-08-08

I thoroughly enjoyed Seeds of Fire, just as I enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, Sleight of Hand, but where, oh where, is the third book, Forge of Virgins? Karin Kallmaker has released (by my count) four books with Bella since Seeds of Fire, while Laura Adams, her fantasy alter ego, sleeps. Wake up, Laura! I'm ready for the conclusion to the Tunnel of Light trilogy!

Note to Bella Books: for heaven's sake, stop insisting that Ms. Kallmaker release at least one romance per year and let Laura Adams finish her Tunnel of Light series. Her readers -- okay, I -- am growing impatient and weary. You cannot leave this cliffhanger hanging on its cliff for three solid years. It ain't right and it ain't fair.

A little hard to get into...but it gets there........2004-03-07

I was interested in more of the magical aspects depicted
in the blurb. The story starts out quite well and finishes
satisfying. But in the middle there is this torpor situation
that lost me..

Heartwrenching & Rewarding.......2003-06-14

A strong warning to would-be readers: begin with the first book
of the sequence: Sleight of Hand.

This wonderful book continues the story of a dozen women,
who are introduced as we go along, and prove to be pivotal
along the way. Two of the most identifiable characters are
the richly portrayed Ursula, and the mischievous and lusty
Hilea, who are respectively reincarnations of St Ursula, and
Abbess Hildegard of Bingen. [If you like Hildegard, this is
probably a trilogy you shouldn't miss.]

The idea of a set of present-day individuals re-treading paths
they have tread in the past is not new. However, Karin
Kallmaker raises the device to attain new heights of poetic
power. The constant theme of the story is the tension between
the conflicting desires of the women, and their transforming
love for each other, and the focus of their existence, Ursula,
which is sometimes a battle, but at othertimes in blissful alignment.

The mythic tone of the narrative comes from the fact that the
women remember their numerous previous encounters only
imperfectly. They sometimes seek someone or something they
only know vaguely, from dreams. So their discovery of each
other is alway new, and ever more poignant. And sometimes they
proceed on a path despite painful intuitions about its futility.

In places, though, the author is juggling up to three
time layers at once, with the action in each affecting the
outcomes in the others, and we lose sight of the cause-and-
effect factor, the motivation, the triggers. Should Kelly
pull, or push? Why? Why should A shoot at B? (Was I too
sleepy when I read that page? ;) In once sense, their
motivations leak between the layers. On the other hand, some
of them are more aware of the other layers than others, making
it nearly impossible for the reader to make sense of the action
except that it was horribly and tragically necessary.

In spite of its minor weaknesses, I can honestly say I enjoyed
the two books very much, and I pulled out my Canticles of
Ecstasy (since I do not have 11,000 virgins) and wallowed in the
wonderful feeling of exaltation both the book and the music
Of Hildegard Von Bingen evoke.

There is a scene in book one, when the women are together, that
sets a mood of great innocent delight. It is like the kiss of
an angel, and I keep reading in the hope that such bliss will
be found again, perhaps in the final book of the trilogy!

Arch

What a fantastic story!.......2003-02-03

It's almost always true that second books or trilogies are never as good as the first or third, but Laura Adams has broken that rule -- along with a bunch of others in writing this "lesbian" fantasy story.

Where are the weakly-developed characters, the vanilla plots, the good and true goddess loving women who overcome everything by the power of love? Or who solve all their problems by being wizards of technology and science? Not in this book!

The Tunnel of Light Triology features women who are strongly developed, deeply flawed, plagued by their darker impulses and not at all sure that love will help them overcome an evil that has hunted them for 1500 years. As they live out the patterns of pursuers and pursued, of lovers and enemies and seekers and finders, they lose memories of their past knowledge and awareness of where their moral lines must be drawn to survive.

This is a great series with a full range of human emotion -- not just what lesbians are "supposed" to feel. These women can hate each other, and hurt each other, and love each other -- sometimes in ways so erotic that this easily qualifies as romance.

If you like fantasy, lesbian, gay, straight or otherwise, you will like this triology and this middle book. Laura Adams (an alter ego of Karin Kallmaker) must be doing something right -- unlike book 1, this middle book has been nominated for a Lammy Award. Like the rest of her readers, I am on the edge of my seat for book 3.

SEVEN STARS, or OFF THE FRIGGIN' CHART.......2002-12-18

It has become apparent to me that Karin Kallmaker is possibly the greatest American writer alive today. Put aside the ever-present need to slap a sexual orientation qualifier in there -- it is unnecessary and limiting. Kallmaker has moved into a starfield inhabited by the great tale tellers.

For example, throughout this story Kallmaker is using phrasing structures reminiscent of Gertrude Stein. A descriptive phrase is repeated several times in a paragraph to emphasize a message, while at the same time Kallmaker twists the phrase to a new meaning with each placement. Kallmaker is not stealing Stein's technique, for it is definitely altered, morphed into Kallmaker's own skillful means of bringing revelation to the reader. In another example of great craft, Kallamker constructs a flow of unusual adjectives and rich but economical description. She uses sentences like brushstrokes in a Japanese waterpainting, rendering suggestion steadily until she leaves in one's brain snapshot-like scenes dripping with medieval history and emotional nuance. This is brilliant use of language to tell a tale. The woman is creating stuff that is stunningly above what anyone else is producing right now. Anyone on the Lambda Literay Award Panel paying attention?...P>In this book, a middle story, Kallmaker has extended her scope and her technique to a new level. A skilled craftswoman and bard has evolved into an artist. She is doing more in this book than telling a story about friends, power and magic; she is holding up a mirror and reflecting back to us ourselves. She is playing a harp so sweetly and compellingly, that we are charmed into listening as she tells us how ugly we can be.

This complex, multi-leveled plot deftly succeeds in raising the curtain on the unappealing human acts we all engage in and hide: the non-stop jockeying for advantage, the subtle pressing of our own self-serving agendas on others, the wronging of friends while we lie to ourselves and anyone who will listen that we are only serving the common good. This is a relentless and graceful study of the casual worst of the human soul.

For me, there were parts of this story that were hard to face, for interlaced in the storyline, I recognized glimpses of my own darkness, my own treachery and glib shabbiness, my own fear of what may come. And yet I was fascinated. During the course of the past few days, everywhere I went, I had the book tucked in a coat pocket or under my arm. I was slipping it out and reading whenever I had to stop and wait for anything for more than a minute during the course of my day. This is a gem of a read, a gift to all voracious readers from a splendidly gifted imagination.

Perhaps this book is also the dark before the glorious light -- created for contrast against the bright promise of what book three, The Forge of Virgins, might be in this intriguing trilogy. Treat yourself to an encounter with masterful writing: read this series.

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Souls ablaze . . . ignited by their passionate love for God

Imagine attending a party of spiritually awakened souls!

Awesome, blows me out of the water.
Souls on Fire
William M. Stephens
Manufacturer: Oceanic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Interpersonal Relations | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0965888487

Book Description

The lives of men and women of many lands and faiths--saints, mystics and masters--whose passionate love for God inspires the modern world.

Customer Reviews:

Souls ablaze . . . ignited by their passionate love for God.......1998-10-27

This unusual book deals with men and women of various countries and religions, many of them recognized today as saints, masters or noted mystical poets. Some are little known in the West, such as the intriguing Rabia of Basra, a beautiful Iraqi woman living in a brothel who today is accepted as an authentic saint. The brothel was a cover for her real work of saving souls. Another fascinating soul: George Fox, who was beaten, spat upon and jailed repeatedly because he told people they did not need preachers to be saved because God is within every heart. The courage and teachings of George Fox led to a mystical movement known as the Society of Friends, or the Quakers. One of the most memorable parts of this book deals with the great contemporary master Meher Baba, who, while observing silence for forty-four years, inspired a worldwide movement of people who believe that religion is unimportant while God is at the heart of everything and everyone.

Imagine attending a party of spiritually awakened souls!.......1998-09-11

Imagine being invited to a party where a dozen great, enlightened souls are sitting around telling stories of their lives! That kind of experience is, in a way, what you may get when you dip into "Souls on Fire." The author has chosen 12 great saints, mystics and masters as the focus for his book, and he has combed the records to gather some of the most fascinating stories about these great souls. He tells those tales with his own unique brand of folksy erudition. The profundity of the stories is matched only by the charm of their telling. What a party! Enjoy the tasty, spicy and refreshing tidbits of love and lore.

Awesome, blows me out of the water........1998-09-06

Very powerful, a mainline of God's Love ... shooting straight for the heart.

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Nothing but the very basics

Fire of Love!: Understanding Purgatory
Saint Catherine
Manufacturer: Sophia Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0918477417

Customer Reviews:

Nothing but the very basics.......2000-04-16

Fire of Love is a reprint and translation of St. Catherine's 15th century treatise On Purgation and Purgatory. The book does not offer much. In 17 very brief chapters, St. Catherine repeats just one idea - the souls in purgatory are rightly there, and although they suffer greatly, they are very happy because (i) they have received grace, and (ii) they desire nothing more than to be cleansed in the fires of purgatory before meeting God face to face. This book is the story of what St. Catherine learned of purgatory through the visions God blessed her with. If you're looking for an explanation of doctrine on purgatory, try the Catechism instead (1030-1032). If you're looking for inspiration, try Maria Simma, whose visions of souls suffering in purgatory has inspired her to join her sufferings with theirs in atonement for their sins.

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