Shoko Asahara Cult

Ultimately, the Tokugawa shogunate wanted to maintain political and social stability in Japan. By seizing power, Ieyasu was able to quell domestic unrest but another threat was still presented for total control. Foreign influence proved to be a serious threat to stability within Japan. The initial threat to Japan was presented by Christian missionaries. After an initial introduction to Christianity, the shogunate conducted a purging and outlawed the religion. This led to a prolonged isolation of Japanese society from Western influence. The shogunate wished to prevent daimyo from conspiring with foreigners thus

Christianity is divided into thousands of denominations across the world, each denomination has a specific set of beliefs and norms which contribute to, and sometimes challenge the overarching themes of Christianity and The Bible. Christopher M. Moereman in his book, Beyond the Threshold explains Normative Christianity, and the specific beliefs and practices within. Kyriacos C. Markides in this book, The Magus of Strovolos uses the teachings of Dr. Stylianos Atteshlis, also known as Daskalos, to further illustrate the specific beliefs and practices within Esoteric Christianity. After reading and understanding the writings of both Moreman and Markides, it is clear to see there are ideas which distinguish Esoteric Christianity from Normative Christianity. This essay will explore these ideas which include the idea soul, the idea life after death, and the teachings of Daskalos.

The book first shows the misconceptions that today’s Christians have placed on these two concepts by placing them into two different classifications. After dispelling these arguments the authors present the biblical relationship between these two concepts. The authors spend the majority of the book expounding the idea of what they call “the Great Commission Worshiper.” (5)

Bethany Mills and Matthew Borella Vodou, also known as Vodoun or Voodoo, is a syncretic religion. The word, 'syncretic', refers to the combination of different forms of beliefs or practices. After this being said, Vodou is a combination of Roman Catholicism and a native African religion or more specifically, the religion of the Dahomey region of Africa. However this is argued by many who do not practice Vodou.

The late 1960’s and early 1970’s were a time of great change in America. The Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and the sexual revolution were just some of the issues on the evening news in American households. For citizens of the San Francisco Bay area, as well as the rest of California, the late 60’s early 70’represented terror, fear and death. “The bizarre and theatrical and still unresolved serial murders by real-life ghoul who called himself Zodiac, who claimed in letters to have killed 37 people (though police have focused on five homicides and two attempted murders in the greater Bay Area in 1968 and 1969” (Booth,2) have intrigued people for nearly four decades. How has Zodiac remained so elusive? What

This is a wonderful monograph by Melissa Archer with a comprehensive study of the theme of “worship in the Apocalypse”. It illustrates various aspects of worship and the role of worship in the Apocalypse. The language of the book and different approaches to the theme are appreciated, because those are simple and clear to understand the theme.

Cults are the groups that exhibit intense and unquestioning devotion to a single cause. All the group members have a same goal or mission, and the group thinking helps the group members to stick on the same goal. For the Heaven Gate, their goal is to enter the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom level above human. The documentary of “Heaven Gate Cult” perfectly shows the four ways for the cult to promote their group thinking.

Anatman is the idea of “no permanent soul” 3. A common misconception is that Anatman means people have no soul. In reality it describes the constant change of the soul during its time on earth. Buddhism holds that while there is no soul, the five elements that make up an individual orient themselves to form a new individual. With each cycle of rebirth, these aggregates, which include mind, consciousness, body, impulse, and feeling, will combine differently to form distinct individuals 4. While Buddhists believe in karma, a summation of positive and negative actions, they

Almost 6 percent of the world 's population or 350 million people follow Buddhism. Although among them are varying controversies over whether or not Buddhism is a religion or a followed pathway. Buddhism, founded in the late 6th -century B.C.E , and practices the ideas of varying traditions, spiritual practices, and all beliefs focused on the ideas of Gautama or the Buddha. Gautama valued the beliefs and teachings of The Universal Truths and Four Noble Truths and successfully shared them for the last 45 years of his life as a founder of a group called the Sramanas. He lived in what we now call Nepal and northern India and throughout his journey became known as “the awakened one” or “Buddha” as he found himself searching for enlightenment through having realizations on his entire existence. Buddhism really began to spread when roads were used for missionary uses and the Buddhist and merchants would cross paths resulting in the popularity and the spread of these teachings increasing drastically within Asia. However, people are still contemplating on whether or not Buddhism is a religion or a way of life. People argue that it contains aspects of a religion and others say it doesn’t and should be considered a pathway that someone can value as their way of life. Some claim that Buddhism is indeed a religion and that it holds all the elements of faith, beliefs, and self-transformation while others believe it is a way of life because it doesn’t

Intelligence and Power. These two concepts are closer than most think. Many political figures use their intelligence to get their position in society. However, many use their intelligence for the sake of themselves and not for others. Their intelligence is what lead them to power and power is what polluted their mind.

Though Rodrigues’ turmoil over stepping on the fumie was intensely personal, Endo’s vision of the gospel is not an individualistic idea, for it ends with the Church in Japan passing on traditions and forms suitable to the Japanese. The priests affirms that “Even now I am the last priest in this land. But our Lord was not silent. Even if he had been silent, my life until this day would have spoken of him.” Silence is about Church and culture, triumph and suffering; most of all, silence is about presenting human nature bent toward God, and a God toward people.

Amaterasu represents a mirror, a reflection of oneself. In the famous Japanese myth, a major deity of Shinto religion is the sun goddess Amaterasu. Shinto is a daily aspect of Japanese life where it can be described as a belief in a unified and non duality universe, where there is no separation between man and nature. There is a deep respect for nature and all things in the universe, which is also all a piece of man. Man is a part of everything in the universe, including inanimate objects. Amaterasu, the sun goddess is a symbol of self-love. There are countless ways you can follow the divine example of Amaterasu in your daily life.

Christianity over the course of history has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way believers conduct themselves. It provides morals, practices and ethics that every Christian attempts to live by. Throughout the many denominations in the Christian church, Paul of Tarsus had a significant influence on the faith. His contribution to the development and expression of Christianity is immense and can be seen to stem from his writing and missionary journeys which have implemented his ideas and interpretations onto the development of Christianity. After Jesus, Paul was arguably the most significant figure in Christianity as his teachings form a significant part of the New Testament. Like may other Pharisees of that time in history, Paul sought to suppress the early Christian movement. He accused early Christians of blaspheming against God and breaking Mosaic Law. However, Paul had a life-changing experience when he had a vision of Jesus, and he spent the remainder of his life as a missionary for the early church. Centuries after his ministry, his teachings still influence Christian theology.

God’s goodness and mercy far transcends the comprehension of the most brilliant human mind! He “who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth”(Psalm 113:6).Yet in His infinite love for us He stoops down to reveal Himself to us by a multitude of illustration, types, and shadows, so that we may learn to know him. This paper will describe what is meant by the Kingdom of God; examine the religious philosophy of the various sects of Judaism during the Second Temple period: Pharisee, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots, describe the religious philosophy and political philosophy of each sects, it will also describe how the Messianic expectation differ from the Messianic role that Jesus presented, and include an exegesis of

(a) Thomas Malthus reasoned that because the amount of land is fixed, as population grows and more and