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Index
INTRODUCTION
PRIMAL BELIEFS • FROM PREHISTORY
Unseen forces are at work • Making sense of the world
Even a rock has a spirit • Animism in early societies
Special people can visit other worlds • The power of the shaman
Why are we here? • Created for a purpose
Why do we die? • The origin of death
Eternity is now • The Dreaming
Our ancestors will guide us • The spirits of the dead live on
We should be good • Living in harmony
Everything is connected • A lifelong bond with the gods
The gods desire blood • Sacrifice and blood offerings
We can build a sacred space • Symbolism made real
We are in rhythm with the universe • Man and the cosmos
We exist to serve the gods • The burden of observance
Our rituals sustain the world • Renewing life through ritual
ANCIENT AND CLASSICAL BELIEFS • FROM 3000 BCE
There is a hierarchy of gods and men • Beliefs for new societies
The good live forever in the kingdom of Osiris • Preparing for the afterlife
The triumph of good over evil depends on humankind • The battle between good and evil
Accept the way of the universe • Aligning the self with the dao
The Five Great Vows • Self-denial leads to spiritual liberation
Virtue is not sent from heaven • Wisdom lies with the superior man
A divine child is born • The assimilation of myth
The oracles reveal the will of the gods • Divining the future
The gods are just like us • Beliefs that mirror society
Ritual links us to our past • Living the Way of the Gods
The gods will die • The end of the world as we know it
HINDUISM • FROM 1700 BCE
Through sacrifice we maintain the order of the universe • A rational world
The divine has a female aspect • The power of the great goddess
Sit up close to your guru • Higher levels of teaching
Brahman is my self within the heart • The ultimate reality
We learn, we live, we withdraw, we detach • The four stages of life
It may be your duty to kill • Selfless action
The practice of yoga leads to spiritual liberation • Physical and mental discipline
We speak to the gods through daily rituals • Devotion through puja
The world is an illusion • Seeing with pure consciousness
So many faiths, so many paths • God-consciousness
Nonviolence is the weapon of the strong • Hinduism in the political age
BUDDHISM • FROM 6TH CENTURY BCE
Finding the Middle Way • The enlightenment of Buddha
There can be an end to suffering • Escape from the eternal cycle
Test Buddha’s words as one would the quality of gold • The personal quest for truth
Religious discipline is necessary • The purpose of monastic vows
Renounce killing and good will follow • Let kindness and compassion rule
We cannot say what a person is • The self as constantly changing
Enlightenment has many faces • Buddhas and bodhisattvas
Act out your beliefs • The performance of ritual and repetition
Discover your Buddha nature • Zen insights that go beyond words
JUDAISM • FROM 2000 BCE
I will take you as my people, and I will be your God • God’s covenant with Israel
Beside me there is no other God • From monolatry to monotheism
The Messiah will redeem Israel • The promise of a new age
Religious law can be applied to daily life • Writing the Oral Law
God is incorporeal, indivisible, and unique • Defining the indefinable
God and humankind are in cosmic exile • Mysticism and the kabbalah
The holy spark dwells in everyone • Man as a manifestation of God
Judaism is a religion, not a nationality • Faith and the state
Draw from the past, live in the present, work for the future • Progressive Judaism
If you will it, it is no dream • The origins of modern political Zionism
Where was God during the Holocaust? • A challenge to the covenant
Women can be rabbis • Gender and the covenant
CHRISTIANITY •FROM 1ST CENTURY CE
Jesus is the beginning of the end • Jesus’s message to the world
God has sent us his Son • Jesus’s divine identity
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church • Dying for the message
The body may die but the soul will live on • Immortality in Christianity
God is three and God is one • A divine trinity
God’s grace never fails • Augustine and free will
In the world, but not of the world • Serving God on behalf of others
There is no salvation outside the Church • Entering into the faith
This is my body, this is my blood • The mystery of the Eucharist
God’s word needs no go-betweens • The Protestant Reformation
God is hidden in the heart • Mystical experience in Christianity
The body needs saving as well as the soul • Social holiness and evangelicalism
Scientific advances do not disprove the Bible • The challenge of modernity
We can influence God • Why prayer works
ISLAM • FROM 610 CE
Muhammad is God’s final messenger • The Prophet and the origins of Islam
The Qur’an was sent down from heaven • God reveals his word and his will
The Five Pillars of Islam • The central professions of faith
The imam is God’s chosen leader • The emergence of Shi‘a Islam
God guides us with shari‘a • The pathway to harmonious living
We can think about God, but we cannot comprehend him • Theological speculation in Islam
Jihad is our religious duty • Striving in the way of God
The world is one stage of the journey to God • The ultimate reward for the righteous
God is unequaled • The unity of divinity is necessary
Arab, water pot, and angels are all ourselves • Sufism and the mystic tradition
The latter days have brought forth a new prophet • The origins of Ahmadiyya
Islam must shed the influence of the West • The rise of Islamic revivalism
Islam can be a modern religion • The compatibility of faith
MODERN RELIGIONS • FROM 15TH CENTURY
We must live as saint-soldiers • The Sikh code of conduct
All may enter our gateway to God • Class systems and faith
Messages to and from home • The African roots of Santeria
Ask yourself: “What would Jesus do?” • Following the example of Christ
We shall know him through his messengers • The revelation of Baha’i
Brush away the dust of sin • Tenrikyo and the Joyous Life
These gifts must be meant for us • Cargo cults of the Pacific islands
The end of the world is nigh • Awaiting the Day of Judgment
The lion of Judah has arisen • Ras Tafari is our savior
All religions are equal • Cao Ðài aims to unify all faiths
We have forgotten our true nature • Clearing the mind with Scientology
Find a sinless world through marriage • Purging sin in the Unification Church
Spirits rest between lives in Summerland • Wicca and the Otherworld
Negative thoughts are just raindrops in an ocean of bliss • Finding inner peace through meditation
What’s true for me is the truth • A faith open to all beliefs
Chanting Hare Krishna cleanses the heart • Devotion to the Sweet Lord
Through qigong we access cosmic energy • Life-energy cultivation in Falun Dafa
DIRECTORY
GLOSSARY
CONTRIBUTORS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
COPYRIGHT
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