Written in an easy-to-read yet detailed manner, Comprehending Cults provides an excellent introduction to the study of new religious phenomena, one equally suited to general readers, students, and scholars. Other initiatory groups Hare Krishna and other Indian-based religious groups new religious movements and violence the Unification Church coercive conversion controversy (deprogramming) the Satanism scare women and religious movements and the future of religion. The book explores particular issues and factions in new religious movements including discussions on Scientology and Organized in terms of seven of the most commonly asked questions about cults (Why did they emerge? Who joins them and why? Why do some become violent?) the bookĬlarifies the issues at stake, seeking to replace prejudice and speculation with reliable insights into the nature of cult activity.Ĭomprehending Cults examines the history and theory of the development of new religious movements as well as the factors, both social and economic, which determine their success. Comprehending Cults is a comprehensive and balanced overview which synthesizes andĪssesses the results of thirty years of research into new religious movements by historians, sociologists, and psychologists of religion. Yet little of this information has made its way into public awareness. Summary: Long the focus of controversy, cults,-what sociologists prefer to call new religious movements-have been studied by scholars for years. Written by one of the world's foremost cultural critics, Holy Terror is a provocative and ambitious examination of one of the most urgent issues of our time.Ĭomprehending Cults: The Sociology of New Religious Movements Author: Lorne Dawson ![]() It also examines the problem of evil, and devotes a concluding chapter to the idea of tragic sacrifice and the scapegoat. Stretching from the cult of Dionysus to the thought of Jacques Lacan, the book sheds light into ideas of God, freedom, the sublime, and the unconscious. Eagleton examines the duality of the sacred (both life-giving and death-dealing) and relates it, via current and past ideas of freedom, to the idea Its rebirth as a political idea with the French Revolution, to the 'War on Terror' of today, terror has been regarded with both horror and fascination. From its earliest manifestations in rite and ritual, through ![]() Writing with remarkable clarity and persuasiveness, Eagleton examines a concept whose cultural impact predates 9/11 by millennia. Summary: Brimming with lively wit and penetrating insight, Holy Terror offers a profound and timely investigation of the idea of terror, drawing upon political, philosophical, literary, and theological sources to trace a genealogy from the ancient world to the present day.įamed critic Terry Eagleton offers here a metaphysics of terror with a serious historical perspective. If we are puppets, he says, at least we can try to understand our strings. He also introduced the concept of self-reproducing ideas, or "memes", which (seemingly) use humans exclusively for their propagation. ![]() Drawing fascinating examples from every field of biology, he paved the way for a serious re-evaluation of evolution. Why are there miles and miles of "unused" DNA within each of our bodies? Why should a bee give up its own chance to reproduce to help raise her sisters and brothers? With a prophet's clarity, Dawkins told us the answers from the perspective of molecules competing for limited space and resources to produce more of their own kind. That simple reversal seems to answer many puzzlers which had stumped scientists for years, and we haven't thought of evolution in the same way since. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and maintain us in order to make more genes. Summary: Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of "The Selfish Gene". The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition-with a new Introduction by the Author Author: Richard Dawkins
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |