This fascinating book considers systems of belief and practice which are not religions in the full-blown sense, but which nevertheless affect human life in ways similar to the role played by the recognised religions. Professor Smith's thorough account compares the features which Humanism, Marxism and Nationalism share with recognised religions, analysing each in turn, and asks whether there is not always a threat of the demonic when any contingent reality - man, the economic order, or the state - is made absolute.

A volume of essays addressing the problem of the encounter of religions and secular world views.

"From the standpoint of Biblical religion, these quasi-religions are seen as idolatrous, a worshipping of false gods. While both Christianity and Judaism assign the highest dignity to human beings, they both oppose a position that ignores our capacity for self-assertion or the misuse of our freedom and finds the source of most evils in the social environment and not in any perversity in human nature itself. The communist ideal represented by the Communist Party drew many converts, as can seen most vividly in the experiences of Arthur Koestler and the other contributors to The God that Failed, but, lofty as were the ideals, these representative intellectuals all repudiated the means. From the Christian standpoint, it is naive and demonic in the end to believe that even though people are turned into liars, informers, even murderers, in a 'good' cause, they will be transformed when the ideal is achieved. Nationalism is the turning of a native patriotism into a special ideology about the supremacy of the nation. Christianity and Judaism are together in rejecting the elevation of the nation over God." "The author draws upon the work of Corliss Lamont and Paul Kurtz for the presentation of Humanism; upon the writings of Marx and the experiences of Arthur Koestler, Ignazio Silone, Richard Wright and others with the Communist Party for the presentation of Marxism; and upon the studies made by Carlton Hayes, Hans Kohn and Ernst Cassirer for the presentation of Nationalism."--BOOK JACKET.

Biblical, evangelical, and orthodox, The Concise Guide to Today's Religions and Spirituality supplies readers with a comprehensive, A-to-Z information source. Supported by the trustworthy research of Watchman Fellowship and its president, James Walker, its thousands of entries give the basics needed to evaluate spiritual belief systems, movements, and phenomena—Christian, quasi-Christian, and non-Christian—and the people connected with them. Definitions, descriptions, and cross references pack the maximum useful information into concise form, as in these examples: Adler, Margo: A witch affiliated with the Covenant of the Goddess, the second-largest coven in the United States. Adler wrote the highly influential book Drawing Down the Moon. See GODDESS, WICCA. Bioenergy: NEW AGE practice of healing, in which life-energy is balanced by opening blocked meridians. See HOLISTIC HEALING. A great resource for individuals—parents, church leaders, counselors, friends who want to give sound advice—as well as for study groups and church libraries.

World Religions This revolutionary book discusses the multitude of often contradictory religions developed by man. Key features of the book include: Mans physical evolution briefly discussed Religious evolution: from animism to theism Historical and current religions of the world: 1) Africa and Oceania 2) The Americas and West Indies 3) Europe and Northern Asia. 4) The Middle East 5) India 6) China and Japan Many new religions and sects: (a) In the period 15001900 (b) Since 1900 Alternative credos are discussed: (a) Quasi-religions movements (b) Philosophical beliefs (c) Scientific beliefs (d) Political beliefs How religions are created and spread Key issues: 1) Proliferation of new religions and sects 2) Religious persecution and conflict 3) Religious corruption and terrorism Mohronism: a new religion based on Mohrs ten laws and including Murphys law Recommendations, including: (a) Mohrs contact theory (b) Mere exposure research Industry and reader comment has included the following: Some provocative and timely issues A prophetic warning A huge topic It could outsell the Bible G. A. Mohr did his PhD in Cambridge, where his father helped split the atom. Geoff Mohr published papers and books on subjects ranging from engineering to corrosion and cancer. His books A Microcomputer Introduction to the Finite Element Method, A Treatise on the Finite Element Method and Finite Elements for Solids, Fluids, and Optimization established him as a world-leading scientist. His recent books include the following: The Pretentious Persuaders The Variant Virus The Doomsday Calculation The War of the Sexes Heart Disease, Cancer & Aging, 2nd edn. The History & Psychology of Human Conflict 2045: A Small Town Survives Global Holocaust Elementary Thinking for the 21st Century The legendary John Argyris called Geoff Mohr The greatest scientist in Australia. Edwin Fear is a descendant of Anne Boleyn, whose husband founded the Church of England. He gained a diploma of business science (DBS) majoring in marketing from IASC. He contributed to many research papers and books and cowrote The Evolving Universe, Relativity, Redshift, and Life From Space with G. A. Mohr and Richard Sinclair.

'Darwinism as Religion' argues that the theory of evolution given by Charles Darwin in the 19th-century has always functioned as much as a secular form of religion as anything purely scientific. Through the words of novelists and poets, Michael Ruse argues that Darwin took us from the secure world of Christian faith into a darker, less friendly world of chance and lack of meaning.