God’s Lunatics is an eyebrow-raising encyclopedia of the strange and shocking side of history’s religions, cults, and spiritual movements, by Michael Largo, the bestselling author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning Final Exits. A fascinating compendium of “Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man’s Eternal Search for the Divine,” God’s Lunatics contains a wealth of valuable extreme spiritual information—including the number of exorcisms performed each year and the proper method for identifying the Antichrist.

God’s Lunatics is an eyebrow-raising encyclopedia of the strange and shocking side of history’s religions, cults, and spiritual movements, by Michael Largo, the bestselling author of the Bram Stoker Award-winning Final Exits. A fascinating compendium of “Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man’s Eternal Search for the Divine,” God’s Lunatics contains a wealth of valuable extreme spiritual information—including the number of exorcisms performed each year and the proper method for identifying the Antichrist.

It is 1967. Every young man in America must face the reality of our war in Vietnam, one way or another. Kevin McNally, twenty years old, bored and frustrated with college, decides to see if any of the military services will allow him the excitement of flying jet planes. None will as you must have a 4 year degree; but the army offers him helicopters. In Vietnam, Kevin - now designated "Mac" - learns the routine but dangerous helicopter chores of insertion of troops and supplies and carrying out the wounded. These helicopters are armed with only two door gunners and are prime targets for the enemy. Mac hates being shot at without being able to shoot back. He volunteers to fly helicopter gunships as soon as he's allowed to; on his 30th day of flying. The gunships are armed to the teeth, with machine guns, rockets, and canon. Mac can shoot back now, but he is also even more a prime target for the enemy. Flying the gunships is the most dangerous job in the army. Mac is shot down numerous times and wounded twice. Then, he is wounded one more time, and his days in Vietnam are over. This book pulls no punches in describing the reality of war. The reader experiences the danger, the skill, and the daily spilling of blood. The language is harsh, the humor laced with sick irony, and no apologies are given for doing what needs to be done. Mac learns to be ruthless in carrying out his duties - saving the lives of American troops - even as he realizes the strategic futility of the whole war. But it's not his job to question his orders. He flies twice into Laos, violating the sovereignty of a neutral country, even as Nixon assures America nothing of the kind is happening. Mac loses many friends in combat. Mac hardens more and more as he experiences such losses. He is no longer the bored twenty years old who wants some excitement in his life. He becomes the weary veteran just trying to live through another day. Vietnam was our first "helicopter war," and this book illustrates the learning curve under fire as our military gained experience through the harsh trial and error of combat. This is the story of how a naïve kid from Oregon masters the technology of war, takes pride in his skill and expertise, and does what needs to be done to stay alive and protect his comrades. It will be of interest to anyone who wants to know what war is like for the combatants, and especially to anyone who wants to better understand the innovation of "helicopter war."

Is believing in gods actually harmful? How has Christianity for centuries served as an ideology of conquest and subjugation? Why is the "Bible Belt" in the U.S. also the "lynching belt"? Why is there a rise of religious fundamentalism throughout the world? In the intensifying conflict between U.S. imperialism and Islamic fundamentalism, is the only choice to take one side or the other? Why is patriarchy and the oppression of women foundational to so many religions? Can people be good without god? These are just some of the questions explored in this provocative work by Bob Avakian. Bringing a unique revolutionary communist voice to the current discourse about god, atheism and morality, Avakian demystifies religious belief and examines how, even in its most progressive interpretations, religion stands in the way of the emancipation of humanity. A thread deeply woven throughout Away With All Gods! is the need to fully rupture with all forms of superstition, and to take up instead a truly scientific approach to understanding and transforming reality. Whether you believe in god, or are an agnostic or an atheist, Bob Avakian will challenge you with his powerful critique of long-established traditions and his liberating vision of a radically different world.

After developing epilepsy as an adult, Robert Dodge experienced increasingly dangerous seizures and was seen by specialists on five continents. His firsthand account of adapting to life with epilepsy begins with an overview of this often misunderstood neurological disorder--still attributed to demonic possession in some parts of the world--and recounts his struggle as his seizures became life-threatening. Dodge describes his treatments and their side effects, including four ineffective surgeries that removed an eighth of his brain, and the personal challenges of social stigma.

If someone else reincarnated, even if they were trash, they would still be human. Why am I reincarnated as a cat? It's fine if I turned into a cat. Other people entering the academy to act cool and have a relationship was fine, but I became a teacher with my life on the line. Furthermore, the class I took was the most useless one in the entire academy. It's not suitable for me to play the pig to eat the tiger. I can only slap my face to make it look fat. Everything is as I remember it ... 

"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the apostle Paul." —John Piper No one has had a greater impact on the world for eternal good than the apostle Paul—except Jesus himself. For John Piper, this impact is very personal. He does not just admire and trust Paul. He loves him. Piper gives us thirty glimpses into why his heart and mind respond this way. Can a Christian-killer really endure 195 lashes from a heart of love? Can a mystic who thinks he was caught up into heaven be a model of lucid rationality? Can an ethnocentric Jew write the most beautiful call to reconciliation? Can a person who lives with the unceasing anguish of empathy be always rejoicing? Can a man's description of the horrors of human sin be exceeded by his delight in human splendor? Can a man with a backbone of steel be as tender as a nursing mother? If we know this man—if we see what Piper sees—we too will love him. Paul's testimony is a matter of life and death. Piper invites you into his relationship with Paul in the hope that you will know life, forever.