Description
In Lithuania a hill is completely covered in crosses, some for the sake of the dead, some for the sake of politics. Somewhere in Toronto there may still be people practicing paranormal dentistry in the name of their faith. And no doubt many people are, as you read this, using the kits they bought online to produce grilled cheese sandwiches bearing the image of the Virgin Mary. Melton (religious studies, University College, Santa Barbara) is appropriately reverent and also appropriately scholarly as he describes some of the serious and not-so-serious aspects of religion as practiced and understood today. Organizing his topics alphabetically, he gives readers interesting religious expressions and phenomena from Buddhism, Baha'I, Islam, indigenous faiths and Christianity. The result cannot help but be inspiring or alarming, depending on your understanding of true faith. Distributed by Independent Publishers Group. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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An inspiring and fascinating look at people’s religious experiences and beliefs. Visions of Mary and glimpses of God. Miraculous apparitions witnessed by hundreds in parking lots, along freeways, and at the world’s holiest sites. Weeping statues, exorcisms, near-death experiences, mystical labyrinths, and more than 250 other unusual and unexplained phenomena, apparitions, and extraordinary experiences rooted in religious beliefs are explored in The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena. J. Gordon Melton, the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History at the Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University, takes readers on a tour among angels, Marian apparitions, and religious figures such as Jesus, the Buddha, Muhammad, and Tao Tzu. Melton reports on dreams, feng shui, statues that bleed, snake handling, speaking in tongues, stigmata, relics—including the Spear of Longinus and the Shroud of Turin—and sacred locales such as Easter Island, the Glastonbury Tor, the Great Pyramids, Mecca, Sedona, and much more. Each entry includes a description of a particular phenomenon and the religious claims being made about it as well as a discussion of what scientists say about it. Transcending the mundane, the entries take no sides on who is right or wrong: the journey is the experience and the experience is the journey. This fascinating encyclopedia is illustrated with 100 pictures and includes a detailed index and additional reading recommendations. It lets you experience the marvels of weeping statues and icons; exorcisms and ecstasy; the grilled cheese sandwich kit for making your own Virgin Mary image; and so much more.
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