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