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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction
Provocative, appealing and controversial
pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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Forbidden History: Prehistoric Technologies, Extraterrestrial Intervention, and the Suppressed Origins of Civilization
They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Provocative, appealing and controversial.......2006-08-02

Fomenko has succeeded to convincingly demonstrate the misconception about what "history" factually is... It is fiction and -like we can read and judge for ourselves- no science. It indeed is "make belief" only. I "discovered" Fomenko while studying the "old" history of Al Andaluz, Spain. Having found too many contradictions in available data, having seen too many forgeries as to pretend the importance of christianity for its decline, I ventured out to find Fomenko, who convinced me that we know little if anything for sure of the epoch before the XI-century. However, the integration of the Arabic-Islamic cultural history into the heavily distorted Western fails... There are some attempts to fit "the budding new religion" (Islam) into Fomenko's scheme, but they are too weak to be taken seriously and too often focussing on Turkey as the region where things started to influence the West, which is untrue at all.
Islam certainly was no "new religion" in the X-century. That the highly cultivated Al Andaluz ruler Mohammed-I could have been "mirrored" down in time into some myth about the "illiterate" founder of Islam itself is highly speculative. Nevertheless, Fomenko convinces me about the processes that were involved in forging a christian history. Intriguing and controversial as his books are, I recommend them as to rethink our current position in time and space and simply verify what was claimed. It is a "good" book, but not for bedtime reading... Mundus vult decipi, the world wants to be cheated. Fomenko's readers will understand why.

pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.......2006-02-16

Traces of white wine were found in Tutankhamen's tomb however there were no record of white wine in Egypt until the 3rd century AD, 1600 years after the young pharaoh died according to the traditional chronology. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18925395.400
It can be interpreted as a contribution towards New Chronology theory that pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

Art and Magic in the Court of the Stuarts

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An excellent history book in the Yatesian tradition

Art and Magic in the Court of the Stuarts
Vaughan Hart
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0415090318

Book Description

Spanning from the innauguration of James I in 1603 to the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Stuart court saw the emergence of a full expression of Renaissance culture in Britain. In Art and Magic in the Court of the Stuarts, Vaughan Hart examines the influence of magic on Renaissance art and how in its role as an element of royal propaganda, art was used to represent the power of the monarch and reflect his apparent command over the hidden forces of nature.`Court artists sought to represent magic as an expression of the Stuart Kings' divine right, and later of their policy of Absolutism, through masques, sermons, heraldy, gardens, architecture and processions. As such, magic of the kind enshrined in Neoplatonic philosophy and the court art which expressed its cosmology, played their part in the complex causes of the Civil War and the destruction of the Stuart image which followed in its wake.

Customer Reviews:

An excellent history book in the Yatesian tradition.......1998-09-15

Hart's book is a must for all those interested in the esoterica and its key role in forming the Stuart court. The book also sheds interesting light on Stonehenge and the work of the court architect Inigo Jones.

Isaac Newton's Freemasonry: The Alchemy of Science and Mysticism

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Isaac Newton's Freemasonry: The Alchemy of Science and Mysticism
Alain Bauer
Manufacturer: Inner Traditions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Secret History of Freemasonry: Its Origins and Connection to the Knights Templar

ASIN: 1594771723
Release Date: 2007-04-02

Book Description

An exploration of how modern Freemasonry enabled Isaac Newton and his like-minded contemporaries to flourish

• Shows that Freemasonry, as a mystical order, was conceived as something new--an amalgam of alchemy and science that had little to do with operative Freemasonry

• Reveals how Newton and his friends crafted this “speculative,” symbolic Freemasonry as a model for the future of England

• Connects Rosslyn Chapel, Henry Sinclair, and the Invisible College to Newton and his role in 17th-century Freemasonry

Freemasonry, as a fraternal order of scientists and philosophers, emerged in the 17th century and represented something new--an amalgam of alchemy and science that allowed the creative genius of Isaac Newton and his contemporaries to flourish. In Isaac Newton’s Freemasonry, Alain Bauer presents the swirl of historical, sociological, and religious influences that sparked the spiritual ferment and transformation of that time. His research shows that Freemasonry represented a crossroads between science and spirituality and became the vehicle for promoting spiritual and intellectual egalitarianism. Isaac Newton was seminal in the “invention” of this new form of Freemasonry, which allowed Newton and other like-minded associates to free themselves of the church’s monopoly on the intellectual milieu of the time.

This form of Freemasonry created an ideological blueprint that sought to move England beyond the civil wars generated by its religious conflicts to a society with scientific progress as its foundation and standard. The “science” of these men was rooted in the Hermetic tradition and included alchemy and even elements of magic. Yet, in contrast to the endless reinterpretations of church doctrine that fueled the conflicts ravaging England, this new society of Accepted Freemasons provided an intellectual haven and creative crucible for scientific and political progress. This book reveals the connections of Rosslyn Chapel, Henry Sinclair, and the Invisible College to Newton’s role in 17th-century Freemasonry and opens unexplored trails into the history of Freemasonry in Europe.

Alchemy, a Comprehensive Bibliography of the Manly P. Hall Collection of Books & Manuscripts: Including Related Material on Rosicrucianism and the

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Alchemy, a Comprehensive Bibliography of the Manly P. Hall Collection of Books & Manuscripts: Including Related Material on Rosicrucianism and the
Ron Charles Hogart
Manufacturer: Philosophical Research Society
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Melchizedek and the Mystery of Fire (Adept Series)

ASIN: 0893145424

Book Description

An Indispensable Reference Text . . .

Extensive biographical and bibliographical descriptions of 164 books and 245 manuscripts from the PRS Library, assembled over a period of sixty-five years and the repository for many rare and scarce esoteric items. Related material on Rosicrucianism and Jacob Boehme's writings are included, as well as the Bacstrom manuscripts in eighteen volumes with English translations of early alchemical books, a volume of manuscripts from Count Cagliostro's library, Comte de St. Germain's triangular manuscript on vellum, a portion of Ripley's Scroll in full color, the William Law edition of Jacob Boehme with manikin plates attributed to Rubens, and more. Printed in a limited edition of one thousand copies, folio volume, 9" x 12", library binding, 314 pages handsomely illustrated with eight full-color plates and facsimiles of title pages and frontispieces.

Freedom: Alchemy for a Voluntary Society

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Metaphysical nonsense
Jungeo-Gnostic defence of freedom

Freedom: Alchemy for a Voluntary Society
Stephan Hoeller
Manufacturer: Quest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Free Will & Determinism | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0835606783

Book Description

An alternative philosophic basis for freedom based on writings of ancient Gnostics and psychologist Jung.

Customer Reviews:

Metaphysical nonsense.......2005-09-30

Here we are in the 21st century, and some reactionaries want us to regress to alchemy. Hoeller praises Jung - the well-known Nazi-supporter and racialist - as some kind of guru of freedom, because of his supposed insights into alchemy. Alchemy was just medieval speculation about the origins of life and the 'meaning' of minerals. Hoeller tells us in tedious detail about Jung's entirely subjective views of the 'meaning' of alchemy, as if they were some kind of mystical key to understanding the world! The fact that the reactionary Irridium (who is clearly ashamed to tell us his real name, for good reason) praises this tosh tells you all that you need to know about it.

Jungeo-Gnostic defence of freedom.......2005-03-06

In this book, the author of the classics The Gnostic Jung and Gnosticism, makes the case for freedom based on our Hermetic, Gnostic and Jungian tradition. He notes that liberals are only concerned with freedom where it fits in with their favorite fads, the flavors of the moment being multiculturalism, feminism and environmentalism, wrapped in a stifling cloak of political correctness. He criticises conservatives by claiming that they favour individual rights only when these do not conflict with Judeo-Christian family values.

Hoeller thus advocates freedom based on the alternative spirituality of the West in its Gnostic or Jungian form. This also has social applications and Hoeller focuses on the vital relationship between non-mainstream spirituality and the issue of liberty. In this way he links libertarian thought with the community of alternative spirituality.

The chapter The Gnosis Of Freedom takes a look at definitions of freedom, the collapse of Soviet communism and the fact that Christianity also often disregarded the rights of man. He then discusses the depth psychology of Jung and the Gnosticism behind it, demolishing Eric Voegelin's flawed argument that blamed Gnosticism for all the iniquitous totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century.

Hoeller argues that Jung's spiritual and psychological approach to freedom is uniquely suited to an ideological defence of freedom. He considers Jung's views as the middle ground between Ayn Rand's materialistic rationalism and Christianity's spiritual defence of individual liberty.

In the chapter Individual Soul Against Mass Mind, the author explores the history of politics, politics as a vehicle of consciousness and antinomianism (opposition to rigid structures of religious legalism). He sees the Gnostics as spiritual libertarians and explains the social meaning of Jung's libertarianism with many quotes from Jung.

In chapter five he investigates the psychology and mysticism of tyrants by looking at Hitler, the psychological forces that drove him, and his talent for summoning up the negative projections of hatred and cruelty from the collective unconscious. Hoeller names the three major types of ideological tyranny in recent history as National Socialism, Communism and Islamist Theocracy.

In Shamanic America, archetypes like Quetzalcoatl and the trickster are illumined, whilst the next chapter looks at Hermetic and Puritan America. He demonstrates how the Hermetic influence on the constitution led to the separation of church and state, amongst other issues. He contrasts the Theists of Judeo-Christianity with the Deists (like Benjamin Franklin) of Hermeticism (The Alien God or Deus Absconditus of the Gnostics).

Hoeller has an extremely negative view of Puritanism, highlighting only its flaws and perpetuating a stereotype. Perhaps the most moronic statement is "Puritanism is in fact what we colloquially mean by the term". By synergy, when I received this book I happened to be reading David Gelernter's illuminating essay Americanism And Its Enemies, an intelligent exploration of Puritanism in all its manifestations. According to Gelernter, you can be an agnostic or atheist or Buddhist or Muslim and still believe in Americanism.

As far as the Declaration of Independence is concerned, it is an ex post facto justification of American beliefs addressed to educated elite opinion, designed to win arguments not to capture the essence of Americanism. The real essence is found in the less guarded statements of the Founding Fathers and others, from Winthrop and Jefferson to Lincoln and Reagan. Gelernter calls the idea of a secular Americanism based on the declaration of independence an optical illusion.

Samuel Huntington, in Who Are We? became one more prominent scholar who noted that Americanism is closely intertwined with Puritanism. Gelernter's thesis is that Puritanism did not merely influence or inspire Americanism, but that it tuned into Americanism. They are two stages of a single phenomenon.

In the chapter America And The New Myth Of Consciousness, Hoeller discusses the work of Joseph Campbell and in the epilogue he argues that material progress remains precarious without moral progress. There must always be free alchemical interaction, a process that must be allowed to happen, not forced to happen.

In his thought-provoking essay The Demons, Canadian author David Warren demonstrates how a moral assertion in Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground was replaced by a psychological one in early translations of his work. The excellent new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volkhonsky has corrected this error by using the correct word.

Warren points out that Dostoevsky was a moral, not a psychological writer, and that the word he used in the original Russian does not mean "spiteful" but "bad, evil, wicked". He argues that this is postmodernity in essence: an unthinking elision of the moral into the psychological, in order to create a "nuance" where no such thing existed in the original. This distinction between the moral and the psychological is important and ought to be addressed by Hoeller.

Freedom: Alchemy For A Voluntary Society is not an easy read like Hoeller's aforementioned books. It gets very "Jungian" at times! It is a welcome addition to the defence of freedom from the perspective of alternative spirituality. But it has its flaws, as I have pointed out above. It is similar to my reading of the Nag Hammadi Library that contains beautiful and inspiring writings but also lots of contradictions and few clear guidelines on how to live.

The Gnostic scriptures appeal to the antinomianist in me but the Judeo-Christian scriptures make a clear distinction between good and evil. Yes, these have often been twisted down the ages and used to oppress people. Perhaps the worst example of this perversion is Christian Europe's oppression of the Jews. But still, the Ten Commandments stand as a beacon to the question: How then, should we live?

Despite its flaws, Freedom: Alchemy For A Voluntary Society is a fascinating look at the Gnostic view of freedom. For further insights, I would like to refer the interested reader to the section Alternatives To Postmodernism in chapter 6 of New Thought: A Practical American Spirituality by C. Alan Anderson and Deborah G. Whitehouse. It deals with the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne.

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qabalistic concepts-living the tree
For the dedicated student

Qabalistic Concepts: Living the Tree
William G. Gray
Manufacturer: Weiser Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1578630002

Customer Reviews:

qabalistic concepts-living the tree.......2005-02-14

I was quite surprized by the clear and concise manner in which the author presented his material. Nothing of this nature was available when I first began my own investigations (prior to WW II.) His methods are workable and I especially blessed him for reiterating several times that you must build your own version of the tree and his recommendations to use any tarot deck that suits your fancy. What a blessing that todays seekers have a book that cuts out all the rhetoric and goes directly to the point..I threw away my old Rider deck of tarot and am now using the Arthurian deck, which makes more sense to me as a grail seeker also....this deck is quite beautiful and struck a personal note....three cheers for Mr. Gray.

For the dedicated student.......1998-11-26

those familiar with the subject of Quaballah will find the techniques used in this book very interesting. The mental techniques and symbolism are easy enough for the beginner to understand and for the some-what experienced to use as a stepping stone to look at things in a different way. Lack of familiarity with mystisism should not turn anyone away. The book is able to fill in alot of the blanks that some people may have on the subject.

Biblical & Pagan Societies (Witchcraft and Magic in Europe)

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On casting lots......

Biblical & Pagan Societies (Witchcraft and Magic in Europe)

Manufacturer: University of Pennsylvania Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Period of the Witch Trials (Witchcraft and Magic in Europe)
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Vol. 6: The Twentieth Century (Witchcraft and Magic in Europe)

ASIN: 0812217853

Book Description

In the ancient Near East, the art of influencing the natural course of events by means of spells and other ritual forms was universal. The social and political role of magic is apparent, too, in the competition to achieve precedence over rival systems of

Customer Reviews:

On casting lots.............2002-08-31

WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC IN EUROPE: BIBLICAL AND PAGAN SOCIETIES, edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark is the first in a six-volume series of scholarly essays on the subject of magic and witchcraft in Europe from the Iron Age through modern times. I have read five of the six books, and found them to be very scholarly, extremely interesting, and best of all-objective. The last book in the series, Volume 4. "The Period of the Witch Trials" (known as the "burning times" in 15th Century Europe), is scheduled to be published in late 2002. The historians, linguists, archeologists, and other social scientists who worked on these volumes are academics and experts in their subject areas.

Volume I contains two essays, "Witchcraft and Magic in Ancient Mesopotamia" by Marie-Louise Thomsen and "Magic in Ancient Syria-Palestine and in the Old Testament." Thomsen's essay examines and comments on literary and other material found in archeological digs in Mesopotamia. Treasures unearthed in what is today modern Iraq speak of lost empires (Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian) and wonders of the ancient world such as the White Ziggurat and the Hanging Gardens. Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers where the Moon God Sin and the Goddess Inanna ruled) has produced numerous ancient cuneiform writing tablets which describe the power of precious stones, amulets for the protection of babies, love charms, potency incantations, and a variety of other practices for dealing with ghosts, evil portents, healing and the removal of curses. The work of Babylonian astrologer/astronomers still amaze.

Cryer's work tackles the notion of the Bible as "truth" head on. He sets about constructing the story of magic in ancient Israel and Judah (Syria-Palestine) using archeological evidence and other extra-biblical material, as well as the Bible. He says the Old Testament is an "anno mundi" chronology that takes the moment of creation as it's starting point. However, "the Biblical anno mundi chronology is badly out of synchronization with world history." Cryer argues extra-Biblical material cannot be used merely to "illustrate" Bible text, i.e. the Bible should not be treated as a privileged source by scholars but must be subjected to the same scrutiny and analysis as other historical documents. For example, "All indications are that the territorial states of Israel and Judah existed...." However, the archeological record does not support the stories of Moses and the wandering of the Jews in the wilderness following 400 years in Egypt.

Cryer suggests the Durkheimian distinction between the religion of the group and the magic of the individual may be misleading. He says Jewish priests of the Old Testament practiced magic as part of their religion, but their magic was not very different from that of non-Jewish "sorcerers" or magicians they condemned. Cryer provides numerous examples from Biblical text that reveal magical thinking/action, and he compares them with similar thinking in texts from Mesopotamia. He suggests that it comes down to this-the magic others do is evil while the magic sanctioned by your group is religion. He says the Old Testament priests condemned astrology because they did not know how to do it.

Regarding the magical practice of "casting lots" to predict an outcome, Cryer suggests the magi/priest knew it would work on average, but could not explain why. Casting lots is not very different from what modern statisticians do when they conduct an exit poll in an election. Even today, no one can explain WHY probability works (ask any mathematician). It is MAGIC.

Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (European Culture and Society)

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A Stimulating Work
A valuable contribution to Anabaptist history
A poor synthesis

Heresy, Magic and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (European Culture and Society)
Gary K. Waite
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0333754344

Book Description

Bringing together the fields of Reformation and witchcraft studies, Gary K. Waite reveals how the early-modern period's religious conflicts led to widespread confusion and uncertainty, against which alleged diabolical conspiracies served to reaffirm orthodoxy. As with the vicious persecution of Anabaptists, witch-hunting was a means of restoring belief in the veracity of official teachings about the supernatural realm. Waite argues that it was only when the authorities came to terms with religious pluralism that there was a corresponding decline in witch panics.

Customer Reviews:

A Stimulating Work.......2006-06-20

The goal of this book is an ambitious one. Gary Waite seeks to explain the connections between the wrenching spiritual changes experienced by Christians during the Reformation and the growing intensity of witch-hunting at the same time. To do so, he tells us, is to enter into a contentious historical debate. Various scholars emphasize different factors in generating the "witch-craze" of the 16th and 17th centuries; what Waite does in this book is to strike a balance, recognizing the importance of social conflict and gender roles, but at the same time foregrounding the religious anxieties of the period.

Waite begins by exploring attitudes towards religious non-conformity and magic in the late Middle Ages. By the 13th century he notes that there was already deep concern among religious and secular authorities about the development of unorthodox sects; the Inquisition was formed and empowered to torture suspected heretics. But over the following centuries such practices failed to eradicate dissent or erase self-doubt among some orthodox Christians. For instance, the persistence of Judaism vexed some believers profoundly. Magic - the exercise of "preternatural" control over nature - remained popular not only among common folk, but among some members of the clergy as well. Heretics and Jews had long been attacked as the allies of Satan, but by the 15th century there was growing concern that magical practices also had diabolical implications. To make matters worse, many clergy detected a simultaneous rise in religious scepticism. Waite also notes that by this time witchcraft was increasingly associated with women. Even though it had often been male clerics who dabbled in such practices, women were believed to be mentally and physically more inclined to succumb to the devil's temptations.

In a climate of religious doubt and change, it was useful to deflect criticism of the established church by calling for greater vigilance against heretics, Jews, and witches. Waite contends, however, that witch-trials did not reach their peak until after the Protestant Reformation got fully underway, some time after this array of beliefs had taken shape. Why? Because the challenge of Reformers such as Luther and Calvin meant that more than ever, established beliefs were disputed. The religious fidelities of Europeans were up for grabs; Protestant leaders sought to win support, and the Catholic Church responded with a counter-offensive. In an atmosphere of intense religious conflict, many believed the final judgement must be at hand, which meant that religious communities had to be purified.

Carefully dissecting the complex religious mentalities of the Reformation, Waite notes that both Protestants and Catholics persecuted those who would not conform, be they skeptics, Jews, or sects such as the Anabaptists, linking all of them to diabolical conspiracy. But even after persecution of these groups had begun to run its course, the drive to extirpate Satan's minions endured. Projecting fears about heretics onto beliefs about the widespread practice of diabolical magic, witch-hunting intensified. Individual panics were often fuelled by social conflicts rooted in local communities, but within a framework of regimenting belief systems. Where the contest of beliefs and the desire to stamp out heretics was strong, such as in the south-western Holy Roman Empire, Switzerland, and France, so too was the proclivity for witch-hunting. By the same token, where religious conformity was more firmly established, or where confessional conflict was declining, there tended to be fewer witchcraft trials.

Waite's carefully constructed interpretation of the rise and fall of witch-hunting is characterized by vigor and clarity. The author provides rich quotations to allow readers to immerse themselves in a mental world which he views as "both comfortably familiar and fantastically strange." He also reminds us of the human cost of religious fanaticism, noting the desperation and bewilderment of those accused of witchcraft and forced to confess under torture. This book deserves to be widely read.

A valuable contribution to Anabaptist history.......2006-06-17

In the context of the apocalyptic fervour that marked the sixteenth century, both witches and religious heretics such as Anabaptists were seen as members of diabolical conspiracies. Growing incertitude of such complicated doctrines as transubstantiation made it necessary for religious authorities to demonstrate the validity of their cosmological interpretation. What better proof than the pursuit of campaigns against these agents of the Devil? Gary Waite, known to scholars of Anabaptist history for his valuable work on David Joris, offers in this book an interesting explanation of religious persecution in early modern Europe.

Readers may ask if it is reasonable to posit a connection between heresy and witchcraft persecutions when the numbers for each are so radically different in scale. Waite cites William Monter, who has counted some 3000 executions for heresy. This number is a far cry from the 30-60 000 executions for witchcraft recently found by Brian Levack. Waite explains that Monter does not include figures for the Council of Blood or St. Bartholomew's Day massacres in his tally. The inclusion of these events, and Waite's rejection of higher numbers for witch executions as polemical inflation, brings the two persecutions more into line in terms of scale.

Waite traces understandings of the Devil, magic, heresy and witchcraft from the late middle ages through the Reformation to the early seventeenth century development of religious pluralism. Tremendous doubts about Catholic tenets existed among the populace well before the Protestant Reformation. Occasional miracles of bleeding Hosts were useful in bolstering religious belief. Persecution of Jews (and later, witches) for desecration of the Host and ritual murder of Christian children served to establish the reality of a diabolical realm operating within the human world. Authorities' use of language about the Devil was literal rather than metaphorical. Declining belief in the Devil's physical presence, together with the existence of Nicodemism and spiritualism, motivated persecutory efforts by both Catholics and Protestants to "counteract the expression of skepticism toward the approved understanding of the supernatural realm" (150).

Waite demonstrates that the "widespread preoccupation among members of all confessions and social levels with the nearness of apocalyptical judgment" strongly influenced secular and religious authorities' efforts to "persecute dissenters as agents of the Devil's final, apocalyptical assault on Christendom" (86). The increasing diversity of religious beliefs led to conflict just as dangerous as the more obvious violence of the Peasants' War and the Anabaptist kingdom of Münster. The emergence of Nicodemism further contributed to notions of diabolical conspiracy. Orthodoxy could only be preserved by rooting out these conspirators and consigning them to the flames.

With the successful suppression of heresy, this "demonizing rhetoric" was applied to other ostensible dissenters such as unruly women--witches. Anabaptism inadvertently was partially responsible for this persecutional shift. By acting as visionaries, prophets and informal house-church leaders, by divorcing non-Anabaptist husbands, abandoning families, participating in the polygamy and armed defense of Münster and running naked through the streets proclaiming apocalyptical judgment, Anabaptist women gained considerable notoriety as breakers of traditional gender roles and as examples of the effects of loosening the strictures limiting female behavior (117). The independence of Anabaptist women thus fed into later witch hunts.

Not all regions pursued witches with the same fervour. Waite gives careful attention to geographic differences. Witch hunts were most extensive in those regions experiencing the greatest religious conflict and which had held the most heresy trials. No serious witch hunts occurred in Mediterranean regions where Inquisitions were most active, however, because there was no longer major competition for the state church. Similarly, in regions like the Dutch Republic where there was no state church, there was also no perceived need for witch hunts. Waite provides some interesting comments on Anabaptist beliefs about witches. A number of Dutch Mennonites wrote against the witch hunts, arguing that the Devil had "an extremely limited role" in the world, a belief shared by the Dutch Collegiants. Both Anabaptists and Quakers "identified the Devil with their persecutors or spiritualized him altogether, in the process suppressing fear of witchcraft among their members" (193).

Why the ultimate acceptance of religious pluralism? Waite explains that witch persecutions ironically increased skepticism, and were largely abandoned at the same time as attempts to maintain confessional conformity. People came to realize that their sectarian neighbours presented no challenge to local order. Merchants began to appreciate that religious tolerance was necessary for trade. Authorities eventually acknowledged that doubt and dissidence were not necessarily threats to the existence of the state. Spiritualism and humanism spread from the Dutch Republic, promoting religious tolerance and resisting confessional conformity.

Waite has produced a highly readable book. The use of subtitles within chapters is often a sign of an inability to develop a coherent argument, but not in this case. The copy editing is remarkably clean; it is rare to find a book with virtually no typographical errors such as this one. A useful introductory chapter outlines the historiography of witchcraft for the neophyte, particularly of its intersection with the Reformation, and an extensive annotated bibliography provides greater detail. Throughout the work, Waite gives equal attention to elite convictions and popular beliefs. The remarkable cover artwork leaves the reviewer wishing that illustrations could have been included inside. Students wanting to understand Anabaptism within a wider historical context are recommended to read Waite's book.

A poor synthesis.......2006-04-02

In Heresy, Magic, and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe, Gary K. Waite attempts to tie together the various persecutions that took place in Early Modern Europe. Whether persecution was aimed against Christian heretics, witches, or Jews, its purpose was always the same: reinforcing current orthodoxy against growing doubt. Thus, Waite claims that the more pluralistic the society, the less fringe groups were persecuted.
This book is flawed. Waite argues his thesis tendentiously, citing portions of scholarship on Early Modern Europe that support his claims and ignoring scholarship that would question them. The book is a brief synthesis of other scholars' works, and Waite's contribution consists of mere assertions that lack supporting evidence. Waite does not engage the sources of Early Modern Europe; instead he trusts others to do the work of research for him. When he quotes a primary source, his citation is always from some secondary literature. This form of "researching" may be fine for a survey of the historiography, but Waite is attempting to argue a thesis.
Not only is his methodology wanting, but also his thesis is much too simplistic. Waite argues as societies become more pluralistic, persecution of the "Other" lessens. He cites example after example of how the reigning orthodoxy persecuted the "Other" in order to strengthen its position in society. Places like the Netherlands and Maria Theresa's Austria, however, did not persecute irrationally because of tolerance for a multiplicity of ideas. This formulation is inadequate. Waite fails to grapple with the religious situation in Spain in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Spain was the most ethnically and religiously diverse region in Europe, and its variegated population managed a high level of cooperation for centuries. Instead of peaceful toleration, however, this region led to some of the most intense persecution of the "Other."
Waite's explanation of the Jewish situation in Early Modern Europe also has many problems. He asserts, "Jews ... were officially tolerated in the Christian west because they proved an extremely useful, if unwitting, ally in the campaign to expel religious doubt from the hearts of Christian believers" (19). As a causal claim, this statement is ludicrous. Waite implies a conspiracy by the Church to use Jews to quench Christian doubt. The evidence does not support this assertion. (His reasons for the persecution of women during the witch-hunts similarly lack evidentiary substantiation.)
Not only are Waite's methods and assertions suspect, but he lacks a fundamental understanding of the subject that he is trying to address. In the book's introduction, Waite writes, "Religion is always nonrational, for its tenets cannot be proven by empirical testing" (3). This statement belies a misunderstanding of rationalism, religion, or both. As a system of knowledge, rationalism is not dependent on evidence or empirical testing. Rationalism relies on human reason. Just as religion cannot be empirically tested, neither can mathematics. Rationalism and empiricism are competing systems of knowledge. Waite's conflation of the two demonstrates a positivist bent, and positivism is self-referentially absurd. Thus, Waite founds his philosophical approach to this subject upon a defective meta-narrative, and readers should be skeptical of his claims.

Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 1: Biblical and Pagan Societies (Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe)

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Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 1: Biblical and Pagan Societies (Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe)
Pedro Calderon de La Barca , Frederick H. Cryer , and Marie-Louise Thomsen
Manufacturer: Athlone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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