This book is dedicated to those who have suffered in wars; Hot, Cold, Drug, and Holy; such as Malala Yousafzai, and the children like her. To my brethren, friends, neighbors, and family. Open your eyes - On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked by Al-Qaeda. - Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers were of Saudi origin. - Osama bin Laden was a Saudi with close ties to the Saudi monarchy working with the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. - In leaked diplomatic cables given to Julian Assange by Bradley Manning, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia is a major financier of Hamas and Al-Qaeda. - Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabias national oil company, is owned by the Saudi monarchy. - The Saudi Order of Abdulaziz is an Islamic order given to those in service to the Saudi Kingdom. - The Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece is a military knighthood of vassalage to the Spanish Kingdom. Five and forty degrees, the sky shall burn: To the great new city shall the fire draw nigh. With vehemence the flames shall spread and churn When with the Nor[se]mans they conclusions try. Nostradamus

In this book, the author analyzes myths from around the world to argue for the existence of a dying and rising god archetype. In the process, he draws out interpretive implications of the myths for not only myth studies per se, but also studies in religion, literature, and psychology.

'From the Fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord.' Between the eighth and eleventh centuries, the Vikings surged from their Scandinavian homeland to trade, raid and invade along the coasts of Europe. Their influence and expeditions extended from Newfoundland to Baghdad, their battles were as far-flung as Africa and the Arctic. But were they great seafarers or desperate outcasts, noble heathens or oafish pirates, the last pagans or the first of the modern Europeans? This concise study puts medieval chronicles, Norse sagas and Muslim accounts alongside more recent research into ritual magic, genetic profiling and climatology. It includes biographical sketches of some of the most famous Vikings, from Erik Bloodaxe to Saint Olaf, and King Canute to Leif the Lucky. It explains why the Danish king Harald Bluetooth lent his name to a twenty-first century wireless technology; which future saint laughed as she buried foreign ambassadors alive; why so many Icelandic settlers had Irish names; and how the last Viking colony was destroyed by English raiders. Extending beyond the traditional 'Viking age' of most books, A Brief History of the Vikings places sudden Scandinavian population movement in a wider historical context. It presents a balanced appraisal of these infamous sea kings, explaining both their swift expansion and its supposed halt. Supposed because, ultimately, the Vikings didn't disappear: they turned into us.

This book examines the text of the CW network television series Supernatural, a program based in the horror genre that offers viewers myriad religious-based antagonists, through the portrayals of monsters which its two main characters “hunt” and destroy, as well as storylines based in the Bible. Even as the series’ producers claim a non-religious perspective, we contend that story arcs and outcomes of episodes actually forward a hegemonic portrayal of Christianity that portrays a good-versus-evil motif regarding the superiority of Christianity. The depiction of its protagonist brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester of Lawrence, Kansas, forwards a pro-American perspective to a more generalized fight against evil in contemporary times.

Greeted with controversy on its publication, Answer to Job has long been neglected by many serious commentators on Jung. This book offers an intellectual and cultural context for C.G.Jung's 1952 publication. In Jung's Answer to Job: A Commentary, the author argues that such neglect is due to a failure to understand Jung's objectives in this text and offers a new way of reading the work. The book places Answer to Job in the context of biblical commentary, and then examines the circumstances surrounding its compositions and immediate reception. A detailed commentary on the work discusses the major methodological presuppositions informing it and explains how key Jungian concepts operate in the text. Jung's Answer to Job: A Commentary unravels Jung's narrative by reading it in the chronological order of the biblical events it analyses and the book to which it refers, offering a comprehensive re-reading of Jung's text. An original argument put across in a scholarly and accessible style provides an essential framework for understanding the work. Whilst taking account of the tenets of analytical psychology, this commentary underlines Answer to Job's more general significance in terms of cultural history. It will be invaluable to students and scholars of analytical psychology, the history of ideas, intercultural studies, comparative literature, religion and religious studies.

This book is a follow up to the author's successful first book on the show. In this, he writes about the final three seasons. The author's passionate introspection contains cast profiles and commentary from the stars on each episode.

The book was awarded the 2011 NCA Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression. This book sets out to explore how hate comes alive in language and actions by examining the nature and persuasive functions of hate in American society. Hate speech may be used for many purposes and have different intended consequences. It may be directed to intimidate an out-group, or to influence the behavior of in-group members. But how does this language function? What does it accomplish? The answers to these questions are addressed by an examination of the communicative messages produced by those with hateful minds. Beginning with an examination of the organized hate movement, the book provides a critique of racist discourse used to recruit and socialize new members, construct enemies, promote valued identities, and encourage ethnoviolence. The book also examines the strategic manipulation of hatred in our everyday lives by politicians, political operatives, and media personalities. Providing a comprehensive overview of hate speech, the book ends by describing the desirable features of an anti-hate discourse that promotes respect for social differences.

When Christopher Penczak was introduced to Witchcraft, he found a spiritual path that hononred and embraced his homosexuality. Now he has written a book of clearheaded theory and practice that is bound to become a classic. With Gay Witchcraft, Penczak joins the ranks of his forebearers in spirit, gay writers who have taken a tradition and made it home. This is a complete book of theory and spiritual practices of Witchcraft for the gay community. Penczak's writing will make it much easier for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people interested in practicing any form of Witchcraft. Exploring the history of Paganism and offering a compendium of spells, meditations, ceremonies, and affirmations that will enrich both the novice and the experienced practioner seeking out new views of myth, ritual, and healing.

Contains alphabetized entries on deities, concepts, practices, places, and objects related to the mythologies of cultures throughout history, and features color photos and sidebars. This volume covers Ach-Ara.