The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena

J Gordon Melton

Description

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.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Philosophie et théologie
• Mahoma
• Jesús de Nazaret
• Jesus
• True Cross
• Marian apparition
• Western Wall
• Mary (mother of Jesus)
• Spirituality
• Saint Helena
• Pope John Paul II
• Muhammad
• Constantine the Great
• Society for Psychical Research
• Holy Land
• Miracle
• Jésus-Christ
• Mohamed
• Saints
• Sainte-Hélène (île)
• Divination

Informations

• Publié par: Visible Ink Press
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781578592593
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

A BOUT THE A UTHOR

J Gordon Melton is the director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and a research specialist with the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California—Santa Barbara. He is a graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and an ordained United Methodist minister. Over a long career, he has spent his waking hours traveling the world observing, ruminating upon, and writing about the broad spectrum of religions and the people who adhere to them. He has discovered that religion is not limited to people’s beliefs, feelings, and solitary experiences, but that it also encompasses what people do, see, and create. These two aspects of religion mingle intimately in the phenomena described in this text.
Melton has authored more than 25 books on religious topics, including several encyclopedic works such as the Encyclopedia of American Religions and, most recently, the Encyclopedia of Protestantism. His scholarly texts include A Will to Choose: The Origins of African American Methodism and American Religion: An Illustrated History.

A LSO FROM V ISIBLE I NK P RESS
The Handy Religion Answer Book The Astrology Encyclopedia The Dream Encyclopedia The Handy Religion Answer Book Unexplained! Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings Please visit us at visibleink.com .

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ISBN 1-57859-209-7
Cover image of Stonehenge courtesy of Getty Images; cover image of the Hill of Crosses courtesy of AFP/Getty Images; cover image of statue of Kuan Yin courtesy of Time Life Pictures/Getty Images. Back cover image reprinted by permission of Getty Images.
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Printed in the United States of America
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C ONTENTS
Introduction Index
A Al-Aqsa Mosque
Alchemy
Amritsar
Amulets
An Najaf
Angel of Mons
Anne, Saint
Apparitions of the Virgin Mary
Apports
Ark of the Covenant
Arunachala
Aura
Auroville
Automatic Writing
Avebury
Avignon
Ayyad, Ala
B Babaji
Bahá’í Temples
Beauraing/Banneux
Benares/Varanasi/Kashi
Betancur, Pedro de San José
Bethlehem
Bible Code
Bi-location
Bio-rhythms
Black Madonnas
Black Mass
Bodhi Tree
Borobudur
Branham, William Marion
Browne, Sylvia
Buddha, Relics of the
C Canterbury
Carey, Ken
Cargo Cults
Cartago
Cayce, Edgar
Chakras
Chartres Cathedral
Chimayo
Chromotherapy
City of Refuge
Comets
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of the Claims of the Paranormal
Communes
Conyers, Georgia
Cottingley Fairies
Crop Circles
Crystal Balls
Crystal Skulls
Crystals
Cumae
Cumorah
Curé d’Ars
D The Da Vinci Code
Dalai Lama
Damanhur
Dark Night of the Soul
Darshan
Davenport Brothers
Dee, John
Deganawidah
Delos Island
Delphi
Dentistry, Paranormal
Divine Mercy
Dodona
E Easter Island
Ecstasy
Ectoplasm
Edward, John
Edwards, Harry
Estabany, Oskar
Exorcism
Ex-votos
F Face Cloth (of Jesus)
Fakirs
Fatima • Feng Shui
Findhorn
Firewalking •Flagellation
Ford, Arthur
Fortune Telling
G Garabandal
Geller, Uri
Giant of Cerne Abbas
Glastonbury
Glastonbury Tor
Golden Palace
Grand Tetons
Great Pyramid of Giza
Green Man
Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Virgin Mary)
Grimoires
Guadalupe
Guardian Angels
H Hagia Sophia
Hajj
Hardwar
Harer
Healing, Miraculous
Heiligenkreuz • Helena, Saint
Hill of Crosses
Hillula
Hinn, Benny
Holy Blood
Holy Coat of Trier
Holy Grail
Holy Infant Child of Prague
Holywell
Home, Daniel Dunglas
I Icons
Ife
Image of Edessa
Indigo Children
Iona
Istanbul
J Jagannath
Jama Masjid
James Ossuary
Januarius, Saint
Jerusalem
Johrei
Joseph of Cupertino
K Kabbalah
Kamakura
Karbala
Khajuraho Temples
Khomeini, Ayatollah
Kirlian Photography
Knock
Kuan Yin
Kuhlman, Kathryn
Kumbh Mela
Kusinagara
L Labyrinth
Lake, John Graham
Lalibela
La Salette
Latihan
Laying on of Hands
Levitation
Lindsey, Gordon J.
Locutions
Loreto
Lourdes
Lumbini
M Machu Picchu
MacLaine, Shirley
Magic Mirrors
Mahatma Letters
Malachy, Saint
Mandalas
Mary’s House
Masada
Materialization
McPherson, Aimee Semple
Mecca
Mediums and Mediumship
Medjugorje
Meiji Jingu
Menas, Saint
Mesmer, Franz Anton
Milk-drinking Statues
Miraculous Medal
Moodabidri • Mother of the World
Mount Athos • Mount Fuji
Mount Horeb
Mount Kailas/Lake Manasarovar
Mount Shasta
Moving Statues
Mudras
Mystery Hill
N, O Noah’s Ark
Nuestra Señora de la Presentación
Oak Island
Omens
Ouija Board
Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace
Our Lady of Kevelaer
Our Lady of Peace Cathedral
Our Lady of the Roses, Mary Help of Mothers
Oyotunji
P Padre Pio
Pendulums
Penitentes
Philip
Pilgrimage
Potala
Prambanan
Prasadam
Psychic Surgery
Q, R Qigong
Rajgir
Rappings
Reiki
Relics
Rennes le Château
Richmond, Cora Scott
Rila
Rishikesh
Roberts, Oral
Rome/Vatican City
Rosary
Rosslyn Chapel
Rydén, Vasula
S Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Sadhus
Sai Baba
Saint Catherine’s Monastery
Saint Joseph’s Oratory
Saint Nectan’s Glen
Saint Nicholas’ Tomb
Salem Village
Samadhi
Santiago de Compostela
Santo, Audrey
Sarnath
Scapulars
Sedona
Serpent Handling
Shah Faisal Mosque
Shaktipat
Shipton, Mother
Shroud of Turin
Shwedagon Pagoda
Silbury Hill
Sirius Mystery
Skeptics Society
Slate Writing
Slaying in the Spirit
Smith, Hélène
Speaking in Tongues (Glossolalia)
Spear of Longinus
Spirit Photography
Spiritualist Camps • Stigmata
Stonehenge
Stupa
T Tai Shan
Talismans
Tarot
Templars
Temples of the Latter-day Saints • Tenri City
Teotihuacan
Thaipusam
Therapeutic Touch
Three Magi (relics)
Tirumala/Tirupati
Tomb of Christ
Topkapi Palace
Touro Synagogue
Tower of Babel
Trier
Trondheim Cathedral
True Cross
Tulku
Tummo
Tzaddik
V, W…. Veronica’s Veil
Virgin of Las Lajas
Vishnu’s Footprints
Wailing Wall
Weeping Statues and Icons
Whirling Dervishes
X, Y, Z Xenoglossy
Yantra
Yazd
Yogananda, Paramahamsa
Zimbabwe
Zion
M AKING THE I NVISIBLE V ISIBLE: A U I NTRODUCTION
J. Gordon Melton
A mong the many topics religious scholars ask themselves is “What is religion?” The answers are numerous, but among the most popular in recent years has been one offered by philosopher Alfred North Whitehead: “Religion is what an individual does with his solitariness.” This definition points toward the important personal, invisible, and mystical aspects of religiosity, as well as to contemporary interest in spirituality. The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena focuses on the other half of the religious life—the communal, visible, and material part. It is not concerned so much with the broad aspects of religion—church, worship, organization, political activism—but rather with the phenomena out of which organized religious life is constructed and that inspire people to explore their spirituality.
Spirituality often comes to the fore in times of solitariness, during which the believer reflects and meditates. Experiencing religious phenomena can provide an impetus to such reflection. It is the extraordinary event, encounter, or experience that excites the religious imagination and motivates the spirit. But few people are so lucky as to have encountered a remarkable religious phenomenon in their lives. Many, therefore, seek ways to participate in the experiences of others. For example, they will make a pilgrimage to a holy site or try to visit someone who has had a profound religious experience.
The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena is about the intense religious experiences that a small minority of people have claimed to have had, the phenomena associated with those experiences, and the efforts made by the great majority of us to relate ourselves to those phenomena. Many of the entries here reflect a paranormal or otherwise spiritual element, while others concern objects, people, or places that are simply extraordinary in nature, yet still inspirational.
In this modern age, many are surprised to hear reports of extraordinary religious events and that there are people who take them seriously. After all, we seem to have passed beyond the age of miracles to enter a time when God does not communicate with humans. Especially in the modern West, people go about their daily businessand only rarely hear about the spiritual side of existence. When we do hear of such reports, we typically strive for alternative explanations that affirm our skepticism and prove that the apparently dramatic is merely another example of the mundane.
Such an ap