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: 9781578592302
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

Extrait

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF








































ABOUT THE AUTHOR
. Gordon Melton is the director of the Institute for theJStudy 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.
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Please visit us at visibleink.com.
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
RELIGIOUS
PHENOMENA
Detroit
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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
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS
Introduction xi
Index 367
A .................1 C ................47
Al-Aqsa Mosque • Alchemy • Amrit- Canterbury •Carey, Ken • Cargo
sar • Amulets • An Najaf • Angel of Cults • Cartago •Cayce, Edgar •
Mons • Anne, Saint • Apparitions of Chakras • Chartres Cathedral •
Chithe Virgin Mary • Apports • Ark of mayo • Chromotherapy •City of
the Covenant • Arunachala • Aura • Refuge • Comets • Committee for the
Auroville • Automatic Writing • Ave- Scientific Investigation of the Claims of
bury • Avignon • Ayyad, Ala the Paranormal • Communes •
Conyers, Georgia •Cottingley Fairies •
Crop Circles • Crystal Balls • Crystal
Skulls • Crystals • Cumae • Cumorah
• Curé d’Ars
B ................25
Babaji • Bahá’í Temples • Beauraing/
Banneux • Benares/Varanasi/Kashi • D ...............75
Betancur, Pedro de San José • Bethle- The Da Vinci Code • Dalai Lama •
hem • Bible Code • Bi-location • Bio- Damanhur • Dark Night of the Soul •
rhythms •Black Madonnas • Black Darshan • Davenport Brothers • Dee,
Mass • Bodhi Tree • Borobudur • Bran- John • Deganawidah • Delos Island •
ham, William Marion • Browne, Sylvia • Delphi • Dentistry, Paranormal • Divine
Buddha, Relics of the Mercy • Dodona
[vii]THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA
Contents
E .................91 K ...............177
Easter Island • Ecstasy • Ectoplasm • Kabbalah • Kamakura • Karbala •
Edward, John • Edwards, Harry • Esta- Khajuraho Temples • Khomeini,
Ayabany, Oskar • Exorcism • Ex-votos tollah • Kirlian Photography • Knock
•Kuan Yin •Kuhlman, Kathryn •
Kumbh Mela • Kusinagara
F ................105
Face Cloth (of Jesus) • Fakirs • Fatima
• Feng Shui • Findhorn • Firewalking L ...............193
• Flagellation • Ford, Arthur • Fortune
Labyrinth • Lake, John Graham • Lali-Telling
bela • La Salette • Latihan • Laying on
of Hands • Levitation • Lindsey,
Gordon J. • Locutions • Loreto • LourdesG ..............117 • Lumbini
Garabandal • Geller, Uri • Giant of
Cerne Abbas • Glastonbury •
Glastonbury Tor • Golden Palace • Grand
Tetons • Great Pyramid of Giza • M .............207Green Man • Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Machu Picchu • MacLaine, Shirley •(Virgin Mary) • Grimoires • Guadalupe
Magic Mirrors • Mahatma Letters •
• Guardian Angels
Malachy, Saint • Mandalas • Mary’s
House • Masada • Materialization •
McPherson, Aimee Semple • Mecca •
Mediums and Mediumship • Medjugor-H ..............137
je • Meiji Jingu • Menas, Saint • Mes-Hagia Sophia • Hajj • Hardwar • Harer
mer, Franz Anton • Milk-drinking Stat-• Healing, Miraculous • Heiligenkreuz
ues • Miraculous Medal • Moodabidri• Helena, Saint • Hill of Crosses •
• Mother of the World • Mount AthosHillula • Hinn, Benny • Holy Blood •
• Mount Fuji • Mount Horeb • MountHoly Coat of Trier • Holy Grail • Holy
Kailas/Lake Manasarovar • Mount Shas-Infant Child of Prague • Holywell •
ta • Moving Statues • Mudras • Mys-Home, Daniel Dunglas
tery Hill
I .................157
Icons • Ife • Image of Edessa • Indigo N, O ......239Children • Iona • Istanbul
Noah’s Ark • Nuestra Señora de la
Presentación •Oak Island • Omens •
Ouija Board • Our Lady Mediatrix ofJ .................165 All Grace • Our Lady of Kevelaer •
Jagannath • Jama Masjid • James Ossu- Our Lady of Peace Cathedral • Our
ary •Januarius, Saint • Jerusalem • Lady of the Roses, Mary Help of
MothJohrei • Joseph of Cupertino ers • Oyotunji
[viii] THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA
Contents
Smith, Hélène • Speaking in TonguesP ...............251 (Glossolalia) • Spear of Longinus •
Padre Pio • Pendulums • Penitentes • Spirit Photography • Spiritualist Camps
Philip • Pilgrimage • Potala • Pram- • Stigmata • Stonehenge • Stupa
banan • Prasadam • Psychic Surgery
T ...............323Q, R ......261 Tai Shan • Talismans • Tarot •
TemQigong • Rajgir • Rappings • Reiki • plars • Temples of the Latter-day Saints
Relics • Rennes le Château •
Rich•Tenri City • Teotihuacan •
Thaimond, Cora Scott • Rila • Rishikesh • pusam • Therapeutic Touch • Three
Roberts, Oral • Rome/Vatican City • Magi (relics) • Tirumala/Tirupati •
Rosary •Rosslyn Chapel • Rydén, Tomb of Christ • Topkapi Palace •
Vasula Touro Synagogue • Tower of Babel •
Trier • Trondheim Cathedral • True
Cross • Tulku • Tummo • TzaddikS ................281
Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary •
Sadhus • Sai Baba • Saint Catherine’s V, W ....349Monastery • Saint Joseph’s Oratory •
Veronica’s Veil • Virgin of Las Lajas •Saint Nectan’s Glen • Saint Nicholas’
Vishnu’s Footprints • Wailing Wall •Tomb •Salem Village • Samadhi •
Weeping Statues and Icons • WhirlingSantiago de Compostela • Santo,
DervishesAudrey • Sarnath • Scapulars •
Sedona • Serpent Handling • Shah
Faisal Mosque • Shaktipat • Shipton,
Mother • Shroud of Turin • Shwe- X,Y,Z 359
dagon Pagoda • Silbury Hill • Sirius Xenoglossy • Yantra • Yazd •
YogaMystery •Skeptics Society • Slate nanda, Paramahamsa • Zimbabwe •
Writing •Slaying in the Spirit • Zion
[ix]THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS PHENOMENA
MAKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE:
A N INTRODUCTION
J. Gordon Melton
mong the many topics religious scholars ask themselves is “What is religion?” TheA 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 ex