What is theosophy?
Theosophy is more of a philosophy of religion than a religion per se. The word theosophy comes from the Greek words theos “god” and sophia “wisdom”. Literally, theosophy means “divine wisdom.” The roots of this philosophy can be traced back to ancient Gnosticism, with borrowings from Greek philosophy and medieval mysticism. Modern theosophy also draws…
What is Taoism / Daoism?
Taoism (also spelled Daoism) is a religion whose adherents are mostly found in Far Eastern countries such as China, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore where its temples are found. Current estimates are that several hundred million people practice some form of Taoism, with some 20 to 30 million on the Chinese mainland. This is…
What is Eckankar?
Eckankar is one of the New Age religions, started in 1965 by journalist Paul Twitchell. Before founding Eckankar, Twitchell was involved in yoga, self-realization groups, and Scientology. In their own words, “The ECK is spirit. It is the force that sustains and supports all life throughout the worlds or SUGMAD [God]. . . . In…
What is Religious Science?
Religious Science started in 1927 when a man named Ernest Holmes was encouraged to organize a group to formally study his teachings on metaphysical spirituality. Holmes himself studied the mind science teachings of Dr. P. Quimby, Mary Baker Eddy, Charles Filmore, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, along with Eastern mysticism and religions such as Hinduism. He…
What is Kemetic spirituality / Kemetism?
Kemet (or KMT) is the native name of ancient Egypt, and Kemetic spirituality or Kemetism is a neo-pagan religious movement that seeks to restore ancient Kemetic/Egyptian religious practices. Kemetic spirituality attracts those of African descent, as it provides a cultural and religious connection to the spirituality of lost societies of African ancestry, but it is…
What are fertility cults?
A fertility cult is a type of nature worship that attempts to safeguard the fertility or productiveness of plants, animals, and people. Fertility cults usually focus on a certain deity, and followers believe that, by propitiating that god or goddess, fruitfulness will result. Fertility cults were common in ancient pagan religions, where certain rites were…
What is the Urantia book?
The Urantia Book was supposedly dictated to a Chicago psychiatrist named W.S. Sadler from 1934 to 1935 by a man who spoke in his sleep on behalf of alien super-mortals called revelators. Sadler formed a group to discuss these revelations, from which the Urantia Foundation was formed in 1950. The Urantia Foundation began publishing the…
Is Eckhart Tolle’s “New Earth” compatible with Christianity?
Oprah Winfrey is arguably one of the most influential women in the world. With a daily viewership that has peaked around 10 million, The Oprah Winfrey Show definitely has the potential to impact the lives of many people. The Oprah Winfrey Show definitely promotes much that is good. However, there is another side of Oprah…
What is the meaning of the yin and the yang?
The concept of yin yang (often called “the yin and the yang”) is a Chinese philosophical idea used to explain how opposite forces are interconnected and interdependent upon each other. In other words, black could not exist without white, dark without light, cold without heat, etc. The yin yang concept is the basis of many…
What is grounding / earthing, and is it biblical?
Grounding, or earthing, is the practice of physically connecting oneself as closely as possible to the earth by going barefoot, lying on the ground, or lying on a special pad either connected to the earth by grounding wires or a rod or plugged into a wall outlet linked to a “modern earth ground system.” Some…