What happened to the great dictators of contemporary history -- responsible for some of its most gruesome chapters? Do they still seem as terrifying as when they were in power? An unrepentant Idi Amin lives in exile in Saudi Arabia and still meddles in African wars. Before dying, Bokassa proclaimed himself the 13th apostle of the Roman Catholic Church and talked of his secret meetings with the Pope. Colonel Menghistu defends his Red Terror campaign. Mrs. Hoxha, from her cell in Tirana, argues why the most isolated regime in the world was right to adopt a brutal Stalinist ideology. Paris-based Baby Doc Duvalier speaks about voodoo, solar panels, his women and his lost money. Mrs. Milosevic defends the wars in the former Yugoslavia and declares her love for her husband. Jaruzelski reveals his personal transition from son of an aristocratic family, to autocrat army general in sunglasses. Riccardo Orizio has tracked down these fallen tyrants and thrown a new light on the people whose names have become synonymous with misery, death and terror for entire nations.
In this book-length study of The Satanic Temple, Joseph Laycock, a scholar of new religious movements, contends that the emergence of "political Satanism" marks a significant moment in American religious history that will have a lasting impact on how Americans frame debates about religious freedom. Though the group gained attention for its strategic deployment of outrage, it claims to have developed beyond politics into a religious movement. Equal parts history and ethnography, Speak of the Devil demonstrates why religious Satanism is significant to larger conversations about the definition of religion, religious freedom, and religious tolerance.
Allegations of satanic child abuse became widespread in North America in the 1980s. Shortly afterwards, there were similar reports in Britain of sexual abuse, torture and murder, associated with worship of the Devil. Professor Jean La Fontaine, a senior British anthropologist, conducted a two year research project into these allegations, which found that they were without foundation. Her detailed analysis of a number of specific cases, and an extensive review of the literature, revealed no evidence of devil-worship. She concludes that the child witnesses come to believe that they are describing what actually happened to them, but that adults are manipulating the accusations. She draws parallels with classic instances of witchcraft accusations and witch-hunts in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Europe, and shows that beneath the hysteria there is a social movement, which is fostered by a climate of social and economic insecurity. Persuasively argued, this is an authoritative and scholarly account of an emotive issue.
Originally written in 1938 but never published due to its controversial nature, an insightful guide reveals the seven principles of good that will allow anyone to triumph over the obstacles that must be faced in reaching personal goals.
New York Times bestselling author Jeff Rovin has held readers in breathless suspense with his Tom Clancy’s Op-Center novels. He has created compelling characters with vividly rendered emotions and actions. His page-turning thrillers have addressed questions of good and evil in our times. Now, Rovin confronts the question of Good and Evil on the ultimate battleground. A human soul hangs in the balance, and thousands of years of religious teachings depict only the beginning of the fight for dominion over man. Psychologist Sarah Lynch is stunned when one of her young patients hangs himself. Evidence reveals that Fredric had become a Satanist. Intending to solve the puzzle of Fredric’s death, Sarah attempts to conjure the devil—surely then she will understand what the teenager was thinking. Sarah knows that belief in God and the Devil is a construct of the human mind and that people contain within them both good and evil. Her own family is the perfect example. Sarah’s mother is still in denial about her dead husband’s alcoholism, but acts as a wonderful grandparent to the son of the family’s live-in housekeeper. Her alcoholic brother bounces from girlfriend to girlfriend and job to job, but is always there when Sarah needs him. And Sarah herself? She lost her faith more than a decade ago, during a personal crisis. But she is dedicated to giving others the help she did not receive. Even the nun who is Sarah’s best friend cannot break through Sarah’s shield of cynicism. But Satan can. The Devil himself rises in Sarah’s office, sometimes a being of dark smoke and sometimes a creature of all-too-perfect, seductive flesh. Most disturbing is Satan’s claim that only by following him can people find real happiness. In the Devil’s theology, God is a brutal, jealous bully. And as God and Satan battle for Sarah’s soul, Sarah comes to believe him. She forgets that he is the Master of Lies . . . .
These essays will strengthen the faith of every Christian. In his usual pithy style, Tozer challenges the believer to stop running from the devil and instead, boldy enter "lion country.
"The highest that can be said of any creature is that it fulfilled the purpose for which God made it." — A. W. Tozer What is holding you back from being all God wants you to be? Are you still holding on to past sins? Do memories of your spiritual failures haunt you? Or maybe you want to stay in control and not become one of those "fanatical" Christians? Tozer says, "It is one of the devil's oldest tricks to discourage the saints by causing them to look back at what they were." Indeed, Satan has been in the business of intimidating and deceiving the people of God for a very long time. Tozer himself felt attacked by the devil even as he prepared the sermons distilled into this book. But as we press toward maturity in Christ, we are armed with great strength to engage in battle with that great Adversary. We can stand up to the Devil and shout "I am a child of God! I will not take this any longer, and I remind you that the forgiveness and cleansing I have freely received comes from Jesus Christ!" You can talk back to the Devil, but will you?
“I will tell you a fairy tale,” said the Devil, “on one condition: you must not ask me the moral. You may draw any conclusion you like, but please do not question me. As it is, far too many follies are laid at our door, yet we, strictly speaking, do not even exist. It is you who create us.” My story takes place in New York some twenty-five years ago. There lived then a young man by the name of Hugh B.; I will not tell you his full name, but you will soon guess it for yourself. His name is known now to people in all five parts of the globe. But then he was completely unknown. I will start at a tragic moment in the life of this young man, when he was travelling from one of the suburbs of New York to Manhattan, with the intention of buying a revolver and then shooting himself on a lonely shore on Long Island; in a spot which had remained in his memory from the times of boyhood excursions, when he and his playmates, pretending to be explorers, had discovered unknown countries around New York. His intention was very definite and the decision final. All in all, it was a very common occurrence in the life of a big city, something encountered repeatedly; in fact, to be frank, I have had to arrange similar events thousands and tens of thousands of times. However, this time such a common beginning had a quite uncommon sequel and a most uncommon result. Nevertheless before turning to the outcome of the day, I must tell you in detail all that led up to it. Hugh was a born inventor. From early childhood, when walking with his mother in the park or playing with other children, or simply sitting quietly in a comer building with bricks or drawing monsters, he invented incessantly, constructing in his mind a variety of extraordinary contrivances, improvements for everything in the world. He derived a special satisfaction from inventing improvements and adaptations for his aunt. He would draw her with a chimney, or on wheels. For one drawing, in which this not young maiden was portrayed with six legs and other variations, the little Hugh was severely punished. It was one of his first memories. Not long after this Hugh learned first to design and then to make models of his inventions. By this time he had learnt that live people cannot be improved upon. Nevertheless his inventions were, of course, all pure fantasy: when he was fourteen, he nearly drowned himself trying out home-made water skis of his own design.
Twenty four irresistibly tempting tales of sinful reading pleasure Talk of the Devil-the old saying goes-and he is sure to appear! Indeed, here for your entertainment is Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, Old Nick, the Lord of the Flies, these are but five of the many names and titles that mankind has bestowed upon the Devil, the Prince of Evil, the dark figure who stands farthest away from the shining moral example of Godhead. Predictably, such a powerful figure, deeply embedded in the psyche of many cultures, has had an abiding fascination for writers since the earliest days of the written word and, inevitably, he has also become an essential component of folk tales in many countries. It is well noted that the characteristics of a hero are the same the world over, but if you need a really interesting personality then the villain can deliver satisfaction every time! This Leonaur book is a unique and special collection of classic short stories featuring the Devil himself, by a dazzling array of renowned exponents of penmanship including Irving, Gogol, Thackeray, Poe, Baudelaire, Hawthorne and many others. At its heart is a previously published collection entitled 'Devil Stories' edited by Maximilian Rudwin. However, this Leonaur edition benefits from the addition of five more tales of dark temptation and dastardly deeds for your enjoyment. Available in soft cover and hardcover with dust jacket.
