Manichaeism is a former major world religion, founded in the 3rd century CE by the Parthian prophet Mani, in the Sasanian Empire.
Bábism is a religion founded in 1844 by the Báb, an Iranian merchant turned prophet who taught that there is one incomprehensible God who manifests his will in an unending series of Manifestations of God. It has persisted into the modern era in the form of the Bahá'í Faith, to which the majority of Bábís eventually converted. His ministry was turbulent and short lived, ending with his public execution in Tabriz, and a campaign of extermination that killed thousands of followers in what might be the bloodiest actions of the Iranian military in the 19th century.
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the social and cultural sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. Beyond literature, Vidal was heavily involved in politics. He unsuccessfully sought office twice as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the U.S. House of Representatives, and later in 1982 to the U.S. Senate.
The City and the Pillar is the third published novel by American writer Gore Vidal, written in 1946 and published on January 10, 1948. The story is about a young man who is coming of age and discovers his own homosexuality.
Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in Igboland and the invasion by Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. The novel was first published in the United Kingdom in 1962 by William Heinemann Ltd, and became the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series.
The Stars, Like Dust is a 1951 science fiction mystery book by American writer Isaac Asimov.
MirzāGhulām Aḥmad was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdī—which is the metaphorical second-coming of Jesus (mathīl-iʿIsā), in fulfillment of the Islamic prophecies regarding the end times, as well as the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century.
In the beliefs of the Nation of Islam (NOI), Yakub was a black scientist who lived 6,600 years ago and began the creation of the white race. He is said to have done this through a form of selective breeding which is referred to as "grafting", while he was living on the island of Patmos. The Nation of Islam's mythology states that Yakub is the biblical Jacob.
Schisms among the Jews are cultural as well as religious. They have happened as a product of historical accident, geography, and theology.
Anthony of Kiev also called Anthony of the Caves was a monk and the founder of the monastic tradition in Kievan Rus'. Together with Theodosius of Kiev, he co-founded the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Julian is a 1964 novel by Gore Vidal, a work of historical fiction written primarily in the first person dealing with the life of the Roman emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus, who reigned from 360 to 363 A.D.
Eschatology is a New Thought movement founded by American writer and former practitioner William W. Walter. Walter was formally a member of the Catholic Church and then The First Church of Christ, Scientist until 1912 when he rejected organized religion in order to found his own metaphysical system. Although it is generally classified as a new religious movement, Walter did not see it as a religious movement, and his followers reject the association with religion. He originally named his organization "The Walter Method of Christian Science"; and the term Eschatology as a trademark for Walter's teaching was not used until the 1920s.
Live from Golgotha is a novel by Gore Vidal, an irreverent spoof of the New Testament. Told from the perspective of Saint Timothy as he travels with Saint Paul, the 1992 novel's narrative shifts in time as Timothy and Paul combat a mysterious hacker from the future who is deleting all traces of Christianity.
Criticism of Jesus has existed since the first century. Jesus was criticised by the Pharisees and scribes for disobeying Mosaic Law. He was decried in Judaism as a failed Jewish messiah claimant and a false prophet by most Jewish denominations. Judaism also considers the worship of any person a form of idolatry, and rejects the claim that Jesus was divine. Some psychiatrists, religious scholars and writers explain that Jesus' family, followers and contemporaries seriously regarded him as delusional, possessed by demons, or insane.
New religious movements and cults have appeared as themes or subjects in literature and popular culture, while notable representatives of such groups have themselves produced a large body of literary works.
Meivazhi, meaning 'the True Path', also known as the "மறலி கை தீண்டா சாலை ஆண்டவர்கள் மெய் மதம்", is a syncretic monotheistic religion based in Tamil Nadu, India. It seeks to spread the true purpose of every religion which originated on Earth and preaches the oneness of all religions such as Saivism, Vaishnavism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, etc.., and united more than 69 castes into a single community. Its focus is on spiritual enlightenment and conquest of death by attaining Heaven, through the teachings and blessings of its founder and leader, Meivazhi Salai Aandavargal, who is believed to be the final incarnation of God expected by all religion. It has its own set of holy scriptures that runs up to four volumes, along with a unique prayer system and festivals. Although its founder was born in a Muslim family, it draws strongly from Hinduism. It allows membership irrespective of caste, creed, colour or religion, but the only requirement for being a disciple of Meivazhi religion is to be a believer in God. It has only one temple all across the world, which is situated at Meivazhi Salai in Pudukkottai district, Tamil Nadu, named as the Ponnaranga Devalayam. Its official liturgical language is Tamil. The religion forbids smoking, alcohol, gambling, and theft, and practices vegetarianism. The Temple stipulates a dress-code for its followers, which are white panchakacham and a white, pointed turban for its male followers, while its female followers wear a headscarf. The senior disciples who had received spiritual revelations from Salai Aandavargal, wear saffron clothing and wear saffron pointed turban with an upward-pointing crescent symbol called as 'Kilnaamam'. Further, the senior disciples of the religion prefix the word 'Meivazhi' before their name and suffix the word 'Anandar', while the younger disciples have the word 'Salai' prefixed to their names.
Christianity began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the 1st century in the Roman province of Judea, from where it spread throughout and beyond the Roman Empire.
The Testament of Man (1943–1960), a twelve-volume series of novels by the American author Vardis Fisher, traces the physical, psychological and spiritual evolution of Western civilization from Australopithecus to the present. The series explores a pantheon of subjects: myth, ritual, language, family, sex and especially sin, guilt and religion. Each work emphasizes a particular pathway that Fisher considered of paramount importance in the development of the modern world and our current views.
"Enlightened minds must wonder what the world would be like today if the torrent [that carries us along] had taken another channel at any one of a dozen moments in history. What if Greek values had triumphed in that war more than twenty−one centuries ago?"
Jadonang Malangmei (1905-1931), popularly known as Haipou Jadonang, was a Naga spiritual leader and political activist from Manipur, British India. He established the Heraka religious movement, which was based on the ancestral Naga religion, and declared himself to be the "messiah king" of the Nagas. His movement was widespread in the Zeliangrong territory before the conversion to Christianity. He also espoused the cause of an independent Naga kingdom, which brought him in conflict with the colonial British rulers of India. He was hanged by the British in 1931, and succeeded by his cousin Rani Gaidinliu.
