Weird Religion

The first Christians were weird. Just how weird is often lost on today's believers. Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They believed unusual things, worshiped God in strange ways, and lived a unique lifestyle. They practiced a whole new way of thinking about and doing religion that would have been seen as bizarre and dangerous when compared to Roman religion and most other religions of the ancient world.

Look down as you buzz across America, and Oklahoma looks like another “flyover state.” A closer inspection, however, reveals one of the most tragic, fascinating, and unpredictable places in the United States In this book, Russell Cobb tells the story of a state rich in natural resources and artistic talent, yet near the bottom in education and social welfare. Raised in Tulsa, Cobb engages Oklahomans across the boundaries of race and class to hear their troubles, anxieties, and aspirations and delves deep to understand their contradictory and often stridently independent attitudes.

What exactly are the weird and the eerie? In this new essay, Mark Fisher argues that some of the most haunting and anomalous fiction of the 20th century belongs to these two modes. The weird and the eerie are closely related but distinct modes, each possessing its own distinct properties. Both have often been associated with horror, yet this emphasis overlooks the aching fascination that such texts can exercise. The weird and the eerie both fundamentally concern the outside and the unknown, which are not intrinsically horrifying, even if they are always unsettling.

Think you have what it takes to be a saint? Lucky for you, thousands of souls have paved the way to heaven—creating a clear formula for getting the job done while also leaving a rich, disturbing history behind them. And in just five easy-ish steps, you can learn how to secure your own halo! How to Be a Saint is an endlessly entertaining ride through Catholicism for anyone who enjoys their history with a side of comedy.

Using academic, comprehensive, logical, and, at times, mathematical approaches, The Science of Weird Shit convincingly debunks ESP, communicating with the dead, and alien abduction claims, among other phenomena. All the while, however, French maintains that our belief in such phenomena is neither ridiculous nor trivial; if anything, such claims can tell us a great deal about the human mind if we pay them the attention they are due.

Dive into the fascinating and overlooked aspects of the Catholic faith with Weird Catholic Handbook by Michael Lichens. This book takes you on a Chestertonian romp through the peculiar and intriguing elements of Catholic history, offering a refreshing perspective on the faith that combines humor, curiosity, and profound insights.

Discover the power of being a hot mess with these heartbreaking and hilarious stories of how God uses each "mess" in our lives to bring us closer to Him–showing readers that it's okay to celebrate exactly where they are right now. A lot of people struggle with the concept of being holy. But...

Jesus is different. Go and do likewise. Many Christians have become comfortable letting the world mold them instead of being set apart by God. Many churches have traded in their biblical roots for complacent conventionality. But Jesus and the church are anything but conventional. The hallmark of our faith is that it sees the world differently than the world sees itself. We are called to be eccentric. By the grace of God, we are not only dissatisfied by sin, but increasingly uncompelled by conventionality.

The story of human civilization is filled with great achievements, legendary leaders, catastrophic disasters, and profound discoveries. We build monuments to our progress, write books to document our triumphs and failures, and teach each new generation what we believe to be the truth about the past.

In Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas About Our Planet, Donald R. Prothero demystifies these conspiracies and offers answers to some of humanity's most outlandish questions. Applying his extensive scientific knowledge, Prothero corrects misinformation that con artists and quacks use to hoodwink others about geology - hollow earth, expanding earth, and bizarre earthquakes-and mystical and paranormal happenings - healing crystals, alien landings, and the gates of hell.

Tom Cruise and John Travolta say the Church of Scientology is a force for good. Others disagree. Award-winning journalist John Sweeney investigated the Church for more than half a decade. During that time he was intimidated, spied on, and followed, and the results were spectacular: Sweeney lost his temper with the Church's spokesman on camera, and his infamous 'exploding tomato' clip was seen by millions around the world.

Most of us grow up believing it's more important to fit in than to stand out. But there's something different about you, and it matters. What if your weirdness was the key to changing everything? What if the outrageous, imaginative, crazy ideas that live inside your wildest dreams are actually there on purpose, divinely preinstalled to help others? Knowing what makes you weird is the best thing you can offer your art, your business, your friends, your family, and yourself.

Being a Catholic hipster is all about an attitude - an attitude grounded in being part of a countercultural community of believers dedicated to something bigger than themselves in a world dominated by self-centeredness. It’s about yearning to learn more about the faith by seeking out “Catholic cool” - overlooked saints, forgotten prayers and feast days, and traditional practices long set aside by mainstream believers. The Catholic Hipster Handbook will help listeners realize the only way to go against what’s normal and accepted in the culture is to be authentically Catholic.

Across continents and centuries, inexplicable events have punctuated human history. Glowing crafts in the sky. Encounters with non-human entities. Government denials cloaked in secrecy. Whispers from the Void pulls back the veil on ten of the most compelling and perplexing alien encounters ever recorded—each one a riddle that challenges our understanding of reality, history, and humanity’s place in the cosmos.

In the bleak chill of a winter Monday, Packenham Tuck, loath to get out of his warm bed, faces a funeral under a shroud of drizzle and gloom. Detesting the cold, the day, and the somber rituals, with a cynical eye, Tuck navigates the delicate dance of funeral etiquette. As he trudges through the familiar faces and predictable rites, a chilling discovery in the cemetery—a gravestone bearing his own name—upends his reality. In this poignant and darkly humorous short story, A Place of Rest explores the fragility of life, the weight of social obligation, and the eerie twist of fate that ...

In this Black Mirror style series, each Witching Hour 60-minute read takes you on an edge-of-your-seat journey that can be read in a single sitting. In Outward, we follow the life of Robby Boulder, a teenage addict who is forced to attend a new-age, walk-in-the-woods-style rehab. After the death of his father the previous year, he found himself in the throes of addiction. Then, late one evening, he woke up to a figure in his room, shaking him awake. The man dragged him into his van with three other troubled teens, promising salvation for the price of one week in the woods. But, once Robby ...

Lisa Jakub has always been a little weird. Sensitive. Emotional. Introverted. What else would you expect from a former child actor turned writer? But the issue wasn't just an artistic temperament; Lisa was constantly trying to hide her debilitating anxiety and depression. She assumed that retiring from her 18-year acting career and leaving Hollywood was going to be the cure for all of her issues. Guess how that worked out?

Where truth ends and speculation begins, a shadow forms—a shadow filled with whispers of hidden agendas, unsolved mysteries, and secret powers. Shadows of Suspicion invites you into this realm of uncertainty, where some of the world’s most enduring conspiracy theories continue to challenge official accounts and stir the imagination.

This is a true story of a girl growing up with a spiritual gift she does not fully understand. Written as a guide to her grandchildren, who also exhibit the Gift, this book seeks to help them understand what God had given them and what they are supposed to do with it. It exposes pitfalls and awkward problems involved with the Gift and it tells of the wonderful blessings that go along with it. Designed as a guide, the book also shares a lifetime of paranormal experiences.

Welcome to Tom Slemen's Tales of the Weird, a journey into the chilling sphere of the supernatural where you will encounter, vampires, werewolves, and even the Devil himself.... Here are just some of the things you will hear about in Tales of the Weird: A centuries-old demonic royal rapist.... A happily-married woman who became possessed by three strange personalities - including that of a nymphomaniac.... The terrifying power of the Evil Eye, which could be upon you at this moment....