Weird Religion

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.

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.

Why are we here? Do ghosts exist? Will we ever travel back in time? Are we being visited by extraterrestrials? Will we ever talk to animals? Are we being told the truth? Are mysterious creatures roaming the Earth? And why, when you’re in the shower, does the shower-curtain always billow in towards you? We don’t know the answers to any of these questions. But don’t worry, no matter what questions you have, you can bet on the fact that there is someone (or something) out there, investigating it on your behalf – and this book collects their latest findings.

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.

If we follow Christ, we're not supposed to be like everyone else. We’re supposed to be a little bit…well, weird. The whole point of Christianity is to become more like Jesus and less of who we are when left to our own devices and desires—to become less like the rest of the world, less normal.

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.

In a world where whispers become roars and rumors turn into accepted reality, Dexter Maxx delves deep into the labyrinth of modern myths, guiding listeners through a mesmerizing journey of the most tantalizing conspiracy theories of our age. From dark corners of the internet to the corridors of power, Conspiracies is a gripping exploration of humanity's age-old quest for answers in an increasingly complex world.

Ultimate fighting bears, a fat king who poops himself, zombies, donkey “bits”, and a fart. These are not the things you’d expect to find in the Bible, but they’re all there. If you thought the Bible was dull, think again. This is your chance to discover all the parts of the Bible they don’t teach you in Sunday school - but probably should.

Mary Katherine Backstrom shares heartbreaking and hilarious stories of how God uses each "mess" in our lives to bring us closer to him. She shows us that it's okay to celebrate exactly where we are right now - holy hot mess and all.

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.

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.

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.

If the saints have never made you laugh or drop your jaw, they will in this book. Best-selling author Shaun McAfee (Reform Yourself!, Filling Our Father’s House) and guest writers illustrate how the saints were not just stone-faced old men. Some of them had quirky habits and outrageous personalities and did breathtaking deeds...but they all had epic faith.

I’m fascinated with ancient history because there are continuous new discoveries which push back the dawn of civilization by thousands of years. In the last couple of decades, the discoveries at Gobekli Tepe in eastern Turkey pushed back man-made structures to the time period of 9,000-11,000 BC, thousands of years before the next known civilizations existed.

Approximately 80 percent of Americans admit they haven’t read the Bible. If they did, they’d be pleasantly surprised by its impressive quantity of sex and poop jokes. David danced naked. Noah was basically a moonshining hillbilly. Ezekiel baked poop bread. Herod was eaten by worms. Jesus cursed a fig tree, just to prove he could. Mark went streaking. Hosea married a prostitute. Lot was date-raped by his own daughters. It turns out, there’s a lot of weird stuff in the Bible.

Did you know soap can burn? It can, my pretties. It can and it does. Fortunately, it cleans up so easily! But yes, the house didn’t smell as “wonderful” as it did “wonder what that smell is” for a couple of weeks. In good news, I found out I can literally leave my crockpot turned on low for weeks without it catching fire, so that’s a handy fact to know. Part how-to, part memoir, My Life as a Kitchen Witch was a surprise hit for fiction writer Red Tash.

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?

The emergence of psychic or healing abilities in one partner often causes anxiety, stress, or confusion for the other. How to Live with a Psychic teaches you not only how to survive this shift but how to thrive and strengthen your relationship when your life has detoured down this unfamiliar path. Crystal has already figured out what works and what doesn't. Follow her practical advice, designed to help you take command of your situation and achieve the best possible results for your unique circumstances.

Follow along as we visit the most heart-poundingly spooky graveyards in the United States. Take a tour of spooked out cemeteries from every state A to Z. Discover stories of boogeyman, Grim Reaper, living dead, monsters, spirits, shadowy figures, skeletons, trolls, undead, vampires, werewolves, witches, and zombies.

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.