Michael Hunter

A new history that overturns the received wisdom that science displaced magic in Enlightenment Britain—named a Best Book of 2020 by the Financial Times In early modern Britain, belief in prophecies, omens, ghosts, apparitions and fairies was commonplace. Among both educated and ordinary people the absolute existence of a spiritual world was taken for granted. Yet in the eighteenth century such certainties were swept away. Credit for this great change is usually given to science – and in particular to the scientists of the Royal Society. But is this justified? Michael Hunter argues that those pioneering the change in attitude were not scientists but freethinkers. While some scientists defended the reality of supernatural phenomena, these sceptical humanists drew on ancient authors to mount a critique both of orthodox religion and, by extension, of magic and other forms of superstition. Even if the religious heterodoxy of such men tarnished their reputation and postponed the general acceptance of anti-magical views, slowly change did come about. When it did, this owed less to the testing of magic than to the growth of confidence in a stable world in which magic no longer had a place.

Jesus tells us that if one desires to be his disciple, they must "deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34). But what does it mean to take up your cross, and how can we do this? The apostle Paul said that he "desired to know nothing...except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2) and elsewhere even claimed to "have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20). How can one join Paul and know Jesus in his Crucifixion?The answer is to take Jesus at his word. From the cross, Jesus spoke seven times. These sayings summarize the gospel and explain how we can know him in his Crucifixion. On the cross, Jesus was literally Dying to Tell You how his death fulfilled God's eternal plan for our redemption.Unlike other studies of the "last sayings" of Jesus from the cross, Dying to Tell You takes a new approach and views the sayings together as a whole, revealing how together they form the foundation to understanding the gospel of Jesus. Originally motivated to seek a resolution to the dilemma of which saying is the last (both Luke and John appear to report the last saying), Dying to Tell You establishes a new order for the sayings based on a detailed examination and integration of the four Crucifixion narratives contained in the Gospels. While each saying is individually examined, rather than handling them as isolated statements, Dying to Tell You demonstrates how these sayings comprise the final message of Jesus, his sermon on the cross.Along the way, Dying to Tell You also provides assurance that the Bible can be trusted and is a historically accurate resource; demonstrates that the cross is the centerpiece of redemptive history; and illustrates how Jesus and the Crucifixion serve to fulfill the scriptures and provide for the salvation of mankind.Dying to Tell You is nothing less than one disciple's spiritual awakening and quest to know "Jesus Christ and him crucified" through the sayings he made from the cross and gospel they proclaim.

The modern imagination of classical Chinese thought has long been dominated by Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, and other so-called “Masters” of the Warring States period. Michael Hunter argues that this approach neglects the far more central role of poetry, and the Shijing (Classic of Poetry) in particular, in the formation of the philosophical tradition. Through a new reading of its ideology and poetics, Hunter reestablishes the Shijing as a work of major intellectual-historical significance. The Poetics of Early Chinese Thought demonstrates how Shi poetry weaves a vision of society united at every level by the innate and universal impulse to come home. The Shi immersed early thinkers in a world of movement and flow in order to teach them that the most powerful current of all was the gravitational pull of a virtuous king, without whom people can never truly feel at home. Hunter traces the profound influence of the Shi ideology across numerous sources of classical Chinese thought, which he recasts as a network centered on the Shi. Reframing the tradition in this way reveals how poetry shaped ancient Chinese thinkers’ conception of the world and their place within it.This book offers both a sweeping critique of how classical Chinese thought is commonly understood and a powerful new way of studying it.

The modern imagination of classical Chinese thought has long been dominated by Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, and other so-called “Masters” of the Warring States period. Michael Hunter argues that this approach neglects the far more central role of poetry, and the Shijing (Classic of Poetry) in particular, in the formation of the philosophical tradition. Through a new reading of its ideology and poetics, Hunter reestablishes the Shijing as a work of major intellectual-historical significance. The Poetics of Early Chinese Thought demonstrates how Shi poetry weaves a vision of society united at every level by the innate and universal impulse to come home. The Shi immersed early thinkers in a world of movement and flow in order to teach them that the most powerful current of all was the gravitational pull of a virtuous king, without whom people can never truly feel at home. Hunter traces the profound influence of the Shi ideology across numerous sources of classical Chinese thought, which he recasts as a network centered on the Shi. Reframing the tradition in this way reveals how poetry shaped ancient Chinese thinkers’ conception of the world and their place within it.This book offers both a sweeping critique of how classical Chinese thought is commonly understood and a powerful new way of studying it.

This is the story of the illegitimate son of a young immigrant woman who was on the run from her abusive husband. It's the story of a child whose father died when the boy was only four. It's about growing up with PTSD and alcoholism and abuse and family dysfunction. It's about a man who thought he knew what God and Christianity is all about and yet he fell so far into sin that it destroyed everything in his life and he ended up in prison. It's also the story of how this same man finally realized one day that God exists and He truly loves us. It's a story of a prodigal son hearing his true Father calling him to come back. It's the story about one man's journey home to Father God. It's a true story. I know, because I am that man.

This is the story of the illegitimate son of a young immigrant woman who was on the run from her abusive husband. It's the story of a child whose father died when the boy was only four. It's about growing up with PTSD and alcoholism and abuse and family dysfunction. It's about a man who thought he knew what God and Christianity is all about and yet he fell so far into sin that it destroyed everything in his life and he ended up in prison. It's also the story of how this same man finally realized one day that God exists and He truly loves us. It's a story of a prodigal son hearing his true Father calling him to come back. It's the story about one man's journey home to Father God. It's a true story. I know, because I am that man.

This book is about a single image - the frontispiece to Thomas Sprat’s History of the Royal-Society of London (1667). Designed by John Evelyn, and etched by Wenceslaus Hollar, it is arguably the best-known representation of seventeenth-century English science. The use of such plates to celebrate and legitimise the ‘new’ science of the period falls into a tradition that was well-established both in Britain and in Europe more generally, and which has increasingly attract attention from historians. Nevertheless, there are many questions to be asked about it and how it came into being. Was it an original composition by Evelyn, or is it based on earlier exemplars? Can all the scientific instruments, books and other objects that appear in it be identified, and what significance should be attached to their inclusion? Above all, how did the plate come to be designed in the first place, and what is its true relationship with Sprat’s book? In order to assess such issues, this study provides a full analysis of Evelyn’s image in its Royal Society setting and the wider world of early-modern science. The book first considers the overall iconography of the image and its message concerning Evelyn’s conception of the society’s role, before moving on to examine the myriad of details included in the plate and their significance. It concludes by considering the print’s history after publication, including the extent to which Evelyn used copies to exemplify the combination of technological and artistic accomplishment to which he believed the society should aspire.

This reference book is for all those interested in the Grail families or who wish to study further the ancient mythological, legendary and historical origins of their own lineage. It is the latest book in the "Dragon Legacy" series and contains the most comprehensive genealogies of the Houses of Vere, Weir and Collison published to date. Also published for the first time is the Dragon Descent of Jesus Christ from Satan, an explosive secret kept hidden for centuries by a few rare Gnostic sects, which calls into question some of the ancient identities and the interrelationships of figures we have become familiar with today. In the Interview with Tracy Twyman the reader will learn the true purpose Jesus had for Mary Magdalene, her cosmic identity and the real nature of his clandestine "church." In the excerpts from the work by Leonid Korablev, "The True Elves of Europe," we are introduced to the factual origin of Tolkien's Elves and their true basis in history. Numerous biographical notes and passages concerning the Grail line and the Vere family can be found throughout the book.

The text of one of the most important poems from the Golden Age of Spanish literature, together with a translation into colloquial English that allows ready access to the original

This book provides an approachable exposition of the rationale of textual editing with special reference to texts from between 1550-1800. The volume explains how manuscript and printed texts were produced, indicating the implications of this for their editorial treatment and giving practical advice on how texts should be prepared and presented.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was one of the most influential scientific and theological thinkers of his time. This is the first edition of his correspondence, transcribed from the original manuscripts. It is fully annotated, with an introduction and general index. The four volumes cover the time periods of Volume 1: 1936-91, Volume 2: 1662-5, Volume 3: 1666-7 and finally Volume 4 1668 to 77.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was one of the most influential scientific and theological thinkers of his time. This is the first edition of his correspondence, transcribed from the original manuscripts. It is fully annotated, with an introduction and general index. Volume 6 covers the period of 1684–91.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was one of the most influential scientific and theological thinkers of his time. This is the first edition of his correspondence, transcribed from the original manuscripts. It is fully annotated, with an introduction and general index.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was one of the most influential scientific and theological thinkers of his time. This is the first edition of his correspondence, transcribed from the original manuscripts. It is fully annotated, with an introduction and general index.The four volumes cover the time periods of Volume 1: 1936-91, Volume 2: 1662-5, Volume 3: 1666-7 and finally Volume 4 1668 to 77.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was one of the most influential scientific and theological thinkers of his time. This is the first edition of his correspondence, transcribed from the original manuscripts. It is fully annotated, with an introduction and general index. The four volumes cover the time periods of Volume 1: 1936-91, Volume 2: 1662-5, Volume 3: 1666-7 and finally Volume 4 1668 to 77.