Dictionary of Beliefs, Religions, Sects and Occultism (Hardcover)

A truly comprehensive dictionary of all beliefs and related terms, aimed at providing Christian leaders with accurate, necessary, and precise information on each of them.

Although countless books have been published on cults, whether referring to a particular one or a group of them, currently, the number of religious initiatives has multiplied in such a way that, until the publication of this Dictionary, there was nothing exhaustive where one could find data on any cult and, at the same time, comparative information with other religions and beliefs.

The work includes an article for each of the currently known beliefs, religions, cults, and occultist groups, arranged alphabetically. Each article is divided into three parts:

History: Provides essential information about their origin, founder, influence, and effects on the social and religious environment. In many cases, it even provides the group's postal address.

Beliefs and practices: Briefly but comprehensively explains the ideological and doctrinal structure of the group and its relationship to other beliefs.

Conclusion: Aims to summarize what has been presented and provide the authors' conclusions from a Christian perspective.

Interspersed among the articles describing cults and beliefs, there are countless entries corresponding to terms, concepts, founders, and people related to them, indicating dates of birth and death (if applicable) in the latter cases. When these names appear in an article, they are indicated in small capitals so that the reader knows they are included in the Dictionary and can look them up independently.

In addition to cults, it includes descriptions of all major non-Christian religions, as well as the history and basic doctrinal principles of all Christian confessions and denominations. In this sense, the authors address any suspicion that might arise from including Christian confessions in a dictionary of "cults" and argue that they have included them with the intention of offering an exhaustive work regarding beliefs and at the same time providing a reference point and consultation for the corresponding articles. We should not forget that many cults have originated from or been inspired by great pagan religions or Christian confessions. Their inclusion allows for the interconnection of articles with a (See...) so that the consultant does not have to resort to other sources for information.

With nearly 4,000 entries, the comprehensiveness and usefulness of this reference work are more than evident.

It is complemented by numerous appendices, tables, and comparisons of cults and beliefs, tables on the origin of cults, comparative tables of different creeds, and an extensive bibliography on cults and beliefs, in Spanish and English.