God's Lunatics: Lost Souls, False Prophets, Martyred Saints, Murderous Cults, Demonic Nuns, and Other Victims of Man's Eternal Search for the Divine (Paperback)

From the dawn of civilisation humankind has looked for answers to the meaning of existence. The big questions like, 'where did we come from?', 'how should we live?', and 'where do we go when we die?' have perplexed and puzzled. Each generation has been eager to follow the prophets who might manifest and offer their guidance. The roads taken to find certain truths were varied, ranging from the ridiculous, or horrific and strange, to the sublime. From the prophets of doom, to the eccentric characters from the Bible, to solitary visionaries, such as hermits and ascetics, or believers in overindulgence, who thought food, sex, and drugs were the keys to the portal to divine understanding, "God's Lunatics" chronicles history's large and colourful cast of prophets. From the intimate doings of those who rose to an 'immortal' level, walked on fire, or handled poisonous snakes, to prophets claiming time travel as their source of knowledge, "God's Lunatics" also takes a look at the foundations of major religions, and the adoption of customs and laws which influenced governments and culture to this day.