Kafka’s novel “The Castle” and Merton’s criticism of bureaucracy describe a situation that is also at work in the Tai Ji Men case.
Massimo Introvigne
The Resolution on CCP History. 2. Chinese Light vs. Western Darkness
The CCP perpetuates the myth that the West was responsible for the decline of China, and continues to praise the Taiping and Boxers “cults.”
The Illuminati, Myth and Reality. 9. “Illuminati” and Political Controversy, from Jefferson to Trump
The first national Illuminati scare in the U.S. was in 1798–99. The most recent one is still going on.
The Illuminati, Myth and Reality. 8. The End of the “Second” Illuminati
After World War II, the Illuminati order survived in Switzerland and remained in Outer Appenzell until 2008.
The Resolution on CCP History. 1. What It Is All About
Many Western media commented the key document before its text was published, based on a press release. This led to incomplete analyses.
The Illuminati, Myth and Reality. 7. The Golden Dawn and the World League of the Illuminati
In 1902, before becoming “international,” the “second” Illuminati met a much more famous esoteric organization, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
The Illuminati, Myth and Reality. 6. The Second Illuminati
In 1901, the second real Order of the Illuminati was founded by Reuss and Engel. But its claims of historical continuity with the Bavarian Illuminati quickly collapsed.
The Illuminati, Myth And Reality. 5. The Lorber Connection
The defunct Illuminati of Bavaria were revived by esoteric author Leopold Engel, who injected in the order references to Austrian visionary Jakob Lorber.
The Illuminati, Myth and Reality. 4. How the Legend Was Created
Calvinist Scottish author John Robison and French ex-Jesuit Augustin Barruel falsely argued that the Illuminati were behind the French Revolution.
The Illuminati, Myth and Reality. 3. The Political Turn of the Bavarian Illuminati
In the 1780s, the Illuminati tried to promote a political conspiracy. They were quickly discovered and liquidated by the Bavarian police.
Massimo Introvigne
Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955 in Rome) is an Italian sociologist of religions. He is the founder and managing director of the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), an international network of scholars who study new religious movements. Introvigne is the author of some 70 books and more than 100 articles in the field of sociology of religion. He was the main author of the Enciclopedia delle religioni in Italia (Encyclopedia of Religions in Italy). He is a member of the editorial board for the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion and of the executive board of University of California Press' Nova Religio. From January 5 to December 31, 2011, he has served as the "Representative on combating racism, xenophobia and discrimination, with a special focus on discrimination against Christians and members of other religions" of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). From 2012 to 2015 he served as chairperson of the Observatory of Religious Liberty, instituted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to monitor problems of religious liberty on a worldwide scale.