Universal Alliance
The Universal Alliance (French: Alliance universelle), formerly known as Universal Christian Church (''Église chrétienne universelle'') and followers as Christ's Witnesses (''Témoins du Christ''), is a Christian-oriented new religious movement founded in France in 1952 by Georges Roux, a former postman in the Vaucluse department. Roux claimed to be the reincarnation of Christ and was thus named the "Christ of Montfavet", a village on the commune of Avignon where he lived then. He wrote three books containing the doctrines of the religious group, including the rejection of several dogmas commonly accepted by the main churches (Jesus' divinity and resurrection, the existence of the Devil, and the accuracy of the Gospels, among other things). Vegetarian diet, high degree of proselytism and miraculous healings were the main practices of the organization. The group grew quickly in France and some other countries, counting several thousands of faithful, but memberships are currently ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious .... It is the Major religious groups, world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global population. Its adherents, known as Christians, are estimated to make up a majority of the population in Christianity by country, 157 countries and territories, and believe that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God, whose coming as the Messiah#Christianity, messiah was Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament, prophesied in the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament in Christianity) and chronicled in the New Testamen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution of higher learning on the European continent. Along with his teacher, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato is a central figure in the history of Ancient Greek philosophy and the Western and Middle Eastern philosophies descended from it. He has also shaped religion and spirituality. The so-called neoplatonism of his interpreter Plotinus greatly influenced both Christianity (through Church Fathers such as Augustine) and Islamic philosophy (through e.g. Al-Farabi). In modern times, Friedrich Nietzsche diagnosed Western culture as growing in the shadow of Plato (famously calling Christianity "Platonism for the masses"), while Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophica ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Open Letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter addressed to an individual but provided to the public through newspapers and other media, such as a letter to the editor or blog. Especially common are critical open letters addressed to political leaders. Letters patent are another form of open letter in which a legal document is both mailed to a person by the government and publicized so that all are made aware of it. Open letters can also be addressed directly to a group rather than any individual. Two of the most famous and influential open letters are '' J'accuse...!'' by Émile Zola to the President of France, accusing the French government of wrongfully convicting Alfred Dreyfus for alleged espionage, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s ''Letter from Birmingham Jail'', including the famous quotation "Injustic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before 1939 papal conclave, his election to the papacy, he served as secretary of the Section for Relations with States (Roman Curia), Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs, Apostolic Nuncio to Germany, papal nuncio to Germany, and Cardinal Secretary of State, in which capacity he worked to conclude treaties with European and Latin American nations, such as the ''Reichskonkordat'' with the German Reich. While the Vatican was officially neutral during World War II, the ''Reichskonkordat'' and his leadership of the Catholic Church during the war remain the subject of controversy—including allegations of public silence and inaction about the fate of the Jews. Pius employed diplomacy to aid the victims of the Nazis during the w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Apostate
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. One who undertakes apostasy is known as an apostate. Undertaking apostasy is called apostatizing (or apostasizing – also spelled apostacizing). The term ''apostasy'' is used by sociologists to mean the renunciation ''and'' criticism of, or opposition to, a person's former religion, in a technical sense, with no pejorative connotation. Occasionally, the term is also used metaphorically to refer to the renunciation of a non-religious belief or cause, such as a political party, social movement, or sports team. Apostasy is generally not a self-definition: few former believers call themselves apostates due to the term's negative connotation. Many religious groups and some states punish apos ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charismatic
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "charisma" is used to describe a particular type of leader who uses "values-based, symbolic, and emotion-laden leader signaling". In Christian theology, the term appears as ''charism'', an endowment or extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the Bible'' by W. R. F. Browning. Oxford University Press Inc. ''Oxford Reference Online''. Oxford University Press. Accessed 22 June 2011. Etymology The English term ''charisma'' is from the Greek (''khárisma''), which means "favor freely given" or "gift of grace". The term and its plural (''charismata'') derive from (''charis''), which means "grace" or indeed "charm" with which it shares the root. Some derivatives from that root (including "grace") have si ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to experience Inward light, the light within or see "that of God in every one". Some profess a priesthood of all believers inspired by the First Epistle of Peter. They include those with evangelicalism, evangelical, Holiness movement, holiness, Mainline Protestant, liberal, and Conservative Friends, traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity. There are also Nontheist Quakers, whose spiritual practice does not rely on the existence of God. To differing extents, the Friends avoid creeds and Hierarchical structure, hierarchical structures. In 2017, there were an estimated 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa. Some 89% of Quakers worldwide belong to ''evangelical'' and ''programmed'' branches that hold ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Régis Dericquebourg
Régis Dericquebourg (born 1947) is a French sociologist of religions. He wrote his thesis on Jehovah's Witnesses under the direction of Jean Seguy. He holds a doctorate in psychosociology and a postgraduate degree in clinical psychology from the Institute of Paris 7. He is a member of the Group for the Study of Religions and Secularity at the National Center for the Scientific Studies in Paris, and a professor at the Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III. He published five books, many sociological articles in collective books, encyclopedias and journals and regularly participated in conferences of sociology. His contributions are mainly on Jehovah's Witnesses, healing in religion and new religious movements. Healing-oriented religions One of Dericquebourg's main contributions to the sociology of religions is the creation of a new category of religions, “religions de guérison” (healing-oriented religions). This category should avoid the debates about which movements are g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had a population of 93,671 as of the census results of 2017, with about 16,000 (estimate from Avignon's municipal services) living in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval walls. It is France's 35th largest metropolitan area according to INSEE with 336,135 inhabitants (2019), and France's 13th largest urban unit with 458,828 inhabitants (2019). Its urban area was the fastest-growing in France from 1999 until 2010 with an increase of 76% of its population and an area increase of 136%. The Communauté d'agglomération du Grand Avignon, a cooperation structure of 16 communes, had 192,785 inhabitants in 2018. Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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MIVILUDES
The MIVILUDES (''Mission interministérielle de vigilance et de lutte contre les dérives sectaires''; Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Drifts) is a French government agency, created by presidential decree in 2002. It is charged with observing and analyzing the phenomenon of cult movements, coordinating the government response, informing the public about the risks arising from sectarian aberrations and facilitating the implementation of actions to aid the victims. Functions According to the first article of the Decree Number 2002–1392 of 28 November 2002, the MIVILUDES is charged with: # Observing and analyzing the phenomenon of sectarian movements whose practices are prejudicial to human rights and basic liberties, constitute a menace to public order, or are in conflict with existing laws and regulations; # Favoring, in the respect of public liberties, the coordination of preventive and repressive action by the authorities against such pract ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hierarchical
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important concept in a wide variety of fields, such as architecture, philosophy, design, mathematics, computer science, organizational theory, systems theory, systematic biology, and the social sciences (especially political philosophy). A hierarchy can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or diagonally. The only direct links in a hierarchy, insofar as they are hierarchical, are to one's immediate superior or to one of one's subordinates, although a system that is largely hierarchical can also incorporate alternative hierarchies. Hierarchical links can extend "vertically" upwards or downwards via multiple links in the same direction, following a path. All parts of the hierarchy that are not linked vertically to one ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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10th Arrondissement Of Paris
The 10th arrondissement of Paris (''Xe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dixième'' ("10th arrondissement of Paris" = "dixième arrondissement de Paris"). The arrondissement, called Entrepôt (warehouse), is situated on the right bank of the River Seine. The arrondissement contains two of Paris's six main railway stations: the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l'Est. Built during the 19th century, these two termini are among the busiest in Europe. The 10th arrondissement also contains a large portion of the Canal Saint-Martin, linking the northeastern parts of Paris with the River Seine. Geography The land area of the arrondissement is 2.892 km2 (1.117 sq. miles, or 715 acres), and it had a 1999 population of 89,695. The 10th arrondissement is often referred to as ''l'Entrepôt''. Like all Parisian arrondissements, it is divided into four quartiers (districts):All demogr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |