LeMay
RELIGION-related Power Point Presentations (32)—2014
FOR PILLAR INSTITUTE
OR SENIOR CENTER OR CHURCHES:
Name/Description of Power Point Program: Number of Slides in PPP:
1. CHRISTENDOM’S
GREATEST BASILICA--ST. PETER’S, ROME:
HAVE THEY FOUND THE BONES OF ST.
PETER? 48
Historian Mike LeMay presents a fascinating look at St.
Peter’s and the three churches that occupied the site. Focusing on the current basilica, he examines
its amazing architecture, its lavish interiors and altars, and concludes with a
discussion of the archaeological project to uncover the tomb and St. Peter and
the evidence excavated that indicates they may have, indeed, found the remains
of the great saint and the first bishop of Rome.
2. LOST SCRIPTURES OF
THE BIBLE: OLD & NEW TESTAMENT. 36
This is a historical discussion focuses on the
archaeological discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library
(Egypt), as well as the “re-discovery” of fragments in various monasteries and
archives around the world. These old sacred writings provide new insight into
the beliefs of the “People of the
Book”--of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. It uncovers non-canonical texts like
the Gnostic and Coptic Gospels, and why they were excluded from the Canon and
“lost” for centuries. It explores how their stories, through oral tradition,
inspired the legends and many works of Eastern and Western European art. It discusses such works as the Secret Gospel
of Mary, the Acts of John, the Acts of Peter, the Acts of Thomas, the Egyptian
Gospel, and the Gospel of the Hebrews.
3. THE NORSE VIKINGS: BARBARIAN RAIDERS OF
INTREPID GLOBAL TRADERS? 39
Who and what were the real Vikings of yore? This historical
review examines The Viking Age, 793-1066; their expansion through Western and
Eastern Europe, into the Mediterranean, and across the vast Atlantic. Using examples of rune stones, Mike LeMay presents
the evidence that they may have explored as far as America’s mid-west. He discusses common
misconceptions about the Vikings, their pagan and Christian heritage, and
Viking mythology, which is featured in the famous “Ring Cycle” of opera
composer Richard Wagner. He concludes with an examination of the evidence that
in the mid-1300’s, the Vikings may have reached America’s interior to present-day
Minnesota and Oklahoma—preceding Columbus’ “discovery” of America by more than
a century.
4. THE RISE AND
EXPANSION OF THE CHURCH
OF JESUS CHRIST OF
THE LATTER DAY SAINTS: THE MORMONS
GREAT TREK
WEST. 30
When and where did the Mormon—the LDS-- church arise? How did it relate to “The Great Awakening” of
Protestant revivalism in America?
What were the great migrations of the Mormons to ever-more “frontier”
settlements? Why were they persecuted,
and what role did the doctrine of polygamy play in their migrations? Who were
the great Mormon leaders, and when, where, and why did it “factionalize” into
several major schisms? When, how, and
why are they growing so large internationally? These questions are addressed
and answers proposed in this historical discussion and analysis of the Mormon
church in America,
and now the world.
5. THE SEARCH FOR A NEW ZION: IMMIGRATION AND
RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY RESETTLEMENT. 37
Religion has often been the basis for whole-community
resettlements, as religious sects or factions were persecuted and sought to
migrate to a new “holy Zion” by establishing settlements in the new world. This presentation traces the Anabaptist
foundations of such resettlements by the Quakers, Shakers, and Dunkers; and by
the Old Order Amish and Mennonites. It
details their migrations, their leaders, and their tendency towards schisms
that often compelled seeking new settlements to practice their faith. It discusses why religion is so often such a
compelling “push” factor in international migrations, and why they were drawn
to America to set up their
new Zion.
6. THE
GREAT SCHISMS OF CHRISTIANITY. 32
There were two great schisms in Christianity. The first, the East/West Schism
of 1054, the second, the schism of 1378 to 1415 , the Western Schism of the church
over
the powr and role of the papacy. The latter led directly to
the Protestant Reformation movement begun in 1500s. This presentation addresses
when and why the Holy Roman Empire formed, why
it split into Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Roman Catholicism, and how those
schisms ultimately led to the Protestant Reformation. Using text slides, photo
slides, and map slides, it covers the various Councils of the unified Christian
church, and how political issues of both church and state, and linguistic,
geographic, theological, ecclesiastical, and doctrinal issues led to the major
divisions that now characterize the Christian world and the separation of
church and state in the West.
7. MYTHS OF THE MAORI
AND AUSTRALIA’S
ABORIGINAL PEOPLE: COMMON ARCHETYPAL STORIES OF HUMANITY. 39
Nearly every human culture in history has some common
myth/stories that account for the human condition and mankind’s relationship
with nature, the Divine, and each other. Cosmic stories of the Creation of Man,
of the Great Flood, of the gods dwelling among mankind, of the fall and
redemption, resonate throughout mankind’s assorted ancient cultures. This
presentation describes the major “myths” of the Maori and of Australia’s Aboriginal tribes. It
looks at the similarities and differences of those myth stories with myths of
other major cultures of the world.
8. REFLECTIONS OF DREAMTIME: MYTHS OF AUSTRALIA’S
ABORIGINAL PEOPLES 38
Myths are stories of truths, not true stories. This engaging
presentation discusses the major myth stories of Australia’s Aboriginal Peoples. It
defines and describes the Aboriginal concept of dreamtime, the concept of myths
and myth stories, their origin, functions, and why every society develops its
own myths. It details the myth milestones of Australia
and the Pacific Islands
and compares Australian Aboriginal myth stories with some of those from the Polynesian Islands. It compares classical myths to
Austronesian myths as archetypal stories of humanity, looking at some myths
from Hawaii, Samoa and Fiji, and common flood stories of Australia, New
Zealand, and Polynesia.
It lists some major Aboriginal Deities, and closes with a brief discussion of
Comparative Mythology.
9. TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC: POLYNESIAN
MYTHS 35
This fascinating presentation covers the major myths of the
various Polynesian peoples: Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa,
the Maori of New Zealand. It defines and describes myths and myth stories:
their origin and functions, and why every society develops myth stories. It
compares Polynesian myth or archetypal stories to classical myth stories of Greece and Rome.
It discusses comparative mythology.
10. OLYMPIAN GODS: MYTHS OF ANCIENT GREECE 31
This presentation is a colorful and lively look at the
mythology of ancient Greece.
It defines and describes the concept of myths, the origins of myths and
society, and the concept of archetypal stories of humanity. It focuses on
classical Greek myths—their sources and the Ages of Greek Gods and Demigods. It
compares these Greek myth stories with others from around the world.
11. THE GODS AMONG US: MYTHS OF ANCIENT ROME 30
This presentation covers the mythology of ancient Rome. After defining
myths and myth stories in context, it discusses the origin and functions of
myths and their relation to society. It features the sources of Roman mythology
and Roman myth in art. It describes the Roman deities: their original gods,
those adopted and adapted from Greek civilization, their gods of daily life, and
their “monster” stories. It discusses the origin theories of Roman mythology
and then compares Roman mythology to ten other world mythologies. It discusses
film as the modern version of telling myth stories.
12. MAYAN MYTHS: MAYAN TIME 31
This historical presentation is all about Mayan myths and
the infamous Mayan calendar. It defines myths and their use in context. It
features the important mythical themes found in Mayan culture and details Mayan
myth stories about the creation and end of the world, action of heroes,
marriage with the earth, and stories of the origin of the sun and the moon. It
looks at classical myths as archetypal stories of humanity, and at the
pre-Spanish arrival mythology of Mesoamerica.
It presents the pantheon of Mayan deities. It covers the intriguing Mayan
calendar and the Mayan concepts of time, of the Long Count, the lunar series
and lunar deity, of the Short Count and the Venus cycle. It looks at
comparative mythology, and relates Mayan mythology to ten other mythologies of
the world. It discusses modern myth story telling in films.
13. THE BIBLE AND MYTHS: PARALLELS AND
CONTRASTS 31
This presentation discusses the Jewish and Christian Bible
as revelation, history, metaphor, and allegory. It defines the concept of myths
and discusses myth-stories of the bible in context of Jewish society and
history. It focuses on the origin and functions of bible stories: on legend,
folktales, and embellishments of historical accounts. It defines the concept of
revelation and the development of the “canon”—the orthodoxy and acceptance as
valid books for inclusion in both the Torah and Old Testament bible, and for
inclusion in the New Testament of the Christian bible. It looks at parallels in
themes or types of stories in both the bible and common myth stories found in
cultures around the world, looking at 15 world mythologies. It closes with a look at film as the modern version
of telling myth stories.
14. ASTRONOMY IN ANCIENT IMPERIAL CHINA:
WERE THE THREE
WISEMEN FROM CHINA? 34
In western tradition, art, and the canonical gospel of
Matthew, we find the story of the Magi, Three Kings or Wisemen. We are all
familiar with this version and vision of the “Christmas Tale” of the Magi. A
recently “rediscovered and translated” Syriac manuscript found in the Vatican
Library tells an interestingly different version of the Magi story. This
presentation discusses the canonical sources and ideas about the three wisemen,
and the biblical sources and traditional elaborations on the Story of the Magi.
It then discusses the Syriac manuscript and its version of the tale. It
speculates where the land
of Shir, the traditional
home of the Magi, might have been. It postulates the idea and evidence that
Shir might be the Mongolian region of China. It touches on non-canonical
sources of some of the ideas about the Magi from the Nag Hammadi library of
Coptic, Gnostic sacred writings. It then describes the highly sophisticated
level of astronomy in ancient, imperial China. It explains the development
and suppression of the Nestorian Church, the earliest Christians in China.
15. SACRED SITES: HOLY PLACES OF THE ABRAHAMIC
FAITHS 30
The three major Abrahamic religions of the world—Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam—share a monotheistic conception of the Deity, an
accepted orthodoxy and holy book—the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur’an, and many
sites that are considered holy places by one or all of these major world
religions. This presentation discusses the concept of holy places and how such
places come to be considered holy sites in each faith tradition. It looks at
examples of the holy places of Judaism, of Christianity, both western and
eastern, and of Islam, as well as the holy places of Baha’i. Through text and colorful photographic slides
and maps, it explains holy sites of the Abrahamic traditions.
16. SACRED SITES: HOLY PLACES OF MESOAMERICA 34
The Americas—South,
Central, and North America—were home to
numerous native tribes in pre-Columbian times, each of which distinguished
certain sites considered sacred or holy places in their religions. This
presentation looks at Mesoamerican traditions—the Olmec, Inca, Aztec, and Mayan
in South and Central America, and native American tribes of North America, like
the Sioux, the Cheyenne,
the Crow, the Arapaho, and the sites considered sacred to each. It covers their
concept of Gods and Goddesses, the Creative or Divine Spirit, and the holy
places of the Olmec, the Inca, the Aztecs, and the Mayan. It closes with a look
at the Black Hills and Devils
Tower as representative
of North American tribal traditions of holy sites.
17. SACRED SITES: HOLY PLACES OF PAGANISM 42
There are hundreds of sites around the world that ancient
pagan religions deemed holy or sacred places. This presentation discusses the
pagan concepts of the deity and of sacred places. It looks at a few really
ancient sites from pre-history. It visits the sites and religious ideas of
ancient Egypt.
It covers the ancient religions of the Indian subcontinent: Buddhism, Shugendo
and Shintoism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It visits East
Asia to discuss Confucianism and Zoroastrianism. It touches
briefly on the Olympian gods and goddesses of Greece and their Roman counterparts,
and holy places associated with them.
18. THE WRITTEN BIBLE THROUGH HISTORY 39
The Bible has been called the greatest book in human
history. This lively presentation covers the bible from oral tradition to
handwritten manuscripts to the printed book form. It discusses the
establishment of the canon of both the Old and the New Testament books. It
describes the development of writing and the bible, as well as archaeological
finds confirming the accuracy of the ancient texts. It discusses bible stories
as history and as metaphors and archetypal themes. It explains the problems of
translation of the bible from ancient Aramaic to Hebrew to Greek and Latin and
to modern languages like English and German. It describes the major printed
bibles and their impact on the Reformation, exemplifying the most important
printed bibles and their translators.
19. MESOPOTAMIAN MYTHOLOGY. 34
The mythology of the Mesopotamian region is among the oldest
known to mankind in ancient (Sumerian) clay tablet writings. Its myth stories
of the creation of the universe and of earth and mankind, the great flood (in
the Epic of Gilgamesh), of ascent into heaven and descent into the underworld,
of salvation and redemption, have shaped and influenced many other
mythologies. This lively presentation
uses text and color photographic slides to explain the major gods, goddesses,
and myth stories of this region, one of the oldest of human civilizations.
20. ZOROASTRIAN
MYTHOLOGY. 31
The prophet Zoroaster of ancient Persia
(now Iran)
revealed the religious ideas of the gods of good and evil that formed the basis
of Zoroastrianism. This presentation covers its major god figures and its
stories of the eternal battle between good and evil. Zoroastrian thought infused many of the
near-by regions mythologies, including much that found its way, in modified form,
into the Hebrew Torah.
21. CHINESE AND
JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY. 37
The two major mythologies of Asia, those of China and Japan, share some common themes and
stories. This presentation covers the
major (ancestral) gods and goddesses of China
and Japan. Their myth stories explain the creation of
the universe, and of the earth and animal and human life. It traces their
belief in the link of the gods to the first emperors of China and of Japan. It details the “good dragon” stories found in
each mythology. It uses text and color
photographic slides to offer an interesting and informative view of these two
ancient cultures.
22. MYTHOLOGICAL
MONSTERS. 35
From sea serpents like the Kraken, and the multi-headed
monsters of classical mythology, like the Hydra, Chimera, and Cerberus, to
Griffins and Dragons, to sacred birds like the Phoenix, to unicorns and
were-creatures (half-man, half-animal that include such beasts as wolves,
foxes, bulls, snakes, horses, jaguars, and so on), to vampires and ghosts and
demons, this lively presentation covers the major “monsters” of mythology from
around the globe. It explains why human cultures across the globe have
generated similar monster stories and creatures.
23. THE GODS AND
GODDESSES OF ANCIENT EGYPT 35
This presentation examines the major myths of ancient Egypt,
including its birth
myths, Egyptian mythology in art, their deities of first
time, and of later time, and compares Egyptian mythology to common archetypal
stories of humanity, to classical mythology, and to modern mythology depicted
in film.
24. THE WRITTEN BIBLE
THROUGH HISTORY 39
The bible has been viewed as “the greatest story ever
told.” This presentation examines the
bible as revealed scripture, and as the written version of oral tradition. It discusses how the “canon” of the bible
came to be established for the Torah and the Old Testament, for the New
Testament and the Christian bible, and for the Qur’an. It touches upon the
accuracy of the scribes as evidenced by recent findings such as the Dead Sea
Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library, on problems of translations from Aramaic
to Hebrew, from Hebrew to Greek, from Greek to Latin, and from Latin to the
common languages of English and German. It covers the printed bible and the reformation.
25. SEX IN SACRED SCRIPTURES 34
This presentation discusses human nature, sex and sacred
scriptures as they link to the concept of procreation. It focuses on sex as
found in the scriptures of the monotheistic religions: the Torah, the Christian
bible, and the Qur’an. It touches briefly on sex in other sacred scripts.
26. CELTIC MYTHOLOGY 41
This presentation discusses the mythology of the Celtic
peoples, focusing on the
mythology of Wales
and Ireland.
27. EARLY CHRISTIANITY: 70 AD TO 450 AD 45
This presentation covers the first four centuries of
Christianity; it’s rise and
expansion; the development of a canon and orthodoxy; the
early Fathers of
the Church and the controversies and heresies they dealt
with; and the major
ecumenical councils of the church to 450 AD.
28. ARCHAEOLOGY AND
THE BIBLE 34
This presentation describes the relatively new field of
biblical archaeology.
It defines key terms used; covers its founders and leaders
in the field. It provides
key dates and timelines and discusses the stages in the
development of biblical
archaeology. It
covers some important sites and findings.
29. THE PROTESTANT
REFORMATION: PART I – EUROPE 24
The presentation focuses on the precursors to the
reformation, and the development
of the Protestant Reformation and its expansion through Europe. It covers
the major
religious leaders of the Reformation, and explains the
tendency toward schism into
the diverse denominations of Western Christianity.
30. THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION: PART II – AMERICA 33
This presentation follows the Reformation as religious
groups and denominations
migrated to America. It focuses on the Great Awakening in America,
and some
prominent religious leaders of Protestantism in America.
31. COMPARATIVE RELIGION 30 OR
43
This presentation looks at the major religions and religious
traditions from around the world. It presents a geographic classification of
the world’s religions. Using text, map, chart, and photographic slides, it
compares their origins and basic statistics, their symbols, and their basic
beliefs.
32. SACRED WRITINGS
OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS 32
This presentation defines sacred scriptures and texts. It
looks a sacred writings from the religious traditions of Ancient Egypt to the
1830s, from the old world to the new. It
covers sacred texts of 20 traditions, from A to Z: Ayyavazhi, Baha’i, Buddhism,
Christianity, Confuscianism, Egyptian, Etruscan, Gnosticism, Hinduism, Islam,
Jainism, Judaism, Mayan, Mormonism, Ravidassia, Shintoism, Sikhism, Sumerian,
Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.
