High population and large territory don’t eliminate shamans … They show up under different auspices and in different costumes. Even in our era there are urban shamans channeling messages from beyond. Some are bogus. Some are sincere. And some, no doubt, are...
Sometimes I’m bemused by how the individuals whose lives became the genesis of religious institutions were themselves outlaws: Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad. They were people who just couldn’t follow the rules. Outlaws. Delinquent. Threatening. Then, as institutions...