Foreword . . 7 Lithuania's entry into Christendom (1009-1387) . . 11 From Baptism to Faith (The end of the 14th century - first half of the 16th century) . . 50 The Age of Church Reforms (1555-1655) . . 64 The Age of Confessional Stability (l655-1740) . . 93 The Catholic Enlightenment . . 106 The Catholic Church under Tsarist rule . . 114 Christianity in Lithuania: the 20th century . . 127

Editor's Preface . . IX
Preface to the German Edition . . XIII

Comments on Karl Jaspers's Psychology of Worldvielvs (1919/21) . . 1
Phenomenology and Theology (1927) . . 39
From the Last Marburg Lecture Course (1928) . . 63
What Is Metaphysics? (1929) . . 82
On the Essence of Ground (1929) . . 97
On the Essence of Truth (1930) . . 136
Platos Doctrine of Truth (1931/32, 1940) . . 155
On the Essence and Concept of  in Aristotle's Physics B, I (1939) . . 183
Postscript to "What Is Metaphysics?" (1943) . . 231
Letter on "Humanism" (I946) . . 239
Introduction to "What Is Metaphysics?" (1949) . . 277
On the Question of Being (1955) . . 291
Hegel and the Greeks (1958) . . 323
Kant's Thesis about Being (1961). . 337

Notes . . 365
Refererces . . 379
Editor's Postscript to the Germar Editior . . 383

Preface . . vii
Author's Note . . xi
Acknowledgments . . xiii
Introduction . . 1

PART ONE: THE PAST . . 21
Ma'Asey Bereshit (The Work of Creation)

Raising Holy Sparks . . 23
Awareness . . 30
The Garden of Eden . . 42
Mystical Creation . . 59
The Nature of God . . 65

PART TWO: THE PRESENT . . 81
Olam Ha-Zeh (This World)

Template of Creation . . 83
Five Worlds, Five Soul Dimensions . . 95
Souls . . 110
Fate and Miracles . . 122
Angels and Demons . . 134
Good and Evil . . 151

PART THREE: HIGHER AWARENESS . . 163
Ma'Asey Merkevah (The Work of the Chariot)

The Mystical Chariot . . 165
The Path of the Tzaddik (Jewish Enlightenment) . . 184
The Path of Learning . . 185
The Path of Respect . . 186    
The Path of Generosity . . 191    
The Path of LovingLindness . . 197    
The Path of Moderation . . 201
The Path of Purity . . 204    
The Path of Joy . . 206
The Path of Selflessness . . 211
The Path of Awe . . 215
The Path of Equanimity . . 222
The Path of Extraordinary Mind-States . . 226
The Path of Life Eternal (God Consciousness) . . 231

PART FOUR: BEYOND THIS LIFE . . 235
Olam Ha-Bah (The World to Come)

Reward, Punishment, and Divine Providence . . 237
Dying and Fear . . 251
Reincarnation . . 265
Dying and Death . . 272
Heaven, Hell, and Resurrection . . 290

Epilogue . . 299
Endnotes . . 303
Index . . 324

Preface . . ix
Acknowledgements . . xi
Introduction . . xiii

Coping with Success: Homo Empatheia and Popular Culture. Studies in the Twenty-First Century . . 1
Some Thoughts on the Black Roots of American Popular Culture . . 15
The Civil War in American Short Stories from the South . . 23
Will Rogers as an Innocent Abroad: Foreign Policy Dictums in Letters from a Self-Made Diplomat to His President (1926) . . 47
Real Heroes and the Real World . . 65
The Virgin in the Territory: The Redemption of Innocence in the American West . . 79
Joe Leaphorn as Cultural Mediator in Tony Hillerman's Mysteries . . 101
Marketing the Past: The "Country Living" Movement and the Transformation of Social History into Commodity . . 133
"Way Down Yonder in New Orleans": The Story of an American Popular Song . . 153
Myths Used for Propaganda: The Small Town in Office of War Information Films, 1944 - 1945 . . 161
For You the War Is Over: Film Images of World War II POWs . . 177
Joseph McCarthy as Cyberpunk? The Virtual World of the Fifties . . 193
Rockets as Power Icons in German and U.S. Popular Media . . 211            
The Multicultural World of Star Treck and Its Reception in Germany . . 229    
Culture Against History: Criminalizing America's Role in the Cold War . . 247
Select Memories and Poems . . 265
Van Helsing's Fight: The Figure of the Scientist in Film Adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula . . 287
Child Abuse as Metaphor: Andrew Vachss and Michael Jackson as Flip Sides of the Same Coin . . 309
Crime and Punishment as Merchandise: The Cases of Truman Capote and Norman Mailer . . 329
The Los Angelenos' Complex Cultural Identity . . 345
Computer Clip Art and Popular Image-Making: Old Stereotypes New Possibilities? . . 365

Biographical Sketches of Contributors . . 379