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Setting the World on Fire: The Brief, Astonishing Life of St. Catherine of Siena
by Shelley EmlingOne of only two patron saints of Italy, the other being St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine was ahead of her time. As a political powerhouse in late 14th century Europe, a time of war, social unrest and one of the worst natural disasters of all time--the plague, she worked for peace between Christians while campaigning for a holy crusade against Muslims. She was illiterate but grew into a great writer by dictating to assistants. She was frail and punished herself mercilessly, often starving herself, while offering moral guidance and inspiration to kings, queens and popes.It's easy to see why feminists through the years have sought to claim the patronage of St. Catherine. From her refusal to marry to her assertion that her physical appearance was of no importance, the famous Saint is ripe for modern interpretation. She was a peacemaker during Siena's revolution of 1368, sometimes addressing thousands of people in squares and streets; she convinced Pope Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome at a time when the Catholic Church was unraveling. How did this girl, the second-youngest of 25 children of a middle-class dyer, grow to become one of the most beloved spiritual figures of all time, a theological giant to rank alongside the likes of Thomas Aquinas? In Setting the World on Fire, Emling gives an intimate portrayal of this fascinating and revolutionary woman.
Humans, Angels, And Cyborgs Aboard Theseus' Ship: Metaphysics, Mythology, and Mysticism in Trans-/Posthumanist Philosophies
by Mattia GerettoThis book addresses the most suggestive themes of transhumanism and critical posthumanism by placing them in dialogue with classic problems of metaphysics, and with some great thinkers of the past (Bruno, Spinoza, and above all Leibniz). The main purpose of this comparison is to invite transhumanists and critical posthumanists to consider a highly complex problematic tradition rooted in the history of philosophy. This study also makes use of examples drawn from the history of mythology, angelology, and mysticism. At the same time, the book promotes dialogue between scholars of classical metaphysics and philosophy of religion, and the potential metaphysical/spiritual theories developed independently by transhumanist and posthumanist thinkers within an anti-dualist and naturalistic philosophical framework. The goal is to ‘enhance’ contemporary transhumanism and posthumanism by promoting the need to safeguard intelligence as a principle, without falling into the trap of a violent and egotistic metaphysics.
American Saint: The Life of Elizabeth Seton
by Joan BarthelIn this riveting biography of Elizabeth Seton critically acclaimed and bestselling author Joan Barthel tells the mesmerizing story of a woman whose life featured wealth and poverty, passion and sorrow, love and loss. Elizabeth was born into a prominent New York City family in 1774. Her father was the chief health officer for the Port of New York and she lived down the block from Alexander Hamilton. She danced at George Washington's sixty-fifth Birthday Ball wearing cream slippers, monogrammed. Catholicism was illegal in New York when she was born; Catholic priests seen in the city were arrested, sometimes hung. When Elizabeth and her wealthy husband Will sailed to Italy in a doomed attempt to cure his tuberculosis, she and her family were quarantined in a damp dungeon. And when Elizabeth later became a Catholic, she was so scorned that people talked of burning down her house. American Saint is the inspiring story of a brave woman who forged the way for the other women who followed and who made a name for herself in a world entirely ruled by men. Elizabeth resisted male clerical control of her religious order, as nuns are doing today, and the publication of her story could not be more timely. Maya Angelou has contributed the foreword.
Catholic Spectacle and Rome's Jews: Early Modern Conversion and Resistance
by Dr Emily MichelsonA new investigation that shows how conversionary preaching to Jews was essential to the early modern Catholic Church and the Roman religious landscapeStarting in the sixteenth century, Jews in Rome were forced, every Saturday, to attend a hostile sermon aimed at their conversion. Harshly policed, they were made to march en masse toward the sermon and sit through it, all the while scrutinized by local Christians, foreign visitors, and potential converts. In Catholic Spectacle and Rome’s Jews, Emily Michelson demonstrates how this display was vital to the development of early modern Catholicism.Drawing from a trove of overlooked manuscripts, Michelson reconstructs the dynamics of weekly forced preaching in Rome. As the Catholic Church began to embark on worldwide missions, sermons to Jews offered a unique opportunity to define and defend its new triumphalist, global outlook. They became a point of prestige in Rome. The city’s most important organizations invested in maintaining these spectacles, and foreign tourists eagerly attended them. The title of “Preacher to the Jews” could make a man’s career. The presence of Christian spectators, Roman and foreign, was integral to these sermons, and preachers played to the gallery. Conversionary sermons also provided an intellectual veneer to mask ongoing anti-Jewish aggressions. In response, Jews mounted a campaign of resistance, using any means available.Examining the history and content of sermons to Jews over two and a half centuries, Catholic Spectacle and Rome’s Jews argues that conversionary preaching to Jews played a fundamental role in forming early modern Catholic identity.
In Eve's Attire: Modesty, Judaism and the Female Body
by Delphine HorvilleurDoes modernity trample on tradition, or can it in fact be a vehicle for the sacred?How can one determine whether an interpretation is legitimate, anachronistic or corrupted?Does sexual obsession have a textual origin, and is it woman's destiny to be veiled?In Eve's Attire confronts these questions and more to suggest another interpretation of religious traditions surrounding the female body and the erotic.As current fundamentalist religious discourse expresses a growing fixation on modesty, women are increasingly reduced to those parts of their bodies that arouse desire, effectively "genitalised" until the totality of their bodies becomes taboo. In resistance to such interpretations of religious text, which see even a woman's voice as an erotic organ to be silenced, Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur looks not only at religious texts themselves, but also at their interpreters, as she unpicks readings that make the woman a temptress, and modesty the instrument of her oppression. She shows us how nakedness, as expressed by Adam, Eve or Noah, refers to a culture of desire and not a wish to suppress it and explores how the veil was originally intended: not to reject, but to approach the other.Through her analysis of the meaning of modesty and nudity in Judaism, Delphine Horvilleur explores the societal and religious obsession with the female body and its representation and asks questions about how we can engage more critically with interpretations of sacred texts.Translated from the French by Ruth Diver
Tazkiya Therapy in Islāmic Psychotherapy (Islamic Psychology and Psychotherapy)
by Bagus RiyonoThis book explores tazkiya therapy, a holistic psychological approach based on Qur’anic guidance and rooted in the understanding of human beings as multidimensional –that is, physical, psychological, social and spiritual beings.The book starts with a detailed explanation or the object, the process and the purpose of tazkiya therapy, along with an account of the boundaries and the enabling factors of the approach. Rather than a singular theoretical framework, tazkiya therapy is a dynamic and flexible approach that integrates multiple frameworks and disciplines to grow the human soul, cognition, emotion and behaviour. Although it is a multidimensional approach, the process of therapy is step-by-step, and the middle part of the book presents the key stages in the approach. Within these steps, the therapist is given seven different approaches that they can customise to the needs of the client depending on whether they need assistance with thinking patterns, emotional disturbance, a behavioural problem or a dysfunctional nervous system. The book ends with a comprehensive summary of the model, a series of case studies, a future outlook on training and an application for continuing the study and practice of tazkiya therapy.This book, based on the foundation that tazkiya therapy covers issues that are spiritual in nature and always connects to Allah in facilitating the healing process, will fulfil the needs of practicing Muslim psychologists, psychiatrists and students of psychology and Islāic studies.
Awakening: A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom
by Stovall WeemsStop hitting the spiritual snooze button.Would you describe your walk with God as fresh and exciting? Would you describe your spiritual life as vibrant and passionate? If not, would you like these attributes to be the norm in your everyday relationship with God? Are you ready to experience an awakening? Awakening helps you stir up your slumbering soul. You&’ll discover how to break out of your season of dryness or get off to a great start either in the New Year or the next season in life. Take your faith-walk from a &“going through the motions&” or &“have to&” mindset to the stimulating, fresh &“want to&” experience of enjoying God&’s presence—24/7. Weems encourages you to surrender fully, to discover the right kind of fuel for the journey, and to learn a new way to pray and fast. This lifestyle is not based on rules or religion, but on a deep, satisfying, motivating relationship with God. Included in Awakening is a 21-Day Plan that will guide you through the principles that ensure a lasting, fresh relationship with God—even in a world where everything quickly becomes stale. &“It&’s time to wake up and put an end to spiritual sluggishness! I promise this year will be the best of your life if it is your best year spiritually.&” – Stovall Weems
On Division: A Novel
by Goldie Goldbloom** Winner of the 2020 Jewish Fiction Award **“A novel of wisdom and uncertainty, of love in its greater and lesser forms, and of the struggle between how it should be and how it is. It is impossible not to be moved.”—Amy Bloom, author of White Houses"This book brings the reader into the heart of a close-knit Jewish family and their joys, loves, and sorrows . . . A marvelous book by a masterful writer.”—Audrey Niffenegger, author of Her Fearful Symmetry and The Time Traveler’s Wife"As beautiful as it is unexpected.”—Claire Messud, author of The Burning GirlThrough one woman's life at a moment of surprising change, the award-winning author Goldie Goldbloom tells a deeply affecting, morally insightful story and offers a rare look inside Brooklyn's Chasidic communityOn Division Avenue, just a block or two up from the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Surie Eckstein is soon to be a great-grandmother. Her ten children range in age from thirteen to thirty-nine. Her in-laws, postwar immigrants from Romania, live on the first floor of their house. Her daughter Tzila Ruchel lives on the second. She and Yidel, a scribe in such demand that he makes only a few Torah scrolls a year, live on the third. Wed when Surie was sixteen, they have a happy marriage and a full life, and, at the ages of fifty-seven and sixty-two, they are looking forward to some quiet time together. Into this life of counted blessings comes a surprise. Surie is pregnant. Pregnant at fifty-seven. It is a shock. And at her age, at this stage, it is an aberration, a shift in the proper order of things, and a public display of private life. She feels exposed, ashamed. She is unable to share the news, even with her husband. And so for the first time in her life, she has a secret—a secret that slowly separates her from the community.Into this life of counted blessings comes a surprise. Surie is pregnant. Pregnant at fifty-seven. It is a shock. And at her age, at this stage, it is an aberration, a shift in the proper order of things, and a public display of private life. She feels exposed, ashamed. She is unable to share the news, even with her husband. And so for the first time in her life, she has a secret—a secret that slowly separates her from the community.
The French Intifada: The Long War Between France and Its Arabs
by Andrew HusseyA provocative rethinking of France's long relationship with the Arab worldTo fully understand both the social and political pressures wracking contemporary France—and, indeed, all of Europe—as well as major events from the Arab Spring in the Middle East to the tensions in Mali, Andrew Hussey believes that we have to look beyond the confines of domestic horizons. As much as unemployment, economic stagnation, and social deprivation exacerbate the ongoing turmoil in the banlieues, the root of the problem lies elsewhere: in the continuing fallout from Europe's colonial era. Combining a fascinating and compulsively readable mix of history, literature, and politics with his years of personal experience visiting the banlieues and countries across the Arab world, especially Algeria, Hussey attempts to make sense of the present situation. In the course of teasing out the myriad interconnections between past and present in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Beirut, and Western Europe, The French Intifada shows that the defining conflict of the twenty-first century will not be between Islam and the West but between two dramatically different experiences of the world—the colonizers and the colonized.
Constructing Religious Martyrdom: A Cross-Cultural Study
by null John SoboslaiMartyrdom is a phenomenon common to many of the world's religious traditions. But why? In this study, John Soboslai offers insights into the practices of self-sacrifice within specific sociopolitical contexts. Providing a new understanding of martyrdom through the lens of political theology, he analyzes discourses and performances in four religious traditions during social and political crises, beginning with second-century Christianity in Asia Minor, where the term 'martyr' first took its meaning. He also analyzes Shi'a Islam in the 1980s, when 'suicide bombing' first appeared as a strategy in West Asia; global Sikhism during World War I, where martyrs stood for and against the British Raj; and twenty-first-century Tibetan Buddhism, where self-immolators used their bodies in opposition to the programs of the People's Republic of China. Presenting a new theory of martyrdom linked to constructions of sovereign authority, Soboslai reveals common features of self-sacrifice and demonstrates how bodily performances buttress conceptions of authority.
A History of Pew Renting in the Church of England
by J.C. BennettThis book is a comprehensive study of the history of pew-renting in the church of England, from the first known rented sittings in the fifteenth century to the system’s collapse in the twentieth. The book’s significance is partly its originality; no book and very few articles or portions of books have appeared solely on pew-renting since the nineteenth century, and even those of that time were not histories – they were polemical works that generally attacked pew-renting on religious grounds. This work encompasses the distinction between formal letting of seats – which involved the methodical letting of sittings by church authorities with set rents – and informal pew-letting, in which congregants tipped pew-openers and sidesmen for favourable seats for one service. It also details the concomitant difficulties and hindrances encountered by churches and renters, the means of setting the rents and collecting the proceeds, the types of congregants who rented pews, thecontroversy the practice provoked, and the deception and bending – and sometimes outright breaking – of the applicable law.
Remarriage in Early Christianity
by A. Andrew DasWhat did early Christians believe about remarriage after divorce? The New Testament sends mixed messages about divorce. Jesus forbids it in Mark&’s and Luke&’s Gospels, but he seems to make an exception for victims of infidelity in Matthew&’s Gospel. Paul permits divorce in 1 Corinthians when an unbeliever initiates it. Yet other Pauline passages imply that remarriage after divorce constitutes adultery. A. Andrew Das confronts this dissonance in Remarriage in Early Christianity. Challenging scholarly consensus, Das argues that early Christians did not approve of remarriage after divorce. His argument—covering contemporary Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts, the Gospels, Paul&’s letters, and ante-Nicene interpretation—reveals greater consistency in early Christianity than is often assumed. Das pays special attention to the Greek words used in contemporary bills of divorce and in the New Testament, offering much-needed clarity on hotly contested concepts like porneia. At once sensitive and objective, Das finds an exegetically sound answer to the question of remarriage among early Christians. This bold study will challenge scholars and enlighten any Christian concerned with what Scripture has to say on this perennially relevant topic.
Going Home: One of the Observer's Debut Novels of 2024
by Tom Lamont'A spirit-lifting debut'DAVID MITCHELL'I will never forget these characters: so pained and funny, so brilliantly drawn, wrestled with and forgiven'HELEN GARNER'Meltingly warm'OBSERVERLocal boy Téo Erskine is back in the north London suburb of his youth, visiting his father - stubborn, selfish, complicated Vic. Things have changed for Téo: he's got a steady job, a brand-new car and a London flat all concrete and glass, with a sliver of a river view. Except, underneath the surface, not much has changed at all. He's still the boy seeking his father's approval; the young man playing late-night poker with his best friend, unreliable, infuriating Ben Mossam; the one still desperately in love with the enigmatic Lia Woods. Lia's life, on the other hand, has been transformed: now a single mum to two-year-old Joel, she doesn't have time for anyone - not even herself.When the unthinkable happens, Joel finds himself at the centre of an odd constellation of men - Téo, Vic, Ben - none of whom is fully equipped to look after him, but whose strange, tentative attempts at love might just be enough to offer him a new place to call home.
Nyāya Sūtra – on Philosophical Method: Sanskrit Text, Translation, and Commentary (Routledge Hindu Studies Series)
by Victor A. van BijlertNyāya Sūtra offers a new English translation of the text ascribed to Akṣapāda, an Indian philosopher who lived around the beginning of the Common Era. The translation is accompanied by the original Sanskrit text and an original commentary.The commentary explains every sūtra separately and identifies the sources of the Nyāya Sūtra. It analyses the way older ideas on epistemology, logic, and soteriology were presented as a new coherent system of thought. The book puts forward the main goal of the Nyāya Sūtra: to define what it considered the basic tenets of a soteriology and how the goal of this soteriology could be reached by rationally applying epistemological and logical methods to finding out the truth. In turn, this truth was thought to lead to the ultimate soteriological goal of freedom from suffering. Showing the coherence of the text and its ultimate goal being soteriological, the new commentary also discusses many scholarly issues regarding the Nyāya Sūtra and its position in the history of Indian philosophy.This book will be of interest to researchers studying Indian philosophy, world philosophies, epistemology, logic, philosophical method, art of debate, soteriology, rationalism, spirituality, Hinduism, Indian religions, and religious studies.
Place, Catholicism and Violence: The Construction of Place in Caracas’ Barrios
by Gabriela Quintana VigiolaThis book explores the interwoven nature of place, Catholicism and violence in Caracas’ barrios. Using interdisciplinary perspectives to investigate themes of urban space, meaning as a psychosocial construct, criminal violence, and religiosity as culture, this book uncovers the underlying complexities of turning spaces into places through the built form, activities in the urban space and the meanings associated with it. Fundamental elements in the construction of place are used to understand the ways in which barrio residents conceive and construct the physicality of the private, public and religious spaces; how residents use the physical spaces of the barrios; and the psychosocial meanings residents associate with the spaces and activities. Using rich qualitative data and a case study design, the book relies on audio-visual data and interviews with organisers, residents and key participants in Petare, the largest barrio conglomeration in Caracas and Venezuela. Qualitative thematic analysis of participants’ experiences of Catholicism, violence and, ultimately, the construction of place exposes a unique argument: that meaningful urban spaces are embedded with emotions, memories, relationships, experiences and meanings, which turn them into places.
Revealing The New Age Jesus: Challenges To Orthodox Views Of Christ
by Douglas GroothuisThe New Age movement spreads more and more confusing ideas about the identity of Jesus Christ. Now Douglas Groothuis examines the claims of leading New Age thinkers, comparing their picture of Jesus with the teachings of biblical Christianity. Meeting New Age beliefs about Jesus head-on, he demonstrates how the Bible gives a trustworthy record of the man who forever changed world history. This compelling book is the first to consider both Orthodox and New Age views of Jesus. It is an understandable introduction to the claims and work of Jesus Christ for all seekers. It appeals to anyone who wants to know more about the Jesus of Scripture and history.
Reasoning From The Scriptures With Masons
by Ron RhodesDid you know that: The name of Jesus is removed from Masonic rituals to avoid offending anyone? The "secret" name of Masonry's god specifically includes Jehovah, Baal, and Osiris? Many people are unaware of the far-reaching impact the Masonic Lodge has today. Ron provides accurate information on the structure and beliefs of Masonry, then carefully contrasts its practices with Scripture. Continuing the easy-to-follow question-and-answer format of the Reasoning from the Scriptures series, this informative guide reveals the occultic symbolism, secret oaths, and hidden rituals that are an integral part of Masonic tradition. Readers will discover honest, fact-based insights on the dangers of this fraternal order and specific suggestions for sharing biblical truth with Masons.
Reasoning From The Scriptures With Muslims
by Ron Rhodes GossardAnyone interested in sharing the gospel with Muslim friends or understanding the doctrines and historical basis of Islam will appreciate this addition to the popular Reasoning from the Scriptures series. Using an easy-to-follow question-and-answer format, Reasoning from the Scriptures with Muslims covers issues, including... Muhammad and Jesus Christ—what are their roles? the Quran and the Bible—what kind of inspiration and authority do they have? Islam today—what different groups exist, and how can Muslims be reached with the good news? Each chapter examines a Muslim belief and compares it with biblical Christianity. Readers will find this an invaluable tool for discussing and sharing the words and life of Jesus Christ with Muslim friends and acquaintances.
Christ Before The Manger: The Life And Times Of The Preincarnate Christ
by Ron RhodesThis is the most biblically based, theologically sound, and spiritually helpful work on the person and attributes of the preincarnate Christ to appear in many years. Norman L. Geisler, Southern Evangelical Seminary An unusually thorough and helpful treatment of a greatly neglected but vital subject. Donald K. Campbell, President, Dallas Theological Seminary This work addresses an area of neglect in the study of the person and work of Christ, and its publication is overdue. Readers will find interesting insights into this significant part of the life of Christ which will help them evaluate the Gospels as well as establish their basic view of Christ himself. John S. Walvoord, Chancellor, Dallas Theological Seminary
18: Jewish Stories Translated From 18 Languages
by Nora GoldA 2023 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Finalist in the Anthologies Category This anthology, the first of this kind in twenty-five years, collects eighteen astounding works of Jewish fiction. This is the first anthology of translated multilingual Jewish fiction in 25 years: a collection of 18 splendid stories, each translated into English from a different language: Albanian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Ladino, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Yiddish. These compelling, humorous, and moving stories, written by eminent authors that include Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Isaac Babel, and Lili Berger, reflect both the diversities and the commonalities within Jewish culture, and will make you laugh, cry, and think. This beautiful book is easily accessible and enjoyable not only for Jewish readers, but for story-lovers of all backgrounds. Authors (in the order they appear in the book) include: Elie Wiesel, Varda Fiszbein, S. Y. Agnon, Gábor T. Szántó, Jasminka Domaš, Augusto Segre, Lili Berger, Peter Sichrovsky, Maciej Płaza, Entela Kasi, Norman Manea, Luize Valente, Eliya Karmona, Birte Kont, Michel Fais, Irena Dousková, Mario Levi, and Isaac Babel.
Church History: From Nero to Constantine
by C. P. S. ClarkeCharles Philip Stewart Clarke (1871 to 1947) was a prominent Anglican priest and author who wrote numerous works on religion. This history describes the transformation of Christianity from its inception as a small and obscure sect, persecuted by the state and despised by the general population, to become the state religion of the mighty Roman Empire. It is an objective study of the religious philosophies current in Rome during the early days of the church, the dissensions within the Church; the imperial persecutions, the various heresies, the rival religions, and the many writers who helped to define Christianity. The attitudes of early Christians toward family life, women, virginity, business, amusements, military service, and slavery, are described. Clarke describes the guidelines that the church fathers established for a “Christian” lifestyle. He discusses the rituals, organization, and discipline of the early Church. He describes the forty-year truce with the Empire during which the Church experienced unprecedented expansion and wealth, and paganism attempted to revive itself. He concludes with the terrible ten years of persecution under the emperor Diocletian, after which the Church and the Empire finally became reconciled under Constantine the Great.
Correcting The Cults: Expert Responses To Their Scripture Twisting
by Ron Rhodes Norman L. GeislerCults like Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the New Age movement are ensnaring people by the millions. Why do so many flock to these perversions of Christianity? And how can we reason with them to help them see that Jesus is the only way to eternal life? Correcting the Cults is designed to help the reader do just that. After a thorough introduction on understanding the nature and characteristics of cults, the authors take the reader through the Bible, examining Scripture passages that cult adherents traditionally misinterpret to support and validate their own doctrines. This comprehensive, accessible, and intelligent resource is an important tool for pastors, students, and anyone who knows a cult member or someone considering a cult.
Discipleship: Living For Christ In The Daily Grind
by Henri J. M. Nouwen J. Heinrich ArnoldArnold guides readers toward leading Christ-like lives amid the stress and strain of modern life. Perhaps the hardest thing about following Christ is translating our good intentions into deeds. Christ calls us, and we yearn to answer him, but time and again we lose resolve. Is discipleship really possible today? Many of the selections in this book offer answers to specific needs or problems. Others grapple with broader themes such as world suffering, salvation, and the coming of the kingdom of God. All of them pulsate with conviction and compassion, giving fresh hope to those who find themselves lonely or disheartened in the daily search to follow Christ. J. Heinrich Arnold served for many years as elder of the Bruderhof, a Christian communal movement. Discipleship contains writings, letters, and talks from his forty years of service as pastor, marriage counselor, educator, and parent.
Be Light: Shining God's Beauty, Truth, and Hope into a Darkened World
by Samuel RodriguezLOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER • The Blueprint for Overcoming Darkness and Living in God&’s Light.Our world unravels more each day. It feels as if we&’re drowning in a sea churning with greed, violence, and lust. As darkness advances, hope dims. Yet within that reality, God gives us a profound mandate... Be Light. Light has always defined God and his followers. At creation, God spoke light into existence. Jesus is the light of the world. And we are born to absorb and then reflect God&’s light. In Be Light Samuel Rodriguez--described by Fox News and CNN as &“America&’s most influential Latino Evangelical leader&”--provides a blueprint for confronting darkness in every realm of our lives. He issues a clarion call for individual believers and the church to rise up and once again be that bright city on a hill, which doesn&’t simply expose the invading darkness, but overcomes it with God&’s blazing light.