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African Religion Defined: A Systematic Study of Ancestor Worship Among the Akan (3rd Edition)
by Anthony Ephirim-DonkorThis edition updates the scholarship on ancestor worship--with the addition of three new chapters. Beginning with Akan theology and ending with sacrifices, the study examines Akan conception of God, the abosom (gods and goddesses) relative to creation, centrality of the ancestors' stool as the ultimate religious symbol housing the soul of the Akan, and organized annual propitiatory festivities carried out among the Akan in honor of the ancestors (Nananom Nsamanfo) and abosom. The book, therefore, serves as an invaluable resource for those interested in the phenomenon of African religion, because it provides real insight into ancestor worship in ways that are meaningful, practical, systematic, and as a way of life by an Akan Traditional ruler (Ↄdikro) and a professor of Africana studies.
African Religions and Philosophy
by John S. MbitiDiscusses the philosophies, rituals, and ceremonies of various African religions and their influence in the lives of the people.
African Roots: Towards an Afrocentric Christian Witness
by Michael I. Dash L. Rita Dixon Darius L. Swann Ndugu T'Ofori-Atta Zachariah Anderson Rita Dixon John H. AdamsThis resource will expand our database about our African heritage, help us see the role and contributions of Africa in world culture, motivate us to re-examine some long held stereotypes about African peoples, and move us into the future with a strong pride and hope for the descendants of Africa and the human family. May we forever remember that when one part of the human' family has been dehumanized, the whole family is distorted. Our loving parent, God, is just and faithful, generously giving every branch of the human family good gifts to be used for the liberation and peace of all. In a real sense, this book is about--Identity, the loss of it, the search for it,, the denial of it, the recovery of it. It tells about efforts to appreciate and to affirm identity for a particular ethnic group of this world's peoples. This book is addressed especially to those who are predisposed to engage in this quest for identity and a proper affirmation of it. The curious may be sufficiently interested to contest or challenge those engaged in this search for roots. It is hoped that others who are' indifferent or apathetic may- be aroused by the efforts of the first two groups. So inescapably this is a book for you. This resource seeks to help Christians in general, and African American' Christians in particular, to become more aware of Africa in antiquity, her enormous contributions to other cultures and the depths of the African genius in religion and world culture. It is hoped that each lesson will motivate participants to read more, go deeper than what is offered in this resource. The bibliography is provided as a guide for doing this. In order for African American people to have a healthy and balanced self-love, it is necessary to identify the distortions, to learn a more accurate version of our history, to understand that the experiences in our journey with God are deep, and to teach others, especially our children, so that all of humanity may be transformed by the African presence and contribution to the world. This study resource may be used by individuals or groups. The following groups provide excellent settings: *Family groups *Sunday School Classes *Week-day or night church classes *Retreat settings *Adult Continuing Education Classes *Personal enrichment classes
African Skies
by Karen RispinThough Laurel Binet and Darren Grant both love their work in exotic Africa, they can't stand each other. Their opposing passions spark arguments over what's really important: she's investing her life in the study of wildlife for a master's degree; he has no time for people who waste their energies serving animals when people need food and shelter. When their worlds collide during calamitous seasons of starvation and epidemic, Darren and Laurel have to learn to work together. Encounters with deadly snakes, the unscrupulous acts of a fanatical conservationist, and a frightening kidnapping force both Laurel and Darren to examine their faith -- and their feelings for one another. Can love bring harmony where once there was war?
African Spirits Speak: A White Woman's Journey into the Healing Tradition of the Sangoma
by Nicky ArdenThe moving story of an expatriate coming to terms with her country's history, and her joyous spiritual and emotional rebirth as an African healer. • One of the first accounts of the mysterious sangomas, the healers of South Africa's black population. • A mystical journey that will appeal to those wishing to reunite with their roots and a more spiritual life.Set against the stirring backdrop of a crumbling apartheid regime, African Spirits Speak is the lyrical account of white South African Nicky Arden's journey into the world of the sangomas, the diviners, doctors, psychologists, and priests of South Africa's black population. While in her early twenties Nicky fled South Africa with her husband as the stranglehold of apartheid tightened on her native land. For twenty-two years they lived in California as expatriates--never once returning to their homeland--until a deep depression, followed by a spiritual awakening in the California desert, compelled Nicky to return to South Africa. During her visit, while exploring deep in the bush, she unexpectedly met an old black medicine woman--a sangoma. This meeting would change her life. Few white South Africans are even aware of the world of the sangomas, but this prophetic old woman saw in Nicky the spirit of a fellow healer and set the author on a mystical journey that would reunite her soul with its African roots. Thus began her astonishing and complex initiation into a nearly unknown world and her quest to discover the truth about herself and her heritage.
African Spirituality and Ethics: Decolonising a False Dichotomy
by Munyaradzi Felix MuroveThis book explores the symbiotic relationship that exists between African spirituality and ethics. Felix Murove discusses how these two concepts are entwined, and illustrates how they play a role in applied ethical issues. He argues that the general understanding of spirituality in Africa stems from Christianity, which has had a negative impact on African indigenous spirituality. The conceptual tools that run throughout the book are considerably Afro-centric, a methodological strategy which inevitably requires the reader to adopt some prior willingness to learn these Afro-centric concepts without easily resorting to western Christian and philosophical categories of thought. The book advocates for an Afro-centric conceptualization of spirituality and ethics, and encourages the reader to adopt a more holistic approach to African spirituality.
African Traditions in the Study of Religion, Diaspora and Gendered Societies (Vitality of Indigenous Religions)
by Ezra ChitandoThe historiography of African religions and religions in Africa presents a remarkable shift from the study of 'Africa as Object' to 'Africa as Subject', thus translating the subject from obscurity into the global community of the academic study of religion. This book presents a unique multidisciplinary exploration of African Traditions in the Study of Religion, Diaspora, and Gendered Societies. The book is structured under two main sections. The first provides insights into the interface between Religion and Society. The second features African Diaspora together with Youth and Gender which have not yet featured prominently in studies on religion in Africa. Contributors drawn from diverse African and global contexts situate current scholarly traditions of the study of African religions within the purview of academic encounter and exchanges with non-African scholars and non-African contexts. African scholars enrich the study of religions from their respective academic and methodological orientations. Jacob Kehinde Olupona stands out as a pioneer in the socio-scientific interpretation of African indigenous religion and religions in Africa and the new African Diaspora. This book honours his immense contribution to an emerging field of study and research.
African Traditions in the Study of Religion in Africa: Emerging Trends, Indigenous Spirituality and the Interface with other World Religions (Vitality of Indigenous Religions)
by Ezra ChitandoThe historiography of African religions and religions in Africa presents a remarkable shift from the study of 'Africa as Object' to 'Africa as Subject', thus translating the subject from obscurity into the global community of the academic study of religion. This book presents a unique multidisciplinary exploration of African traditions in the study of religion in Africa and the new African diaspora. The book is structured under three main sections - Emerging trends in the teaching of African Religions; Indigenous Thought and Spirituality; and Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. Contributors drawn from diverse African and global contexts situate current scholarly traditions of the study of African religions within the purview of academic encounter and exchanges with non-African scholars and non-African contexts. African scholars enrich the study of religions from their respective academic and methodological orientations. Jacob Kehinde Olupona stands out as a pioneer in the socio-scientific interpretation of African indigenous religion and religions in Africa. This book is to his honour and marks his immense contribution to an emerging field of study and research.
African Women Legends and the Spirituality of Resistance
by Musa W. Dube Telesia K. Musili Sylvia Owusu-AnsahThis volume focuses on African indigenous women legends and their potential to serve as midwives for gender empowerment and for contributing towards African feminist theories. It considers the intersection of gender and spirituality in subverting patriarchy, colonialism, anthropocentricism, and capitalism as well as elevating African women to the social space of speaking as empowered subjects with public influence. The chapters examine historical, cultural, and religious African women legends who became champions of liberation and their approach to social justice. The authors suggest that their stories of resistance hold great potential for building justice-loving Earth Communities. This book will be of interest to scholars of religion, gender studies, indigenous studies, African studies, African-indigenous knowledges, postcolonial studies, among others.
African Women’s Liberating Philosophies, Theologies, and Ethics
by Beatrice Okyere-Manu Léocadie LushomboThis volume explores the ethical and philosophical paradigms presented by most of the influential Matriarchs of the Circle of African Women Theologians. It critically evaluates the effectiveness of their ethical and philosophical theories, models, and frameworks in pursuing justice and liberation for women in Africa and globally. The authors address critical questions: How have African women theologians reimagined existing ethical paradigms? What original ethical and philosophical ideas have they generated? How have their ethical frameworks influenced the theologies and interpretations they have developed? What purposes do their ethical and philosophical paradigms serve? How do these renderings intersect with various social categories, including gender, race, class, sexuality, capitalism, and colonialism? What liberating frameworks do they propose? The volume further explores the dialogue between distinct African contexts and universal experiences and values. It explores how universal themes such as humanity, human dignity, rights, justice, motherhood, and more can coexist with communal African concepts and themes. It contemplates how embracing African approaches engages these themes more globally, bringing together particular African contexts of women and the universal ethical, philosophical, and theological theories, models, and frameworks to advance the cause of justice and liberation for African women and women worldwide into the future.
Africana Religion in the Digital Age (Routledge Studies in Religion and Digital Culture)
by Margarita Simon GuilloryThis book diversifies the fields of digital religion studies and Africana religious studies by considering the nuanced intersections between digital technologies and the religious experiences of African Americans. While Christianity is a continuous marker of religious identity for many African Americans, this digital approach to examining Africana religion in the US uncovers other non-Christian esoteric traditions that have often been marginalized within academia. The book explores the diverse ways that African Americans employ the Internet, social media, human enhancement technologies, and gaming to construct multidimensional modes of religious identities. It also considers the ways that Africana religious practitioners employ digital platforms to both complement and disrupt religious authority. Ultimately, the book establishes Africana religious experiences as viable entry points in the scholarly engagement of religion in the digital age. As such, it will be a key resource for scholars of Religious Studies, Africana Religious and Esoteric Studies, Religion and Culture and Religion and Sociology.
Africa's Ogun: Old World and New
by Sandra T. BarnesThis landmark work of ethnography explores the enduring, global worship of the African god of war—with five new essays in this new, expanded edition.Ogun—the ancient African god of iron, war, and hunting—is worshiped by more than forty million adherents in Western Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. This rich, interdisciplinary collection draws on field research from several continents to reveal Ogun’s dramatic power and enduring appeal.Contributors examine the history and spread of Ogun throughout old and new worlds; the meaning of Ogun ritual, myth, and art; and the transformations of Ogun through the deity’s various manifestations. This edition includes five new essays focusing mainly on Ogun worship in the new world.“[A]n ethnographically rich contribution to the historical understanding of West African culture, as well as an exploration of the continued vitality of that culture in the changing environments of the Americas.” —African Studies Review
Africentric Approaches to Christian Ministry: Strengthening Urban Congregations in African American Communities
by Katie Geneva Cannon Warren L. Dennis J. Deotis Roberts Rosetta E. Ross Gayraud Wilmore Gloria J. Tate Marsha Snulligan Haney Ronald Edward Peters Richard C. Chapple Tumani Mutasa Nyajeka Johnnie Monroe Cain Hope Fielder Fred Douglas SmithIn a pluralistic world where the tendency is to dismiss or silence ethnic and racial differences, Africentric Approaches to Christian Ministry: Strengthening Urban Congregations in African American Communities offers invaluable insight into the ordering of urban congregational life, Christian ministry, and urban missiology from a worldview perspective that values the centrality of African people. Theological leaders and framers of African American religious studies, such as the following persons provide provocative insight for theological reflection and praxis: Gayraud Wilmore (The Black Church); J. Deotis Roberts (Africentric Christianity); Katie Geneva Cannon (Diaspora Ethics); and Cain Hope Fielder (New Testament Studies). The opening and closing chapters by co-editors Ronald Edward Peters and Marsha Snulligan Haney provide a critical knowledge base that frames Africentric Approaches to Christian Ministry. In light of the rapidly changing nature of Christianity globally (non-Western and non-European), this is a significant study on African American religious consciousness and urban praxis.
Afrikan Wisdom: New Voices Talk Black Liberation, Buddhism, and Beyond
by Valerie Mason-JohnA spiritual, political, and interdisciplinary anthology of wisdom stories from Black liberation leaders and teachers.Afrikan Wisdom represents an intersectional, cross-pollinated exploration of Black life--past, present, and future. Award-winning author and editor Valerie Mason-John (Vimalasara)'s collection of 34 essays--written by an eclectic and inspirational group of Black thought leaders and teachers--reflects on the unique and multilayered experience of being Black in the world today. This anthology instills in readers the knowledge, awareness, validation, and spiritual tools necessary to nurture both individual and collective liberation. It is both an inspiration and a motivation for Black readers, as well as anyone else interested in reading about emerging spiritual voices. Topics include: • African and Afro-Diasporan cultures, histories, spiritualities, art, music, and literature • Black radical traditions of liberation and consciousness • Anticolonialism and antislavery • Buddhist philosophy • Social and environmental justice • The prison industrial complex and mass incarceration • (Kemetic) yoga, healing, and mindfulness • Intersections with Indigenous cultures • Addiction and recovery • Transgenerational trauma
Afrikaners and the Boundaries of Faith in Post-Apartheid South Africa (Routledge Contemporary South Africa)
by Annika Björnsdotter TeppoThis book examines the shifting moral and spiritual lives of white Afrikaners in South Africa after apartheid. The end of South Africa’s apartheid system of racial and spatial segregation sparked wide-reaching social change as social, cultural, spatial and racial boundaries were transgressed and transformed. This book investigates how Afrikaners have mediated the country’s shifting boundaries within the realm of religion. For instance, one in every three Afrikaners used these new freedoms to leave the traditional Dutch Reformed Church (NGK), often for an entirely new religious affiliation within the Pentecostal or Charismatic churches, or New Religious Movements such as Wiccan neopaganism. Based on long-term ethnographic fieldwork in the Western Cape area, the book investigates what spiritual life after racial totalitarianism means for the members of the ethnic group that constructed and maintained that very totalitarianism. Ultimately, the book asks how these new Afrikaner religious practices contribute to social solidarity and integration in a persistently segregated society, and what they can tell us about racial relations in the country today. This book will be of interest to scholars of religious studies, social and cultural anthropology and African studies.
Afro-Brazilian Culture and Politics: Bahia, 1790s-1990s (Latin American Realities Ser.)
by Hendrik KraayThe essays in this book constitute an analytic survey of the last two centuries of Afro-Bahian history, with a focus squarely on the difficult relationship between Afro- and Euro-Bahia and on the continual Afro-Bahian struggle to create a meaningful culture in an environment either hostile or suffocating in its ability to absorb elements of Afro-Bahian culture.
Afro-Brazilian Numerology: Awakening Your Better Self with the Wisdom of the Orishas
by Diego de Oxóssi• Offers step-by-step instructions to calculate your Birth Odus and cast your full Orisha Birth Chart• Presents detailed interpretations of each of the 16 Birth Odus, showing how their energies manifest in an individual&’s personality, relationships, financial status, and general approach to life• Shares self-transformation techniques to help you improve the positive qualities of your chart while embracing, integrating, and neutralizing negative energies and tendenciesMuch like the celestial influences revealed by a natal astrology chart or the numerology of your birth date, African spiritual traditions believe that every person has specific personal energies ruling how we relate to each other and the way we foresee and achieve life goals. Called the birth Odus, these inner energies influence your choices and decisions throughout life, defining and differentiating you from everyone else--and revealing the best ways to maximize your potential and meet the challenges you face. Offering a complete guide to discovering, interpreting, and working with your birth Odus, Diego de Oxóssi details step by step how to calculate your birth Odus and cast your full Orisha birth Chart. He explains the Afro-Brazilian concept of numerology and its relationship with the 16 Odus and their related Orishas, the deities of the Afro-Brazilian spiritual tradition. He explores how to determine the influences in the major and minor houses of your Orisha birth chart, including those related to personality and identity, career and success, relationships and love, and challenges and personal evolution. Presenting case studies from his practice, the author offers detailed interpretations of each of the 16 birth Odus, showing how their energies manifest in an individual&’s life. He looks at the positive and negative aspects of each Odu, including how the negative aspects represent the shadow forces that one has to overcome to succeed in life. He offers self- transformation techniques to help you improve the positive qualities of your chart while embracing, integrating, and neutralizing the negative energies and tendencies. Revealing how to better know yourself and understand the spiritual dynamics behind your choices and behaviors, this guide shows you how to work with the energies of the Odus and the strength of the Orishas to improve your communication and relationship skills, overcome life&’s challenges, and ensure success and happiness on your life&’s path.
Afro-Caribbean Religions: An Introduction to Their Historical, Cultural, and Sacred Traditions
by Murrell Nathaniel SamuelReligion is one of the most important elements of Afro-Caribbean culture linking its people to their African past, from Haitian Vodou and Cuban Santeria—popular religions that have often been demonized in popular culture—to Rastafari in Jamaica and Orisha-Shango of Trinidad and Tobago. In Afro-Caribbean Religions, Nathaniel Samuel Murrell provides a comprehensive study that respectfully traces the social, historical, and political contexts of these religions. And, because Brazil has the largest African population in the world outside of Africa, and has historic ties to the Caribbean, Murrell includes a section on Candomble, Umbanda, Xango, and Batique. This accessibly written introduction to Afro-Caribbean religions examines the cultural traditions and transformations of all of the African-derived religions of the Caribbean along with their cosmology, beliefs, cultic structures, and ritual practices. Ideal for classroom use, Afro-Caribbean Religions also includes a glossary defining unfamiliar terms and identifying key figures.
Afro-Catholic Festivals in the Americas: Performance, Representation, and the Making of Black Atlantic Tradition (Africana Religions #2)
by Cécile FromontThis volume demonstrates how, from the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade, enslaved and free Africans in the Americas used Catholicism and Christian-derived celebrations as spaces for autonomous cultural expression, social organization, and political empowerment. Their appropriation of Catholic-based celebrations calls into question the long-held idea that Africans and their descendants in the diaspora either resignedly accepted Christianity or else transformed its religious rituals into syncretic objects of stealthy resistance.In cities and on plantations throughout the Americas, men and women of African birth or descent staged mock battles against heathens, elected Christian queens and kings with great pageantry, and gathered in festive rituals to express their devotion to saints. Many of these traditions endure in the twenty-first century. The contributors to this volume draw connections between these Afro-Catholic festivals—observed from North America to South America and the Caribbean—and their precedents in the early modern kingdom of Kongo, one of the main regions of origin of men and women enslaved in the New World. This transatlantic perspective offers a useful counterpoint to the Yoruba focus prevailing in studies of African diasporic religions and reveals how Kongo-infused Catholicism constituted a site for the formation of black Atlantic tradition.Afro-Catholic Festivals in the Americas complicates the notion of Christianity as a European tool of domination and enhances our comprehension of the formation and trajectory of black religious culture on the American continent. It will be of great interest to scholars of African diaspora, religion, Christianity, and performance.In addition to the editor, the contributors include Kevin Dawson, Jeroen Dewulf, Junia Ferreira Furtado, Michael Iyanaga, Dianne M. Stewart, Miguel A. Valerio, and Lisa Voigt.
Afro-Catholic Festivals in the Americas: Performance, Representation, and the Making of Black Atlantic Tradition (Africana Religions)
by Cécile FromontThis volume demonstrates how, from the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade, enslaved and free Africans in the Americas used Catholicism and Christian-derived celebrations as spaces for autonomous cultural expression, social organization, and political empowerment. Their appropriation of Catholic-based celebrations calls into question the long-held idea that Africans and their descendants in the diaspora either resignedly accepted Christianity or else transformed its religious rituals into syncretic objects of stealthy resistance.In cities and on plantations throughout the Americas, men and women of African birth or descent staged mock battles against heathens, elected Christian queens and kings with great pageantry, and gathered in festive rituals to express their devotion to saints. Many of these traditions endure in the twenty-first century. The contributors to this volume draw connections between these Afro-Catholic festivals—observed from North America to South America and the Caribbean—and their precedents in the early modern kingdom of Kongo, one of the main regions of origin of men and women enslaved in the New World. This transatlantic perspective offers a useful counterpoint to the Yoruba focus prevailing in studies of African diasporic religions and reveals how Kongo-infused Catholicism constituted a site for the formation of black Atlantic tradition.Afro-Catholic Festivals in the Americas complicates the notion of Christianity as a European tool of domination and enhances our comprehension of the formation and trajectory of black religious culture on the American continent. It will be of great interest to scholars of African diaspora, religion, Christianity, and performance.In addition to the editor, the contributors include Kevin Dawson, Jeroen Dewulf, Junia Ferreira Furtado, Michael Iyanaga, Dianne M. Stewart, Miguel A. Valerio, and Lisa Voigt.
Afro-Pentecostalism: Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in History and Culture (Religion, Race, and Ethnicity #16)
by Amos Yong Estrelda Y AlexanderThis &“well researched, illuminating, and highly informative" volume presents a comprehensive, scholarly overview of Black Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity (Choice). Since the American Pentecostal movement began in the early twentieth century, its African American sector has been markedly influential. Black Christians have been integrally involved in every aspect of the Pentecostal movement, making significant contributions to its founding as well as the evolution of Pentecostal/charismatic styles of worship, preaching, music, engagement of social issues, and theology. Yet despite its being one of the fastest growing segments of the Black Church, Afro-Pentecostalism has not received the kind of critical attention it deserves. Afro-Pentecostalism brings together fourteen interdisciplinary scholars to examine different facets of the movement, including its early history, issues of gender, relations with other black denominations, intersections with popular culture, and missionary activities, as well as the movement&’s distinctive theology. Bolstered by editorial introductions to each section, the chapters reflect on the state of the movement, chart its trajectories, discuss pertinent issues, and anticipate future developments. Contributors: Estrelda Y. Alexander, Valerie C. Cooper, David D. Daniels III, Louis B. Gallien, Jr., Clarence E. Hardy III, Dale T. Irvin, Ogbu U. Kalu, Leonard Lovett, Cecil M. Robeck, Jr., Cheryl J. Sanders, Craig Scandrett-Leatherman, William C. Turner, Jr., Frederick L. Ware, and Amos Yong
After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond
by Bruce GreysonThe world's leading expert on near-death experiences reveals his journey toward rethinking the nature of death, life, and the continuity of consciousness.Cases of remarkable experiences on the threshold of death have been reported since ancient times, and are described today by 10% of people whose hearts stop. The medical world has generally ignored these “near-death experiences,” dismissing them as “tricks of the brain” or wishful thinking. But after his patients started describing events that he could not just sweep under the rug, Dr. Bruce Greyson began to investigate.As a physician without a religious belief system, he approached near-death experiences from a scientific perspective. In After, he shares the transformative lessons he has learned over four decades of research. Our culture has tended to view dying as the end of our consciousness, the end of our existence—a dreaded prospect that for many people evokes fear and anxiety.But Dr. Greyson shows how scientific revelations about the dying process can support an alternative theory. Dying could be the threshold between one form of consciousness and another, not an ending but a transition. This new perspective on the nature of death can transform the fear of dying that pervades our culture into a healthy view of it as one more milestone in the course of our lives. After challenges us to open our minds to these experiences and to what they can teach us, and in so doing, expand our understanding of consciousness and of what it means to be human.
After 50 Years of Ministry: 7 Things I'd Do Differently and 7 Things I'd Do the Same
by Bob Russell&“If I had my entire life to live over, I&’d choose to be a preacher again. It&’s been extremely rewarding and gratifying.But I could do ministry a lot better if given a second try. As I look back on my forty years at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, I wish I had a mulligan. This book lists seven things I&’d do differently and seven I&’d do about the same. They are written in hopes they&’ll be a source of encouragement for those growing weary and losing heart. I pray my observations will inspire others to conclude, &‘If he can do it, I can, too.&’In this book I share both the joys and sorrows of my ministry, both the successes and failures. I&’m going to be as transparent as possible in hopes that it will encourage ministers to stand firm in the faith and be faithful unto death. If just one minister is motivated to pick up the sword of the Spirit and re-enter the battle, it will be well worth the effort.&”— Bob Russell
After 50 Years of Ministry: 7 Things I'd Do Differently and 7 Things I'd Do the Same
by Bob Russell&“If I had my entire life to live over, I&’d choose to be a preacher again. It&’s been extremely rewarding and gratifying.But I could do ministry a lot better if given a second try. As I look back on my forty years at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, I wish I had a mulligan. This book lists seven things I&’d do differently and seven I&’d do about the same. They are written in hopes they&’ll be a source of encouragement for those growing weary and losing heart. I pray my observations will inspire others to conclude, &‘If he can do it, I can, too.&’In this book I share both the joys and sorrows of my ministry, both the successes and failures. I&’m going to be as transparent as possible in hopes that it will encourage ministers to stand firm in the faith and be faithful unto death. If just one minister is motivated to pick up the sword of the Spirit and re-enter the battle, it will be well worth the effort.&”— Bob Russell
After Abel and Other Stories: And Other Stories
by Jonathan Kirsch Michal Lemberger"Her knowledge of the Bible is evident and her creativity shines through as she weaves nine thoughtful and layered accounts of distant, complicated times."-Publisher's Weekly"Reminiscent of Anita Diamant's The Red Tent. . . . These beautifully written stories feel like meeting Eve, Lot's wife, and many other compelling characters for the first time." -LAUREL CORONA, author of The Mapmaker's Daughter and The Four Seasons: A Novel of Vivaldi's Venice"Stunning." -MOLLY ANTOPOL, author of The UnAmericans"Gorgeous and captivating." -DARA HORN, author of A Guide for the Perplexed and The World to Come"Marvelous." -MICHELLE HUNEVEN, author of Off Course and Blame"What struck me most about these stories is their clear, assured confidence-as if Michal Lemberger had pulled apart some of the lines in the old story, spied a new story tucked in there way off in a corner, shimmied in a fishhook and pulled it out." -AIMEE BENDER, author of The Color Master and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake"Lemberger liberates the voices that are trapped beneath the [biblical] text . . . with artistry and erudition." -RABBI DAVID WOLPE, Rabbi of Sinai Temple, Los Angeles and author of Why Faith MattersEve considers motherhood.Miriam tends Moses.Lot's wife looks back.Vividly reimagined with startling contemporary clarity, Michal Lemberger's debut collection of short stories gives voice to silent, oft-marginalized biblical women: their ambitions, their love for their children, their values, their tremendous struggles and challenges. Informed by Lemberger's deep knowledge of the Bible, each of these nine stories story recasts a biblical saga from the perspective of a pivotal woman.Michal Lemberger's nonfiction and journalism have appeared in Slate, Salon, Tablet, and other publications, and her poetry has been published in a number of print and online journals. A story from After Abel, her first collection of fiction, was featured in Lilith Magazine. Lemberger holds an MA and PhD in English from UCLA and a BA in English and religion from Barnard College. She has taught the Hebrew Bible as Literature at UCLA and the American Jewish University. She was born and raised in New York and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.