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Godless
by Pete Hautman"Why mess around with Catholicism when you can have your own customized religion?" Fed up with his parents' boring old religion, agnostic-going-on-atheist Jason Bock invents a new god -- the town's water tower. He recruits an unlikely group of worshippers: his snail-farming best friend, Shin, cute-as-a-button (whatever that means) Magda Price, and the violent and unpredictable Henry Stagg. As their religion grows, it takes on a life of its own. While Jason struggles to keep the faith pure, Shin obsesses over writing their bible, and the explosive Henry schemes to make the new faith even more exciting -- and dangerous. When the Chutengodians hold their first ceremony high atop the dome of the water tower, things quickly go from merely dangerous to terrifying and deadly. Jason soon realizes that inventing a religion is a lot easier than controlling it, but control it he must, before his creation destroys both his friends and himself.<P><P> Winner of the National Book Award
Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic: Atheists In American Public Life
by R. Laurence Moore Isaac KramnickIf the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects religious liberty, why doesn’t it protect atheists? God occupies our nation’s consciousness, even defining to many what it means to be American. Nonbelievers have often had second-class legal status and have had to fight for their rights as citizens. As R. Laurence Moore and Isaac Kramnick demonstrate in their sharp and convincing work, avowed atheists were derided since the founding of the nation. Even Thomas Paine fell into disfavor and his role as a patriot forgotten. Popular Republican Robert Ingersoll could not be elected in the nineteenth century due to his atheism, and the suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton was shunned when she questioned biblical precepts about women’s roles. Moore and Kramnick lay out this fascinating history and the legal cases that have questioned religious supremacy. It took until 1961 for the Supreme Court to ban religious tests for state officials, despite Article 6 of the Constitution. Still, every one of the fifty states continues to have God in its constitution. The authors discuss these cases and more current ones, such as Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., which address whether personal religious beliefs supersede secular ones. In Godless Citizens in a Godly Republic, the authors also explore the dramatic rise of an "atheist awakening" and the role of organizations intent on holding the country to the secular principles it was founded upon.
Godless Intellectuals?: The Intellectual Pursuit of the Sacred Reinvented (Berghahn Ser.)
by Alexander Tristan RileyThe Durkheimians have traditionally been understood as positivist, secular thinkers, fully within the Enlightenment project of limitless reason and progress. In a radical revision of this view, this book persuasively argues that the core members of the Durkheimian circle (Durkheim himself, Marcel Mauss, Henri Hubert and Robert Hertz) are significantly more complicated than this. Through his extensive analysis of large volumes of correspondence as well as historical and macro-sociological mappings of the intellectual and social worlds in which the Durkheimian project emerged, the author shows the Durkheimian project to have constituted a quasi-religious quest in ways much deeper than most interpreters have thought. Their fascination, both personal and intellectual, with the sacred is the basis on which the author reconstructs some important components of modern French intellectual history, connecting Durkheimian thought to key representatives of French poststructuralism and postmodernism: Bataille, Foucault, Derrida, Baudrillard, and Deleuze.
Godless: 150 Years of Disbelief
by Dan ArelGodless is a compilation of wide-ranging texts, both hilarious and horrifying, on atheism, belief, and religion. The selections in the book appeared in various formats from the late 19th century through the early 21st, and their authors were often active in the anarchist, Marxist, or radical leftist movements of their day. Derived from printed pamphlets, periodicals, and newspaper pieces that were mass-produced and widely distributed, these texts serve as freethinking propaganda in a media war against morbid authoritarian doctrines. With both a sophisticated analysis of inconsistencies in deistic beliefs and a biting satirical edge, Godless gives ammunition to those fighting fundamentalist bigotry—and more than a few reasons to abandon Christianity. Readers previously familiar with the authors' political polemics will be rewarded in contemplating another side of their remarkable literary output. Contributors include Emma Goldman, Ambrose Bierce, Chaz Bufe, E. Haldeman-Julius, Earl Lee, G. Richard Bozarth, Johann Most, Joseph McCabe, Matilda Gage, Pamela Sutter, S.C. Hitchcock, and Sébastien Faure.
Godless: A Novel
by James Dobson Kurt BrunerThe nightmares have returned. Something, or someone, wants to drag Julia Davidson back into a dreadful conflict she assumed was a distant memory. Was this, like before, the echo of another person's dream? Is she responsible to rescue faces she doesn't recognize but can't forget? Do the murky images suggest she has a part to play in whatever ominous events lie ahead? Things are finally looking up for Matthew Adams. As the top earner at MedCom Associates he has started to crawl out of the financial hole created during his "dark days." And now, out of the blue, a mysterious woman invites him to join a confidential research initiative. She says it will ease the mounting economic crisis. But at what cost to Matthew's fragile sanity, and his tortured soul? Pastor Alex Ware faces a serious problem. The honeymoon period at Christ Community Church has ended. The finance committee says they can't afford another year of dwindling income and dismal growth. The board wants action, now! Aging parishioners would gladly allocate a portion of their estate to help. But only if Alex stops condemning the transition industry and starts affirming what the Youth Initiative calls "our heroic volunteers." In Fatherless and Childless, Dr. James Dobson and Kurt Bruner depicted a time in which present-day trends come to sinister fruition. This eagerly awaited conclusion vividly imagines what happens when God's image on earth is exchanged for the horrors of a GODLESS world.
Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists
by Dan BarkerBarker describes the intellectual and psychological path he followed in moving from fundamentalism to free thought. The four sections in Godless include chapters on bible problems, unbelievable resurrection and much more.
Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists
by Dan BarkerOne man shares the story of his transformation from evangelical Christian to atheist and examines the train of thought that brought him there.After almost twenty years of evangelical preaching, missionizing, and Christian songwriting, Dan Barker “threw out the bathwater and discovered that there is no baby.” In Godless, Barker describes the intellectual and psychological path he followed in moving from fundamentalism to freethought. Godless includes sections on biblical morality, the historicity of Jesus, biblical contradictions, the unbelievable resurrection, and much more. It is an arsenal for skeptics and a direct challenge to believers. Along the way, Barker relates the positive benefit readers will experience from learning to trust in reason and human kindness instead of living in fear of false judgment and moral condemnation.Advance Praise for Godless“Valuable in the human story are the reflections of intelligent and ethical people who listen to the voice of reason and who allow it to vanquish bigotry and superstition. This book is a classic example.” —Christopher Hitchens, author of God is Not Great“The most eloquent witness of internal delusion that I know—a triumphantly smiling refugee from the zany, surreal world of American fundamentalist Protestantism—is Dan Barker.” —Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion“Godless was a revelation to me. I don’t think anyone can match the (devastating!) clarity, intensity, and honesty which Dan Barker brings to the journey—faith to reason, childhood to growing up, fantasy to reality, intoxication to sobriety.” —Oliver Sacks, author of Musicophilia“In Godless, Barker recounts his journey from evangelical preacher to atheist activist, and along the way explains precisely why it is not only okay to be an atheist, it is something in which to be proud.” —Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic Magazine“Godless is a fascinating memoir and a handbook for debunking theism. But most of all, it is a moving testimonial to one man’s emotional and intellectual rigor in acclaiming critical thinking.” —Robert Sapolsky author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers
Godly Dating 101: Discover the Truth About Relationships in a World That Constantly Lies
by Tovares Grey Safa GreyHow can you be sure you&’ve found &“the one&”? How do you know when it&’s time to leave a relationship that&’s turning toxic? Godly Dating 101 answers these questions and more in a practical guide that will help young Christians develop authentic and healthy dating relationships.With more than three million followers across Godly Dating 101&’s social media accounts, Tovares and Safa Grey hear daily from hundreds of young adults looking for help in their current struggles regarding relationships and purity. Deep down, many Christian young adults are wondering if their relationships are drawing them closer to God or leading them back to the life from which Jesus freed them. Godly Dating 101 addresses what you hear from culture and contrasts it with Scripture. As the authors candidly cover topics like friends with benefits, pornography, masturbation, and other areas that affect future marriages, you gain an understanding that what&’s considered normal or &“fun&” from the world&’s perspective may not be God&’s will for your life. Discover: You are not alone in your relationship strugglesGod can extend grace and restoration to you no matter whatScripture that points you back to Jesus and what He says about relationshipsHow to find and sustain a relationship that honors God This encouraging message will empower you to rise out of confusion, toxic environments, and sin so that you can follow Jesus passionately and experience abundant life in Him as you nurture and develop healthy relationships.
Godly Kingship in Restoration England: The Politics of the Royal Supremacy, 1660-1688
by Jacqueline RoseThe position of English monarchs as supreme governors of the Church of England profoundly affected early modern politics and religion. This innovative book explores how tensions in church-state relations created by Henry VIII's Reformation continued to influence relationships between the crown, Parliament and common law during the Restoration, a distinct phase in England's 'long Reformation'. Debates about the powers of kings and parliaments, the treatment of Dissenters and emerging concepts of toleration were viewed through a Reformation prism where legitimacy depended on godly status. This book discusses how the institutional, legal and ideological framework of supremacy perpetuated the language of godly kingship after 1660 and how supremacy was complicated by the ambivalent Tudor legacy. It was manipulated by not only Anglicans, but also tolerant kings and intolerant parliaments, Catholics, Dissenters and radicals like Thomas Hobbes. Invented to uphold the religious and political establishments, supremacy paradoxically ended up subverting them.
Godly Republic: A Centrist Blueprint for America's Faith-based Future
by John J. DiiulioAn impassioned brief in support of religious involvement in the public sphere. Bucking liberal pieties, Dilulio makes a case that it is both constitutional and moral for religious organizations to play public roles, from providing resources to poor people to educating youngsters with the support of school vouchers.
Godly Republicanism
by Michael P. WinshipPuritans did not find a life free from tyranny in the New World-they created it there. Massachusetts emerged a republic as they hammered out a vision of popular participation and limited government in church and state, spurred by Plymouth Pilgrims. "Godly Republicanism" underscores how pathbreaking yet rooted in puritanisms history the project was. Michael Winship takes us first to England, where he uncovers the roots of the puritans republican ideals in the aspirations and struggles of Elizabethan Presbyterians. Faced with the twin tyrannies of Catholicism and the crown, Presbyterians turned to the ancient New Testament churches for guidance. What they discovered there-whether it existed or not-was a republican structure that suggested better models for governing than monarchy. The puritans took their ideals to Massachusetts, but they did not forge their godly republic alone. In this book, for the first time, the separatists contentious, creative interaction with the puritans is given its due. Winship looks at the emergence of separatism and puritanism from shared origins in Elizabethan England, considers their split, and narrates the story of their reunion in Massachusetts. Out of the encounter between the separatist Plymouth Pilgrims and the puritans of Massachusetts Bay arose Massachusetts Congregationalism.
Godly Seed: American Evangelicals Confront Birth Control, 1873-1973
by Allan C. CarlsonInterview with Allan Carlson In an ironic twist, American evangelical leaders are joining mainstream acceptance of contraception. Godly Seed: American Evangelicals Confront Birth Control, 1873-1973, examines how mid-twentieth-century evangelical leaders eventually followed the mainstream into a quiet embrace of contraception, complemented by a brief acceptance of abortion. It places this change within the context of historic Christian teaching regarding birth control, including its origins in the early church and the shift in arguments made by the Reformers of the sixteenth century. The book explores the demographic effects of this transition and asks: did the delay by American evangelicals leaders in accepting birth control have consequences?At the same time, many American evangelicals are rethinking their acceptance of birth control even as a majority of the nation's Roman Catholics are rejecting their church's teaching on the practice. Raised within a religious movement that has almost uniformly condemned abortion, many young evangelicals have begun to ask whether abortion can be neatly isolated from the issue of contraception. A significant number of evangelical families have, over the last several decades, rejected the use of birth control and returned decisions regarding family size to God. Given the growth of the evangelical movement, this pioneering work will have a large-scale impact.
Godonomics: How to Save Our Country--and Protect Your Wallet--Through Biblical Principles of Finance
by Chad HovindGod's solution to America's economic crisis Saving America's economy is not a conservative-versus-liberal issue, it is a biblical issue. National leaders have failed to pull the country out of its financial tailspin because both major parties are working from the wrong text. For a nation to achieve stability and enjoy lasting economic health, it needs to adopt the economic principles set forth in the Bible. Godonomics uncovers the core teachings from God's Word that offer the only workable solution to our nation's economic back-slide. Biblical principles uphold the superiority of free-market capitalism, which produced history's highest standard of living and established the United States as an unrivaled superpower. But forces are at work today, even in the church, that seek to enslave our nation in a socialistic system. Now you can speak out--using God's Word--against false teachings that endanger your livelihood and the future of America. Let Godonomics show you God's requirements for financial success--in your own life and in the affairs of our nation. By following Scripture's economic principles, you can ensure your family's financial wellbeing even if America falls into a deepening crisis. And if we act together, it is not too late to reverse the decline. "Godonomics is a thoughtful critique of the theories that control the world of commerce and shape the lives of men and nations. Chad Hovind challenges us to reassess doing business as usual."--Dr. Peter A. Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia "Chad Hovind offers a creative and compelling case for the constitutional framework for government. He also provides practical fi nancial principles that will help you make wise decisions with your money."--Shane F. Krauser, author of Your Nation to Save, director of the American Academy for Constitutional Education "Godonomics is an incredible comparison of biblical economics and the culture. A real eye-opener." --Josh D. McDowell, popular speaker, coauthor of Undaunted and The Unshakable Truth "Chad Hovind brings a reasonable voice to the convinced and the unconvinced. Godonomics applies God's wisdom on economics both to individuals and nations. You will learn about the Bible's prescription to secure our nation's future economic health."--David Barton, founder and president of WallBuilders "Using God's Word regarding financial principles, you can now be bold in speaking out against false teachings. Your entire family will learn from this important book."--Mark Whitacre, PhD, president of operations and COO of Cypress Systems Inc.
Gods & Kings (Chronicles of the Kings, Book #1)
by Lynn AustinHE WAS BORN TO RULE THE PEOPLE OF GOD...BUT YAHWEH IS ONLY A VAGUE, POWERLESS MEMORY IN THE MINDS OF HIS PEOPLE. Though born the second son of King Ahaz, Hezekiah is not protected from his father's perverted attempts to gain the favor of the idol Molech. Terrified and powerless at the foot of Molech's altar, Hezekiah encounters for the first time the one true God of his royal ancestry, Yahweh. But his journey to the Holy One is riddled by influence from an assortment of men: Zechariah, a grandfather of noble standing who has fallen into drunkenness; Uriah, the High Priest whose lust for power forces him to gamble the faith he proclaims; and Shebna, the Egyptian intellectual who guides Hezekiah's instruction. For the two women who love Hezekiah, the meaning of love-and its sacrificial essence-will direct the course of their lives and help shape the young prince's future.
Gods Gift of Language C: Writing and Grammar Work-Text
by Phyllis RandGods Gift of Language C: Writing and Grammar Work-Text, Third Edition by Phyllis Rand.
Gods Providence: He Cares for You (People's Bible Teachings)
by Mark J LenzDoes Jesus care about me?If you’ve ever asked yourself that question, first and foremost, the resounding answer in God’s Word is YES!But sometimes what we see and experience in life leads us to question whether God really cares about us and is taking providing for our needs. So, we seek success, ownership of our accomplishments, and comfort from things we can control in an effort to avoid worry and distress.Regardless of what life looks like for you, God’s Providence will assure you that God is always looking out for you. God is there for you. His Providence, as recorded in Scripture, is all the comfort you really need.Through this book, you will be assured that God cares for you by supporting, providing, protecting, directing, and governing everything that happens in your life.The People’s Bible Teachings is a series of books on all the main teachings of the Bible. Following the pattern set by The People’s Bible series, these books are written for all Christians in an easy-to-read manner. The authors of The People’s Bible are all pastors and professors who have had years of experience teaching others about the Bible.
Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars: Critical Explorations in the History of Religions
by Bruce LincolnBruce Lincoln is one of the most prominent advocates within religious studies for an uncompromisingly critical approach to the phenomenon of religion—historians of religions, he believes, should resist the preferred narratives and self-understanding of religions themselves, especially when their stories are endowed with sacred origins and authority. In Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars, Lincoln assembles a collection of essays that both illustrates and reveals the benefits of his methodology, making a case for a critical religious studies that starts with skepticism but is neither cynical nor crude.The book begins with Lincoln’s “Theses on Method” and ends with “The (Un)discipline of Religious Studies,” in which he unsparingly considers the failings of uncritical and nonhistorical approaches to the study of religions. In between, Lincoln presents new examinations of problems in ancient religions and relates these cases to larger comparative themes. While bringing to light important features of the formation of pantheons and the constructions of demons, chaos, and the dead, Lincoln demonstrates that historians of religions should take religious things—inspired scriptures, sacred centers, salvific rites, communities graced by divine favor—as the theories of interested humans that shape perception, community, and experiences. As he shows, it is for their terrestrial influence, and not their sacred origins, that religious phenomena merit consideration by the historian. Tackling many questions central to religious study, Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars will be a touchstone for the history of religions in the twenty-first century.
Gods and Diseases: Making sense of our physical and mental wellbeing
by David TaceyToday's society faces many problems that cannot be solved by the application of reason, logic or medicine. Some of these include alcoholism, suicide, drug addiction and child abuse to name but a few. Many mental health problems are on the increase such as depression, phobias and anxiety with no obvious solution in sight. In Gods and Diseases, David Tacey argues that the answers lie in leaving behind the confines of conventional medicine. Instead we should turn towards spirituality and to what he calls 'meaning-making', to make sense of our physical and mental wellbeing and explore how the numinous may help us to heal.
Gods and Humans in Medieval Scandinavia: Retying The Bonds (Cambridge Studies In Medieval Literature #103)
by Jonas WellendorfThe coming of Christianity to Northern Europe resulted in profound cultural changes. In the course of a few generations, new answers were given to fundamental existential questions and older notions were invalidated. <p><p>Jonas Wellendorf's study, the first monograph in English on this subject, explores the medieval Scandinavian reception and re-interpretation of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion. This original work draws on a range of primary sources ranging from Prose Edda and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes to less well known literary works including the Saga of Barlaam and the Hauksbók manuscript (c.1300). <p>By providing an in-depth analysis of often overlooked mythological materials, along with translations of all textual passages, Wellendorf delivers an accessible work that sheds new light on the ways in which the old gods were integrated into the Christian worldview of medieval Scandinavia.<p> Presents the first study in English to explore ways in which medieval Scandinavians received and re-interpreted pre-Christian religion.<p> Contextualizes the canonical Prose Edda through a close reading of less well-known mythological literary works including the Saga of Barlaam, the Hauksbók manuscript (c.1300) and Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes.<p> Offers full translation of Old Norse textual passages to provide an accessible study.
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe
by H. R. Ellis DavidsonThe mythology of a people is far more than a collection of pretty or terrifying fables to be retold in carefully bowdlerized form to our schoolchildren.
Gods at War Student Edition: The battle for your heart that will define your life
by Kyle IdlemanThe next step in becoming a completely committed follower of Jesus False gods war within each and every one of us, fighting for a place of glory and control in our lives. In this student edition of gods at war, Kyle Idleman, bestselling author of not a fan, demonstrates how the desire for things like popularity, acceptance, and success can become modern-day idols that keep us from truly following Jesus Christ. Behind the everyday pressures, fears, and lack of purpose is a false god who too often is winning the war in our hearts. By asking insightful questions and looking at the issues from a teen’s point of view, Idleman reveals which false gods most often take the place of the one true God. Then, using powerful and honest testimonies of people like you who have struggled in each area, gods at war student edition illustrates a clear path away from the heartache of 21st-century idolatry back to the heart of God.
Gods at War: Defeating the Idols that Battle for Your Heart
by Kyle IdlemanIn gods at war, Kyle Idleman, bestselling author of not a fan, helps every believer recognize there are false gods at war within each of us, and they battle for the place of glory and control in our lives. What keeps us from truly following Jesus is that our hearts are pursuing something or someone else. While these pursuits may not be the “graven images” of old, they are in fact modern day idols. Behind the sin you’re struggling with, the discouragement you’re dealing with, the lack of purpose you’re living with is a false god that is winning the war for your heart. According to Idleman, idolatry isn’t an issue—it is the issue. By asking insightful questions, Idleman reveals which false gods each of us are allowing on the throne of our lives. What do you sacrifice for? What makes you mad? What do you worry about? Whose applause do you long for? We’re all wired for worship, but we often end up valuing and honoring the idols of money, sex, food, romance, success and many others that keep us from the intimate relationship with God that we desire. Using true, powerful and honest testimonies of those who have struggled in each area, gods at war illustrates a clear path away from the heartache of our 21st century idolatry back to the heart of God – enabling us to truly be completely committed followers of Jesus.
Gods at War: Defeating the Idols that Battle for Your Heart (Updated and Expanded Edition)
by Kyle IdlemanWhat do Netflix, our desire for the corner office, and that perfect picture we just posted on Instagram have to do with each other? None of these things is wrong in itself. But when we begin to allow entertainment, success, or social media to control us, we miss out on the joy of God’s rule in our hearts.In Gods at War, Pastor Kyle Idleman, bestselling author of Not a Fan, helps every believer recognize there are false gods at war within each of us, and they battle for the place of glory and control in our lives.According to Idleman, idolatry isn’t an issue?it is the issue.By asking insightful questions, Idleman reveals which false gods each of us are allowing on the throne of our lives. What do you sacrifice for? What makes you mad? What do you worry about? Whose applause do you long for? We’re all wired for worship, but we often end up valuing and honoring the idols of money, sex, food, romance, success, and many others that keep us from the intimate relationship with God that we desire.In this updated edition, Pastor Kyle adds a new introduction as well as new content about the battle many of us face with technology—whether we are tempted to send just one more text, stay online when our bodies need rest, or find ourselves putting email before in-person relationships. How can we seek God with our whole hearts instead?Using true, powerful, and honest testimonies of those who have struggled in each area, Gods at War illustrates a clear path away from the heartache of our 21st century idolatry back to the heart of God—enabling us to truly be completely committed followers of Jesus.
Gods in Everyman: Archetypes That Shape Men's Lives
by Jean Shinoda BolenIn this challenging and enlightening companion volume to the bestselling Goddesses in Everywoman, Jean Shinoda Bolen turns her attention to the powerful inner patterns--or archetypes--that shape men's personalities, careers, and personal relationships. Viewing these archtypes as the inner counterparts of the outer world of cultural stereotypes, she demonstrates how men an women can gain an nvaluable sense of wholeness and integration when what they do is consistent with who they are. Dr. Bolen introduces these patterns in the guise of eight archetypal gods, or personality types, with whom the reader will identify. From the authoritarian power-seeking gods (Zeus, Poseidon) to the gods of creativity (Apollo, Hephaestus) to the sensual Dionysus, Dr. Bolen shows men how to identify their ruling gods, how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap thepwer of these enduring archetypes in order to enrich and strengthen their lives. She also stresses the importance of understanding which gods you are attracted to and which are compatible with your expectations, uncovers the origins of the often-difficult father-son relationship, and explores society's deep conflict between nurturing behavior and the need to foster masculinity.In Gods in Everyman Dr. Bolen presents us with a compassionate and lucid male psychology that will help all men and women to better understand themselves and their relationships with their fathers, their sons, their brothers, and their lovers.
Gods in the Bazaar: The Economies of Indian Calendar Art
by Kajri JainGods in the Bazaar is a fascinating account of the printed images known in India as "calendar art" or "bazaar art," the color-saturated, mass-produced pictures often used on calendars and in advertisements, featuring deities and other religious themes as well as nationalist leaders, alluring women, movie stars, chubby babies, and landscapes. Calendar art appears in all manner of contexts in India: in chic elite living rooms, middle-class kitchens, urban slums, village huts; hung on walls, stuck on scooters and computers, propped up on machines, affixed to dashboards, tucked into wallets and lockets. In this beautifully illustrated book, Kajri Jain examines the power that calendar art wields in Indian mass culture, arguing that its meanings derive as much from the production and circulation of the images as from their visual features. Jain draws on interviews with artists, printers, publishers, and consumers as well as analyses of the prints themselves to trace the economies--of art, commerce, religion, and desire--within which calendar images and ideas about them are formulated. For Jain, an analysis of the bazaar, or vernacular commercial arena, is crucial to understanding not only the calendar art that circulates within the bazaar but also India's postcolonial modernity and the ways that its mass culture has developed in close connection with a religiously inflected nationalism. The bazaar is characterized by the coexistence of seemingly incompatible elements: bourgeois-liberal and neoliberal modernism on the one hand, and vernacular discourses and practices on the other. Jain argues that from the colonial era to the present, capitalist expansion has depended on the maintenance of these multiple coexisting realms: the sacred, the commercial, and the artistic; the official and the vernacular.