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"In Christ" in Paul: Explorations in Paul's Theology of Union and Participation
by Michael J. Thate Kevin J. Vanhoozer Constantine R. CampbellNineteen biblical scholars and theologians in this volume explore the notions of union and participation within Pauline theology, teasing out the complex web of meaning conveyed through Paul's theological vision of being "in Christ." With essays that investigate Pauline theology and exegesis, ex-amine highlights from reception history, and offer deep theological reflection, this exemplary multidisciplinary collection charts new ground in the scholarly understanding of Paul's thought and its theological implications.
In Christ or The Believer's Union With His Lord
by A. J. Gordon"In Christ or The Believer's Union With His Lord" by A. J. Gordon is a profound exploration of the spiritual concept of union with Christ, a cornerstone of Christian theology. In this timeless work, A. J. Gordon, a renowned 19th-century pastor and theologian, delves deeply into the mystical and transformative relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ.Gordon's insightful and eloquent writing elucidates the doctrine of being "in Christ," a central theme in the New Testament. He explains how this union is not merely a theological idea but a living, dynamic reality that profoundly impacts every aspect of a believer's life. Through a careful examination of Scripture, Gordon illustrates how this spiritual union provides believers with access to Christ's righteousness, strength, and peace.The book is structured around key biblical passages and themes, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of what it means to live a life intimately connected with Jesus. Gordon discusses the implications of this union for personal sanctification, spiritual growth, and daily Christian living. His reflections are both theologically rich and practically applicable, making complex concepts accessible to readers at all levels of spiritual maturity.This classic work remains a valuable resource for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of their relationship with Christ. "In Christ or The Believer's Union With His Lord" is essential reading for theologians, pastors, and laypeople alike, offering timeless wisdom and inspiration for living a Christ-centered life.A. J. Gordon's insightful exploration of this profound spiritual truth continues to resonate with readers, inviting them to experience the transformative power of being truly "in Christ."
In Church as It Is in Heaven: Cultivating a Multiethnic Kingdom Culture
by Jamaal E. Williams Timothy Paul JonesHeaven is multiethnic. Are you ready for that? The Bible tells us that the congregation gathered around God's heavenly throne will be "a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language," all singing the praises of the Lamb. God's intention has always been to delight for all eternity in a redeemed community of ethnic diversity. But this diverse community shouldn't have to wait until eternity to begin! It can be a reality in our own local churches here and now. Patterned after a worship service, In Church as It Is in Heaven gives biblical warrant for such a community and shows how multiethnic churches provide a unique apologetic for the gospel. Along the way, the authors tell the story of their own church—a majority-white congregation which is being transformed into a family that reflects the diversity of heaven. The multiethnic kingdom is not just a nice idea, or an abstract theory. It's a reality—one we can enter into today.
In The Closet Of The Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy
by Frederic Martel Shaun WhitesideIn the Closet of the Vatican exposes the rot at the heart of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church today. This brilliant piece of investigative writing is based on four years' authoritative research, including extensive interviews with those in power. <p><P> The celibacy of priests, the condemnation of the use of contraceptives, the cover up of countless cases of sexual abuse, the resignation of Benedict XVI, misogyny among the clergy, the dramatic fall in Europe of the number of vocations to the priesthood, the plotting against Pope Francis – all these issues are clouded in mystery and secrecy. <P><P> In the Closet of the Vatican is a book that reveals these secrets and penetrates this enigma. It derives from a system founded on a clerical culture of secrecy which starts in junior seminaries and continues right up to the Vatican itself. It is based on the double lives of priests and on extreme homophobia. The resulting schizophrenia in the Church is hard to fathom. But the more a prelate is homophobic, the more likely it is that he is himself gay. <P><P> 'Behind rigidity there is always something hidden, in many cases a double life'. These are the words of Pope Francis himself and with them the Pope has unlocked the Closet. <P><P> No one can claim to really understand the Catholic Church today until they have read this book. It reveals a truth that is extraordinary and disturbing.
In Constant Prayer (Ancient Practices Ser.)
by Robert BensonWhat does it mean to pray without ceasing? Is it really that important to pray as the early Church did? In this installment of The Ancient Practices series, Robert Benson presents a structure for our lives where we can live in continued awareness of God's presence and reality. A pattern for worship and prayer that is offered to God at specific times throughout the day, the daily office is meant to be prayed by all the faithful so the Church may be continuous and God's work in this world may be sustained. Yet it is highly personal too--an anchor between the daily and the divine, the mundane and the marvelous.Says author Robert Benson, "At some point, high-minded discussion about our life of prayer has to work its way into the dailyness of our lives. At some point, we have to move from talking about prayer to saying our prayers so that the marvelous that is possible has a chance to appear."In Constant Prayer is your gateway to deeper communion with God. Expect something new to unfold before you and within you while heeding this ancient call.The Ancient PracticesThere is a hunger in every human heart for connection, primitive and raw, to God. To satisfy it, many are beginning to explore traditional spiritual disciplines used for centuries . . . everything from fixed-hour prayer to fasting to sincere observance of the Sabbath. Compelling and readable, the Ancient Practices series is for every spiritual sojourner, for every Christian seeker who wants more.
In crescendo: Una fábula espiritual sobre el alma, la vida y la muerte
by Amy WeissLa mujer siente como si se arrastrara, pues vive apenas por encima del suelo. El duelo ejerce su fuerza de gravedad. «In crescendo -una novela profunda, cautivadora y poética- te invitará a revisar tu vida con nuevos ojos y a encontrarle nueva belleza y significado. Weiss profundiza en las preguntas fundamentales que son inherentes a todo viaje: ¿Por qué estamos aquí? ¿Cuál es el significado de la vida? ¿Es posible perder para siempre aquello que más amamos? ¿Cómo estamos interconectados? «Al leerla, descubrirás que las respuestas son un regalo que se quedará en tu corazón mucho después de haber cerrado el libro. Weiss es una poderosa narradora, y cualquiera que haya amado y perdido se sentirá reconfortado y hallará significado en sus páginas. Con un toque de El alquimista, In crescendo es una historia de autodescubrimiento y vinculación. La historia que escribe Weiss es relevante paracualquiera». Laura Lynne Jackson, autora del bestseller La luz entre nosotros.
In Days of Great Peace: The Highest Yoga as Lived (Routledge Library Editions: Yoga #3)
by Mouni SadhuFor several years Mouni Sadhu steeped himself in the teachings of the foremost Hindu ascetic, Sri Ramana Maharshi. This book, first published in 1957, is the best attempt by a European to describe without technicalities what such teachings entail, what meditation is about, and why Indians worship their gurus. Mouni Sadhu’s rare facility for describing his own mental and spiritual states enables him to pass on to the reader his knowledge and enthusiasm. It is an authentic account of life with an inspired Hindu yogi and spiritual teacher.
In Deep Voodoo
by Stephanie BondHealth food business owner Penny Francisco is more interested in celebrating her recent divorce than preparing for Mojo Louisiana's Voodoo festival. When Penny receives a gag gift voodoo doll created to look like her ex husband, Penny happily sticks it with a pin. But then her ex is found stabbed and Penny is the prime suspect. . She hires a sexy Cajun P.I. to help discover the truth behind the murder.
In Defence of the Faith
by James E. WadsworthJoaquim Marques de Araújo ardently defended the Portuguese Inquisition for fifty years, only to find himself sidelined and forgotten. In Defence of the Faith offers an insightful examination of one man's career as a comissário of the Portuguese Inquisition in Pernambuco, Brazil, from 1770 to 1820. James Wadsworth argues that as legal extensions of the inquisitors in Lisbon, the comissários played a role far superior to what their small numbers might suggest. They were not the psychopaths, fanatics, or secret network of spies so common in the popular imagination. Rather, they were the linchpins in the inquisitional system that policed the orthodoxy of the Catholic flock and qualified candidates for inquisitional office. Joaquim Marques's career demonstrates that comissários had considerable room to manoeuvre, though they remained distinctly vulnerable to social and political shifts in power. His story reveals an institution divided against itself, which proved unwilling or unable to support its men in the field. Consequently, Joaquim Marques's attempts to protect himself and the Inquisition from attack proved futile. He died a defeated man on the eve of the political, intellectual, and spiritual upheaval he had long predicted and resisted. In Defence of the Faith is a study of the decline of the old regime and the rise of a new order in late-colonial Brazil as experienced by an unbending agent of a once powerful institution that slowly collapsed during his lifetime.
In Defence of the Faith: Joaquim Marques de Araújo, a Comissário in the Age of Inquisitional Decline (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion #2)
by James E. WadsworthJoaquim Marques de Araújo ardently defended the Portuguese Inquisition for fifty years, only to find himself sidelined and forgotten. In Defence of the Faith offers an insightful examination of one man's career as a comissário of the Portuguese Inquisition in Pernambuco, Brazil, from 1770 to 1820. James Wadsworth argues that as legal extensions of the inquisitors in Lisbon, the comissários played a role far superior to what their small numbers might suggest. They were not the psychopaths, fanatics, or secret network of spies so common in the popular imagination. Rather, they were the linchpins in the inquisitional system that policed the orthodoxy of the Catholic flock and qualified candidates for inquisitional office. Joaquim Marques's career demonstrates that comissários had considerable room to manoeuvre, though they remained distinctly vulnerable to social and political shifts in power. His story reveals an institution divided against itself, which proved unwilling or unable to support its men in the field. Consequently, Joaquim Marques's attempts to protect himself and the Inquisition from attack proved futile. He died a defeated man on the eve of the political, intellectual, and spiritual upheaval he had long predicted and resisted. In Defence of the Faith is a study of the decline of the old regime and the rise of a new order in late-colonial Brazil as experienced by an unbending agent of a once powerful institution that slowly collapsed during his lifetime.
In Defence of War
by Nigel BiggarPacifism is popular. Many hold that war is unnecessary, since peaceful means of resolving conflict are always available, if only we had the will to look for them. Or they believe that war is wicked, essentially involving hatred of the enemy and carelessness of human life. Or they posit the absolute right of innocent individuals not to be deliberately killed, making it impossible to justify war in practice. Peace, however, is not simple. Peace for some can leave others at peace to perpetrate mass atrocity. What was peace for the West in 1994 was not peace for the Tutsis of Rwanda. Therefore, against the virus of wishful thinking, anti-military caricature, and the domination of moral deliberation by rights-talk In Defence of War asserts that belligerency can be morally justified, even though tragic and morally flawed. Recovering the Christian tradition of reflection running from Augustine to Grotius, this book affirms aggressive war in punishment of grave injustice. Morally realistic in adhering to universal moral principles, it recognises that morality can trump legality, justifying military intervention even in transgression of positive international law-as in the case of Kosovo. Less cynical and more empirically realistic about human nature than Hobbes, it holds that nations desire to be morally virtuous and right, and not only to be safe and fat. And aspiring to practical realism, it argues that love and the doctrine of double effect can survive combat; and that the constraints of proportionality, while real, are nevertheless sufficiently permissive to encompass Britain's belligerency in 1914-18. Finally, in a painstaking analysis of the Iraq invasion of 2003, In Defence of War culminates in an account of how the various criteria of just war should be thought together. It also concludes that, all things considered, the invasion was justified.
In Defense of Charisma
by Vincent W. LloydMartin Luther King, Jr., has charisma—as does Adolf Hitler. So do Brad Pitt, Mother Teresa, and many a high school teacher. Charisma marks, or masks, power; it legitimates but also attracts suspicion. Sociologists often view charisma as an irrational, unstable source of authority, superseded by the rational, bureaucratic legitimacy of modernity. Yet charisma endures in the modern world; perhaps it is reinvigorated in the postmodern, as the notoriety of celebrities, politicians, and New Age gurus attests. Is charisma a tool of oppression, or can it help the fight against oppression? Can reexamining the concept of charisma teach us anything useful about contemporary movements for social justice?In Defense of Charisma develops an account of moral charisma that weaves insights from politics, ethics, and religion together with reflections on contemporary culture. Vincent W. Lloyd distinguishes between authoritarian charisma, which furthers the interests of the powerful, naturalizing racism, patriarchy, and elitism, and democratic charisma, which prompts observers to ask new questions and discover new possibilities. At its best, charisma can challenge the way we see ourselves and our world, priming us to struggle for justice. Exploring the biblical Moses alongside Charlton Heston’s performance in The Ten Commandments, the image of Martin Luther King, Jr., together with tweets from the Black Lives Matter movement, and the novels of Harper Lee and Sherman Alexie juxtaposed with the writings of Emmanuel Levinas, In Defense of Charisma challenges readers to turn away from the blinding charisma of celebrities toward the humbler moral charisma of the neighbor, colleague, or relative.
In Defense of Christian Ritual: The Case for a Biblical Pattern of Worship
by David R AndersenIs Christian worship best conceived as a creative, Spirit-fueled experience that any formalized structure necessarily inhibits, or are there any biblical prescriptions around for worship that Christians were meant to follow?In light of recent research from various disciplines-including history, psychology, and New Testament studies - In Defense of Christian Ritual: The Case for a Biblical Pattern of Worship argues the latter.Specifically, this book will demonstrate three things.First, in contrast to the anti-ritualism so prevalent in modern churches, ritual's indispensable role in providing biblically-centered context and content is detailed.Second, contrary to modern opinion, a definite pattern of worship is shown to be present both in our earliest New Testament documents and the early church.Finally, new research will reveal that the assumptions about creativity lying at the heart of modern contemporary worship are fundamentally flawed.Readers will discover that the apostolic teaching embodied in the church's early ritual, as expressed in its liturgy, was never intended to be outdated or rendered irrelevant in light of current fads. It was never meant to be a relic of the ancient past, but a structured way of bringing the "memoirs of the apostles" -that Jesus died for sinners- to God's people in the here and now.
In Defense of Dharma: Just-War Ideology in Buddhist Sri Lanka (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism #Vol. 24)
by Tessa J. BartholomeuszThis is the first book to examine war and violence in Sri Lanka through the lens of cross-cultural studies on just-war tradition and theory. In a study that is textual, historical and anthropological, it is argued that the ongoing Sinhala-Tamil conflict is in actual practice often justified by a resort to religious stories that allow for war when Buddhism is in peril. Though Buddhism is commonly assumed to be a religion that never allows for war, this study suggests otherwise, thereby bringing Buddhism into the ethical dialogue on religion and war. Without a realistic consideration of just-war thinking in contemporary Sri Lanka, it will remain impossible to understand the power of religion there to create both peace and war.
In Defense of Faith
by David BrogReligious faith is under assault. In books and movies and on television, militant secular critics attack religion with a renewed vigor. These "new atheists" repeat a two-part mantra: that religious faith is hopelessly irrational and that those possessed of such faith are responsible for the hatred and bloodshed that has plagued humanity. Abandon religion, they urge us, and the world will at last live in peace.In Defense of Faith examines this proposition in the context of Western civilization and the Judeo-Christian tradition and asserts that, far from encouraging hatred and violence, the Judeo-Christian tradition has easily been the most effective curb upon the dark defects of human nature and our best tool in the struggle for humanity.From the Christian activists who fought to stop the genocide of Indians in South America and their ethnic cleansing in North America, to the abolition of African slavery on both sides of the Atlantic, and on to modern human rights activists from Martin Luther King Jr. to the rock star Bono-In Defense of Faith rebuts the fashionable arguments against religion and presents the strong and lasting record of the Judeo-Christian idea. History has not been as kind to the atheist model: every time it is put to the test, we have reverted to the most base, violent instincts of our selfish genes.
In Defense of Israel: The Bible's Mandate for Supporting the Jewish State
by John HageeWhy is the Middle East in such turmoil? Is the modern State of Israel in the plan of God? Can and should Christians do more than pray for Israel? Does God's Word contain instructions to Christians regarding the treatment of Jewish people? In the near-thirty years John Hagee has been a lover of Israel, he has grappled with each of these questions. Like him, most Christians today don't know much about the Jewish faith or the history of the Jewish nation. They don't understand what is truly at stake in the Middle East conflict and why Christians need to do more than just pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They don't know the role they've been called to play in relationship with Israel, and they aren't sure how God feels about Israel today, either. As Hagee guides readers through the scriptures that explain why Christians need to stand with Israel and the Jews today with as much fervor as God does, they will encounter a man deeply passionate about loving this historic people of God. They'll be inspired to take up that same mantle of love and play a part in extending acceptance and favor to the people of Israel, just as God has called them to do.
In Defense of Israel, Revised: The Bible's Mandate for Supporting the Jewish State
by John HageeWhy is the Middle East in such turmoil? Is the modern State of Israel in the plan of God? Can and should Christians do more than pray for Israel? Does God’s Word contain instructions to Christians regarding the treatment of Jewish people? In the near-thirty years John Hagee has been a lover of Israel, he has grappled with each of these questions. Most Christians today don’t know much about the Jewish faith or the history of the Jewish nation. They don’t understand what is truly at stake in the Middle East conflict and why Christians need to do more than just pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They don’t know the role they’ve been called to play in relationship with Israel, and they aren’t sure how God feels about Israel today, either. As Hagee guides readers through the scriptures that explain why Christians need to stand with Israel and the Jews today with as much fervor as God does, they will encounter a man deeply passionate about loving this historic people of God. They’ll be inspired to take up that same mantle of love and play a part in extending acceptance and favor to the people of Israel, just as God has called them to do.
In Defense of Jesus: Investigating Attacks on the Identity of Christ
by Lee StrobelHas modern scholarship debunked the traditional Christ? Has the church suppressed the truth about Jesus to advance its own agenda? What if the real Jesus is far different from the atoning Savior worshipped through the centuries? In Defense of Jesus, the follow up to the bestselling book Case for Christ, former award-winning legal editor Lee Strobel explores such hot-button questions as: Did the church suppress ancient non-biblical documents that paint a more accurate picture of Jesus than the four Gospels? Did the church distort the truth about Jesus by tampering with early New Testament texts? Do new insights and explanations disprove the resurrection? Have fresh arguments disqualified Jesus from being the Messiah? Did Christianity steal its core ideas from earlier mythology? Evaluate the arguments and evidence being advanced by prominent atheists, liberal theologians, Muslim scholars, and others. Sift through expert testimony. Then reach your own verdict with In Defense of Jesus.
In Defense of Married Priesthood: A Sociotheological Investigation of Catholic Clerical Celibacy (Routledge Studies in the Sociology of Religion)
by Vivencio O. BallanoThis book offers an analysis of the sociological, historical, and cultural factors that lie behind mandatory clerical celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church and examines the negative impact of celibacy on the Catholic priesthood in our contemporary age. Drawing on sociological theory and secondary qualitative data, together with Church documents, it contends that married priesthood has always existed in some form in the Catholic Church and that mandatory universal celibacy is the product of cultural and sociological contingencies, rather than sound doctrine. With attention to a range of problems associated with priestly celibacy, including sexual abuse, clerical shortages, loneliness, and spiritual sloth, In Defense of Married Priesthood argues that the Roman Catholic Church should permit marriage to the priesthood in order to respond to the challenges of our age. Presenting a sociologically informed alternative to the popular theological perspectives on clerical celibacy, this book defends the notion of the married priesthood as legitimate means of living the vocation of Catholic priesthood—one which is eminently fitting for the contemporary world. It will therefore appeal to scholars and students of religion, theology, and sociology.
In Defense of Martin Luther (NPH Classics)
by John MontgomeryWho was Martin Luther and why did he leave the Catholic Church? What was the Reformation about?In this book, renowned scholar and Christian apologist John Warwick Montgomery helps you discover who Martin Luther was and what he truly believed and taught about God’s Word by letting the Reformer speak for himself on a variety of hotly contested topics through essays on the reformer’s writings.Through this book, you’ll better understand the work Martin Luther did to proclaim the pure Word of God to people, even in the face of constant opposition.
In Defense Of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case For God's Action In History
by R. Geivett Gary HabermasRumors of deception have surrounded claims of Jesus' resurrection ever since the soldiers appointed to guard his tomb made their report to the Jewish authorities. But no one has led the philosophic charge against miracles quite as influentially as David Hume with his 1748 essay "Of Miracles." Refined, revised, restated, his arguments still affect philosophic discussions of miracles today. <p><p> During the twentieth century, strong arguments have been raised by Antony Flew, now professor emeritus at Keele University in England. Flew has contributed a fresh statement of his objections to the idea of God's acting in history just for this volume, which also includes Hume's classic critique as a part of the case against miracles. In response, Douglas Geivett and Gary Habermas have assembled a distinguished team of scholars to rebut the objections and set forth the positive case for God's action in history: Richard Purtill clarifies the word miracle, while Norman Geisler critiques Hume's case against miracles. Francis Beckwith and Winfried Corduan assess how we would recognize miracles in the past and in the present. Ronald Nash examines naturalism's exclusion of miracles and shows its self-referential incoherence. J. P. Moreland discusses whether science properly rules out the possibility of miracles. <p> God's existence and action in history are probed by David Beck and Stephen Davis, while Douglas Geivett argues that within a theistic framework it is reasonable to expect miracles as confirmation of claims to special revelation. David Clark examines miracles within the context of various world religions. Robert Newman, John Feinberg, William Lane Craig and Gary Habermas conclude by investigating fulfilled prophecy, the virgin birth and incarnation of Jesus, the empty tomb, and the resurrection appearances. In Defense of Miracles is a comprehensive, up-to-date discussion that should not be overlooked by anyone concerned with the current debate over miracles.
In Defense of Nothing: Selected Poems, 1987–2011 (Wesleyan Poetry Series)
by Peter GizziA new lyricism for the twenty-first centuryRunner-up for the William Carlos Williams Award (2015) Since his celebrated first book of poetry, Peter Gizzi has been hailed as one of the most significant and distinctive voices writing today. Gathered from over five collections, and representing close to twenty-five years of work, the poems in this generous selection strike a dynamic balance of honesty, emotion, intellectual depth and otherworldly resonance—in Gizzi's work, poetry itself becomes a primary ground of human experience. Haunted, vibrant, and saturated with luminous detail, Gizzi's poetry enlists the American vernacular in a magical and complex music. In Defense of Nothing is an immensely valuable introduction to the work of this extraordinary and singular poet. Check for the online reader's companion at http://petergizzi.site.weleyan.edu.
In Defense of Religious Moderation
by William EggintonIn his latest book, William Egginton laments the current debate over religion in America, in which religious fundamentalists have set the tone of political discourse—no one can get elected without advertising a personal relation to God, for example—and prominent atheists treat religious belief as the root of all evil. Neither of these positions, Egginton argues, adequately represents the attitudes of a majority of Americans who, while identifying as Christians, Jews, and Muslims, do not find fault with those who support different faiths and philosophies. In fact, Egginton goes so far as to question whether fundamentalists and atheists truly oppose each other, united as they are in their commitment to a "code of codes." In his view, being a religious fundamentalist does not require adhering to a particular religious creed. Fundamentalists—and stringent atheists—unconsciously believe that the methods we use to understand the world are all versions of an underlying master code. This code of codes represents an ultimate truth, explaining everything. Surprisingly, perhaps the most effective weapon against such thinking is religious moderation, a way of believing that questions the very possibility of a code of codes as the source of all human knowledge. The moderately religious, with their inherent skepticism toward a master code, are best suited to protect science, politics, and other diverse strains of knowledge from fundamentalist attack, and to promote a worldview based on the compatibility between religious faith and scientific method.
In Defense of Religious Moderation
by William EggintonIn his latest book, William Egginton laments the current debate over religion in America, in which religious fundamentalists have set the tone of political discourse and prominent atheists treat religious belief as the root of all evil. Neither of these positions, he argues, adequately represents the attitudes of a majority of Americans, who, while identifying as Christians, Jews, and Muslims, do not find fault with those who support different faiths and philosophies. In fact, Egginton goes so far as to question whether fundamentalists and atheists truly oppose each other, united as they are in their commitment to a "code of codes." In his view, being a religious fundamentalist does not require adhering to a particular religious creed. Fundamentalists—and stringent atheists—unconsciously believe that our methods for understanding the world are all versions of an underlying master code. This code of codes represents an ultimate truth, explaining everything. Surprisingly, perhaps, the most effective weapon against such thinking is religious moderation, since such beliefs are united in questioning the possibility of a code of codes at the source of all human knowledge. The moderately religious, with their inherent skepticism toward a master code, are best suited to protect science, politics, and other, diverse strains of knowledge from fundamentalist attack. They are also most likely to promote a worldview based on the compatibility between religious faith and scientific method.
In Dialogue with Classical Indian Traditions: Encounter, Transformation and Interpretation (Dialogues in South Asian Traditions: Religion, Philosophy, Literature and History)
by Brian Black Chakravarthi Ram-PrasadDialogue is a recurring and significant component of Indian religious and philosophical literature. Whether it be as a narrative account of a conversation between characters within a text, as an implied response or provocation towards an interlocutor outside the text, or as a hermeneutical lens through which commentators and modern audiences can engage with an ancient text, dialogue features prominently in many of the most foundational sources from classical India. Despite its ubiquity, there are very few studies that explore this important facet of Indian texts. This book redresses this imbalance by undertaking a close textual analysis of a range of religious and philosophical literature to highlight the many uses and functions of dialogue in the sources themselves and in subsequent interpretations. Using the themes of encounter, transformation and interpretation – all of which emerged from face-to-face discussions between the contributors of this volume – each chapter explores dialogue in its own context, thereby demonstrating the variety and pervasiveness of dialogue in different genres of the textual tradition. This is a rich and detailed study that offers a fresh and timely perspective on many of the most well-known and influential sources from classical India. As such, it will be of great use to scholars of religious studies, Asian studies, comparative literature and literary theory.