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Arvo Pärt: Sounding the Sacred
by Peter C. Bouteneff, Jeffers Engelhardt, and Robert SalerScholarly writing on the music of Arvo Pärt is situated primarily in the fields of musicology, cultural and media studies, and, more recently, in terms of theology/spirituality. Arvo Pärt: Sounding the Sacred focuses on the representational dimensions of Pärt’s music (including the trope of silence), writing and listening past the fact that its storied effects and affects are carried first and foremost as vibrations through air, impressing themselves on the human body. In response, this ambitiously interdisciplinary volume asks: What of sound and materiality as embodiments of the sacred, as historically specific artifacts, and as elements of creation deeply linked to the human sensorium in Pärt studies? In taking up these questions, the book “de-Platonizes” Pärt studies by demystifying the notion of a single “Pärt sound.” It offers innovative, critical analyses of the historical contexts of Pärt’s experimentation, medievalism, and diverse creative work; it re-sounds the acoustic, theological, and representational grounds of silence in Pärt’s music; it listens with critical openness to the intersections of theology, sacred texts, and spirituality in Pärt’s music; and it positions sensing, performing bodies at the center of musical experience. Building on the conventional score-, biography-, and media-based approaches, this volume reframes Pärt studies around the materiality of sound, its sacredness, and its embodied resonances within secular spaces.
Arvo Pärt’s Resonant Texts: Choral and Organ Music 1956–2015
by Andrew ShentonStatistically the most performed and listened to contemporary composer in the world, Arvo Pärt is a musical and cultural phenomenon. This book is an essential resource for anyone interested in his extraordinarily innovative and uniquely appealing music. <P><P>Andrew Shenton surveys the full scope of Pärt's oeuvre, providing context and chronological continuity while concentrating in particular on his text-based music, analysing and describing individual pieces and techniques such as tintinnabulation. The book also explores the spiritual and theological contexts of Part's creativity, and the challenges of performing his work. This volume is the definitive guide for readers looking to engage with the form, content, and context of Pärt's compositions, as Shenton situates Pärt in the narrative of metamodernism and suggests new ways of understanding this unique and beautiful music.<P> This is the only book to explore the entire career of this extremely popular contemporary composer.<P> Includes numerous musical examples, enabling readers to understand the form, content, and context of individual pieces, as well as key innovative techniques such as tintinnabulation.<P> Suggests broader approaches to Christian texts, making Pärt's work accessible to a wider audience.<P>
The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians And The Bible In Nazi Germany
by Susannah HeschelDuring the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center.
The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany
by Susannah HeschelWas Jesus a Nazi? During the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center. Based on years of archival research, The Aryan Jesus examines the membership and activities of this controversial theological organization. With headquarters in Eisenach, the Institute sponsored propaganda conferences throughout the Nazi Reich and published books defaming Judaism, including a dejudaized version of the New Testament and a catechism proclaiming Jesus as the savior of the Aryans. Institute members--professors of theology, bishops, and pastors--viewed their efforts as a vital support for Hitler's war against the Jews. Heschel looks in particular at Walter Grundmann, the Institute's director and a professor of the New Testament at the University of Jena. Grundmann and his colleagues formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active and continued to support each other in Germany's postwar years. The Aryan Jesus raises vital questions about Christianity's recent past and the ambivalent place of Judaism in Christian thought.
As a Driven Leaf
by Milton SteinbergAs A Driven Leaf is a historical novel about the ancient sage Elisha ben Abuah who lives in the late part of the first century C.E. He is a prominent scholar in Palestine who is elected to the Sanhedrin. There are two tragedies that cause Elisha to doubt God and this doubt erodes his faith. He is declared as a heretic and is excommunicated from the Jewish community of his day. Because of his excommunication, he travels to other lands and explores Greek and Roman culture and thought in his search for absolute truth. He is caught between two worlds and is forced by the Roman authorities to choose between being loyal to his Jewish people who are rebelling against the Roman emperor's domination and his desire to become part of the Roman culture in order to find ultimate truth.
As a Man Thinketh
by James AllenThe aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them. This applies equally to those acts called "spontaneous" and "unpremeditated" as to those, which are deliberately executed. Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits; thus does a man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husbandry.
As Chance Would Have It: A Study in Coincidences
by H C MoolenburghCoincidences happen to everyone on a regular basis. Usually we shrug them off and forget them.However, when we start to catalogue coincidences we are in for a surprise. They begin to grow more frequent and, moreover, they tend to form a pattern as if conveying a secret message.
As Far As the Heart Can See: Stories to Illuminate the Soul
by Mark NepoStories carry the seeds of our humanness. They help us, teach us, heal us, and connect us to what matters. As Far As the Heart Can See is an invitation to be in relationship with deep and life-giving material. Many spiritual gurus present dense metaphysical theses with an intellectual approach for "working" a spiritual path; poet and philosopher Mark Nepo reaches people through their hearts, bringing something fresh and new to the field by stimulating change through reflection of thoughts and feelings. The stories he shares in As Far As the Heart Can See come from many places—from Nepo's personal history to dreams to the myths of our ancestors. Each one is an invitation to awaken an aspect of living in relationship with the sacred. Following each of the forty-five stories are three forms of an invitation to further the conversation: journal questions, table questions, and meditations. The questions, whether reflected upon in a journal or discussed in deeper conversation with friends or family, are meant to lead the seeker down unimagined paths and back into life; the meditations are meant to ground the learning. These stories and parables about universal concepts and themes offer a poet's sensuality and a philosopher's sensibility to personalizing the journey of the human experience in the world.
As Figs in Autumn: One Year In A Forever War
by Ben BastomskiA devastating loss turns into a quest for identity in this debut memoir of an American coming of age in the Israel Defense Forces. On the verge of graduating from college, Ben Bastomski is sent reeling by the tragic death of his childhood friend and classmate Avi, the victim of a drunk driving accident. The shocking event forces Ben to question everything about the randomness and meaning of life for the first time. In the fall of 2010, Ben begins his journey from student to sharpshooter when he flies to the Middle East and joins the Mahal, the Israel Defense Forces&’ program for overseas Jewish volunteers. As his service takes him from the Negev Desert to the Occupied Territories and the Gazan border, he makes his home on a southern kibbutz where he is accepted as family. Ben&’s military service and life in Israel will shape his future in ways that are still being realized. As Figs in Autumn is one man&’s account of a life-changing quest to find his true potential in the land of his heritage, where both body and soul are sustained by courage and community.
As Full as the World: Reading 6 (2nd Edition)
by Bob Jones UniversityThis book engages students with a variety of character-building stories as well as classical literature selections from which biblical principles are drawn. An emphasis on literary elements, higher-level thinking skills, and vocabulary enrichment is a bridge to the traditional literature classes that begin in junior high. The student text includes samples from classic authors, Charles Dickens, Kenneth Grahame, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Browning.
As Good as She Imagined: The Redeeming Story of the Angel of Tucson, Christina-Taylor Green
by Roxanna Green Jerry JenkinsChristina-Taylor Green was beautiful, precocious and popular, a member of her elementary school's student council and the only girl on her Little League team. Born on 9/11/2001, it was perhaps no surprise that she harbored aspirations of becoming a politician-thus her presence at the political rally that fateful day in Tucson last January. Congressman Gabrielle Giffords was severely wounded in the gunman's splay of bullets; six others were killed, including Christina, the youngest of the victims.But this inspirational book recounts far more than the events of "the tragedy of Tucson." Written by Christina's mother (with New York Times best-selling biographer Jerry Jenkins), As Good As She Imagined celebrates this little girl's life, along with the hope that has been born out of a nation's loss and a family's grief.
As Good as She Imagined: The Redeeming Story of the Angel of Tucson, Christina-Taylor Green
by Roxanna Green Jerry B. JenkinsBy the time the shooting ended on that cloudless January day in front of a Tucson grocery store, 19 innocent people lay wounded, dead, or dying. Among the gravely wounded was U. S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
As I Lay Pondering: daily invitations to live a transformed life
by Kayce Stevens HughlettPsychotherapist, healer, and artist of being alive, Kayce Stevens Hughlett, offers readers the personal gift of transformation in this devotional daybook. Like Mark Neop's classic "Book of Awakening," Hughlett invites individuals to enliven their lives day-by-day through 365 practical reflections and prayers of inspiration, purpose, freedom, and joy.Infused with teachings from historical and current wisdom figures like Carl Jung, Martha Beck, Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu, Thomas Merton, Sue Monk Kidd, Anne Lamott, and others, "As I Lay Pondersing" feels like sitting down for conversation with a close friend. Filled with soul, it will meet you where you are whether looking for a recharge or grasping for a lifeline. It is a book you can turn to anytime and read cover to cover, randomly, or one entry at a time. Filled with inspiration, short stories, and simple activities to deepen the pathway to presence, this book is the ideal companion for any personal journey.
As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life
by Casey TygrettWhat if our memories are like shells we gather on a beach? According to pastor and spiritual director Casey Tygrett, "We—and all those who have come before us—pick up the experience and we sense it: we feel its edges, notice its color, we smell the distinctive character (for shells it is the sickly seafood salt smell) of the experience and we try to make sense of what it is. Is it beautiful? How would you describe the color—the tones, the shades, wrapped around the ridges and swirls? Has it been damaged? Does the hard edge scrape our hand, leaving a blemish or a mark?" How we hold and carry these memories—good and bad—is a part of what forms us spiritually. In this way we have a common bond with the people of Scripture who also had a sensory life, gathering shells and trying to make sense of them. In these pages Casey Tygrett explores the power of memory and offers biblical texts and practices to guide us in bringing our memories to God for spiritual transformation.
As If God Existed: Religion and Liberty in the History of Italy
by Maurizio ViroliReligion and liberty are often thought to be mutual enemies: if religion has a natural ally, it is authoritarianism--not republicanism or democracy. But in this book, Maurizio Viroli, a leading historian of republican political thought, challenges this conventional wisdom. He argues that political emancipation and the defense of political liberty have always required the self-sacrifice of people with religious sentiments and a religious devotion to liberty. This is particularly the case when liberty is threatened by authoritarianism: the staunchest defenders of liberty are those who feel a deeply religious commitment to it. Viroli makes his case by reconstructing, for the first time, the history of the Italian "religion of liberty," covering its entire span but focusing on three key examples of political emancipation: the free republics of the late Middle Ages, the Risorgimento of the nineteenth century, and the antifascist Resistenza of the twentieth century. In each example, Viroli shows, a religious spirit that regarded moral and political liberty as the highest goods of human life was fundamental to establishing and preserving liberty. He also shows that when this religious sentiment has been corrupted or suffocated, Italians have lost their liberty. This book makes a powerful and provocative contribution to today's debates about the compatibility of religion and republicanism.
As Iron Sharpens Iron: Building Character in a Mentoring Relationship
by William D. Hendricks Howard G. HendricksThink about the people who influenced your life most. Why did they do it? What did they do? How did they go about it? Answer these questions and you will be hooked on mentoring for the rest of your life. In As Iron Sharpens Iron, respected authors Howard and Bill Hendricks show that the most dramatic spiritual and personal growth often happens through the influence of a mentor. Rooted in biblical principles, this book is both a profound and practical guide to mentoring relationships for men. You'll learn how to: - Identify the kind of mentor you need - Maximize your mentoring relationship - Model your relationship after biblical examples - Grow through the shared wisdom of another believer - Influence others as you replicate the mentoring processWhether you are looking for a mentor or wish to mentor someone else, this book provides specific steps to begin the relationship and make the most of it.
As It Is, Volume 1
by Erik Pema Kunsang Rinpoche Urgyen Tulku, Rinpoche Urgyen TulkuThe teachings presented in As It Is, Volume I are primarily selected from talks given by the Dzogchen master, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, in 1994 and 1995, during the last two years of his life. The unambiguous Buddhist perception of reality is transmitted in profound, simple language by one of the foremost masters in the Tibetan tradition. Dzogchen is to take the final result, the state of enlightenment itself, as path. This is the style of simply picking the ripened fruit or the fully bloomed flowers. Tulku Urgyen's way of communicating this wisdom was to awaken the individual to their potential and reveal the methods to acknowledge and stabilize that prospective. His distinctive teaching style was widely known for its unique directness in introducing students to the nature of mind in a way that allowed immediate experience. This book offers the direct oral instructions of a master who inspired admiration, delight in practice, and deep trust and confidence in the Buddhist way.From the Trade Paperback edition.
As It Is, Volume 2
by Erik Pema Kunsang Marcia Binder Schmidt Rinpoche Urgyen Tulku, Rinpoche Urgyen TulkuThe teachings presented in As It Is, Volume II are primarily selected from talks given by the Dzogchen master, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, in 1994 and 1995, during the last two years of his life. The unambiguous Buddhist perception of reality is transmitted in profound, simple language by one of the foremost masters in the Tibetan tradition. Dzogchen is to take the final result, the state of enlightenment itself, as path. This is the style of simply picking the ripened fruit or the fully bloomed flowers. Tulku Urgyen's way of communicating this wisdom was to awaken the individual to their potential and reveal the methods to acknowledge and stabilize that prospective. His distinctive teaching style was widely known for its unique directness in introducing students to the nature of mind in a way that allowed immediate experience. This book offers the direct oral instructions of a master who inspired admiration, delight in practice, and deep trust and confidence in the Buddhist way.From the Trade Paperback edition.
As It Is, Volume I
by Tulku Urgyen RinpocheProfound teachings on the path of Dzogchen by a realised master
As It Is, Volume II
by Tulku Urgyen RinpocheThe collection of teachings presented in As It Is, Volume II, is selected fromtalks given by the Tibetan meditation master Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche between1994 and 1995. The emphasis in Volume I was on the development stagepractice; Volume II focuses primarily on the completion stage.Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was someone with extraordinary experience andrealization, a fact known throughout the world. It is evident to everyonethat he was unlike anyone else when it came to pointing out the nature ofmind, and making sure that people both recognized it and had some actualexperience.-Khenchen Thrangu RinpocheTulku Urgyen Rinpoche was an incredible master, one who was both learnedand accomplished. The great masters of this time-the 16th Karmapa,Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche-all venerated him as oneof their root gurus and a jewel in their crown ornament. He was someone whoachieved the final realization of the Great Perfection.-Orgyen Tobgyal RinpocheThe difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that sentient beingsare busy fabricating. Our self-existing wakefulness has fallen under the powerof being altered. As long as we continue to do so, we will wander in samsara.Rather than doing that, we need to recognize the nature of mind. I amexplaining this here to give you the idea of how things are. The next step isfor you to experience. Intellectual understanding is not enough. You need toactually taste and realize this self-existing wakefulness. Train till it becomesuninterrupted
As It Is Written: The Genesis Account Literal or Literary?
by Kenneth Gentry Jr.The framework hypothesis or literary framework view has grown in acceptance as more readers of Scripture place “science” as the authority over the interpretation of God’s Word. By re-interpreting Genesis, this view encourages Christians to disregard the plainly shared timeline of creation and instead consider it as merely figurative or poetic rather than historical and accurate. Kenneth Gentry carefully defines the framework hypothesis, while tracing its historical origins and purpose. This provides a helpful introduction both for those who know the framework hypothesis as well as any hearing the term for the first time.<P><P> This important study:<P> - Presents strong exegetical arguments for the six-day creation approach to Genesis<P> - Illustrates the traditional interpretation of Genesis, a survey of exegetical arguments, and responses to alleged problems<P> - Demonstrates the flaws in the framework argument.<P> This book presents in a simple but clear presentation the basic argument for a six-day literal interpretation of Genesis 1. It also explains and rebuts the framework hypothesis, which is a leading view in evangelical academic circles. This book is aimed at intelligent laymen, though with the academic reader in mind, with definitions of technical terms where they are necessary and Greek and Hebrew words transliterated.
As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God
by Eugene Peterson'Sixty years ago I found myself distracted.' So begins the introduction to As Kingfishers Catch Fire. What follows is the record of the collaboration of pastor and congregation in acts of worship and a life together. What Eugene Peterson, for thirty years pastor of a Maryland church, discovered is that the pastor's life is much more than just the preaching. It is also made up of attending to the details in all the circumstances and relationships specific to a people and a place - prayers at a hospital bed, conversations with the elderly, small talk on a street corner. This collection of spiritual writings presents Peterson's distinctive approach designed to communicate to his congregation, and the reader, 'the full counsel of God.' Seven sections containing seven teachings, each expertly crafted to stir the biblical imagination. In these teachings, Peterson walks the reader through Scripture to bring fresh insight to familiar names such as Moses, David, Isaiah, Solomon, Peter, Paul, and John of Patmos.
As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God
by Eugene H. PetersonLiving Out the Word Made Flesh “Sixty years ago I found myself distracted,” Eugene Peterson writes. “A chasm had developed between the way I was preaching from the pulpit and my deepest convictions on what it meant to be a pastor.” And so began Peterson’s journey to live and teach a life of congruence—congruence between preaching and living, between what we do and the way we do it, between what is written in Scripture and how we live out that truth. Nothing captures the biblical foundation for this journey better than Peterson’s teachings over his twenty-nine years as a pastor. As Kingfishers Catch Fire offers a never-before-published collection of these teachings to anyone longing for a richer, truer spirituality. Peterson’s strikingly beautiful prose and deeply grounded insights usher us into a new understanding of how to live out the good news of the Word made flesh. This is one man’s compelling quest to discover not only how to be a pastor but how to be a human being.
As Light Before Dawn: The Inner World of a Medieval Kabbalist
by Eitan P. FishbaneAs Light Before Dawn explores the mystical thought of Isaac ben Samuel of Akko, a major medieval kabbalist whose work has until now received relatively little attention. Through consideration of an extensive literary corpus, including much that still remains in manuscript, this study examines an array of themes and questions that have great applicability to the comparative study of mysticism and the broader study of religion. These include prayer and the nature of mystical experience; meditative concentration directed to God; and the power of mental intention, authority, creativity, and the transmission of wisdom.
As Long as Space Endures: Essays on the Kalacakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama
by Edward A. Arnold Robert A. ThurmanThe Kalacakra Tantra (Kalacakra means "wheel of time") is a tradition of Buddhist theory and practice whose root text treats a fantastic expanse of knowledge ranging from observations of the cosmos to investigations of meditative states and vital bodily energies. In the Tibetan-speaking world, a public Kalacakra initiation remains the most sought-after event in the life of a devout Buddhist. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama has long had a strong connection with the Kalacakra Tantra; he brought the initiation to the West in 1981, performing it in the United States, Switzerland, Spain, and Australia. This volume has been created to celebrate his long involvement with the Kalacakra teachings. The twenty-five contributors, scholars who have made tantric studies their specialty, have contributed translations of works by great Indian and Tibetan Kalacakra masters, analyses of historical figures, methods of practice, essays on medicine ritual expertise, and ethical discipline. The collection also includes practical advice for Western students and practitioners from contemporary Tibetan Kalacakra masters.