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Between Heaven and Russia: Religious Conversion and Political Apostasy in Appalachia (Orthodox Christianity and Contemporary Thought)
by Sarah Riccardi-SwartzHow is religious conversion transforming American democracy? In one corner of Appalachia, a group of American citizens has embraced the Russian Orthodox Church and through it Putin’s New Russia. Historically a minority immigrant faith in the United States, Russian Orthodoxy is attracting Americans who look to Russian religion and politics for answers to Western secularism and the loss of traditional family values in the face of accelerating progressivism. This ethnography highlights an intentional community of converts who are exemplary of much broader networks of Russian Orthodox converts in the United States. These converts sought and found a conservatism more authentic than Christian American Republicanism and a nationalism unburdened by the broken promises of American exceptionalism. Ultimately, both converts and the Church that welcomes them deploy the subversive act of adopting the ideals and faith of a foreign power for larger, transnational political ends.Offering insights into this rarely considered religious world, including its far-right political roots that nourish the embrace of Putin’s Russia, this ethnography shows how religious conversion is tied to larger issues of social politics, allegiance, (anti)democracy, and citizenship. These conversions offer us a window onto both global politics and foreign affairs, while also allowing us to see how particular U.S. communities are grappling with social transformations in the twenty-first century. With broad implications for our understanding of both conservative Christianity and right-wing politics, as well as contemporary Russian–American relations, this book provides insight in the growing constellations of far-right conservatism. While Russian Orthodox converts are more likely to form the moral minority rather than the moral majority, they are an important gauge for understanding the powerful philosophical shifts occurring in the current political climate in the United States and what they might mean for the future of American values, ideals, and democracy.
Between Heaven & Hollywood: Chasing Your God-Given Dream
by David A.R. WhiteBetween Heaven & Hollywood is David&’s inspirational journey from the wheat fields of his Mennonite home outside of Dodge City Kansas, to the bright lights of Los Angeles. This story of perseverance will assure you that your dreams aren&’t frivolous. They might be the most important part of your life. White has starred in more than twenty-five movies and produced forty films, including the blockbuster God&’s Not Dead. He serves as a Managing Partner of Pure Flix, the largest faith-based movie studio in the world. With his signature wit and sidesplitting hilarity, David&’s story of faithfulness, grounded in the biblical truth that no dream is too big for God, will inspire you to relentlessly pursue your dreams, and in the process, bring the reality of God&’s kingdom a little closer to the here and now. God has planted a dream in your heart that is both unique to you and essential to the world. White reminds us that there is no one too common, too uneducated, too poor, too inexperienced, or too broken that he or she cannot be used by God.
Between Humanitarianism and Evangelism in Faith-based Organisations: A Case from the African Migration Route (Routledge Research in Religion and Development)
by May NgoReligion has always played an important, if often contested, role in the public domain. This book focuses on how faith-based organisations (FBOs) interact with the public sphere, showing how faith-based actors are themselves shaped by wider processes and global forces such as globalisation, migration, foreign policy and neoliberal markets. Focusing on a case study of an FBO in Morocco which gives aid to sub-Saharan African irregular migrants, the book reveals some of the challenges the organisation faces as it tries to negotiate at once local, national and international contexts through their particular Christian values. This book contends that the contradictions, tensions and ambiguities that arise are primarily a result of the organisation having to negotiate a normative global secular liberalism which requires a strict demarcation between religion and politics, and religion and the secular. Faith-based actors, particularly within humanitarianism, have to constantly navigate this divide and in examining the question of how religious values translate into humanitarian and development practices, categories such as religion, the secular and politics and the boundaries between them will need to be interrogated. This book explores the diversity and complexity of the work of FBOs and will be of great interest to students and researchers working at the intersections of humanitarianism and development studies, politics and religion.
Between Islam and the American Dream: An Immigrant Muslim Community in Post-9/11 America (Routledge Advances in Sociology #119)
by Yuting WangBased on a three-year ethnographic study of a steadily growing suburban Muslim immigrant congregation in Midwest America, this book examines the micro-processes through which a group of Muslim immigrants from diverse backgrounds negotiate multiple identities while seeking to become part of American society in the years following 9/11. The author looks into frictions, conflicts, and schisms within the community to debunk myths and provide a close-up look at the experiences of ordinary immigrant Muslims in the United States. Instead of treating Muslim immigrants as fundamentally different from others, this book views Muslims as multidimensional individuals whose identities are defined by a number of basic social attributes, including gender, race, social class, and religiosity. Each person portrayed in this ethnography is a complex individual, whose hierarchy of identities is shaped by particular events and the larger social environment. By focusing on a single congregation, this study controls variables related to the particularity of place and presents a “thick” description of interactions within small groups. This book argues that the frictions, conflicts and schisms are necessary as much as inevitable in cultivating a “composite culture” within the American Muslim community marked by diversity, leading it onto the path of Americanization.
Between Jabal ʿAmil, Karbala and Jerusalem: The Lebanese Shi‘a and the Struggle for Palestine (Muslims in Global Societies Series #11)
by Gidon WindeckerThis book tells the story of the Lebanese Shi’a and their development from a marginalized, discriminated minority to a highly politicized community that has given birth to Hezbollah, one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the contemporary Middle East. It explores the Arab-Israeli conflict through the lens of Shi’a intellectuals and scholars from South Lebanon, and chronologically reflects on trending perceptions of Palestine, the Zionist movement, and the Jewish community in Lebanon.The monograph illustrates how Zionism and the establishment of Israel played a decisive role in the intellectual revival of early Muslim perceptions of Jews. It demonstrates how political conflicts after 1948 have impacted the work of scholars such as Musa as-Sadr and Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, and have triggered the formation of social and Islamist movements. It also shows how Hezbollah’s leaders have used religious sources and Western anti-Jewish narratives to construct a deep-rooted ideology to support their struggle for South Lebanon and Palestine. The combination of social needs, religious beliefs and political interests forms the core of the analysis. This text appeals to students and researchers working within the convergence of politics and Middle Eastern religions.
Between Jesus and the Market: The Emotions that Matter in Right-Wing America
by Linda KintzBetween Jesus and the Market looks at the appeal of the Christian right-wing movement in contemporary American politics and culture. In her discussions of books and videotapes that are widely distributed by the Christian right but little known by mainstream Americans, Linda Kintz makes explicit the crucial need to understand the psychological makeup of born-again Christians as well as the sociopolitical dynamics involved in their cause. She focuses on the role of religious women in right-wing Christianity and asks, for example, why so many women are attracted to what is often seen as an antiwoman philosophy. The result, a telling analysis of the complexity and appeal of the "emotions that matter" to many Americans, highlights how these emotions now determine public policy in ways that are increasingly dangerous for those outside familiarity's circle. With texts from such organizations as the Christian Coalition, the Heritage Foundation, and Concerned Women for America, and writings by Elizabeth Dole, Newt Gingrich, Pat Robertson, and Rush Limbaugh, Kintz traces the usefulness of this activism for the secular claim that conservative political economy is, in fact, simply an expression of the deepest and most admirable elements of human nature itself. The discussion of Limbaugh shows how he draws on the skepticism of contemporary culture to create a sense of absolute truth within his own media performance--its truth guaranteed by the market. Kintz also describes how conservative interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, the U. S. Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence have been used to challenge causes such as feminism, women's reproductive rights, and gay and lesbian rights. In addition to critiquing the intellectual and political left for underestimating the power of right-wing grassroots organizing, corporate interests, and postmodern media sophistication, Between Jesus and the Market discusses the proliferation of militia groups, Christian entrepreneurship, and the explosive growth and "selling" of the Promise Keepers.
Between Jewish Tradition and Modernity: Rethinking an Old Opposition, Essays in Honor of David Ellenson
by David N. Myers Michael A. MeyerAlthough the ideas of "tradition" and "modernity" may seem to be directly opposed, David Ellenson, a leading contemporary scholar of modern Jewish thought, understood that these concepts can also enjoy a more fluid relationship. In honor of Ellenson, editors Michael A. Meyer and David N. Myers have gathered contributors for Between Jewish Tradition and Modernity: Rethinking an Old Opposition to examine the permutations and adaptations of these intertwined forms of Jewish expression. Contributions draw from a range of disciplines and scholarly interests and vary in subject from the theological to the liturgical, sociological, and literary. The geographic and historical focus of the volume is on the United States and the State of Israel, both of which have been major sites of inquiry in Ellenson's work. In twenty-one essays, contributors demonstrate that modernity did not simply replace tradition in Judaism, but rather entered into a variety of relationships with it: adopting or adapting certain elements, repossessing rituals that had once been abandoned, or struggling with its continuing influence. In four parts--Law, Ritual, Thought, and Culture--contributors explore a variety of subjects, including the role of reform in Israeli Orthodoxy, traditions of twentieth-century bar/bat mitzvah, end-of-life ethics, tensions between Zionism and American Jewry, and the rise of a 1960s New York Jewish counterculture. An introductory essay also presents an appreciation of Ellenson's scholarly contribution. Bringing together leading Jewish historians, anthropologists, sociologists, philosophers and liturgists, Between Jewish Tradition and Modernity offers a collective view of a historically and culturally significant issue that will be of interest to Jewish scholars of many disciplines.
Between Life and Thought: Existential Anthropology and the Study of Religion
by Don Seeman Devaka PremawardhanaExistential anthropology is an approach inspired by existential and phenomenological thought to further our understanding of the human condition. Its ethnographic methodology emphasizes embodied experience and focuses on what is at stake for people amid the contingencies, struggles, and uncertainties of everyday life. While anthropological research on religion abounds, there has been little systematic attention to the ways anthropology and religious studies might benefit from better consideration of one another or from the adoption of a shared existential perspective. Between Life and Thought gathers leading anthropologists and religion scholars, including some of existential anthropology’s most recognized advocates and thoughtful critics. The collection opens with a comprehensive introduction to phenomenology and existentialism in anthropology and religious studies and concludes with an analysis of how existential anthropology might address the long-standing problem of constructivism and perennialism in religious studies. The chapters altogether present existential anthropology as an especially generative paradigm with which to rethink and remake both anthropology and the academic study of religion. A timely and significant intervention across multiple areas of research, Between Life and Thought is an invaluable source for critically exploring the prospects, as well as the limits, of an anthropological approach to religion grounded in experiential ethnography and existential thought.
Between Lives: Past-Life Regression, Near-Death Experiences, and the Evolution of Consciousness
by Andy Tomlinson Reena Kumarasingham• Explores evidence that shows consciousness exists independent of the brain, drawing on the latest research on savant syndrome, lucid dreaming, telepathy, out-of-body experiences, and past-lives• Draws comparisons and insights from case studies of between-lives regression and near-death experiences—including one of the author&’s own—to illustrate their commonalities and objective reality• Offers tools to raise consciousness, clear past traumas, manage volatile energies, maintain boundaries, and transcend limitationsWhile neuroscience reveals much about the brain, it has not determined the precise relationship between the brain and consciousness. In this book, psychotherapist Andy Tomlinson and regression therapist Reena Kumarasingham probe the depths of this relationship while offering practical ways to develop and raise one&’s own consciousness.The authors examine evidence that supports the existence of consciousness independent of the brain, such as savant syndrome, lucid dreaming, telepathic communication in dreams, mediumship, and out-of-body experiences. They also consider case studies of near-death experiences—including Kumarasingham&’s own—finding commonalities across such phenomena, particularly with between-lives memories gleaned through regression hypnosis. Readers will gain deeper awareness of the spiritual energy imbued within the physical world and learn how to transcend self-imposed limitations.The book also gives exercises to clear stagnant emotional patterns, strengthen relationships, better manage energies, and build effective boundaries. Between Lives offers readers a means to better understand the nature of their consciousness and more effectively embody and optimize their journey through their lives.
Between Man and Man (Routledge Classics)
by Martin BuberScholar, theologian and philosopher, Martin Buber is one of the twentieth century's most influential thinkers. He believed that the deepest reality of human life lies in the relationship between one being and another. Between Man and Man is the classic work where he puts this belief into practice, applying it to the concrete problems of contemporary society. Here he tackles subjects as varied as religious ethics, social philosophy, marriage, education, psychology and art. Including some of his most famous writings, such as the masterful What is Man?, this enlightening work challenges each reader to reassess their encounter with the world that surrounds them.
Between Marriage and the Market: Intimate Politics and Survival in Cairo (Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies #24)
by Homa HoodfarHoma Hoodfar's richly detailed ethnography provides a rare glimpse into the daily life of Arab Muslim families. Focusing on the impact of economic liberalization policies from 1983 to 1993, she shows the crucial role of the household in survival strategies among low-income Egyptians. Hoodfar, an Iranian Muslim by birth, presents research that undermines many of the stereotypes associated with traditional Muslim women. Their apparent conservatism, she says, is based on rational calculation of the costs and benefits of working within formal and informal labor markets to secure household power. She posits that increasing adherence to Islam and taking up the veil on the part of women has been partially motivated by women's desire to protect and promote their interests both within and beyond households.
Between Muslims: Religious Difference in Iraqi Kurdistan (Stanford Studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic Societies and Cultures)
by J. Andrew BushWithin the broad contours of Islamic traditions, Muslims are enjoined to fast during the month of Ramadan, they are invited to a disciplined practice of prayer, and they are offered the Quran as the divine revelation in the most beautiful verbal form. But what happens if Muslims choose not to fast, or give up prayer, or if the Quran's beauty seems inaccessible? When Muslims do not take up the path of piety, what happens to their relationships with more devout Muslims who are neighbors, friends, and kin? Between Muslims provides an ethnographic account of Iraqi Kurdish Muslims who turn away from devotional piety yet remain intimately engaged with Islamic traditions and with other Muslims. Andrew Bush offers a new way to understand religious difference in Islam, rejecting simple stereotypes about ethnic or sectarian identities. Integrating textual analysis of poetry, sermons, and Islamic history into accounts of everyday life in Iraqi Kurdistan, Between Muslims illuminates the interplay of attraction and aversion to Islam among ordinary Muslims.
Between Noon and Three: Romance, Law, and the Outrage of Grace
by Robert Farrar CaponPicture a college town in the mid- 1970s. An English professor who has become an expert in extramarital dalliances is smitten by one of his graduate students. They meet for lunch around noon, and before three they make declarations of love. Is it possible that their subsequent affair could ultimately teach us something about true forgiveness and the radical meaning of grace? Only Robert Farrar Capon would have the audacity — and the authorial skill — to fashion such a tale. It has taken well over a decade for Between Noon and Three to appear in this, its original form. First published under two separate titles with significant parts excised and an entire section recast, the real Between Noon and Three is actually a trilogy of intertwined tales, each of which exhibits Capon's persistent insistence on the outrageous nature of grace. The original manuscript is here printed in full, including a new introduction by Capon on the work's unusual history. Reading sometimes like a provocative novel, sometimes like a theological wrangle between writer and reader, Between Noon and Three defies categorization. Capon sums up the book this way: "Those who read it as a novel are doomed to disappointment: at every turn, the story line entangles itself in theological ropework. On the other hand, those who prefer their theology straight up — no ice, no olives, no twists — will recoil at the plethora of oddments I serve with it, not to mention my penchant for mixing purple prose with low comedy. I always work two sides of the street at once, running from store to store, picking up what strikes my fancy. If you can stand the switching back and forth, it makes for a diverting experience." Diverting, disconcerting, engaging, enlightening — it's pure Capon.
Between Nostalgia and Apocalypse: Popular Music and the Staging of Brazil (Music Culture)
by Daniel B. SharpChronicles the entanglement of traditional and experimental music in northeast Brazil Between Nostalgia and Apocalypse is a close-to-the-ground account of musicians and dancers from Arcoverde, Pernambuco—a small city in the northeastern Brazilian backlands. The book's focus on samba de coco families, marked as bearers of tradition, and the band Cordel do Fogo Encantado, marketed as pop iconoclasts, offers a revealing portrait of performers engaged in new forms of cultural preservation during a post-dictatorship period of democratization and neoliberal reform. Daniel B. Sharp explores how festivals, museums, television, and tourism steep musicians' performances in national-cultural nostalgia, which both provides musicians and dancers with opportunities for cultural entrepreneurship and hinders their efforts to be recognized as part of the Brazilian here-and-now. The book charts how Afro-Brazilian samba de coco became an unlikely emblem in an interior where European and indigenous mixture predominates. It also chronicles how Cordel do Fogo Encantado—drawing upon the sounds of samba de coco, ecstatic Afro-Brazilian religious music, and heavy metal—sought to make folklore dangerous by embodying an apocalyptic register often associated with northeastern Brazil. Publication of this book was supported by AMS 75 PAYS Endowment of the American Musicological Society, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Between One Faith and Another: Engaging Conversations on the World's Great Religions
by Peter KreeftHow do we make sense of the world's different religions? In today's globalized society, religion is deeply intertwined with every issue we see on the news. But talking about multiple religions can be contentious. Are different faiths compatible somehow? And how can we know whether one religion is more true than another? In this creative thought experiment, Peter Kreeft invites us to encounter dialogues on the world's great faiths. His characters Thomas Keptic and Bea Lever are students in Professor Fesser's course on world religions, and the three explore the content and distinctive claims of each. Together they probe the plausibility of major religions, from Hinduism and Buddhism to Christianity and Islam. Along the way they explore how religions might relate to each other and to what extent exclusivism or inclusivism might make sense. Ultimately Kreeft gives us helpful tools for thinking fairly and critically about competing religious beliefs. If the religions are different kinds of music, do they together make harmony or cacophony? Decide for yourself.
Between Orders and Heresy: Rethinking Medieval Religious Movements
by Jennifer Kolpacoff Deane Anne E. LesterBetween Orders and Heresy foregrounds the dynamic, creative, and diverse late medieval religious landscapes that flourished within the spaces of social and ecclesiastical structures. This collection reconsiders the arguments put forward in Herbert Grundmann’s monumental book, Religious Movements in the Middle Ages, and challenges his traditional interpretive binary, recognized as the shared origins of many medieval religious movements. The contributors explore the social relationships fostered between secular clergy members, including parish priests, local canons, and aristocratic confessors, and examine the ways in which laypeople inspired and engaged in devotion beyond religious orders. Each essay in the volume considers a major theme in medieval religious history, such as the implementation of apostolic ideals, pastoral relationships, crusade connections, vernacular traditions, and reform. Organized to historicize and challenge the deeply embedded historiographical tendencies that have long distorted the complex dynamics of the late medieval world, Between Orders and Heresy is a major assessment of medieval religious belief and activity beyond and between the binary of orders and heresies
Between Pagan and Christian
by Christopher P. JonesFor the early Christians, "pagan" referred to a multitude of unbelievers: Greek and Roman devotees of the Olympian gods, and "barbarians" such as Arabs and Germans with their own array of deities. But while these groups were clearly outsiders or idolaters, who and what was pagan depended on the outlook of the observer, as Christopher Jones shows in this fresh and penetrating analysis. Treating paganism as a historical construct rather than a fixed entity, Between Pagan and Christian" uncovers the ideas, rituals, and beliefs that Christians and pagans shared in Late Antiquity. While the emperor Constantine's conversion in 312 was a momentous event in the history of Christianity, the new religion had been gradually forming in the Roman Empire for centuries, as it moved away from its Jewish origins and adapted to the dominant pagan culture. Early Christians drew on pagan practices and claimed important pagans as their harbingers--asserting that Plato, Virgil, and others had glimpsed Christian truths. At the same time, Greeks and Romans had encountered in Judaism observances and beliefs shared by Christians such as the Sabbath and the idea of a single, creator God. Polytheism was the most obvious feature separating paganism and Christianity, but pagans could be monotheists, and Christians could be accused of polytheism and branded as pagans. In the diverse religious communities of the Roman Empire, as Jones makes clear, concepts of divinity, conversion, sacrifice, and prayer were much more fluid than traditional accounts of early Christianity have led us to believe.
Between Pain and Grace: A Biblical Theology of Suffering
by Gerald Peterman Andrew SchmutzerWhy is there suffering? When will it end? Where is God in it?Despite how common suffering is, we still struggle to understand it, and even more to bear through it. Between Pain and Grace gets to the heart of this struggle. Its honest and detailed portrait of life challenges our assumptions about pain, emotion, and God himself. Born from a popular college course on suffering, this book answers critical questions like: Is God personally involved in our pain and suffering? How should Christians handle emotions like grief and anger? What does the Bible say about issues like mental illness, sexual abuse, and family betrayal?Striking an elegant balance between being scholarly and pastoral, Between Pain and Grace is useful in the classroom, churches, and for personal reading. The authors draw from Scripture, personal experience, and even psychological research to offer a well-rounded and trustworthy take on suffering. Between Pain and Grace will give you confidence in God&’s sovereignty, comfort in His presence, and wisdom for life this side of paradise. It will also make you more tender and better prepared to respond to the suffering of others. Read it today for a richer, more realistic relationship with God.
Between Pain and Grace: A Biblical Theology of Suffering
by Gerald Peterman Andrew SchmutzerWhy is there suffering? When will it end? Where is God in it?Despite how common suffering is, we still struggle to understand it, and even more to bear through it. Between Pain and Grace gets to the heart of this struggle. Its honest and detailed portrait of life challenges our assumptions about pain, emotion, and God himself. Born from a popular college course on suffering, this book answers critical questions like: Is God personally involved in our pain and suffering? How should Christians handle emotions like grief and anger? What does the Bible say about issues like mental illness, sexual abuse, and family betrayal?Striking an elegant balance between being scholarly and pastoral, Between Pain and Grace is useful in the classroom, churches, and for personal reading. The authors draw from Scripture, personal experience, and even psychological research to offer a well-rounded and trustworthy take on suffering. Between Pain and Grace will give you confidence in God&’s sovereignty, comfort in His presence, and wisdom for life this side of paradise. It will also make you more tender and better prepared to respond to the suffering of others. Read it today for a richer, more realistic relationship with God.
Between Philosophy and Theology: Contemporary Interpretations of Christianity
by Christophe BrabantLong past the time when philosophers from different perspectives had joined the funeral procession that declared the death of God, a renewed interest has arisen in regard to the questions of God and religion in philosophy. The turn to secularization has produced its own opposing force. Although they declared themselves from the start as not being religious, thinkers such as Derrida, Vattimo, Zizek, and Badiou have nonetheless maintained an interest in religion. This book brings some of these philosophical views together to present an overview of the philosophical scene in its dealings with religion, but also to move beyond the outsider's perspective. Reflecting on these philosophical interpretations from a fundamental theological perspective, the authors discover in what way these interpretations can challenge an understanding of today's faith. Bringing together thinkers with an established reputation - Kearney, Caputo, Ward, Desmond, Hart, Armour - along with young scholars, this book challenges a range of perspectives by putting them in a new context.
Between Qur'an And Crown: The Challenge Of Political Legitimacy In The Arab World
by Tamara SonnThe struggle for political legitimacy in many Middle Eastern countries today poses a dilemma for ruling elites. In order to maintain authority, leaders often must capitulate to Islamic universalist dogma, which may conflict with their own views of the state as well as threaten the legitimacy of other leaders in the region who are attempting to establish a secular, national basis for government. Tracing the roots of this dilemma in Middle Eastern history and Islamic philosophy, Dr. Sonn compares the contemporary Middle Eastern period to Europe’s “Age of Religious Wars†that preceded the emergence of the Western secular state. She describes how a process similar to the organic development of the secular state in Europe was interrupted in the Middle East by oppressive Western colonialism, which eventually led to the Muslim rejection of nationalism and all things “Western†and to the reassertion of Islam as the sole source of political legitimacy. The author shows how the philosophy of Islamic traditionalism opposes the two fundamentals of stable national political systems—a geographical limitation of authority and an institutionalized process for regular changes in leadership. Dr. Sonn bases her argument on an insightful examination of Middle Eastern history, from the formation and disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in the late nineteenth century to the present, and caps it with a detailed look at a possible solution to the dilemma: the teachings of modern scholars who advocate a new “Islamic realism†incorporating a limited definition of national identity and interests while retaining Islamic social goals.
Between Redemption & Perdition: Modern Antisemitism and Jewish Identity (Routledge Library Editions: Jewish History and Identity)
by Robert S. WistrichOriginally published in 1990, this book focuses on the challenge to Jewish identity posed by the conflicting forces of enlightenment, emancipation, modern political antisemitism, and secular ideologies like Zionism, nationalism, and socialism. At the heart of his discussion stands the intense, tortured, and ultimately tragic encounter of Jews with Germans and Austrians. He also deals at length with the new problems of Jewish cultural and political identity posed by the existence of the state of Israel and its embattled position among the nations. In the course of the analysis the book looks at the tragedy of assimilation in central Europe, with the optimistic dream of Enlightenment and Bildung coming to a climax in the nightmare of racial antisemitism and the Holocaust. He explores the ambivalent relationship of the Jews with the European Left, showing how many Jewish intellectuals found a new political home in radical and socialist movements, though these movements often retained negative stereotypes of Jews and Judaism and exhibited a fierce opposition to the maintenance of any separate Jewish identity. The role of Zionism is discussed and the more recent challenges to its legitimacy examined.
Between Religious Rocks and Life's Hard Places: 101 Answers to Tough Questions about What You Believe
by Greg AlbrechtThis easy-to-use resource offers 101 meaty responses to tough questions you'll field from family, friends, and co-workers. Or even yourself. Greg Albrecht doesn't know it all or pretend to, but he never backs away from heartfelt dialogue on subjects as diverse as cremation, homosexuality, church-hopping, mental illness, and cohabitation. Beyond a firm defense of the faith, he presents answers to issues small and large, to dilemmas that have bedeviled believers for generations. At the heart, these 101 questions and answers provide fodder for thoughtful inquiry, and scriptural enlightenment minus mangled proof texts. Best of all, Albrecht doesn't condescend, doesn't assume, but just responds to authentic concerns with timely answers.
Between State and Synagogue
by Guy Ben-PoratA thriving, yet small, liberal component in Israeli society has frequently taken issue with the constraints imposed by religious orthodoxy, largely with limited success. However, Guy Ben-Porat suggests, in recent years, in part because of demographic changes and in part because of the influence of an increasingly consumer-oriented society, dramatic changes have occurred in secularization of significant parts of public and private lives. Even though these fissures often have more to do with lifestyle choices and economics than with political or religious ideology, the demands and choices of a secular public and a burgeoning religious presence in the government are becoming ever more difficult to reconcile. The evidence, which the author has accrued from numerous interviews and a detailed survey, is nowhere more telling than in areas that demand religious sanction such as marriage, burial, the sale of pork, and the operation of businesses on the Sabbath.
Between Sundays
by Shawn CraigYou've experienced it -- the spiritual let-down on Monday after Sunday worship that keeps spiraling down until the next first-day fellowship. How do you overcome that deflating feeling? How do you maintain your Sunday fervor of faith Monday through Saturday? Between Sundays by Shawn Craig is the place to start. Shawn Craig is best known for being the middle name in Philips, Craig and Dean, but in this artfully crafted, spiritually sensitive book, Craig proves himself a sound author who feels a deep devotion to God and his people. While making this book a daily part of your spiritual devotions, you will feel as if Craig is personally familiar with your life . . . and he is. In his work as a pastor, his life is a daily course in helping others pursue Christ. Open the pages of this book and accept Craig's invitation to "walk with me in pursuit of God." Your faith will be transformed to equip you to face the toughest days of your week.