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Beyond Sacred Violence: A Comparative Study of Sacrifice
by Kathryn McClymondWinner, 2009 Georgia Author of the Year Award for Creative NonfictionFor many Westerners, the term sacrifice is associated with ancient, often primitive ritual practices. It suggests the death—frequently violent, often bloody—of an animal victim, usually with the aim of atoning for human guilt. Sacrifice is a serious ritual, culminating in a dramatic event. The reality of religious sacrificial acts across the globe and throughout history is, however, more expansive and inclusive.In Beyond Sacred Violence, Kathryn McClymond argues that the modern Western world's reductive understanding of sacrifice simplifies an enormously broad and dynamic cluster of religious activities. Drawing on a comparative study of Vedic and Jewish sacrificial practices, she demonstrates not only that sacrifice has no single, essential, identifying characteristic but also that the elements most frequently attributed to such acts—death and violence—are not universal. McClymond reveals that the world of religious sacrifice varies greatly, including grain-based offerings, precious liquids, and complex interdependent activities. Engagingly argued and written, Beyond Sacred Violence significantly extends our understanding of religious sacrifice and serves as a timely reminder that the field of religious studies is largely framed by Christianity.
Beyond Sacred Violence: A Comparative Study of Sacrifice
by Kathryn McClymondThis award-winning study presents “a thought-provoking examination of sacrifice” that significantly extends our understanding of the practice (James Getz, Journal of Religion).For many Westerners, the term sacrifice suggests ancient and primitive ritual practices. It conjures the notion of slaying an animal victim, usually with the aim of atoning for human guilt. In Beyond Sacred Violence, Kathryn McClymond argues that this reductive understanding of sacrifice overlooks an enormously broad and dynamic cluster of religious activities. Drawing on a comparative study of Vedic and Jewish sacrificial practices, McClymond demonstrates that sacrifice has no single, essential, identifying characteristic. She also shows that the elements most frequently attributed to such acts—death and violence—are not universal. In fact, the world of religious sacrifice varies greatly, including grain-based offerings, precious liquids, and complex interdependent activities.Winner, 2009 Georgia Author of the Year Award for Creative Nonfiction
Beyond Sacred and Secular: Politics of Religion in Israel and Turkey
by Sultan TepeThe global rise of political religion is one of the defining and most puzzling characteristics of current world politics. Since the early 1990s, religious parties have achieved stunning electoral victories around the world. Beyond Sacred and Secular investigates religious politics and its implications for contemporary democracy through a comparison of political parties in Israel and Turkey. While the politics of Judaism and Islam are typically seen as outgrowths of oppositionally different beliefs, Sultan Tepe's comparative inquiry shows how limiting this understanding of religious politics can be. Her cross-country and cross-religion analysis develops a unique approach to identify religious parties' idiosyncratic and shared characteristics without reducing them to simple categories of religious/secular, Judeo-Christian/Islamic, or democratic/antidemocratic. Tepe shows that religious parties in both Israel and Turkey attract broad coalitions of supporters and skillfully inhabit religious and secular worlds simultaneously. They imbue existing traditional ideas with new political messages, blur conventional political lines and allegiances, offer strategic political choices, and exhibit remarkably similar political views. This book's findings will be especially relevant to those who want to pass beyond rudimentary typologies to better assess religious parties' capacities to undermine and contribute to liberal democracy. The Israeli and Turkish cases open a window to better understand the complexities of religious parties. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that the characteristics of religious political parties—whether Jewish, Muslim, or yet another religion—can be as striking in their similarities as in their differences.
Beyond Sectarianism: Ambiguity, Hermeneutics, and the Formations of Religious Identity in Islam
by Tehseen ThaverIn this groundbreaking book, Tehseen Thaver offers a fundamental reevaluation of how one should think about the relationship between the Qur’an, Shi‘ism, and religious identity. Beyond Sectarianism focuses on the literary Arabic Qur’an exegesis of the highly influential yet less studied poet, historian, and exegete al-Sharif al-Radi (d. 1015). Al-Radi’s fascinating interpretations sought to resolve Qur’anic ambiguities or mutashabihat. Through a philologically layered and historically attuned analysis, Thaver argues that al-Radi’s efforts at resolving Qur’anic ambiguities were interlocked with the project of the canonization of the Arabic language.Although he was marked as a Shi‘i scholar, the interpretive and political horizons that informed al-Radi’s scholarly endeavors could not be reduced to predetermined templates of sectarian identity. Rather, Thaver argues, al-Radi was an active participant and beneficiary of critical intellectual currents and debates that animated the wider Muslim humanities during his life, especially on questions of language, poetry, and theology. Thaver thus leads her readers to reconsider their assumptions about the interaction of sectarian identity and scriptural interpretation in the study of Islam and religion.Though centered on the context of late tenth- and eleventh-century Baghdad under the Buyid dynasty, Beyond Sectarianism raises and addresses crucial questions of religious thought and identity with major ramifications for how we imagine the narrative of Islam and the place of sectarianism in it today.
Beyond Sectarianism: The Realignment of American Orthodox Judaism
by Adam S. FerzigerIn 1965 social scientist Charles S. Liebman published a study that boldly declared the vitality of American Jewish Orthodoxy and went on to guide scholarly investigations of the group for the next four decades. As American Orthodoxy continues to grow in geographical, institutional, and political strength, author Adam S. Ferziger argues in Beyond Sectarianism: The Realignment of American Orthodox Judaism that one of Liebman's principal definitions needs to be updated. While Liebman proposed that the "committed Orthodox" --observant rather than nominally affiliated--could be divided into two main streams: "church," or Modern Orthodoxy, and "sectarian," or Haredi Orthodoxy, Ferziger traces a narrowing of the gap between them and ultimately a realignment of American Orthodox Judaism. Ferziger shows that significant elements within Haredi Orthodoxy have abandoned certain strict and seemingly uncontested norms. He begins by offering fresh insight into the division between the American sectarian Orthodox and Modern Orthodox streams that developed in the early twentieth century and highlights New York's Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun as a pioneering Modern Orthodox synagogue. Ferziger also considers the nuances of American Orthodoxy as reflected in Soviet Jewish activism during the 1960s and early 1970s and educational trips to Poland taken by American Orthodox young adults studying in Israel, and explores the responses of prominent rabbinical authorities to Orthodox feminism and its call for expanded public religious roles for women. Considerable discussion is dedicated to the emergence of outreach to nonobservant Jews as a central priority for Haredi Orthodoxy and how this focus outside its core population reflects fundamental changes. In this context, Ferziger presents evidence for the growing influence of Chabad Hasidism - what he terms the "Chabadization of American Orthodoxy." Recent studies, including the 2013 Pew Survey of U.S. Jewry, demonstrate that an active and strongly connected American Orthodox Jewish population is poised to grow in the coming decades. Jewish studies scholars and readers interested in history, sociology, and religion will appreciate Ferziger's reappraisal of this important group.
Beyond Secular Order: The Representation of Being and the Representation of the People (Illuminations: Theory & Religion)
by John MilbankBeyond Secular Order is the first of a two-volume work that expands upon renowned theologian John Milbank’s innovative attempt to understand both theology and modern thought begun in his previously published classic text Theology and Social Theory. Continues Milbank’s innovative attempt to understand both theology and modern thought begun in Theology and Social Theory – considered a classic work in the development of systematic theology Authored by one of the world’s most influential and highly regarded contemporary theologians Draws on a sweep of ideas and thinkers to argue that modern secularism is a form of Christian heresy that developed from the Middle Ages and can only be overcome by a renewed account of Christendom Shows how this heresy can be transformed into a richer blend of religion, modernity and politics Reveals how there is a fundamental homology between modern ideas about ontology and knowledge and modern ideas about political action, expressed in both theory and practice
Beyond Space
by Pascal P. ParenteA book about the angels. The book describes the nature, role and duties of the angelic hosts, as well as their classification etc.
Beyond Studying: A Guide To Faith, Life, and Learning for Students in Health-care Professions
by Richard Huang Eric Chung Richard ChungDiscover how to apply Biblical wisdom to every step of your education, including how to: <p> * Love your colleagues without viewing them as the competition<p> * Interact with staff in a way that honors those evaluating you without compromising your faith<p> * Worship God in your studies<p> * Choose your medical specialty in a way that glorifies God<p> * Tackle being on-call by maximizing your calling as a student and blessing others<p> * Thrive as you gain the confidence that undergirds your training<p><p> And much more. Beyond Studying will shape the course of your personal and professional life as you learn how to grow, toil, and study medicine for the glory of God.
Beyond Suffering Study Guide: A Christian View on Disability Ministry
by Joni Eareckson Tada Joni and Friends Christian Institute on Disability Steve Bundy Pat VerbalCreated by the Joni and Friends Christian Institute on Disability, Beyond Suffering is a comprehensive course that gives an overview of the theological and practical underpinnings of the disability ministry movement. It will equip you to think critically, compassionately and clearly about the complex issues that impact people with disabilities and their families and to confidently bring them the love of Christ.
Beyond Supernature
by Lyall WatsonIn his thought-provoking book, Watson takes a serious look at the world of the supernatural and shows that many paranormal events can be explained by what is already known about the natural world.
Beyond Surgery: Injury, Healing, and Religion at an Ethiopian Hospital
by Anita HannigOver the past few decades, maternal childbirth injuries have become a potent symbol of Western biomedical intervention in Africa, affecting over one million women across the global south. Western-funded hospitals have sprung up, offering surgical sutures that ostensibly allow women who suffer from obstetric fistula to return to their communities in full health. Journalists, NGO staff, celebrities, and some physicians have crafted a stock narrative around this injury, depicting afflicted women as victims of a backward culture who have their fortunes dramatically reversed by Western aid. With Beyond Surgery, medical anthropologist Anita Hannig unsettles this picture for the first time and reveals the complicated truth behind the idea of biomedical intervention as quick-fix salvation. Through her in-depth ethnography of two repair and rehabilitation centers operating in Ethiopia, Hannig takes the reader deep into a world inside hospital walls, where women recount stories of loss and belonging, shame and delight. As she chronicles the lived experiences of fistula patients in clinical treatment, Hannig explores the danger of labeling “culture” the culprit, showing how this common argument ignores the larger problem of insufficient medical access in rural Africa. Beyond Surgery portrays the complex social outcomes of surgery in an effort to deepen our understanding of medical missions in Africa, expose cultural biases, and clear the path toward more effective ways of delivering care to those who need it most.
Beyond Suspicion: The Moral Clash between Rootedness and Progressive Liberalism (University of California Series in Jewish History and Cultures #4)
by Nissim MizrachiA free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. For more than four decades, socially disadvantaged Israeli Mizrahim—descendants of Jews from Middle Eastern and North African communities—have continuously supported right-wing political parties. Scholars, left-wing politicians, and activists tend to view Mizrahim as reacting against their structural exclusion, or more crudely as acting against their own interests, but Nissim Mizrachi locates the source of their so-called paradoxical behavior within the limitations of the liberal grammar by which their outlook and behavior are read. In Beyond Suspicion, Mizrachi turns the direction of inquiry back on itself, contrasting liberal grammar—which values autonomy, equality, and universal reason and morality as the only authentic human choice—with the grammar of rootedness, in which the self is experienced through a web of relational commitments, temporal ties, and codes of collective identity. Recognizing rootedness as a fundamental need and desire for belonging is necessary to understand both scholarly and political rifts in Israel and throughout the world.
Beyond The Desert Gate
by Mary RayPalestine, first century A.D.-the Jews have revolted against Roman occupation. The ten Greek cities of Palestine-the Decapolis-want only to continue their peaceful trading existence, but they find themselves caught in the middle of the uprisings. Apollodorus, a merchant of Philadelphia, takes a risk and rescues a man whom a Roman patrol has left to die in the desert. When Apollodorus is killed by robbers, his three sons are left almost penniless and must each find a way for themselves. Philo, the youngest, is befriended by Xenos, the man saved from the desert, who has lost his memory. From him the boy learns the art of the scribe, and together they try to find their identity-one from the past, the other for the future.br A serious story of an important time in history. Sequel to The Ides of April.
Beyond The Gathering Storm (Canadian West #5)
by Janette OkeHenry, a Canadian Mountie like his father, is caught between the call of duty and the call of his heart. When he informs a young logger's wife of her husband's death, the memory of that loss haunts him for years. Assigned to a new beat five years later, he rediscovers Amber and gains her trust--and eventually her heart.
Beyond The Happy Ending
by Betty T. Smith<P><P>"The fulfillment of dreams and promises kept does not signal that the dance is over. The music plays on and we dance until our Father says it's time to go home. Sometimes we even dance in the rain, but that's OK. We're going beyond!" --Betty T. Smith <P><P> When God makes a promise, His fulfillment always exceeds our expectations. Once we submit to His calling, He takes us beyond our comfort zone into the fullness of life in Christ. Just as parents delight in watching their children grow, God longs to watch His precious children mature and learn to trust Him, pray and read the Word, and seek His will for our lives. <P><P> Beyond the Happy Ending encourages each of us to trust God, and to believe in the life-changing power of prayer. Betty Smith has witnessed reconciliation, restoration, healing and miracles in her own life and in the lives of others. God not only fulfilled His promise to restore her marriage, but He also opened doors and granted divine opportunities for her to travel around the world, bringing the love and message of Christ to people in ways that she could never have imagined.
Beyond The Mist: The Story of Donald and Dorothy Fairley (The\jaffray Collection Of Missionary Portraits Ser.)
by David C. Thompson M.D.To the west of the Great Forest the gray waves of the Atlantic hurl themselves onto the shimmering beaches of Gabon, West Africa. And under the 100,000-square mile canopy of the Great Forest live millions of creatures, including dozens of tribes with strange-sounding names. Mwiri and Bwiti live there too- Mwiri claiming to be the "Guardian of the Forest" and Bwiti, the more powerful god, holding the people of the Great Forest in his cruel and enslaving grip. Into this dark kingdom came young Donald and Dorothy Fairley in 1930. They plunged into the forest, befriended its peoples, engaged the evil powers, preached, and taught. They also constructed homes and churches from raw materials, built a hydroelectric plant and turned 177 acres of the Great Forest, once known as "the place of death," into a place of both spiritual and physical healing. That place is now known as Bongolo. Today, the self-supporting and self-governing Gabon Christian Alliance Church, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, has spread into every province. And what about Mwiri and Bwiti? Their kingdom has been penetrated, their fearsome grip loosened, their dreadful power dispelled in Jesus' name. A riveting, never-to-be-forgotten story of raw human courage and the love of God for all peoples!
Beyond The Mist: The Story of Donald and Dorothy Fairley (The\jaffray Collection Of Missionary Portraits Ser.)
by David C. Thompson M.D.To the west of the Great Forest the gray waves of the Atlantic hurl themselves onto the shimmering beaches of Gabon, West Africa. And under the 100,000-square mile canopy of the Great Forest live millions of creatures, including dozens of tribes with strange-sounding names. Mwiri and Bwiti live there too- Mwiri claiming to be the "Guardian of the Forest" and Bwiti, the more powerful god, holding the people of the Great Forest in his cruel and enslaving grip. Into this dark kingdom came young Donald and Dorothy Fairley in 1930. They plunged into the forest, befriended its peoples, engaged the evil powers, preached, and taught. They also constructed homes and churches from raw materials, built a hydroelectric plant and turned 177 acres of the Great Forest, once known as "the place of death," into a place of both spiritual and physical healing. That place is now known as Bongolo. Today, the self-supporting and self-governing Gabon Christian Alliance Church, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, has spread into every province. And what about Mwiri and Bwiti? Their kingdom has been penetrated, their fearsome grip loosened, their dreadful power dispelled in Jesus' name. A riveting, never-to-be-forgotten story of raw human courage and the love of God for all peoples!
Beyond The Obvious: Bringing Intuition into our Awakening Consciousness
by Dr Christine PageIntuition is our wise, compassionate friend who helps us to clarify decisions, to avoid unpleasant situations and to access the deeper levels of awareness. But beyond this, the intuition awakens us to ourselves, leading us on a journey of enlightenment until we eventually merge with our essential being.The various stages of the pilgrimage are reflected in stories from the author's own life and encourage us to expand our consciousness from the state of "hoping", through the phase of "believing" until we experience the undeniable "knowing".Following many years of fulfillment in the caring professions, Dr Christine Page has become a highly respected international teacher bringing her inspirational talents to the psycho-spiritual field.
Beyond Theology: The Art of Godmanship
by Alan WattsA radical reinterpretation of Christianity by one of the twentieth century’s leading philosophers Today, Alan Watts is remembered mainly as an eloquent interpreter of Eastern philosophies such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism. Not everyone knows that Watts was also a formidable scholar of Christianity who worked as an Episcopal chaplain early in his career. He eventually left the church to find his own spiritual path, but his time there fueled a burst of literary creativity that culminated in Beyond Theology, originally published in 1964 and now back in print. In this landmark work, Watts asks whether a “rigorous, imperious, and invincibly self-righteous” religion such as Christianity can stay relevant in our modern, multicultural world. To answer that question, he deconstructs Christianity by using concepts borrowed from psychology, linguistics, science, and Eastern philosophy. In the process, he solves difficult problems of theology, traces the impact of Christianity on Western culture, and points the way to a new form of nondualistic spirituality. Playing the role of a philosophical jester, Watts artfully deploys paradoxes, riddles, and gently subversive humor to overturn conventional wisdom. His intention is not to hold sacred things up to ridicule but rather to expand our definition of the sacred. The ultimate aim is to help us see beyond the external trappings of religion — beyond ritual, myth, doctrine, and theology itself — to experience the divine within ourselves.
Beyond These Four Walls
by Maryrose OcchinoBorn to a family of "intuitive" women, MaryRose Occhino uses her "celestial whispers" to open the minds and the hearts of everyone who has sought out her remarkable abilities as a link to loved ones who have passed on. But her powers also became her connection to the outside world--both real and spiritual--after she struggled through an isolation that grew out of her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at the age of thirty-nine. Filled with startling revelations, this fascinating book is also MaryRose's own inspiring true story. Watch the trailers for the new SyFy show, "Mary Knows Best"! Watch a Video Watch a Video
Beyond Thinking: A Guide to Zen Meditation
by DogenSpiritual practice is not some kind of striving to produce enlightenment, but an expression of the enlightenment already inherent in all things: Such is the Zen teaching of Dogen Zenji (1200-1253) whose profound writings have been studied and revered for more than seven hundred years, influencing practitioners far beyond his native Japan and the Soto school he is credited with founding. In focusing on Dogen's most practical words of instruction and encouragement for Zen students, this new collection highlights the timelessness of his teaching and shows it to be as applicable to anyone today as it was in the great teacher's own time. Selections include Dogen's famous meditation instructions; his advice on the practice of zazen, or sitting meditation; guidelines for community life; and some of his most inspirational talks. Also included are a bibliography and an extensive glossary.
Beyond Timbuktu: An Intellectual History of Muslim West Africa
by Ousmane Oumar KaneTimbuktu is famous as a center of learning from Islam's Golden Age. Yet it was one among many scholarly centers to exist in precolonial West Africa. Ousmane Kane charts the rise of Muslim learning in West Africa from the beginning of Islam to the present day and corrects lingering misconceptions about Africa's Muslim heritage and its influence.
Beyond Tolerance
by Gustav NiebuhrAt a time when religious conflict and violence seem to dominate the media, distinguished religion journalist Gustav Niebuhr set off across America to find people who are building, not burning, the bridges between faiths. As he travels across the country-from Queens and Baltimore to Louisville and Los Angeles-he finds Buddhists, Catholics, Jews, Baptists, Muslims, and Episcopalians reaching out to one another to find common ground between their faiths. This insightful and deeply felt exploration of the nature of community and religion is a tribute to their efforts and a boost of much-needed optimism that reminds all Americans of their common goals, no matter their faith. .
Beyond Tragedy: Essays on the Christian Interpretation of History
by Reinhold NiebuhrThis book is intended to present Niebuhr's ideas about "Christian Realism" in a way thatwill be useful to people who are thinking about today's social issues.
Beyond Tranquility: Buddhist Meditations in Essay and Verse
by Charles GenoudOne of Buddhism&’s most respected authors inspires readers with a creative and intriguing journey into the heart of Buddhist meditation practice.Beyond Tranquility is an invitation to inner experience. In these pages, one of Buddhism&’s most respected scholar-sages creatively distills decades of practice, reflection, and teaching into essential truths. Touching on the full scope of core Buddhist philosophical and meditation traditions, Charles Genoud draws on ancient Buddhist suttas, masters like Nagarjuna and Dogen, and even seers and philosophers such as Eckhart, Nietzsche, and Sartre, as well as the great innovators of the modern novel and modern dance. Weaving together the wisdom of these great minds in a poetic style uniquely his own, Genoud invites you into the heart of Buddhist meditation and practice. Here, with the immediacy and wry humor of haiku, he proves an astute and subtle guide to the pitfalls and paradoxes that eventually confront every meditator, and to the most skillful ways through them. Genoud&’s powerful, experiential language transmits the meditative experience rather than merely describing it—and his style will resonate with the teachings of Zen and Dzogchen, the writings of contemplative philosophers, and with dancers and other artists whose work is built upon a &“body of presence.&”