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Italian Youth in International Context: Belonging, Constraints and Opportunities (Youth, Young Adulthood and Society)
by Valentina Cuzzocrea; Barbara Giovanna Bello; Yuri KazepovItaly is not a country for young people. Why? This book provides a unique and in-depth collection of empirical and theoretical material providing multiple answers to this question whilst investigating the living conditions of young people in Italy today. By bringing together a variety of approaches and methods, the authors of this collection analyze Italian youth through the lenses of three dimensions: ‘Activism, participation and citizenship’, ‘Work, Employment and Careers’ and ‘Moves, Transitions and Representations’. These dimensions are the analytical building blocks for challenging stereotypes and unveiling misinterpretations and taken-for-granted assumptions that portray young people in Italy as selfish, ‘choosy’, and unwilling to make sacrifices, commit and manage an independent life. These prejudices often underplay the role of constraints they are facing in the transition to adulthood. Studying Italian youth, therefore, not only allows us to capture their peculiar characteristics but also to reflect more broadly on the conceptual toolbox we need in order to understand contemporary youth more generally. By doing so, the volume aims to contribute to international discussion on the youth condition in Europe. The Introduction of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.
Jack: A Novel
by Marilynne Robinson'Grace and intelligence ...[her work] defines universal truths about what it means to be human' Barack ObamaMarilynne Robinson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the American National Humanities Medal, returns to the world of Gilead with Jack, the final in one of the great works of contemporary American fiction.Jack tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the loved and grieved-over prodigal son of a Presbyterian minister in Gilead, Iowa, a drunkard and a ne'er-do-well. In segregated St. Louis sometime after World War II, Jack falls in love with Della Miles, an African-American high school teacher, also a preacher's child, with a discriminating mind, a generous spirit and an independent will. Their fraught, beautiful story is one of Robinson's greatest achievements.
Jaguars of the Dawn: Spirit Mediumship in the Brazilian Vale do Amanhecer
by Emily PieriniThe Brazilian Spiritualist Christian Order Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) is the place where the worlds of the living and the spirits merge and the boundaries between lives are regularly crossed. Drawing upon over a decade of extensive fieldwork in temples of the Amanhecer in Brazil and Europe, the author explores how mediums understand their experiences and how they learn to establish relationships with their spirit guides. She sheds light on the ways in which mediumistic development in the Vale do Amanhecer is used for therapeutic purposes and informs notions of body and self, of illness and wellbeing.
Jainism and Environmental Politics (Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability)
by Aidan RankinThis book explores the ways in which the ecologically centred Indian philosophy of Jainism could introduce a new and non-western methodology to environmental politics, with the potential to help the green movement find new audiences and a new voice. Aidan Rankin begins with a description of the ideas and principles that distinguish Jainism from other Indian (and western) philosophies. He goes on to compare and contrast these principles with those of current environmental politics and to demonstrate the specific ways in which Jain ideas can assist in driving the movement forward. These include the reduction of material consumption, the ethical conduct of business within sustainable limits, and the avoidance of exploitative relationships with fellow humans, animals and ecosystems. Overall, the book argues that Jain pluralism could be a powerful tool for engaging non-western societies with environmental politics, allowing for an inclusive approach to a global ecological problem. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental politics, environmental philosophy, comparative religions and Jainism.
Jainism and Environmental Politics (Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability)
by Aidan RankinThis book explores the ways in which the ecologically centred Indian philosophy of Jainism could introduce a new and non-western methodology to environmental politics, with the potential to help the green movement find new audiences and a new voice. Aidan Rankin begins with a description of the ideas and principles that distinguish Jainism from other Indian (and western) philosophies. He goes on to compare and contrast these principles with those of current environmental politics and to demonstrate the specific ways in which Jain ideas can assist in driving the movement forward. These include the reduction of material consumption, the ethical conduct of business within sustainable limits, and the avoidance of exploitative relationships with fellow humans, animals and ecosystems. Overall, the book argues that Jain pluralism could be a powerful tool for engaging non-western societies with environmental politics, allowing for an inclusive approach to a global ecological problem. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental politics, environmental philosophy, comparative religions and Jainism.
James Alison and a Girardian Theology: Conversion, Theological Reflection, and Induction
by John P. EdwardsThis book connects “mimetic theory”, as developed by René Girard, to the practice of theological reflection within Christian theology. John P. Edwards explores the work of the contemporary, Catholic theologian and 'Girardian', James Alison, both as an under-examined bridge for bringing mimetic theory into conversation with Christian theological method and as one of the most compelling and refreshing theological voices of the 21st century. While Alison's theological corpus is growing steadily, very little work has been done (by him or others) to articulate his own theological method – a method that he describes concisely as a “theology in the order of the discovery” and which Edwards describes as “inductive theology.” Edwards contributes to the ongoing study of Girard by arguing that Alison's theological project outstrips Girard's application of mimetic theory to theology. He argues that an explicit Christian theological perspective is necessary for providing a fully coherent account of the meaning of "conversion" and "mimetic desire" within a Girardian perspective. Edwards' development of Alison's “inductive” theology advances the conversation between mimetic theory and theology, simultaneously serving the growing number of scholars from a range of disciplines already engaged with Girard and opening a new doorway through which more Christian theologians might be enticed to consider Girard and 'Girardians' as dialogue partners rich in theological insight.
The Jefferson Bible: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books #58)
by Peter ManseauThe life and times of a uniquely American testamentIn his retirement, Thomas Jefferson edited the New Testament with a penknife and glue, removing all mention of miracles and other supernatural events. Inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment, Jefferson hoped to reconcile Christian tradition with reason by presenting Jesus of Nazareth as a great moral teacher—not a divine one. Peter Manseau tells the story of the Jefferson Bible, exploring how each new generation has reimagined the book in its own image as readers grapple with both the legacy of the man who made it and the place of religion in American life.Completed in 1820 and rediscovered by chance in the late nineteenth century after being lost for decades, Jefferson's cut-and-paste scripture has meant different things to different people. Some have held it up as evidence that America is a Christian nation founded on the lessons of the Gospels. Others see it as proof of the Founders' intent to root out the stubborn influence of faith. Manseau explains Jefferson's personal religion and philosophy, shedding light on the influences and ideas that inspired him to radically revise the Gospels. He situates the creation of the Jefferson Bible within the broader search for the historical Jesus, and examines the book's role in American religious disputes over the interpretation of scripture. Manseau describes the intrigue surrounding the loss and rediscovery of the Jefferson Bible, and traces its remarkable reception history from its first planned printing in 1904 for members of Congress to its persistent power to provoke and enlighten us today.
The Jefferson Bible: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books #58)
by Peter ManseauThe life and times of a uniquely American testamentIn his retirement, Thomas Jefferson edited the New Testament with a penknife and glue, removing all mention of miracles and other supernatural events. Inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment, Jefferson hoped to reconcile Christian tradition with reason by presenting Jesus of Nazareth as a great moral teacher—not a divine one. Peter Manseau tells the story of the Jefferson Bible, exploring how each new generation has reimagined the book in its own image as readers grapple with both the legacy of the man who made it and the place of religion in American life.Completed in 1820 and rediscovered by chance in the late nineteenth century after being lost for decades, Jefferson's cut-and-paste scripture has meant different things to different people. Some have held it up as evidence that America is a Christian nation founded on the lessons of the Gospels. Others see it as proof of the Founders' intent to root out the stubborn influence of faith. Manseau explains Jefferson's personal religion and philosophy, shedding light on the influences and ideas that inspired him to radically revise the Gospels. He situates the creation of the Jefferson Bible within the broader search for the historical Jesus, and examines the book's role in American religious disputes over the interpretation of scripture. Manseau describes the intrigue surrounding the loss and rediscovery of the Jefferson Bible, and traces its remarkable reception history from its first planned printing in 1904 for members of Congress to its persistent power to provoke and enlighten us today.
The Jefferson Bible: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books #58)
by Peter ManseauThe life and times of a uniquely American testamentIn his retirement, Thomas Jefferson edited the New Testament with a penknife and glue, removing all mention of miracles and other supernatural events. Inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment, Jefferson hoped to reconcile Christian tradition with reason by presenting Jesus of Nazareth as a great moral teacher—not a divine one. Peter Manseau tells the story of the Jefferson Bible, exploring how each new generation has reimagined the book in its own image as readers grapple with both the legacy of the man who made it and the place of religion in American life.Completed in 1820 and rediscovered by chance in the late nineteenth century after being lost for decades, Jefferson's cut-and-paste scripture has meant different things to different people. Some have held it up as evidence that America is a Christian nation founded on the lessons of the Gospels. Others see it as proof of the Founders' intent to root out the stubborn influence of faith. Manseau explains Jefferson's personal religion and philosophy, shedding light on the influences and ideas that inspired him to radically revise the Gospels. He situates the creation of the Jefferson Bible within the broader search for the historical Jesus, and examines the book's role in American religious disputes over the interpretation of scripture. Manseau describes the intrigue surrounding the loss and rediscovery of the Jefferson Bible, and traces its remarkable reception history from its first planned printing in 1904 for members of Congress to its persistent power to provoke and enlighten us today.
Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives: The Lost Story of Enslaved Africans, their Arabic Letters, and an American President
by Jeffrey EinbodenOn October 3, 1807, Thomas Jefferson was contacted by an unknown traveler urgently pleading for a private "interview" with the President, promising to disclose "a matter of momentous importance". By the next day, Jefferson held in his hands two astonishing manuscripts whose history has been lost for over two centuries. Authored by Muslims fleeing captivity in rural Kentucky, these documents delivered to the President in 1807 were penned by literate African slaves, and written entirely in Arabic. Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives reveals the untold story of two escaped West Africans in the American heartland whose Arabic writings reached a sitting U.S. President, prompting him to intervene on their behalf. Recounting a quest for emancipation that crosses borders of race, region and religion, Jeffrey Einboden unearths Arabic manuscripts that circulated among Jefferson and his prominent peers, including a document from 1780s Georgia which Einboden identifies as the earliest surviving example of Muslim slave authorship in the newly-formed United States. Revealing Jefferson's lifelong entanglements with slavery and Islam, Jefferson's Muslim Fugitives tracks the ascent of Arabic slave writings to the highest halls of U.S. power, while questioning why such vital legacies from the American past have been entirely forgotten.
Jeremiah Through the Centuries (Wiley Blackwell Bible Commentaries)
by Mary Chilton CallawayExplores the interpretive history of the Book of Jeremiah, and highlights the various ways it has influenced the cultures in which it was read Jeremiah Through the Centuries explores the reception history of the sixth century B.C.E. prophet, providing original commentary on the texts and traditions that continue to deeply impact readers by exemplifying the spiritual struggle of the faithful. Focusing on the Book of Jeremiah, the text presents an original theory about the effects of Jeremiah on the developing idea of the self in Western history and culture, particularly over the last 400 years, in a wide range of liturgical, political, artistic, literary, and cultural contexts. The book guides readers through various interpretations of Jeremiah’s poetry and prose, discussing the profound influence that Jeremiah and Western culturehave had on each other through the centuries. Significant texts from every chapter of Jeremiah are presented in a chronological narrative as both conversation and debate—enabling readers to encounter the prophet in the text of the Bible, in previous interpretations, and in the context of their own lives. Throughout the text, the receptions reflect historical contexts and highlight the ways they shaped specific receptions of Jeremiah. This book: Illustrates how the Book of Jeremiah was adapted by readers to face new challenges, both in the past and present Includes examples of Jeremiah in social satire, Islamic tradition, political debate, and religious controversy Provides a detailed introduction that traces Jeremiah’s influence on events and traditions Offers insights into both celebrated texts and lesser-known passages that are relevant to contemporary readers Features numerous, previously unpublished, illustrations, demonstrating the influence of Jeremiah on traditions in Western art Featuring engaging narrative and expert commentary, Jeremiah Through the Centuries is ideal for students, teachers, and general readers with interest in theology and biblical studies, Judaic studies, ancient literature, cultural criticism, reception history of the Bible, and the history of Western civilization.
Jeremiah Through the Centuries (Wiley Blackwell Bible Commentaries)
by Mary Chilton CallawayExplores the interpretive history of the Book of Jeremiah, and highlights the various ways it has influenced the cultures in which it was read Jeremiah Through the Centuries explores the reception history of the sixth century B.C.E. prophet, providing original commentary on the texts and traditions that continue to deeply impact readers by exemplifying the spiritual struggle of the faithful. Focusing on the Book of Jeremiah, the text presents an original theory about the effects of Jeremiah on the developing idea of the self in Western history and culture, particularly over the last 400 years, in a wide range of liturgical, political, artistic, literary, and cultural contexts. The book guides readers through various interpretations of Jeremiah’s poetry and prose, discussing the profound influence that Jeremiah and Western culturehave had on each other through the centuries. Significant texts from every chapter of Jeremiah are presented in a chronological narrative as both conversation and debate—enabling readers to encounter the prophet in the text of the Bible, in previous interpretations, and in the context of their own lives. Throughout the text, the receptions reflect historical contexts and highlight the ways they shaped specific receptions of Jeremiah. This book: Illustrates how the Book of Jeremiah was adapted by readers to face new challenges, both in the past and present Includes examples of Jeremiah in social satire, Islamic tradition, political debate, and religious controversy Provides a detailed introduction that traces Jeremiah’s influence on events and traditions Offers insights into both celebrated texts and lesser-known passages that are relevant to contemporary readers Features numerous, previously unpublished, illustrations, demonstrating the influence of Jeremiah on traditions in Western art Featuring engaging narrative and expert commentary, Jeremiah Through the Centuries is ideal for students, teachers, and general readers with interest in theology and biblical studies, Judaic studies, ancient literature, cultural criticism, reception history of the Bible, and the history of Western civilization.
Jesus as Teacher in the Gospel of Mark: The Function of a Motif (The Library of New Testament Studies)
by Evan HershmanEvan Hershman seeks to examine Mark's portrayal of Jesus as teacher in comparison with portrayals of teachers in contemporary Greco-Roman literature, and argues that the teaching motif in Mark is used in highly distinctive ways. He argues that careful study reveals Mark's use of the trope does not aim to expound a fully fleshed-out ethical agenda, but rather to emphasize Jesus's unique authority, incorporate conflicts with other claimants to authority into the Gospel narrative, and persuade the gospel audience to accept his Christological vision and its demands on their lives.Hershman develops these three related themes behind the motif of moral instruction, and offers suggestions for how this portrayal of Jesus fits with the historical and social context in which the Gospel was written. By analyzing not only teaching and authority throughout Mark, but also numerous Greek and Greco-Roman texts concerning teachers and learning, Hershman creates a new reading of significant Markan passages - such as the parables discourse and the temple incident - in light of a focus on the importance of Jesus's teachings to the plot of the Gospel.
The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha
by Jonathan Klawans Lawrence M. WillsBuilding on the success of the Jewish Annotated New Testament (JANT) and the Jewish Study Bible (JSB), Oxford University Press now proceeds to complete the trilogy with the Jewish Annotated Apocrypha (JAA). The books of the Apocrypha were virtually all composed by Jewish writers in the Second Temple period. Excluded from the Hebrew Bible, these works were preserved by Christians. Yet no complete, standalone edition of these works has been produced in English with an emphasis on Jewish tradition or with an educated Jewish audience in mind. The JAA meets this need. The JAA differs from prior editions of the Apocrypha in a number of ways. First, as befits a Jewish Annotated Apocrypha, the volume excludes certain texts that are widely agreed to be of Christian origin. Second, it expands the scope of the volume to include Jubilees, an essential text for understanding ancient Judaism, and a book that merits inclusion in the volume by virtue of the fact that it was long considered part of the canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (the text is also revered by Ethiopian Jews). Third, it has restructured the order of the books so that the sequencing follows the logic that governs the order of the books in the Jewish canon (Law, History, Prophecy, Wisdom and Poetry). Using the NRSV translation (plus Jubilees), each book of the Apocrypha is annotated by a recognized expert in the study of ancient Judaism. An Introduction by the editors guides readers though the making of the volume and its contents. Thematic essays by an impressive array of scholars provide helpful contexts, backgrounds and elaborations on key themes.
Jewish Exiles’ Psychological Interpretations of Nazism
by Avihu ZakaiThis book examines works of four German-Jewish scholars who, in their places of exile, sought to probe the pathology of the Nazi mind: Wilhelm Reich’s The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933), Erich Fromm’s Escape from Freedom (1941), Siegfried Kracauer’s From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film (1947), and Erich Neumann’s Depth Psychology and a New Ethic (1949). While scholars have examined these authors’ individual legacies, no comparative analysis of their shared concerns has yet been undertaken, nor have the content and form of their psychological inquiries into Nazism been seriously and systematically analyzed. Yet, the sense of urgency in their works calls for attention. They all took up their pens to counter Nazi barbarism, believing, like the English jurist and judge Sir William Blackstone, who wrote in 1753 - scribere est agere ("to write is to act").
Jewish Folk Tales in Britain and Ireland
by Liz BergThe Jews have long lived in Britain. They arrived with William the Conqueror and were accountants to his son, William Rufus. Here are tales from the time of Joseph of Arimathea arriving in Cornwall through to the present-day tales being told in communities across the country, all incorporating the wit and magic of a rich and varied culture successfully integrated into Britain.
Jewish Morocco: A History from Pre-Islamic to Postcolonial Times
by Emily Benichou GottreichThe history of Morocco cannot effectively be told without the history of its Jewish inhabitants. Their presence in Northwest Africa pre-dates the rise of Islam and continues to the present day, combining elements of Berber (Amazigh), Arab, Sephardi and European culture. Emily Gottreich examines the history of Jews in Morocco from the pre-Islamic period to post-colonial times, drawing on newly acquired evidence from archival materials in Rabat. Providing an important reassessment of the impact of the French protectorate over Morocco, the author overturns widely accepted views on Jews' participation in Moroccan nationalism - an issue often marginalized by both Zionist and Arab nationalist narratives - and breaks new ground in her analysis of Jewish involvement in the istiqlal and its aftermath. Fitting into a growing body of scholarship that consciously strives to integrate Jewish and Middle Eastern studies, Emily Gottreich here provides an original perspective by placing pressing issues in contemporary Moroccan society into their historical, and in their Jewish, contexts.
The Jews and the Reformation
by Kenneth AustinJudaism has always been of great significance to Christianity but this relationship has also been marked by complexity and ambivalence. The emergence of new Protestant confessions in the Reformation had significant consequences for how Jews were viewed and treated. In this wide-ranging account, Kenneth Austin examines Christian attitudes toward Jews, the Hebrew language, and Jewish learning, arguing that they have much to tell us about the Reformation and its priorities—and have important implications for how we think about religious pluralism today.
Jews at Work: Their Economic Progress in the American Labor Market (Studies of Jews in Society #2)
by Barry R. ChiswickThis book addresses the educational, occupational, and income progress of Jews in the American labor market. Using theoretical and statistical findings, it compares the experience of American Jews with that of other Americans, from the middle of the 19th century through the 20th and into the early 21st century.Jews in the United States have been remarkably successful; from peddlers and low-skilled factory workers, clearly near the bottom of the economic ladder, they have, as a community, risen to the top of the economic ladder. The papers included in this volume, all authored or co-authored by Barry Chiswick, address such issues as the English language proficiency, occupational attainment and earnings of Jews, educational and labor market discrimination against Jews, life cycle and labor force participation patterns of Jewish women, and historical and methodological issues, among many others. The final chapter analyzes alternative explanations for the consistently high level of educational and economic achievement of American Jewry over the past century and a half. The chapters in this book also develop and demonstrate the usefulness of alternative techniques for identifying Jews in US Census and survey data where neither religion nor Jewish ethnicity is explicitly identified. This methodology is also applicable to the study of other minority groups in the US and in other countries.
Jews, Liberalism, Antisemitism: A Global History (Palgrave Critical Studies of Antisemitism and Racism)
by Abigail Green Simon Levis Sullam“This is a timely contribution to some of the most pressing debates facing scholars of Jewish Studies today. It forces us to re-think standard approaches to both antisemitism and liberalism. Its geographic scope offers a model for how scholars can “provincialize” Europe and engage in a transnational approach to Jewish history. The book crackles with intellectual energy; it is truly a pleasure to read.”- Jessica M. Marglin, University of Southern California, USAGreen and Levis Sullam have assembled a collection of original, and provocative essays that, in illuminating the historic relationship between Jews and liberalism, transform our understanding of liberalism itself. - Derek Penslar, Harvard University, USA“This book offers a strikingly new account of Liberalism’s relationship to Jews. Previous scholarship stressed that Liberalism had to overcome its abivalence in order to achieve a principled stand on granting Jews rights and equality. This volume asserts, through multiple examples, that Liberalism excluded many groups, including Jews, so that the exclusion of Jews was indeed integral to Liberalism and constitutive for it. This is an important volume, with a challenging argument for the present moment.”- David Sorkin, Yale University, USAThe emancipatory promise of liberalism – and its exclusionary qualities – shaped the fate of Jews in many parts of the world during the age of empire. Yet historians have mostly understood the relationship between Jews, liberalism and antisemitism as a European story, defined by the collapse of liberalism and the Holocaust. This volume challenges that perspective by taking a global approach. It takes account of recent historical work that explores issues of race, discrimination and hybrid identities in colonial and postcolonial settings, but which has done so without taking much account of Jews. Individual essays explore how liberalism, citizenship, nationality, gender, religion, race functioned differently in European Jewish heartlands, in the Mediterranean peripheries of Spain and the Ottoman empire, and in the North American Atlantic world.
Jihadists Of North Africa And The Sahel: Local Politics And Rebel Groups (PDF)
by Alexander ThurstonJihadist movements have claimed that they are merely vehicles for the application of God's word, distancing themselves from politics, which they call dirty and manmade. Yet on closer examination, jihadist movements are immersed in politics, negotiating political relationships not just with the forces surrounding them, but also within their own ranks. Drawing on case studies from North Africa and the Sahel - including Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania - this study examines jihadist movements from the inside, uncovering their activities and internal struggles over the past three decades. Highlighting the calculations that jihadist field commanders and clerics make, Alexander Thurston shows how leaders improvise, both politically and religiously, as they adjust to fast-moving conflicts. Featuring critical analysis of Arabic-language jihadist statements, this book offers unique insights into the inner workings of jihadist organisations and sheds new light on the phenomenon of mass-based jihadist movements and proto-states.
Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: An Introduction and Study Guide (T&T Clark’s Study Guides to the Old Testament)
by Tchavdar S. HadjievTchavdar S. Hadjiev introduces students to the books of Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (the Minor Prophets) in their original historical contexts and to the issues surrounding their composition and interpretation.Hadjiev pays particular attention to important topics such as eschatology, prophecy and cult, intertextuality, theodicy and the genre of the prophetic book. Readers will come to grips with the key themes of judgment, repentance, and salvation in relation to their historical and canonical contexts. Finally, Hadjiev provides a theological evaluation of the prophetic attitude to foreigners and the vision of their final destruction, which is pervasive in Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah, and helps readers to grapple with this theme in a modern context.
John: History, Community, and Ideology (T&T Clark’s Study Guides to the New Testament)
by Francisco Lozada JrThis study guide introduces gospel of John, also known as the Fourth Gospel, from an ideological perspective. First, Lozada deals with the key historical questions about how we come to understand John's historical identity. Lozada explores debates around how scholars construct a picture of who, where, when, and why John was written helping readers to recognize how scholars construct an historical identity for John. Second, Lozada introduces literary questions related to John such as its structure, plot, and narrative development, showing readers on how an ideological reading is constructed. Finally Lozada devotes three chapters to key ideological themes in the gospel related to otherness, such as the portrayal of women, the Samaritan woman, and “the Jews.”
John among the Apocalypses: Jewish Apocalyptic Tradition and the 'Apocalyptic' Gospel
by Benjamin E. ReynoldsThe Gospel of John has long been recognized as being distinct from the Synoptic Gospels. John among the Apocalypses explains John's distinctive narrative of Jesus's life by comparing it to Jewish apocalypses and highlighting the central place of revelation in the Gospel. While some scholars have noted a connection between the Gospel of John and Jewish apocalypses, Reynolds makes the first extensive comparison of the Gospel with the standard definition of the apocalypse genre. Engaging with modern genre theory, this comparison indicates surprising similarities of form, content, and function between John's Gospel and Jewish apocalypses. Even though the Gospel of John reflects similarities with the genre of apocalypse, John is not an apocalypse, but in genre theory terms, John may be described as a gospel in kind and an apocalypse in mode. John's narrative of Jesus's life has been qualified and shaped by the genre of apocalypse, such that it may be called an 'apocalyptic' gospel. In the final two chapters, Reynolds explores the implications of this conclusion for Johannine Studies and New Testament scholarship more broadly. John among the Apocalypses considers how viewing the Fourth Gospel as apocalyptic Gospel aids in the interpretation of John's appeal to Israel's Scriptures and Mosaic authority, and examines the Gospel's relationship with the book of Revelation and the history of reception concerning their writing. An examination of Byzantine iconographic traditions highlights how reception history may offer a possible explanation for reading John as apocalyptic Gospel.
John of the Cross: Desire, Transformation, and Selfhood (Christian Theology in Context)
by Sam HoleThrough the 'dark night of the soul' to the depiction of the erotically-charged union of the soul and God, the poetry and prose works of the Spanish friar John of the Cross (1542-1591) offer a striking account of the transformation of the individual in the course of the Christian life. John of the Cross: Desire, Transformation, and Selfhood argues that these writings are animated by John's own creative and subtly conceptualized notion of erotic desire. John's understanding of desire has the potential to enrich recent theological discussion of the subject, but it has been curiously neglected in past scholarship. To correct this lacuna, this study undertakes a detailed historical analysis in three parts. Firstly, it attends to the patristic, medieval, and sixteenth-century Spanish influences on John's writings, showing how John reworks a long tradition of biblical, Christian, and Platonic reflection on the concept. Secondly, it traces the importance of desire through John's writings, demonstrating how he develops the theme through his poetry, his anthropology of the soul, and his account of the spiritual ascent. Thirdly, it explores the reception of his writings in the twentieth century, demonstrating how particular modern philosophical and theological commitments have prevented scholars from recognising the rich and distinctive shape of John's theological vision. John's account of the transformation of the self, with its hopeful vision of the graced transformation of the soul's desires, has significance beyond the constrained modern categories of systematic theology, Christian spirituality, pastoral theology, and mysticism—it is a vision that is worthy of recovery today.