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The Phenomenology of Play: Encountering Eugen Fink
Eugen Fink's deep engagement with the phenomenon of play saw him transcend his two towering mentors, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, to become a crucial figure in early 20th-century phenomenology. The Phenomenology of Play draws on Fink's concept of play to build a picture of his philosophy, from its foundations to its applications. The book's three sections focus on the building blocks of Fink's phenomenology of play, how his work maps onto the broader history of philosophy, and finally how his writing can be applied to contexts from education and care to politics and religion. This rich account of Fink's contribution to theories of play demonstrates its immense value and fundamental importance to human existence. Relating Fink's work to that of his contemporaries and predecessors like Husserl, Heidegger, Schiller, Gadamer, Nietzsche and Sartre shows the range and importance of his ideas to modern European thought. The Phenomenology of Play also features newly translated material including notes from conversations between Fink and Heidegger, and Fink's own essay 'Mask and Cothurnus' on ancient theatre – which shed new light on his philosophical enquiries.
The Phenomenology of Play: Encountering Eugen Fink
by Steve StaklandEugen Fink's deep engagement with the phenomenon of play saw him transcend his two towering mentors, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, to become a crucial figure in early 20th-century phenomenology. The Phenomenology of Play draws on Fink's concept of play to build a picture of his philosophy, from its foundations to its applications. The book's three sections focus on the building blocks of Fink's phenomenology of play, how his work maps onto the broader history of philosophy, and finally how his writing can be applied to contexts from education and care to politics and religion. This rich account of Fink's contribution to theories of play demonstrates its immense value and fundamental importance to human existence. Relating Fink's work to that of his contemporaries and predecessors like Husserl, Heidegger, Schiller, Gadamer, Nietzsche and Sartre shows the range and importance of his ideas to modern European thought. The Phenomenology of Play also features newly translated material including notes from conversations between Fink and Heidegger, and Fink's own essay 'Mask and Cothurnus' on ancient theatre – which shed new light on his philosophical enquiries.
The Fire Next Time: Collected Essays - Notes Of A Native Son; Nobody Knows My Name; The Fire Next Time; No Name In The Street; The Devils Finds Work; Other Essays (Penguin Modern Classics #Vol. 98)
by James Baldwin'A seminal meditation on race by one of our greatest writers' Barack Obama 'We, the black and the white, deeply need each other here if we are really to become a nation'James Baldwin's impassioned plea to 'end the racial nightmare' in America was a bestseller when it appeared in 1963, galvanising a nation and giving voice to the emerging civil rights movement. Told in the form of two intensely personal 'letters', The Fire Next Time is at once a powerful evocation of Baldwin's early life in Harlem and an excoriating condemnation of the terrible legacy of racial injustice. 'Sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle ... all presented in searing, brilliant prose' The New York Times Book Review'Baldwin writes with great passion ... it reeks of truth, as the ghettoes of New York and London, Chicago and Manchester reek of our hypocrisy' Sunday Times'The great poet-prophet of the civil rights movement ... his seminal work' Guardian
STAY - The Power of Meditating in God's Presence
by Sophia BarrettDo you aspire to live a life of joy, peace and fulfillment only to find that it's as elusive as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Do feelings of inadequacy, disappointment and frustration hold you back? Sophia was a busy working mother of two when chronic sleeplessness struck and left her struggling to cope. Stay is the honest and hopeful story of how she identified the roots of her restlessness and overcame them through the ancient and powerful practice of biblical meditation. In her ground-breaking book, Sophia invites us all to realize that when we learn to be mindful of God and 'stay' in his presence, we experience a life-transforming power that frees us to live a joyful and fulfilled life, one where we are truly at peace. Written with refreshing candour and wisdom, Stay is a life-changing read.
History and the Study of Religion: The Ancient Mediterranean as a Test Case
by Stanley StowersThere has long been a trend in religious studies that denies that religion can be an effective category for historians to use across time and cultures. In History and the Study of Religion Stanley Stowers takes on this assessment by demonstrating a theory of religion that answers the criticisms raised by those claiming that religion is not a useful concept. Drawing on his many years of researching and teaching the history of ancient Christianity in the context of the Mediterranean cultures, he offers a detailed and comprehensive account of how religion serves as a valuable, and even necessary, theory. Stowers argues that religion is a social kind, a real and relatively stable cross-cultural entity in the social world. Through key developments in philosophy, cognitive psychology, and social theory applied to examples from the ancient Mediterranean and ethnographic analyses, he illustrates the usefulness for creating social theory and historical explanation. The beginnings of Christianity can be explained as arising from ancient Mediterranean religion, which consisted of three sub-kinds: the religion of everyday social exchange, civic religion, and the religion of literate and literary experts. Christianity emerged primarily from a social field of the experts in interaction with the other two sub-kinds so as to produce a fourth sub-kind, the religion of literate experts with political power. For this last, Stowers discusses topics such as the Christian movement's success in the Roman Empire, whether it was a socially and morally superior form of religion, how it was socially constituted in comparison to other religion in the Empire, its relation to philosophy, whether it was monotheistic, and its most fundamental social dynamics.
Dancing with Georges Perec: Embodying Oulipo (ISSN)
by Leslie SatinThis book explores the relationship of the life and work of the remarkable Parisian-Jewish writer Georges Perec (1936–1983) to dance."Dancing" addresses art-making parallels and their personal and sociocultural contexts, including Perec’s childhood loss of his parents in the Holocaust and its repercussions in the significance of the body, everydayness, space, and attention permeating his work. This book, emerging from the author Leslie Satin’s perspective as a dancer and scholar, links Perec’s concerns with those of dance and demonstrates that Perec’s work has implications for dance and how we think about it. Moreover, it is framed as a performative autobiographical enactment of the author's relationship to Perec, periodically linking their written, danced, and imagined lives.This exploration will be of great interest to dancers, dance scholars, and dance students interested in contemporary experimental dance and contemporary dance.
Dancing with Georges Perec: Embodying Oulipo (ISSN)
by Leslie SatinThis book explores the relationship of the life and work of the remarkable Parisian-Jewish writer Georges Perec (1936–1983) to dance."Dancing" addresses art-making parallels and their personal and sociocultural contexts, including Perec’s childhood loss of his parents in the Holocaust and its repercussions in the significance of the body, everydayness, space, and attention permeating his work. This book, emerging from the author Leslie Satin’s perspective as a dancer and scholar, links Perec’s concerns with those of dance and demonstrates that Perec’s work has implications for dance and how we think about it. Moreover, it is framed as a performative autobiographical enactment of the author's relationship to Perec, periodically linking their written, danced, and imagined lives.This exploration will be of great interest to dancers, dance scholars, and dance students interested in contemporary experimental dance and contemporary dance.
The Iranian Christian Diaspora: Religion and Nationhood in Exile
by Benedikt RömerOver the past few decades, whilst evading severe governmental restrictions in Iran, the Iranian Evangelical diaspora has grown across Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, the US and the UK. Far from the censorship of the Islamic Republic, Iranian Evangelical pastors and ministers publish Persian-language Christian magazines and online videos with the aim to reach the transnational Iranian Christian community, as well as potential converts in Iran. This book explores notions of nationhood and diasporic dwelling in the religious narratives and practices of Iranian Christian exilic communities, showing how claims to the authenticity of a distinct Iranian-Christian identity are constructed. Examining abundant source material available in the Iranian Christian exilic milieu, the book draws extensively upon five unstudied series of Persian-language Christian exile magazines published between the early 1990s and the 2020s, Persian-language video material and a number of interviews with Iranian Christian pastors with leadership positions in the Iranian Christian diaspora. These sources demonstrate the significance of exile and religious affiliation as key factors shaping diasporic images of the homeland and visions of a future return. Benedikt Römer weaves the history and contemporary story of the Iranian Christian community together, placing it in the context of a wider ongoing religious transformation in Iranian society.
The Apologists and Paul (Pauline and Patristic Scholars in Debate)
This volume examines the use of Paul's writing within the work of ante-Nicene apologetic writers. It takes apologetics as a broad genre in which many early Christian writers participated, offering rhetorical defenses for emerging aspects of doctrine, rooted in understanding of the scriptures, and often specifically the writings of Paul. The volume interacts with the writings of many significant 'apologetic' writers, including: Melito of Sardis, Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Cyprian. The chapters examine how these early Christian writers used the letters of Paul to develop their own philosophical ideas and defenses of aspects of the emerging Christian faith. The internationally renowned contributors have all been specially commissioned for this volume, and an afterword by Todd D. Still considers the question of whether or not Paul was an 'apologist' himself.
The Apologists and Paul (Pauline and Patristic Scholars in Debate)
by Todd D. Still and David E. WilhiteThis volume examines the use of Paul's writing within the work of ante-Nicene apologetic writers. It takes apologetics as a broad genre in which many early Christian writers participated, offering rhetorical defenses for emerging aspects of doctrine, rooted in understanding of the scriptures, and often specifically the writings of Paul. The volume interacts with the writings of many significant 'apologetic' writers, including: Melito of Sardis, Clement of Alexandria, Tatian, Tertullian, Hippolytus and Cyprian. The chapters examine how these early Christian writers used the letters of Paul to develop their own philosophical ideas and defenses of aspects of the emerging Christian faith. The internationally renowned contributors have all been specially commissioned for this volume, and an afterword by Todd D. Still considers the question of whether or not Paul was an 'apologist' himself.
Keir Hardie, the Bible, and Christian Socialism: The Miner's Prophet (The Library of New Testament Studies)
by Professor Daniel L. Smith-ChristopherDaniel L. Smith-Christopher focuses on the life and efforts of Keir Hardie, one of the founders of the UK Labour Party and one of the foremost figureheads of trade unionism. Drawing upon the work of two contemporary and significant American theorists-Herbert Gutman's classic essay on “Working-Class Religion” and Michael Gold's call for “Proletarian Literature”-Smith-Christopher marries British and American historical and theoretical debates to argue that Hardie's work is surely the quintessential example of a “proletarian exegesis” of the Bible.Beginning with a summary of the major events in Hardie's life, Smith-Christopher draws both upon existing biographies and more recent historical discussions that question assumption of British social history. He then reviews previous debates upon the influence of Hardie's own Christian faith upon his journalistic output, and assesses three Christian Socialists whose work was advertised and reviewed by Hardie himself: Dennis Hird, John Morrison Davidson, and Caroline Martyn. Smith-Christopher proceeds to Hardie's copious writings, both for The Labour Leader and separately published lectures, pamphlets, and somewhat longer works of autobiography and comment. Highlighting Hardie's tendency to cite favorite texts (heavily from the Gospels and James, but also some notable Old Testament discussions), Smith-Christopher proves Hardie's serious discussion of these texts beyond mere political rhetoric; concluding by comparing a selection of Hardie's favorite Biblical arguments with contemporary research in Biblical Studies about these same passages, evaluating the problems and possibilities of proposing a “Proletarian Exegesis”.
Introducing a Hermeneutics of Cispicion: Reading Sarah and Esau’s Gender (Failures) Beyond Cisnormativity (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies)
by Dr Jo Henderson-MerrygoldA hermeneutics of cispicion challenges cisnormative presuppositions that shape and, at times, occlude the variations in gender and sex exhibited by key characters in the ancestral narrative of Genesis 12–50. It charts the progression from Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics of suspicion, through liberation, feminist and queer approaches. Focusing on Deryn Guest's queer and trans hermeneutics, Henderson-Merrygold then offers a new strategy for reading against fixed, binary gender assumptions, where a character's sex always matches that assigned at birth. The initial case study addresses Sarah, who is the proto-matriarch of the ancestral narratives in Genesis. Masculinities contrast with femininities, and Sarah's own agency makes the picture of a consistent gender hard to identify. By closely reading the text, different facets of Sarah's story emerge to emphasise how much the narrative directs the reader towards a cisnormative reading. However, Henderson-Merrygold shows it is not only the images of Sarah as feminine woman and mother that remain visible. The subject of the second case study, Esau, is regularly judged to be a hypermasculine character due to his bodily appearance, but repeatedly fails to fulfil the expectations related to that appearance. Though often condemned as a poor example of (hyper)masculinity, a cispicious reading identifies a richer and more nuanced figure. Attending to Esau's actions, his rejection of the gendered expectations appears intentional, allowing him to settle more comfortably into his own identity. This project advocates for, and demonstrates the value of, creative, interpretations of biblical texts that challenge both malestream and feminist gender assumptions.
The Importance of Outsiders to Pauline Communities: Opinion, Reputation and Mission (The Library of New Testament Studies)
by Revd Dr Emma Louise ParkerThis book argues that, despite Paul's often dramatic and critical descriptions of non-Christians, his letters reveal a deep concern for the presence of outsiders and for their opinion of Christians. Parker suggests that outsiders are enormously important to Paul: they determine whether Christian communities dwindle or thrive, while also playing a key role in helping such communities to understand and shape their purpose as missional disciples, develop their thinking and practice around normal daily events and relationships - and even shape how they understand God. Parker offers a careful exegesis of the main texts within the Pauline corpus, revealing a sensitivity to the outsider; including 1 Thessalonians, Romans, 1 Corinthians and the Pastoral Epistles. By using Social Identity Theory she explores key concepts of group boundaries, identity and inter-group relations, highlighting a theme which is significant in Paul's own thought: the importance of similarity between groups. Whilst not denying the counter-cultural identity of the new Christian communities, Parker concludes that Paul reveals the areas of overlap between insiders and outsiders, since these areas not only create opportunities for positive opinions and relationships but also point to a greater understanding of God.
Religious and Cultural Difference in Modern British Political Cartoons
by Tahnia AhmedFocusing on British broadsheets such as The Times and The Guardian, and tabloid publications such as The Sun and The Daily Mail, this book looks at the visualization of post-colonial Britain through cartoons.Tahnia Ahmed examines how Irish, Jewish, Sikh and Muslim communities are Othered, interrogating the patterns and trends in the way they are depicted – both consciously and unconsciously – by cartoonists in Britain from the 20th century onwards. She reveals how cartoonists such as Nicholas Garland and Peter Brookes present assimilation as the goal for the portrayed minorities. At the same time, this goal is deemed impossiblebecause difference is ontological and unchangeable.Central to the cartoons explored in this book is the construction of identity and the concept of 'us', demonstrating the role cartoons play in the stability and enduring power of the archetype. Ahmed suggests that cartoons illustrate how racial and religious prejudice subtly interface and reinforce one another. A depiction of religious difference, Ahmed argues, is often actually a cover for outright racism.
Keir Hardie, the Bible, and Christian Socialism: The Miner's Prophet (The Library of New Testament Studies)
by Professor Daniel L. Smith-ChristopherDaniel L. Smith-Christopher focuses on the life and efforts of Keir Hardie, one of the founders of the UK Labour Party and one of the foremost figureheads of trade unionism. Drawing upon the work of two contemporary and significant American theorists-Herbert Gutman's classic essay on “Working-Class Religion” and Michael Gold's call for “Proletarian Literature”-Smith-Christopher marries British and American historical and theoretical debates to argue that Hardie's work is surely the quintessential example of a “proletarian exegesis” of the Bible.Beginning with a summary of the major events in Hardie's life, Smith-Christopher draws both upon existing biographies and more recent historical discussions that question assumption of British social history. He then reviews previous debates upon the influence of Hardie's own Christian faith upon his journalistic output, and assesses three Christian Socialists whose work was advertised and reviewed by Hardie himself: Dennis Hird, John Morrison Davidson, and Caroline Martyn. Smith-Christopher proceeds to Hardie's copious writings, both for The Labour Leader and separately published lectures, pamphlets, and somewhat longer works of autobiography and comment. Highlighting Hardie's tendency to cite favorite texts (heavily from the Gospels and James, but also some notable Old Testament discussions), Smith-Christopher proves Hardie's serious discussion of these texts beyond mere political rhetoric; concluding by comparing a selection of Hardie's favorite Biblical arguments with contemporary research in Biblical Studies about these same passages, evaluating the problems and possibilities of proposing a “Proletarian Exegesis”.
Second Chance Amish Bride: Brides Of Lost Creek (Brides of Lost Creek #1)
by null Marta PerryAn Amish Nanny Caring for her late cousin's young kinder is Jessie Miller's duty—even if it means seeing their father again. Years ago, she thought Caleb King might be her husband—until he met her cousin and Jessie's dream was cut short. Laid up with a broken leg and a demanding dairy farm, Caleb needs her. But Caleb wants no woman around…and no reminder of the wife who abandoned her family before her death. Especially since he fears Jessie will throw a wrench in his plan to remain a single dad. She's gentle, kind, and if Caleb isn't careful, she may be just what his little Amish family needs. Brides of Lost Creek: In Amish country, all roads lead to weddings
The Importance of Outsiders to Pauline Communities: Opinion, Reputation and Mission (The Library of New Testament Studies)
by Revd Dr Emma Louise ParkerThis book argues that, despite Paul's often dramatic and critical descriptions of non-Christians, his letters reveal a deep concern for the presence of outsiders and for their opinion of Christians. Parker suggests that outsiders are enormously important to Paul: they determine whether Christian communities dwindle or thrive, while also playing a key role in helping such communities to understand and shape their purpose as missional disciples, develop their thinking and practice around normal daily events and relationships - and even shape how they understand God. Parker offers a careful exegesis of the main texts within the Pauline corpus, revealing a sensitivity to the outsider; including 1 Thessalonians, Romans, 1 Corinthians and the Pastoral Epistles. By using Social Identity Theory she explores key concepts of group boundaries, identity and inter-group relations, highlighting a theme which is significant in Paul's own thought: the importance of similarity between groups. Whilst not denying the counter-cultural identity of the new Christian communities, Parker concludes that Paul reveals the areas of overlap between insiders and outsiders, since these areas not only create opportunities for positive opinions and relationships but also point to a greater understanding of God.
Religious and Cultural Difference in Modern British Political Cartoons
by Tahnia AhmedFocusing on British broadsheets such as The Times and The Guardian, and tabloid publications such as The Sun and The Daily Mail, this book looks at the visualization of post-colonial Britain through cartoons.Tahnia Ahmed examines how Irish, Jewish, Sikh and Muslim communities are Othered, interrogating the patterns and trends in the way they are depicted – both consciously and unconsciously – by cartoonists in Britain from the 20th century onwards. She reveals how cartoonists such as Nicholas Garland and Peter Brookes present assimilation as the goal for the portrayed minorities. At the same time, this goal is deemed impossiblebecause difference is ontological and unchangeable.Central to the cartoons explored in this book is the construction of identity and the concept of 'us', demonstrating the role cartoons play in the stability and enduring power of the archetype. Ahmed suggests that cartoons illustrate how racial and religious prejudice subtly interface and reinforce one another. A depiction of religious difference, Ahmed argues, is often actually a cover for outright racism.
The Iranian Christian Diaspora: Religion and Nationhood in Exile
by Benedikt RömerOver the past few decades, whilst evading severe governmental restrictions in Iran, the Iranian Evangelical diaspora has grown across Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, the US and the UK. Far from the censorship of the Islamic Republic, Iranian Evangelical pastors and ministers publish Persian-language Christian magazines and online videos with the aim to reach the transnational Iranian Christian community, as well as potential converts in Iran. This book explores notions of nationhood and diasporic dwelling in the religious narratives and practices of Iranian Christian exilic communities, showing how claims to the authenticity of a distinct Iranian-Christian identity are constructed. Examining abundant source material available in the Iranian Christian exilic milieu, the book draws extensively upon five unstudied series of Persian-language Christian exile magazines published between the early 1990s and the 2020s, Persian-language video material and a number of interviews with Iranian Christian pastors with leadership positions in the Iranian Christian diaspora. These sources demonstrate the significance of exile and religious affiliation as key factors shaping diasporic images of the homeland and visions of a future return. Benedikt Römer weaves the history and contemporary story of the Iranian Christian community together, placing it in the context of a wider ongoing religious transformation in Iranian society.
Introducing a Hermeneutics of Cispicion: Reading Sarah and Esau’s Gender (Failures) Beyond Cisnormativity (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies)
by Dr Jo Henderson-MerrygoldA hermeneutics of cispicion challenges cisnormative presuppositions that shape and, at times, occlude the variations in gender and sex exhibited by key characters in the ancestral narrative of Genesis 12–50. It charts the progression from Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics of suspicion, through liberation, feminist and queer approaches. Focusing on Deryn Guest's queer and trans hermeneutics, Henderson-Merrygold then offers a new strategy for reading against fixed, binary gender assumptions, where a character's sex always matches that assigned at birth. The initial case study addresses Sarah, who is the proto-matriarch of the ancestral narratives in Genesis. Masculinities contrast with femininities, and Sarah's own agency makes the picture of a consistent gender hard to identify. By closely reading the text, different facets of Sarah's story emerge to emphasise how much the narrative directs the reader towards a cisnormative reading. However, Henderson-Merrygold shows it is not only the images of Sarah as feminine woman and mother that remain visible. The subject of the second case study, Esau, is regularly judged to be a hypermasculine character due to his bodily appearance, but repeatedly fails to fulfil the expectations related to that appearance. Though often condemned as a poor example of (hyper)masculinity, a cispicious reading identifies a richer and more nuanced figure. Attending to Esau's actions, his rejection of the gendered expectations appears intentional, allowing him to settle more comfortably into his own identity. This project advocates for, and demonstrates the value of, creative, interpretations of biblical texts that challenge both malestream and feminist gender assumptions.
Jews and Their Roman Rivals: Pagan Rome's Challenge to Israel
by Katell BerthelotHow encounters with the Roman Empire compelled the Jews of antiquity to rethink their conceptions of Israel and the TorahThroughout their history, Jews have lived under a succession of imperial powers, from Assyria and Babylonia to Persia and the Hellenistic kingdoms. Jews and Their Roman Rivals shows how the Roman Empire posed a unique challenge to Jewish thinkers such as Philo, Josephus, and the Palestinian rabbis, who both resisted and internalized Roman standards and imperial ideology.Katell Berthelot traces how, long before the empire became Christian, Jews came to perceive Israel and Rome as rivals competing for supremacy. Both considered their laws to be the most perfect ever written, and both believed they were a most pious people who had been entrusted with a divine mission to bring order and peace to the world. Berthelot argues that the rabbinic identification of Rome with Esau, Israel's twin brother, reflected this sense of rivalry. She discusses how this challenge transformed ancient Jewish ideas about military power and the use of force, law and jurisdiction, and membership in the people of Israel. Berthelot argues that Jewish thinkers imitated the Romans in some cases and proposed competing models in others.Shedding new light on Jewish thought in antiquity, Jews and Their Roman Rivals reveals how Jewish encounters with pagan Rome gave rise to crucial evolutions in the ways Jews conceptualized the Torah and conversion to Judaism.
The Religion Toolkit: Understanding Religion in the World Today
by Tamara Sonn John MorreallTHE RELIGION TOOLKIT A comprehensive survey of the study of religion worldwide, from ancient indigenous traditions to today’s religious nationalism. “This is an excellent book that is a good, comprehensive overview of the history of religions and the ways of studying religion within Religious Studies… it really brings religions to life for the reader.” —Gavin Flood, Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion, Oxford University “The authors provide a clear, first-rate introduction to the study of religions, origins, leading scholars and their theories and beliefs…. This is by far the best introductory volume I am aware of both in terms of substance, clarity, and insights.” — John L. Esposito, Distinguished University Professor, Georgetown University, and Past President of the American Academy of Religion The Religion Toolkit: Understanding Religion in the World Today is a clear and comprehensive introduction to the academic study of religions, providing readers an introduction to the history and theories of Religious Studies, a survey of global religious traditions, and an overview of religion in the public sphere today. Discusses theory and methodology in religion, including the disciplines of anthropology, psychology, philosophy, biblical studies, and theologyDescribes the early development of religion, with overviews of traditions around the world, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha’i, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Daoism, Confucianism, and ShintoCovers traditions not commonly addressed in introductory textbooks, such as Santeria, Vodou, Tengrism, and indigenous traditions of the AmericasExamines recent developments and contemporary issues such as secularization, bioethics, and the rise of religious nationalismIncludes access to a companion website with discussion questions, additional material, and helpful primary and secondary sources Providing the knowledge and tools required to explore and understand the nature and roles of religion, The Religion Toolkit: Understanding Religion in the World Today, Second Edition is an excellent introductory textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in Religious Studies, History of Religion, Religions of the World, and Theory and Method in the Study of Religion, as well as a valuable resource for general readers interested in the role of religion in the world today.
Mission Manifest: American Evangelicals and Iran in the Twentieth Century (The United States in the World)
by Matthew K. ShannonIn Mission Manifest, Matthew Shannon argues that American evangelicals were central to American-Iranian relations during the decades leading up to the 1979 revolution. These Presbyterian missionaries and other Americans with ideals worked with US government officials, nongovernmental organizations, and their Iranian counterparts as cultural and political brokers—the living sinews of a binational relationship during the Second World War and early Cold War. As US global hegemony peaked between the 1940s and the 1960s, the religious authority of the Presbyterian Mission merged with the material power of the American state to infuse US foreign relations with the messianic ideals of Christian evangelicalism. In Tehran, the missions of American evangelicals became manifest in the realms of religion, development programs, international education, and cultural associations. Americans who lived in Iran also returned to the United States to inform the growth of the national security state, higher education, and evangelical culture. The literal and figurative missions of American evangelicals in late Pahlavi Iran had consequences for the binational relationship, the global evangelical movement, and individual Americans and Iranians. Mission Manifest offers a history of living, breathing people who shared personal, professional, and political aims in Iran at the height of American global power.
Desire and Disunity: Christian Communities and Sexual Norms in the Late Antique West (Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Belief and Culture)
by Ulriika VihervalliAn Open Access edition will be available on publication thanks to the kind sponsorship of the libraries participating in the Jisc Open Access Community Framework OpenUP initiative. Desire and Disunity explores the struggles of Christianising late ancient sexuality in the late Roman West. Through an examination of fourth to sixth century sermons, letters, laws, and treatises in Latin-speaking communities, the difficulties of late antique clerics in moving ascetically influenced sexual ideals into wider practice become evident. Western clerics faced challenges on several fronts: the dedication and devoutness of lay Christians varied, while the military-political upheavals of the fifth century created new challenges and opportunities for influencing one’s flock. Furthermore, Roman sexual norms continued to inform the thinking of many clerics and lay figures alike, even when in opposition to more scripturally based moral reasoning. Problems of bigamy, concubinage, sex work, incest, homosexual acts, adultery, and more troubled western Christian communities, with contradicting rules and traditions on what was acceptable and what was not. What reach did elite clerical perspectives on sexual norms have amongst the non-elite? How did clerics navigate tensions between the idealisation of Christian communal purity and the actions of congregants that fell short of these ideals? What influenced clerical perceptions of sex and how did they articulate these ideas to their audiences? Clerical sources of this time reflect these challenges as well as varying church attempts to reform the sex lives of their congregants – and, indeed, church failure in doing so.
A Time To Heal (Mills And Boon Love Inspired Ser.)
by Linda GoodnightOnly one person knows why Kat Thatcher left her Oklahoma hometown ten years ago. Why she ran to the city and became a workaholic doctor. Why she put off marriage…indefinitely. And that person is now staring her in the face on her first day back in town!