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Relativism and Religion (Library of Philosophy and Religion)

This collection of recent essays confronts, from widely disparate perspectives, fundamental questions about the epistemology and semantics of religious claims. Is there any way, apart from a particular religious tradition, of knowing that the distinctive claims of a religious tradition are true or closer to truth than those of any other religion? Does 'God' in religious speech and texts refer to the same Being as does philosophical theism? A response by each contributor to the others' ideas is included.

Relativity of Evolution

This book focuses primarily on evolutionary processes (rather than evolutionary history). Topics covered are abiotic framework conditions, morphology and physiology of living organisms, fossil and molecular evidence of evolutionary developments. The basic processes of biological evolution are already established in unicellular organisms. Evolutionary options for multicellular organisms arise in a simplified way from the usable energetic transformation potentials and the dynamics of abiotic and biotic interactions. Evolutionary processes of multicellular organisms are therefore predominantly determined by the conditions of the surrounding systems. This is most clearly shown by comparisons of the evolutionary development of vertebrates under marine and terrestrial conditions. For reasons of efficiency alone, no single species can have the equipment to capture and sustainably shape the surrounding systems in the long term. Depending on the available energetic transformation potentials, a single species is very well able to change the surrounding systems - but without being able to capture the resulting long-term consequences. This gives rise to fundamentally new questions for the design and limits of social action that makes sense in the long term. This book is a translation of an updated and revised version of the original German work: Relativität der Evolution, ISBN 978-3-662-63936-8. Translated by Robert D. Martin.

Relatuhedron: A machine of possibilities

A journey of new routes of healing with/by Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants is shared under the Two Eyed-Seeing Perspective of Elder Albert Marshall. The Universal Human Right of Indigenous self-determination and Relationality are the togetherness presented in a “mangrove tree” that lives between salty and sweet waters emerging as a protective place of rich ecosystems. The relatuhedron (shapes of relationality) a co-construction of a home, a Wigwam, Long House, Maloca, Ue, crystalizes knowledge and practices in the process of individual and community healing and cultural transactions. A set of neologisms such as relatuhedron, pedagomiologies, and social grammars, is proposed to challenge our views of mental health, healing, cultural transactions, stereotypes, recovery, and public policy and include simplicities and complexities required to support Indigenous well-being. It is a “machine of possibilities” for students and professionals working with/by and for Indigenous communities. In this book healing is presented as a process through scholarly practice and reflection. Healing is a process of emergence of meaning by improving relationality with the self, nature and others, in a practical approach to socio-cultural transformations. In sum, healing is based on individual and community processes both honoring and respective Indigenous knowledge and scientific research to create endless opportunities for well-being. This book presents healing as a process of growth, a complex, dynamic and evolutive journey of transforming how we stablish and maintain relationships with the self, nature and others inside of our cultural negotiations.

The Relevance of Alan Watts in Contemporary Culture: Understanding Contributions and Controversies (Routledge Research in Psychology)

Whilst accounting for the present-day popularity and relevance of Alan Watts’ contributions to psychology, religion, arts, and humanities, this interdisciplinary collection grapples with the ongoing criticisms which surround Watts’ life and work. Offering rich examination of as yet underexplored aspects of Watts’ influence in 1960s counterculture, this volume offers unique application of Watts’ thinking to contemporary issues and critically engages with controversies surrounding the commodification of Watts’ ideas, his alleged misreading of Biblical texts, and his apparent distortion of Asian religions and spirituality. Featuring a broad range of international contributors and bringing Watts’ ideas squarely into the contemporary context, the text provides a comprehensive, yet nuanced exploration of Watts’ thinking on psychotherapy, Buddhism, language, music, and sexuality. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of psychotherapy, phenomenology, and the philosophy of psychology more broadly. Those interested in Jungian psychotherapy, spirituality, and the self and social identity will also enjoy this volume.

The Relevance of Alan Watts in Contemporary Culture: Understanding Contributions and Controversies (Routledge Research in Psychology)

Whilst accounting for the present-day popularity and relevance of Alan Watts’ contributions to psychology, religion, arts, and humanities, this interdisciplinary collection grapples with the ongoing criticisms which surround Watts’ life and work. Offering rich examination of as yet underexplored aspects of Watts’ influence in 1960s counterculture, this volume offers unique application of Watts’ thinking to contemporary issues and critically engages with controversies surrounding the commodification of Watts’ ideas, his alleged misreading of Biblical texts, and his apparent distortion of Asian religions and spirituality. Featuring a broad range of international contributors and bringing Watts’ ideas squarely into the contemporary context, the text provides a comprehensive, yet nuanced exploration of Watts’ thinking on psychotherapy, Buddhism, language, music, and sexuality. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of psychotherapy, phenomenology, and the philosophy of psychology more broadly. Those interested in Jungian psychotherapy, spirituality, and the self and social identity will also enjoy this volume.

The Relevance of Natural Science to Theology (Library Of Philosophy And Religion Ser.)

Reliable Characters in the Primary History: Profiles of Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies)

This volume challenges the assumptions that modern readers tend to make about four of the Hebrew Bible's most prominent heroes. Using a form of reader-response theory, Kissling examines the assumption that these characters are primary vehicles of the narrator's point of view. In three of the four cases it is concluded that traditional idealistic assumptions do not do justice to the textual evidence in its final form. The work calls upon the reader to consider the subtlety of the means used in portraying these heroes and gives evidence for the decidedly negative aspects in their portrayals.

Relics of the Buddha (Buddhisms: A Princeton University Press Series (PDF) #7)

Buddhism is popularly seen as a religion stressing the truth of impermanence. How, then, to account for the long-standing veneration, in Asian Buddhist communities, of bone fragments, hair, teeth, and other bodily bits said to come from the historic Buddha? Early European and American scholars of religion, influenced by a characteristic Protestant bias against relic worship, declared such practices to be superstitious and fraudulent, and far from the true essence of Buddhism. John Strong's book, by contrast, argues that relic veneration has played a serious and integral role in Buddhist traditions in South and Southeast Asia-and that it is in no way foreign to Buddhism. The book is structured around the life story of the Buddha, starting with traditions about relics of previous buddhas and relics from the past lives of the Buddha Sakyamuni. It then considers the death of the Buddha, the collection of his bodily relics after his cremation, and stories of their spread to different parts of Asia. The book ends with a consideration of the legend of the future parinirvana (extinction) of the relics prior to the advent of the next Buddha, Maitreya. Throughout, the author does not hesitate to explore the many versions of these legends and to relate them to their ritual, doctrinal, artistic, and social contexts.

Religio Duplex: How the Enlightenment Reinvented Egyptian Religion

In this important new book, the distinguished Egyptologist Jan Assmann provides a masterful overview of a crucial theme in the religious history of the West - that of 'religio duplex', or dual religion. He begins by returning to the theology of the Ancient Egyptians, who set out to present their culture as divided between the popular and the elite. By examining their beliefs, he argues, we can distinguish the two faces of ancient religions more generally: the outer face (that of the official religion) and the inner face (encompassing the mysterious nature of religious experience). Assmann explains that the Early Modern period witnessed the birth of the idea of dual religion with, on the one hand, the religion of reason and, on the other, that of revelation. This concept gained new significance in the Enlightenment when the dual structure of religion was transposed onto the individual. This meant that man now owed his allegiance not only to his native religion, but also to a universal 'religion of mankind'. In fact, argues Assmann, religion can now only hold a place in our globalized world in this way, as a religion that understands itself as one among many and has learned to see itself through the eyes of the other. This bold and wide-ranging book will be essential reading for historians, theologians and anyone interested in the nature of religion and its role in the shaping of the modern world.

Religio Duplex: How the Enlightenment Reinvented Egyptian Religion

In this important new book, the distinguished Egyptologist Jan Assmann provides a masterful overview of a crucial theme in the religious history of the West - that of 'religio duplex', or dual religion. He begins by returning to the theology of the Ancient Egyptians, who set out to present their culture as divided between the popular and the elite. By examining their beliefs, he argues, we can distinguish the two faces of ancient religions more generally: the outer face (that of the official religion) and the inner face (encompassing the mysterious nature of religious experience). Assmann explains that the Early Modern period witnessed the birth of the idea of dual religion with, on the one hand, the religion of reason and, on the other, that of revelation. This concept gained new significance in the Enlightenment when the dual structure of religion was transposed onto the individual. This meant that man now owed his allegiance not only to his native religion, but also to a universal 'religion of mankind'. In fact, argues Assmann, religion can now only hold a place in our globalized world in this way, as a religion that understands itself as one among many and has learned to see itself through the eyes of the other. This bold and wide-ranging book will be essential reading for historians, theologians and anyone interested in the nature of religion and its role in the shaping of the modern world.

Religio-Political Narratives in the United States: From Martin Luther King, Jr. to Jeremiah Wright (Black Religion/Womanist Thought/Social Justice)

The authors select sermons by Martin Luther King Jr. and Jeremiah Wright to as a framework to examine the meaning of God in America as part of the formational religio-political narrative of the country.

Religion: Vintage Minis (Vintage Minis)

‘Because ‘God’ is infinite, nobody can have the last word.’What is this thing, religion, which has supposedly been the cause of bloodshed and warring for centuries? What is ‘God’ and do we need ‘Him’ in our modern world? Karen Armstrong, bestselling author and one of the world’s leading writers on religious affairs, has a refreshing and startling way of looking again at these questions. God is not a being to be ‘believed in’ as a child believes in Santa Claus; religion is not a story to be proven true or false, but a discipline akin to music or art that answers a deeply human need, and can teach us to discover new capacities of mind and heart. Selected from A Case for God, Fields of Blood and The Lost Art of Scripture VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanAlso in the Vintage Minis 'Great Ideas' series:Religion by Karen ArmstrongScience by Ian McEwan

Religion: Recurrent Christian Sources, Non-Recurrent Christian Data, Judaism, Other Religions (Reviews of UK Statistical Sources (RUKSS))

This volume reviews the publicly available sources of statistical information on religion. The majority of this data relates to the Christian churches and is split between the serial or recurrent sources in the first review and the ad hoc survey data in the second. The third sets out the available Jewish data which comprise the best recorded and the most extensive of the sources in the non-Christian sector, and the final review brings together statistical sources on the remaining religions practised in the UK. This book will be an invaluable source of information for researchers and practitioners in the field.

Religion: Spurensuche im Alltag

Für das moderne Wissenschaftsverständnis und folglich für viele Soziologen ist das Thema Religion unbequem und unattraktiv und wird deshalb nach Möglichkeit umgangen. Diese Tatsache steht in eklatantem Widerspruch zur weltgeschichtlichen Bedeutung des Phänomens Religion, zur Entstehungsgeschichte der Soziologie und zum alltäglichen Leben der Menschen. Zu allen Zeiten haben Menschen auf der Suche nach dem gelingenden Leben zudem immer einen engen Zusammenhang zwischen Religion, Ethik und Glück erahnt. Seit der antiken Philosophie, besonders seit Plato und Aristoteles, wird dieses komplexe Themenfeld in unterschiedlichsten Zuspitzungen diskutiert. Soziologie, die den Sinn und die Strukturen des sozialen, und nicht selten alltäglichen Handelns zum Gegenstand hat, kann sich davon kaum dispensieren.

Religion: Rereading What Is Bound Together

With this profound final work, completed in the days leading up to his death, Michel Serres presents a vivid picture of his thinking about religion—a constant preoccupation since childhood—thereby completing Le Grand Récit, the comprehensive explanation of the world and of humanity to which he devoted the last twenty years of his life. Themes from Serres's earlier writings—energy and information, the role of the media in modern society, the anthropological function of sacrifice, the role of scientific knowledge, the problem of evil—are reinterpreted here in the light of the Old Testament accounts of Isaac and Jonah and a variety of Gospel episodes, including the Three Wise Men of the Epiphany, the Transfiguration, Peter's denying Christ, the Crucifixion, Emmaus, and the Pentecost. Monotheistic religion, Serres argues, resembles mathematical abstraction in its dazzling power to bring together the real and the virtual, the natural and the transcendent; but only in its Christian embodiment is it capable of binding together human beings in such a way that partisan attachments are dissolved and a new era of history, free for once of the lethal repetition of collective violence, can be entered into.

Religion: Truth and Language Games (Library of Philosophy and Religion)

Religion: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters

A groundbreaking new theory of religionReligion remains an important influence in the world today, yet the social sciences are still not adequately equipped to understand and explain it. This book builds on recent developments in science, theory, and philosophy to advance an innovative theory of religion that goes beyond the problematic theoretical paradigms of the past.Drawing on the philosophy of critical realism and personalist social theory, Christian Smith answers key questions about the nature, powers, workings, appeal, and future of religion. He defines religion in a way that resolves myriad problems and ambiguities in past accounts, explains the kinds of causal influences religion exerts in the world, and examines the key cognitive process that makes religion possible. Smith explores why humans are religious in the first place—uniquely so as a species—and offers an account of secularization and religious innovation and persistence that breaks the logjam in which so many religion scholars have been stuck for so long.Certain to stimulate debate and inspire promising new avenues of scholarship, Religion features a wealth of illustrations and examples that help to make its concepts accessible to readers. This superbly written book brings sound theoretical thinking to a perennially thorny subject, and a new vitality and focus to its study.

Religion: An Introductory Reader (Pocket Library Of Spiritual Wisdom Ser. #No. 284)

Mysticism and beyond: the importance of prayer; The meaning of sin and grace; Rediscovering the Bible; What is true communion?; Rediscovering the festivals and the life of the earth; Finding one's destiny: walking with Christ; The significance of religion in life and death; Christ's second coming: the truth for our time; Universal religion: the meaning of love.

Religion: Key Concepts in Philosophy (Key Concepts in Philosophy)

The philosophy of religion is a core area in the study of philosophy, as well as being a subject of growing contemporary interest. It encompasses some of the major and most complex philosophical questions. Does God exist? What is God's nature? Why does God allow evil? What is a religious experience? Are religion and science compatible? What relevance does evolution have for religious belief? It also covers questions concerning the challenge of religious pluralism, a topic of great contemporary relevance. Written with the specific needs of students new to philosophy in mind, Religion: Key Concepts in Philosophy covers the work of major thinkers and outlines clearly the central questions and arguments encountered in studying the philosophy of religion. This is an engaging and clear introduction to a major component of the undergraduate philosophy curriculum, as well as being an ideal support for general readers.

Religion: A Theory Of Religion (Very Short Introductions)

Religion plays a central role in human experience. Billions of people around the world practice a faith and act in accordance with it. Religion shapes how they enter the world and how they leave it - how they eat, dress, marry, and raise their children. It shapes their assumptions about who they are and who they want to be. Religion also identifies insiders and outsiders, who has power and who doesn't. It sanctifies injustice and combats it. It draws national borders. It affects law, economy, and government. It destroys and restores the environment. It starts wars and ends them. Whether you notice it or not, religion plays a role in how billions conduct their lives. We are called, then, to understand this important factor in human life today. Beginning with the first signs of religion among ancient humans and concluding with a look at modern citizens and global trends, leading scholar Thomas Tweed examines this powerful and enduring force in human society. Tweed deftly documents religion as it exists around the world, addressing its role in both intensifying and alleviating contemporary political and environmental problems, from armed conflict to climate change. Religion: A Very Short Introduction offers a concise non-partisan overview of religion's long history and its complicated role in the world today.

Religion – Gewalt – Minderheiten: Studien zu religiöser Identität im Kontext der geopolitischen Herausforderungen der Moderne

Der Band nimmt aus unterschiedlichen religionswissenschaftlichen und sozialwissenschaftlichen Perspektiven aktuelle Themen der Religionswissenschaft in den Blick. Sie gehen explizit oder implizit von der zentralen religionswissenschaftlichen sowie -politischen These aus, dass Solidarität im Inneren von Gemeinschaften durch Feindschaft nach Außen begünstigt wird. Diese simpel wirkende Formel hat viele Facetten und wird deshalb in den jeweiligen Artikeln mit dem spezifischen Fokus auf Religion, Gewalt/Terrorismus und Minderheiten aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven analysiert, um sie sowohl komparativ als auch konnektiv auf den Prüfstand zu stellen.

Religion - 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know: 50 Ideas You Really Need To Know (50 Ideas You Really Need to Know series)

The need to understand religion and the role it plays in our world has never been more pressing. The beliefs and actions of the planet's 2 billion Christians, 1.2 billion Muslims, 800 million Hindus and 700 million followers of other religions has an impact on every aspect of war and peace, ethics, politics, reproduction, family and social structure across every civilization and continent. 50 Religion Ideas You Really Need to Know aims to lift the clouds of confusion surrounding religion and to address its key issues. What is the 'Golden Rule' and how does it unite religious people? How did the divisions arise between Catholics and Protestants and what do they mean for us today? What are the differences between Anglicanism, Methodism, Baptism and Presbyterianism? What separates Sunni Muslims from Shi'a Muslims? What does it mean to be Jewish? Award-winning writer Peter Stanford answers these and a myriad other questions in 50 Religion Ideas You Really Need to Know. Both readable and informative, it will appeal to anyone who wants to understand one of the most powerful and enduring forces shaping our world.

Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos

By the end of World War II, religion appeared to be on the decline throughout the United States and Europe. Recent world events had cast doubt on the relevance of religious belief, and modernizing trends made religious rituals look out of place. It was in this atmosphere that the careers of Scholem, Eliade, and Corbin--the twentieth century's legendary scholars in the respective fields of Judaism, History of Religions, and Islam--converged and ultimately revolutionized how people thought about religion. Between 1949 and 1978, all three lectured to Carl Jung's famous Eranos circle in Ascona, Switzerland, where each in his own way came to identify the symbolism of mystical experience as a central element of his monotheistic tradition. In this, the first book ever to compare the paths taken by these thinkers, Steven Wasserstrom explores how they overturned traditional approaches to studying religion by de-emphasizing law, ritual, and social history and by extolling the role of myth and mysticism. The most controversial aspect of their theory of religion, Wasserstrom argues, is that it minimized the binding character of moral law associated with monotheism. The author focuses on the lectures delivered by Scholem, Eliade, and Corbin to the Eranos participants, but also shows how these scholars generated broader interest in their ideas through radio talks, poetry, novels, short stories, autobiographies, and interviews. He analyzes their conception of religion from a broadly integrated, comparative perspective, sets their distinctive thinking into historical and intellectual context, and interprets the striking success of their approaches.

Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos

By the end of World War II, religion appeared to be on the decline throughout the United States and Europe. Recent world events had cast doubt on the relevance of religious belief, and modernizing trends made religious rituals look out of place. It was in this atmosphere that the careers of Scholem, Eliade, and Corbin--the twentieth century's legendary scholars in the respective fields of Judaism, History of Religions, and Islam--converged and ultimately revolutionized how people thought about religion. Between 1949 and 1978, all three lectured to Carl Jung's famous Eranos circle in Ascona, Switzerland, where each in his own way came to identify the symbolism of mystical experience as a central element of his monotheistic tradition. In this, the first book ever to compare the paths taken by these thinkers, Steven Wasserstrom explores how they overturned traditional approaches to studying religion by de-emphasizing law, ritual, and social history and by extolling the role of myth and mysticism. The most controversial aspect of their theory of religion, Wasserstrom argues, is that it minimized the binding character of moral law associated with monotheism. The author focuses on the lectures delivered by Scholem, Eliade, and Corbin to the Eranos participants, but also shows how these scholars generated broader interest in their ideas through radio talks, poetry, novels, short stories, autobiographies, and interviews. He analyzes their conception of religion from a broadly integrated, comparative perspective, sets their distinctive thinking into historical and intellectual context, and interprets the striking success of their approaches.

Religion after Secularization in Australia

Religion's persistent and new visibility in political life has prompted a significant global debate. One of this debate's key features concerns the nature and impact of secularization. This collection of essays draws together leading sociologists, historians, philosophers of religion, and political theorists in order to provide a broad and up-to-date account of religion after secularization. Contributors explore the meaning and conceptual legacies of religion, as well as the unique features of the Australian case such as religion as it relates to law, education, gender, media, and radical political movements. Intervening in the current debate, this book provides summative accounts of the historical, cultural, and legal interactions that have informed Australia’s relationship to religion and secularization. Contributors critically analyze and engage with secular political theory concerning the public sphere, while also dissecting deliberative politics and democratic practices. This book propels the debate over religion’s place in public life in new directions and promotes urgently needed public understanding.