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René König und die "Kölner Schule": Eine soziologiegeschichtliche Annäherung
by Stephan MoebiusUnbestritten gehört René König und die von ihm begründete »Kölner Schule« neben der »Frankfurter Schule« und dem Kreis um Helmut Schelsky zu den zentralen Akteuren im Feld der westdeutschen Nachkriegssoziologie. Ein angemessenes Verständnis der Ausrichtung und Entwicklung der bundesrepublikanischen Sozialwissenschaften, insbesondere der empirischen Sozialforschung, ist folglich nur unter Einbezug der Kölner Soziologie möglich. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es verwunderlich, dass René König und der »Kölner Schule« – im Vergleich etwa zur vielfältig aufgearbeiteten »Frankfurter Schule« – noch keine systematische soziologiehistorische Studie gewidmet wurde. Das vorliegende Buch versteht sich als eine erste soziologiegeschichtliche Annäherung an dieses Thema. Es umfasst die Zeit von Königs Schweizer Exil Ende der 1930er Jahre bis zur erfolgreichen Institutionalisierung der Kölner Soziologie Mitte der siebziger Jahre. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Königs intellektueller Werdegang, seine Themenschwerpunkte, seine erste Schülerschaft sowie die Institutionalisierungsprozesse und Wirkungen der »Kölner Schule«.
Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers
by Donald B. KraybillOn the night of September 6, 2011, terror called at the Amish home of the Millers. Answering a late-night knock from what appeared to be an Amish neighbor, Mrs. Miller opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and their spouses. It wasn’t a friendly visit. Within moments, the men, wearing headlamps, had pulled their frightened father out of bed, pinned him into a chair, and—ignoring his tearful protests—sheared his hair and beard, leaving him razor-burned and dripping with blood. The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the darkness, taking their parents’ hair as a trophy. Four similar beard-cutting attacks followed, disfiguring nine victims and generating a tsunami of media coverage. While pundits and late-night talk shows made light of the attacks and poked fun at the Amish way of life, FBI investigators gathered evidence about troubling activities in a maverick Amish community near Bergholz, Ohio—and the volatile behavior of its leader, Bishop Samuel Mullet.Ten men and six women from the Bergholz community were arrested and found guilty a year later of 87 felony charges involving conspiracy, lying, and obstructing justice. In a precedent-setting decision, all of the defendants, including Bishop Mullet and his two ministers, were convicted of federal hate crimes. It was the first time since the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act that assailants had been found guilty for religiously motivated hate crimes within the same faith community.Renegade Amish goes behind the scenes to tell the full story of the Bergholz barbers: the attacks, the investigation, the trial, and the aftermath. In a riveting narrative reminiscent of a true crime classic, scholar Donald B. Kraybill weaves a dark and troubling story in which a series of violent Amish-on-Amish attacks shattered the peace of these traditionally nonviolent people, compelling some of them to install locks on their doors and arm themselves with pepper spray.The country’s foremost authority on Amish society, Kraybill spent six months assisting federal prosecutors with the case against the Bergholz defendants and served as an expert witness during the trial. Informed by trial transcripts and his interviews of ex-Bergholz Amish, relatives of Bishop Mullet, victims of the attacks, Amish leaders, and the jury foreman, Renegade Amish delves into the factors that transformed the Bergholz Amish from a typical Amish community into one embracing revenge and retaliation. Kraybill gives voice to the terror and pain experienced by the victims, along with the deep shame that accompanied their disfigurement—a factor that figured prominently in the decision to apply the federal hate crime law. Built on Kraybill’s deep knowledge of Amish life and his contacts within many Amish communities, Renegade Amish highlights one of the strangest and most publicized sagas in contemporary Amish history.
Renegade Amish: Beard Cutting, Hate Crimes, and the Trial of the Bergholz Barbers
by Donald B. KraybillOn the night of September 6, 2011, terror called at the Amish home of the Millers. Answering a late-night knock from what appeared to be an Amish neighbor, Mrs. Miller opened the door to her five estranged adult sons, a daughter, and their spouses. It wasn’t a friendly visit. Within moments, the men, wearing headlamps, had pulled their frightened father out of bed, pinned him into a chair, andâ€�ignoring his tearful protestsâ€�sheared his hair and beard, leaving him razor-burned and dripping with blood. The women then turned on Mrs. Miller, yanking her prayer cap from her head and shredding it before cutting off her waist-long hair. About twenty minutes later, the attackers fled into the darkness, taking their parents’ hair as a trophy. Four similar beard-cutting attacks followed, disfiguring nine victims and generating a tsunami of media coverage. While pundits and late-night talk shows made light of the attacks and poked fun at the Amish way of life, FBI investigators gathered evidence about troubling activities in a maverick Amish community near Bergholz, Ohioâ€�and the volatile behavior of its leader, Bishop Samuel Mullet.Ten men and six women from the Bergholz community were arrested and found guilty a year later of 87 felony charges involving conspiracy, lying, and obstructing justice. In a precedent-setting decision, all of the defendants, including Bishop Mullet and his two ministers, were convicted of federal hate crimes. It was the first time since the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act that assailants had been found guilty for religiously motivated hate crimes within the same faith community.Renegade Amish goes behind the scenes to tell the full story of the Bergholz barbers: the attacks, the investigation, the trial, and the aftermath. In a riveting narrative reminiscent of a true crime classic, scholar Donald B. Kraybill weaves a dark and troubling story in which a series of violent Amish-on-Amish attacks shattered the peace of these traditionally nonviolent people, compelling some of them to install locks on their doors and arm themselves with pepper spray.The country’s foremost authority on Amish society, Kraybill spent six months assisting federal prosecutors with the case against the Bergholz defendants and served as an expert witness during the trial. Informed by trial transcripts and his interviews of ex-Bergholz Amish, relatives of Bishop Mullet, victims of the attacks, Amish leaders, and the jury foreman, Renegade Amish delves into the factors that transformed the Bergholz Amish from a typical Amish community into one embracing revenge and retaliation. Kraybill gives voice to the terror and pain experienced by the victims, along with the deep shame that accompanied their disfigurementâ€�a factor that figured prominently in the decision to apply the federal hate crime law. Built on Kraybill’s deep knowledge of Amish life and his contacts within many Amish communities, Renegade Amish highlights one of the strangest and most publicized sagas in contemporary Amish history.
A Renegade's Guide to God: Finding Life Outside Conventional Christianity
by David FosterDynamic speaker and author Foster leads Christians to an untamed, unpredictable relationship with the ultimate renegade of all time--Jesus.
The Renegade's Redemption (Mills And Boon Love Inspired Historical Ser.)
by Stacy HenrieRefuge for the Outlaw
Renewal: A Guide to the Values-Filled Life
by Shmuley BoteachOur culture is showing the cracks of a growing fracture. Soaring divorce rates; a crippled economy that rewards the few and punishes the many; religious-fueled hatred; record rates of depression—the headlines paint a grim picture. We inhabit a society that desperately needs fixing. But as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach reveals in his new book, Renewal, our society can made whole again when we as individuals make the choice to live a life based on values. For too long, conversations about values have been derailed by political movements trying to score points over hot-button issues like gay marriage or abortion. Boteach, one of our wisest and most respected counselors and spiritual experts, reaches deep into our history and into our shared religious legacy to revive the key universal values of Judaism for our struggling world. He presents these age-old ideas as guideposts for the challenges of modern times. These values, whose roots are in the Bible and thousands of years of Jewish spiritual living, can be applied to anyone in the modern world—from Christians and Muslims to atheists and agnostics—who want to renew their existence and recommit themselves to the most precious things in life. Renewal shows everyone how to use the timeless values of the Hebrew Bible and Judaism to live a more fulfilling, modern life.Destiny Unlike the Greeks, who believed that life was scripted from birth, the Jews believe in destiny. In short, they reject the idea of tragic fates and instead champion the individuals&’ capacity to create their own destiny through individual choice.Redemption Christians and Muslims emphasize salvation, or the need for man to become spiritual—to refine his character and earn a place in heaven. But Jews believe in world redemption, the capacity for the individuals to make heaven here on earth for,the betterment of the community.Action What you do is more important than what you believe. Good deeds always supersede good dogma.Enlightenment Jews are an infinitely curious people and believe that the great bane of existence—boredom—can only be cured by knowledge.Marriage Marriage refers not just to the institution, but rather the softening of the masculine by exposure to the feminine. A culture that does not know how to respect women is bound to collapse.Struggle It is wrestling with our nature, rather than attaining perfection, that constitutes true righteousness. Everyone is somehow flawed, but righteousness is found in the struggle to do right amid a predilection to act selfishly.Sacred Time Whereas other religions sanctify space, Jewish values privilege special moments. The Sabbath day, the holiest day of the week, provides a time for connecting with family and friends.
Renewal: Liberal Protestants and the American City after World War II (Historical Studies of Urban America)
by Mark WildIn the decades following World War II, a movement of clergy and laity sought to restore liberal Protestantism to the center of American urban life. Chastened by their failure to avert war and the Holocaust, and troubled by missionaries’ complicity with colonial regimes, they redirected their energies back home. Renewal explores the rise and fall of this movement, which began as an effort to restore the church’s standing but wound up as nothing less than an openhearted crusade to remake our nation’s cities. These campaigns reached beyond church walls to build or lend a hand to scores of organizations fighting for welfare, social justice, and community empowerment among the increasingly nonwhite urban working class. Church leaders extended their efforts far beyond traditional evangelicalism, often dovetailing with many of the contemporaneous social currents coursing through the nation, including black freedom movements and the War on Poverty. Renewal illuminates the overlooked story of how religious institutions both shaped and were shaped by postwar urban America.
Renewal: Liberal Protestants and the American City after World War II (Historical Studies of Urban America)
by Mark WildIn the decades following World War II, a movement of clergy and laity sought to restore liberal Protestantism to the center of American urban life. Chastened by their failure to avert war and the Holocaust, and troubled by missionaries’ complicity with colonial regimes, they redirected their energies back home. Renewal explores the rise and fall of this movement, which began as an effort to restore the church’s standing but wound up as nothing less than an openhearted crusade to remake our nation’s cities. These campaigns reached beyond church walls to build or lend a hand to scores of organizations fighting for welfare, social justice, and community empowerment among the increasingly nonwhite urban working class. Church leaders extended their efforts far beyond traditional evangelicalism, often dovetailing with many of the contemporaneous social currents coursing through the nation, including black freedom movements and the War on Poverty. Renewal illuminates the overlooked story of how religious institutions both shaped and were shaped by postwar urban America.
Renewal: Liberal Protestants and the American City after World War II (Historical Studies of Urban America)
by Mark WildIn the decades following World War II, a movement of clergy and laity sought to restore liberal Protestantism to the center of American urban life. Chastened by their failure to avert war and the Holocaust, and troubled by missionaries’ complicity with colonial regimes, they redirected their energies back home. Renewal explores the rise and fall of this movement, which began as an effort to restore the church’s standing but wound up as nothing less than an openhearted crusade to remake our nation’s cities. These campaigns reached beyond church walls to build or lend a hand to scores of organizations fighting for welfare, social justice, and community empowerment among the increasingly nonwhite urban working class. Church leaders extended their efforts far beyond traditional evangelicalism, often dovetailing with many of the contemporaneous social currents coursing through the nation, including black freedom movements and the War on Poverty. Renewal illuminates the overlooked story of how religious institutions both shaped and were shaped by postwar urban America.
Renewal: Liberal Protestants and the American City after World War II (Historical Studies of Urban America)
by Mark WildIn the decades following World War II, a movement of clergy and laity sought to restore liberal Protestantism to the center of American urban life. Chastened by their failure to avert war and the Holocaust, and troubled by missionaries’ complicity with colonial regimes, they redirected their energies back home. Renewal explores the rise and fall of this movement, which began as an effort to restore the church’s standing but wound up as nothing less than an openhearted crusade to remake our nation’s cities. These campaigns reached beyond church walls to build or lend a hand to scores of organizations fighting for welfare, social justice, and community empowerment among the increasingly nonwhite urban working class. Church leaders extended their efforts far beyond traditional evangelicalism, often dovetailing with many of the contemporaneous social currents coursing through the nation, including black freedom movements and the War on Poverty. Renewal illuminates the overlooked story of how religious institutions both shaped and were shaped by postwar urban America.
Renewed: A 40-Day Devotional for Healing from Church Hurt and for Loving Well in Ministry
by Leigh Powersp.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Arial} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none; color: #ff2500} RENEWED is a devotional providing healing for those in ministry who have been hurt in the church. Ministry is a privilege, but it can also be a painful experience. Unrealistic expectations, church conflict, forced resignations, and our own struggles with burnout, loneliness, and insecurity can make church feel more like a place of wounding than a place of healing. How can wounded leaders find the courage to reject bitterness and keep loving the church?RENEWED is a forty-day devotional for women in ministry, ministry wives, and lay leaders who have been wounded by their congregations. You are not alone. God sees your pain. He knows your hurts. And he is waiting to bind up your broken heart. This forty-day journey into the healing love of Jesus will help you find the courage to stop hiding and start loving the church again.
Renewed: A 40-Day Devotional for Healing from Church Hurt and for Loving Well in Ministry
by Leigh PowersRenewed is a devotional providing healing for those in ministry who have been hurt in the church. Ministry is a privilege, but it can also be a painful experience. Unrealistic expectations, church conflict, forced resignations, and our own struggles with burnout, loneliness, and insecurity can make church feel more like a place of wounding than a place of healing. How can wounded leaders find the courage to reject bitterness and keep loving the church?Renewed is a forty-day devotional for women in ministry, ministry wives, and lay leaders who have been wounded by their congregations. You are not alone. God sees your pain. He knows your hurts. And he is waiting to bind up your broken heart. This forty-day journey into the healing love of Jesus will help you find the courage to stop hiding and start loving the church again.
Renewing Pastoral Practice: Trinitarian Perspectives on Pastoral Care and Counselling (Explorations in Practical, Pastoral and Empirical Theology)
by Neil PembrokeThis is the first comprehensive treatment of the relationship between the doctrine of the Trinity and pastoral care and counselling. Neil Pembroke contends that an in-depth reflection on the relational dynamics in the Godhead has the capacity to radically renew pastoral practice. Pembroke applies the notion of relational space to care in a parish setting. The life of the triune God is defined by both closeness and open space. The divine persons indwell each other in love, but they also provide space for the expression of particularity. This principle of closeness-with-space is applied in three different pastoral contexts, namely, community life, spiritual friendship, and pastoral conversations. The specialized ministry of pastoral counselling is the focus in the second half of the book. Informing the various explorations is the principle of participation through love: the divine persons participate in each other's existence through loving self-communication. Pembroke shows how this trinitarian virtue is at the centre of three key counselling dynamics: the counselling alliance, empathy, and mirroring.
Renewing Pastoral Practice: Trinitarian Perspectives on Pastoral Care and Counselling (Explorations in Practical, Pastoral and Empirical Theology)
by Neil PembrokeThis is the first comprehensive treatment of the relationship between the doctrine of the Trinity and pastoral care and counselling. Neil Pembroke contends that an in-depth reflection on the relational dynamics in the Godhead has the capacity to radically renew pastoral practice. Pembroke applies the notion of relational space to care in a parish setting. The life of the triune God is defined by both closeness and open space. The divine persons indwell each other in love, but they also provide space for the expression of particularity. This principle of closeness-with-space is applied in three different pastoral contexts, namely, community life, spiritual friendship, and pastoral conversations. The specialized ministry of pastoral counselling is the focus in the second half of the book. Informing the various explorations is the principle of participation through love: the divine persons participate in each other's existence through loving self-communication. Pembroke shows how this trinitarian virtue is at the centre of three key counselling dynamics: the counselling alliance, empathy, and mirroring.
Renewing Philosophy of Religion: Exploratory Essays
by J. L. Schellenberg Paul DraperThis book is animated by a shared conviction that philosophy of religion needs to change: thirteen new essays suggest why and how. The first part of the volume explores possible changes to the focus of the field. The second part focuses on the standpoint from which philosophers of religion should approach their field. In the first part are chapters on how an emphasis on faith distorts attempts to engage non-western religious ideas; on how philosophers from different traditions might collaborate on common interests; on why the common presupposition of ultimacy leads to error; on how new religious movements feed a naturalistic philosophy of religion; on why a focus on belief and a focus on practice are both mistaken; on why philosophy's deep axiological concern should set much of the field's agenda; and on how the field might contribute to religious evolution. The second part includes a qualitative analysis of the standpoint of fifty-one philosophers of religion, and also addresses issues about humility needed in continental philosophy of religion; about the implausibility of claiming that one's own worldview is uniquely rational; about the Moorean approach to religious epistemology; about a Spinozan middle way between 'insider' and 'outsider' perspectives; and about the unorthodox lessons we could learn from scriptures like the book of Job if we could get past the confessional turn in recent philosophy of religion.The goal of the volume is to identify new paths for philosophers of religion that are distinct from those travelled by theologians and other scholars of religion.
Renewing Philosophy of Religion: Exploratory Essays
This book is animated by a shared conviction that philosophy of religion needs to change: thirteen new essays suggest why and how. The first part of the volume explores possible changes to the focus of the field. The second part focuses on the standpoint from which philosophers of religion should approach their field. In the first part are chapters on how an emphasis on faith distorts attempts to engage non-western religious ideas; on how philosophers from different traditions might collaborate on common interests; on why the common presupposition of ultimacy leads to error; on how new religious movements feed a naturalistic philosophy of religion; on why a focus on belief and a focus on practice are both mistaken; on why philosophy's deep axiological concern should set much of the field's agenda; and on how the field might contribute to religious evolution. The second part includes a qualitative analysis of the standpoint of fifty-one philosophers of religion, and also addresses issues about humility needed in continental philosophy of religion; about the implausibility of claiming that one's own worldview is uniquely rational; about the Moorean approach to religious epistemology; about a Spinozan middle way between 'insider' and 'outsider' perspectives; and about the unorthodox lessons we could learn from scriptures like the book of Job if we could get past the confessional turn in recent philosophy of religion.The goal of the volume is to identify new paths for philosophers of religion that are distinct from those travelled by theologians and other scholars of religion.
Renewing Spiritual Perception with Jonathan Edwards: Contemporary Philosophy and the Theological Psychology of Transforming Grace (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology)
by Ray S. YeoJonathan Edwards’ theologically sophisticated psychology of grace remains one of the deepest and most fertile theological psychologies in the Protestant tradition. The heart of his account lies in his foundational doctrine of spiritual perception where he locates the psychological core of the engraced Christian life. This work revisits Edwards’ doctrine from the perspective of recent work in the philosophy of emotions and other related philosophical sub-disciplines. The aim is to recover this often neglected theme in contemporary theology and renew it by bringing Edwards’ theological insights into conversation with various spheres of contemporary philosophical discussion. The account of spiritual perception that emerges from this interdisciplinary dialogue is one that seeks to revise, update and deepen Edwards’ own thinking on the matter in five major ways. The book concludes by arguing that the capacity for spiritual and emotional perception of the supreme good is grounded upon a wisdom-like seminal virtue centred upon the incarnate Christ (i.e., Christocentric wisdom). Such wisdom, on the renewed account, is considered the psychological core of transforming grace and the foundational basis upon which all other Christian virtues are formed.
Renewing Spiritual Perception with Jonathan Edwards: Contemporary Philosophy and the Theological Psychology of Transforming Grace (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology)
by Ray S. YeoJonathan Edwards’ theologically sophisticated psychology of grace remains one of the deepest and most fertile theological psychologies in the Protestant tradition. The heart of his account lies in his foundational doctrine of spiritual perception where he locates the psychological core of the engraced Christian life. This work revisits Edwards’ doctrine from the perspective of recent work in the philosophy of emotions and other related philosophical sub-disciplines. The aim is to recover this often neglected theme in contemporary theology and renew it by bringing Edwards’ theological insights into conversation with various spheres of contemporary philosophical discussion. The account of spiritual perception that emerges from this interdisciplinary dialogue is one that seeks to revise, update and deepen Edwards’ own thinking on the matter in five major ways. The book concludes by arguing that the capacity for spiritual and emotional perception of the supreme good is grounded upon a wisdom-like seminal virtue centred upon the incarnate Christ (i.e., Christocentric wisdom). Such wisdom, on the renewed account, is considered the psychological core of transforming grace and the foundational basis upon which all other Christian virtues are formed.
Rennyo and the Roots of Modern Japanese Buddhism
by Mark L. Blum Shin'Ya YasutomiRennyo Shonin (1415-1499) is considered the "second founder" of Shin Buddhism. Under his leadership, the Honganji branch grew in size and power, becoming a national organization with great wealth and influence. Rennyo's success lay in conveying an attractive spiritual message while exerting effective administrative control. A savvy politician as well as religious leader, ennyo played a significant role in political, economic, and institutional developments. Though he is undeniably one of the most influential persons in the history of Japanese religion, his legacy remains enigmatic and largely overlooked by the West. This volume offers an assessment of Rennyo's contribution to Buddhist thought and the Honganji religious organization. A collection of 16 previously unpublished essays by both Japanese and non-Japanese scholars in the areas of historical studies, Shinshu studies, and comparative religion, it is the first book to confront many of the major questions surrounding the phenomenal growth of Honganji under Rennyo's leadership. The authors examine such topics as the source of Rennyo's charisma, the soteriological implications of his thought against the background of other movements in Pure Land Buddhism, and the relationship between his ideas and the growth of his church. This collection is an important first step in bringing this important figure to an audience outside Japan. It will be of significant interest to scholars in the fields of Japanese religion, Japanese social history, comparative religion, and the sociology of religion.
Renowned Goddess of Desire: Women, Sex, and Speech in Tantra
by Loriliai BiernackiTantra is a family of rituals modeled on those of the Vedas and their attendant texts and lineages. These rituals typically involve the visualization of a deity, offerings, and the chanting of his or her mantra. Common variations include visualizing the deity in the act of sexual union with a consort, visualizing oneself as the deity, and "transgressive" acts such as token consumption of meat or alcohol. Most notoriously, non-standard or ritualized sex is sometimes practiced. This accounts for Tantra's negative reputation in some quarters and its reception in the West primarily as a collection of sexual practices. Although some today extol Tantra's liberating qualities, the role of women remains controversial. Traditionally there are two views of women and Tantra. Either the feminine is a metaphor and actual women are altogether absent, or Tantra involves the transgressive use of women's bodies to serve male interests. Loriliai Biernacki presents an alternative view, in which women are revered, worshipped, and considered worthy of spiritual attainment. Her primary sources are a collection of eight relatively modern Tantric texts written in Sanskrit from the 15th through the 18th century. Her analysis of these texts reveals a view of women that is generally positive and empowering. She focuses on four topics: 1) the "Kali Practice," in which women appear not only as objects of reverence but as practitioners and gurus; 2) the Tantric sex rite, especially in the case that, contrary to other Tantric texts, the preference is for wives as ritual consorts; 3) feminine language and the gendered implications of mantra; and 4) images of male violence towards women in tantric myths. Biernacki, by choosing to analyse eight particular Sanskrit texts, argues that within the tradition of Tantra there exists a representation of women in which the female is an authoritative, powerful, equal participant in the Tantric ritual practice.
Renowned Goddess of Desire: Women, Sex, and Speech in Tantra
by Loriliai BiernackiTantra is a family of rituals modeled on those of the Vedas and their attendant texts and lineages. These rituals typically involve the visualization of a deity, offerings, and the chanting of his or her mantra. Common variations include visualizing the deity in the act of sexual union with a consort, visualizing oneself as the deity, and "transgressive" acts such as token consumption of meat or alcohol. Most notoriously, non-standard or ritualized sex is sometimes practiced. This accounts for Tantra's negative reputation in some quarters and its reception in the West primarily as a collection of sexual practices. Although some today extol Tantra's liberating qualities, the role of women remains controversial. Traditionally there are two views of women and Tantra. Either the feminine is a metaphor and actual women are altogether absent, or Tantra involves the transgressive use of women's bodies to serve male interests. Loriliai Biernacki presents an alternative view, in which women are revered, worshipped, and considered worthy of spiritual attainment. Her primary sources are a collection of eight relatively modern Tantric texts written in Sanskrit from the 15th through the 18th century. Her analysis of these texts reveals a view of women that is generally positive and empowering. She focuses on four topics: 1) the "Kali Practice," in which women appear not only as objects of reverence but as practitioners and gurus; 2) the Tantric sex rite, especially in the case that, contrary to other Tantric texts, the preference is for wives as ritual consorts; 3) feminine language and the gendered implications of mantra; and 4) images of male violence towards women in tantric myths. Biernacki, by choosing to analyse eight particular Sanskrit texts, argues that within the tradition of Tantra there exists a representation of women in which the female is an authoritative, powerful, equal participant in the Tantric ritual practice.
Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies
by Courtney FreerWhile scholars have long looked at the role of political Islam in the Middle East, it has been assumed that domestic politics in the wealthy monarchical states of the Arabian Gulf, so-called "rentier states" where taxes are very low and oil wealth subsidizes the needs of citizens, are largely unaffected by such movements. However, the long accepted rentier theory has been shortsighted in overlooking the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in the super-rentiers of Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. While rentier state theory assumes that citizens of such states will form opposition blocs only when their stake in rent income is threatened, this book demonstrates that ideology, rather than rent, have motivated the formation of independent Islamist movements in the wealthiest states of the region. In the monarchical systems of Qatar and the UAE, Islamist groups do not have the opportunity to compete for power and therefore cannot use the ballot box to gain popularity or influence political life, as they do elsewhere in the Middle East. But, as this book points out, the division between the social and political sectors is often blurred in the socially conservative states of the Gulf, as political actors operate through channels that are not institutionalized. Simply because politics is underinstitutionalized in such states does not mean that it is underdeveloped; the informal realm holds considerable political capital. As such, the book argues that Brotherhood movements have managed to use the links between the social (i.e. informal personal networks) and political (i.e. government institutions) to gain influence in policymaking in such states.Using contemporary history and original empirical research, Courtney Freer updates traditional rentier state theory and argues that political Islam serves as a prominent voice and tool to promote more strictly political, and often populist or reformist, views supported by many Gulf citizens.
Rentier Islamism: The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gulf Monarchies
by Courtney FreerWhile scholars have long looked at the role of political Islam in the Middle East, it has been assumed that domestic politics in the wealthy monarchical states of the Arabian Gulf, so-called "rentier states" where taxes are very low and oil wealth subsidizes the needs of citizens, are largely unaffected by such movements. However, the long accepted rentier theory has been shortsighted in overlooking the socio-political role played by Muslim Brotherhood affiliates in the super-rentiers of Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. While rentier state theory assumes that citizens of such states will form opposition blocs only when their stake in rent income is threatened, this book demonstrates that ideology, rather than rent, have motivated the formation of independent Islamist movements in the wealthiest states of the region. In the monarchical systems of Qatar and the UAE, Islamist groups do not have the opportunity to compete for power and therefore cannot use the ballot box to gain popularity or influence political life, as they do elsewhere in the Middle East. But, as this book points out, the division between the social and political sectors is often blurred in the socially conservative states of the Gulf, as political actors operate through channels that are not institutionalized. Simply because politics is underinstitutionalized in such states does not mean that it is underdeveloped; the informal realm holds considerable political capital. As such, the book argues that Brotherhood movements have managed to use the links between the social (i.e. informal personal networks) and political (i.e. government institutions) to gain influence in policymaking in such states.Using contemporary history and original empirical research, Courtney Freer updates traditional rentier state theory and argues that political Islam serves as a prominent voice and tool to promote more strictly political, and often populist or reformist, views supported by many Gulf citizens.
¡Renuévate! (Do the New You): Seis mentalidades que te convertirán en el ser que fuiste creado
by Steven FurtickEsa versión ideal de ti no es imaginaria en absoluto. En realidad, es tu ser auténtico el que intenta abrirse paso. Tampoco es una versión futura de ti mismo lo que tienes que perseguir. El verdadero tú puede ser nuevo para ti, pero no lo es para Dios. Es el ser que Él conoció desde el principio. En ¡Renuévate!, el pastor y autor de éxitos de ventas del New York Times, Steven Furtick, habla directamente del desafío de vivir la identidad y el llamado que Dios nos ha dado. En este reciente libro, él explora y analiza seis mentalidades prácticas que todos podemos adoptar para pasar de ser quienes somos hoy a donde Dios nos quiere llevar. Estas seis afirmaciones son verdades sobre ti mismo que puedes expresarlas en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar: • No estoy estancado, a menos que me detenga. • Cristo está en mí, por lo que soy suficiente. • Con Dios, siempre hay un camino y por la fe lo encontraré. • Dios no está en mi contra; Él está conmigo, obrando a través de mí y peleando por mí. • Estar alegre es mi tarea. • Dios me ha dado todo lo que necesito para la temporada en la que estoy. Estas frases sencillas, poderosas y memorables cambiarán tu enfoque, tus sentimientos y tus acciones para alinearlos con la visión que Dios tiene de ti. Dios no solo te está llamando a ser tú mismo. Él te está llamando a renovarte, a ser tu nuevo yo: esa persona única y poderosa que Dios creó en ti. Find your God-given identity and calling and to grow into the person God designed you to be all along with New York Times bestselling author and pastor Steven Furtick's inspiring advice. Do you ever get a glimpse of a version of you that doesn't quite exist yet - but something in you believes it could? The happier, kinder, less stressed, more courageous you? The ideal version of you isn't imaginary at all. It's actually the authentic you trying to break through. God knows the potential he placed inside of you, even if you don&’t yet. Accepting yourself as you are doesn't mean giving up on the possibility of growing into even greater things. And as you do, you meet the true you - the new you. And it may be new to you, but it&’s not new to God. It's the you he knew all along. In Do the New You, bestselling author and pastor Steven Furtick speaks directly to the challenge of living out your God-given identity and calling. He explores and unpacks six practical mindsets everyone can adopt to get from who you are today to where God is taking you. These six statements are truths you can speak over yourself any time and anywhere: • I&’m not stuck unless I stop. • Christ is in me. I am enough. • With God there's always a way and by faith I will find it. • God is not against me, but he's in it with me, working through me, fighting for me. • My joy is my job. • God has given me everything I need for the season I&’m in. These simple, powerful, memorable phrases will shift your focus, feelings, and actions to align with God&’s vision of you. God isn&’t just calling you to do you. He&’s calling you to do the new you—the unique and powerful person he created and called you to be.