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Showing 1 - 20 of 27173 items
By Nicholas Morton. 2016
The First Crusade (1095–9) has often been characterised as a head-to-head confrontation between the forces of Christianity and Islam. For…
many, it is the campaign that created a lasting rupture between these two faiths. Nevertheless, is such a characterisation borne out by the sources? Engagingly written and supported by a wealth of evidence, Encountering Islam on the First Crusade offers a major reinterpretation of the crusaders' attitudes towards the Arabic and Turkic peoples they encountered on their journey to Jerusalem. Nicholas Morton considers how they interpreted the new peoples, civilizations and landscapes they encountered; sights for which their former lives in Western Christendom had provided little preparation. Morton offers a varied picture of cross cultural relations, depicting the Near East as an arena in which multiple protagonists were pitted against each other. Some were fighting for supremacy, others for their religion, many simply for survival.By David L. Ulin. 2018
The new introduction and afterword bring fresh relevance to this insightful rumination on the act of reading--as a path to…
critical thinking, individual and political identity, civic engagement, and resistance.The former LA Times book critic expands his short book, rich in ideas, on the consequence of reading to include the considerations of fake news, siloed information, and the connections between critical thinking as the key component of engaged citizenship and resistance. Here is the case for reading as a political act in both public and private gestures, and for the ways it enlarges the world and our frames of reference, all the while keeping us engaged.By Claudia M ller-Ebeling, Christian R tsch. 2003
An examination of the sacred botany and the pagan origins and rituals of Christmas • Analyzes the symbolism of the…
many plants associated with Christmas • Reveals the shamanic rituals that are at the heart of the Christmas celebration The day on which many commemorate the birth of Christ has its origins in pagan rituals that center on tree worship, agriculture, magic, and social exchange. But Christmas is no ordinary folk observance. It is an evolving feast that over the centuries has absorbed elements from cultures all over the world--practices that give plants and plant spirits pride of place. In fact, the symbolic use of plants at Christmas effectively transforms the modern-day living room into a place of shamanic ritual. Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling show how the ancient meaning of the botanical elements of Christmas provides a unique view of the religion that existed in Europe before the introduction of Christianity. The fir tree was originally revered as the sacred World Tree in northern Europe. When the church was unable to drive the tree cult out of people’s consciousness, it incorporated the fir tree by dedicating it to the Christ child. Father Christmas in his red-and-white suit, who flies through the sky in a sleigh drawn by reindeer, has his mythological roots in the shamanic reindeer-herding tribes of arctic Europe and Siberia. These northern shamans used the hallucinogenic fly agaric mushroom, which is red and white, to make their soul flights to the other world. Apples, which figure heavily in Christmas baking, are symbols of the sun god Apollo, so they find a natural place at winter solstice celebrations of the return of the sun. In fact, the authors contend that the emphasis of Christmas on green plants and the promise of the return of life in the dead of winter is just an adaptation of the pagan winter solstice celebration.By Sharon L. Baker. 2013
Why did God have to murder his only son to pay our debts? What kind of vengeful, violent God can…
only be satisfied by vicarious blood atonement? In Executing God, theologian Sharon Baker presents a biblically based and theologically sound critique of popular theories of the atonement. Concerned about the number of acts of violence performed in the name of God, Baker challenges cultural assumptions about the death of Jesus and its meaning to Christians. She ultimately offers a constructive alternate view of atonement based on God's forgiveness that opens up salvation to a wider group of people.By Brian Hayden. 2018
The Power of Ritual in Prehistory is the first book in nearly a century to deal with traditional secret societies…
from a comparative perspective and the first from an archaeological viewpoint Providing a clear definition as well as the material signatures of ethnographic secret societies Brian Hayden demonstrates how they worked what motivated their organizers and what tactics they used to obtain what they wanted He shows that far from working for the welfare of their communities traditional secret societies emerged as predatory organizations operated for the benefit of their own members Moreover and contrary to the prevailing ideas that prehistoric rituals were used to integrate communities Hayden demonstrates how traditional secret societies created divisiveness and inequalities They were one of the key tools for increasing political control leading to chiefdoms states and world religions Hayden s conclusions will be eye-opening not only for archaeologists but also for anthropologists political scientists and scholars of religionBy Richard L. Hamm. 2007
Mainline denominations in the United States are in crisis. These institutions-created in and for modernity-are now facing a changed, postmodern…
culture. Hamm faces the crisis, examining its origins, and offers sound advice on how to lead to church to make the adaptive changes needed to thrive in postmodern times.By John R. Claypool. 1974
With over a million copies sold one s pastor s personal experience with devastating grief…
and learning to heal through faith has touched countless hearts John Claypool had been a pastor for almost two decades ministering to others who suffered through the loss of loved ones when loss hit home with the death of his eight-year-old daughter In Tracks of a Fellow Struggler Rev Claypool shares his own journey through the darkness of heartbreaking grief through four extraordinary sermons The first was delivered just eleven days after his daughter s diagnosis of leukemia the second after her first major relapse nine months later and the third weeks after her death The final sermon an inspiring reflection on the process of grieving was preached three years later Loss is something we must all cope with and one of the greatest spiritual challenges is sustaining faith when life seems most unfair sometimes tragic With a depth of compassion born of his own personal experience the author of Mending the Heart brings emotional comfort and spiritual strength to anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved oneBy Emma Holly, Christine Feehan, Sabrina Jeffries, Elda Minger. 2002
In these four novellas by today's hottest romance writers, a Victorian widow auctions off her most prized possession: herself. .…
. a beautiful jungle explorer discovers her own wild side. . . a bloodthirsty beauty gives in to her darkest desires. . . and a young woman turns an all-male academy into a school for seduction. You have nothing to lose. . . but your inhibitions. .By R. Larry Moyer. 2002
By Sean Stewart Price. 2009
By Chelsea Hodson. 2018
I had a real romance with this book Miranda JulyA highly anticipated collection from…
the writer Maggie Nelson has called bracingly good refreshing and welcome that explores the myriad ways in which desire and commodification intersect From graffiti gangs and Grand Theft Auto to sugar daddies Schopenhauer and a deadly game of Russian roulette in these essays Chelsea Hodson probes her own desires to examine where the physical and the proprietary collide She asks what our privacy our intimacy and our own bodies are worth in the increasingly digital world of liking linking and sharing Starting with Hodson s own work experience which ranges from the mundane to the bizarre including modeling and working on a NASA Mars mission Hodson expands outward looking at the ways in which the human will submits whether in the marketplace or in a relationship Both tender and jarring this collection is relevant to anyone who s ever searched for what the self is worth Hodson s accumulation within each piece is purposeful and her prose vivid clear and sometimes even shocking as she explores the wonderful and strange forms of desire Tonight I m Someone Else is a fresh poetic debut from an exciting emerging voice in which Hodson asks How much can a body endure And the resounding answer Almost everythingBy Kirk Freudenburg. 2005
Satire as a distinct genre was first developed by the Romans and regarded as completely 'their own'. This Companion's international…
contributors provide a stimulating introduction to the genre and its individual proponents aimed particularly at non-specialists. Roman satires are explored both as generic, literary phenomena and as highly symbolic and effective social activities. Satire's transformation in late antiquity and reception in more recent centuries is also covered.By Barbara Fradkin, Joan Boswell, Sue Pike. 2000
This ebook bundle present all four of the Ladies Killing Circle’s wicked collections of twisted and witty crime fiction. Includes…
Fit to Die Bone Dance When Boomers Go Bad Going Out With a BangBy J M S Careless. 1996
This sampling of the work of J.M.S. Careless in the area of Canadian historical studies was selected by the eminent…
scholar himself, and represents much of his finest work. The collection spans the years from 1940 to 1990 in the long and distinguished career of one of Canada’s best-known historians. In Careless’s own words, History is dated. Its very claim is that the past does not fade into nothing but continues to matter, whether or not the purely present-minded are able to recognize that basic fact. These essays cover the main lines of Careless’s career in Canadian scholarship. The collection is divided into four general subject areas each covering a main preoccupation in a distinguished career of over forty years. The first section concentrates on the earliest theme in his writing, George Brown and his times. The second centres on exploring various aspects of frontierism and metropolitanism in Canadian history. The third part deals with cities and regions focusing particularly on the West and nineteenth century Ontario. The final section picks up the threads of other themes including limited identities Canada and multiculturalism.By Michal Bar-Asher Siegal. 2013
This book examines literary analogies in Christian and Jewish sources, culminating in an in-depth analysis of striking parallels and connections…
between Christian monastic texts (the Apophthegmata Patrum or 'The Sayings of the Desert Fathers') and Babylonian Talmudic traditions. The importance of the monastic movement in the Persian Empire, during the time of the composition and redaction of the Babylonian Talmud, fostered a literary connection between the two religious populations. The shared literary elements in the literatures of these two elite religious communities sheds new light on the surprisingly inclusive nature of the Talmudic corpora and on the non-polemical nature of elite Jewish-Christian literary relations in late antique Persia.By Marcus Brown. 2018
And (Jesus) said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation.' Mark 16:15…
(ESV) The need for proclaiming the Good News to the world has never been greater. Recent statistics reveal that 63% of Americans go to church less than once a month, and almost half of that group never set foot inside a church. That puts us in a dilemma. If those in need of the message of salvation through Jesus Christ aren’t coming to our churches, how do we reach them? How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? Romans 10:14-15 (ESV) Salem Media Group has an answer: Radio. Nielsen Media Research—the world’s leader in media data—has found “traditional AM/FM terrestrial radio still retains its undiminished appeal for listeners; 91% of Americans, aged 12 and older, listen to this form of radio.” When radio is amplified with new technology, its reach is powerful. When matched with biblical preaching and teaching, God’s Kingdom expands. Not only are the lost led to salvation, they are drawn to your church, putting them where they need to be to become disciples. This book details how a local Salem Media radio platform can partner with your church to fulfill the Great Commission and grow your ministry. From the “why” to the “how,” we give you everything you need to prayerfully consider this opportunity to pierce the darkness in your community with the Light of the World.By Susie Shellenberger. 2005
A Personal Bible Study on the Book of 1 Peter Everyone wants to win, be happy, and, whenever possible, wear…
cool clothes in the process. And why not? That’s what life and success are all about, right? Think again. The kind of success and wardrobe that author Susie Shellenberger writes about has nothing to do with money or buying power at the mall. It comes from God and from knowing who you are in God’s eyes. With this interactive study of 1 Peter, you and your friends get a chance to examine God’s ideas about what it means to be happy and successful. With true-to-life stories and practical tips, discover a secret power that’s yours for the taking—because Christ has already won it for us. We just need to follow his lead.By M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, Mamar Ibn Rashid, Sean W. Anthony. 2015
The Expeditions is one of the oldest biographies of the Prophet Muhammad to survive into the modern era. Its primary…
author, Ma'mar ibn Rashid (714-770 AD/96-153 AH), was a prominent scholar from Basra in southern Iraq who was revered for his learning in prophetic traditions, Islamic law, and the interpretation of the Qur'an. This fascinating foundational seminal work contains stories handed down by Ma'mar to his most prominent pupil, 'Abd al-Razzaq of Sanaa, relating Muhammad's early life and prophetic career as well as the adventures and tribulations of his earliest followers during their conquest of the Near East.Edited from a sole surviving manuscript, the Arabic text offers numerous improved readings over those of previous editions, including detailed notes on the text's transmission and variants as found in later works. This new translation, which renders the original into readable, modern English for the first time, is accompanied by numerous annotations elucidating the cultural, religious and historical contexts of the events and individuals described within its pages.The Expeditions represents an important testimony to the earliest Muslims' memory of the lives of Muhammad and his companions, and is an indispensable text for gaining insight into the historical biography of both the Prophet and the rise of the Islamic empire.By Suzan Johnson Cook. 1998
In Too Blessed to Be Stressed Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook shares her testament of faith and is living proof that…
stress doesn't have to stress you out. Dr. Cook uses her platform as the first female American Baptist pastor, a wife, a mother, as well as an appointee to President Clinton's Initiative on Race and Reconciliation to point out that many changes in life will happen - both good and bad. There is one constant that we can count on in this change-the unchanging and constant nature of God. Dr. Cook provides stories and hymns to show that God has blessings prepared for each and every women in their season of life.By Louise Fernandes Khurshid. 2014
Chachi: is not a taxi. It is something that feels; and emotes . . . New Delhi: A melting pot.…
A crucible of people, cultures, lifestyles. Home to the politicians that lead this country. And to the taxiwallahs that more often than not charge a hundred per cent extra than the legitimate fare. U.P.: The badlands. Notorious for dacoits, land usurpation; and other misdeeds. This is the New Delhi and U.P that we travel through with the most lovable of all symbols associated with the city – the Ambassador car. Travails with Chachi is a ‘Never-before-Seen’ Delhi. It is a Delhi seen through the eyes of the Ambassador taxi – an ubiquitous symbol that for many decades defined Delhi. Plodding through Lutyens’ Delhi on a maximum speed of 40 kmph Chachi (the protagonist of this book) sees all; experiences all; and tells all. The taxi belches; makes offensive noises; and is a tell-tale. And so the characters that Chachi plys on her ample ‘back’seat – dhoti-clad paan-chewing portly politicians indulging in ‘suitcase politics; Ganesh brand beedi chain-smokers; the Nakli Singh Yadavs who only want to induct people into politics – that is already home to bus conductors and convicted dacoits; the belan brandishing Bablu ki Ma; and Mehnath Singh – who is far removed from the name bestowed upon him by his parents that implies ‘hard work’. The lands that Chachi travels through is peppered with those that breathe and abuse concurrently; those that revel and live off name-dropping; the inventors of lyrical slogans - Tilak, tarazu, talwar aur ch****; sab ko maro joota chaar!; and those that make a living - doing nothing. This is New Delhi. This is U.P. This is Chachi’s world.