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The International African Library: Salafism in Nigeria
By Alexander Thurston. 2016
The spectre of Boko Haram and its activities in Nigeria dominates both media and academic analysis of Islam in the…
region. But, as Alexander Thurston argues here, beyond the sensational headlines this group generates, the dynamics of Muslim life in northern Nigeria remain poorly understood. Drawing on interviews with leading Salafis in Nigeria as well as on a rereading of the history of the global Salafi movement, this volume explores how a canon of classical and contemporary texts defines Salafism. Examining how these texts are interpreted and - crucially - who it is that has the authority to do so, Thurston offers a systematic analysis of curricula taught in Saudi Arabia and how they shape religious scholars' approach to religion and education once they return to Africa. Essential for scholars of religion and politics, this unique text explores how the canon of Salafism has been used and refined, from Nigeria's return to democracy to the jihadist movement Boko Haram.Issues in Science and Theology: What is Life?
By Dirk Evers, Michael Fuller, Antje Jackel n, Knut-Willy S ther. 2015
This book explores the concept of Life from a range of perspectives. Divided into three parts, it first examines the…
concept of Life from physics to biology. It then presents insights on the concept from the perspectives of philosophy, theology, and ethics. The book concludes with chapters on the hermeneutics of Life, and pays special attention to the Biosemiotics approach to the concept. The question 'What is Life?' has been deliberated by the greatest minds throughout human history. Life as we know it is not a substance or fundamental property, but a complex process. It is not an easy task to develop an unequivocal approach towards Life combining scientific, semiotic, philosophical, theological, and ethical perspectives. In its combination of these perspectives, and its wide-ranging scope, this book opens up levels and identifies issues which can serve as intersections for meaningful interdisciplinary discussions of Life in its different aspects. The book includes the four plenary lectures and selected, revised and extended papers from workshops of the 14th European Conference on Science and Theology (ECST XIV) held in Tartu, Estonia, April 2012.Ezili’s Mirrors
By Omise'Eke Natasha Tinsley. 2018
From the dagger mistress Ezili Je Wouj and the gender-bending mermaid Lasiren to the beautiful femme queen Ezili Freda, the…
Ezili pantheon of Vodoun spirits represents the divine forces of love, sexuality, prosperity, pleasure, maternity, creativity, and fertility. And just as Ezili appears in different guises and characters, so too does Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley in her voice- and genre-shifting, exploratory book Ezili's Mirrors. Drawing on her background as a literary critic as well as her quest to learn the lessons of her spiritual ancestors, Tinsley theorizes black Atlantic sexuality by tracing how contemporary queer Caribbean and African American writers and performers evoke Ezili. Tinsley shows how Ezili is manifest in the work and personal lives of singers Whitney Houston and Azealia Banks, novelists Nalo Hopkinson and Ana Lara, performers MilDred Gerestant and Sharon Bridgforth, and filmmakers Anne Lescot and Laurence Magloire—none of whom identify as Vodou practitioners. In so doing, Tinsley offers a model of queer black feminist theory that creates new possibilities for decolonizing queer studies.Thieves in the Temple: The Christian Church and the Selling of the American Soul
By G. Jeffrey Macdonald. 2010
What has become of the Christian Church? Once devoted to molding Americans into better people, in recent years the Christian…
Church has gotten a corporate makeover. In a desperate attempt to bolster membership rolls, ministers have begun to treat their churches more like companies, and their congregations more like customers. As a minister in a small church and as a national religion reporter, journalist G. Jeffrey MacDonald witnessed firsthand this lapse into consumerism. He realized that in an effort to cast a wide net for souls churches have sacrificed their authority to transform Americans' self-serving impulses for the better. In the headlong rush to operate more like businesses, churches are sacrificing their moral authority, perhaps permanently. The result is a crisis for the American conscience. MacDonald's incisive critique of today's movement away from true religion shows how desperately America needs a new religious reformation.Proselytizing and the Limits of Religious Pluralism in Contemporary Asia
By Juliana Finucane, R. Michael Feener. 2014
This volume brings together a range of critical studies that explore diverse ways in which processes of globalization pose new…
challenges and offer new opportunities for religious groups to propagate their beliefs in contemporary Asian contexts. Proselytizing tests the limits of religious pluralism, as it is a practice that exists on the border of tolerance and intolerance. The practice of proselytizing presupposes not only that people are freely-choosing agents and that religion itself is an issue of individual preference. At the same time, however, it also raises fraught questions about belonging to particular communities and heightens the moral stakes in involved in such choices. In many contemporary Asian societies, questions about the limits of acceptable proselytic behavior have taken on added urgency in the current era of globalization. Recognizing this, the studies brought together here serve to develop our understandings of current developments as it critically explores the complex ways in which contemporary contexts of religious pluralism in Asia both enable, and are threatened by, projects of proselytization.Death Of Character: Moral Education in an Age Without Good or Evil
By James Davison Hunter. 2000
The Death of Character is a broad historical, sociological, and cultural inquiry into the moral life and moral education of…
young Americans based upon a huge empirical study of the children themselves. The children's thoughts and concerns-expressed here in their own words-shed a whole new light on what we can expect from moral education. Targeting new theories of education and the prominence of psychology over moral instruction, Hunter analyzes the making of a new cultural narcissism.Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam
By Marcello Pera, Joseph Ratzinger, Now Pope Benedict XVI. 2006
Bringing together their unique vantage points as leaders of Church and State, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Marcello Pera challenge us…
to imagine what can be the future of a civilization that has abandoned its moral and cultural history. They call on the West to embrace a spiritual rather than political renewal -and to accept the moral values that alone can help us to make sense of changes in technology, economics, and society.Hume's Critique of Religion: 'Sick Men's Dreams'
By Dan O'Brien, Alan Bailey. 2014
In this volume, authors Alan Bailey and Dan O'Brien examine the full import of David Hume's arguments and the context…
of the society in which his work came to fruition. They analyze the nuanced natured of Hume's philosophical discourse and provide an informed look into his position on the possible content and rational justification of religious belief. The authors first detail the pressures and forms of repression that confronted any 18th century thinker wishing to challenge publicly the truth of Christian theism. From there, they offer an overview of Hume's writings on religion, paying particular attention to the inter-relationships between the various works. They show that Hume's writings on religion are best seen as an artfully constructed web of irreligious argument that seeks to push forward a radical outlook, one that only emerges when the attention shifts from the individual sections of the web to its overall structure and context. Even though there is no explicit denial in any of Hume's published writings or private correspondence of the existence of God, the implications of his arguments often seem to point strongly towards atheism. David Hume was one of the leading British critics of Christianity and all forms of religion at a time when public utterances or published writings denying the truth of Christianity were liable to legal prosecution. His philosophical and historical writings offer a sustained and remarkably open critique of religion that is unmatched by any previous author writing in English. Yet, despite Hume's widespread reputation amongst his contemporaries for extreme irreligion, the subtle and measured manner in which he presents his position means that it remains far from clear how radical his views actually were.Prayers for a Privileged People
By Walter Brueggemann. 2008
In Prayers for a Privileged People, this much-published author sculpts--as carefully as if with chisel--prayers on behalf of those who…
are people of privilege and entitlement--the haves--at an urgent moment in our society. The privileged face, on the one hand, the seduction of denial or, on the other, the temptation of despair. These prayers of wisdom and prophetic power remind us that when things go wrong , when we are afraid , and when we feel prodded by those who lack voice, there is a conversation we can have--a conversation situated amid the promises and commands of God.Papa Francisco
By Marie Duhamel. 2016
Desde el momento en que fue elegido para el papado, el papa Francisco ha captado la atención del mundo con…
su humildad, carisma y espíritu reformistaEsta biografía ilustrada única del primer Papa jesuita ofrece más de 250 fotografías e incluye 50 documentos de la vida de Francisco que se pueden extraer del libro. Escrita por la reportera de Radio Vaticano, Marie Duhamel, este retrato íntimo incluye la emigración de sus padres desde Italia, su nacimiento como Jorge Mario Bergoglio en 1936, su amor por el fútbol y la ópera cuando era niño, la neumonía que casi le costó la vida cuando era un adulto joven, su llamado al sacerdocio, y su primer encuentro con la pobreza cuando era misionero en Chile que cambió su vida. Duhamel hace una crónica del ascenso de Francisco de sacerdote a obispo, de cardenal al papado, y cómo, a lo largo del camino, impresionó a muchas personas, y alejó a algunas, con su valentía para hacer frente a la autoridad y su dedicación a ayudar a los pobres. Los documentos adjuntos, como su certificado de bautismo, fotografías de su niñez, páginas de un cuaderno escolar, notas manuscritas como Papa, e incluso una tarjeta de seguidor de su querido club de fútbol del San Lorenzo, ilustran más aún su vida y crean un recuerdo duradero de este Papa para el pueblo.---From the moment he was elected into the papacy, Pope Francis has captured the attention of the world with his humility, charisma, and reformist spirit. This one-of-a-kind, illustrated biography of the first Jesuit pope offers more than 250 photographs and 50 documents from Francis's life. Written by Vatican Radio reporter Marie Duhamel, this intimate portrait includes his parents emigration from Italy, his birth as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, his love of soccer and opera as a child, the pneumonia that nearly cost him his life as a young adult, his calling to the priesthood, and his first encounter with poverty as a missionary in Chile that would change his life. Duhamel chronicles Francis's rise from priest to bishop to cardinal to the papacy and how, along the way, he impressed many people-and alienated some-with his courage to stand up to authority and his dedication to helping the poor. Enclosed documents such as his baptism certificate, photographs from his childhood, pages from a school notebook, handwritten notes as pope, and even a support card for his beloved San Lorenzosoccer club, further illuminate his life and create a lasting keepsake of this pope of the people.Mediating Institutions
By Malcolm Torry. 2016
This original book studies a wide variety of mediating institutions, both organizational and non-organizational, in workplaces, residential areas, and in…
wider society. Focusing upon institutions in the Thames Gateway and with case studies across south-east London, Europe and the USA, Meditating Institutions highlights the importance of understanding, creating and maintaining these organizations that facilitate relationships between religious institutions and others within society. Discussing their structures and activities, the author asserts that good relationships between religious institutions and other groups in our society are essential for a cohesive and peaceful society.El honrado y la relación con Yahveh
By Aldivan Teixeira Torres, Hayley Roux. 2016
Este cuento aporta consejos prácticos en la relación con el padre y alienta el optimismo y la perseverancia. Si estás…
en un momento difícil, este es el mejor momento para leerlo y reiniciar las esperanzas.Perceptions of the Holocaust in Europe and Muslim Communities
By Günther Jikeli, Joëlle Allouche-Benayoun. 2012
The way people think about the Holocaust is changing. The particular nature of the transformation depends on people's historical perspectives…
and how they position themselves and their nation or community vis-à-vis the tragedy. Understandably, European Muslims perceive the Holocaust as less central to their history than do other Europeans. Yet while the acknowledgement and commemoration of the horrors of the Holocaust are increasingly important in Europe, Holocaust denial and biased views on the Holocaust are widespread in European Muslims' countries of origin. In this book, a number of distinguished scholars and educators of various backgrounds discuss views of the Holocaust. Problematic views are often influenced by a persistent attitude of Holocaust denial which is derived, in part, from discourses in the Muslim communities in their countries of origin. The essays collected here explore the backgrounds of these perceptions and highlight positive approaches and developments. Many of the contributions were written by people working in the field and reflecting on their experiences. This collection also reveals that problematic views of the Holocaust are not limited to Muslim communities.Pope Francis: The Story of the Holy Father
By Marie Duhamel. 2016
From the moment he was elected into the papacy, Pope Francis has captured the attention of the world with his…
humility, charisma, and reformist spirit.This one-of-a-kind, illustrated biography of the first Jesuit pope offers more than 250 photographs and 50 removable documents from Francis's life. Written by Vatican Radio reporter Marie Duhamel, this intimate portrait includes his parents emigration from Italy, his birth as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, his love of soccer and opera as a child, the pneumonia that nearly cost him his life as a young adult, his calling to the priesthood, and his first encounter with poverty as a missionary in Chile that would change his life. Duhamel chronicles Francis's rise from priest to bishop to cardinal to the papacy and how, along the way, he impressed many people-and alienated some-with his courage to stand up to authority and his dedication to helping the poor.Enclosed documents such as his baptism certificate, photographs from his childhood, pages from a school notebook, handwritten notes as pope, and even a support card for his beloved San Lorenzosoccer club, further illuminate his life and create a lasting keepsake of this pope of the people.Islamist Terrorism and Militancy in Indonesia
By Kumar Ramakrishna. 2015
Drawing upon insights from the natural and social sciences, this book puts forth a provocative new argument that the violent…
Islamist threat in Indonesia today derives its stubborn resilience from being in essence a complex, adaptive and self-organizing system - or what some specialists might even call a super-organism. The book challenges the popular assumption that ideology is the root cause that explains why Indonesian Islamists radicalize into violent extremism. In addition it addresses why despite years of intense security force pressure, seemingly disparate militant cells keep 'popping up' like the proverbial hydra - and in the apparent absence of a centralized coordinating body, nevertheless appear to display an organic interconnectivity with one another. Going beyond standard ideological mantras the book argues that fresh inter-disciplinary thinking is needed to cope with the constantly mutating violent Islamist challenge in Indonesia, and puts forth a comprehensive strategy for doing so. It will be of interest to academics and students of terrorism, religion and violence in the Southeast Asian region.Hope After Faith: An Ex-Pastor's Journey from Belief to Atheism
By Jerry Dewitt. 2013
Atheism's leading lights have long been intellectuals raised in the secular and academic worlds: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the…
late Christopher Hitchens. By contrast, Jerry DeWitt was born and bred into the church and was in fact a Pentecostal preacher before arriving at atheism through an extraordinary dialogue with faith that spanned more than a quarter of a century. Hope After Faith is his account of that journey. DeWitt was a pastor in the town of DeRidder, Louisiana, and was a fixture of the community. In private, however, he'd begun to question his faith. Late one night in May 2011, a member of his flock called seeking prayer for her brother who had been in a serious accident. As DeWitt searched for the right words to console her, speech failed him, and he found that the faith which once had formed the cornerstone of his life had finally crumbled to dust. When it became public knowledge that DeWitt was now an atheist, he found himself shunned by much of DeRidder's highly religious community, losing nearly everything he'd known. DeWitt's struggle for identity and meaning mirrors the one currently facing millions of people around the world. With both agnosticism and atheism entering the mainstream-one in five Americans now claim no religious affiliation, according to a recent study-the moment has arrived for a new atheist voice, one that is respectful of faith and religious traditions yet warmly embraces a life free of religion, finding not skepticism and cold doubt but rather profound meaning and hope. Hope After Faith is the story of one man's evolution toward a committed and considered atheism, one driven by humanism, a profound moral dimension, and a happiness and self-confidence obtained through living free of fear.The Bhagavad Gita
By Eknath Easwaran. 1961
In the Bhagavad Gita, Prince Arjuna asks direct, uncompromising questions of his spiritual guide on the eve of a great…
battle. In this expanded edition of the most famous --and popular -- of Indian scriptures, Eknath Easwaran contextualizes the book culturally and historically and explains the key concepts of Hindu religious thought and the technical vocabulary of yoga. Chapter introductions, notes, and a glossary help readers understand the book's message. Most importantly, this translation uses simple, clear language to impart the poetry, universality, and timelessness of the Gita's teachings.Secular Spirituality
By Harald Walach. 2015
This book discusses spirituality as an emerging scientific topic from a historical perspective, with extensive discussion of the mind-body problem…
and of scientific concepts of consciousness. While the book focuses on the Western tradition of 'Enlightenment', it also implicitly addresses the double meaning of the term, with the Eastern tradition describing it as 'a state of true knowledge, which is an important goal on an individual's spiritual path' and the Western tradition seeing it as 'the collective process of getting rid of narrow-minded dogmas and concepts'. The book is based on a simple yet challenging premise: Science has not gone far enough in the scientific process of going from a collective mind tied up in dogmatic teachings to a truly free mind that, seemingly, freed itself from bondage and restrictions. The book shows that science, and with it our whole Western culture, has to incorporate spirituality if it is to realize this goal of enlightenment. If that is done, and it can only be done by many individuals actually practicing spirituality, this will also lead to the individual type of enlightenment.Discerning the Powers in Post-Colonial Africa and Asia
By Pak Nung Wong. 2016
Qualifying post-Westphalian sovereign statehood as a 'power' as argued for in Hendrik Berkhoff's political theology, this book addresses the decades-long…
theological-spiritual debate between Christian realism and Christian pacifism in U. S. foreign policy and global Christian circles. It approaches the debate by delving into the pacifist Anabaptist political theology and delineates empirically how sovereign statehood in post-colonial Africa and Asia has fallen into the hands of the devil Satan, as a 'fallen power' in the Foucaultian terms of power structures, techniques and episteme. While the book offers intervention schemes and options, it holds that Christian statecraft remains the source of hope to effectively address a number of serious global issues. By extension, the book is thus an invitation to ignite debates on the suitability of Christian statecraft and the nexus between spirituality and world politics, making it especially interesting for scholars and students in the fields of International Politics, Politics of Asian and African States, Post-colonial Studies and Political Theology.Towards Cultural Psychology of Religion
By Jacob A. Belzen. 2009
This book takes a bold stand: all psychology should be culturally sensitive psychology, especially when studying religious phenomena. It explains…
that culture is not simply to be conceived of as a variable that possibly influences behavior. Rather, it stresses that cultural patterns of acting, thinking and experiencing are created, adopted and promulgated by a number of individuals jointly. As human subjectivity is different in different cultures, cultural psychology is not interested in comparatively investigating how experiences and behavior, attitudes and social relationships present themselves within different cultural conditions. By consequence, cultural psychology does not start from Western psychological constructs, testing for their presence in other cultures, but from human acts and activities in specific cultures, analyzing them in a hermeneutical way. Like cultural psychology, psychology of religion currently enjoys more and more interest and rapid growth. But the two fields have remained rather unconnected in the recent past. Psychological research on religion has been pursued from a number of perspectives, among which a cultural psychological one has not yet become prominent. As religions, however conceptualized, are cultural entities of major importance, cultural psychology seems a natural ally to research on religion. Containing a number of studies, both theoretical and empirical, this volume takes a step towards a rapprochement of cultural psychology and psychology of religion.