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The Pregnant Goddess: Your Guide to Traditions, Rituals, and Blessings for a Sacred Pagan Pregnancy
By Arin Murphy-Hiscock. 2020
Embrace the divine feminine power of the Mother Goddess and learn how to spiritually prepare for pregnancy with this guide…
to Pagan rituals, meditations, and traditions for every milestone over the next nine months! As you make the transition from maiden to mother, you fully embody the Mother Goddess. Embark on this sacred journey with this complete guide including special mediations, affirmations, and rituals designed to help you attune to the divine energies of childbearing. The Pregnant Goddess teaches you how to: -Prepare spiritually for pregnancy -Conduct rituals to aide in conception, safe pregnancy, and easy delivery -Practice responsible magic during these critical nine moths -Deal with unexpected delivery developments The Pregnant Goddess is the perfect companion as you embark on the most magnificent and magical journey of your life!Crime and Forgiveness: Christianizing Execution in Medieval Europe
By Adriano Prosperi. 2020
A provocative analysis of how Christianity helped legitimize the death penalty in early modern Europe, then throughout the Christian world,…
by turning execution into a great cathartic public ritual and the condemned into a Christ-like figure who accepts death to save humanity. The public execution of criminals has been a common practice ever since ancient times. In this wide-ranging investigation of the death penalty in Europe from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century, noted Italian historian Adriano Prosperi identifies a crucial period when legal concepts of vengeance and justice merged with Christian beliefs in repentance and forgiveness. Crime and Forgiveness begins with late antiquity but comes into sharp focus in fourteenth-century Italy, with the work of the Confraternities of Mercy, which offered Christian comfort to the condemned and were for centuries responsible for burying the dead. Under the brotherhoods’ influence, the ritual of public execution became Christianized, and the doomed person became a symbol of the fallen human condition. Because the time of death was known, this “ideal” sinner could be comforted and prepared for the next life through confession and repentance. In return, the community bearing witness to the execution offered forgiveness and a Christian burial. No longer facing eternal condemnation, the criminal in turn publicly forgave the executioner, and the death provided a moral lesson to the community. Over time, as the practice of Christian comfort spread across Europe, it offered political authorities an opportunity to legitimize the death penalty and encode into law the right to kill and exact vengeance. But the contradictions created by Christianity’s central role in executions did not dissipate, and squaring the emotions and values surrounding state-sanctioned executions was not simple, then or now.Exploring Emotions in Turkey-Iran Relations: Affective Politics of Partnership and Rivalry (Middle East Today)
By Mehmet Akif Kumral. 2020
This book explores emotional-affective implications of partnership and rivalry in Turkey-Iran relations. The main proposition of this research underlines the…
theoretical need to reconnect psycho-social conceptualizations of “emotionality,” “affectivity,” “normativity,” and “relationality.” By combining key theoretical findings, the book offers a holistic conceptual framework to better analyze emotional-affective configuration of relational rules and roles in trans-governmental neighborhood interactions. The empirical chapters look at four consecutive periods extending from the end of First World War (November 1918) to the resuscitation of US sanctions against Iran (November 2018). In each episode, global-regional contours and dyadic dynamics of Ankara-Tehran relationship are examined critically. The century-long history of emotional entanglements and affective arrangements exposes complex patterning of “feeling rules.” Two countervailing constellations still reign over relational narratives. While the 1514 Çaldıran war myth reproduces sectarian resentment and confrontational climate, the 1639 Kasr-ı Şirin peace story reconstructs secular sympathy and collaborative atmosphere in Turkish-Iranian affairs.Theological Context for Pastoral Caregiving: Word in Deed
By William M Clements, Howard W Stone. 1996
In Theological Context for Pastoral Caregiving, Howard W. Stone helps his fellow pastors and worship leaders provide effective and faithful…
pastoral care and counseling through the study of the correlation between pastoral care and theology. You will learn that in order for pastoral care to be effective it must have a theological base to shape the caregiving experience. At the same time, theology must be informed by the needs and experiences of the people being served and by the ministry of pastoral care. By relating these two issues, you gain a unique viewpoint not offered by books with simply a psychological focus.The author draws from his day-to-day clinical practice of pastoral care and counseling to show how pastoral care and theology can be brought together. Through Howard Stone’s work, the reader learns of: an overview of pastoral care and counseling today how to provide a pastoral assessment of the persons served the author’s theological understanding of the ministry of pastoral care and counseling methods for correlating theology and pastoral care how spiritual direction as a discipline can help pastoral care and counseling ministry regain a solid theological base theological themes that might be more explicitly and intentionally related to pastoral careTheological Context for Pastoral Caregiving provides useful information for parish pastors, people in training to be parish pastors, and specialists in the field of pastoral care counseling. As one of the easiest-to-read books on this subject, it can also be used as a text for graduate-level classes in courses such as Theology and Pastoral Care, Pastoral Theology, and Practical Theology. With this book, seminary students will finally be able to relate the practical things learned in pastoral counseling classes with what is learned in theology classes.Icelandic Spiritualism: Mediumship and Modernity in Iceland
By Loftur Reimar Gissurarson. 1996
Icelandic Spiritualism is an engaging social anthropological study of the place of spiritualism in Icelandic church and society during the…
first half of the twentieth century. Challenging standard theoretical approaches to the study of religion, the book contributes a wealth of data on the history of religion and psychical research, presenting it in a vivid descriptive narrative.The authors trace the role of the spirit world in Icelandic culture, giving particular attention to the distinctive history of Iceland's "conversion" to Christianity. They focus on the appearance of "modern" spiritualism as a distinct phenomenon in Icelandic life. The book studies the interaction between various groups in fin-de-siecle Icelandic society, not least in the state church, as mediumistic phenomena became widely reported through the newspapers.To some, Icelandic spiritualism may be considered a deviant case of Protestantism. What makes this book interesting, however, is that the spiritualism is seen as integral to Iceland's transition to modernity. While Icelandic Spiritualism concentrates mainly on the first half of the twentieth century, it also provides a summary of the continuation of spiritualist phenomena up to the current period. This intriguing study will be of interest to theologians, philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, and anthropologists.Al Muhajiroun: A Case Study in Contemporary Islamic Activism
By Douglas Weeks. 2020
Grounded in nine years of ethnographic research on the al Muhajiroun/Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah movement (ALM/ASWJ), Douglas Weeks mixes ethnography…
and traditional research methods to tell the complete story of al Muhajiroun. Beginning with three core events that became a primer for radical Islamic political thought in the UK, Al Muhajiroun, A Case Study in Islamic Activism traces the development of the movement form its incipient beginnings to its current status. Based on his extensive interaction with the group and its leaders, Weeks contextualizes the history, beliefs, methods, and differences between ALM/ASWJ, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State so that the group and the threat it poses is comprehensively understood.Mapping Faith: Theologies of Migration and Community
By David Mason, Sheila Curran, Ruth Padel, Alison Phipps, Ibrahim Mogra, Faiza Omar, Ric Stott, Oliver Joseph, Katy Radford, Julie Khovacs, Ivan Khovacs, Hassan Rabbani, Katherine Baxter, Yvonne Green, Tawona Sithole, Rachel Godfrey, Sofia Rehman, Michael Nausner, Robyn Ashworth-Steen, Sayed Razawi, Jacqueline Nicholls, Aviva Dautch, Pádraig Ó Tuama, Harvey Kwiyani, Hajra Williams, Sally Style, Mohamed Omar, Jennifer Langer, Issam Kourbaj, Nazneen Ahmed, Amir Darwish. 2020
This enlightening edited collection shows how migration shapes the lives of faith communities - and vice versa - through diverse…
prisms including diaspora, generational change, cultural conflict, conceptions of 'ministry' and artistic response. The contributors comprise writers, poets and artists from the three largest Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and beyond. They show how issues of migration are addressed through a variety of different media such as theological debate and shared community action, poetry and art.As issues of migration are an important factor in so many political and social debates, faith communities are looking for guidance on how to deepen their theological understanding of migration. This book helps them to reflect on their own practices and experiences, learn from their own traditions and engage in dialogue with diverse communities.Christians Hearing Voices: Affirming Experience and Finding Meaning
By Christopher C. Cook. 2020
In this insightful book, accounts of voice hearers are presented, evaluated and interpreted by a Christian theologian and psychiatrist. By…
listening to the first-hand experiences of voice hearers and evaluating them in the light of Christian theology, the book enables the reader to understand the experiences of voice hearers as a part of Christian experience and to engage with the theological issues raised by them, including the nature of revelation. This engaging and thought-provoking collection looks at a range of stories - ranging from comforting to complex to simply conversational - to encourage debate and search for meaning and also show how the reader can adapt clinical and pastoral practice to better aid people in this situation.Muslim Politics in Bihar: Changing Contours
By Mohammad Sajjad. 2014
This book studies the engagement of various Muslim communities with Bihar politics from colonial times to present-day India. It debunks…
several myths in highlighting Muslim resistance to the Two-Nation theory, and counters the ‘Isolation Syndrome’ faced by Muslim communities after Independence. Using rare archival sources and hitherto unexamined Urdu texts, this book offers a nuanced exploration of complex themes such as the struggle against Bengali hegemony, communalism, regionalism and alienation before Independence, recent language politics, the political assertion of low-caste Muslims in current Bihar, as well as their quest for social and gender justice. An important contribution to the study of South Asian Islam, this book will interest students and scholars of modern Indian history, politics, sociology, religion, gender, and minority studies.Enter Wild: Exchange a Mild and Mundane Faith for Life with an Uncontainable God
By Carlos Whittaker. 2020
&“Step into a life gripped by a God who calls you into more—more faith, more freedom, and more victory.&”—Levi Lusko, pastor…
and bestselling authorYou are meant to receive the abundance God promises here and now. You are not meant to wait until heaven to experience His best. Even in the midst of our broken world&’s traumas and trials, you can • learn to lower the volume of life and truly hear God• experience what it means to speak God&’s Word over yourself for real victory• discover how to pray His promises instead of praying over the problems With his trademark blend of humor and transparency, gifted storyteller Carlos Whittaker shares his personal struggle in coping with crippling anxiety—and how the key to his freedom was rediscovering a wild faith. That key can be yours, helping you open the door to leave mild and enter wild.Two Men from Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar, Trump, and the Lord of History
By Wallace Henley. 2020
What roles do King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of ancient Babylon, and Donald J. Trump, 45th president of the United States, play…
in God furthering His kingdom? In Two Men from Babylon, Wallace Henley brings into perspective how God uses unlikely leaders to bring about His plans and purpose. Here is a masterfully constructed book that tears the camouflage off our times and looks intensely at what is going on in our crazy era on the eve of a year of destiny—and perhaps for civilization itself. Here you will:Consider the possibility that God made Donald Trump presidentLearn where the &“age of Trump&” might fit into historyGet a feel for the "White House Mystique&”Sense the spiritual atmosphere of the Oval OfficeDiscover the strategic role of the church related to politicsUnderstand why places of great power are vulnerable to demonic attack. . . and much moreThe heart of this book is found in two Scripture passages, &“It is God who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings&” (Daniel 2:21); and &“This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come&” (Matthew 24:14). Two Men from Babylon summarizes the truth of these verses in revealing that God has grand purposes for time and history; there are manifestations of the kingdom that appear throughout finite time and history; the church is the primary agent for the expansion of this kingdom; nations are of strategic importance in the fulfillment of God&’s plan; and it is God who establishes and removes the leaders of those nations. Thus, the Lord of History is the focus of this book, but Nebuchadnezzar and Donald Trump play an essential role in His story.This study, first published in 1997, attempts to fill a gap in the historiography of the African American church by…
analysing the role and place of the African American church in one city, Birmingham, Alabama. It traces the roles and functions of the church from the arrival of African Americans as slaves in the early 1800s to 1963, the year that the civil rights movement reached a peak in the city. This title will be of interest to students of nineteenth- and twentieth-century religious and social history.The Book of Hiding: Gender, Ethnicity, Annihilation, and Esther (Biblical Limits)
By Timothy K. Beal. 1997
The Book of Hiding offers a fluent and erudite analysis of the parallels between the Bible and contemporary discussions of…
gender, ethnicity and social ambiguity. Beal focuses particularly on the traditionally marginalised book of Esther, in order to examine closely the categories of self and other in relation to religion, sexism, nationalism, and the ever-looming legacies and future possibilities of annihilation. Beal applies the critical tools of contemporary theorists, such as Cixous, Irigaray and Levinas, challenging widely held assumptions about the moral and life-affirming message of Scripture and even about the presence of God in the book of Esther. The Book of Hiding draws together a variety of different perspectives and disciplines, creating a unique space for dialogue raising new questions and reconsidering old assumptions, which is profoundly interesting and well-articulated.The Gospel of Thomas (New Testament Readings)
By Richard Valantasis. 1997
This volume offers the first full commentary on the Gospel of Thomas, a work which has previously been accessible only…
to theologians and scholars. Valantasis provides fresh translations of the Coptic and Greek text, with an illuminating commentary, examining the text line by line. He includes a general introduction outlining the debates of previous scholars and situating the Gospel in its historical and theological contexts.The Gospel of Thomas provides an insight into a previously inaccessible text and presents Thomas' gospel as an integral part of the canon of Biblical writings, which can inform us further about the literature of the Judeo-Christian tradition and early Christianity.The Eight Masks of Men: A Practical Guide in Spiritual Growth for Men of the Christian Faith
By Richard L Dayringer, Frederick Grosse. 1998
In today's rapidly changing society, the rules you learned as a child may no longer apply, causing you to experience…
restlessness and confusion. The Eight Masks of Men: A Practical Guide in Spiritual Growth for Men of the Christian Faith will encourage you to come out from behind your mask of solitude and loneliness--one of man's most obtrusive masks--and reach out for help and community. By answering questions commonly asked by men of various religious and personal backgrounds, this book will help you tune into your feelings, innermost thoughts, and that void you feel inside. As you become consciously aware of how the eight masks are a part of your being, you will recognize the true gift beneath each one.The Eight Masks of Men is the first book to combine historical, theological, and sociological perspectives with a practical approach for personal growth. To help you divest yourself of your inhibitions and experience inner harmony, it blends personal stories, humorous anecdotes, biblical research, and clinical information. The eight masks that men wear and what they hide that author Rev. Dr. Frederick G. Grosse explores include:mask: loneliness; hides: desire for communitymask: rage and anger; hide: pain and hurtmask: compulsion; hides: desire for lovemask: performance; hides: desire for acceptancemask: control; hides: desire for friendshipmask: producing; hides: desire to just “be”mask: competition; hides: desire for humilitymask: institutional religion; hides: desire for spiritual growthDon't let tragedy or desperation strike before you commit to building a healthier relationship with yourself, the people important to you, and God. Men who feel out of touch with their spiritual sides, retreat and spiritual direction leaders, pastoral counselors, chaplains, marriage and family counselors, and members of the clergy will find in The Eight Masks of Men the inspiration and insight they need to guide themselves and one another to a season of union with God.Religious Education in a Pluralist Society: The Key Philosophical Issues
By John Edwards, Peter R. Hobson. 1999
Religious education in liberal pluralist societies such as the UK, the USA, and Australian underwent radical change in the 1980s…
and 1990s, with a major shift towards multi-faith, educationally oriented programmes. This has meant significant modifications to both the content and the methodology of religious-education courses and to the way they are conceived of and taught in schools and universities.One important implication of this change for the teaching and study of religion today is the need for a philosophical dimension that deals with issues such as the truth status of religious statements and the moral acceptability of religious claims. This dimension is often insufficiently developed; this lack is made more critical by the multiple competing truth claims of various religions, giving rise to such contentious problems as the growth of fundamentalism, increasing religious intolerance and conflict, and differences of opinion on central moral problems such as birth control, abortion and euthanasia. This text attempts to provide the philosophical underpinning that the study and teaching of religion in modern societies requires.Myth and Religion in Mircea Eliade (Theorists Of Myth Ser. #Vol. 11)
By Douglas Allen. 1998
This multidisciplinary study is the first book devoted entirely to the critical interpretation of the writings of Mircea Eliade on…
myth. One of the most popular and influential historians and theorists of myth, Eliade argued that all myth is religious. Douglas Allen critically interprets Eliade's theories of religion, myth, and symbolism and analysRebirth of the Goddess: Finding Meaning in Feminist Spirituality
By Carol P. Christ. 1999
Our Families, Our Values: Snapshots of Queer Kinship
By Robert Goss, Amy Adams Squire Strongheart. 1998
Our Families, Our Values challenges both the gay community and American society to examine carefully the meaning of family values…
and the nature of social institutions such as marriage and the family. It asks you provoking, even disturbing, questions such as: “Is it prudent for members of the Lavender community to mimic heterosexual marriage or define personal relations networks as families, when these institutions are rapidly collapsing?” “Are we attempting to mainstream American society into accepting different views of marriage and families?” “Are we subscribing to notions of sexual property that are inherent to the marriage ceremony and the institution of marriage, when we choose to be married?” Despite the complexities of this issue, marriage constitutes a privileged position in western society, and, as this book shows you, without the legal recognition of same-sex marriages, there are many fundamental rights, as well as privileges, denied to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons.As Our Families, Our Values turns upside-down the widely accepted notion that only heterosexual people are entitled to get married, have sex, and rear children, you gain insight into personal struggles and affirmations that testify to the spirituality, procreativity, and wholesomeness of the diverse relationships of the Lavender community. You will also learn about various ongoing efforts to give religious pride to the various configurations of gay relationships, families, and values and the disruption of popular interpretations of the Scriptures that have been used to justify the oppression of sexual minorities. This book will intrigue you over and over again, as you read about: value systems transphobia equal marriage rights Buddhism’s rejection of “traditional family values” Brazil’s sex-positive culture differences between gay male social formations and families choosing a language and terms that empower sexual minorities and the essence of the liberation movement sex as communion relationships based on nurture, not transactionDesigned for academics and students of religion, pastors, priests, rabbis, and lay readers alike, Our Families, Our Values is a multifaceted view of the gay community’s response to the public controversy over gay marriage, adoption, and foster care rights. Ideal as a textbook for courses in sexuality, theology, sociology, women’s studies, and gay and lesbian studies, this book will both inform you and delight you as it reminds you that same-sex unions bring much cause for celebration and that religion and homosexuality are not mutually exclusive.The Colonial and Early National Period 1654-1840: American Jewish History (American Jewish History #Vol. 1)
By Jeffrey S. Gurock. 1998