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Telephone: +44(0)1524 68765
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Email: sales@gazellebooks.co.uk
Web: www.gazellebooks.co.uk
 |
'HIS DOMINION' & THE 'YELLOW PERIL'
: Protestant Missions to the Chinese Immigrants in Canada, 1859-1967
[Jiwu Wang]
A history of Chinese immigrants encounter with Canadian Protestant missionaries, "His Dominion" and the "Yellow Peril": Protestant Missions to Chinese Immigrants in Canada, 1859-1967, analyses the evangelising activities of missionaries and the role of religion in helping Chinese immigrants affirm their ethnic identity in a climate of cultural conflict. Jiwu Wang argues that, by working toward a vision of Canada that espoused Anglo-Saxon Protestant values, missionaries inevitably reinforced popular cultural stereotypes about the Chinese and widened the gap between Chinese and Canadian communities. Those immigrants who did embrace the Christian faith felt isolated from their community and their old way of life, but they were still not accepted by mainstream society. Although the missionaries' goal was to assimilate the Chinese into Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture, it was Chinese religion and cultural values that helped the immigrants maintain their identity and served to protect them from the intrusion of the Protestant missions. Wang documents the methods used by the missionaries and the responses from the Chinese community, noting the shift in approach that took place in the 1920s, when the clergy began to preach respect for Chinese ways and sought to welcome them into Protestant-Canadian life. Although in the early days of the missions, Chinese Canadians rejected the evangelising to take what education they could from the missionaries, as time went on and prejudice lessened, they embraced the Christian faith as a way to gain acceptance as Canadians.
{
196pp,
155x230mm,
May 2006;
HB,
£38.50,
0889204853:9780889204850
, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
} |
 |
AGNOSTIC READER
[S T Joshi (ed)]
Agnosticism -- the philosophical argument that it is impossible to know whether God exists or not -- has been the point of view of many distinguished thinkers from the 19th century to the present. In contrast to atheism, which asserts that God does not exist, agnosticism holds that reason and the best scientific evidence do not allow one to reach a decisive conclusion regarding the existence of God. This reader prints selections of some of the most profound and pioneering discussions of agnosticism over the past two centuries. Beginning with early formulations of the agnostic perspective by Thomas Henry Huxley (who coined the term), Bertrand Russell, and others, editor S. T. Joshi shows how agnosticism received a strong boost in the later 19th century from the so-called higher criticism of the Bible. Selections from Edward Burnett Tylor, Arthur Schopenhauer, Robert G. Ingersoll, and Edward Westermarck made a strong case that religion was a natural product of primitive development and that the Bible was the product of an age of scientific ignorance and superstition. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Christianity in Europe was in a state of decline among the intellectual classes. The writings of W. E. H. Leckey, Leslie Stephen, and Walter Lippmann show that leading commentators were openly pondering a European society in which Christianity was a thing of the past. The increasing success of the natural sciences during this same time period supported the agnostic viewpoint by accounting for phenomena on a natural, rather than a supernatural, basis. Selections from John William Draper, Albert Einstein, Isaac Asimov, and others demonstrate the scientific respectability of agnosticism. Finally, selections from such thinkers as Frederic Harrison, H. L. Mencken, and Corliss Lamont emphasise how living with agnosticism can be intellectually and morally satisfying, even exhilarating. Overall, "The Agnostic Reader" shows how agnosticism can provide a framework for living with courage and dignity.
{
386pp,
155x230mm,
August 2007;
PB,
£13.99,
1591025338:9781591025337
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
BAD FAITH
: The Danger of Religious Extremism
[Neil J Kressel PhD]
What separates constructive religious impulses from destructive ones? How does someone who begins by contemplating his relationship with God end by committing an act of murder? Some argue that religiously motivated evil always represents a corruption of true religion. Others are quick to suggest that religion itself -- all religion -- is the root of extremist violence. This is the first book to journey to the heart of religious militancy. Dr Neil J. Kressel, who has spent decades researching genocide, terrorism, and anti-Semitism, brings to bear the insights of psychology and social science on this significant and critical problem. For those tired of simplistic bromides and obfuscating talk about the causes of religious terrorism, Kressel offers a clear and enlightening analysis of when and how religions become capable of inspiring evil. Specifically, he addresses the following key issues: Are some religions, religious doctrines, and religious practices more apt to inspire hatred and extremism than others? Are people who commit evil acts in the name of their faith always corrupting the true message of religion and, if so, what is that message? Do other members of the same faith bear any responsibility for misdeeds carried out in the name of their religion? Which sorts of people are most prone to extremism? Which types of societies are most likely to become breeding grounds for extremists? Can (or should) anything be done to combat the various forms of religious extremism? What limits, if any, can (or should) be placed on religious practice in America and elsewhere? Beyond analysing the nature of religious militancy, Kressel offers sensible recommendations for addressing what is to date the 21st century's most serious challenge.
{
327pp,
155x230mm,
September 2007;
HB,
£17.50,
1591025036:9781591025030
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
BEM AT 25
: Critical Insights into a Continuing Legacy
[Thomas F Best & Tamara Grdzelidze (eds)]
Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM) remains a seminal text for the churches and the ecumenical movement. Since its publication in 1982, this World Council of Churches Faith and Order convergence document has been translated into more than 40 languages, has remained an ecumenical best-seller, and has been the basis of many official agreements between churches. This vibrant collection of essays, from a wide range of confes-sional and regional perspectives, explores the continuing legacy of BEM. Articles trace the influence of BEM -- and the challenge it continues to pose today -- in areas such as worship, ecclesiology, the churches' social witness, and local parish life. But critical questions are also raised: how far have the churches acted upon the agreements signalled in BEM? Was there full participation in the BEM process in all regions of the world? And: what does the churches' experience with BEM tell us about the next stage of the ecumenical journey? This is an essential resource for all those interested in the history -- and future -- of the ecumenical movement.
{
318pp,
140x215mm,
March 2008;
PB,
£10.00,
2825415170:9782825415177
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
BETWEEN THE WORLDS
: Readings in Contemporary Neopaganism
[Sian Reid]
The movement toward Neo-Paganism is a much maligned and often misunderstood one. 'Between the Worlds' investigates this trend toward pre-monotheistic worship on its own terms. This book focuses on what Neo-Paganism practitioners tend to focus on; not the doomsday message of Adventist-type cults, but the desire to find the female in the divine. For the first time ever, this book unites essential readings by leading academics and well-known practitioners all over the world, including Canada. It features the work of Starhawk, Ronald Hutton, Michael York, Graham Harvey, Jenny Blain, Helen A Berger, Wendy Griffith, alongside contemporary Canadian scholars including Lucie Marie-Mai DuFresne, Lori G Beaman and Barbara Jane Davy.
{
388pp,
155x230mm,
October 2006;
PB,
£22.99,
1551303140:9781551303147
, Canadian Scholars' Press
} |
 |
BOOK OF HER LIFE
[Teresa of Avila; Translated, with Notes, by Kieran Kavanaugh OCD & Otilio Rodriguez OCD]
"The Book of Her Life" is the spiritual autobiography of a Counter Reformation mystic and monastic reformer of sixteenth century Spain. Introduction by Jodi Bilinkoff.
{
368pp,
April 2008;
PB,
£7.95,
0872209075:9780872209077
, Hackett Publishing
} |
 |
C S LEWIS & THE SEARCH FOR RATIONAL RELIGION
: Revised & Updated Edition
[John Beversluis]
C. S. Lewis was one of the most influential Christian apologists of the 20th century. An Oxford don and former atheist who converted to Christianity in 1931, he gained a wide following during the 1940s as the author of a number of popular apologetic books such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain in which he argued for the truth of Christianity. Today his reputation is greater than ever -- partly because of his books and partly because of the movie 'Shadowlands', starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. In advocating Christianity, Lewis did not appeal to blind faith, but to reason. Convinced that Christianity is rationally defensible, he boldly declared: "I am not asking anyone to accept Christianity if his best reasoning tells him that the weight of the evidence is against it." But do Lewis's arguments survive critical scrutiny? In this revised and expanded edition of his book originally published in 1985, philosopher John Beversluis takes Lewis at his word, sympathetically examines his "case for Christianity", and concludes that it fails. Beversluis examines Lewis's argument from desire -- the "inconsolable longing" that he interpreted as a pointer to a higher reality; his moral argument for the existence of a Power behind the moral law; his contention that reason cannot be adequately explained in naturalistic terms; and his solution to the Problem of Evil, which many philosophers regard as the decisive objection to belief in Christianity. In addition, Beversluis considers issues in the philosophy of religion that developed late in Lewis's life -- such as Antony Flew's criticisms of Christian theology. He concludes with a discussion of Lewis's crisis of faith after the death of his wife and answers the question: Did C. S. Lewis lose his faith? Finally, in this second edition, Beversluis replies to critics of the first edition. As the only critical study of C. S. Lewis's apologetic writings, this readable and intellectually stimulating book should be on the bookshelves of anyone interested in the philosophy of religion.
{
363pp,
155x230mm,
December 2007;
PB,
£13.50,
1591025311:9781591025313
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
CALLED TO THE ONE HOPE
: A New Ecumenical Epoch
[Samuel Kobia]
In a world torn apart by division and anxiety, there is greater need than ever for church unity, and for united action to help transform the world and its ways. "Called to the One Hope" challenges the churches to provide a common response to the insecurities and dangers that plague humanity in the opening decade of the 21st century. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, has travelled widely and heard the cries of people affected by hatred, violence, starvation, economic injustice and environmental degradation. At other moments, he has heard enthusiastic expressions of joy and hope. He has encountered the spiritual yearning of youth who are seeking a more profound relationship with God. In this book, Kobia addresses humanity’s sense of alienation and quest for identity, asking how the churches, the ecumenical movement and the World Council of Churches -- divided as they are -- may yet be renewed for service. Reiterating the radical message of Jesus, he calls for a spirituality of resistance to all that threaten people and the planet. Kobia recognises signs of hope already manifesting themselves throughout the world, and reports experiences of grace and transformation that may serve as models for future Christian witness and common action.
{
144pp,
120x205mm,
September 2006;
PB,
£7.00,
2825414891:9782825414897
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
CAUSES OF ANTI-SEMITISM
: A Critique of the Bible (Revised Edition)
[Arthur Blech]
Using the Bible as primary evidence, with the finest modern scholarship as supporting evidence, Arthur Blech lucidly demonstrates that anti-Semitism is no accident of history, no tragic consequence of ignorance, or the influence of a few contemporary figures of unique evil. Blech argues that both Christianity and Judaism are responsible for anti-Semitism in claiming divine revelation as the source of their scriptures. By assuming divine authority, members of both religions felt justified in persecuting non-believers. In the case of Judaism, non-Jews were rejected as inferior to the "chosen people"; and in the case of Christianity, Jews in particular became the object of contempt because Christians believed that Jews had spurned divine revelation in the form of God’s son. Blech carefully explores the foundations of both major faiths, surgically dismantling their claims to divinity. Since more than a century of scientific research shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Bible was not divinely inspired, but composed by all-too-human authors, Blech makes clear that the hatred and contempt these human authors preached have irreparably misled Christians and Jews alike. "The Causes of Anti-Semitism" shows that the curse of anti-Semitism has been kept alive by inventions and myths -- artificial props to support the evil agenda of corrupt individuals throughout history. This paperback edition contains substantial new additions to the original hardcover edition of the book.
REVIEW: "...shows quite conclusively that the anti-Jewish animus of [the Christian Scripture] led directly to a systematic vilification of Jews and Judaism." -- Post & Opinion, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, April 30, 2008
{
462pp,
165x230mm,
September 2006;
PB,
£13.99,
1591024463:9781591024460
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
CELTIC CROSS
[Nigel Pennick]
Explores the origins, development and artistic flowering of that most well known and widely recognised symbol of Celtic Christianity -- along with fascinating insights into the rich diversity of form, locations and use of traditional Celtic art in cross design and construction.
{
128pp,
135x210mm,
April 2007;
PB,
£7.99,
1902719182:9781902719184
, St David's Press
} |
 |
CELTIC DRUIDS
((New Celtic Library Series))
[Yohann Byghan]
Explores the real truth of people who were the priests, judges, diplomats and teachers of a complex belief system of the Celts -- with accessible descriptions of the druidic religion and its integral place within the daily life and the annual seasonal cycle of the ancient Celtic peoples.
{
128pp,
135x210mm,
March 2009;
PB,
£7.99,
1902719204:9781902719207
, St David's Press
} |
 |
CELTIC PILGRIMAGES
((New Celtic Library Series))
[Elaine Gill & David Everett]
Explains the importance and function of pilgrimage -- both ancient and modern -- within the spiritual and Christian Celtic tradition, as associated with the old Celtic seasons, its saints and marvellous destinations throughout the Celtic realms.
{
128pp,
135x210mm,
March 2009;
PB,
£7.99,
1902719166:9781902719160
, St David's Press
} |
 |
CELTIC SAINTS
[Dr Robert Curran]
This is a highly readable account of the origins, lives and achievements of the early spiritual leaders, male and female, of Celtic Christianity -- from their inspiration by the lifestyle of the ancient Desert Fathers to their roles and significance throughout the Celtic lands.
{
128pp,
135x210mm,
April 2007;
PB,
£7.99,
1902719158:9781902719153
, St David's Press
} |
 |
CELTIC TRADITION
[David James]
"The Celtic Tradition" reveals the ancient Celts and their ways and traditions through historical, social, cultural and spiritual detail, explains their spread throughout Europe and celebrates the thriving modern traditions of contemporary Celtic culture.
{
128pp,
135x210mm,
April 2007;
PB,
£7.99,
1902719174:9781902719177
, St David's Press
} |
 |
CELTIC YEAR
((New Celtic Library Series))
[Yohann Byghan]
Explains how the seasons and their yearly cycle of changes were totally bound up with ancient Celtic tradition, culture and religion -- providing both a focus for daily and spiritual life that remains fascinating and relevant even in modern society.
{
128pp,
135x210mm,
March 2009;
PB,
£7.99,
1902719212:9781902719214
, St David's Press
} |
 |
CHANGING THE PRESENT, DREAMING THE FUTURE
: A Critical Moment in Interreligious Dialogue
[Hans Ucko with Charlotte Venema & Ariane Hentsch (eds)]
For over 30 years the World Council of Churches has been involved in interreligious dialogue. In the last decades, there has been an increasing interest in dialogue due to the unexpected return of religion as a reality to reckon with in society and political life. In an unprecedented way in recent years and in numerous parts of the world, many societies are marked by tension and conflict between and within religious communities, yet, where mechanisms for dialogue and encounter exist, there is a greater possibility of fostering deeper knowledge and awareness among people of different religions. Good neighbourliness grows and thrives where there is mutual acceptance and mutual respect. The WCC affirms the importance of interreligious relations and dialogue today as a core issue for its work. Harvesting experiences in dialogue suggests that we are at a critical moment -- thus in June 2005, the World Council of Churches organized the 'Critical Moment in Interreligious Relations and Dialogue' conference, facilitating reflection on future orientations in interreligious dialogue. The aim of this book is to share the highlights of the Critical Moment conference and to give food for thought and action to all involved in interfaith dialogue and cooperation. It presents the plenary speeches and a compilation of the working group reports, as well as a summary of the answers from participants to a survey made before the conference. To make the material more alive and useful for those not at the conference, the book includes a study guide, meant for practical use in the local community. It links to issues raised at the conference, and gives background information, thoughts for reflection and questions to work on. Although intended for those who already have some interfaith experience, this book can also be useful to people who are new to the field. It gives insight into current issues and dilemmas and suggestions for further reflection.
{
154pp,
155x230mm,
September 2006;
PB,
£8.50,
2825414905:9782825414903
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
CHINESE RELIGIONS
: Beliefs & Practices
[Jeaneane Fowler & Merv Fowler]
This book brings together the studies of Jeaneane Fowler in Taoism, Chinese popular religion and the broader canvas of Chinese cosmogony, and those of Merv Fowler in Confucianism, Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism. 'Chinese Religions' requires no previous knowledge and thereby serves as an introduction to the religions of China, and places it in the wider context of Chinese history and philosophy. The facets of Chinese religions are as broad, multilayered and varied as the geographical vastness of China itself, yet so many Chinese beliefs have found their way into the West -- the theory of yin and yang, the I Ching, the Tao Te Ching are good examples. One of the greatest characteristics of Chinese religions is that they encompass virtually every avenue of religious thought throughout the long span of Chinese pre-historic and historical pathways.
{
320pp,
152x229mm,
August 2007;
PB,
£16.95,
1845191722:9781845191726
, Sussex Academic Press
} |
 |
CHRISTINA PSALTER
: A Study of the Images & Texts in a French Early Thirteenth-Century Illuminated Manuscript
[Marina Vidas]
This book is the first detailed analysis of an exquisitely illuminated thirteenth-century Parisian manuscript (The Royal Library, Copenhagen) which was owned by Christina of Norway (1234-1262), daughter of Håkon IV and wife of Philip of Castile and León. New information is provided about the Psalter’s medieval and later components, its liturgical and other functions, missing illuminations and texts, as well as its provenance and date. Furthermore, the stylistic and iconographic similarities between the Psalter and some of the most important manuscripts illuminated in Paris in the Period, like the three-volume Moralised Bibles, are discussed. Suggestions also are made about the meanings the texts and images might have had for their intended audience.
{
154pp,
180x260mm,
February 2006;
HB,
£25.00,
8763501279:9788763501279
, Museum Tusculanum Press
} |
 |
CRUCIFIED NATION
: A Motif in Modern Nationalism
[Alan Davies]
This book examines the nexus between religion and politics, considered in one of its most controversial aspects. The starting point is the 2001 attack on the United States, which a Canadian commentator ingeniously described as the 'passion of America'. This designation suggested an interesting inquiry into other so-called national passions: the notion of the Christ-nation crucified by evil powers because of its higher virtue. This motif is explored by analysing five modern nationalisms that have employed Christian symbolism in this manner: Poland, France, Germany, Ireland and Palestine. The author investigates the way in which fundamental Christian concepts are distorted and corrupted in the process, and points to the inherent dangers of this form of political self-glorification. Poets, philosophers, novelists and preachers have all played a major part in promoting the idea of the Christ-nation at certain times, mostly in the nineteenth century but also today. Famous examples are Adam Mickiewicz in Poland, Victor Hugo in France, the patriotic Lutherans during the First World War in Germany, Patrick Pearse in Ireland and certain Palestinian nationalist poets today. The clash of cultures, religions, nationalism and civilisations in the world today is ever more strident. The passion narratives of the five nations are interwoven with historical circumstance in order to cast light on the endurance and power of the narratives, to arrive at a final critique and 'tract for the times'.
{
122pp,
152x229mm,
March 2008;
HB,
£22.50,
1845192737:9781845192730
, Sussex Academic Press
} |
 |
DECORATING THE LORD'S TABLE
: On the Dynamics Between Image & Altar in the Middle Ages
[Søren Kaspersen & Erik Thunø (eds)]
As the centre of Christian worship within churches, the altar has always remained a key subject to pictorial decorations. This book is concerned with the Early and High Middle Ages which saw a profusion of sumptuous altar decorations all over Medieval Europe focusing on the rich Scandinavian material of 'golden altars'. Dealing with the investigation of the interrelationships between image and altar in the light of recent years' methodological developments the chapters are also treating themes like the human body, materiality, pictorial narrative, and liturgy. In this context, it focuses on the attempt to activate the image before the ritual, its audience and the visual and spatial context.
{
170pp,
160x240mm,
August 2006;
HB,
£25.00,
8763501333:9788763501330
, Museum Tusculanum Press
} |
 |
DISPUTING CHRISTIANITY
: The 400-Year-Old Debate Over Rabbi Isaac Ben Abraham Troki's Classic Arguments
[Richard H Popkin]
Rabbi Isaac Ben Abraham was a little-known scholar from the hereitical Jewish group, the Karaites, who lived during the 16th century in Troki, a suburb of Vilnius, Lithuania. In 1593, the last year of his life, he wrote an incisive cogent polemic against Christianity which over the centuries has had an impact in Christian and Jewish circles that far exceeds what might have been predicted based on its obscure origins. A kind of underground samizdat classic of religious criticism, his critique of Christianity has been translated into many languages and has influenced English deism, Reform Judaism, the beginnings if Higher Criticism and the quest for the historical Jesus, and even Christian evangelical outreach programmes that exist to this day. Now historian and philosopher Richard Popkin has edited a critique of Christianity. Originally published in 1813 by Harvard graduate George Bethune English, it includes the first publication in English of a central portion of Ben Abraham's text. The book was part of the discussion surrounding the founding of Unitarianism in New England. Popkin provides a fascinating commentary that notes many points of historical interest involving this unusual work. Anyone interested in philosophy of religion or the history of dialogue between Christians and Jews will find this work to be of great value.
{
244pp,
145x215mm,
October 2007;
HB,
£32.99,
159102384X:9781591023845
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
EARLY BUDDHIST DISCOURSES
[John J Holder (ed)]
This anthology of discourses from the Pali Canon -- the only student edition of such works available -- provides an account of Buddhist teachings directly from the earliest primary sources. Seventeen discourses are provided, including those most essential to the study and teaching of early Buddhism. Substantial introductions to each discourse highlight the main themes and set the ideas presented in the context of wider philosophical and religious issues. The general Introduction discusses the structure and language of the Pali Canon -- its importance within the Buddhist tradition, and the historical context in which it developed -- and gives an overview of the basic doctrines of early Buddhism. Additional support materials include helpful footnotes, a select bibliography, and a glossary of key terms.
{
216pp,
140x215mm,
April 2006;
PB,
£9.95,
0872207927:9780872207929
, Hackett Publishing
} |
 |
END OF BIBLICAL STUDIES
[Hector Avalos]
In this radical critique of his own academic speciality, biblical scholar Hector Avalos calls for an end to biblical studies as we know them. He outlines two main arguments for this surprising conclusion. First, academic biblical scholarship has clearly succeeded in showing that the ancient civilisation that produced the Bible held beliefs about the origin, nature, and purpose of the world and humanity that are fundamentally opposed to the views of modern society. The Bible is thus largely irrelevant to the needs and concerns of contemporary human beings. Second, Avalos criticises his colleagues for applying a variety of flawed and specious techniques aimed at maintaining the illusion that the Bible is still relevant in today's world. In effect, he accuses his profession of being more concerned about its self-preservation than about giving an honest account of its own findings to the general public and faith communities. Dividing his study into two parts, Avalos first examines the principal sub-disciplines of biblical studies (textual criticism, archaeology, historical criticism, literary criticism, biblical theology, and translations) in order to show how these fields are still influenced by religiously motivated agendas despite claims to independence from religious premises. In the second part, he focuses on the infrastructure that supports academic biblical studies to maintain the value of the profession and the Bible. This infrastructure includes academia (public and private universities and colleges), churches, the media-publishing complex, and professional organisations such as the Society of Biblical Literature. In a controversial conclusion, Avalos argues that our world is best served by leaving the Bible as a relic of an ancient civilisation instead of the "living" document most religionist scholars believe it should be. He urges his colleagues to concentrate on educating the broader society to recognise the irrelevance and even violent effects of the Bible in modern life.
{
399pp,
155x230mm,
July 2007;
HB,
£21.50,
1591025362:9781591025368
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
ESSENTIAL ANALECTS
: Selected Passages with Traditional Commentary
[Confucius; Translated by Edward Slingerland]
The ideal edition for a survey course or a course in which the Analects is one of several works studied, this volume provides a representative selection from Slingerland's acclaimed translation of the full work, including passages covering all major themes. An appendix of selected traditional commentaries keyed to each passage provides access to the text and to its reception and interpretation. Also included are a concise general Introduction, bibliography, notes, and three additional appendices: Traditional Chinese Commentators Cited; Disciples of Confucius; and Glossary of Terms.
{
164pp,
140x215mm,
April 2006;
PB,
£6.95,
0872207722:9780872207721
, Hackett Publishing
} |
 |
FATHER & SON IN CONFUCIANISM & CHRISTIANITY
: A Comparative Study of Xunzi & Paul
[Yanxia Zhao]
Confucianism and Christianity are the foundation of Chinese and Western culture. The father-son relation is at the centre of Confucian thinking and the ethical natural relationship is the model for other familial, social and political relationships. The divine father-son relationship between God and Jesus is also at the centre of Christian consideration and likewise is the model of Christian familial, social and political relationships. The particular appeal of this book is to offer a religious and cultural comparative study from this most cardinal and crucial relationship. To date, scholarship has opined that the Confucian father-son relationship established on a consanguineous basis has no comparable aspects with the spiritual based Christian divine father-son relationship. The author provides a compelling argument, backed up by close scriptural and religious readings, to overturn this longstanding perception.
{
245pp,
175x250mm,
May 2007;
HB,
£49.50,
1845191617:9781845191610
, Sussex Academic Press
} |
 |
FOR THE PEACE FROM ON HIGH
: An Orthodox Resource Book on War, Peace & Nationalism
[Jim H Forest & Hildo Bos (eds)]
A unique collection of texts on war, peace and nationalism from an Orthodox Christian perspective. Relevant texts from holy scripture, church canons, liturgical services, church fathers, official church statements and contemporary authors are presented in an accessible and logical way, and accompanied by a number of case studies that look at certain issues in greater detail. Several texts are published for the first time, or for the first time in English (such as the decisions of the third pan-Orthodox conference in Chambésy, 1986 on the contribution of the Orthodox church to peace). Includes an extensive bibliography on all subjects.
{
ca240pp,
135x215mm,
December 2008;
PB,
£13.50,
2825414220:9782825414224
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
GATHERING FOR GOD
: George Brown in Oceania
[Helen Bethea Gardner]
Combining 'the gathering of artefacts with the gathering of souls', George Brown was a key figure in the Christian, and especially the Wesleyan Methodist, history of nineteenth-century Oceania. Using his life as a case study, Helen Bethea Gardner examines the role of Christian missionaries in the Pacific Islands. Brown's career (1860-1908) spanned one of the most tumultuous political periods in the South Pacific, as one by one islands were colonised by imperial nations. He was one of the most politically engaged of all missionaries, encouraging colonial rule in the Pacific by America, Britain, Germany and, eventually, Australia and New Zealand. Originally from the north of England, he worked as a missionary in Samoa from 1860, moving to the Bismarck Archipelago (now Papua New Guinea) in 1875. From the 1880s until his retirement in 1907, he worked in Sydney as the general secretary of the Australasian Methodist Overseas Mission. 'Gathering for God' examines Brown's missionary letters, journals and journalism, exploring how he attracted Pacific Islanders to Christian teachings, analysing his leadership during an armed attack on New Britain villages accused of cannibalism, and looking at his work in the new discipline of anthropology. He was a major collector of artefacts (his collection is now in the Osaka Museum) and photographer of Pacific peoples (his collection is in the Australian Museum).
{
204pp,
150x230mm,
May 2006;
PB,
£16.99,
1877372188:9781877372186
, University of Otago Press
} |
 |
GOD & THE PHILOSOPHERS
[Paul Edwards. Edited by Timothy J Madigan]
This witty and learned exploration of the many views of the nature and existence of God, as expressed by the major philosophers of the Western world from the medieval period to the present day, is the last work of noted philosopher Paul Edwards. In his unique tradermark style, laced with erudition and acerbic humour, Edwards addresses how the concept of God has changed over the centuries, in large part due to the analyses of such sceptical thinkers as David Hume, Thomas Paine, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Bertrand Russell. A long-time critic of theistic arguments, Edwards demonstrates a masterful understanding of the ways in which the scientific revolution of the 17th century, the Enlightenment of the 18th century, the evolutionary materialism of the 19th century, and the rise of analytic and existentialist philosophies in the 20th century prepared the way for the growing role of atheism in the 21st century. This work is a tour-de-force - a master storyteller's idiosyncratic evaluation of the views of dozens of Western thinkers on perennial topics in the philosophy of religion. Though not all of the philosophers discussed were non-believers or anti-religious, they can be considered to be - like Edwards himself - "freethinkers". They pursued the cause of knowledge wherever their thinking led them, often to iconoclastic positions. Editor Timothy Madigan. who gave Edwards thoughtful feedback over the years on various drafts of this work and complied it for publication after Edwards's death, has written an appreciative and informative introduction.
{
350pp,
155x230mm,
July 2008;
HB,
£19.50,
1591026180:9781591026181
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
GOD'S RATIONAL WARRIORS
: The Rationality of Faith Considered
[Marion Ledwig]
This book stands in the tradition of philosophers who advance the rationality of faith. Yet the book goes beyond their accounts, for it not only defends the view that faith can be termed rational, but it also considers the different senses in which faith can be termed rational. While this book advances the idea that faith as a general category can be termed rational, it does not investigate in a detailed way whether there are arguments for the rationality of particular faiths which would go beyond the arguments for the rationality of faith as a general category. Besides discussing whether betting on God in Pascal's wager and believing in miracles are forms of the rationality of faith, I will provide unique solutions to the problem of evil and the paradoxes of omnipotence and omniscience.
{
239pp,
150x210mm,
February 2008;
HB,
£69.50,
3938793872:9783938793879
, Ontos Verlag
} |
 |
GOD, IN YOUR GRACE...
: Official Report of the Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches
[Luis N Rivera-Pagán]
In February 2006 thousands of Christians representing over 300 churches in over 100 nations gathered in Porto Alegre, Brazil for the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC). This is the official report of that assembly, with its reports and actions, speeches and presentations, set in context through a narrative introduction by Latin American theologian and church historian Luis Rivera-Pagan. The theme of the assembly, "God, in your grace, transform the world", expressed a longing for change in human hearts and social institutions. The meeting itself marked the first WCC assembly of the twenty-first century, the first held in South America, the first to convene on the campus of a Roman Catholic university and the first assembly following a review of relations between Orthodox and Protestant believers that culminated in the recommendations of the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC (2000-2002). Among the topics addressed at Porto Alegre were poverty and trade, violence and peace-making, healing in an age of HIV and AIDS, current prospects for full and visible unity among the churches, inter-religious dialogue and co-operation in mission amid diversity. The assembly was keenly aware of challenges and opportunities facing the church in today's world.
{
475pp,
155x230mm,
March 2008;
PB,
£14.50,
282541512X:9782825415122
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
GOD: THE FAILED HYPOTHEISIS
: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
[Victor J Stenger]
A new foreword by best-selling author Christopher Hitchens. Throughout history, arguments for and against the existence of God have been largely confined to philosophy and theology. In the meantime, science has sat on the sidelines and quietly watched this game of words march up and down the field. Despite the fact that science has revolutionized every aspect of human life and greatly clarified our understanding of the world, somehow the notion has arisen that it has nothing to say about the possibility of a supreme being, which much of humanity worships as the source of all reality. Physicist Victor J Stenger contends that, if God exists, some evidence for this existence should be detectable by scientific means, especially considering the central role that God is alleged to play in the operation of the universe and the lives of humans. Treating the traditional God concept, as conventionally presented in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, like any other scientific hypothesis, Stenger examines all of the claims made for God's existence. He considers the latest Intelligent Design arguments as evidence of God's influence in biology. He looks at human behavior for evidence of immaterial souls and the possible effects of prayer. He discusses the findings of physics and astronomy in weighing the suggestions that the universe is the work of a creator and that humans are God's special creation. After evaluating all the scientific evidence, Stenger concludes that beyond a reasonable doubt the universe and life appear exactly as we might expect if there were no God.
{
310pp,
155x230mm,
April 2008;
PB,
£11.99,
1591026520:9781591026525
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
GRUNDRISS DES LAUFES DER STERNE -- 2-VOLUME SET
[Alexandra von Lieven]
Text in German. This volume contains a complete re-edition and study of the 'Fundamentals of the Course of the Stars'. This handbook on Religious Astronomy was hitherto known under the modern designation 'Book of Nut'. Since the standard edition in Egyptian Astronomical Texts I (eds. Neugebauer/Parker), five new sources could be identified, some of them containing considerably more text than those previously available. Four of them are papyri from the temple library of Tebtunis, which are published here for the first time. It becomes clear that the Dramatic Text in the Osireion of Abydos as a whole forms part of the 'Fundamentals'. The new sources also contain interesting textual variants of passages already known. Apart from the edition and translation, the study contains an exhaustive commentary focussing especially on the hitherto neglected religious aspects of the composition. Separate chapters deal with the relation between monumental and papyrus copies, dating and redactional history, inner-Egyptian practice of translating and commenting texts, the genre of Dramatic Texts and the books cited in the ancient commentary. A method of historical-linguistic text dating is developed. In an appendix, another mythological papyrus is edited which enriches the small corpus of so-called Dramatic Texts.
{
456pp,
215x300mm,
December 2007;
HB,
£85.00,
8763504065:9788763504065
, Museum Tusculanum Press
} |
 |
HEIDEGGER'S PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION
: From God to the Gods
[Ben Vedder]
Provides the first book-length study on Heidegger’s relation to the philosophy of religion, offering greater accessibility into an area that continues to fascinate philosophers, theologians, and all those interested in the philosophy of religion. The book deals intimately with hotly debated topics such as Heidegger’s interpretation of Saint Paul, Nietzsche and the death of God, ontotheology, and Heidegger’s discussion of the 'last god', taking into account the early, middle, and later texts of Heidegger. Significantly, Vedder draws heavily on Heidegger’s 'The Phenomenology of Religious Life', long available in German, but only recently available to English readers. Vedder describes the tension between religion and philosophy, on the one hand, and religion and poetic expression, on the other. If we grasp religion completely from a philosophical point of view, we tend to neutralise it; but if we conceive it in a simply poetic way, we tend to be philosophically indifferent to it. Vedder demonstrates how Heidegger speaks a 'poetry of religion', a description of humanity’s relationship to the divine, and why Heidegger’s thinking is ultimately a theological thinking.
{
336pp,
155x230mm,
December 2006;
PB,
£14.50,
0820703893:9780820703893
/
HB,
£39.99,
0820703885:9780820703886
, Duquesne University Press
} |
 |
HIERATIC TEXTS FROM THE COLLECTION
[Kim Ryholt (ed)]
Mainly dedicated to hieratic manuscripts from the Tebtunis temple library and contains contributions by Alexandra von Lieven, J F Quack, and Kim Ryholt. The Tebtunis temple library is the only ancient Egyptian temple library of which substantial remains are preserved, and the immense material -- estimated at several hundred manuscripts -- makes it by far the richest, single source of Egyptian literary texts. The present volume is introduced by a survey of the hieratic and hieroglyphic manuscripts from the temple library. The main genres are discussed and conclusions are drawn concerning the sort of compositions transmitted in hieratic as well as the cultural values which lie behind the choices. The survey is followed by full editions of a series of religious texts: an Osiris liturgy, the Ritual of Bringing Sokar out of the Shetit (previously known only from monumental hieroglyphic versions from temples and manuscripts for funerary use), the Votive Cubit (otherwise known essentially from fragments of the original stone cubits), the Nine-Headed Bes (a parallel to the famous illustrated Brooklyn papyrus but with a fuller description of how the practitioner should proceed), and the Ritual of Opening the Mouth (one version written for Sobek, lord of Tebtunis, the others for Sokar-Osiris). The volume further includes a slip of papyrus with four book-titles, a papyrus with a coloured drawing of an offering scene, and a decorated band for tying up a papyrus roll.
{
160pp,
May 2006;
HB,
£34.00,
8763504057:9788763504058
, Museum Tusculanum Press
} |
 |
HINDU GODDESSES
: Beliefs & Practices
((Religious Beliefs & Practices Series))
[Lynn Foulston & Stuart Abbott]
This book explores the diversity of Hindu goddesses and the variety of ways in which they are worshiped. Although they undoubtedly have ancient origins, Hindu goddesses and their worship is still very much a part of the fabric of religious engagement in India today. The book offers an introduction to a complex and often baffling field of study. Part I, "Beliefs" provides a series of encounters with a range of Hindu goddesses starting with the idea of 'Goddess' as a philosophical concept. Topics include textual evidence for belief structures, goddess mythology, and the importance of 'the Goddess' in Tantrism. Part II, "Practices" leads the reader through the tangled web of goddess worship, pausing along the way to examine the contrast between temple and local worship, the splendour of festivals and the importance of pilgrimage to those places in India where goddesses are considered to reside. A Conclusion provides details of contemporary developments in goddess worship, such as the appearance of new deities who supply the needs of worshipers in the twenty-first century. No prior knowledge is necessary as the book is aimed at undergraduate students and anyone interested in the religions and philosophy of India.
{
224pp,
138x216mm,
January 2009;
PB,
£14.95,
1902210433:9781902210438
, Sussex Academic Press
} |
 |
HOLY SPIRIT
: Divine Witness Within
[Vyvyan Auret Pritchard]
The truth of the Holy Spirit -- so essential to Christian life and service -- is wrapped up in mystery. This book sets out to unravel that mystery and explains in straightforward language the major issues that pertain to the Holy Spirit: its personality; its convicting power; its regenerating grace; its indwelling; our bodies as its Temple; how to receive the Spirit; emblems of the Spirit; and offence against the Spirit. All these issues are dealt with in the context of understanding the Holy Spirit as Divine Witness Within.
{
192pp,
140x215mm,
August 2011;
PB,
£12.95,
1898595321:9781898595328
, Sussex Academic Press (Alpha Press)
} |
 |
HONEST DOUBT
: Essays on Atheism in a Believing Society
[James A Haught]
Despite the prevalence of religious belief in the United States (nearly 200 million Americans belong to 350,000 congregations), a growing minority (14 percent) of U.S. adults identify with no religion whatsoever. Journalist James A Haught addresses the secular segment of American society in this interesting collection of incisive essays that give voice to honest doubts about religious beliefs. Taken together, Haught's essays endorse the idea that freedom of religion must include freedom to doubt as well as to believe. Individually, the articles present many different reasons to doubt: Intellectual integrity demands that we express doubts about beliefs for which there is no scientific evidence; The historical record, past and present, shows that religion is often the cause of evils, from the Inquisition and the burning of witches to current terrorist violence committed in the name of religion; Natural evils, such as the 2004 Asian tsunami and devastating diseases, should make any thoughtful person question whether an all-powerful and all-merciful God governs the universe; The sheer number and diversity of often-conflicting belief systems raise serious doubts about the philosophical coherence of religion as an approach to finding the truth; Scandals among the clergy undermine the credibility of religion as a sound basis for morality. Written in a straightforward conversational style that makes clear the many scientific, philosophical, and ethical difficulties that plague religion, Haught’s thought-provoking essays will appeal to atheists, agnostics, and anyone with questions about religion.
{
152pp,
150x230mm,
February 2007;
PB,
£13.50,
1591024595:9781591024590
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
I WILL FEAR NO EVIL
: Ojibwa-Missionary Encounters Along the Berens River, 1875-1940
[Susan Elaine Gray]
Offers a new perspective on missionary-aboriginal encounters between the Berens River Ojibwa & Christian missionaries between 1875 & 1940 moving beyond a simple chronicle of the introduction & adoption of Christian elements by the Ojibwa to recognise & highlight the complicated ebb & flow of ideas & beliefs between these two groups.
{
214pp,
155x230mm,
June 2006;
PB,
£17.99,
1552381986:9781552381984
, University of Calgary Press
} |
 |
IN GOD'S HANDS
: Common Prayer for the World
[Hugh McCullum & Terry MacArthur (eds)]
Prayer is central to the Christian life, and therefore to the ecumenical movement. Jesus himself prayed that we 'all may be one' (John 17:21), offering the basis and goal of our search for common confession, witness, service -- and prayer. 'In God’s Hands' offers valuable aids for 'intercessory prayer', prayer on behalf of and in solidarity with others. This book includes prayers and other worship materials from many Christian traditions and communities, enabling the reader to journey in prayer through each week of the year and through all the regions and countries of the world. Descriptions of these nations and peoples help us to pray for others in an informed way, knowing something of their local situations, possibilities and challenges. This book is the long-awaited, complete revision of the Ecumenical Prayer Cycle last issued in 1989. The worship material has been gathered anew, and the country descriptions take into account the momentous religious, cultural and political changes of recent years. Produced under the auspices of the WCC’s Faith and Order team, and drawing on all the WCC’s worship and editorial resources, this is a rich resource for all who want to be linked in prayer with other Christians, in all their diverse needs and in every land.
{
552pp,
155x230mm,
August 2006;
PB,
£28.00,
2825414883:9782825414880
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
IN THE NAME OF HEAVEN
: 3000 Years of Religious Persecution
[Mary Jane Engh]
Religion -- the source of inspiration, hope, and basic values for most of humanity throughout history -- has also been the motive for atrocious persecutions from antiquity to the present. In the Name of Heaven is a wide-ranging historical survey of religious persecution encompassing three millennia and a great diversity of cultures world-wide. Defining religious persecution as "repressive actions initiated or condoned by authorities against their own people on religious grounds", author Mary Jane Engh begins with ancient Egypt, followed by the biblical history of Israel with its accounts of divinely ordered genocides and capital punishment for worshipers of other deities. Chapters are devoted to ancient Greece (Socrates, Alcibiades, and Aristotle, among others, clashed with the religious establishment); the Roman Empire (persecutions of Jews, Christians, and Manichaeans, and the later persecution of pagans and heretics by a Christianised Rome); the Islamic Empire (persecutions of polytheists and dissident Muslims); and medieval and Reformation Europe (where Protestants and Catholics persecuted each other and both persecuted heretics). The twenty-two chapters also cover Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific area. In an epilogue Engh reviews the new forms of religious persecution from the 20th century to the present -- from major genocides and militant forms of polytheism to persecution of all religion by atheistic governments. Complete with references to further reading, this sobering but factually indisputable survey of religion’s dark side enlightens while serving as a warning for the future.
{
269pp,
150x230mm,
February 2007;
HB,
£16.99,
1591024544:9781591024545
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
IN THOSE DAYS, AT THIS TIME
: Holiness & History in the Jewish Calendar
[Eliezer Segal]
Eliezer Segal’s approach to Jewish history & tradition has often been light-hearted & humorous. Through his web site & newspaper columns, he has reached out to non-specialist audiences with his entertaining style. "In Those Days, At This Time" is a collection of short essays that explore the intricate framework of sacred days & times which make up the Jewish festival calendar. Each piece is devoted to an occasion in the cycle of sacred seasons. Segal investigates the ways festival observances have been shaped over the generations, looking at different interpretations of their rituals, their symbolism, & their adaptation to changing historical circumstances. With such clever titles as "Getting a Handel on Hanukkah" & "The Eggs & the Exodus", these essays bring a touch of whimsy to a complex & deep-rooted religious tradition.
{
324pp,
125x190mm,
February 2008;
PB,
£14.99,
1552381854:9781552381854
/
PB,
£7.95,
1854442309:9781854442307
, University of Calgary Press
} |
 |
INTOLERANCE & THE GOSPEL
: Selected Texts from the New Testament
[Gerd Lüdemann]
Contemporary Christians usually suppose that Christianity is quite congenial to the democratic ideals that are the basis of free, open Western societies. Among these ideals is freedom of religion, which encourages a broad tolerance for different belief systems. Nonetheless, a careful examination of core Christian beliefs and the history of Christianity reveal little tolerance for thinking or acting outside the orthodox Christian tradition. In this enlightening analysis of key New Testament texts, historian of early Christianity Gerd Lüdemann discusses the inherently intolerant attitude that has characterised monotheistic belief systems generally and Christianity in particular. As Lüdemann points out, Christianity evolved within the context of the pluralistic Roman Empire, which generally allowed separate belief systems as long as political allegiance to the Roman state was never questioned. Ironically, Christians inherited their essential intolerance from Judaism, whose first commandment is the expression of a jealous God: "I am the Lord your God". Thou shalt have no other gods before me". After Christianity became the state religion of Rome, tolerance disappeared and did not reappear on the world stage until the European Enlightenment of the 18th century. Besides the discussion of these issues, Lüdemann presents a textual analysis in five chapters of some of the letters in the New Testament. In each case he translates the letter, presents textual commentary, and demonstrates how the text reflects Christian intolerance of heretics and non-believers. In conclusion, Lüdemann suggests that attempts to harmonise Christianity with the democratic ideal of tolerance cannot really work because there is a logical contradiction between monotheism and Christology, on the one hand, and the core values of a pluralistic society, on the other.
{
281pp,
155x230mm,
November 2006;
HB,
£18.99,
1591024684:9781591024682
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
JESUIT WRITINGS OF THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
: 1540-1640
[John Patrick Donnelly (ed)]
A balanced collection of sources in translation. Ideal for use in courses on the Counter-Reformation, on the history of the Jesuit order, or as part of a more general course on the history of Christianity in the early modern period.
{
263pp,
140x215mm,
October 2006;
PB,
£9.95,
0872208397:9780872208391
/
HB,
£27.95,
0872208400:9780872208407
, Hackett Publishing
} |
 |
JIHAD INCORPORATED
: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US
[Steven Emerson]
The Investigative Project on Terrorism, founded in 1995 by Steven Emerson, maintains the largest non-governmental data and intelligence library in the world on militant Islam. The Project assists the White House, the FBI, the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and other government departments with counter-terrorism activities. Together with a staff of experts, Executive Director Steven Emerson has compiled this thorough factual overview of the Islamist terrorist threat to the United States. Unlike the Final Report of the 9/11 Commission, which was focused mainly on the retrospective analysis of al Qaeda activities leading up to the attack of September 11, 2001, this work emphasises current radical activities in the United States and the threat they might pose to national security. Divided into three sections, the work first sets the stage for the current situation by reviewing the lessons learned from previous terrorist plots and attacks both within our borders and against American interests abroad. Emerson and colleagues profile key players in the terrorist network and describe their various criminal activities before and since 9/11. The second section analyses organisations in the Middle East besides al Qaeda that are hostile to the United States: Hamas, Hizballah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and radical groups in Pakistan. The third section analyses the subtle, wide-ranging support system for terrorist activities that exists within our own borders: charities and foundations that secretly solicit for terror; the complex corporate web of companies, charities, and non-profit corporations known as the SAAR network; mosques that provide cover for terrorists; the use of the Internet for terrorist communication; and lobbying efforts by Muslim American organisations to influence the top echelons of the federal government. In a dangerous age, this is an important book for all Americans to read.
{
535pp,
150x230mm,
October 2006;
HB,
£18.99,
1591024536:9781591024538
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
KALAM COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR GOD
[Mark R Nowacki]
Approximately 1500 years ago John Philoponus proposed a simple and compelling argument for the existence of God: (1) Whatever comes to be has a cause of its coming to be; (2) The universe came to be; (3) Therefore, the universe has a cause of its coming to be. Due to the influence of William Lane Craig -- analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, champion of Philoponus' position, and author of The Kalam Cosmological Argument -- this argument and the family of sub-arguments that support it have come to be known as the Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA). The term kalam comes from Medieval Arabic philosophy and broadly means 'natural theology' or 'philosophical theism'. Despite being one of the most widely discussed and hotly debated arguments in philosophy today, it has been more than twenty-five years since any systematic presentation of the argument as a whole has been attempted. The present book helps remedy that situation, laying bare the logical structure of the KCA as it has emerged from continuous philosophical refinement. A handy taxonomy of major objections and replies to the KCA has been included as an aid to understanding the argument and its background literature. This book breaks new ground by arguing that future progress on the KCA requires that the argument be situated within a substance-based metaphysics. In addition to providing an analytic account of substances, this book describes a modal theory sensitive to the possibilities and necessities that obtain for substances. With these conceptual tools, the characteristic thought-experiments supporting the KCA can be properly assessed.
{
315pp,
145x210mm,
July 2007;
HB,
£26.99,
1591024730:9781591024736
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
KEEPING THE FAITH
[Peter Williams]
This striking book explores, in word and image, the reality of the living church throughout the oikoumene -- the whole inhabited earth. It offers a glimpse of the extraordinary and rich diversity of the Christian world. In powerful visuals and short texts, the stories of people from various churches, communities and cultures are brought to life in a captivating way, and provide windows on the lives of people working, praying, studying and living together, facing their future with joy and pain, and keeping their faith in hope.
{
64pp,
280x280mm,
February 2006;
PB,
£13.00,
2825414778:9782825414774
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
LEAVING FUNDAMENTALISM
: Personal Stories
[G Elijah Dann (ed)]
In a time when religious conservatives have placed their faith and values at the forefront of the so-called 'culture wars', this book is extremely relevant. These provide a personal and intimate look behind sermons, religious services, and church life, and promote an understanding of those who have been deeply involved in the conservative Christian church. These autobiographies come from within the congregations and homes of religious fundamentalists, where their highly idealized faith, in all its complexities and problems, meets the reality of everyday life. Told from the perspective of distance gained by leaving fundamentalism, each story gives the reader a snapshot of what it is like to go through the experiences, thoughts, feelings, passions, and pains that, for many of the writers, are still raw. Explaining how their lives might continue after fundamentalism, these writers offer a spiritual lifeline for others who may be questioning their faith.
{
229pp,
155x230mm,
May 2008;
PB,
£14.99,
1554580269:9781554580262
, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
} |
 |
LITERATURE & SACRAMENT
: The Sacred & the Secular in John Donne
[Theresa DiPasquale]
John Donne was deeply involved in the theological and ideological debates of his time. In this innovative study, Theresa DiPasquale explores the literary implications of that engagement. DiPasquale argues that Donne was greatly influenced by his response to the Reformation debate over the sacraments -- Baptism and the Eucharist -- in formulating his understanding of the written word as visible sign, of the poet as the quasi-divine maker of that sign, and of the reader and its receiver. Structured around close readings of Donne's poems, Literature and Sacrament considers poems, especially of a secular nature, that have not been previously viewed from this perspective.
REVIEW: ".the author shows a critical respect for the language of poetry which is in itself a virtue of some rarity. Neil Rhodes, MLR. This is the first comprehensive and detailed study of Donne's sacramental theology and its implications in the broad range of his poetry, secular and sacred, and prose works, including the sermons, several so-called meditations, and other treatises..." -- Choice.
{
338pp,
155x230mm,
April 1999;
HB,
£38.99,
0820703095:9780820703091
, Duquesne University Press
} |
 |
LUTHER'S LECTURES ON GENESIS & THE FORMATION OF EVANGELICAL IDENTITY
[John A Maxfield]
This study uses the text of the lectures to outline the contours of the new identity that Luther laid out through his exposition of Genesis. They include how Luther approached and taught his students to perceive the text of holy scripture; how that text unveiled for Luther the nature of Christian life in the world; and how Luther taught his students to view the past, the present, and the future of the church and the world through the book of Genesis.
{
300pp,
155x230mm,
February 2008;
HB,
£34.99,
1931112754:9781931112758
, Truman State University Press
} |
|
LUTHER'S LECTURES ON GENESIS & THE FORMATION OF EVANGELICAL IDENTITY
[John A Maxfield]
This study uses the text of the lectures to outline the contours of the new identity that Luther laid out through his exposition of Genesis. They include how Luther approached and taught his students to perceive the text of holy scripture; how that text unveiled for Luther the nature of Christian life in the world; and how Luther taught his students to view the past, the present, and the future of the church and the world through the book of Genesis.
{
300pp,
155x230mm,
February 2008;
HB,
£34.99,
1931112754:9781931112758
, Truman State University Press
} |
 |
MAKING OF CHRISTIAN MYTHS IN THE PHERIPHERY OF LATIN CHRISTENDOM, CA1000-1300
[Lars Boje Mortensen]
'Mythology’ is usually reserved for non-Christian religions. However, the adoption of Christianity in Northern and East-Central Europe between c. 1000 and 1300 can be adequately described as a myth-making process: local saints were added to the Christian pantheon in all regions entering Latin Europe. The present collection explores the links between local sanctity and the making of national myths in medieval historical writing. By bringing together specialists in history and literature of the European periphery in question, the case is made that the writing of history and saints’ lives from this pioneering period should been analysed together as -- mainly successful -- attempts at creating cultural foundation myths. The book is based on a conference held in Bergen in November 2003 on ’Historiography and the Holy’ and forms part of the research programme at the interdisciplinary Centre of Medieval Studies (CMS) at the University of Bergen.
{
348pp,
155x230mm,
April 2006;
HB,
£32.00,
8763504073:9788763504072
, Museum Tusculanum Press
} |
 |
N F S GRUNDTVIG -- A LIFE RECALLED
: An Anthology of Biographical Source-Texts
[S A J Bradley (ed)]
N F S Grundtvig, a chief shaper of Denmark's modern identity and still an active force in Danish social, political and religious life, was an outstanding intellect of the European 19th century. As new-Europe reviews the old traditional cultural canon, reflective of the most dominant nations, interest grows in Grundtvig. This book comprises English translations of an extensive selection of Grundtvig's own retrospect upon events, causes and periods of his life, and of memoirs by contemporaries upon whose lives his impinged. The choice of texts follows closely that of Johansen and Hoirup's Grundtvigs Erindringer og Erindringer om Grundtvig (Copenhagen 1948). Texts are arranged in an approximate chronology of Grundtvig's life. A copious index supplies mini-biographies and other documentation of the period, its personalities, institutions and events.
{
597pp,
175x245mm,
April 2008;
HB,
£37.95,
8772889691:9788772889696
, Aarhus University Press
} |
 |
NEW RELIGIONS & GLOBALIZATION
[Armin Geertz & Margit Warburg (eds)]
Globalisation is a predominant theme in contemporary educational and political circles. Research on globalisation has become a political priority because the world has become a ‘single place’, as Roland Robertson formulated it, where events in any particular part of the world can, and often do, have political, economical and military consequences for the rest of the world. Discourse on globalisation, however, has generally ignored the cultural conse-quences. Recent waves of violence that seem to be religiously fuelled, if not motivated, among immigrants and refugees in Europe and their home regions in the Middle East, have demonstrated that we can only ignore culture, values and religion at our own peril. Globalisation and new religions is the theme of this book. It is argued here that studying new religions in a globalisation perspective offers theoretical and methodological advantages both for the general study of religion and the general study of globalisation. Religions are often cosmopolitan and universal in their overall message, yet they may at the same time be utterly immersed in local interactions. This is often clearly expressed among minority religions. The contrast of the local and the global is accentuated by globalisation, and, in particular, many new religions have followed suit. This book draws together a selection of top quality papers given at a conference held in Aarhus in 2002 under the auspices of the Research Network on New Religions (RENNER). The papers, which have been edited and up-dated, represent the work of leading scholars in the history of religions, sociology of religion, psychology of religion and other disciplines. They address questions that are vital for everyone in the modern world: whether approached as a reflection of world economy and power dynamics, new possibilities of communication and cultural exchange in the light of mass media and technology, increased cultural plurality in the wake of migration or as a combination of any of these, globalisation challenges the academic study of religion to renewed theoretical and methodological reflection.
{
256pp,
June 2008;
HB,
£22.78,
8779342949:9788779342941
, Aarhus University Press
} |
 |
NOTHING
: Something to Believe in
[Nica Lalli]
What is it like to grow up in a house with no religion? What kind of experiences does someone have when one is not a believer and yet comes into constant contact with religion? How can a person find out what they are when they focus primarily on what they are not? These are the questions raised in the memoir "Nothing". With humour, wit, and poignant insight, Nica Lalli recounts her mishaps and misadventures with religion from early childhood into her adult years. As a questioning child, unsure of her idea of God, then a teenager feeling like an outsider, and finally an adult mother confronted by her husband's born-again Christian family and questions from her own children, Nica vividly describes her struggle to find out what kind of "something" she really is. In the end, the author finds that "nothing" is a philosophy to be embraced rather than feared. "Nothing" is an appealing, sensitively written story that offers hope, humour, and reason to millions of similar Americans who feel alienated in an ever more religiously polarised nation.
{
224pp,
155x230mm,
March 2007;
PB,
£11.50,
159102529X:9781591025290
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
OLD NORSE RELIGION IN LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVES
: Origins, Changes & Interactions -- An international Conference in Lund, Sweden, June 3-7, 2004
[Anders Andrén, Kristina Jennbert & Catharina Raudvere (eds)]
Consists of over 70 papers written by scholars concerned with pre-Christian Norse religion. The articles represent subjects such as archaeology, art history, historical archaeology, history, history of ideas, theological history, literature, onomastics, Scandinavian languages, and Scandinavian studies. This characteristic reflects the interdisciplinary aim of the conference and also the book. The idea was to bring together text-based and material-based researchers to improve scholarly exchange and dialogue. The variety on the contributions elucidate topics as worldview and cosmology, ritual and religious practice, myth and memory as well as reception and present-day use of old Norse religion.
REVIEW: archaeology; art history; historical archaeology; history; theological history; literary studies; philology; Scandinavian studies
{
416pp,
210x300mm,
December 2006;
HB,
£55.00,
918911681X:9789189116818
, Nordic Academic Press
} |
 |
OMNISCIENCE
: From a Logical Point of View
[Paul Weingartner, Ph.D.]
The aim of the book is to clarify the concept of omniscience. This is done first by discussing basic questions on omniscience (chs.1-12) and secondly by offering a theory of omniscience as an axiomatic system in which also a definition of omniscience is given (ch.13). The twelve chapters deal with questions like whether everything is true what God knows, whether God's knowledge is bound to time, whether it concerns singular truths or only laws, whether it extends also to contingent future events ...etc. The book is neither a book about the existence of God nor about proofs for his existence. It is a book about the possibility of a consistent concept of omniscience which can be attributed to God. And it invalidates opposite claims and shows that they are based on wrong or very doubtful premises. The pros and cons at the beginning of each chapter represent different positions and objections which are clarified and discussed in the answer to the objections.
{
188pp,
150x215mm,
January 2008;
HB,
£69.50,
3938793813:9783938793817
, Ontos Verlag
} |
 |
OPEN TO EPIPHANIES
: An Anthology of Commentary, Verse & Aphorism
[Vyvyan Pritchard]
An eclectic anthology of commentary, essay, verse and aphorism, collected from a wide variety of sources, embracing many religions and spiritual movements.
{
180pp,
August 2011;
PB,
£12.95,
1898595135:9781898595137
, Sussex Academic Press (Alpha Press)
} |
 |
ORIGIN OF HUMAN NATURE
: A Zen Buddhist Looks at Evolution
[Albert Low]
Offers an original and fertile way to integrate spiritual and scientific views of human evolution. It offers a new and refreshing alternative to the way we think about our origins: random mutation (mechanistic neo-Darwinism), Genesis (God did it all personally), and Intelligent Design (God personally does what we can't otherwise account for). The result is an invigorating perspective on how our best qualities -- our capacity for love, our appreciation of beauty, our altruistic capability, our creativity and intelligence -- have come into being and evolved. How we think about our origin matters: if we think we are machines living among other machines, we will act accordingly. By showing evolution as a creative and intelligent process with its own inherent logic, THE ORIGIN OF HUMAN NATURE resolves the dilemma of how to have, at the same time, both truth and ethics. Instead of starting in an imagined remote and 'uncertain past' and moving to the present, this book starts at the certain and 'immediate present' and works back. That consciousness, creativity, and intelligence exist is certain. The question is: how can these have evolved? Dr Albert Low has made a study of human nature throughout his life. To write this book he draws on his prolonged meditations on creativity and the human condition, his years of providing psychological and spiritual counseling, and a wide-ranging knowledge of Western psychology, philosophy, and science.
REVIEW: "In The Origin of Human Nature, Dr. Albert Low breathes new life into old terms - the transcendent, consciousness, awareness, evolution, creativity, intention - not by going around science, but by going through it. In the current frenzy to purge science of purpose, meaning, direction, and values, Low’s insights are a welcome resource. One might say that our survival depends on the wisdom in this book." -- Larry Dossey, MD, author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Everyday Things. "The old religious models don’t seem to work for us these days. And so we have turned to secularity, to the cooler gaze of science, especially the neo-Darwinism of Richard Dawkins and others. Albert Low shows that the bloom of their answer - the random-mutation mechanistic evolutionary system - that once seemed so promising, cannot account for our capacity for love, appreciation of beauty, altruism, creativity or intelligence. And it cannot offer us meaning or direction. So we find ourselves in an uncomfortable place of ambiguity... The Origin of Human Nature offers a model that lives creatively in just that ambiguity." -- Professor Robert Forman, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Religion, CUNY, founding Co-Editor of The Journal of Consciousness Studies and author of Grassroots Spirituality. "In this intelligently written book Albert Low gives us a modern Guide for the Perplexed; a richly thoughtful reflection on the roots of human nature that glows with a deep respect for both science and the spirit." Allan Combs, author of The Radiance of Being. "The battles over evolution are fought by two sides that are far too rigid in their thinking, the Biblical literalists on the one hand and the mechanistically committed materialists on the other. But our human and spiritual nature is much bigger than fanatic literalism or scientistic dogmatism, and Low’s refreshing book offers a more open direction to explore the potentials of evolution for real human beings." -- Charles T. Tart is Core Faculty at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and Professor Emeritus of Psychology at UC Davis. He is the author of many books, including Body Mind Spirit: Exploring the Parapsychology of Spirituality. "I enthusiastically recommend this book. As a hard-core scientist, I was overjoyed to read Dr. Low’s ‘knowing’ centered approach to human origins and nature, as well as his eloquent rebuttal of the ‘selfish gene’ neo-Darwinism that now dominates mainstream views. Dr. Low’s vision dovetails perfectly with the broader scientific vision of evolution that I work with but perhaps it takes a Zen master to communicate the profundity of its human implications to a world so desperate for a deeply felt understanding of purpose and meaning." -- Dr. S. J. Goerner, Director of The Integral Science Institute, and author of After the Clockwork Universe: The Emerging Science and Culture of Integral Society. "Albert Low offers us a strikingly original vision of evolution and human nature. He presents us with a choice that is stark, with implications that are far-reaching. On the one hand, we can take the metaphor of ‘man as machine’ literally and, as a consequence, abandon those very qualities that make us human and make life worth living. On the other hand, we can come to see that the evolutionary process, and therefore ourselves, is fundamentally intelligent and creative. The choice, Low tells us, is fateful and ours to make." -- Dr William Byers is Mathematics Professor at Loyola University, Montreal. He is the author of How Mathematicians Think (Princeton University Press), selected for the Scientific American book club. "Transcending the clichés on both sides of the modern God/evolution debate, Dr. Low’s book offers a most welcome invitation to the joyful work of thinking like a human being about what an evolving human being is and can - for the sake of our world, must - become." -- Jacob Needleman, Professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State University, and author of many books including Why Can’t We Be Good?
{
245pp,
152x229mm,
January 2008;
PB,
£17.99,
1845192605:9781845192600
, Sussex Academic Press
} |
 |
ORTHODOX WITNESS TODAY
[Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev]
This anthology of essays is an exploration of Christianity and secularisation in contemporary society, expressed in the author’s distinctive voice. He provides a broad view of central issues in inter-Orthodox, Orthodox-Protestant and Orthodox-Catholic dialogues. The book describes Christian churches and ecumenical bodies that are under pressure both from modern culture and due to their own, internal struggles. Social forces of secularisation act on churches and individuals, causing faith to become more personal as religion is robbed of its proper public role. Some respond to modernity by trying to revise traditional standards of belief and practice. The contrast between such theological experimentation and the preservation of tradition is seen as a fundamental source of the churches' disunity. Drawing on extensive experience of ecumenical encounters, the bishop calls for the opening of "a true dialogue, not just a monologue", a dialogue in which "we must be able not only to criticize others, but also to be self-critical".
{
251pp,
140x215mm,
January 2006;
PB,
£11.90,
2825414484:9782825414484
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
PAPERBACK APOCALYPSE
: How the Christian Church Was Left Behind
[Robert M Price]
The author traces the origin and scriptural basis for such beliefs as the Rapture, Second Coming, Antichrist and Messianic Prophesy. He emphasises that the writers of the new Testament consistently set a 1st century deadline for the return of Jesus Christ and yet the stubborn fact that the Second Coming obviously did not occur has not deterred fundamentalist Christians from blindly predicting the event throughout the centuries up to the present day. Price then critiques the raft of previous apocalyptic novels before turning to the 'Left Behind' series. He offers both literary and theological criticism, while explaining the psychological appeal of the books.
{
390pp,
155x230mm,
December 2007;
PB,
£12.99,
1591025834:9781591025832
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
PARTICIPATING IN GOD’S MISSION OF RECONCILIATION
: A Resource for Churches in Situations of Conflict
Many of today's conflicts reflect the tension between ethnic groups or nations. In such situations, Christians and the churches are called to be agents of reconciliation. But sometimes the 'fault lines' between the churches coincide with -- rather than challenge and heal -- those in society. In their division, the churches often mirror, or even intensify, tensions between particular ethnic groups and nations. The results are often destructive, even deadly. This study draws on biblical scholarship, theological reflection, and social scientific research as well as the experience and reflection of local churches in Fiji, the Sudan, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. Grounded in the imperative for unity, it offers theological and practical resources for Christians and churches in situations of conflict. Relating the search for Christian unity to the church's work for just reconciliation and healing, this book will be a valuable tool for churches, ecumenical study groups, local congregations -- for all who seek to offer a Christian witness in the midst of conflict.
{
67pp,
140x215mm,
January 2006;
PB,
£5.50,
2825414719:9782825414712
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA
[Lady Evelyn Cobbold; Introduction by William Facey & Miranda Taylor; Footnotes by Professor Ahmad S Turkistani]
As the first British woman convert to Islam on record as having made the pilgrimage to Makkah and the visit to the Prophet's Tomb at Madinah, Lady Evelyn Cobbold (1867-1963) cuts a unique figure in the annals of the Muslim Hajj. Lady Evelyn was in her mid-sixties when she decided to go on the Hajj. Daughter of the distinguished Scottish explorer Lord Dunmore, granddaughter of the Earl of Leicester, and great-niece of the notorious romantic Lady Jane Digby el-Mezrab, the young Evelyn Murray had spent childhood winters in North Africa. There she had been imbued with the Muslim way of life, becoming, as she puts it, 'a little Muslim at heart'. Before and after the First World War she travelled widely in Egypt, Syria and Transjordan. While strongly drawn to the Arab world, she maintained a conventional place in society at home, marrying the wealthy John Cobbold in 1891 and devoting herself to her Suffolk house and Scottish estate, her gardens, and especially deer-stalking in the Highlands, of which she was a renowned exponent. When her husband, by then High Sheriff of Suffolk, died in 1929, Lady Evelyn decided to perform the pilgrimage. Arriving at Jiddah by steamer from Suez in February 1933, she stayed with the Philbys and entered into the life of Jiddah's foreign community while waiting to obtain permission to perform the Haj. In doing so, she had to overcome the considerable suspicion surrounding foreign 'converts' who, Muslims felt, made the pilgrimage and then wrote about it as a dangerous and sensational adventure. While in Jiddah she received visits from various officials of the royal court, notably the King's son the Amir Faysal (later King Faysal). PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA is as much an account of an interior journey of faith as a conventional travelogue. It takes the form of a day-by-day journal, interspersed with digressions on the history and merits of Islam. While awaiting permission to go to Makkah, she was allowed to travel to Madinah, of which she gives an enchanting account. She is the first English writer to give a first-hand description of the life of the women's quarters of the households in which she stayed in Madinah, Makkah and Muna -- an account remarkable for its sympathy and vividness. Her book was published in 1934 to favourable reviews but has never until now been reprinted. This new edition, with a biographical introduction by William Facey and Lady Evelyn's great-great-niece Miranda Taylor, serves to rescue this unique and intriguing Anglo-Muslim from the neglect that has since befallen her, even among scholars specialising in women travellers.
{
336pp,
155x235mm,
May 2008;
HB,
£25.00,
0954479289:9780954479282
, Arabian Publishing Ltd
} |
 |
QUEST FOR JESUS & THE MYSTICISM OF PAUL
: Albert Schweitzer's Interpretation of the New Testament
Albert Schweitzer is remembered for many different reasons. His life of over 90 years was filled with rich contributions in a variety of fields: musical talents, philosophical and ethical systems of thought, and selfless service as a missionary medical doctor in Africa. However, it is his work within the area of New Testament interpretation which is arguably the most fascinating of all, partly because of its comprehensiveness (it encompassed Jesus, Paul and the Early Church!), and partly because of the fact that it prepared the ground for many of the other fields of study and service in which Schweitzer later excelled. Schweitzer's books on the New Testament have had an enormous impact. His work on the subject of eschatology sent shock waves through the field of biblical studies which are still being felt today. This is not to suggest that Schweitzer's contribution to the field of New Testament interpretation has been uncriticised. A lot of water has passed under the theological bridge since Schweitzer published his studies of Jesus and Paul, and its is necessary that his views be modified and clarified in light of subsequent developments within New Testament scholarship. Yet Schweitzer's name remains a staple within serious theological studies today. Most who have any theological training know that he is something of a watershed figure, but few have read his books to discover why he was so important. This book attempts to redress that balance and briefly introduce Schweitzer's world to those who are interested in learning more about his contribution to the field of New testament interpretation.
{
140x215mm,
March 2007;
PB,
£8.99,
1930566190:9781930566194
, D & F Scott Publishing Inc
} |
 |
RAGE & RESISTANCE
: A Theological Reflection on the Montreal Massacre
[Theresa O'Donovan]
Uses theology to articulate and clarify an event indelibly etched into the minds of many Canadians. Analyses some of the artistic, memorialising, and activist responses as manifestations of a spirituality of resistance, and urges ever greater resistance to violence against women.
{
145pp,
155x230mm,
November 2006;
PB,
£15.50,
0889205221:9780889205222
, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
} |
 |
READINGS IN EASTERN RELIGION, 2ND EDITION
[Harold Coward, Ronald Neufeldt & Eva K Neumaier]
This popular anthology, originally developed for use in introductory courses on the study of religious traditions of the East, offers a selection of readings from primary texts of India, China, and Japan. This second edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the changing needs of students. Existing introductions have been expanded and new introductions added to provide a better sense of the context for the excerpts as well as a better sense of historical developments. A section on Ch'an/Zen and excerpts from the writings of Ge Hong, representing the central concerns of Daoism, have been included. As in the first edition, a concerted effort has been made to present larger excerpts than conventional anthologies generally provide. This allows the student to gain a better sense of the flavour and historical development of the texts and stories. While the material is presented thematically, within each section it is presented chronologically, as religious developments seen through primary texts are more memorable and understandable if they can be seen or read within a historical framework.
{
397pp,
155x230mm,
December 2006;
PB,
£19.50,
0889204357:9780889204355
, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
} |
 |
RECOLLECTIONS OF WATERLOO LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY 1960-1973
[Flora Roy]
Through personal and anecdotal reflections, documents student demonstrations and faculty unrest of the 60s, as well as the university's evolution from a religious to secular institution.
{
136pp,
155x230mm,
August 2006;
PB,
£14.99,
0889205027:9780889205024
, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
} |
 |
RELIGION & CANADIAN SOCIETY
: Traditions, Transitions, & Innovations
[Dr Lori G Beaman (ed)]
Offers an outstanding selection of works that represent an overview of the study of religion from a Canadian perspective. A unique and thorough volume, this is the first to examine in a meaningful way the influence that religion and culture have over each other, from a framework that is critical, feminist, and completely appropriate for a treatment of society and religion in the 21st century.
{
278pp,
170x245mm,
March 2006;
PB,
£19.99,
155130306X:9781551303062
, Canadian Scholars' Press
} |
 |
RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES IN FRANCE
: Past & Present
[Kathleen Perry Long (ed)]
This volume looks at the relationship between religious and secular institutions and the influence of those institutions on the development of individual religious identities.
{
ca300pp,
155x230mm,
April 2006;
PB,
£25.99,
1931112576:9781931112574
, Truman State University Press
} |
 |
SACRED SOUND
: Experiencing Music in World Religions
[Guy L Beck (ed)]
Book & CD. This innovative book explores religion through music, one of the most universally recognised forms of human experience. The only art form named after a divinity, music has been documented from prehistory to the present age in virtually all known cultures. For many, music is a vehicle for spiritual growth and community empowerment, whether it's understood as a gift of the gods or simply a practice for achieving mental states conducive to enlightenment. Traditionally, when religious scholars talk about music, it's as a kind of aesthetic supplement to the important spiritual content of a religion, analogous to stained-glass windows or temple paintings. In contrast, "Sacred Sound" acknowledges the critical role of musical activity in religious life. Music, including chant and vocal utterance, is not incidental in religious practice but a sacred treasure that is central to the growth and sustenance of religions throughout the world. Musical sound is sacred in most religions because it embodies the divine and can be shared by all participants, enduring among diverse communities of people despite theological differences. Covering six of the major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism -- the book is accompanied by a CD of forty selections of music and chant. Contributors are respected scholars in religious studies and musicology and provide insight from both disciplines.
{
222pp,
155x230mm,
May 2006;
PB,
£23.50,
0889204217:9780889204218
, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
} |
 |
SCIENCE & RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
: Are They Similar Forms of Knowledge?
[Grahame Miles]
Many people believe that science provides facts while religion is just opinion or beliefs. This book explores the structure and value of science and religious experience, and demonstrates how similar they are and how equally valuable and valid they are. After defining different forms of knowledge, e.g. biological, personal, moral, religious, the author explains how the structures of both the humanities and the sciences involve what we grasp through our senses, and how we interpret those impressions first by description, then by evidence collected, then by reason and understanding -- all based on the foundation of basic beliefs. One can no more prove scientific theory or that Moses heard God’s call, for each is upheld by a believing community. For factual claims are interpretations in both science and religion. In this work, objective science is examined against the subjective world of personal relations, the humanities and religion. Many scientists and religionists acknowledge a hierarchy of different forms of knowledge, e.g. empirical, chemical, personal and religious. Some fundamentalists (both scientific and religious) focus on one form of knowledge, when a range of forms of knowledge would provide a more balanced multi-focal perspective.
REVIEW: "This is a fascinating read as well as an invaluable resource for students and teachers, a comprehensive account of a vast and complex subject." -- Marianne Rankin, Chair of the Alister Hardy Society, in the BASR Bulletin, 2008.
{
429pp,
171x246mm,
February 2007;
PB,
£16.95,
184519117X:9781845191177
/
HB,
£55.00,
1845191161:9781845191160
, Sussex Academic Press
} |
 |
SECULAR CONSCIENCE
: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life
[Austin Dacey, Ph.D.]
The open, secular society is in retreat. From Washington to Rome to Tehran, religion is a public matter as never before, and secular values -- personal autonomy, toleration, separation of religion and state, and freedom of conscience -- are attacked on all sides and defended by few. The godly claim a monopoly on the language of morality in public debate, while secular liberals stand accused of standing for nothing. Secular liberals have undone themselves. For generations, too many have insisted that questions of conscience-religion, ethics, and values are "private matters" that have no place in public debate. Ironically, this ideology prevents them from subjecting religion to due scrutiny when it encroaches on individual rights and from unabashedly defending their own moral vision in politics for fear of "imposing" their beliefs on others. In this incisive book, philosopher Austin Dacey calls for a bold rethinking of the nature of conscience and its role in public life. Inspired by an earlier liberal tradition he traces to Spinoza and John Stuart Mill, Dacey urges liberals to lift their self-imposed gag order and argues for a secularism based on the objective moral value of questions of conscience. He likens conscience to the press in an open society: it should be protected from coercion and control, not because it is private, but because of its vital role in the public sphere. Conscience is free, but not free from shared standards of truth and right. Marshalling the latest research on belief, the mind, and ethics, The Secular Conscience delivers a compelling ideal for the future of the open, secular society.
{
269pp,
155x230mm,
March 2008;
HB,
£16.99,
1591026040:9781591026044
, Prometheus Books
} |
 |
SEEKING PEACE IN AFRICA
: Stories From African Peacemakers
[Donald E Miller, Scott Holland, Lon Fendall & Dean Johnson (eds)]
Seeking Peace is Africa" is a direct reply to the World Council of Churches' Decade to Overcome Violence. The WCC appealed to the Historic Peace Churches to share their responses to the enormous reach of terror and violation of human life in this generation. The stories in this volume are the hopeful responses of Africans who have lived through horrific violence. Some are unbearable tales of despair at the loss of millions of lives due to warfare, riots, terror, starvation, AIDS and disease. Others are remarkable descriptions of courageous peacemaking in the midst of nearly impossible circumstances.
{
246pp,
155x230mm,
March 2008;
PB,
£12.00,
2825415081:9782825415085
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, VOLUME 1
: Biblical, Historical & Evangelical, 3rd Edition
[James Leo Garrett Jr]
In this third edition, Professor Garrett has expanded and updated his monumental classic, 'Systematic Theology'. This is one of the most comprehensive contemporary studies of Christian beliefs ever written. Garrett provides a full-scale exposition of doctrines, drawing upon both biblical theology and historical theology from the patristic age up to the present. He examines issues both individually and in relation to each other, yielding an unparalleled in-depth study that is an invaluable resource for seminary students, pastors, and educated laypersons. Garrett, who holds earned doctorates from both Harvard and South-western Baptist Seminary and has taught theology for over forty years, makes no secret of his Southern Baptist heritage and evangelical convictions. However, his presentation is so thorough and so objective that it has found widespread acceptance not only in Baptist circles, but also in the wider community of Christian scholars, students, and pastors. This is because of his even-handed approach, his interaction with theologians and exegetes across the religious spectrum, the encyclopaedic wealth of information that he provides, and the fact that his approach, though starting from divine revelation as recorded in the Bible, includes a presentation of Christian tradition and Christian experience. Many have called this work a gold mine of information. Nevertheless, Garrett's "Systematic Theology" remains the only systematic theology written by a Baptist who extensively quotes other Baptist writers, theologians, and exegetes. Evangelicals will find no other source which simultaneously informs them so thoroughly about their own heritage as well as the beliefs of other Christians around the world and throughout history.
{
750pp,
155x230mm,
February 2007;
HB,
£43.50,
1930566638:9781930566637
, D & F Scott Publishing Inc (BIBAL Press)
} |
 |
THIS SPOT OF GROUND
: Spiritual Baptists in Toronto
[Carol B Duncan]
A richly detailed study that explores the emergence of the Spiritual Baptist faith, an African-Caribbean religious tradition, in Toronto, Canada. Originating in Trinidad, Tobago and St Vincent, it is now practiced in cities such as New York, London, as well as Toronto.
{
364pp,
155x230mm,
May 2008;
HB,
£49.99,
155458017X:9781554580170
, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
} |
 |
THREAT OF TOURISM
: Challenge to the Church
[Ron O’Grady]
Looks behind the glossy advertising of exotic locations, highlighting a number of issues that are becoming increasingly acute: tourism’s contribution to ecological damage, forced changes in cultures, violation of human rights, the growth of the global sex industry. The church has to deal with tourism, too: historic sanctuaries are suffering irreparable wear and tear, and Christians in developing countries are seeing their customs under threat. The World Tourism Organization upholds a code of ethics for tour operators, and a code of conduct for tourists, first drawn up thirty years ago by the Christian Conference of Asia, is now widely used. The author reflects on principles of a moral approach to tourism: "If we travel with an attitude of respect for people and the environment, plus recognition of the economic and social rights of those visited, we have covered most of the critical situations which will arise."
{
106pp,
March 2006;
PB,
£6.95,
2825414816:9782825414811
, World Council of Churches
} |
 |
TREATISE ON RELICS
[John Calvin]
For much of its history the Catholic Church has countenanced the veneration of relics -- objects or even bones associated with a saint, or with Jesus Christ himself, that were deemed to have healing power or some beneficial spiritual effect on believers. Despite criticism from some sceptical observers (including even St Augustine), the belief in relics has continued to this day. In the 15th and 16th centuries, when the Protestant Reformation launched a wholesale attack on Church practices, the use of relics was included among the superstitions that were deplored as a corruption of the Christian faith. John Calvin, one of the chief architects of the Reformation, published this thorough critique of relic worship in 1543. He runs through the gamut of objects that are venerated in various churches. From the alleged swaddling clothes of Jesus to pieces from the crown of thorns, Calvin pointedly shows how little proof there is that these objects are real and how obviously they are used as a means of taking |
