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Religion
How, over the course of five centuries, one particular god and one particular Christianity came to dominate late Roman imperial politics and piety
The ancient Mediterranean teemed with gods. For centuries, a practical religious pluralism prevailed. How, then, did one particular god come to dominate the politics and piety of the late Roman Empire? In Ancient Christianities, Paula Fredriksen traces the evolution of early Christianity--or rather, of early Christianities--through five centuries of Empire, mapping its pathways from the hills of Judea to the halls of Rome and Constantinople. It is a story with a sprawling cast of characters: not only theologians, bishops, and emperors, but also gods and demons, angels and magicians, astrologers and ascetics, saints and heretics, aristocratic patrons and millenarian enthusiasts. All played their part in the development of what became and remains an energetically diverse biblical religion. The New Testament, as we know it, represents only a small selection of the many gospels, letters, acts of apostles, and revelations that circulated before the establishment of the imperial church. It tells how the gospel passed from Jesus, to the apostles, thence to Paul. But by using our peripheral vision, by looking to noncanonical and paracanonical texts, by availing ourselves of information derived from papyri, inscriptions, and archaeology, we can see a different, richer, much less linear story emerging. Fredriksen brings together these many sources to reconstruct the lively interactions of pagans, Jews, and Christians, tracing the conversions of Christianity from an energetic form of Jewish messianism to an arm of the late Roman state.
A beautifully curated and translated collection of the Qur'anic surahs and verses that are most cherished and memorized by Muslims the world over Muslim devotional practices vary greatly over time and across regions, communities, and denominations, but they share core Qur'anic surahs (chapters) and verses rooted in the practice of earlier figures--the Prophet Muhammad, his closest Companions, the Shiite Imams, saintly figures, learned scholars, Sufi masters, local imams and religious teachers, forebears, and parents. This volume is the first to present a curated English translation of these core passages, offering a powerful distillation of the recitational tradition that is at the heart of Muslim faith and practice. In these translations of thirty-two surahs and some forty verses, Shawkat M. Toorawa gives attention to rhythm, assonance, and end rhyme, as well as to the musicality and emotional force of the original Arabic. He organizes the selections according to devotional use and explains the place and role of the surah, verse, or passage in Muslim devotional practice. This book is for anyone interested in the Qur'an, its aesthetic qualities, and its place in Muslim devotion, including any Muslims seeking a sensitive English translation of these essential surahs and verses.
How people have reimagined the story of the ten plagues of Egypt, from antiquity to our own era of relentless catastrophe
People have been telling and retelling stories about disasters for as long as they have been telling stories. One of the oldest of such stories is the ten plagues in the book of Exodus, the series of disasters that forced the Egyptians to liberate the Israelites. These plagues packed enough catastrophe to fill a series of summer blockbusters--rivers of blood, invasions of frogs and insects, mass disease, fiery hail, smothering darkness, and a midnight massacre of the firstborn. The story of the ten plagues resonates today, as we try to make sense of such calamities of modern life as pandemics, climate change, and war. In Disasters of Biblical Proportions, Steven Weitzman explores how people of later ages--artists, writers, activists, philosophers, believers and unbelievers alike--have reshaped the story of the ten plagues to give expression to their own trauma, outrage, guilt, humor, and hope. Tracing the interpretation and retelling of each plague across time and space, Weitzman uncovers how this ancient tale found new meaning among Jews, Christians, and Muslims and continues to shape how people today understand the present and envision the future. Even as it recounts the history of how the ten plagues have been reimagined, Disasters of Biblical Proportions is also a history of people's search for shelter from the calamities of their own times--and of humanity's striving for justice, freedom, and redemption.
A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.
Sufism, for many of its medieval followers, was the "religion of love." God was the beloved and the Sufis, his lovers. To become a Sufi meant to become a lover. In this book, Matthew Thomas Miller pursues the radical analytical implication of this amatory metaphysics: If God and his divine secrets can only truly be known in their fullest through the experience of love, then we must analyze how it feels to be a Sufi on the Path of Love. Leveraging insights from the history of emotions and affect theory, this study examines key Sufi ritual practices and poetics to show the central role that affect plays in the process of constructing Sufi subjectivity and knowledge production. It explores the felt dimension of medieval Sufism and why feeling--especially, like a lover--was so important for coming to truly know God and his divine secrets.
Among the most popular of Henri Nouwen's books, Life of the Beloved was initially written for a Jewish friend, and went on to become Henri Nouwen's greatest legacy to Christians around the world. This sincere testimony of the power and invitation of Christ is indeed a great guide to a truly uplifting spiritual life in today's world.
Classic teachings on the art of living by the great Roman emperor, statesman, and general. The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius originally wrote the meditations collected here in the form of a personal journal during his military campaigns in the second century. In them, he reflects with great beauty and simplicity upon the Stoic virtues that lead to a happy life: self-mastery, moral strength, duty to oneself and others, detachment, and acceptance of the divine order and the way of Nature. His words of wisdom and courage continue to inspire all who struggle to live a meaningful and productive life in a troubled age. This book is part of the Shambhala Pocket Library series. The Shambhala Pocket Library is a collection of short, portable teachings from notable figures across religious traditions and classic texts. The covers in this series are rendered by Colorado artist Robert Spellman. The books in this collection distill the wisdom and heart of the work Shambhala Publications has published over 50 years into a compact format that is collectible, reader-friendly, and applicable to everyday life.
New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics, while others have compared Merton's reflections with those of Thoreau. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. For Merton, "Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love."
This is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable. The crisis of religion in America, says Cornel West, is profound and pervasive: profound in that it deepens as Americans turn more desperately toward religion; pervasive in that it affects every form of religion in America, from Christianity to Buddhism, from reform Judaism to Islam. The rise of the religious right, the decline of liberal Christianity, and the challenge of liberation theology are all symptoms of this crisis. In this book Cornel West explores the landscape of this crisis in essays, articles, reviews, and even fiction. The selections outline the contours of a "principled prophetism" -- a prophetic religion that incorporates the best of modernity and secularity (tolerance, fallibilism, criticism), yet brings prophetic critique to bear upon the idols of modernity and secularity (science, technology, and wealth). Touching on various aspects of Christian thought and action in our post-modern times, the essays in this book are informed by a revolutionary Christian vision that is so often absent from American religious life. They display the intellectual rigor that has made Cornel West a highly respected author and thinker -- one who is not only a perceptive surveyor of contemporary Christian thought, but also a gifted shaper of that thought.
A landmark new translation of the sacred text of Islam in an elegant deluxe edition Literally "the recitation," The Qur'an is considered within the Muslim faith to be the infallible word of God. Tarif Khalidi, the foremost scholar of Islamic history and faith, provides a fresh English translation that captures the startling, exquisite poetry of one of the world's most beloved religious texts. Retaining the structure and rhythms of the original Arabic, Khalidi enlivens the ancient teachings and prophetic narratives central to the Muslim faith and solidifies The Qur'an as a work of spiritual authority and breathtaking beauty. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The personal tones of the translations, the blend of reverence and humor so characteristic of him, show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the fourth-century Christian Fathers who sought solitude and contemplation in the deserts of the Near East.
The hermits of Screte who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own had much in common with the Zen masters of China and Japan, and Father Merton made his selection from them with an eye to the kind of impact produced by the Zen mondo.
The hermits of Screte who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own had much in common with the Zen masters of China and Japan, and Father Merton made his selection from them with an eye to the kind of impact produced by the Zen mondo.