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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisA militant Marxist atheist and a “Radical Orthodox” Christian theologian square off on everything from the meaning of theology and Christ to the war machine of corporate mafia.“What matters is not so much that Žižek is endorsing a demythologized, disenchanted Christianity without transcendence, as that he is offering in the end (despite what he sometimes claims) a heterodox version of Christian belief.”—John Milbank“To put it even more bluntly, my claim is that it is Milbank who is effectively guilty of heterodoxy, ultimately of a regression to paganism: in my atheism, I am more Christian than Milbank.”—Slavoj ŽižekIn this corner, philosopher Slavoj Žižek, a militant atheist who represents the critical-materialist stance against religion''s illusions; in the other corner, “Radical Orthodox” theologian John Milbank, an influential and provocative thinker who argues that theology is the only foundation upon which knowledge, politics, and ethics can stand. In The Monstrosity of Christ, Žižek and Milbank go head to head for three rounds, employing an impressive arsenal of moves to advance their positions and press their respective advantages. By the closing bell, they have not only proven themselves worthy adversaries, they have shown that faith and reason are not simply and intractably opposed. Žižek has long been interested in the emancipatory potential offered by Christian theology. And Milbank, seeing global capitalism as the new century''s greatest ethical challenge, has pushed his own ontology in more political and materialist directions. Their debate in The Monstrosity of Christ concerns the future of religion, secularity, and political hope in light of a monsterful event—God becoming human. For the first time since Žižek''s turn toward theology, we have a true debate between an atheist and a theologian about the very meaning of theology, Christ, the Church, the Holy Ghost, Universality, and the foundations of logic. The result goes far beyond the popularized atheist/theist point/counterpoint of recent books by Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others. Žižek begins, and Milbank answers, countering dialectics with “paradox.” The debate centers on the nature of and relation between paradox and parallax, between analogy and dialectics, between transcendent glory and liberation. Slavoj Žižek is a philosopher and cultural critic. He has published over thirty books, including Looking Awry, The Puppet and the Dwarf, and The Parallax View (these three published by the MIT Press). John Milbank is an influential Christian theologian and the author of Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason and other books. Creston Davis, who conceived of this encounter, studied under both Žižek and Milbank.

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Book SynopsisRanging from the medieval period to the present day, this is a brief history of church music as it has developed through the English tradition. Described as "a quick journey", it provides a broad historical survey rather than an in-depth study of the subject, and also predicts likely future trends.Table of ContentsEmerging from infancy, c.1100-1532; a crisis of cultures, 1532-1649; the new professionals, 1649-1738; the evangelical age, 1738-1847; the new seriousness, 1833-76; the Church triumphant and trivial, 1851-99; the creative underground, 1848-1904; the age of confidence, 1900-55; anxiety and opportunity, 1955-75.

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Book SynopsisBeatrice Bruteau develops a Trinitarian anthropology with the potential for healing our conflict-ridden planet by transforming us from riven and conflicting individuals, into open, sharing persons of the New Creation. In transcendent freedom, a profound communion consciousness gives birth to global, wholistic community.Trade Review“Every now and then there arises a prophet in our midst marked by a voice that is distinctly new and totally different than the familiar. The Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was one such voice and Beatrice Bruteau, a disciple of Teilhard, is another. In this collection of essays written over a period of twenty years, Bruteau offers us a luminous vision of a new social order in an evolutionary world. This is a profound book, written by a scholar of wisdom. It is a book that can appeal to a wide variety of people–academics and nonacademics alike–because of its depth and breadth. [A]ll those who read The Grand Option will not only be lured by Bruteau’s vision and insight but will return time and again to this book, for it is itself an evolution in thought.” —Spiritual Life“Written with clarity and elegance, Dr. Bruteau’s book combines a rich legacy of intellectual wealth with her own valuable personal experience and mystical contemplation.” —Prabuddha Bharata“The Grand Option sings from start to finish with passion and depth. Bruteau brilliantly evokes the cosmic dimension of evolution and morphs Christian theology into a razor-sharp and inspired theory of collective human transformation that will appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike.” —What is Enlightenment?"[Bruteau] updates and reweaves her unique synthesis of a progressive evolution, Eastern traditions, neo-feminism, which altogether achieve a consummate twenty-first century Christian vision. In a series of essays that course among these realms and others, Dr. Bruteau proceeds and builds toward a radically novel Earthwide Christianity.” —Thailand Perspective

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Book SynopsisThe Soul as Virgin Wife presents the first book-length study to give a detailed account of the theological and mystical teachings written by women themselves, especially by those known as beguines, which have been especially neglected. Hollywood explicates the difference between the erotic and imagistic mysticism, arguing that Mechthild, Porete, and Eckhart challenge the sexual ideologies prevalent in their culture and claim a union without distinction between the soul and the divine.The beguines'' emphasis in the later Middle Ages on spiritual poverty has long been recognized as an important influence on subsequent German and Flemish mystical writers, in particular the great German Dominican preacher and apophatic theologian Meister Eckhart. In The Soul as Virgin Wife, Amy Hollywood presents the first book-length study to give a detailed textual account of these debts. Through an analysis of Magdeburg''s The Flowing Light of the Godhead, Marguerite PoreTrade Review“The Soul as Virgin Wife is a learned, subtle, and deeply intelligent study of three mystical theologians. Informed by feminist theory as well as thorough familiarity with late medieval religious culture, Amy Hollywood sifts through everything and takes nothing for granted. By reading Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, and Meister Eckhart ‘with and against’ each other, she is able to recontextualize all three in a powerfully original way.”—Barbara Newman, Professor of English and Religion, Northwestern University“This book is a ‘marguerite,’ a pearl. It can be read as a major contribution to our understanding of Mechthild, Marguerite, and Eckhart, and also as a major contribution to the study of women’s religion in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. As if that were not enough, it is also studded with telling theoretical observations and enlivened by a running dialogue with a large array of current work in critical theory and feminist studies.”—The Journal of Religion"[Hollywood] offers valuable and insightful discussions of specific aspects in the works of all three mystics. . . . [T]his is a well-researched book...."—Studi Medievali“[Hollywood’s] study stands out as a scintillating and heuristic contribution to the critical literature surrounding three pivotal figures in the mystical revolution of late medieval Europe.” —Anglican Theological Review“Amy Hollywood offers to the reader a brilliant and detailed study of Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, and Meister Eckhart on ‘the interrelated themes of body, will, and work and the interplay of pain, visionary imagination, and apophasis.’ In so doing she has produced a complex analysis of the reasons for ‘their desomatizing transformation of female mysticism.’” —Church History“Hollywood offers such a careful examination of the interpretive problems and historical contexts (her vastly detailed footnotes alone are worth the price of admission), and such a nuanced reading of the gender issues involved, that I felt her quite focused study would have significantly widespread implications.” —Pro Ecclesia“Since the publication of Caroline Bynum’s pathbreaking study of religious women in medieval Europe, female mystical writing has been all too easily characterized in essentialist and universalizing terms, especially in terms of the primary roles that the body and somatic visionary experience are assumed to have played in such women’s writings. Hollywood sets out to complicate this trend in her detailed study of the theological underpinnings of three mystical writers: Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, and Meister Eckhart. She warns critics that women’s visionary experience has too often been characterized through prescriptive works often written by men for women (such as hagiography) rather than through works by women themselves and first suggests that we pay more careful attention to the latter. Second, she urges critics not to universalize the somatic character of women’s writing; her constellation of these three figures shows that while the body was of concern to all three thinkers, for Mechthild it was not central, and for Marguerite Porete and Eckhart it was to be overcome entirely. By bringing together two female mystical writers and one male writer she demonstrates the commonality, rather than the distinction, between many male and female mystical writers’ concerns and the ways in which Eckhart was particularly influenced by beguine (female lay religious) thought. Furthermore, she shows how Eckhart, perhaps because of his privileged position as a male in terms of institutional authority and education, was able to crystallize and extend the thought of his beguine predecessors, producing a utopian theology of union with God more coherent and ultimately with more radical potential than that of Mechthild or Marguerite Porete.” —Speculum

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Book SynopsisThe scope of this work reveals the fact that the military chaplaincy has existed in a recognizable form for more than 1600 years. Contributors analyze specific historical moments in its development, beginning in antiquity and progressing through the Crusades, the English Civil War, the American Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War.Trade Review“The Sword of the Lord merits a place on the bookshelf for its extensive mapping out of the fairly confined terrain of chaplain studies. The twelve essays gathered here … are a welcome addition to this too often neglected aspect of military and religious history. It is a valuable addition to the literature on those figures who stand at a unique intersection of religion and the military.” —Journal of Military History"This is an original, informative and thought-provoking volume that will be of as much interest to scholars in the field of war studies as to those in religious studies." —Journal of Ecclesiastical History"Doris Bergen's edited collection of essays, The Sword of the Lord: Military Chaplains from the First to the Twenty-First Century, is a refreshing reminder of the value of questions well asked—What has changed across two millennia of chaplaincy? What has remained the same?—and answers thoughtfully formulated." —The Journal of Religion“The book is a good introduction to the history and basic challenges of military chaplaincy. The chapters range across historical periods as distinct as the Roman Empire, the Crusades, the American Civil War, both World Wars and Vietnam. It will be of interest to chaplains and military historians, who are its principal audience.” —Anglican Theological Review“…a very informative and readable history of military chaplains. It’s a book that all who are interested in reflecting on the nature and purpose of ministry would benefit from.” —Contact"...a riveting account.... Recommended." —CHOICE“This volume is given great force by two chapters written by chaplains sharing their experiences….” —The Catholic Historical Review"This book is recommended for Catholic libraries, for historians, for theologians who are interested in questions of just war and support for our troops, and for general readers." —Catholic Library World“These well-written essays fill a gap in our understanding of the roles played by military chaplains through the ages. This book will prove valuable to general readers, historians, and theologians interested in the interplay between religion, politics, and war.” —History: Review of New Books“... a useful introductory survey of the history of military chaplaincy in Europe and North America from antiquity to the present day. Doris Bergen has assembled a team of contributors who have written stimulating essays that go some way towards illuminating the history of this venerable and controversial ministry.” —Theology

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Book SynopsisBy the early twentieth century, a genuine renaissance of religious thought and a desire for ecclesial reform were emerging in the Russian Orthodox Church. With the end of tsarist rule and widespread dissatisfaction with government control of all aspects of church life, conditions were ripe for the Moscow Council of 1917-1918 to come into being.The council was a major event in the history of the Orthodox Church. After years of struggle for reform against political and ecclesiastical resistance, the bishops, clergy, monastics, and laity who formed the Moscow Council were able to listen to one other and make sweeping decisions intended to renew the Russian Orthodox Church. Council members sought change in every imaginable areafrom seminaries and monasteries, to parishes and schools, to the place of women in church life and governance. Like Vatican II, the Moscow Council emphasized the mission of the church in and to the world.Destivelle's study not only discusses the counTrade Review"As the centenary of the Russian Revolution approaches, Hyacinthe Destivelle’s study offers a valuable resource for assessing a critical dimension of that momentous event: the Orthodox Church Council of 1917–1918. Deploying a wealth of published sources to recount the origins, activities, and results of this remarkable gathering, Destivelle provides a synthesis that is at once insightful and accessible to a broad readership. His work covers the entire period from the first calls for a council in 1905 through the assembly’s conclusion in 1918, skillfully demonstrating how the conciliar ideal was translated into concrete ecclesiastical decrees. In doing so, Destivelle identifies the central players and the broad range of issues at stake in the Church’s reform, as well as the resonance of the council’s decisions for the rest of the twentieth century. His book represents a fine contribution to the growing scholarship on religion in Russia and provides an excellent point of entry for those seeking to understand the fate of the Orthodox Church in the twentieth century." —Paul W. Werth, University of Nevada, Las Vegas"Hyacinthe Destivelle's study is a much-needed and timely examination of the historic All-Russia Church Council of 1917–1918—a council that marked both the culmination and the beginning of a new epoch in modern Russian Orthodoxy. The English translation of the council's definitions and decrees, as well as the 'Statute of the Local Council of the Orthodox Church of All Russia,' along with Destivelle's exceptional commentary and annotations, will remain a foundational work for scholars and students of modern Christianity and Orthodoxy, as well as for scholars and students of Russian history, for decades to come." —Vera Shevzov, Smith College"Contemporary global Orthodoxy is in the process of confronting unprecedented challenges. . . . The autocephalous Orthodox churches address these challenges in various ways, as pastors and theologians appeal to notions of consensus among the Fathers in the past as models. Occasionally, pastors and theologians will also consider creative models of the church for engaging the modern world. The University of Notre Dame Press's recent translation and publication of Hyacinthe Destivelle's comprehensive analysis of the Moscow Council of 1917–1918 grants English-language readers access to one of the most discussed and perhaps least understood historical examples of such models . . . an instant classic and a necessary desktop resource for all serious students and scholars of Russian Orthodoxy and ecclesiology." —The Wheel“[Destivelle’s] book, which is based on the council documents and was originally published in French, is a brilliant and insightful analysis of the Moscow Council and its many fascinating ideas and challenges. It is not only a fair and balanced treatment of Russian Orthodoxy’s determination to make Christ’s enduring message of love and justice relevant to a people experiencing radical changes in society but also an incredibly rich presentation of original source documents.” —The Catholic Historical Review“This publication of this important work in English is an event of great significance. The book will serve as an indispensable handbook for historians, students of history and religion, and certainly also clerics and theologians wishing to acquaint themselves with the basics of a foundational even in the history of the modern Christian churches.” —The Russian Review“[This] book is characterized primarily by the concise provision of accurate information. However, there is nothing tedious about this careful exposition of a potentially emotive subjective. [There] could be no better introduction to [the Moscow Council] than this cogently organized and exceptionally well indexed book. . .” —Slavonic and East European Review“Destivelle’s volume is a welcome contribution to the ever-burgeoning field of the history of Orthodoxy in Russia. This book will certainly become a staple for anyone desiring to become acquainted with one of the most exciting moments in Russian Orthodox history.” —Theological Studies“Dominican friar Hyacinthe Destivelle of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity narrates the story of the Russian Church’s reassertion of its conciliar identity and the restoration of the Patriarch of Moscow.” —The Living Church

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Book SynopsisIn Dark Light of Love, John S. Dunne continues his quest of faith seeking understanding by examining darkness as a metaphor for unknowing and the unknown.Trade Review"This book, like each of the many by John Dunne that I have read, reminds me of the gift to us that his life as a writer and a teacher has been. He helped so many of us to understand the need to take seriously our own experiences, and he showed us how to plumb those experiences for insights inspired by his own. In reading this book, I am reminded of what he still can teach us and of what his untimely death has taken from us." —Paul Kollman, C.S.C., from the foreword"John Dunne provides a clear and seemingly simple path leading to a connection with the Divine. Years ago, I spoke with him about his writing, and John told me his work was meant to be read a little at a time, followed by meditation. His writings circle around, repeating and deepening, and thus facilitate the kindling of the heart followed by the illumining of the mind." —Mary Theis, counselor with the Apple Farm Community, Three Rivers, Michigan, and the C.G. Jung Center, Evanston, Illinois"When first I heard Fr. John Dunne teach, I felt like I had come ‘home.' Over forty years have passed since then and still, when I read but a few thoughts from any one of his books, that sense of ‘coming home’ returns, all inner striving ceases, and there is great peace. This new work, Dark Light of Love, seems to coalesce for me this experience of grace. John’s words still penetrate to the heart of things, to all that matters most." —Claire M. Wing, liturgical artist and designer"If short prayer, as it is said in The Cloud of Unknowing, penetrates heaven, then let us utter a resounding “Thank you!” to John Dunne for his mystical work The Dark Light of Love. Here, John’s kindled heart and illumined mind remind us that although 'we are at the far point on the great circle in this secular age, where the soul is in the dark night of faith,' this far point is a turning point. To step toward ourselves, one another, and God, is to step into the darkness with love, where aloneness becomes all-one-ness and even darkness blooms and sings. This book, like all of John Dunne’s work, is meant, is a sign, is the heart speaking and showing us that indeed there is a way." —Colleen Moore, director, Echo Program, University of Notre Dame“When John S. Dunne—beloved teacher, scholar, priest, and friend—passed away Nov. 11, 2013, at the age of 83, he left a number of book manuscripts that had not yet been published. Dark Light of Love, Dunne’s 23rd book, is the first volume to be published after his death. In the book, Dunne examines darkness as a metaphor for unknowing and the unknown.” —NDWorks“‘Our life is a journey in time, and God is our companion,’ Dunne writes in this elegant meditation on darkness, light, love, and the cloud of unknowing which is always with us. With creative strokes, the author leads us through the labyrinth of emergence, separation, and reunion.” —Spirituality & Practice“Dark Light of Love with its easily readable, joyful, and deep reflections may inspire a well-rewarded further exploration of [Dunne’s] earlier writings . . . [that are] uplifting, vibrant, reverent, deeply moving, joyful, and reflective. He opens our heart’s door to a greater, deeper, closeness with the Lord. His last gift to readers, Dark Light of Love, is a must-have title for parish, seminary and university libraries.” —Catholic Library World“Over the course of his 17 previous books, Dunne’s journey had become increasingly mystical. The current work is one of the best contemporary examples of . . . the ‘fundamental and momentous change in the human reality that a theologian is’. . . . Seasoned readers . . . will already know something of the kindling of the heart and the illumining of the mind that this book presents and provokes.” —Theological Studies

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Book SynopsisA Christian theological interpretation of the border reality is a neglected area of immigration study. The foremost contribution of A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey is its focus on the theological dimension of migration, beginning with the humanity of the immigrant, a child of God and a bearer of his image. The nineteen authors in this collection recognize that one characteristic of globalization is the movement not only of goods and ideas but also of people. The crossing of geographical borders confronts Christians, as well as all citizens, with choices: between national security and human insecurity, between sovereign national rights and human rights, between citizenship and discipleship. Bearing these global dimensions in mind, the essays in this book focus on the particular problems of immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. The contributors to this volume include scholars as well as pastors and lay people involved in immigration aid work. ContributorTrade Review“At times saddening, at times inspiring, A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey brings fresh perspectives to the discussion of immigration. These essays reach beyond the policy debate and the heated emotions of the moment and provide much needed reflection on larger truths.” —Roberto Suro, University of Southern California“Groody and Campese have assembled 17 essays from an international body of Roman Catholic scholars, religious and lay practitioners. The predominant note is. . . one of human rights advocacy in the light of the liberating God’s option for the poor. . . . There is ample demonstration that theological reflection engages the real situation on the ground to afford an outsider to the debates insight into the deadly plight of migrants on the US-Mexico border.” —Studies in Christian Ethics“The editors of this volume have gathered together many leading figures within Christian theological circles to reflect on an urgent issue in our world—migration. The articles range from those that are quite academically technical to those that are more generally accessible. There are several outstanding articles that should not be missed.” —Multicultural Review“One can hardly find . . . a serious discussion of the human dignity and rights of the migrants who cross international borders to find work or join family. A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey, a compilation of essays taking a theological and rights-based approach to the issue of migration, provides a needed framework to begin that discussion. Comprised of pieces from a wide range of scholars, advocates and service providers, it engages the contemporary immigration debate from a faith-based, Catholic perspective. . . . [A] useful resource for Catholics (and others) who want to reach beyond the dehumanizing language of the national immigration debate and articulate a vision of the migrant as a human being created in God’s image.” —America“This book offers fresh and much-needed approaches to migration, providing convincing support for the notion that any serious study of migration, especially with respect to Latinos/as in the United States, must include religious and theological considerations.” —Theological Studies“The book should be read by anyone interested in acquiring a deeper grasp of the complex issues surrounding the border and immigration; it succeeds in its task of proposing a theology growing out of the experience of immigrants. . . . A Promised Land is an important contribution to the development of a full and robust theology of migration.” —The Journal of Markets and Morality“A Promised Land, A Perilous Journey offers a rich, interdisciplinary treatment of the subject of migration, showing the human face of contemporary migration as a global phenomenon. The authors explore historical antecedents in biblical and early church history, the political debates about borders and the right to migrate, and the role of race, ethnicity, and gender in the ‘perilous journey’ of migrants. This is an indispensable text for all interested in the theology of migration and the ethics of migration policy.” —William O’Neill, S.J., Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley“The essays in this valuable collection originated at an international conference on migration held at the University of Notre Dame in September 2004 . . . The essays, derived from presentations and discussions at the conference, consider biblical and theological perspectives on migration as well as the pastoral and human dimensions of this phenomenon. Given the focus on this issue in this presidential season and the crucial role the church needs to play in support of its migrant peoples, this volume has added significance.” —The Bible Today

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Book SynopsisThe final book of O'Leary's trilogy, Conventional and Ultimate Truth deals with the nature of theological rationality today, drawing on Buddhist ideology.Trade Review"Conventional and Ultimate Truth by the well-known professor Joseph O'Leary is a major contribution to contemporary Christian fundamental theology. It is original, exceptionally erudite, and often brilliant. This is a genuine contribution to post-Heidegger phenomenology articulating a distinct, unique phenomenology of religion in its plural and complex phenomenality. The book is a splendid achievement." —David Tracy, Andrew Thomas Greeley and Grace McNichols Greeley Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Catholic Studies, University of Chicago Divinity School“This third volume of O’Leary’s trilogy on fundamental theology is a work in comparative theology, engaging key dialogue partners in articulating a distinctive phenomenology of religion. He believes that talk of the ultimacy of emptiness does not produce negative theology but sends one back to the fabric of conventional discourse to enable breakthroughs of ultimacy.” —Choice"Works in comparative theology have begun to capture attention in theological circles, including the works of Francis Clooney, James Fredericks, John Keenan, and an increasing number of younger scholars, all writing with fresh insights in Christian theology as enriched by their intellectual sojourns into a religious tradition other than their own. O'Leary's work can be taken in good company with these works, and is a significant contribution in this regard. It is a 'must-read' for those already engaged in comparative theology, and more so for all those in systematic theology who seek to bring their theological insights into conversation with wider circles of thought." —Ruben L. F. Habito, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

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Book SynopsisExamines the ways queer theory and Mennonite literature have intersected over the past decade and how these two traditions hold fundamental commitments to social justice in common.Trade Review“Queering Mennonite Literature takes up the intersections of two cultures (and academic fields) that rarely address one another—queer theory/literary studies and Mennonite/religious studies. In so doing, this engaging and accessible study makes a much-needed, highly original, and very important intervention. Cruz has an impressive familiarity with both queer theory and Mennonite studies, and he brings a wide selection from both fields to bear on his analysis.”—Christopher Castiglia,author of The Practices of Hope: Literary Criticism in Disenchanted Times“Daniel Shank Cruz uses the radical call of his Anabaptist heritage to embrace the notion of an ‘upside-down kingdom,’ a place in which order and boundaries might be overturned in the name of compassion and grace for every person’s (queer) story. Using a theoretically nuanced approach to an emerging group of writers of Mennonite identity, Cruz’s close readings invite the reader to understand how the personal and the public are always at play with one another, especially in the stories religious communities tell (or seek to omit) about themselves.”—Todd Davis,author of Kurt Vonnegut’s Crusade; or, How a Postmodern Harlequin Preached a New Kind of Humanism“Close to the bone and out on a limb, Daniel Cruz asks what Mennonite and queer have in common. The answer is traumatic bodily memories, dissent, and dreams of just and loving relationships. Critical necessity and personal urgency compel his readings of nine authors to demonstrate that ‘Mennonitism is queer,’ and prophetic provocations speak from the intersection of these minoritized identities.”—Julia Spicher Kasdorf,author of The Body and the Book: Writing from a Mennonite Life“Early in this provocative and illuminating book, Daniel Shank Cruz observes that literature provides the space that allows us ‘to begin reconciling the identities of queer and Mennonite.’ He populates his fresh, richly documented analysis with a memorable array of writers and texts, all the while offering his readers a timely and compelling archive of queer memory in the context of Mennonite literature and life.”—Hildi Froese Tiessen,coauthor of Woldemar Neufeld’s Canada: A Mennonite Artist in the Canadian Landscape, 1925-1995“Queering Mennonite Literature is both entirely new and long overdue in the field of Mennonite literary studies. It is the first collection of literary criticism that analyzes the small but burgeoning field of queer Mennonite creative writing. This book feels new because the major works it discusses (mostly novels) are all recent, published between 2008 and 2017. It also feels long overdue because, as the author notes, there have been queer people and queer impulses in Mennonite spaces forever, and it is past time to bring these perspectives into the wider conversation in Mennonite literary and theological circles.”—Anita Hooley Yoder Conrad Grebel Review“Claims a whole new set of social possibilities and, in doing so, makes them feel that much more durable.”—Peter Miller American ReligionTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionQueering Mennonite Literature1. Building a Queer Mennonite Archive2. Searching for Selfhood in Jan Guenther Braun’s Somewhere Else3 Queering Tradition in Jessica Penner’s Shaken in The Water4 Stephen Beachy’s Boneyard, The Martyrs Mirror, and Anabaptist Activism5 The Queer Ethical Body in Corey Redekop’s Husk6. Trans Mennonite LiteratureEpilogue: The Future of Queer Mennonite LiteratureNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThe Celtic hymn, "Be Thou My Vision" is still popular after 12 centuries because of its vivid response to our deep human need for God. David Adam takes the reader through this hymn, seeking to discover the spiritual riches that are hidden in all our lives.

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Book SynopsisThe focus of this volume is on giving the most up-to-date scholarship in the form of a commentary of about one page on each reading. This is designed to give students and preachers a secure understanding of the Biblical background, rather than giving preaching tips.

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Book SynopsisThe focus of this volume is on giving the most up-to-date scholarship in the form of a commentary of about one page on each reading. This is designed to give students and preachers a secure understanding of the Biblical background.

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Book SynopsisThis text re-examines the great variety of liturgical practices in the first four centuries in the light of modern Jewish and Christian scholarship.Trade Review"Bradshaw's fertile mind has brought to birth a refreshing account of tantalising terrain, and we shall be in his debt for many years to come." Church Times, 24 July 1992(about the first edition) * "For those concerned with early Christian worship this book will be indispensible. Easy to use, and a pleasure to read, it should become a basic textbook in its field." The Evangelical Quarterly, autumn 1993

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Book SynopsisAimed at new Christians or anyone who wants to refresh their prayer life, this work covers both the practicalities of how to pray and a range of approaches which may help to deepen the prayer life. These include praying with the Bible, Ignacian prayer, Benedictine and Franciscan approaches.Trade Review"- "Approachable, down-to-earth, refreshing, informative, humorous and moving - these are only some of the words which clamour to be used of a book which represents a major contribution in an area which can be as difficult as it is hugely important." David Hope, Archbishop of York

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Book SynopsisThe context and approach of readers have been underestimated in Biblical Exegesis. The Biblical text is credited with an abstract quality that lifts its words above time and space, above human contingencies. This book looks at the interpretations, and how certain subjects have been understood within them, including homosexuality and marriage.

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Book SynopsisThe relationship of 'land' to 'theology' has been a motif living within the Jewish tradition since the patriarchal era: one mark of the covenant with Abraham was the promise of land. Gary Burge explores what the New Testament says about 'the land' and outlines the various ways in which these passages have been interpreted.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the role and nature of the local church/congregation rather than on the work of ordained ministers or lay people. Written by an experienced practitioner it will help readers - both lay and ordained - understand their congregation better.

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Book SynopsisAn accessible, adult, catholic prayer book which can become the well-used friend of the reader - it can be kept and prayed with.

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Book SynopsisStinton has edited the work of prominent African theologians, making their writings accessible at an introductory level. Some African scholars have written new pieces for the book, others have given permission for articles to be condensed and simplified in style.

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Book SynopsisAn in-depth study of the music of words and their effect on those who worship.Trade ReviewHer book will be of interest and importance to all who leas worship or wish to understand the nature of liturgy more deeply. [...] For Hammond, worship is an action of the whole person, physical as much as spiritual. Posture and physical effort are the basis of sound. [...] Worship that is "in spirit and in truth", that is worthy of God, in so far as human effort ever can be demands the highest human skills that we can offer, Hammond insists. It needs premeditation, practice, choreography, rhythm, repetition, and physical exertion. She confronts head on the pernicious assumption in our culture that what is "performed" savours of insincerity and deceit, and our nagging doubt whether repeating inherited words can have authenticity; and she assails the cult of false [...] because predictable spontaneity. She wants to bring back mystique [...] as a classist and patristic scholar Hammond is sympathetic to the value that the acient world place don the skills of rhetoric - namely, how to secure an entrance in the minds of your listeners for the message you want them to take on board. [...] Hammond's criticisms of aspect of 'Common Worship' are restrained, but strike home. The minimal use of biblical use of directions for gesture and posture, compared with earlier official texts, plays down the physical dimensions of worship. [...] Hammond believes that rhythm and stress are the most important factors in making liturgy memorable. [...] As Hammond puts it, "prayer with the body becomes an act of public witness to the faith" -- The Revd Dr Paul Avis * The Church Times *AMID all the soul-searching in the Church of England about "leadership in mission", who is giving thought to leadership in worship? Dr Cally Hammond, Dean of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, sees that the whole liturgy is an eloquent sign to believers and unbelievers alike of Christian truth, and that the elements within it — words, gestures, postures, and symbols — are signs in themselves. Her four deceptively simple topics, repetition, rhythm, punctuation, and posture — the "structural supports" of liturgy —conceal a profound exploration of the mystery of worship. Her book will be of interest and importance to all who lead worship or who wish to understand the nature of liturgy more deeply. A liturgy is not merely a text, and a text is not a liturgy. Liturgy is enacted. It consists of words (mainly scriptural) spoken corporately and also dialogically, with the intention both of addressing God and of speaking to each other in the presence of God. In liturgy, we do all that with the help of an array of sacred symbols, together with a range of significant actions performed by priest and people. How vital it is, then, that the Church should be equipped with priests and bishops, assisted by deacons and lay persons, who understand how the liturgy "works" and are able to celebrate it, with the congregation, in a manner that is dignified, uplifting, and God-centred, not jarring on the sensibility of the worshippers. For Hammond, worship is an action of the whole person, physical as much as spiritual. Posture and physical effort are the basis of sound. The persistent mind-body dualism of the Western philosophical tradition has encouraged us to think that worship takes place in the head, and so to privilege words over actions. The legacy of Romanticism suggests that authenticity lies in individual self-expression, in articulating our personal feelings. The current trend to turn worship into entertainment cannot be done without putting the "worship-leader" centre stage and making a celebrity out of a servant. Worship that is "in spirit and in truth", that is worthy of God, insofar as human effort ever can be, demands the highest human skills that we can offer, Hammond insists. It needs premeditation, practice, choreography, rhythm, repetition, and physical exertion. She confronts head-on the pernicious assumption in our culture that what is "performed" savours of insincerity and deceit, and our nagging doubt whether repeating inherited words can have authenticity; and she assails the cult of false (because predictable) spontaneity. She wants to bring back mystique. The meaning of sacramental and other symbolic actions is encoded in the sign. The signs participate in the reality to which they point and which they truly communicate. We reverence the cross and crucifix as though it were the actual cross on which Christ died. The bread and wine of the eucharist "become to us" the body and blood of Christ. Our Bible, used constantly, becomes iconic of God’s word to us, though it is physically a book like any other. Transcendent realities can be apprehended only obliquely, in metaphor, symbol, and sacrament. These signs are fathomless; we will mine their depths all our lives. As a classicist and patristic scholar, Hammond is sympathetic to the value that the ancient world placed on the skills of rhetoric —namely, how to secure an entrance in the minds of your listeners for the message that you want them to take on board. Its antithesis is the familiar bluff style that strains to avoid any impression of artifice. Hammond emphasises that sincerity is not enough: worship demands our best skills. In practice, not all worship ministers manage even to project the voice, a skill that is still needed even with amplification; but the ability to modulate sense and meaning, to achieve the right tone, is even rarer. Who has not squirmed in their pew when a lesson-reader has declaimed the text, dramatising it as though it were a play or film score, or has misconstrued it with hilarious results? Hammond’s criticisms of aspects of Common Worship are restrained, but strike home. The minimal use of rubrical directions for gesture and posture, compared with earlier official texts, plays down the physical dimension of worship. Minimising repetition (this applies to modern Bible translations, too) undermines the function of a text to ingrain and embed Christian truths in the lives of worshippers. The transmission of the faith from one generation to the next relies on memory, and, therefore, needs repetition, leading to imitation. Corporate action, the unison of hearts and minds, requires the predictability that repetition gives. It creates a secure space, an ambience of trust, in which we can let go of petty egotistical concerns and give ourselves to God. It helps us to see more clearly, to focus on the object of attention. "Repetition is of the essence of Christian worship." Hammond believes that rhythm and stress are the most important factors in making liturgy memorable. When the liturgy, incorporating the sacraments, is competently and holistically celebrated, glory shines through, and worship becomes a window into God’s saving work in Christ. As Hammond puts it, "Prayer with the body becomes an act of public witness to the faith." -- Revd Dr Paul Avis * Church Times *This is a book which does what it promises on the cover in a way that will take entirely by surprise most people curious enough to open it. Whatever they expect, it is unlikely to be the expert application of the principles of classical rhetoric to the language of contemporary Anglican public worship. Some might be daunted, but there is no reason for anyone to give up at the first mention of litterae notabiliores or clausulae. Cally Hammond is as fine a communicator and teacher as she is a scholar, combining practical and realistic accounts of the experience of being part of a congregation with elegant analyses of the elements making up the total act of corporate prayer. The architecture of the book is clear and simple. Hammond takes posture, repetition, rhythm and punctuation as routes into the nature and working of words in worship. Her handling of each aspect shows a mastery of outstanding theorists and practitioners of performed speech – in particular, Cicero and Augustine – and a vast breadth of research. Yet while she does not condescend to the audience, she has taken care to digest difficult material into fluent, almost conversational, style. For those keen to have quoted material in original languages, there are many Latin and Greek footnotes, sufficiently amazing for their lack of printing errors. For all readers, there are Hammond’s own elegant translations of the same material. One of the reasons why words work in worship is that they are uttered by embodied speakers. The chapters on posture and rhythm show how being an upright creature on two feet disposes the way in which we make sounds, regulates the speed at which we move, and directs our gaze. That is the givenness of being human. But there are also conscious ways of using the body in worship and Hammond argues persuasively for the importance of this additional expressive dimension. Her defence of kneeling is powerful and personal, as is her explication of the value of signing oneself with the cross at particular moments in an act of worship. The subject of repetition enables her to tackle a thorny issue in current practice, namely the objection in some quarters to the regularly repeated prayers of the Church, on the grounds that such formulae are not indigenous to a particular worshipping community and therefore incapable of bearing any sincere value. There are answers to be offered, which draw on the value of shared words to express incorporation into the life and tradition of a larger body. Whether they would persuade the objectors is another matter. Perhaps more engaging for a resistant audience would be the striking demonstrations of the affective use of repetition. Think of the sanctus, whose ‘Holy, holy, holy’ gives those who speak it time to imagine themselves before the mystery of God, or the repeated petitions of the Kyrie eleison that set human need before divine mercy. I was struck most of all, though, by Hammond’s positive approach to what she calls ‘mind-slip’ in familiar liturgical forms (p. 80). Instead of dismissing as inattentiveness the tendency to miss whole sections of the verbal action because we have gone down independent avenues of thought, she suggests that it might in fact constitute a deepening of spirituality. The chapters on rhythm and punctuation are technically the most demanding, requiring the reader to recollect distant lessons in prosody or learn the principles for the first time. They are perhaps also the most rewarding. Here, Hammond shows us why the way our liturgical language is patterned is essential to its meaning. She provides the tools to make better listeners and better speakers, practically illustrated from familiar texts, whose artistry emerges through her careful demonstrations. Nor is the presentation of printed material neglected, from typefaces and spacing to the positioning of page turns. This is timely instruction when attention to the quality of worship in all its aspects so often seems remarkably casual. Printed paper, as Hammond acknowledges, is no longer the only medium for presenting the content of liturgical rites to worshippers. Screens are rapidly gaining an equal share in the market. While they encourage people to look up, rather than bury their heads in orders of service, their disadvantage is their failure to allow a sense of flow and anticipation. The congregation cannot look ahead to see what comes next (p. 149). Here is an example of the nearest thing to shortcomings in this excellent study. The author is open about dependence on a particular – and distinctively Anglican – mode of worship. This assumes the norm of an authorised modern language rite, amplified by a repertoire of hymnody and psalmody in the diction of earlier periods of Anglican history. On a very few occasions, there is discernible resistance to other styles of performance, and this may discourage some who suspect that their way of doing things is not valued. Others may simply give up when faced with technical detail. Imagining these possible reactions, however, makes me uncomfortably aware of the irony of responding to a book about the corporate experience of worship from the silent and secluded position of the individual reader. It is eminently suitable for discussion by groups eager to find out more about their practice of worship and, in the hands of the right facilitator, capable of addressing children as well as adults. Hammond has given us a set of impressively authenticated and wonderfully illustrated practical principles for achieving public liturgical speech of memorable quality. The established Church and the emerging Church will profit by taking note. -- Bridget Nichols * Modern Believing *In this rich, scholarly book, Hammond explores the question of how words work in worship beyond their basic function of conveying information. She does this by means of four themes – Posture, Repetition, Rhythm and Punctuation – each of which forms a chapter in the main body of the work. The book also includes an Appendix – ‘The Rhythms of the Coverdale Psalter’ – and an extensive bibliography. In relation to other books on this subject Hammond places this work in the middle of a spectrum which has the predominantly practical at one extreme and the overly theoretical at the other. From this middle ground the author presents a challenge both to liturgical scholars and worship leaders to look again at the words and structure of liturgy and to rediscover their potential to enhance the experience of worshippers. Although Hammond presents ideas which have relevance for all corporate worship, her primary focus is on the liturgies of the Church of England. Throughout the book, Hammond supports her arguments through extensive reference to biblical sources, as well as those from Christian tradition and Classical literature. Generally this is done to good effect, but occasionally arguments and focus are lost in the density of detail. This emphasis on the importance of historic development might imply support for the ‘old is best’ or ‘more authentic’ approach to liturgy and, by implication, preference for traditional worship over against the modern and innovative. However, Hammond’s aim is more subtle and more radical than that. Although aspects of the arguments in this book do have the capacity to speak to contemporary debates around accessible, relevant worship, they do so obliquely. In encouraging a critical approach to historical sources, Hammond’s primary aim is to open up the potential in inherited patterns of formal liturgy – to enable participants to see the transformative possibilities within them. For example, in her discussion on the significance of repetition in liturgy, Hammond argues convincingly for its presence as a means of embedding and ingraining truth and of freeing the mind and spirit into deeper prayer – into ‘absorbing God’ (p. 68). In this way, repetition can be seen first of all as creative opportunity rather than as a problem to be solved in an attempt to ‘counter boredom and over familiarity amongst worshippers’ (p. 64). Towards the end of the book, commenting that both words and ritualistic actions are essential to worship practice, Hammond adds, ‘Christianity needs both; but it needs to know it needs both’ (p. 157). It might be safely presumed that academic liturgical scholars are aware of this already. Ministerial students should certainly be taught it and have access to this important text in libraries. Primarily a work of scholarship, I do wonder, however, whether this book is accessible enough to those who regularly lead worship in local congregations. I hope so. There is much that is valuable here to enhance their knowing appreciation of words within worship. -- Christine Worsley * Theology journal *This brilliant, scholarly and kindly argued book may well outface some readers at points with its detail. But it is not just a book for scholars of liturgy. It is for anyone who really cares about how well done traditional and modern liturgies can inspire devotion and true sincerity of purpose in worship. It is both a resource and an encouragement to do better. -- John Beer, Cambridge * Anaphora *

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