Further religions and spiritual beliefs Books

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Book SynopsisThroughout history awakened ones have celebrated the rapture of mystical states with inspired verse sung extemporaneously. This book offers a rare glimpse into the mysticism of the Shangpa Kagyu lineage a tradition based mainly on the profound teaching of two women. This compendium of spontaneous verse sung by tantric Buddhist masters from the 10th century to the present includes translations as well as short descriptions of each poet''s life and a historical overview of the lineage.

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Book SynopsisMcColman offers a book that explains Pagan spirituality to non-Pagans in a balanced, accessible way, while acknowledging the natural anxiety that many of them may feel when confronted by a son, daughter, sibling, or co-worker who suddenly proclaims that he or she is a practitioner of Wicca.

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Book SynopsisTo survive in an often disapproving society, the LDS Church has made adaptive changes in belief, practice, and organization over time. Gordon and Gary Shepherd elucidate these changes through statistical analyses of the rhetoric found in proceedings of the church’s semiannual General Conference. The first edition of A Kingdom Transformed covered the years 1830 to 1979. This new edition revises that work and adds to it by examining the subsequent thirty years of conference talks, revealing what new trends have emerged. Every chapter has been rewritten and updated with theoretical and empirical support from contemporary sources and a new conceptual framework for interpreting findings.Early twentieth-century LDS leaders mainstreamed church doctrines, but by the mid-twentieth century, church authorities began emphasizing a more conservative theology that coincided with an increasingly conservative political orientation. This new edition adds such current issues as the roles of women in the church and of international growth versus member retention.Trade Review“A valuable addition, both substantively and methodologically, to the study of the transformations that have occurred in institutional Mormonism across time… It will be an easy and interesting read.”—Armand L. Mauss, author of Shifting Borders and a Tattered Passport: Intellectual Journeys of a Mormon Academic “The book is already an essential work on Mormonism in the twentieth century; this new edition, expanding its reach into the twenty-first century, is quite welcome.”—Matthew Bowman, author of The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith “Shepherd and Shepherd have produced a remarkable piece of scholarship in A Kingdom Transformed. By zooming out and examining aggregate trends in emphasis over time, they have provided a real contribution to the study of the development of the church, and one can hope that the authors or others picking up their legacy will continue to update this important study going into the future.” —Mormon Studies Review “This book is surprisingly easy to read, virtually jargon-free, and provides a substantial overview of Mormonism’s core beliefs, practices, and history. For those interested, this book includes three appendices that detail this study’s statistical method and data. And as a theoretical approach to Mormonism, A Kingdom Transformed yields new insights and suggests new directions for those interested in Mormon studies.”—Nova Religio

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Book SynopsisA new era in Mormon studies is emerging from an academy more attuned to the significance of religion, the increased public prominence of Mormons and Mormonism, and an increasing number of scholars applying ever-more sophisticated methods to the study of Mormonism. Directions for Mormon Studies in the Twenty-First Century captures this fruitful time by bringing together some of the most influential voices across the generations of Mormon studies. Neither a survey of the field nor a mere recapitulation of dominant themes, this volume charts areas for exploration and modes of inquiry that reflect the maturation of the field and help set the agenda for the next generation of Mormon studies scholarship.Trade Review“This is an extraordinarily well-crafted collection of essays. The volume offers both a rearview mirror for where the field has been and a roadmap for where it is and can go. The sections and chapters push beyond the usual suspects providing one new direction after another.” —Edward J. Blum, coauthor of The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America“The essays are well written, thoughtful, and represent the best and most forward thinking work in Mormon studies. The authors offer up specific Mormon case studies, but from interpretive positions that make the material interesting and relevant to scholars in other fields.” —Susanna Morrill, author of White Roses on the Floor of Heaven: Mormon Women's Popular Theology, 1880–1920

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Book SynopsisThis volume seeks nothing less than to shift the focus of Mormon studies from its historic North American, Euro-American “center” to the critical questions being raised by Mormons living at the movement’s cultural and geographic margins.As a social institution, Mormonism is shaped around cultural notions, systems, and ideas that have currency in the United States but make less sense beyond the land of its genesis. Even as an avowedly international religion some 183 years out from its inception, it makes few allowances for diverse international contexts, with Salt Lake City prescribing programs, policies, curricula, leadership, and edicts for the church’s international regions. While Mormonism’s greatest strength is its organizational coherence, there is also a cost paid, for those at the church’s peripheries. Decolonizing Mormonism brings together the work of 15 scholars from around the globe who critically reflect on global Mormon experiences and American-Mormon cultural imperialism. Indigenous, minority, and Global South Mormons ask in unison: what is the relationship between Mormonism and imperialism and where must the Mormon movement go in order to achieve its long-cherished dream of equality for all in Zion? Their stories are both heartbreaking and heartening and provide a rich resource for thinking about the future of Mormon missiology and the possibilities inherent in the work of Mormon contextual theology.Trade Review“This groundbreaking work features voices and perspectives that have been marginalized, silenced, and ignored for too long. It brings diverse scholars together in a powerful dialogue, one that seeks to change and connect human beings who have persevered in a world marred by processes of colonialism.” —Farina Noelani King, Northeastern State University “Decolonizing Mormonism is a timely and necessary analysis of the moral priorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The urgency in these essays address issues of power associated with racism, colonization, heteropatriarchy, and capitalism. The collection is more than a dialogue among coreligionists, these conversations are essential in a time of growing global inequality.” —Hokulani Aikau, author of A Chosen People, A Promised Land: Mormonism and Race in Hawai’i “This volume provides a needed expansion of the literature on Mormonism as it is lived, challenged, and struggled with in various contexts.” —Sociology of Religion “This is an important read for anyone doing Mormon history. No matter what period or location we study, the history of LDS participation in colonialism touches our work. And even if some of the concerns and narratives from this text are placed more closely to the present, that long history of colonialism runs throughout, and is therefore something as scholars we cannot ignore. We need more works that use these methodologies in Mormon studies and history.” —Journal of Mormon History

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Book SynopsisPurifying a House from Blood provides an updated philological edition of the Hittite ritual for the ancient gods (CTH 446) with transliteration, transcription, and English translation. In addition to the updated critical edition, which is complemented with philological notes and commentary, this work provides a comprehensive study of this important ritual text. The introduction to the text (part 1) presents a palaeographic analysis and a brief overview of the content and the main topics of interest for a reading. Part 2 offers a detailed philological commentary. Part 3 discusses in greater detail some distinctive aspects of this composition in the broader context of the Hittite ritual corpus.Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Philological Conventions Chapter 1: Tablets, Dating, and Palaeography 1.1. Tablets and Archaeological Context 1.2. Dating: Content, Language, and Palaeography 1.3. Conclusions Chapter 2: Content of the Purification Ritual CTH 446 2.1. Hittite Rituals and the Conception of Purity 2.2. Divine Participants 2.3. The Composite Background of CTH 446 in Historical Context 2.4. Ritual Matter and Goal 2.5. Ritual Structure and Performance Chapter 3: Text Edition 3.1. Transliteration and Translation 3.2. Philological Notes and Commentary Chapter 4: CTH 446 in Context: Construction and Content of Hittite Rituals 4.1. Purification Rituals and the Role of the Ancient Gods 4.2. Distinctive Ritual Practices and Formal Components 4.3. Purification Rituals for Buildings 4.4. Symbology of Blood and “Blood Rituals” 4.5. Mythological Content 4.6. Conclusions Chapter 5: Nature and Goals of CTH 446 5.1. Structure and Content: The “Compilation” Hypothesis 5.2. Discussion Chapter 6: Is CTH 446 a Literary Text? 6.1. Unicity of CTH? 6.2. CTH 446 in the Pragmatic Context of Hittite Rituals Glossary References Subject Index Index of Texts Cited Concordance

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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