History of religion Books

Book SynopsisOne of the more poorly understood aspects of the history of the Ottoman Empire has been the flourishing of Sufi mysticism under its auspices. This study tracks the evolution of the Halveti order from its modest origins in medieval Azerbaijan to the emergence of its influential Sa`baniye branch, whose range extended throughout the Empire at the height of its expansion.With careful reconstruction of the lives of formerly obscure figures in the order''s history, a complex picture emerges of the connections of Halveti groups with the Ottoman state and society. Even more importantly - since the Sa`baniye branch of the order grew out of the towns and villages of the northern Anatolian mountains rather than the major urban centers - this work has the added benefit of bringing a unique perspective to how Ottoman subjects lived, worked and worshipped outside the major urban centers of the Empire. Along the way, it sheds light on less-visible actors in society, such as women and artisans, and challenges widely held generalizations about the activities and strategies of Ottoman mystics.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments; Note on Transliteration; List of Abbreviations for Frequently-Cited Works in the Text; Introduction-On the Study of Ottoman Mystical Traditions; Part I The Rise and Spread of the Halveti Order from its Origins through the Twelfth/Eighteenth Century: Chapter 1 Early Sufism and the origins of the Halveti path (ca. 900-1400); Chapter 2 The Great Expansion: From Regional Organization to Far-Flung Network (ca. 1400-1600); Part II The Evolution of a Halveti Sub-Branch: The Life and Career of ?a'ban-? Veli and his Followers in the Kastamonu Region; Chapter 3 Echoes of a distant past: ?a'ban-? Veli's early life and conversion to Sufism; Chapter 4 Genesis of a sub-branch: ?a'ban-? Veli's struggles in Kastamonu; Chapter 5 An uneven legacy: the succession to ?a'ban-? Veli to the end of the tenth/sixteenth century; Part III Defending the Cult of Saints in Eleventh/Seventeenth-Century Kastamonu: Transforming the ?a'baniyye Order under 'Omer el-Fu'adi: Chapter 6 'Omer el-Fu'adi as Sufi aspirant and haigographer: the road to ?a'baniyye succession; Chapter 7 Inscribing the ?a'baniyye order onto Kastamonu's landscape; Chapter 8 The political and doctrinal legacy of 'Omer el-Fu'adi; Conclusion What can the ?a'baniyye Teach Us About Transitions in the Early Modern Period of World History?; Endnotes; Bibliography; Primary Sources: Original Manuscripts; Primary Sources in Printed Texts, Translation, or Edited Editions of Manuscripts; Secondary Sources

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Book SynopsisIn this survey Carool Kersten presents the Islamisation of Indonesia from the first evidence of the acceptance of Islam by indigenous peoples in the late thirteenth century until the present day.

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Book SynopsisThe widely held belief that a deep historical and ideological gulf exists between Islam and the West is turned on its head in this thought-provoking book

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Book SynopsisFully illustrated in colour and black and white, Images of the Mother of God complements the successful exhibition catalogue of the ''Mother of God'' exhibition at the Benaki Museum in Athens. It brings together the work of leading international authorities and younger scholars to provide a wide-ranging survey of how the Theotokos was perceived in the Byzantine world. It embraces the disciplines of art historians, archaeologists, traditional and feminist historians, as well as theologians, philologists and social anthropologists. Images of the Mother of God will appeal not just to those interested in Byzantine art and culture, but also to scholars of Western Europe in the Middle Ages who are looking for comparative materials in their own work.Trade Review’...a largely stimulating volume on a (perhaps ’the’) central figure in Byzantine art...Recommended.’ Choice 'Le résultat en est particulièrement satisfaisant.... C'est un beau et passionnant livre qui devrait donner l'impulsion à de nouvelles études sur la Theotokos.' The Medieval Review 'Fully indexed, this is a most valuable, up-to-date repertoire of knowledge about Mary in Byzantine art and piety.' International Review of Biblical Studies 'Images of the Mother of God contains much to fascinate those interested in the roles of women and perceptions of the Virgin in both eastern and western medieval culture.' Medieval Feminist Forum ’This is, in short, a feast of learning; indeed, appropriately, it is a rather Mediterranean feast, with lots of small dishes, bringing out the enormous variety of approaches that scholars now draw on in seeking to understand the cult of the Virgin.’ Journal of Theological Studies ’With a huge number of carefully selected colour and monochrome plates, this volume embraces the disciplines of art history, archaeology, theology, philology, and social anthropology. It is a fascinatingly in-depth study of Marian iconography, including 'western' material from the very early icons in Rome to the images and cult practices of south Italy and Sicily in late mediaeval and even modern times which demonstrate a clear Byzantine influence.’ Antiques Magazine ’This is, in short, a feast of learning...’ Sobornost ’The comprehensive and detailed index of twenty-one pages shows the extensive chronological, regional and thematic range of the volume. Such a large framework certainly does justice to the Byzantine character of the veneration of Mary... [Images of the Mother of God] can be considered to be the fundamental work on the cult of Mary in Byzantium.’ Jahrbuch der Osterreichischen Byzantinistik ’... an outstanding collection of essays... The volume's strength is its overall chronological and geographical breadTable of ContentsContents: Foreword, Angelos Delivorrias; Preface, Evangelos Chrysos; Introduction, Averil Cameron. Early Cult and Representations: Isis and Mary in early icons, Thomas F. Mathews and Norman Muller; The enigmatic Coptic Galaktotrophousa and the cult of the Virgin Mary in Egypt, Elizabeth S. Bolman; Icons and sites. Cult images of the Virgin in mediaeval Rome, Gerhard Wolf; Theotokos and Logos: the interpretation and reinterpretation of the sanctuary programme of the Koimesis Church, Nicaea, Charles Barber. The Theology of the Theotokos: The Virgin as the true Ark of Covenant, Michel van Esbroeck; The Theotokos in Byzantine hymnography: typology and allegory, Christian Hannick; Use and abuse of the 'image' of the Theotokos in the political life of Byzantium (with special reference to the iconoclast period), Nike Koutrakou; From poetry to liturgy: the cult of the Virgin in the Middle Byzantine era, Niki Tsironis; Exchanging embrace. The body of salvation, Ioli Kalavrezou; The symbolism of the censer in Byzantine representations of the Dormition of the Virgin, Maria Evangelatou; The Portaitissa icon at Iveron monastery and the cult of the Virgin on Mount Athos, Kriton Chryssochoidis. Female Authority and Devotion: The empress and the Virgin in early Byzantium: piety, authority and devotion, Liz James; Female piety in context: understanding developments in private devotional practices, Brigitte Pitarakis; The eyes of the Mother of God, Robin Cormack; Zoe's lead seal: female invocation to the Annunciation of the Virgin, Vasso Penna. Public and Private Cult: Byzantine domestic art as evidence for the early cult of the Virgin, Henry Maguire; The 'activated' icon: the Hodegetria procession and Mary's Eisodos, Bissera V. Pentcheva; Picturing the spiritual protector: from Blachernitissa to Hodegetria, Christine Angelidi and Titos Papamastorakis; The image of the Virgin Zoodochos Pege: two questions concerning its origin, Natalia Teteriatnikov; The cult of the Virgin Zoodochos Pege at Mistra, Rhodoniki Etzeoglou; The Virgin, the Christ-child and the evil eye, Vassiliki Foskolou; Praying for the salvation of the empire?, Maria Vassilaki. Between East and West: Thoughts on Mary east and west, Annemarie Weyl Carr; The Kahn and Mellon Madonnas and their place in the history of the Virgin and Child Enthroned in Italy and the east, Rebecca W. Corrie; Representations of the Virgin in Lusignan Cyprus, Sophia Kalopissi-Verti; The legacy of the Hodegetria: holy icons and legends between east and west, Michele Bacci; A Byzantine icon of the dexiokratousa Hodegetria from Crete at the Benaki museum, Nano Chatzidakis. Epilogue, Maria Vassilaki; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe papers in this second selection of articles by Professor Colish focus on thinkers of the patristic age, and relate to her three monographic studies in this area published over the last two decades. At the same time these papers look beyond the patristic period, both backward to these authors' appropriation of the classical and Christian traditions, and forward to their function as authorities in later medieval intellectual history, from the Carolingian Renaissance to Anselm of Canterbury, the scholastics, and Dante. Themes which these papers address include the transmission and use of Platonism and Stoicism, logic and linguistic theory, and the ethics of lying, moral indifference, and the salvation of the virtuous pagan.Trade Review’... Colish's erudition was for me a source of all sorts of information and insights.’ The Catholic Historical ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Introduction; The Neoplatonic tradition: the contribution of Marius Victorinus; St Augustine's rhetoric of silence revisited; The Stoic hypothetical syllogisms and their transmission in the Latin West through the early Middle Ages; Cosmetic theology: the transformation of a Stoic theme; Cicero, Ambrose, and Stoic ethics: transmission or transformation?; Classicism and catechesis in the patriarch treatises of Ambrose of Milan; Ambrose of Milan on chastity; Why the Portiana? Reflections on the Milanese basilica crisis of 386; Carolingian debates over nihil and tenebrae: a study in theological method; Mathematics, the Monad, and John the Scot's conception of nihil; John the Scot's Christology and soteriology in relation to his Greek sources; 11th-century grammar in the thought of St Anselm; St Anselm's philosophy of language reconsidered; The Stoic theory of verbal signification and the problem of lies and false statements from antiquity to St Anselm; Rethinking lying in the 12th century; Sanz 'nfamia e sanza lodo: moral neutrality from Alan of Lille to Dante; The virtuous pagan: Dante and the Christian tradition; Index.

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Book SynopsisPhilosophy was not an idle venture in the Renaissance. There were no clear-cut boundaries between theory and the practice. Theologians, jurists and humanists gave opinions on practical matters from within some larger intellectual context, and many held high office. Among the writers represented here are Pope Pius II (1458-1464), Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) and Juan de Torquemada OP (d. 1468). All of them, and the other writers dealt with, addressed the issues of their day creatively but from within different traditions, scholastic or humanistic. The present studies deal with issues of Reform, Ecclesiology [theories about the church and its mission] and the living of the Christian life. Among the specific issues covered are the canonization of Birgitta of Sweden, the status of converts from Judaism in Spain, acceptable forms of dress for clergy and laity, and the obedience due the pope. Also studied in this collection are the writings of Spanish theologians about the indigenous populatTrade Review’This volume is an impressive and useful compilation, and will be a great stimulus to future research in the areas represented in the various essays.’ Sixteenth Century JournalTable of ContentsContents: Foreword; Part 1 Reform: Reform and obedience in 4 conciliar sermons by Leonardo Dati, OP; The sins of the clergy in Juan de Torquemada's Defense of the Revelations of Saint Birgitta; Forbidden colors in the regulation of clerical dress from the 4th Lateran Council (1215) to the time of Nicolas of Cusa (d.1464). Part 2 Ecclesiology: The Immaculate Conception and ecclesiastical politics from the Council of Basel to the Council of Trent: the Dominicans and their foes; A papalist reading of Gratian: Juan de Torquemada on c. Quodcunque [C. 24 q. 1 c. 6]; Cajetan's attack on parallels between church and state; Representation in Nicholas of Cusa; An ambivalent papalism: Peter in the sermons of Nicholas of Cusa; 'Their Cardinal Cusanus': Nicholas of Cusa in Tudor and Stuart polemics; Reject Aneas!: Pius II on the errors of his youth. Part 3 The Christian Life: Leonardo Dati's sermon on the Circumcision of Jesus (1417); Juan de Torquemada's defense of the conversos; Nicholas of Cusa and the Jews; The origins of the De ornato mulierum of Antonius of Florence; Salamancan relectiones in the Fernán Núñez collection; Addenda et corrigenda; Index.

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Book SynopsisWyclif''s ideas caused a major upheaval both in the country of his birth and in the Bohemian area of central Europe; that upheaval affected theological, ecclesiastical and political developments from the late 14th to the early 16th centuries. Some of those ideas were transmitted orally through Wyclif''s university teaching in Oxford, and in his preaching in London and Lutterworth, but the main medium through which his message was disseminated was the written word, using the universal western language of Latin. The papers in this collection look at aspects of that dissemination, from the organization and revision of Wyclif''s works to form a summa of his ideas, the techniques devised to identify and make accessible his multifarious writings, the attempts of the orthodox clerical establishment to destroy them, through to the fortunes of his texts in the Reformation period; manuscripts written in England and those copied abroad, mostly in Bohemia, are considered. Although most of the paTrade Review’... the book is a monumental study of the evolution, dissemination, influence, and survival of his Latin writings. This vast resource brings together in one volume Hudson’s work of almost four decades ... an essential resource for scholars interested in any aspect of Wyclif’s career, thought, and remarkable output.’ English Historical Review ’Each of these studies stands on its own, but a successful effort has been made to draw them together into a book that has, in every sense, an integrity of its own.... Of the quality and importance of this work it is scarcely necessary to speak.’ Catholic Historical ReviewTable of ContentsContents: Introduction: Wyclif's works and their dissemination; From Oxford to Prague: the writings of John Wyclif and his English followers in Bohemia; The Hussite catalogue of Wyclif's works; Cross-referencing in Wyclif's Latin works; The development of Wyclif's Summa Theologie; Wyclif's Latin sermons: questions of form, date and audience; Accessus ad auctorem: the case of John Wyclif; Trial and error: Wyclif's works in Cambridge,Trinity College MS B.16.2; Wyclif and the North: the evidence from Durham; Peculiaris regis clericus: Wyclif and the issue of authority; Poor preachers, poor men: views of poverty in Wyclif and his followers; The king and erring clergy: a Wycliffite contribution; Notes of an early 15th-century research assistant and the emergence of the 267 articles against Wyclif; Which Wyche? The framing of the Lollard heretic and/or saint; Wyclif texts in 15th-century London; The survival of Wyclif's works in England and Bohemia; Appendices; Indexes.

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Book SynopsisMedieval art is wordy; inscriptions and poems, commentaries and chronicles accompany and adorn it. The Art of Words presents a series of detective stories by a renowned explorer of medieval philological evidence who here examines the thought and objects of the Venerable Bede and Theodulf of Orleans. What physical objects did Bede have in mind, for example, when writing about the paintings of his monastic churches? How did he conceive of the division of biblical books into chapters? Why was the famous Libri Carolini made for Charlemagne never published? Indeed what did it mean in the Middle Ages to publish something? Pursuing the story of Bede''s calendar shows how Valentine''s Day began with a reference to birds. To unravel the meaning of the image of Ezra in the Codex Amiatinus the author then demonstrates the importance of knowing the books that Bede knew and wrote. The final topic is the celebrated Apse mosaic of Germigny-des-Prés, how it was saved from destruction and how TheodTrade Review’The papers gathered here involve careful linguistic and artistic detective work, presented in an engaging, often personal style, and are well worthy of careful study.’ Journal of Theological StudiesTable of ContentsContents: Preface; Bede and the church paintings at Wearmouth-Jarrow; Bede's Capitula Lectionum for the Old and New Testaments; 'In the footsteps of the fathers': the date of Bede's 30 Questions on the Book of Kings to Nothelm; Discovering the calendar (annalis libellus) attached to Bede's own copy of De Temporum Ratione; Bede, Cassiodorus and Codex Amiatinus; The date of Bede's In Ezram and his image of Ezra in the Codex Amiatinus; Dissension in Bede's community shown by a quire of Codex Amiatinus; The meaning of Theodulf's apse mosaic at Germigny-des-Prés (with Ann Freeman); Maximilen Théodore Chrétin and the apse mosaic at Germigny-des-Prés; Théodulfe et Bède au sujet des blessures du Christ (with A. Davril); Medieval notions of publication: the 'unpublished' Opus Caroli Regis Contra Synodum and the Council of Frankfort (794); Indexes.

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Book SynopsisThough it may not be immediately obvious why articles on topics from such distantly removed areas of western Europe - the Iberian peninsula and southern Italy - should appear in the same volume (the fourth collection by Roger Reynolds), the materials covered illustrate that they are indeed closely related, both in their differences and their similarities. Both peninsulas had their own indigenous liturgies and music (Old Spanish and Beneventan), distinctive written scripts (Visigothic and Beneventan), and legal and theological traditions, and repeatedly these worked their influence on other areas of western Europe. Although there were frequent attempts by the papacy and secular rulers from the 9th to the 13th century to suppress these distinctive traditions in both areas, elements of these nonetheless survived well into the 16th century and beyond. Despite the differences in these traditions, the articles in this volume also demonstrate through manuscript evidence the continued exchange of the distinctive customs between the Iberian peninsula and southern Italian cultures from the very early Middle Ages through the 12th century.Table of ContentsContents: Preface; Part I Visigothica: The 'Isidorian' Epistula ad Massonam on lapsed clerics: notes on its early manuscript and textual transmission; The Visigothic liturgy in the realm of Charlemagne; Baptismal rite and Paschal vigil in transition in medieval Spain: a new text in Visigothic script; Visigothic-script remains of a Pandect Bible and the Collectio Canonum Hispana in Lucca; A Visigothic-script folio of a Carolingian collection of canon law; Utrecht fragments in Visigothic script; An early rule for Canons Regular from Santa Maria de l'Estany. Part II Beneventana: Monumenta liturgica Beneventana: new directions; The liturgy in Rome in the 11th century: past research and future opportunities; A homily in Beneventan script on the sacred orders, canonical hours, and clerical vestments (Vat. Borghese 186); Corpus Christi in Agnone; Canonistica Beneventana; The transmission of the Collectio Canonum Hibernensis in Italy from the 10th to the 12th century; A monastic florilegium from the Collectio Canonum Hibernensis at Montecassino; Further evidence for the influence of the Hibernensis in Southern Italy; The South Italian Collection in 5 Books and its derivatives: a South Italian appendix to the Collection in 74 Titles; The South Italian Collection in 5 Books and its derivatives: Maastricht excerpta; Gratian's Decretum and the Code of Justinian in Beneventan script; Addenda; Indexes.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores matters that have negatively affected the public image and depictions of Islam from the late nineteenth century to the present. The areas of uneasiness and debate among Muslims and non-Muslims alike include Islamic values and identity in the post-caliphate era, after colonialism, and now under Western hegemony.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Muhammad 2. The Measure of Orthodoxy 3. Salafi-Wahhabi Islam 4. Shari’a 5. Women in Islam 6. Charity: Philanthropy, piety and politics 7. Jihad 8. Muslim Brotherhoods 9. Radical Muslim Brotherhoods: The Evolution of Al-Qaeda 10. Al-Qaeda in Africa 11. The Coming of the Caliphate: Islamic State 12. Pan-Arab Nationalism and Islamism 13. Islamic Education Works Cited Index

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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 SynopsisWhen the Romans settled in Britain in 43CE they could hardly have imagined that the small agricultural settlement of Londinium would become one of the biggest cities in the world. This book charts the progress of 2000yrs of worship in London, from small buildings like the Mithraeum to cathedrals, synagogues, churches, mosques + temples seen today.Table of ContentsRoman London, The Coming of Christianity, The Norman Invasion, The Jewish Community, The Reformation, Plague and Fire, Victorian London, London in Two World Wars, A Multi-cultural Capital, London's Future

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Book SynopsisHagiography is a rich source for our knowledge of many aspects of medieval culture and tradition. The lives and miracles of the saints may be read on several levels, both as an expression of the dominant ideology and as a reflection of long-term themes in medieval society. The essays in this volume attempt to exploit the Latin hagiographical sources of the medieval West as means of illuminating our understanding of a variety of such themes: childhood and adolescence, elite and popular religion, sainthood and politics, the mechanism of canonisation, women in the church, dreams, visions and the concept of the miraculous, and the convergence of heresy, disbelief and piety.Trade Review'This welcome volume brings together twenty previously published essays by Michael Goodich, one of today's most prolific and interesting scholars of medieval hagiography... these articles chart not only the development of a single scholar's work, but, even more importantly, that of an increasingly prominent and creative subdiscipline of medieval studies. This collection will be useful to all serious students of medieval hagiography in providing the articles of an important and influential scholar in convenient form. The book, moreover, demands their attention as a whole as evidence for the development of their craft. It should be acquired by all college and university libraries.' The Catholic Historical Review '... the volume will certainly be of use to students of sainthood and hagiography, not least because it brings together a substantial quantity of Goodich's work in one place... In their informed and informative studies, both authors have done much to place the saints and their biographers at the centre of debates over religious, cultural and political interaction in the later Middle Ages.' Ecclesiastical HistoryTable of ContentsContents: Preface; The Childhood and Adolescence of the Saint: Childhood and adolescence among the 13th-century saints; Bartholomaeus Anglicus on child-rearing; Encyclopaedic literature: child-rearing in the Middle Ages; Il fanciullo come fulcro di miracoli et potere spirituale (XIII e XIV secolo); A saintly child and a saint of children: the childhood of Elizabeth of Thuringia (1207-31); Jüdische und christliche Traumanalyse im zwölften Jahrhundert. Hagiography and the Politics of Canonisation: The politics of canonization in the 13th century: lay and mendicant saints; A profile of 13th-century sainthood; A note on sainthood in the hagiographical prologue; The contours of female piety in later medieval hagiography; Ancilla Dei: the servant as saint in the later Middle Ages; Vision, dream and canonization policy under Pope Innocent III; The use of direct quotation from canonization hearing to hagiographical Vita et miracula; Innocent III and the miracle as a weapon against disbelief. Medieval Miracles and their Uses: Miracles and disbelief in the late Middle Ages; Battling the Devil in rural Europe: late medieval miracle collections; A chapter in the history of the Christian theology of miracle: Engelbert of Admont's (ca. 1250-1331) Expositio super Psalmum 118 and De miraculis Christi; Filiation and form in the late medieval miracle story; The miraculous military escape in canonization documents; Liturgy and the foundation of cults in the 13th and 14th centuries; Index.

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Book SynopsisThese ten essays by John Van Engen situate religion in the history of medieval Western Europe: as an unavoidable presence in everyday life, as a conceptual framework for social and political life, as a force integral to its historical dynamics. Four of the essays are bibliographical and retrospective in nature, reviewing the field broadly, but also pointing toward a more dialectical approach to understanding the interaction of religion and society in the European middle ages. Other studies deal with large topics usually subsumed under the abstract term 'Christianization'. They grapple with learned sources as well as those associated with 'popular' religion, and show what can be gained from an imaginative use of all that lawyers and theologians said about religion in their society. The essays, finally, look for the quality and dynamic of change, even inventiveness, released by religious action and conviction in medieval European society.Trade Review'The pieces reprinted here [...] are filled with good judgement, display a breadth of learning, and will manage to fascinate their readers through the many intriguing human details and anecdotes they contain.' The Medieval Review 'One of the benefits of reviewing a volume in the Variorum Collected Studies Series is that it can provide the opportunity to reread stimulating and formative work which had such an impact when originally produced that the ideas have since become almost taken for granted among academics... a significant collection of stimulating scholarship, which it is certainly worthwhile and rewarding to have brought together and republished in this way.' Heythrop JournalTable of ContentsContents: Preface; Approaches to Medieval Culture and Religion: The Christian Middle Ages as an historiographical problem; The future of medieval Church history; The 'crisis of cenobitism' reconsidered: Benedictine monasticism in the years 1050-1150; An afterword on medieval studies, or the future of Abelard and Heloise. Christening the Social Order: Christening the Romans; Faith as a concept of order in medieval Christendom; Theophilus Presbyter and Rupert of Deutz: the manual arts and Benedictine theology in the early 12th century; 'God is no respecter of persons': sacred texts and social realities. Re-inventing Religious Life in Medieval Society: Dominic and the brothers: Vitae as life-forming exempla in the Order of Preachers; Friar Johannes Nyder on laypeople living as religious in the world; Index.

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Book SynopsisPeter Heehs is an independent scholar based in India. His publications include Writing the Self (Bloomsbury, 2013) and The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (2008). His books have been translated into Russian, Dutch, French and Japanese.Trade ReviewHeehs offers a clear, analytical, narrative history that demonstrates how certain elements of non-theistic (or not strictly theistic) thought and practice in the religious histories of India, China, and the Greco-Roman world eventually coalesced to produce the burgeoning ‘godless’ spirituality of the modern West. * Journal of Contemporary Religion *Peter Heehs’s book and historical examination, Spirituality without God, comes at a timely moment in the discourse on spiritual practice. * Bulletin of the British Association for the Study of Religions *The book gives a map, through time and place, of the world’s various theistic and nontheistic spiritualities … The 'spiritual but not religious' phenomenon is growing, and readers can learn more about it through this thoughtful and knowledgeable author, who for decades has been a resident of an intentional, spiritual community. * Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society *Spirituality Without God should be read by all professors at seminaries around the world. It is helpful for gaining insight and understanding in the rise of modern nontheistic religions and spiritualities. It would be an excellent book for use in Christian evangelism classes. * Reading Religion *For those interested in spirituality and its practices, Peter Heehs' book is an interesting source ... Easy to access, very well documented. * Archives de sciences sociales des religions (Bloomsbury Translation) *Heehs is a clear and engaging writer… The book would thus fit easily and well in an undergraduate classroom. * Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses *Spirituality without God: A Global History of Thought and Practice traces the history of nontheistic spiritual thought and practice from the ancient world to our days. In this comprehensive, thought provoking work Peter Heehs traces a variety of spiritual approaches to life which were combined with disbelief in the supernatural. Peter Heehs shows in this impressive and well researched book that the search for spiritual wisdom unfettered by God(s), flourished for thousands of years, alongside religions based on worship of Divine beings. * Boaz Huss, Professor of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel *Spirituality without God is an ambitious exploration of the rich history and pervasive influence of godless spirituality in many regions of the world, and the shifting meanings attached to the word spirituality. With its autobiographical reflections, Peter Heehs’ engaging study is particularly timely in a period when many in Europe and North America, the ‘none of the aboves’, choose to identify themselves as spiritual rather than religious. For anyone wishing to understand how ‘spiritual’ has come to mean, according to Peter Heehs, virtually the opposite of ‘religion’, Spirituality without God will be a rewarding read. * Gwilym Beckerlegge, Professor of Modern Religions, The Open University, UK *A fascinating and creative non-Eurocentric approach to the history of religion that is relevant to understanding contemporary religious ideas and practices. This is a very interesting book with a broad audience by a fine historian with a creative and synthetic approach. * Jay L. Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Smith College and Harvard Divinity School, USA *Table of ContentsPrologue, A Religion is Born 1. Introduction: Religion and Spirituality, Gods and Godlessness 2. Theistic and Nontheistic Religions in the Ancient World 3. Defending and Debating Tradition 4. The Triumph of Theism 5. The Coming of Modernity and the Decline of God 6. Secularizing the Sacred 7. The Death and Afterlife of God Epilogue, Spiritual but Still Religious? Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisJonathan Harris's classic text chronologically surveys Byzantine history in the time of the Crusades. The book reveals the attitudes of the Byzantine ruling elites towards the Crusades and their ultimate inability to adapt to the challenges this presented. Using evidence amassed in a wealth of primary sources, Harris successfully makes the point that Byzantine interactions with Western Europe, the Crusades and the crusader states is best understood in the nature of the Byzantine Empire and the ideology which underpinned it, rather than in any generalised hostility between the peoples.Incorporating recent scholarship, this 3rd edition has 25 further images, as well as additional maps and genealogical tables. This new edition also comes with two significant additions to the text:* Appendix I sees the inclusion of seven critical Latin primary sources taken from across three centuries. Translated by the author, these sources are then discussed in detail, providing multiple first-hanTrade ReviewJonathan Harris continues to offer new insights in this, the third edition of a well-established classic. No student of the crusades or of relations between Byzantium and the West can afford to overlook this important study. * Alfred J. Andrea, Professor Emeritus of Medieval World History, University of Vermont, USA *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Maps Acknowledgements Timeline Genealogical Tables Introduction 1. The Empire of Christ 2. The Power behind the Throne 3. Response to Crisis 4. The Passage of the First Crusade 5. Jerusalem and Antioch 6. The Friend of the Latins 7. Andronicus the Tyrant 8. Iron not Gold 9. Paralysis and Extortion 10. The Rivers of Babylon 11. And so the Land is Lost! Epilogue: The Impact Appendix I: Author Translations and Discussions of Key Latin Primary Sources Appendix II: Assessing Representations in Fiction and Non-Fiction Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisReligion and Politics in Interwar Yugoslavia explores the interaction between religion, nationalism, and political modernity in the first half of the 20th century, taking the case of the Serbian Orthodox Church as an example. This book historicizes the widely held assumption that the bond between religion and nationalism in the Balkans is a natural one or that this bond has been historically inevitable. It tells a complex story of how East Orthodox Christianity came to be at the core of one version of Serbian nationalism by bringing together the themes of religion, nationalism, politics, state-building, secularization, and modernity.Maria Falina reconstructs how the ideological fusion between Serbian nationalism and East Orthodox Christianity was forged. The analysis emphasizes ideas and ideologies through a close reading of public discourses and historical narratives while paying attention to individual actors and their personal histories. The book argues that the particular poTrade ReviewMaria Falina makes an important contribution to our thinking on religion and nationalism in the Balkans. ... [Religion and Politics in Interwar Yugoslavia] gives a voice to religious thinkers and shows how their responses to challenges posed by modernity and secular nationalism were integral to the dynamic phenomenon of modern nationalism. Religious thought is not secondary or subjugated to nationalism. * CEU Review of Books *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Religion and Serbian State- and Nation-building before 1918 2. New Church for the New State: ‘Liberation and Unification’ of Lands, People and Institutions 3. The Serbian Orthodox Church Faces the Challenge of Modernity 4. Climax: The Serbian Orthodox Church Enters Politics 5. Epilogue: The War Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a comprehensive examination of the study of religions in Sweden, from the early twentieth century to the present and shows how the intersection of national and social forces shape the study of religion in specific countries and contexts. It traces the establishment of the study of religions as an integrated part of Higher Education in Sweden and it critically examines the development of the most significant disciplines, themes and questions that form Religious Studies in Sweden.Demonstrating the interconnection between nationality and the formation of the academic study of religion, the book explores how Sweden is often described as the most secularised country in the world, yet the study of religions in Sweden has a long, rich, and diverse history. The book emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the study of religions, and bring together the voices of 30 scholars.

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Book SynopsisAlasdair J. Macleod examines the life and ministry of John Kennedy (1819?84), minister of Dingwall Free Church of Scotland. Drawing on Kennedy?s notebooks and published writings, and on source material including unpublished Gaelic poetry, this book explores how Kennedy became the effective leader of the Highland Evangelicals through his preaching, writing and public speaking. Macleod addresses current debate on the divergence in Scottish Evangelicalism and how far Kennedy may have helped to steer the trajectory of Evangelicalism in the Highlands in a conservative direction.

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Book SynopsisThe area whose capital was the southern Lombard city of Benevento developed a culture identified with the characteristic form of writing known as the Beneventan script, which was used throughout the area and was brought to perfection at the abbey of Montecassino in the late eleventh century. This repertory, along with other now-vanished or suppressed local varieties of music, give a far richer picture of the variety of musical practice in early medieval Europe than was formerly available. Thomas Forrest Kelly has identified and collected the surviving sources of an important repertory of early medieval music; this is the so-called Beneventan Chant, used in southern Italy in the early middle ages, before the adoption there of the now-universal music known as Gregorian chant. Because it was deliberately suppressed in the course of the eleventh century, this music survives mostly in fragments and palimpsests, and the fascinating process of restoring the repertory piece by piece is told inTable of ContentsContents: Introduction; Part I Repertory, Sources, Style: The Beneventan Chant; Notes on a census of Beneventan manuscripts; Music of Benevento cathedral. Part II Individual Sources: Palimpsest evidence of an Old-Beneventan gradual; Montecassino and the Old Beneventan chant; Beneventan fragments at Altamura; A musical fragment at Bisceglie containing an unknown Beneventan office; A Beneventan borrowing in the Saint Cecilia gradual; New Beneventan liturgical fragments in Lanciano, Lucera, and Penne containing further evidence of the Old Beneventan chant; New evidence of the Old Beneventan chant. Part III Context: The oldest musical notation at Montecassino; Abbot Desiderius and the two liturgical chants of Montecassino; Beneventan liturgy and music in Tuscany: Lucca, Biblioteca Capitolare Feliniana ms. 606; Non-Gregorian music in an antiphoner of Benevento; A Beneventan notated breviary in Naples (Archivio Storico Diocesano, Fondo Ebdomadari, Cod. Misc. 1, fasc. VII; Musical relations between Venice and Benevento; Tradition and innovation in the antiphoner Benevento 848; Indexes.

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Book SynopsisThese essays, in a second collection by Professor Kelly, investigate legal and religious subjects touching on the age and places in which Geoffrey Chaucer lived and wrote, especially as reflected in the more contemporary sections of the Canterbury Tales. Topics include the canon law of incest (consanguinity, affinity, spiritual kinship), the prosecution of sexual offences and regulation of prostitution (especially in the Stews of Southwark), legal opinions about wife-beating, and the laws of nature concerning gender distinction (focusing on Chaucer''s Pardoner) and the technicalities of castration. Sacramental and devotional practices are discussed, especially dealing with confession and penitence and the Mass. Chaucer''s Prioress serves as the starting point for a treatment of regulations of nuns in medieval England and also for the presence, real and virtual, of Jews and Saracens (Muslims and pagans) in England and conversion efforts of the time, as well as sympathetic or antipathTrade Review'A valuable collection of eleven influential and deeply learned essays published since 1991 by one of the most distinguished scholars of medieval English literature and culture.' Medium Aevum '... throughout the volume Kelly engages imaginatively, energetically, and rigorously with a variety of questions. For the work presented here, and for his broader contributions to scholarship on the English Middle Ages, we will remain in his debt.' Journal of Anglican and Episcopal HistoryTable of ContentsContents: Introduction; Part A Sex/Gender: Shades of incest and cuckoldry: Pandarus and John of Gaunt; Bishop, prioress, and bawd in the stews of Southwark; Medieval laws and views on wife beating; The Pardoner's voice, disjunctive narrative, and modes of effemination. Part B The Sacraments: Sacraments, sacramentals, and lay piety in Chaucer's England; Penitential theology and law at the turn of the 15th century. Part C Non-Christians and England: Jews ands Saracens in Chaucer's England: a review of the evidence; 'The Prioress's Tale' in context: good and bad reports of non-Christians in 14th-century England; Chaucer's Knight and the northern 'crusades': the example of Henry Bolingbroke. Part D Case Studies: A neo-revisionist look at Chaucer's nuns; How Cecelia came to be a saint and patron (matron?) of music; Canon law and Chaucer on licit and illicit magic; Addenda and corrigenda; Index.

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Book SynopsisOne of the significant developments in scholarship in the latter half of the twentieth century was the awareness among historians of ideas, historians of theology, and medievalists of the importance of the Christian scriptures in the Latin Middle Ages. In contrast to an earlier generation of scholars who considered the medieval period as a 'Bible-free zone', recent investigations have shown the central role of scripture in literature, art, law, liturgy, and formal religious education. Indeed, to understand the Latin Middle Ages one must understand the value they placed upon the Bible, how they related to it, and how they studied it. However, despite the new emphasis on the Bible's role and the place of exegesis in medieval thought, our detailed understanding is all too meagre - and generalisations, often imagined as valid for a period of close to a millennium, abound. How the Scriptures were used in one pursuit (formal theology for example relied heavily on 'allegory') was often very Table of ContentsContents: Preface; Introduction; Part 1 Processing the Patristic Inheritance: ‘Aquae super caelos (Gen 1:6-7): the first faith-science debate?; The controversy over Methuselah’s death: proto-chronology and the origins of the western concept of inerrancy; Adam’s burial at Hebron: some aspects of its significance in the Latin tradition; A woman’s plight and the western fathers. Part 2 Developing New Exegetical Strategies: Julian of Toledo’s Antikeimenon and the development of Latin Exegesis; The exegetical purpose of Adomnán’s De Locis Sanctis; The symbol gives life: Eucherius of Lyons’ formula for exegesis; Biblical contradictions in the Periphyseon and the development of Eriugena’s method; The plan of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Armagh. Part 3 Exegesis as a Practice: Adam’s Rib and the equality of the sexes: some medieval exegesis of Gen 2:21-22; The waters above the heavens, Isidore, and the Latin tradition; Seeking the early medieval view on the Song of Songs; The gates of Hell: from metaphor to fact; The mysticism of number in the medieval period before Eriugena; Individual anonymity and collective identity: the enigma of early medieval Latin theologians; Indexes.

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Book SynopsisBringing together essays from experts in a variety of disciplines, this collection explores two of the most important facets of life within the medieval Europe: money and the church. By focusing on the interactions between these subjects, the volume addresses four key themes. Firstly it offers new perspectives on the role of churchmen in providing conceptual frameworks, from outright condemnation, to sophisticated economic theory, for the use and purpose of money within medieval society. Secondly it discusses the dichotomy of money for the church and its officers: on one hand voices emphasise the moral difficulties in engaging with money, on the other the reality of the ubiquitous use of money in the church at all levels and in places within Christendom. Thirdly it places in dialogue interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches, and evidence from philosophy, history, literature and material culture, to the issues of money and church. Lastly, the volume provides new perspectives on theTrade Review'[This] book does an excellent job of picking apart the many interconnections between money and religion in the period, and its most valuable contribution is to show the fallacy of viewing the Church as monolithic in this regard. There was no single, official 'Church attitude' to money; practices and viewpoints were malleable depending on circumstance, which the wide-ranging case studies offered [in this volume] highlight well.' - Aleksandra McClain, The Journal for the Society of Medieval Archaeology.'We have come a long way in the last half-century in our understanding of the Church's involvement in and influence on medieval economic life and thought. The thirteen essays in this volume present excellent examples of this sophisticated understanding.' - Joel Kaye, The Catholic Historical Review.'In highlighting how economic concerns were never entirely divorced from moral and spiritual ones this volume provides new insights into the problems and dilemmas that medieval people faced when dealing with money.' - Pamela Nightingale, Economic History Review.Table of ContentsPart 1 Attitudes to Money within the Church: Turpe lucrum? Wealth, money and coinage in the Millennial Church Contemplating money and wealth in monastic writing c.1060-c.1160. Nummus falsus: the perception of counterfeit money in the 11th and early 12th century. A herald of scholasticism: Alan of Lille on economic virtues. Part 2 Buying, Selling and Building: The Use of Money by the Church: Financing cathedral-building in the Middle Ages: the 11th to 13th centuries. The Church and money in 12th century England. The Church and monetization in early medieval Denmark, c. 1060-1160. The Church, markets and money in early medieval England. Part 3 Money and Power: Coinage, Salvation and Ritual: From HEINRICVS REX to ROTHARDVS ABBAS - monastic coinage under the Ottonians and Salians (c. 911-1125). Saints, dukes and bishops: coinage in ducal Normandy, c. 930-c. 1150. Saints, sinners and ... a cow: offerings, alms and tokens of memory. The Church and money in Norway c. 1050-1250: salvation and monetisation. [Front cover background image: Laon Cathedral, late twelfth/early thirteenth century. Image: Giles E. M. Gasper]

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Book SynopsisMichael Molloy is author of Experiencing World Religions, 6th Edition.Trade ReviewClearly written, abundantly illustrated, and attentive to the many expressions of Christianity around the world, The Christian Experience ‘takes you there’ in this excellent introductory survey of Christian history. * David W. Kling, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Miami, USA *The definitive introduction to the world's largest religion. Magisterial in scope and rich in detail this is a rare book both beautifully wrought and written. The diversity of Christianity is explored in its many manifestations: in myth, symbol, ritual; art and architecture; film and music. Mini-biographies of the many male and female colorful and controversial leaders are included. And neither is the future of the faith forgotten. The author observes the newest shifts occurring in the movement as its two billion members increasingly interact on the global stage with other competing religions, both folk and formal ones. An indispensable text for an introductory yet comprehensive overview of Christianity. * Chas. H. Barfoot, Honors Faculty Instructor of Religion, Arizona State University, USA *Molloy’s text is engaging, free of jargon, and easily accessible to uninitiated undergraduates, while still incorporating a large amount of information in a reasonably sized, comprehensive introductory text. Highly recommended. * John Allan Knight, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Marist College, USA *Presents a global perspective of the origins, history, and contemporary practices of Christianity adroitly highlighting the interaction of religion with the broader culture. * Kevin Newburg, Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity, Drew University, USA *Overall, Molloy has written a textbook that masterfully surveys the history of Christianity. His clear writing engages readers by encouraging them to reflect on the importance of Christianity in broader contexts. In contrast to traditional textbooks about Christianity, Molloy pays special attention to the role of art, music, architecture, and religious encounters. As Molloy emphasizes, religion—especially Christianity in the case of his textbook—must be experienced to fully understand and appreciate. * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsList of Images List of Maps List of Diagrams Preface Chapter 1 Studying Christianity Chapter 2 The Jewish Origins Chapter 3 The Background and Life of Jesus Chapter 4 The World of Paul and the New Testament Chapter 5 Constantine and Early Eastern Christianity Chapter 6 Christianity Expands in the West Chapter 7 Western Christianity in the Middle Ages Chapter 8 Reform and Renewal Chapter 9 Eastern Christianity Expands Chapter 10 Modern Christianity Chapter 11 Contemporary Christianity Chapter 12 Looking to the Future Endnotes Index

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Book SynopsisGripping story of the events that led up to the sailing of the MayflowerTrade ReviewThis is a rattling good read. Stephen Tomkins conveys the sweep of Reformation history through the hair-raising, sometimes hilarious and often tragic stories of the men and women who suffered or survived it. There's a startling sense of déjà vu as the reader is confronted with the dedication and vehemence of those who pursued their dream ofa perfect church. -- The Archbishop of York, Dr John SentamuThe Journey to the Mayflower is a riveting story; it is impeccably researched history but more than this, it is an account that allows us to trace the essential elements of western democracy and liberalism to the key struggle for religious freedom. Stephen Tomkins's work reminds us that individual liberty as we understand it today would nothave been possible without the experience of those who fought for their freedom to believe. Well written, engaging and entertaining, this book serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding religious freedom in our current age. -- Tim Farron MPHere is a gripping and informed account of the people and pressures that launched the Mayflower. Stephen Tomkins is a capable historian, but never dull, and a respectful yet critical friend of the early puritans. This is an important chapter in England's Christian story, and America's too, very well told. -- John Proctor, General Secretary of the United Reformed ChurchAs a Mayflower descendant and a religious leader committed to a fervent faith that seeks new pathways to old truths, I find this book enlightening and delightful. It tells the story of those whose courage rekindled a faith made stale by practices and doctrines more material than spiritual: a reminder that we are always reforming, always keeping pace with a Holy Spirit whose work it is to rescue the Church from its inhibiting complacency and misplaced ambition. -- Rev. Dr John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of ChristIt is an informative and lively account, based on thorough research * Methodist Recorder *vivid, fast-paced prose . . . At the heart of Tomkins's book is the thought that the arguments these puritans developed against the imposition of idolatry and superstition upon themselves would soon become broader arguments for thepossibility of dissent, for liberty and religious choice. * Church Times *Puritanism was not a pretext for the 'reformation of manners': it was a spiritual epiphany. * London Review of Books *In a thrilling account of radical Protestants in England and their vicious oppression in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Stephen Tomkins does justice to the magnificent history of the rebellious underground churches. * The TLS *

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Book SynopsisUtilising a pioneering theological and hermeneutic framework adapted from both classical Muslim literature and contemporary academic studies of the Qur an, Ramon Harvey explores the underlying principles of its system of social justice.

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Book SynopsisFrom the shadow of the Kantian critique it to the Oxford debates over Darwinism that shook the discipline to the core, and from the death of God to the rise of new Evangelical movements, 19th-century theology was fundamentally reshaped by both internal struggles and external developments.

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Book SynopsisSteve Bruce explores Scotland's transformation from the devout Presbyterian country of 1900, to the diverse society of today, with less than 10 per cent of Scots attending church. He bases his study on historical, ethnographic and statistical research, to provide both a coherent description of Scotland's current religious complexion.

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Book SynopsisReflects on women participating in Islamic scholarly traditions from the classical period to the present

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Book SynopsisThrough a close, contextualized, and interdisciplinary reading in Hadith compilations, theological treatises, and historical sources, this book offers an evaluation and understanding of the traditionalistic endeavours to define anthropomorphism in the most crucial and indeed most formative period of Islamic thought.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a fresh perspective on religious culture in the medieval Middle East. It investigates the ways Muslims thought about and practiced at sacred spaces and in sacred times through two detailed case studies: the shrines in honour of the head of al-Husayn (the martyred grandson of the Prophet), and the holy month of Rajab.

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Book SynopsisA beautifully illustrated study of Al-Qazwini's 14th-century illustrated Arabic copy of a cosmographic encyclopedia entitled The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existing Things, and the first-ever translations of the text into English.

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Book SynopsisExplores the religious cultures, beliefs and imperatives that shaped the Jacobite movement in Scotland

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Book SynopsisThomas Green examines the Scottish Reformation from a new perspective the legal system and lawyers. Green covers the Wars of the Congregation, the Reformation Parliament, the legitimacy of the Scottish government in 1558-61, the courts of the early Church of Scotland and the legal significance of Mary Stewart's personal reign.

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Book SynopsisThis book traces the journey of new Muslims as they joined the early Islamic community and articulated their identities within it. It focuses on Muslims of slave origins, who belonged to the society in which they lived but whose slave background rendered them somehow alien.

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Book Synopsis

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