History of religion Books

Book SynopsisArguably the single most important element in Abrahamic cross-confessional relations has been an ongoing mutual interest in perennial spiritual and ethical exemplars of one another's communities. Ranging from Late Antiquity through the Middle Ages, Crossing Confessional Boundaries explores the complex roles played by saints, sages, and Friends of God in the communal and intercommunal lives of Christians, Muslims, and Jews across the Mediterranean world, from Spain and North Africa to the Middle East to the Balkans. By examining these stories in their broad institutional, social, and cultural contexts, Crossing Confessional Boundaries reveals unique theological insights into the interlocking histories of the Abrahamic faiths. Trade Review"A smashing success; the literature Renard reviews is extensive and his ability to present the most salient points toward future scholarship is impressive. He elaborates a genealogy of the exemplary figure that will surely shape any future work in the field." * Reading Religion *"The book becomes both roadmap and toolkit, guiding readers though the use of hagiography and equipping them to apply it as a resource for fresh scholarship." * Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations *"John Renard is one of few scholars to possess the intellectual toolkit and dexterity necessary for the breadth of Crossing Confessional Boundaries and the ways in which it weaves multiple historiographical strands together. . . . [Renard] reminds us that Late Antiquity was not a period of crisis and decline. . . . [but] was one of deep cross-cultural contacts and complex interfaith encounters." * Mediterranean Seminar *"Crossing Confessional Boundaries remains an excellent hagiography manual." * Critical Bulletin of the Islamic Annals *"There is much to appreciate in what Renard has produced. . . . Renard’s book will provide a concise overview of a significant corpus of recent scholarship on late antiquity, and the significance therein of holy persons. His juxtaposition of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literatures will provide readers with an awareness of these religious traditions’ interconnections that many may not have otherwise realized." * Journal of Early Christian History *"[Renard] shows amazing range while displaying the promise of comparative hagiography." * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction: Metaphor, Method, and the Three “Sources” of Hagiographic Narrative PART ONE: GEOGRAPHIES SHARED-HISTORICAL/ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 1. Geographies Shared I—The Central Middle East 2. Geographies Shared II—Spain and North Africa 3. Geographies Shared III—From Anatolia to the Balkans PART TWO: HAGIOGRAPHIES COMPARED-LITERARY PERSPECTIVES: FORM, CONTENT, AND FUNCTION 4. Hagiography Constructed: An Owner’s Manual 5. Hagiography Deconstructed: A Reader’s Toolbox 6. Hagiography at Work: A Job Description PART THREE: DRAMATIS PERSONAE: HISTORY, AUTHORITY, AND COMMUNITY 7. Historical Themes and Institutional Authority 8. Constructions of Personal Authority—Epistemic and Charismatic 9. Exemplars and Their Communities Conclusion: Comparative Approaches to Religious Exemplarity and Hagiography Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A smashing success; the literature Renard reviews is extensive and his ability to present the most salient points toward future scholarship is impressive. He elaborates a genealogy of the exemplary figure that will surely shape any future work in the field." * Reading Religion *"The book becomes both roadmap and toolkit, guiding readers though the use of hagiography and equipping them to apply it as a resource for fresh scholarship." * Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations *"John Renard is one of few scholars to possess the intellectual toolkit and dexterity necessary for the breadth of Crossing Confessional Boundaries and the ways in which it weaves multiple historiographical strands together. . . . [Renard] reminds us that Late Antiquity was not a period of crisis and decline. . . . [but] was one of deep cross-cultural contacts and complex interfaith encounters." * Mediterranean Seminar *"Crossing Confessional Boundaries remains an excellent hagiography manual." * Critical Bulletin of the Islamic Annals *"There is much to appreciate in what Renard has produced. . . . Renard’s book will provide a concise overview of a significant corpus of recent scholarship on late antiquity, and the significance therein of holy persons. His juxtaposition of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literatures will provide readers with an awareness of these religious traditions’ interconnections that many may not have otherwise realized." * Journal of Early Christian History *"[Renard] shows amazing range while displaying the promise of comparative hagiography." * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction: Metaphor, Method, and the Three “Sources” of Hagiographic Narrative PART ONE: GEOGRAPHIES SHARED-HISTORICAL/ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 1. Geographies Shared I—The Central Middle East 2. Geographies Shared II—Spain and North Africa 3. Geographies Shared III—From Anatolia to the Balkans PART TWO: HAGIOGRAPHIES COMPARED-LITERARY PERSPECTIVES: FORM, CONTENT, AND FUNCTION 4. Hagiography Constructed: An Owner’s Manual 5. Hagiography Deconstructed: A Reader’s Toolbox 6. Hagiography at Work: A Job Description PART THREE: DRAMATIS PERSONAE: HISTORY, AUTHORITY, AND COMMUNITY 7. Historical Themes and Institutional Authority 8. Constructions of Personal Authority—Epistemic and Charismatic 9. Exemplars and Their Communities Conclusion: Comparative Approaches to Religious Exemplarity and Hagiography Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe most prominent Christian theologian and exegete of the third century, Origen was also an influential teacher. In the famed Thanksgiving Address, one of his students delivered an emotionally charged account of his tutelage in Roman Palestine. This analysis of the text sheds new light on higher education in the early Church.Trade Review"Satran’s book is laudable for its important contribution to studies of late antique education and rhetoric, to scholarship on Origen and Gregory and, one would like to hope, to contemporary discussions on the nature of education and the vital role of teachers as intellectual and moral guides to a truly liberating way of life." * Journal of Ecclesiastical History *"[L]ocates [value] in contemporary Origen literature as a helpful resource for those who want to delve deeper into a learned, loving ancient tribute . . ." * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Providence, Eros, and Constraint 2. Dialectic and the Training of the Mind 3. Moral Formation and the Path to Scripture 4. Paradise and the Cave 5. Paideia, Loss, and Prospect Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisMelania the Elder and her granddaughter Melania the Younger were major figures in early Christian history, using their wealth, status, and forceful personalities to shape the development of nearly every aspect of the religion we now know as Christianity. This volume examines their influence on late antique Christianity.Trade Review"The decision to zero in on the two Melanias produces obvious benefits: the interlocking papers build to a sort of ‘thick description’ of late fourth- and early fifth-century Christianity, and recent analytical approaches to its study . . . this book would make an excellent companion for a special subject or graduate course on asceticism in late antiquity. " * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"Diversity of thought is the chief value in this collection. From spacial syntax to gender theory, this collection provides examples of new methods of research that emerged after 'The Lady Vanishes.' . . . This book [is] suitable for advanced graduate students and specialists in Late Antiquity and Christianity, particularly those which focus on sexuality and gender." * Classical Journal *"Readers can be grateful to the editors and authors who have produced a wide-ranging contribution to the 'Melania revival.' " * Anglican and Episcopal History *"Although one does not expect that a volume of essays will necessarily be coherent, this collection succeeds, and is both a richly varied scholarly study and a pedagogical aid to rethinking what a cultural biography might be." * Journal of Ecclesiastical History *"Melania is a great addition to the field of early Christian studies." * Religious Studies Review *Table of ContentsIntroduction Catherine M. Chin and Caroline T. Schroeder PART ONE. ARISTOCRACY 1. Apostles and Aristocrats Catherine M. Chin 2. Namesake and Inheritance Christine Luckritz Marquis 3. Exemplary Women Caroline T. Schroeder PART TWO. BODY AND FAMILY 4. Holy Households Maria Doerfler 5. Wounded by Divine Love Kristi Upson-Saia PART THREE. GENDER AND MEMORY 6. Memories of the Martyrs L. Stephanie Cobb 7. The Memory of Melania Rebecca Krawiec PART FOUR. WISDOM AND HERESY 8. A Life in Letters Robin Darling Young 9. Friends and Heretics Susanna Drake 10. Posthumous Orthodoxy Christine Shepardson PART FIVE. IN THE HOLY PLACES 11. The Lost Generation Andrew S. Jacobs 12. Sing, O Daughter(s) of Zion Stephen J. Shoemaker PART SIX. MODERNITIES 13. Afterlives Michael Penn 14. Monastic Revivals Stephen J. Davis 15. The Future of Sainthood Elizabeth A. Castelli Afterword Randall Styers List of Contributors Acknowledgments Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisDrawing on sources in Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu, the author argues that the performance of plural religious identities in public space in Indian early modernity paved the way for the emergence of a distinctively non-Western form of religious pluralism.Trade Review"A clearly written and outstanding study of early modern India. Fisher’s exploration of the relationship between the political and the religious is informative and stimulating. " * Reading Religion *"Hindu Pluralism is a wonderful and thoughtful examination of sixteenth and seventeenth religious and intellectual culture." * History of Religions *"Hindu Pluralism presents both a sophisticated intervention in major debates within religious studies and political theory and an excellent granular study of diverse textual genres in a polyglot literary culture." * International Journal of Hindu Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Hindu Sectarianism: Difference in Unity 2. "Just Like Kalidasa": The Making of the Smarta-Saiva Community of South India 3. Public Philology: Constructing Sectarian Identities in Early Modern South India 4. The Language Games of Siva: Mapping Text and Space in Public Religious Culture Conclusion: A Prehistory of Hindu Pluralism Appendix Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisProvides an account of the role of the Torah in ancient Judaism, exploring key moments in its history, beginning with the formation of Deuteronomy and continuing through the Maccabean revolt and the rise of Jewish sectarianism and early Christianity.Trade Review"Collins has here laid the levelheaded and thorough groundwork for anyone wanting to explore Jewish identity in antiquity." * Reading Religion *"A tour de force by one of today’s leading scholars... Summing Up: Highly recommended." * CHOICE *"Collins’ masterful elucidation of the many and diverse materials he mobilizes on behalf of his argument makes this book a valuable resource for readers mulling the semantics of Jewish identity during the Second Temple period. . . . a necessary call to common sense as to the misguided premise that Judaism was born of Christianity rather than Christianity of Judaism." * Horizons: The Journal of the College Theology Society *"The Invention of Judaism is well worth one's time, particularly if one wants to familiarize oneself with the lay of the land in the Second Temple period or is well-versed in Greco-Roman customs and literature behind the NT but need a refresher over debates in Jewish tradition from the same time period." * Restoration Quarterly *Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: Jews, Judeans, and the Maccabean Crisis 1. Deuteronomy and the Invention of the Torah 2. Torah in the Persian Period 3. The Persistence of Non-Mosaic Judaism 4. Torah as Narrative and Wisdom 5. Torah as Law 6. Torah and Apocalypticism 7. The Law in the Diaspora 8. Paul, Torah, and Jewish Identity Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Sources Index of Modern Authors

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Book SynopsisConversion to Islam is a phenomenon of immense significance in human history. At the outset of Islamic rule in the seventh century, Muslims constituted a tiny minority in most areas under their control. But by the beginning of the modern period, they formed the majority in most territories from North Africa to Southeast Asia. Across such diverse lands, peoples, and time periods, conversion was a complex, varied phenomenon. Converts lived in a world of overlapping and competing religious, cultural, social, and familial affiliations, and the effects of turning to Islam played out in every aspect of life. Conversion therefore provides a critical lens for world history, magnifying the constantly evolving array of beliefs, practices, and outlooks that constitute Islam around the globe. This groundbreaking collection of texts, translated from sources in a dozen languages from the seventh to the eighteenth centuries, presents the historical process of conversion to Islam in all its variety anTrade Review"The volume…will greatly help anyone who teaches premodern Islamic history using sources in translation and should stimulate further research into the fascinating topic of conversion." * DER ISLAM *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"The merit of Strobino’s ground-breaking work lies not only in the thorough reconstruction of the fundamentals of Avicenna’s theory of science it provides, but also in the lines of research for which it paves the way." * The Heythrop Journal *"Strobino’s remarkable book does not simply present Avicenna’s theory of science; it also highlights the importance of demonstration not only for logic but also for metaphysics and epistemology… essential to appreciate and better understand Avicenna’s philosophy as a whole." * Journal of the History of Philosophy *"This is a rich and carefully argued work… that will be a great resource to anyone interested in the philosophy of Avicenna." * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisDespite their centrality to the history of Christianity in the East, Syriac Christians have generally been excluded from modern accounts of the faith. Originating from Mesopotamia, Syriac Christians quickly spread across Eurasia, from Turkey to China, developing a distinctive and influential form of Christianity that connected empires. These early Christians wrote in the language of Syriac, the lingua franca of the late ancient Middle East, and a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Collecting key foundational Syriac texts from the second to the fourteenth centuries, this anthology provides unique access to one of the most intriguing, but least known, branches of the Christian tradition. Trade Review"A courageous work. . . .meant to become a useful point of departure for teaching, learning, and further research on the numerous facets of Syriac literature. I have no doubt that the volume will serve this function in the best way." * Reading Religion *"This volume represents a broad and accessible introduction to the material of Syriac studies, suitable for scholars of classics and the ancient world looking to familiarize themselves with this important late ancient language and its literary tradition. . . . also well suited for use as a sourcebook for undergraduate teaching." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"This volume is warmly recommended to every library that wants to keep history alive and help its students understand the present and future of an often-forgotten Christianity, through an appeal to the past epitomized in the excellent sources that this book skillfully presents." * Scripta Classica Israelica *"An essential resource. . . .The rich array of texts succeeds in captivating the audience’s attention and inviting them to further study." * Religion * "Through the selection of sources and the introductory materials, the editors guide readers through the Christian history of these regions…The result is a landmark volume that will be essential reading for church history seminars, ministers, and laity interested in the origins and history of the faith, and for scholars looking to familiarize themselves with the Syriac tradition." * RESTORATION QUARTERLY *Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Translation, Transliteration, and Nomenclature Maps by David A. Michelson and Ian Mladjov Introduction PART I. FOUNDATIONS 1. Origin Stories 2. Poetry 3. Doctrine and Disputation PART II. PRACTICES 4. Liturgy 5. Asceticism 6. Mysticism and Prayer PART III. TEXTS AND TEXTUAL TRANSMISSION 7. Biblical Interpretation 8. Hagiography 9. Books, Knowledge, and Translation PART IV. INTERRELIGIOUS ENCOUNTERS 10. Judaism 11. Islam 12. Religions of the Silk Road Appendix A. Translations and Editions Appendix B. Biographies of Named Authors Appendix C. Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisDespite their centrality to the history of Christianity in the East, Syriac Christians have generally been excluded from modern accounts of the faith. Originating from Mesopotamia, Syriac Christians quickly spread across Eurasia, from Turkey to China, developing a distinctive and influential form of Christianity that connected empires. These early Christians wrote in the language of Syriac, the lingua franca of the late ancient Middle East, and a dialect of Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Collecting key foundational Syriac texts from the second to the fourteenth centuries, this anthology provides unique access to one of the most intriguing, but least known, branches of the Christian tradition. Trade Review"A courageous work. . . .meant to become a useful point of departure for teaching, learning, and further research on the numerous facets of Syriac literature. I have no doubt that the volume will serve this function in the best way." * Reading Religion *"This volume represents a broad and accessible introduction to the material of Syriac studies, suitable for scholars of classics and the ancient world looking to familiarize themselves with this important late ancient language and its literary tradition. . . . also well suited for use as a sourcebook for undergraduate teaching." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"This volume is warmly recommended to every library that wants to keep history alive and help its students understand the present and future of an often-forgotten Christianity, through an appeal to the past epitomized in the excellent sources that this book skillfully presents." * Scripta Classica Israelica *"An essential resource. . . .The rich array of texts succeeds in captivating the audience’s attention and inviting them to further study." * Religion * "Through the selection of sources and the introductory materials, the editors guide readers through the Christian history of these regions…The result is a landmark volume that will be essential reading for church history seminars, ministers, and laity interested in the origins and history of the faith, and for scholars looking to familiarize themselves with the Syriac tradition." * RESTORATION QUARTERLY *Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Note on Translation, Transliteration, and Nomenclature Maps by David A. Michelson and Ian Mladjov Introduction PART I. FOUNDATIONS 1. Origin Stories 2. Poetry 3. Doctrine and Disputation PART II. PRACTICES 4. Liturgy 5. Asceticism 6. Mysticism and Prayer PART III. TEXTS AND TEXTUAL TRANSMISSION 7. Biblical Interpretation 8. Hagiography 9. Books, Knowledge, and Translation PART IV. INTERRELIGIOUS ENCOUNTERS 10. Judaism 11. Islam 12. Religions of the Silk Road Appendix A. Translations and Editions Appendix B. Biographies of Named Authors Appendix C. Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisThis sourcebook provides an expansive picture of medicine, health, and healing in ancient Greece and Rome. Covering a wide array of fascinating topicssuch as ancient diagnostic practices using the pulse and urine, gynecological theories of women's illness, treatments involving drugs and surgery, the training and work of physicians, the experiences of patients, and various sites where healing took placethis volume will engage readers interested in the rich history of health and healthcare. The volume brings together textual sourcesmany hard to access and some translated into English for the first timeas well as artistic, material, and scientific evidence, including: Medical treatises Case studies Artistic works Material artifacts Archaeological evidence Biomedical remains Funerary monuments Miracle narratives Spells and magical recipes With substantial explanation of these varied materialsthrough background chapters, introductions to the thematic chapters, a timeline, and Trade Review"An admirably imaginative, clear, wide-ranging, informative and stimulating introduction to ancient medicine." * Classics for All *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Shepardson offers a compelling and insightful take on the transformation of the empire’s cultural terrain in the decades after Constantine’s conversion and the Nicene Council." * CHOICE *"The synthesis presented in Controlling Contested Places is exciting and very welcome ... [Shepardson’s] work provides a clear template for further inquiry about geography and memory beyond Antioch in the world of Late Antiquity, and useful tools to address them." -- Edward Schoolman * Journal of Historical Geography *"S. has the ability to take complex concepts in spatial theory and apply them creatively to ancient contexts without burdening the reader with dense theoretical jargon, adding thus both strength and clarity to her arguments, and also making the book accessible to not only specialists in the field—who will certainly find her applications intriguing—but also intermediate students of Late Antiquity." * Vigiliae Christianae *"This book presents readers with both a wide-ranging overview of diverse spatial dynamics at play in Antioch and some productive new insights on the development of early Christianity in the eastern Mediterranean." * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Abbreviations List of Roman Emperors and Bishops of Antioch Timeline of Key Events Introduction: The Lay of the Land 1. The Power of Prestigious Places: Teaching and Preaching in Fourth-Century Antioch 2. Burying Babylas: Place-Marketing and the Politics of Memory 3. Being Correctly Christian: John Chrysostom’s Rhetoric in 386–87 4. Transformative Transgressions: Exploiting the Urban/Rural Divide 5. Mapping a Textured Landscape: Temples, Martyrs, and Ascetics 6. Elsewhere in the Empire Conclusion: Controlling Contested Places Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBarsauma was a fifth-century Syrian ascetic, archimandrite, and leader of monks, notorious for his extreme asceticism and violent anti-Jewish campaigns across the Holy Land. Although Barsauma was a powerful and revered figure in the Eastern church, modern scholarship has widely dismissed him as a thug of peripheral interest. Until now, only the most salacious bits of the Life of Barsaumaa fascinating collection of miracles that Barsauma undertook across the Near Easthad been translated. This pioneering study includes the first full translation of the Life and a series of studies by scholars employing a range of methods to illuminate the text from different angles and contexts. This is the authoritative source on this influential figure in the history of the church and his life, travels, and relations with other religious groups. Table of ContentsList of Illlustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Volker Menze 1. Barsauma and the Emperors Simon Corcoran 2. Ascetic History and Rhetoric in the Life of Barsauma Cornelia B. Horn 3. Barsauma’s Travels to the Holy Land and Jewish History Günter Stemberger 4. Barsauma, Eudocia, Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount Jan Willem Drijvers 5. Cleansing the Sacred Space: The Holy Land and Its Inhabitants in the Pilgrimage Narrative of Barsauma Reuven Kiperwasser and Serge Ruzer 6. “It is not lawful for Samaritans to have dealings with Christians!” Samaritans in the Life of Barsauma Johannes Hahn 7. Wandering Monks Remembered: Hagiography in the Lives of Alexander the Sleepless and Barsauma the Mourner Daniel F. Caner Conclusion: Barsauma between Hagiography and History Johannes Hahn Appendix: The Life of Barsauma Andrew Palmer Bibliography List of Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisLate antiquity was a perilous time for children, who were often the first victims of economic crisis, war, and disease. They had a one in three chance of dying before their first birthday, with as many as half dying before age ten. Christian writers accordingly sought to speak to the experience of bereavement and to provide cultural scripts for parents who had lost a child. These late ancient writers turned to characters like Eve and Sarah, Job and Jephthah as models for grieving and for confronting or submitting to the divine. Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son traces the stories these writers crafted and the ways in which they shaped the lived experience of familial bereavement in ancient Christianity. A compelling social history that conveys the emotional lives of people in the late ancient world, Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah's Son is a powerful portrait of mourning that extends beyond antiquity to the present day. Trade Review"Theologically astute yet ably interacting with gender theory and social history, this book will interest scholars of early Christianity and biblical interpretation." * CHOICE *"This book is not only beautiful to hold and a pleasure to read, but also it has rare intellectual clarity and high scholarly relevance." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"A powerful study. . . . This is a book that belongs on the bookshelf of all who study . . . late antiquity." * Church History and Religious Culture *"Doerfler’s outstanding merit is the use of a large and well-mastered corpus of sources. . . . This very well-written volume on the reception of selected biblical figures concerning the death of children will be worthwhile to students and experts in the fields of theology, religious sciences, classical literature, ancient history, Near Eastern studies, psychology, and social studies." * Reading Religion *"Rich and engaging. . . . Jephthah’s Daughter, Sarah’s Son offers profound material with which to think about liturgy and liturgical action." * Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments (Premature) Death as a Good: An Introduction 1. Children’s Deaths in Late Antiquity in Ritual and Historical Perspective 2. East of Eden: The First Bereaved Parents 3. Mourning Sarah’s Son: Genesis 22 and the Death of Children 4. Echoes of the Akedah: Jephthah’s Daughter and the Maccabeans’ Mother 5. Death, Demons, and Disaster: Job’s Children 6. Children and the Sword: The Holy Innocents and the Death of Children Conclusion: Children in the Quicksand Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsIntroduction Overview of the Life of Barsauma The Life of Barsauma

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Book SynopsisAndrew N. Palmer's vivid translation of the Syriac Life of Barsauma opens a fascinating window onto the ancient Middle East, seen through the life and actions of one of its most dramatic and ambiguous characters: the monk Barsauma, ascetic hero to some, religious terrorist to others. The Life takes us into the eye of the storm that raged around Christian attempts to define the nature of Christ in the great Council of Chalcedon, the effect of which was to split the growing Church irrevocably, with the Oriental Orthodox on one side and Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic on the other. Previously known only in extracts, this ancient text is now finally brought to readers in its entirety, casting dramatic new light on the relations among pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Holy Land and on the role of religious violence, real or imagined, in the mental world of a Middle East as shot through with conflict as it is today.Table of ContentsIntroduction Overview of the Life of Barsauma The Life of Barsauma

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Stewart provides rich insights into the nature of fiction in the context of premodern forms of storytelling. His analysis is conceptually rich and offers abundant opportunities to think about the directions that the study of similar narratives can take in the scholarship of other Indian languages." * Marginalia Review of Books *"The book will be of interest to scholars who work on Islam in South Asia, as well as those who engage in literary studies, while the stories translated here will be a great resource for courses that engage in South Asian Islam." * New Books Network *"With its elegant translations and careful literary analysis, Witness to Marvels allows non-Bengali-speaking scholars to enter the long-overlooked narrative world of the fictional Sufi saints of Bengal. Stewart’s masterful work makes a tremendous contribution to the fields of religious studies and comparative literature." * Reading Religion *"An essential book that illuminates Bengali Islam and challenges scholars of Islam to expand the vision of their field." * Religious Studies Review *

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Book SynopsisFew symbols in today's world are as laden and fraught as shariaan Arabic-origin term referring to the straight path, the path God revealed for humans, the norms and rules guiding Muslims on that path, and Islamic law and normativity as enshrined in sacred texts or formal statute. Yet the ways in which Muslim men and women experience the myriad dimensions of sharia often go unnoticed and unpublicized. So too do recent historical changes in sharia judiciaries and contemporary strategies on the part of political and religious elites, social engineers, and brand stewards to shape, solidify, and rebrand these institutions. Sharia Transformations is an ethnographic, historical, and theoretical study of the practice and lived entailments of sharia in Malaysia, arguably the most economically successful Muslim-majority nation in the world. The book focuses on the routineeveryday practices of Malaysia's sharia courts and the changes that have occurred in the courtdiscourses and practices in reTrade Review"This book is a centerpiece that opens the way to comparison. Hopefully, the same type of inquiry will be conducted in other contexts, showing global commonalities as well as local specificities and epistemologically embodying the need to move from the science of Islamic law to the anthropology of law in Muslim contexts." * Droit & Société *"This wonderful new book by Peletz is a beautifully written and deeply illuminating account of Malaysia, a country not commonly studied in the US. It deserves a wider audience than those who might be first drawn to it from the content suggested by its title. . . .The writing, which flows unerringly and easily through a splendidly constructed series of chapters, does not stint in pulling in relevant theoretical insights from a wide range of sources, thereby expanding the implications of this work and its potential impact and reach, particularly for anthropologists and legal scholars." * CHOICE *"A highly appreciated scholarly endeavour. . . . Legal scholars, scholars of Islamic studies, and social scientists of Southeast Asia amongst others will certainly find this book very important for their studies." * Pacific Affairs *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Acronyms Note on Spelling, Terminology, and Currency Glossary of Frequently Used Malay Terms Introduction: Sharia, Cultural Politics, Anthropology 1. Sharia Judiciary as Global Assemblage: Islamization, Corporatization, and Other Transformations in Context 2. A Tale of Two Courts: Judicial Transformation, Corporate Islamic Governmentality, and the New Punitiveness 3. What Are Sulh Sessions? After Ijtihad, Islamic ADR, and Pastoral Power 4. Discourse, Practice, and Rebranding in Kuala Lumpur’s Sharia Courthouse 5. Are Women Getting (More) Justice? Ethnographic, Historical, and Comparative Perspectives Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Roberts has produced not only an impressive work of intellectual and social history but also an accomplished exemplar of the exploration of unpublished sources with insightful philological and linguistic examinations." * Al-‘Usur al-Wusta *"This monumental work will be of great interest to scholars. . . .Reason and Revelation is a welcome contribution to the intellectual history of the pre-modern Middle East that should inspire a great deal of scholarship to come." * Medieval Encounters *"Reason and Revelation remains a truly impressive scholarly accomplishment. This rich portrait of a previously neglected figure, requiring impressive command of both classical literature and Arabic manuscript studies, should inspire future work on the fascinatingly multi-lingual, multi-religious traditions of learning that bridged the medieval Mediterranean’s many worlds." * The Catholic Historical Review *"Roberts’s is an important book, not just for its many new editions of texts by Ibn al-Fadl,̣ but also for the light it sheds on his life and historical context. Scholars of Christian Arabic will find it essential reading, as will those investigating Byzantine intellectual culture and its interactions with the world of Islam." * Speculum *"Ultimately Reason and Revelation sharpens our understanding of “translation” in the premodern period and points the way forward for further scholarship on the intricacies and implications of translation." * Studies in Late Antiquity *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction PART I. TRANSLATION 1. A Scholar and His City §1 Abdallāh ibn al-Fada of Antioch §2 Byzantine Antioch 2. A Translation Program §1 Scripture and Liturgy §2 Late Antique Biblical Exegesis §3 Pro-Chalcedonian Dogma at the Dawn of Islam §4 Collected Wisdom §5 In Praise of Saints §6 Conclusion 3. A Byzantine Ecclesiastical Curriculum §1 Greek Manuscripts §2 Chrysostom and the Cappadocian Fathers §3 Orthodoxy, Education, and Orations for Saints §4 Contemporary Georgian Translators §5 Georgian Book Culture §6 Conclusion PART II. PHILOSOPHY 4. Purpose in the Prefaces §1 The Psalter §2 The Garden §3 Demetrios §4 Isaac the Syrian §5 Chrysostom and Paul §6 Kaisarios and a Litany of Philosophical Questions §7 Conclusion 5. Education in the Margins §1 The Garden §2 Sophronios §3 John of Thessaloniki §4 Chrysostom on Hebrews: Substantial Images §5 Conclusion 6. Logic §1 Moses Contemplating: Beings, Substances, and Accident §2 Dog Logic and the Arabic Aristotle §3 Logic in the Garden §4 Conclusion 7. Physics §1 Types of Causes §2 Qualities as Bodies or Nothing at All §3 Relative Corporeality of Angels §4 Matter and Atoms, Plenum and Void §5 Conclusion 8. Cosmology §1 The Sky’s Elements §2 Infinity and the Eternity of the World 9. Astronomy §1 Translating Astronomical Terminology §2 The Stars, Byzantine Marginalia, and an Arabophone Byzantine Astronomer §3 Astrology §4 Conclusion 10. A Shared Scholarly Culture §1 Method and Madness §2 Twin Paideias §3 West of Samarqand Bibliography General Index Arabic Index Greek Index Index of Manuscripts

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Book SynopsisUncovering the hidden history of Islamophobia and its surprising connections to the long-standing hatred of Jews. Hatred of Jews and hatred of Muslims have been intertwined in Christian thought since the rise of Islam. In Jewish Muslims, David M. Freidenreich explores the history of this complex, perplexing, and emotionally fraught phenomenon. He makes the compelling case that, then and now, hate-mongers target them in an effort to define us. Analyzing anti-Muslim sentiment in texts and images produced across Europe and the Middle East over a thousand years, the author shows how Christians intentionally distorted reality by alleging that Muslims were just like Jews. They did so not only to justify assaults against Muslims on theological grounds but also to motivate fellow believers to live as good Christians. The disdain premodern polemicists expressed for Islam and Judaism was never really about these religions. Rather, they sought to promote their own visions of Christianitya dynamic that similarly animates portrayals of Muslims and Jews today.Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Introduction: Jewish Muslims? PART ONE. BIBLICAL MUSLIMS 1. Paul’s Rivals and the Early Christian Discourse of Anti-Judaism First through Sixth Centuries 2. Making Sense of the Muslim Conquests Seventh through Ninth Centuries 3. “Drive Out the Slave and Her Son” Eleventh through Fourteenth Centuries 4. Imagining the Dome of the Rock as the Biblical Temple Seventh through Fourteenth Centuries PART TWO. JUDAIZING MUSLIMS 5. “New Jews”: Muslims as Foils for Educating Eastern Christians Seventh through Ninth Centuries 6. What Makes Islam Jewish? Allegations of Carnality and Irrationality Eighth through Twelfth Centuries 7. Muhammad the Jew, and Other Moralizing Slurs Twelfth through Seventeenth Centuries 8. The Logic, and the Consequences, of Defining Muslims as Judaizers Fourth through Seventeenth Centuries PART THREE. ANTI-CHRISTIAN MUSLIMS 9. Muslims Killed Christ!? Theological Arguments and Political Agendas Eleventh through Seventeenth Centuries 10. Conspiracy Theories: Muslim Agents of Jewish Malevolence Seventh through Fourteenth Centuries 11. How Muslims, Jews, and Romans Became Worshippers of Muhammad Twelfth through Fifteenth Centuries 12. Luther’s Rivals and the Emergent Discourse of Anti-Islam Sixteenth Century Afterword: Rhetoric about Muslims and Jews Today Acknowledgments Chronology Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Reading this book conveys the feeling of bouncing over bumps at high speed on a sunny day in an all-terrain sports utility vehicle. How can such lugubrious topics provide so much fun? The tale is animated by the telling. With sly wit, subtle humour, agile prose and empathetic imagination, Kyle Smith narrates the growth of one of Christianity’s defining traditions." * Times Literary Supplement *"Cult of the Dead is the rare academic book that shows empathy; for the martyrs themselves and for those with devotion to them. . . . Smith does our dearly departed the ultimate favor: He allows the dead to speak once more." * National Catholic Reporter *“For a topic that encompasses millennia of fascinating history, Smith’s digestible book offers a compelling and comprehensive introduction to the role of the lives and afterlives of Christianity’s martyrs in Western society from late antiquity to the present day.” * New Criterion * "In this beautifully produced book...Kyle Smith brings alive devotion to the martyrs over the centuries and demonstrates how it helped to shape Christian devotional life, art, architecture, literature, and spirituality." * Journal of Religious History *"Carefully researched and accessible." * CHOICE *"The great accomplishment of Smith’s book is that it manages to both revel in the macabre appeal of the martyrs, and, at the same time, take the Christian cult of the dead sympathetically and seriously." * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Introduction 1. The First of the Dead 2. The Names of the Dead 3. The Remains of the Dead 4. The Feasts of the Dead 5. The Living Dead 6. The Miracles of the Dead 7. The War for the Dead 8. The Legends of the Dead Postscript Acknowledgments Notes for Further Reading Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more atwww.luminosoa.org. Up to the twentieth century, Islamic charitable endowments provided the material foundation of the Muslim world. In Lebanon, with the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the imposition of French colonial rule, many of these endowments reverted to private property circulating in the marketplace. In contemporary Beirut, however, charitable endowments have resurfaced as mosques, Islamic centers, and nonprofit organizations. A historical anthropology in dialogue with Islamic law, God's Property demonstrates how these endowments have been drawn into secular logicsno longer the property of God but of the Muslim communityand shaped by the modern state and modern understandings of charity and property. Although these transformations have produced new kinds of loyalties and new ways of being in society, Moumtaz's ethnography reveals the furtive persistence of endowment practices that perpetuate older ways of thTrade Review"God’s Property sheds an instructive light on the transformations that accompanied the emergence of these very regimes of accumulation that are pushing millions of Lebanese into poverty today." * The Middle East Journal *"Highly readable yet complex. . . . This book is an important contribution to our understanding of Islam, philanthropy, law, and public policy through the lens of waqfs." * Journal of Church and State *

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Book SynopsisThe complete guide to debunking right-wing misinterpretations of the Biblefrom economics and immigration to gender and sexuality. Jesus loves borders, guns, unborn babies, and economic prosperity and hates homosexuality, taxes, welfare, and universal healthcareor so say many Republican politicians, pundits, and preachers. Through outrageous misreadings of the New Testament gospels that started almost a century ago, conservative influencers have conjured a version of Jesus who speaks to their fears, desires, and resentments. In Republican Jesus, Tony Keddie explains not only where this right-wing Christ came from and what he stands for but also why this version of Jesus is a fraud. By restoring Republicans' cherry-picked gospel texts to their original literary and historical contexts, Keddie dismantles the biblical basis for Republican positions on hot-button issues like Big Government, taxation, abortion, immigration, and climate change. At the same time, he introduces readers to an ancient Jesus whose life experiences and ethics were totally unlike those of modern Americans, conservatives and liberals alike. Trade Review“Witty, insightful . . . . A thorough, convincing study that’s perfect for anyone flummoxed by misuses of the teachings of Jesus.” * Publishers Weekly *"Accessible and gracefully written.” * Religion Dispatches *“Engaging, well organized, and historically informed, this book will be valuable not only for those interested in the study of Jesus but also for students of US politics.” * CHOICE *"Keddie’s book makes an accessible, well-written, witty, and utterly convincing case for scholarship on the (often dangerous) politics of biblical citation in the US. One hopes it will send readers to their libraries in search of much more." * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments A Note to Readers Introduction PART ONE. WHO IS REPUBLICAN JESUS? 1. A Portrait of Republican Jesus PART TWO. WHERE DOES REPUBLICAN JESUS COME FROM? 2. Early Modern Heralds 3. A Corporate Assault on the New Deal 4. Tea and Prosperity in the Age of Trump PART THREE. WHAT DOES REPUBLICAN JESUS STAND FOR? IS HE RIGHT OR WRONG? 5. Family Values 6. Charity 7. Church and State 8. Protection from Invaders 9. The End of the World Afterword Notes Suggestions for Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1973.

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Book SynopsisThe kingdom of Valencia was home to Christian Spain's largest Muslim population during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Fernando and Isabel. How did Muslim-Christian coexistence in Valencia remain relatively stable in this volatile period that saw the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition, the Expulsion of the Jews, the conquest of Granada, and the conversion of the Muslims of Granada and Castile? In explanation, Mark Meyerson achieves the first thorough analysis of Fernando and Isabel's policy toward both Muslims and Jews. His findings will stimulate much discussion among Hispanists, Arabists, and historians. Meyerson argues that the key to the persistence of Muslim-Christian coexistence in Valencia lies in the hitherto unexamined differences between the royal couple concerning matters of religion. More than a study of the minority policy of the Catholic Monarchs, however, The Muslims of Valencia is an exemplary analysis of the economic life of Valencia's Muslims and the comp

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Book SynopsisA free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more atwww.luminosoa.org. What is the purpose of a church? Who owns a church? Mary K. Farag persuasively demonstrates that three groups in late antiquity were concerned with these questions: Christian leaders, wealthy laypersons, and lawmakers. Conflicting answers usually coexisted, but from time to time they clashed and caused significant tension. In these disputes, juridical regulations and opinions mattered more than has been traditionally recognized. Considering familiar Christian controversies in novel ways, Farag's investigation shows that scholarship has misunderstood well-known religious figures by ignoring the legal issues they faced. This seminal text nuances vital aspects of scholarly conversations on sacred space, gift giving, wealth, and poverty in the late antique Mediterranean world, making use not only of Latin and Greek sources but also Coptic and Arabic evidence.

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Book SynopsisThe complete guide to debunking right-wing misinterpretations of the Biblefrom economics and immigration to gender and sexuality. Jesus loves borders, guns, unborn babies, and economic prosperity and hates homosexuality, taxes, welfare, and universal healthcareor so say many Republican politicians, pundits, and preachers. Through outrageous misreadings of the New Testament gospels that started almost a century ago, conservative influencers have conjured a version of Jesus that speaks to their fears, desires, and resentments. In Republican Jesus, Tony Keddie explains not only where this right-wing Christ came from and what he stands for but also why this version of Jesus is a fraud. By restoring Republicans' cherry-picked gospel texts to their original literary and historical contexts, Keddie dismantles the biblical basis for Republican positions on hot-button issues like Big Government, taxation, abortion, immigration, and climate change. At the same time, he introduces readers toTrade Review“Witty, insightful . . . . A thorough, convincing study that’s perfect for anyone flummoxed by misuses of the teachings of Jesus.” * Publishers Weekly *"Accessible and gracefully written.” * Religion Dispatches *“Engaging, well organized, and historically informed, this book will be valuable not only for those interested in the study of Jesus but also for students of US politics.” * CHOICE *"Keddie’s book makes an accessible, well-written, witty, and utterly convincing case for scholarship on the (often dangerous) politics of biblical citation in the US. One hopes it will send readers to their libraries in search of much more." * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments A Note to Readers Introduction PART ONE. WHO IS REPUBLICAN JESUS? 1. A Portrait of Republican Jesus PART TWO. WHERE DOES REPUBLICAN JESUS COME FROM? 2. Early Modern Heralds 3. A Corporate Assault on the New Deal 4. Tea and Prosperity in the Age of Trump PART THREE. WHAT DOES REPUBLICAN JESUS STAND FOR? IS HE RIGHT OR WRONG? 5. Family Values 6. Charity 7. Church and State 8. Protection from Invaders 9. The End of the World Afterword Notes Suggestions for Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisRabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests examines the impact of the Persian Sasanian context on the Babylonian Talmud, perhaps the most important corpus in the Jewish sacred canon. What impact did the Persian Zoroastrian Empire, as both a real historical force and an imaginary interlocutor, have on rabbinic identity and authority as expressed in the Talmud? Drawing from the field of comparative religion, Jason Sion Mokhtarian addresses this question by bringing into mutual fruition Talmudic studies and ancient Iranology, two historically distinct disciplines. Whereas most research on the Talmud assumes that the rabbis were an insular group isolated from the cultural horizon outside their academies, this book contextualizes the rabbis and the Talmud within a broader sociocultural orbit by drawing from a wide range of sources from Sasanian Iran, including Middle Persian Zoroastrian literature, archaeological data such as seals and inscriptions, and the Aramaic magical bowl spells. MokhtariaTrade Review"Recommended for scholars and students of both Jewish and Iranian literature." * Theologische Literaturzeitung *Table of ContentsList of AbbreviationsNote on Translations, Transcriptions, and ManuscriptsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. The Sources and Methods of Talmudic and Iranian Studies2. Comparing Sasanian Religions3. Rabbinic Portrayals of Persians as Others4. Rabbis and Sasanian Kings in Dialogue5. Rabbis and Zoroastrian Priests in Judicial Settings6. Rabbis, Sorcerers, and PriestsConclusion: Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests in Sasanian IranNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisStories between Christianity and Islam offers an original and nuanced understanding of ChristianMuslim relations that shifts focus from discussions of superiority, conflict, and appropriation to the living world of connectivity and creativity. Here, the late antique and medieval Near East is viewed as a world of stories shared by Christians and Muslims. Public storytelling was a key feature for these late antique Christian and early Islamic communities, where stories of saints were used to interpret the past, comment on the present, and envision the future. In this book, Reyhan Durmaz uses these stories to demonstrate and analyze the mutually constitutive relationship between these two religions in the Middle Ages. With an in-depth study of storytelling in Late Antiquity and the mechanisms of hagiographic transmission between Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages, Durmaz develops a nuanced understanding of saints' stories as a tool for building identity, memory, and authority aTrade Review"An excellent inquiry into the hagiographic texts of Christianity and Islam from late antiquity. . . . a worthwhile read for students of Christian–Islamic intertextuality, one that raises many questions and thought-provoking arguments." * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Note on Translation, Transliteration, and References Introduction Narrating Stories Sorting Stories Remembering Stories 1. Storytelling in Late Antique Christianity Hagiography and Orality A World of Storytelling Storytellers in Late Antique Christianity Hagiographic Interviews and Audience Participation 2. “How Is Muhammad a Better Storyteller Than I?” Who Is Narrating? Storytelling in the Quran The Broader Late Antique Context of Quranic Storytelling Functions of Storytelling in Muhammad’s Preaching Narrating Stories after Muhammad 3. “Ask Him about the Youths”: Narrating the Quran with Christian Saints Q18: The Cave The Companions of the Cave The Rich Man and the Poor Man Moses, the Unnamed Servant of God, and the Two-Horned 4. Christian Saints in Islamic Literature Remembering Saint Antony South Arabian Historiography and Alexander the Believing King Saint George in Al-Tabarī’s History of the Prophets and Kings Looking at Buildings, Narrating Saint Marūthā 5. From Paul and John to Fīmyūn and Sālih Transformation of a Story Ibn Ishāq on the Authority of Wahb b. Munabbih Fīmyūn and S. ālih in Context 6. Stories between Christianity and Islam Monks, Monasticism, and the Islamic Notion of Sanctity Authorship and Transmission of Hagiographic Knowledge Narratives in and of the Family Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visitwww.luminosoa.orgto learn more. For centuries, the Mosque of Eyüp Sultan has been one of Istanbul's most important pilgrimage destinations, in large part because of the figure buried in the tomb at its center: Halid bin Zeyd Ebû Eyûb el-Ensârî, a Companion of the Prophet Muhammad. Timur Hammond argues here, however, that making a geography of Islam involves considerably more. Following practices of storytelling and building projects from the final years of the Ottoman Empire to the early 2010s, Placing Islam shows how different individuals and groups articulated connections among people, places, traditions, and histories to make a place that is paradoxically defined by both powerful continuities and dynamic relationships to the city and wider world. This book provides a rich account of urban religion in Istanbul, offering a key opportunity to reconsi

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Book SynopsisThis study of messianism and revolution examines an extremely rich though unexplored historical record on the rise of Islam and its sociopolitical revolutions from Muhammad's constitutive revolution in Arabia to the Abbasid revolution in the East and the Fatimid and Almohad revolutions in North Africa and the Maghreb. Bringing the revolutions together in a comprehensive framework, Saïd Amir Arjomand uses sociological theory as well as the critical tools of modern historiography to argue that a volatile but recurring combination of apocalyptic motivation and revolutionary action was a driving force of historical change time and again. In addition to tracing these threads throughout 500 years of history, Arjomand also establishes how messianic beliefs were rooted in the earlier Judaic and Manichaean notions of apocalyptic transformation of the world. By bringing to light these linkages and factors not found in the dominant sources, this text offers a sweeping account of the long arc of ITable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Emergence of Apocalyptic Messianism from the Maccabean Nativist Revolution 2. Muhammad’s Constitutive Revolution and Its Apocalyptic Roots 3. Civil Wars and the Emergence of Apocalyptic Mahdism 4. The Self-Destruction of the Umayyad Empire 5. The Process of the Hashemite Revolution 6. The Integrative and Centralizing Consequences of the Abbasid Realized Mahdism 7. Apocalyptic Messianism in the Fatimid Revolution 8. The Almohad Revolution of Mahdi Ibn Tumart and the Berbers 9. The Islamicate Conceptions of Revolution Concluding Remarks Abbreviations References Index

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Book SynopsisCerebral subjectivitythe identification of the individual self with the brainis a belief that has become firmly entrenched in modern science and popular culture. In The Care of the Brain in Early Christianity, Jessica Wright traces its roots to tensions within early Christianity over the brain's role in self-governance and its inherent vulnerability. Examining how early Christians appropriated medical ideas, Wright tracks how they used these ideas for teaching ascetic practices, developing therapeutics for the soul, and finding a path to salvation. Bringing a medical lens to religious discourse, this text demonstrates that rather than rejecting medical traditions, early Christianity developed by creatively integrating them.Trade Review"This book makes two important contributions: it illuminates early Christian engagements with ancient medicine and shows how these medical theories shaped early Christian theological anthropology. Scholars of early Christianity and the history of medicine will find this an engaging read." * CHOICE *"Highly original... [a] beautifully written study of the concept of the brain as a powerful and multi-functional tool." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Circulation and Performance of Medical Knowledge in Late Antiquity 2. The History of the Brain in Ancient Greek Medicine and Philosophy 3. The Invention of Ventricular Localization 4. The Governing Brain 5. The Rhetoric of Cerebral Vulnerability 6. Insanity, Vainglory, and Phrenitis 7. Humanizing the Brain in Early Christianity Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisWomen's virginity held tremendous significance in early Christianity and the Mediterranean world. Early Christian thinkers developed diverse definitions of virginity and understood its bodily aspects in surprising, often nonanatomical ways.Eventually Christians took part in a cross-cultural shift toward viewing virginity as something that could be perceived in women's sex organs. Treating virginity as anatomical brought both benefits and costs. By charting this change and situating it in the larger landscape of ancient thought,Virgin Territoryilluminates unrecognized differences among early Christian sources and historicizes problematic ideas about women's bodies that still persist today.Trade Review"An exciting and essential addition to the ever-growing body of scholarship on the body in antiquity." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"Lillis offers a sophisticated study that enhances historians’ sensitivity to an intellectual history of virginity." * Plekos *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Notes to the Reader Abbreviations for Series and Reference Works Introduction: Ancient and Present-Day Meanings for Virginity PART ONE. Virginity with and without Virginal Anatomy 1. Testing, Showing, and Perceiving Virginity in Antiquity 2. Mary’s Forms of Virginity in Early Christian Writings PART TWO. Christian Conceptualizations of Virginity in the Fourth Century 3. Virginity of Body and Soul: Fourth-Century Christian Configurations 4. Sealed Fountains: The Imagery of Fourth-Century Christian Virginity Discourse PART THREE. The Cost of Anatomized Virginity for Late Ancient Christians 5. Perceptible Virginity: Its Usefulness and Consequences 6. Augustine of Hippo and the Problem of Double Integrity Conclusion: Variety Persists Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisContaining over 700 articles, this Dictionary allows the reader to explore Eastern Christian civilization with its cultural and religious riches. The articles are written by a team of 50 international contributors, including leading historians, theologians, linguists, philosophers, patrologists, musicians, and scholars of liturgy and iconography.Trade Review"It includes almost 700 entries in a manageable volume that provides both a handy basis for study and a readable source for browsing ... Its major success results from the way in which it combines together information about all the churches of the Eastern traditions, and so allows their similarities and differences of thought, practice and history to be discerned ... This is a work that will be of use and interest to both specialist researchers and student readers, and it should be welcomed onto the shelves of both scholars and librarians." Islam and Christian Muslim Relations "The Dictionary is a valuable resource intended not only for students and scholars, but for anyone interested in Eastern Christianity. It will open up a new Christian world to the beginner, and extend the knowledge of those already acquainted with the Eastern Churches." Theology "There is a high level of scholarship for all the entries which makes this Dictionary a reliable reference work." Adamantius, Newsletter of the Italian Research Group on "Origen and the Alexandrian Tradition" "All libraries should have this handy volume." International Review of Biblical Studies "There is plenty here to learn and inspire." European Journal of Theology "...for matters liturgical, historical, and theological relating to the eastern churches, from ancient times to the present it has no equal. The longer articles covering the history of various national churches, geographical regions, and missions are excellent." Theology TodayTable of ContentsList of Contributors. Preface. The Book and How to Use It. Introduction. Dictionary Entries A-Z. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis study presents an historical overview of the themes relating to religious intolerance, tolerance and liberty. The readings contained within the anthology cover the attitudes of religious pluralism from antiquity to the present day.Trade Review"Professor Mullan does a great service in assembling key documents that trace pluralism's historical origins and the philosophical, theological and political challenges it represents." William McKinney, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley "This is an anthology of writings relating to religious intolerance, toleration, and liberty."Elizabeth Arweck, King's College LondonTable of ContentsThe Laws of Plato, trans. A. E. Taylor. Tertullian, The Writings, 3 vols., eds. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson (Edinburgh, 1869-1870). Lactantius, Works, 2 vols., eds. A. Roberts and J. Donaldson (Edinburgh, 1871). Julius Firmicus Maternus, The Error of the Pagan Religions, ed. Clarence A. Forbes. Ernest Baker, ed. From Alexander to Constantine: Passages and Documents illustrating the History of Social and Political Ideas 336 B. C. -A. D. 337. The Homilies of S. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Gospel of Matthew, trans. G. Prevost; 3 vols. Augustine, Letters, vol. I, in Works, 15 vols., ed. Marcus Dods. Walter Wakefield and Austin Evans, Heresies of the Middle Ages. The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, 22 vols. Marsilius of Padua, Defensor Pacis, trans. Alan Gewirth. Thomas More, Utopia, trans. G. C. Richards. Temporal Authority. Volume 45 edited by W. I. Brandt. Henry C. Vedder, Balthasar Hubmaier: The Leader of the Anabaptists. George H. Williams and Angel M. Mergal, eds., Spiritual and Anabaptist Writers. Sebastian Castellio, Advice to a Desolate France. In the course of which the reason for the present war is outlined, as well as the possible remedy and, in the main, advice is given as to whether consciences should be forced, trans. W. Valkhoff. Jacobus Acontius, Satan's Strategies. Books V-VIII, intro. by Charles D. O'Malley. Juan de Mariana, The King and the Education of the King, trans. George Albert Moore. James Arminius, Works, 3 vols. ; trans. James and William Nichols. Thomas Helwys, A short declaration of the mystery of iniquity. [Roger Williams], The bloody tenant, of persecution, for cause of conscience, discussed, in a conference between Truth and Peace. Samuel Rutherford, A free disputation against pretended liberty of conscience. John Milton, A treatise of civil power in ecclesiastical causes, in The Prose Works of John Milton. Henry More, An explanation of the grand mystery of godliness. Pierre Bayle, Pierre Bayle's "Philosophical Commentary": A modern translation and critical interpretation, ed. Annie Godman Tannenbaum. Pierre Bayle, A Philosophical Commentary, 2 vols. John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration. Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses, trans. G. D. H. Cole. Voltaire, Philosophical Dictionaries, trans. Theodore Besterman. Claude Adrien Helvetius, A Treatise on Man, his intellectual faculties and his education, 2 vols., trans. W. Hooper. Joseph Priestley, An Essay on the First Principles of Government, in Theological and Miscellaneous Works, 25 vols. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia in the 'The Writings of Thomas Jefferson,' 19 vols. ; ed. Andrew A. Lipscombe. John Brownlow, Liberty of Conscience; or a dialogue between a catholic priest and his separated brethren, to explain the nature and make know the worth of Religious Liberty. Felicite Lamennais, Words of a Believer and The Past and Future of the People, trans. L. E. Martineau. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty. [Anonymous], The Ultimate Principle of Religious Liberty. Mandell Creighton, Persecution and Tolerance. Arthur Vermeersch, Tolerance, trans. W. Humphrey Page. Francesco Ruffini, Religious Liberty, trans. J. Parker Heyes. Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man, 2 vols. A. F. Carrillo de Albornoz, The Basis of Religious Liberty. Gustav Mensching, Tolerance and Truth in Religion, trans. H-J Klimkeit. Philip Wogaman, Protestant Faith and Religious Liberty. Herbert G. Wood, Religious Liberty To-day. World Council of Churches. Declaration on Religious Liberty. Amsterdam, 1948, in A. F. Carrillo de Albornoz, The Basis of Religious Liberty. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1948, M. Searle Bates, Religious Liberty: An Inquiry. De dignitate humanae vitae, in Walter M. Abbott, ed. The Documents of Vatican II.

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Book SynopsisThis history tells the story of how the English, over three generations, adapted to the religious changes forced upon them by the Reformation and, in doing so, radically reconstructed their culture.Trade Review"This is an excellent book; original in conception, penetrating in analysis, broad in its range of reference, and vivid in the telling." Susan Brigden, Lincoln College, Oxford "[This book contains] a great deal to fascinated and stimulate debate." Times Literary Supplement "Jones provides the reader with portraits of the Reformation's impact on people across the social and political spectrum. This is social history at its best. It is detailed without being cluttered and engaging without being gossipy. Highly recommended for general readers, upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers and faculty." D.M. Whitford, Claflin University, in Choice, Nov. 2002 "Norman Jones is a formidable scholar of political history. The last chapter on private virtue stands out as a thoughtful and intricate examination of the difficulties Elizabethans experienced in appealing to conscience as the arbiter of virtue and truth while remaining loyal members of a state run church... Jones writes very well [and] the book is a reliable guide to the process of reformation" Ben Lowe, Florida Atlantic University "Jones' concluding remarks capture the profound significance for the later English and British history of the Protestant culture that was born under the flexible religious policies that prevailed in Elizabeth I's long reign. In its focus on conscience this culture contained within the itself both the source of future conflict and a model for its resolution. It would be most welcome now to extend these deep and important insights about the culture of England's elite into the lives of the lower and middling sort." Renaissance QuarterlyTable of ContentsList of Illustrations. Abbreviations. Acknowledgements. 1. Post Reformation Culture. 2. Choosing Reformations. 3. Families and Reformations. 4. Dissolutions and Opportunities. 5. Redefining Communities. 6. Reinventing Public Virtue. 7. Learning Private Virtue. 8. The Post - Reformation World View. Notes. Select Bibliography. Index.

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Book SynopsisThis anthology of Christian literature gathers together writings drawn from 2000 years of Christian history. Assuming no prior knowledge of Christian theology or history, it offers students in one volume a diverse selection of material.Trade Review"Pastors who want sermon illustrations to be more than vignettes, teachers who introduce Western literary, church or spiritual history, and readers who want new ideas for a book club will all find Alister McGrath's Christian Literature anthology accessible, helpful and affordable. McGrath really has done a commendable job in pulling together most of the best in a pedagological framework that is helpful to student and teacher alike." Robbie Castleman, National Co-ordinator, The Religious & Theological Studies Fellowship "I am profoundly grateful for this book, which sets out to introduce students to primary texts across a vast spectrum of literature. The basic layout of each chapter is clear and helpful and the 'Questions for Discussion' are sharp and should focus reading appropriately. In short, this is a very useful workhorse of a book, a way into the riches of literature and a careful guide to the difficult field of literature and theology." David Jasper, Theology "The provision of clear and succinct introductory summaries of the historical and social context to which writers belonged should prove of considerable worth." The Expository Times "This large anthology gathers a rich, varied and wisely selected sampling of texts drawn from writings spanning Christianity's two millennia. Helpful contextualising and interpretive introductions to each period and each text, along with study and discussion questions, render the collection reader friendly." Religious Studies ReviewTable of ContentsPreface xi How to Use This Work xvi The Structure of the Work xviii Part I The Patristic Period, ca. 100–600 Part II English and Irish Sources, ca. 600–1050 Part III The Middle Ages, 1050–1500 Part IV The Renaissance and Reformation, 1500–1700 Part V The Modern Period, 1700–2000 A Glossary of Terms 753 Sources of Extracts 761 For Further Reading 769 Acknowledgments 771 Index 774

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Book Synopsis* Provides a fascinating insight into the ideologies and development of Evangelical Christianity throughout American history. * Draws on a diverse range of research by theologians, sociologists, political scientists, as well as historical ideas. * Considers the significance of Evangelical figures such as Billy Graham.Trade Review"Noll ... has articulated a fair, judicious, comprehensive and original survey of American evangelical theology from the earliest colonial beginnings to the present day. He goes well beyond the usual traditional rat-a-tat-tat historical profile by adding new features that provoke the reader's interest: sections on beliefs, regions, classes and genders, and what he calls 'flash points' (Roman Catholic, science and politics), concluding with with 'Evangelicalism at its Best' and 'Learning a Lesson from Canada'." Choice "The book is a good starting point on its subject, full as it is of suggested further readings on a number of contemporary flash points of opinion" Evangelicals Now "This book...demonstrates yet again the impeccability of Noll's scholarship. His careful mastery of the historian's craft, his massive bibliographical knowledge, his clarity of style and civility of approach - all these serve to answer his own complaints about the "scandal of the evangelical mind". Noll has an evangelical mind that, far from being small and closed, is both capacious and generous." First Things "Noll presents solid data that sometimes shatters evangelicals' favourite self-references as well as stereotypes of outsiders. American Evangelical Christianity clearly, capably, and fairly describes one of the world's leading contemporary religious movements as of the beginning of the new millennium." Journal of Contemporary Religion "The scholarship here is as much a look forward as it is a look back. It thus serves to advance conversations about the manner in which evangelicals have been and will be movers and shakers in the formation of American cultures." Review and Expositor "Noll offers not only an attractive portrayal of evangelical beliefs and practices, but an accurate one as well. This work will interest both Evangelicals and non-Evangelicals." Journal of Religion "The book is a fine introduction for beginners, a text for students and a challenge to those who are committed to the enhancement of the gospel, as Evangelical or other Christian." Jeffrey Gros, Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs "Premier evangelical scholar Mark Noll has once again provided a helpful contribution to the ongoing conversation regarding the nature of American evangelicalism." Journal of Church and StateTable of ContentsList of Tables. Introduction. Part I: Who Are Evangelicals?. 1. Historical Overview. 2. Constituencies in North America and the World. 3. The Significance of Billy Graham. 4. Beliefs. 5. Region, Class, Race. 6. Gender. Part II: Flashpoints. 7. Roman Catholics. 8. Science. 9. Politics. Part III: Opinion. 10. Evangelical Politics: A Better Way. 11. Learning a Lesson from Canada. 12. Evangelicalism at Its Best. Epilogue: The Future. Guide to Further Reading. Index.

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Book SynopsisIn this historical reader, Amanda Porterfield has gathered nine essays and over 30 primary documents to present a picture of the history of American religion. The book identifies major developments and important controversies, as well as presenting a wide range of beliefs and practices involved.Trade Review"Porterfield calls attention to certain continuing touchstones underlying all the enormous variety of patterns and traits in major religious traditions and movements, each shaped by cultural modifiers. This is a 'reader' with an interpretive point, an abundant and lively but directed collection." Rowland A. Sherrill, Indiana University / Purdue University "This collection of well-chosen primary sources and essays by major scholars illuminates the diversity of the American religious experience in its historical development as well as its contemporary manifestations. It will undoubtedly become a widely-used resource in teaching about American religious history." Peter W. Williams, Miami University "Porterfield has skillfully constructed this wide-ranging collection of historical essays and documents to demonstrate how the American religious experience has manifested over time both an amazing diversity and an underlying thematic unity." Ava Chamberlain, Wright State University "I enjoyed reading this book; I found the selections interesting and challenging and I believe students would as well. Porterfield has written her introductions to each section fairly and with integrity. This is a fine reader, with the potential to raise important questions about both religious history and personal belief." H-Net ReviewsTable of ContentsSeries Editor's Preface. About the Contributors. Introduction. Part I: Historical Essays. 1. Errand Into the Wilderness. (Perry Miller). 2. Exchanging Selves, Exchanging Souls: Contact, Combination, and American Religious History. (Catherine L. Albanese). 3. Shouting Methodists. (Ann Taves). 4. Protestantism as Establishment. (William R. Hutchison). 5. American Fundamentalism: The Ideal of Femininity. (Randall Balmer). 6. Catholicism and American Culture: Strategies for Survival. (Jay P. Dolan). 7. Conservative Judaism. (Gerson D. Cohen). 8. "Introduction," The Faces of Buddhism in America. (Charles S. Prebish). 9. Striving for Muslim Women's Human Rights – Before and Beyond Beijing: An African American Perspective. (Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons). Part II: Primary Documents. 10. A Model of Christian Charity (1630). (John Winthrop). 11. Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson (1637). 12. A Key into the Language of America (1643). (Roger Williams). 13. Poems (1640–1665). (Anne Bradstreet). 14. The Nature of True Virtue (1765). (Jonathan Edwards). 15. Act for Establishing Religious Freedom (1779). (Thomas Jefferson). 16. The Code of Handsome Lake (Ca.1800). (Edward Cornplanter). 17. What a Revival of Religion Is (1834). (Charles Grandison Finney). 18. The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee (1836). (Jarena Lee). 19. Nature (1836). (Ralph Waldo Emerson). 20. Poems (1863–1864). (Emily Dickinson). 21. The American Republic: Its Constitution, Tendencies, and Destiny (1865). (Orestes Brownson). 22. Our Country's Place in History (1869). (Isaac M. Wise). 23. Pre-Existence of Our Spirits (1872). (Orson Pratt). 24. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (1875). (Mary Baker Eddy). 25. A Function of the Social Settlement (1899). (Jane Addams). 26. The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902). (William James). 27. The Scofield Reference Bible (1909). 28. Christianity and Liberalism (1923). (J. Gresham Machen). 29. From Union Square to Rome (1939). (Dorothy Day). 30. The Future of the American Jew (1948). (Mordecai M. Kaplan). 31. "Foreword," The Sacred Pipe (1953). (Black Elk). 32. "Sunflower Sutra" (1955) and "Kaddish" (1958). (Allen Ginsberg). 33. Nonviolence and Racial Justice (1957). (Martin Luther King, Jr.). 34. God's Judgment of White America (1963). (Malcolm X). 35. "Preface," The Protestant Establishment (1964): E. Digby Baltzell. 36. Religious Freedom (1966). ( John Courtney Murray). 37. Beyond God the Father (1973). (Mary Daly). 38. Ceremony (1977). (Leslie Marmon Silko). 39. "American Indian Religious Freedom," Public Law 95–341 (1978). 40. Sexism and God-Talk (1983). (Rosemary Radford Ruether). 41. The Voice of Sarah (1990). (Tamar Frankiel). 42. Thoughts Without a Thinker (1995). (Mark Epstein). 43. Active Faith (1996). (Ralph Reed). Index.

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