Mysticism Books
£19.80
Verlag Herder Wie Schnurt Ein Mystiker Seine Schuhe?: Die
Book Synopsis
£13.30
Verlag Herder Navigatio Sancti Brendani - Die Seereise Des
Book Synopsis
£34.85
Verlag Herder All Mein Tun Ist Nur Noch Lieben: Geistlicher
Book Synopsis
£35.70
Verlag Herder Wolke Des Nichtwissens: Eintauchen in Geistliches
Book Synopsis
£18.00
Verlag Herder Freiheit Kommt Von Innen: In Der Lebensschule Der
Book Synopsis
£19.80
Brill U Schoningh Makarios - Ein Ostlicher Kirchenvater Im Spiegel
Book Synopsis
£81.75
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co KG Evangelische Mystik
Book SynopsisMystik ist katholisch. Mystik und Protestantismus passen nicht zusammen. Diese Meinung ist weit verbreitet, aber trotzdem falsch. Stattdessen stellt sich das Verhältnis von Mystik und Protestantismus als eine Problemgeschichte dar. Phasen der Hochschätzung und solche der Ablehnung wechselten einander ab. Seit der Reformation gab es Männer und Frauen, die dem Mainstream des Protestantismus angehören, deren Glaube und Theologie mystisch geprägt waren. Martin Luthers (14531546) reformatorische Erkenntnis entsprang einer mystischen Erfahrung. Seine reformatorische Theologie war mystisch orientiert. Philipp Nicolai (15561608), Paul Gerhardt (16071676), Johann Sebastian Bach (16851750), Gerhard Tersteegen (16971769) und Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (17001760) verliehen in Liedern und Musik ihren mystischen Erfahrungen klassischen Ausdruck. Selbst Leben und Werk protestantischer Zeitgenossen aus dem 20. Jh. wie Dag Hammarskjöld (19051961), Dietrich Bonhoeffer (19061945) und Dorothee Sölle (19292003) waren mehr oder weniger offensichtlich mystisch geprägt. Sölle bekannte sich klar zur Mystik als einer Angelegenheit nicht von wenigen, sondern von allen Menschen. Tatsächlich war protestantische Mystik von Anfang an keine Angelegenheit religiöser Eliten, sondern stand allen offen. Da die evangelischen Choräle mystisch geprägt waren und das Abendmahl mystisch verstanden wurde, bot gerade der lutherische Gottesdienst allen Christen Zugang zu mystischem Glauben.
£34.19
Gabriele-Verlag Das Wort GmbH This Is My Word Alpha and Omega
Book SynopsisA book of prophecy that teaches the truth about the life of Jesus directly from Christ, Himself via the prophetic word free of the Bible, theological opinions and interpretations. Jesus of Nazareth did not found a religion. He did not install any priests or pastors; nor did He teach dogmas, rituals or cults. 2000 years ago, He brought the truth from the Kingdom of God: The teaching of the love for God and neighbor toward people, nature and animals, the teaching of freedom, of peace and of unity. He spoke about the God of love, about the Free SpiritGod in us. Christ, the Co-Regent of the Kingdom of God, reveals in our time via the prophetess and emissary of God, Gabriele, the facts about His life and His works as Jesus of Nazareth. Learn the truth directly from Christ, Himselffree of theological opinions and interpretations. A reading sample:The one who considers matter to be the truth takes unlawful reflections as reality, because he lives in this illusionary light, in this world of thoughts. The soul and person who live in God do not ask: 'Who or what is God?' or 'Is there a God?' They live in God, and God is active through them.God is the cosmic ocean; God is radiation; God is light; God is energy; God is love and wisdom. God is nature, the animal world and the starry firmament. God is the alpha; He is the omega for coarse materiality for truth is eternityand eternity is fine-material.From the contents:Meaning and purpose of life on Earth; Jesus taught about the Law of Cause and Effect; Conditions for healing the body; The teaching of eternal damnation is a mockery of God; The fight of the darkness against God's plan and His just prophets; Jesus loved the animals and championed them; About death, reincarnation and life; The true meaning of the deed of Redemption of Jesus, the Christ; and much more...
£28.04
£28.52
Oxford University Press A Maid with a Dragon
Book SynopsisThis is the first comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the cult of St Margaret of Antioch in medieval England. Margaret was one of the most famous female saints of both the Catholic world and of Eastern Christianity (where she was known as St Marina). Her legend is remembered for her confrontation with a dragon-shaped devil, who allegedly swallowed Margaret and then burst asunder. This episode became firmly established in iconography, making her one of the most frequently represented saints. Margaret was supposedly martyred in the late 3rd century, but apart from the historically problematic legend there is no evidence concerning her in other contemporary sources. The sudden appearance of her name in liturgical manuscripts in the late 8th century is connected with the dispersal of her relics at that time. The cult grew in England from Anglo-Saxon times, with over 200 churches dedicated to Margaret (second only to Mary among female saints), and hundreds of images and copies of her lTrade ReviewA Maid with a Dragon deserves great praise. Its carefully researched survey presents a fascinating wealth of material * Helen Phillips, Cardiff University, Folklore *
£76.00
The University of Chicago Press The Mystic Fable Volume One The Sixteenth and
Book SynopsisThis volume provides an analysis of Christian mysticism during the 16th and 17th centuries, along with an application of the author's transdisciplinary historiography. It aims to reveal the "mystical" aspect of postmodernism's movement of perpetual departure.
£35.15
The University of Chicago Press Sensible Ecstasy Mysticism Sexual Difference and
Book SynopsisThis text investigates the attraction to excessive forms of mysticism among 20th-century French intellectuals, demonstrates the work the figure of the mystic does for these thinkers, and asks why resolutely secular intellectuals are drawn to affective, bodily, and denigrated forms of mysticism.
£27.00
The University of Chicago Press Gershom Scholem An Intellectual Biography
Book SynopsisGershom Scholem (1897 1982) was ostensibly a scholar of Jewish mysticism, yet he occupies a powerful role in today's intellectual imagination, having an influential contact with an extraordinary cast of thinkers, including Hans Jonas, Martin Buber, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, and Theodor Adorno. In this first biography of Scholem, Amir Engel shows how Scholem grew from a scholar of an esoteric discipline to a thinker wrestling with problems that reach to the very foundations of the modern human experience. As Engel shows, in his search for the truth of Jewish mysticism Scholem molded the vast literature of Jewish mystical lore into a rich assortment of stories that unveiled new truths about the modern condition. Positioning Scholem's work and life within early twentieth-century Germany, Palestine, and later the state of Israel, Engel intertwines Scholem's biography with his historiographical work, which stretches back to the Spanish expulsion of Jews in 1492, through the lives of Rabbi Isaac Luria and Sabbatai Zevi, and up to Hasidism and the dawn of the Zionist movement. Through parallel narratives, Engel touches on a wide array of important topics including immigration, exile, Zionism, World War One, and the creation of the state of Israel, ultimately telling the story of the realizations and failures of a dream for a modern Jewish existence.
£33.25
The University of Chicago Press Kalis Child The Mystical and the Erotic in the
Book SynopsisHow can Ramakrishna's saintly status be reconciled with his eroticized language and actions? This book argues that the key to understanding him lies in Tantra and its equation of the mystical and the erotic, and that his homosexulity is linked to every aspect of his life and teachings.
£34.20
The University of Chicago Press Roads of Excess Palaces of Wisdom Eroticism and
Book SynopsisAddresses the 20th-century study of mysticism as a kind of mystical tradition in its own right, with its own unique histories, discourses, sociological dynamics, and rhetorics of secrecy. Jeffrey J. Kripal examines the lives and works of five historians of mysticism.
£30.40
The University of Chicago Press In the Company of Demons
Book SynopsisIn its interpretation of Latin and Greek culture, Christianity contends that Satan is behind all deities, demigods, and spiritual creatures, including the gods of the household, the lares and penates. This book says that the thinkers of the Italian Renaissance had a more nuanced and perhaps less sinister interpretation of these creatures.Trade Review"Maggi gives us an original and penetrating interpretation of Renaissance demonology, with a brilliant analysis and with a challenge to the reader for deeper thoughts on a theme that attracts scholars, but has still some new views." - Michaela Valente, Renaissance Quarterly "In his new and fascinating book, Armando Maggi tries to understand the strange world of Renaissance demonology without dwelling on its obvious absurdities.... His aim is not to psychoanalyse but to sympathize, and his method is to enter into the spirit (so to speak) of this strange world." - Neil Forsyth, Times Literary Supplement"
£28.00
The University of Chicago Press Gershom Scholem An Intellectual Biography Studies
Book SynopsisTrade Review"This careful, convincing intellectual biography of philosopher/historian Gershom Scholem (1897-1982) occasions rethinking the relationship between Scholem's scholarship on kabbalah and sabbatism and his personal journey as a Zionist. Scholem grew up in Germany and in the early 1920s emigrated to what was to become the State of Israel. Engel argues that Scholem's 'unusually wide' and continuing prominence, unexpected for a scholar of an esoteric area of history, results from the profundity of his reflections on central questions of Jewish and European life in the 20th century. Engel critiques previous biographical treatments of Scholem that found in his work an assertion that kabbalah expressed a single metaphysical truth underlying all facets of Jewish history and philosophy. Engel contends that Scholem was more creative than that--that he wove into narratives 'the old and the new, the esoteric and the political, the personal and the social' and in so doing broadened the discussion. Thus, Scholem's scholarship reflects his own life experience even as it reveals a community's need to transform in the face of historical trauma. This engaging, important biography teaches one a great deal about 20th-century European and Jewish history. Highly recommended."--Choice "Engel ultimately portrays the Scholem beloved by Prochnik, Ozick, Bloom, and others as a romanticized "image" separate from the "demystified figure of 'Scholem'."--The Hedgehog Review "Engel has written a fascinating study of this nearly incomparable modern Jewish thinker. He has excavated the implicit, making explicit the lines of connection between Scholem's life and his work.... As Scholem transcends the boundary between a scholar of Jewish history and a subject of Jewish history scholarship, Engel's biography merits a place in the debate over the man and his thought."--H-Net Reviews "Amir Engel claims to have 'demystified' his subject by seamlessly connecting, if not reducing, Scholem's scholarship to his personal, political, and historical context; Engel regards this as his 'most substantial finding.'"--Jewish Review of Books
£26.00
University of Chicago Press Aesthetics of Renewal Martin Bubers Early
Book SynopsisMartin Buber's embrace of Hasidism at the start of the twentieth century was instrumental to the revival of this popular form of Jewish mysticism. This title analyzes Buber's writings and sources to explore his interpretation of Hasidic spirituality as a form of cultural criticism.Trade Review"Urban's superb study combines remarkable erudition with refined interpretative skills in an innovative contribution to our understanding of the often elusive role of Hasidism in Martin Buber's thought. Because her focus on Buber always points towards an evocative periphery, her book opens a field of larger relevance that will engage readers far beyond the circle of Buber scholars." - Asher D. Biemann, University of Virginia"
£34.20
Columbia University Press Sufi Bodies
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAn immensely rich resource for persons interested in medieval Islamic civilization. Choice A groundbreaking work in the study of Sufism. -- Laury Silvers International Journal of Middle East Studies A remarkable study of embodiment in a Sufi and Islamic idiom. -- Scott Kugle Journal of Sufi Studies [A] pathbreaking book... I hope that more scholars follow Shahzad Bashir's lead and contribute to this critically important field of inquiry in Islamic studies. History of ReligionsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Note on Transliteration Abbreviations Chronology Introduction and Shaking Hands 1 Framing Sufi Ideas and Practices 1. Bodies Inside Out 2. Befriending God Corporeally 3. Saintly Socialites 2 Sufi Bodies in Motion 4. Bonds of Love 5. Engendered Desires 6. Miraculous Food 7. Corpses in Morticians' Hands Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index
£83.60
Columbia University Press The Millennial Sovereign
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is a brilliant book. It is the most innovative contribution to our understanding of Mughal history in my time. As a work of the first importance, and a step change in our knowledge of sixteenth-century India, it must be read by anyone interested in the fields of Islamic kingship, millenarianism, and astrology in the Muslim world and the early-modern world in general. -- Francis Robinson, Royal Holloway, University of London Moin deserves the highest praise for venturing into this contested terrain and writing a most interesting book about it. -- Andre Wink American Historical Review he has thrown an entirely new light on how early monarchs of India's greatest dynastic house asserted their claims to royal authority. His book should be read not just by historians of South Asia but equally by those of Central Asia and Iran, as well as by specialists in Islamic studies. -- Richard M. Eaton Journal of Interdisciplinary History In this unusually well written and elegantly carpentered book-he has a rare gift for building argument through narrative-Moin has delivered a major contribution to both Islamic history and the scholarship of sacred kingship. -- Alan Strathern History and Theory Moin outlines a formidable challenge to the conventional narratives of Mughal and, to a lesser extent, Safavid history that is likely to surprise even specialists... A valuable contribution to the field that ought to compel scholars to reevaluate key assumptions regarding kingship and sainthood in Mughal India. International Journal of Middle East Studies Too seldom does a plodding dissertation become transformed into an elegant monograph. This 2010 dissertation is the rare, and welcome, exception... The author has conducted deep archival research with an accent on visual history and astrology... The Millennial Sovereign does deliver on its promise. Journal of Islamic Studies A delightful study that seeks to provide early modern Islamic historical scholarship with a new model to conceive of politics in the pre-modern era... Rich Review of Middle East Studies A fine volume that will enrich the libraries of both scholars of Islam and scholars of early modern Europe. The Sixteenth Century JournalTable of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Tables Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration 1. Introduction: Islam and the Millennium 2. The Lord of Conjunction: Sacrality and Sovereignty in the Age of Timur 3. The Crown of Dreams: Sufis and Princes in Sixteenth-Century Iran 4. The Alchemical Court: The Beginnings of the Mughal Imperial Cult 5. The Millennial Sovereign: The Troubled Unveiling of the Savior Monarch 6. The Throne of Time: The Painted Miracles of the Saint Emperor 7. Conclusion: The Graffiti Under the Throne Notes Bibliography Index
£85.50
Columbia University Press Egocentricity and Mysticism
Book SynopsisEgocentricity and Mysticism is a philosophical milestone that clarifies our relationship to language, social interaction, and mortality. Ernst Tugendhat casts mysticism as an innate facet of what it means to be human—a response to an existential need for peace of mind.Trade ReviewErnst Tugendhat's groundbreaking essay in philosophical anthropology explores with analytical lucidity and existential depth our twofold disposition to speak and act in the first person while going beyond egocentricity, relativizing our singular senses of selfhood in 'mystical' apperceptions of what it means to possess agency, to pursue the good, to ponder mortality, to achieve peace of mind, and to be responsible for others and to life itself-in sum, to be human. -- Michael Jackson, author of As Wide as the World is Wise: New Directions in Philosophical Anthropology This is an engaging and thoughtful philosophical reflection that packs much into its relatively short span. It admirably ranges from what is involved in our ability to say 'I,' through what counts as important in our moral lives, to the large and recurrent questions dealing with life and death, mysticism, religion, and wonder at the existence of the world. Its lucid style of philosophizing joins the precision of analysis with a finessed feel for the larger picture. In its own way, it impressively spans the so-called divide between the analytic and continental approaches to philosophical questions. Warmly recommended. -- William Desmond, author of God and the Between Ernst Tugendhat demonstrates how a sense of mysticism, that is, the capacity for 'stepping back,' is not only necessary for a more humane anthropology but also for philosophy's own theoretical practice. -- Santiago Zabala, author of The Remains of Being: Hermeneutic Ontology After Metaphysics Egocentricity and Mysticism is a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary work. In addition to straddling the so-called continental/analytic divide in contemporary philosophy, it also makes significant and original contributions to the fields of philosophical anthropology, existential phenomenology, and theology-not to mention semantics and even ethics as well. -- Martin Woessner, author of Heidegger in AmericaTable of ContentsTranslators' Introduction Introduction Part I. Relating to Oneself 1. Propositional Language and Saying "I" 2. "Good" and "Important" 3. Saying "I" in Practical Contexts: Self-Mobilization and Responsibility 4. Adverbial, Prudential, and Moral Good: Intellectual History 5. Relating to Life and Death Part II. Stepping Back from Oneself 6. Religion and Mysticism 7. Wonder Addendum: On Historical and Nonhistorical Inquiry Notes Index
£38.25
Columbia University Press Excessive Saints
Book SynopsisRachel J. D. Smith combines historical, literary, and theological approaches to offer a new interpretation of Thomas of Cantimpré’s hagiographies, showing how they employ vivid narrative portrayals of typically female bodies to perform theological work in a rhetorically specific way.Trade ReviewExcessive Saints is by far the best study yet written about the ceaselessly audacious holy women of the thirteenth-century Low Countries and their ceaselessly inventive interpreter, Thomas of Cantimpré. Indeed, it is one of the best studies in any field of medieval hagiography published in the last twenty-five years. Thoroughly immersed in Thomas’s writings and their mixed literary, theological, and cultural settings, Rachel J. D. Smith craftily but lovingly analyzes their urgencies, their unnerving tendency towards experimentalism, and the ways they use their saintly subjects to lay bare and in the process refresh the idea of the holy in all its weirdness. -- Nicholas Watson, Henry B. and Anne M. Cabot Professor of English Literature, Harvard UniversityIn this remarkable study, Smith argues that hagiographies written by a contemporary of Thomas Aquinas invented and unraveled theology, offering a semiotic theory of unrivaled complexity that directly confronted the improbable demands of faith. Gracefully written and fearlessly ambitious, Excessive Saints reveals the relevance of Judaism, gender, and devotion to a Christian theology of signification and should be read by anyone interested in the transformative power of textual relationships. -- Constance Furey, author of Poetic Relations: Intimacy and Faith in the English ReformationRachel J. D. Smith brilliantly moves between Thomas of Cantimpré's Dominican training, the bodies and behaviors of his saintly subjects, and the readers of his texts to uncover the 'imaginative theology' that Thomas expressed in his hagiographic narratives. Smith’s sophisticated analysis illuminates Thomas’s creative exploration of the limits of language, sign, and sensory apprehension for fostering religious devotion. Her book contributes to our understanding of thirteenth-century theologies that are often overshadowed by scholastic and syllogistic thought. -- Martha G. Newman, author of The Boundaries of Charity: Cistercian Culture and Ecclesiastical Reform, 1098-1180The results of Smith's approach are unfailingly compelling, advancing our knowledge of what Thomas of Cantimpré was hagiographically and theologically up to in his vitae while at the same time illuminating the spiritual and intellectual world that produced him. In the process we are asked to consider the role of body and gender, of belief and unbelief, of the medieval form of criticism that travelled under the banner of the via negativa as they operate in the thirteenth century and by extension our own. -- Robert Sweetman, H. Evan Runner Chair in the History of Philosophy, Institute for Christian StudiesAdvances scholarly conversation on several fronts and makes a major contribution to the gradual deconstruction of categories and binaries within the study of medieval theologies...Smith’s work is a genuine gift to the field and will likely to be used widely for many years to come. * Reading Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroduction. Hagiographical Theology—Making Holy Bodies from the Word1. Thomas of Cantimpré: His Life and Literary Activity2. “With Wondrous Horror She Fled”: Dissimilarity and Sanctity in The Life of Christina the Astonishing3. Gendering Particularity: A Comparison of The Life of Christina the Astonishing and The Life of Abbot John of Cantimpré4. A Question of Proof: Augustine and the Reading of Hagiography5. Language, Literacy, and the Saintly Body6. The Uses of Astonishment: Apophasis and the Writing of Mystical Hagiography7. Producing the Body of God: Exemplary Teaching, Jewish Carnality and Christian Doubt in the Bonum Universale de ApibusConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex
£52.70
University of Notre Dame Press Religion and Politics in Enlightenment Europe
Book SynopsisJulian of Norwich wrote ""A Revelation of Love"", a short text which shows the immediacy of her experience, and a long text which shows 20 years of reflection. This book offers a reading of these texts and addresses the relationship between the understanding of God and her vision of human community.Trade Review"In this very important book, Frederick Bauerschmidt provides us with a more adequate account than any hitherto of Julian of Norwich specifically as a theologian, rather than as a mere spiritual writer or else as a feminist avant la lettre." —Pro Ecclesia"Bauerschmidt adds a creative and challenging dimension to the current lively discussion of the theology of fourteenth-century British anchorite Julian of Norwich. His reading of Julian’s text is complex and challenging and makes a provocative contribution to both the hermeneutics of medieval texts and to contemporary political discussions." —Religious Studies Review"This is the best study on Julian since Colledge and Walsh’s 1978 critical edition of Showings. Bauerschmidt’s treatment of Julian’s bodily sight of the Crucified is a stunning tour de force of imaginative scholarship. I have nothing but praise for this uniformly excellent book." —Theological Studies“[Bauerschmidt] presents an intriguing and inspiring interpretation of Julian of Norwich’s Revelation of Love that bridges the gap between the medieval text and its implications for present-day communities of faith, between academic analysis and committed action.” —Church History, Studies in Christianity & Culture"This book is to be commended for its bold attempt to provide a new vocabulary with which to discuss aspects of the Revelation of Divine Love, a text which repeatedly resists scholarly explication. Julian gives no sources for her thought, and this book eschews the search for them. It offers a reading of Julian’s text, not a hypothesis as to its author’s intentions, although its argument is occasionally rendered vulnerable by an over-close identification of author with text. Bauderschmidt wisely disclaims that he has unlocked the text’s 'real’ significance, and acknowledges that his treatment of it is guided by a particular interest in human community. The result is an honest and searching contribution to Julian scholarship. —The Heythrop Journal"Much recent writing on the medieval "mystical" traditions seems either to take a thin slice of concepts through the complex matrix of historical context, or else to offer historical focus at the expense of contemporary relevance. Bauerschmidt's Julian of Norwich and the Mystical Body Politic of Christ is a remarkable achievement of synthesis between a theologico-political analysis of distinct contemporary relevance and historical faithfulness to Julian's own fourteenth century world."—Denys Turner, H.G. Wood Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham, England"With astonishing lucidity, Bauerschmidt proves himself to be a most delicate reader of Julian at the same time as he draws, always with relevance, on a range of powerful contemporary theorists to facilitate our understanding of the scope, depth, and contemporary force of Julian's mystical and political theology." —David Aers, James B. Duke Professor of English and Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Duke University
£81.69
University of Notre Dame Press Interruptions
Book SynopsisJohann Baptist Metz is one of the most important Roman Catholic theologians in the post-Vatican II period, however there is no comprehensive overview of his theological career. This book fills that gap. It offers careful analyses and summaries of Metz''s work at the various stages of his career, beginning with his work on Heidegger and his collaboration with Karl Rahner.It continues with his work in the nineteen-sixties when he moved off in a radically different direction to found a new political theology culminating in his seminal work, Faith in History and Society. Metz addresses themes ranging from the situation of the Church after Auschwitz, the future of religious life in the Church, and the relationship between religion and politics after the end of the cold war.J. Matthew Ashley covers all of Metz''s writings along with his crucial relationships to figure like Karl Rahner, Martin Heidegger, Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin and the social critics of the early Trade Review“This text, which began life as a Chicago doctoral dissertation under David Tracy, works at two levels. At one, it presents a comprehensive look at the theological development of Metz, and in particular examines closely Metz’s shift from Rahnerian transcendental thought to the political theology that has marked his major contributions, while arguing that Metz has stayed in essential continuity with Rahner. At a second and more important level, the work takes us into a discussion of the relationships between spirituality and theology. This time, Metz is viewed as a man who has struggled throughout his life to find a way to blend prayer and theology and has discovered it finally in his sustained attention to suffering. In his concluding chapter Ashley locates the differences between Rahner and Metz in the distinct spiritualities that influence each. From Metz’s perspective, Rahner’s mysticism is too individualistic. The political or prophetic dimension is lacking. This extremely well written work is commended to all with an interest in Rahner, Metz, or in the interrelations of spirituality and theology.” —Religious Studies Review“This text provides the most comprehensive systematization of the theology of Johann Baptist Metz available in English. While the book is welcome enough for that, it offers much more. Ashley’s analysis of Metz’s theological career leads him to a fresh perspective on the much discussed question of the relationship between Metz’s theology and that of Karl Rahner.” —New Theology Review“Those who have studied closely the developments in Metz’s often puzzling theological project will recognize by the very title of this book that Ashley has a sure command of the material. In writing the first comprehensive survey of Metz’s entire career, Ashley not only tracks the concept of interruption in the method and content of Metz’s theology but also applies it to Metz’s own life. Ashley’s significant contribution is to argue for the continuity in Metz’s thought as he moved from writing transcendental Thomist anthropology to creating and developing a political theology to, finally, articulating Christian praxis as Leiden an Gott, ‘suffering unto God.’” —Theological Studies“[Ashley] offers a critical resource for wider interdisciplinary conversations about the relationships between theology and spirituality and the mystical-political structure of Christian faith-praxis.” —Anglican Theological Review“. . . One of the finest theological monographs . . . Ashley’s exposition of the development of Metz’s thought is one of the best, perhaps even the best, available in English.” —Journal of Religion
£28.80
University of Notre Dame Press Julian of Norwich
Book SynopsisIn May 1373, the English mystic Julian of Norwich was healed of a serious illness after experiencing a series of visions of the Blessed Virgin and of Christ's suffering. This work provides a reading of Julian's ""Revelation of Love"" that addresses the relationship between our understanding of God and our vision of human community.Trade Review"In this very important book, Frederick Bauerschmidt provides us with a more adequate account than any hitherto of Julian of Norwich specifically as a theologian, rather than as a mere spiritual writer or else as a feminist avant la lettre." —Pro Ecclesia"Bauerschmidt adds a creative and challenging dimension to the current lively discussion of the theology of fourteenth-century British anchorite Julian of Norwich. His reading of Julian’s text is complex and challenging and makes a provocative contribution to both the hermeneutics of medieval texts and to contemporary political discussions." —Religious Studies Review"This is the best study on Julian since Colledge and Walsh’s 1978 critical edition of Showings. Bauerschmidt’s treatment of Julian’s bodily sight of the Crucified is a stunning tour de force of imaginative scholarship. I have nothing but praise for this uniformly excellent book." —Theological Studies“[Bauerschmidt] presents an intriguing and inspiring interpretation of Julian of Norwich’s Revelation of Love that bridges the gap between the medieval text and its implications for present-day communities of faith, between academic analysis and committed action.” —Church History, Studies in Christianity & Culture"This book is to be commended for its bold attempt to provide a new vocabulary with which to discuss aspects of the Revelation of Divine Love, a text which repeatedly resists scholarly explication. Julian gives no sources for her thought, and this book eschews the search for them. It offers a reading of Julian’s text, not a hypothesis as to its author’s intentions, although its argument is occasionally rendered vulnerable by an over-close identification of author with text. Bauderschmidt wisely disclaims that he has unlocked the text’s 'real’ significance, and acknowledges that his treatment of it is guided by a particular interest in human community. The result is an honest and searching contribution to Julian scholarship. —The Heythrop Journal"Much recent writing on the medieval "mystical" traditions seems either to take a thin slice of concepts through the complex matrix of historical context, or else to offer historical focus at the expense of contemporary relevance. Bauerschmidt's Julian of Norwich and the Mystical Body Politic of Christ is a remarkable achievement of synthesis between a theologico-political analysis of distinct contemporary relevance and historical faithfulness to Julian's own fourteenth century world."—Denys Turner, H.G. Wood Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham, England"With astonishing lucidity, Bauerschmidt proves himself to be a most delicate reader of Julian at the same time as he draws, always with relevance, on a range of powerful contemporary theorists to facilitate our understanding of the scope, depth, and contemporary force of Julian's mystical and political theology." —David Aers, James B. Duke Professor of English and Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Duke University
£25.19
University of Notre Dame Press Desire Faith and the Darkness of God
Book SynopsisIn the face of religious and cultural diversity, some doubt whether Christian faith remains possible today. Critics claim that religion is irrational and violent, and the loudest defenders of Christianity are equally strident. In response, Desire, Faith, and the Darkness of God: Essays in Honor of Denys Turner explores the uncertainty essential to Christian commitment; it suggests that faith is moved by a desire for that which cannot be known.This approach is inspired by the tradition of Christian apophatic theology, which argues that language cannot capture divine transcendence. From this perspective, contemporary debates over God's existence represent a dead end: if God is not simply another object in the world, then faith begins not in abstract certainty but in a love that exceeds the limits of knowledge.The essays engage classic Christian thought alongside literary and philosophical sources ranging from Pseudo-Dionysius and Dante to Karl Marx and Jacques DerTrade Review"Desire, Faith, and the Darkness of God: Essays in Honor of Denys Turner is a testament to the range of Denys Turner's influence and the varieties of modes of argumentation with which his work is conversant. The volume will be read with pleasure by scholars in the history of Christianity, particularly of Christian mysticism, Christian theologians, and philosophers of religion, as well as scholars across a range of subdisciplines." —Amy Hollywood, Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies, Harvard Divinity School"No scholar could wish for a finer tribute to his success as a teacher as this book provides. Students of Denys Turner, and experts in his field, come together in this volume to provide fascinating contributions to the theological and philosophical topics that have engaged him throughout his academic life. And, like Turner, they all show how thoughtfulness and argument can trump rhetoric." —Brian Davies, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University"Denys Turner is a rare intellectual witness to philosophies of love and justice from mysticism to marxism and beyond. This rich and engaging volume is fitting testament to his extraordinary influence on new generations of thinkers and scholars. Tackling such crucial questions as theodicy, divine eros, and the perennial struggle between faith and reason, philosophy and theology, the contributors shed new light on ancient problems. The exchange between Turner and Eagleton is a very special gem to be treasured." —Richard Kearney, The Charles Seelig Professor in Philosophy, Boston College"A darkly sparkling set of essays, diverse in discipline and in desire, each affirming some intense potentia of negative theology for contemporary conversation. That its stimulation of new exchanges between theism and atheism, cosmology and history, mysticism and Marxism, language and silence, will succeed seems assured by Turner’s concluding performance of an apophatic art of failure." —Catherine Keller, The Theological School, Drew University “This is the most distinguished collection of essays in honour of Denys Turner. . . [A] detailed and concentrated reading of the essays in this splendid collection should provide refreshment for considerable time to come.” —Theology“Instead of settling the stale dispute over whether religion is rationally justified, their work suggests instead that Christian life is an ethical and political practice impassioned by a God who transcends understanding.” —Studies in Spirituality”Turner ends the volume with one of the most inspired essays one will ever come across: “How to Fail, or ‘The fine delight that fathers thought’.” Characteristically eloquent of speech and elegant of mind, this remarkable little essay begins by ruminating on the travails, often self-imposed, of the academy and then shows how the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins shows both the cost of those travails and the possibilities that always remain insofar as the desire for more goes on.” —The Anglican Theological Review
£35.00
University of Notre Dame Press Christian Platonism of Simone Weil
Book SynopsisIn this book a group of renowned international scholars seek to discern the ways in which Simone Weil was indebted to Plato, and how her provocative readings of his work offer challenges to contemporary philosophy, theology, and spirituality. This is the first book in twenty years to systematically investigate Weil's Christian Platonism.The opening essays explore what actually constitutes Weil's Platonism. Louis Dupré addresses the Platonic and Gnostic elements of her thought with respect to her negative theology, and the Christian Platonism of her positive theology as found in her reflections on beauty and the Good. Michel Narcy provides a close historical reading of Weil and discusses the degree to which her teacher Alain influenced her Platonism. Michael Ross contends that Weil's interest in Plato is in ethical Platonism. Essays by Robert Chenavier and by Patrick Patterson and Lawrence E. Schmidt consider the importance of matter and materialism in Weil's Platonism and argTrade Review“These essays—some written by leading specialists in Simone Weil's thought, others by prominent philosophers of religion and theologians—are especially valuable not only for elucidating Weil's reading of Plato but also for showing what one or another form of Christian Platonism (and there are several!) can mean for us today.” —James A. Wiseman, O.S.B., The Catholic University of America"This remarkable and penetrating collection of essays on Simone Weil's religious philosophy illumines the living intersection between serious metaphysics and ethics. The authors carefully examine this relation that much post-modern reflection has until now searched after only to skim, but that Weil herself managed to embrace with breathtaking intellectual discipline and self giving. The book as a whole is a bracing testimony to the deep moral consequences of classical ontology and its challenging Christian reorientation." —The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, Ascension Episcopal Church, Pueblo, Colorado“A distinguished and timely collection. Throughout these essays, the richness of Weil’s thought emerges over against the complexity of the Platonic tradition. As such, the volume makes a notable contribution to Weil scholarship and to the contemporary revival of Christian Platonic theology.” —John Kenney, Saint Michael’s College"Anyone interested in Simone Weil will want, and need, to read this superb collection." —Diogenes Allen, Princeton Theological Seminary"This is a book of essays by different authors-some principally scholars of the work of Simone Weil, others philosophers of religion and theologians-whose general area is indicated by the title. It is a book to be welcomed, if only because Weil's work is important and interesting, but, with one or two notable exceptions, is little discussed in mainstream English-speaking philosophy of religion. . . this is a book worth reading." —Ars Disputandi". . . a veritable intellectual feast to be discovered when one opens this volume. This is indeed a strong collection of essays. It brings together some of the brightest Weil scholars in the world, all focusing on the crucial topic of Weil's Christian Platonism. Doering and Springsted are to be thanked for making these fine essays available to the reading public." —Cahiers Simone Weil"These 12 essays by a group of international scholars discuss the ways in which Simone Weil (1909-1943) was indebted to Plato and how her readings of Plato challenge contemporary philosophy, theology, and spirituality." —Theology Digest“. . . provides a helpful analysis from different perspectives of Weil's original approach to Plato. It sheds light on Plato and interpretations of Plato, as well as on Weil's thought.” —Faith and Reason“Devoted to the importance of Platonism to Weil, this anthology also undertakes a broad attempt to measure, through the lens of her work, the potential for a renewed appropriation of Plato for Christian self-reflection. Part of a recent trend toward the recovery of Plato as a philosopher of wisdom and ethical pertinence as well as of technical accomplishment, the essays here contribute significantly both to that recovery and to the study of Weil herself.” —Religious Studies Review“This volume is a welcome addition to the small but developing body of literature on Weil’s thought. It brings together the most important strand of recent North American and French scholarship on Weil. This collection would be a valuable place to start reflection in this direction for Christian thinkers with such concerns.” —Scottish Journal of Theology
£70.55
University of Notre Dame Press Christian Platonism of Simone Weil
Book SynopsisEssays that discuss how Simone Weil was indebted to Plato and how her readings of Plato challenge contemporary philosophy, theology, and spirituality.Trade Review“These essays—some written by leading specialists in Simone Weil's thought, others by prominent philosophers of religion and theologians—are especially valuable not only for elucidating Weil's reading of Plato but also for showing what one or another form of Christian Platonism (and there are several!) can mean for us today.” —James A. Wiseman, O.S.B., The Catholic University of America"This remarkable and penetrating collection of essays on Simone Weil's religious philosophy illumines the living intersection between serious metaphysics and ethics. The authors carefully examine this relation that much post-modern reflection has until now searched after only to skim, but that Weil herself managed to embrace with breathtaking intellectual discipline and self giving. The book as a whole is a bracing testimony to the deep moral consequences of classical ontology and its challenging Christian reorientation." —The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, Ascension Episcopal Church, Pueblo, Colorado“A distinguished and timely collection. Throughout these essays, the richness of Weil’s thought emerges over against the complexity of the Platonic tradition. As such, the volume makes a notable contribution to Weil scholarship and to the contemporary revival of Christian Platonic theology.” —John Kenney, Saint Michael’s College"Anyone interested in Simone Weil will want, and need, to read this superb collection." —Diogenes Allen, Princeton Theological Seminary"This is a book of essays by different authors-some principally scholars of the work of Simone Weil, others philosophers of religion and theologians-whose general area is indicated by the title. It is a book to be welcomed, if only because Weil's work is important and interesting, but, with one or two notable exceptions, is little discussed in mainstream English-speaking philosophy of religion. . . this is a book worth reading." —Ars Disputandi". . . a veritable intellectual feast to be discovered when one opens this volume. This is indeed a strong collection of essays. It brings together some of the brightest Weil scholars in the world, all focusing on the crucial topic of Weil's Christian Platonism. Doering and Springsted are to be thanked for making these fine essays available to the reading public." —Cahiers Simone Weil"These 12 essays by a group of international scholars discuss the ways in which Simone Weil (1909-1943) was indebted to Plato and how her readings of Plato challenge contemporary philosophy, theology, and spirituality." —Theology Digest“. . . provides a helpful analysis from different perspectives of Weil's original approach to Plato. It sheds light on Plato and interpretations of Plato, as well as on Weil's thought.” —Faith and Reason“Devoted to the importance of Platonism to Weil, this anthology also undertakes a broad attempt to measure, through the lens of her work, the potential for a renewed appropriation of Plato for Christian self-reflection. Part of a recent trend toward the recovery of Plato as a philosopher of wisdom and ethical pertinence as well as of technical accomplishment, the essays here contribute significantly both to that recovery and to the study of Weil herself.” —Religious Studies Review“This volume is a welcome addition to the small but developing body of literature on Weil’s thought. It brings together the most important strand of recent North American and French scholarship on Weil. This collection would be a valuable place to start reflection in this direction for Christian thinkers with such concerns.” —Scottish Journal of Theology
£25.19
University of Notre Dame Press The Golden Cord
Book SynopsisThe title of Charles Taliaferro's book is derived from poems and stories in which a person in peril or on a quest must follow a cord or string in order to find the way to happiness, safety, or home. In one of the most famous of such tales, the ancient Greek hero Theseus follows the string given him by Ariadne to mark his way in and out of the Minotaur's labyrinth. William Blake''s poem Jerusalem uses the metaphor of a golden string, which, if followed, will lead one to heaven itself. Taliaferro extends Blake's metaphor to illustrate the ways we can link what we see, feel, and do with deep spiritual realities. Taliaferro offers a foundational case for the recognition of the experience of the eternal God of Christianity, in which God is understood as the fount of all goodness and the subject and object of our best love, revealed through scripture, tradition, philosophical reflection, and encountered in everyday events. He addresses philosophical obstacles to the recognition of Trade Review"Charles Taliaferro is a first rate philosopher. The Golden Cord: A Short Book on the Secular and the Sacred is truly original in that it picks up the debate about the viability of secular naturalism and brings it into conversation with Cambridge Platonism and with ascetic theological considerations. It will be of interest to students and scholars in philosophy, popular culture, and spirituality." —William Abraham, Southern Methodist University"In The Golden Cord, Charles Taliaferro again proves to be not only a careful and insightful thinker, but also a wonderfully enjoyable—and widely read—writer. As he tackles big questions of life, he engages the relevant philosophers of our time as well as literary figures from W. H. Auden and Virginia Woolf to Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, Teilhard de Chardin, and J. R. R.Tolkien. As a guide, Taliaferro doesn't merely wander the edges; he plunges into core issues of our human existence, inviting his readers to wade into the great sea of divine love." —Matthew Dickerson, author of The Mind and the Machine: What it Means to be Human and Why it Matters"[One of the work's strength] lies in the easy accessibility of the important themes presented: experience, art and literature, and the way in which philosophical positions concerning God's existence imply and are grounded in different worldviews. Anselm's, Aquinas's, Hume's and other classical philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God will always be part of the human cultural heritage. But they do not of themselves address the question: why does it matter whether there is a God, or why does it matter that one believe (or disbelieve) in a God? What has it got to do with living a meaningful human life, or with enjoying one's life or finding one's inner peace? Taliaferro's book addresses and answers those questions admirably. . ." —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews". . . In eight chapters, Taliaferro . . brings the bases of naturalistic and materialist views to critical evaluation by examining challenges to consciousness and selfless agency. He response to the challenges that incoherence and the problem of evil pose for theism. This volume interweaves philosophers, including Augustine, Nagel, Dennett, Parfit, and Van Inwagen together with ancient Christian texts to cover an extraordinary breadth of literature . . . This volume is one of the best this reviewer has read in many years. Essential." —Choice“[The Golden Cord] offers various reasons for resisting materialism and trusting the religious experience of God as an eternal, good being . . . insightfully argued and largely accessible to a wide academic audience. . . . Recommended for university and seminary libraries.” —Catholic Library World"In this highly eclectic, personal, and engaging work, Charles Taliaferro argues why even 'gravity is a manifestation of God's love' . . . For Taliaferro, there are various cords in life that can lead us to God. To reach such a destination, he takes the reader along a journey whose terrain is steeped in literary metaphors, philosophical contours (and obstacles), and autobiographical insights and depictions. . . . [For him,] personal experience cannot be excised from any so-called academic work and it is refreshing to see an author (and a publisher) encourage such mixing." —The Heythrop Journal“These [final] chapters do not merely talk abut the divine life: they disclose it. The skeptical reader may forget about the time and find himself drawn closer to communion with God. Here is a good book to lose oneself in.” —Christian Research Journal“Taliaferro strives to demonstrate that there are certain ‘golden cords’ that one can follow throughout this life that will lead them to the God of eternal love. Taliaferro’s critique of radical materialism is especially insightful, and readers will benefit from his discussion on why consciousness fits better within a theistic framework.” —Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies“In The Golden Cord, Taliaferro aims to bring his previous insights together to build a cumulative case for a Christian worldview inspired by the Christian spirituality of the Cambridge Platonists. . . . In fewer than one hundred and eighty pages, the book covers enormous ground. . . . Taliaferro succeeds in presenting an impassioned book that is both thought-provoking and eminently readable, serving as an overview of, or introduction to, Christian philosophy” —The Expository Times“Charles Taliaferro has written a thought-provoking, original work that succeeds in throwing some of the central tenets of naturalism into question. He has gathered cutting-edge scholarship from the context of debates about naturalism and discusses that within the framework of a theological account of the human condition. The result is a robust theological response to secular naturalism, one that deserves to be taken seriously by the latter’s proponents.” —Victoria Harrison, University of Glasgow
£22.79
University of Notre Dame Press Translating Christ in the Middle Ages
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Translating Christ in the Middle Ages breaks new ground in the study of medieval women’s visionary and hagiographical writings.” —Christine F. Cooper-Rompato, author of The Gift of Tongues"An erudite and carefully constructed book, each chapter building on the preceding one in an ever-widening circle of the significance and scope of visionary translation." —Speculum"An invaluable contribution to the ever-growing literature on gender, authorship, and visionary text which has sprung up in the past two or three decades." —Medieval Mystical Theology"Zimbalist's book opens up a new avenue for the study of women's verbal rather than bodily devotion, and for an appreciation of female visionaries as skillful sermonizers and inventors of new forms of verbal devotion."—Studies in the Age of ChaucerTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Accomplished Word 1. The Origins of a Mode: Collaboration, Conversation, and Community in the Diocese of Liège 2. Vernacular Saints’ Lives and Female Community in the High Middle Ages 3. Vernacular Authority and Visionary Authorship in the Low Countries 4. Revisions of Authority: Rhetoric, Participation, and Devotional Reading 5. Vision, Speech, and Textual Community in the Late Middle Ages Conclusion Bibliography
£87.55
MP-WIS Uni of Wisconsin Expressions of Sufi Culture in Tajikistan
Book SynopsisReveals the daily lives and religious practice of ordinary Muslim men in Tajikistan as they aspire to become Sufi mystics. Benjamin Gatling describes in vivid detail the range of expressive forms - memories, stories, poetry, artifacts, rituals, and other embodied practices - employed as they try to construct a Sufi life in twenty-first-century Central Asia.
£52.50
Yale University Press Radical Judaism Rethinking God and Tradition
Book SynopsisHow do we articulate a religious vision that embraces evolution and human authorship of Scripture? Drawing on the Jewish mystical traditions of Kabbalah and Hasidism, this title argues that a neomystical perspective can help us to reframe these realities, so they may yet be viewed as dwelling places of the sacred.Trade ReviewFinalist for the ForeWorld Reviews 2010 Book of the Year Award in Religion"Green emerges as a decidedly non-traditionalist theologian through this illuminating and evocative discussion about such topics as classic metaphors for God, evolutionary theory, and Kabbalistic theories of creation. Radical Judaism is highly accessible, and the issues addressed are very much those of our contemporaries."—Neil Gillman, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America"A credible spirituality for our tumultuous times. Green draws richly from the Jewish mystical tradition, but also writes from the heart of his own experience. This lucidly written and wise book will reach far beyond the Jewish community."—Harvey Cox, author of The Future of Faith
£25.00
Yale University Press Advice for Callow Jurists and Gullible Mendicants
Book SynopsisThis mirror for princes sheds light on the relationship between spiritual and political authority in early modern EgyptTrade Review"A welcome and important contribution to the field. Because the work is explicitly devoted to guiding the relations between Sufi master and political ruler, a subject for which there are very few exemplars, and because of al-Sha‘rani’s location in time and place, this book constitutes an indispensable resource for understanding how late medieval Sufis themselves theorized this relationship. Sabra has done an excellent job of faithfully rendering the Arabic into clear, lively English prose.” --Nathan Hofer, University of Missouri -- Nathan Hofer"This book illuminates central problems, debates, and strategies regarding the relationship of religion to the state. The themes of religious authority in relation to political power and the proper practice of spiritual and ethical counsel will be of interest to students of cultural history. The Arabic text has recently been edited, and we are fortunate to now have this excellent English translation.” --Richard McGregor, Vanderbilt University -- Richard McGregor
£47.50
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Mysticism After Modernity
Book SynopsisOffers a postmodern interpretation of the great mystics and their writing. This title argues that extensive modern literature about mysticism has rested on a mistake - the belief that their can be meaningful experience prior to language.Trade Review‘In an era where many decry the death of certainties in our postmodern situation, Cuppitt shows how the mystic teach us to embrace the freedom and likeness of that very situation. The book offers a refreshing freeing of vision to our age of doubt. It is a fine contribution.’ Robert K. Forman, Hunter College "A lucid and stimulating argument for ways to understand mysticism in the postmodern world. Mysticism After Modernity should prove invaluable to those concerned about the relevance and ongoing survival of the mystical tradition." Carl McColman, Mystic-L "Postmodernists are likely to find this enjoyable reading....this is a challenging little book that deserves to be explored by students of mysticism and religious experience"George Adams, Susquehanna University "The central theme of this book is the claim that the writings of the classical mystics are misunderstood when they are treated (as they are even by Derrida) as qualified versions of an orthodox metaphysical theism."Maurice Wiles, OxfordTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Mysticism of Secondariness. 1. The Modern Construction of Mysticism and Religious Experience. 2. Theories of Mysticism in Modernity. 3. Dogmatic Theology is an Ideology of Absolute Spiritual Power. 4. Mysticism is a Kind of Writing. 5. How Mystical Writing Produces Religious Happiness. 6. The Politics of Mysticism. 7. Mystical Writing was the Forerunner of Deconstruction and Radical Theology. 8. Meltdown. 9. Happiness. 10. Eternity. Notes. Select Bibliography.
£104.36
John Wiley and Sons Ltd Mysticism After Modernity
Book SynopsisOffers a postmodern interpretation of the great mystics and their writing. This title argues that extensive modern literature about mysticism has rested on a mistake - the belief that their can be meaningful experience prior to language.Trade Review‘In an era where many decry the death of certainties in our postmodern situation, Cuppitt shows how the mystic teach us to embrace the freedom and likeness of that very situation. The book offers a refreshing freeing of vision to our age of doubt. It is a fine contribution.’ Robert K. Forman, Hunter College "A lucid and stimulating argument for ways to understand mysticism in the postmodern world. Mysticism After Modernity should prove invaluable to those concerned about the relevance and ongoing survival of the mystical tradition." Carl McColman, Mystic-L "Postmodernists are likely to find this enjoyable reading....this is a challenging little book that deserves to be explored by students of mysticism and religious experience"George Adams, Susquehanna University "The central theme of this book is the claim that the writings of the classical mystics are misunderstood when they are treated (as they are even by Derrida) as qualified versions of an orthodox metaphysical theism."Maurice Wiles, OxfordTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Mysticism of Secondariness. 1. The Modern Construction of Mysticism and Religious Experience. 2. Theories of Mysticism in Modernity. 3. Dogmatic Theology is an Ideology of Absolute Spiritual Power. 4. Mysticism is a Kind of Writing. 5. How Mystical Writing Produces Religious Happiness. 6. The Politics of Mysticism. 7. Mystical Writing was the Forerunner of Deconstruction and Radical Theology. 8. Meltdown. 9. Happiness. 10. Eternity. Notes. Select Bibliography.
£39.85
Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies Spiritual Wayfarers Leaders in Piety
Book Synopsis
£16.10
Harvard University Press Naming Infinity
Book SynopsisIn 1913, Russian marines stormed an Orthodox monastery at Mt. Athos, Greece to haul off monks engaged in a dangerously heretical practice known as Name Worshipping. The authors take us on an exciting mathematical mystery tour as they unravel a bizarre tale of political struggles, psychological crises, sexual complexities, and ethical dilemmas.Trade ReviewThe intellectual drama will attract readers who are interested in mystical religion and the foundations of mathematics. The personal drama will attract readers who are interested in a human tragedy with characters who met their fates with exceptional courage. -- Freeman DysonAt the end of the nineteenth century, three young French mathematicians--Émile Borel, René Baire and Henri Lebesgue--built on the work of Georg Cantor to conceive a new theory of functions that in a few years transformed mathematical analysis. When their work met with skepticism, they began to doubt it and abandoned further investigation. In Russia, under the leadership of Dmitry Egorov, a group of Moscow mathematicians picked up the torch. Animated by a mystical tradition known as Name Worshipping, they found the creativity to name the new objects of the French theory of functions. And they changed the face of the mathematical world. -- Bernard Bru, emeritus, University of Paris VA passionate confluence of mathematical creation and mystical practices is at the center of this extraordinary account of the emergence of set theory in Russia in the early twentieth century. The starkly drawn contrast with mathematical developments in France illuminates the story, and the book is electric with portraits of the great mathematicians involved: the tragic, the unfortunate, the villainous, the truly admirable. The authors offer an account of Infinity that is brief, deft, serious, and accessible to non-mathematicians, and their evocation of the mathematical circles of the period is so intimately written that one feels as if one had lived, worked, and suffered alongside the protagonists. Graham and Kantor have given us an amazing piece of mathematical history. -- Barry Mazur, Harvard UniversityLast week I read one of the most interesting books I've encountered so far this year, Naming Infinity: A True Story of Religious Mysticism and Mathematical Creativity, by Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor, just published by Harvard University Press. I'll be writing more about this book, but in the meantime I wanted to let you know about it. Many books in the science-and-religion conversation tediously cover the same ground. This book comes from a fresh angle--the world of mathematics and the world of "science" are not the same, but they overlap--and it tells a fascinating story. I found it absolutely riveting. And it's encouraging to see two secular scholars doing their best to be scrupulously fair in representing religious thinkers whose worldview is very different from their own. -- John Wilson * Books & Culture *It is a story of the persistence of intellectual life against the wrecking tide of history. -- Jascha Hoffman * Nature *In the early 20th century, mathematicians grappled with the concept of infinity, relying heavily on set theory to prove and define it. The French mathematicians, rationalists not fond of abstraction (particularly abstractions with spiritual overtones), went head-to-head with the Russians, who had always linked mathematics to philosophy, religion and ideology. Name Worshipping played a key role in bringing the two closer together. Graham and Kantor do a beautiful job of fleshing out the key players in this gripping drama--nothing less than a struggle to prove the existence of God. -- Susan Salter Reynolds * Los Angeles Times *This absorbing book tells astonishing stories about some of the most important developments in mathematics of the past century...Perhaps the most moving section of the book is that dealing with the famous Moscow School of Mathematics in Soviet times. Its origins are traced to the Lusitania seminar established by Egorov and Luzin (the source of the name "Lusitania" is obscure). The enthusiasm that these teachers inspired in their students is clearly conveyed, as is the atmosphere of intellectual excitement, despite the freezing lecture rooms (the rule that lectures could not take place if the room temperature fell below -5C was ignored)...This is a remarkable book, illuminating the history of 20th-century mathematics and its practitioners. The stories it tells are important and too little known. It is clearly a labor of love and deserves a wide audience: it is an outstanding portrayal of mathematics as a fundamentally human activity and mathematicians as human beings. -- Tony Mann * Times Higher Education *The most unusual book I have read this year. -- Alex Beam * Boston Globe *Fifty years ago, C. P. Snow gave a soon-to-be famous lecture on the "Two Cultures" of modern society, the culture of the humanities and the culture of science, and the need to bridge the gap between them. Today we are more likely to hear debates about the alleged gulf between science and religion. Both divides are bridged in this superb book, which takes us from French rationalism at the turn of the 20th century to a thriving center of world-class mathematics in Moscow, where the presiding figures were also devout Russian Orthodox believers of a mystical bent. -- John Wilson * Christianity Today *Naming Infinity is a short, accessible book about mathematical imagination...Naming Infinity is a straightforward, kinetic, and seductive read...In describing the life trajectories of their subjects, the authors are unafraid to take sides, show their sympathies, even judge. There is something refreshingly honest in their striving to be fair to their real-life characters without feigned impartiality. This considered generosity and the passion that shows itself in the copious quantities of documentary and anecdotal evidence gathered by Loren Graham in Russia, make the book a fascinating read...Just as a stimulating conversation, even when left incomplete, opens the mind to new ideas, Naming Infinity suggests new ways of thinking about mathematical creativity and intellectual excellence. -- Anna Razumnaya * theworld.org *This is not only a readable book, but a most worthwhile one, insofar as it offers a series of anecdotal life-stories of remarkable people, little known save to specialists, together with valuable insights into the Soviet Union of the 1930s. -- Robin Milner-Gulland * Times Literary Supplement *As Naming Infinity so sensitively shows, escaping the world we live in, and the exacting parameters of reason, can sometimes lead to surprising results. As powerful as the gift of rationalism may be, there is still more in heaven and earth. -- Oren Harman * New Republic *
£32.36
Princeton University Press Sufism
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the 2019 I.R. Iran World Award for Book of the Year, Islamic Republic of Iran""This groundbreaking monograph is critical not only for understanding the complex phenomenon that is Sufism, but also for gaining insight into the significant methodological issues of modern historiography."---Kamal Gasimov, Voices on Central Asia"Anyone looking for an introduction to the complexities of Sufism should turn to this book by Alexander Knys." * History Today *"By challenging existing theoretical constructs, the author allows one to rethink metadiscourses on Sufism."---Ayesha Khan, Muslim World Book Review"With a contemporary look at the different perspectives and dimensions of Sufism, the book offers new ideas experiences and, in this respect, is a valuable resource that contributes to promoting an understanding of Sufism’s various dimensions and angles of complexity."---ShahRokh Raei, Die Welt des Islams"Remarkably well-written and comprehensive overview . . . [Sufism] give[s] an accessible, accurately detailed account of Sufism as a system of thought and action. . . . A helpful, wide-ranging historical introduction for students of Islamic spirituality and the many related fields of Islamic thought and practice."---Andi Herawati, Reading Religion"Sufism: A New History of Islamic Mysticism is a welcome addition to a collection of relatively recent overviews of Sufism…The book is a masterful display of Knysh’s extensive study of Sufi history and sources. It will be of immediate use to instructors within Islamic and religious studies, as well as to specialists in need of a summary of the state of Sufi studies and its major points of contention."---Cyrus Ali Zargar, Journal of the American Oriental Society
£31.50
Princeton University Press Origins of the Kabbalah
Book SynopsisTrade Review“No great textual scholar, no master of philology and historical criticism commands a technique at once more scrupulously attentive to its object and more instinctive with the writer’s voice [than Scholem]. That voice reaches out and grabs the layman.”—George Steiner, New Yorker“[Scholem’s] work on Jewish mysticism, messianism, and sectarianism, spanning now half a century, constitutes … one of the major achievements of the historical imagination in our time. I would contend that it is of vital interest not only to anyone concerned with the history of religion but to anyone struggling to understand the underlying problematics of the human predicament.”—Robert Alter, Commentary“This book has been a classic in its field since it was first issued in 1950, and it still stands as uniquely authoritative and intriguingly instructive…. [It is] a monument of revelation and insight bridging anthropology, religion, sociology, and history.”—Publishers Weekly
£22.50
Cornell University Press Mystic and Pilgrim
Book SynopsisA biography of the medieval English religious pilgrim Margery Kempe and a social and cultural history of her world.Trade Review"...here Dr. Atkinson establishes the influence on the Book of previous writings especially those of St. Birgitta), but Dr. Cox forcefully demonstrates the basic originality of Margery Kempe...This is an excellent book that makes a great deal of sense out of a difficult-to-understand personality..." —Adris Newsletter"Atkinson's exposition of the Book of Margery Kempe...represents the first full-length treatment of the Book since its discovery and edition in the 1930s, and one of the first attempts ever to enter sympathetically into the religious world and experience of a woman usually dismissed as "hysterical." After describing Kempe's relations with family and clergy, Atkinson sets her spirituality in the context of high medieval affective piety in Eng- land and ideas of female sanctity fostered on the Continent. The book is...an attractive and well-written introduction to Kempe's religious world, which, in the conclusion, is still further illuminated by drawing upon psychoanalytic and feminist studies." —Religious Studies ReviewTable of ContentsPrefaceCHAPTER ONE - "A Short Treatise and a Comfortable": The Book of Margery Kemp CHAPTER TWO - "A Haircloth in Thy Heart": Pilgrim and Mystic CHAPTER THREE - "She Was Come of Worthy Kindred": The Burnham Family of King's Lynn CHAPTER FOUR - "Her Ghostly Mother": Church and Clergy CHAPTER FIVE - "In the Likeness of a Man": The Tradition of Affective Piety CHAPTER SIX - "A Maiden in Thy Soul": Female Sanctity in the Late Middle Ages CHAPTER SEVEN - "Ordained to Be a Mirror": Interpretations of Margery KempeSelected Bibliography Index
£42.30
Cornell University Press The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages
Book SynopsisThe Song of Songs in the Middle Ages is a wide-ranging and insightful book that is carefully researched and gracefully written. It is of importance alike to those interested in mysticism, Middle English, the twelfth century, the fourteenth century...Trade ReviewThis deceptively slender volume is valuable in a number of ways. Astell further substantiates even as she extends and deepens the insights of historical scholars such as Beryl Smalley by distinguishing more precisely the various forms taken by the twelfth-century reemphasis on the letter of the Biblical text and by specifying the psychohistorical circumstances that conditioned that response. She contributes original and insightful readings of important texts, including St. Bernard's Sermones, the mystical writings of Hugh of St. Victor and Richard Rolle, the Middle English religious lyrics, and Pearl. And her bold claim that the 'powerful fusion of letter and allegory in readers' experience of the Song from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries provided the key definitional model for Christian poetics and rhetoric during that time' encourages a new look at other works.... Astell's book is both stimulating and convincing. * Journal of English and German Philology *Astell proves herself to be a very good close reader.... Her sensitive attention to shifts of gender and their rhetorical motivation yields subtle and compelling results. * Speculum *The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages is a wide-ranging and insightful book that is carefully researched and gracefully written. It is of importance alike to those interested in mysticism, Middle English, the twelfth century, the fourteenth century, and feminist approaches to literature. * Studia Mystica *
£29.45
University of Pennsylvania Press Margery Kempe and Translations of the Flesh
Book Synopsis"A feminist analysis of the writing of the fifteenth-century English mystic, showing how Kempe exploited the gendered ideologies of flesh and text, violated taboos, and responded to the constraints of her time."-Book News, Inc.Trade Review"A feminist analysis of the writing of the fifteenth-century English mystic, showing how Kempe exploited the gendered ideologies of flesh and text, violated taboos, and responded to the constraints of her time." * Book News, Inc. *
£25.19
University of Pennsylvania Press The Bride of Christ Goes to Hell
Book SynopsisThe early Christian writer Tertullian first applied the epithet bride of Christ to the uppity virgins of Carthage as a means of enforcing female obedience. Henceforth, the virgin as Christ''s spouse was expected to manifest matronly modesty and due submission, hobbling virginity''s ancient capacity to destabilize gender roles. In the early Middle Ages, the focus on virginity and the attendant anxiety over its possible loss reinforced the emphasis on claustration in female religious communities, while also profoundly disparaging the nonvirginal members of a given community.With the rising importance of intentionality in determining a person''s spiritual profile in the high Middle Ages, the title of bride could be applied and appropriated to laywomen who were nonvirgins as well. Such instances of democratization coincided with the rise of bridal mysticism and a progressive somatization of female spirituality. These factors helped cultivate an increasingly literal and eroticized Trade Review"A dazzling book . . . As Elliott persuasively argues, the seeming elevation of the religious woman as a bride of Christ also raised the specter of her potential faithlessness: the bride was held to be permanently at risk of falling into the arms of the wrong lover, whether human or, worse, demonic. By the later Middle Ages, the bride of Christ was on a downward trajectory . . . As Elliott so convincingly shows, the virgin bride was a dangerous identification for women from the very outset: the virgin, seemingly elevated as Christ's bride, had nowhere to go but down." * Church History *"Elliott's work provides an excellent overview of both the metaphorical and literal bride of Christ who undoubtedly played a central role in the evolution of Christianity . . . Despite the dark overtones implicit in Elliott's brilliant title and argument, this book is a must read for those interested in religious or gender history of the Middle Ages." * Comitatus *"Elliott's historiographical account is an illuminating one. Her command of primary source material, and sensitivity to theories of corporeality, comingle in a compelling work of cultural history. Incorporating biblical commentaries, hagiographies, treatises, sermons, natural philosophy, chronicles, inquisitorial documents, and secular literature, Elliott weaves the particularities of heterogeneous historic moments and theological positions into a continuous narrative . . . Elliott shows convincingly that not all ideals, even religious ones, should be incarnated." * Anglican and Episcopal History *"This provocative, meticulously documented text analyzes a wide range of familiar and lesser-known medieval authors on an important topic . . . the journey is engaging and instructive."" * Catholic Historical Review *"This is a great book, with an overarching design, a bold and provocative argument, and a sweeping narrative, fashioned with a penetrating look and written in a reassuringly smart, witty voice." * Gábor Klaniczay, Central European University *Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1. A Match Made in Heaven: The Bride in the Early Church Chapter 2. The Church Fathers and the Embodied Bride Chapter 3. The Barbarian Queen Chapter 4. An Age of Affect, 1050-1200 (1): Consensuality and Vocation Chapter 5. An Age of Affect, 1050-1200 (2): The Conjugal Reflex Chapter 6. The Eroticized Bride of Hagiography Chapter 7. Descent into Hell Conclusion List of Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments
£31.50
MP-SYR Syracuse University P Emma Curtis Hopkins
Book SynopsisEmma Curtis, feminist and religious entrepreneur, led a life of extraordinary diversity and achievement. This work salutes her life as it explores the route by which she melded spiritual healing, metaphysical idealism, and exotic philosophies into multiple careers of unsurpassed dynamic.
£26.06
Fordham University Press Ecstasy in the Classroom Trance Self and the
Book SynopsisEcstasy in the Classroom analyzes the early thirteenth century theological discourse about Paul’s rapture and other modes of cognizing God. It reconstructs the perceptions of transformation and self they imply, and demonstrate their role in establishing the peculiar professional identity of scholastic theologians compared with other seers of God.Table of ContentsAs its title suggests, this book does three things: (1) It describes the discourse about Paul’s trance and other modes of cognizing God through key questions raised by early thirteenth-century theologians; (2) It discusses the perceptions of the self implied by this discourse; (3) It suggests these questions resonate concerns of theologians regarding the nature of their academic profession. Each chapter, therefore, has accordingly three titles. Introduction / 1 1 Why was Paul ignorant of his own state, and how do various modes of cognizing God differ? / 23 The experiencing self and the observing self Theology among other modes of cognizing God 2 How could Paul remember his rapture? / 59 Memory and the continuity of the self Theology between experience and words 3 Can a soul see God or itself without intermediaries? / 81 The self as distinct from its habits and actions Theology between experience and observation 4 Does true faith rely on anything external? / 111 The self as an ultimate source of authority Theology between internal and external authority 5 What happens to old modes of cognition when new ones are introduced during trance and other transitions? / 135 The self and its ability to manipulate parts of it during transitions Theology between reasoned knowledge and simple faith 6 Can knowledge qua knowledge be a virtue? / 158 The self in society Theology between theory and practice Summary and Epilogue / 189 Appendix / 199 Acknowledgments / 205 Notes / 207 Bibliography / 265 Index / 291
£27.90
Fordham University Press Ecstasy in the Classroom Trance Self and the
Book SynopsisEcstasy in the Classroom analyzes the early thirteenth century theological discourse about Paul’s rapture and other modes of cognizing God. It reconstructs the perceptions of transformation and self they imply, and demonstrate their role in establishing the peculiar professional identity of scholastic theologians compared with other seers of God.Table of ContentsAs its title suggests, this book does three things: (1) It describes the discourse about Paul’s trance and other modes of cognizing God through key questions raised by early thirteenth-century theologians; (2) It discusses the perceptions of the self implied by this discourse; (3) It suggests these questions resonate concerns of theologians regarding the nature of their academic profession. Each chapter, therefore, has accordingly three titles. Introduction / 1 1 Why was Paul ignorant of his own state, and how do various modes of cognizing God differ? / 23 The experiencing self and the observing self Theology among other modes of cognizing God 2 How could Paul remember his rapture? / 59 Memory and the continuity of the self Theology between experience and words 3 Can a soul see God or itself without intermediaries? / 81 The self as distinct from its habits and actions Theology between experience and observation 4 Does true faith rely on anything external? / 111 The self as an ultimate source of authority Theology between internal and external authority 5 What happens to old modes of cognition when new ones are introduced during trance and other transitions? / 135 The self and its ability to manipulate parts of it during transitions Theology between reasoned knowledge and simple faith 6 Can knowledge qua knowledge be a virtue? / 158 The self in society Theology between theory and practice Summary and Epilogue / 189 Appendix / 199 Acknowledgments / 205 Notes / 207 Bibliography / 265 Index / 291
£92.70
Fordham University Press Medieval Nonsense Signifying Nothing in
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsThe Wind in the Shell: Prolegomena to the Study of Medieval Nonsignification | 1 1 Priscian, Boethius, and Augustine on Vox Sola | 27 2 Walter Burley on Suppositio Materialis | 52 3 The Cloud of Unknowing on the Litil Worde of O Silable | 76 4 St. Erkenwald on the Caracter | 98 Acknowledgments | 127 Notes | 129 Bibliography | 157 Index | 183
£85.50
