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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisA history of the Religious Society of Friends. This book provides an introduction to its beliefs and practices; and a picture of the culture and controversies of the Friends. It reflects the group's diversity in the wake of the sectarian splintering of the nineteenth century. It also examines commonalities among American Friends.Trade ReviewWith its broad approach to the topic, this scholarly yet readable book deserves careful reading by anyone interested in Quakerism. Library Journal Thomas D. Hamm's immensely valuable book presents the ongoing complexity of this unusually potent sect with maximal clarity. Booklist [A]n eye opening book... [that] describes the history of Quakerism in America from 1640 to the present and introduces the reader to such prominent Quakers as William Penn and John Woolman. It also describes some of the schisms that have taken place in Quaker beliefs and practices that resulted in the current divisions of Quaker organizations. Wilmington News- Journal Tom Hamm's latest book furthers his valuable contributions as a leading Quaker historian... It would be a valuable addition to the library of any meeting unafraid to countenance the wider family of Friends today. -- Doug Gwyn Quaker Life This book is both readable and scholarly...which would be just right for those wanting to know more about the how, why and what of American Friends today. It would also be an excellent introduction for anyone interested in more serious research. -- Eileen M. Fowler The Friend Hamm has an established reputation for clear expository writing, always well grounded in sources and characterized by judicious conclusions. -- H. Larry Ingle The Journal of American History The Quakers in America is a welcome update...Hamm manages impressive breadth, as well as surprising depth. Journal of Religion This is an exceptional book. It is simply one of the best books ever written about American Quakerism - high praise indeed, but deserved... This reviewer commends Hamm for producing a remarkable guide book to the maze that is contemporary Quakerism. -- Steven Jay White The Historian The Quakers in America presents a concise, highly readable account of American Quakerism toady. From the first pages Hamm draws the reader into the text... Hamm's work, part of the Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series, offers a concise and engaging introduction to Quaker history and to Quakerism today. -- Elizabeth De Wolfe Nova Religio Worth reading by anyone seeking knowledge of religion in the contemporary United States. -- Peter W. Williams Indiana Magazine of HistoryTable of ContentsMeeting for Worship and Meeting for Business The Origins of American Quakerism, 1640-1800 Their Separate Ways: American Friends since1800 Quaker Faiths and Practices Contemporary Quaker Debates Quakers and the World "A Quarterly Meeting in Herself": Quaker Women, Marriage, and the Family

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Book SynopsisExamines the Buddhist priest Kukai's influence on Japanese culture. This book contends that the importance of Kukai's transmission of esoteric Buddhism to Japan lay in his creation of a general theory of language grounded in the ritual speech of mantra. It explores the rhetorical strategies Kukai employed in his works.Trade ReviewThis is a remarkable book about one of the most remarkable figures in the history of Japanese Buddhism...Abe's book will certainly emerge and remain the primary examination of Kukai's life and thought for many years to come. It is thus a crucial read for anyone interested in early Japanese religion and intellectual history...The Weaving of Mantra provides a very lengthy, detailed, and substantial intellectual historical analysis of Kukai...[T]his book is a monumental achievement that will fascinate students of Japanese religion and stimulate much discussion among historians. -- Steven Heine Journal of Asian Studies Abe has made a major contribution to our understanding of the figure of Kukai, of Esoteric Buddhism, of the political, intellectual and religious situation of the Nara and early Heian periods, and of our view of medieval Japanese Buddhism as a whole. He has command of an impressive range of sources, both classical and modern, and he has a sophisticated grasp of recent theoretical discussions... Both in the new readings of early and medieval Japanese Buddhism that it advances and in the discussions that it will stimulate, this volume stands as a major addition to the field. -- Paul B. Watt Journal of Asian HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Interaction of Kukai with the Nara Clergy Illustrations Introduction 1. Kukai and (Very) Early Heian Society: A Prolegomenon Part I. Origins, Traces, Nonorigin 2. Kukai's Dissent: Of Mendicancy and Fiction 3. Journey to China: Outside Ritsuryo Discourse 4. (No) Traces of Esoteric Buddhism: Dharani and the Nara Buddhist Literature Part II. Cartography 5. Category and History: Constructing the Esoteric 6. The Discourse of Complementarity: Constructing the Esoteric II Part III. Writing and Polity 7. Semiology of the Dharma; or the Somaticity of the Text 8. Of Mantra and Palace: Textualizing the Emperor, Calamity and the Cosmos 9. Genealogy of Mantra and Kukai's Legacy Post-Script Problems of the Category of Heian Buddhism Kukai and the Limitation of Kuroda's Kenmitsu Theory Glossary Abbreviations Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA text on the academic study of contemporary wicca and paganism throughout the world.Trade ReviewIn this refreshingly grounded, balanced, informative, thorough and equitable work, Paganism comes of age with Barb Davy's Introduction to Pagan Studies. The book discusses Paganism through the categories of theology, cosmology, social organization, ritual practices and historical origins in a comprehensive yet engaging manner that will appeal to insiders and outsiders alike. Davy has successfully chronicled Pagan growth from new religious movement to a world religion - especially its denominational tendency. In short, by exploring the multiple nuances of Paganism, this is the book for which everyone has been waiting. -- Michael York, Bath Spa UniversityThis book provides a detailed and fascinating introduction to the varied worlds of contemporary Paganism. While some might dismiss the rise of nature religions as a fad, Davy skillfully excavates the origins of the movement, as well the multiple streams that have woven their way across the religious landscape. She offers a valuable contribution to the emerging study of contemporary Paganism. -- Professor Douglas E. Cowan, Renison College, University of WaterlooAn essential overview and distillation of current academic thought concerning the history, beliefs, and practices of modern Paganism. Accessible and written as an introductory textbook, Davy provides an excellent starting point to people wanting to know more about Paganism, and to Pagans wanting to explore the burgeoning realm of Pagan Studies. Highly recommended. -- Jason Pitzl-Waters * The Wild Hunt Blog *Davy...has crafted a fine text to support undergraduate scholarly study of this religion...of particular interest are the sections on literary influences, origins, ethics, current issues, and research...This book will be excellent for courses in religious studies, sociology, and cultural studies. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. All levels. -- M.R. Pukkila, Colby College * CHOICE *This book is invaluable to teachers and students and a critical addition to every Pagan's library. Introduction to Pagan Studies gives the reader a solid understanding of the diverse and complicated collection of beliefs, practices, and issues involved in the many religious traditions that fall under the banner of contemporary Pagnism, and operates as a springboard to deeper study and research. * Newwitch *Barbara Davy's excellent introduction to the study of Paganism offers a clear view of the state of academic knowledge about Paganism, anticipates areas of growing interest, and skilfully enables readers to reflect on approaches to this and other religions. This accessible book will be of value to anyone interested in Paganism and to anyone interested in the study of religions. -- Dr. Graham Harvey, Religious Studies, Open University, UKTable of Contents0 Introduction 1 Beliefs 2 Social Organization 3 Individual and Family Practices 4 Group Practices 5 Myths and Historical Origins 6 Literary Origins and Influences 7 Social and Charismatic Influences 8 Denominations 9 Ethics and Politics 10 Current Issues 11 Research in Pagan Studies 13 Glossary 14 Bibliography 15 Index

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Book SynopsisA solid sense of self-worth helps children make good choices, develop healthy relationships, and work to achieve their dreams. Based on a biblical understanding of human value, Building Confidence in Your Child teaches moms and dads how to parent positively to help their children grow into secure adults who are poised for success in life. Deftly balancing the principles of humility and pride, trusted author and parenting expert Dr. James Dobson offers practical pointers that break through the theories and get right down to the decisions parents have to make every day.

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Book SynopsisWith heart and passion, two Christian culture leaders use real-life stories to cut through the chaos, bad news, and uncertainty of the church to show God is powerfully active and engaged in restoring all things to himself, encouraging Christians to join the movement.

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Book SynopsisOften we read the book of Daniel in one of two ways--either as a book about a heroic man whose righteousness should inspire us to keep the faith no matter what our circumstances, or as a roadmap to the end times that can, through careful study, perhaps tell us the day and hour (or nearly so) of Christ''s return. Both, says Bryan Chapell, are sadly missing the bigger picture, that God is the hero of this story and he is in the midst of his unrelenting plan to rescue his people from their sin and its consequences. We mustn''t simply make the man Daniel the object of our worship nor the subject of our debates. We may differ about prophetic details, Chapell says, but we should never miss the point that the book of Daniel is, like all of Old Testament Scripture, pointing us toward the grace of God, ultimately revealed in Christ.Pastors, teachers, and individual Christians studying the book of Daniel will find this volume a welcome addition to their library.

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Book SynopsisThis revised and expanded edition of the classic bestseller includes a new foreword and epilogue on the remarkable life and healing of the author himself, written by his son.

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Book SynopsisExplores the relationships men, women, and children have formed with the Virgin Mary and the saints in twentieth-century American Catholic history, and reflects on how people live in the company of sacred figures and how these relationships shape the ties between people on earth.Trade ReviewWinner of the 2005 Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion in the Constructive-Reflective Studies Category, American Academy of Religion. One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2005 "[Orsi] challenges the human sciences to return to religion the uncertainty and angst it holds when it is actually lived rather than merely studied and theorized... Thoughtful and a pleasure to read, Between Heaven and Earth is a major contribution to religious studies and to the anthropology of religion, and will be of great interest to scholars concerned with subjectivity in the contemporary world."--Joao Biehl, Anthropological Quarterly "Between Heaven and Earth documents Orsi's growing confidence in the belief that religion is less about formal ideas or morality than how it structures networks of relationships, most important the relationships between family members, loved ones, their saints and Gods... The result is frequently dazzling... [A] compelling blend of personal narrative and scholarly inquiry."--John T. McGreevy, Commonweal "Between Heaven and Earth is a classic ... Balancing historical, archival and personal evidence in a rare style of historical auto-ethnography to study religious intimacy in fresh and intellectually satisfying ways, Orsi takes readers more deeply into his theoretical and conceptual levels of argument by introducing them to his uncle Sal and his grandmother... This is a memorable book, both for the story of Orsi's family, in which he situates historical and cultural practices, and for the intellectual challenge his work represents to the interdisciplinary study of religions."--Claire Hoertz Badaracco, America "Orsi argues that religion is best viewed not as a tool of meaning making, but as a complex and ambiguous 'network of relationships between heaven and earth involving humans of all ages and many different sacred figures together.' He persuasively demonstrates this through a series of case studies focused primarily on 20th-century American Catholicism. Orsi mixes personal family history with anthropological and historical argumentations... [T]he book moves far beyond the study of Catholicism. Orsi's broader foci are religion as it is practiced and the frames that scholars of religion use to interpret their subjects."--Choice "Thoughtful and a pleasure to read, Between Heaven and Earth is a major contribution to religious studies and to the anthropology of religion, and will be of great interest to scholars concerned with subjectivity in the contemporary world."--Joao Biehl, Anthropological Quarterly "Orsi shows how one might successfully approach a study of religion that is both critical and radically empirical, focused on the way that people inhabit and make their world through religious idiom embedded in a network of social and material relationships. This book is as methodologically important as it is engaging to read."--Richard J. Callahan, Jr., Religion "Robert Orsi strongly makes the case that positive and negative assessments of religious practice are beside the point... [T]he power of Between Heaven and Earth is not in replacing the either/or of the good religion schema with neither/nor. Rather it is Orsi's challenge to view religion as we might view other relationships in our lives: with respect for its complexity, and, above all, with compassion."--Peter Manseau, Church History "In this much-reviewed and widely praised set of essays on the religious experience of mid-twentieth-century working-class Italian-American Catholics, Robert Orsi speaks to a series of large questions in the study of religion more generally. Drawing from his own family history, he provides an intimate look at the interior world of the Catholicism he knows best, expanding the usual cast of adult devotees to include children, saints, and scholars."--Ann Taves, Journal of Religion "Between Heaven and Earth is both a model of and a model for how one might learn about vernacular religion through material culture and ritual practice. I have often drawn on and referred to Orsi's book."--Peter Savastano, transformations "The author writes as a committed insider, and much of his work is biographical in the context of his own family and also autobiographical. This is possibly the finest and most meaningful aspect of the entire book."--Professor Graham Duncan, Studia Historiae EcclesiasticaeTable of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix INTRODUCTION: Jesus Held Him So Close in His Love for Him That He Left the Marks of His Passion on His Body 1 CHAPTER ONE: "Mildred, Is It Fun to Be a Cripple?"The Culture of Suffering in Mid-Twentieth Century American Catholicism 19 CHAPTER TWO: The Many Names of the Mother of God 48 CHAPTER THREE: Material Children: Making God's Presence Real for Catholic Boys and Girls and for the Adults in Relation to Them 73 CHAPTER FOUR: Two Aspects of One Life: Saint Gemma Galgani and My Grandmother in the Wound between Devotion and History, the Natural and the Supernatural 110 CHAPTER FIVE: "Have You Ever Prayed to Saint Jude?" Reflections on Fieldwork in Catholic Chicago 146 CHAPTER SIX: Snakes Alive: Religious Studies between Heaven and Earth 177 NOTES 205 INDEX 241

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Book SynopsisLeading us chapter by chapter through the Hebrew Bible's most important storiesfrom the Creation and the Tree of Knowledge through the Exodus from Egypt and the journey to the Promised LandKugel shows how a group of anonymous ancient interpreters radically transformed the Bible and made it into the book that has come down to us today.Trade Review[A] wonderfully rich and learned volume...[Kugel's] purpose in The Bible As It Was is to describe the way the Bible was understood by various ancient peoples, from the Israelites who returned to Palestine after the Babylonian Captivity to the early Christian redactors of the New Testament. Using a staggering number of sources, Mr. Kugel evokes the manner in which the Bible was understood at the time of these interpreters; he also traces the origins of many of the explanations that have remained standard over the millennia. Mr. Kugel's enormous undertaking is likely to be seen as a milestone in the long critical history of Bible studies, that is, of the approach to the Bible as both a human document and a living one, rather than as the immutable and perfect word of God. -- Richard Bernstein * New York Times *[A] fascinating study...[Kugel's] main purpose is to provide a detailed look at how the Torah, the first five books, was interpreted in antiquity, most particularly from the third century B.C. through the first century A.D....To cull material from these diverse sources requires no small expertise as a sleuth and a scholar. Kugel is equal to the task...He tackles his chosen subject with erudition and enthusiasm...Compellingly written. -- Phyllis Trible * New York Times Book Review *It is the general reader whom Kugel has in view throughout, and his aim, in which he admirably succeeds, is both to provide such reader with a first-hand acquaintance with some examples of ancient biblical interpretation and also to show how these make sense, once writers' assumptions and exegetical techniques are grasped...The Bible At It Was is an enjoyable work. It is beautifully produced, clearly set out, so that, in spite of its size, it is easy to use, and is written in a lively, often racy, style; it displays that expository mastery of a complicated subject which is the mark of a distinguished scholar, and it will make the readers to whom it is directed feel at home in an unfamiliar world. -- J. R. Porter * Times Literary Supplement *[This book] takes something you thought you knew and shows you--doesn't just tell you--that you didn't really know it at all...Kugel, who has the wherewithal to be a world-class academic show-off, instead lets the ancients speak in their own voice, make their own case. His learning is staggering, but his scholarly humility is exemplary. You mustn't skip a sentence in his book, and his has so deftly fashioned it that you don't want to. -- Patrick Henry * Harvard Divinity Bulletin *In this learned yet readable book, James Kugel explains how the earliest scholars tried to make some sense of difficult passages and how their work has forever influenced the way later generations understood the Bible...His book is a good introduction to Jewish biblical tradition and how ancient scribes and scholars understood the Bible. -- Joseph F. Kelly * Cleveland Plain Dealer *[The Bible As It Was] engages the reader...without demanding knowledge of any ancient languages, and in a prose so sweetly reasonable that daunting scholarship gets spooned out as the delight of discovery...It offers rich resources for the study of comparative scriptural interpretation...[and] not only reminds us of a deeper and broader tradition of biblical study that the profoundly amnesiac version called the historical-critical, but provides a sense of what that older tradition might still offer...[Kugel] shows how the 'legends' developed, not by random imagination, but by means of careful exegetical deduction. Here is the real intellectual thrill, to see how the 'questions' posed by the notorious gaps, indirections, and obscurities of the Hebrew text led naturally...to the sorts of 'answers' gathered together in this volume. Kugel is a talented teacher, who successfully leads his readers through an imaginative reconstruction of the logic at work at every stage from text to traditions...[This anthology] offers valuable resources for a fuller and more organic engagement with Scripture...[It is] brilliantly presented. -- Luke Timothy Johnson * Commonweal *The Bible As It Was guides us deftly through a web that turns out to have been far more extensive and ecumenical than most of us would have thought. -- Hillel Halkin * Commentary *With humor and insight derived from modern scholarship, archaeology, linguistics, and history, Kugel succeeds as did his ancient interpretive forebears in bringing out 'the universal and enduring messages of biblical texts. -- Steven Schnur * Reform Judaism *A dazzlingly learned and clever study...Kugel's fascinating, eclectic anthology of wisdom is graced by many choice passages from Philo, the 1st-century B.C.E. Jew of Alexandria who excelled in Torah interpretation. -- Stuart Schoffman * Jerusalem Report *Biblical commentaries from 1,500 years ago? How significant could they be to our modern-day perception of biblical stories? Extremely. The picture painted by James L. Kugel... in his recent book, The Bible As It Was, is that it was those interpreters, often anonymous and today largely unknown, who significantly molded our understanding of the Bible...Kugel offers a large, well-selected collection of these interpretations on 23 of the better-known biblical stories. He presents them in a masterful way that makes them easily accessible and enjoyable to the layman...[and places them in]...proper historical and religious context...The Bible As It Was can be read from cover to cover or it can be used as a resource by someone studying a particular biblical incident. The sources in this book are crucial to understanding our Bible, and Kugel has done a great service by making them accessible to the general public. -- Ari Zivotofsky * Cleveland Jewish News *The most important biblical study this decade. * Library Booknotes *An extraordinary, pathbreaking scholarly achievement: an annotated anthology of interpretations of ancient (mostly 100 B.C. 300 A.D.) interpretations of the Torah culled from hundreds of sources...Kugel's great achievement is to demonstrate again and again, with hundreds of fascinating examples, how the integrity of the text was both respected and reinterpreted by authors as varied as those of the apocrypha, the earliest midrashim, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the early Church fathers. His own interpretive comments are consistently clear and engaging...This volume, which will be savored by both Jewish and Christian lovers of Scripture, richly illustrates Kugel's point that what we know as 'the Bible' is really a series of texts filtered through the imaginative perceptions of its ancient exegetes. * Kirkus Reviews *Kugel has marshaled a great many ancient sources. This important work for intelligent readers should be acquired by all general readership libraries and especially by those intended for theological and sociological research. * Library Journal *James Kugel is one of the great scholars of biblical interpretation in our time, and from the day of its publication this book will become the indispensable classic in the field. The relationship between the formation of texts and the development of their interpretive traditions in the evolution of the Hebrew Bible has been given a treatment both authoritative and innovative, altogether a singular contribution to the realm of biblical study. -- Peter J. Gomes, author of The Good BookJames Kugel is a scholar much admired for his learning and originality. In this book he addresses not the biblical expert but the ordinary intelligent reader, and explains how the tradition of biblical interpretation was shaped by the earliest interpreters, whether Christian or rabbinical. The Bible As It Was will interest all who care about traditions of interpretation, and all who wish to deepen their understanding of the whole Bible. -- Frank KermodeA book that not only informs--with a vast, mostly hidden erudition behind it--but also entertains. It is important, and a delight. Kugel invites his readers to think their way into the several manners in which the ancient readers heard the biblical texts. -- Wayne Meeks, Yale UniversityA landmark! This is the story of how we got the Bible that we have today. It will enthrall all readers who love and hate and care about the Bible. There is no one better suited than Kugel to have produced this extremely important book. In addition to his extraordinary erudition in both the Jewish and Christian reading traditions of antiquity, he is gifted with the ability to write clearly and engagingly but with nuance and preciseness. -- Daniel Boyarin, University of California, BerkeleyTable of ContentsPreface The World of Ancient Biblical Interpreters The Creation of the World Wisdom Came First * The "Beginning" Did It * A Special Light * The Angels Were Also Created * God and Someone Else * Completed on Friday Adam and Eve Death in a Day * The Punishment Was Mortality * Sinfulness is Hereditary * The Serpent Was Satan * Blame It on the Woman * An Extra Proviso * The Earthly Paradise * The Garden in Heaven Cain and Abel Son of the Devil * Cain's Sisters * Professions Decided * Defective Sacrifices * The Problem Was the Sacrificer * The Good and the Bad * Killed with a Stone * God Knew Where Abel Was * Cain's Sevenfold Punishment * Cain's Repentance Noah and the Flood Cain Was the Worst * The Immortal Enoch * The Heavenly Scribe * Enoch the Sage * Enoch the Penitent * A Bad Match * The Wicked Giants * One Hundred and Twenty until Punishment * Noah Warned of the Flood * Noah the Righteous * Only in His Generation * The Animals Also Sinned * The Purifying Flood The Tower of Babel They Tried to Storm Heaven * A War against God * Nimrod Built It * The Builders Were Giants * The Tower Lies in Ruins Abraham Journeys from Chaldea Abraham the Monotheist * Terah, Priest of Idolatry * Abraham the Astronomer * Tipped Off by the Stars * Abraham Rescued from Chaldea * Abraham Saved from Fire * Abraham Was Upset * Abraham's Dream Melchizedek A Generous Host * Righteous King and Priest * Divinely Appointed High Priest * The Heavenly Melchizedek * The Christian "Order of Melchizedek" * An Uncircumcised Priest? * Melchizedek in Samaria * Melchizedek Was Shem * Services No Longer Needed The Trials of Abraham Abraham the Tested * Abraham Saw a Dire Future * Challenged by Angels * God Made It Known * Isaac Was a Willing Victim * Together in Mind * Offering Foreshadowed Crucifixion Lot and Lot's Wife Lot the Righteous * Lot the Wicked * Sodomites' Sexual Sins * The Proud and the Stingy * Abraham's Hospitality * Lot Learned from Abraham * Lot's Wife Sinned * A Visible Reminder * Lot's Daughters Meant Well Jacob and Esau Jacob Was Not Just "Simple" * Jacob the Scholar * Esau the Wicked * Good and Evil in Utero * Esau the Warrior * Esau Means Rome * Esau the Deceiver * Esau Didn't Care * Jacob Told the Truth * God Wanted Jacob to be Blessed * The Ladder Was a Message * Angels Wanted to See Him Jacob and the Angel Jacob Knew Right Away * Deluded in the Dark * Additional Trickery Required * Weak, Bleary Eyes * "Nice Eyes, But..." * God Multiplied Jacob's Flocks * Rachel Was Not a Crook * Jacob Struggled with an Angel * Mighty with God's Help * Israel Means Seeing God Dinah Uncontrolled Anger * Shechem Deserved Death * Foreigners Are Different * Intermarriage Is Forbidden * A Wise Answer * The Whole City Was Guilty * City with a Criminal Past * God Said No * God Ordered Their Destruction * Dinah Married Job Joseph's Ups and Downs It's a Wise Child * Eating from the Flocks * Resembled Jacob in All Things * Deeds of Youthful Foolishness * For the Price of Shoes * Joseph's Great Virtue * A Very Handsome Man * Girls Climbing the Walls * Cast Down Their Jewelry * Joseph Was Not Tempted * Remembered Jacob's Teachings * Saw Jacob's Face * A Collective Accusation * Pharaoh's Servants Applauded * Joseph Had Been Disdained Jacob's Sons in Egypt A Good Reason for Concealing * Joseph Tested His Brothers * Joseph Disdained Revenge * Reuben Lost His Inheritance * Bilhah Bathing * Bilhah Was Asleep * Jacob Foretold the Future * Kingship Will Not Depart Forever * Another King Will Come * Until a New King Comes * A Ruler of the World * Why Did Joseph Put It Off? Growing Up in Pharaoh's Court A Plan to Finish Them Off * Why Only the Boys? * A Future Savior * Jannes and Jambres * Balaam, Job, and Jethro * Death by Water * Schooled in Every Wisdom * Moses' Speech Defect * Jealous of Moses * Zipporah the Ethopian * Miraculously Burning Bush * The Medium Was the Message * "I Am the One Who Is..." * "I Am the Eternal..." * An Angel in the Hotel * Circumcision Delayed Is Circumcision Denied * A Prenuptial Agreement The Exodus from Egypt A Godlike Man * No Mere Magician's Trick * Pharaoh Didn't Realize * Divine Punishment of the Egyptians * Deservedly Punished by Water * A Dark Dungeon for Egypt * Metaphorical Darkness * Justifiable Death for the Firstborn * Egyptians Gave Willingly * Fair Wages at Last * The Symbolic Passover Laws * The (Paschal) Lamb of Christianity The Red Sea Pillar of Luminous Cloud * Protective Covering * An Angel in the Cloud * Final Payment * Get Back Our Goods! * Rebellion at the Sea * More than One Miracle * A Grassy Plain * Miraculous Timing * If Looks Could Kill * Light and Dark Together * Ups and Downs of the Egyptians * Red Sea as Baptism * How Did They Know the Words? * Seeing God at the Sea * Infants Sang Too * Miriam's Separate Song * A New Song Into the Wilderness Water, Water... * A Symbolic Tree * The Water Was Divine Wisdom * The Food of the Angels * Heavenly Grain * Adapted to Any Taste * Spiritual Sustenance * The Traveling Rock * Miriam's Well * Amalek Destroyed at the End-Time * The Symbolic Hands of Moses * The Christian Battle with Amalek * Jethro the Polytheist * Jethro the Good At Mt. Sinai Heaven on Earth * Celestial Sinai * Heavenly Moses * God Spoke All Ten * God Spoke Only Two * The Ten Were All * The Decalogue Epitomizes * Five and Five * Which Ten Commandments? * No Talk of Weekday Matters * Guard the Sabbath Borders * Do Not Go Out Too Far * Do Not Take Vain Oaths * No False Oaths * Honor Your Heavenly and Earthly Fathers * A Mishap to the Baby * A Mishap to the Mother * Money for an Eye * Traditions of the Elders * Moses Was Given More than the Torah * Oral Teachings from Moses * A Hidden Torah * Moses' Secret Book * A Book before Moses * Children of the Chosen * Singled Out from the Start * Other Nations Knew Anyway * Other Nations at Fault * Remember This Blood The Golden Calf A Celestial Sanctuary * Copied from Heaven * A Likeness of the Universe * Aaron Tried to Stop Them * Aaron Feared for His Life * Hur Murdered by the Rabble * The Letters Flew Off * Tables Became Too Heavy * Divine Traits of Character * Steadfast Love for Thousands of Generations * No Pardon for the Wicked * Thousands of Sins Forgiven * Moses' Face Beamed Light * Moses Grew Horns Worship in the Wilderness An Error in Priestly Procedure * A Holy Death * Coats Not Burned * Control of Appetites * Ruminating with One's Mind * Gentle Birds for Gentle People * Day of Repentance * The Day of Partial Atonement * Hatred Means Hypocrisy * Reproach Prevents Hatred * Reproach Gently to Prevent Sin * Reproach before Charging * Love As You Would Be Loved * Love Only Your Neighbor * The Whole Torah Trouble along the Way Quails Weren't for Grousing * A Wife Related to Prophecy * Trusted Servant Par Excellence * Whose Bad Idea? * Solemnly Warned * Tassels Set Off Revolt * Moses Accused of Favoritism * Moses Was Polite * Korah's Symbolic Death * A Truly Dangerous Figure * Aaron's Symbolic Staff The Bronze Serpent, Balaam, and Phinehas Looking Didn't Cure * Serpent Was Like Moses' Hands * Balaam the Wicked * God Knew Who They Were * A Prophet for Hire * Balaam Foresaw the Messiah * A Ruler of the World * The Star Is the Messiah * The Star Will Precede the Scepter * Balaam Counseled Seduction * A Leader among Priests * Phinehas the Immortal * Phinehas Is Elijah The Life of Torah The Great Teaching * These Words Twice a Day * A Particular Prophet * Do Not Displace Old Practices * Necessary Paperwork * No Divorce--Except for Indecency * Any Old Reason Is Valid * Don't Muzzle Me * Small Commandments as Important as Big * Torah Refines (Like Fire) * The Gift of the Torah * Not in Heaven Anymore * A Choice for Each Person * A Choice of Two Paths * Nice Road at First * The Path to the Afterlife * Consider Heaven and Earth * Heaven and Earth Were Already Witnesses * Moses Did Not Want to Die * Moses Disputed with an Angel * Moses' Last Vision * Buried by God (or the Angels) * Buried under a Cloud * Not Buried at All * The Supreme Philosopher Afterword Abbreviations Terms and Sources Bibliography Illustration Credits Index

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Book SynopsisA carefully researched, accessibly written portrait of dreaming as a powerful, unpredictable, often iconoclastic force in human religious lifeTrade Review"From the American Indian ritual of the vision quest to the Muslim prayer and dream-incubation practice of istikhara, there have been cultural traditions of enhancing people's awareness of their dreams and deriving insights from them. Modern researchers can learn from such practices and combine them with today's technologies, using new tools to fulfill an ancient pursuit." -- Kelly Bulkeley * New York Times *"With this original and provacative book, Bulkeley has shown what the 'new' comparative study of religion at its very best can offer." -- Kimberley C. Patton * History of Religions *"A pleasure to read, well written and full of fascinating examples. It is unique in combining a sensitive and sympathetic understanding of the religious meanings of dreams with a state-of-the-art treatment of the insights that cognitive neuroscience and evolutionary psychology bring to our understanding of them." -- Wendy Doniger,author of Dreams, Illusion, and Other Realities"Offers a sophisticated, yet easily accessible and engaging discussion of how and in what way dreams and a broad range of the worlds religions have enjoyed mutual influence throughout history." -- Nina P. Azari,Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopaedia of Religions and Sciences"The scope of Bulkeley’s knowledge is impressive, as is his skill at synthesizing ideas from a variety of source material." * Publishers Weekly *"The chronological/regional organization, along with the authors careful, scholarly prose, makes this practical as a classroom textbook." * Library Journal *"Such a chronological/regional organization, along with the author's careful, scholarly prose, makes this practical as a classroom textbook...for interested readers and students, there are notes and an ample bibliography to stimulate further study. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with strong religion collections." * Library Journal *"Psychoanalysis and phenomenology combine to understand dreams and dreaming as comprehended by a geographically and temporally wide spectrum of global and regional religions. Bulkeley argues that scientific understandings are not unique in their reflective critique of the nature or value of dreaming, that critical reflection on dreams can be found in a variety of traditions, and that even where evidence for formal analysis is lacking, dreams are categorized by type and value." * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Note on Translations Introduction 1 Hinduism 2 Chinese Religions 3 Buddhism 4 Religions of the Fertile Crescent 5 Religions of Ancient Greece and Rome 6 Christianity 7 Islam 8 Religions of Africa 9 Religions of Oceania 10 Religions of the Americas Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisOffers a new model for understanding the atonement, sensitive to both the Christian tradition and its postmodern critics.Table of ContentsIntroductionPart 1: The Divine Face of Hospitality1. The Possibility of Hospitality2. Limited Hospitality: Election and Violence in Eternity3. Preferential Hospitality: Election and Violence in History Part 2: The Cruciform Face of Hospitality 4. Atonement, Metaphors, and Models5. Modeling Hospitality: Atonement as Moral Influence6. Atonement and Mimetic Violence7. Hospitality, Punishment, and the Atonement8. Atonement, Violence, and VictoryPart 3: The Public Face of Hospitality9. The Church as the Community of Hospitality10. Public Justice and the Hospitality of LiberationEpilogueIndexes

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Book SynopsisThis ten-week Bible study leads participants through the Old Testament prophetic books, showing how they point to the true and living Word of God--Jesus. Fifth volume in the popular Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament series.

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Book SynopsisDating to the first half of the first millennium BCE, the Katha Aranyaka is a ritualistic and speculative text that deals with a dangerous Vedic ritual that provides its sponsor with a new body after death. In a new critical edition, Michael Witzel presents this work which transitions the Vedic ritual into the philosophy of the Upanishads.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis is the masterpiece one would have expected it to be. For the expert it is a fresh and elegant treatise, brimming deliciously with new ideas and insights. For the beginner it is a brilliant gem of exposition, rendering a host of abstruse arguments crystal clear. For all it is a smooth and exciting journey to a vivid and comprehensive view of the alternative foundations of classical mathematics. -- Joseph S. Ullian * Philosophical Review *Perhaps the most concise and readable general survey of axiomatic set theory at present available…Suitable reading not only for mathematics students…but also for philosophers with an interest in the foundations of mathematics. An excellent index and system of numbering formulae make it also a useful reference book. -- A. A. Treherne * Proceedings of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society *This revision of an important and lucid account of the various systems of axiomatic set theory preserves the basic format and essential ingredients of its highly regarded original…There have, however, been a number of important changes, generally in the interest of greater elegance and clarity…a generally improved version of an originally masterful and brilliant work. * Review of Metaphysics *This book is most remarkable for its way of presenting the subject matter. A definite system of set theory is offered, but at the same time alternative ways are indicated and partly explored at every turn…The book is also remarkable for its style. Pithy, with never an unnecessary word (but with every necessary one), at times witty, the book is written in a way that is a great relief from ordinary textbooks. Quine's books always have style, but I consider this as one of the most successful from this point of view. -- Jean van HeijenoortTable of ContentsINTRODUCTION PART ONE. THE ELEMENTS I. LOGIC Quantification and identity Virtual classes Virtual relations II. REAL CLASSES Reality, extensionality, and the individual The virtual amid the real Identity and substitution III. CLASSES OF CLASSES Unit classes Unions, intersections, descriptions Relations as classes of pairs Functions IV. NATURAL NUMBERS Numbers unconstrued Numbers construed Induction V. ITERATION AND ARITHMETIC Sequences and iterates The ancestral Sum, product, power PART TWO. HIGHER FORMS OF NUMBER VI. REAL NUMBERS Program. Numerical pairs Ratios and reals construed Existential needs. Operations and extensions VII. ORDER AND ORDINALS Transfinite induction Order Ordinal numbers Laws of ordinals The order of the ordinals VIII. TRANSFINITE RECURSION Transfinite recursion Laws of transfinite recursion Enumeration IX. CARDINAL NUMBERS Comparative size of classes The SchrOder-Bernstein theorem Infinite cardinal numbers X. THE AXIOM OF CHOICE Selections and selectors Further equivalents of the axiom The place of the axiom PART THREE. AXIOM SYSTEMS XI. RUSSELL'S THEORY OF TYPES The constructive part Classes and the axiom of reducibility The modern theory of types XII. GENERAL VARIABLES AND ZERMELO The theory of types with general variables Cumulative types and Zermelo Axioms of infinity and others XIII. STRATIFICATION AND ULTIMATE CLASSES "New foundations" Non-Cantorian classes. Induction again Ultimate classes added XIV. VON NEUMANN'S SYSTEM AND OTHERS The von Neumann-Bernays system Departures and comparisons Strength of systems SYNOPSIS OF FIVE AXIOM SYSTEMS LIST OF NUMBERED FORMULAS BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES INDEX

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Book SynopsisCollected together for the first time in one volume are the most important critical study of Pelagius to date and a selection of his letters.Trade ReviewA judicious survey of the literature surrounding Pelagius and the movement associated with his name. * CHURCH HISTORY *An important contribution to studies of Pelagius and the social and religious world of the late fourth and early fifth-century West. * THEOLOGICAL STUDIES *

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Book SynopsisChristian theologians rarely study the Old Testament in its final Hebrew canonical form, even though this was very likely the Bible of Jesus and the early church. However, once read as a whole, the larger structure of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) provides a 'wide-angle lens' through which its contents can be viewed. In this stimulating exposition, Stephen Dempster argues that, despite its undoubted literary diversity, the Hebrew Bible possesses a remarkable structural and conceptual unity. The various genres and books are placed within a comprehensive narrative framework which provides an overarching literary and historical context. The many texts contribute to this larger text, and find their meaning and significance within its story of 'dominion and dynasty', which ranges from Adam to the Son of Man to David, and to a coming Davidic king.

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Book SynopsisThe 'way of a man with a maiden' was too wonderful for the writer of Proverbs to understand. Preoccupying so many thoughts and dreams, the subject of countless songs, films and fairytales, the love between a man and a woman has always been a profound and perplexing mystery. And yet we do not live happily ever after. Four out of ten marriages will end in divorce. Couples now choose to live together rather than marry, and those relationships are even less likely to last. People are having fewer children, later, and with a succession of partners. Ironically, just when so much is expected of love, Western societies are witnessing lower levels of public commitment in sexual relationships than ever before. The scale of this change amounts to a revolution, a major historical paradigm shift. The statistics mask a depth of pain that every pastor and counsellor knows only too well. We must face the inevitable questions: if faithfulness is no longer esteemed, why get married at all? What is

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Book SynopsisThe first and only commentary on the Buddhist master Longchenpa''s essential text on Dzogchen by modern scholar and Nyingma master, Khangsar Khenpo Tenpa''i Wangchuk.Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363), also known as Longchenpa, is a great luminary of Tibetan Buddhism. Regarded as a master of Dzogchen, or Great Perfection, Longchenpa''s prolific writings have made him one of Tibet''s most renowned and precious teachers. In clear and elegant verse, Longchenpa''s Precious Treasury of the Fundamental Nature establishes the definitive view of the ultimate nature of mind according to the secret class of pith instructions of the Great Perfection. Aside from the auto-commentary composed by Longchenpa himself in the fourteenth century, the first and only commentary ever to have been written on this work was composed in the twentieth century by Khangsar Khenpo Tenpa''i Wangchuk, a teacher, scholar, and preserver of Buddhist monastic and scholarly culture in Tibet. This work marks the first step in translating the collected works of this modern Nyingma master. In this commentary, Khangsar Khenpo guides Dzogchen practitioners to experience and understand the phenomena of the outer world detected by the senses as well as the subjective mental and emotional states that apprehend them in order to bring the student to a recognition and stabilized experience of ultimate truth.

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Book SynopsisBy laying out a cosmic vision of marriage as the Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation, this volume honors and exalts marriage as a grand display of the gospel, offering hope for our marriages today.

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Book SynopsisSharing from his wealth of personal experience and illustrating from history, Harvey explores biblical principles and revealing questions to help prospective pastors discern their calling.

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Book SynopsisVanDrunen uses the two-kingdoms theory to demonstrate how God's response to the civil and spiritual kingdoms inform an active yet critical Christian engagement with culture.

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Book SynopsisThis commentary on Numbers explores the story of Israel's exodus from Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, and entrance into the Promised Land. Now redesigned with a new cover, this is part of the popular Preaching the Word series.

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Book SynopsisThe driving force behind Rupa Gosvami''s acts, including his vast literary repertoire, was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, renowned as the initiator of the Gaudiya Vaisnava lineage in sixteenth century India. In the eyes of his followers, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu descended to earth to enact a specific redemptive mission. Indeed his Bhakti movement changed the hearts and faith of uncountable people, both in the India of his day and worldwide in the modern era, by instilling in them the path of pure love of God. Like many who were touched by Mahaprabhu and his teachings, Rupa Gosvami left behind his worldly life and dedicated himself to the mission of His master. By dedicating an entire volume exclusively to the Acharya, The Mission of Rupa Gosvami is nearly unique in terms of its approach to the subject.

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Book SynopsisPopular worship leader and speaker shows that our lives follow what our hearts focus on, whether the glory of God or ourselves and our desires.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is a new translation, introduction and commentary on the book of law that shaped the religion in Israel.

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Book SynopsisIncludes notes and comments, which sort out the major issues surrounding the writings of John - questions of authorship, composition, date, and John's relation to the Synoptic Gospels. This volume includes an appendix on the Paraclete, which examines the role of the Holy Spirit.

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