Religious issues and debates Books

Book SynopsisThis volume offers a broad reflection on women's engagement in ritual and liturgy. The Central Theme section opens with a multi-faith dialogue on women and ritual. Denise J.J. Dijk discusses the Feminist Liturgical Movement in the Netherlands and the US. Teresa Berger explores the implications of the ancient axiom "lex orandi, lex credendi" for women's liturgical practice. Brigitte Enzner-Probst considers the role of the body in worship. Annette Esser encourages dynamic dialogue between women artists and women engaged in liturgy. Gabriella Lettini examines the concept of syncretism in the light of the relationship between gospel and culture. The Forum focuses on translation: Judith Hartenstein and Silke Petersen highlight the problems of inclusive-language translation of St John's Gospel, while Caroline Vander Stichele presents recent discussions of the Dutch translation of JHWH. In Women's Traditions, Rosine Lambin traces the adoption of the veiling of women in the early church. Bettina Kratz-Ritter discusses the decline and modern renewal of ancient Jewish women's birth rites intended to protect the newborn child. From the countries, Angela Berlis tracks the evolution of the German Old Catholic 'Women's Sunday' service from 1920 to the present. Charlotte Methuen reflects on issues of power and authority raised by women's presidency at the Eucharist. Finally, the Book Market lists recently-published works as well as reviews.

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Book Synopsis“About Shelters and Encounters. An Array of Theological Voices”: that is the title of the thirtieth volume of the Journal of the ESWTR. As implied, the volume offers a wide range of texts, ranging from an elaboration of the shelter as a fitting metaphor for the location and the mode of developing queer theology to a round table discussion between African and Dutch female theologians about insider/outsider positions when doing theology as African female theologians in Europe. Bracketed by these two articles, four other texts add to the variety of voices the volume presents. The first of these invites the reader to share in a multi-layered account of the encounter of two women theologians from different disciplines, reading and interpreting the encounter of Mary and Elisabeth as it has been described and portrayed in pictures and text. Following suit, the reader will find a programmatic depiction of what a program for gender-conscious religious education could look like. Next in the array is a description of how interreligious ethics can contribute to elucidating moral dilemmas of Christian and Muslim women. And, closing this inner section, the volume offers a report of a(n empirical) pilot study conducted amongst participants of the Seventh Synod-Weekend of the Dutch Ecumenical Women’s Synod into how women attribute religious authority and why. Last but not least, three reviews of four recently published books accompany this issue, making it truly a volume with an array of theological voices.

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Book SynopsisThis volume contains the proceedings of an international conference on the relation between asceticism and aspirations about reaching for perfection held at the University of Leuven 21-23 October 2019 and organised in the framework of Kosmoi, an association of Leuven colleagues from various disciplines working in the field of religious studies. Contributors were asked to integrate in their essay (aspects of) one of the following four basic topics: (1) the goal and purpose of living an ascetic life; (2) the means, both material and immaterial, available for reaching this goal; (3) the place of asceticism within the whole of religious practices in a particular religious tradition; and (4) the challenges and dangers of adopting such a lifestyle. These topics are addressed in various religious traditions, with a focus on Christian tradition – Western and Eastern, and through various approaches – historical, anthropological, and more philosophical.

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Book SynopsisImage and the Office of the Dead in Late Medieval Europe explores the Office of the Dead as a site of interaction between text, image, and experience in the culture of commemoration that thrived in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Office of the Dead was a familiar liturgical ritual, and its perceived importance and utility are evident in its regular inclusion in devotional compilations, which crossed the boundaries between lay and religious readers. The Office was present in all medieval deaths: as a focus for private contemplation, a site of public performance, a reassuring ritual, and a voice for the bereaved. Examining the images at the Office of the Dead and related written, visual, and material evidence, this book explores the relationship of these images to the text in which they are embedded and to the broader experiences of and aspirations for death.Table of ContentsFigures Introduction The Office of the Dead in Christian Liturgy The Office of the Dead in Devotional Books Regular Death: Reading the Funeral and Imaginative Practice Seeing into the Office: Imagining Reader as Body Hearing Community: Image and Liturgy Repellent Death: Time, Rot and the Death of the Body Death-tide: Time and decay of the body ‘Nothing more base and abominable’: The Corpse Disruption: The Lively Corpse Dry Bones: Death in Life The Redemptive Death: Job, Lazarus and Death Undone Living Death: Job as the Social Body The Undead: Lazarus and the Promise of Resurrection Conclusions Bibliography Bibliography: Manuscripts

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Book Synopsis The contemporary rabbi is influenced by the modern rabbinic establishments throughout the world, including the rabbinate in Israel. The rabbinate's monopoly on opinions and interpretations prevents rabbis from expressing their individual positions out of fear of delegitimization. The current structure gives the public a negative impression of the rabbinic establishment. The Importance of the Community Rabbi strives to describe and delineate key requirements for a good rabbi, i.e., one who can provide socially acceptable halachic solutions within the parameters of Orthodox thinking. Rabbi Sperber elucidates the halachic techniques and mechanisms that may be used toward this goal. These are further illustrated with stories from rabbinic literature and examples from various responsa.

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Book SynopsisRabba, Maharat, Rabbanit, Rebbetzin: Women with Leadership Authority According to Halachah examines in detail the legitimacy for feminine leadership in Jewish law. Exploring the various manifestations of female leadership, whether as women clergy or other forms of female halachic adjudication, Rabba, Maharat, Rabbanit, Rebbetzin responds to the standard criticisms leveled at the recent phenomenon of female authority within the Orthodox community. In this groundbreaking book, Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber argues the halachic, political, and sociological levels of female leadership in Judaism.

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Book SynopsisArticle 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), published by the United Nations in 1948, states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

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