The five-hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation (1517) pro-vides an opportunity to reflect in a new way on the relationship between the Protestants and the Society of Jesus, which was founded twenty-three years later (1540). Before we discuss the Jesuit–Protestant encounter in Africa, which resulted from the colonial expansion of the Catholic and Protestant Eur…
The book of Daniel (Dan) presents us with many indications of multiple authorship and a complicated textual history. Most obviously, there are the oppositions of genre and language. Dan 1–6 contain loosely connected court tales, mostly narrated in the third person.1 Dan 7–12 contain apocalypses, mostly narrated in the first person.2 Largely but not e…
TheD. ?ak ?arn.ava(“Ocean ofD. ?akas”) is one of the last Tantric scriptures amongthose belonging to the Buddhist Sam.vara tradition. It consists of 51 chapters. Asdiscussed in Section 2 in this monograph, it was developed sometime between thelate-10th and mid-12th centuries, and the basic text of its extant version was mostlikely completed around the early 12th century in the eastern par…
Public interest in modern art continues to grow, as witnessed by the spectacular success of the Tate Modern in London and the Bilbao Guggenheim. Modern Art: A Very Short Introduction engages general readers, offering them not only information and ideas about modern art, but also explaining its contemporary relevance and history. The book focuses on interrogating the idea of "modern" art by aski…
In Kabbalah: A Very Short Introduction, Joseph Dan, one of the world's leading authorities on Jewish mysticism, offers a concise and highly accurate look at the history and character of the various systems developed by the adherents of the Kabbalah. Dan sheds light on the many misconceptions about what Kabbalah is and isn't--including its connections to magic, astronomy, alchemy, and numerol…
Public interest in biblical archaeology is at an all-time high, as television documentaries pull in millions of viewers to watch shows on the Exodus, the Ark of the Covenant, and the so-called Lost Tomb of Jesus. Important discoveries with relevance to the Bible are made virtually every year--during 2007 and 2008 alone researchers announced at least seven major discoveries in Israel, five of th…
Opening with a lucid overview of the rise and spread of Islam, from the seventh to the twenty-first century, this Very Short Introduction introduces the story of Islamic history, charting the evolution of what was originally a small, localized community of believers into an international religion with over a billion adherents. The book examines how Islam rose from the obscurity of seventh-centu…
Malise Ruthven tackles the polemic and stereotypes surrounding this complex phenomenon - one that eludes sim today, a conclusion impossible to ignore since the events in New York on September 11 2001. But what does 'fundamentalism' really mean? Since it was coined by American Protestant evangelicals in the 1920s, the use of the term 'fundamentalist' has expanded to include a diverse range of…
Who or what is God? How do different religions interpret God's existence? How can we know God? Many people believe in God; not just throughout history but also in the present day. But who or what is it they believe in? Many different and sometimes conflicting answers have been suggested to this question. This Very Short Introduction explores some of the answers provided by philosophers, poet…
Islam features widely in the news, often in its most militant versions, but few people in the non-Muslim world really understand the nature of Islam. Malise Ruthven's Very Short Introduction contains essential insights into issues such as why Islam has such major divisions between movements such as the Shi'ites, the Sunnis, and the Wahhabis, and the central importance of the Shar'ia (Islamic la…
Over the last decade, "New Atheists" such as Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens have pushed the issue of atheism to the forefront of public discussion. Yet very few of the ensuing debates and discussions have managed to provide a full and objective treatment of the subject. Atheism: What Everyone Needs to Know provides a balanced look at the topic, considering atheism hist…
John Hagee's breathtaking biblical tour of the three heavens takes you inside the timeless clash between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Darkness and explains why that battle makes all the difference in this world and the world to come. In The Three Heavens, Hagee uses the Word of God, science, and incredible true stories of the supernatural to explore the First Heaven. He then expos…
Allah alone, the All-Merciful, deserves all praise and thanks, Lord of the universe, its Creator and Sustainer. Blessings and peace be upon the last of the prophets and messengers, Muhammad, his family and Companions and all those who follow in his footsteps till the end of time. Polygamy in Islam is a favourite topic for the critics of Islam and its message. The so-called secular and We…
The present volume is the proceedings of the start-up conference “Establishing of Buddhist Nodes in Eastern Central Asia 6th to 14th C. Part I: Sacred Space, Pilgrimage, Patronage, Legitimation Strategies” of the BuddhistRoad project, which was held at Ruhr-Universität Bochum on 23–25 May, 2018.1 The themes chosen for this volume are similar to those that constitute the research …
Economic activities for individuals and societies need to be financed, whether they are business projects and enterprises, or expenditures of a private nature, such as purchasing a home or paying for education. Financing human activity can be conducted in two principally different ways: by using equity belonging to the initiator, or by receiving loans, credit or equity from a third party. At a …
South African Christianity, like that in the rest of the African continent, is explosive, phenomenal, and relative in numbers. Contemporary South African Christianity is enormously vibrant and diverse. Theologians and sociologists agree that Africa is continuing to make a major contribution to the shift of the centre of gravity of Christianity to the Global South taking pl…
As far as is hermeneutically possible, scholars should allow the text to com-municate its own intentions, even if its message is strange or displeasing—and there is at least one displeasing passage in the New Testament, Romans 13:1–7. Roland Boer aptly states that it is “the stumbling block ... for those who inter-pret the New Testament as an anti-imperial and anti-colonial colle…
The philosophy of religion is a discipline that explores a wide range of issues related to religious beliefs and practices. However, the field has historically exhibited a narrow focus, predominantly centring on the Christian tradition and lacking substantial interaction between philosophers from distinct religious and cultural backgrounds. To address this limitation, Global Dialogues in the Ph…
This book presents a detailed analysis of the translation of the Qur’an in Saudi Arabia, the most important global actor in the promotion, production and dissemination of Qur’an translations. From the first attempts at translation in the mid-twentieth century to more recent state-driven efforts concerned with international impact, The Kingdom and the Qur’an adeptly elucidates the link bet…
ABOUT THE SERIES: 'Encyclopedia of World Religions' explores the major religions of the world, emphasising the living faiths & their background. It provides access to the theological concepts, personalities, historical events, institutions, and movements that helped shape the history of each religion and the way it is practiced.
Among the world’s religions, few have attained thehistorical, cultural, and civilizational stature anddiversity that Islam has. Since the seventh century, when it first emerged in the western region of the Arabian Peninsula known as the Hijaz, ithas been continuously adapted and carried forthby its adherents, who call themselves Muslims, tonew lands and peoples in the wider Middle East, Afric…
eflections on God, Christ and cosmos in the writings of Paul and the Pauline School show that these authors were familiar with important notions from Graeco-Roman cosmology and theology. George van Kooten comes to the conclusion that they might even have adopted a way of thinking in which Judaism and Graeco-Roman cosmology were forged into a new synthesis, and Christ was viewed as a cosmic god.…
Buddhism is popularly regarded in the West as being a very peaceful religion, but this way by no means the image presented by the famous warrior monks of medieval Japan. From the 10th century onwards the great monastic foundations of Nara and Mount Hiei maintained private armies that terrified the courtiers and citizens of the capital with their religious and military power. Armed with long nag…
Monasteries traditionally played a large role in the lives of ordinary people in Tibet. To date, however, relatively little is known about the role of these monasteries and their inhabitants in Tibetan society. Still, the impact of monastic Buddhism on other expressions of Buddhism as well as on a wide range of aspects of Tibetan culture has been tremendous. By contrast, whereas Christian monas…
The Master, who was named A?vagho?a Bodhisattva, was a disciple of Elder Pår?va. When Elder Pår?va, being deeply concerned about the Buddha-Dharma, entered samådhi in order to contemplate who was competent to renounce the world and widely propagate the teachings of the Way so as to enlighten living beings, he had a vision of a hermit heretic in Central India who was well versed in worldly wi…
he Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians encourages young theologians to reflect on African women’s liberation in a way that is consistent with the cultures, narratives and histories of Africa. This book, initiated by the Circle, is the culmination of research conducted by women and men with the aim to present new readings on women, Earth and theology. Creation and Earth take…
This book investigates the ways in which the social purposes of adult education are (re)interpreted over time, and between the global south and global north. It brings together thirty-seven authors from fourteen countries with extensive experience as academics and/or practitioners in the field. The book is inspired by the work and life of Lalage Bown, a leading proponent of post-colonial and in…
n a sunny, crisp morning in May 2008, I traveled by bus to Sipoo, a town east of Helsinki, to interview Anna. She lived in a middle-class residen-tial area, in a large yellow duplex amid a yard with a number of trees and flower beds, as well as a gazebo. Slightly nervous, as always when meeting new interviewees, I rang her doorbell, and Anna came to the d…
There is a story behind every book. That is certainly true here. This introduction is not that story; my story comes in chapter 1. But I think it will be helpful to signal immediately why glory figures so largely in this book. My seven decades of experience with the Bible have not been mainly a battle to hold on. They have been a blessing of being held on to, namely, by beauty—that is, by glo…
The qualities of Vipassana are exemplified by Mr. Goenka, himself. He is a pragmatic person, in touch with the ordinary realities of life and able to deal with them incisively, but in every situation he maintains an extraordinary calmness of mind. Along with that calmness is a deep compassion for others, an ability to empathize with virtually any human being. There is however, nothing solemn ab…
This new edition of the bestselling Orthodoxy & Heterodoxy is fully revised and significantly expanded. Major new features include a full chapter on Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movements, an expanded epilogue, and a new appendix ( How and Why I Became an Orthodox Christian ). More detail and more religions and movements have been included, and the book is now addressed broadly to both Or…
Actually, the final command was more precise than that. He did not say, “Teach them all my commandments.” He said, “Teach them to observe all my commandments.” You can teach a parrot all of Jesus’s commandments. But you cannot teach a parrot to observe them. Parrots will not repent, and worship Jesus, and lay up treasures in heaven, and love their enemies, and go out like sheep in the…
The Purpose Driven Life will help you understand why you are alive and reveal God's amazing plan for you both here and now, and for eternity. Rick Warren will guide you through a personal forty-day spiritual journey that will transform your answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for? Knowing God's purpose for creating you will reduce your stress, focus your energy, si…
There can be no ‘neutral’ Schweitzer interpretation. Schweitzer’s thoughts changed over the years, as is the case with most human beings. He was too considered to make one-sided statements. Those that may, at first sight, seem so are qualified by context. He contextualised and balanced such statements with self-critique and an appeal to our conscience.African …
Not only does the book concur with earlier authors on the impact of trauma on the survivor’s spiritual or faith dimension, but life narratives in the Trauma Healing Research Project also show that regardless of religious affiliation the research participants turned to spiritual resources for answers and deeper social redress in their traumatic situations. While much research h…
Among the many challenges, African biblical scholarship faces the inability to theorise the subject under discussion. The healing stories are no exception. The starting point is asking what the African biblical reader hears on reading the healing stories. Since its arrival, African readers of the Bible have been engaging in mirror or contextual reading of the …
rantor, on the one hand, can be understood as the Empire in its most unbridled form, colonising and governing all surrounding worlds and extracting from them what the Empire required for its own inhabitants. This intensity was matched only by the sheer precarity it dealt, leading to a coup staged by rebel leader Gilmer, displacing Trantor and the imperial family. Over time it was the farmers, …
Ernest Wood has taken an interest in Zen since writing his first article on the subject for a Shanghai magazine when he was in Japan in 1920. This book gives a clear picture of Zen ideas, history, and biography of the growth of Zen in China and Japan. Professor Ernest Egerton Wood (* 18 August 1883 in Manchester, England; + 17 September 1965 in Houston, United States) was a noted yogi, theosoph…
Despite his controversial reputation, Origen of Alexandria (185–253) was very much present in 17th- century religious debates. His official condemnation by the Church was a stain on his theological and exegetical reputation, yet his work remained a source of inspiration for some. For others, he was a heretic to be refuted. In Jean Le Clerc (1657–1736), a Swiss born Dutch Biblical scholar an…
Istilah e-commerce mulai dikenal pada awal abad 21, namun mengalami perkembangan yang cukup pesat seiring berkembangnya teknologi telepon genggam, fitur aplikasi media sosial, chat, dan sejenisnya serta murahnya biaya koneksi jaringan internet. Pola komunikasi yang sebelumnya terbatas pada telepon, telegram, pos, koran, majalah, dan pesan singkat (SMS) kini merambah pada pernyataan-pernyataan y…
This book attempts to understand the origins and development of religious belief in Iceland and greater Scandinavia through the lenses of five carefully selected Icelandic folktales collected in Iceland during the nineteenth century. Each of these five stories has a story of its own: a historical and cultural context, a literary legacy, influences from beliefs of all kinds (orthodox and heterod…
As the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, he found mention of baptism for the remission of sins. On May 15, 1829, he and his scribe Oliver Cowdery went into the woods to inquire of the Lord concerning baptism. As they prayed, “a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light.” This messenger was John the Baptist, the prophet who had baptized Jesus Christ centuries earl…
It has only taken me 30 years to learn what I now know about FAITH. I estimate that I have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 hours studying God’s Word or listening to good Word of FAITH teaching. I calculate that if I keep learning at the same rate for the next 300 years, I am going to know a little bit more about FAITH. FAITH is the most powerful force in the universe. It will c…
The chevron marks the front and spirals the shoulders of this seated goddess wearing an oversized mask with supernatural eyes. Her status is indicated by a medallion attached to a V necklace. The mask is marked with tri-lines below the eyes and stria- tions above. She has no mouth. Incisions are white-filled. H. 25 cm. The throne and legs broken. Vinca culture (Bariljevo near PriJtina, Kosovo M…
The religions of ancient Greece and Rome are extinct. The so- called divinities of Olympus have not a single worshipper among living men. They belong now not to the department of theology, but to those of literature and taste. There they still hold their place, and will continue to hold it, for they are too closely connected with the finest productions of poetry and art, both ancient and modern…
By studying the history and sources of the Thomas Christians of India, a community of pre-colonial Christian heritage, this book revisits the assumption that Christianity is Western and colonial and that Christians in the non-West are products of colonial and post-colonial missionaries. Christians in the East have had a difficult time getting heard—let alone understood as anti-colonial. This …
Mount Kailash in Asia, the Black Hills in North America, Uluru in Australia: around the globe there are numerous mountains that have been and continue to be attributed sacredness. Worship of these mountains involves prayer, meditation and pilgrimage. Christianity, which for a long time showed little interest in nature, provides a foil to these practices and was one factor in the tensions that a…
Are anxiety or dread negative stages before freedom, a confrontation with humans' own mortality and finitude? Joana Serrado inaugurates anxiousness as a category of mystical knowledge in this innovative historical and philosophical study. Based on the life and mystical writings of Joana de Jesus, a Cistercian nun, intellectual disciple of Teresa of Avila, this study shows the cultural embeddedn…