St. Gregory of Nazianzus' (ca. AD 330-390) classicizing Christian verse is the earliest Greek verse of its kind that survives in any great quantity. This is a critical edition, with introduction and commentary, of four poems (I.2.17; II.1.10, 19, 32). The commentary is primarily linguistic, but attention is paid to historical and theological matters. The poems' fate in Byzantium is also examine…
Diverse processes of democratic participation – and exclusion – are braided with or propelled onwards by ritual acts and complexes. This volume is the result of collaborations and conversations between international researchers who have focused on the employment and deployment of those cultural resources identifiable as ‘ritual’ as pa…
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…
An introduction to Christian beliefs and culture discusses the life and teachings of Jesus, the Gospels, divisions and sects within Christianity, and Christian life.
Every body contains multitudes, but no body is immune to the ideology of oneness: one true self, one sexuality, one gender, one vision of the world, one true God. For many who identify (or who have been named by others) as transgender, queer, and nonbinary, the refusal to fit within the illusion of one set of sex and gender expectations has been met with violence and suppression. While the myth…
According to the Qur’an, God created two parallel species, man and the jinn, the former from clay and the latter from fire. Beliefs regarding the jinn are deeply integrated into Muslim culture and religion, and have a constant presence in legends, myths, poetry, and literature. In Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn, Amira El-Zein explores the integral role these mythological …
South and Meso-America gave rise to several major civilizations in the region that today encompasses 21 countries. The mythology that emerged from this land of extremes is rich with stories of floods and fires, horrific monsters, heroes who help create the world before their fathers are born, and a host of gods and goddesses who are alternately jealous, kind, evil, and arrogant. South and Meso-…
Celtic Mythology A to Z is a clearly written, illustrated guide to the characters, objects, and places that make up the mythic lore of the Celtic peoples of Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Wales. With hundreds of entries providing definitions, explanations, and descriptions of the major stories, gods and goddesses, places, and beliefs, this book is the perfect resource for young people …
This book provides alphabetically listed entries identify and explain the characters, events, and important places of Norse mythology.
The African continent is home to a fascinating and strong tradition of myth, due in part to the long history of human habitation in Africa; the diversity of its geography, flora, and fauna; and the variety of its cultural beliefs. African Mythology A to Z, Second Edition is a readable reference to the deities, places, events, animals, beliefs, and other subjects that appear in the myths of vari…
According to many scholars, ancient Greece and Rome provided the foundations of Western culture. More than two millennia later, myths of both civilizations are still being studied for their rich storytelling and insight into the cultures that spawned them. This title illuminates the mythology at the core of those civilizations' beliefs.
Egypt's myths are among the earliest in the ancient world. From the legend of Osiris and Isis to the Book of the Dead, Egyptian Mythology A to Z, Third Edition brings to life the fascinating world of Egyptian mythology and religious beliefs for young readers. Included is coverage of topics such as pyramids, the cult of the king, human sacrifice, and the many gods and legendary figures that make…
In ancient Chinese civilization, emperors were revered as the direct descendants of the gods, who ruled all of nature and the heavens. Animal bones were consulted as oracles to answer the great questions of life and death, and ancestral spirits were thought to roam the earth, negotiating with the gods on behalf of the living. From the legends of the Eight Immortals to the teachings of Confucius…
In a world thought to have been created—and nearly destroyed—by the primordial gods Izanagi and Izanami, mythic heroes battled ferocious dragons and giant spiders, while ordinary bamboo cutters and farmers made unexpected contact with the supernatural. Japanese Mythology A to Z, Second Edition is a valuable, colorful reference for anyone with an interest in mythology or Japanese culture. …
The Bible Dilemma is a compilation of Bible verses that shows the following: 1. Historical contradictions, inconsistencies and discrepancies within the Bible and with recorded history 2. Failed promises and prophecies 3. Misquoted statements within the Bible 4. Borrowed and alluded statements within the Bible 5. Borrowed and alluded statements from non-biblical sources 6. Stories and…
From Abhang to Zodiac, these two volumes contain over 2,5 thoroughly cross-referenced entries that clearly define terms and concepts related to the beliefs, practices, and history of Hinduism. • Complete with black-and-white photos illustrating architectural, biographical, geographical, and mythological entries. • Charts and maps provide added information. • 16 category indexes direct the…
McKenzie argues that to comprehend the Bible we must grasp the intentions of the biblical authors themselves--what sort of texts they thought they were writing and how they would have been understood by their intended audience. In short, we must recognize the genres to which these texts belong. McKenzie examines several genres that are typically misunderstood, offering careful readings of speci…
Keep Watch! That simple warning summaries Jesus’ teaching about the end-times. That warning accompanied parables that explained its significance. One such story concluded that if the owner of the house had known when the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not been robbed. (Matthew 24:43) There are practical aspects of keeping watch. Epic world events have already placed the world …
This pioneering study of the fate of Buddhism during the communist period in Cambodia puts a human face on a dark period in Cambodia’s history. It is the first sustained analysis of the widely held assumption that the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot had a centralized plan to liquidate the entire monastic order. Based on a thorough analysis of interview transcripts and a large body of contemporary m…
Islamic peoples account for one fifth of the world's population and yet there is widespread misunderstanding in the West of what Islam really is. Francis Robinson and his team set out to address this, revealing the complex and sometimes contrary nature of Muslim culture. As well as taking on the issues uppermost in everyone's minds, such as the role of religious and political fundamentalism, th…
Penulis buku terlaris, Joel Osteen, menawarkan 90 hari inspirasi untuk menolong orang meraih potensi penuh mereka. Dalam buku terlarisnya Your Best Life Now, Joel Osteen menjamin kita kembali bahwa menjalani kehidupan yang penuh potensi itu ada dalam jangkauan kita. Ia berbicara tentang memperbesar visi kita, menyadari kuasa pikiran dan kata-kata kita, dan mengubah kesukaran menjadi kesempatan…
Agama Islam tidak dilahirkan di Indonesia, namun justru negara inilah yang memiliki penduduk muslim dengan jumlah terbesar di dunia. Bagaimanakah cara agama ini masuk dan berkembang di antara suku dan budaya yang beragam di nusantara? Fondasi pertanyaan ini kemudian menggerakkan Michael Laffan, Profesor Sejarah di Universitas Princenton, untuk meneliti proses tumbuh kembangnya Islam di Indonesi…
The new and updated edition of Political Islam, World Politics and Europe focusses on the shift within political Islam, in light of 9/11 and the events of the Arab Spring, from a jihadist struggle, to institutional Islamism. Refuting what has often been referred to by commentators as the ‘moderation,’ of Islamism, the second edition of this book introduces the concept of ‘institutional…
Muslim Democracy explores the relationship between politics and religion in forty-seven Muslim-majority countries, focusing especially on those with democratic experience, such as Indonesia and Turkey, and drawing comparisons with their regional, non-Islamic counterparts.? Unlike most studies of political Islam, this is a politically-focused book, more concerned with governing realties than ide…
“Astonishing. . . . [Satyamurti’s Mahabharata ] brings [the] past alive . . . as though it were a novel in finely crafted verse.”?Vinay Dharwadker Originally composed approximately two thousand years ago, the Mahabharata tells the story of a royal dynasty, descended from gods, whose feud over their kingdom results in a devastating war. But it contains much more than conflict. An epic mast…
Menyintas Dai Nippon Kehidupan Gereja Katolik Indonesia pada zaman penjajahan Jepang ibarat lembaran buku sejarah yang hilang. Dibandingkan dengan narasi historis tentang Gereja Katolik pada umumnya yang sering tampil sebagai kisah gemilang tarekat misionaris Belanda dan tokohnya tempo doeloe, sejarah Gereja Katolik pada masa Jepang, belum terungkap lugas. Kalau pun ada cerita tentangnya, na…
Foundations and mechanisms of Islamophobia in the West. Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation discusses the scope and fragmented boundaries of Islamophobia as a concept and a sociopolitical reality. The fifteen chapters of this collection cover and connect interdisciplinary research, media content analysis, media discourse analysis, ethnographic research, intersectoral advocacy work, and act…
Fundamentalisme. Inilah fenomena paling mengejutkan di akhir abad ke-20, yang melanda tradisi keagamaan dunia. Ekspresinya terkadang mengerikan. Kaum fundamentalis menembaki jamaah yang sedang salat di masjid, membunuh para dokter dan perawat dalam klinik aborsi, membunuh presiden, dan bahkan menggulingkan pemerintahan yang kuat. Maka, bagi banyak orang, gerakan ini mengancam kedamaian dan harm…
In early 1958, a regional newspaperbased in Puno ran a series on villages aban-doned by the central government. How could it be that Lima is paved with luxury construction, parks and twenty-story buildings while the people of thesoutheast-ernmost region of Peru lived “with a paleolithic backwardness of more than a cen-tury”? Residents of Nuñoa, located on the wide nort…
For some people life begins only after death; for others, life is a shifting journey toward a better place. As a kid, I dreamed of becoming a priest, and as a young adult, I lived for a few years in a consecrated community in Florence, Italy.1 Those years joyfully, and painfully, transformed my relation-ship with the Catholic Church. They helped me distinguish the in…
Mengapa para orang tua itu menafikan kehilangan sepatu, kaca pecah, anjing yang overdosis, dan kenakalan anak untuk tetap menghadiri Misa? Mengapa untuk hal tersebut orang-orang Kristen perdana dengan gagah berani menghadapi pedang orang-orang Romawi dan singa-singa lapar untuk tetap menghadiri Ekaristi? Mengapa orang-orang beriman pada abad dua puluh tidak mempedulikan ancaman-ancaman penyiksa…
For decades, scholars of Indonesia have rejected the religious claims of the Darul Islam movement, interpreting the antagonism between the Islamic state and Soekarno’s republic as a fight for power, self-assertion, or land rights. Recently Kartosuwiryo and the Darul Islam have become heroic symbols of the local Islamist struggle, offering an alternative vision of this politician. The author l…
"Islam exists in global history with its richly variegated cultural and social realities. When these specific cultural contexts are marginalized, Islam is reduced to an ahistorical religion without the ability to contribute to humanity. This limited understanding of Islam has been a contributing factor in many of the violent conflicts in the present day. Reflecting on Islam in Indonesia, the wo…
For centuries, the Mosque of Eyu?p Sultan has been one of Istanbul’s most important pilgrimage destinations, in large part because of the figure buried in the tomb at its center: Halid bin Zeyd Ebû Eyûb el-Ensârî, a Companion of the Prophet Muhammad. Timur Hammond argues here, however, that making a geography of Islam involves considerably more. Following practices of storytelling and bui…
Tuhan tidak pernah gagal. Tuhan mampu mengubah kehidupan kita sekalipun telah hancur, telah berada dalam puing-puing dan telah berada dalam debu. Tuhan sanggup mengembalikan yang hilang, sekalipun telah rusak, telah remuk, dan tidak dapat diharapkan kembali. Tuhan mau muncul dalam kehidupan kita ketika kita berada dalam kehancuran. Tidak ada yang bisa membatalkan rencana dan tujuan-Nya dala…
Buku ini dikarang untuk orang dengan pandangan keagamaan atau duniawi yang berbeda-beda. Akan tetapi kami tidak menyembunyikan, bahwa kami seorang iam Katolik. Kami mendalami secara luas tradisi-tradisi mistis yang bukan -Kristen, bahkan bukan- keagamaan dan kami sangat dipengaruhi dan diperkaya olehnya. Akan tetapi kami selalu kembali kepada Gereja kami, yakni Gereja Katolik, karena dialah Bun…
Banyak hal terhenti karena luka. Banyak hal tidak dapat bergerak karena luka. Dan banyak hal membusuk karena luka. Ketika kita membiarkan "Luka yang Menua" dalam hati kita, hal itu akan mengakibatkan kehidupan kita tidak lagi berjalan baik. Melalui buku ini, saya ingin mengajak Anda untuk melihat dari sudut pandang yang benar supaya kita bisa mengatasinya dengan benar. Kalau kita lihat luka d…
his chapter explores some of the underlying epistemological assumptions and points of departure underpinning much of the recent science-faith dialogue, which ranges from coherent, enriching, concordant views on the relation between faith and science to disharmonious debate and conflict. Discordant dialogue and unscientific conjecture, often misrepres…
Greek philosophers assumed that the world, the universe, the cosmos, or nature as a whole, existed in some form from eternity, that is, infinitely into the past, and that the basic stuff of the universe is uncreated, everlasting, self-sufficient, and indestructible. The official Christian view, by contrast, was and is that the world was created by God out ofnothing (ex nihi/o) at some point in …
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…