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Fully Alive: Tending to the Soul in Turbulent Times
by Elizabeth Oldfield'This remarkable book points not to some unreachable ideal of life but to a deeper, more soulful and meaningful experience of the lives we're actually living.'Oliver Burkeman'A rich and soul-searching exploration of what it means to believe in a shifting age. This is a rare thing - an open, human and vulnerable profession of faith. I learned a lot. 'Katherine May'This is deep stuff, personal yet learned, funny and vulnerable ... the book I didn't know I needed.'Sally Phillips'Luminous in a manner that a medieval anchorite might have appreciated, while simultaneously wise in the ways of coping with a pram on a crowded bus.'Tom Holland'A great gift to all in search of a deeper life.' Krista TippettWhat does it mean to live a good, whole and fulfilling life? And if the world really is ending, or at least expecting turbulent change, what kind of people will we need when it happens?In FULLY ALIVE Elizabeth Oldfield explores how we can build spiritual core strength for an unstable age. Drawing on the ancient wisdom of faith and stories from her own life, Oldfield writes about her quest to live a meaningful, fulfilling life, and the niggling questions that bother all of us below the surface, such as: How can I focus on what really matters and stop getting so distracted by trivialities?How do I become a depolarising person in a culture of outrage, tribalism, and division?Can I find my highs in expansive, life-giving ways, rather than in a bottle of wine or a tub of ice cream?And what kind of world am I leaving for the next generation?FULLY ALIVE is for readers looking for an honest conversation about the deepest questions in our ordinary lives, and practical, meaningful ideas to help us pay attention to the people we are becoming. For ourselves, our communities and the world. 'When I was writing UNAPOLOGETIC more than a decade ago, I knew the job would soon need doing again. And again. Because the bridge between faith and contemporary experience constantly needs to be rebuilt as times change. So here it is, then: the bridge for the present moment, across which seekers for more meaning in their lives can travel in the knowledge that they won't be bullied, browbeaten or talked down to. This book. This one. In your hand. Right now.' Francis Spufford'Plainspoken, fearless, disarmingly tender. Oldfield is a leader by example, and her book is a glowing argument for faith - one that speaks urgently to our fractured world.'Rhik Samadder
Being Human: A new lens for our cultural conversations
by Jo Frost Peter Lynas'Being Human masterfully reorientates us towards the only story that ultimately makes sense of who we are ... A remarkably timely book' Justin Brierley'Practical, prayerful and ambitious. A Gospel-infused, wide-angle lens on contemporary society.'Jill Duff, Anglican Bishop of Lancaster'A valuable toolkit for church leaders, to help them build confidence in their members, to share the story of Jesus and his kingdom.'Les Isaac OBE, President, Ascension Trust'A great book about one of the most important but confusing questions of our time.'Professor Iain Provan, author of Cuckoos in our Nest: Truth and Lies about Being HumanWho am I? Does my life matter? What will make me happy?In different ways and at different moments we all ask life's big questions about what it means to be human. But in our fast-paced, rapidly changing and often exhausting society, our cultural stories struggle to provide us with good answers. Whether on issues of gender identity or AI, climate change or racial injustice, our individual solutions to life's big challenges can often end in deep division and broken relationships. But there is another way. Being Human offers a new lens - a new way to engage with our cultural conversations using four key aspects of humanity: significance, connection, presence and participation. Digging into the foundations of our cultural stories, authors Jo Frost and Peter Lynas expose the cracks in our culture's understanding of what it means to be human. By contrasting our cultural narratives with the story of the Bible, we can see how cultural truths have been fractured and isolated from the fullness and richness of who God is and who God created us to be, and come to recognise that only in Jesus can we live truly fully human lives. Being Human is a refreshingly clear and engaging guide for everyone who wants to live out and share the good, true and beautiful biblical vision of what it is to be human. Peter and Jo co-lead the Being Human project, an initiative from the Evangelical Alliance, helping everyday Christians live out and share the biblical vision of what it means to be human.
Overcoming Every Problem: 40 promises from God’s Word to strengthen you through life’s greatest challenges
by Joyce MeyerNew York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer guides you through 40 promises in the Bible so that no matter what problem you face, you have God's ultimate wisdom to overcome it!Everyone has problems. They may be issues in our relationships, finances, mental and emotional health, physical sickness, and the list goes on. But throughout more than 45 years of studying God's Word, she has learned how to find the answer for every problem you face in the Bible, and she wants to share it with you.In Overcoming Every Problem, Joyce takes you through 40 promises in God's Word that can give you the ultimate wisdom you need when challenges or difficulties come your way. No matter how big or how deep the pain of your situation may be or how long it's been affecting you, you'll be encouraged and inspired to trust God for better days ahead.Join Joyce on your journey to discover and put God's promises to work in your life, so you can overcome every problem you must face!
Blessed in the Mess: How to Experience God’s Goodness in the Midst of Life’s Pain
by Joyce MeyerCan we truly find peace and even blessing amid the chaos, the disappointments, and the messes that life brings our way?Life is often messy. We hear people say, 'My life is a mess', or, 'This situation is a mess'. What they mean is that life has become difficult and confusing. God never promises us a trouble-free life. In fact, His Word tells us to expect the opposite. Jesus says, 'In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world' (John 16:33 NKJV).Thankfully, trouble is not continuous in our lives. We also go through seasons that are peaceful and pleasant. But life does not always go as we would like, and we need to be prepared for the times when it gets messy.In Blessed in the Mess, beloved Bible teacher Joyce Meyer shows us how to be blessed even amid life's most challenging circumstances. The Bible is filled with instructions on how to handle ourselves when difficulty comes our way, and Blessed in the Mess collects that wisdom into poignant and practical teaching that equips us to remain stable and hopeful in every situation. No matter what unpleasant circumstances we may face, we can remain joyful and patient, trusting God as He works on our problems. If you have not handled your problems well in the past, then with God's help, you can begin to handle them better, starting now.It is possible to allow our difficulties to make us better and to live in such a way that we will end up better off than we were before the trouble began. We should never waste our pain. Through the wisdom distilled in this book, we can learn how to gain something from our messes, use what we've learned to stay out of trouble in the future, and allow our newfound wisdom to help other people mind blessing in the mist of their messes.
Managing Your Emotions in 90 days: Daily Wisdom for Remaining Stable in an Unstable World
by Joyce MeyerLearn to rule your emotions before they rule you with #1 New York Times bestselling author and renowned Bible teacher Joyce Meyer.The highs and lows of life bring many challenges, and our feelings want to swing accordingly, like an emotional roller coaster taking us from one extreme to another throughout the day - if we let them. Our emotions serve a purpose, but if we allow them to dictate how we choose to act, we lose our peace and stability, which only leads to confusion, anxiety, anger, and a host of other unhealthy attitudes. It's a dangerous way to live and can cause us to make bad decisions that impact ourselves and others.But it doesn't have to be this way. The Bible contains wisdom to help you learn to manage your emotions each day, no matter what challenges life brings your way. And with this 90-day devotional, you'll discover how to take charge of those fickle feelings before they take charge of you!
A Good Life
by Pope FrancisYou are important. You are unique. You are a wonder of creation!This is Pope Francis' message to you today. It is the departure point for your birth or rebirth, whatever form that may take; it is the glowing centre that sustains life, whatever your age. You are a wonder of creation!Even when your face is lined with worries or fatigue, remember that you are always a light that shines through the night. This is the greatest gift you've ever received, and no one can take it away from you. Dream on! Never stop dreaming. Believe! Believe in even greater and more beautiful truths. Let yourself be surprised by love. This is what it means to Live Well. This is the greatest and most beautiful wish we can extend to each other. Always.Joy - the wholesome and concrete kind, the joy we have all been searching for since birth - will be the natural outcome. It won't be an easy path; life's difficulties and the pervasive pessimism and cynicism of our era will periodically make it difficult to recognize and welcome grace into our life. But the Pope guarantees us that is precisely when we open our hearts to providence and allow tenderness and mercy to enter that life becomes beautiful. It's comforting to know that we can always begin again, that God can rebuild a story within us from the fragments. By letting ourselves be inspired by Pope Francis' 15 Rules for a Good Life, we can revel in the wondrous creations that we are, and savour the experience of what it means to live authentically. And so, joy will spread, bringing goodness to all those who welcome and share its gift.
Life After Doom: Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart
by Brian D. MclarenWhat does faith look like when cynicism seems more plausible?What does hope look like when hope seems irrational?What does love look like when hate becomes more popular?In recent years, author and activist Brian McLaren has sensed a widespread emotional shift among growing numbers of people. More and more friends, colleagues, students, and readers confess their sense of futility, their feelings of frustration bordering on despair. They feel that human civilization has passed certain tipping points and that a tide of doom is inexorably rising. This feeling creates a deep inner divide, a tension between a sincere and hopeful commitment to action for the common good on the one hand, and on the other, a feeling that no actions can prevent the arrival of an undesirable or even dystopian future.Life After Doom is a sober analysis of how things stand in relation to climate breakdown, and a deeply insightful exploration of the challenge of living well, maintaining resilience and growing in wisdom and love in the face of nations, ecosystems, economies, religions, and other institutions in disarray. Brian McLaren is the author of Faith After Doubt and Do I Stay Christian? and is a leading and authoritative voice at the intersection of religious faith and contemporary culture.'A book of rare wisdom, genuinely profound in depth and scope'DIANA BUTLER BASS
A Year with Timothy Keller: Selected Daily Readings
by Timothy KellerShortly before he died in May 2023, Timothy Keller had an idea for a devotional - a day-by-day quiet time companion comprised of extracts from his most well-loved books. The motivation was to create an easy way for new readers to get a taste of Tim's writing if they weren't sure where to start. Following his sad passing, A YEAR WITH TIMOTHY KELLER has been carefully curated to be the perfect bedside devotional for both new and long-time admirers of Tim's words and wisdom.Moving through the themes of Tim's writing over the years, the devotional spends a week or a fortnight in each book, touching on subjects such as wisdom, forgiveness, the hope of the resurrection, loving our neighbour and the importance of work. Each extract begins with a Bible verse from the NIV 2011 to frame each thought for the day.
Black Liturgies: Prayers, poems and meditations for staying human
by Cole Arthur RileyIn the summer of 2020, Cole Arthur Riley was desperate for a spirituality she could trust. Amidst ongoing national racial violence, the isolation of the pandemic, and a surge of anti-Black rhetoric in many Christian spaces, she began dreaming of a harbour for a more human, more liberating expression of faith. She went on to create Black Liturgies, a digital project that connects spiritual practice with Black emotion, memory, and the Black body.In this book, she deepens the work of that project, bringing together new prayers, letters, poetry, meditation questions, breath practice, and the writings of Black literary ancestors to offer 43 liturgies that can be practised individually or as a community. With a poet's touch and a sensitivity that has made her one of the most important spiritual voices at work today, Riley invites readers to reflect on their own experiences of wonder, rest, rage, and repair, while also including liturgies for holidays like Lent, Advent and Mother's Day.For those healing from spiritual spaces that were more violent than loving; for those who have escaped the trauma of white Christian nationalism, religious homophobia, and transphobia; for anyone asking what it means to be human in a world of both beauty and terror; Black Liturgies is a work of healing and liberation, and a vision for what might be.
Make Your Own Magic
by Amanda LovelaceFrom the bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this one comes an accessible guide to welcoming magic into your life, perfect for beginner witches and the magic-curious alike.As witchcraft grows ever more popular, there are countless introductions and paths into magical practice to choose from - so many that you might not know where to begin. When you're just getting started, it's easy to be intimidated or discouraged or to feel that there's no place for you in the craft.With make your own magic, amanda lovelace aims to change that. This inviting beginner's guide shows that magic doesn't have to be fancy, time-consuming, or one-size-fits-all. It introduces the tenets of witchcraft so that you can develop your own practice and relationship with magic in whatever way works for you. With simple explanations, twenty all-new inspiring poems, words of encouragement, magical journaling prompts, and more, this book sweeps away the gatekeeping and offers you the tools needed to begin building a strong, long-lasting practice focused on self-love.
How to Tell the Truth: The Story of How God Saved me to Win Hearts, Not Just Arguments
by Preston Perry'Preston fuels our courage, revisits the essentials, and lights a path back to the narrow road.'- CHARLIE DATES'Preston shares his compelling story of becoming a Christian and then provides a road map - through his successes and failures - for how to lovingly and naturally share your faith with others.'- SEAN McDOWELLIn How to Tell the Truth, Preston Perry tells the story of how God chased him. The streets of Chicago were his home, but amid crime and violence God found him and awakened in him a gift for sharing his faith.On those Chicago streets he encountered all sorts of people who had their own versions of the truth - from Jehovah's Witnesses to Mormons to Hebrew Israelites. That is where Preston discovered not only the importance of the truth but also how to tell the truth in a way that speaks to someone's heart. Sharing our faith is not about winning arguments; it's about winning hearts. And the way we do that is by engaging with friends, neighbours, and co-workers with truth, dignity, and respect.Set against the powerful testimony of how God stepped into rescue Preston from his early life of crime and drugs, How to Tell the Truth is a hope-filled encouragement to take up Jesus' invitation to 'make disciples of all nations' and enjoy the powerful conversations that result. Unlike any other book on evangelism, How to Tell the Truth will demonstrate how to share your faith with confidence and compassion. Perfect for anyone who loves to talk about Jesus or wishes they could do it better.
Partnership and Profit in Medieval Islam (PDF)
by Abraham L. UdovitchFrom the point of view of economic history, the ideal way to study any institution of commercial law would be to compare the information contained in legal codes and treatises with the material relating to its application in economic life as manifested by actual contracts, letters, and business records found in archives and other repositories. In the case of the early centuries of the Islamic period, available sources unfortunately preclude such a procedure. Theoretical legal texts exist in abundance, but any corresponding documentary material is for all practical purposes non-extant. In order to determine if the framework in which the trade and commerce of the early Islamic period was carried on--a trade known to have been active and important--we must of necessity rely on legal treatises for most of our information, which trying wherever possible to call upon whatever meager help other literary sources may provide.In the absence of documentary and similar sources, the possibility of investigating the quantitative aspects of trade is all but eliminated. However, in those areas of trade which have been described as qualitative, such as the variety of goods exchanged, the specialization of the merchant class, and the complexity of business methods, legal and other literary sources provide a great deal of valuable information. It is with the institutions of partnership and commenda in the early Islamic period, two of the qualitative components of trade, that Abraham L. Udovitch makes his primary focus in Partnership and Profit in Medieval Islam.
Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian
by Louis H. FeldmanRelations between Jews and non-Jews in the Hellenistic-Roman period were marked by suspicion and hate, maintain most studies of that topic. But if such conjectures are true, asks Louis Feldman, how did Jews succeed in winning so many adherents, whether full-fledged proselytes or "sympathizers" who adopted one or more Jewish practices? Systematically evaluating attitudes toward Jews from the time of Alexander the Great to the fifth century A.D., Feldman finds that Judaism elicited strongly positive and not merely unfavorable responses from the non-Jewish population. Jews were a vigorous presence in the ancient world, and Judaism was strengthened substantially by the development of the Talmud. Although Jews in the Diaspora were deeply Hellenized, those who remained in Israel were able to resist the cultural inroads of Hellenism and even to initiate intellectual counterattacks. Feldman draws on a wide variety of material, from Philo, Josephus, and other Graeco-Jewish writers through the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the Church Councils, Church Fathers, and imperial decrees to Talmudic and Midrashic writings and inscriptions and papyri. What emerges is a rich description of a long era to which conceptions of Jewish history as uninterrupted weakness and suffering do not apply.
Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions from Alexander to Justinian
by Louis H. FeldmanRelations between Jews and non-Jews in the Hellenistic-Roman period were marked by suspicion and hate, maintain most studies of that topic. But if such conjectures are true, asks Louis Feldman, how did Jews succeed in winning so many adherents, whether full-fledged proselytes or "sympathizers" who adopted one or more Jewish practices? Systematically evaluating attitudes toward Jews from the time of Alexander the Great to the fifth century A.D., Feldman finds that Judaism elicited strongly positive and not merely unfavorable responses from the non-Jewish population. Jews were a vigorous presence in the ancient world, and Judaism was strengthened substantially by the development of the Talmud. Although Jews in the Diaspora were deeply Hellenized, those who remained in Israel were able to resist the cultural inroads of Hellenism and even to initiate intellectual counterattacks. Feldman draws on a wide variety of material, from Philo, Josephus, and other Graeco-Jewish writers through the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the Church Councils, Church Fathers, and imperial decrees to Talmudic and Midrashic writings and inscriptions and papyri. What emerges is a rich description of a long era to which conceptions of Jewish history as uninterrupted weakness and suffering do not apply.
Saints and Their Miracles in Late Antique Gaul
by Raymond Van DamSaints' cults, with their focus on miraculous healings and pilgrimages, were not only a distinctive feature of Christian religion in fifth-and sixth-century Gaul but also a vital force in political and social life. Here Raymond Van Dam uses accounts of miracles performed by SS. Martin, Julian, and Hilary to provide a vivid and comprehensive depiction of some of the most influential saints' cults. Viewed within the context of ongoing tensions between paganism and Christianity and between Frankish kings and bishops, these cults tell much about the struggle for authority, the forming of communities, and the concept of sin and redemption in late Roman Gaul.Van Dam begins by describing the origins of the three cults, and discusses the career of Bishop Gregory of Tours, who benefited from the support of various patron saints and in turn promoted their cults. He then treats the political and religious dimensions of healing miracles--including their relation to Catholic theology and their use by bishops to challenge royal authority--and of pilgrimages to saints' shrines. The miracle stories, collected mainly by Gregory of Tours, appear in their first complete English translations.
Saints and Their Miracles in Late Antique Gaul
by Raymond Van DamSaints' cults, with their focus on miraculous healings and pilgrimages, were not only a distinctive feature of Christian religion in fifth-and sixth-century Gaul but also a vital force in political and social life. Here Raymond Van Dam uses accounts of miracles performed by SS. Martin, Julian, and Hilary to provide a vivid and comprehensive depiction of some of the most influential saints' cults. Viewed within the context of ongoing tensions between paganism and Christianity and between Frankish kings and bishops, these cults tell much about the struggle for authority, the forming of communities, and the concept of sin and redemption in late Roman Gaul.Van Dam begins by describing the origins of the three cults, and discusses the career of Bishop Gregory of Tours, who benefited from the support of various patron saints and in turn promoted their cults. He then treats the political and religious dimensions of healing miracles--including their relation to Catholic theology and their use by bishops to challenge royal authority--and of pilgrimages to saints' shrines. The miracle stories, collected mainly by Gregory of Tours, appear in their first complete English translations.
A Reader on Classical Islam
by F. E. PetersTo enable the reader to shape, or perhaps reshape, an understanding of the Islamic tradition, F. E. Peters skillfully combines extensive passages from Islamic texts with a fascinating commentary of his own. In so doing, he presents a substantial body of literary evidence that will enable the reader to grasp the bases of Muslim faith and, more, to get some sense of the breadth and depth of Islamic religious culture as a whole. The voices recorded here are those of Muslims engaged in discourse with their God and with each other--historians, lawyers, mystics, and theologians, from the earliest Companions of the Prophet Muhammad down to Ibn Rushd or "Averroes" (d. 1198), al-Nawawi (d. 1278), and Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406). These religious seekers lived in what has been called the "classical" period in the development of Islam, the era when the exemplary works of law and spirituality were written, texts of such universally acknowledged importance that subsequent generations of Muslims gratefully understood themselves as heirs to an enormously broad and rich legacy of meditation on God's Word. "Islam" is a word that seems simple to understand. It means "submission," and, more specifically in the context where it first and most familiarly appears, "submission to the will of God." That context is the Quran, the Sacred Book of the Muslims, from which flow the patterns of belief and practice that today claim the spiritual allegiance of hundreds of millions around the globe. By drawing on the works of the great masters--Islam in its own words--Peters enriches our understanding of the community of "those who have submitted" and their imposing religious and political culture, which is becoming ever more important to the West.
A Reader on Classical Islam (PDF)
by F. E. PetersTo enable the reader to shape, or perhaps reshape, an understanding of the Islamic tradition, F. E. Peters skillfully combines extensive passages from Islamic texts with a fascinating commentary of his own. In so doing, he presents a substantial body of literary evidence that will enable the reader to grasp the bases of Muslim faith and, more, to get some sense of the breadth and depth of Islamic religious culture as a whole. The voices recorded here are those of Muslims engaged in discourse with their God and with each other--historians, lawyers, mystics, and theologians, from the earliest Companions of the Prophet Muhammad down to Ibn Rushd or "Averroes" (d. 1198), al-Nawawi (d. 1278), and Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406). These religious seekers lived in what has been called the "classical" period in the development of Islam, the era when the exemplary works of law and spirituality were written, texts of such universally acknowledged importance that subsequent generations of Muslims gratefully understood themselves as heirs to an enormously broad and rich legacy of meditation on God's Word. "Islam" is a word that seems simple to understand. It means "submission," and, more specifically in the context where it first and most familiarly appears, "submission to the will of God." That context is the Quran, the Sacred Book of the Muslims, from which flow the patterns of belief and practice that today claim the spiritual allegiance of hundreds of millions around the globe. By drawing on the works of the great masters--Islam in its own words--Peters enriches our understanding of the community of "those who have submitted" and their imposing religious and political culture, which is becoming ever more important to the West.
The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
by F. E. Peters John L. EspositoF.E. Peters, a scholar without peer in the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, revisits his pioneering work after twenty-five years. Peters has rethought and thoroughly rewritten his classic The Children of Abraham for a new generation of readers-at a time when the understanding of these three religious traditions has taken on a new and critical urgency. He began writing about all three faiths in the 1970s, long before it was fashionable to treat Islam in the context of Judaism and Christianity, or to align all three for a family portrait. In this updated edition, he lays out the similarities and differences of the three religious siblings with great clarity and succinctness and with that same remarkable objectivity that is the hallmark of all the author's work. Peters traces the three faiths from the sixth century B.C., when the Jews returned to Palestine from exile in Babylonia, to the time in the Middle Ages when they approached their present form. He points out that all three faith groups, whom the Muslims themselves refer to as "People of the Book," share much common ground. Most notably, each embraces the practice of worshipping a God who intervenes in history on behalf of His people. The book's text is direct and accessible with thorough and nuanced discussions of each of the three religions. Updated footnotes provide the reader with expert guidance into the highly complex issues that lie between every line of this stunning and timely new edition of The Children of Abraham. ?
The Children of Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam
by F. E. Peters John L. EspositoF.E. Peters, a scholar without peer in the comparative study of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, revisits his pioneering work after twenty-five years. Peters has rethought and thoroughly rewritten his classic The Children of Abraham for a new generation of readers-at a time when the understanding of these three religious traditions has taken on a new and critical urgency. He began writing about all three faiths in the 1970s, long before it was fashionable to treat Islam in the context of Judaism and Christianity, or to align all three for a family portrait. In this updated edition, he lays out the similarities and differences of the three religious siblings with great clarity and succinctness and with that same remarkable objectivity that is the hallmark of all the author's work. Peters traces the three faiths from the sixth century B.C., when the Jews returned to Palestine from exile in Babylonia, to the time in the Middle Ages when they approached their present form. He points out that all three faith groups, whom the Muslims themselves refer to as "People of the Book," share much common ground. Most notably, each embraces the practice of worshipping a God who intervenes in history on behalf of His people. The book's text is direct and accessible with thorough and nuanced discussions of each of the three religions. Updated footnotes provide the reader with expert guidance into the highly complex issues that lie between every line of this stunning and timely new edition of The Children of Abraham. ?
Rethinking "Gnosticism": An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category
by Michael Allen WilliamsMost anyone interested in such topics as creation mythology, Jungian theory, or the idea of "secret teachings" in ancient Judaism and Christianity has found "gnosticism" compelling. Yet the term "gnosticism," which often connotes a single rebellious movement against the prevailing religions of late antiquity, gives the false impression of a monolithic religious phenomenon. Here Michael Williams challenges the validity of the widely invoked category of ancient "gnosticism" and the ways it has been described. Presenting such famous writings and movements as the Apocryphon of John and Valentinian Christianity, Williams uncovers the similarities and differences among some major traditions widely categorized as gnostic. He provides an eloquent, systematic argument for a more accurate way to discuss these interpretive approaches. The modern construct "gnosticism" is not justified by any ancient self-definition, and many of the most commonly cited religious features that supposedly define gnosticism phenomenologically turn out to be questionable. Exploring the sample sets of "gnostic" teachings, Williams refutes generalizations concerning asceticism and libertinism, attitudes toward the body and the created world, and alleged features of protest, parasitism, and elitism. He sketches a fresh model for understanding ancient innovations on more "mainstream" Judaism and Christianity, a model that is informed by modern research on dynamics in new religious movements and is freed from the false stereotypes from which the category "gnosticism" has been constructed.
Rethinking "Gnosticism": An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category
by Michael Allen WilliamsMost anyone interested in such topics as creation mythology, Jungian theory, or the idea of "secret teachings" in ancient Judaism and Christianity has found "gnosticism" compelling. Yet the term "gnosticism," which often connotes a single rebellious movement against the prevailing religions of late antiquity, gives the false impression of a monolithic religious phenomenon. Here Michael Williams challenges the validity of the widely invoked category of ancient "gnosticism" and the ways it has been described. Presenting such famous writings and movements as the Apocryphon of John and Valentinian Christianity, Williams uncovers the similarities and differences among some major traditions widely categorized as gnostic. He provides an eloquent, systematic argument for a more accurate way to discuss these interpretive approaches. The modern construct "gnosticism" is not justified by any ancient self-definition, and many of the most commonly cited religious features that supposedly define gnosticism phenomenologically turn out to be questionable. Exploring the sample sets of "gnostic" teachings, Williams refutes generalizations concerning asceticism and libertinism, attitudes toward the body and the created world, and alleged features of protest, parasitism, and elitism. He sketches a fresh model for understanding ancient innovations on more "mainstream" Judaism and Christianity, a model that is informed by modern research on dynamics in new religious movements and is freed from the false stereotypes from which the category "gnosticism" has been constructed.
The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality
by Bernard FaureIs there a Buddhist discourse on sex? In this innovative study, Bernard Faure reveals Buddhism's paradoxical attitudes toward sexuality. His remarkably broad range covers the entire geography of this religion, and its long evolution from the time of its founder, Xvkyamuni, to the premodern age. The author's anthropological approach uncovers the inherent discrepancies between the normative teachings of Buddhism and what its followers practice. Framing his discussion on some of the most prominent Western thinkers of sexuality--Georges Bataille and Michel Foucault--Faure draws from different reservoirs of writings, such as the orthodox and heterodox "doctrines" of Buddhism, and its monastic codes. Virtually untapped mythological as well as legal sources are also used. The dialectics inherent in Mahvyvna Buddhism, in particular in the Tantric and Chan/Zen traditions, seemed to allow for greater laxity and even encouraged breaking of taboos. Faure also offers a history of Buddhist monastic life, which has been buffeted by anticlerical attitudes, and by attempts to regulate sexual behavior from both within and beyond the monastery. In two chapters devoted to Buddhist homosexuality, he examines the way in which this sexual behavior was simultaneously condemned and idealized in medieval Japan. This book will appeal especially to those interested in the cultural history of Buddhism and in premodern Japanese culture. But the story of how one of the world's oldest religions has faced one of life's greatest problems makes fascinating reading for all.
The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality (Buddhisms: A Princeton University Press Series #1)
by Bernard FaureIs there a Buddhist discourse on sex? In this innovative study, Bernard Faure reveals Buddhism's paradoxical attitudes toward sexuality. His remarkably broad range covers the entire geography of this religion, and its long evolution from the time of its founder, Xvkyamuni, to the premodern age. The author's anthropological approach uncovers the inherent discrepancies between the normative teachings of Buddhism and what its followers practice. Framing his discussion on some of the most prominent Western thinkers of sexuality--Georges Bataille and Michel Foucault--Faure draws from different reservoirs of writings, such as the orthodox and heterodox "doctrines" of Buddhism, and its monastic codes. Virtually untapped mythological as well as legal sources are also used. The dialectics inherent in Mahvyvna Buddhism, in particular in the Tantric and Chan/Zen traditions, seemed to allow for greater laxity and even encouraged breaking of taboos. Faure also offers a history of Buddhist monastic life, which has been buffeted by anticlerical attitudes, and by attempts to regulate sexual behavior from both within and beyond the monastery. In two chapters devoted to Buddhist homosexuality, he examines the way in which this sexual behavior was simultaneously condemned and idealized in medieval Japan. This book will appeal especially to those interested in the cultural history of Buddhism and in premodern Japanese culture. But the story of how one of the world's oldest religions has faced one of life's greatest problems makes fascinating reading for all.
Contesting Spirit: Nietzsche, Affirmation, Religion (PDF)
by Tyler T. RobertsChallenging the dominant scholarly consensus that Nietzsche is simply an enemy of religion, Tyler Roberts examines the place of religion in Nietzsche's thought and Nietzsche's thought as a site of religion. Roberts argues that Nietzsche's conceptualization and cultivation of an affirmative self require that we interrogate the ambiguities that mark his criticisms of asceticism and mysticism. What emerges is a vision of Nietzsche's philosophy as the enactment of a spiritual quest informed by transfigured versions of religious tropes and practices.Nietzsche criticizes the ascetic hatred of the body and this-worldly life, yet engages in rigorous practices of self-denial--he sees philosophy as such a practice--and affirms the need of imposing suffering on oneself in order to enhance the spirit. He dismisses the "intoxication" of mysticism, yet links mysticism, power, and creativity, and describes his own self-transcending experiences. The tensions in his relation to religion are closely related to that between negation and affirmation in his thinking in general. In Roberts's view, Nietzsche's transfigurations of religion offer resources for a postmodern religious imagination. Though as a "master of suspicion," Nietzsche, with Freud and Marx, is an integral part of modern antireligion, he has the power to take us beyond the flat, modern distinction between the secular and the religious--a distinction that, at the end of modernity, begs to be reexamined.