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Religion and Conflict Resolution: Christianity and South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
by Megan ShoreThis book examines the ambiguous role that Christianity played in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). It has two objectives: to analyse the role Christianity played in the TRC and to highlight certain consequences that may be instructive to future international conflict resolution processes. Religion and conflict resolution is an area of significant importance. Ongoing conflicts involving Palestinians and Israelis, Muslims and Hindus, and even radical Islamic jihadists and Western countries have heightened the awareness of the potential power of religion to fuel conflict. Yet these religious traditions also promote peace and respect for others as key components in doing justice. Examining the potential role religion can play in generating peace and justice, specifically Christianity in South Africa's TRC, is of utmost importance as religiously inspired violence continues to occur. This book highlights the importance of accounting for religion in international conflict resolution.
Queering Christianity: Finding a Place at the Table for LGBTQI Christians
by Robert E. Shore-Goss Thomas Bohache Patrick S. Cheng Mona WestA fascinating read for anyone seeking to understand the conflict between Christianity and LGBTQI individuals, this book is, as its editors proclaim, "a fearlessly wide vision of queer Christians finding a place within Christianity—and claiming their authentic experience and voice."Through essays by noted lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI) religion scholars, this important compilation summarizes the history and current status of LGBTQI theology, exploring its relationship to the policies, practices, and theology of traditional Christianity. Contributors contrast the "radically inclusive" thinking of LGBTQI theology with the "exclusivity" practiced by many Christian churches, explaining the reasoning of each and clarifying contentious issues. At the same time, the book highlights ways in which "queer" theology and practice benefit Christian congregations.Writing from the perspective of grassroots Christian LGBTQI movements, many of the contributors draw upon their own experiences. They provide graphic examples of the effects exclusion has on individuals, congregations, and denominations, and also share examples of inclusion and its effects. Equally important, the work creates the basis for dialogue between traditional churches and followers of LGBTQI theology, offering practical suggestions for Christian congregations that wish to put aside exclusionary policies and practices.
Unlocking Orthodoxies for Inclusive Theologies: Queer Alternatives (Gender, Theology and Spirituality)
by Robert E. Shore-Goss Joseph N. GohThis book enters a new liminal space between the LGBTQ and denominational Christian communities. It simultaneously explores how those who identify as queer can find a home in church and how those leading welcoming, or indeed unwelcoming, congregations can better serve both communities. The primary argument is that queer inclusion must not merely mean an assimilation into existing heteronormative respectability and approval. Chapters are written by a diverse collection of Asian, Latin American, and U.S. theologians, religious studies scholars and activists. Each of them writes from their own social context to address the notion of LGBTQ alternative orthodoxies and praxes pertaining to God, the saints, failure of the church, queer eschatologies, and erotic economies. Engaging with issues that are not only faced by those in the theological academy, but also by clergy and congregants, the book addresses those impacted by a history of Christian hostility and violence who have become suspicious of attempts at "acceptance". It also sets out an encouragement for queer theologians and clergy think deeply about how they form communities where queer perspectives are proactively included. This is a forward-looking and positive vision of a more inclusive theology and ecclesiology. It will, therefore, appeal to scholars of Queer Theology and Religious Studies as well as practitioners seeking a fresh perspective on church and the LGBTQ community.
The Myth of Paganism: Nonnus, Dionysus and the World of Late Antiquity (Classical Literature and Society)
by Robert ShorrockTraditional and still prevalent accounts of late antique literature draw a clear distinction between 'pagan' and 'Christian' forms of poetry: whereas Christian poetry is taken seriously in terms its contribution to culture and society at large, so-called pagan or secular poetry is largely ignored, as though it has no meaningful part to play within the late antique world. The Myth of Paganism sets out to deconstruct this view of two contrasting poetic traditions and proposes in its place a new integrated model for the understanding of late antique poetry. As the book argues, the poet of Christ and the poet of the Muses were drawn together into an active, often provocative, dialogue about the relationship between Christianity and the Classical tradition and, ultimately, about the meaning of late antiquity itself. An analysis of the poetry of Nonnus of Panopolis, author of both a 'pagan' epic about Dionysus and a Christian translation of St John's Gospel, helps to illustrate this complex dialectic between pagan and Christian voices.
The Myth of Paganism: Nonnus, Dionysus and the World of Late Antiquity (Classical Literature and Society)
by Robert ShorrockTraditional and still prevalent accounts of late antique literature draw a clear distinction between 'pagan' and 'Christian' forms of poetry: whereas Christian poetry is taken seriously in terms its contribution to culture and society at large, so-called pagan or secular poetry is largely ignored, as though it has no meaningful part to play within the late antique world. The Myth of Paganism sets out to deconstruct this view of two contrasting poetic traditions and proposes in its place a new integrated model for the understanding of late antique poetry. As the book argues, the poet of Christ and the poet of the Muses were drawn together into an active, often provocative, dialogue about the relationship between Christianity and the Classical tradition and, ultimately, about the meaning of late antiquity itself. An analysis of the poetry of Nonnus of Panopolis, author of both a 'pagan' epic about Dionysus and a Christian translation of St John's Gospel, helps to illustrate this complex dialectic between pagan and Christian voices.
Newman and His Contemporaries
by Edward ShortThis is a book on John Henry Newman's influence on some of the most fascinating characters of the 19th century - and their influence on him. No one in nineteenth-century England had a more varied circle of friends and contacts than John Henry Newman (1801-1890), the priest, theologian, educator, philosopher, poet and writer, who began his career as an Anglican, converted to Catholicism and ended his days a Cardinal. That he was also a leading member of the Oxford Movement, brought the Oratory to England, founded the Catholic University in Dublin and corresponded with men and women from all backgrounds from around the world made him a figure of enormous interest to his contemporaries. In this study of Newman's personal influence, Edward Short looks closely at some of Newman's relations with his contemporaries to show how this prophetic thinker drew on his personal relationships to develop his many insights into faith and life. Some of the contemporaries covered include Keble, Pusey, Gladstone, Matthew Arnold, Richard Holt Hutton, Lady Georgiana Fullerton, and Thackeray. Based on a careful reading of Newman's correspondence, the book offers a fresh look at an extraordinary figure whose work continues to influence our own contemporaries.
Newman and His Contemporaries
by Edward ShortThis is a book on John Henry Newman's influence on some of the most fascinating characters of the 19th century - and their influence on him. No one in nineteenth-century England had a more varied circle of friends and contacts than John Henry Newman (1801-1890), the priest, theologian, educator, philosopher, poet and writer, who began his career as an Anglican, converted to Catholicism and ended his days a Cardinal. That he was also a leading member of the Oxford Movement, brought the Oratory to England, founded the Catholic University in Dublin and corresponded with men and women from all backgrounds from around the world made him a figure of enormous interest to his contemporaries. In this study of Newman's personal influence, Edward Short looks closely at some of Newman's relations with his contemporaries to show how this prophetic thinker drew on his personal relationships to develop his many insights into faith and life. Some of the contemporaries covered include Keble, Pusey, Gladstone, Matthew Arnold, Richard Holt Hutton, Lady Georgiana Fullerton, and Thackeray. Based on a careful reading of Newman's correspondence, the book offers a fresh look at an extraordinary figure whose work continues to influence our own contemporaries.
Newman and his Family
by Edward ShortA study in family history and influence, Newman and his Family looks at how John Henry Newman (1801-90), the priest, educator, theologian, philosopher, novelist, poet and satirist both learned from and was transformed by his parents and his brothers and sisters. The son of a banker in the City of London and a Huguenot mother whose family were famous and innovative paper makers and printers, Newman was the eldest of six children, two boys and three girls--Charles, Harriett, Frank, Jemima and Mary. While the family was reared Anglican, Charles abandoned Christianity for Owenite Socialism and Frank ended his days a Unitarian. Although Mary died young, she had a profound influence on her brother, as did Harriett, who could never reconcile herself to her brother's conversion. Jemima was also opposed to his conversion, though she lived long enough to witness (from afar) his strange, tumultuous new life as a Catholic. At the same time, since none of the family followed their eldest brother into the Catholic Church, to which Newman converted in 1845, the book also explores the limitations of Newman's influence and the ways in which family differences led him to a deeper understanding of such themes as home and ostracism, failure and faith, conversion and apostasy, disunity and prayer, infirmity and love. Based on Newman's vast correspondence and the correspondence of his different family members, as well as on his published and unpublished writings, Newman and his Family presents the great religious thinker in a freshly personal light, where he can be seen sharing his theological and philosophical convictions directly with those to whom he was most closely tied. While there are excellent studies available on different aspects of Newman and his work, this is the first full-length study to show how the difficulties and heartbreaks inherent in family life helped Newman to understand not only himself and his contemporaries but his deeply personal Christian faith.
Newman and his Family
by Edward ShortA study in family history and influence, Newman and his Family looks at how John Henry Newman (1801-90), the priest, educator, theologian, philosopher, novelist, poet and satirist both learned from and was transformed by his parents and his brothers and sisters. The son of a banker in the City of London and a Huguenot mother whose family were famous and innovative paper makers and printers, Newman was the eldest of six children, two boys and three girls--Charles, Harriett, Frank, Jemima and Mary. While the family was reared Anglican, Charles abandoned Christianity for Owenite Socialism and Frank ended his days a Unitarian. Although Mary died young, she had a profound influence on her brother, as did Harriett, who could never reconcile herself to her brother's conversion. Jemima was also opposed to his conversion, though she lived long enough to witness (from afar) his strange, tumultuous new life as a Catholic. At the same time, since none of the family followed their eldest brother into the Catholic Church, to which Newman converted in 1845, the book also explores the limitations of Newman's influence and the ways in which family differences led him to a deeper understanding of such themes as home and ostracism, failure and faith, conversion and apostasy, disunity and prayer, infirmity and love. Based on Newman's vast correspondence and the correspondence of his different family members, as well as on his published and unpublished writings, Newman and his Family presents the great religious thinker in a freshly personal light, where he can be seen sharing his theological and philosophical convictions directly with those to whom he was most closely tied. While there are excellent studies available on different aspects of Newman and his work, this is the first full-length study to show how the difficulties and heartbreaks inherent in family life helped Newman to understand not only himself and his contemporaries but his deeply personal Christian faith.
Soldiers of God in a Secular World: Catholic Theology and Twentieth-Century French Politics
by Sarah ShortallA revelatory account of the nouvelle théologie, a clerical movement that revitalized the Catholic Church’s role in twentieth-century French political life. Secularism has been a cornerstone of French political culture since 1905, when the republic formalized the separation of church and state. At times the barrier of secularism has seemed impenetrable, stifling religious actors wishing to take part in political life. Yet in other instances, secularism has actually nurtured movements of the faithful. Soldiers of God in a Secular World explores one such case, that of the nouvelle théologie, or new theology. Developed in the interwar years by Jesuits and Dominicans, the nouvelle théologie reimagined the Church’s relationship to public life, encouraging political activism, engaging with secular philosophy, and inspiring doctrinal changes adopted by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. Nouveaux théologiens charted a path between the old alliance of throne and altar and secularism’s demand for the privatization of religion. Envisioning a Church in but not of the public sphere, Catholic thinkers drew on theological principles to intervene in political questions while claiming to remain at arm’s length from politics proper. Sarah Shortall argues that this “counter-politics” was central to the mission of the nouveaux théologiens: by recoding political statements in the ostensibly apolitical language of doctrine, priests were able to enter into debates over fascism and communism, democracy and human rights, colonialism and nuclear war. This approach found its highest expression during the Second World War, when the nouveaux théologiens led the spiritual resistance against Nazism. Claiming a powerful public voice, they collectively forged a new role for the Church amid the momentous political shifts of the twentieth century.
Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack
by Rupert ShorttThe aim of this book is twofold: One is to counter the huge weight of column inches being spent on the perceived, and actual, persecution of Islam. The second is to turn up the volume on the side of Christians rather than Atheists (a position which has been underpinned so vociferously by Dawkins et al in recent times).In fact there have been - and still are - many terrible stories of murder, oppression and persecution of Christians around the world, in East Timor, Burma, Egypt, China, Iran, and many other countries. The reason we don't hear much about them, says the author, is the fear of giving offence; the fact young Christians don't become radicalised; and persecuted Christians tend not to respond with violence. Yet Christians are persecuted in greater numbers than any other global religious body, and this fact is severely under-recognised.It looks likely interfaith relations will be a major challenge of the 21st century, and harmony between religions is looking pretty remote. Why are faiths now so associated with violent conflict? Why has the communications revolution had a deeper impact on Islam than on Christianity? Why is there a tendency to associate Christianity with the West, and with overt/covert forms of colonialism? Just how insular and prejudiced are we in the West about Christians abroad?
The Hardest Problem: God, Evil and Suffering
by Rupert ShorttHow can a supposedly all-powerful and all-loving God permit evil and suffering on a grand scale?The question has assailed people across cultures at least as far back as the biblical Book of Job. To sceptics, it forms clinching evidence that all talk of providence is childish -- or even a dangerous delusion. Writing clearly and concisely but avoiding simplistic answers, Rupert Shortt argues that belief in a divine Creator is intellectually robust, despite apparent signs to the contrary. Having cleared the ground, he goes on to show how a Christian understanding, in particular, points the way forward through terrain where raw feelings, intellectual inquiry and the toughest trials of the spirit often overlap.The Hardest Problem takes its place alongside the work of C. S. Lewis as an essential guide to one of life's deepest dilemmas for a new generation of readers.
The Arabic Historical Tradition & the Early Islamic Conquests: Folklore, Tribal Lore, Holy War
by Boaz ShoshanThe early Arab conquests pose a considerable challenge to modern-day historians. The earliest historical written tradition emerges only after the second half of the eighth century- over one hundred years removed from the events it contends to describe, and was undoubtedly influenced by the motives and interpretations of its authors. Indeed, when speaking or writing about the past, fact was not the only, nor even the prime, concern of Muslims of old. The Arabic Historic Tradition and the Early Islamic Conquests presents a thorough examination of Arabic narratives on the early Islamic conquests. It uncovers the influence of contemporary ideology, examining recurring fictive motifs and evaluating the reasons behind their use. Folklore and tribal traditions are evident throughout the narratives, which aimed to promote individual, tribal and regional fame through describing military prowess in the battles for the spread of Islam. Common tropes are encountered across the materials, which all serve a central theme; the moral superiority of the Muslims, which destined them to victory in God’s plan. Offering a key to the state of mind and agenda of early Muslim writers, this critical reading of Arabic texts would be of great interest to students and scholars of early Arabic History and Literature, as well as a general resource for Middle Eastern History.
The Arabic Historical Tradition & the Early Islamic Conquests: Folklore, Tribal Lore, Holy War
by Boaz ShoshanThe early Arab conquests pose a considerable challenge to modern-day historians. The earliest historical written tradition emerges only after the second half of the eighth century- over one hundred years removed from the events it contends to describe, and was undoubtedly influenced by the motives and interpretations of its authors. Indeed, when speaking or writing about the past, fact was not the only, nor even the prime, concern of Muslims of old. The Arabic Historic Tradition and the Early Islamic Conquests presents a thorough examination of Arabic narratives on the early Islamic conquests. It uncovers the influence of contemporary ideology, examining recurring fictive motifs and evaluating the reasons behind their use. Folklore and tribal traditions are evident throughout the narratives, which aimed to promote individual, tribal and regional fame through describing military prowess in the battles for the spread of Islam. Common tropes are encountered across the materials, which all serve a central theme; the moral superiority of the Muslims, which destined them to victory in God’s plan. Offering a key to the state of mind and agenda of early Muslim writers, this critical reading of Arabic texts would be of great interest to students and scholars of early Arabic History and Literature, as well as a general resource for Middle Eastern History.
Refugee Status in Islam: Concepts of Protection in Islamic Tradition and International Law (International Library of Migration Studies)
by Arafat Madi ShoukriWhat are the views, principles and regulations of the Islamic tradition concerning refugee status? Are there any similarities between the Islamic tradition relating to the laws of aman (safe conduct) and the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees?Arafat Shoukri here delves into fifteen centuries of Arab and Islamic history, examining hundreds of ancient sources to establish Islam's position on refugees.To trace the origins of the Islamic concept of aman, Arafat Shoukri goes back to the life of Arabs in the jahiliyya, before the advent of Islam, to explore the idea of jiwar (protection), which was a governing custom at that period. He highlights how the Prophet, the first asylum seeker in Islam, and his Companions exploited jiwar on their journey to establish their state in Medina. More importantly, the author focuses on how the Muslims treated those non-Muslims who sought jiwar in Medina. In order to position aman within the context of an Islamic discourse, the author defines several relevant terms, such as dar alharb, dar al-Islam, mustaj?r, muhajir, musta'min and dhimmi. Noticeably, due to its particular significance, the author undertakes an extensive examination of the different interpretations of the Qur'anic verse (9:6) which is considered to be the cornerstone in legalising the concept of refuge in the Qur'an.After establishing the concept of protection and the laws of aman in the Islamic tradition Shoukri examines the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees from the perspective of Islamic tradition - the first scholar to do so. Interestingly, the similarities between the two are very striking - allowing Shoukri to dismiss calls for a specific Islamic convention on refugees. Instead, he concludes by encouraging Arab and Muslim governments to endorse the 1951 Convention.
An Ethic For Enemies: Forgiveness In Politics
by Donald W. ShriverOur century has witnessed violence on an unprecedented scale, in wars that have torn deep into the fabric of national and international life. And as we can see in the recent strife in Bosnia, genocide in Rwanda, and the ongoing struggle to control nuclear weaponry, ancient enmities continue to threaten the lives of masses of human beings. As never before, the question is urgent and practical: How can nations--or ethnic groups, or races--after long, bitter struggles, learn to live side by side in peace? In An Ethic for Enemies , Donald W. Shriver, Jr., President Emeritus of Union Theological Seminary, argues that the solution lies in our capacity to forgive. Taking forgiveness out of its traditional exclusive association with personal religion and morality, Shriver urges us to recognize its importance in the secular political arena. The heart of the book examines three powerful and moving cases from recent American history--our postwar dealings with Germany, with Japan, and our continuing domestic problem with race relations--cases in which acts of forgiveness have had important political consequences. Shriver traces how postwar Germany, in its struggle to break with its political past, progressed from denial of a Nazi past, to a formal acknowledgement of the crimes of Nazi Germany, to providing material compensation for survivors of the Holocaust. He also examines the efforts of Japan and the United States, over time and across boundaries of race and culture, to forgive the wrongs committed by both peoples during the Pacific War. And finally he offers a fascinating discussion of the role of forgiveness in the American civil rights movement. He shows, for instance, that even Malcolm X recognized the need to move from contempt for the integrationist ideal to a more conciliatory, repentant stance toward Civil Rights leaders. Malcolm came to see that only through forgiveness could the separate voices of the African-American movement work together to achieve their goals. If mutual forgiveness was a radical thought in 1964, Shriver reminds us that it has yet to be realized in 1994. "We are a long way from ceasing to hold the sins of the ancestors against their living children," he writes. Yet in this poignant volume, we discover how, by forgiving, enemies can progress and have progressed toward peace. A timely antidote to today's political conflicts, An Ethic for Enemies challenges to us to confront the hatreds that cripple society and threaten to destroy the global village.
An Ethic For Enemies: Forgiveness in Politics
by Donald W. ShriverOur century has witnessed violence on an unprecedented scale, in wars that have torn deep into the fabric of national and international life. And as we can see in the recent strife in Bosnia, genocide in Rwanda, and the ongoing struggle to control nuclear weaponry, ancient enmities continue to threaten the lives of masses of human beings. As never before, the question is urgent and practical: How can nations--or ethnic groups, or races--after long, bitter struggles, learn to live side by side in peace? In An Ethic for Enemies, Donald W. Shriver, Jr., President Emeritus of Union Theological Seminary, argues that the solution lies in our capacity to forgive. Taking forgiveness out of its traditional exclusive association with personal religion and morality, Shriver urges us to recognize its importance in the secular political arena. The heart of the book examines three powerful and moving cases from recent American history--our postwar dealings with Germany, with Japan, and our continuing domestic problem with race relations--cases in which acts of forgiveness have had important political consequences. Shriver traces how postwar Germany, in its struggle to break with its political past, progressed from denial of a Nazi past, to a formal acknowledgement of the crimes of Nazi Germany, to providing material compensation for survivors of the Holocaust. He also examines the efforts of Japan and the United States, over time and across boundaries of race and culture, to forgive the wrongs committed by both peoples during the Pacific War. And finally he offers a fascinating discussion of the role of forgiveness in the American civil rights movement. He shows, for instance, that even Malcolm X recognized the need to move from contempt for the integrationist ideal to a more conciliatory, repentant stance toward Civil Rights leaders. Malcolm came to see that only through forgiveness could the separate voices of the African-American movement work together to achieve their goals. If mutual forgiveness was a radical thought in 1964, Shriver reminds us that it has yet to be realized in 1994. "We are a long way from ceasing to hold the sins of the ancestors against their living children," he writes. Yet in this poignant volume, we discover how, by forgiving, enemies can progress and have progressed toward peace. A timely antidote to today's political conflicts, An Ethic for Enemies challenges to us to confront the hatreds that cripple society and threaten to destroy the global village.
Honest Patriots: Loving a Country Enough to Remember Its Misdeeds
by Donald W. ShriverIn Honest Patriots, renowned public theologian and ethicist Donald W. Shriver, Jr. argues that we must acknowledge and repent of the morally negative events in our nation's past. The failure to do so skews the relations of many Americans to one another, breeds ongoing hostility, and damages the health of our society. Yet our civic identity today largely rests on denials, forgetfulness, and inattention to the memories of neighbors whose ancestors suffered great injustices at the hands of some dominant majority. Shriver contends that repentance for these injustices must find a place in our political culture. Such repentance must be carefully and deliberately cultivated through the accurate teaching of history, by means of public symbols that embody both positive and negative memory, and through public leadership to this end. Religious people and religious organizations have an important role to play in this process. Historically, the Christian tradition has concentrated on the personal dimensions of forgiveness and repentance to the near-total neglect of their collective aspects. Recently, however, the idea of collective moral responsibility has gained new and public visibility. Official apologies for past collective injustice have multiplied, along with calls for reparations. Shriver looks in detail at the examples of Germany and South Africa, and their pioneering efforts to foster and express collective repentance. He then turns to the historic wrongs perpetrated against African Americans and Native Americans and to recent efforts by American citizens and governmental bodies to seek public justice by remembering public injustice. The call for collective repentance presents many challenges: What can it mean to morally master a past whose victims are dead and whose sufferings cannot be alleviated? What are the measures that lend substance to language and action expressing repentance? What symbolic and tangible acts produce credible turns away from past wrongs? What are the dynamics-psychological, social, and political-whereby we can safely consign an evil to the past? How can public life witness to corporate crimes of the past in such a way that descendents of victims can be confident that they will never be repeated? In his provocative answers to these questions Shriver creates a compelling new vision of the collective repentance and apology that must precede real progress in relations between the races in this country.
The Making of Jewish Revolutionaries in the Pale of Settlement: Community and Identity during the Russian Revolution and its Immediate Aftermath, 1905–07 (Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements)
by I. ShtakserThis book examines the emotional aspects of revolutionary experience during a critical turning point in both Russian and Jewish history - the 1905 revolution. Shtakser argues that radicalization involved an emotional transformation, which enabled many young revolutionaries to develop an activist attitude towards reality.
Six Truths and a Lie
by Ream ShukairySix Muslim teens are falsely accused of a deadly attack in this timely and harrowing examination of America&’s justice system, perfect for fans of Angie Thomas and Samira Ahmed. As fireworks pop off at a rowdy Fourth of July bonfire party, an explosion off the California coast levels an oil rig—resulting in chaos and worse, murder. At the center are six Muslim teens - six patriots, six strangers, and six suspects. An old soul caught in the wrong place. An aspiring doctor. An influencer with a reputation to protect. A perfect daughter with secrets to hide. A soccer star headed for Stanford. An immigrant in love. Each with something to hide and everything to lose. Faced with accusations of terrorism, The Six are caught in a political game that will pit them against each other in exchange for exoneration. They must choose: frame each other to guarantee their own independence or expose their secrets to earn back freedom for them all.
Hinduism: The Basics (The Basics)
by Neelima Shukla-BhattHinduism: The Basics introduces readers to the third largest, and arguably the oldest, living religious tradition. It opens a vista into the rich and dynamic ethos of the Hindu religious tradition in India and other parts of the world. The book explores the variety of philosophical schools, priestly rituals, and popular practices common in the Hindu faith, presenting the layered diversity of its traditions and how they function in everyday life. Chapters unpack key concepts from the tradition and discussions about its various aspects, including: The historical development of Hinduism Religious practices such as pilgrimage, meditation, and life cycle rituals The organisation of Hindu society into castes and related social justice issues The spread of Hinduism around the world, the rise of Hindu nationalism, and other challenges of modernity The continuum between sacred texts in both elite Sanskrit and in South Asian vernacular languages Hindu worldviews including karma, reincarnation, and ethics The vitality of indigenous cultures in every form of Hinduism Featuring glossaries, timelines, suggestions for further reading, and a list of key deities as well as practices, this is an ideal introduction to Hindu beliefs and traditions for undergraduates and others new to the study of Hinduism.
Hinduism: The Basics (The Basics)
by Neelima Shukla-BhattHinduism: The Basics introduces readers to the third largest, and arguably the oldest, living religious tradition. It opens a vista into the rich and dynamic ethos of the Hindu religious tradition in India and other parts of the world. The book explores the variety of philosophical schools, priestly rituals, and popular practices common in the Hindu faith, presenting the layered diversity of its traditions and how they function in everyday life. Chapters unpack key concepts from the tradition and discussions about its various aspects, including: The historical development of Hinduism Religious practices such as pilgrimage, meditation, and life cycle rituals The organisation of Hindu society into castes and related social justice issues The spread of Hinduism around the world, the rise of Hindu nationalism, and other challenges of modernity The continuum between sacred texts in both elite Sanskrit and in South Asian vernacular languages Hindu worldviews including karma, reincarnation, and ethics The vitality of indigenous cultures in every form of Hinduism Featuring glossaries, timelines, suggestions for further reading, and a list of key deities as well as practices, this is an ideal introduction to Hindu beliefs and traditions for undergraduates and others new to the study of Hinduism.
Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat: A Legacy of Bhakti in Songs and Stories
by Neelima Shukla-BhattExploring medieval manuscripts, Gandhi's writings, and performances in multiple religious and non-religious contexts, Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat demonstrates how over five centuries, performers and audiences of devotional songs and hagiographic narratives associated with the saint-poet Narasinha Mehta have sculpted them into popular sources of moral inspiration. Taking Gandhi's use of these works in his social reconstruction programs as an example, the book suggests that when religious forms such as songs and hagiographies of saint-poets of South Asia acquire dimensions of popular culture, they offer a platform for communication among diverse groups. An illuminating study that provides a vivid picture of the Narasinha tradition, Narasinha Mehta of Gujarat will be a crucial resource for anyone seeking to understand the power of religious performative traditions in popular media.
Bishops and Covenanters: The Church in Scotland, 1688-1691
by Ann ShukmanWhy did the young Protestant monarch William of Orange fail to make his mark on Scotland? How did a particularly hard-line 'Protester' branch of Presbyterianism (the last off-shoot of the Convenanting movement) become the established Church in Scotland? And how did it come about that Scotland suffered a kind of 'cultural revolution' after the Williamite revolution, nipping in the bud the proto-Enlightenment? This book reviews the political events that led to the abolition of episcopacy in 1689 and with it the concerted attack on the parish clergy. It explores for the first time the background and influences that led to the brutal 'rabbling of the curates' in south-west Scotland. It explores the mind-set of the notorious Covenanting tract Naphtali (1667), and of its author Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees, who was the author of the Act establishing hard-line Presbyterianism in 1690, and became Lord Advocate of Scotland in 1692. The purges of the universities after the 1690 Act led to a hardening of attitudes, and the on-going purging of the parishes led ultimately to the emptying of two-thirds of all the parishes of Scotland. The book suggests how these events contributed to the notion of 'King William's ill years'.
One Blade of Grass: A Zen Memoir
by Henry Shukman**A TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR SELECTION**'Captivating'TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT'The book Shukman was born to write'NATALIE GOLDBERG, author of WRITING DOWN THE BONES'A wonderful and generous book'DAVID HINTON, author of THE WILDS OF POETRY'Heartfelt and beautifully written'STEPHEN BATCHELOR, author of AFTER BUDDHISM***One Blade of Grass is award-winning novelist and poet Henry Shukman's account of his journey through the world of Zen Buddhism. Raised in a rationalist household in Oxford during the spiritual heyday of the Sixties and Seventies, an unexpected spiritual awakening would prompt a lifelong quest to integrate the experience into his life, leading him eventually to Zen Buddhism. As Shukman gets to grips with meditative practice and struggles with anxiety, depression and the chronic eczema he had had since childhoods, he discovers in surprising ways the emotional, spiritual and even physical healing that he has been searching for all along.By turns humorous and moving, this beautifully written memoir demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language, and takes the reader on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures of life that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.