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Voices of Early Christianity: Documents from the Origins of Christianity (Voices of an Era)
by Kevin W. KaatzThis fascinating resource examines the day-to-day lives of early Christians—as depicted through documented accounts of the period—from the beginning of Christianity through 325 CE.Early Christianity drew its doctrine from a variety of sources—personal interpretation, Hebrew scriptures, and church council—yet the core ideology endured, even as the religion transitioned from being the object of persecution to becoming a legal institution in the Roman Empire. This book celebrates the voices that helped create and develop Christianity during that period.Voices of Early Christianity: Documents from the Origins of Christianity is a collection of excerpts from significant documents from early Christian history, organized topically, then listed chronologically within each section. The author compares textual variations among the works of the apostles, as well as key themes over time, and frames the discussion for further critical thinking. Topics include sexuality, marriage, and divorce; food issues; women in early Christianity; and politics and Christianity.
Voices of Early Christianity: Documents from the Origins of Christianity (Voices of an Era)
This fascinating resource examines the day-to-day lives of early Christians—as depicted through documented accounts of the period—from the beginning of Christianity through 325 CE.Early Christianity drew its doctrine from a variety of sources—personal interpretation, Hebrew scriptures, and church council—yet the core ideology endured, even as the religion transitioned from being the object of persecution to becoming a legal institution in the Roman Empire. This book celebrates the voices that helped create and develop Christianity during that period.Voices of Early Christianity: Documents from the Origins of Christianity is a collection of excerpts from significant documents from early Christian history, organized topically, then listed chronologically within each section. The author compares textual variations among the works of the apostles, as well as key themes over time, and frames the discussion for further critical thinking. Topics include sexuality, marriage, and divorce; food issues; women in early Christianity; and politics and Christianity.
The Voices of Angels: Inspiring Stories and Divine Messages from Ireland's Angel Whisperer
by Francesca BrownAngel Whisperer Francesca Brown has been communicating with the angels since they first came into her life during a time of grave illness and guided her back to health.In her new book The Voices of Angels, Francesca draws us once again into the angelic realm, sharing her amazing personal journey to becoming one of Europe's best-known angel channelers.Here she focuses on the insights of the angels with whom she communicates daily, most especially with Ann, her ever-present and trusted angel companion. These earthly messages from the heavenly realm concern all aspects of our daily lives: love, career, dealing with our problems and, importantly, how to connect with our own guardian angels to find our true path.Complete with a host of remarkable true stories of angel experiences and manifestations, The Voices of Angels is a book for our time, gently guiding us back to basic principles of love and innerwellbeing - sharing all we need to know to live our best lives.
Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under: Outback to Outfront
by Christopher NewellAn excellent source of information and ideas on the relationship between disability and spirituality-and how to improve itThis one-of-a-kind collection explores the relationship between spirituality and disability from a variety of Australian religious and spiritual viewpoints. Authors from a wide range of backgrounds-some with disabilities, some without-draw remarkable insights from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist (and even non-religious) spirituality. These uniquely Australian perspectives provide practical and spiritual lessons that can be applied in any part of the world.Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under presents an unflinching look at the shortcomings of many established church ministries when it comes to serving people with disabilities. There&’s also an extraordinary interview with a severely disabled nonreligious woman in the final stage of her life and her caretaker, which presents a very revealing look at the essence of human spirituality as it exists even in the absence of religious dogma. In addition, you&’ll find a revealing case study focusing on the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), which looks at the gap between its official theology and its actual policy and practice, and outlines a project designed to move the Church forward to more inclusive practices.Additionally, Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under: Outback to Outfront examines: why platitudes that are intended to give comfort, like "God has chosen this for you," "It&’s a test of your faith," or "We all have our crosses to carry" are at best problematic, and at worst damaging-with suggestions for pastoral responses that offer alternatives to "God-is-on-your-side" clichés the spiritual meaning and importance of community for people with disabilities, and the impact of community on their vitality and resiliency the Buddhist teaching called sunyata, or emptiness, and its potential to positively impact the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and those who know them wisdom contained in the ancient Jewish system of laws called Halacha-and its potential for empowering people with disabilities today how a pastoral care program that is flexible, accommodating, and relevant for disabled people was created at a small metropolitan school in New South Wales-and the effect of the program on the community the work of the Personal Advocacy Service, which recruits volunteers to be companions to people with intellectual disabilities the role of religion and philanthropy in the creation of educational programs for blind or vision-impaired students and more
Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under: Outback to Outfront
by Dr Christopher Newell Andy CalderAn excellent source of information and ideas on the relationship between disability and spirituality-and how to improve itThis one-of-a-kind collection explores the relationship between spirituality and disability from a variety of Australian religious and spiritual viewpoints. Authors from a wide range of backgrounds-some with disabilities, some without-draw remarkable insights from Christian, Jewish, Buddhist (and even non-religious) spirituality. These uniquely Australian perspectives provide practical and spiritual lessons that can be applied in any part of the world.Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under presents an unflinching look at the shortcomings of many established church ministries when it comes to serving people with disabilities. There&’s also an extraordinary interview with a severely disabled nonreligious woman in the final stage of her life and her caretaker, which presents a very revealing look at the essence of human spirituality as it exists even in the absence of religious dogma. In addition, you&’ll find a revealing case study focusing on the Uniting Church in Australia (UCA), which looks at the gap between its official theology and its actual policy and practice, and outlines a project designed to move the Church forward to more inclusive practices.Additionally, Voices in Disability and Spirituality from the Land Down Under: Outback to Outfront examines: why platitudes that are intended to give comfort, like "God has chosen this for you," "It&’s a test of your faith," or "We all have our crosses to carry" are at best problematic, and at worst damaging-with suggestions for pastoral responses that offer alternatives to "God-is-on-your-side" clichés the spiritual meaning and importance of community for people with disabilities, and the impact of community on their vitality and resiliency the Buddhist teaching called sunyata, or emptiness, and its potential to positively impact the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and those who know them wisdom contained in the ancient Jewish system of laws called Halacha-and its potential for empowering people with disabilities today how a pastoral care program that is flexible, accommodating, and relevant for disabled people was created at a small metropolitan school in New South Wales-and the effect of the program on the community the work of the Personal Advocacy Service, which recruits volunteers to be companions to people with intellectual disabilities the role of religion and philanthropy in the creation of educational programs for blind or vision-impaired students and more
Voices from the Underworld: Chinese Hell deity worship in contemporary Singapore and Malaysia (Alternative Sinology)
by Fabian GrahamIn Singapore and Malaysia, the inversion of Chinese Underworld traditions has meant that Underworld demons are now amongst the most commonly venerated deities in statue form, channelled through their spirit mediums, tang-ki. The Chinese Underworld and its sub-hells are populated by a bureaucracy drawn from the Buddhist, Taoist and vernacular pantheons. Under the watchful eye of Hell’s ‘enforcers’, the lower echelons of demon soldiers impose post-mortal punishments on the souls of the recently deceased for moral transgressions committed during their prior incarnations. Voices from the Underworld offers an ethnography of contemporary Chinese Underworld traditions, where night-time cemetery rituals assist the souls of the dead, exorcised spirits are imprisoned in Guinness bottles, and malicious foetus ghosts are enlisted to strengthen a temple’s spirit army. Understanding the religious divergences between Singapore and Malaysia through an analysis of socio-political and historical events, Fabian Graham challenges common assumptions on the nature and scope of Chinese vernacular religious beliefs and practices. Graham’s innovative approach to alterity allows the reader to listen to first-person dialogues between the author and channelled Underworld deities. Through its alternative methodological and narrative stance, the book intervenes in debates on the interrelation between sociocultural and spiritual worlds, and promotes the de-stigmatisation of spirit possession and discarnate phenomena in the future study of mystical and religious traditions.
Voices from the Underworld: Chinese hell deity worship in contemporary Singapore and Malaysia (Alternative Sinology)
by Fabian GrahamVoices from the Underworld focuses on Singapore and Malaysia’s contemporary Chinese Underworld traditions where Hell deities are now amongst the most commonly venerated deities on altars and when channelled through spirit mediums. Intended for academics, lecturers, students, and those intrigued with Chinese culture, while highlighting the Taoist and Buddhist cosmologies upon which present-day beliefs and practices are based, the ethnography provides readers with unique insights into the lived tradition.Embracing ontological and dialogic approaches to religious phenomena, alterity is taken seriously, and practitioner’s beliefs interpreted without bias. The emic voice is literally heard through first-person dialogues between the author and channelled Underworld deities throughout the ethnography. This alternative approach challenges wider present-day discourse concerning the interrelationships between sociocultural and spiritual worlds.
Voices from the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland
by Ed MoloneyEd Moloney's Voices from the Grave follows his highly acclaimed A Secret History of the IRA, the best-informed account yet written of the IRA's evolution from ruthless guerilla army into governmental party. But reconciliation between political figures who until very recently wished each other dead or in jail has not been accompanied by very much truth-telling about the past. Men who have been to the White House and fraternized with Tony Blair deny that they ever fired a shot in anger, or caused a bomb to be planted.Now, in Voices from the Grave, a truly ground-breaking piece of historical evidence is unearthed. Two former paramilitary leaders - one republican, one loyalist - speak with unprecedented frankness about their role in some of the most appalling violence of the Troubles. The openness of Brendan Hughes of the IRA and David Ervine of the UVF results in a book of shocking and irresistible testimony, their voices set in the context of a narrative by Ed Moloney of their lives and of the society they grew up in.
Voices from the Edge: Centring Marginalized Perspectives in Analytic Theology (Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology)
by Michael Rea Michelle PanchukOver the past several decades, scholars working in biblical, theological, and religious studies have increasingly attended to the substantive ways that our experiences and understanding of God and God's relation to the world are structured by our experiences and concepts of race, gender, disability, and sexuality. These personal and social identities and their intersections serve as a hermeneutical lens for our interpretations of God, self, the other, and our religious texts and traditions. However, they have not received nearly the same level of attention from analytic theologians and philosophers of religion, and so a wide range of important issues remain ripe for analytic treatment. The papers in this volume address the various ways in which the aforementioned social identities intersect with, shape, and might be shaped by the questions with which analytic theology and philosophy of religion have typically been concerned, as well as what new questions they suggest to the discipline. We focus on three central areas of analytic theology: methodological principles, the intersection of social identities with religious epistemology, and the connections among eschatology, ante-mortem suffering, and ante-mortem social perceptions of bodies.
Voices from the Edge: Centring Marginalized Perspectives in Analytic Theology (Oxford Studies in Analytic Theology)
Over the past several decades, scholars working in biblical, theological, and religious studies have increasingly attended to the substantive ways that our experiences and understanding of God and God's relation to the world are structured by our experiences and concepts of race, gender, disability, and sexuality. These personal and social identities and their intersections serve as a hermeneutical lens for our interpretations of God, self, the other, and our religious texts and traditions. However, they have not received nearly the same level of attention from analytic theologians and philosophers of religion, and so a wide range of important issues remain ripe for analytic treatment. The papers in this volume address the various ways in which the aforementioned social identities intersect with, shape, and might be shaped by the questions with which analytic theology and philosophy of religion have typically been concerned, as well as what new questions they suggest to the discipline. We focus on three central areas of analytic theology: methodological principles, the intersection of social identities with religious epistemology, and the connections among eschatology, ante-mortem suffering, and ante-mortem social perceptions of bodies.
Voices from the Borderland: Re-Imagining Cross-Cultural Urban Theology in the Twenty-First Century
by Chris ShannahanUrban theology affirms the importance of context - notably the place of the city - in theological reflection. However, it has often been confined to particular contexts or theological camps and thus failed to engage with the fluidity of contemporary urban societies. 'Voices from the Borderland' presents an overview of urban theology, arguing that the twenty-first century demands a dialogical model of theology that enacts progressive change. The volume draws on studies of the multicultural and multi-faith British urban experience and situates these within the wider international context. The works of influential theologians in the field are examined and the dialogue between theology, globalisation, post-colonialism, postmodernism and "post-religious" urban culture critically explored. The volume is unique in bringing together urban liberation theology, urban black theology, reformist urban theology, globalisation urban theology, and post-religious urban theology.
Voices from the Borderland: Re-Imagining Cross-Cultural Urban Theology in the Twenty-First Century (Cross Cultural Theologies Ser.)
by Chris ShannahanUrban theology affirms the importance of context - notably the place of the city - in theological reflection. However, it has often been confined to particular contexts or theological camps and thus failed to engage with the fluidity of contemporary urban societies. 'Voices from the Borderland' presents an overview of urban theology, arguing that the twenty-first century demands a dialogical model of theology that enacts progressive change. The volume draws on studies of the multicultural and multi-faith British urban experience and situates these within the wider international context. The works of influential theologians in the field are examined and the dialogue between theology, globalisation, post-colonialism, postmodernism and "post-religious" urban culture critically explored. The volume is unique in bringing together urban liberation theology, urban black theology, reformist urban theology, globalisation urban theology, and post-religious urban theology.
The Voice, the Word, the Books: The Sacred Scripture of the Jews, Christians, and Muslims
by F. PetersJews, Christians, and Muslims all believe that their Scriptures preserve God's words to humanity, and that those words were spoken uniquely to them. In The Voice, the Word, the Books, F. E. Peters leads readers on an extraordinary journey through centuries of written tradition to uncover the human fingerprints on the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and the Quran, sacred texts that have enriched millions of lives. Bringing the latest Biblical and Quranic scholarship to a general audience, Peters explains how these three powerfully influential books passed from God's mouth, so to speak, to become the Scriptures that we possess today. He reveals new insights into their origins, contents, canonization, and the important roles they have played in the lives of their communities. He explores how they evolved through time from oral to written texts, who composed them and who wrote them, as well as the theological commonalities and points of disagreement among their adherents. Writing in the comparative style for which he is renowned, Peters charts the transmission of faith from the spoken word to the printed page, from the revelations on Sinai and Mount Hira to Mamluk ateliers in Cairo and Gutenberg's press in Mainz. Peters is an acknowledged expert who has written extensively on these three great world religions, each of them an inheritor of the faith of Abraham. Published in conjunction with an exhibit at the British Library, this illustrated book includes beautiful images of the rare editions on exhibit and constitutes Peters's most ambitious and illuminating examination yet of the sacred texts that so inform civilization both East and West.
The Voice of Virtue: Moral Song and the Practice of French Stoicism, 1574-1652
by Melinda LatourThe Voice of Virtue illuminates the musical practices at the heart of the Neostoic movement that spread across French lands during the Wars of Religion in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Guided by twin reparative traditions granting music and philosophy therapeutic power, composers and performers across the embattled Catholic and Protestant confessions turned to moral song as a means of repairing personal and collective virtue damaged by the ongoing conflict. Moral song collections enlarged interest in Stoic philosophy by circulating its ethical program to a broader audience through attractive paraphrases of Stoic maxims set to music. Even more importantly, this skillfully composed repertoire of polyphonic song offered a multi-sensory moral practice that would have resonated powerfully for those well-versed in the paradoxes of the Stoic tradition. Bringing together a repertoire of little-known music prints, a rich visual culture, and an impressive body of literary and philosophical sources, The Voice of Virtue not only illuminates the influence of Stoicism on music, but also reveals that we cannot fully understand Neostoicism as an intellectual or cultural movement without accounting for its vibrant musical sounds. Virtue, as voiced in these Stoic practices, proves to be both rational and fully invested in the sensory processes of the singing body.
The Voice of Virtue: Moral Song and the Practice of French Stoicism, 1574-1652
by Melinda LatourThe Voice of Virtue illuminates the musical practices at the heart of the Neostoic movement that spread across French lands during the Wars of Religion in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Guided by twin reparative traditions granting music and philosophy therapeutic power, composers and performers across the embattled Catholic and Protestant confessions turned to moral song as a means of repairing personal and collective virtue damaged by the ongoing conflict. Moral song collections enlarged interest in Stoic philosophy by circulating its ethical program to a broader audience through attractive paraphrases of Stoic maxims set to music. Even more importantly, this skillfully composed repertoire of polyphonic song offered a multi-sensory moral practice that would have resonated powerfully for those well-versed in the paradoxes of the Stoic tradition. Bringing together a repertoire of little-known music prints, a rich visual culture, and an impressive body of literary and philosophical sources, The Voice of Virtue not only illuminates the influence of Stoicism on music, but also reveals that we cannot fully understand Neostoicism as an intellectual or cultural movement without accounting for its vibrant musical sounds. Virtue, as voiced in these Stoic practices, proves to be both rational and fully invested in the sensory processes of the singing body.
The Voice of the Poor in the Middle Ages: An Anthology of Documents from the Cairo Geniza
by Mark R. CohenThey are voices that have been silent for centuries: those of captives and refugees, widows and orphans, the blind and infirm, and the underclass of the "working poor." Now, for the first time, the voices of the poor in the Middle Ages come to life in this moving book by historian Mark Cohen. A companion to Cohen's other volume, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, the book presents more than ninety letters, alms lists, donor lists, and other related documents from the Geniza, a hidden chamber for discarded papers, situated inside a wall in a Cairo synagogue. Cohen has translated these documents, providing the historical context for each. In the past, most of what we knew of the poor in the Middle Ages came from records and observations compiled by their literate social superiors, from tax collectors to the inquisitor's clerk, from criminal judges to the benefactors of the helpless, from makers of Islamic waqf deeds to authors of Arabic chronicles, and in Judaism, from Rabbis who wrote responsa to compilers of Jewish-law codes. What distinguishes this book is that it contains the voices of the poor themselves, found in documents heretofore largely ignored. Because an ancient custom in Judaism prohibited the destruction of pages of sacred writing, the documents were preserved, largely unharmed, for as many as nine centuries. The Voice of the Poor in the Middle Ages provides access to the attitudes and philanthropic activities of the charitable, alongside the dramatic writings of the poor themselves, whether penned in their own hands or dictated to a scribe or family member. The book also allows a rare glimpse into the women of the Middle Ages, as well as into the world of private charity--an area long elusive to the medieval historian. For researchers and students alike, this book will be an invaluable social history source for years to come.
Voice of the Muslim Brotherhood: Da'wa, Discourse, and Political Communication
by Noha MellorIn the wake of the 25 January revolution and the coup that followed in 2013, Egyptian bookstores recorded a significant increase in demand for books by and about the Muslim Brotherhood. However, despite the burgeoning literature on the Brotherhood, knowledge about the movement is still rather limited, particularly with regard to its most strategic tool – media and communications. This book offers a fresh and close look into the communication strategy of the group, focusing on published periodicals, biographies, and websites that represent the voice of the Brotherhood. The book analyses the core mission of the Brotherhood, namely its daᶜwa (call, invitation to faith) – how it is articulated and how it is defined by the movement as an ideology and a process. Have the media represented a coherent voice of the Brotherhood over the past decades? What can they communicate regarding the Brothers’ perception of the needs of their audiences? How have the media served to sustain, preserve, and distinguish the movement for nine decades? The book argues that the Brotherhood media speak with an intermittent voice and deliver an incoherent message whose tone is changeable and fluctuating and cannot be claimed to truly represent the heterogeneity of the group. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates Media Studies and Social Movement Theory, the book provides a fresh analysis of the Brotherhood movement as an interpretive community and will be a valuable resource for anyone studying Egypt or the Muslim Brotherhood.
Voice of the Muslim Brotherhood: Da'wa, Discourse, and Political Communication
by Noha MellorIn the wake of the 25 January revolution and the coup that followed in 2013, Egyptian bookstores recorded a significant increase in demand for books by and about the Muslim Brotherhood. However, despite the burgeoning literature on the Brotherhood, knowledge about the movement is still rather limited, particularly with regard to its most strategic tool – media and communications. This book offers a fresh and close look into the communication strategy of the group, focusing on published periodicals, biographies, and websites that represent the voice of the Brotherhood. The book analyses the core mission of the Brotherhood, namely its daᶜwa (call, invitation to faith) – how it is articulated and how it is defined by the movement as an ideology and a process. Have the media represented a coherent voice of the Brotherhood over the past decades? What can they communicate regarding the Brothers’ perception of the needs of their audiences? How have the media served to sustain, preserve, and distinguish the movement for nine decades? The book argues that the Brotherhood media speak with an intermittent voice and deliver an incoherent message whose tone is changeable and fluctuating and cannot be claimed to truly represent the heterogeneity of the group. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach that integrates Media Studies and Social Movement Theory, the book provides a fresh analysis of the Brotherhood movement as an interpretive community and will be a valuable resource for anyone studying Egypt or the Muslim Brotherhood.
Voice of the Buddha: Buddhaghosa on the Immeasurable Words
by Maria HeimWhat would a Buddhist theory of texts look like through the lens of the 5th-century thinker Buddhaghosa? In Voice of the Buddha, Maria Heim reads from the principal commentator, editor, and translator of the Theravada intellectual tradition, yielding fresh insight into all three collections of the early Pali texts: Vinaya, the Suttas, and the Abhidhamma. Buddhaghosa considered the Buddha to be omniscient, the Buddha's words to be "oceanic." Every word, passage, book--indeed the corpus as a whole--is taken to be "endless and immeasurable" in Buddhaghosa's view. Commentarial practice thus requires disciplined methods of expansion, drawing out the endless possibilities for meaning and application. Heim considers Buddhaghosa's theories of texts, and follows his practices of exegesis to discover how he explored scripture's infinity. By examining the significance of the immeasurability of scripture in commentarial practice and as a general principle, this book offers new tools to understand the huge scriptural and commentarial literature of the Pali tradition. And by taking seriously a traditional commentator's theory of texts, it beckons us to learn from commentaries themselves how we might read and interpret them and the texts on which they comment.
Voice of the Buddha: Buddhaghosa on the Immeasurable Words
by Maria HeimWhat would a Buddhist theory of texts look like through the lens of the 5th-century thinker Buddhaghosa? In Voice of the Buddha, Maria Heim reads from the principal commentator, editor, and translator of the Theravada intellectual tradition, yielding fresh insight into all three collections of the early Pali texts: Vinaya, the Suttas, and the Abhidhamma. Buddhaghosa considered the Buddha to be omniscient, the Buddha's words to be "oceanic." Every word, passage, book--indeed the corpus as a whole--is taken to be "endless and immeasurable" in Buddhaghosa's view. Commentarial practice thus requires disciplined methods of expansion, drawing out the endless possibilities for meaning and application. Heim considers Buddhaghosa's theories of texts, and follows his practices of exegesis to discover how he explored scripture's infinity. By examining the significance of the immeasurability of scripture in commentarial practice and as a general principle, this book offers new tools to understand the huge scriptural and commentarial literature of the Pali tradition. And by taking seriously a traditional commentator's theory of texts, it beckons us to learn from commentaries themselves how we might read and interpret them and the texts on which they comment.
The Voice Of Silence: A Life of Love, Healing and Inspiration
by Oonagh Shanley-ToffoloThe Voice of Silence is by an Irishwoman who has had an extraordinary life. Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo was brought up in 1930s rural Ireland where her father initiated her into the healing arts. At the age of 16, she entered a convent where she trained as a nurse, and was sent to India to look after the elderly (and knew Mother Teresa). Here, she felt it was the young, rather than the old, who needed more help and so she left her order and trained in midwifery. Later, in Paris, she was asked to nurse the Duke of Windsor just before he died - and many years later was introduced to Princess Diana and became her weekly confidante. In between, were bouts of serious illness, studying acupuncture in China - and being photographed by Snowdon. The Voice of Silence is the life story of a very unusual woman who has learned far more than most from all the remarkable things that have happened to her. It is also the author's thoughts on healing, spirituality and love - and how closely the three are intertwined. Full of feeling, poetic vision and insight, this book cannot fail to touch the heart of the reader, and inspire.
The Voice of Judith in 300 Years of Oratorio and Opera
by Helen LenemanThis volume focuses on the story of Judith as presented by composers, librettists and playwrights over four centuries. Helen Leneman analyzes numerous examples of music, librettos and the librettists' views of Judith – strongly influenced by societal attitudes of their time – and how these works in turn suggest unexpected ways of understanding biblical women and their stories. Music adds nuances, colors and emotions, becoming a subtext that suggests character and emotions. Leneman presents in-depth analyses of the librettos and music of 16 operas and oratorios based on the book of Judith that span 300 years (1694-1984), in addition to two influential plays that inspired several librettos in the nineteenth century. Exploring works by such varied composers as Vivaldi, Mozart, Parry, Honegger, Serov, Chadwick and von Reznicek, Leneman reveals the ways in which each adaptation expands, distils or reinterprets Judith's character and story. In this first ever extensive study of musical settings of the Book of Judith, Leneman enables the biblical heroine to transcend her source.
Voice of an Exile: Reflections on Islam (Non-ser.)
by Nasr Abu Zaid Esther Ruth NelsonIn 1995 Ayman al-Zawahiri, a prominent terrorist figure recently associated with Al Queda and al-Jihad, issued a bounty against Dr. Nasr Abu Zaid, a respected Islamic scholar at Cairo University. What was Zaid's offense? Arguing that Islam's holy texts should be interpreted in the historical and linguistic context of their time, and that new interpretations should account for social change. His controversial claim that the Qur'an be interpreted metaphorically rather than literally further enraged fundamentalists. Labeled an apostate by the Cairo court of appeals, his life was threatened and he was forced to flee to the Netherlands with his wife. A professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at Leiden University in his adopted country, this progressive Islamic scholar insists that change is still possible and that new understandings of Islam can be accepted and advanced. Forgoing claims that Islam is a violent religion, Zaid shows us that, above all, justice and obedience lies at the heart of the Qur'an.At the outset of this book, we find Zaid growing up in Quhafa, a village in northern Egypt. Islam gives meaning and definition to his life. As he matures, we see him sorting through Egypt's various political developments and upheavals. Zaid carefully weaves such developments into the events of his own life—his father's death, raising his younger siblings, attending Cairo University, his study abroad, his marriages, the events leading to his exile, and his visit to Egypt after a seven-year absence. Through it all, we see him advancing in his academic career and applying new skills to his study and interpretation of the Qur'an. He wrestles with subjects such as polygamy, wife beating, inheritance, and the practice of usury in Islamic cultures. He asserts and illustrates that Islam must be separate from the State in order to protect the religion from political manipulation. Zaid's personal story and academic pursuits, reflecting the social reality of the broader culture, offer new perspectives on Islam and provide hope to Muslims who feel their religion has been misrepresented and misunderstood.
A Voice in the Wilderness: The 1888-1930 General Conference Sermons of Mormon Historian Andrew Jenson
by Reid L. Neilson and Scott D. MariannoIn April 1888, Andrew Jenson, Danish immigrant and convert to the Mormon faith, received an unexpected invitation from church leaders to speak at their general conference. Jenson was an outsider to this conference tradition, a layman whose only standing before the main body of Latter-day Saints came from a contracted position with the Church Historian's Office. Forty-two years later, in April 1930, Jenson offered his twenty-eighth and final general conference sermon. He had become the voice of institutional record keeping in his over forty-year career as an Assistant Church Historian. His sermons demonstrated the growth and expansion of the Mormon general conference tradition in the twentieth century, as they placed the Latter-day Saint story front and center for church members to learn from and celebrate. In addition, Jenson urged conference goers to keep better personal and institutional records and believed he was often the solitary advocate for church record keeping and historical preservation. A Voice in the Wilderness presents all twenty-eight of Andrew Jenson's general conference sermons, with introductions and annotations that set them within their historical and religious contexts. His speeches capture a unique period in Mormon history, one of institutional change, accommodation, and growth. This study of Jenson's sermons uncovers the richness and diversity that thrives just beneath the surface of official ecclesiastical discourse.
A Voice in the Wilderness: The 1888-1930 General Conference Sermons of Mormon Historian Andrew Jenson
In April 1888, Andrew Jenson, Danish immigrant and convert to the Mormon faith, received an unexpected invitation from church leaders to speak at their general conference. Jenson was an outsider to this conference tradition, a layman whose only standing before the main body of Latter-day Saints came from a contracted position with the Church Historian's Office. Forty-two years later, in April 1930, Jenson offered his twenty-eighth and final general conference sermon. He had become the voice of institutional record keeping in his over forty-year career as an Assistant Church Historian. His sermons demonstrated the growth and expansion of the Mormon general conference tradition in the twentieth century, as they placed the Latter-day Saint story front and center for church members to learn from and celebrate. In addition, Jenson urged conference goers to keep better personal and institutional records and believed he was often the solitary advocate for church record keeping and historical preservation. A Voice in the Wilderness presents all twenty-eight of Andrew Jenson's general conference sermons, with introductions and annotations that set them within their historical and religious contexts. His speeches capture a unique period in Mormon history, one of institutional change, accommodation, and growth. This study of Jenson's sermons uncovers the richness and diversity that thrives just beneath the surface of official ecclesiastical discourse.