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Christian Inculturation in India (Liturgy, Worship and Society Series)
by Paul M. CollinsDrawing together international and Indian sources, and new research on the ground in South India, this book presents a unique examination of the inculturation of Christian Worship in India. Paul M. Collins examines the imperatives underlying the processes of inculturation - the dynamic relationship between the Christian message and cultures - and then explores the outcomes of those processes in terms of architecture, liturgy and ritual, and the critique offered of these outcomes, especially by Dalit theologians. This book highlights how the Indian context has informed global discussions, and how the decisions of the World Council of Churches, Vatican II and Lambeth Conferences have impacted upon the Indian context.
Partaking in Divine Nature: Deification and Communion
by Paul M. CollinsWith strong application and relevance to contemporary ecclesiological questions, this is an investigation of how understandings of theosis in the Christian Tradition have related to understandings of divine nature in terms of koinonia.
The Trinity: A Guide For The Perplexed (Guides for the Perplexed #189)
by Paul M. CollinsAlthough the doctrine of the Trinity is a core Christian belief, it remains contested in terms of how it is conceptualized and expressed. This essential guide expounds different conceptual models and the technical language used to express these models. Providing a complete overview, as well as new insights into the area, The Trinity: A Guide for the Perplexed is an essential read for students of Christian Theology.
Denomination: Assessing an Ecclesiological Category (Ecclesiological Investigations)
by Paul M. Collins Barry A. Ensign-GeorgeThe term "denomination" is now widely used to describe a Christian community or church. But what is a 'denomination'? In this highly creative collection of essays, representatives of all major Christian traditions give an answer to this question. What does the term mean in their own tradition? And does that tradition understand itself to be a 'denomination'? If so, what is that understanding of 'denomination'; and if not, how does the tradition understand itself vis Á vis those churches which do and those churches which do not understand themselves as 'denominations'? In dialogue with the argument and ideas set forth in Barry Ensign-George's essay, each contributor offers a response from the perspective of a particular church (tradition). Each essay also considers questions concerning the current landscape of ecumenical dialogue; ecumenical method and the goals of the ecumenical movement; as well as questions of Christian identity and belonging.
Denomination: Assessing an Ecclesiological Category (Ecclesiological Investigations)
by Paul M. Collins Barry A. Ensign-GeorgeThe term "denomination" is now widely used to describe a Christian community or church. But what is a 'denomination'? In this highly creative collection of essays, representatives of all major Christian traditions give an answer to this question. What does the term mean in their own tradition? And does that tradition understand itself to be a 'denomination'? If so, what is that understanding of 'denomination'; and if not, how does the tradition understand itself vis à vis those churches which do and those churches which do not understand themselves as 'denominations'? In dialogue with the argument and ideas set forth in Barry Ensign-George's essay, each contributor offers a response from the perspective of a particular church (tradition). Each essay also considers questions concerning the current landscape of ecumenical dialogue; ecumenical method and the goals of the ecumenical movement; as well as questions of Christian identity and belonging.
Charisma: Micro-sociology of Power and Influence
by Randall CollinsWhat is charisma? And how does it generate influence and power? World-renowned sociologist Randall Collins explores these and many other questions in a highly readable exploration of the various forms of charisma and how charisma elevated Jesus, Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia, Queen Elizabeth, Hitler, Churchill, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Madame Mao Zedong, and others. He explores four types of charisma: frontstage, backstage, success-magic, and reputational charisma. Not everyone has the same kind of charisma and Collin’s identifies important differences and their relations to power. The book exemplifies Collin’s sophisticated micro-sociology in accessible and compelling prose, quietly building subtle matrices of analysis that show how sociology unveils hidden discoveries.
Charisma: Micro-sociology of Power and Influence
by Randall CollinsWhat is charisma? And how does it generate influence and power? World-renowned sociologist Randall Collins explores these and many other questions in a highly readable exploration of the various forms of charisma and how charisma elevated Jesus, Cleopatra, Lawrence of Arabia, Queen Elizabeth, Hitler, Churchill, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Madame Mao Zedong, and others. He explores four types of charisma: frontstage, backstage, success-magic, and reputational charisma. Not everyone has the same kind of charisma and Collin’s identifies important differences and their relations to power. The book exemplifies Collin’s sophisticated micro-sociology in accessible and compelling prose, quietly building subtle matrices of analysis that show how sociology unveils hidden discoveries.
Keepers of the Keys of Heaven: A History of the Papacy
by Roger CollinsOne of the most enduring and influential of all human institutions, the papacy has also been amongst the most controversial. No one who seeks to make sense of modern issues within Christendom-or, indeed, world history-can neglect the vital shaping role of the popes.In Keepers of the Keys of Heaven, eminent religion scholar Roger Collins offers a masterful account of the entire arc of papal history-from the separation of the Greek and Latin churches to the contemporary controversies that threaten the unity of the one billion-strong worldwide Catholic community. A definitive and accessible guide to what is arguably the world's most vaunted office, Keepers of the Keys of Heaven is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of faith in the shaping of our world.
Live More Sloth: Slow Down, Chill Out and Live in the Sloth Lane
by Tim Collins Luka VaThe no-sweat approach to self-care from nature’s expert: the sloth. Get ready to channel nature’s most relaxed animals and turn your perspective upside-down. There’s a lot to be said for taking it easy and our sloth friends are experts at finding their superchill. Learn how to slow down, be present and forget the small stuff as you follow the slothenly path to enlightenment. Celebrating the art of slow and bringing together their philoslothopy for living a happy life, Live More Sloth is a collection of wisdom that reminds us all to hang in there and smile, no matter what life throws at you. Start living your best life today, by the way of the sloth.
Godly People
by Patrick CollinsonSome of the sons and grandsons of the English Reformation, the 'hotter sort', were known to their contemporaries as 'puritans', but they called themselves 'the godly'. This career-spanning collection of essays by Patrick Collinson, Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University, deals with numerous aspects of the religious culture of post-Reformation England and its implications for the politics, mentality, and social relations of the Elizabethans and Jacobeans.
The Birthpangs of Protestant England: Religious and Cultural Change in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
by Patrick Collinson Enda Murphy'...a masterly study.' Alister McGrath, Theological Book Review '...a splendid read.' J.J.Scarisbrick, TLS '...profound, witty...of immense value.' David Loades, History Today Historians have always known that the English Reformation was more than a simple change of religious belief and practice. It altered the political constitution and, according to Max Weber, the attitudes and motives which governed the getting and investment of wealth, facilitating the rise of capitalism and industrialisation. This book investigates further implications of the transformative religious changes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries for the nation, the town, the family, and for their culture.
Initiating the Millennium: The Avignon Society and Illuminism in Europe (Oxford Studies in Western Esotericism)
by Robert Collis Natalie BayerIn Initiating the Millennium, Robert Collis and Natalie Bayer fill a substantial lacuna in the study of an initiatic society--known variously as the Illuminés d'Avignon, the Avignon Society, the New Israel Society, and the Union--that flourished across Europe between 1779 and 1807. Based on hitherto neglected archival material, this study provides a wealth of fresh insights into a group that included members of various Christian confessions from countries spanning the length and breadth of the Continent. The founding members of this society forged a unique group that incorporated distinct strands of Western esotericism (particularly alchemy and arithmancy) within an all-pervading millenarian worldview. Collis and Bayer demonstrate that the doctrine of premillennialism--belief in the imminent advent of Christ's reign on Earth--soon came to constitute the raison d'être of the society. Using a chronological approach, the authors chart the machinations of the leading figures of the society (most notably the Polish gentleman Tadeusz Grabianka). They also examine the way in which the group reacted to and was impacted by the tumultuous events that rocked Europe during its twenty-eight years of existence. The result is a new understanding of the vital role played by the so-called Union within the wider millenarian and illuministic milieu at the close of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century.
Initiating the Millennium: The Avignon Society and Illuminism in Europe (Oxford Studies in Western Esotericism)
by Robert Collis Natalie BayerIn Initiating the Millennium, Robert Collis and Natalie Bayer fill a substantial lacuna in the study of an initiatic society--known variously as the Illuminés d'Avignon, the Avignon Society, the New Israel Society, and the Union--that flourished across Europe between 1779 and 1807. Based on hitherto neglected archival material, this study provides a wealth of fresh insights into a group that included members of various Christian confessions from countries spanning the length and breadth of the Continent. The founding members of this society forged a unique group that incorporated distinct strands of Western esotericism (particularly alchemy and arithmancy) within an all-pervading millenarian worldview. Collis and Bayer demonstrate that the doctrine of premillennialism--belief in the imminent advent of Christ's reign on Earth--soon came to constitute the raison d'être of the society. Using a chronological approach, the authors chart the machinations of the leading figures of the society (most notably the Polish gentleman Tadeusz Grabianka). They also examine the way in which the group reacted to and was impacted by the tumultuous events that rocked Europe during its twenty-eight years of existence. The result is a new understanding of the vital role played by the so-called Union within the wider millenarian and illuministic milieu at the close of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century.
Lucretius as Theorist of Political Life (Recovering Political Philosophy)
by J. Colman"John Colman has presented us with a profound and scrupulously detailed inquiry into how Lucretius understood the tensions between the philosophic life and the requirements and characteristics of the life of political action—tensions with which Lucretius had to deal in his endeavor to bring philosophy into Rome." – James H. Nichols, Jr., Professor of Government, Claremont McKenna College, USA"Lucretius has been drawing renewed attention for both the depth of his message and the beauty of his poem. Nevertheless, only a few commentators are attentive to the paradox of a philosophic teaching that reduces everything to matter in motion in the form of a beautiful poem. John Colman represents the even more rare case of someone who sees this paradox and explains it intelligently. He is able to show the way Lucretius addresses those interested in beauty and those interested in politics in a work that appears to reject both." – Christopher Kelly, Professor of Political Science, Boston College, USA"A careful study of Lucretius by a notable young scholar showing, not just assuming, that he had a politics. The result is to reveal how his politics compares with that in the Socratic tradition and how he was distorted by his modern students and interpreters." – Harvey C. Mansfield, Professor of Government at Harvard; Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford, USALucretius as Theorist of Political Life is an interpretation of Lucretius' poem On the Nature of Things as a defense of philosophy given the irremediable tension between the competing claims of the philosophic and political life. The central issue is the need for, and attempt by, philosophy to justify and defend its way of life to the political community. This work uncovers how Lucretius' conception of the philosophic life, and the reaction to the human, religious, and political implications of the discovery of nature, distinguish his intention from the anti-theological animus that drives the politically and scientifically ambitious project of his modern appropriators.
Victorian Parables (New Directions in Religion and Literature)
by Susan E. ColonThe familiar stories of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, and Lazarus and the rich man were part of the cultural currency in the nineteenth century, and Victorian authors drew upon the figures and plots of biblical parables for a variety of authoritative, interpretive, and subversive effects. However, scholars of parables in literature have often overlooked the 19th-century novel, assuming that realism bears no relation to the subversive, iconoclastic genre of parable. In this book Susan E. Colòn shows that authors such as Charles Dickens, Margaret Oliphant, and Charlotte Yonge appreciated the power of parables to deliver an ethical charge that was as unexpected as it was disruptive to conventional moral ideas. Against the common assumption that the genres of realism and parable are polar opposites, this study explores how Victorian novels, despite their length, verisimilitude, and multi-plot complexity, can become parables in ways that imitate, interpret, and challenge their biblical sources.
Victorian Parables (New Directions in Religion and Literature)
by Susan E. ColonThe familiar stories of the good Samaritan, the prodigal son, and Lazarus and the rich man were part of the cultural currency in the nineteenth century, and Victorian authors drew upon the figures and plots of biblical parables for a variety of authoritative, interpretive, and subversive effects. However, scholars of parables in literature have often overlooked the 19th-century novel, assuming that realism bears no relation to the subversive, iconoclastic genre of parable. In this book Susan E. Colòn shows that authors such as Charles Dickens, Margaret Oliphant, and Charlotte Yonge appreciated the power of parables to deliver an ethical charge that was as unexpected as it was disruptive to conventional moral ideas. Against the common assumption that the genres of realism and parable are polar opposites, this study explores how Victorian novels, despite their length, verisimilitude, and multi-plot complexity, can become parables in ways that imitate, interpret, and challenge their biblical sources.
Who Is Mary?: Three Early Modern Women on the Idea of the Virgin Mary (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)
by Vittoria Colonna Chiara Matraini Lucrezia MarinellaFor women of the Italian Renaissance, the Virgin Mary was one of the most important role models. Who Is Mary? presents devotional works written by three women better known for their secular writings: Vittoria Colonna, famed for her Petrarchan lyric verse; Chiara Matraini, one of the most original poets of her generation; and the wide-ranging, intellectually ambitious polemicist Lucrezia Marinella. At a time when the cult of the Virgin was undergoing a substantial process of redefinition, these texts cast fascinating light on the beliefs of Catholic women in the Renaissance, and also, in the cases of Matraini and Marinella, on contemporaneous women’s social behavior, prescribed for them by male writers in books on female decorum. Who Is Mary? testifies to the emotional and spiritual relationships that women had with the figure of Mary, whom they were required to emulate as the epitome of femininity. Now available for the first time in English-language translation, these writings suggest new possibilities for women in both religious and civil culture and provide a window to women’s spirituality, concerning the most important icon set before them, as wives, mothers, and Christians.
Who Is Mary?: Three Early Modern Women on the Idea of the Virgin Mary (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)
by Vittoria Colonna Chiara Matraini Lucrezia MarinellaFor women of the Italian Renaissance, the Virgin Mary was one of the most important role models. Who Is Mary? presents devotional works written by three women better known for their secular writings: Vittoria Colonna, famed for her Petrarchan lyric verse; Chiara Matraini, one of the most original poets of her generation; and the wide-ranging, intellectually ambitious polemicist Lucrezia Marinella. At a time when the cult of the Virgin was undergoing a substantial process of redefinition, these texts cast fascinating light on the beliefs of Catholic women in the Renaissance, and also, in the cases of Matraini and Marinella, on contemporaneous women’s social behavior, prescribed for them by male writers in books on female decorum. Who Is Mary? testifies to the emotional and spiritual relationships that women had with the figure of Mary, whom they were required to emulate as the epitome of femininity. Now available for the first time in English-language translation, these writings suggest new possibilities for women in both religious and civil culture and provide a window to women’s spirituality, concerning the most important icon set before them, as wives, mothers, and Christians.
Who Is Mary?: Three Early Modern Women on the Idea of the Virgin Mary (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe)
by Vittoria Colonna Chiara Matraini Lucrezia MarinellaFor women of the Italian Renaissance, the Virgin Mary was one of the most important role models. Who Is Mary? presents devotional works written by three women better known for their secular writings: Vittoria Colonna, famed for her Petrarchan lyric verse; Chiara Matraini, one of the most original poets of her generation; and the wide-ranging, intellectually ambitious polemicist Lucrezia Marinella. At a time when the cult of the Virgin was undergoing a substantial process of redefinition, these texts cast fascinating light on the beliefs of Catholic women in the Renaissance, and also, in the cases of Matraini and Marinella, on contemporaneous women’s social behavior, prescribed for them by male writers in books on female decorum. Who Is Mary? testifies to the emotional and spiritual relationships that women had with the figure of Mary, whom they were required to emulate as the epitome of femininity. Now available for the first time in English-language translation, these writings suggest new possibilities for women in both religious and civil culture and provide a window to women’s spirituality, concerning the most important icon set before them, as wives, mothers, and Christians.
The Sky Is Not Falling: Living Fearlessly in These Turbulent Times
by Charles ColsonChuck Colson equips readers to live fearlessly, with confidence in God's love and ultimate power, in the midst of an increasingly godless world.Yes, the world is an increasingly godless place. And it's never been as pronounced as it is in this era of 24-hour news cycles. From nasty political power struggles to raunchy reality TV, everywhere we look there is evidence of our culture's steep decline. But it's no time for Christians to cower in fear. In The Sky Is Not Falling, bestselling author Chuck Colson equips readers with the truth about the most difficult cultural and moral issues of our day and brings clarity and sanity to a world that seems to have gone mad. His message is that Christians must be informed of the truth of today's confusing social and political issues so that we can live with the confidence and certainty that God has the future in his hands. Every concerned Christian needs to arm themselves with the profound insights in The Sky is Not Falling.
Complexifying Religion
by Andrei-Razvan ColteaThis book provides an original and challenging perspective of religions as abstract complex adaptive systems, using an interdisciplinary approach to try to understand what religions are and how they function, two fundamental issues which, despite an intense struggle from several fields, have not yet been resolved. What is the source of religious belief? How do religions work and what are they made of? Why is religion so important for us that it has survived centuries of scientific progress and secularization? Why are people religious even outside religion? The book addresses these questions using an interdisciplinary approach that seeks to untangle the Gordian knot of defining religion. In short, they can be considered entropy-reducing technologies. What differentiates them from other meaning-producing systems is their configuration which employs specific building blocks as tools for mitigating entropy, which are also subsystems and combine in various ways to build a unique configuration: rituals, myths, taboos, supernatural agents, authority, identity, superstitions, moral obligations, afterlife beliefs and the sacred. As a reaction to perturbances or pressure, systems can collapse. Inspired by Nicholas Nassim Taleb, it is, in this book, referred to as fragility—the negative reaction of systems to random events, and four parameters can be used to evaluate it in religious systems: monotonicity (the inability to learn from past mistakes), coupling (linking with other systems: such as political or economic), centralization and stress starvation. Several case studies are provided in order to test the theoretical claims made in this book, based on the author's field research in Romania, Japan, North Korea and Mongolia, and offering details that could be of interest to casual readers, students and researchers of religion.
Will We Ever Meet Again?: A Bridge Between this World and the Next
by Tom ColtonDo you ever wonder what happens after death? Do you believe in life after death? In this candid and straight-talking book, the author shares his own journey into mediumship and his work with various development circles and other groups. We get a unique insight into the challenges of this very unconventional calling, as Tom performs 'spirit rescues' in homes troubled by persistent spirit activity and helps families reconcile with the loss of loved ones. But this book is not just about Tom's journey, or the poignant stories of the clients he has helped. His aim is also to show the reader that, far from there being any special 'gift' required, the ability to connect with the Spirit World is one which each and every one of us can develop and make use of. Filled with compassion, humour and pragmatism, this book opens up the world of mediumship and Spirit to us all.
Alan Watts in Late-Twentieth-Century Discourse: Commentary and Criticism from 1974-1994 (Routledge Research in Psychology)
by Peter J. ColumbusThis book is an anthology of commentary and criticism written within the transitional period between Alan Watts’ 1973 death and the twenty-first century intellectual horizon. Comprised of 16 chapters written and published between 1974 and 1994, with up-to-date introductions from the essayists and other contemporary thinkers, this volume opens a window onto unexplored grounds of Alan Watts’ impact within late-twentieth-century discourse – an intermediate space where scholars reoriented their bearings through changing times and emerging academic trends. Offering varied explanations and assessments of Alan Watts, including his influence on the Beat and Hippie generations, and his popularization of Zen Buddhism in America, it tackles unaddressed questions within the milieu of late-twentieth-century America from the Reagan Revolution and religious conservatism, to paradigm shifts in Buddhist studies and the rise of post-colonial theory. Contributors’ post-mortem analyses and critiques of Watts allow for a thematic rendering of their consonance or dissonance with noted Beat, Hippie, and Zen Buddhism themes of his lifetime. This volume will appeal to scholars and students of humanistic psychology, transpersonal psychology, the psychology of religion, comparative religion, and American studies.
The Relevance of Alan Watts in Contemporary Culture: Understanding Contributions and Controversies (Routledge Research in Psychology)
by Peter J. ColumbusWhilst accounting for the present-day popularity and relevance of Alan Watts’ contributions to psychology, religion, arts, and humanities, this interdisciplinary collection grapples with the ongoing criticisms which surround Watts’ life and work. Offering rich examination of as yet underexplored aspects of Watts’ influence in 1960s counterculture, this volume offers unique application of Watts’ thinking to contemporary issues and critically engages with controversies surrounding the commodification of Watts’ ideas, his alleged misreading of Biblical texts, and his apparent distortion of Asian religions and spirituality. Featuring a broad range of international contributors and bringing Watts’ ideas squarely into the contemporary context, the text provides a comprehensive, yet nuanced exploration of Watts’ thinking on psychotherapy, Buddhism, language, music, and sexuality. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of psychotherapy, phenomenology, and the philosophy of psychology more broadly. Those interested in Jungian psychotherapy, spirituality, and the self and social identity will also enjoy this volume.
The Relevance of Alan Watts in Contemporary Culture: Understanding Contributions and Controversies (Routledge Research in Psychology)
by Peter J. ColumbusWhilst accounting for the present-day popularity and relevance of Alan Watts’ contributions to psychology, religion, arts, and humanities, this interdisciplinary collection grapples with the ongoing criticisms which surround Watts’ life and work. Offering rich examination of as yet underexplored aspects of Watts’ influence in 1960s counterculture, this volume offers unique application of Watts’ thinking to contemporary issues and critically engages with controversies surrounding the commodification of Watts’ ideas, his alleged misreading of Biblical texts, and his apparent distortion of Asian religions and spirituality. Featuring a broad range of international contributors and bringing Watts’ ideas squarely into the contemporary context, the text provides a comprehensive, yet nuanced exploration of Watts’ thinking on psychotherapy, Buddhism, language, music, and sexuality. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of psychotherapy, phenomenology, and the philosophy of psychology more broadly. Those interested in Jungian psychotherapy, spirituality, and the self and social identity will also enjoy this volume.