100 Years of Catholic Social Teaching Defending Workers and Their Unions by
"The repeated calls issued within the Church's social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers' associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past, as a prompt and far-sighted response to the urgent need for new forms of cooperation at the international level, as well as the local level." - Benedict XVI, CARITAS IN VERITATE, Paragraph 25 THIS BOOK provides summaries and commentaries for five landmark papal encyclicals defending workers and their unions. These are: Leo XIII's 1891 Rerum Novarum; Pius XI's 1931 Quadragesimo Anno; John XXIII's 1961 Mater et Magistra; and John Paul II's 1981 Laborem Exercens and 1991 Centesimus Annus. The heart of the book is an extended summary and commentary on each of the above five encyclicals, which are often mentioned but seldom studied. The book opens with the author's analysis of the late modern breakdown of Catholic evangelization among the working classes especially in the United States and other English-speaking industrialized countries. It concludes with a proposed pastoral strategy of global church-labor solidarity to overcome both the older mid-19th century "loss of the working class" to the Catholic Church in much of Western Europe, and also the newer recently developing "loss of the working class" to the Catholic Church in the United States and other English-speaking industrialized countries. As the book makes clear, the Social Magisterium of the Catholic Church defends workers' unions as an essential human right rooted in workers' sharing in the image of God, and having the God-given human right to organize for their defense and for participation in decision-making within their workplaces. Bishops and other pastoral leaders who do not build their pastoral strategies for evangelization on this central theme of Catholic Social Teaching undermine their own Catholic (universal) vocation to preach the full Gospel of Jesus to all social classes. JOE HOLLAND is an eco-social philosopher and Catholic theologian with a Ph.D. in the field of Social Ethics from the University of Chicago. His earlier book, MODERN CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING 1740-1958, traces the wisdom tradition of Catholic Social Teaching from its early modern expression through to the death of Pius XII. It addresses the tradition's development as first an anti-modern, and then a modern, ecclesial strategic response to the early and middle stages of Liberal Capitalism and Scientific Socialism. In a forthcoming book on John XXIII, and in additional future books on subsequent popes, Joe plans to address the postmodern development of the tradition from 1958 forward. These books will describe the still developing postmodern Catholic ecclesial strategic response to the turbulent local-global crises of both Liberal Capitalism and Scientific Socialism. They will also highlight the Spirit-inspired seeds of hope -- emerging across the human family -- for a regenerative local-global ecological civilization.
American Catholic Pacifism: the influence of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement by
This collection of 12 essays by scholars and Catholic Worker activists underscores the pivotal role of Dorothy Day's Catholic Worker movement in challenging the Catholic Church, once linked to unquestioning American militarism, to assert its prophetic pacifist voice. Previously unpublished letters o
The Bible in Western Culture: the student's guide by
The influence of the Bible in Western culture is immeasurable, but these days few of us know much about it. Presenting concise and accessible introductions to the Bible's most important characters, stories and themes, this text encourages better understanding, study and analysis of the Christian element in Western culture. With no prior biblical knowledge required, this clearly presented volume delivers a framework of understanding for those studying Western literature, art, historical events, or for those simply wanting to improve their general knowledge. Filling a gap in the market for an introductory text of this kind, this genuinely multi-disciplinary book provides: * edited extracts from the Bible * explanations of the context and beliefs of each passage * links to related biblical texts * examples of related key works of art and literature * brief biographies of key figures * a comprehensive glossary defining specialist terms * chronology * suggested further reading. Enabling readers to encounter key Bible stories directly, the book also provides useful background information on issues of content, context and influence. Easy to use and follow, it is the essential guide for those wishing to find out more about the Bible and its impact on the world around us.
Catholic Higher Education in Protestant America: : the Jesuits and Harvard in the age of the university by
In 1893 Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot, the father of the modern university, helped implement a policy that, in effect, barred graduates of Jesuit colleges from regular admission to Harvard Law School. The resulting controversy--bitterly contentious and widely publicized--was a defining moment in the history of American Catholic education, illuminating on whose terms and on what basis Catholics and Catholic colleges would participate in higher education in the twentieth century. In Catholic Higher Education in Protestant America, Kathleen Mahoney considers the challenges faced by Catholics as the age of the university opened. She describes how liberal Protestant educators such as Eliot linked the modern university with the cause of a Protestant America and how Catholic students and educators variously resisted, accommodated, or embraced Protestant-inspired educational reforms. Drawing on social theories of cultural hegemony and insider-outsider roles, Mahoney traces the rise of the Law School controversy to the interplay of three powerful forces: the emergence of the liberal, nonsectarian research university; the development of a Catholic middle class whose aspirations included attendance at such institutions; and the Catholic church's increasingly strident campaign against modernism and, by extension, the intellectual foundations of modern academic life.
Christian Mission: how Christianity became a world religion by
Exploring how Christianity became a world religion, this brief history examines Christian missions and their relationship to the current globalization of Christianity. A short and enlightening history of Christian missions: a phenomenon that many say reflects the single most important intercultural movement over a sustained period of human history Offers a thematic overview that takes into account the political, cultural, social, and theological issues Discusses the significance of missions to the globalization of Christianity, and broadens our understanding of Christianity as a multicultural world religion Helps Western audiences understand the meaning of mission as a historical process Contains several new maps that illustrate demographic shifts in world Christianity
The Conversion of Scandinavia : vikings, merchants, and missionaries in the remaking of Northern Europe by
"In this book a MacArthur Award-winning scholar argues for a radically new interpretation of the conversion of Scandinavia from paganism to Christianity in the early Middle Ages. Overturning the received narrative of Europe's military and religious conquest and colonization of the region, Anders Winroth contends that rather than acting as passive recipients, Scandinavians converted to Christianity because it was in individual chieftains' political, economic, and cultural interests to do so. Through a painstaking analysis and historical reconstruction of both archeological and literary sources, and drawing on scholarly work that has been unavailable in English, Winroth opens up new avenues for studying European ascendency and the expansion of Christianity in the medieval period"-- Provided by publisher.
Feminism and Christianity: Questions and Answers in the Third Wave by
Why should feminists care about Christianity? Why should Christians care about feminism? In Feminism and Christianity Riswold presents a collection of concise answers to basic questions like these in order to generate discussion about how the two can challenge each other and can even work together in the twenty-first century. Situated firmly in the third wave of feminist activism and scholarship as well as in contemporary Christian theology, Riswold addresses issues such as race, class, gender, and sexuality with an affirmation of tradition alongside a push for change. This book is an opportunity for Christians to gain a fuller understanding of feminism, moving beyond stereotypes and assumptions and into history and contemporary society. Simultaneously this book is an opportunity for feminists to understand the ongoing relevance of a religion whose social power and core commitments can contribute to a vision of a just human community.
Food and Faith in Christian Culture by
Without a uniform dietary code, Christians around the world used food in strikingly different ways, developing widely divergent practices that spread, nurtured, and strengthened their religious beliefs and communities. Featuring never-before published essays, this anthology follows the intersection of food and faith from the fourteenth to the twenty-first century, charting the complex relationship among religious eating habits and politics, culture, and social structure. Theoretically rich and full of engaging portraits, essays consider the rise of food buying and consumerism in the fourteenth century, the Reformation ideology of fasting and its resulting sanctions against sumptuous eating, the gender and racial politics of sacramental food production in colonial America, and the struggle to define "enlightened" Lenten dietary restrictions in early modern France. Essays on the nineteenth century explore the religious implications of wheat growing and breadmaking among New Zealand's Maori population and the revival of the Agape meal, or love feast, among American brethren in Christ Church. Twentieth-century topics include the metaphysical significance of vegetarianism, the function of diet in Greek Orthodoxy, American Christian weight loss programs, and the practice of silent eating rituals among English Benedictine monks. Two introductory essays detail the key themes tying these essays together and survey food's role in developing and disseminating the teachings of Christianity, not to mention providing a tangible experience of faith.
Happiness and Wisdom: Augustine's Early Theology of Education by
Immediately after his baptism Augustine set out to produce a Christianised version of the ancient liberal arts curriculum. By an ordered sequence of contemplation, moving from linguistic to mathematically based disciplines, Augustine suggested that study in the liberal arts could render the mind and heart docile before God. Though Augustine later would shift his focus more directly toward biblical study, his early reflections on secular learning remain an attractive and powerful model for Christian thinking about the arts. Happiness and Wisdom contributes to on going debates about the nature of Augustine's early development, and argues that Augustine's vision of the soul's ascent through the liberal arts is an attractive and basically coherent view of learning, which, while not wholly novel, surpasses both classical and earlier patristic renderings of the aims of education. Ryan N. S. Topping begins by embedding Augustine's educational works within the historical and philosophical context of Christian and pagan late antiquity. He then shows how Augustine's writings on education, far from being irrelevant to the trajectory of his mature thought, provide a key to interpreting many of his other explorations in ethics and epistemology. Augustine's Christianised liberal arts curriculum is vindicated as an outgrowth of his moral theology, an expression of his abiding conviction that happiness is the end of human aspiration, and that--against both Ciceronian scepticism and Manichean dualism--the created order speaks to men of the mind of God.
Healing Bodies, Saving Souls : medical missions in Asia and Africa by
Missionary medicine flourished during the period of high European imperialism, from the late-1800s to the 1960s. Although the figure of mission doctor - exemplified by David Livingstone and Albert Schweitzer - exercised a powerful influence on the Western imagination during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, few historians have examined the history of this important aspect of the missionary movement. This collection of articles on Asia and Africa uses the extensive archives that exist on medical missions to both enrich and challenge existing histories of the clinic in colonial territories - whether of the dispensary, the hospital, the maternity home or leprosy asylum. Some of the major themes addressed within include the attitude of different Christian denominations towards medical mission work, their differing theories and practices, how the missionaries were drawn into contentious local politics, and their attitude towards supernatural cures. Leprosy, often a feature of such work, is explored, as well as the ways in which local people perceived disease, healing and the missionaries themselves. Also discussed is the important contribution of women towards mission medical work.Healing Bodies, Saving Souls will be of interest not only to students and historians but also the wider reader as it aims to define the place of missionary within the overall history of medicine.
In Search of Soul: hip-hop, literature, and religion by
In Search of Soul explores the meaning of "soul" in sacred and profane incarnations, from its biblical origins to its central place in the rich traditions of black and Latin history. Surveying the work of writers, artists, poets, musicians, philosophers and theologians, Alejandro Nava shows how their understandings of the "soul" revolve around narratives of justice, liberation, and spiritual redemption. He contends that biblical traditions and hip-hop emerged out of experiences of dispossession and oppression. Whether born in the ghettos of America or of the Roman Empire, hip-hop and Christianity have endured by giving voice to the persecuted. This book offers a view of soul in living color, as a breathing, suffering, dreaming thing.
Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture : an encyclopedia by
This multidisciplinary study views Jesus as one of the most central figures in history with a wide-ranging impact on society, literature, art and philosophy. It distills 2000 years of thinking about Jesus into two volumes, featuring over 200 A-Z entries.
Jesus in Our Western Culture: mysticism, ethics and politics by
This, the shortest of Edward Schillebeeckx's books so far, represents a distillation of his previous thought and contains important anticipations of the long-awaited third volume of his great trilogy, which is nearing completion. The fact that it was delivered in spring 1986 as the Abraham Kuyper lectures in Amsterdam accounts not only for its brevity, but also for its clarity. Here, those who have so far been put off exploring the work of one of the greatest living theologians will find an admirable introduction, and those who have struggled with his larger volumes will find an account which goes straight to the heart of the matter. Beginning from our modern world - for one of his new slogans is * 'Outside the world there is no salvation' - Professor Schillebeeckx looks at the place of God in contemporary culture; he then moves back to look at the life of Jesus and the way in which it has been responded to by the church. A final chapter, the longest, looks first at ethics, then at the tension between mysticism and politics, commitment to both of which is vital for Christians today, and shows how these three dimensions together must provide the framework for their life.
Jesus Through the Centuries: his place in the history of culture by 
Mary Through the Centuries: her place in the history of culture by
The Virgin Mary has been an inspiration to more people than any other woman who ever lived. For Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims, for artists, musicians, and writers, and for women and men everywhere she has shown many faces and personified a variety of virtues. In this important book, a world-renowned scholar who is the author of numerous books--including the best-selling Jesus Through the Centuries--tells how Mary has been depicted and venerated through the ages. Jaroslav Pelikan examines the biblical portrait of Mary, analyzing both the New and Old Testaments to see how the bits of information provided about her were expanded into a full-blown doctrine. He explores the view of Mary in late antiquity, where the differences between Mary, the mother of Christ, and Eve, the "mother of all living," provided positive and negative symbols of women. He discusses how the Eastern church commemorated Mary and how she was portrayed in the Holy Qur'an of Islam. He explains how the paradox of Mary as Virgin Mother shaped the paradoxical Catholic view of sexuality and how Reformation rejection of the worship of Mary allowed her to be a model of faith for Protestants. He considers also her role in political and social history. He analyzes the place of Mary in literature--from Dante, Spenser, and Milton to Wordsworth, George Eliot, and Goethe--as well as in music and art, and he describes the miraculous apparitions of Mary that have been experienced by the common people. Was Mary human or divine? Should she be revered for her humility or her strength? What is her place in heaven? Whatever our answers to these questions, Mary remains a symbol of hope and solace, a woman, says Pelikan, for all seasons and all reasons.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by 
Reforming the World : the creation of America's moral empire by
Reforming the World offers a sophisticated account of how and why, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, American missionaries and moral reformers undertook work abroad at an unprecedented rate and scale. Looking at various organizations such as the Young Men's Christian Association and the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, Ian Tyrrell describes the influence that the export of American values had back home, and explores the methods and networks used by reformers to fashion a global and nonterritorial empire. He follows the transnational American response to internal pressures, the European colonies, and dynamic changes in global society. Examining the cultural context of American expansionism from the 1870s to the 1920s, Tyrrell provides a new interpretation of Christian and evangelical missionary work, and he addresses America's use of "soft power." He describes evangelical reform's influence on American colonial and diplomatic policy, emphasizes the limits of that impact, and documents the often idiosyncratic personal histories, aspirations, and cultural heritage of moral reformers such as Margaret and Mary Leitch, Louis Klopsch, Clara Barton, and Ida Wells. The book illustrates that moral reform influenced the United States as much as it did the colonial and quasi-colonial peoples Americans came in contact with, and shaped the architecture of American dealings with the larger world of empires through to the era of Woodrow Wilson. Investigating the wide-reaching and diverse influence of evangelical reform movements, Reforming the World establishes how transnational organizing played a vital role in America's political and economic expansion. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.
War of the Fantasy Worlds: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien on art and imagination by
This investigation focuses on C.S. Lewis's and J.R.R. Tolkien's contrasting views of art and imagination, which are key to understanding and interpreting their fantasy works, providing insight into their goals, themes, and techniques, as well as an appreciation of the value and impact of their mythologies.
What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? : the positive impact of Christianity in history by
We live in a cynical age in which only one prejudice is tolerated--anti-Christian bigotry. Yet despite the unbridled slanders and attacks against the faith, one powerful truth is undeniable: if Christ had never been born, nearly every facet of human life would be much more miserable than it is today. Arranged topically and presenting compelling, little-known historical facts, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? clearly demonstrates that an enormous array of benefits to humankind--from economics to art to government, science to civil liberties, morality to health, and beyond--would never have occurred had Jesus Christ not lived.
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by
An instant New York Times bestseller Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships--or, as they would say, because of them--they are two of the most joyful people on the planet. In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering? They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy. This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecendented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye. We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy--from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives. The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.
Celebrating Planet Earth, a Pagan/Christian Conversation by
Celebrating Planet Earth, a Pagan/Christian Conversation will appeal to Pagans and Christians interested in making connections; academics and students in Religious Studies taking courses on inter-faith dialogue, Paganism or Christianity; and anyone with an interest in inter-faith activities. Contributors include leading figures in the British Pagan, especially Druid, world, in the Christian Forest Church movement and earth-centred Christianity and academics in the field of religious studies. As well as academic discussion, there is a practical emphasis on personal spirituality and ritual practice, and the possibility of these being shared across the Pagan and Christian traditions.
Christianity and Chinese Religions by
Hans Küng, world-renowned theologian, sees the wisdom religions of China as the third great religious orientation of the world alongside the Semitic prophetic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and the mystical religions of Hinduism and Buddhism in India. In this book, Dr. Julia Ching, Shanghai-horn scholar and professor of religious studies at the University of Toronto, presents these Chinese religions in all their complexity, followed by an analysis from a Christian perspective by Dr. Küng. For centuries, Western interpreters of the Chinese have argued that they are not a religious people, citing their practical morality as evidence of a humanism without transcendence. However, thorough historical evidence indicates a surviving religious folk culture incorporating age-old rituals with striking similarities to the ancient traditions of Judaism and Christianity. These eminent scholars trace the significance of religious traditions on the history of China and give compelling glimpses of the effect of Chinese spirituality on Western society. They open our eyes to a world that is not so separate and foreign as the West once imagined.--From publisher description.
Christianity and Classical Culture: the metamorphosis of natural theology in the Christian encounter with Hellenism by
The momentous encounter between Christian thought and Greek philosophy reached a high point in fourth-century Byzantium, and the principal actors were four Greek-speaking Christian thinkers whose collective influence on the Eastern Church was comparable to that of Augustine on Western Latin Christendom. In this erudite and informative book, a distinguished scholar provides the first coherent account of the lives and writings of these so-called Cappadocians (named for a region in what is now eastern Turkey), showing how they managed to be Greek and Christian at the same time. Jaroslav Pelikan describes the four Cappadocians--Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Macrina, sister and teacher of the last two--who were trained in Classical culture, philosophy, and rhetoric but who were also defenders and expositors of Christian orthodoxy. On one issue of faith and life after another--the nature of religious language, the ways of knowing, the existence of God, the universe as cosmos, time, and space, free will and immortality, the nature of the good life, the purpose of the universe--they challenged and debated the validity of the Greek philosophical tradition in interpreting Scripture. Because the way they resolved these issues became the very definition of normative Christian belief, says Pelikan, their system is still a key to our understanding not only of Christianity's diverse religious traditions but also of its intellectual and philosophical traditions. This book is based on the prestigious Gifford Lectures, presented by Jaroslav Pelikan at the University of Aberdeen in 1992 and 1993.
Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries by
The slaughter of animals for religious feasts, the tinkling of bells to ward off evil during holy rites, the custom of dancing in religious services-these and many other pagan practices persisted in the Christian church for hundreds of years after Constantine proclaimed Christianity the one official religion of Rome. In this book, Ramsay MacMullen investigates the transition from paganism to Christianity between the fourth and eighth centuries. He reassesses the triumph of Christianity, contending that it was neither tidy nor quick, and he shows that the two religious systems were both vital during an interactive period that lasted far longer than historians have previously believed. MacMullen explores the influences of paganism and Christianity upon each other. In a rich discussion of the different strengths of the two systems, he demonstrates that pagan beliefs were not eclipsed or displaced by Christianity but persisted or were transformed. The victory of the Christian church, he explains, was one not of obliteration but of widening embrace and assimilation. This fascinating book also includes new material on the Christian persecution of pagans over the centuries through methods that ranged from fines to crucifixion; the mixture of motives in conversion; the stubbornness of pagan resistance; the difficulty of satisfying the demands and expectations of new converts; and the degree of assimilation of Christianity to paganism.
Christianity and the notion of nothingness : contributions to Buddhist-Christian dialogue from the Kyoto school by
The Christian philosopher Muto Kazuo contributed substantially to the predominantly Buddhist "Kyoto School of Philosophy." Through critical exchange with its representatives, he opened up new perceptions of Christian faith, enabled mutual understanding between Buddhism and Christianity, and challenged the Western dialectical method.
Christianity and the world religions : paths of dialogue with Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism by
There is a significant connection between ecumenism and world peace. Anyone who feels a sense of obligation toward the world community, who takes seriously the fragility of all human arrangements, who has glimpsed the possibilities of technical and human error, must know what is at stake here. He must know that the threat to peace and the need to regulate it have long since burst through the dimensions of the specific, reginoal conflict, and have become global political problems on which the survival of us all depends. The most fanatical, the cruelest political struggles are those that have been colored, inspired, and legitimized by religion. To say this is not to reduce all political conflicts to religious ones, but to take seriously the fact that religions share in the responsibility for bringing peace to our torn and warring world.
The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam by
The Crusades were penitential war-pilgrimages fought in the Levant and the eastern Mediterranean, as well as in North Africa, Spain, Portugal, Poland, the Baltic region, Hungary, the Balkans, and Western Europe. Beginning in the eleventh century and ending as late as the eighteenth, these holy wars were waged against Muslims and other enemies of the Church, enlisting generations of laymen and laywomen to fight for the sake of Christendom. Crusading features prominently in today's religio-political hostilities, yet the perceptions of these wars held by Arab nationalists, pan-Islamists, and many in the West have been deeply distorted by the language and imagery of nineteenth-century European imperialism. With this book, Jonathan Riley-Smith returns to the actual story of the Crusades, explaining why and where they were fought and how deeply their narratives and symbolism became embedded in popular Catholic thought and devotional life. From this history, Riley-Smith traces the legacy of the Crusades into modern times, specifically within the attitudes of European imperialists and colonialists and within the beliefs of twentieth-century Muslims. Europeans fashioned an interpretation of the Crusades from the writings of Walter Scott and a French contemporary, Joseph-Fran#65533;ois Michaud. Scott portrayed Islamic societies as forward-thinking, while casting Christian crusaders as culturally backward and often morally corrupt. Michaud, in contrast, glorified crusading, and his followers used its imagery to illuminate imperial adventures. These depictions have had a profound influence on contemporary Western opinion, as well as on Muslim attitudes toward their past and present. Whether regarded as a valid expression of Christianity's divine enterprise or condemned as a weapon of empire, crusading has been a powerful rhetorical tool for centuries. In order to understand the preoccupations of Islamist jihadis and the character of Western discourse on the Middle East, Riley-Smith argues, we must understand how images of crusading were formed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Encountering Modernity: Christianity in East Asia and Asian America by
The story of Catholicism and Protestantism in China, Japan, and Korea has been told in great detail. The existing literature is especially rich in documenting church and missionary activities as well as how varied regions and cultures have translated Christian ideas and practices. Less evident, however, are studies that contextualize Christianity within the larger economic, political, social, and cultural developments in each of the three countries and its diasporas. The contributors to Encountering Modernity address such concerns and collectively provide insights into Christianity's role in the development of East Asia and as it took shape among East Asians in the United States. The work brings together studies of Christianity in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan and its diasporas to expand the field through new angles of vision and interpretation. Its mode of analysis not only results in a deeper understanding of Christianity, but also produces more informed and nuanced histories of East Asian countries that take seriously the structures and sensibilities of religion--broadly understood and within a national and transnational context. It critically investigates how Protestant Christianity was negotiated and interpreted by individuals in Korea, China (with a brief look at Taiwan), and Japan starting in the nineteenth century as all three countries became incorporated into the global economy and the international nation-state system anchored by the West. People in East Asia from various walks of life studied and, in some cases, embraced principles of Christianity as a way to frame and make meaningful the economic, political, and social changes they experienced because of modernity. Encountering Modernity makes a significant contribution by moving beyond issues of missiology and church history to ask how Christianity represented an encounter with modernity that set into motion tremendous changes throughout East Asia and in transnational diasporic communities in the United States.
Faith Intersections: Christians Listen to...a Muslim, a Scientologist, a Buddhist, a Mormon, and Others by
An extrovert will make friends when in line buying coffee. A shared love of warm beverages becomes the topic at hand, and then maybe a few day-to-day pleasantries are exchanged as well. But, what if that person standing behind you asks about the sticky subjects in your life--faith, belief systems, morals, politics, or the Church? What do you say? How do you talk to someone without giving a sermon on the rights and wrongs of your own faith?Faith Intersections brings to light the idea of listening--rather than talking--to your friends, neighbors, and even the strangers in line about their faiths. Formatted in interview style, each chapter is a listening opportunity as a Christian leader interviews a person of another faith.With honest exploration, Faith Intersections provides the readers--the listeners--with a challenge to rethink how they converse with individuals of other faiths.
Interface Between Igbo Theology and Christianity by
Interface between Igbo Theology and Christianity is a timely book that provides new scholarly thinking concerning the convergence of Christianity and Igbo Traditional Religion taking place in the Igbo culture area. This book, a fruit of multidisciplinary conversation among Igbo scholars and Igbophiles, offers concepts, themes, issues, and case studies with deep ethnographic details, some of which do not exist anywhere else in print. It is a major statement of how modern Igbo scholars, social scientists, philosophers, theologians, liturgists, and active pastors and parish priests, understand the intersection of Igbo Traditional Religion and Christianity in postcolonial Nigeria. The editors and authors of the chapters of this book draw from their wealth of experience to offer to students, scholars, researchers, community-based organizations and NGOs, and practitioners in interfaith dialogue a must have manual to engage in and develop mutual respect and trust among Christian denominations and between them and Igbo Traditional Religion. This book will serve as a blueprint for a deep dialogue among the Igbo in both city and rural settings, in the context of clan and community life context and in the Christian parish setting. The book will certainly appeal to numerous communities in Africa wishing to share similar local experiences and collective memories, but which do not have the channels to talk about themselves in scholarly writing.
Islam, Christianity and the West by
Beginning with Muhammad and his historical and cultural context, this book recounts the tale of the thirteen-century-long encounter of Western and Islamic civilizations. Armour uses the best of contemporary research to show how events such as the Crusades and the Reconquista of Spain have indelibly shaped the mindset of the West toward Islam and vice versa. He reveals how the modern Western political and economic system -- marked by the globalization of capitalism, technology, and science -- has been perceived by the Islamic world as a Godless secular assault on all that is holy. He ends with the Arab-Israeli conflict and the events of 11 September 2001 as the latest concrete manifestations of the tragic encounter between the three "People of the Book."
Living Buddha, Living Christ by
"[Thich Nhat Hanh] shows us the connection between personal, inner peace and peace on earth." --His Holiness The Dalai Lama Nominated by Martin Luther King, Jr. for a Nobel Peace Prize, Thich Nhat Hanh is one of today's leading sources of wisdom, peace, compassion and comfort. The 20th anniversary edition of the classic text, updated, revised, and featuring a Mindful Living Journal. Buddha and Christ, perhaps the two most pivotal figures in the history of humankind, each left behind a legacy of teachings and practices that have shaped the lives of billions of people over two millennia. If they were to meet on the road today, what would each think of the other's spiritual views and practices? Thich Nhat Hanh has been part of a decades-long dialogue between two great contemplatice traditions, and brings to Christianity an appreciation of its beauty that could be conveyed only by an outsider. IN lucid, meditative prose, he explores the crossroads of compassion and holiness at which the two traditions meet, and he reawakens our understanding of both. "On the altar in my hermitage," he says, "are images of Buddha and Jesus, and I touch both of them as my spiritual ancestors."
The Message and the Book: sacred texts of the world's religions by
Grand in its sweep, this survey of the sacred writings of the major religions of the world offers a thoughtful introduction to the ideas and beliefs upon which great faiths are built. Under the expert guidance of John Bowker, a religious scholar and author of international stature, readers explore the key texts of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Parsi, Confucian, Daoist, and Shinto traditions. The author discusses some 400 books, among them such well-known sacred texts as the Bible and the Quran, but also spiritual writings by theologians, philosophers, poets, and others. Bowker provides clear and illuminating commentary on each text, describing the content and core tenets of the work and quoting pertinent passages. He also sets the writings in religious and historical contexts, showing how they have influenced--and in many cases continue to influence--artistic, musical, literary, and political traditions. The Message and the Book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the meaning and the deep significance of primary religious texts of civilizations around the globe.
Mind in the Balance: meditation in science, Buddhism, and Christianity by
By establishing a dialogue in which the meditative practices of Buddhism and Christianity speak to the theories of modern philosophy and science, B. Alan Wallace reveals the theoretical similarities underlying these disparate disciplines and their unified approach to making sense of the objective world. Wallace begins by exploring the relationship between Christian and Buddhist meditative practices. He outlines a sequence of meditations the reader can undertake, showing that, though Buddhism and Christianity differ in their belief systems, their methods of cognitive inquiry provide similar insight into the nature and origins of consciousness. From this convergence Wallace then connects the approaches of contemporary cognitive science, quantum mechanics, and the philosophy of the mind. He links Buddhist and Christian views to the provocative philosophical theories of Hilary Putnam, Charles Taylor, and Bas van Fraassen, and he seamlessly incorporates the work of such physicists as Anton Zeilinger, John Wheeler, and Stephen Hawking. Combining a concrete analysis of conceptions of consciousness with a guide to cultivating mindfulness and profound contemplative practice, Wallace takes the scientific and intellectual mapping of the mind in exciting new directions.
Monotheism and Ethics: historical and contemporary intersections among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by
Fourteen essays by leading scholars from around the world explore the theological, philosophical, and historical connections between the three Abrahamic faiths and ethics. Timely reading for students of religion, philosophy, and ethics.
Native Americans, Christianity, and the Reshaping of the American Religious Landscape by
In this interdisciplinary collection of essays, Joel W. Martin and Mark A. Nicholas gather emerging and leading voices in the study of Native American religion to reconsider the complex and often misunderstood history of Native peoples' engagement with Christianity and with Euro-American missionaries. Surveying mission encounters from contact through the mid-nineteenth century, the volume alters and enriches our understanding of both American Christianity and indigenous religion. The essays here explore a variety of postcontact identities, including indigenous Christians, "mission friendly" non-Christians, and ex-Christians, thereby exploring the shifting world of Native-white cultural and religious exchange. Rather than questioning the authenticity of Native Christian experiences, these scholars reveal how indigenous peoples negotiated change with regard to missions, missionaries, and Christianity. This collection challenges the pervasive stereotype of Native Americans as culturally static and ill-equipped to navigate the roiling currents associated with colonialism and missionization. The contributors are Emma Anderson, Joanna Brooks, Steven W. Hackel, Tracy Neal Leavelle, Daniel Mandell, Joel W. Martin, Michael D. McNally, Mark A. Nicholas, Michelene Pesantubbee, David J. Silverman, Laura M. Stevens, Rachel Wheeler, Douglas L. Winiarski, and Hilary E. Wyss.
The Saint in the Banyan Tree : Christianity and caste society in India by
The Saint in the Banyan Tree is a nuanced and historically persuasive exploration of Christianity's remarkable trajectory as a social and cultural force in southern India. Starting in the seventeenth century, when the religion was integrated into Tamil institutions of caste and popular religiosity, this study moves into the twentieth century, when Christianity became an unexpected source of radical transformation for the country's 'untouchables' (dalits). Mosse shows how caste was central to the way in which categories of 'religion' and 'culture' were formed and negotiated in missionary encounters, and how the social and semiotic possibilities of Christianity lead to a new politic of equal rights in South India. Skillfully combining archival research with anthropological fieldwork, this book examines the full cultural impact of Christianity on Indian religious, social and political life. Connecting historical ethnography to the preoccupations of priests and Jesuit social activists, Mosse throws new light on the contemporary nature of caste, conversion, religious synthesis, secularization, dalit politics, the inherent tensions of religious pluralism, and the struggle for recognition among subordinated people.
Saints and Role Models in Judaism and Christianity by
This volume deals with the role of saints and exemplary individuals in Judaism and Christianity. Although sharing the Hebrew Bible and recognizing the same Biblical figures there, both religions have developed widely divergent perspectives upon the significance of these figures, although there are occasional common motifs and themes.Moreover, even the contrasting themes betray an underlying interaction between both religions as is clear from the contributions on, for example, Melchizedek, Elijah, the Desert Fathers, Rabbis on clothing, the Apostle Peter in Jewish tradition, the Maccabees in Christian tradition and the Biblical examples in Saint Antony the Hermit.The book examines Jewish and Christian perspectives upon saints and role models from the Biblical period to the present time. It will be of special importance to scholars and general readers interested in an interdisciplinary approach to theology, rabbinics, history, art history and much more.
Tastes of the Divine: Hindu and Christian theologies of emotion by
The intensity and meaningfulness of aesthetic experience have often been described in theological terms. By designating basic human emotions as rasa, a word that connotes taste, flavor, or essence, Indian aesthetic theory conceptualizes emotional states as something to be savored. At their core, emotions can be tastes of the divine. In this book, the methods of the emerging discipline of comparative theology enable the author's appreciation of Hindu texts and practices to illuminate her Christian reflections on aesthetics and emotion. Three emotions vie for prominence in the religious sphere: peace, love, and fury. Whereas Indian theorists following Abhinavagupta claim that the aesthetic emotion of peace best approximates the goal of religious experience, devotees of Krishna and medieval Christian readings of the Song of Songs argue that love communicates most powerfully with divinity. In response to the transcendence emphasized in both approaches, the book turns to fury at injustice to attend to emotion's foundations in the material realm. The implications of this constructive theology of emotion for Christian liturgy, pastoral care, and social engagement are manifold.
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