Guy Aiken provides a critical appreciation of Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly (1893-1941) and his classic A Testament of Devotion (1941). This examination of Kelly's life and devotional writings is largely viewed through an Augustinian lens; Augustine's Confessions was a touchstone for Kelly after his mystical transformation in 1937-38. Aiken argues that Kelly's vision of Quakerism transcended religious and historical boundaries, while still speaking directly, and prophetically, to mid-twentieth-century liberal Quakerism and Christianity in the United States. The volume treats, in turn, Kelly's melding of liberal and evangelical theology, his prophetic call to his contemporaries, and his revival of an ancient ethic, before concluding with helpful suggestions for further research.

The Christology and Mystical Theology of Karl Rahner delineates what Rahner means by the mysticism of daily life, the mysticism of the masses, the mysticism of the classical masters, the difference between infused and awakened contemplation, the relation of mysticism to Christian perfection, and Rahner's controversial view that the mystical life does not require a special grace. It explores how Rahner embraces the person of Jesus Christ - whom Rahner sees as Christianity's center - both with his acute theological mind but also with his Jesuit heart. Who has better defined the human person as the ability to be God in the world, understood Jesus' humanity as God's human in the world, and boldly stated the difference between Jesus and other human beings that is only he is God's humanity in the world. The book also looks at Rahner's view of Jesus as the absolute savior, his ascending and descending Christology, his creative re-interpretation of Christ's death and resurrection, his seeking Christology, and his controversial anonymous Christian theory. Finally, it emphasizes the influence of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Rahner's thinking. Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises, especially their emphasis on God working immediately with the person, its Christology, and the rules for the discernment of spirits plays a key role in Rahner's overall theological view. Few Catholic theologians have taken Christian saints and mystics as theological sources as seriously as Rahner has.

This book is an in-depth, comparative study of two of the most popular and influential intellectual and spiritual traditions of West Africa: Tijani Sufism and Ifa. Employing a unique methodological approach that thinks with and from-rather than merely about-these traditions, Oludamini Ogunnaike argues that they contain sophisticated epistemologies that provide practitioners with a comprehensive worldview and a way of crafting a meaningful life. Using theories belonging to the traditions themselves as well as contemporary oral and textual sources, Ogunnaike examines how both Sufism and Ifa answer the questions of what knowledge is, how it is acquired, and how it is verified. Or, more simply: What do you know? How did you come to know it? How do you know that you know? After analyzing Ifa and Sufism separately and on their own terms, the book compares them to each other and to certain features of academic theories of knowledge. By analyzing Sufism from the perspective of Ifa, Ifa from the perspective of Sufism, and the contemporary academy from the perspective of both, this book invites scholars to inhabit these seemingly "foreign" intellectual traditions as valid and viable perspectives on knowledge, metaphysics, psychology, and ritual practice. Unprecedented and innovative, Deep Knowledge makes a significant contribution to cross-cultural philosophy, African philosophy, religious studies, and Islamic studies. Its singular approach advances our understanding of the philosophical bases underlying these two African traditions and lays the groundwork for future study.

David Mahlowe was an actor, writer, TV presenter and interviewer who, in the late 1960s was compared, for his skills in 'the delicate art of TV confrontation', with Malcolm Muggeridge and Bernard Levin. A fine Shakespearean actor, he worked in repertory, film, TV and radio before moving into TV presenting and interviewing. He and his wife Marah Stohl were lead actors for Manchester Library Theatre in the 1950s. In this book he shares the insights which he gained through a lifetime's study of Shakespeare, art, religion and philosophy, in a series of talks which he gave between 1995-1998. Literary executor of the artist Eugene Halliday, with whom he had written Shakespeare King Educator, he founded the Melchisedec Press to publish Halliday's writings. A short illness led to his early death in 1998.

2020 Association of Catholic Publishers first place award in spirituality Thomas Merton's sessions with the young monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani showcase Merton's brilliant ability to survey the key figures and synthesize their writings, inspiring his listeners and readers with what it means for the spiritual life. Like its companion volume, A Course in Christian Mysticism, this book is a collection of fifteen lectures that get to the heart of Merton's belief that monastic wisdom and spirituality are applicable for everyone. This compact volume allows anyone to learn from one of the twentieth century's greatest Catholic spiritual teachers. The study materials at the back of the book, including additional primary source readings and thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion, make this an essential text for any student of Christian desert spirituality.