Since psychology and religion share the same ground in terms of providing explanations about the human being, many religious teachings also contain psychological descriptions. Islamic civilization, which has existed in vast geographies for centuries, offers unique sources to explain human feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Scientific Western psychology has asserted important theories and researches in understanding human beings. Today, Western psychology needs to be enriched with new perspectives to make more comprehensive explanations about people with different cultural backgrounds. Written by Sevde Duzguner, this book is the product of an effort to discuss the human model of Islam and the human theories of psychology with a complementary approach. This book recommends methodological points that must be considered while studying both fields. It also attempts to draw a a road map for further studies by determining the areas where Islamic psychology could contribute to Western psychology.

Philip Schaff's The Creeds of Christendom is a massive set, originally published in three volumes and here reproduced across five volumes, cataloging and explaining the many different creeds from the myriad Christian denominations. The differences in belief between Calvinists, Lutherans, and Presbyterians, for example, can often be subtle, so a thorough examination of the particulars as well as an explanation for how those different beliefs result in a different worldview is necessary. Volume One: Part I covers: . creeds in general . the Ecumenical creeds . the creeds of the Greek Church . the creeds of the Roman Church . the creeds of the Evangelical Churches . the creeds of the Evangelical Lutheran Churches . the creeds of the Evangelical Reformed Churches. This volume contains the table of contents for all of Volume One. Swiss theologian PHILIP SCHAFF (1819-1893) was educated in Germany and eventually came to the United States to teach at the German Reformed Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. He wrote a number of books and hymnals for children, including History of the Christian Church and The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches.

Integrating patristics and early Jewish mysticism, this book examines Gregory of Nyssa's tabernacle imagery, as found in Life of Moses 2. 170-201. Previous scholarship has often focused on Gregory's interpretation of the darkness on Mount Sinai as divine incomprehensibility. However, true to Exodus, Gregory continues with Moses's vision of the tabernacle 'not made with hands' received within that darkness. This innovative methodology of heuristic comparison doesn't strive to prove influence, but to use heavenly ascent texts as a foil, in order to shed new light on Gregory's imagery. Ann Conway-Jones presents a well-rounded, nuanced understanding of Gregory's exegesis, in which mysticism, theology, and politics are intertwined. Heavenly ascent texts use descriptions of religious experience to claim authoritative knowledge. For Gregory, the high point of Moses's ascent into the darkness of Mount Sinai is the mystery of Christian doctrine. The heavenly tabernacle is a type of the heavenly Christ. This mystery is beyond intellectual comprehension, it can only be grasped by faith; and only the select few, destined for positions of responsibility, should even attempt to do so.

This innovative volume is focused on the impact of religion on the realization of democratic citizenship. The researchers contributing provide empirical evidence on how religion influences attitudes towards citizenship and democracy in different countries. The book also tackles the challenges and opportunities for citizenship education. Experts contributing from sociology, political science, theology, and educational science look at the impact of religious beliefs and practices on democratic attitudes and behavior. Chapters also concern how religion influences the recognition of others as citizens. The text appeals to graduates and researchers in these fields with a secondary market for the general interest reader.

Throughout the last two decades, the modern dialogue movement has gained worldwide significance. The knowledge about its origins is, however, still very limited. This book presents a wide range of insights from eleven case studies into the early history of several important international interreligious/interfaith dialogue organizations that have shaped the modern development of interreligious dialogue from the late nineteenth century up to the present. Based on new archival research, they describe, on the one hand, how these actors put their ideals into practice and, on the other, how they faced many challenges as pioneers in the establishment of new interreligious/interfaith organizational structures. This book concludes with a comparison of those case studies, bringing to light new and broader historico-sociological understanding of the beginnings of international and multi-religious interreligious/interfaith dialogue organizations over more than one century. The World's Parliament of Religions / 1893 The Religioeser Menschheitsbund / 1921 The World Congress of Faiths / 1933-1950 The Committee on the Church and the Jewish People of the World Council of Churches / 1961 The Temple of Understanding / 1968 The International Association for Religious Freedom / 1969 The World Conference on Religion and Peace / 1970 The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions / 1989-1991 The Oxford International Interfaith Centre / 1993 The United Religions Initiative / 2000 The Universal Peace Federation / 2005 Based on these analyses, the authors identify three distinct groups with sometimes-conflicting interests that are shaping the movement: individual religious virtuosi, countercultural activists, and representatives of religious institutions. Published in cooperation with the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious & Intercultural Dialogue, Vienna.

With the aim to write the history of Christianity in Scandinavia with Jerusalem as a lens, this book investigates the image - or rather the imagination - of Jerusalem in the religious, political, and artistic cultures of Scandinavia through most of the second millennium. Volume 3 analyses the impact of Jerusalem on Scandinavian Christianity from the middle of the 18. century in a broad context. Tracing the Jerusalem Code in three volumes Volume 1: The Holy City Christian Cultures in Medieval Scandinavia (ca. 1100-1536) Volume 2: The Chosen People Christian Cultures in Early Modern Scandinavia (1536-ca. 1750) Volume 3: The Promised Land Christian Cultures in Modern Scandinavia (ca. 1750-ca. 1920)

With the aim to write the history of Christianity in Scandinavia with Jerusalem as a lens, this book investigates the image - or rather the imagination - of Jerusalem in the religious, political, and artistic cultures of Scandinavia through most of the second millennium. Jerusalem is conceived as a code, in this volume focussing on Jerusalem's impact on Protestantism and Christianity in Early Modern Scandinavia. Tracing the Jerusalem Code in three volumes Volume 1: The Holy City Christian Cultures in Medieval Scandinavia (ca. 1100-1536) Volume 2: The Chosen People Christian Cultures in Early Modern Scandinavia (1536-ca. 1750) Volume 3: The Promised Land Christian Cultures in Modern Scandinavia (ca. 1750-ca. 1920)

Similarities between esoteric and mystical currents in different religious traditions have long interested scholars. This book takes a new look at the relationship between such currents. It advances a discussion that started with the search for religious essences, archetypes, and universals, from William James to Eranos. The universal categories that resulted from that search were later criticized as essentialist constructions, and questioned by deconstructionists. An alternative explanation was advanced by diffusionists: that there were transfers between different traditions. This book presents empirical case studies of such constructions, and of transfers between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the premodern period, and Judaism, Christianity, and Western esotericism in the modern period. It shows that there were indeed transfers that can be clearly documented, and that there were also indeed constructions, often very imaginative. It also shows that there were many cases that were neither transfers nor constructions, but a mixture of the two.

With the aim to write the history of Christianity in Scandinavia with Jerusalem as a lens, this book investigates the image - or rather the imagination - of Jerusalem in the religious, political, and artistic cultures of Scandinavia through most of the second millennium. Jerusalem is conceived as a code to Christian cultures in Scandinavia. The first volume is dealing with the different notions of Jerusalem in the Middle Ages. Tracing the Jerusalem Code in three volumes Volume 1: The Holy City Christian Cultures in Medieval Scandinavia (ca. 1100-1536) Volume 2: The Chosen People Christian Cultures in Early Modern Scandinavia (1536-ca. 1750) Volume 3: The Promised Land Christian Cultures in Modern Scandinavia (ca. 1750-ca. 1920)

"Communicating the Word "is a record of the 2008 Building Bridges seminar, an annual dialogue between leading Christian and Muslim scholars convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Featuring the insights of internationally known Christian and Muslim scholars, the essays collected here focus attention on key scriptural texts but also engage with both classical and contemporary Islamic and Christian thought. Issues addressed include, among others, the different ways in which Christians and Muslims think of their scriptures as the "Word of God," the possibilities and challenges of translating scripture, and the methods -- and conflicts -- involved in interpreting scripture in the past and today.

In his concluding reflections, Archbishop Rowan Williams draws attention to a fundamental point emerging from these fascinating contributions: "Islam and Christianity alike give a high valuation to the conviction that God speaks to us. Grasping what that does and does not mean... is challenging theological work."

Sacrifice has always been central to the study of religion yet attempts to understand and assess the concept have usually been controversial. The present book, which is the result of several years of interdisciplinary collaboration, suggests that in many ways the fascination with sacrifice has its roots in modernity itself. Theological developments following the Reformation, the rediscovery of Greek tragedies, and the encounter with the practice of human sacrifice in the Americas triggered a complex and passionate debate in the sixteenth century which has never since abated. Contributors to this volume, leading experts from theology, anthropology, and literary and cultural studies, describe and discuss how this modern fascination for the topic of sacrifice has evolved, how it has shaped theological debate, the literary imagination, and anthropological theory. Individual chapters discuss in depth major theological trajectories, theories of sacrifice including those of Marcel Mauss and Rene Girard, and current feminist criticism. They engage with sacrifice in the context of religious and philosophical thought, works of literature and film. They explore different yet overlapping aspects of modernity's obsession with sacrifice. The book does not intend to impose a single narrative over all these diverse contributions but brings them into a conversation around a common centre.

An accessible and up-to-date survey of scholarly thinking about Hinduism, perfect for courses on Hinduism or world religions The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism examines the historical trajectories that have led to the modern religion of Hinduism. Covering main themes such as philosophy, practice, society, and science, this comprehensive volume brings together a variety of approaches and perspectives in Hindu Studies to help readers better appreciate the richness, complexity, and diversity of Hinduism. Essays by acknowledged experts in the field present historical accounts of all major traditions, analyze key texts, engage with Hindu theology and philosophy, address contemporary questions of colonialism and identity, and more. Throughout the text, the authors highlight the links, common threads, and issues that reoccur in the history of Hinduism. Fully revised and updated, the second edition of the Companion incorporates the most recent scholarship and reflects the trend away from essentialist understandings of Hinduism. New chapters examine the Goddess tradition, Hindu diaspora, Hinduism and inter-religious comparison, Hindu philosophy, and Indian astronomy, medicine, language, and mathematics. This edition places further emphasis on the importance of region-specific studies in analyzing Hinduism, discusses important theoretical issues, and offers fresh perspectives on current discourse in Hindu society and politics. Provides a thorough overview of major texts, their histories, and the traditions that preserve them Describes the major textual traditions in Sanskrit with examples in different Indian vernacular languages Addresses major issues and contemporary debates about the nature and study of Hinduism Discusses the importance of systematic, rational thinking in Indian sciences, philosophy, and theology Examines key socio-political themes in Hinduism that are of particular relevance to the modern world The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Hinduism, Second Edition is an excellent text for undergraduate courses on Hinduism in Religious Studies and Philosophy departments, and an invaluable resource for scholars and researchers in Hindu Studies.

This fascinating history explores the cultural roots of our civilization's obsession with the end of the world. Busting the myth of the ancient Maya prediction that time would end in 2012, Matthew Restall and Amara Solari build on their previous book, 2012 and the End of the World, to use the Maya case to connect such seemingly disparate historical events as medieval European millenarianism, Moctezuma's welcome to Cortes, Franciscan missionizing in Mexico, prophetic traditions in Yucatan, and the growing belief today in conspiracies and apocalypses. In demystifying the 2012 phenomenon, the authors draw on their decades of scholarship to provide an accessible and engaging explanation of what Mayas and Aztecs really believed, how Judeo-Christian apocalypticism became part of the Indigenous Mesoamerican and modern American worlds, and why millions continue to anticipate an imminent Doomsday.

An incisive and original collection of the most engaging issues in contemporary comparative theology In The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Comparative Theology, a team of distinguished scholars delivers a one-of-a-kind collection of essays on comparative theology. Honoring the groundbreaking work of Francis X. Clooney, S.J.—whose contributions to theology and religion will endure for generations—the included works explore seven key subjects in comparative theology, including its theory, method, history, influential contemporary developments, and potentially fruitful avenues for future discussion. The editors provide essays that reflect on the critical, theoretical, and methodological aspects of comparative theology, as well as constructive and critical appraisals of Francis Clooney’s scholarship. Over forty original contributions from internationally recognized scholars and insightful newcomers to the field are included within. Readers will also find: Insightful discussions of the larger implications of comparative theology beyond the discipline itself, especially as it relates to educational programs, institutions, and post-carceral life Robust promotion of the research methods and critical thinking present in Francis Clooney’s work Practical discussions of the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing theological researchers today Papers from leading contributors located around the globe, including emerging voices from the global south Perfect for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of theology and religious studies, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Comparative Theology will also benefit scholars with an interest in comparative religion, interreligious studies, and interreligious theology.

In this book, Munyaradzi Felix Murove explores African traditional ethical resources for African politics. Arguing that African ethics is integral to African post-colonial political contentious discourse, Murove invites the reader to reflect on various problematic political issues in post-colonial Africa and how African ethics has been applied in these situations. Starting with a succinct discussion of the scope of African ethics, he discusses how African ethical values have been applied by post-colonial politicians in the reconstruction of their societies. Further, Murove looks critically at the issue of African poverty and how the ethic of regional integration and economic cooperation among post-colonial African nation-states has been instrumental to efforts aimed at overcoming the scourge of poverty. The main question this book seeks to answer is: Are African traditional ethical values a panacea to modern African political problems?

Once relegated to the private sphere, or confined to its own section of the newspaper, religion is now a major part of daily news coverage. Every journalist needs a basic knowledge of religion to cover everything from presidential elections to the war in Iraq to the ethical issues raised by latest developments in medical research. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the American News Media will be the go-to volume for both secular and religious journalists and journalism educators, scholars in media studies, journalism studies, religious studies, and American studies. Comprised of six sections, the first examines how the history of the mass media and the role religion played in its growth. The second looks at how the major media formats - print, broadcast, and online - deal with religion. The next two examines how journalists cover major religious traditions and particular issues that have religion angles. The fifth examines the religious press, from the Christian Broadcasting Network to The Forward. The final section looks at how the American press covers the rest of the world.

Is time a creation of God? How can God be considered eternal, if he is responsible for the existence of time? Is God temporal or is he timeless? The relationship between God and time has been an object of inquiry in philosophical and theological traditions around the world for centuries. This volume takes up these and other questions, presenting a range of answers not only as brought forth in European philosophical traditions and in early Christianity, Judaism and Islam, but also positions taken by mediaeval Indian theologians and in the influential traditions of early Buddhism. Traditionally, discussions have focused on questions such as whether time is a necessary concomitant of God's existence, or whether time should be identified with God. But there is a further question: did these traditions develop their own unrelated and independent view of God and time? Or are there similarities in their reflections? This volume, with contributions of scholars from various relevant fields, offers a novel approach to these inquiries. When taken as a whole, it provides new momentum to contemplation on an age-old enigma.

This collection of articles is an innovative contribution to religious studies, because it picks up concepts developed in the wake of the so-called "spatial turn". Religions are always located in a certain cultural and spatial environment, but often tend to locate (or translocate) themselves beyond that original setting. Also, many religious traditions are not only tied to or associated with the area its respective adherent live in, but are in fact "bi-local" or even "multi-local", as they closely relate to various spatial centers or plains at once. This spatial diversity inherent to many religions is a corollary to religious diversity or plurality that merits in-depth research. The articles in this volume present important findings from a series of settings within and between Asia and Europe

In our religiously pluralistic society, clergy, medical, and nursing staffs in modern hospitals are confronted with caring for people with varied beliefs and customs. Since the overall care of a patient, and not just the surgeries performed or medicines given, affect an individual's recovery, it is vitally important to be familiar with cultural and religious understandings and expectations around hygiene, pastoral care, autopsies, transfusions, and even the practices associated with death itself. AHospital Handbook for Multiculturalism and Religion is a succinct guide to the care of patients from a variety of faiths. The original version included Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Baha'i. In the revised edition Neville Kirkwood has added chapters on Taoism, Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Jainism. Each chapter examines not only the customs of adherents to various faith perspectives but also the significance of certain rites and attitudes, supplying health-care workers and chaplains with the information they need to provide the best care possible."

Interreligious relationships are often hindered by epistemic disparity caused by the nexus between religions and state powers. To solve this problem, David Muthukumar Sivasubramanian develops a postfoundationalist epistemological framework to affirm the epistemic parity and plurality of religions while upholding their particularity and universality. Building on this postfoundationalist epistemology, a comparative Christology paradigm that uses insights from the extant comparative theology method is reformulated with a Christological focus. This model seeks to affirm the exclusive faith assertions of Christianity and the corresponding universal claims for Christ. It also sustains the particular religious identity of a comparative theologian over against any compulsion to assume hybrid identity in the interreligious cross-learning. This comparative Christology framework is exhibited through cross-learning with the Tamil Saiva Siddhanta tradition. This method is shown to affirm not only the particularity and universality of Christianity but also of the Tamil Saiva Siddhanta tradition by defining each religion's attempt at their revealed truth as a parallel quest for truth. Thus, it facilitates dialogue across religions by securing one's self-identity and the other's alterity.

Ancient authors debated proper verbal and non-verbal signs as representations of divinity. These understanding of signs were based on ideas drawn from language and thus limited due to a their partial understanding of the multi-functionality of signs. Charles S. Peirce's semiotics, as adapted by anthropological linguists including Michael Silverstein, better explains the contextual linkages ("performativity") of ancient religious signs such as divine names. Sign meaning is always dependent on processes of interpretation and is always open to reinterpretation. Focusing on these processes permits a more detailed analysis of the ancient evidence. Examples are drawn from ancient Israelite verbal and non-verbal divine representation, the apostle Paul's linguistic letter/spirit model, Christian debates about the limits of language to best represent the deity, Josephus' aniconic advertisement of Jewish rites, the multi-layered divine representations in the Dura-Europos synagogue, the diverse "performativity" of Jewish ascent liturgies, and-the single modern example-the role of art at Burning Man. Divine representation is the basis for ritual efficacy even as sign meaning is a constant source of contention.

In this groundbreaking study, Anthony B. Pinn challenges the long held assumption that African American theology is solely theist, arguing that this assumption has stunted African American theological discourse and excluded a rapidly growing segment of the African American population - non-theists. Rejecting the assumption of theism as the African American orientation, Pinn poses a crucial question: What is a non-theistic theology? The End of God-Talk outlines the first systematic African American non-theistic theology. Pinn offers a new center for theological inquiry, grounded in a more scientific notion of the human than the imago Dei ideas that dominates African American theistic theologies. He proposes a turn to Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Alice Walker in order to effect a sense of ethical conduct consistent with African American non-theistic humanism. The End of God-Talk ends with an exploration of the religious significance of ordinary spaces and activities as settings for humanist theological engagement. Through a turn to embodied human life as the proper arena and content of theologizing, Pinn opens up a new theological path with important implications for ongoing work in African American religious studies.

In times of crises, be it about climate change, the pandemic corona virus, or democratic struggles, there is an unwaning interest worldwide in the end of times and related themes such as apocalypticism, messianism, and utopianism. This concerns scholarship and society alike, and is by no means limited to the religious field. The present volume collates essays from specialists in the study of apocalyptic and eschatological subjects. With its interdisciplinary approach, it is designed to overcome the existing Euro-centrism and incorporate a broader perspective to the topic of end time expectations in the Christian Middle Ages as well as in East Asia and Africa. Contributors include: Gaelle Bosseman, Wolfram Brandes, Matthias Gebauer, Jurgen Gebhardt, Vincent Goossaert, Klaus Herbers, Matthias Kaup, Bernardo Bertholin Kerr, Thomas Krumpel, Richard Landes, Zhao Lu, Rolf Scheuermann, and Julia Eva Wannenmacher.