The teachings, style and impact of the Qur'an have always been matters of controversy, among both Muslims and non-Muslims. But in a modern context of intercultural sensitivity, what the Qur'an says and means are perhaps more urgent questions than ever before. This major new book by one of the world's finest Islamic scholars responds to that urgency. Building on his earlier groundbreaking work, the author challenges misinterpretations of particular Qur'anic verses from whatever quarter. He addresses the infamous 'sword' verse, frequently cited as a justification for jihad. He also questions the 'tribute' verse, associated with the Muslim state subjugating Jews and Christians; and the idea of Paradise in the Qur'an, often viewed by the West as emphasising merely physical pleasures, or used by Islamic fighters as their just reward for holy war. The author argues that wrenching the verses out of the context of the whole has led to dangerous ideologies being built on isolated phrases which have then assumed afterlives of their own. This nuanced, holistic reading has vital interfaith ramifications.

With ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD SCRIPTURES, 9th Edition you will encounter the most notable and instructive sacred texts from major world religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. You'll also examine scriptures from new religious movements including Baha'i, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Christian Science Church, and the Unification Church. You'll study scriptural readings in context, see how each religion is actually practiced today, as well as be introduced to its history, teachings, organization, ethics, and rituals. To help you understand the readings, you'll find introductions, study questions, glossaries, extensive footnotes explaining more challenging parts of the readings, scriptural charts, and suggestions for further reading.

Zen Buddhism is often said to be a practice of "mind-to-mind transmission" without reliance on texts -- in fact, some great teachers forbid their students to read or write. But Buddhism has also inspired some of the greatest philosophical writings of any religion, and two such works lie at the center of Zen: The Heart Sutra, which monks recite all over the world, and The Diamond Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and dualism. This is the Buddhist teaching on the "perfection of wisdom" and cuts through all obstacles on the path of practice.

As Red Pine explains: "The Diamond Sutra may look like a book, but it's really the body of the Buddha. It's also your body, my body, all possible bodies. But it's a body with nothing inside and nothing outside. It doesn't exist in space or time. Nor is it a construct of the mind. It's no mind. And yet because it's no mind, it has room for compassion. This book is the offering of no mind, born of compassion for all suffering beings. Of all the sutras that teach this teaching, this is the diamond."

Discoveries on Mount Gerizim and in Qumran demonstrate that the final editing of the Hebrew Bible coincides with the emergence of the Samaritans as one of the different types of Judaisms from the last centuries BCE. This book discusses this new scholarly situation. Scholars working with the Bible, especially the Pentateuch, and experts on the Samaritans approach the topic from the vantage point of their respective fields of expertise. Earlier, scholars who worked with Old Testament/Hebrew Bible studies mostly could leave the Samaritan material to experts in that area of research, and scholars studying the Samaritan material needed only sporadically to engage in Biblical studies. This is no longer the case: the pre-Samaritan texts from Qumran and the results from the excavations on Mount Gerizim have created an area of study common to the previously separated fields of research. Scholars coming from different directions meet in this new area, and realize that they work on the same questions and with much common material.This volume presents the current state of scholarship in this area and the effects these recent discoveries have for an understanding of this important epoch in the development of the Bible.

A magisterial, modern reading of the deepest mysteries in the Kabbalistic tradition. Seekers of the Face opens the profound treasure house at the heart of Judaism's most important mystical work: the Idra Rabba (Great Gathering) of the Zohar. This is the story of the Great Assembly of mystics called to order by the master teacher and hero of the Zohar, Rabbi Shim'on bar Yochai, to align the divine faces and to heal Jewish religion. The Idra Rabba demands a radical expansion of the religious worldview, as it reveals God's faces and bodies in daring, anthropomorphic language. For the first time, Melila Hellner-Eshed makes this challenging, esoteric masterpiece meaningful for everyday readers. Hellner-Eshed expertly unpacks the Idra Rabba's rich grounding in tradition, its probing of hidden layers of consciousness and the psyche, and its striking, sacred images of the divine face. Leading readers of the Zohar on a transformative adventure in mystical experience, Seekers of the Face allows us to hear anew the Idra Rabba's bold call to heal and align the living faces of God.

"This book is nothing less than the definitive study of a text long considered central to understanding the Renaissance and its place in Western culture." -James Hankins, Harvard University Pico della Mirandola died in 1494 at the age of thirty-one. During his brief and extraordinary life, he invented Christian Kabbalah in a book that was banned by the Catholic Church after he offered to debate his ideas on religion and philosophy with anyone who challenged him. Today he is best known for a short speech, the Oration on the Dignity of Man, written in 1486 but never delivered. Sometimes called a "Manifesto of the Renaissance," this text has been regarded as the foundation of humanism and a triumph of secular rationality over medieval mysticism. Brian Copenhaver upends our understanding of Pico's masterwork by re-examining this key document of modernity. An eminent historian of philosophy, Copenhaver shows that the Oration is not about human dignity. In fact, Pico never wrote an Oration on the Dignity of Man and never heard of that title. Instead he promoted ascetic mysticism, insisting that Christians need help from Jews to find the path to heaven-a journey whose final stages are magic and Kabbalah. Through a rigorous philological reading of this much-studied text, Copenhaver transforms the history of the idea of dignity and reveals how Pico came to be misunderstood over the course of five centuries. Magic and the Dignity of Man is a seismic shift in the study of one of the most remarkable thinkers of the Renaissance.

Il profeta islamico Maometto diede avvio a un programma teologico in forma teocratica. Poiche il Corano, in molti modi, si rivolge ai cristiani e agli ebrei e li invita a fare dichiarazioni, una risposta propriamente teologica e legittima e necessaria. Tenendo conto delle attuali ricerche scientifiche sull'Islam, questo libro tratta le fonti del Corano, le fondamentali caratteristiche del suo rapporto con l'ebraismo e la sua percezione di Gesu. Cio conduce ad una valutazione realistica dell'Islam e ad impulsi per una rinnovata autocomprensione cristiana. Il quarto capitolo presenta le affermazioni largamente sconosciute del filosofo ebreo Franz Rosenzweig e del teologo Joseph Ratzinger/Benedetto XVI sull'Islam che sono un aiuto decisivo per l'orientamento al di la della sottomissione.

The Ramayana is one of the great epics of the ancient world, with versions spanning the cultures, religions and languages of Asia. Its story of Rama's quest to recover his wife Sita from her abduction by Raavana, the Lord of the Underworld, has enchanted readers and audiences across the Eastern world for thousands of years. Daljit Nagra was captivated by his grandparents' Punjabi version as a child, and has chosen to rejuvenate the story for a new generation of multicultural, multi-faith readers. By drawing on scenes originating in versions such as those from Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, as well as the better-known Indian Ramayanas, and by incorporating elements of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and secular versions, Nagra creates a consciously multicultural Ramayana. This dazzling version is both accessible and engaging, written in Nagra's typically vibrant and eclectic language, and bursting with energy, pathos and humour.

Die Psalmen Salomos (PsSal) zahlen zu den wichtigsten Zeugen judischer Literatur und Theologie des ersten Jahrhunderts v. Chr. Die Studie zeichnet die Forschungsgeschichte dieser nicht kanonisch gewordenen Sammlung nach und skizziert deren Gesamtkomposition. Im Mittelpunkt der Untersuchung steht eine traditions- und kompositionsgeschichtliche Analyse der Lehrdichtung PsSal 14. In weisheitlicher Manier kontrastiert PsSal 14 Lebenswandel und Schicksal von Frommen und Sundern und nimmt dabei Ps 1 im Licht weiterer biblischer Traditionen und Motive interpretierend auf. PsSal 14 erweist sich als ein fruhes Beispiel der literarischen Rezeption von Ps 1, das ebenso traditionsgebunden wie innovativ ist und ein klares theologisches Programm besitzt.

A fresh English translation laid out facing the original Sanskrit for easy reference and accompanied by a wealth of essential ancillary materials that make this book a complete course on the "Bhagavad-Gītā "in a single volume.
This translation stands out from the many others first of all in its careful faithfulness to the original language, but also for the extensive tools for understanding it provides. It is accompanied by detailed explanatory notes, as well as by the entire Sanskrit text on facing pages--both in the original Devanagri alphabet and in a romanized version that allows the reader to approximate the sounds of this work (a pronunciation guide is also provided). Also included is a literal, word-for-word translation for comparison; extensive material on the background, symbolism, and influence of the "Gītā"; and an exhaustive glossary of terms.

The purpose of this book is to re-examine those basic issues in the study of midrash, which to some extent have been marginalized by current trends in scholarship and research. Irving Jacobs asks, for example, whether the early rabbinic exegetes had a concept of peshat (plain meaning) and, if so, what significance they attached to it in their exposition of the biblical text. He enquires if the selection of proemial and proof-texts was a random one, dependent purely upon the art or whim of the preacher, or rather if exegetical traditions linked certain pentateuchal themes with specific sections of the Prophets (and particularly the Hagiographa), which were acknowledged by preachers and audiences alike. As midrash in its original, pre-literary form, was a living process involving both live preachers and live audiences in the ancient synagogues of the Holy Land, to what extent, he asks, did the latter influence the former in the development of their art and skills?

A young woman forced to fight for her beliefs. A chaplain with a secret that could determine the fate of a kingdom. England, 1452. Under the reign of King Henry VI the country is on the brink of civil war after the Hundred Years' War. Young mystic Lady Isabelle d'Albret Courteault's family is forced to flee the Duchy of English Gascony for a new and unforeseeable life in England. While they become established in the courts, Lady Isabelle discovers dark secrets about their chaplain and tutor. As their growing relationship places her in harm's way, can she remain steadfast in her promises to uphold the monarchy and her faith? Set amidst a period of grave uncertainty, this is the story of a woman learning to stand up for her beliefs in a patriarchal world - a beautifully crafted narrative of faith, love and grace.

The starting point for any study of the Bible is the text of the Masora, as designed by the Masoretes. The ancient manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible contain thousands of Masora comments of two types: Masora Magna and Masora Prava. How does this complex defense mechanism, which contains counting of words and combinations from the Bible, work? Yosef Ofer, of Bar-Ilan University and the Academy of the Hebrew Language, presents the way in which the Masoretic comments preserve the Masoretic Text of the Bible throughout generations and all over the world, providing comprehensive information in a short and efficient manner. The book describes the important manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, and the methods of the Masora in determining the biblical spelling and designing the forms of the parshiot and the biblical Songs. The effectiveness of Masoretic mechanisms and their degree of success in preserving the text is examined. A special explanation is offered for the phenomenon of qere and ketiv. The book discusses the place of the Masoretic text in the history of the Bible, the differences between the Babylonian Masora and that of Tiberias, the special status of the Aleppo Codex and the mystery surrounding it. Special attention is given to the comparison between the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex (B 19a). In addition, the book discusses the relationship between the Masora and other tangential domains: the grammar of the Hebrew language, the interpretation of the Bible, and the Halakha. The book is a necessary tool for anyone interested in the text of the Bible and its crystallization.

Der islamische Prophet Muhammad ist einst mit einem theologischen Programm in theokratischer Gestalt angetreten. Da der Koran Christen und Juden vielfach anspricht und zu Stellungnahmen auffordert, ist eine theologische Antwort legitim und notwendig. Der vorliegende Band behandelt unter Einbeziehung aktueller islamwissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse die Quellen des Korans, die Grundzuge seines Verhaltnisses zum Judentum und sein Jesusbild. Daraus ergeben sich sowohl eine realistische Bewertung des Islam als auch Impulse fur ein christliches Selbstverstandnis. Das 4. Kapitel stellt die weithin unbekannten Sichtweisen des judischen Philosophen Franz Rosenzweig und des Theologen Joseph Ratzinger/Benedikt XVI. auf den Islam hin vor - als entscheidende Orientierungshilfe jenseits von Unterwerfung.

Spurred by a curiosity about Daf Yomi-a study program launched in the 1920s in which Jews around the world read one page of the Talmud every day for 2,711 days, or about seven and a half years-Adam Kirsch approached Tablet magazine to write a weekly column about his own Daf Yomi experience. An avowedly secular Jew, Kirsch did not have a religious source for his interest in the Talmud; rather, as a student of Jewish literature and history, he came to realize that he couldn't fully explore these subjects without some knowledge of the Talmud. This book is perfect for readers who are in a similar position. Most people have little sense of what the Talmud actually is-how the text moves, its preoccupations and insights, and its moments of strangeness and profundity. As a critic and journalist Kirsch has experience in exploring difficult texts, discussing what he finds there, and why it matters. His exploration into the Talmud is best described as a kind of travel writing-a report on what he saw during his seven-and-a-half-year journey through the Talmud. For readers who want to travel that same path, there is no better guide.

Despite considerable scholarly efforts for many years, the last two decades of the Kingdom of Israel are still beneath the veil of history. What was the status of the Kingdom after its annexation by Assyria in 732 BCE? Who conquered Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom? When did it happen? One of the primary reasons for this situation lies in the discrepancies found in the historical sources, namely the Hebrew Bible and the Assyrian texts. Since biblical studies and Assyriology are two distinct disciplines, the gaps in the sources are not easy to bridge. Moreover, recent great progress in the archaeological research in the Southern Levant provides now crucial new data, independent of these textual sources. This volume, a collection of papers by leading scholars from different fields of research, aims to bring together, for the first time, all the available data and to discuss these conundrums from various perspectives in order to reach a better and deeper understanding of this crucial period, which possibly triggered in the following decades the birth of "new Israel" in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and eventually led to the formation of the Hebrew Bible and its underlying theology.