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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian worship > General
"Rediscovering the Beauty of Sabbath Rest"
Our bodies and souls were "created "to rest--regularly--and when
they do, we experience heightened productivity, improved health,
and more meaningful relationships.
In these pages you'll find wonderful stories of the senator's
spiritual journey, as well as special Sabbath experiences with
political colleagues such as Bill Clinton, Al and Tipper Gore, John
McCain, Colin Powell, George W. Bush, Bob Dole, and others. Senator
Joe Lieberman shows how his observance of the Sabbath has not only
enriched his personal and spiritual life but enhanced his career
and enabled him to serve his country to his greatest capacity.
"Why do so many preachers make the most exciting news in the world
sound so boring?" That is the question driving this unusual book.
In a series of honest, personal, and humorous letters the author
also answers the question. "What will it take to inspire great
preaching for the 21st century?" Ronald Boyd-MacMillan rejects the
modern fixation with form in current homiletics and advocates a
return to the practice of eight fundamentals for great preaching.
The insights from 2,000 years of preaching history and twenty years
of personal preaching experience across three continents are
applied to the needs of the 21st century. This is a humorous yet
hard-hitting guide to explosive modern preaching.
The central act of Christian worship is the Mass or Eucharist.
This, however, is a formal public act, and generally a
once-in-a-week event, which does not entirely answer the spiritual
aspirations of the vast majority of Christians who express these
through prayer and "devotional practices". The cult of relics and
of saints in general; banding together into confraternities to
foster a special devotion; going on pilgrimages, wearing medals,
badges and scapulars - all these are forms of devotion. Where did
they all come from? They have left their mark on the Church, in the
history of books and in manuals of prayers, but relatively little
is known about them. The idea for this book arose when, in the
senior common room of a university theological faculty, it became
clear that none of those present knew why there was an "Infant of
Prague". The book is in a dictionary format. Mainly historical in
its approach, it explains how a particular devotion arose, sets it
in its context and explains the purpose it served in the life of
the Church. It is critical without being judgemental on subjects
such as the "truth" behind apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Some 600
entries range over topics such as relics, pilgrimages and the cult
of the saints, as well as more specialized and local devotions. The
work is designed to be of use to historians and those engaged in
religious studies, as well as being of interest to the general
public. The topics are confined to the Christian religion and, in
effect, almost entirely to the Roman Catholic tradition. Tables
provide a comparison of the Liturgical Calendar (fixed and moveable
feasts) before and after the Reform of 1969. A comprehensive index
enables readers to follow virtually any subject through its
different aspects, as well as providing a quick guide to the
contents of the dictionary. Michael Walsh is the editor of Bishop
Butler's "Lives of the Saints" in one concise volume, and the
author of a companion volume, "Patron Saints".
In religious studies, theory and method research has long been
embroiled in a polarized debate over scientific versus theological
perspectives. Ronald L. Grimes shows that this debate has
stagnated, due in part to a manner of theorizing too far removed
from the study of actual religious practices. A worthwhile theory,
according to Grimes, must be practice-oriented, and practices are
most effectively studied by field research methods. The Craft of
Ritual Studies melds together a systematic theory and method
capable of underwriting the cross-cultural, interdisciplinary study
of ritual enactments. Grimes first exposes the limitations that
disable many theories of ritual-for example, defining ritual as
essentially religious, assuming that ritual's only function is to
generate group solidarity, or treating ritual as a mirror of the
status quo. He proposes strategies and offers guidelines for
conducting field research on the public performance of rites,
providing a guide for fieldwork on complex ritual enactments,
particularly those characterized by social conflict or cultural
creativity. The volume also provides a section on case study,
focusing on a single complex event: the Santa Fe Fiesta, a New
Mexico celebration marked by protracted ethnic conflict and ongoing
dramatic creativity. Grimes explains how rites interact creatively
and critically with their social surroundings, developing such
themes as the relation of ritual to media, theater, and film, the
dynamics of ritual creativity, the negotiation of ritual criticism,
and the impact of ritual on cultural and physical environments.
This important and influential book will be the capstone work of
Grimes's three decades of leadership in the field of ritual
studies. It is accompanied by twenty online appendices illustrating
key aspects of ritual study.
A portrait of the traditions and interior life of Russian Orthodox spirituality.
Serena Fass has attempted to illustrate Jesus' Great Commission:
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved." (Mark 16: 15 - 16)
and has presented a balance between the many different strands of
the Christian faith, for each century, from the earliest Christians
in Pompeii until today, and criss-crossing the globe from North to
South: from Norway to Mozambique - and West to East: from Peru to
Australia. Categories include architecture, painting, sculpture,
ivories, textiles, metalwork, jewellery and portraits of people
wearing crosses, as well as examples of the cross in nature.
TOM WRIGHT offers reflections on the Sunday readings in the Revised
Common Lectionary for Years A, B & C. This volume, which brings
together his widely read columns in the Church Times and also
contains new material, covers all the Sundays and major festivals.
Scholarship, history and insights into the world and language of
the Bible are woven together to give a deeper understanding of the
Word of the Lord. Twelve Months of Sundays will be invaluable to
anyone who wants to gather their thoughts in preparation for Sunday
worship, or for regular Bible study throughout the year.
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